Many states conduct their own River of Words contests in conjunction with the larger contest each year, honoring state winners by awarding prizes locally. But whether or not the students submit entries to the international River of Words contest, or at a state or local level, the River of Words Teaching Guide is a useful tool for successfully engaging students in learning about their local watershed.
The guide includes:
- Ten activities (sequenced from least to most complex); some include multiple lessons
- Handouts (at least one for each activity)
- Strategies to help students get beyond preconceived notions about poetry
- Additional useful resources for teaching poetry and writing
Teachers are encouraged to partner with other teachers (for example, an English teacher with a science teacher) and to collaborate with those in the community who might serve as learning resources: bird-watchers, writers, park rangers, water department employees, photographers, and farmers.
River of Words has been implemented creatively in different parts of the country. Examples include:
- One small town in New Mexico celebrated with a local River of Words parade down Main Street, complete with streetlight banners of watershed artwork made by local children. Every shop in town had a small basket at checkout where patrons of all ages could take a poem or leave a poem. The community also sponsored a riverbank clean-up and poetry reading, which has become an annual event.
- In Michigan, a bookshop owner sponsored a River of Words evening for teachers at her store. She invited representatives of all the local groups and agencies she could think of that might have programs or materials of use to children, and had them meet with teachers to discuss how they could utilize their resources.
- In California, an elementary school teacher added a multigenerational aspect to River of Words by having her class visit a home for senior citizens situated alongside a creek. The students conducted oral history interviews of the elders, many of whom were lifelong residents of the area. After exploring the creek with those who were mobile, the children returned to their classroom to write poems and paint. When the seniors received copies of the children's work, they were so inspired that they invited the class to return with their teacher and families the following month. During this visit the seniors threw a party for the students and read poems they had written in response to the children's work — many about the creek and their own childhood memories about the place.
For contest rules and current information about the international River of Words contest, visit the River of Words website.
