In this issue:
- 9th Annual International Children's and Young Adult Literature Celebration
- Nominate a Teacher for a Kohl Fellowship
- Public Lecture by Andrei Codrescu
- Fulbright Grant for French Teachers
- Wisconsin Book Festival Events
- Friends of International Education Announcements
- School Visits from Author Ji-li Jiang
9th Annual International Children's and Young Adult Literature Celebration
"Open a Book... Open a Door... Open your Mind... to the World” is an annual celebration of International Children’s and Young Adult Literature sponsored by the Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium. The all-day celebration, which will be held on Saturday, November 20th, will feature Betsy & Ted Lewin, Ying Chang Compestine, Laura Resau, and Truong Tran.
RegistrationHeld in celebration of International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, the aim of this workshop - designed for teachers, school and public librarians, students and faculty of education and library science - was to encourage the internationalization of school curriculum by incorporating literature about cultures from around the world that depicts unbiased and educated information.
One of the authors, Ying Chang Compestine, will be available for school visits in the Madison area on Thursday Nov 19 and Friday Nov 20. Ying was born and raised in China. She is the spokesperson for Nestle Maggi Taste of Asia products and a national authority on Chinese cuisine and culture, she is the author of three cookbooks for adults, eight picture books for children, and one young adult novel. She lives in California with her family. Revolution is Not a Dinner Party has been selected as the One Book/One County Program in San Manteo County, and is the winner of California Book Award for Young Adult Literature, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, and ALA Notable Children’s Book, among other awards. For more information about her school visits, go to: http://www.yingc.com/School_Visits/school_visits.html. Please contact the author directly with questions and invitations: yingc@yingc.com.
Nominate a Teacher for a Kohl Fellowship
There is an October 1 deadline to nominate a teacher for the 2011 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Fellowship award. Short nomination forms can be completed on-line, or can be printed for faxing or mailing.
Fellowships are $1,000, with an additional $1,000 grant going to the school of each Kohl Fellow. Established in 1990, the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation awards 100 Fellowships annually from among all applicants throughout the state. The award honors teachers who have demonstrated superior ability to inspire love of learning in their students, have motivated others, and have provided meritorious service both inside and outside the classroom.
To be eligible, Wisconsin PK-12 teachers must plan to continue in their current capacity for at least one year. Teachers must be nominated by a parent, student, other teacher, community member or school administrator.Public Lecture by Andrei Codrescu
On Monday, October 4 at 7:30 in the Union Theater, Andrei Codrescu will give a free, public lecture entitled, "Swimming between Languages: Learning English by Osmosis & Other Adventures: A Conversation with Andrei Codrescu; Writer, Social Commentator, Editor, Teacher, Humorist."
While there is no charge for this event, tickets are required and will be available starting on Monday, September 27th, from the Union Theater Box Office, 800 Langdon Street. From the 27th through the 29th, tickets will be available only to UW-Madison students, faculty, staff, and Union members. After that, they will be available to the general public.
This event is sponsored by UW-Madison's Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia, with co-sponsorship from Global Studies, the Language Institute, the Center for Jewish Studies, "From Romania!" (a UW-Madison Registered Student Organization focused on Romanian life and culture), the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, the European Union Center of Excellence, the Center for the Humanities, the Division of International Studies, and the Distinguished Lectures Committee of the Wisconsin Union Directorate. Mr. Codrescu's visit to Madison was made possible by generous financial support from the Kemper Knapp Bequest Committee and from the Anonymous Fund of the College of Letters & Science.
Fulbright Grant for French Teachers
Deadline to apply: October 15th
Wisconsin Book Festival Events
Especially for Parents, Teachers, Librarians and Kids!
Several of these events require pre-registration. Don't miss the chance to sign up for these innovative, hands-on programs! Teachers, participation in these workshops may be eligible for PAC credits.
Kao Kalia Yang with her father in Thailand. Photo courtesy of Kao Kalia Yang
Kao Kalia Yang Writing Workshop for Youth
Her experiences as an immigrant guide the writings of, Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. In this workshop, Kalia will guide young people to reflect on their own experiences and bring their stories to the page. This FREE workshop is geared towards middle-school aged children. Participants must pre-register.
Barbara Slate advising a young graphic novelist at one of her workshops. Photo courtesy of Barbara Slate.
Barbara Slate Workshop for Teens:
You Can Do a Graphic Novel!
