Social Justice Resources FREE!!

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* * * * * PRE-REGISTER BY NOVEMBER 20th! * * * * *

6th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
TEACHER EDUCATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE:

Reframing Race, Gender, and Teacher-Education Policy

Dates: 5-6 December 2009
Location: University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), U.S.A.

Co-Sponsors:
Center for Anti-Oppressive Education
Department of Educational Policy Studies, UIC
Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, UIC

hat does it mean to prepare teachers to teach toward social justice? Across the United States and around the world, educators face many challenges. Especially troublesome are the economic, social, and political contexts that make difficult our attempts to address differences and oppressions in schools and society. Yet, in the face of these challenges, teacher educators are continuing to produce significant theories, practices, and coalitions. The largest conference to date, the 6th International Conference on Teacher Education and Social Justice will offer rare opportunities to discuss cutting-edge research, develop innovative resources, build networks, and explore possibilities for new directions in teacher preparation. The Conference draws together hundreds of educators from around the world with diverse experiences but with shared commitments and priorities, including scholars from Australia, Canada, Chad, Chile, India, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Palestine, Uganda, and across the United States.

** Special Note** The Conference Organizers are pleased to announce that registration is free for the 6th International Conference on Teacher Education and Social Justice. All participants must pre-register for the conference by November 20th. Space is limited, and on-site registration will not be available, so please pre-register early. Participants are responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and meals. CAOE does not issue letters of invitation to participants from outside of the United States.

http://antioppressiveeducation.org/2009conference.html

Curriculum Fair Basics - FAQs 1) What happens at the Curriculum Fair? For those who don't know...The Curriculum Fair is like a Science or History Fair, except teachers “exhibit” their curriculum oriented toward social justice, we have a keynote speaker and a number of workshops (and food!), and hundreds of like-minded people gather and learn with each other. 2) What does it mean to "exhibit" curriculum at the CF? Each teacher gets a 6-foot long table at the Fair to set up her/his materials. Many teachers exhibit curriculum by bringing a tri-fold board (like those science fair boards) and bring lesson or unit plans, student work, assignments, artifacts, video, whatever, to share their curriculum ideas. Many bring their students along who sit at the table and explain the work with their teachers. The CF is set up so that we can browse the “exhibits,” talk with each other, and share lessons. 3) Does the curriculum have to be a finished, perfect product to exhibit? Is there such a thing? The whole point of the CF is to recognize that teachers collectively produce knowledge about, for example, how to teach for SJ, and that we have much to learn from each other. There are no blueprints here, and we can learn from our mutual experiences. We stronglyencourage teachers to share work “in progress” and to give and get feedback from others in order to further develop our collective understanding of what teaching for SJ means in theory and practice. Sometimes people may feel that their work is somehow not yet “there,” and our view is that the CF is as good a place as any to strengthen it. It has been our shared experience that both exhibitors and non-exhibiting attendees have learned much from participating in the fair. 4) What are the workshops? Although the main focus of the CF is person-to-person contact through the exhibitors at their tables, we also have a limited number of one-hour workshops. These range from curricular innovations about SJ pedagogy to, for example, using multicultural children's literature. These provide more in-depth, interactive ways for teachers and students to present what they’ve been learning and doing in their classrooms.

Creative Writing Field Trips for Middle School and High School students

What Are Adventures In Creative Writing Field Trips?

Welcome to the wonderful world of Open Books! We would love to see your class or student group in our literacy center for an Adventures in Creative Writing field trip. Please read on for all the details on how it works and how to apply.

Adventures in Creative Writing field trips are unforgettable 2-hour experiences designed to help young people develop their writing skills in meaningful and creative ways. At our colorful literacy center, students write and read as a whole group, in small groups, and as individuals, working with our friendly, supportive writing coaches. They read sample work aloud, discuss it as a group, and write their own prose or poetry. At the end of the session, those who wish to share their work read aloud in front of the class to enthusiastic applause. (And just ask any past participant about the joy of wearing The Pencil Costume!)

What Makes Adventures In Creative Writing Field Trips Special?

Field trip participants do more than just write, edit, and perform their own work in their 2 hours at Open Books. They read, discuss, and perform published pieces from diverse authors and learn about the literacy mission in Chicago. Writing coaches are acknowledged as volunteers and, in turn, students are urged to become volunteers in their own communities. Writing samples have been chosen to encourage smart life choices, strong character, and compassionate, positive behavior and attitudes. Students leave the field trip not just excited about writing and reading but also inspired to be leaders and role models in their own communities.

