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21st Century Literacies: Tools for Reading the World

21st Century Literacies: Tools for Reading the World
In Intelligence Reframed Howard Gardner contends that "literacies, skills, and disciplines ought to be pursued as tools that allow us to enhance our understanding of important questions, topics, and themes." Today's readers become literate by learning to read the words and symbols in today's world and its antecedents. They analyze, compare, evaluate and interpret multiple representations from a variety of disciplines and subjects, including texts, photographs, artwork, and data. Basic Language Literacy Visual Literacy Spatial Literacy Three Information Literacy Questions to Ask About a Map: Handout Historical Literacy Cultural Literacy Information Literacy Political Literacy and News Media Literacy Scientific Literacy Mathematical Literacy Related:  IL

12 Things Students Should Never Do on Social Media The last thing young people want is another set of rules. But these days, social media comes with great responsibility, whether you're just starting high school or finishing up college. The fact is, irresponsible social media conduct could potentially ruin your education and negatively impact your career, not to mention hurt others in the process. (And we're not just talking kids, either.) We've pinpointed 12 social media mistakes that students should avoid at all costs, because after all, it's never as simple as "be responsible." Please head to the comments below to add your own contributions and advice for young adults on social media. 1. Granted, high school and college students experiment with many activities and substances. Once or twice per year, perform a thorough review of the information and content accessible on your social media profiles. 2. Bullying is one of the most serious problems in schools today. SEE ALSO: Why You Should Talk to Kids About Cyberbullying [INFOGRAPHIC] 3.

How I built a culture of reading in my classroom « Teaching the Teacher Image by CaptPiper used under creative commons licence Of all the accomplishments I’ve made in my second term of teaching the one I am most proud of is building a reading culture in my class. This may sound weird as most people seem to assume that geeks eschew books in favour of gadgets. While I have proclaimed my love for my iphone, I also understand the power of books. There’s something magical about cracking the spine on a brand new book or the smell that comes from picking up a treasure found in the back of a second-hand bookstore. Towards the end of my course last year I felt woefully under-prepared to teach senior literacy when @Kathryntrask reviewed the Book Whisperer on her blog. The Daily 5 gave me some concrete classroom management strategies in order to build the classroom environment which supports the student-selected reading. As part of the challenge each week the students write a letter reflecting on their progress. There is a downside to all this reading. Like this:

15 Oxymorons& An oxymoron is a combination of words that contradict each other. Here are some of our favorites. 1. virtual reality 2. original copy 3. old news 4. act naturally 5. pretty ugly 6. living dead 7. jumbo shrimp 8. rolling stop 9. constant variable 10. exact estimate 11. paid volunteers 12. civil war 13. sound of silence 14. clever fool 15. only choice Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What is inquiry-based learning? An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry-based learning, says our workshop author Joe Exline 1. Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge. "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." A Context for Inquiry Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. Importance of Inquiry Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. The Application of Inquiry

Total Cruft Abandon all hope: 39 ways to die! [Updated with new insights] Growing up, the first taste I had for interactive media was through “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, which ended each scene with a choice that the reader must make. One choice may continue the plot-line, one might take you on a tangent, and the third would lead to certain doom. Each book varied dramatically in complexity and usually boasted on the front cover the vast number of possible endings… of which, most were death or detention. I loved those books. Given that Twitter limits all content to just 140 characters, how could anyone write a meaningful narrative, much less an interactive one? Planning Obviously the story would have to be broken across multiple tweets and linked by shortened URLs. Then, I needed a way to efficiently write and edit in only 140 characters. Chapter One--SPOILERS! Enter Apple’s Numbers app. Changing Background Images So that’s what I did. In my case, I wanted seven different backgrounds. Post Mortem

Grandiloquent Dictionary This is the result of an ongoing project to collect and distribute the most obscure and rare words in the English language. It also contains a few words which do not have equivalent words in English. At present, the dictionary contains approximately 2700 words, though it is constantly growing. Following a large number of requests, pronounciations are now being (slowly) added to the listing, although it will be a long time before they are all added. After almost three years of work, the new Third Edition of the Grandiloquent Dictionary is now available as a PDF File. Including ~500 Words Not in the Online Version! In honour of ten years of the Grandiloquent Dictionary being available online, a special edition print version has been published! The Author's Webpage You are visitor since this counter was added. Donate0 Donate0 Experimental Search The authors intend to eventually add a search box for searching this dictionary, but for the present we rely on a more general google search.

Virtual Information Inquiry: Information Inquiry In inquiry-based learning environments, students are engaged in activities that help them actively pose questions, investigate, solve problems, and draw conclusions about the world around them. As independent thinkers, children become researchers, writers, videographers, and activists rather than passive receivers of a textbook's content. They do meaningful work that addresses essential questions and important standards. It's critical that learners take ownership of the inquiry process. Questioning is at the core of information inquiry and drives the teaching and learning process. In an era of "one answer" standardized tests, this idea of opening a student's mind to questioning and exploring many answers is essential. The poster on the right comes from an elementary classroom that supports inquiry-based learning. Quality Inquiry Environments According to Karen Sheingold (1987), inquiry is a complex process that includes: What makes an effective inquiry experience? Learn More Hudspith, Bob.

10 Quick Classroom Games to improve Literacy Skills - Edgalaxy - Cool Stuff For Nerdy Teachers A colleague of mine recently shard these 10 great ideas to impove literacy skills in the classroom. They are simple to play and can be applied to nearly all year levesl. Enjoy. Sentence Stretching Start with a short sentence or group of words. Rebus writing Students write sentences or longer texts and substitute drawings for the nouns. It’s in the bag Place an object in a bag- make sure the students don’t see it. Touch and tell An object is passed around a group of students. Alternative Students provide an adjectival phrase or clause to describe the object Verb Draw Students randomly select from a box a picture of an animal, person or objects that move. The students can supply verbs and adverbs They can supply adjectives or adjectival groups Hot Seat Read a text ( this case narrative) and at a particular point stop and ask students to select a character and suggest, for example: What the character is doing, thinking, feeling ( focus on processes) Change the meaning- change one word Toss and write

The Keys to Inquiry: Introduction "We learn best when we learn from our own experiences." "Children need to be active learners, seeking answers to questions that they care about.""Science should be hands-on and minds-on so that children make sense of what they experience." The goal of the Everyday Classroom Tools Project is to provide opportunities for students to learn that inquiry and their own experiences can help them achieve a deeper understanding of their world. It aims to foster a spirit of inquiry in all students. This document has two sections. Author: Tina GrotzerProject ZeroHarvard Graduate School of Education Section I Section II ECT Home Page | Introduction to the Threads of Inquiry | Contents of the ECT Pages

Year 6 Picture Book Study Another year of Mathematics draws to a close → As the school year slowly begins to come to a close, I have been reflecting on our mathematics program which I have blogged before about here. Overall I think for […] #ukedtravels – Day 1 → Why are schools printing so much? Google Docs in my classroom → Last week I found myself, sitting down on the job during a writing lesson, not the usual stance I take. Perseverence and Persistence → I have had this post in a half written form for some time now ever since in fact I read this quote.

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