Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night
by Joyce Sidman
2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Take an adventure through the night, in the form of poetry. Read the beautiful poetic story Joyce Sidman creates all while including more information on each animal and concept described in the book.
Magnificent Stunning Illustrative Elegant
"From the opening poem, "To all of you who crawl and creep, / who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep, / who wake at dusk and throw off sleep: / Welcome to the night," Sidman celebrates the world that comes alive after dark."
-Horn Book
-Horn Book
Awards & Honors:
- Newbery Honor Book
- Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book
- Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor Book
- Cybils Poetry Award Finalist
- NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts
Helpful Information:
Grade Level- 3-5
Age Range- 8-11
Lexile- 1020
Suggested Delivery- Whole class or small group read
Genre- Poetry
Age Range- 8-11
Lexile- 1020
Suggested Delivery- Whole class or small group read
Genre- Poetry
Vocabulary:
Camouflage- coloring or body parts that help animals and plants blend into the background and hide.
Migrate- In birds, to move from one region to another in order to raise young more successfully.
Nocturnal- active at night.
Orbit- to travel around a larger planet or star in a circular path.
Predator- an animal that hunts other animals for food.
Wane- to grow smaller.
Wax- to grow larger.
Migrate- In birds, to move from one region to another in order to raise young more successfully.
Nocturnal- active at night.
Orbit- to travel around a larger planet or star in a circular path.
Predator- an animal that hunts other animals for food.
Wane- to grow smaller.
Wax- to grow larger.
Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading Strategies:
Direct students in a Think-Aloud about with the question, "There are all sorts of creatures that thrive in the dark. What animals do? Why? How?" Advise students that this is brainstorming activity, so they will be visiting this question again after reading Dark Emperor. You can also show student the book trailer for the book.
During Reading Strategies:
Have students keep a chart to write down the different animals that are introduced in the text and write characteristics given for these animals and facts they can take from the text about the different animals.
After Reading Strategies:
Popcorn Review
Have Students do a pop-corning activity about night creatures. This will tie back into the before reading strategy the students completed and help them to synthesize the information the gained from the book and recall it.
Have Students do a pop-corning activity about night creatures. This will tie back into the before reading strategy the students completed and help them to synthesize the information the gained from the book and recall it.
Writing Activity:
After reading a collection of poems have students write their own poem that is an extension of the Dark Emperor. Students can do more research on the different animals listed in the book and write a poem about including some of the new facts that they found.
Resources:
- Joyce Sidman's site includes a book trailer of the Dark Emperor and a Reader's Guide.
- Teaching Books provides many extensions and lessons for the novel.