Be an "Honest" info user
Handy acronym for teaching about the ethics of information use. From the BCTLA website.
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6.2.15
5.2.15
ELL Resource: "Connect With English"
Videos and website + pratice activities
"A video instructional series in English as a second language for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 50 fifteen-minute video programs and coordinated books."
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Invitation to World Literature - video course
Shining a light on ancient cultures, modern questions, and powerful stories
"Invitation to World Literature is a multimedia series introducing drama, epic poetry, and novels from many times and cultures. Thirteen half-hour videos form the centerpiece of the project, and feature a mix of writers, scholars, artists, and performers with personal connections to world literature."
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Annenberg Learner -- Workshops and Courses
Multimedia courses and workshops to help teachers
"Annenberg Learner funds and distributes more than 100 multimedia courses and workshops to help teachers keep current on the content they teach. Professional development resources provide teachers with research on the most effective teaching strategies along with their connection to national education content standards, and examples of these principles applied in real classrooms. The video components are paired with extensive Web sites that include online texts, course and workshop guides, and extensive background information to enhance the learning experience."
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Frank Gregorio Science Channel
Dramatic, visually stunning video "trailers"
"This channel is dedicated to providing teachers and students a powerful new resource to combat student apathy. Here, you will find dramatic, visually stunning video "trailers" in the natural sciences choreographed to powerful music, designed to motivate and inspire students at the beginning of a lesson to the wonders of Biology, Earth Science, Astronomy or Chemistry."
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Engaging Students with Nonfiction Texts
Dead Presidents and Whales: The Educator Collaborative Keynote
"How can we engage students with nonfiction when students' past reading experiences may be limited to dry textbook reading and research report assignments? In this session, Donalyn Miller shares tips for engaging students with nonfiction (or any genre they avoid). Session includes a look at newer nonfiction titles, authors, and formats, as well as online resources."
Slideshare from presentation [LINK]
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February is Black History Month - BCTF resources
February is Black History Month
Every February, Canadians mark Black History Month and the BCTF as collated a number of resources for teachers to use.
- BCTF Lesson plans on antiracism can be found here ; other antiracism resources here.
- The Public Service Alliance of Canada - six posters and bookmarks to download.
- You may be interested in a blog called "Pioneers: Blogging the black pioneers of British Columbia."
- Connect with African Stages, a BC group that promotes African storytelling and theatre for entertainment, education, and community building.
- The BC Black History Awareness Society celebrates the achievements of Black pioneers in British Columbia and historical achievements of Black people in the arts, education, science, etc.
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Readers Writing - Preview online
Raise your students' response writing to new levels
"91 lessons that will raise your students' response writing to new levels. Readers Writing helps you build the skills kids need to move beyond retelling the plot to writing that reflects critical thinking. Lessons for both narrative and informational texts are supported by strategies for comprehension, conferring, assessment, and building independence. Preview the entire book online!"
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4.2.15
MacGyver Librarianship - TL Virtual Cafe
Create exceptional spaces
Collaborate Session Archive: http://goo.gl/UtM4JD
Jennifer LaGarde & Mark Samberg share fun ideas for your space.
"No budget? No problem! This session is all about finding creative ways to use free (and really cheap!) resources for creating exceptional spaces, warm and engaging environments and outstanding instruction. Join Jennifer LaGarde and Mark Samberg for this fun, fast paced session and learn how to channel your inner MacGyver to become a master of making the most of what you have while still advocating for the best possible resources for your kids!"
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Beyond the Book: Infographics of Students' Reading History
A visual representation of a "reading life"
Explore a range of Infographic tools and make a personal reading poster:
"Creating these infographics was a reflective practice for my students, and it helped them see themselves as readers. For some, this was a revelation. For others, it was a reminder to start making time for reading in their busy lives. Hopefully, this sparked the flame of reading for them. I am seeing more students swap books with each other and talk openly about what they are reading, so I'm thrilled with the result. I love combining digital tools with English class -- it fosters a true culture of literacy, and that's the goal of this book evangelist!"
