Table of Contents
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Book Reviews
- Ready, Set, Grow!
-
with the Earth Buddies.
- Debora Pearson.
- Review by Peter Ross Croskery.
- Grades 1 - 5 / Ages 6 to 9.
- Paul Bunyan on the West Coast.
- Tom Henry.
- Review by Peter Ross Croskery.
- Grades 4 and Up / Ages 8 and Up.
- Danced in My Brain:
-
A Woman's Story of Addiction and Recovery.
- Kimberley Mansfield.
- Review by Grace Shaw.
- Grades 10 - 13 / Ages 14 - 18.
- Iroquois Fires:
-
The Six Nations Lyrics and Lore of Dawendine.
- Bernice Loft Winslow. Illustrated by C.W. Jeffries.
- Review by Grace Shaw.
- All ages.
- Assessment and ESL:
-
On the Yellow Big Road to the Withered of OZ.
- Barbara Law and Mary Eckes.
- Review by Gail Lennon.
- Professional.
Video Reviews
- A Cut Above:
-
My Grandfather Was a Logger.
- Directed by Karen Bastgailis.
- Review by T.S. Causabon.
- Grades 9 and Up / Ages 13 and Up.
The Story of Rosy Dock.
- Written and Directed by Jeannie Baker.
- Review by Diane Fitzgerald.
- All ages.
Features
Notable Web Sites
- Collaborative Book Review Project
- The Great Canadian Trivia Contest
- The Little Math Puzzle
News
- Canadian Professional Development
- Programs in K-12 Telecommunications
Book Review
Ready, Set, Grow!
with the Earth Buddies.
Debora Pearson.
Toronto: Somerville House Publishing, 1995. 48pp, paper, $12.95.
ISBN: 1-895897-56-4.
Grades 1 - 5 / Ages 6 to 9.
Review by Peter Ross Croskery.
***/4
Ready, Set, Grow with the Earth Buddies is sold as a
package that includes an instruction book and two "Earth Buddies."
The Earth Buddies are round balls made from nylon stocking and
filled with sawdust and grass seeds. Each has a happy face painted on for
fun. By following the "watering instructions" contained within the book,
the Earth Buddies will grow grass so they will seem to have green hair.
Given the popularity of Chia Pets, the Earth Buddies aren't a completely
novel concept, but the ideas within the instruction book make this
package attractive.
Written by Debora Pearson, the former editor of
Chickadee magazine and author of numerous other interactive
environmental materials, this package has excellent educational value.
Jane Kurisu's illustrations complement the text and subtly illustrate
many of the book's experiments.
Besides instructions on how to grow hair on your Earth Buddy, the
book outlines several other simple experiments or activities kids can do.
The experiments will teach children a lot about plants -- the importance
of water, the effect of acid rain, how seeds grow, how plants
turn towards the sun, and so on. Perhaps the nicest feature of the
instruction book is that it includes instructions on how to make your own
Earth Buddies.
For each experiment, the instructions ("What to Do") and the
materials needed and instructions are clearly presented. The final
section of each experiment explains "What Happens" if children carefully
follow the instructions. And if each activity is done in sequence,
children will gain a clear understanding of the magical transformation of
a seed to a plant.
Using materials commonly available in every home, the Earth Buddies
package is a powerful learning tool. The experiments do not require an
outdoor setting so kids can learn how plants grow during winter in
preparation for establishing their own outdoors garden this summer.
I've given this package an age rating of six to nine, but younger
children, with the help of an adult, could also find this package a fun
activity.
Recommended.
Peter Ross Croskery is an Environmental Communications Specialist
living in Grimsby, Ontario.
Book Review
Paul Bunyan on the West Coast.
Tom Henry.
Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 1995. 56pp, paper, $12.95.
ISBN: 1-55017-109-7.
Grades 4 and Up / Ages 8 and Up.
Review by Peter Ross Croskery.
***/4
Paul Bunyan on the West Coast is a fun read that blends
tall tales and West Coast mythology to embellish the larger-than-life
story of Paul Bunyan. "Some people say that Paul Bunyan was a New
England logger and never set foot west of the Rockies. This is not true,"
says author Tom Henry, who goes on to present evidence to support his
claim:
Paul logged up and down the Pacific Coast for years and
there is plenty of evidence to prove it. Like the Gulf and San Juan
Islands. Paul made those islands.
