SLIGHTLY SCIENTIFIC VOL 1 from Celia Berrell`s Science Rhymes

Transcription

SLIGHTLY SCIENTIFIC VOL 1
from
Celia Berrell’s Science Rhymes
Imparting science knowledge through rhyming verse
TABLES OF CONTENT
(see page 3 for index of poem titles)
EARTH AND BEYOND
Poem Title
Beyond The
Horizon
Igneous Hot-Rock
Mountain Cry
Trickling Through
Time
Light Years
Concepts/Words
Category
The structure of the
Earth
Topic
Pg#
Earth
10
Igneous rocks
Earth
17
Rocks
Earth
21
Erosion
Measuring distances in
space
Earth
34
Stars
19
Concepts/Words
Earth; solar wind;
Magnetosphere
Earth; Moon; gravity;
friction; tides
Pressure; air; water;
equalisation
Friction; movement
Category
Topic
Pg#
Magnetic fields
Forces
07
Gravity
Forces
09
Air pressure
Friction
Forces
Forces
13
25
Springs; flexibility; energy
Plants detect gravity
Earth; air; storms; light
distortion; gravity
Forces and their effects
Gravity
Forces
Forces
27
29
30
Solids; liquids; gases; atoms
Insulators; conductors;
animals
Moon; Sun; reflection
Sunlight; artificial light;
shadows
Temperature
Heating
Reflection of light
Forces
Heating &
Cooling
Heating &
Cooling
Light
Light
Light
24
Spectrum; colour; sky
Pitch; volume; frequency
Light
Sound
Light
Sound
28
15
Vibrations; bass notes
Sound
Sound
31
Earth: flat; round; horizon
Earth structure; rocks;
volcanoes
Earth’s crust; mountains;
rock words and sizes
Mountains; erosion; water
Light; speed; universe;
distance
ENERGY AND CHANGE
Poem Title
Aurora Borealis
Battle Of The
Bulge
Dipsy Divers
Shifting A Box
Springing To
Action
Starch Marbles
The Air
Absolute Zero
Warm And Fluffy
Moonbeams
Scary Shadows
Squiggle And
Bump
Howling Sirens
The Doof-Doof
Car
2009 - 2012
www.sciencerhymes.com.au
1
06
35
20
LIFE AND LIVING
Poem Title
Ode To The Loam
Concepts/Words
Food-chain; phytoplankton; photosynthesis
Adaptations;
characteristics
Microbes; germs;
interdependence
Human health; heart;
blood; lungs
Sound, touch, smell, sight;
enquiry
Human health; teeth;
animal comparisons
Skull; jaw; muscles;
movement
Caring for human young;
hazards; safety
Seed dispersal by animals;
food
Soil properties; benefits
and detriments;
ecosystems
Picking Flowers
Fertilisation; seeds; lifecycles
A Food Chain
The Octopus
Riddle
You Are Not
Alone
A Funny Exercise
Bad Apples
Growing Teeth
Sleepy Head
Timmy’s Mouth
Buried Treasure
Category
Eat and be eaten;
feeding relationships
Habitats and
environments
Factors affecting
survival; Biotic
Topic
Pg#
Animals
04
Animals
32
37
Needs of living things
Animals
Human
Body
Human
Body
Human
Body
Human
Body
Human
Body
Plant systems
Plants
11
Plant systems
Plant systems:
reproduction and
flowering plants
Plants
22
Plants
23
Category
Changes in state
The three states of
water
Topic
Properties
Pg#
12
Properties
16
The gas state
Substances: structure
properties and uses
Properties
18
Properties
36
Circulatory system
Human senses
Digestive system
Support and movement
systems
05
08
14
26
33
NATURAL AND PROCESSED MATERIALS
Poem Title
Candle Wax
Concepts/Words
Melting; solidifying; fuel
Ice Floats
Indirect
Observation
Water; solid; liquid
Air; effects from
observation
Water Droplets
Liquids; water
2009 - 2012
2
INDEX OF POEM TITLES
A Food Chain
A Funny Exercise
Absolute Zero
Aurora Borealis
Bad Apples
Battle Of The Bulge
Beyond The Horizon
Buried Treasure
Candle Wax
Dipsy Divers
Growing Teeth
Howling Sirens
Ice Floats
Igneous Hot-Rock
Indirect Observation
Light Years
Moonbeams
Mountain Cry
Ode To The Loam
Picking Flowers
Scary Shadows
Shifting A Box
Sleepy Head
Springing To Action
Squiggle And Bump
Starch Marbles
The Air
The Doof-Doof Car
The Octopus Riddle
Timmy’s Mouth
Trickling Through Time
Warm And Fluffy
Water Droplets
You Are Not Alone
2009 - 2012
page 04
page 05
page 06
page 07
page 08
page 09
page 10
page 11
page 12
page 13
page 14
page 15
page 16
page 17
page 18
page 19
page 20
page 21
page 22
page 23
page 24
page 25
page 26
page 27
page 28
page 29
page 30
page 31
page 32
page 33
page 34
page 35
page 36
page 37
3
A Food Chain
Life and living
Animals
Eat and be eaten: feeding
relationships
Food-chain; phytoplankton;
photosynthesis
A Food Chain by Celia Berrell
Once there was a Polar Bear
and Hungry was his name.
