Poetry Friday posts are with Kay at A Journey through the Pages.
Monday, August 21st is the day. Here in South Louisiana we will get about 72% of the total eclipse. On this site, you can put in your zip code to see what time is best for viewing and how much you will see.
Kelly Gallagher sent out this article of the week for students to read closely.
NASA is full of interesting information. I even found a lesson for my students here that I adapted for younger kids.
On Facebook for Laura Shovan’s 10 words project, Jone MacCulloch posted this:
My students enjoy writing poems about science. This 10-word prompt worked well for those kids who don’t know what to write when given a more open topic. By doing this activity, we discussed words we didn’t know and then used them in a poem. What better way to incorporate science topics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension? Poetry does it all!
Solar Eclipse
As the sky turns obscure
the shadow will reveal the corona.
The eclipse will collect luminosity
as if it is understanding
that it is interconnected
with the universe.
By now the Solar eclipse should be charged
since the last random appearance.
–Faith, 6th grade
I drafted a poem alongside my students. Mine is not about the solar eclipse, but an eclipse of another kind.
Cicadas Sing to the Sun
Charged with luminosity,
cicada songs rise in a corona of sound.My shadow follows their lead,
not to understanding, but
to hope.When hearts are eclipsed
by misunderstanding,
we forget
our interconnected stories–
yours, mine, ours,
theirs, too.Obscurity reveals our vulnerability.
When we are too close to the edge
of possibility, one step forward
can change everything.Be careful where you step.
–Margaret Simon
Reflections on the Teche 
Thought provoking and lovely, as always. Hugs and high-fives to Faith for her great poem. I love your lines, “When hearts are eclipsed
by misunderstanding,
we forget
our interconnected stories–”
Our stories are interconnected…we need to find the links in the darkness.
I love Faith’s idea of “collecting luminosity”!
“The edge of possibility”…that does make you want to step carefully, doesn’t it? Nicely done.
Love the way you used eclipse (and all those other great solar words) and took your poem in a different direction. And what a great challenge for your students!
Yes to “collecting luminosity.” I also love:
When hearts are eclipsed
by misunderstanding,
we forget
our interconnected stories–
yours, mine, ours,
theirs, too.
Thanks for showing another way to process the events of the past week, Margaret! I love these lines (and am also thinking on them as a sober warning):
“When we are too close to the edge
of possibility, one step forward
can change everything.
Be careful where you step.”
My daughter will be in Nashville to see the eclipse. Not much to see up here, though.
Loved ” when hearts are eclipsed by misunderstanding”.
My poem is an eclipse poem of sorts.
What a rich post! Thanks for all the resources, and especially for the poems!
These are wise, forewarning words in your eclipse poem, and they need to be recognized–The dilemma is in how to awaken an interest in others with a different p.o.v., thanks Margaret!
I love Faith’s eclipse poem. We are looking forward to seeing about 95% of it–if we can get home in time from a doctor’s appointment. Your poem gives me much to think about.
I’m so sad school hasn’t started yet and we are missing all these learning opportunities! I love both poems, Margaret, but I especially love the way you’ve used the words in a different “light” and given them a deeper meaning. Thanks for sharing!
I like what you did with Jone’s prompt, using it to define words, study science and write poetry. Love the first two lines of your poem, Margaret, and your using the words to talk about nature.
Margaret, thank you for the chock-filled post on the eclipse. I did not know that Jone posted a prompt so I will need to backtrack on that one. Faith’s response is wonderful. I like her lines: “The eclipse will collect luminosity/as if it is understanding/that it is interconnected/with the universe.” Could you please ask her if I may place her poem and the photo in my summer gallery? I also like the way you wrote alongside the children and brought attention to the word interconnected but from a different lens. I would also welcome your poem, Margaret.
I will check with Faith’s mom. You are always welcome to use my poems and images.
Thank you, Margaret.
Wow, Margaret – love this intertwining of poetry and science, with a shout-out to Jone as well. Kudos toFaith – so much wonderful poetry already from your students this year! (Like others, I love the image/idea that the eclipse will “collect luminosity”!) :0)