The Alberta Teachers’ Association

New Resources Boast Something for Everyone

Your ATA library is here to support your professional development with books, DVDs, online articles, technology and web resources. In this issue of the magazine, we are happy to present you with a list of new arrivals in our library — we hope there is a little something to appeal to everyone. Of course, there are many more new titles available in our library catalogue (http://library.teachers.ab.ca), and we encourage you to explore some of your favourite subjects there!

Please remember that, no matter where you are in the province, we will mail materials to you, and we prepay return shipping so there is no cost for using our great resources.

Books

Children with Disabilities: Reading and Writing the Four-Blocks Way, Grades 1–3
Erickson, Karen and David Koppenhaver. 2007. Greensboro, NC: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company. (371.829 E68)
Featuring a fictional teacher with several special-needs students, this book offers a narrative exploration of adjusting the Four Block method (guided reading, self-selected reading, writing and working with words) to suit students with different disabilities in the classroom. Teachers may like to borrow this title along with The Teacher’s Guide to the Four Blocks, which offers more detail about the Four Block method overall.

Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres
Hicks, Troy. 2013. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. (371.60785 H631)
In this exploration of writing with multimodal tools, Hicks argues that “the question is no longer whether or not we should use technology to teach writing; instead we must focus on the many ways that we can use technology to teach writing.” He provides a model for looking at digital texts that contain elements of traditional writing but used differently than in analog texts.

Drama Lessons for the Primary School Year: Calendar-Based Learning Activities
Doona, John. 2013. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. (371.399 D691)
Doona discusses his own creative processes in generating drama ideas and suggests how teachers might develop their own ideas. He provides lesson ideas that are tied to international calendar days such as World Book Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, Remembrance Day, as well as some days that are celebrated in the UK only.

Flip the System: Changing Education from the Ground Up
Evers, Jelmer and René Kneyber (Eds.). 2016. London, UK: Routledge. (370.1 E93)
Rising up against the business-ification of education, educators and education experts argue for the education system to move away from its current business-based, standardized model and back to a more human and democratic education system.

Graphic Novels and Comics in the Classroom: Essays on the Educational Power of Sequential Art
Syma, Carrye Kay and Robert G. Weiner (Eds.). 2013. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. (371.33 W423)
Noting that graphic novels are used in every type of educational setting from elementary school to college, the editors state, “It is no longer a question of whether sequential art should be used in educational settings, but rather how to use it and for what purpose.” The author of the included essays take a wide look at how graphic novels and comics can be used to teach everything from history to multiculturalism to feminism.

In the Best Interest of Students: Staying True to What Works in the ELA Classroom
Gallagher, Kelly. 2015. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. (372.6 G162)
Standards come and go, but literacy teaching remains fundamentally the same. Gallagher argues that following the fashions of the latest standards trend does not help students and that teachers need to remain true to the fundamentals they know work in teaching literacy. He advocates for not teaching to the test but for teaching students to go beyond the test and learn for life.

Inquiry and Innovation in the Classroom: Using 20% Time, Genius Hours, and PBL to Drive Student Success
Juliani, A. J. 2015. New York, NY: Routledge. (370.154 J94)
This thought-provoking book offers teachers ideas for adapting their classrooms to better engage high school students in developing the skills they will need to have outside of school: critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and drive.

Learn Like a Pirate: Empower Your Students to Collaborate, Lead, and Succeed
Solarz, Paul. 2015. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. (371.525 S684)
As a proponent of the student-led classroom, Solarz offers strategies for teachers to engage students in developing the skills and confidence to take charge of their learning.

Learning and the E-Generation
Underwood, Jean D. M. and Lee Farrington-Flint. 2015. London, UK: Wiley Blackwell. (371.334 U56)
Through an exploration of the future of learning, the authors thoroughly examine the risks and benefits of technology use in both education and the social realm for children and young adults.

Learning with Nature: Embedding Outdoor Practice
Warden, Claire. 2015. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (371.38 W268)
Focusing on young children from 2 to 11, the author explores examples of outdoor learning practices from around the world and provides both a self-evaluation tool for teachers and a section focused on assessment so that educators can ensure that learning goals are being met.

