A book of poems on social studies

Siebert, Diane. TOUR AMERICA: A JOURNEY THROUGH POEMS AND ART. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC, 2006. ISBN 9780811850568

SUMMARY

Diane Siebert travels through America with her husband and visits some of the most spectacular places. Writing her thoughts about the factual concept, natural beauty and geographical insights, Siebert matches her work with award winning illustrator, Stephen T. Johnson. Some as stereotypical as Las Vegas, Nevada and others as factual as Baldlands, South Dakota and then there is the opinionated Mount Rushmore, North Dakota that all add character to this collection of American places.

Stephen T. Johnson used a mixture of watercolor on graphite and photography to create his amazing illustrations for TOUR AMERICA. These outstanding pictures help blend art literature with geography and history for student audiences. With some of the landmarks and places being unfamiliar - this allows the readers and audiences to get a visual of what it would be like to view these places with their own eyes.

My favorite illustration in the book is the one of Alaska's northern lights. It would be a dream come to true to experience Johnson's art in a real life experience.

LAS VEGAS

Nevada

Las Vegas glitters in the night

And shimmers in the day;

She opens arms of neon light

To those who come her way

With hopes of placing one good bet

And finding Lady Luck

While playing blackjack or roulette -

Well, OOPS! There goes a buck!

Read TOUR AMERICA to anyone and any age! If this were larger, it could be a table book for a living room coffee table. In fact, this book could be used for a library like section of a classroom. All age groups would enjoy the pictures of Siebert and Johnson work. The writing and poems are geared more towards middle school age students. High school students would still take interest if there was a classroom connection or there was direct interest because of their own personal reasons. I think that history, geography and social studies educators could use this book for a variety of poetry breaks and for quizzes and resources for research.

TOUR AMERICA can be used for

* History

* Geography

* Art

* Poetry

* American History

* Social Studies

The facts and findings of the American landmarks and tourist attractions makes this book a fun travel buddy. Some of the research that Siebert conducted to add additional value and to make this book attractive to many ages, also brings a special interest to history lovers.

REVIEWS

"Siebert once again mines her knowledge of the United States, gained during a ten-year motorcycle odyssey with her husband, to produce poems that celebrate sites famous and lesser known. The combination of familiar sights, like the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Rushmore, with less celebrated landmarks such as Lucy the Elephant (found in N.J.), helps to give the book a fresh appeal, as do the evocative illustrations by Johnson, which are executed in a variety of media"

- Kirkus Review

"This distinguished offering blends poetry, geography, art, and history."

-Lee Bock

"Johnson uses a wide range of art and mediums and lists them in the back of the book. Watercolor, oil, collage, photography, colored pencil, and more have been used, sometimes alone and sometimes mixed, and the results are amazing."

- Sharon Salluzzo, CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Other books by DIANE SIEBERT

Train Song

Sierra

Cave

Mississippi

Heartland

Award winning books by STEPHAN T JOHNSON

A is for Art

My Many Colored Days

My Little Yellow Taxi

George Washington Carver

Nelson, Marilyn. (2001) CARVER: A LIFE IN POEMS. Asheville: Front Street. ISBN 9781886910539

I thoroughly understand that there are scientists to whom the world is merely the result of chemical forces or material electrons. I do not belong to this class.

- George Washington Carver

Summary

Marilyn Nelson tells the story of George Washington Carver in her touching poetic format by revealing significant aspects of his interesting life of challenges, inspiration, love for education, profound research and contribution to America's agriculture and discovery of many uses of peanuts.

George Washington Carver was born a slave and raised by his mother's owners. He achieved beyond expectations and earned an education at some of the most prestigious institutions in America. Earning a bachelors degree from Iowa State Agricultural College and a master's at Tuskegee after he was rejected from Highland College (Highland, KS). Carver becomes the first black director of a U.S.D.A Agricultural Experiment Station. While achieving all of this - he still made time to crochet and do needlework, which were two of his favorite hobbies.

Appeal to an audience

Young adult readers and African American History scholars will truly enjoy the story of Carver's life told in a dramatically effective format or poem and verse. Nelson gives us a presentation of Carver's life by highlighting the details in her creative poems and also sharing real life photographs to give her audience a true picture of the times Carver lived in and how he looked throughout his life. More geared for ages in middle school, high school and interested persons of all ages (young and matured), this book is exciting, informative and inspiring to those that understand Carver's obstacles in life. The most interesting aspect of Nelson's tribute to Carver's life is the timeline of pictures that can tell a story within themselves. Nelson's hard work and use of networking to contact the holders of the artifacts, photographs and that had notable information on George Washington Carver, exudes her hard work and proves the honor of the accolades she has received preceding the publishing of this piece. Not only is the life of Carver an inspiration to the audience, but also, Nelson's dedication to presenting such an important American contributor. Young adults can appreciate A Life in Poems on many different levels, including, an appreciation of fine work.

