Thursday, March 14, 2019

Poetry Friday: Climate Change

Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week's round up is hosted by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe blog. Today, teens around the world are spearheading a School Strike for Climate. In support of these young leaders, Heidi asked that our Poetry Friday theme this week be centered around climate change.
Though I know the causes of climate change are many and the problem seems bigger than us, we all have a small part to play that ultimately could make a difference.

Climate: DIRE
by Kimberly M. Hutmacher

Year after year
New records are made.
We have a problem,
Some can't be swayed.

Bitter cold temps,
Mountains of snow,
Monsoon rains,
Mighty winds blow.

Melting glaciers,
Wild fire,
Blistering heat,
Warning: DIRE!

Polluted oceans,
Deadly disease,
Species extinction,
Where are the bees?

Climate change
It's not FAKE NEWS!
Please REDUCE,
RECYCLE, REUSE.

Get involved.
Call your rep.
Join the fight.
Take a step.

Copyright 2019

I'll end this post with some book suggestions on this topic to use in the classroom. There are so many great titles available. It was hard to choose, but here are a few:




The Lonely Polar Bear Written and Illustrated by Khoa Le 


What Is Climate Change? Written By Gail Herman and Illustrated by John Hinderliter





25 comments:

  1. The Lonely Polar Bear looks sad indeed, Kimberly. Your poem says all that is needed, now hoping people begin to listen, especially after things like our storm yesterday.

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  2. I like your call to action Climate Change poem Kimberly, and thanks for the book suggestions too!

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    1. Thanks, Michelle. I'm glad you liked it and found the book suggestions useful.

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  3. It all starts with a step, doesn't it? I hope the climate strikes help push governments to take steps. Thanks for the DIRE warning!

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    1. Yes it does, Tabatha. I'm hopeful, too, and I think other governments will respond. Unfortunately, I think it's going to take the 2020 election to get anything changed around here.

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  4. Great poem, rouses spirit and awareness. Thanks for the book suggestions, too. . . poor polar bear.

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    1. Thank you, jama. And yes, poor polar bear is right.

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  5. "Warning: DIRE!" encapsulates what I'm feeling right now. Thanks for including book recommendations.

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    1. I'm glad the poem resonated, Laura. Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. Thanks for tackling this issue, Kimberly--your poem is a neat and concise exhortation to "take a step"! I'll look for the polar bear books...

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    1. Thanks, Heidi! And thank you for hosting and sharing a lot of great info to help everyone get started.

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  7. Thanks for sharing this poem. The situation is indeed dire, not just for polar bears. I'm hoping that some of our finest young minds are working on solutions as I type. I know a few. But everyone needs to do their part, as well.

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  8. Excellent poem! Thank you for taking the issue head on. I like, "Warning: DIRE!" right in the middle...but something we can do at the end. I'm all about making the phone calls. So easy to do in the car to/from work. I need to take a look at books in my library and make sure I'm up to date with climate.

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    1. Thanks, Linda. I wish the adults who have the power to make real change would take this as seriously as these amazing kids.

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  9. Kimberly, your climate change poem was just the right blend of activism and word choice. Thanks for the resources.

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  10. You captured the situation in a word: DIRE.
    Great poem!

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  11. Your poem is a great call to action, Kimberly! It's that "Some can't be swayed" that's might be the biggest challenge of them all.

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    1. Exactly Michelle. And unfortunately, that starts at the top. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem.

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  12. The cover of The Lonely Polar Bear just broke my heart, Kimberley. And, your poem is the perfect articulation of the DIRE situation we find ourselves in.

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    1. Thank you, Tara. I hope that by the time we get leadership ready to tackle this head on, that it won't be too late.

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  13. Kimberly, your poem is a powerful call to action. You've done a great job of including the essential facts of climate change in a non-confrontational way. Thank you for the resources, too!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem and found the resources helpful, Catherine.

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