Details About Adventures In Creative Writing Field Trips

Location: Open Books, 213 W. Institute Place, Suite 305, in the River North area of Chicago. We're easily accessible by CTA -- just two blocks north of the Chicago Brown/Purple El stop and near many major bus lines.

Participants: Field trips are open to classes or groups of 4th-12th grade students from schools or community groups (maximum 30 students per field trip) accompanied by at least 2 adults.

Schedule: Field trips are held from 10am to 12noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page to request a date for yours!

Curriculum: Choose from three formats -- prose/memoir, traditional poetry, or slam/spoken word poetry.

Cost: $5 per student

Value: In addition to the workshop itself, each student receives a published booklet of the class’s writings and photos, as well as a blank journal and Open Books pencil to encourage continued writing and a recommended reading list. Teachers also receive booklets and suggested follow-up lessons.

Bring science and culture alive for your students!

Check out the Harris Loan Program at the Field Museum for great resources... Materials for students in preschool through high school!

"The Harris Loan Program has been serving Chicago-area educators and families for over 85 years. Originally funded through an endowment from Norman Wait Harris in 1911, the Harris Educational Loan Program links The Field Museum with Chicago-area schools. Thousands of loans are made to classroom educators, informal educators and parents each year. Tens of thousands of children benefit from the program. We offer four types of educational media from which to choose." Exhibit Cases: We have nearly 900 Exhibit Case dioramas (24" high, 22" wide , and 7" deep) that show plants and animals in natural settings. A pullout label on the side of each case has basic information. Experience Boxes: We cover more than 70 different topics with these portable collections of artifacts, replicas, specimens, and many other resources to provide a broad variety of learning experiences. There are three content categories: culture, biology, and earth sciences. Audiovisual Materials: Audiovisual materials include slide sets with printed scripts, videotapes, and film strips with audio cassette tapes. Children's Books: More than 100 titles are available. Africa: The Land Experience Box Subject: Geology Bats Experience Box Subject: Biology Cacao Exhibit Case Subject: Botany, Economic

Vocabulary-Be sure instruction hits the target!

“Review of the literature indicated that the most

effective vocabulary instruction includes multiple

exposures to words in a variety of oral and written

contexts.”

—Dixon-Krauss, December 2001/January 2002

“When students were engaged in the tasks in

which they were learning vocabulary, they had

larger gains.”

—National Reading Panel, 2000

Incorporating effective vocabulary instruction across the curriculum is one of the most important things you can do to help your students improve their reading comprehension. Content area reading in a range of media including textbooks and on the Web demand more critical literacy and increasing word knowledge. In the middle grades, students are also challenged in writing by more oral reports, complex essays, and longer explanations in quizzes and tests. There are a number of different strategies for effective teaching of vocabulary. Whichever method you choose, most experts agree on some general principles:

• Many words are learned indirectly through reading, writing, and speaking ("Tier 1")
• Direct instruction is needed to learn most “Tier 2” and "Tier 3" words.
• Teach words directly that interfere with students' understanding of a reading (literature, textbook, etc).
• Learning new concepts requires active involvement rather than passive definition memorization.
• Students need to work with a word at least six times in order to remember its meaning.
• Target words should be used in a context to which students can relate.
• Writing definitions from dictionaries is not a recommended practice.
• Whenever possible, relate new words to students’ prior knowledge and to other related words.
• Students need to learn how to determine meaning of words from the multiple contexts of reading.

.

Tier One Words-High frequency use, rarely require instructional attention:

clock, baby, ball, happy, walk, run, etc.

Tier Two Words -High frequency use found across a variety of

knowledge domains: coincidence, absurd, allergic,

defiant, etc.

Tier Three Words -Low frequency use, limited to

specific knowledge domains: isotope, lathe, peninsula,

refinery, etc.

Here is an 8-Step routine for explicitly teaching vocabulary. This process may only take a few minutes for each word. This should be followed by multiple opportunities to work with new words to really cement their understanding. For more details and graphic organizers to support the learning of new words, see Teaching Vocabulary Through Differentiated Instruction With Leveled Graphic Organizers.

1) Show students the word.

2) Have students decode/pronounce.

3) Students guess at the word on paper.

4) Show students word used in context.

5) Students review their definitions, eliminate meanings that don't make sense in context, and use semantic clues

to adjust or create new definition.

6) Ensure students have correct definition.

7) Read aloud two sentences with correct usage and two with incorrect usage. Students give thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate which is correct usage and which is not.

8) Students create sentence using word correctly and share ('Think-Pair-Share'). Partners give each other feedback.

9) (optional) Discuss derivatives.