He ate a seal for every meal
then did it all again.
The seals had eaten saffron cod
for breakfast, lunch and tea.
The cod had hunted northern shrimp
in Arctic’s icy sea.
The shrimp all ate a dinner which
would take the whole day long.
And nibbled on the plankton that
make sugars from the sun.
Plants are not the only things
that photosynthesise.
There’s also phytoplankton
of a microscopic size.
2009 - 2012
4
A Funny Exercise
Life and living
Human Body
Circulatory system
Human health; heart; blood; lungs
A Funny Exercise by Celia Berrell
An exercise helps keep us fit.
We all agree on that.
It gets your heart a-pumping so
your body won’t go flat.
A heart-beat circulates the blood
to all our living cells.
Transporting food and oxygen
to keep us fit and well.
Doing lots of exercise
can make our heart beat fast.
Strengthening the muscles so
our body’s built to last.
Now laughing can be exercise.
A work-out for the lungs.
Releasing lots of tension if
we’re feeling highly strung.
It elevates our pulse rate
and it’s also lots of fun.
One hundred big laughs every day
will be my aim now-on.
It massages the abdomen.
It shakes those shoulders free.
A perfect form of exercise …
Ho-Ho Ha-Ha He-He!
2009 - 2012
5
Absolute Zero
Energy and change
Heating and
cooling
Temperature
Solids; liquids; gases; atoms
Absolute Zero by Celia Berrell
Molecules and atoms all
vibrate to Thermo’s beat.
Their energy’s identified
by measuring the heat.
Like line-dancers they stay in form
and keep their solid-state
when Thermo’s music’s playing cool
and doesn’t change its rate.
By turning up the temperature
they break-dance out of line.
And move about as liquid to
our Thermo’s up-beat time.
When solids change to liquid form
it’s called their melting-point.
That temperature is different
for different elements.
And when it’s hot they leap about
like maniacs with jazz.
Escaping from their dance-floor as
they change into a gas.
Hot volcano temperatures
can melt Earth’s crusty rock.
While Nitrogen on Triton’s only
found as gas or frost.
The winter in New Zealand can
be beautiful with snow.
A solid state of water which
is icy H2O.
Elements and compounds can
exist in different phases.
Solid, liquid or as gas.
It varies as heat changes.
And as the sunshine heats it up
its molecules go hip.
And melt into a liquid that’s
in puddles, pools and drips.
And out in space those temperatures
can really be extreme.
From freezing void to hottest sun
and all that’s in between.
Now pour some water in a pan
and heat it on a stove.
You’ll see the bubbles forming
then escaping in their droves.
But even in our universe
the coolest it can go
is measured as one Kelvin.
Never Absolute Zero.
We know that’s steam or vapour
that is wafting from the pot.
You’ve witnessed water’s three-phased states
from freezing, warm and hot.
This name describes the temperature
where atoms fail to move.
If Thermo turned their music off they couldn’t even groove!
2009 - 2012
6
Aurora Borealis
Energy and change
Forces
Magnetic fields
Earth; solar wind; Magnetosphere
Aurora Borealis by Celia Berrell
A flimsy curtain made of light
that dances on a cosmic breeze.
Like glimpsing Heaven’s finest cloth.
The flowing silk of godly sleeves.
A wizard’s spell of swirling force.
Illuminating northern skies.
Kaleidoscopic colours that
amaze the innocence of eyes.
Aurora Borealis is
the name we give the Northern Lights.
Spectacularly showering
its plasma in the sky at night.
It’s only been some sixty years
since science found an answer to
this magical phenomenon
creating such an awesome view.
But at the poles are corridors
where plasma sometimes reaches us.
It energises molecules
of air that makes them luminous.
Our Earth acts like a magnet with
its northern and its southern poles.
While out in space, magnetic fields
provide for us protective roles.
Reacting with the oxygen
the plasma flashes green and red.
While molecules of nitrogen
cause violet to flash instead.
