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Past Events

Getting Graphic: Effective Literacy Learning with Comics and Graphic Literature
By Bev DeMonyé

Our recent October 21 professional development event, Getting Graphic was attended by over 150 educators. They came from school districts throughout the province and we were excited to have approximately 30 students!  Our four presenters did a fabulous job of offering participants a wonderful balance of information.

  •  Jo-Anne Naslund, Instructional Programs Librarian, University of British Columbia, reviewed criteria for the selection and evaluation of graphic texts for teaching purposes and independent reading.
  • Kathie Shoemaker, Author/Illustrator, addressed the process of creating graphic literature.
  • Margot Filipenko, Senior Instructor, University of British Columbia, brought new meaning to the term graphic literature as a multimodal genre and explained why teachers should use comics and graphic literature in the classroom.
  • Dionne Risler, Grade One Teacher from Collingwood elementary, explained how she uses graphic literature with her students to teach both reading and writing.

 

This was truly an event that had wide appeal to many educators at different levels and in different teaching situations!

As an added bonus, Vi Hughes, President of CWILL (Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC Society) arranged for a group of BC authors to attend the conference and provide participants with an opportunity to review their publications that have a highly visual aspect and relate to current curriculum.   For more about CWILL, go to http://www.cwill.bc.ca/

Kidsbooks provided an on site store for the convenient previewing and purchasing of books. For further information about the books at our conference go to http://www.kidsbooks.ca/default.aspx

Next year on Friday, October 19th, 2012 (Provincial Professional Development Day) we will be sponsoring another event at the Executive Inn in Burnaby.  We have arranged for Dr. Steve Layne to be our presenter.  Dr. Layne is on the International Reading Association board of directors and is a world renowned speaker.  Visit his website at http://www.stevelayne.com/  

For more information go to the Upcoming Events section of our website.

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Using Information Books to Teach Reading

Dr. Ray Reutzel, Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair Professor of Early Literacy
Utah State University, joined the British Columbia Literacy Council of the International Reading Association and conference attendees on Friday, October 22nd, 2010 for the Provincial Professional Day.  We spent a truly engaging day learning from, and being entertained by Dr. Reutzel.  Many of us took away successful strategies, supported by recent research, to use in our classrooms - the most popular being The Picture Walk.

For more information about the content of the day's events, and with many thanks to Dr. Ray Reutzel for allowing us to post the Power Point Presentation, see below.

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International Reading Association’s 55th Annual Convention
By Donna McCormick

 Chicago, April 25th-28th, 2010

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan was the keynote speaker at the Opening General Session of the International Reading Association’s 55th Annual Convention in Chicago. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Cairo in 1991. Later, she pursued a career in banking in Jordan and followed this with a brief career in the field of information technology.

Queen Rania was born in 1970 and is the mother of four children whom she calls “ my little ambassadors of hope.” She has dedicated her newly published picture book, “The Sandwich Swap” (co-authored with Kelly DiPucchio), to them. The story is based on her own childhood experience. She tells how two girls, after days of declaring that one another’s sandwiches (one a peanut butter and jelly and the other a hummus on pita sandwich), looked disgusting and unappealing. The argument escalates to the point where their friendship is broken and every child in school begins to choose sides and hurl rude insults at each other. The girls feel ashamed at the results of their argument and in the end they agree to taste each other’s sandwich and find them to be quite tasty. They decide to go to the principal’s office and suggest a special school-wide event intended to demonstrate that you should not pass judgment on something you have never tried. As Queen Rania stated, “ It is best to develop an open mind, as deficit of knowledge often leads to an excess of emotion”.

Queen Rania’s story ties in well with her overarching message about the importance of fostering cross-cultural literacy. She serves as the Eminent Advocate for Children for UNICEF . She is also the global chair for the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, working for broader access to schools and higher quality education for all children, especially for girls.

Queen Rania uses the latest in social media, including her own website, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to reach out to literacy and education advocates around the world. Her new initiative, timed to correspond to the World Cup in South Africa this year, is being accomplished through an online petition drive designed to make political leaders understand that the lack of universal literacy and education is a humanitarian crisis for the 75 million children who still are out of school. “ In Sudan,” she said, “a young girl is more likely to die giving birth than to have a primary education.”

Since the IRA Convention in Chicago, Queen Rania has received the James C. Morgan 2010 Global Humanitarian Award. She is being recognized for her “leadership, efforts in protecting human rights around the world, and relentless campaigning for broader access to schools and higher quality education for children.” Her book would be a valuable addition to any school library:

AL ABDULLAH, Rania, with Kelly DiPucchio. The Sandwich Swap. Illus. by Tricia Tusa.
Hyperion/Disney NY. Apr. 2010.

 

PROMOTING CULTURAL AWARENESS IN BC THROUGH THE USE OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are just like you.

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox

The British Columbia Literacy Council of the International Reading Association will be publishing a new literacy project online this fall. The purpose of this project is to help BC teachers of primary and intermediate grade students meet the following objectives:

  • to help cultivate cultural awareness and understanding in BC through the use of children’s picture books
  • to help children learn to value cultural similarities and differences through the use of children’s picture books
  • to help both teachers and students develop a more in-depth background knowledge of the different cultures within BC
  • to improve communication between the home and school so all parents and students in our province will feel welcomed, respected, important and needed

This project is intended to be an ongoing project, and as such, will be published online through our new website. In this way, the information provided can be monitored and periodically updated and resources added on a regular basis. Teachers will be invited to contribute to the project, and accepted contributions will be posted on our website. Be sure to check on a regular basis to find out more details about the project and anticipated date of publication. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments they may be directed to Donna McCormick, chair of the Provincial Literacy Project.