Primary Science: Knowledge and Understanding
Peacock, Graham et al. 2014. 7th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. (372.35044 P356)
Subject knowledge is always a concern for beginning teachers or for experienced teachers who are handed a new subject to teach. This book provides teachers with a detailed understanding of the many topics covered in elementary science classes as well as a guide to “thinking scientifically.”

Raspberry Pi Hacks: Tips & Tools for Making Things with the Inexpensive Linux Computer
Suehle, Ruth and Tom Callaway. 2014. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media. (621.38 S944)
A Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive Linux computer board with connectors, wires and accessories that anyone can use to create all kinds of interesting technology. (You can borrow a Raspberry Pi from our library – see the Technology section below). This guide includes some basic information for setting up a Raspberry Pi and also documents some of the fun technology that can be made with the kit.

Raspberry Pi User Guide
Upton, Eben and Gareth Halfacree. 2014. 3rd Edition. John Wiley & Sons. (004.165 U71)
Upton is one of the creators of Raspberry Pi and brings his creative vision to this book. The introduction to Raspberry Pi is completely thorough for the new user. The book then takes off with instructions for all kinds of ideas for hardware configurations, programming languages and educational applications.

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
Ruhlman, Michael. 2009. New York, NY: Scribner. (641.5 R933)
Culinary teachers will love this book, which frees cooks from the tyranny of individual recipes and opens them up to creative cooking once they understand the 33 essential ratios that underlie all recipes.

Talk about Teaching: Leading Professional Conversations
Danielson, Charlotte. 2016. 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (371.1022 D186).
Benjamin Franklin said “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Danielson points out that teaching observations and workshops do not form the best way to engage teachers in developing their practice. She argues that involving teachers in professional conversations about their practice is the best way for principals to support teachers in professional development learning. She provides topic ideas for conversations and activities, and also ideas for leaders to develop their communication skills in leading these conversations.

The Teacher’s Guide to the Four-Blocks Literacy Model, Grade 3: A Multimethod, Multilevel Literacy Framework
Cunningham, Patricia M. et al. 2008. Greensboro, NC: Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company. (372.4 C973)
This “getting started” guide offers a summary for each of the Four Blocks (guided reading, self-selected reading, writing and working with words) as well as steps and minilessons for implementing the blocks into a classroom.

Teaching Languages with Technology: Communicative Approaches to Interactive Whiteboard Use
Schmid, Euline Cutrim and Shona Whyte. (Eds.). 2014. London, UK: Bloomsbury. (418.0078 S348)
Using established theories of second language acquisition, education experts explain through case studies how whiteboards can be used to support language learning in all levels of education.

Vocabulary Is Comprehension: Getting to the Root of Text Complexity
Robb, Laura. 2014. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (372.44 R631)
Working from the premise that students can’t understand texts if they don’t know what words mean, Robb gives teachers an instructional plan that takes just 10 minutes of class time daily and will improve comprehension across the board. Included are more than 25 lessons and 50 texts you can use with students.

Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions, Grades K–8
Calkins, Lucy et al. 2015. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. (371.9043 C155)
A well-known creator of writing assessments, Calkins devotes the first section of this book to explaining how her assessment system works and how it can be adapted to any writing curriculum. The rest of this book is stocked with assessment tools for opinion/argument writing, informative writing and narrative writing.

The ATA library has developed a pilot project to test the idea of loaning technology to teachers to experiment with and gain skills in developing technology projects for the classroom. As of this writing, we have purchased two popular technology kits that are being widely used in the Makerspace movement that is emerging in classrooms.

As with our other resources, these materials will be loaned for one-month periods and will be shipped to your preferred address with prepaid return postage anywhere in the province.

Your ATA library also has books in its collection and links to several web resources to support the use of these kits. See the Makerspace section of our Educational Technologies page at www.teachers.ab.ca. Click on For Members>Programs and Services>ATA Library>Educational Technologies.

Arduino Kit

Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software that can connect to a computer monitor or TV. Arduino boards are able to read inputs — a light on a sensor, a finger on a button, a Twitter message — and turn it into outputs — activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. This kit includes a projects book, an Arduino Uno board, a temperature sensor, a tilt sensor and an LCD screen as well as the general accessories needed for most basic projects.

