Featured Activity Kit: American Sign Language Alphabet Cards

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Julie Boon

The American Sign Language Alphabet Cards [flash card] activity kit, this month’s featured realia, instructs upon the proper use and interpretation of the American Sign Language alphabet. By featuring all 26 letters of the English alphabet in sign, this kit helps to provide students with a better understanding of how this method of communication is used and interpreted.

This kit includes 26 alphabet letter cards, with each flashcard featuring one sign of the American Sign Language Alphabet. Each flash card has two sides: one side showing a photo of a sign of the American Sign Language Alphabet, and the other identifying which letter of the English alphabet is being signed in both upper and lower case. Each card also displays a photo of a common object that begins with the featured sign/letter to help with comprehension and memorization. This kit also includes a summary card that displays all 26 signs of the American Sign Language with their corresponding English Alphabet letters for easy and quick review.

Although the flashcards in this kit exclusively feature the letters of the alphabet rather than whole words or phrases, they still provide a more comprehensive understanding of the theory behind the language and can be used to show how the signs can be combined and used to form complete sentences.

The American Sign Language Alphabet Cards activity kit is currently on display on the ground floor of the OISE Library, next to the Circulation Desk-OISE students—please feel free to check it out! For more Curriculum Resources concerning the American Sign Language, check out Signing at School: Sign Language for Kids or The Handmade Alphabet.  Like using activity kits in the classroom? Check out the OISE Library K-12 Manipulatives Database or browse the 3rd floor of the Library.

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Featured Activity Kit: Number Balance

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Skye Soobramanie

The Number Balance activity kit is perfect for teaching kindergarten and primary mathematics. This kit makes math easy, interactive, and hands-on for students. It helps them visualize number relationships and operations such as addition, subtraction, and comparisons by allowing students to manipulate and place weights on the t-scale. By participating and manipulating the weights students can see whether what they have done has balanced or tipped the scale. An example activity would involve having students hang weights from any two numbers on the left side of the balance and then having them place a weight on the other side of the scale where they think the sum of the other two weights is.

The kit contains one large (oversize) t-scale and 20 weights for students to manipulate and place. It can be used as a demonstration tool, as a tool for free exploration, or even for group work. By making mathematics concepts, like addition, subtraction, and comparisons, visual and hands-on for students, the Number Balance activity kit is a great tool for teachers to use in order to engage younger students with math.

The Number Balance activity kit is currently on display on the Ground Floor of the OISE Library on the coffee table near the “New Arrivals” shelf. For more information on this activity kit, and many others available in the OISE Library’s Curriculum Resources Collection, please visit the OISE Library K-12 Manipulatives Database.

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OISE Lobby Display: STEM Education

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Lynda Yao

For April, the OISE Library Lobby Display will be featuring books and resources on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. These titles highlight the importance of teaching STEM in all levels of education–ranging from primary to post-secondary schools. In this display, you can find teaching guides, activity books, and scholarly materials on topics surrounding STEM education.

Effective instruction for STEM disciplines: From learning theory to college teaching, by Edward J. Mastascusa, William J. Snyder, and Brian S. Hoyt

Effective instruction for STEM disciplines: From learning theory to college teaching is aimed at educators in the science, technology, engineering, and maths fields. The book provides insights for scholars and educators on the importance of engaging students in the STEM learning process. The sophistication of today’s technology and digital universe has transformed the way students learn about STEM by providing unprecedented access to information and knowledge. However, the author of the book points out that despite this tremendous shift in how people learn, teaching methods in STEM remains stagnant and outdated. The goal of the book is to challenge traditional methods of teaching STEM by introducing new ideas and approaches from current research. The book argues that one of the most effective ways for students to learn and retain knowledge is through active engagement both within and outside the classroom.

