A New Series on Educating our Children for a Globalized World - September 26th

Educating our children for a globalized world

People to People Ambassador Programs joins NBC to enhance American education

People to People Ambassador
Programs is proud to be a sponsor of NBC News Education Nation, a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America. We join partners like Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to explore how American schools can best prepare students to compete in a globalized world.

This event is bringing together leaders in the educational world—including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and President of MIT Susan Hockfield—to share solutions and strategies. NBC News will provide coverage throughout the week of September 26 to empower Americans in all fields to work toward a quality education for the coming generations.


Why we’re involved
If we want to provide students with a competitive edge in a global economy, we must first give them some insights into that wider world. Because international education and awareness are at the heart of People to People Ambassador Programs, this summit “offers a great opportunity for us to contribute our own expertise as a global educator,” says President Peg Thomas.

Thomas believes that past Ambassadors provide some of the best arguments for the value of education. “Our students gain firsthand insights into what life is like for the students they meet in China, in Germany—all over the world. I think they come home inspired to challenge themselves academically.”

2010’s National Teacher of the Year, Sarah Brown Wessling, agrees: “I can expose students through literature to new cultures, religions, and many different things, but there’s something unique about the actual experience. It provides a new blueprint for thinking and opens [students’] eyes to the world.”


About the summit
The Education Nation event kicks off with a Teacher Town Hall*, hosted by NBC News anchor Brian Williams, airing live on MSNBC this Sunday, September 26, at 12 p.m. EDT. The summit continues through the week, featuring:

• An address by Gen. Colin Powell, founding chairman of America’s Promise Alliance.
• A series of exhibits at Rockefeller Plaza introducing the public to the lifelong effects of education and the innovations available to future generations.
• Twelve specialized summits on important issues such as technology, teacher training, and workforce readiness. Dr. David Livermore, a cultural intelligence expert who has been working closely with People to People Ambassadors, has been invited to participate in the Study Abroad summit.

What you can do
Please join us in this vital effort. First, tune in to NBC broadcasts throughout the coming week to inform yourself about developments in education for the 21st century. Then, determine where you can make a difference, whether it’s volunteering in your local public school or championing changes to policies and standards.

However you choose to take part, your contribution will have lasting effects. For Thomas, “working together in this arena not only enhances the future for your child and mine, but for our world.”


*Educators, take note: You have the opportunity to lend your own influence to this important conversation. Whether you are a delegation leader or a friend of People to People, we encourage you to log in to the Teacher Town Hall on Sunday by registering here.

Teaching Similes, Synonyms, Homophones, and Metaphors

Here is a article with texts - picture books - for teaching similes, synonyms, homophones, and metaphors.  This is applicable to all ages and helps students visualize.  This is shared through the courtesy of Choice Literacy.

  

Can teaching similes, synonyms, homophones and metaphors be fun?  It sure can if you know the right children's books to use as mentor texts.  Franki Sibberson shares her favorites for language study and word work in a new booklist:

 

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1264.cfm

 

Re-organizing for Success

Here is a model for helping all students achieve to their fullest potential, courtesy of ASCD Smart Brief.

High-poverty Texas school finds formula for success
More than 90% of students at the high-poverty John Haley Elementary School in Irving, Texas, achieved proficiency on state tests and earned their school an "exemplary" rating. School principal Robyn Bowling -- who has been at the school for 15 years -- credits parent-education programs, after-school activities and hard work by teachers as factors responsible for the success of the students, the majority of whom are economically disadvantaged and English-language learners. The Dallas Morning News

Literacy Resources for Teachers!

Here are some resources for school start up, courtesy of IRA.

Sign up for FREE Webinars on Comprehension: IRA is bringing great professional development  to your desktop this fall with free, interactive webinars on comprehension. The first program, The Foundational Roles of Vocabulary and Comprehension in Early Literacy, will be hosted September 30 from 8:00–9:00 p.m. Eastern time by Lesley Morrow (right) and Billie Enz, nationally known experts on early learning. Morrow is the editor of IRA’s Preschool Literacy Collection; she and Enz coauthored the book Assessing Preschool Literacy Development: Informal and Formal Measures to Guide Instruction. Click here to learn more about the webinar and to register. Registration is limited to 100 people, so sign up today. Coming up later this fall: Doug Fisher and Diane Lapp on comprehension and teacher modeling, and Lori Oczkus on reciprocal teaching. Details to come.


Thinkfinity Releases Back to School Mini-site: Verizon Thinkfinity's new Back to School mini-site is packed with resources to help educators set the tone for a successful school year: tools to support innovative uses of technology by students, cross-curricular lessons and activities, resources to help build community in the classroom, professional development opportunities and materials, and information  on staying connected through the Thinkfinity Community. Check out all these and other free resources on the Verizon Thinkfinity website. IRA is one of the content partners for Verizon Thinkfinity, partnering with the National Council of Teachers of English on the popular ReadWriteThink.org website, which offers language arts lesson plans and other resources for K-12 educators.