The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Space Poetry & Exploration

Space Poetry & Exploration

A 4th-6th grade STEM lesson

Felisa Alberts

June 2023

Notes for teachers

Notes

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• Depending on students’ abilities, you may need to focus on one type of poem (etc. haiku, free verse, etc.) instead of allowing students to pick their poem structure
• For a more structured unit, consider assigning students planets or specific space topics to focus their poems on
• Students may conduct research and exploration in groups or partners but the poetry should be written individually

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List of Materials

• for example poems see https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/pdfs/poetry_examples.pdf
• Paper
• Pencils/pens
• Anchor Chart/Notes with directions for different types of poems for students
• Reading Articles regarding space topics (consider readworks.org, and nasa.gov)
• Access to the internet/student laptops
• Websites to guide student research consider:
• https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/index.html
• https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/index.html

ELA Standards

4.W.10 & 5.W.10 & 6.W.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

4.W.7 & 5.W.7 & 6.W.10: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic

4.W.6 & 5.W.6 & 6.W.6: use technology, including the internet to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others

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Science Standards

5.E2U1.8: The Earth and our solar system are a very small part of one of many galaxies within the Universe.

Objective(s):

Today we will obtain, evaluate and communicate information about space through poetry and writing.

Today we will conduct research and display knowledge through poetry and writing.

Agenda (lesson time)

Day #1 (30 min-1 hour): Introduction to Space and vocabulary about the solar system with KWL Chart (vocabulary, videos, reading article, etc)

Day #2 (30 min-1 hour): Students conduct research and exploration

Day #3 (30 min-1 hour): Guided instruction about types of poems & free write

Day #4: Revisit KWL Chart, discuss, assess

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

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Introduce Students to Space

Consider introducing students to space vocabulary including but not limited to: planet, dwarf planet, gravitational pull, gravity, asteroid, comet, galaxy, etc.)

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Driving Question + KWL Chart (as a class)

What do you know about the solar system? What do you wonder?

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Depending on your students and school programs, consider having students complete a bubble map while they are researching with “Solar System” in the middle

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• Students research using the websites or articles provided

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• Introduce students to the poem structure of your choice like haikus. (alternatively, the focus could be on creative writing or writing informational essays about what they’ve learned)

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• Provide students time to brainstorm on Day 3, and time to write poems

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Assessment

ELA Assessment: Use poems that are created to assess students knowledge of poetry or have students create another poem following the structure

Differentiation

• Provide students with poem templates
• Have students fill in the blanks to a poem template instead of having to create the whole poem themselves
• Find simpler, shorter articles or websites for struggling readers
• Create poems together as a class

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

• Students create a 1 pager or background with an image related to their poems
• Students can use images or create a video reciting their poems
• Students create a piece of art to pair with their poem
• Students write an essay or create a powerpoint based on the research they’ve found and “teach” a classmate or present to the class