Literacy for Christmas: Free activities and resources

December 19, 2011

Swirl of giftsAre you looking for activities with a Christmas or holiday theme to promote or improve literacy? Check out some of these great free resources:

Early Childhood Literacy

Christmas literacy resources for K-3 teachers 

Candy cane math and sight words for preschoolers and kindergarten – The Preschool Toolbox blog

Literacy activities for K-12

Tons of holiday literacy resources for a variety of ages (including printables) – Teaching Ideas

Christmas writing activities – Literacy Minute blog

Christmas around the world – Numerous activities for a variety of age groups – TES resources

Literacy at Christmas “How to” kit – NWT Literacy Council (NALD)

Christmas Brainstorm Activities – About.com (There are links to other worthwhile resources from that page.)

Do you know of other free activities for literacy teachers that we can add to this list? If so, leave your comment below.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, Literacy, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 11-17, 2011)

December 18, 2011

Here are my favorite resources of the week, curated from my Twitter account.

Social Media Resources, Policy tools and How To’s

Best practices for confronting employee sexual harassment – by Judy Greenwald

15 WordPress Plugins For A Better Facebook Experience – 1stwebdesigner.com

Social Media News

Underground Industry Aims to Dupe Social Media Users – by Tom Simonite

Canada’s Tories to take questions in inaugural Twitter town hall – CTV news

What Insurers Could Do With Your ‘Social Media Score’  – by Sheryl Nance-Nash

Adult Literacy and Essential Skills

Computer Use Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Writing Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Reading Tip Sheet – HRSDC

Tips on Working with others – HRSDC

Oral communication tips – HRSDC

Children’s Literacy

Reading Companion – Great literacy resource by IBM

Robert Munsch’s Reading Website for Kids

Starfall – Excellent literacy resource for children

Top 10 Tips for Teaching Basic Reading Skills – Worksheet library

Technology and E-learning

Bringing Speech Recognition to Reading Instruction – by Marilyn Jager Adams

A lesson plan to introduce YLs to blogging – by Dina Dobrou

Apps and software for students with language-based learning disabilities – by Inov8-Ed

Popular educational Twitter feeds live and streaming – from Splaysoft

Tip of the Week – Six Great Ways to Publish Student Work – Historytech blog

Tutpup – Competitive Educational Games – by Mark Brumley

10 Instructional Design Tips for e-Learning Development  – TheNewLearner.com

The Gamification of Education: What School Can Learn from Video Games – Terrell Hick

Languages and Multilingualism

10 Myths you will be told about multilingual children – Multilingual Children’s Association

Christmas resources in 4 languages – LanguageNut

80 Apps to Learn a New Language – by Joshua Johnson

Elements Of Style Rap: Columbia Journalism Students Tackle Strunk And White Grammar Classic – Huffington Post

Education News

How the Left Side of the Brain Got Left Behind: A Hypothesis – GettingSmart.com

Online schools score better on Wall St. than in classrooms – NY Times

English Continues to Be World’s Most Influential Language, TalktoCanada Reports – SacBee

Teachers concerned about Inclusive Education Planning Tool – Alberta Teachers’ Association

Tech startups ride surge in online education – AsiaOne.com

Related posts

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (December 4-10, 2011)

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (November 20- 26, 2011)

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (November 13-19, 2011)

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 11-17, 2011) | education, languages, Literacy, second languages, social media, teaching, technology, world languages | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Canadian English: Not Just a Hybrid of American and British English

December 13, 2011

NALD logoA number of years ago I had the pleasure of participating in a professional development workshop in Cuba for English teachers there. Due to the large numbers of Canadian tourists in Cuba, the teachers were intensely interested in “Canadian” English. They asked, “What is Canadian English?”, “How does it differ from British English? Or American English?” and “Is there really such a thing as ‘Canadian’ words?”

I wrote a paper on the topic of Canadian English for the workshop and I must say, I was surprised at how much I learned about my own language!