Our Sun, emitting energy
of plasma, called the Solar Wind
is radiating particles.
But here on Earth so few get in.
Now if you’ve seen these stunning lights
you’re probably an Eskimo.
But YouTube’s got some photographs
and film – so you can watch the show!
Protected quite invisibly
two hundred thousand k’s from here
the Earth has formed a barrier.
We call it the Magnetosphere.
2009 - 2012
7
Bad Apples
Life and living
Human Body
Human senses
Sound; touch; smell; taste; enquiry
Bad Apples by Celia Berrell
My Dad showed me how
he’d choose ripe rose-apples.
By shaking them hard
to hear the seeds rattle.
By feeling their skin
to be smooth firm and tight.
By sniffing the fruit
so you know it smells right.
The first one I picked
made a rattling sound.
Its skin had some wrinkles
and patches of brown.
‚I think it’s no good‛
I said to my Dad.
And we both agreed
it was probably bad.
2009 - 2012
8
Battle Of The Bulge
Earth and beyond
Forces
Gravity
Earth; moon; gravity; friction; tides
Battle Of The Bulge by Celia Berrell
Like many love relationships
the Earth and Moon are falling-out.
Despite their great attractiveness
there’s friction they don’t talk about.
When first they met, they twirled and danced.
Their gravitation’s fondness showed.
But by degrees, as time has passed
rotations of their dance has slowed.
The Moon no longer pirouettes
within her orbit round the Earth.
Instead one side is always set
to face the world (and watch his girth).
Their gravity distorts their crusts
and makes them bulge at closest side.
Earth’s oceans rise as though to thrust
a beckoned hand to Moon’s fine pride.
For she creates the ebbs and flows
of all the seas that make our tides.
But honestly, that friction slows
her down and makes her really tired!
Four centimetres every year
she moves away from Earth’s embrace.
Our Moon is drifting off I fear.
And nothing else could take her place.
2009 - 2012
9
Beyond The Horizon
Earth and beyond
Forces
The structure of the Earth
Earth; flat; round; horizon
Beyond The Horizon by Celia Berrell
Imagine the scary tales to be told.
When everyone thought that the Earth was flat.
Over the edge was a Never-Land or
a drop that could kill with a ghastly splat!
When looking to sea the horizon’s viewed
as the line where the ocean meets the sky.
But looking to land the view is confused
by mountains and trees that are found nearby.
Stand on a beach facing out to the sea.
The horizon looks straight and unbending.
But 18k’s up you can clearly see
the horizon is curved and unending.
That curve is a portion of giant sphere.
As our Earth is shaped like a big round ball.
The myths of magical lands are gone.
And there isn’t an edge from which to fall.
2009 - 2012
10
Buried Treasure
Life and living
Plants
Plant systems
Seed dispersal by animals; food
Buried Treasure by Celia Berrell
An oak-tree needs its acorns to
be planted in the forest soil.
But all it does is drop them on
the ground where they could quickly spoil.
An acorn is the oak-tree’s fruit
containing seed and fatty food.
A kind of nut that bugs can drill
to lay their eggs where they can brood.
But once that acorn-nut is used
by moths to make their baby’s home
the seed inside that acorn can
no longer live. And can’t be grown.
Now squirrels are most passionate
about these tasty acorn-nuts.
They eat them in large quantities.
With cheeks so full they’re fit to bust!
They pick the perfect acorns last
and hide them in the forest soil.
Returning in the winter-time
to dig them up and eat a meal.
But squirrels sometimes make mistakes.
Forgetting where they buried some.
And so those planted acorns get
to grow as oak-trees in the sun.
2009 - 2012
11
Candle Wax
Natural and
processed materials
Properties
Changes in state
Melting; solidifying; fuel
Candle Wax by Celia Berrell
A candle’s made of fat or wax
and has a wick of string or flax.
Now when you light it with a match
the flame will make a small light patch.
The candle’s stem is smooth and cool.
The greasy wax is solid fuel.
The flame that makes the candle light
is very hot when burning bright.
Its heat will melt the wax on top
which feeds that string-wick drop by drop
with oil for fuel, so it won’t stop
and burns for hours and won’t give up.
I love to watch the hot wax when
it trickles down the candle’s stem.
It’s fast when hot and slow when cool.
With lumps and bumps like greasy jewels.
2009 - 2012
12
Dipsy Divers
Energy and change
Forces
Air pressure
Air; water; equalisation
Dipsy Divers by Celia Berrell
If you stand on the sand
where the sea is near
the air that is there
is one atmosphere.
And that is the pressure
we measure. The push
the sea-level air can
exert upon us.
