Summer Residencies for Educators

Thank you for your interest in the 15th Annual Poetry Alive! Summer Residency Institute for Teachers. This week-long retreat, for educators of all grades, focuses on poetry presentation, creative writing, reader response techniques, and community building strategies. The week of intensive workshops is broken up by excursions to historic downtown Asheville and the Carl Sandburg home in nearby Flat Rock. CEU and Graduate Credit are available.

Four weeks to choose from in 2005:

Each teacher who attends the Poetry Alive! Summer Residency Institute will leave with the knowledge, experience, and materials to conduct classroom activities, workshops, and in-service programs upon returning to school. The workshop sponsor, Poetry Alive!, is in its 21st season of presenting poetry workshops and performances across the country for educators and students of all grades.

This information packet includes:

o List of goals
o General schedule
o About the Directors
o CEU and graduate credit information
o Comments from past participants

Poetry Alive!
From the Page to the Stage
From the Inside Out

Topics of Instruction
o Introduction to Poem Presentation
o Transforming poems into scripts
o Basic classroom strategy
o Introduction to stage presentation skills
o Teacher as performer/performer as teacher
o The "secret" of memorization
o Using poetry across the curriculum
o Poetry and multi-modal learning
o Creating a Safe Haven for Learning
o Community building strategies
o The student-centered classroom
o Reader Response techniques
o Conducting discussions
o Salvaging, segues, and scaffolding
o Creative writing activities

Other Highlights
o Trips to historic downtown Asheville
o Hiking trails and garden walks
o No-nonsense teaching ideas that work
o Interaction with committed educators
o Tour of the Carl Sandburg Home
o Cast Dinner replete with poetry
o CEU and graduate credit available

Overall Goals for the Week
(a concrete poem)
To convert the classroom to a student-centered environment
To emphasize the role of teacher as facilitator of knowledge
To demonstrate different approaches to the study of poetry
To make literature and reading come alive
To accommodate multiple learning styles
To utilize cooperative learning groups
To utilize multiple modes of learning
To emphasize experiential learning
To build self esteem
To write poetry
To read poetry
To present poetry
To experience poetry

Summer Institute Syllabus

Note: This is a general syllabus for the Poetry Alive! Institute. The actual schedule may vary slightly depending on the specific week of attendance and the needs of the participants.

Saturday
2:00PM Check in to suites

Sunday
NOON Registration and set-up.
2:00PM Session begins
Introduction, goals and objectives
5:00PM Dinner
6:30-8:30PM All about the Poetry Search and Poetry Olio!

Monday
Focus Writing
Introduction to poem performance
Scripting and Scoring
Basic Performance Points
Empathy exercises
Memorization
Using poem performance in the classroom

Tuesday
"Feeled" trip to Carl Sandburg home
Creative Writing
Reader Response Techniques
Sharing of Writing Activities

Wednesday
One-on-one conferences
Guided rehearsals with individuals and groups
Show walk-through
Cast Dinner

Thursday
Rehearsal in town
Process-journal writing activities
Final performance in downtown Asheville

Friday
Final comments, closure-What is Poetry Alive!?
Final session lasts until noon.

About the Residency Co-Directors
Performance and creative writing: Ken & Nadine Delano are the Classroom Performance specialists of Poetry Alive! Seasoned performers, writers, speakers and workshop presenters, they are the dynamic duo who have been making their mark creating student driven assembly shows in schools across the country for the past nine years.
Reader response and creative writing: Cheryl Bromley Jones is a Lucretia Crocker Scholar and a veteran classroom teacher. Past president of the Massachusetts Council of Teachers of English, she is the author of Linking with Literature and The Hook and Loop Approach to Writing.

CEU and Graduate Credit Information

This information is directed only to those participants of the Poetry Alive! Summer Residency Institute for Teachers who are interested in receiving graduate credit or Continuing Education Units (CEUs). All forms and payments will be processed after you arrive. Call us at (800) 476-8172 if you need more details.

Graduate Credit Three hours of graduate credit are available through the Education Department (course # EW-593) at Lindenwood University, in St. Louis, Missouri for a fee of $180 ($60 per credit). This check must be made out directly to Lindenwood University.

CEUs (Continuing Education Units) The University of North Carolina at Asheville, site of the institute, offers CEUs through its continuing education program. You will be awarded one unit per ten contact hours or a total of four CEUs for the Poetry Alive! institute. There is a $10 processing fee which must be made out directly to UNC-A.

CEUs: A General Note There is no longer an exclusive national agent that awards CEUs, which means that the value of CEUs are typically determined on a local level. Many universities have stopped offering them altogether. Be sure you know what your professional development requirements are locally.

Certificate of Completion Poetry Alive! also offers a "Certificate of Completion" signed by the instructors. This document contains the following information: General Purpose of Course; Specific Competencies Developed; Evaluation Methods; Instructor Qualifications; Training Strategies; Target Educational Group; Enrollment Number; Instructor/Participant Ratio; Dates Attended; and Number of Contact Hours. Many participants find that this certificate is all their local agencies require as evidence of the educational merit of the Poetry Alive! Institute. No charge.

Poetry Alive! Merit Award Upon successful completion of the institute, all participants will be given a Poetry Alive! Merit Award, suitable for framing. No charge.

