Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up

Westberg Peters, Lisa. Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up. ill. Cathie Felstead. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Rocks? We're studying rocks?? How boring! These are not things you will hear if you introduce geology with poems from this book. Lisa Westberg Peters does a wonderful job of creating surprise from a rock, questions from a clam fossil, and wonder in the wind. All of the free-verse poems in this book answer questions that could otherwise be painfully dull to learn. Things like erosion, lava, fossils, meteorites, granite and quartz are all examined. In addition to the poetic words, the illustrations that accompany each poem are colorful, well-chosen, and accurately reflect each poem's mood and theme. Moreover, there is a geological glossary in the back that explains and details many of the concepts that are covered in this book. Overall this is a fun book that creates a real sense of interest in geology.

I would use this book in an Earth's science class to introduce a unit on geology, specifically fossils. The poem "Obituary for a Clam" is a great way to introduce fossils. After reading the poem, the students would look at either real or digital fossils found in their area. They could even create obituaries for those creatures, do additional research on the animals, and even think about how they lived and died.

"Obituary for a Clam"

Clam. Marine.
Age, 10 years.

Died 300 million years ago
in underwater landslide.
Native of the Tethys Sea.
Loving mother of 198 clams.
Lived a good life
in the shallow water
off the coast of Pangaea.
Survived by
daughter clams,
son clams,
uncle clams,
aunt clams,
clam, clams, clams...
She is missed dearly,
but is fossilized
in the limestone
of a backyard path
in Memphis, Tennessee.