Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:
“Boosting Parent Engagement Before School Starts”
Boosting Parent Engagement Before School Starts is a good post over at Education Week by Michele Molnar. It’s about a project in New Haven, Connecticut. It’s: Jump starting parent engagement before the first day of school involves a get-out-the-volunteer effort that will put up to 100 two-person teams in neighborhoods to raise awareness—and excitement—about starting [...]
The California PTA, Tax Initiatives & A Mess
I’ve previously written about how I think the California PTA has made a big miscalculation by throwing its lot in with billionaire Molly Munger and her ill-fated tax initiative coming up this fall. Her campaign has been criticizing the other initiative on the ballot, supported by Governor Brown and many other education groups, and which [...]
“FAQ on the Controversial Film Won’t Back Down: What Parents Need to Know”
FAQ on the Controversial Film Won’t Back Down: What Parents Need to Know is by Leonie Haimson at the Huffington Post. I’ve been writing a lot about this film, but Leonie brings it all together there…..
New Parent Engagement Website & Blog
Steve M. Constantino, a well-known and recognized leader in the field of parent engagement, has just unveiled a website and blog. I’d encourage you to become a regular reader there….
“Partnering with Parents: 12+ Resources for the School Year”
Partnering with Parents: 12+ Resources for the School Year is a very useful post, and I’m not just saying that because she includes one of my articles in the list! It’s definitely worth a look…
“Parent involvement vital to student success”
I’ve previously posted about how teachers in Henderson County, Kentucky, visited the homes of 7,000 students in one day. Here’s another nice article about their home visit blitz, Parent Involvement Vital To Student Success.
“Parent Trigger And Why We Need To Talk [Let's Be A Solution]
“Parent Trigger And Why We Need To Talk [Let's Be A Solution] is a great post by Jose Luis Vilson that’s a follow-up to the article I posted about earlier today. It’s a must-read….
“Walmart, Right-Wing Media Company Hold Star-Studded Benefit Promoting Education Reform Film”
I’ve previously posted about the upcoming film romanticizing the parent trigger and the ironic benefit Walmart is sponsoring to unveil it. Thanks to Alexander Russo, I learned about an excellent In These Times article about the controversy, Walmart, Right-Wing Media Company Hold Star-Studded Benefit Promoting Education Reform Film. My Center For Teaching Quality colleague Jose [...]
This Weeks #PTchat – Engaging Families of Students Affected by Autism w/ Wendy Fournier
Guest Post by Joe Mazza Today, 1 in 88 children are affected autism. Boys are more at risk with a 1 in 54 ratio. Many of us completed coursework in college where the term “autism” wasn’t even on the radar for pre-service teacher training. As a result, in 2012 many school teachers and leaders without [...]
“Don’t Wait Until Christmas To Smile”
Don’t Wait Until Christmas To Smile is Part Three of my Education Week Teacher series on starting the new school year off well. In addition to guest responses, I share some of my own advice…..
Useful Bloom’s Taxonomy Poster
Tami Brewster shared this on Pinterest. Enokson shared it on Flickr. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom.
The Best TV/Movie Clips On The First Day Of School — Help Me Find More
Here’s another different kind of “The Best…” list. I thought a collection of TV/movie clips showing the first day of school might be useful for teacher trainings, and was pleased to see that Michelle Henry, who has one of the … Continue reading →
“Voscreen” Is A New Online Video Site For Learning English
Nik Peachey sent out a tweet today about a site called Voscreen. After signing-up and choosing your native language from a list of nine, you’re shown a series of very short video TV/movie video clips where a phrase is said. … Continue reading →
Manuscript For Sequel To “Helping Students Motivate Themselves” Is Done!
I’ve just completed the initial manuscript for the sequel to Helping Students Motivate Themselves. I’m sure there will be plenty of additional edits to be made along the way, but look for it next spring from Eye On Education. I … Continue reading →
The Best Video Clips Of Sneaky Critters — Help Me Find More
Video clips of sneaky critters are great ones to show to English Language Learners to get them to describe — verbally and in writing — what they see. Here are a few, and I hope readers can point me in … Continue reading →
The Value Of Learning A Second (or Third) Language
Source: shareasimage.com via Larry on Pinterest The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has just published a book (free to download) titled Languages in a Global World: Learning for Better Cultural Understanding. It looks interesting and useful. Here’s an … Continue reading →
Nutrition Resources
Here are some new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About Nutrition & Food Safety: Fast Food FACTS Report Are Fast-Food Advertisers Playing You? Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? is from The New York Times.
