Create impressive newspapers using Word

Two great newspaper template sites: (mostly using Word.)

"Create a newspaper using the popular teacher-made newspaper templates! Pre-formatted, four writing levels, two page sizes, and the look and sections of a real newspaper."

http://newspapertemplate.net/ 

(Pay for templates)
http://www.buildanewspaper.com/

Embracing Diversity at BPL

Burnaby Public Library is proud to announce the launch of Embracing Diversity: Sharing Our Songs and Rhymes, a web-based public education project that encourages learning about cultural diversity and promotes inclusiveness. The Embracing Diversity website ( www.embracingdiversity.bpl.bc.ca ) invites communities to explore their diversity and share across cultures through children's songs and rhymes. It was created to help build neighbourhoods where everyone, regardless of where they are from, is better understood and respected and has a greater sense of belonging. (http://www.bpl.bc.ca/kids/embracing-diversity)

Embracing Diversity resources are designed for use all who endeavour to create welcoming and inclusive communities. All project resources are presented online and include:

• Videos of two children's songs or rhymes in 15 languages (two per language),performed by native speakers and intercut with personal commentary
• Subtitled versions of these videos, with transcripts and translations of the lyrics or words
• Lists of books and other library materials with cultural stories or information about countries where these languages are spoken
• Thematic ideas for programs that feature the songs and rhymes
• Videos of five welcoming phrases in each of the 15 languages
• Lists of books and other library materials about cross-cultural understanding, raising bilingual children and the importance of maintaining first languages
• The project languages are Arabic, Cantonese, Dari, English, Farsi, Filipino, French, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese and Urdu.

Elementary Library Posters

Reading Genre Posters

Posters created by Beth Newingham to help her students learn novel genre definitions.

http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Genres.htm

Other materials developed by Beth Newingham

http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/teacher_resources.htm

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Create a newspaper clipping graphic

Need to create a "real looking" newspaper clipping for a class newsletter or webpage?

You can insert a title (but it gets clipped) and a paragraph (but only the first couple of sentences are legible.) Fun for a real touch for a jackdaw collection as well.

http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

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Bookcase Animation

What your library books do when you're not there!

Fun animation video!

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animation,

Bruce Coville talks about escaping from Egypt - podcast

Bruce Coville is a guest on Katie Davis' blog for this week's episode of "Brain Burps About Books", her podcast about children's literature.  Bruce talks all about being caught in Egypt right at the beginning of the turmoil while there for a school visit, and how he, his wife, and Elizabeth Levy got out. (interview starts at 14 minutes into the podcast)

http://brainburps.libsyn.com/bruce-coville-s-harrowing-escape-from-egypt

( Her Brain Burps blog: http://www.katiedavisblog.com/ )

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Coville, Egypt, Brain Burps,

Skype in the classroom

The Skype Education Portal is now active. If you are a Skype user for class projects, author programs, or professional development, this is a good place to post projects, look for examples of best practice or to find a partner. Check it out at "Skype in the classroom".

http://education.skype.com

Some ways to use Skype:

Cultural exchange: Introduce your students to new ways of seeing the world with a cultural exchange between your class and another classroom anywhere in the world.

Language skills: Bring language to life with real-life conversations where students can practice a new language with a class of native speakers, or help English learners practice their skills.

Discovery: Try mystery Skype calls, where classes connect online and give clues to help each guess the other's location. Or introduce your students to a classroom in the location of a book they're reading or a subject they're studying.

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Skype, video chat,

Digital library of music scores

International Music Score Library Project

The IMSLP believes that public domain music scores should be easily accessible for everyone. They have created a Wikipedia-like music library to provide classical music scores free of charge to anyone with internet access, with several other projects in planning. It claims to have 85,000 scores, or parts for nearly 35,000 works, with several thousand being added every month. The site has recently begun adding recordings. Through a partner site, it also offers low-cost, on-demand printing.

http://imslp.org/

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imslp, music, scores,

"Vowel Team" video clip

Cute video that illustrates the "when two vowels go walking" rule.

http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/two-vowel/load.htm?f

The main site has a number of interactive videos and games with a focus on phonics.

http://www.starfall.com/

"I'm Reading" section

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/load.htm?f

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starfall, phonics,

PAHnation and DigiVangelist - digital storytelling

For Video Editing, Art, Design, IT teachers,  and anyone interested in integrating digital storytelling into instruction.

