River of Words: Contest

Introduction | How to Enter | For Educators | FAQ

Teachers are the key to River of Words’ success and wide-spread implementation. From the beginning, we have sought to support and honor their work, and to further their professional development and connection to their communities. River of Words conducts educator training workshops around the country (and abroad, too), often at the invitation of a school district, and usually in cooperation with a local conservation or arts organization. These hands-on workshops teach classroom teachers, park rangers, 4-H and Scout leaders and other educators how to work together, often across disciplinary lines, utilizing a curriculum that integrates outdoor observation, investigation and journaling with core subjects like English, math, science and social studies, as well as the arts.

Another key to ROW’s success is the integrated “Watershed Explorer’s” curriculum materials that incorporate natural sciences into an arts and letters format. Working with language skills, art and science, ROW also effectively leverages history and culture into the mix - learning about your watershed means learning why people settled there, who they were, how they managed (or didn’t) their resources, what poems, songs, art and legends the watershed has inspired, and so on.

Note to Educators:

We chose “watershed” as the theme of our annual River of Words Poetry & Art Contest because it provides an adaptable framework for investigating the natural world, and because we feel developing an intimate, hands-on understanding of the places we live is critical to growing healthy children, citizens and communities. Your students’ investigations can be scaled to meet your particular curricular needs and your resources - watersheds come in all magnitudes.

Your own watershed offers the perfect framework for exploring the natural and cultural history of your community and provides a meaningful way of integrating vital, engaging and important local information into your own curriculum or activities. Virtually all subject areas can be viewed through the “watershed” lens: earth sciences, social sciences (How do humans and the natural environment interact?), history (Who lived here before? How did they sustain themselves?), the arts (What songs, stories, paintings, and legends has this place inspired?), math, geography, political science, biology, botany, language skills - all subjects take on new meaning when they relate directly to the students’ own homegrounds.

Below are links to some essays, websites and other sources that further explain watersheds. Your water department, city or county government, or park district can probably give you information on your specific watershed. Local environmental groups, often organized to protect a creek or waterway, are another place to look for information. US students should check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Surf Your Watershed” website (see below) for current and extensive data on their watersheds. Once on their website, you just type in your zipcode or address and go right to the page that describes your very own “place in space.”

River of Words^® · 2547 Eighth Street, 13B · Berkeley, CA 94710 USA
info@riverofwords.org · Phone:510-548-7636 · Fax:510-548-2095