“Szoter” Will Become A Key Tool For ELL Students & Teachers
This year, it seems like the fashionable web tool to develop is one that will annotate images. I’ve posted about several of them at The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons, and there are others that didn’t make that … Continue reading →
“Shark Week” Resources
Are you enjoying Shark Week on The Discovery Channel? Here are a couple of resources you might have missed: Here’s a Shark Week remix: And then there’s this infographic: by Lemon.ly.Learn about infographics software.
The Best Online Videos Showing Teachers In The Classroom
This is an unusual “The Best…” list, and you’ll shortly see how and why… But before we get to the prime content, here are some other “The Best…” lists you might find useful: The Best Online Videos Showing ESL/EFL Teachers … Continue reading →
My Latest NY Times Post
Ideas for English Language Learners | Recipes, Travel, Idioms and More is the title of my latest monthly post at The New York Times Learning Network. I think teachers of both ELLs and non-ELLs might find it useful. You can … Continue reading →
Second Week’s Twitter Discussion On “ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide”
Katie Hull Sypnieski and I co-authored “The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide,” published by Jossey-Bass in early August. Each day for three weeks, we are tweeting 2 sentences from the book using the hashtag #eslsg & responding to questions/comments. Each week … Continue reading →
New Source Of Infographics
Infogr.am, a good tool for easily making infographics that is on The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2012 — So Far list, has announced that they’ve begun a feature on their site where they’re highlighting the best ones. … Continue reading →
More Folklore & Myth Sites
The BBC has a site on “Audio Resources For Primary Schools.” However, especially under “English,” quite a few of the resources are actually videos with audio — and closed captioning! Two are especially good: Aesop’s Fables, which I’m adding to … Continue reading →
“Study: College Degree Holds Its Value”
Since this post was originally published, The Times did publish an article about the study A new Georgetown University study has found that “nearly all of the jobs recovered since the economic downturn have required a post-secondary degree. And despite … Continue reading →
CNN Resources On Obama Administration’s “Deferred Action” Program
Here are some new additions to The Best Resources On The Obama Administration’s Plan To Partially Implement The DREAM Act, all from CNN: Today, America welcomes young immigrants Undocumented immigrants line up for relief from deportation Undocumented students in their … Continue reading →
“Obama vs. Poverty”
Source: shareasimage.com via Larry on Obama vs. Poverty is the title of Paul Tough’s new article in The New York Times Magazine. The quote is from his extensive feature. It’s definitely worth a read….
” Several Ways Teachers & Parents Can Start The New Year Well — Part Two”
Several Ways Teachers & Parents Can Start The New Year Well — Part Two is my latest Education Week Teacher post. It has a number of good ides from several talented educators.
Learning From Mistakes & Failures
Here are the newest additions to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures: What Drives You Through Setbacks — An Olympic Example is from Dan Mulhern. Math Mistakes is a cool website I learned about … Continue reading →
Undocumented Immigrants Can Now Start Applying For “Deferred Action (DREAM Act Lite)
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has just unveiled the forms needed by undocumented immigrants who want to apply for the new “Deferred Action” program of the Obama Administration. Lesli Maxwell over at Ed Week’s Learning The Language blog has … Continue reading →
Research On Using Technology In Education
Here are the latest additions to The Best Research Available On The Use Of Technology In Schools: Do smart devices make smart kids? is from The BBC. Mixed grades for Peru’s kids laptop program is from USA Today.
Great New Reading Site From “GCFLearnFree”
Resources from GCFLearnFree are on more “The Best…” lists that you can shake a stick at, and today they’ve unveiled another new great one. It’s focused on Reading Comprehension, and has 140 different texts, all with audio support, along with … Continue reading →
Fifth-Graders In 1995 Accurately Predict Future Of The Internet (Video)
Read Write Web unearthed this 1995 one minute PSA produced by a fifth-grade class that had amazing accuracy in its predictions for the Internet. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The History Of Technology.
“Julie Child Remixed”
PBS keeps on generating these fun “remixes” of “iconic” public television personalities. “Julia Child Remixed” is the latest one and, in case you missed their first two, I’ve also embedded similar creations for Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross.
