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Regular readers here will understand with the enthusiasm with which I greet the publication of Tony Wagner's new book, Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. I've been a fan of Wagner's writing since the Global Achievement Gap was published in 2008, a book which has influenced this blog's educational vision perhaps more than any other single title. "Creating Innovators" has been a theme both of my educational leadership and my blogging since 2009, when the Board of St. Gregory adopted it as a core component of our mission and our slogan/tag line.

A list of excellent books every teacher should read.

Japanese books from Kinokuniya in the USA

'There's so much constantly to react to in the world in which we live, and in a country like South Africa, that can become a full-time occupation'

Article (in English) about a group of male students from McClymonds High School in Oakland who traveled to Dakar, Sénégal, in March 1982.

"Building reading competence seems to be a bit more challenging these days. Maybe it's just me, but students seem quite reluctant or incapable of guessing while reading. We have to provide a comfortable environment to encourage guessing. Moreover, teachers need to find ways of attracting students to reading of any kind-for information [see http://flava2011.wikispaces.com%5D and for pleasure. I feel it's somehow related to our testing culture that demands 'the right answer.' So how can we build reading? -By following what good parents do with children as they grow. Read children's books to your students-in class or in a reading circle on the floor in the library. Let students read for fun without an assignment attached. Or, read with a fun assignment. Read song lyrics and use them for a variety of reading steps: pick out words you can guess, pick out verbs that look similar to ones you've seen recently, which activities refer to a future event?, which phrases use an object pronoun? Which words go along with our area of study [Earth Day for example] Look at a related website and repeat the steps above. When does the song change from lyrics in one language to another? Link reading to a visual and show the visual first-a personal video, a tourism clip, a feature film. I used to think this was the reward after the reading, but so many topics can be enhanced if you teach about them saying: remember when you saw… [A previous student's video about daily routines, the advertisement for the Col Vert campground, Petit Nicolas, The Phantom of the Opera are such examples worth a preview."

For all of the free literature and essays available online, a surprisingly small amount is geared toward children. Even less is aimed at children who speak foreign languages. The International Children's Digital Library offers children ages 3-13 free access to the best available children's literature in more than 40 languages. Librarians find and digitize books published around the world and present them in their original languages.

I googled Chicago, violencia, and pandillas to find an article to tie to the third page of text from a picture book for Spanish II. La llaman América is about a little girl who immigrated to Chicago from Mexico and her experiences in her home, school, and neighborhood. As authentic texts go, it is a unique perspective but, frankly, awkwardly translated from English. Still, there are enough angles to capture teenagers' attention, and inner-city or neighborhood violence is one of them.

Great ideas for EL or WL classes from Larry Ferlazzo's newest book via @Edutopia 

Information on children's book to use for an interpretive activity