http://www.in2books.com/downloads/Reading_Teacher_article.pdf
I would also like to remind people of the excellent resources available through www.exemplars.org and suggest looking at the information on their collaborators as well at http://www.exemplars.org/about/collaborators.html
And, for those of you interested in health and well-being: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/healthfulliving/resources/
Media Smart Youth combines nutrition and physical activity education with media literacy and production http://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/program_materials.htm
7 comments:
I really like the idea of having students write to penpals, who can also serve as mentors. This offers students an authentic form of communication. There is a lot you can teach them in the form of writing and literacy. This would be perfect for my ESL students. In addition, at my school we try to pair as many of them up with mentors as we possibly can. However, we can't get all of the ESL students a mentor. By using this site, we can guarentee students can have a mentor via e-mail or online.
Hi Fern,
Epals is one of the online sites that has been around facilitating online discussion for K-12 children for years. It's a great way to begin online work with students. Do you think its something you could use in your current work? If so, how? If not, why not?
There are many other sites/projects that help connect kids with the real world outside the classroom. Check out the site: http://virtual-architecture.wm.edu/ for some other cool projects....which ones look like ones you could use?
Have fun exploring!
CMB
Fern,
This is very interesting. I like the idea that the adult penpals are from businesses, government, etc. I LOVE the fact the the students are given an opportunity to read great books and share their thinking about their reading. To me this is where the comprehension really comes into play. I agree with Ingrid about this being an authentic form of communication. It is a thought to use this for several students in my class who really need some motivation to read along with an opportunity to do some learning in an out of the box kind of way!
I found another site that is called kids space connection. http://www.ks-connection.org
This is an international meeting place for kids where you can find international penpals. They are organized by age group and you can also choose to do it individually or with a whole class.
Anyways, I love the idea of penpals! I am just seeing when I can start incorporating this into my lessons.
Thanks for your comments all. I chose this exemplar because epals.com has been in operation for a decade now (reliability factor) and liked the free email and blog for schools option. They have helpful information on keeping students safe that helped me start opening doors for e-communication. www.epals.com/help/safety
I think responsible adults must accept that the unexpected is to be expected when dealing with the internet and teach accordingly. The link cbolick provided led me to many exemplars: another project through epals www.epals.com/projects/thewayweare/a wonderful Spanish-English site on multi-cultural social-emotional concerns http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/cguanipa/amigos/carmen.htm
Documenting all the related sites I've been exploring is daunting, and invigorating at the same time!
Does anyone use or know of anyone that uses Ikeepbookmarks?
I loved this exemplar because it's using technology to facilitate human interaction rather than to replace it. The program is for grades 2-5 but I can see its effectiveness in all grades. I sent the article and website to my daughter's 4th grade teacher at FPG hoping that she will use it in her classroom. My own 9 year old hates reading and even though she reads daily, has poor comprehension. This program is perfect for her.
In reading the article, I was pleasantly surprised by the comparison of test results in children using the program over children who spent more time drilling for the reading test. p.734. Thanks!
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