What is literacy?

Check out the article on What is Literacy ---- the article talks about World Read Aloud Day which is on March 7th this year.  Pam Allyn states "The act of reading aloud is a symbol for us all of the power of literacy, and what literacy can and does mean for everyone around the world.  Literacy is defined as reading, writing, speaking and listening.  It is what I refer to as a 'LitLoop'."  Check out the article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pam-allyn/what-is-literacy_b_1289176.html?ref=fb&src=s  REMEMBER to celebrate WORLD READ ALOUD DAY on March 7th!!!!!  If you want to check out more information on World Read Aloud Day at http://litworld.org/worldreadaloudday

Arts program raises test scores

Okay, in a time when soooo many districts have seen cuts in their art programs, check out this article http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/feb/10/student-scores-improve-with-unique-arts-program/  that talks about The Developing Reading Education with Arts Method or DREAM, where educators are trained to integrate arts into lessons and professional artists provide weekly coaching in the classroom.  According to the researchers North County (California) "third graders who had the arts integrated into their regular curriculum showed remarkable improvement on standardized test scores."  What was interesting is that even those teachers who were randomly divided with their students into the control group that got no training or in classroom help saw their student scores rise by 25 points by incorporating the DREAM program, the next group that had training in the program, had an increase in scores of 42 points and the last group that got training and in classroom support through  the program saw an 87-point average increase on the test!  For those who like the arts, check out the article!

Google+ for classroom use

Education blogger Terrell Heick in his blog post Teaching with Google+ http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-with-google-plus-terry-heick, offers suggestions for using Google+ with students in the classroom.  He writes that this social media tool, which is often compared with Facebook, can be used as an avenue for two-way communication with students and as a tool for groups of students and teachers to manage and collaborate on projects.  In the post he gives some info about Google+, 3 ways to use it with tips and examples and some really awesome closing tips for getting started, check out the post and see what you think!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Whether or not you believe in the "historical significance or the religious significance (or not) or consider it a 'made up' holiday or just think of it as a day of  'mushiness' about hearts, flowers, and romance", at least enjoy all the shades of red and the chocolates, cards, those little candy hearts that have messages on them or the smiles when wished Happy Valentine's Day!  and then you can walk away and grumble if you so desire ------ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY --- Sigh,  I forgot to wear red today!!!!

Did you know....

Did you know, that if you jump on our catalog's website at http://serc-verso.auto-graphics.com/Iluminar/home.asp?lid=serc#Iluminar  ----- yes, please wait for the page to load -- after all it is coming from (sigh, considering the forecast for this weekend) sunny/warm California -- and look - OH - about the middle of the screen, you can click on new Books and Tests that have been recently added to our wonderful collections?  We know that it does say books ----- however, and here is the big surprise------you actually get to see all the new Instructional Materials, Inservice Education Resources, Young People's Books, Family Resources, SFCP resources, VFs  listed under BOOKS too!  Check it out to see all the new and exciting resources we have added to the collections!!!!!!

Manage Disruptive Behaviors in the Classroom - FREE webinar!

Oh yes, our favorite stuff ---- FREE!  One catch, why is there always a catch ----- Limited seats available! 

Eye on Education is offering the webinar Manage Disruptive Behaviors in the Classroom with Bryan Harris on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:30 PM ET.  Follow this link: http://www.eyeoneducation.com/Online-Resources/Webinars to register. 

This is an interactive webinar with Bryan Harris, best-selling author of Battling boredom:  99 strategies to spark student engagement.  You will learn:  an overview of the 5 most common classroom disruptions; an understanding of why students misbehave; a simple 5 step plan for dealing with challenging behavior; a method for determining which strategies are most effective with certain students; and easy to implement strategies that improve student behavior. 

Finland's Formula for School Success

Okay ---- I know everyone has heard lots about Finland's Formula for School Success, so what more can we say, well......check out the link from Edutopia on Education Everywhere:  Finland's Formula for School Success video.   Follow this link http://www.edutopia.org/education-everywhere-international-finland-video to view the video and check out the additional links for more information.  In the coming months, Edutopia will be providing links about Canada, Singapore, China, and Germany in their series looking at high-achieving education systems and model schools around the world.  You might wish to link to their RSS feed to get the information first hand ------ you might get it sooner than waiting for me to get it up on the blog!