Check out this website for other routines for direct instruction, as well as a range of activities, resources, and links.

http://innovativocab.wikispaces.com/

Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. NY: Guilford

Press.

Block, Cathy Collins & Mangieri, John N. (2006) The Vocabulary Enriched Classroom: Practices for Improving the Reading Performance of All Students in Grades 3 and up. New York: Scholastic.

Johnson, D. D. (2001). Vocabulary in the elementary and middle school.Boston, MA: Allynand Bacon.

McMackin, Mary C., Witherell, Nancy L. (2007) Teaching Vocabulary Through Differentiated Instruction With Leveled Graphic Organizers: 50+ Reproducible, Leveled Organizers That Help You Teach Vocabulary to ALL Students and Manage Their Different Learning Needs Easily and Effectively

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to

him in his own language, that goes to his heart.

—Nelson Mandela, Former President, South Africa

Attention teachers of social studies, science, language arts, religion!

Recognizing and understanding cultural differences is critical for us to work and live in greater harmony. Students face this reality in the classroom, amongst their neighborhoods, and in the world at large.

The Peace Corps' World Wise Schools program provides a wealth of resources, including a program to match classrooms with current volunteers and high quality classroom resources. You can download the curriculum materials for free. Please check it out! ICTC members will find a copy to peruse in the resource center.

The Coverdell World Wise Schoolsprogram of the Peace Corps provides innovative educational resources that promote cross-cultural understanding, broaden perspectives, and encourage public service among America's youth. The materials are based largely on the experiences of Peace Corps Volunteers.

Web site: www.peacecorps.gov/wws

Activities

Correspondence Match Program
Since 1989, World Wise Schools has helped more than 3 million US students communicate directly with Peace Corps Volunteersin more that 100 countries. Through the exchange of letters, artwork, artifacts, and other educational materials, Peace CorpsVolunteers lead your students in an exploration of the countries and cultures of the world

For more information visit:www.peacecorps.gov/wws/correspond

Speakers Match Program
Speakers Match links returned Peace Corps Volunteers in the United States with classroom teachers. Anyone wishing to host Peace Corps Volunteers to speak about their experiences in other countries can contact Speakers Match to request the name and contact information of a potential speaker who has returned from Peace Corps service.

For more information visitwww.peacecorps.gov/wws/speakersmatch

Free Classroom Resources

Publications:
In addition to the programs that connect teachers and students directly with Volunteers, World Wise Schools offers supporting classroom materials that teach the fundamental principles of understanding culture, geography, and service. Publications, also posted on the Web, are designed for use in social studies and language arts classes as well as foreign language and science classes. For more information on how to request guides such asBuilding Bridges (with exercises to teach tolerance and cross-cultural understanding) and Uncommon Journeys(Peace Corps-written literature with accompanying lesson plans), visit
www.peacecorps.gov/wws/publications

Other Web-based Resources:
Podcasts: Subscribe to stories and folk tales written and read by Peace Corps Volunteers, released weekly and available online in a growing archive. Visitwww.peacecorps.gov/wws/multimedia/podcasts

Slide Shows:
Watch picture shows online, narrated by the Peace Corps Volunteers who created them. Visitwww.peacecorps.gov/wws/multimedia/slideshows.

E-Newsletter:
Sign up for a free monthly topical newsletter, World Wise Window, that will provide you with ideas and links for timely studies. Visitwww.peacecorps.gov/wws/enewsletter.

Welcome to the ICTC Middle School Blog for teachers! This blog is designed primarily for 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Teachers. The blog will be updated with new ideas and resources to use in your classroom. We hope this is helpful as you begin the school year.

From here you can link to ICTC's other grade levels blogs. Feel free to go between blogs and get ideas from them all. Over time you will also find links to teacher websites, field trip ideas, as well as pictures and video clips.

These blogs should be interactive. Please sign up as a follower, and feel free to leave comments on the blog. Let us know what we could do to make the blog more useful. If you have suggestions or questions, we would love to hear them! This is a great opportunity to learn from each other!

Getting to Know Each Other: Celebrating Students' Cultural Heritage

Check out this lesson, inspired by George Ella Lyons' poem, 'I Am From'. The format of this poem is accessible to a range of ages and learning styles. Students can invoke ordinary sights, sounds, smells, from their lives to paint a vivid picture of their family and cultural identity.

Sharing your own writing in genres that you assign to students can build trust and show students you are willing to take the same academic risks you are asking them to take. In addition, it can be a great way to model the process, including your struggles and strategies.

Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it. Soren Kierkegaard

http://www.scholastic.com/dreamincolor/pdfs/TeachWiththePoster.pdf