Mid-Hudson Reading Council

Mid-Hudson Reading Council

Mount Saint Mary College, Vassar College and SUNY New Paltz

 Celebrate Poetry Month with

Poetry Writing Workshops

 Presented by

Members of the Hudson Valley Writing Project

 The Samuel F.B. Morse Estate Locust Grove - Poughkeepsie

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

4:15-5:45

 Participants will be able to choose one of the following workshops:

Observant Eyes in the Classroom OR  River of Words

 “Observant Eyes in the Classroom:  Training Ourselves to Notice and Think Deeply“

Jane Gregory

Looking at a wealth of traditional and modern haiku, participants will consider how this simple form can offer surprising depth of reading and writing experiences in the classroom.  The seeds of discipline for all age students can be found as we practice noticing in the natural world and exploring the conciseness of language.  This respected poetic form provides students a chance to appreciate the immediacy of their surroundings and join a long and honored tradition. 

Jane Gregory was a high school English teacher in Arlington. Affiliated now with SUNY New Paltz, she has taught haiku workshops for all grade levels, elementary, middle, and high school. 

 “River of Words“

Richard Parisio

    This workshop is limited to 25 participants who will be going outside so please dress appropriately.

               In this interactive session, teachers will discover effective strategies for using poetry writing as an investigative tool for helping students to explore their own watersheds, combining science inquiry with language arts skills (listening, reading, and writing).  Workshop participants use a variety of strategies and mentor poems to write their own nature poems outdoors.  The workshop also includes small and large group discussion focusing on watershed poetry written by Hudson Valley school children.

            Richard Parisio has worked as an interpretive naturalist for over thirty years, in the Everglades, Pocono Mountains, at Assateague Island, and the Catskills and Hudson Valley.  He is currently NYS Coordinator for River of Words, a national contest of children’s poetry and art on the theme of watersheds.