Check out PAHnation (Project Accessible Hollywood), Christopher Coppola's competion for kids to create digital content using cellphones.  http://www.pahnation.com/  View past winners in various categories: mobiflicks, cellphone art, digiportraits, circus vision, tone poems.

"Today, visual storytelling is being built upon an open source methodology, accessible to everyone: “Think it, Shoot it, Share it.”

See also: DigiVangelist is a fresh and humorous inquiry into how the entertainment industry is changing and affecting the world at large, featuring Christopher Coppola (Nicholas Cage's brother) , independent movie maker and part of the renowned Coppola movie making family. DigiVangelist connects the latest Hollywood technology to viewers on Main Street, encouraging them to become participants in the digital evolution of entertainment. (Example, he talks about how to use flipcameras to create "easy" 3D movies.)

http://www.crcoppolaproductions.com/index.php?cat=slate&pg=digioverview

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digivangelist, PAHnation, Coppola, digital,

Digital Citizenship

Brainpop Spotlight: Digital Citizenship

http://www.brainpop.com/spotlight/digitalcitizenship/ 

This site has a number of free animations on the topic of digital citizenship:

Blogs, Cyberbullying, Digital Etiquette, Online Safety. (There are more topics that require a subscription.)

There are also some clips aimed at Primary students

http://www.brainpopjr.com/spotlights/digitalcitizenship/

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brainpop, digital citizenship,

New York Times bestsellers list

See the latest best selling titles as reported by the New York Times. Notice that the bestsellers list now includes eBooks.

http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/overview.html

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NYT, bestsellers,

Canadian booklists in journal format

Resource Links Magazine - Available via CPIQ Journal Database

A journal featuring Canadian young adult and children's materials. Issues contain an author interview, best seller lists, topical book lists, and book reviews. Some French-language materials are featured. Articles are available in PDF full-text and HTML text. 6 issues per year. (ID and password required for login from outside the district.)

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Using Blurb to publish - Grade 2 Alphabet book

Looking for an idea for a picture book, Judy Hoffman consulted her teacher-librarian who guided her to Alphabet City by Stephen T. Johnson. This awardwinning book features art based

upon structures that exist in New York City where letters of the alphabet can be found in

natural settings. She encouraged her second grade students to use digital cameras to create an

alphabet book of letters found in the school environment, which they "published" on the Blurb site. Check it out below.

http://www.blurb.com/books/1094628

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Blurb, alphabet, eBook,

"Watson" and Jeopardy - postmortem

For those of you who followed the Human vs Machine matches on Jeopardy, here's a TED Talk that discusses some of the implications of the win in a fascinating conversation between host Stephen Baker, author of “Final Jeopardy, Man vs Machine” and Watson’s principal investigator Dr. David Ferrucci, IBM Fellow Kerrie Holley and Columbia professor Herbert Chase.

http://blog.ted.com/2011/02/18/experts-and-ibm-insiders-break-down-watsons-jeopardy-win/?utm_content=awesm-site&utm_medium=on.ted.com-copypaste&utm_source=direct-on.ted.com

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Supporting Readers Who Struggle, K-4

Catching Readers Before They Fall - Supporting Readers Who Struggle, K-4

by Pat Johnson and Katie Keier

Every teacher of reading plays a vital role in helping to catch those readers for whom learning to read does not come easily.

PREVIEW/READ ONLINE

http://www.stenhouse.com/emags/0781/pageflip.html

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Contemporary adult Canadian books for adolescent readers

Adult CANADIAN books for strong teenage readers

(by Margaret Mackey, with Joanne de Groot, Gail de Vos, Heather Ganshorn, Merle Harris, Ingrid Johnston, Jyoti Mangat, and Jill Kedersha McClay)

Resource Links Magazine

"For the fifteenth time, we present a selection of contemporary adult Canadian publishing assessed in terms of its potential appeal for strong teenage readers. We start, as usual, from the premise that the step into adult books is crucial for lifelong reading, and that this milestone needs as much support as any other stage in the development of young readers."

(Past titles in the archives.)

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adult titles for teens,

NASA educational resources

The NASA for Educators page includes articles on NASA’s missions; image galleries; information about NASA careers; NASA-produced multimedia materials; and more.

