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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 1-26-13 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF



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

LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY

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"Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation" 


More On Seattle Test Boycott

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 hour ago
Here are new additions to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On The Seattle Standardized Test Boycott: Seattle Teachers Protest Exams is from The Wall Street Journal. Seattle Education has a number of useful updates.

“The Great Divide: Global income inequality and its cost” Is A Must-See Interactive

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 hour ago
The Great Divide: Global income inequality and its cost is a project by a group called The Global Post, done in partnership with The Pulitzer Center with support from The Ford Foundation. Here’s how they introduce the project: Income inequality … Continue reading →

Geography & U.S. History

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 10 hours ago
In my Geography class for English Language Learners, I try to also incorporate students learning some of the history of the regions we’re studying. Because of that, here are a few additions to The Best Geography Sites For Learning About … Continue reading →

Nice Super Bowl Interactive

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 11 hours ago
The Associated Press has published a nice interactive on the Super Bowl, and it includes a video teaching the basics of football to people who know nothing about it. It’s a perfect addition to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can … Continue reading →

Bill Gates Endorses Merit Pay & Says We Need To Measure “Value Being Added By Colleges”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 12 hours ago
Now that the Gates Foundation thinks they’ve figured out how to evaluate teachers (see A Beginning List Of The Best Posts On Gates’ Final MET “Effective Teaching” Report), Bill Gates apparently has decided to endorse merit pay based on those … Continue reading →

How My Theory Of Knowledge Students Evaluated Me This Semester — “We learned things that are different than normal classes”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 14 hours ago
As usual, during the semester finals, I had my students provide anonymous evaluations of classes and me. I always tell them (and always follow-through) that I will be posting the results — warts and all — on my blog and … Continue reading →

“Energy Realities” Is An Interactive With A Wealth Of Info About….Energy

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 17 hours ago
Energy Realities is a collection of video, multimedia and infographic resources about energy related issues that’s sponsored by National Geographic, along with a number of other partners like New Scientist, Slate, and — here’s what has me concerned — an … Continue reading →

More On Brain-Based Learning

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Here are some new additions to The Best Resources On “Brain-Based Learning”: What Brain Insights Can Boost Your Student’s Classroom Success? is from Eric Jensen. How The Memory Works In Learning is by Judy Willis.

A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On The Seattle Standardized Test Boycott

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
There has been a fair amount of publicity this month about the decision by teachers in Seattle’s Garfield High School (followed by some other schools in the same district) to refuse to administer a standardized test called MAP — Measures … Continue reading →

CA Gov. Jerry Brown: “I would prefer to trust our teachers”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
California Jerry Brown just gave his State of the State address. Here’s an excerpt: The laws that are in fashion demand tightly constrained curricula and reams of accountability data. All the better if it requires quiz-bits of information, regurgitated at … Continue reading →

“U Tell Story” Looks Like A Great Storytelling Tool

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
John Yan was the creator of ShowBeyond, a very nice alternative to VoiceThread that was on The Best Ways To Create Online Slideshows until it shut down last year. Now, John has just unveiled his new tool for education, UTellStory, … Continue reading →

CNN’s “Economic Mood Map” Is Fascinating

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
CNN has a fascinating “Economic Mood Map.”. First, you answer four questions about your location and how the local economy is affecting you. Then, you see a world map reflecting how all respondents have answers the same question. Granted, it’s … Continue reading →

What A Great Post About The Common Core Debate…

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
David B. Cohen has written an excellent post about the Common Core debate that arose out of my Education Week Teacher column this week on implementing the Common Core in Language Arts. Check out Common Core: Implications of Collaboration. Here’s … Continue reading →

“Seriously Amazing” Questions Get Answered At The Smithsonian

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Seriously Amazing is a new Smithsonian site where questions get asked and answered in a colorful and interactive way. It’s a little unclear to me how the questions get collected — it doesn’t appear that you can ask them online, … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Round-Up” of Good Posts On Education Policy Issues

