JoinThe Poetry of Science
The Language of Science
Science and Children—November/December 2021 (Volume 59, Issue 2)
By Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
Take 5!
- Before sharing this poem, challenge students to listen for particular weather words. Then read the poem aloud and make a list of all the words they can identify (e.g., warm, sunny, low pressure, rain, atmospheric, high pressure, stormy, latitudinal position, location, climatic).
- Break the students into two groups—one to join in on the low pressure lines (Low pressure grumbles in with rain / an atmospheric / pout) and another to read the high pressure lines (High pressure smiles and saves the day, / sweeps the stormy / out) while you read the rest of the poem aloud.
- Check the weather forecast in your area on Weather.com (Online Resources). Use this opportunity to discuss emergency preparedness and review emergency procedures for school or home together.
- Use this poem to talk about the differences between climate and weather. Work together to make a simple chart listing attributes and examples of each. Consult nonfiction books like Weather by Seymour Simon (see Resources) or the DK Eyewitness Book: Weather by Brian Cosgrove (see Resources).
- Link this poem with another about meteorology, “Weather Map” also by Joan Bransfield Graham (see Online Resources), and with poem selections from Seed Sower, Hat Thrower: Poems about Weather by Laura Purdie Salas (see Resources) and Weather Report by Jane Yolen (see Resources).
Climate Versus Weather
by Joan Bransfield Graham
Climate’s your personality,
weather is
your mood—
a warm and sunny outlook,
with occasional
attitude.
Low pressure grumbles in with rain,
an atmospheric
pout.
High pressure smiles and saves the day,
sweeps the stormy
out.
Where are you living on this globe—
your latitudinal
position?
Location has a lot to do
with your climatic
disposition.
Poem © 2014 Joan Bransfield Graham from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science by Sylvia Vardell and Janet S. Wong © 2014 Pomelo Books; illustration by Frank Ramspott from The Poetry of Science: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for Kids © 2015 Pomelo Books.
Reference
Graham, J.B. 2014. “Climate Versus Weather” in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science, eds. S. Vardell and J. Wong, 245. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.
Resources
Cosgrove, B. 2016. DK Eyewitness book: Weather. New York: DK Books.
Salas, L. P. 2008. Seed sower, hat thrower: Poems about weather. Minneapolis, MN: Capstone Press.
Simon, S. 2006. Weather. New York: HarperCollins.
Yolen, J. 1993. Weather report. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills & Kane/Wordsong.
Online Resources
Joan Bransfield Graham website https://www.joangraham.com
Weather.com https://weather.com
“Weather Map” by Joan Bransfield Graham https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361625045088317385
Instructional Materials Interdisciplinary Literacy Early Childhood