In this newsletter: writing competition, new Canadian Studies Curricula series, planning a good online learning environment.
TEACH October
From the editors of TEACH Magazine, here are some stories we think may be of interest to you.
The Meaning of Home writing contest in support of Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC) is currently running. Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 classes can now submit essays and enter to win a $60,000 contribution towards the building of a Habitat home in or near their community. The winner will also receive an iPad 2 and a pizza party for their entire school, while each runner-up will be given an iPod Touch!
The contest is a great way for students to hone their writing skills while supporting a good cause. With the “Dollars for Essays” program, five dollars is donated to a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate for each contest entry submitted. This means that all of the students participating will have a chance to make a difference and experience first-hand what it means to give back to their communities.
It is easy for teachers to incorporate the contest into their classrooms. A complete, ready-to-go Education Module including a lesson plan, activity ideas, writing tips and a Habitat for Humanity Canada fact sheet, as well as full contest details, can be found at www.meaningofhome.ca. Teachers can refer colleagues at: http://www.genworth.ca/contest/refer.html.
This year is the fifth anniversary of the Meaning of Home contest, which has received more than 7,000 entries and donated nearly $360,000 to Habitat for Humanity to date. To celebrate, a commemorative book is being created to highlight the last five years of winning entries and finalists. The book will be available for purchase in February 2012, with more details to be shared at www.meaningofhome.ca in the near future. All net proceeds of the book will also be donated to Habitat for Humanity Canada.
If you have any questions, please email Anita.DiPaoloBooth@genworth.com. We hope you will participate in this fantastic contest supporting children’s literacy and local communities across Canada.
Canada’s Capital Treasures
Bring Canada’s Capital into your classroom with these free, bilingual teaching resources created by the National Capital Commission, the Virtual Museum of Canada, and TEACH Magazine.
Through engaging activities, students in grades 6 to 9 will identify significant people and events in Canada commemorated in the following treasures:
National War Memorial
Famous Five Monument – “Women are Persons”
Rideau Canal Locks
Peace Tower
Mackenzie King Estate – Abbey Ruins
National Aboriginal Veterans Monument
Maurice Richard Monument – “Never Give Up!”
These seven lesson plans explore how some of the Capital’s most inspiring commemorations, heroes and symbols contribute to our sense of personal, community and national identity.
The activities meet the curricular objectives in Social Studies, History and Geography programs in provinces and territories across the country.
Five of the lesson plans also feature a media literacy activity.
To download the lesson plans, visit:
http://teachmag.com/curricula
Digital Resources:
How to plan for a good learning environment
In a traditional model of teaching, the teacher guides much of the learning based on one dimensional learning materials that are connected to curriculum content and skills. Today’s online digital resources are multimodal and provide much rich visual representations rather than lengthily text description of topics and themes.
As we move through a transition from traditional teaching and learning approaches to those which more effectively engage today’s students, we need to carefully plan and prepare the learning environment. As good teachers have done for decades, good planning provides learning environments, which enable students to successfully optimize their potential for success.
Having a management plan is essential when planning using digital learning tools. This plan should cover components such as, classroom organization, instructional strategies, technology availability, and time.
Click here to continue reading.
Les trésors de la capitale du Canada
Transportez la capitale du Canada dans votre salle de classe grâce à ces ressources pédagogiques bilingues gratuites élaborées par la Commission de la capitale nationale, le Musée virtuel du Canada et le MagazineTeach.
Tout en participant à des activités amusantes, les élèves de la 6e année du primaire à la 3e année du secondaire au Québec (de la 6e à la 9e année en Ontario) découvriront des personnages et des évènements canadiens importants dans les trésors suivants :
Le Monument commémoratif de guerre du Canada
Les femmes sont des personnes!, Monument des Célèbres cinq
Les écluses du canal Rideau
La tour de la Paix
Les ruines de l’Abbaye, domaine Mackenzie-King
Le Monument national des anciens combattants autochtones
Ne jamais abandonner!, Monument à Maurice Richard
Ces sept plans de leçon examinent la contribution de quelques-uns des monuments commémoratifs, héros et symboles les plus inspirants de la capitale à notre sentiment d’identité personnelle, communautaire et nationale. Ces activités permettent d’atteindre lesobjectifs des programmes d’études sociales, d’histoire et de géographie des provinces et territoires du pays. Cinq des plans de leçons renferment une activité d’initiation aux médias. Pour télécharger les plans de leçon, visitez :
http://teachmag.com/curricula.
Longlivekids.ca/play: Classroom-ready resource
Longlivekids.ca/play is an online resource from Concerned Children’s Advertisers (CCA).
CCA is a unique collaboration of industry with issue experts, government, advertising agencies and broadcasting to help build successful relationships with children and families across Canada.
As a child serving organization, CCA’s mandate is to research and address important issues relating to the health and well being of our children.
Based on their expertise, CCA has developed a website for educators covering topics including self esteem, bullying, media literacy, and healthy eating and active living.
The resources are designed to help teach grades 4-8 curriculum strands in health, physical education, media literacy, family studies and science.