Henry's book is arranged in ten chapters, each relating a Paul
Bunyan exploit, like "How Paul Made the Gulf Islands," "Paul's Camp,"
"Working in the Woods," "Paul's Enemies," and "The Fate of Paul
Bunyan." Scattered throughout the text are cartoon-like illustrations by
Governor General's Award-winning artist Kim La Fave.
Henry's humorous tall tales are refreshing:
So tall were the firs and hemlocks that it took eight men
a week of looking to see the tops. They were so big around that fallers
would die of old age making a cut and the next generation would finish it
off.
It turns out Paul's life explains a great deal of the topographic
evolution of British Columbia. When Babe, Paul's beloved Blue Ox, dies,
Paul buries her in what are now the Olympic Mountains. The Alberni Inlet
was created by Paul so his camp would be at seaside. And Paul created the
channel between Vancouver Island and the mainland.
Closing off the book is a Glossary that includes definitions of
logging terms and an index of people in Paul Bunyan's life.
This book will amuse young children because of the magic of the Paul
Bunyan legend. Older children will see, and appreciate, the subtle humour
scattered throughout the book. Definitely worth reading, this book will
appeal to children and those who are young at heart.
Recommended.
Peter Ross Croskery is an Environmental Communications Specialist
living in Grimsby, Ontario.
Book Review
Danced in My Brain:
A Woman's Story of Addiction and Recovery.
Kimberley Mansfield.
Burnstown, ON: General Store Publishing, 1995. 157pp, paper, $16.95.
ISBN: 1-896182-25-9.
Grades 10 - 13 / Ages 14 - 18.
Review by Grace Shaw.
**1/2 /4
excerpt:
She couldn't get the vein and kept missing herself, leaving the blood to
run
down her arms. . . . covered with raw, red, and bluish marks.
Danced in My Brain tells a story of sexual abuse and a
nightmarish descent
into a living hell of addiction and despair. The most chilling reality is
the
power of the drug over the will -- that once mainlined, the drug is in
control and there are few roads back to normalcy.
Kimberley Mansfield wrote her story to help other addicts, to give
them understanding and hope, and to deter those teetering on the brink.
Its
title refers to the release from pain -- physical and psychic -- promised
by the orange cap of the hypodermic syringe.
The book is gripping; the reader does not stop for coffee. But some
aspects of the book are troublesome and difficult to accept. The abusers
are shadowy; it is not always clear who the perpetrators are (sibling
abuse is generally less damaging than inter-generational abuse). The step-father
acts decisively to end the abuse, but the self-
flagellation continues. The author beats herself up with the story.
There are some elements that are hard to accept without more
information. Why, for example, would popular and beautiful girls need to
beat Kimberley up? Can we believe that all four sibling in an
apparently normal household have totally destructive addiction problems?
As I read, I am troubled and challenged by some scepticism and lack of
acceptance. Maybe non-addicts just cannot really understand the space of
one who has lost control of her life.
But perhaps Kimberley's book will accomplish what she wishes:
comfort the lost and warn the vulnerable.
Recommended for a teenage and young adult audience.
Grace Shaw is a teacher at Vancouver Community College.
Book Review
Iroquois Fires:
The Six Nations Lyrics and Lore of Dawendine.
Bernice Loft Winslow. Illustrated by C.W. Jeffries.
Ottawa: Penumbra Press, 1995. 160pp, paper, $19.95.
ISBN: 0-921254-75-X.
All ages.
Review by Grace Shaw.
***/4
excerpt:
[Father] still insisted on us knowing the things that belonged to the
Indian, the history of our own people. . . . All during his life we kept
that idea of being Indian before us.
Bernice Loft Winslow's Iroquois Fires is a wonderful,
celebratory volume of her poetry and the Iroquoian stories and legends she has recorded. Winslow's tales and folklore are
enhanced by the pen and ink drawings of C.W. Jeffries, grandfather of the
editor, Robert Stacy, who originally attempted to have this poet and
orator's work published fifty years ago.