Engineering in K-12 education: Understanding the status and improving the prospects, ed. By Linda Latehi, Greg Pearson, and Michael Feder

Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the status and improving the prospects looks at how topics related to engineering are currently being taught in the K-12 curriculum, and discusses its benefits and impact on young students. Although engineering is not commonly taught in K-12 classrooms, it has gained momentum in recent years. The book discusses how early awareness of engineering sciences may lead students to gain greater interest in STEM fields overall. Furthermore, the introduction of engineering education to children can also increase technological literacy. Contributors of the book carefully examine how engineering is currently taught in the K-12 curriculum and utilizes ideas from the cognitive sciences to understand how youths may learn engineering concepts differently than adults. The goal of the book is to provide an argument for increased implementation of engineering topics in K-12 education.

Tinkerlab: A hands-on guide for little inventors, by Rachelle Doorley

From an early age, children learn about the world around them through play, exploration, and experimentation. Tinkerlab: A hands-on guide for little inventors provides parents, teachers, and educators with a variety of activities for young children up to the age of 6. The book consists of 55 unique and playful experiments and activities that are geared towards cultivating children’s “tinkering, curiosity, and creative thinking”. The book is divided into seven chapters, with individual chapter addressing a specific method of experimentation. The first three chapters provide parents and teachers with methods and tools on how to foster a creative and thought-provoking learning environment for young children. The remainder of the topics include designing, building, concocting, and discovering. Using various types of common household tools and materials, the goal of each activity is to provoke children’s natural curiosity and help them interact with the wonders around them.

What’s your angle, Pythagoras? By Julie Ellis, illustrated by Phyllis Hornung

What’s your angle Pythagoras? Is a Math adventure children’s book that depicts the life of a young Pythagoras, a renowned Greek mathematician and scholar. The story begins with a young and curious Pythagoras who is always looking to understand the world around him. After seeing his friends struggle to build a ladder long enough to lean against the wall and columns too crooked to hold up a roof, Pythagoras believed that there must be a solution out there. Young Pythagoras sailed to the city of Alexandria where he met an Egyptian architect who shared his secrets to building the magnificent light house that stood by the ports. In Egypt, Pythagoras learned to use square tiles to construct and measure right-angle triangles. This work later became known as the Pythagorean Theorem, which continues to be a foundational mathematical principle today.

Teaching STEM in the early years: Activities for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, by Sally Moomaw

Teaching STEM in the early years: Activities for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is teacher’s guide that provides instructors with a variety of tools and tips on integrating activities into their STEM curriculum. These activities help stimulate students interests in STEM fields through active engagement in carefully planned educational exercises. These exercises incorporate materials from two or more STEM disciplines, which allows students to draw their knowledge from a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math fields and come up with creative solutions. The activities presented in the guide are geared towards familiarizing primary school students with STEM knowledge using  hands-on exercises that require critical thinking and problem solving.

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Contemporary Indigenous Voices

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Skye Soobramanie

For the month of April, The OISE Library has put together a display on the subject of contemporary Indigenous voices. The display contains books and other materials from our Stacks, Children’s Literature, and Curriculum Resources collections. The materials in this display highlight the different ways Indigenous peoples express their cultural heritage within a contemporary context, showing a different perspective than the usual portrayals of traditional expressions of Indigenous cultures. Overall, these materials can help you provide your students with examples of how Indigenous peoples express their cultures today and face contemporary challenges.

Materials such as #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, School Experiences of Aboriginal Youth in the Inner City, Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City, Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous Stories and Strategies, Ispayin: Métis Youth Express Yourself!, and Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices express voices from different contemporary Indigenous perspectives. #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women, for example, aims to “shatter stereotypes” by showcasing the diversity of Indigenous women across North America through artistic expression. Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices provides readers with artworks and writings from Indigenous artists, photographers, comedians, chefs, and much more in order to discuss issues such as the effects of residential schooling, bullying, and hopes for the future. The unique perspectives provided in these materials highlight how Indigenous peoples navigate between traditions and contemporary society.

Materials that highlight contemporary displays of Indigenous culture are also included. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass expresses the connections between Indigenous teachings about nature and scientific concepts associated with botany. Rock & Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story is the story of Canadian guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson, who started out as a young boy learning to play guitar on his reservation and became one of Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists of all time. Other materials include The Honour Drum: Sharing the Beauty of Canada’s Indigenous People with Children, Families, and Classrooms, Powwow Counting in Cree, Dakota Talks About Treaties, and Alex Shares His Wampum Belt.