Comments from Poetry Alive! Institute Participants

In June 1996, I attended a week-long summer residency program sponsored by Poetry Alive! of Asheville, North Carolina. That week focused on performance as a way to study poetry, and changed the approach I use in the classroom. As one of twelve educators from across the country, I experienced a hands-on approach for teaching poem performance as we learned about scripting, memorizing, and internalizing a poem. At the conclusion of the week we presented poetry theatrically for the general public. For those of us with no theatre back- ground this was no easy task. The techniques and strategies that I gained that week have enabled me to bring poetry to life for my students.
---from "Doing Poetry" by Anne P. Anderson, Voices From the Middle (Dec. 1998, NCTE)

Poetry Alive! is a place or a time where poems breathe, come to life, sing in our hearts and never die. They take shape and live within us every minute of the day. Our lives are filled with poetry and, although we may not realize it, we come to perform them daily. Having read that, you may sense how the Poetry Alive! experience affected my life.
---from "Poetry Lives!" by Leo DeMarco, Clipboard (Dec. 1993, California Literature Project)

Since adding poetry performance to my teaching strategies, I have used it with high school students ranging from at-risk freshmen to college-bound seniors. We have performed for ourselves and for others. Our department has added a professional Poetry Alive! performance to the sophomore English Curriculum. Perhaps the strongest evidence of the success I have had with this method, however, is that Poetry Performance will become an extracurricular activity at Center Grove High School this year.
---from "Poetry News" by Jennifer Settle, Poetry Now! (Vol 2, No 2, Sept. 1994)

The Poetry Alive! Summer Residency is one of those rare, once in a lifetime experiences that impacts on a person professionally and personally in a meaningful and lasting way!! The information I learned and the skills I gained have become an important part of my teaching repertoire! The relationships I developed and the adventure I undertook added a new element of joy to my life! I look forward with a great deal of gratitude and excitement to sharing what I have learned with teachers throughout the country! Thank you Allan, Cheryl, and everyone at Poetry Alive!
---Andy Baumgartner, 1999 United States Teacher of the Year

During my thirty-five years of teaching, I have always loved poetry and sought to communicate this love to my students. However, I was like a caterpillar in a cocoon until I attended Poetry Alive!'s Summer Residency. My classroom now explodes with life as I employ the Poetry Alive! method of teaching. Students touched by Poetry Alive! gain self-confidence, become better writers, attain a better understanding of poetry, and have fun at the same time. My students come into class the first day of school exclaiming, "When are we going to do poetry?"
---Libby Campbell, North Iredell Middle School, Statesville, NC

This course was probably the most helpful workshop I have ever taken. I do not regret giving up a week of my summer vacation.
---Linda Eder, Hazelwood Central High School, Florrisant, MO

How has this week impacted me? Well, let me say it in plain and simple language: It has changed my life! I have participated in countless teacher workshops and professional development programs. Poetry Alive! has impacted me more deeply than all of them combined.
---Sophia Lafayette, McCurdy Elementary School, St. Louis, MO

I have learned more about the power of poetry and the magic it can produce within a social and communicative context. I am honored to have associated with dedicated and committed educators, and grateful for the opportunity to participate in such a remarkable program as Poetry Alive!. It has touched my life in a singular way and set down a blueprint for memories. Thank you Allan and Cheryl for your beauty and compassion.
---Elizabeth Houck, Clark Center Alternative School, Marietta, OH

Allan and Cheryl are an unforgettable, inspiring team. Thanks again for sharing your immense talent.
---Eudora Watson, Thousand Islands Middle School, Clayton, NY

Thank you so much for a fantastic experience. I learned so much in one short week. I look forward to putting to use all I have learned.
---Shirley Brewer, Solley Elementary School, Glen Burnie, MD

All of my goals were met! I did experience new things and have an adventure. I did have fun with poetry and people. Lastly, I will take home innovative ways to teach children poetry. Thank you!
---Lisa Youmans, River Road Elementary School, Columbus, GA

Poetry Alive! is a kind of magic. Not the kind that bubbles in a cauldron and brings down Scotland, but more the "sleight of hand" kind that excites and entices an audience. I'm delighted to be leaving here with my pockets full of poems and my head full of dreams. The handouts, books, and exercises that we have from our workshop will help me tremendously as I put together my own program.
---Mary P. Burch, Private International School, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Poetry is alive and Poetry Alive! reminds us of that. Poetry Alive! was fun. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much. One of my goals, academically challenging as it was, was to have a good time. I had a lovely time.
---Susan Henkle, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Strasburg, VA

This has been an amazingly inspirational week. I will use everything that we did this week in my classroom with my students. I can't wait to begin!
---Margaret Zinn, St. Michael's Academy, Austin, TX

What a wonderful week . . . I came looking for new ideas to use with my classes and left not only with new ideas, but new friends.
---Leisa Davis, Edgewood Elementary School, Columbus, GA

Everything about this week can and will be used in my classroom. Poetry Alive! makes me excited that my students will no longer say, "I don't understand that poem." When a poem comes to life, and performance is the teacher, the words don't just go from the page to the stage, they dance and sing and weep and purrr! Thank you.
---Martha Womeldorph, Archbishop McCarthy Catholic High, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Poetry Alive! means getting out of the box. I had counted on you to do this, and, true to your promises, you did, in grand fashion. Your guidance and expertise and joy in what you do made it a tremendous experience, enriching us all far beyond what we'd signed up for.
---Paula Priour, St. Michael's Academy, Austin, TX

Poetry Alive! is a dynamic way of teaching poetry to children (and adults). Very few students will be able to resist learning and composing poetry if it is presented in this way. Poetry Alive! is a gift to the language arts teacher and student. It should permeate every school.
---Marsha M. Sprague, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA

Feel free to contact us directly with any questions or suggestions.  You can do so via email or our email form or  by calling us toll-free at 1-800-476-8172.

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