If you do not recieve this newsletter and would like to do so, please contact us at:
communityunity@communityunity.org
Spring 2005
DON'T FORGET WORLD ON THE SQUARE 2005!
As always, the free World on the Square family fun fair will be 4-8 pm the second Saturday in August - August 13 this year! Prizes, food, games, art, music and fun from the four corners of the globe, and it's all as near as Corydon's courthouse square. If you or your students would like to volunteer to help, contact Melissa Jackson at jacksonme@lanesville.k12.in.us.
THE POWER OF WORDS Last fall, the National Center for Education Statistics released the report "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004." This study states nearly 1 in 8 students reported that someone at school had used hate-related words against them.
You can help your students make informed choices about the use of slurs, epithets and labels. Check out Teaching Tolerance's free online curriculum, "The Power of Words", that explores common labels for ethnic groups, women and sexual minorities. The program offers ready-made lessons that make it easy for educators to move beyond "Don't use that word!" to helping students understand the nuances of language and how words can hurt, even if the intent in using them is neutral or positive. The curriculum consists of 10 lesson plans that include exploring the roots of slang for immigrants, a lesson on recent attempts by marginalized groups to reclaim pejorative words and other activities. The lessons support content standards in language arts, history, civics and behavioral studies for grades 9-12. Many of the activities can be adapted for lower grades and across subject areas. The program is written by educators Janet Lockhart and Susan Shaw and is based on cultural anthropologist Philip Herbst's groundbreaking work, "The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States" and "Wimmin, Wimps and Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual Orientation Bias in the United States."
Sample lesson plan pages are included with this newsletter and the entire curriculum can be downloaded free of charge at www.tolerance.org.
READ TO FEED
Endorsed by J. K. Rowling, Read to Feed is a sponsored reading program and a standards-based curriculum for grades 6-8. Lessons are also available for 3/4th and 5/6th grade curriculums. Leaders' Packets with instructions and access to global learning activities are free. Print-and-do games and activities are available at the Read to Feed website (address at the end of this segment). Your free packet will include:
HAVE YOU MET THE BARKING MOUSE?
Momma Mouse rescues the family when she speaks to the cat in a language it understands - which is not Mouse!
The Barking Mouse online is an interactive bilingual reading/audio lesson about the advantages of having a second language at your command. Geared for grades K-3, the lessons can be used cross-discipline - art, language arts, geography, and even math.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/web/ptolerance/plan.jsp?ar=98
CO-OPERATIVE GAMES
Using MRI technology, scientists at Emory University recently found that when people collaborate, the brain sends out pleasure responses, leading some researchers to believe that we have a biological "cooperative imperative". Studies in other countries further show that culture dictates whether competitiveness or cooperation is the norm. In one story told by Nicholas Kristof, of five year-old Japanese children learning to play musical chairs, the boys and girls "kept politely stepping out of the way so that others could have their chairs."
While a little friendly competition is natural to a degree, cooperative games among kids have proven to "increase motivation, sensitivity, self-esteem, and trust toward others and are more conducive to psychological health". In cooperative games, kids learn to overcome challenges, not each other and in the process, work on skills such as, "listening, conflict resolution, support and encouragement for others, enjoying other's successes, taking turns, and learning to criticize ideas, not individuals". Cooperative games also "seldom cause the feelings of inferiority" often felt by those in competitive games. While competitive games often reinforce the feelings of low self-esteem in some kids, cooperative games tend to have the opposite effect as all the kids support each other toward a common goal, with no sides to choose or from which to be chosen.
Sources, games, and books:
These newsletters are produced with funds from Community Unity and Harrison County Community Foundation
DON'T FORGET WORLD ON THE SQUARE 2005!
As always, the free World on the Square family fun fair will be 4-8 pm the second Saturday in August - August 13 this year! Prizes, food, games, art, music and fun from the four corners of the globe, and it's all as near as Corydon's courthouse square. If you or your students would like to volunteer to help, contact Melissa Jackson at jacksonme@lanesville.k12.in.us.