It wants to stay equal.
So just to breathe in
expand your chest cavity.
Air gets sucked in.
Our ear-drums get stretched
as the sea pushes in.
Try swallowing first
so the water won’t win.
And when we breathe out
maybe sing or just shout
we squash up our lungs
so the air rushes out.
You’re aiming to have
your ears equalised
by making the middle-ear
air-pressure rise.
But if you should ever
dive into the sea
the pressure below
will increase. Believe me!
Try pinching your nose
while your mouth is closed tight.
Then blow – not too hard!
And then listen a mite.
Ten metres of water
is heavy enough
to double the pressure
exerted on us.
The squelches and pops
that you’re hoping to hear
confirm pressured air’s
reached your middle-ear.
Since most of our body
has water in cells
they don’t really notice.
They won’t shrink or swell.
And that is good news.
Now your ear-drums aren’t curved.
And lucky for you
they should no longer burst.
But where there is air
like our ears, gut and lungs
their spaces are squashed.
Shrinking melons to plums.
Since no Dipsy Diver
will want to get sick
they frequently practice
this Valsalva trick.
2009 - 2012
13
Growing Teeth
Life and living
Human body
Digestive system
Health; teeth; animal comparisons
Growing Teeth by Celia Berrell
That wily smiley crocodile
when basking in the tropic sun
won’t care two hoots about his teeth.
One breaks – he’ll grow another one.
The scary shark has teeth galore.
Three thousand’s stored inside his face.
He won’t get sore if one falls out.
A spare tooth simply takes its place.
The terrapins and turtles each
have zero teeth within their head.
They crop and bite the sea-grass with
a sharp and horny beak instead.
A human has two sets of teeth.
The first grow while we’re still quite young
yet start to fall out one by one
as adult teeth push through the gums.
But that’s the lot. We grow no more.
No matter how antique we get.
So better keep them clean and bright.
Unless you want a plastic set!
2009 - 2012
14
Howling Sirens
Energy and change
Sound
Sound energy
Pitch; volume; frequency
Howling Sirens by Celia Berrell
The siren on an ambulance
makes wailing noises up and down.
Like someone waving over here!
Except it does it with a sound.
We need to pay attention so
the traffic won’t get in its way.
The siren’s sound soon grabs our ears.
And as it’s loud we will obey!
You’ll find as it approaches that
its siren’s like a piercing cry.
The sound-waves from that siren’s wail
are squashed-up so the pitch is high.
But once that ambulance has passed
the speeding siren’s sound-waves stretch
to reach our ears, receding fast,
the pitch drops. That’s the Doppler Effect.
At traffic lights and roundabouts
the siren’s rhythm’s speeded up.
A frantic sense of urgency
to get the nearby cars to stop.
The dogs around the neighbourhood
all seem to want to howl along.
Perhaps they think the ambulance
is singing them their favourite song!
2009 - 2012
15
Ice Floats
Natural and
processed materials
The three states of water
Water; solid; liquid
Properties
Ice Floats by Celia Berrell
Water is exceptional.
It disobeys a rule.
Its solid form is lighter
than its liquid, which is cool!
Most elements and compounds will
behave with much more sense.
Compared with their own liquid form
their solid form’s more dense.
But put an ice-cube in a drink.
You’ll notice that it floats.
One-tenth above; nine-tenths below.
Like ice-bergs you will note.
These ice-sheets form a blanket
so the water underneath
remaining as a liquid
doesn’t freeze the fish to death.
Ice-cubes in a drink would sink
and only cool the bottom.
Snowflakes might not form at all!
A thought that’s really rotten.
Imagine how our world would be
if solid-water sank.
The Sun could hardly melt it
which would be a deadly prank.
We owe our life in part to
water’s scientific token.
That rare occasions will exist
where rules are better broken!
As years went by the ice would fill
the oceans to the top.
And life as we all know it
would eventually stop.
2009 - 2012
16
Igneous Hot-Rock
Earth and beyond
Earth
Igneous rocks
Earth’s structure; rocks; volcanoes
Igneous Hot-Rock by Celia Berrell
Our planet Earth is rocky hard
upon its outer skin.
But don’t be fooled in thinking it’s
the same the whole way in!
The centre called the Inner Core
is very very hot.
It’s mostly made of iron but
a liquid it is not.
Five thousand k’s beneath our feet
the pressure’s really high
and stops the iron melting so
it stays solidified.
Three thousand k’s below our feet
the pressure’s not so harsh.
The Outer Core is viscous like
the treacle on a tart.
Closer to the surface is
the biggest layer of all.