Can you imagine yourself sitting down with pencil and paper to create your very own graphic novel? 12-18-year-olds will receive the inspiration and know-how to get the stories they want to tell out of their heads and onto paper with expert workshop leader and graphic novelist, Barbara Slate.Participants must pre-register for this FREE workshop.
Deer Park Buddhist Center, one of the stops on the Sacred Spaces & Belief Places Cultural Bus Tour. Photo by Debbie Kmetz.
Sacred Spaces & Belief Places:
A Day-Long Cultural Tour
Visit the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, The Islamic Center of Madison, Deer Park Buddhist Center, and Temple Beth El with expert tour leader and Madison teacher, Joni Shahrani, to explore cultures of belief and the connections between ancient civilizations and contemporary religions. Teachers and others who work in fields of cultural education may be especially interested in the tour. Participants must pre-register for this workshop.
A nominal fee of $15 covers participants' lunches and subsidizes bus rental.
Scholarships are available for participants unable to pay.
Teachers' Training for Graphic Novel Workshops:
Barbara Slate Shares Her Methods
Teens who write graphic novels develop skills in logic, teamwork, problem solving, and completing tasks. Veteran graphic novelist and instructor Barbara Slate guides teachers through her step-by-step plan to facilitate the process of creating a graphic novel. Priority space is for teachers, but other interested adults are welcome to attend as space allows.
Teach-in For Happy and the River
Happy & the River is a new play by beloved Wisconsin author, David Rhodes, developed to honor the legacy of Senator Gaylord Nelson's contribution to protecting the St. Croix River. This special session for teachers will stimulate and support classroom initiatives to work with this play, which will be performed at 4 PM on October 3 at the Overture Center's Playhouse Theater.
And don't miss:Friends of International Education Announcements
Membership - Please consider joining the Friends of International Education. We are a network of likeminded educators, and are looking to expand our contacts. You can get information about membership by visiting our website or sending an email to Judy Freund at judy.a.freund@uwrf.edu.
iEARN - iEARN-USA's courses are open to participants from the US around the world - the next session will run from September 24th , 2010. Each course is designed so that by the end of eight weeks, participating educators will have a lesson plan for how to use a standards-based iEARN project in their classroom. Courses include: Creative Arts; Language Arts/Writing; Social Studies/Contemporary Affairs/Geography; Science, Technology and Math; Teaching of Foreign and Second Languages and Learning Circles. Each course has twenty-five participants. Register early to guarantee a spot. NEA and State accreditation available. For more information visit: http://us.iearn.org/professional_development/online_courses/index.php or email at onlinepd@us.iearn.org.
Work with Turkish educators - The U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey and iEARN-USA, have partnered to offer an 8-week course that will bring together Turkish and American educators who want to inspire their students to be social entrepreneurs with a global perspective. 27 scholarships will be awarded. Educators will work cross-culturally to develop an entrepreneurial project plan and build professional connections with peers internationally. Working in teams, participants will develop a social venture (or product) that's relevant to one of their countries, and develop a marketing plan for it. The course, for grade levels 6-12, begins October 25th, 2010. HURRY - application deadline is October 11th, 2010. Contact Losira Okelo, director, Online Professional Development Program iEARN-USA, 212-870-2693 , 212-870-2672 (fax) http://us.iearn.org/professional_development/online_courses/index.php.
School Visits from Author Ji-li Jiang
In the past fourteen years, I have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit thousands of schools around the country, talking about my book, Red Scarf Girl and Magical Monkey King. I feel extremely privileged. This year I revised my presentation and added more photos. I hope I can continue to help our students to better understanding about China and the Chinese people by doing so. I plan to visit your area in April, 2011. If you are interested in having me in your school, please contact me directly. (More details can be found at my web www.jilijiang.com/school-visits/index.html). I understand all the schools are facing some financial challenge. I would suggest you to book me for one session only and share me for the day with two other schools nearby. Many schools have tried that in the last two years and it worked. If that is still beyond your budget, you might want to consider an alternative -- Internet presentation. Since last Sept, I have been working with some professional film makers on producing a 40 minutes DVD. The school can download and watch the DVD presentation and I will follow up a half an hour live Q&A with the students. This program should be available in November. Hopefully the reduced cost will help my story reach more students. It's my pleasure to work with many of you in the past, and hopefully in the future, too. Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions. Truly yours, Ji-li Jiang.
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