Illustrated by Rick Allen
About the Author: Joyce Sidman is the author of Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. The book was published in 2010 and honored as a Newbery Award Honor Book in 2011. Born on June 4, 1956, in Hartford, Connecticut, Sidman grew up with her parents and two sisters. She began writing at an early age and gives credit to her teachers for igniting her joy for writing. Sidman stated, that she was "Blessed with a top-notch education" that exposed her to all kinds of literature and "teachers who expected first-rate writing "out of her". She attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night is a picture book about poetry featuring the natural elements of the nighttime. This book was a Newbery Award winning book.
Summary: On the left side of the page displays the poem about night life and other nocturnal creatures. On the right side, displays a more in-depth description of the poem. The right side included more details and vocabulary descrining how night creatures use their senses to move through their world.
Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: Grade 5
Theme/Skill: Learning about poetry and having the students write down or say the words that rhyme. They can learn new vocabulary from the glossary in the back of the book. Students can also learn about efts and other creatures that roam around the woods during the nighttime.
Pre-Reading Activities: Before the students would begin reading the story, I would ask them what they know about poetry.
Post-Reading Activities: The students would be asked to write down a paragraph using at least three new vocabulary words from a poem in the book. They would read their paragraphs aloud to the class.
Assessment: Their presentations would be the assessment. They would also need to include the definitions of the vocabulary words used in their writing.
Reflection: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night would be an excellent book to use in the classroom. Students enjoy poetry and learning about creatures creeping through the dark woods. I enjoyed reading the poems aloud to my students. Each day, I chose a new poem to read and then I would ask them questions about the vocabulary, rhyming words, and other more in-depth questions about senses.
I also reviewed this book for my blog. I agree that it would be a great teaching tool to use in a classroom. I love your idea to have the students use the book for new vocabulary. I did not think of it in that way, but it is definitely something I would now include in my lessons with this book. Your ideas are great and helped me add to my ideas for this book. Thank you for sharing!
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