Sometimes gooey, sometimes stiff
the Mantle’s what it’s called.
It’s made from rock that’s very hot
and if the Crust gets split
it spits out lava – magma goo
and forms volcano zits.
Its heat will burn up any trace
of living things around.
Within this rock called Igneous
no fossils will be found.
2009 - 2012
17
Indirect Observation
Natural and
processed materials
Properties
The gas state
Gases; air; effects from observation
Indirect Observation by Celia Berrell
There are things our eyes
simply cannot view.
We know they exist
from what they can do.
We can’t see the air
in our atmosphere.
A mixture of gas
invisibly clear.
If air wasn’t there
we couldn’t breathe in.
A flag wouldn’t flap
as there’d be no wind.
You couldn’t blow bubbles
through straws in a drink.
Our nose couldn’t sniff-out
the things that stink.
Balloons wouldn’t bulge.
A tyre would be flat.
A bird couldn’t fly
nor insect or bat.
Open a fridge and
cool air rushes out.
It touches your feet
as it falls about.
A fan wouldn’t cool
on a summer’s day.
A musical flute wouldn’t
toot when played.
When scientists test
the things they can’t see
we say they observe them
in-direct-ly.
2009 - 2012
18
Light Years
Earth and beyond
Stars
Measuring distances in
space
Speed of light; distance; time
Light Years by Celia Berrell
Our telescopes can search the skies
beyond the Sun and Milky Way.
For bright young stars and galaxies
although they’re really far away.
We estimate their distances
comparing them with other stars.
And measuring their brightness which
can indicate how far they are.
But if we were to calculate
their distance in kilometres
we’d end up seeing page and page
of zeros like a jumbled mess.
And so the Light Year came about.
To make the numbers easier.
A formula of speed and time
that’s hidden those kilometres.
The speed of light when measured in
kilometres per second is
three hundred thousand (near enough)
according to our reckoning.
The time it takes the Earth to go
around our planet’s solar Sun
is called a year. In days we know
three hundred sixty-five of them.
And that’s not far at all compared
with light we see from distant stars.
Those rays have taken millions
of years to get to where we are.
It only takes eight minutes for
a light ray from the Sun to hurl
one hundred fifty million
kilometres to reach our world.
A Light Year in kilometres
is ten million million.
This measurement of distance is
so utterly gargantuan!
2009 - 2012
19
Moonbeams
Energy and change
Reflection of light
Moon; Sun; reflection
Light
Moonbeams by Celia Berrell
The Sun is a star
that is burning bright.
Like a furnace
that’s giving off heat and light.
Like a beacon
emitting sunshine rays.
Like a torch in the sky
changing nights to days.
The Moon is a sphere
made of silent rock.
That orbits the Earth
like a cold round block.
No furnace or beacon.
No torch to run.
Those moonbeams have come
from the headlight Sun.
The Moon doesn’t shine!
It reflects instead.
Like cat’s-eyes at night
on the road ahead.
Like the glint of the Sun
on a tranquil lake.
Like your sparkling eyes
when a smile you make.
2009 - 2012
20
Mountain Cry
Earth and beyond
Earth
Rocks
Earth’s crust; mountains; rock words
and sizes
Mountain Cry by Celia Berrell
The crusty Earth is made from slabs
of rock that fit together.
And over time they’ve bumped and burped
up mountains with no bother.
The mountains form the biggest bits
of rock that we can see.
But underneath the plants and soil
more rocks are guaranteed.
A broken piece of mountain could
be called a boulder-block.
Like wonky giant marbles they’re
large chunks of crusty rock.
When broken even smaller we
can say it’s just a stone.
Hand-held with jagged edges it
can easily be thrown.
When rubbed and polished shiny smooth
we name it as a pebble.
And little stones are often known
in groups as gritty gravel.
There’s tiny specks of rock in dust
that waft in air and sky.
So if you got some in your eye
a mountain you would cry!
2009 - 2012
21
Ode To The Loam
Life and living
Plants
Plant systems
Soil properties; eco-systems
Ode To The Loam by Celia Berrell
If I was a seed
I’d hate to land
in soil that’s made
of mostly sand.
Too arid for me
as any rain
those chunky grains
would quickly drain.
Although plenty air
would be around
few microbes there
don’t make rich ground.
If I was a seed
I’d hate to lay
on soil that’s made
of mostly clay.
Too soggy for me
those grains so fine
can make the soil
too alkaline.
If I was a seed
I’d like a bed
of soft moist dirt
that’s loam instead.
And when it’s dry
then everything sticks
together like some
kiln-baked bricks!
A mixture of sand
and silt and clay.
