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Thursday 31 October 2013

Media Literacy Week Nov 4-8

MediaSmarts and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) are pleased to announce that marketing and consumerism will be the focus of Canada's eighth annual Media Literacy Week, to be held November 4-8, 2013.

The official theme of the week: "What's Being Sold: Helping Kids Make Sense of Marketing Messages" , will encourage educators and parents to talk to children and teens about the marketing they encounter on a daily basis.  

http://www.medialiteracyweek.ca/en/101_whatis.htm

 

 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading


  1. Have students write about the texts they read. "Writing about a text proved to be better than just reading it, reading and rereading it, reading and studying it, reading and discussing it, and receiving reading instruction" (p. 14). Specific types of writing about reading that had statistically significant effect sizes included responding to a text through writing personal reactions or analyses/interpretations of the text, writing summaries of a text, taking notes on a text, and creating and/or answering questions about a text in writing. The benefits of these types of writing were stronger, particularly for lower-achieving students, when they were tied with explicit instruction on how to write.
  2. Teach students the writing skills and processes that go into creating texts. Teaching students about writing process, text structures, paragraph or sentence construction, and other writing skills improves reading comprehension; teaching spelling and sentence construction skills improve fluency; and teaching spelling skills improves word reading skills.
  3. Increase how much students write. An increase in how often students write improves students' reading comprehension. Graham and Hebert recommend more writing across the curriculum, as well as at home to achieve more time spent writing.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Average percentage point gap of 14.75% when comparing Aboriginal students’ reading test scores to other students’

People for Education released a report in Ocotber 2013 on First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in Ontario's publicly funded schools.  Although there is understandable focus on the issues of on-reserve education, the vast majority of Aboriginal students (82%) attend provincially funded schools in Ontario boards and education authorities.

People for Education worked with an advisory group from a wide array of First Nations and Métis organizations to develop the report, using new data from a survey of over 1100 Ontario schools.

The report notes that:

·         There is an average percentage point gap of 14.75% when comparing Aboriginal students' reading test scores to other students'.

http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/First-Nations-M%C3%A9tis-and-Inuit-Education-2013.pdf

Monday 28 October 2013

The Facts on Education: Do good grades in high school guarantee post-secondary success?

CEA and the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) have teamed up to provide you with relevant and timely information based on current empirical educational research. The primary goal of this project is to get relevant and needed research into the hands of parents and other interested people. They are written in plain language on topics of interest to parents, such as homework and class size.

The Facts on Education Series is produced with a generous sponsorship from the Canadian School Boards Association.
 

Sunday 13 October 2013

Report shows just 10 minutes of reading at home could boost school achievement

17 Sep 2013

A new report from the Oxford University Press has highlighted the importance of parents reading with their children. As little as ten minutes a day can make a significant difference to achievement levels, it claims. 

The report, Books Beyond Bedtime, also draws on our research which shows that children who read outside of class are 13 times more likely to read above the expected level for their age.

Clare Bolton, Campaign Manager at the National Literacy Trust said:

We know from our work with parents and children in communities across the UK that fostering a love of reading at home is crucial to children's future happiness and success.

The research surveyed nearly 1,000 parents with children aged 6-11, finding that almost half (44%) are never read to at home.  The report offers six tips for reading to 7 to 11-year-olds at home, including:

  1. Make the time to read – even ten minutes a day
  2. Choose different types of books
  3. Take turns to read
  4. Talk about the book – asking your child questions
  5. Pay attention to the language
  6. Enjoy reading

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/news/5578_report_shows_just_ten_minutes_reading_a_day_boosts_school_achievement

Wednesday 9 October 2013

http://www.seussville.com

The official home of Dr. Seuss on the Web-is the place for children of all ages to play and learn with Dr. Seuss's wonderfully whimsical books and classic characters. The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, the Places You'll Go! and all of the Dr. Seuss books leap to life through interactive games and activities that will enrich each child's reading experience.  More...

http://www.readprint.com