Winslow's Mohawk name, Dawendine -- "The Dawn" -- is
appropriate to her task. This preserver of the past and caretaker of
"the coming faces" (of future generations) lectured and recited in the
manner of her mentor, E. Pauline Johnson, but was more interested in and
involved with keeping native culture, traditions, and languages alive. In
1995 she was ninety-two years old and has now succeeded in her life-long
goal of sharing her special knowledge. The theme that runs through
Iroquois Fires is respect for and oneness with every aspect
of creation.
Unfortunately the book's structure is confusing, with its preface,
introduction, endnotes, histories, explanations, photographs and
afterwords. Perhaps the editor has tried to provide us with too much of
Winslow's story where a simple chronology would have sufficed.
But let us view the book as a collage, a potpourri, and not as a
single thematic entity and then we can savour each delightful part.
Iroquois Fires will be of special interest to North
Americans with native ancestry but can be read and enjoyed by all readers
of all ages.
Recommended for all libraries.
Grace Shaw is a teacher at Vancouver Community College.
Book Review
Assessment and ESL:
On the Yellow Big Road to the Withered of OZ.
Barbara Law and Mary Eckes.
Winnipeg: Peguis Publishers, 1995. 309pp, paper, $21.00.
ISBN: 1-895411-77-7.
Professional.
Review by Gail Lennon.
**/4
Assessment and ESL investigates the need for alternative
assessment strategies for ESL students. The authors contend that
alternative assessment is the only way to gain a clear picture of the ESL
student's ability.
Barbara Law has a Ph.D and is an ESL specialist. She has taught ESL
students at all levels and has provided direction for regular classroom
teachers of ESL students throughout United States. Mary Eckes has been
involved in ESL in California and is now the consultant for Pleasant
Ridge School District near Sacramento.
Through clear, easy-to-read explanations and the use of student
examples, the authors discuss such topics as: the need for ongoing,
holistic assessment; assessment measures for teachers of ESL students;
how to choose the most appropriate student placement for new ESL
students; and effective methods of grading and reporting student
success.
While this book presents many useful ideas for language acquisition,
evaluation, and reporting, there is nothing new. The techniques suggested
are examples of good teaching for every language learner. They are also
ones that good teachers have been using for decades. Of some note are the
chapters on placement and the case studies that illustrate the use of
teacher observation, conferencing, evaluation, and reporting.
For Canadian ESL teachers, it would be reassuring to know that the
authors had some knowledge and experience in the Canadian education
systems. Their experiences and materials appear heavily slanted towards
the American education systems.
Recommended with reservations.
Gail Lennon is a secondary resource teacher with the Bruce County
Board of Education. In her thirty years of teaching in both rural and
urban settings, she has taught every grade from JK to Adult Education in
elementary, secondary and university academic locations. She has
specialist qualifications in Library, ESL, Primary, Junior, Intermediate,
Senior, and Special Education. Ms. Lennon is a keynote speaker, author, and
workshop leader who has reviewed for CM for the past seven years.
Video Review
A Cut Above:
My Grandfather Was a Logger.
Directed by Karen Bastgailis.
All About Us Canada Foundation, 1995. 23 minutes, VHS, $250.00.
Distributed by Moving Images Distribution.
Phone: 1 (800) 684-3014 /
Fax: 1 (604) 684-7165.
Grades 9 and Up / Ages 13 and Up.
Review by T.S. Causabon.
***/4
excerpt:
"Switzerland outlawed clearcutting two hundred and eight years ago. When
I was there in 'eighty-six, their cut was one-tenth of our cut in British
Columbia. You had that one-tenth employing ten times the number of people
and getting eleven dollars into their economy for every buck we got . . .
We just don't make sense."
A Cut Above is a look at the logging industry on Vancouver
Island and the West Coast through the eyes of Mike Tardiff, a
third-generation worker in the forest-industry.
Tardiff, a stocky, personable mill-worker (who also writes and performs
his own music), visits several alternative forestry operations that
practice selective logging, as well as some local labor-intensive
industries that use the products from British Columbia's forests: a
home-construction firm, a boat-builder, and a guitar-works.