This book can be used to enhance a collection of African American books and novels, for biographical research on George Washington Carver, Black History Month, the study of those that contributed to American agriculture and for review of author Marilyn Nelson.

AWARDS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS





John Newbery Award


Coretta Scott King Honor Award


National Book Award Finalist


Boston Globe-Horn Book Award





"Each Poem stands as a finely wrought whole of such high caliber that one can hardly name a favorite."


- The Horn Book Magazine

"The poems seem not works of artifice, but honest statements of pure, natural truths."

- School Library Journal

"Oh, Marilyn Nelson, what a magnificent job you have done to bring the past so alive it looks like our future."

- Nikki Giovanni

CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS:

·African Americans
·Agriculture
·Historic Figures
·Prejudice and Racism

Other Books By Nelson

For the Body (1978)

Mama's Promises (1985)

Partial Truth (1992)

Magnificat (1994)

A Spring Time Poem

Introduction: Introduce the upcoming season of Spring. Inform the class that over the next 6 weeks they will be learning about Spring weather, Holidays, events and other important information regarding the Spring season. Ask students what they already know about Spring. Read Douglas Florian's poem What I Love About Spring from his HANDSPRINGS topical collection. Tell the students that they will have frequent poetry breaks and will find a poem that matches the lesson for the day or that matches the calendar month.

Pre-discussion Question: What did you love about Fall? Winter? Summer? (allow every student to answer)

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT SPRING

Trees are growing

Streams are flowing

Cool spring showers

Blooming flowers

Caterpillars creep

Peepers peep

Playing Sports

Wearing shorts

April Fools'

Swimming pools

Going Places

Relay races

Days are longer

Sun is stronger

Every morning songbirds sing -

I love nearly everything!

Post discussion question: What does the poet like about Spring?

Extension: Take the poem line by line and have students explain what Florian is trying to say to his audience. Test the students knowledge by asking specific questions, like "What are Spring sports? What day is April Fool's Day? Why are the days longer in Spring? and Caterpillars creep and do what?"

Class Activity: In a first grade classroom, have a large assortment of tissue paper (all colors) and large size Manila, scissors and glue. Have students tear and cut pieces of the tissue paper to make a picture of a spring flower. Hang the pictures on a corridor wall and label the display "What I Love About Spring".

Have Florian's HANDSPRINGS in the book center for students to review the book individually during center time.

Florian, Douglas. Handsprings. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2006. ISBN 9780060092818

A Verse Novel

Frost, Helen. SPINNING THROUGH THE UNIVERSE. New York: Frances Foster Books, 2004. ISBN 9780374371593

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this book, Helen Frost amazingly tells the inner thoughts of each individual in a 5th grade class whom sorts out everyday life, dramatic experiences and personal family issues in verse form. A young reader can easily relate to some of the pertinent issues in Frost's novel. Our economic times may have provoked other relating issues like depression, family violence (The Truth, Maria) and financial difficulties (At the Shelter, Sam) and students need the opportunity for positive, yet truthful, output. Literature that engages actual issues of it readers with similar and factual feelings is especially appealing to this age group, for various reasons.

Students balancing the act of being able to act their age, but also taking on the strength of the adults (Her Long Black Hair, Laura) and being supportive of older generations (Grandma Keeps Forgetting, Vonda) is a hard subject to discuss when other's in the class may not have the worries and responsibility that they have. Hearing how their classmates respond to the students in room 214, may give real life students the ability to disclose thier personal issues for peer support. The attractiveness about Spinning Through the Universe, in this manner is that the adult can allow the students to lead thier own discussions and share.

Learning how to read (Just Try, Eddie) and learning new ways of doing things (Fathers Can Learn, Maria) are critical to how all people progress througout life and how fear may withhold our self motivation and how we learn from our mistakes. This book can encourage students to strive to better themselves or promote self -help to those that they love. A student's response to these verses may enlighten them to advocate for what they are passionate about and learn not to take for granted the things that are given to them.

Children typically enjoy reading about their peers and how they deal with common issues such as fitting in (It's Hard to Fit in, Shawna), standing up for what they believe in, innocent encounters of racism (In the Middle, Chrystal). This novel allows open-ended questions to guide discussions as students who are willing share voice thier opinions and advice for those that wish to remain silent.

My only question for educators who like to share this book in class is "Are all children mature enough to read and discuss this book?" Frost reveals the most real issues that definately requires tactful discussions, advanced thinking skills and emotional stability. For the same reasons that this book may assist with many issues, the same reasons, this book may be dested. Students with less experiences from multiple circumstances mentioned in this book, may have different responses than those that can use the book and discussion time as theraphy and relief.

Helen Frost's idea of characterizing the students in Mrs. Williams' class to symbolize students in every real classroom is inventive and imaginative.All of the fictional student's problems are universal and regrettably timeless, which makes this well known book a useful resource in every setting. The talent used in offering multiple forms of poetry while succesively telling the story of their lives provides readers with additional messages in the acrostic poems, the simplicity of reading unrhymed verses and then, also the use of their own imagination in the blank verse.