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Black and White and Read All Over
Current events enhance the classroom
"Using the newspaper as a daily part of our classroom has revolutionized our teaching. Our 9th graders are fully invested in the experience and are growing into informed citizens who are able to think critically about issues they are facing. We are able to meet all of the Common Core standards in reading and writing without sacrificing history content or English literature. The newspaper enhances our classroom, complementing the curriculum already in place."
24hours paper (available in French - Montreal issue)
Teaching Kids News
Dogo News
Scholastic News (and more)
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40 Book Challenge
Kick off a year (or term) of reading
The 40 book challenge is based on Donalyn's core beliefs about reading:
- Everybody reads here. Let's get started
- Be a good all-around reader
- There's the right book for you out there somewhere
- What you read is YOUR choice
- Your reading life matters.
"If your school wants to boost reading, try Donalyn Miller's 40 book challenge approach. Easy to implement - in her book The Book Whisperer, she even includes all the handouts and documents that she uses. Her second book, Reading in the Wild, is also a great read. If you can, have your faculty read it this Spring, and implement the program in the Fall. It can easily be adapted across all grade levels." Elsa Ouvrard-Prettol
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Immunity and Vaccines Explained
The natural defense system of the human body
A short, two minute clip that explains how the immune system is activated by a vaccine:
"Our bodies are bombarded by bacteria and viruses. For those that make their way inside, our immune system is on guard, waiting not only to kill the invaders but also to create memory cells that will help defeat them more quickly the next time they try to attack. Vaccines, which are weakened versions of a disease like polio or measles, rely on the memory of our immune system to combat the real danger if it eventually enters our bodies."
More info:
History of Vaccination [clip]
Autism-Vaccine fears [LINK]
Making vaccines - interactive webpage
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Creating your own library channel
Promoting your library to the world.
Sofia D'Arcy has shared a project she's been working on for the TLs and LTs in her district. Her goal: promote librarians as leaders while providing programming ideas for all library personnel. Her plan is to have one librarian from each level (elementary, middle, and high school) each month. There is a section for Booktalks and monthly programming and she intends to add a section for maker-spaces!
Check out her channel!
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Putting "Scale" into perspective
Planets, stars and galaxies compared
While there are some small errors in the numbers quoted, this snappy video gives a good sense of the scale of various heavenly bodies. (For an explanation of the details, visit this Slate article. - for example, the planets will fit between Earth and the Moon if you arrange them carefully, the Galaxy IC 1101 is incorrectly called IC 1011, and not every star has planets, but many do!)
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CLA Challenges Survey for 2014 Calendar Year
Did your library deal with a book or policy challenge in 2014?
The CLA Intellectual Freedom Advisory Committee is conducting their 9th annual survey of challenges to library materials and policies initiated in publicly funded, Canadian libraries (e.g., public, school, academic, and government) between January 1 and December 31, 2014.
Results are shared widely, for example, with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the Book and Periodical Council [of Canada], and the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association. (An anonymized version of the database is available without charge to anyone requesting it.)
Submit one form for each challenge to an item or a policy.
- Survey in English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QHY9NW6
- Survey in French: https://fr.surveymonkey.com/s/Q6D2NDW
Please participate if at all possible by February 10, 2015. (the survey will remain open until March 31, 2015.)
Questions about the survey? Contact Alvin M Schrader, Convenor, 2015 CLA Intellectual Freedom Advisory Committee.
(alvin.schrader@ualberta.ca or 780-719-4907)
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3.2.15
The SAMR Model In 120 Seconds
A quick Primer
While you might have heard about this model before, it's nice to have a quick overview to share with teachers who want to know more. Scroll down on the teachthought site to see a short (2 min) video that explains the SAMR model. (Thanks Chris)
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Sharing a specific link to a Destiny record
Sharing a specific link to a Destiny record
Sometimes you want to point your staff to a specific record in your Destiny catalog. But when you copy the URL in your browser, it doesn't bring you back to the record you want. That's no good!
The solution? You'll need to add &site=nnn to any link you want to share, where the "nnn" stands for the 3 digit identifier for your collection. Find it by going to the "list of libraries" page (destiny.sd38.bc.ca) and mousing over your library link. You'll see, at the bottom of your browser window, an address ending in 3 digits - this is your unique identifier. (The address you see here is Anderson's - 410)
Once you have that number, look up a record in your collection, click until you see the individual record, and then copy the URL from up above.
