GUEST BLOGGER LYDIA LUKIDIS
Educators are always looking for lessons that spark curiosity, strengthen literacy skills, and help students make natural connections across subjects. My book Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench is an ideal launchpad for cross-curricular learning because its lyrical language and scientific content show how poetry and STEM can illuminate each other. The following project-based-learning lesson invites students to think like both scientists and writers as they explore the ocean deep in the Earth’s deepest ocean trench.
Lesson overview: “Poetry of the Deep” (Grades 3–6)
Driving Question: How can we use poetic language to help readers imagine places they cannot see?
STEM Focus: Ocean zones, pressure, bioluminescence, adaptations
ELA Focus: Imagery, figurative language, sensory detail, word choice
Project Outcome: A class “Deep-Sea Poetry Gallery”
Build curiosity with science + wonder
Begin by reading a spread from Deep, Deep Down aloud. Ask students what they notice about the language and how it made them feel or imagine. This naturally leads to questions about darkness, pressure, strange animals, and survival in extreme environments.
Introduce a quick overview of ocean zones, sunlight, twilight, midnight, abyss, and hadal, and discuss how depth changes temperature, light, and pressure. Invite students to compare these scientific ideas with the imagery and tone they heard in the book.
Hands-on STEM investigation: “What happens when you go deep?”
Use a simple pressure demonstration to make deep-sea conditions concrete:
Materials: Two identical plastic cups, permanent marker, bucket of water, string, small weights.
- Draw a tiny deep-sea creature on one cup.
- Predict what will happen as it sinks.
- Lower the cup into the water and observe deformation.
- Discuss why pressure increases with depth and how organisms adapt.
Follow with a mini exploration of bioluminescence: Turn off the lights, snap glow sticks, and discuss why animals produce light in the deep. Connect these observations to descriptive words in the book—“inky,” “crushing,” “shimmering.”
Hands-on STEM experience gives students the sensory foundation they need to write vivid poetry later.
ELA workshop: Turning science into poetry
Using their new scientific understanding, challenge students to write poems that blend facts with imagination.
Mini-Lessons:
- Imagery: “Paint” the deep ocean using sensory detail.
- Figurative Language: Create similes and metaphors inspired by deep-sea adaptations.
- Word Choice: Brainstorm verbs and adjectives that evoke the hadal zone’s mood.
Re-read a short passage from Deep, Deep Down and analyze how linguistic choices help readers visualize scientific realities. Students quickly see how STEM can shape a writer’s craft.
Project: Create a “Deep-Sea Poetry Gallery”
Students choose one organism or feature of the Mariana Trench—snailfish, amphipods, hydrothermal vents, or even pressure itself—and write a free-verse poem that includes:
- Three accurate scientific facts
- Two types of figurative language
- Strong sensory vocabulary
- A descriptive title
Add illustrations or digital artwork. Optionally, include QR codes linking to audio recordings of students reading their poems.
Display the poems in a hallway, classroom, or digital slideshow.
Reflect and extend
Wrap up with reflection questions:
- How did science help you write better poetry?
- How did poetry help you understand the science?
Extend learning by creating a digital class book or comparing Earth’s deepest oceans to those on icy moons like Europa.
By blending STEM with lyrical nonfiction, this project helps students understand that science is full of mystery and story—and that writing is a powerful tool for exploring the unknown.
Featured image credit: “Mariana Trench” by clamshack is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 60+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere (Capstone, 2025), DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023). She won numerous awards such as the Crystal Kite Award for the Canada and North America division, a Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and multiple Cybils Award nominations. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul from Aevitas Creative Management. Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with me.