Raspberry Pi B+ Ultimate Starter Kit

The Raspberry Pi is a low-cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It can be used as a simple desktop computer but also has the ability to interact with the outside world and has been used in a wide array of digital maker projects, from music machines and parent detectors to weather stations and tweeting birdhouses with infrared cameras. This kit includes a Model B+ Raspberry Pi, Wi-Fi adapter and the general accessories needed for most basic projects.

120 minutes pour réussir en littératie : Un bloc quotidien pour enseigner les stratégies indispensables
Malette, Raymonde et Christiane Vinet. 2015. Montréal, QC : Chenelière Éducation (372.604 4 M247)
L’objectif de ce guide didactique est d’aider à enseigner les trois composantes du français que sont la lecture, l’écriture et la communication orale en y consacrant un bloc de 120 minutes par jour. L’enseignement explicite des stratégies, les interventions pédagogiques tenant compte des différents styles d’apprentissage, l’évaluation et l’organisation de l’enseignement au quotidien y sont traités. De nombreux tableaux, illustrations, exemples concrets, affiches de stratégies et fiches reproductibles sont inclus.

Calme et attentif comme une grenouille : La méditation pour les enfants… avec leurs parents (Traduit du néerlandais)
Snel, Eline (Stilzitten als een Kikker, 2010). 2015. Montréal, QC : Les Éditions Transcontinental (158.12 S671)
Les enfants d’aujourd’hui sont souvent agités, dispersés, stressés. Comment les aider à s’apaiser? Comment leur apprendre à se concentrer? La méditation est un outil simple et efficace qui s’adapte parfaitement aux besoins des petits et leur procure des bénéfices immédiats. Ce livre, destiné aux enfants de 5 à 12 ans et à leurs parents, propose de brefs exercices journaliers. Il inclut un CD de médiations guidées.

Comprendre, apprendre, mémoriser : Les neurosciences au service de la pédagogie
Stordeur, Joseph. 2014. Belgique : De Boeck Éducation (370.152 S884)
Le pourcentage des échecs scolaires ne faiblit pas, malgré toutes les réformes au niveau structurel. Et si le problème essentiel était ailleurs? Comprendre le fonctionnement du cerveau pourrait être la clé de l’énigme. Les neurosciences permettent de sélectionner les pratiques enseignantes qui correspondent le mieux aux processus utilisés pour comprendre, apprendre et mémoriser. Cet ouvrage traite des structures et processus utilisés par le cerveau, et des cheminements qui sont donc nécessaires pour « apprendre ».

Enseigner efficacement la lecture – Une enquête et ses implications
Deauvieau, Jérôme, Janine Reichstadt et Jean-Pierre Terrail. 2015. Paris, FRA : Odile Jacob Éducation (370 D278)
Ce petit livre a pour objectif de faire le point sur les connaissances les plus récentes en matière d’apprentissage de la lecture : les méthodes et manuels actuellement en usage, ceux qui marchent et ceux qui marchent moins bien. Les auteurs y présentent brièvement méthodes et manuels employés en France et, à partir de résultats d’enquêtes, répondent aux questions les plus souvent posées sur l’enseignement de la lecture, puis proposent des tests pour évaluer les progrès des apprentis lecteurs.

Quand enseigner mène à leur RÉUSSITE – Une approche centrée sur les élèves [Titre original : Teach Smart. 2014]
Caposey, PJ et Todd Whitaker. Johanne Proulx pour cette adaptation québécoise. 2015. Montréal, QC : Chenelière Éducation (371.394 C245)
Cet ouvrage est un condensé des meilleures pratiques pédagogiques qui placent les élèves du primaire et du secondaire au cœur de la démarche d’apprentissage et améliorent leur rendement scolaire. Chaque chapitre comprend des astuces et des exemples clairs permettant d’intégrer facilement ces pratiques à votre réalité en classe. Simple à lire et à consulter, c’est l’outil idéal tant pour les nouveaux enseignants qui souhaitent parfaire leur formation et mieux répondre aux besoins de leurs groupes, que pour les enseignants expérimentés qui désirent mettre à jour leurs connaissances sur les nouvelles pratiques gagnantes.