Edutopia - April/May 2008 - (Page 23)

HeadofClassJHotStuff Chicken Soup for the Soul in the Classroom Series $29.95 www.chickensoup.com Based on the true-life stories that make up the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books, these engaging guidebooks are filled with lesson plans. With separate editions for elementary school, middle school, and high school grades, the stories and activities are designed to touch on many aspects of student life, including social, emotional, physical, and artistic. Sample ideas include asking primary students to discuss what they like about themselves and what they are proud of, and having middle school students design a bumper sticker and discuss why their message is important. Guaranteed to get student synapses cracking. FieldTrips April AAHPERD National Convention 8–12, Fort Worth, Texas The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance invites y’all to Texas for all things physical from multicultural learning through physical education to tackling childhood obesity. NCTM 2008 Annual Meeting and Exposition 9–12, Salt Lake City “Becoming Certain About Uncertainty” is the theme for this year’s meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Featured speakers include The Tipping Point and Blink author Malcolm Gladwell, Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, and NCTM president Skip Fennell. TechEd 2008 13–16, Ontario, California What good is technology if you don’t know how to apply it? New sessions at the Technology in Education Conference & Exposition include “New & Emerging Technologies,” which addresses the human factor in technology, “Standards-Based Instruction,” and most importantly for you skeptics, “Integrating Instructional Technology.” Pangea Day Free www.pangeaday.org From Tijuana to Tel Aviv and many points in between, join the worldwide Pangea Day, on May 10. The goal of Pangea Day, created by documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, is to use the power of film to enhance empathy, compassion, and peace among people of all nationalities. The program will feature a selection of short films—fiction, nonfiction, and animation—with many from filmmakers in disadvantaged areas and conflict zones. The live broadcast is offered free, and the signal will be sent through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones. Center for Summer Learning’s National Conference 17–18, Albuquerque Summer changes everything, according to the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins University. Head to scenic Albuquerque to hear keynote speaker Mae C. Jemison, the ﬁrst African American woman in space, and learn everything you need to know to run an effective summer program. May Engaging Learners in Literacy 4–8, Atlanta The International Reading Association invites you to sessions that address reading instruction, assessment, adolescent issues, and teacher quality, as well as talks by well-known authors Jamie Lee Curtis, David Baldacci, and Sherman Alexie. Read 180 Prices vary www.teacher.scholastic.com/products/read180 Struggling readers of all ages will benefit from Scholastic’s Read 180 intensive reading-intervention program, which offers adaptive and instructional software, as well as direct instruction in reading, writing, and vocabulary skills. The program, based on a ninety-minute block of time, includes a clear instructional path for teachers, as well as support for those without specialized training in tutoring struggling readers. It also provides continuous and instant assessment, which allows a teacher to differentiate instruction. Visions of Hope and Opportunity 5–9, New York The Annual International Conference on Developmental and Learning Disabilities will be based on treatment and practices, new models and strategies. It features a keynote by Temple Grandin on “Autism Spectrum Disorders.” June Sparking Innovative Learning and Creativity 11–14, Princeton, New Jersey Head east to the New Media Consortium’s Summer Conference, which opens with a talk by the president of Educause and closes with a talk by MIT’s Henry Jenkins, an expert on media and popular culture. National Alliance for Public Charter Schools 22–25, New Orleans “Still We Rise: Achieving Academic Excellence at Scale” is the theme of the only national gathering of the entire charter-school community, which takes place in the city with the largest percentage of charter-school enrollment. MakeBeliefsComix.com Free www.makebeliefscomix.com The simple comic strip really isn’t so simple. It can help children and adults share their ideas. It’s a therapy tool to help the deaf and the autistic communicate. It’s a resource to encourage writing skills and to practice vocabulary or storytelling skills. And it all comes together at this site, where you choose a human or animal character, pick their mood, fill in a talk or thought balloon (in English or Spanish), and—boom—you have a comic strip. Created by author Bill Zimmerman and illustrator Tom Bloom, this site is creative fun for all ages. National Educational Computing Conference 29–July 2, San Antonio Don’t forget the Alamo, but don’t forget this annual ed-tech blowout, either. This year NECC is in San Antonio, which promises to be hot as a pizza oven in early summer. There’ll be hundreds of booths, dozens of panels, and thousands of attendees. Pack sensible shoes and plenty of sunscreen. GO AFIELD Find links to event Web sites at www.edutopia.org/events-april-may-2008 EDUTOPIA.ORG EDUTOPIA 23 http://www.chickensoup.com http://www.pangeaday.org http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/products/read180 http://MakeBeliefsComix.com http://www.makebeliefscomix.com http://www.edutopia.org/events-april-may-2008 http://EDUTOPIA.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Edutopia - April 2008

Edutopia - April 2008 Contents Up Front Feedback Dispatches Sage Advice Ask Ellen Head of the Class Cool Schools Design Reinventing the Big test The Daring Dozen Heart & Soul Pop Quiz: Jack Prelutsky

Edutopia - April 2008

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