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NASA, lesson plans, space,

Sharing Curriculum Materials via "Curriki"

Curriki is a wiki environment with an open-source curriculum format that allows anyone to post their teaching ideas for others to view, download, use, reformat, and reshare. Find lessons, lab ideas, videos, animations, etc.

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Curriki, curriculum development,

Video lectures from elite universities

Academic Earth offers video lectures from elite universities. The site also offers a “Playlists” feature based around themes such as “Laws of Nature,” “Wars Throughout History,” or “You Are What You Eat.” The content is fairly advanced, but might be of interest to Senior subject-area teachers.

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Academic Earth, lectures, video,

Magazines for use in the ESL/ELL classroom

Many magazines available via our EBSCO subscription are good for the ESL/ELL classroom. (Search for individual titles in the EBSCO database) The ones listed below are all distributed in PDF full text (scanned from the magazine). Some are also in HTML full text which allows the reader to translate the article into multiple languages or have the text read out loud in English. (à la Steven Hawking).  School ID and password needed for home access: see your Teacher-Librarian for details.

Weekly Reader Magazine - via EBSCO

Weekly Reader is available for free online via EBSCO. Supplemental materials are available to classes that subscribe to the print version.

From Pre-K to Senior (Gr  5/6) and every grade in between.

"Weekly Reader" Magazines for Teens - via EBSCO

3 Magazines from "Weekly Reader" aimed at Middle and High School students. These are all viewable for free via EBSCO.

"Current Events", "Read", "Current Science"

One Act Classroom plays - via EBSCO

"Plays - The Drama Magazine for Young People"

Drama & Theater Arts: One-act plays for lower, middle & upper grades. Seven to ten plays per issue.

Children's Magazines - via EBSCO (Click for link to individual full-text magazines)

• Humpty Dumpty's Magazine (younger Elementary)
• Jack & Jill Magazine (ages 8-10)
• Highlights Magazine (to age 13)
• Science World Magazine (by Scholastic)
• Scope Magazine (by Scholastic) stories, resources
• Scholastic News -- SN1 (by Scholastic) current events
• (EBSCO has separate versions of SN for grades 1 through 6)
• Scholastic News -- SN 5/6 (could be used in Junior High)
• Ladybug Magazine (ages 2-6) Stories, activities
• Turtle Magazine (ages 2-6) Stories, activities
• Boys' Quest
• Fun For Kidz
• Hopscotch Magazine
• "Creative Kids"

Articles, fiction, & activities for primary age children; games, art, stories, poetry, & opinions for kids by kids ages 8-14.

• Spider Magazine
  

Teen & Mass Market Magazines - via EBSCO (Click for link to individual full-text magazines)

Scholastic Choices (Life Skills), Action Magazine (by Scholastic) Fiction, current interest,

American Fitness, Military History, Aviation History, Wild West Magazine, Sierra (Magazine of the Sierra Club), World War II Magazine, Consumer Reports, Popular Science, PC World, Computer Graphics World, Computerworld, Hockey News, BMX Plus, Dirt Bike, Dirt Sports, Dog World, Horse & Rider, Running & FitNews, Ski Magazine, Skiing Magazine, Cicada Magazine (Teen writers)

"Embracing our humanity" multicultural resource

Promoting multiculturalism  - Embracing Our Humanity

Embracing Our Humanity, is an online blended curriculum aimed at promoting multiculturalism and eliminating racial discrimination. The project began last January with funding from Embrace BC through the BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services and the Government of Canada.  It was created by a Victoria-based team of TM NewMedia and International Education for Peace Institute (Canada).

This free educational resource, found at, www.embracingourhumanity.ca includes an online version of the curriculum suitable for study individually or in a group and a printable version suitable for studying offline. There are also facilitator materials to assist individuals with planning and conducting a class or group session. These include an online facilitator guide with audio recordings of the authors describing the resources, along with a printable version of the facilitator guide. In addition, throughout the resource, reference is made to a Community of Practice, which is hosted on the web site as well. Everyone using the resource is inviting to share their experiences with the larger community.

Making Room for Adolescent Literacy

Pro-D Webcasts - Adlit.org

This webcast examines what research says about good practice and how schools and teachers can support struggling readers.

While the context is American, there are some ideas we can reflect on. (NB. There are only passing references to teacher-librarians, however I think we can infer from the webinar how valuable the work of TLs can be in supporting adolescent literacy development.)

http://bcove.me/2cr3mjtt

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Adlit, Pro-D, literacy,