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) has archived the paper and has made it available for all researchers, teachers and literacy practitioners free of charge. Download your free copy of “Canadian English: Not Just a Hybrid of British and American English”.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, languages, Literacy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Tomorrow’s webinar: Webinars for professional speakers (sponsored by CAPS)

December 12, 2011

I’m a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) and tomorrow I’m volunteering to help out my association with a professional development webinar designed to teach other speakers, presenters and facilitators how to integrate webinars more effectively into their professional practice:

Webinars for Professional Speakers

Webinars have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. What does this mean for you as a speaker? What critical things do you need to know to do webinars successfully?

Join us to learn how you can use webinars as part of your own professional practice.

December 13 10:00PST/1:00EST (60 min)

Free for CAPS members (non members $15) Register HERE

You will leave this session with:

•    A clear understanding of what webinars are and why they work.

•    The pros and cons of teleseminars

•    Ideas on how to incorporate webinars successfully into your overall business strategy.

•    Why the majority of webinars stink and how to make sure yours don’t.

•    When and how much you can charge for a webinar.

•    Tips and tricks for producing your own exceptional webinars.

Bio: Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D. (CAPS Calgary), is one of Canada’s leading authorities on webinars. A professional speaker and educator, she teaches others how to incorporate webinars successfully into their own businesses and deliver high quality programs.

December 13 10:00PST/1:00EST (60 min)

Free for CAPS members (non members $15) Register HERE

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Tomorrow’s webinar: Webinars for professional speakers (sponsored by CAPS) | technology, Uncategorized, webinar | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 4-10, 2011)

December 10, 2011

Here are my favorite resources of the week, curated from my Twitter account.

Social Media

7 Social media tips for the company Christmas party – by John Balitis and Carrie Pixler-Ryerson, for Inside Tucson Business

Social media policy essential in the workplace – by Anna Cairo

Apple’s social media policy leaked by Emily Nicholls

A social media policy pearl by Andrea Di Maio

8 Ways To Avoid Social Media Culture Clash by Debra Donston-Miller

What Boards Should Know About Social Media by Erika L. Del Giudice and Dorri C. McWhorter

Social Media Policy Essentials by Ray Silva

After Facebook rant, Manatee County suspends deputy for three days by Alison Morrow

Apple Fires Employee Over Facebook Rants by Margaret Rock

Quebec Minor Hockey League Social Media Policy – QMHL

UFC Reaps the risks and rewards of social media – by Chad Dundas, ESPN

Literacy and Essential Skills

Take time to learn together on Family Literacy Day by Community Content

Technology and teaching children to read: What does the research say? from NEIR TEC

No place in class for digital illiterates – The Guardian

Margaret Atwood says Twitter, internet boost literacy – CBC News

Tips to Make Reading Fun – in Lake Mary Health and Wellness

National Literacy Trust highlights book-free millions – by Judith Burns, BBC News

Paper or electronic? Reading to children important no matter the medium – by Roni Reino

Financial Education pays off in adult life – by Sharon Singleton

Technology and E-learning

How to convert your Powerpoint into an E-learning course – Rapid E-Learning

Google Forms for Educators – ISU Workforce Training

Top 10 iPhone Apps of 2011 – by eGichomo

Digital literacy resources – Government of South Australia

Languages and Multilingualism

How to market to foreign language speakers – by Christian Arno

“Pleasure reading” key to second language learning – Victoria University of Wellington

Effective Learning / Metacognition

Effective learning and teaching – Science for All Americans Online

5 Training “Must Knows” – by Sarah Bohnenkamp

Education News

India offers English stepping stone to east Asian students – The Guardian

Canada: a failing grade on aboriginal education – by Gerry St. Germain And Lillian Dyck, The Leader-Post

The rise of flexi-schooling – by Jeevan Vasagar

When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids – by Valerie Strauss

Related posts:

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Nov. 20 to 26, 2011)

Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Nov. 13 to 19, 2011)

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Share this post: Best resources of the week (Dec. 4 to 10, 2011) http://wp.me/pNAh3-13H

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Dr. Sarah’s favorite resources of the week (Dec. 4-10, 2011) | education, teaching, technology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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