Educational Blogs for Students and Teachers

Food Chain Poems

3/26/2016

Stephen Swinburne

Lifelong Naturalist

When I take a big bite into a hamburger, I am taking part in a food chain. When energy moves from one living organism (hamburger) to the next (me), scientists call this path or chain the Food Chain. Every living thing needs food. Food provides energy for plants and animals to live.

            Food chains begin with plants using sunlight, water and nutrients to make energy in a process called photosynthesis. There are lots of different kinds of food chains— some simple, some complex. An example of a simple food chain is when a rabbit eats grass and then a fox eats the rabbit. I think food chains are so interesting, I’ve written some poems about them.

A Shark is the Sun

Shark eats tuna,
Tuna eats mackerel,
Mackerel eats sardine,
Sardine eats zooplankton,
Zooplankton eats phytoplankton,
Phytoplankton eats sun.
So...shark eats sun.

            In every food chain there are producers, consumers and decomposers. Plants make their own food so they are producers. Animals are consumers because they consume plants or animals. Decomposers have the final say as they break down and decompose plants or animals and release nutrients back to the earth. Animals can be herbivores (plant eater), carnivores (meat eater) or omnivores (plant and meat eater). What are you?

Why Can’t I Be On The Top?

I don’t like the bottom,
I want to be at the top.
I’m tired of being crushed and stomped
and chewed into slop.
Why can’t I be the tiger
with claws as sharp as shears,
With a roar as loud as thunder
To threaten trembling ears?
Who designed this food chain?
Is there a chance I can opt out?
At least I’m not a plankton
Floating all about.

   I hope you are happy with your place in the food chain. If not, you might want to sing along with the Food Chain Blues.

Food Chain Blues

Mama said be careful,
It’s a risky world outside,
Dangers lurking everywhere,
Hardly a place to hide.
She said some of us get eaten,
And some of us survive.
Count yourself quite lucky,
If you make it out alive.
We’re stuck in this cruel cycle,
Nature’s red teeth and claws.
You wanna do your best,
To stay clear of someone’s jaws.
I got the food chain blues
I got the food chain blues
Someone’s gonna eat me.
I got the food chain blues!

This is a simple version of the food chain, which can also be called a "web" especially for organisms that are omnivore

Omnivorous author and his wife, Heather.

For more of Steve's poems about creatures check out Ocean Soup. It even has its own web page here.

Steve Swinburne is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through Field Trip Zoom, a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam. Click here to find out more.
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In our next Minute, Jim Whiting is going to tell you about a rookie whose pitch was clocked at 170 miles an hour. But before you share this startling information with your friends, we suggest you check tomorrow's date.

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In Praise of Vultures

11/7/2015

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Stephen R. Swinburne

Lifelong naturalist

I really like vultures. Sure, they’re ugly and they eat nasty dead things. But those are not necessarily bad characteristics.

First let’s deal with “ugly.” Vultures’ bald heads are what make them seem ugly to most people. But think about why they’re bald. Imagine thrusting your head inside the carcass of a white-tailed deer to reach the meat. A feathered head might capture bits of flesh, blood and gore and you end up with a face full bacteria and flies. Scientists believe that one reason vultures have evolved featherless heads is to aid in hygiene. A bald head stays clean and any remaining germs or bacteria are baked off by the sun. Vultures have also found that a bald head can help with temperature regulation. When it gets cold they can tuck their heads down to keep their neck covered with feathers. When it’s hot, vultures can extend their neck to expose bare skin. Their bald heads work so well that I wrote a poem about them.

Naked Head

It’s best to have no feathers,

When you stick your head in guts,

That way you don’t go walkin’ round,

Your noggin dripping schmutz.

Moving on to “eating nasty dead things,” the next time you see vultures eating a dead animal on the side of the road, be thankful! That carcass might be dead from rabies or contaminated with other harmful diseases. Vultures have the amazing ability to consume rotting and diseased flesh and stay healthy. It’s all in the stomach. Vultures possess very powerful stomach acids that destroy most bacteria and deadly viruses. In fact, vulture stomach acid is so strong it can dissolve metal! Except if that metal is lead shot -- many turkey vultures are killed every year by consuming shot that they encounter in dead deer. Vultures are the world’s natural “sanitation workers,” helping to stop the spread of disease.

I’m so appreciative of the work they do, I even wrote a poem about eating dead things:

Dead Meat

I like my meat dead,

It’s best if it’s not moving.

Don’t want to see one final twitch,

I prefer it oozing

So, the next time you see a vulture circling in the noonday sky, think about the valuable and important clean up service this bird provides to us and to the environment. Maybe I’ll write a poem about that….

Two magnificent specimens: at right, a turkey vulture showing off his bald head and ,above, an even balder American black vulture. Wikimedia Commons

My friends the black vultures didn't kill this deer. They are just going to be cleaning up the carcass. Wikipedia commons. Photo by Nathaniel Paluga.

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Steve Swinburne is a science writer, but as you can see from this Minute, he likes to write poetry too. In his book Ocean Soup, he offers verses in the voices of tide-pool animals, including the barnacle, sea urchin, sculpin, mussel, starfish, hermit crab, anemone, and lobster. For more about Steve's poetry, click here.

