The Symbiosis of Science and Poetry

Authors

  • Sylvia Vardell
  • Janet Wong

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.13n1.15

Abstract

Sometimes unlikely partners can benefit each other in surprising ways. For example, dogs offer protection and companionship to humans, who in turn provide food and shelter for dogs. This “give-and-take” relationship is called symbiosis, referring to relationships that have mutual benefit.

That’s true for the disciplines of science and poetry, too. Science is rich in content and poetry offers powerful language; together they can both inform and inspire.

Author Biographies

Sylvia Vardell

Sylvia Vardell is professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University. She has published extensively, including five books on literature for children and more than one hundred journal articles. Her current work focuses on poetry for children, including a regular blog, PoetryforChildren. She is also the Everyday Poetry columnist for ALA’s Book Links magazine and the 2014 recipient of the ALA Scholastic Library Publishing Award.

Janet Wong

Janet Wong is a graduate of Yale Law School and former lawyer who switched careers and became a children’s poet. Her dramatic career change has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN’s Paula Zahn Show, and Radical Sabbatical. She is the author of thirty books for children and teens. Together, Vardell and Wong are the creative forces behind The Poetry Friday Anthology series, launched in 2012 and adopted by hundreds of school districts nationwide.

References

Valarie L. Akerson, “Teaching Science When Your Principal Says, ‘Teach Language Arts,’” in Teaching Teachers: Bringing First-Rate Science to the Elementary Classroom (Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press, 2002), 22.

Timothy V. Rasinski, “Speed Does Matter in Reading,” Reading Teacher 54, no. 10 (2000): 146–51.

John J. Pikulski and David J. Chard, “Fluency: Bridge Between Decoding and Reading Comprehension,” Reading Teacher 58 (2005): 510–19.

Jill Castek, “Implementing Dynamic and Interactive Science Instruction to Meet the Common Core” (keynote speech, Regional National Science Teachers Association conference, Portland, Oregon, 2013).

Christine Anne Royce, Emily Morgan, and Karen Ansberry, Teaching Science Through Trade Books (Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press, 2012), 6.

Erin Biba, “The Way the U.S. Teaches Science Doesn’t Work: Here’s How to Fix It,” Popular Science 9, no. 5 (2013), www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-08/lab-session.

J. Patrick Lewis, Face Bug (Honesdale, PA: WordSong/Highlights, 2013), 32–35.

Sylvia M. Vardell, “Classroom Connections: Connecting Science and Poetry,” Book Links 4, no. 9 (2013), http://booklistonline.com/media/booklinks/CommonCorePDFs/booklinks_ccss_2013_11_connecting-science-and-poetry.pdf.

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Published

2015-03-23

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2015): Spring

Section

Features

License

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