Where worms and microbes
play all day.
2009 - 2012
22
Picking Flowers
Life and living
Plants
Plant systems: reproduction
Fertilisation; seeds; life-cycle
Picking Flowers by Celia Berrell
So many plants grow pretty flowers
but not for us to pick.
They want to make more plants like them.
And flowers do the trick.
Within the beauty of each flower
lie all the tools they need.
To reproduce themselves again
by forming baby seeds.
The petals make a landing-pad
for flying bugs and bees.
And deep inside sweet nectar lies
to tempt them with a feed.
The stamens holding pollen-beads
stand-out to welcome guests.
And shower all the visitors
in sticky pollen dust.
And when she gets a perfect match
of egg and pollen type
the pollen fertilises eggs.
And seeds grow ‘til they’re ripe.
Those insects visit other flowers
and push their way within.
They carelessly drop pollen on
the stigma further in.
When those seeds are fully formed
they leave to try their fate.
Some lucky ones will reach a place
where they can germinate.
The stigma is a female part
of plant anatomies.
Positioned on the pistil which
contains the ovaries.
Those germinating seeds will grow
and turn out just the same
as copies of the parent plant
from which those babies came.
And this is where the seeds will grow.
It’s like a nursery.
So patiently the stigma waits
for bug’s delivery!
And when they’ve all grown big enough
that life-cycle repeats.
Unless we picked too many flowers …
and then there’ll be no seeds.
2009 - 2012
23
Scary Shadows
Energy and change
Light
Light
Shadows; sunlight; artificial light
Scary Shadows by Celia Berrell
My shadow on a sunny day
when standing clear of any tree
starts at my feet and makes a shape
of black that looks a bit like me.
But when it’s dark a table-lamp
will cast a shadow on the wall.
And down the hall the shape it forms
will hardly look like me at all.
The shadow from a light close-by
creates a kind of monster shape.
That slithers round the walls and doors
like vampires in their long black capes.
When lights are dim the shapes look weird.
We conjure-up all kinds of gloom.
There are no monsters, vampires, ghosts.
It’s just the shadows in the room.
2009 - 2012
24
Shifting A Box
Energy and change
Friction
Friction; movement
Forces
Shifting A Box by Celia Berrell
I want to move a heavy box
across a wooden floor.
Its mass is much too large for me
to carry to the door.
Pushing it is difficult.
It doesn’t want to slide.
The friction where that box meets floor
won’t let it simply glide.
Friction is resistance where
two objects come in touch.
A force that works against the
main direction of my push.
And so I get a carpet mat
to give my moves a boost.
When placed between the box and floor
that friction is reduced.
Now I pull that box along
in jerky little shifts.
And don’t get into trouble as
the floor’s not scratched to bits!
2009 - 2012
25
Sleepy Head
Life and living
Human body
Support and movement
systems
Skull; jaw; muscles: movement
Sleepy Head by Celia Berrell
Skull-bones help to shape a face
and keep the eyes and brain in place.
With the jaw-bone underneath
it makes a home for all those teeth.
Muscles join the skull and jaw
and hinge-it like a dark trap-door.
When those muscles bunch-up tight
that head will have an awesome bite.
Should those muscles go all slack
the mouth becomes an open sack.
If the lips are not held closed
that head might dribble while it dozed.
2009 - 2012
26
Springing To Action
Energy and change
Forces
Springs; flexibility; energy
Springing To Action by Celia Berrell
Sprr-r-r-ring is such and active word.
You can hear it gathering-up its force.
Ready to burst out a kind of ping.
Releasing its energy on a course.
It’s the name we give to the season when
all living things gear-up to abound.
We use it to label a water source
that’s pushing its way through the spongy ground.
It’s also the name we give a device
that bends and moves but will not crack.
It’s often metallic and flexible.
If it’s pushed or pulled it does the same back.
A spring isn’t always a coiled-up wire.
It could be a curve or a V-shaped bend.
Like a bow that shoots arrows through the air.
Or a pair of tweezers with open ends.
A spring can be made from a plastic mould.
A blister, a mound or a curvy dome.
They’re hidden in keyboards for typing things.
Or used on the pad of a mobile phone.
A pen you can click. A used paperclip.
A clock that goes tick. A peg that can grip.
A doorknob that twists. A bike-bell that rings.
It’s likely they’ve all got some kind of sprr-r-r-ring!
2009 - 2012
27
Squiggle And Bump
Energy and change
Light
Spectrum; colour; sky
Light
Squiggle And Bump by Celia Berrell
Within the spectrum of visible light
the colours all have their own unique strides.
When angled through water a rainbow appears.
