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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 10-13-12 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF



Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL


Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day
Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.




Sacramento Bee Calls On CA PTA To Contain Molly Munger

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 1 day ago
The campaign to fund or, in Molly Munger’s case, de-fund public education in California continues. Here are some excerpts from today’s Sacramento Bee’s editorial: The California PTA and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson are the most prominent supporters of Munger’s Proposition 38. On Wednesday, Torlakson called on Munger to cease the attack. The PTA [...]

Molly Munger Initiates “Murder-Suicide” Pact To Devastate CA Schools

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 2 days ago
Here in California, billionaire Molly Munger began running ads, apparently with the California PTA’s support, supporting her doomed-to-fail initiative and attacking the Governor and teacher-supported initiative that actually has a chance to win and providing monies to public schools. You can read all about it at today’s post at Ed Source, Munger-funded “compare and contrast” [...]

“Parenting More Important Than Schools to Academic Achievement, Study Finds” — Tell Us Something We Didn’t Know…

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 2 days ago
In news that will surprise just about…no one, a new study finds that “Parenting More Important Than Schools to Academic Achievement.” Unfortunately, I suspect that the “school reformers” who need to hear this are unlikely to read it….

” 5 things teachers want parents to know”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 2 days ago
5 things teachers want parents to know is a nice guest post over at CNN. There’s nothing earthshaking about it, but it might help if a few parents — and teachers — read it….

It Looks Like I’m Not The Only One Wanting The PTA To Do Something About Molly Munger…

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 3 days ago
Yesterday, I wrote about the anti-education destruction in California being done by billionaire Molly Munger and my hope that her partner, the California PTA, could reign her in. It doesn’t appear that I’m the only one with those feelings… Here’s an excerpt from today’s article in Ed Source: State Board of Education President Mike Kirst [...]

Does The PTA Really Have Any Power In CA Prop 38 Campaign?

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 4 days ago
Besides Molly Munger’s millions of dollars, support from the California PTA is the only thing giving her initiative any kind of political respectability. And the PTA has vowed to refrain from attacks on Governor Brown’s Prop 30. However, as the Sacramento Bee reported this morning, Molly Munger calls Jerry Brown’s ads ‘utterly deceptive,’ plans to [...]

This Weeks PTchat – The Connected Parent: What does it mean for kids?

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 4 days ago
Guest post by Joe Mazza Image credit: http://www.thegraceplace.com As social media continues to expand its global reach at an astronomical pace (460,000 new registrations per day on Twitter), parents are taking note. 80% of those 460K sign-ups are between the ages of 18-35 – the age of many of our elementary school parents here in [...]

“Scale to Measure Parent-Teacher Communication at the K-12 Level”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago
Scale to Measure Parent-Teacher Communication at the K-12 Level is an article in Science Daily about the Parental Academic Support Scale (PASS), which it says: …was developed to assess the supportive interactions between parents and teachers, including the frequency of specific behaviors associated with parental academic support, parents’ perceptions of the importance of those supportive [...]

“How to hold an effective conference with parents of ELLs”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago
How to hold an effective conference with parents of ELLs is by Judie Haynes. This is how she begins: Do you feel unsure of how to hold productive conferences with the parents of your ELLs? Sharpen your communication skills by reading these tips. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Wow, “Science Friday” Has A Ton Of Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
Science Friday, the popular NPR program, has an amazing amount of resources for teachers, and everybody else, online. It will certainly be on my year-end “The Best” list of science sites…..

“Spin It! Create your own lines from Biden and Ryan’s vice-presidential debate”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Spin It! Create your own lines from Biden and Ryan’s vice-presidential debate is another cool interactive from The Guardian. It lets you mix-and-match words from the Vice-Presidential Debate and share what you come up with — perfect for English Language … Continue reading →

“Five of history’s most important places”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Five of history’s most important places is a pretty interesting article at the BBC’s website, and it offers a nice idea for a lesson. In the article, an historian makes his case for what he believes are the five most … Continue reading →

Special Edition Of “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
(Usually, I just post a weekly version of this regular feature. However, sometimes I post an extra “Special Edition” when I have more good links than usual) I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post … Continue reading →

Wow! Google Cultural Institute Is Pretty Impressive…

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
The Google Cultural Institute has multimedia online exhibits on a variety of historical topics, including apartheid in South Africa and the Holocaust. It’s really quite an impressive site. Many of its presentations belong in individual “The Best” lists on various … Continue reading →

Transcript To Our Online Ed Week Chat On Teaching ELL’s

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
My co-author, Katie Hull Sypnieski and I had a good online chat with participants today over at Education Week Teacher. You can read the transcript here.

