Third Grade Fibs

Last week, I taught the Northfield E.S. third graders how to fib.

How to write a fib, that is. We kicked off my annual poetry residency writing Fibonacci poems. The students loved the combination of math (we talked about the Fibonacci sequence and how it is derived from a mathematical formula), science (we looked at Fibonacci spirals in nature) and poetry (we figured out that a poem could follow the Fibonacci numbers by counting out syllables).

I use Sarah C. Campbell's book as a jumping off point for the Fibonacci lesson.

You can find my full Fibonacci lesson plan at this Fib post.

Here are some of the third graders' scientific poems. I like how Ethan combines the largeness of space with a small moment -- counting stars -- in his poem.

Ethan H.

Space

Stars

Planets

Some just found

Circling the sun

Counting the stars on a bright night

From http://www.destateparks.com/activities/stargazing/
Our local astronomy club is the Howard County Astronomical League.
They hold star gazing events for families.

Julian's weather-related Fibonacci poem tells a dramatic story.

Julian H.

Boom!

Whoosh!

Get down

Tornadoes

Go to the basement

Bring a radio and some food

Are we all here? One,  two, three, four, five. Good.

     We’re all here.

The tornado stopped but we’re trapped in the basement.

     Crack. Light. The police found us. We are safe.

From tornadofacts.com

Once we realized that dinosaurs are a scientific subject, Daniel was ready to write his poem.

Daniel C.

Dinosaur

Egg

Born

Reptile

Meat-eater

Hunting a Troodon

T-Rex are very dangerous

Learn about the Troodon at National Geographic.

And Zach was also interested in the power of the weather.

Zach B.

Hurricane

Rain

Hail

High winds

Powerful

Very deadly storm

Can destroy the whole ocean coast

Hurricanes form a Fibonacci spiral.
This is Super Storm Sandy at beforeitsnews.com

Want more fibs by kids? Read some here.

I'll post more third grade poems tomorrow for Poetry Friday, and that's no fib.