slightly scientific vol 1 from celia berrell’s science rhymes · slightly scientific vol 1 from...

SLIGHTLY SCIENTIFIC VOL 1 from

Celia Berrell’s Science Rhymes

Imparting science knowledge through rhyming verse

SLIGHTLY SCIENTIFIC VOL 1

2009 - 2012 www.sciencerhymes.com.au 1

TABLES OF CONTENT

(see page 3 for index of poem titles)

EARTH AND BEYOND

Poem Title Concepts/Words Category Topic Pg# Beyond The Horizon Earth: flat; round; horizon

The structure of the Earth Earth 10

Igneous Hot-Rock Earth structure; rocks; volcanoes Igneous rocks Earth 17

Mountain Cry Earth’s crust; mountains; rock words and sizes Rocks Earth 21

Trickling Through Time Mountains; erosion; water Erosion Earth 34

Light Years Light; speed; universe; distance

Measuring distances in space Stars 19

ENERGY AND CHANGE

Poem Title Concepts/Words Category Topic Pg#

Aurora Borealis Earth; solar wind; Magnetosphere Magnetic fields Forces 07

Battle Of The Bulge

Earth; Moon; gravity; friction; tides Gravity Forces 09

Dipsy Divers Pressure; air; water; equalisation Air pressure Forces 13

Shifting A Box Friction; movement Friction Forces 25 Springing To Action Springs; flexibility; energy Forces and their effects Forces 27

Starch Marbles Plants detect gravity Gravity Forces 29

The Air Earth; air; storms; light distortion; gravity Forces and their effects Forces 30

Absolute Zero Solids; liquids; gases; atoms Temperature Heating & Cooling 06

Warm And Fluffy Insulators; conductors; animals Heating

Heating & Cooling 35

Moonbeams Moon; Sun; reflection Reflection of light Light 20

Scary Shadows Sunlight; artificial light; shadows Light Light 24

Squiggle And Bump Spectrum; colour; sky Light Light 28

Howling Sirens Pitch; volume; frequency Sound Sound 15 The Doof-Doof Car Vibrations; bass notes Sound Sound 31



LIFE AND LIVING


A Food Chain Food-chain; phyto-plankton; photosynthesis

Eat and be eaten; feeding relationships Animals 04

The Octopus Riddle

Adaptations; characteristics

Habitats and environments Animals 32

You Are Not Alone

Microbes; germs; interdependence

Factors affecting survival; Biotic Animals 37

A Funny Exercise Human health; heart; blood; lungs Circulatory system

Human Body 05

Bad Apples Sound, touch, smell, sight; enquiry Human senses

Human Body 08

Growing Teeth Human health; teeth; animal comparisons Digestive system

Human Body 14

Sleepy Head Skull; jaw; muscles; movement

Support and movement systems

Human Body 26

Timmy’s Mouth Caring for human young; hazards; safety Needs of living things

Human Body 33

Buried Treasure Seed dispersal by animals; food Plant systems Plants 11

Ode To The Loam

Soil properties; benefits and detriments; ecosystems Plant systems Plants 22

Picking Flowers Fertilisation; seeds; life-cycles

Plant systems: reproduction and flowering plants Plants 23

NATURAL AND PROCESSED MATERIALS


Candle Wax Melting; solidifying; fuel Changes in state Properties 12

Ice Floats Water; solid; liquid The three states of water Properties 16

Indirect Observation

Air; effects from observation The gas state Properties 18

Water Droplets Liquids; water Substances: structure properties and uses Properties 36



INDEX OF POEM TITLES

A Food Chain page 04 A Funny Exercise page 05 Absolute Zero page 06 Aurora Borealis page 07 Bad Apples page 08 Battle Of The Bulge page 09 Beyond The Horizon page 10 Buried Treasure page 11 Candle Wax page 12 Dipsy Divers page 13 Growing Teeth page 14 Howling Sirens page 15 Ice Floats page 16 Igneous Hot-Rock page 17 Indirect Observation page 18 Light Years page 19 Moonbeams page 20 Mountain Cry page 21 Ode To The Loam page 22 Picking Flowers page 23 Scary Shadows page 24 Shifting A Box page 25 Sleepy Head page 26 Springing To Action page 27 Squiggle And Bump page 28 Starch Marbles page 29 The Air page 30 The Doof-Doof Car page 31 The Octopus Riddle page 32 Timmy’s Mouth page 33 Trickling Through Time page 34 Warm And Fluffy page 35 Water Droplets page 36 You Are Not Alone page 37



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.



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!



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. And when it’s hot they leap about like maniacs with jazz. Escaping from their dance-floor as they change into a gas. The winter in New Zealand can be beautiful with snow. A solid state of water which is icy H2O. And as the sunshine heats it up its molecules go hip. And melt into a liquid that’s in puddles, pools and drips. Now pour some water in a pan and heat it on a stove. You’ll see the bubbles forming then escaping in their droves. 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.