THE POWER OF WORDS Last fall, the National Center for Education Statistics released the report "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004." This study states nearly 1 in 8 students reported that someone at school had used hate-related words against them.
You can help your students make informed choices about the use of slurs, epithets and labels. Check out Teaching Tolerance's free online curriculum, "The Power of Words", that explores common labels for ethnic groups, women and sexual minorities. The program offers ready-made lessons that make it easy for educators to move beyond "Don't use that word!" to helping students understand the nuances of language and how words can hurt, even if the intent in using them is neutral or positive. The curriculum consists of 10 lesson plans that include exploring the roots of slang for immigrants, a lesson on recent attempts by marginalized groups to reclaim pejorative words and other activities. The lessons support content standards in language arts, history, civics and behavioral studies for grades 9-12. Many of the activities can be adapted for lower grades and across subject areas. The program is written by educators Janet Lockhart and Susan Shaw and is based on cultural anthropologist Philip Herbst's groundbreaking work, "The Color of Words: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Ethnic Bias in the United States" and "Wimmin, Wimps and Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual Orientation Bias in the United States."
Sample lesson plan pages are included with this newsletter and the entire curriculum can be downloaded free of charge at www.tolerance.org.
READ TO FEED
Endorsed by J. K. Rowling, Read to Feed is a sponsored reading program and a standards-based curriculum for grades 6-8. Lessons are also available for 3/4th and 5/6th grade curriculums. Leaders' Packets with instructions and access to global learning activities are free. Print-and-do games and activities are available at the Read to Feed website (address at the end of this segment). Your free packet will include:
- An award-winning video, "The Promise", about two children who share the same dream-hope for a life free from hunger and poverty
- Beatrice's Goat, New York Times bestseller about a young girl whose life was changed by the gift of a Heifer International goat
- Step-by-step program instructions
- Beautiful stickers and bookmarks for each child, created especially for Read to Feed
- Colorful poster for the classroom
- Booklets for each child about real kids and real animals around the world
HAVE YOU MET THE BARKING MOUSE?
Momma Mouse rescues the family when she speaks to the cat in a language it understands - which is not Mouse!
The Barking Mouse online is an interactive bilingual reading/audio lesson about the advantages of having a second language at your command. Geared for grades K-3, the lessons can be used cross-discipline - art, language arts, geography, and even math.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/web/ptolerance/plan.jsp?ar=98
CO-OPERATIVE GAMES
Using MRI technology, scientists at Emory University recently found that when people collaborate, the brain sends out pleasure responses, leading some researchers to believe that we have a biological "cooperative imperative". Studies in other countries further show that culture dictates whether competitiveness or cooperation is the norm. In one story told by Nicholas Kristof, of five year-old Japanese children learning to play musical chairs, the boys and girls "kept politely stepping out of the way so that others could have their chairs."
While a little friendly competition is natural to a degree, cooperative games among kids have proven to "increase motivation, sensitivity, self-esteem, and trust toward others and are more conducive to psychological health". In cooperative games, kids learn to overcome challenges, not each other and in the process, work on skills such as, "listening, conflict resolution, support and encouragement for others, enjoying other's successes, taking turns, and learning to criticize ideas, not individuals". Cooperative games also "seldom cause the feelings of inferiority" often felt by those in competitive games. While competitive games often reinforce the feelings of low self-esteem in some kids, cooperative games tend to have the opposite effect as all the kids support each other toward a common goal, with no sides to choose or from which to be chosen.
Sources, games, and books:
- http://www.movingandlearning.com/Resources/Articles11.htm
- http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/teaching/community.asp
- http://www.teachers.net/archive/noncompetitive.html
- The Cooperative Sports And Games Book: Challenge Without Competition - Terry Orlick
- Ultimate Athlete Revisioning Sports, Physical Education and The Body - George Leonard
- Everybody Wins! - Cynthia MacGregor (150 games)
These newsletters are produced with funds from Community Unity and Harrison County Community Foundation