When flying together they come out as whites.
Imagine a man with very long legs.
Only six steps to get from here to there.
Red has the longest wavelength of light.
His frequency’s low and his energy’s spare.
Imagine a child with very short legs.
She takes sixty steps to do the same trip.
Violet’s shortest, compared to Red.
Her frequency’s high and her energy’s hip.
Red Orange Yellow are all pretty long.
And happily stride through our atmosphere.
But little-legs Blue through to Violet
bump into the molecules in the air.
These molecules hug them, just hastily.
Then send them away on some different course.
They criss-cross the gases within our air.
Getting hugged and bumped with gentle force.
So when you look into the daytime sky
you’ll see the short wavelengths criss-crossing by.
Since longer-legged colours have all got through
the sky will appear as a beautiful blue.
2009 - 2012
28
Starch Marbles
Energy and change
Gravity
Plants detect gravity
Forces
Starch Marbles by Celia Berrell
I’ve got a jam-jar water-filled
right to the very top.
Before it’s sealed up with a lid
five marbles in I drop.
They landed on the bottom as
we knew they always did.
And when the jar’s turned upside-down
They settled on the lid.
I wondered how a little seed
when planted in the ground
would know to grow its roots and shoots
the proper way around.
When planted in the moist dark soil
it couldn’t see the light.
And getting the direction wrong
could cost its little life!
Its cells are like my jam-jar
holding little grains of starch.
Sinking to the lowest point
by gravity they march.
Although that seed’s no eyes to see
which way is up or down
it works it out by gravity
and not by blue or brown!
(the sky is blue and the earth is brown)
2009 - 2012
29
The Air
Energy and change
Forces
Earth; air; storms; light distortions;
gravity
The Air by Celia Berrell
A cloak of gas surrounds the Earth.
But sometimes we forget it’s there.
We suck it in with every breath.
It’s vital to our life – the air.
At times the air can be so still.
An eerie silence closes in.
And living things may hesitate
as though to hear a dropping pin.
And when the weather’s very hot
the air will help to cool our skin.
Evaporating liquid sweat
can make us chilly in the wind.
But air can have an awesome force
when swirling fast around the globe.
As hurricanes and raging storms
this cloak becomes a wrathful robe.
But when it moves with gentle ease
we feel enlivened by its breeze.
That deftly strokes our tactile skin
and whispers songs within the trees.
So what prevents that cloak of gas
from flying off in outer space?
The answer is Earth’s gravity
that pulls to keep its clothes in place!
Upon the air invisible
to almost every naked eye
a myriad of things are held
suspended in our air-filled sky.
There’s pollen which can make us sneeze.
Pollutants, dust to cough and wheeze.
There’s bugs and germs that cause disease
as well a perfumes there to please.
It carries sound, distorts the light
so sunsets shine with reds so bright.
And in the dark those pin-prick stars
will flicker due to air’s thick layers.
2009 - 2012
30
The Doof-Doof Car
Energy and change
Sound energy
Vibration; bass notes
Sound
The Doof-Doof Car by Celia Berrell
My sister’s got a boyfriend
with a special kind of car.
We know when he is coming
by the Doof-Doof from afar.
He parks outside our wooden house
and swings the car-door wide.
So all the neighbours get to hear
loud music from inside.
But when the car-door closes up
you can’t hear tunes and songs.
It’s just the lower bass notes that
vibrate the whole street long.
The ornaments upon the shelf
inside our house join in.
And start to jump in rhythm with
that Doof-Doof Doof-Doof din.
‚Turn that Doof-Doof music off!‛
My Dad will call to Steve.
And when he does, the people in
our street are all relieved.
2009 - 2012
31
The Octopus Riddle
Life and living
Animals
Habitats and environments
Characteristics; adaptations
The Octopus Riddle by Celia Berrell
Will I find an octopus
if in a tree I start to seek?
It has no wings, but I’ve been told
it’s got a parrot’s horny beak.
if I should dig within the soil?
It has no legs, but I’ve been told
it’s got eight arms that stretch and coil.
if I look in a flower-bed?
It doesn’t have a skeleton
and has a very squishy head.
Might I find an octopus
if I could swim a lake so still?
It lays its eggs in water but
it has no lungs and breathes with gills.
It’s not a bird, worm, slug or frog.
These animals it never meets.
To find out where it likes to live
it helps to know just what it eats.
An octopus can squeeze in cracks
and use its arms most cleverly
to open salty shellfish … so
its habitat is in the sea.
2009 - 2012
32
Timmy’s Mouth
Life and living
Human Body
Needs of living things
Caring for human young; hazards;
safety
Timmy’s Mouth by Celia Berrell
My little brother Timmy’s learnt
to crawl around the house.
