Family Literacy and Robert Munsch

Today is Family Literacy Day and  CBC Radio Metro Morning announced this morning they were going to interview Robert Munsch.  Between my shower and eating brekky I must have missed it and I can’t seem to open/hear it on my workplace computer.  It looks as if RM is going to take a break – from touring, or visiting schools, or writing??  Maybe you’ll have better luck than me when you listen to it.

I still can’t read Love You Forever without getting misty (my kids laugh about it) and the Paperbag Princess is a great gift to give to parents with a baby girl. I love it when the Princess tells the Prince he is a BUM!

CBC Sunday interviewed RM, very interesting and heartening. The interview stesses the importance about reading and literacy for children and adults. Any parent who has a child with learning disabilities should listen to the interview and visit RM’s official web page.

Rowan

Science Education 2009

Catherine Little, TDSB teacher and Program Coordinator for Science, Environmental and Ecological Studies has co-authored a new book with Erminia Pedretti titled, From Engagement to Empowerment: Reflections on Science Education for Ontario. (2008, Pearson). The authors examine the  role of science, technology, society and the environment (STSE) in fostering scientific literacy for all students.  Call Number, 507.071 Ped; contact the library to borrow it.

2009  is the International year of Astronomy, and COPUS (Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science) established 2009 as the Year of Science (YoS09). Here are some web pages to help you celebrate and teach.

1. International Year of Astronomy
2. Year of Science 2009
3. Canadian Space Agency
4. Canada in Space (Virtual Museum Canada)
5. Science and Technology for Canadians (Gov’t Canada)
6. Science Teachers of  Ontario (STAO)
7. Understanding Science: How Science Really Works

Rowan

New books for leaders

Here are 5 new titles for you:

1. Future files: The 5 trends that will shape the next 50 years (Richard Watson). You gotta read the book to find out what they are!
2. Moose on the table by Jim Clemmer (an edutaining business fable).
3. Leading learning communities: Standards for what principals should know and be able to do. 2nd ed.  (NAESP).
4. Trends shaping education, 2008 edition (OECD).
5. Improving School Leadership. Vol 1= Policy and Practice; Vol 2 = Case studies on system leadership (OECD).

Contact the library to borrow.

New books for teachers

Three new books that might interest you:

1. Powerful learning: What we know about teaching for understanding.
2. 63 Tactics for teaching diverse learners K-6.
3. Revision lessons you’ll love to teach (grade 6 and up).

Contact the library to borrow.

Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner (OCUP)

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a great December break. Christmas is the one vacation from which I like to return:  too much food and wine,  sitting around,  late nights and sleeping-in etc.  Beached whale syndrome.  It is always nice to return to a routine. But then, I am a librarian!

So, today, I was looking for info about Special Ed in Ontario.  Our copy of the 1981 Ministry Handbook had gone astray, which as was  pointed out to us by the patron who has lost the book – who cares, it is too old.  While that is not the overdue point, it is certainly correct in relation to the usefulness of this book.  But do you think I could remember the title of the newer edition?

Anyhoo, I Googled <ontario ministry education “special education” > (remember to Google your way around the Min of Ed web page as it is the only way you’ll find anything short of being gifted or psychic), and  found my way to the Sp.Ed. page, and got the link to the newer (2001) handbook, titled Special Education, A Guide for Educators. We  have a print copy on the shelf, too.

So that got me thinking about the Teacher Companion to Special Education (a series of online guides that were fabulous sources of practical ideas) and were available via the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner web page.  I went to the OCUP page,  only to see that it was went off line effective November 1st 2008.  If you read the page, it explains the reasons why it was cancelled ( is there  verb to describe when a web page ceases?).  There are links to the resources that have been transferred to other web pages, including the Teaching Companions, which are now on the MoE web page. You are going to have to know where on the MoE website they are located (read the note on the OCUP page). It would have been nice if it had become a link on the Special Ed page, but no, it is buried under the Teachers tab ->teaching tools ->Website links ->Resources from the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner website.  There is a great Companion for ESL too.

One more thing for my brain to remember (it won’t happen).

Rowan