TDSB elementary census results

Here is a link to the TDSB elementary census  (2008 Parent Census, Kindergarten – grade 6, System Overview Detailed Findings) and an article written by Kristin Rushowy, education reporter for the Toronto Star (it summarizes some of the statistics).

Rowan

TDSB student census, grades7-12

TDSB has released the results of the student census in which students from grades 7-12 were asked to identify themselves demographically (eg racially, sexually, family structure), and how they perceive their relationship within the school environment (eg school safety).  The report titled The Student Census, grades 7-12, System Overview, available here,  presents the data but does not cross tabulate the information. This research will come in the next few months. It is an interesting read because it may dispel preconceptions that people have about  students served by the Board – it provides facts not guesstimates.

Rowan

Boys and reading … more of the same

On February 18th, the Canadian Council on Learning released a report in their Lessons on Learning series, titled Why boys don’t like to read: Gender differences in reading achievement. Frankly, it does not seem to say a whole pile of anything new, BUT, it does contain some 2007 Canadian statistics, with some ideas about getting out of the rut. It would be a useful article for a teacher new to the research.

Rowan

Including students with exceptionalities

The Ministry’s web page includes a monograph series of monographs called What Works? Research into Practice.

The January 2009 is titled Including Students with Exceptionalities and would be a basic read for any teacher new to special education in Ontario.  Remember that special ed is a huge topic and that the Professional Library has got oodles of books and articles to help teachers teaching or taking courses.

Rowan

Character Education

I’ve updated the Professional Library bibliography on character education. The link is below,

character-development4

Rowan

Fabulous Canadian web pages

Here are some great Canadian links, all with classroom connections and lesson plans (in no particular order):

Canadian Olympic School Program. One year and counting, read all about it, interactive.

Resources for Rethinking. Presented by Learning for a Sustainable Future, a nonprofit Canadian organization who mission is to promote, through education, the knowledge, skills, perspectives, and practices essential for a sustainable future. Ecological, global, world peace.

Historical Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project. Explores major themes and episodes in the history of Canada using  maps, texts and graphics.

National Film Board of Canada. Offer a new online screening room, providing home viewing to over to 700+ productions. TDSB’s  Library and Learning Resources has purchased the public perfromance rights and the link will appear on the school library webpages.

Canadian Studies Project 2. Lots of information and pictures rgarding the history of immigration, Grosse Ile.

 

Rowan

Canadian resources-history and literature

Whenever one attends the Ontario Library Assciation Conference, one hast to attend the Expo, the place where book publishers and vendors,  and library supply vendors display and demonstrate their new stuff.  I always check out the National Library and Archives, because they have eye-catching and unusual postcards and bookmarks.

This time I picked up a  brochure that lists their web-based Educational Resources, divided by elementary, intermediate and seondary levels.  Who knew there was so much? Anyone teaching K-12 Canadian history should check it out.

The home page of Library and Archives Canada gives you a taste of the what you can find, but teachers  should go the the Learning Centre and in particular the Teachers Page. On the teacher’s page look for the link to the brochure PDF998 KB – it lists all the collections and images about an amazing range of Canadiana from hockey  to genealogy and disasters to cookbooks.  The brochure is great because it lists and describes the resources in way that may not be evident by cruising their web page. A  searchable database to the Educational Resources is provided, and for sure you should use it, but this brochure is golden!

Rowan

New Books – A bit more funky

We get lots of new books and they can often seem to be  more of the same thing (like  in reading/writing especially).  Here are some new titles that are a bit more funky or deal with topics not so ordinary:

• Dual Language: Teaching and Learning in Two Languages.
• Girls in Science: A Framework for Action (NSTA)
• Never Work Harder than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching.
• Side By Side Learning: Exemplary Literacy Practices for English Language Learners and English Speakers in the Mainstream Classroom.
• Teaching Character…In the Teenage years: 36 Weeks of Daily Leassons for Grades 7-12.

Contact the Library to request any and others,

Rowan

New Books – Reading & Writing

Here are some new book titles we’ve received to support literacy and language arts:

• The Forest and the Trees: Helping Readers Identify Important Details in Text.
• Guided Writing: Practical Lessons, Powerful Results.
• Making Believe on Paper: Fiction Writing with Young Children.
• Practical Punctuation: Lessons on Rule Making and Rule Breaking.
• A Sound Approach: Using Phonemic Awareness to Teach Reading and Spelling.

Oh, and we have 2 revised/updated editions: Linda Hoyt’s Revisit Reflect Retell and Michael Optiz’s Good-bye Round Robin.

Contact the Library to request these books. Remember we can send them out via the school courier.

Rowan

Reluctant teen readers and Allison Van Diepen

Last week I spent two days at the Ontario Library Association annual Super Conference, and one of the sessions I attended was on reluctant teen readers.  I have a male version at home, very embarrassing for his library mom.  Who’d have thought that a book toting mom could have a non reader in the house?  I tried everything: magazines, reading to him, books scattered in every corner of the house, picture books, graphic novels, high-interest books for boys like BMX biking, newspapers…ultimately it all made no difference, he does not enjoy reading.  When he went to a book store, it was overwhelming; he did not even know where to begin. You can imagine that reading some of those subject textbooks was brutal.

So, the session I went to was delivered by Allison van Diepen, an Ottawa teacher, with teaching experience in Brooklyn and an author of two books Street Pharm, Snitch and a third one Ravento be released any day now.  She talked abut how students, for a variety of reasons, often do not enjoy the  classic reading material found on high school English course lists (dead white guy stuff) but enjoyed reading other books, especially those selected by themselves. Key features for popular books, include: fast paced action right from the get-go, short chapters and paragraphs, action is easy to visualize, lots of dialog, edgy and dramatic, real in that it reflects the daily life and language of the kids. 

I purchased Street Pharm for my 17 year young son and the next day at the dinner table, he announced that he loved it and had already read over 100 pages! The next day he was over half way though it! Hope glimmers on the horizon.

Check out Allison van Diepen’s web page. Like the books she writes, it is a fun hook for teens and includes some teaching materials to support the books.

I should say, that my son also liked books by Andrew Clemens and Eric Wilson.  Keeping the momentum going is the hard part.

Rowan