Interesting Resources On Books & Reading

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Here are some recent posts on books and reading. I’m adding this post to My Best Posts On Books: Why They’re Important & How To Help Students Select, Read, Write & Discuss Them: For Those Who Want to Lead, Read … Continue reading →

“How Can We Help Our Students Develop a Growth Mindset?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
How Can We Help Our Students Develop a Growth Mindset? is the new question-of-the-week at my Education Week Teacher blog. Feel free to leave a response here or there….

Tell A Story At “Web Of Stories”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Web of Stories is a pretty cool site that easily allows students to tell their stories or interview a family member or friend about theirs. Here’s a description from the site: Everyone has a story to tell. Over time many … Continue reading →

“Eight Ways to Use Video With English Language Learners”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Eight Ways to Use Video With English Language Learners is a new excerpt from our book on teaching ELL’s. The excerpt was published at Edutopia.

Reminder To Join Me On Online Chat Tomorrow

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
My co-author Katie Hull Sypnieski and I will be participating in a free online Education Chat on Thursday, 4:00 PM Eastern Time on Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners. Find out more information here.

“Trunk Monkey” Videos Are Great For Language Acquisition

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Bill Ferriter just posted a link to this “Trunk Monkey Compilation.” This hilarious video is perfect for ELL’s to watch and then describe what happened, and even do Venn Diagram to identify differences and similarities:

New RSA Animate Video: “The Truth About Dishonesty”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
RSA Animate are videos of talks accompanied by graphic recording (see The Best Sites For Learning About Graphic Recording). Here’s their newest one — by professor and author Dan Ariely. It’s perfect for IB Theory of Knowledge classes, and for … Continue reading →

Photo Galleries Of The Week

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Obviously, photos can be great educational tools with English Language Learners and with any students (see The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons). I post about many photo galleries, also called slideshows. To do it in a little more organized … Continue reading →

The Best Online Activities For Learning About Time Zones

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
This is a quick “The Best” list I’m putting together for my Geography class tomorrow. Fell free to offer additional suggestions: A Brief History Of Time Zones is from The BBC. Geography : Time Zone Quiz Time Zones Game Time … Continue reading →

Walls That Separate Us

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Here are new additions to The Best Sites To Learn About Walls That Separate Us: The Great Wall of China is a photo gallery from The Atlantic. The Berlin Wall: Then and Now is a slideshow from The Wall Street … Continue reading →

More Self-Control Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are some new additions to The Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control: The Marshmallow Test Pays Off, 40 Years Later is from Slate. Simon Says Don’t Use Flashcards is from The New York Times. Self-Controlled … Continue reading →

“Obama Creates Monument To Cesar Chavez: ‘He Cared’”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
“Obama Creates Monument To Cesar Chavez: ‘He Cared’” is a CNN multimedia report on the creation of a monument to honor Cesar Chavez: Here’s an Associated Press video report on the event: I’m adding them to The Best Sites For … Continue reading →

Even More On Columbus Day

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are two more additions to The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus: How Columbus Day Fell Victim to Its Own Success is from The Atlantic. Why Do We Celebrate Columbus Day is a CBS News video:

Resources On “Grit”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
With all the recent attention to Paul Tough’s book, which talks a lot about “grit” (perseverance), I thought I’d remind readers about my “The Best” list on the topic: The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of “Grit.” Additional … Continue reading →

“Applying Research Findings to the Classroom”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Applying Research Findings to the Classroom is my new post over at Education Week Teacher. It includes several prettying interesting responses from guests.

Columbus Day Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Here are new additions to The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus: It’s Columbus Day…Time to Break the Silence is by Bill Bigelow at Rethinking Schools. Should Columbus Day Become Exploration Day is from Discovery News.

Treasure Chest Of Ways To Build Academic Vocabulary

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Kate Kinsella is well-known for her research on helping students learn and use academic vocabulary. The California Department of Education has put a series of her videos and materials on their website. The videos don’t at all capture her dynamism … Continue reading →

Nice San Francisco Video

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
I’m adding this video to The Best Sites To Learn About San Francisco: Thanks to Adverblog for the tip.

“PictoLang” Is A Good Vocabulary Interactive

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
PictoLang provides a series of interactives designed for English Language Learners (and learners of other languages) to gain basic vocabulary knowledge. I’m adding it to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn Vocabulary. Thanks to The Center for Applied Second … Continue reading →

New Resources On The Presidential Election

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: TV ads in the 2012 presidential campaign is an interactive from The Washington Post. Presidential debate: which words did the candidates use? is … Continue reading →

Natural Disaster Videos

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here are videos I’m adding to various Natural Disaster-related “The Best” lists. My colleague Lara Hoekstra suggested some of them. Many probably won’t go through an RSS Reader, so you’ll have to go directly to the blog to see them: … Continue reading →