Toronto fun

Here are a couple of interactive and cool ideas:

CBC Metro Morning is asking its listeners to write a haiku poem about Toronto. The deadline is this Friday; read it over the Vox Box at (416) 205-5807.  I bet this would be fun project for all students. (Haiku: three lines, 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables)

On the weekend, I received the Luminato 2009 catalogue of events, many of which are free. One event that caught my eye was the guitar festival including voting on the best Canadian guitar song.  Go online and vote on your favorite and then in June take your guitar to Dundas Square and play along as they count down to the number one song.  How cool is that!

Rowan

For Reading Teachers

The Canadian Language & Literacy Research Network  (CLLRN) has developed the following document Foundations for Literacy: An Evidence -based Toolkit for the Effective Reading and Writing Teachers.  This fabulous 144-page (plus DVD-ROM) is aimed at the classroom teacher and provides an easy-to-read overview of the ‘what works’ research on reading and writing, with classroom strategies/elements of effective strategies.  It includes a developmental milestone chart for each grade, K-6.

The book indudes research findings that dispel 8 common myths:

• learning to read, like learning to talk, is a natural process.
• with time, all children will eventually learn to read.
• genetics rule: if the child has dyslexia, he or she cannot be helped.
• if you start at a disadvantage, you will never catch up.
• after grade 3, children are done learning to read.
• children can learn to read by relying heavily on context cues.
• Students can master reading comprehension if they just read, read, and read.
• English has so many irregular spellings and inconsistencies that it is impossible to teach.

You can order this online for free from CLLRN.  Or you can call the libery to borrow our copy.

Also, the book recommends several web sites (all evidence-based organizations), one of which is the  Florida Center for Reading Research. This site includes a lot of free online resources such as research findings, practical classroom activities and recommends intervention programs for struggling readers.

Rowan

New Book about schools and parents

Another new book is titled What Successful School do to Involve Families: 55 partnership stategiesby Neal Glasgow and Paula Jameson Whitney.  A practical book and based on research (like the What Works type of books),  the authors provide 55 strategies for forming effective partnerships with all types of families on a variety of subjects like homework, literacy, math, special needs or challenging students, communicating with respect. Every chapter includes a summary of the research and classroom strategies, and a short  reading list.  This is a great read for principals.

Contact the library to borrow at (416) 395-8289.

New Book: Visual Imapct, Visual Teaching

Visual Impact, Visual Teaching: Using Images to Strengthen Learning, 2nd ed, written by Timothy Gangwer,  is an attractive book, bursting with pictures and photographs, and chock full of classroom ideas to grab the interest of students that make it relevant to the curriculum and individual learning styles. 

Many of the ideas would work well with Character Education, eg Activity 346 People (aka students) We like to Have Around, or Activity 364 Me Myself and I. I liked Activity 371 People You Should Know which features a bulletin board  created with faces  the important people in the school (like the Librarian of course). What a great idea for the first month of school.

Contact us if you want to borrow it, (416) 395-8289.

Rowan

World Digital Libary

Next week, April 21st, the World Digital Library is scheduled to be launched.

From its home page:  “The World Digital Library will make available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from cultures around the world, including manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, architectural drawings, and other significant cultural materials. The objectives of the World Digital Library are to promote international and inter-cultural understanding and awareness, provide resources to educators, expand non-English and non-Western content on the Internet, and to contribute to scholarly research.”

Librarians of the world unite! National libraries from around the world have partnered to present significant cultural treasures in a digital format. This could be very cool and an great education tool.

Rowan

Financial Literacy

Recently I heard an interview in which trustee, Josh Matlow, recognized the need for basic financial education for students. The next day, I  attended the Spring Media Showcase and reviewed a couple of new DVDs on the topic of money and banking,  saving and credit. I learned something from these DVDs and wish that I could have seen them as a student.

I always thought that students should take one compulsory course in which they learn basic financial and life skills, like, how to use a hammer and nail (hang a picture,install a light fixture) , how to rent an apartment/buy a house or car, budgeting, credit, saving and investment, basic nutrition and cooking skills (fry an egg, bake some chicken), family and parenting skills.  Kind of like a “I’ve- moved-out-and-now-what-do-I-do course”.  However, it isn’t like their days aren’t busy enough without yet another compulsory course.

I found some Internet links on teaching financial literacy and yes there are some good Canadian web pages.  The Money Belt which highlights a teaching resource titled The City: Financial Life Skills Resource for Teachers and Students. This is a program developed by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canadaand the BC Securities Commission and provides 11 modules including income expenses and budgets, savings and banking, credit and debt, insurance, investing, financial planning. It is online and can be done in an interactive environment. The Library will purchase a print copy (don’t have it yet). Another Canadian web page with some downloadable lesson plans is Financial Literacy for Youth.

Rowan

Read, Write, Think

This is a fabulous web site for any K-12 teacher who teaches litercy and language arts. Read, Write, Think has been created by the NCTE and IRA (reading not Ireland) and includes a wealth of resources including interactive tools that can be used and downloaded, like bio cubes or book covers , story maps, comic creator.

It has 4 main sections: lessons/units (hundreds), standards (ok, it is American), web resources (really good, and not just American), and Student Materials (interactive tools).

Rowan

A place for old and used electronics

On the heels of Earth Day, Ontario anounced a program whereby residents can unload their unwanted TVs, computers, printers, fax machines, cell phones and the like. Ontario residents can take this e-junk to specific  sites and know that it will be diverted from land fills and disposed of according to  North American environmental standards.  Check out the web site ‘dowhatyoucan‘ for more information and a list of the sites.  It even includes a Teacher Resources page with links to eco and environmental web pages.

Rowan

New Books

I’ve been away and back again.  My email is current, so now it is time to work  on the Professional Library blog and no better way than to list some new books on hot topics or with funky titles.

Character Education

• What do you stand for for kids
• What do you stand for for teens

Differentiated instruction

• Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom (grades 3-12)
• Lesson design for differentiated instruction (grades 4-9)

Literacy

• Bright beginnings for boys: engaging young boys in active literacy.
• It’s critical! Classroom strategies for promoting critical and creative comprehension by David Booth.
• Getting dads on board: Fostering literacy partnerships for successful learning

Odds & Ends, Important

• A place to call home: After-school programs for urban youth.
• Not For ESOL Teachers: What every classroom teacher needs to know about linguistically, culturally, and ethnically diverse students (2nd ed).
• Leading with passion and purpose by Chris Spence (the next TDSB Director).

Contact the Library to borrow any of these.

Rowan