World Book and Copyright Day

http://portal.unesco.org

"Books are both object and idea. Tangible in form, intangible in content, they 

express the mind of an author and find meaning in the imagination of readers. 

Reading is this private conversation, but books are all about sharing –- sharing 

experience, knowledge and understanding." 


Irina Bokova, Director-General of  UNESCO

23 April is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died.


It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. 


It is a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

A Menina que Roubava Livros/ Markus Zusak 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com

The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. 

The success of the World Book and Copyright Day will depend primarily on the support received from all parties concerned (authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media), who have been mobilized in each country by UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations, Associated Schools and Libraries, and by all those who feel motivated to work together in this world celebration of books and authors.

http://www.bprmadeira.org

Buenos Aires (Argentina) fue elegida por la UNESCO como la capital del libro 2011. Pueden acceder al sitio web para leer todas as actualidades aqui

"Books embody the human capacity to conjure up worlds of reality and imagination and to express them. They are the best voices of tolerance. They provide the strongest signs of hope. Books are pillars for free and open societies. "

Irina Bokova, Director-General of  UNESCO


G-Souto
23.04.2011
Copyright © 2011G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®


References:


UNESCO - World Book and Copyright
http://portal.unesco.org


Irina Bokova, Director- General of UNESCO (Message)
http://www.unesco.org

Gestures and books

Gestures from João Machado on Vimeo.

Gestures meet the three tests for a semiotic domain (implicitly) laid down by Gee (2003:23):

1. They allow us to experience (see, feel and operate on) the world in new ways.
2. Such gestures are shared with groups of people who carry them on as distinctive social practices.
3. They allow us to gain resources that prepare us for future learning and problem-solving in the domain (and perhaps related domains).
4. 
   

Interesting the semiotic study about books and gestures!

Education:


Display the video in the classroom of Literature and debate with your students the importance of gestures on reading a book or an e-book.






G-Souto

04.03.2011
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Credits: video JoaoMachado

References:

Gee, J.P., What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2003

It's a Book!

Can we resist this video? Impossible! Such a cute motivation to have our students immersed in books. 


Why not to show it in the Literature classroom?! You will see the good results!

G-Souto

15.11.10

Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Jose Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel of Literature

http://sic.sapo.pt

José Saramago, the Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 died, June 18, 2010, at the age of 87. His ashes remaine in Lisbon.

He lived in Spain and Portugal, his wife is spanish. After Saramago death,  Pilar del Río, will come to Portugal as the new director of Fundação José Saramago. The fondation will continue to promote and preserve the study of the increadible literary work, correspondence and other works of the Portuguese Nobel Prize in Literature.



"Promover o estudo da obra literária do seu Instituidor bem como da sua correspondência e espólio e respectiva preservação".


Born to hard-scrabble origins, Saramago dropped out of school at 12 to train as a car mechanic. After different works, he began a self-taught  full-time writer in his late 50s.

José Saramago/ ©DR

Nobel Prize in Literature 1998

http://sol.sapo.pt

At the age of 87 Saramago was writing  a blog Outros Cadernos de Saramago that has a million followers at Facebook.

He said November, 29, 1998:

Começar a ler foi para mim como entrar num bosque pela primeira vez e encontrar-me, de repente, com todas as árvores, todas as flores, todos os pássaros. Quando fazes isso, o que te deslumbra é o conjunto. Não dizes: gosto desta árvore mais que das outras. Não, cada livro em que entrava, tomava-o como algo único.1)

José Saramago

Outros cadernos de Saramago, blogue

His message in this document is about the power of literacy!

Among his enourmous work, he wrote one book for children "A Maior Flor do Mundo" (2002)

The video is a animated version (2007) of his book. He is narrated and featured by José Saramago himself and it has a spanish version. The book can be find here

The animated movie won the best prize at "Animation at Anchorage Internacional Film Festival". He also has been nominated for "Goya 2008" as short film.

His novel "Ensaio sobre a Cegueira" - Blindness was adaptated to a film (2008) by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles,  Festival de Cannes 2008.

Perhaps two good suggestions to introduce Saramago at school's curriculum talking about Portuguese Literature, the first (k-12) the second (secondary school)


G-Souto

20.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

The Spoilt Generation

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Synopsis

In the space of a few decades the way we parent has changed dramatically. Something we once did intuitively has become the subject of political fashion, guided by experts. 
As parents we are older and more time-poor than ever before, with the highest proportion of single-parent households in history. 
Our children are now spoiled in ways that go far beyond materialism. But they are suffering to a degree we never anticipated: we now have the highest rates of child depression, underage pregnancy and violent and anti-social behaviour since records began. 
Yet adults, at every level, have retreated from authority and in doing so have robbed our children of their basic supporting structures. 
In this book, Dr Sigman takes issues by the scruff of the neck, among them children's sense of entitlement, the effects of TV and computers, single-parent homes and 'blended' families, parental guilt and the compensation culture. He offers a clear practical message to us all - parents, grandparents, teachers and policy-makers alike - as to how we can redress the status quo, redefine our roles and together cultivate happier and better-behaved children.


Amazon.com


The review of the press:


An explosive new book… Sigman specialises in uncomfortable truths...


The Sunday Times

Children of the spoilt generation are used to having their demands met by their parents and others in authority, and that in turn makes them unprepared for the realities of adult life.

Daily Mail Online
Children no longer have boundaries. It's bad for children and it's bad for parents. Some parents, due to a lack of time, pressures at work and so forth, are trying to buy their children's love, which is toxic.


Michele Elliott

in the moment of unbelievable but true stories in the schools throughout the world, perhaps an interesting book to read.

Polemic and practical, it offers ideas, answers, and directions for all those involved in bringing up the next generation.

G-Souto 07.05.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®