When solids change to liquid form it’s called their melting-point. That temperature is different for different elements. Hot volcano temperatures can melt Earth’s crusty rock. While Nitrogen on Triton’s only found as gas or frost. Elements and compounds can exist in different phases. Solid, liquid or as gas. It varies as heat changes. And out in space those temperatures can really be extreme. From freezing void to hottest sun and all that’s in between. But even in our universe the coolest it can go is measured as one Kelvin. Never Absolute Zero. This name describes the temperature where atoms fail to move. If Thermo turned their music off - they couldn’t even groove!



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. Our Earth acts like a magnet with its northern and its southern poles. While out in space, magnetic fields provide for us protective roles. Our Sun, emitting energy of plasma, called the Solar Wind is radiating particles. But here on Earth so few get in. Protected quite invisibly two hundred thousand k’s from here the Earth has formed a barrier. We call it the Magnetosphere.

But at the poles are corridors where plasma sometimes reaches us. It energises molecules of air that makes them luminous. Reacting with the oxygen the plasma flashes green and red. While molecules of nitrogen cause violet to flash instead. 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!



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.

And when we breathe out maybe sing or just shout we squash up our lungs so the air rushes out.

But if you should ever dive into the sea the pressure below will increase. Believe me!

Ten metres of water is heavy enough to double the pressure exerted on us.

Since most of our body has water in cells they don’t really notice. They won’t shrink or swell.

But where there is air like our ears, gut and lungs their spaces are squashed. Shrinking melons to plums.

Our ear-drums get stretched as the sea pushes in. Try swallowing first so the water won’t win.

You’re aiming to have your ears equalised by making the middle-ear air-pressure rise.

Try pinching your nose while your mouth is closed tight. Then blow – not too hard! And then listen a mite.

The squelches and pops that you’re hoping to hear confirm pressured air’s reached your middle-ear.

And that is good news. Now your ear-drums aren’t curved. And lucky for you they should no longer burst.

Since no Dipsy Diver will want to get sick they frequently practice this Valsalva trick.



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!



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!



Ice Floats Natural and processed materials

Properties

The three states of water Water; solid; liquid

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. Imagine how our world would be if solid-water sank. The Sun could hardly melt it which would be a deadly prank. As years went by the ice would fill the oceans to the top. And life as we all know it would eventually stop.

Ice-cubes in a drink would sink and only cool the bottom. Snowflakes might not form at all! A thought that’s really rotten. We owe our life in part to water’s scientific token. That rare occasions will exist where rules are better broken!



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.



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. A fan wouldn’t cool on a summer’s day. A musical flute wouldn’t toot when played.

Open a fridge and cool air rushes out. It touches your feet as it falls about. When scientists test the things they can’t see we say they observe them in-direct-ly.



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. It only takes eight minutes for a light ray from the Sun to hurl one hundred fifty million kilometres to reach our world.

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. A Light Year in kilometres is ten million million. This measurement of distance is so utterly gargantuan!



Moonbeams Energy and change Light

Reflection of light Moon; Sun; reflection

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.



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!



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. And when it’s dry then everything sticks together like some kiln-baked bricks!

If I was a seed I’d like a bed of soft moist dirt that’s loam instead. A mixture of sand and silt and clay. Where worms and microbes play all day.



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. Those insects visit other flowers and push their way within. They carelessly drop pollen on the stigma further in. The stigma is a female part of plant anatomies. Positioned on the pistil which contains the ovaries. And this is where the seeds will grow. It’s like a nursery. So patiently the stigma waits for bug’s delivery!

And when she gets a perfect match of egg and pollen type the pollen fertilises eggs. And seeds grow ‘til they’re ripe. When those seeds are fully formed they leave to try their fate. Some lucky ones will reach a place where they can germinate. Those germinating seeds will grow and turn out just the same as copies of the parent plant from which those babies came. 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.



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.



Shifting A Box Energy and change Forces

Friction Friction; movement

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!



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.



Springing To Action Energy and change Forces

Forces and their effects 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!



Squiggle And Bump Energy and change Light

Light Spectrum; colour; sky

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.



Starch Marbles Energy and change Forces

Gravity Plants detect gravity

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)



The Air Energy and change Forces

Forces and their effects 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 when it moves with gentle ease we feel enlivened by its breeze. That deftly strokes our tactile skin and whispers songs within the trees.

But air can have an awesome force when swirling fast around the globe. As hurricanes and raging storms this cloak becomes a wrathful robe. 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.



The Doof-Doof Car Energy and change Sound

Sound energy Vibration; bass notes

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.



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. Will I find an octopus

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. Will I find an octopus

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.



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!



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.



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. 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.

The soggy fur clings to their skin. No longer insulated. And water makes their body cold as it’s evaporated. Any fluffy animal will shake that water well away. So if your puppy’s had a swim ... Watch-out for all that water spray!



Water Droplets Natural and processed materials

Properties

Substances: structure properties and uses

Liquids; water

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.



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.



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 www.sciencerhymes.com.au PO Box 220, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006, Australia Your feedback and enquiries are appreciated Email: [email protected]

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