All The Figures In Our ELL Book Can Now Be Downloaded By Everybody
Jossey-Bass has now put all of the Figures (mainly student hand-outs) in our book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, online so they’re downloadable by everybody. You can find them all here and click on “Download Bonus Web Content.” Of course, … Continue reading →
The Best Picture — So Far — Of What The Next Generation Of Standardized Tests Is Going To Look Like
Education Week has published an extensive piece that clearly provides the best picture you’re going to find anywhere about what the next generation of standardized tests is going to look like, including several sample questions. Check out Consortia Provide Preview … Continue reading →
The Best English-Language News Sites With An “Ethnic” Focus — Help Me Identify More
Today, NPR ran stories on the development of two English-language websites/television channels with a Latino target audience — Eyeing Latinos, NBC News Snuggles Up To Telemundo and How Fox Pioneered A Formula For Latino News. The websites of these channels … Continue reading →
“Dancing Guy: Why teachers should ignore his advice”
The Washington Post has reprinted my piece, Dancing Guy: Why teachers should ignore his advice. If you haven’t read it before, you might want to take a look….
“Young Immigrants, in America Illegally, Line Up for Reprieve”
Source: shareasimage.com via Larry on Young Immigrants, in America Illegally, Line Up for Reprieve is the headline of a major New York Times article today on the Obama Administration’s modified DREAM Act. I’m adding it to The Best Resources … Continue reading →
My Favorite Best “Worst” Writing
Winners of the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the worst sentences that could be written have been announced. You can see all the winners her, but I thought I’d share my personal favorite (which was only a “runner-up” in its … Continue reading →
This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”
I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a … Continue reading →
“Personalized Learning,” Race To The Top & Putting Even More Lipstick On A Pig
The U.S. Department of Education just released their final rules for the Race To The Top competition for districts (before now, it’s only been available to states). Education Week has a good summary, and you can go to the source … Continue reading →
“Several Ways To Get The New Year Off To A Good Start — Part One”
Several Ways To Get The New Year Off To A Good Start — Part One is my first post of the new “season” over at Education Week Teacher. It features guest responses well-known educator/authors Rick Wormeli and Roxanna Elden.
Very Interesting (& Different) Post On “Fixed” Versus “Growth” Mindsets
I’ve written a lot about Carol Dweck’s work on a “fixed” versus “growth” mindsets, as have many other people. Today, though, I learned through a very interesting post at psySociety that there’s also another term used to describe the two … Continue reading →
“Al Jazeera World – Women who refuse to die”
Al Jazeera World – Women who refuse to die is a video about the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of Muslims. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Genocide:
The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games
Well, the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games ended today, so what better time to begin a “The Best…” list for the next Olympics coming up? I’ll obviously be adding to this list over the next two years. In addition to … Continue reading →
Visual.ly Now Makes It Easy To Embed Their Infographics
Visual.ly is an excellent source for interactive infographics. Perhaps they’ve had this option for awhile, but I’ve just noticed that they now have an option under each infographic on their site that says: Click here to embed this graphic on … Continue reading →
The Best Resources On GIFs — Please Contribute More
The Web is awash with Olympics-related GIFS — animated shorts from photos or videos. Today, The New York Times ran a very interesting story calling GIFs: a particularly compelling storytelling format, an amalgamation of video and photo that despite its … Continue reading →
August’s Best Tweets — Part One
Every month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a … Continue reading →
Visualizations Of U.S. Poverty
Here are some new additions to The Best Visualizations Of Poverty In The U.S. & Around The World: Tracking American Poverty And Policy is from Demos, and may be the best visualization of poverty in the U.S. that’s available. Poverty … Continue reading →
“Simple English Videos” Looks Like A Useful Site
Simple English Videos was recently begun by veteran ESL/EFL teacher Vicki Hollett. You can read her description of the free site here. The engaging videos, most which appear to be movie trailers, have “clickable” transcripts. I’m adding it to The … Continue reading →
The Best Places Where Students Can Post Book Reviews For Authentic Audiences
Authentic audiences are always motivating for students, and I thought having an expanded list of places where students could post book reviews people other than classmates or a teacher would see them would be useful. I’ve had a few in … Continue reading →
Deliberate Practice Infographic
Thought this isn’t the greatest infographic on deliberate practice, it can still be useful to help students understand what it is. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The 10,000 Hour Rule & Deliberative Practice. by NowSourcing.Browse … Continue reading →
Who Is Paul Ryan?
Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: Milestones: Paul Ryan is a New York Times interactive. Race to the White House is an Associated Press interactive.