This display also highlights Juvenile Fiction titles written by contemporary Indigenous authors. Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection (Volume 2) is a graphic novel anthology written by Indigenous authors from various communities, bringing Indigenous representation to the comic book world. This collection of stories discusses topics such as Indigenous identity, culture, and spirituality. Volume 2 is available at the OISE Library. Drew Hayden Taylor’s Take Us to Your Chief: And Other Stories infuses Indigenous perspectives with science fiction to tell a story of aliens, space, and time travel. Other stories include The Outside Circle, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, Strangers, and Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection.

All of these materials can be found in the glass display case on the ground floor of the OISE Library. Do not hesitate to ask circulation or reference desk staff for assistance, as all of these materials are available to be checked out!

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New Titles: Education Around the World

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Lynda Yao

Check out some of the new titles that have just arrived at the OISE Library. These selected titles explore the topics of global education and education around the world!

The case for intercultural education in a multicultural world, Jagdish S. Gundara

In The case for intercultural education in a multicultural world, Gundara identifies the rapidly growing intercultural and multicultural challenges within the field of education—particularly in the United States. Minorities and groups within the disadvantaged social classes are often overlooked and denied the various opportunities within the education system. It is important for education systems to realize this and emphasize the greater importance of intercultural and multicultural education. The book is an anthology of thirteen essays written throughout the academic and professional career of Jagdish Gundara–UNESCO chair in Intercultural Studies and Teacher Education at the University of London. Each essay addresses a specific issue or topic regarding intercultural and multicultural education within the broader educational field. These topics include: the impact of globalization, inclusive education policies, youth and vulnerable groups, and many others.

Chinese philosophy on teacher and learning: Xueji in the twenty-first century, edited by Xu Di and Hunter McEwan.

Written over two thousand years ago, Xueji is considered one of the oldest works on educational and teaching philosophy. It is part of the Five Classics that formed the foundations of the education system in China for more than two millennia. Chinese philosophy on teaching and learning: Xueji in the twenty-first century offers a new and modern translation of the historic Chinese text and examines it through both a Chinese and Western discursive lens. The book contains a collection of essays written by scholars and experts from around the world—offering their own unique interpretations and analysis on the similarities and differences between Imperial Chinese education philosophy and classical Greek school of thought.

The comparative politics of education: Teachers unions and education systems around the world, edited by Terry M. Moe and Susanne Wiborg

To understand how and why a country’s education system operates the way it does, it is important to first understand how political power is structured and exercised in that country. The comparative politics of education: Teachers unions and education systems around the world examines the relationship between the government and its education system in eleven different countries in an attempt to understand how factors such as power, money, and personal interests play a role in shaping education. The book is a collection of essays written by teachers and professionals in the education field across the globe. This anthology is aimed at examining and comparing how politics have affected education systems throughout different eras and nations—with a focus on elementary and high school education.

The crosscultural language, and academic development handbook: A complete K-12 reference guide, by Lynne T. Diaz-Rico

The crosscultural language, and academic development handbook: A complete K-12 reference guide is a helpful teaching handbook that provides educators with practical strategies and tools to help them facilitate an inclusive learning environment for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Geared towards mainstream classroom teachers, this guide is divided into 12 distinct sections, each addressing a specific topic in linguistics and education. The handbook examines the differences between various language structures, theories in second-language acquisition, culturally responsive schooling, strategies in bilingual education, and much more. In addition to providing teachers with in-classroom tools to enhance academic success, the guide also offers strategies to engage parents and guardians in their children’s learning.

The global education race: Taking the measure of PISA and international testing, by Sam Sellar, Greg Thompson, and David Rutkowski

The global education race: Taking the measure of PISA and international testing is a short yet concise overview of the issues and controversies surrounding international testing. Divided into seven chapters, the book introduces readers to the history of PISA and international testing, its validity, and the politics surrounding it. The book aims to examine how international testing fosters competition between nations in a race to compare one country’s education system to another. Drawing on academic research regarding global education policies, the authors provides compelling arguments on both the benefits and negative consequences of international testing, and offers potential solutions for policy makers to undertake.

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