In the early part of the film, the various selective logging
operations make a strong case for their economic efficiency -- they may
not bring in the huge volumes that clear-cutters do, but they also
don't need the infrastructure of roads and huge equipment. Tardiff is
sympathetic to their ecological concerns, but as someone whose family has
been working in the forest industry for generations, he worries about
another bottom-line question: can selective logging bring in enough
volume of timber to sustain the jobs of mill-workers like him?
The local industries he visits seem to provide an answer: their
products are in demand, use lumber with tremendous efficiency, and employ
many more people per log than the big mills do. But all of them have the same complaint: though they
are based in one of the great timber reserves of the world, they struggle
to find wood to keep their workers employed. The large forestry concerns
have rights to almost all of the logging, and they're not interested in
selling small amounts of timber to small operations.
A Cut Above will make anyone consider whether Canada's
entire forestry strategy needs re-thinking. As one of the people Tardiff
speaks to points out, our forests are no more inexhaustible than our
fish; it might be both environmentally and economically smarter to harvest
fewer trees, but use more of them in high-value secondary industries.
If there's a flaw in A Cut Above, it's only that there
is no representation from the forces of the status quo. Otherwise, the
workers and industries chosen manage to give a small film with a fairly
narrow mandate plenty of variety, and Tardiff is an accessible and
down-to-earth host. It's sobering to read in the closing credits that
"three months after filming was completed, Mike Tardiff's entire mill
shift of 35 men was laid off until further notice."
Highly recommended for senior classes in environmental studies or
current affairs.
T.S. Causabon is a freelance writer living in Winnipeg.
Video Review
The Story of Rosy Dock.
Written and Directed by Jeannie Baker.
Film Australia, 1995. 10 minutes, VHS, $99.00.
Distributed by T.H.A. Media Distributors Ltd.
Phone: 1 (800) 661-4919 /
Fax: 1 (604) 688-8349.
All ages.
Review by Diane Fitzgerald.
***1/2 /4
excerpt:
People say it's the oldest river in the world. . . . Surrounded by desert
and the worn-down bones of pre-historic mountains. For thousands of
years, almost nothing here changed.
Then, over a hundred years ago, newcomers from Europe settled by the
river. . . .
This short and gently paced film tells the story of the plant Rosy Dock;
how it came to Australia, and how it came to cover vast spaces. Written
and designed by internationally acclaimed children's book author Jeannie
Baker, The Story of Rosy Dock is told with very little
dialogue, and only spare narration; mostly, it is the collage-based
animation that tells the tale.
From the first shot, of a window opening to reveal the river, the
images draw the viewer into a strikingly visualized world. One of the
newcomers to Australia is a woman who brings seeds for the red Rosy Dock plant --
"Oh, I do hope these seeds grow," she says, "it'll make such a
difference to this place." Real foreshadowing; though for a while we stay
with the woman and the flood that comes upon her home (the film, though
short and simple finds times for little touches like having her cat stuck on the
roof amidst the vast stretch of water).
But in time the animation and narration unfold more about the dry
land and its cycle of floods. Then we see how the water spreads the Rosy
Dock seeds throughout the desert, until they begin to blossom and cover
the landscape in a profusion of red (with a rabbit, another
ill-considered import to Australia, hopping through it).
The story is simple enough, and the visual changes so striking, that
even students in early grades will be able to understand how Rosy Dock
made a startling alteration to Australia's ecology. And although the
film doesn't preach -- in fact, the transformation itself seems almost
miraculous from one perspective -- it's a simple step to realize the
moral: that even little changes in the environment can lead to profound
disturbances, and require great caution. The animation is also sophisticated
enough that the visuals alone will hold the interest of older viewers.
Available with Teachers' Discussion Notes.
Highly recommended.
Diane Fitzgerald is an elementary-school teacher in Saskatoon.
Notable Web Sites
Every week, CM presents a brief collection of
noteworthy, useful, or just interesting sites we've turned up and actually
checked.Please send us URLs and evaluations of any web-sites you think
deserve the exposure.