Forever grabbing yucky things
he sticks them in his mouth.
The other day I found him with
a cockroach on his chin.
While sucking on the corner of
an open safety-pin.
We’ve had to lock the cupboard doors
to stop him getting in.
So many things go in his mouth.
It can’t be good for him.
I handed him a lemon slice
and watched him squirm in pain.
He spat it out, then picked it up
and did it all again.
Outside you’ll find him sucking on
some dirt and tiny rocks.
I think it would be safer if
we kept him in a box!
2009 - 2012
33
Trickling Through Time
Earth and beyond
Earth
Erosion
Mountains; erosion; water
Trickling Through Time by Celia Berrell
I am a stream that wanders down
a mountainside of rock.
Collecting stones and pebbles that
can chip and bounce and knock.
And over many many years
the river-bed I ride
erodes from grit and rocky stones
that tumble at my side.
And as I grow from stream to
raging river white with foam.
I pound my banks with boulders down
to tiniest of stones.
And so my bed is ground and gouged
through time and destiny.
Although I’m only water
I’ll move mountains to the sea.
2009 - 2012
34
Warm And Fluffy
Energy and change
Heating and
cooling
Heating
Insulators; conductors; animals
getting wet
Warm And Fluffy by Celia Berrell
The animals have hairy fur.
The birds have got their feathers.
These keep their bodies warm enough
throughout the chilly weather.
The fibres in those fluffy coats
criss-cross to form some air-holes
that can’t escape or waft away
because of all the hair-folds.
Their skin gives off some body-warmth.
Just like a radiator.
Their fluffy coats help keep that heat
as thermal insulators.
The warm air’s trapped inside the fur
to shield them from the outside.
The way that blankets on a bed
are cosy on the inside.
The soggy fur clings to their skin.
No longer insulated.
And water makes their body cold
as it’s evaporated.
But if that fluffy coat gets wet
those air-holes fill with water.
Their body’s warmth escapes as that
wet coat’s a heat conductor.
Any fluffy animal will
shake that water well away.
So if your puppy’s had a swim ...
Watch-out for all that water spray!
2009 - 2012
35
Water Droplets
Natural and
processed materials
Substances: structure
properties and uses
Liquids; water
Properties
Water Droplets by Celia Berrell
Where liquid water meets the air
it has a surface tension.
An outer layer of molecules
that all have strong attraction.
Water droplets round in shape
like beads will often form.
Hanging on a cobweb’s threads
like jewels in the dawn.
And on a pond small insects simply
walk along its top.
Their tiny feet don’t break that layer.
Along the top they hop.
A raindrop on a window-pane
will slide towards the ground.
As water is a fluid that
can easily move round.
It leaves behind a trailing tail
as it goes trickling past.
Because that surface tension makes
it stick upon the glass.
I like to pick out two big drops
and guess their moving pace
to see which one will trickle first
and win the window race.
2009 - 2012
36
You Are Not Alone
Life and living
Animals
Factors affecting survival
Microbes; germs; interdependence
You Are Not Alone by Celia Berrell
We’ve all got a bunch of tiny friends
on whose existence our life depends.
They can’t be seen with the naked eye
but microscopes show us where they lie.
For every cell of our human form
we harbour ten of these friends or more.
These microbes reside in our mouth and skin
as well as our gut and places within.
They live up our nose and in our ears.
There’s probably thousands in our tears.
We’re washing some off our hair and skin
but those that stay multiply again!
There’s very few places where friends don’t dwell
(like blood and brain and kidneys as well)
and most of them have a role to play
in keeping the baddie germs away.
2009 - 2012
37
Poems originally created by Celia Berrell 2009
2012: Through the Regional Arts and Development Fund (which is a
Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Cairns Regional
Council partnership to support local arts and culture), Science Educator Dr
Clifford Jackson from James Cook University Cairns Qld has vetted all the
poems in this collection for their scientific accuracy and educational merit.
Poetry content © Celia Berrell
Illustrations © Amy Sheehan
Agreement:
As the purchaser / holder of this file, you may make print / photocopies of this
resource for personal use including classes at your elected school.
Please do not distribute / email this file to other schools or personnel.
Thank you for abiding by this agreement.
Distribution of this file is through:
Celia Berrell’s Science Rhymes
PO Box 220, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006, Australia
Your feedback and enquiries are appreciated
Email: [email protected]
2009 - 2012
38

SLIGHTLY SCIENTIFIC VOL 1 from Celia Berrell`s Science Rhymes

Transcription

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