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Here are a few relatively recent good posts and articles on education policy issues: The MET Project: The Wrong 45 Million Dollar Question is from ASCD Educational Leadership (thanks to Alfie Kohn for the tip). This is one of the … Continue reading →

“What are the Do’s & Don’ts of Project-Based Learning?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
What are the Do’s & Don’ts of Project-Based Learning? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher blog. Feel free to leave your ideas there or in the comments section here…

Our “First Semester Reflection Questions”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Since I’ve already shared the Growth Mindset and prompt we’re using as part of our first semester final, I thought readers might also be interested in seeing the First Semester Reflection Questions my colleague Katie Hull and I use in … Continue reading →

The Common Core Debate Continues

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
The spirited discussion about Common Core, begun at my Education Week Teacher column, continues. Paul Thomas wrote a thoughtful post titled Fatalism and Teacher Professionalism on the discussion and taking issue with my position I tried to leave a comment … Continue reading →

Video: “People Are Awesome”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
This video, which could easily be subtitled, “People Are Crazy,” would be a good one to show English Language Learners for them to describe:

What Is It Like To Be A Dog Chasing Tennis Balls In A Pool?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Here’s a lighthearted addition to The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes:

“‘How on Earth Will I Implement’ Common Core for Language Arts?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
‘How on Earth Will I Implement’ Common Core for Language Arts? is my newest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s Part Two in my series on Common Core….

More Resources On Empathy

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
I have an extensive list related to empathy called The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes and thought I’d add a few additional links specifically on empathy: Barack Obama and the ‘empathy deficit’ is from The Guardian. Understanding … Continue reading →

There Will Never Be A Better Video Than This One For Teaching Students About Winter

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
I’m definitely adding this video to The Best Sites For Learning About The Winter Season. Show it to English Language Learners and help them learn related vocabulary:

Can Davis Guggenheim Redeem Himself With “The Dream Is Now”?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
An organization called The Emerson Collective has partnered with infamous director Davis Guggenheim (see The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events) to form The Dream Is Now. The Dream Is Now site … Continue reading →

Dan Meyer Shows How Subzin Could Be Very Useful

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
In this video, Dan Meyer demonstrates how the movie search engine Subzin could be very useful for teachers. I would strongly recommend you read his short, but elegant, post describing how he used it to create this video. Subzin is … Continue reading →

The Political Realities Of Common Core

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
There’s been a spirited discussion in the comments section at my Education Week Teacher post on Best Ways to Prepare Our Students for CCSS in Language Arts. Feel free to participate in the discussion. Here’s a comment I just added: … Continue reading →

Create A Virtual Classroom With “XtraMath”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
XtraMath joins a fairly lengthy list of sites that students can use for math practice and have teachers monitor their progress. You can read more about it at Richard Byrne’s blog. I’m adding it to The Best MATH Sites That … Continue reading →

Even More On The Inauguration

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are some last additions to The Best Sites For Learning About President Obama’s Second Inauguration: Both The New York Times and The Washington Post have annotated videos of President Obama’s inaugural address. President Obama’s Second Inauguration is a complete … Continue reading →

More Cool Inauguration Interactives

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About President Obama’s Second Inauguration: US presidential inauguration speeches: how does Obama’s second compare? is a word cloud like you’ve never seen before — from The Guardian. The oaths: … Continue reading →

“Mixed Response to Comcast in Expanding Net Access”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Mixed Response to Comcast in Expanding Net Access is the headline of a New York Times article about Comcast’s nationwide efforts to provide Internet to low-income families (it also talks about similar programs by other cable providers). I’ve written about … Continue reading →

“In Their Words” Is A Unique Inaugural Resource

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
In Their Words is a unique resource from The Wall Street Journal about the inauguration. It lets you choose any two presidents, then pick certain words, and ultimately shows you a comparison between the two about how many times each … Continue reading →

Even More Martin Luther King, Jr. Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Here are the newest additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Martin Luther King: English Central has a nice collection of King videos. MLK Support For Economic Justice Overshadowed By ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech

Super Bowl Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Now that we all know who’s going to be playing in the Super Bowl (and those of us in Northern California know who’s actually going to win), I’ll start updating The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super … Continue reading →

Photo Galleries Of The Week

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 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 ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival Gets A Makeover & It Looks Pretty Good!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
After 31 editions of ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival, it was time for it to be refreshed. So I’ve worked with other bloggers to “re-brand” it as The ELT Blog Carnival and it now has its own permanent site! You can see … Continue reading →

Student-Created Game On The Underground Railroad

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
A class in Ohio has unveiled a “choose your own adventure” game on The Underground Railroad. It looks good, though it appears you have download the Unity Web Player to play it. You can read more about the game in … Continue reading →

“Secret Ingredient for Success”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
I have a lesson plan — in fact, a whole chapter — about taking responsibility and not blaming others in my book Helping Students Motivate Themselves. I also have posted many related resources — see The Best Resources For Helping … Continue reading →

Video: Carol Dweck On The Effect of Praise on Mindsets

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
I’m adding this video to The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset”:

“Best Ways to Prepare Our Students for CCSS in Language Arts”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Best Ways to Prepare Our Students for CCSS in Language Arts is my new post over at Education Week Teacher. It includes guest responses from educator/authors Christopher Lehman, Amy Benjamin and Ben Curran.

Groundhog Day Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Groundhog Day is every February 2nd in the United States. I’ve updated The Best Resources For Groundhog Day. Additional suggestions are welcome…

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

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days 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 →

Useful “Fixed” vs. “Growth” Mindset Worksheet For Students

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
A few days ago, I posted about an essay prompt related to Carol Dweck’s growth and fixed mindset concept that we are using for our semester final this week (see Here’s The “Growth Mindset” Article & Prompt We’re Using As … Continue reading →

January’s (2013) Best Tweets — Part Two

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
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 →

“How global temperatures have changed since 1880″

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
NASA just released this video showing temperature changes in the world since 1880 and including 2012 — it’s an updated version of one they’ve released in previous years. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Climate Change.

The Most Viewed Flickr Commons Images

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Five years ago, Flickr and the Library Of Congress joined forces to create Flickr Commons — a compilation of public domain photographs. Since that time, other institutions have also joined in. They just released a collection of their most viewed … Continue reading →

A Few More Useful Resources On The Inauguration

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here are a few more additions to The Best Sites For Learning About President Obama’s Second Inauguration: Historical Photos Of Inaugurations Past is a neat slideshow from Talking Points Memo. 10 inaugural moments that mattered is from CNN. Here’s another … Continue reading →

How Do We Contribute To Students Being Rude In Class?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
One of the chapters in my upcoming book shares ideas and lesson plans on how to deal with rudeness in class and I’ve previously posted about this topic, too. The Harvard Business Review has just published a lengthy article on … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
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 →

Two Examples Of Nice Student “Glogsters”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
I’ve previously posted about how I concluded that Glogster would work well for my students as a Web 2.0 creation tool, and thought readers might want to see a couple of examples from our ESL Geography class. Here they are:

These Interactives Are Great: “Build Your Own Inaugural Address”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Both The New York Times and The Washington Post have unveiled “Build Your Own Inaugural Address” interactives. Once you’re done, you’re given a unique url address to your creation for sharing. I’m adding them to The Best Sites For Learning … Continue reading →

This Is Interesting: “Lawmaker proposes letting California teens ‘pre-register’ to vote at age 15″

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
From the Sacramento Bee: California teens could submit paperwork to get on the state’s voter rolls three years before they are allowed to cast a ballot under legislation introduced this week. Senate Bill 113, by Democratic Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, would … Continue reading →

Even More On The Inauguration

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Here are a few more additions to The Best Sites For Learning About President Obama’s Second Inauguration: Interactive: List of presidential inauguration firsts is from ABC News. Getting Ready for the Inauguration is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal. … Continue reading →

“The Ultimate Guide to Worldwide Etiquette” Seems Very Useful

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
I’m adding this interactive infographic to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: The Ultimate Guide to Worldwide Etiquette infographic by unive