Saturday, November 2, 2013

Edweb hosts free webinar on Reading Information Texts

Reading Informational Text
Focus on Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Tuesday, November 5th at 4pm ET
Attendees will receive a free downloadable booklet of 18 map and graph activities.
Presented by:
Suzanne Zimbler, Assistant Managing Editor, TIME For Kids and Jaime Joyce, Assistant Managing Editor, Education, TIME For Kids
Nonfiction books and articles are often packed with charts, graphs, maps, diagrams and time lines. These graphic features are terrific entry points for students to begin engaging in a topic. They are also important sources of information that contribute to an understanding of the text in which they appear.
In this TIME For Kids webinar, we will share examples of nonfiction articles that have significant visual components, and we will provide Common-Core aligned activities to help support students in grades 2—8 as they work to integrate information from a text with knowledge gained from amap, chart, or other graphic.
We will also focus on the integration of information from two or more sources, print or digital. Of course, today’s students are accustomed to having many sources of information at their fingertips. With that in mind, we will provide tools for helping students evaluate the reliability and accuracy of sources.
Our goal is to help you build independent readers who are capable of conducting their own research in order to become knowledgeable on topics of their choice. These real-world literacy skills are critical across the curriculum, and we invite teachers who focus on all subject areas to join us.

Neil Gaiman: Defender of books, reading and libraries

Neil Gaiman's speech has been making the rounds for a few weeks.  Here is one more chance to read his words and feel his passion for what we do and what we believe in.

Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

A lecture explaining why using our imaginations, and providing for others to use theirs, is an obligation for all citizens