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The New ReadWriteThink.org
By Donna McCormick

International Reading Association's 55th Annual Convention

Chicago, April 25th-28th, 2010

The New ReadWriteThink.org

During the Convention, I attended an excellent session titled "Using the New ReadWriteThink.org in Your Classroom" presented by Bridget Hilferty, the project manager of this site from Newark, Delaware and her assistant, Lisa Fink from Urbana Illinois.

ReadWriteThink.org is co-produced by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English and is funded by the Verizon Foundation. It is a very popular site for teachers and gets about one and a half million hits per month. Twenty percent of these hits are from International users. Very recently, the site has been redesigned with many new features.

The top 10 new features of the ReadWriteThink.org site were highlighted during the session and are listed below:

#10. Timely Resources and News Right from the Homepage.

( A quick link to recently posted information.)

#9. Improved Search and Filtering Capabilities.

( A coloured strip has been added down the side of the page to help filter key words

in order to achieve more specific results.)

#8. What's Popular: Classroom-Ready and Easy-To-Use Resources

( The most popular, most emailed, most viewed and most shared resources such as

lesson plans, calendar activities, graphic organizers and professional development

activities for parents and teachers are included here. )

#7. Share Capabilities

( Share your lesson plans etc. as you would on sites such as Facebook, MySpace,

Yahoo Buzz, Newsvine, Linkedin, Reddit, Mixx, Digg, or Propeller. )

#6. Aligned to State Standards for the English Language Arts

( Tabs for lesson plans available here but only aligned to USA standards ( K-12 ).

BCLCIRA will be in communication with the site's project manager and IRA's

Executive Director to discuss the possibility of adding Canadian Provincial

standards to the site. )

#5. Ability to Add and Read Comments

( A scan filter is used to monitor comments and modify suggestions so they are

made appropriate before posting. )

#4. More Faces: Ability to Learn More About Authors, Reviewers and Users

( Educators are invited to contribute to the site and share their successes, lesson

ideas and skills with the global literacy community. For further information, visit

the IRA website at www.reading.org, click on Publications, and follow the For

Authors link. Canadian content is particularly welcome! )

#3. Professional Development Integrated in the Site from IRA and NCTE

( Here you will find strategy guides on effective teaching practices,

links to DVD's, journal articles and a professional library of books where you can

explore topics in more depth. You can also view dates for up-coming meetings,

conferences and events.)

#2. Expanded Parent and After School Section

( Located in this section are tips that show parents how to engage their children in

literacy strategies at home; learning activities for parents and after school providers

to reinforce the concepts you are teaching in class; podcasts about the best books

for children and teens along with engaging activities for before and after reading;

and online games relate to literacy learning. All of this information is printable and

shareable ).

#1. Officially All Around Better Per The Experts

( Official Honoree of the 2010 Webby Award ).

 

ReadWriteThink.org is a favorite online destination for over a million teachers and now that it has been redesigned and improved it is even better and easier to use. The site delivers free, Internet-based content to help you turn proven reading and language arts theory into best classroom practices. It is well worth taking the time to browse the site. BCLCIRA would like to see more Canadian content added to the site so if you have any suggestions on how to proceed with this goal, please contact us and we will pass along your ideas and comments.

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Stand Tall Education
By Honey Halpern

Several months ago a close friend told me about a school that was being built by a Vancouver woman in the outskirts of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Nicki had gone to this area as a volunteer just last year and decided that she was going to do something extra to help the many local children who couldn’t attend school because they had no money for uniforms, books or supplies. But Nicki wasn’t comfortable with simply creating a school to hand over to local authorities; she wanted her school to offer a child-centered program rather than the traditional teacher-led classroom that is frequently found in schools that teach the poorest and neediest.  With this objective in mind, Nicki set about buying the land, designing and building a school, and hiring personnel to get her ideal school in motion.

This very special and unique school will open its doors to 75 children from grades 4 to grade 6 on May 17, 2010.

When I heard about this project and checked out her website and newsletter and saw the pictures of the school building taking shape I was deeply moved and impressed. I decided to offer my experience in training teachers at UBC to help the teachers in this unique and innovative school.  So, I have volunteered to spend six weeks in Uganda this October  working alongside the teachers and students, demonstrating and modeling the methods and strategies that you can find in just about every good B.C. classroom.

If you or your students are looking for a way to be part of the global community, I would like to offer you this inspiring opportunity. Forty dollars ($40.) will buy books for one year for one student.  Every single dollar donated will go directly to books and supplies for the children.

Please check the website and subscribe to the newsletter. They will show you how this school works and give you a good idea of what your money will support.

I know that B.C. children often ask what they can do to help others; here then is an answer.  I’ll be there in October and will make sure that all donations will be acknowledged by the Ugandan children; the books and supplies you help provide will ensure that their school experience is enriching and joyful.

Here is the link to the school’s website:  www.standtalleducation.org which will give you access to the newsletter as well.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask: hhalpern@interchange.ubc.ca

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