The following poems about the environment and the climate crisis are appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school readers.
lesson plans about the environment
“As a Portent” by David Baker
At least there was a …
“Kid, this is the first rain” by Jeffrey Bean
of November. It strips off the rest …
“Echolocation” by Sally Bliumis-Dunn
The whales can’t hear each other calling …
“Leave No Trace” by Maggie Dietz
No gate, no main entrance, no ticket, no ranger …
“Characteristics of Life” by Camille T. Dungy
Ask me if I speak for the snail and I will tell you …
“Landing Under Water, I See Roots” by Annie Finch
All the things we hide in water …
“Remember” by Joy Harjo
Remember the sky that you were born under …
“Speaking Tree” by Joy Harjo
Some things on this earth are unspeakable….
“Micro-minutes on Your Way to Work” by Brenda Hillman
Days are unusual. The owl sends …
“Song for the Turtles in the Gulf” by Linda Hogan
We had been together so very long …
“Well Water” by Randall Jarrell
What a girl called “the dailiness of life” …
“I Want to Save This Whale” by Lisa Olstein
The one right in front of me …
“Letter to Someone Living Fifty Years from Now” by Matthew Olzmann
Most likely, you think we hated the elephant …
“Some Effects of Global Warming in Lackawanna County” by Jay Parini
The maples sweat now, out of season …
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at Glacier (after Wallace Stevens)” by Craig Santos Perez
Among starving polar bears …
“Art Project: Earth” by Karen Skolfield
Balloon, then papier maché …
“Earth Your Dancing Place” by May Swenson
Beneath heaven’s vault …
“The Shapes of Leaves” by Arthur Sze
Ginkgo, cottonwood, pin oak, sweet gum, tulip tree …