Steve Swinburne is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through FieldTripZoom, a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam. Click here to find out more.
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Poor Lonesome George was the very last of his giant tortoise species. When Dorothy Hinsghaw Patent tells you about him tomorrow, you'll feel sad for George, but you'll also feel sad for people.

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Odes to Halloween

10/24/2015

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Stephen R. Swinburne

Lifelong naturalist

The ghosts are gathering! The witches are cackling! And the wind carries the wail of wolves.
          It’s that time of year again when ancient people marked the end of the harvest season and the start of winter. November 1st became, known as “All Hallows’ Day” because it was the day to honor “hallowed” (saintly people). The night or day before—October 31—was declared Allhallowe’en, short for “evening before All Hallows’ Day.” This was eventually shortened to our familiar Halloween.
     Why do children dress up as scary creatures, such as ghosts, vampires, and skeletons? Centuries ago, people believed that the spirits of the dead roamed the earth on All Hallows’ Eve. They were convinced if they dressed in frightening costumes, they would scare away the evil spirits.
          The goblins and ghosts that arrive at my door each year don’t frighten me, but they have inspired me to write some verses.

Where Did You Go?
You are so pale.
You look a fright!
And why are you
Dressed all in white?

Is that a sheet
You seem to wear?
And you have lost
All of your hair!

Your friendly face
Is not even there.
Your mouth and nose
Have gone somewhere

Why do you look
So very weird?
Oh my goodness!
You’ve disappeared!

What To Be For Halloween?
Let’s dress up for Halloween!
I’ll be king; you’ll be queen.
But we don’t have jewels or fancy crowns!
Never mind, we’ll just be clowns.

I want to be a super guy
One who’s so strong he can fly
Then again, I’m weaker than most.
So guess I’ll dress up as a ghost.

You could be Amelia Earhart
Wear a scarf, and look very smart.
How about Michelle Obama?
Or dress up as the Dalai Lama?

Why is it so hard to pick
A costume that does the trick?
Let’s leave the costumes on the shelves,
And dress up just to be ourselves.

One Halloween Night
One cruel and cold Halloween night,
I locked the door, turned off the light.
Feeling snug and safe inside my home,
From goblins, ghouls, things that roam.
Stirring from the deepest sleep,
I heard a soft unearthly creep.
Half awake, half in a dream,
My blood froze; I tried to scream.
I yanked open the closet door,
Expecting evil and bloody gore.
There sat my cat...
Who
Likes
To
Snore.

At Halloween, yards, public spaces, and some houses may be decorated with traditionally macabre symbols including witches, skeletons, ghosts, cobwebs, and headstones. Courtesy Anthony22 at en.wikipedia

Mummies are thought to wander at will and ghosts show up in the strangest places on All Hallows' Eve. Above: Image courtesy of holohololand at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Right Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Right image courtesy of Apolonia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Stephen Swinburne writes poems about all sorts of things.
The playful poems in his Ocean Soup introduce readers to ten salty tide-pool creatures--from a self-satisfied anemone that brags about its home to barnacles that perform a rap about their feeding technique. If you would like to hear more about Stephen's books, click here to visit his website.
Steve is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through Field Trip Zoom, a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam. Click here to find out more.
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Halloween will soon be over, but some yucky things will still go on. David Schwartz will clue you in tomorrow.

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September 11, 2001

9/2/2015

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Vicki Cobb

the "Julia Child" of kids' hands-on science

A cowardly bully came out
of his cave today to
trespass on our shining city.
Out of the blue
he had the nerve
to punch out its
two front teeth.
The pain is excruciating;
Bleeding is everywhere.
The remaining stumps are
grotesque.
We've lost our pretty smile.
We can't bite a big apple.
It's hard to look at mutilation.

Dazed, we check for damage.
Although choking on thick air,
we are very much alive.
Our heartbeat is strong.
There is no drop in our vital signs.
Blood rushes in to replace
blood lost.
Slowly we discover
we can still chew
and make a fist and
think.

Oh yes, we'll make sure
this "holy" terror
can never return
to our playground
or our friends.'
But how?
How do we shadow box
a villain who doesn't
play by the rules?
We see evidence
of our noble,
generous,
and loving spirit.
Yet hate destroys
within as well as without.

Here then is our challenge:
We must keep this wound
from festering
becoming toxic to ourselves.
We must imagine the unimaginable
to thwart evil
before it comes back for more.
We must seek justice,
not vengeance to
preserve our soul.
We must trust our leaders
who see more
than this one tormenter.
We must be brave
and patient
and faithful.

As good as we believe
ourselves to be,
we must become better.

Scar tissue is stronger
than unscarred.

Text copyright © 2001 by Vicki Cobb

Here I am in 2014 on the 43rd floor terrace in lower Manhattan. The brand-new Freedom Tower, on the site of the Twin Towers lost on 9/11, soars behind me. It is 1776 feet tall,

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Vicki Cobb is known for her playful science experiments, but she also writes poetry. She says that you don’t know if you can write poetry unless you try. She discovered her love of writing poetry when she was in sixth grade.

Vicki Cobb is a member of iNK's Authors on Call and is available for classroom programs through Field Trip Zoom, a terrific technology that requires only a computer, wifi, and a webcam. Click here to find out more.

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Next week we have posts by Jim Whiting, Cheryl Harness, Vicki Cobb, Jan Adkins and Andrea Warren.

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Food Chain Poems

In Praise of Vultures

Odes to Halloween

September 11, 2001

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