CONNECTIONS

More than anything else, the emotional connection that embraces the audience to share their personal feelings, experiences and how they can relate to the students in room 214, is considerably noteworthy. Counselors, mentors, small group leaders, enrichment program coordinators and teachers of behavior challenged students can apply the verse topics to illustrate how other children deal with similar issues that their students deal with. Stronger bonds and relationships, increased trust and responsive interaction may result from sharing such an influential novel.

You can assume that the verses are the students journal entries. The connection of writing, journaling and private conversation on paper links the teacher and students to a trusted form of communication. Students who are shy and uncomfortable with speaking directly to adults about issues can be presented with this book to promote positive journaling and other confidential forms of writing.

REVIEWS

"Readers may be surprised at the complexity of rules governing the writing, so naturally does the author seem to capture the poetic essence of the children's voices-and she makes it look like so much fun that readers may want to try out some of the forms themselves."
- Publisher’s Weekly


"Interwoven dramatic stories and interesting poetic patterns give this book extra appeal."
- Lee Bock, School Library Journal


"Appropriate, original imagery and understated, natural voices make these poems sensitive and insightful. Since the students sometimes sound older than fifth-graders, the collection will appeal to readers and teachers in middle school and high school."
- Kirkus Reviews


Similar books to share....

Lord, Cynthia. RULES ISBN 9780439443838

McCormick, Patricia. SOLD ISBN 97804439443838

Roy, Jennifer. YELLOW STAR ISBN 9780761452775


Other talented authors who have written in verse...

Margaret Wild
Ellen Hopkins
Steven Herrick

An Acrostic Poem

Introduction: Take a poetry break with middle school students during history class and share J. Patrick Lewis' poem Christopher Columbus. First, introduce the poetry book, A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme. Locate the Columbus poem and show Alison Jay's illustration. Select a reader and have them share the peom in front of his peers. After the first reading, ask the selected reader to use his own creative tone to read the poem. Allow a few more students the opportunity to share the peom in their tone.

Christopher Columbus

Spain dispatched three ships

Across the Atlantic on a

Navigator's hopeless dream of

Traveling westward to Asia

All dreams end in suprise.

Morning, October 12, 1492:

Ahoy! In the Bahamas, he had

Reached the wilder shores of

Inhabitation, lost in the future,

Anchored at the far end of destiny.

Extension: Ask the class what form J. Patrick Lewis wrote the Columbus poem. Pass the book around or walk around the classroom so that all students can see the poem and point out the name of one of Columbus' ships, Santa Maria. Wait for the correct answer: Acrostic - Poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or message when read in a sequence.

Activity - Internet search on Christopher Columbus! Have each student find the answer to a specific Columbus trivia question.
* When was Columbus Day first observed as a holiday?
*Find the name of a city and state of where there is a statue or monument of Columbus.
*If Christopher Columbus had children, what where their names?
*Which voyage was longer - the first or the second?
*Locate the name of an author who has written about Columbus' life. What is the title of the book?

Lewis, J. Patrick. A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme (Illustrated by Alison Jay). New York: A Dial Book for Young Readers, 2002. ISBN: 9780803725799

Down by the Riverside

Introduction: Poets paint with thier words. Explain to students that often times the poet leaves the pictured image of the poem to the audience to whom he is presenting to. Read Dave Etter's Down by the Riverside and have the students listen to the words of the poem. Read the poem again, but this time, provide various art untensils to allow students to paint thier own image of what they hear when the poem is read. Wait until the students are completely done with thier pictures before showing them Benton's.

Down by the Riverside by Dave Etter

Uncle Roy

has done it

again. He

has saided our

bright orange kite

with the long

and fancy

tail into

the summer

sky. He will

soon make it

fly higher

and higher.

My sister

Lucinda

prances on

spongy grass.

Our yellow

dog Barney

barks and barks

his doggie

approval.

Mom and Dad

have seen lots

of orange kites

dance in a

warm breeze. Mom

gulps a cold

drink while Dad

is busy

at the grill

cooking meat.

Both of them

leave us to

our young joy

down by the

riverside.

Extension: After reading the poem and seeing the students pictures. Have volunteers stand before the class and explain their vision of being down by the riverside. Show the students Thomas Hart Benton's oil painting. Have an open discussion allowing students compare thier art to Benton's or address why the did or did not include some of the same things that Benton did in his painting. Allow students to express their feelings and ask them if they like disliked Benton's painting. On a bulleton board, post the student's pictures around a color copy of Benton's painting. This can be done weekly with various poets and authors.

Greenberg, Jan. Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth - Century American Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2001. ISBN 9780810943865

Painting:

Thomas Hart Benton. Down by the Riverside. 1969. Oil on canvas.