A project entitled Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History, engages inquiry-based pedagogy to encourage students’ critical thinking and research skills. The project, based at the University of Victoria, the Université de Sherbrooke and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, has developed a collection of websites, which invite high school and university students to examine primary source documents, photographic evidence, archival material and historical interpretations, in an effort to solve a historical puzzle (e.g. the mystery of the doomed Franklin expedition; the mysterious death of artist Tom Thomson). John Lutz, University of Victoria history professor and one of the founders of the project noted, “history is too important to be boring, and these mysteries are too intriguing to be left to historians alone.” All the materials and teachers’ guides are free. Link to project site: http://canadianmysteries.ca/en/index.php Link to the CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/how-franklin-expedition-mystery-could-be-solved-by-high-school-students-1.3086927
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Trends in YAL
I try to stay connected with current trends in Young Adult (YA) Literature so I can have thoughtful conversations about these texts with the student teachers in our literacy courses. An article by Publishers Weekly highlighted some of complex topics currently being explored in YAL. Some of the themes YA publishers are prompting include texts “that look thoughtfully at mental illness and suicide” as well as “books that tell sophisticated stories about gender identity across the LGBTQIA spectrum”. To find out about specific YA titles exploring these topics see the following link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/childrens-announcements/article/66587-what-to-expect-when-you-re-expecting-ya.html
Coding is the Fourth Literacy?
I recently came across an article that suggested “coding is the fourth literacy,” and digital skills such as learning how to code should be part of the contemporary classroom, in order to prepare children/youth for the future job market. The article noted “the UK government instigated a complete overhaul of the computing curriculum in England and Wales…. [with] programming skills placed at the heart of the new curriculum. Now children as young as five are being taught computational thinking and digital creativity… By embedding coding into the new computing curriculum, the UK Department of Education stated the new subject would “ensure every child leaves school prepared for life in modern Britain”.
Link to the article: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-05-04-coding-has-become-the-fourth-literacy
School Board Proposes Multi-language Immersion Program
The Toronto Catholic District School Board has plans to establish a multi-language specialty school. The proposed immersion program, being considered for north Scarborough as early as this fall, would offer instruction in French, Spanish, German, and Mandarin. Michael Del Grande, chair of the TCDSB noted “my view is we’re not preparing our students for the world stage, we barely do a passing job with French, and we’re a bilingual country! So we’re asking parents if they’d like to educate their children in the languages of some of the largest economies in the world.” What do you think about this type of immersion program? Should other languages be included in the program?
Link to the Toronto Star article: http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2015/04/28/multi-language-elementary-school-proposed-by-toronto-catholic-board.html
Earth Day
In honour of Earth Day here is a link to a list of “green books” which share an eco-friendly message.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/bookfinder/green-reads/
Facebook Still Popular with Teens
An article I read in the Toronto Star the other day surprised me as it reported, “Facebook remains the most used social media site among American teens ages 13 to 17.” I had expected other social media tools (e.g. Instagram) to be more popular with teens. However, according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, “Facebook was the site teens used most frequently, at 41 per cent, followed by Instagram at 20 per cent and Snapchat at 11 per cent. Boys are more likely than girls to report they visit Facebook most often — at 45 per cent versus 36 per cent of girls.” Are you surprised to learn that Facebook is still so popular with teens?
Link to the Toronto Star article: http://www.thestar.com/life/technology/2015/04/14/facebook-still-teens-most-used-website-report.html
Mining Social Media
A recent CBC news article caught my eye because it highlighted how researchers, in fields such as psychology and computer science, are increasingly mining social media (e.g. Tweets; Facebook profiles) to gain insight into people’s physical and mental health. The article questioned if this method of data mining represents a means to conduct “personality research, without talking to any actual people.” Computer scientist Michal Kosinski, from Stanford University, points out that “by looking at your Facebook profile or your Twitter feed, we can very accurately predict very intimate traits that you may not be aware you’re revealing.” How do you feel about this type of research – does it represent an innovative approach to health research or an invasive monitoring of our online space?
Link to article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/what-facebook-twitter-posts-reveal-about-your-health-1.3000893
Honouring Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss fans will be happy to know the museum honouring the author’s work is scheduled to open June 2016, in the his hometown of Springfield Massachusetts. Organizers say the museum will be an “interactive, bilingual showcase” of the author’s work, which will include “three-dimensional book scenes, reading areas, and a re-creation of his studio.” Sounds fun!
http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/dr-seuss-museum-set-to-open-in-june-2016-1.2290628
Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather Has Two Mommies, Lesléa Newman’s trailblazing picture book is celebrating a 25-year milestone. Many years ago advice from an acquaintance motivated Newman to write the book. She explained, “an acquaintance, who happened to be a lesbian mom, had stopped me on the street and as we were talking she said, ‘There are no books that show a family like ours. You should write one.’ ” Newman recalled. “I decided to take it seriously. I knew how those kids felt. When I grew up in the 1950s there were no books about a Jewish girl eating matzoh ball soup with her bubbe on Shabbat. I definitely felt like an outsider. It struck a chord with me.” Publisher Candlewick is celebrating by publishing an all-new illustrated edition of the book. See the link below to read more about how the book was initially received and some of the controversy surrounding the picture book: http://www.publishersweekly.com
Graphic of 21st Century Teaching
Retrieved from edutopia.
Literacy Teaching and Teacher Education 