Then it's simply a matter of adding "&site=" and the 3 digit number for your library (ie. 410)
If you want to direct them to your Visual Tab, try
http://destiny.sd38.bc.ca/cataloging/servlet/presentvisualsearchdisplayform.do?l2m=Library%20Search&site=410
(You can even turn these into QR codes for scanning if you like.)
Happy linking!
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"The Right Questions": Instruction That Sticks: EL
Energized students excited by learning!
"Initial research on use of the Question Formulation Technique in a classroom environment has shown that "the development of these questioning skills and behaviors empowers the learners to conceptualize and express their thinking without having to depend primarily on teacher questioning to provoke or promote their natural curiosities" (Elves, 2013, p. 2). And teachers who have used the technique in primary, middle, and high school classrooms across all subject areas in a wide range of com munities have reported newly energized students who are excited by learning to ask their own questions."
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Reading Moves: What not to do
Time to Reconsider - Richard Allington
"The article discusses typical reading education teaching methods used in elementary schools and argues that these methods are ineffective. Topics discussed include the contention that oral reading is overused and misused in classrooms, the asking of low-level questions following oral reading, and the suggestion that literate conversations should be used in reading instructions."
For home access, see your TL for School ID and PW
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What is inquiry?
Do you have questions about what "Inquiry" means? While there are many definitions floating around out there, here is a screen shot from the glossary available on the "Transforming Learning" website that might help. (Thanks Janice)
(Double-click to enlarge)
More resources
The complete BCed curriculum glossary page
DRC resources about "Inquiry"
Search our ASCD ebook collection for Inquiry resources
Ontario Min of Ed brochure
Focus on Inquiry (Alberta)
Introduction to Inquiry Based Learning
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Reid's Read-alouds: Selections for Children and Teens
Making reading fun and exciting
View the Google Books preview to get a feel for this great book.
"Reid makes reading aloud to children and teens easy by selecting titles in high-interest topics and providing context to spotlight great passages. Make reading fun and exciting with: passages from 400 titles encompassing fiction and nonfiction; advice on how to prepare for a read-aloud; a subject index to make program planning easier; and, bibliographic information on all titles."
Rob Reid also has written "Reid-aloud" articles for "Book Link":
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Do you use Will Hobbs' novels?
Resources, activites and extensions
Will Hobbs has assembled support materials for his many novels:
"It's been exciting for me these past years to see my novels being read and taught across the curriculum in schools around the country. Innovative teachers and librarians have been expanding the use of these books beyond their home base in language arts and integrating them into social studies, science, and art classes as well. What I've put together here are some of my own suggestions for resource materials, most of which I used myself in writing these novels, as well as activity ideas I've picked up from schools. I hope this will be helpful to you."
Many of his titles work well as read-alouds!
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2.2.15
Looking for articles on "La francophonie"?
Articles for French learners
EBSCO has 4 French Scholastic magazines for teachers wanting to share easy-to-understand articles with their classes.
Samples:
Yumi Lambert de la Belgique [LINK]
Seach all of one magazine for articles on a single topic: [LINK]
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"Comme une française:" French language Youtube videos
Tips and phrases that you can use immediately
Géraldine Lepère has created a Youtube channel and website to help French language learners navigate the curiosities of the French language. Her suggestions are definitely Euro-French, but engaging nontheless. (More for older grades, but some could work for intermediate students.)
"Comme une Française will give you tips and phrases that you can immediately use to live the Vie en Rose, in France. You will understand French culture, become independent and communicate perfectly. You'll master the pros and cons, the dos and don'ts and the whys and hows of France."
(merci Diane!)
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Why Students Forget Everything On Your PowerPoint Slides
Less text + better images = more retention
Read this good explanation of why text-heavy Powerpoints actual impede comprehension, and follow the suggestions to make them better.
"How do you ensure that your kids learn from your lectures rather than wind up with brains that feel like oversoaked sponges? ... Richard Mayer, a brain scientist at UC Santa Barbara and author of the book "Multimedia Learning" offers the following prescription: Eliminate textual elements from presentations and instead talk through points, sharing images or graphs with students."
For more ideas, check here.
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