Video clips for the classroom

From the Reading Rockets September newsletter

WatchKnow Classroom Video Library : http://www.watchknow.org/
This wiki, guided by teachers, makes educational video available to any classroom free-of-charge. So far, WatchKnow has published and categorized more than 15,000 videos including offerings in literature (fables, fairy tales, mythology) and language arts (ABCs, vocabulary, writing). WatchKnow is a great kid-safe alternative to YouTube. And, you can add your classroom video to the ever-expanding library.

The epigraph on the website's header quotes Thomas Edison, talking about the film projector in 1911 "Suppose, instead of the dull, solemn letters on a board or a card you have a little play going on that the smallest youngster can understand."

Into the book

Here is a link http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/index.html to a wealth of resources for teachers and also activities for students - "developed by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and a team of experienced educators".

From the website :

Into the Book is a reading comprehension resource for K-4 students and teachers. We focus on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. Try the online interactive activities, or click below to find out how to get our engaging 15-minute video programs.

Behind the Lesson provides information and teaching resources for each strategy. Watch our 10-minute professional development videos and explore the Web site for lesson plans, video and audio clips, downloads, and more.

I found some of the video clips rather too staged and scripted to feel like natural interactions with children, but there are many other resources to view, adapt, download...

I enjoyed having a look around the print rich environment of Gale Chartier's first-grade classroom http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/makingconnections/mc_slideshow.html
You can click on the pictures to enlarge them so that you can read the charts, examples etc.

ALA Booklinks and "making a difference"

The ALA (American Library Association) produce Booklists / Booklinks Quick Tips for Schools and Libraries free e-newsletters. Booklinks' mission is to connect books to the curriculum. I have signed up to these newsletters, and although the focus is on the USA there is often something interesting and relevant.

Here is their website : http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=booklinks

and here is the link to sign up for their monthly newsletter : http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=general_info&id=64

"Booklist's Quick Tips for Schools & Libraries delivers easy, practical ideas and activities that help you integrate children's and young-adult books into the curriculum, and many of the resources may already be on your shelves. With thematic bibliographies, author interviews, and useful ideas for connecting kids and books, each monthly e-newsletter also features a sneak peek at what's coming up in future issues of Book Links and Booklist magazines. You will receive approximately 12 newsletters per year."

In the latest issue there is a great booklist on "Helping others : one child can make a difference" and National Library has many of these titles in it's collection available to borrow...
http://booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3801340

In a related article on helping others and global awareness http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3804960 there is an outline of possible teaching approach using various web 2.0 tools (as identified in the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) 25 Best Web Sites for Teaching and Learning - I did a post on this in July 2009, with the labels Web 2.0 and ALA) .

The book used as the starting point in this teaching example above is 14 cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy, which tells the true story of a Maasai village in Kenya who responded with sympathy and generosity after 9/11 by donating 14 sacred cows to New York. Go here for an account : http://www.childcareexchange.com/eed/issue.php?id=2313

Michael Rosen and poetry friendly classrooms

More from Michael Rosen - on poetry - check out his suggestions for a Poetry Friendly Classroom on his website http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/poetryfriendly.html
His essay / video gives some great advice about creating a "poetry friendly classroom" and about helping children write poetry themselves.