- Canoe
- http://www.canoe.ca
- Canoe is not about Canoes; it's a brand-new on-line news venture from some of Canada's biggest
media organizations -- like the Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa Suns, the Financial
Post, and Maclean's. They promise to update their stories twenty-four hours a day (as we finish production
on this issue of CM, top stories are about the band "Rusty's" recent success at
the Junos, on Andre Agassi's engagement, and, oh, yeah, the afermath of the new Federal budget.)
- PageGen: Interactive HTML Authoring Tool
-
http://www.channel1.com/users/justinl/pagegen/pagegen.html
- Personal Web pages. The Label Makers of the 90s. Do we need them? No.
Do they make us feel like individuals? Yes. Frankly, writing HTML code isn't
brain surgery, but this page will whip one up according to your (or your students')
specifications without having to know anything.
No blinking text, but nothing's perfect.
- YES Mag-Canada's Science Magazine for Kids
- http://www.islandnet.com/~yesmag
- Listen, I'd be willing to put this in just because the address has
a tilde in it. Perhaps you have to be in the business to realise how few
people know where those are on the keyboard . . . Anyway, this is a very slick site
with science news, projects, and quizes. Sample question:
Do dolphins sleep? If so, how do they do it without drowning?
Now, that's a good question.
- Well Known Canadians
- http://physics.bu.edu/~terning/Canadians.html
- There are a lot of obvious jokes I could make here,
but really, this is kind of cool, organized by:
Actors Actresses Artists Astronauts Athletes Authors
Business Comedians Directors/Producers Entertainers
Journalists Miscellaneous Musicians Scientists etc.
Surprise: Conrad Bain. Continuing Embarassment: Jim Carrey.
- The Chronicles of Narnia Web
Page
- http://members.aol.com/makithapn2/Narnia/narnia.html
- This site is still very much under construction, but if your students don't like Narnia, consider getting a transfer.
News
Canadian Professional Development Programs in K-12 Telecommunications
New Discussion for ONLINEED list
Across Canada, K-12 teachers are being supported in using
telecommunications through a wide variety of professional development
programs. I believe that educators across the country stand to benefit from
better knowledge of what is being done. To this end, during the month of
March I invite you to use this list to share information on p.d. programs
in telecommunications. Guidelines and a brief description of the SchoolNet
Support Teachers Pilot Project follow.
In parallel with this discussion, I am conducting a study for Industry
Canada's SchoolNet, to determine the nature of training in the educational
use of telecommunications. All data for this study will be gathered this
month. This note contains an invitation to contribute to that study beyond
what is posted to this list.
A summary of the contributions will be posted at the end of March and
details will be published on the Web.
Invitation to join ONLINEED
This note has been cross-posted to several lists other than ONLINEED.
Please forward the note to anyone you think might wish to contribute. If
you are not an ONLINEED subscriber and wish to participate in the
discussion on this topic, please send a message to
listserv@qucdn.queensu.ca
with the message
subscribe onlineed
for example
subscribe onlineed egnatoff@educ.queensu.ca Bill Egnatoff
Discussion Guide--Professional Development Programs in K-12 Telecommunications
This list was created to discuss the establishment of a national
certificate for teachers in the educational use of information technology.
I would now like to invite subscribers to share information about existing
programs of professional development. The emphasis this month is on
Canadian programs, but contributions from other countries are most welcome.
I would also invite comments on how we might benefit from compiling this
information. Here is a suggested outline for contributions to the list:
- Name (or capsule description) of program
- Organizers, partners, sponsors (boards, individual schools, ministry,
faculties, other agencies, business)
- Purpose (aim, outcomes)
- Organization (who's doing what, where for whom, how, how long)
- Scope (contents, activities)
- Impact, Sustainability (how its working)
- Assessment and Evaluation (mechanisms for finding out what teachers are
learning and how well the program is working)
- Funding (special sources, main budget, volunteer contributions)
An example: The SchoolNet Support Teachers Pilot Program
The SchoolNet Support Teachers Pilot Project employs new teachers to
provide in-school support in the use of telecommunications in education.
