Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Hass, the Center for the Book in the
Library of
Congress, and the International Rivers Network (an organization working
to
promote sound river management worldwide) have announced the fourth
annual
"River of Words" poetry and art contest. The contest is designed to
nurture
children's understanding and respect of their ecological surroundings.
Open to
K-12 students, ages 5-19, the contest's theme is "watersheds."
Through "River of Words," thousands of children have used the arts to
explore
and interpret their local watersheds. The project offers participating
schools a
guide to help incorporate classroom and field activities into the
curriculum.
These activities are designed to help students discover and understand
their
environment. Last year children from 44 states and 10 countries
participated in
the project and submitted poetry and artwork about their natural
surroundings to
the contest.
A panel of judges, headed by Hass, will choose this year's one
international
winner and eight national grand prize winners. The winners and their
parents
will win trips to Washington, D.C., and will be honored during a program
at the
Library of Congress on May 4, 1999.
For contest entry forms and guidelines, including a copy of the
curriculum
guide, e-mail row@irn.org, or visit http://www.irn.org.
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FRANKLIN INSTITUTE'S EDUCATIONAL HOTLISTS
The Franklin Institute Science Museum's Educational Hotlists are
organized lists of resources on the Internet that science educators, as
well as
science enthusiasts, may find useful. They have screened all linked
resources
for their educational appropriateness, helping take some of the guess
work
out of the web for teachers and others interested in supporting
education.
Using the Hotlists can help teachers save time and provide quality
online
resources for your classroom needs. The Hotlist a multitude of topics
including
Biology, Physical Science, Space Science, and Mathematics, and can be
found at
www.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/hotlists.html.
In addition to the hotlists, the Franklin Institute site (www.fi.edu)
offers lesson plans on a variety of science and mathematical topics,
such as
this week's annual Leonid Meteor Shower.