Snowman-Cold=Puddle by Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Micha Archer
April 10, 2022
We can’t let April get by without digging into some poetry. One of my favorite poetry books that can act as a mentor for equation poems is Snowman-Cold = Puddle.
Simple equations anchor this book while the author adds some explanatory details about the facts surrounding the details. As we move into nonfiction writing projects, I can see students adding a page to their books crafted as an equation poem. Equation poems help students distill ideas that they want to share into highly crafted poems with accompanying text boxes.
In this video, Laura Salas demonstrates crafting equation poems with students. A class could work in pairs, small groups or whole class to craft equation poems about social studies, science, or social issue topics.
You may recognize the illustrative styling of this book and its similarity to Wonder Walkers, Micha Archers’ own book reviewed here. As we near spring vacation, you might explore this illustrators process outlined here.
This poetry style seems so accessible to students while also being a challenge to set up. Will they use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division? Could they use a more complex equation? There are many, many possibilities.
The authors’ twitter feeds have other poetry and illustration ideas to explore author’s craft with your students.
Thanks for sharing, Susan! I love the idea of adding an equation poem page to a nonfiction book students are creating–get them thinking about presenting a fact or insight in a different form! Love it.