Saturday, May 3, 2008

Research-Based Instruction & Reading First

A study of the NCLB Reading First program found that teachers were spending more time on reading instruction but that there was no significant difference in reading comprehension between those schools that used the program and those that didn't.

See interim report here.

Relate Articles:

Washington Post: "Billions for an Inside Game on Reading"
NCTE Elementary Section: "Reading First Called 'Ineffective.'"
Reading First: The Naked Truth
Gary Stager at Huffington Post: The Surge Against First Graders


What do you think? Are there any lessons to be learned here?

Standardized Testing in Maine

Listen to Episode 18 - "Stop. Put Your Pencils Down." at Wicked Decent Learning

DOE - Maine High School Assessment - SAT
Maine Educational Assessment (MEA)
Wikipedia: SAT

What are your thoughts on standardized testing in Maine?

Free Technology for Teachers

Western Maine's own Richard Byrne shares a wealth of free technology resources and how teachers can use them on his daily-updated blog, Free Technology for Teachers. His reviews are based on carefully checking out the latest developments and concisely reporting on how they might be used in the classroom and elsewhere. I find that dropping into his blog saves a great deal of time in sorting through the plethora of new applications . . . Richard does it for us.


Maine Sheet Music Source


An incredibly rich resource of Maine sheet music and more . . . a Maine gem. Click here and get ready to make some music! Did I mention that it is free?

Crazy or Stupid?

"We are told accountability is essential — by people who refuse to be accountable for underfunding schools, who fail to address the social needs of children created by inequalities and who think simple answers exist for complex problems. Accountability flows both ways. I may be crazy, but I am not stupid."


I regularly check out AASA's excellent monthly online publication, The School Administrator, for articles on education. A visit to Paul Houston's column is always a must. This morning I read his "Crazy or Stupid?" offering in which we speaks to issues of accountability and blame.


Recent Issues:

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Cartoon Creation













How to Use Comic Life in the Classroom
Online Educational Comic Generator for Kids of All Ages
ToonDoo - The Cartoon Strip Creator - Create, Publish, Share, Discuss!
Cartoon Youself!
ReadWriteThink - Comic Creator
Comics in Education
Cartooning for Kids
Teacher's Guide for the Professional Cartoonist
ARTSEDGE: Drawing Political Cartoons
Political Cartoons in the Classroom
Using Political Cartoons in the Classroom
Storyboarding
Cartoon Smart

Cartoon credit

New Books, New Readers





I had an absolutely delightful morning assisting Oxford Hills adult education teacher, Ramsey Ludlow, in taping a class designed by the Maine Humanities Council called New Books, New Readers. Mary Alice Crosby, in cooperation with local literacy teachers, facilitates this book group, which consists of adults who are learning to read. Books have been chosen according to theme and readability and discussed in an informal and emotionally-safe atmosphere with an emphasis on connecting with the lives of the participants. Students get to keep the books.

The just-completed series called "Telling Our Stories" includes the following:

Session 1: Recalling Our Past
Session 2: Discovering Our Stories
Session 3: Other Ways of Telling

For discussion: How do we tell our own stories? Why are they important? How do we decide what to tell? What do we learn from telling our own stories? From reading others’ stories? How and why do we share our stories with others? How do our personal stories connect to the stories of our communities and country?

This is an excellent model on many levels. Making these connections is important in encouraging persistence in working on the needed reading and writing skills. Oxford Hills Adult Education teachers help participants in developing skills before the discussion group . . . and follow up after the discussion is over.

Personalized education is alive and well in our Maine Adult Education communities!

Related Links at LIM Resources:

Digital Storytelling
Biography
Autobiography
Who

Jason Ohler:

Storytelling

Monday, April 28, 2008

TelstarToo Session: Blogging

“One of the reasons we fear these technologies is because we as teachers don’t yet understand them or use them. But the reality is that our students already do. It’s imperative that we be able to teach our kids how to use the tools effectively and appropriately because right now they have no models to follow.”

~ Will Richardson

Essential Question: How can classroom communication and collaboration be enhanced with the use of blogs?

Connectivity and Warming Up

Blog Definition/Description

Why Blog?
View Blogs
Create a Blog
Promote Your Blog
...........................................................................................................................
Bonus: Drawing /Painting/Photo Editing Programs for the Classroom
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Closing . . . .How did it go? What next?