For immediate release
February 5, 2001
Teachers receive grant to help students communicate better
Knowing that extraordinary
learning materials often come from the extraordinary efforts of ordinary
teachers, The Curriculum Foundation awarded $4,000 to Gail Brant, Laura
Kearse and Eileen Lucas, of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School
Board. The award is to develop a "Talk Box" for oral language development
of primary and Special Needs students.
The Curriculum Foundation,
the charitable arm of Curriculum Services Canada, Canada's leading standards
agency for the accreditation of educational resources, provides financial
awards three times a year to practising Canadian teachers to develop practical,
high quality classroom resources. The proposals are judged by an independent
selection panel including representatives of parents, the Ministry of Education,
the College of Teachers, teacher federations, principal and supervisory
officer organizations, and faculties of education.
"We are thrilled and honoured
to receive this award," said Brant. "From my conversations with colleagues
across the province, there's definitely a need for more teacher-developed
materials. I'm grateful that The Curriculum Foundation has seen its way
to help fund this work and other needed projects."
Primary and Special Education
teachers will use a "Talk Box" to develop oral language skills to communicate
effectively with adults and peers. Each Talk Box will include a program
manual and a variety of hands on resources such as puppets, costumes, songs,
and props to enhance learning and motivate students. The project will be
completed in May and the manual will be available to any teacher on The
Curriculum Foundation's website at www.curriculum.org/tcf.
Once the Talk Box has been
developed, Brant plans to launch the project by putting together a number
of kits for use in schools within the Hastings and Prince Edward District
School Board.
For information contact:
Gail Brant, Early Intervention Program Co-ordinator, 961-7202 ext.
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