The project is sponsored jointly by six school boards, four anglophone and
two francophone, and Industry Canada's SchoolNet. PARTNERS, a partnership
organization, is responsible for management and coordination. Queen's
University contributed to the design of the project and is conducting an
evaluation study for SchoolNet. One newly qualified teacher is under
contract to work in each of the six boards.
The SchoolNet Support Teachers Pilot Project began in September, 1995 and
is now entering a phase of evaluation, extension, and interconnection with
related work across Canada. Originally slated for four months, it was
extended by mutual agreement of Industry Canada and the boards, once the
benefits and the need to continue were clear. The project runs until the
end of June 1996. Reports on the first phase (Sept.-Dec.) are in
preparation and will be submitted this March.
The project was planned in close consultation with board directors and
superintendents. The detailed work of the SchoolNet Support Teachers was
planned by the board computer coordinators and the Support Teachers. The
Support Teachers meet every two or three weeks with coordinators and
researchers to report on progress, to share resources, and to organize
collaborative activities. The Support Teachers submit monthly reports on
their work to the coordinators, researchers, and each other, which
contributes to the evaluation study and gives them a clear picture of their
accomplishments.
The SchoolNet Support Teachers are effective, welcomed, and
entrepreneurial. They have identified needs and garnered resources,
developed teaching and learning materials, offered workshops and tutorials,
worked directly in classrooms, and provided detailed reports to the
research team. They have built awareness in and beyond schools, developed
commitment, and initiated long-term planning to sustain what they have
begun.
Depending on the needs of their boards, the Support Teachers have: created
an inventory of board resources, teacher experience, and need; developed
acceptable use policies; conducted hands-on workshops orienting teachers to
Internet and SchoolNet resources and services; developed Internet guides
for teachers; created or supported the creation of Web pages; collected
resources on the Internet for school use; assisted with the installation of
hardware and software (to help meet board deadlines); helped technical
support staff understand the needs of teachers; worked with
teacher-librarians to prepare them to help their colleagues; worked
alongside teachers in their classrooms to integrate telecommunications into
the curriculum; supported the establishment of telecommunications-based
curriculum projects; spoken about their work to groups of parents,
principals, superintendents, directors, trustees and the SchoolNet National
Advisory Board; and conducted television and newspaper interviews on their
work. In all this work, the focus has been on what the SchoolNet Support
Teachers can contribute as qualified teachers towards the ongoing work of
teachers in the schools and towards the sustainable development of the use
of telecommunications in education.
In the second phase of project (Jan.-June 1996), the support teachers are
not only continuing the work begun, with greater emphasis being placed on
curricular projects, but are also providing a wide range of consultative
services to SchoolNet. These services include representing SchoolNet at
conferences and other meetings, contributing to the development and
evaluation of SchoolNet resources and services, and confering with people
involved in related projects such as one now underway in Alberta.
The evaluation of the second phase includes a study of related programs
across the country (to guide the establishment of linkages), a more
detailed assessment of the direct benefit to teachers of the work of the
Support Teachers, a compendium of the work of the SSTs including teaching
resources, policies, and procedures, and an examination of the
sustainability of the work begun.
The project team submitted two proposals (panel & talk) to the Education
stream of the INET'96 conference (June, Montreal).
Invitation to participate in the parallel study
If you would be willing to contribute to the study that I am conducting
this month, please contact me directly (see signature below).
Do you have documents that you could submit?
Would you be willing to participate in a telephone interview?
Could you provide details of a program (beyond what you might submit to
this list) by email or other electronic means?
I look forward to your contributions.
Dr. William J. Egnatoff, Assistant Professor, Computers In Education
Faculty of Education Queen's University at Kingston
Kingston, Ontario Canada K7L 3N6
Tel.: (613) 545-6000-1-7290 Fax (613) 545-6584
egnatoff@educ.queensu.ca
-
CM
Editor
Duncan Thornton
e-mail: cmeditor@mts.net
-
CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: cm@umanitoba.ca
Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association.
Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice
is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
WELCOME | BOOK REVIEWS BY AUTHOR | BOOK REVIEWS BY TITLE
AUDIO/VIDEO/CD-ROM REVIEWS | VOLUME II INDEX