Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Two Visual Explanations About What’s Happening In Syria
Snapstouch Is Yet Another Photo-Editing Tool
Two Important Articles On Chemical Weapons
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
What’s “Popular” Via The New York Times
I periodically post places to find resources that are supposedly the “most popular” of something or other. I might or might not agree with the criteria used to determine that popularity, but I nevertheless find some useful pieces of information. You can find a collection of these sites at The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators – 2013 (So Far). Today, The N
Two Visual Explanations About What’s Happening In Syria
Here are two new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria: Understanding Syria: A visual guide to the latest crisis in the middle east is from USA Today. Here’s a very large, probably too large, infographic:
Snapstouch Is Yet Another Photo-Editing Tool
Snapstouch is a “free online tool to covert your photo to sketch, photo to painting, photo to drawing, photo to outline…” I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects.
Two Important Articles On Chemical Weapons
Here are two important articles on chemical weapons that I’m adding to The Best Resources On Chemical Weapons. Neither are accessible to ELLs, but portions could be modified: A Weapon Seen as Too Horrible, Even in War is from The New York Times. Chemical weapons and the scientists who make them is from The Conversation.
Infographic: “Quit Smoking by the time you’re:”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About The Dangers Of Smoking: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Photo Galleries Of The Week
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 way, though, I recently began this weekly feature called “Photo Galleries Of The Week.” This post is a “round-up” of online slideshows I’m adding to various
Philadelphia Shows How NOT To Engage Parents
Here’s the latest addition to The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas, courtesy of NPR: The Philadelphia school system was forced to cut millions of dollars from its budget, lay off hundreds of employees and shutter nearly two dozen schools to help close a billion dollar shortfall. Some principals are asking parents to “contribute” as much as $600 per student to help pay for basic supplies and the schoo
National Writing Project Sponsors Family Engagement Webinar
Thanks to Renee Moore, I just learned about an upcoming six-week National Writing Project Webinar on family engagement. Here are some excerpts from the announcement: Teachers will engage, share, and reflect with other educators about ways to cultivate and enrich Family, School, and Community Partnerships that support student learning. This free, online exploration sponsored by the Red Clay Writing
SEP 05
Infographic: “Ways A Parent Can Help With Reading”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Infographics About Parent Involvement In Schools:
Equity & Parent Fundraising For Schools
Rob Reich (not Robert Reich, the former Clinton Cabinet member) has written a useful article in The New York Times titled Not Very Giving. It’s about the issue of parents in wealthy communities raising private funds for public schools, while high-poverty schools are in the same situation. Here are his suggestions for how to respond to this problem: There is still a lot we can do to improve this up
“9 complaints schools hear from parents: What you should do when something goes wrong”
9 complaints schools hear from parents: What you should do when something goes wrong is a very useful article from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically.
“Starting secondary school: a survival guide for parents”
Starting secondary school: a survival guide for parents is pretty good article from The Guardian. It’s clearly British-oriented, but still very useful for parents here in the U.S.
“Parents and teachers unite for Philly schools”
It looks like officials in Philadelphia are not learning any lessons from what happened in Chicago last year (see Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents). It’s a big mess in Philly, and its parents and teachers on one side, and school and city officials on the other. Read all about it at Parents and teachers unite for Philly schools.
Not Very Interesting Parent Involvement Survey From U.S. Dept. Of Ed — Except for One Result
Thanks to Joe Mazza, I just learned about the new Parent and Family Involvement in Education, from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012 report from The U.S. Department of Education. I might have missed something, but I didn’t find it very interesting or useful. Except for one result: One percent of students in grades 6 through 12 had parents who said that they did not expect th
Parents As Teachers
Last week The New York Times ran a very scary article about how many charter schools were specifically seeking not to have their teachers stay for the long term. I ran a couple of posts on it at my other blog (see An Eye-Opening Article On Charter School Teacher Turnover and Quote Of The Day: Creating Stability In Communities). Sara Mosle has written a commentary in Slate about that same article t
A Chicago Parent Says “Goodbye to All That”
Goodbye to All That is a sad article by a Chicago parent who is leaving that city’s school system, in large part due to its lack of respect for parents. Might there be a connection to my earlier post, Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents?
In Somewhat Odd Pairing, Ad Council & Army Team-Up For Attendance Campaign Targeting Parents
The Advertising Council and The United States Army are teaming-up for a nationwide advertising campaign directed towards parents to reduce student absenteeism. You can read all about it in The New York Times article, A View of What’s Missing From the Classroom. I, like some of the people quoted in the article, am a bit skeptical, and am particularly concerned that it’s a way for people to feel lik
“No Family Left Behind”: More Information On Kellogg Foundation Parent Engagement Funding
I’ve previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation’s plan to invest $5 million in parent engagement efforts. Their Vice-President has written an article in the Huffington Post that goes into further detail on their plans. Check out the piece, No Family Left Behind.
“Parents’ Top 12 Back-to-School Tech Questions”
Parents’ Top 12 Back-to-School Tech Questions is a useful article from Common Sense Media. It shares answers to these questions: What’s the right age for my kid to bring a cell phone to school? What are the rules about using cell phones at school? Should students and teachers be friends on Facebook? Back-to-school shopping has gotten so commercial. How do I avoid ad overload? Should I let my chil
Former Chicago Superintendent Realizes He’s “Former” Because He Didn’t Engage Parents
Thanks to Alexander Russo, I learned about a recent interview with the former Superintendent of Chicago Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard. He lost his job after the major Chicago teachers strike. Here’s an excerpt: We severely underestimated the ability of the Chicago Teachers’ Union to lead a massive grassroots campaign against our administration. It’s a lesson for all of us in the reform community. T
Nice Interview with New National PTA President
Advocating for All Children: An Interview with National PTA President Otha Thornton has been published by Learning First. Here’s an excerpt: More than 40 years of research shows that when parents and families are engaged – through not just “check-the-box” parent outreach activities, but through meaningful, integrated, and sustained engagement efforts – student achievement increases, regardless of
“Two Easy Tools Teachers Can Use to Coordinate Parent Volunteers”
Two Easy Tools Teachers Can Use to Coordinate Parent Volunteers is a useful post by Richard Byrne. I’m adding it to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Using Technology To Help Engage Parents.
“Kellogg Foundation to Invest $5 million in Family Engagement Efforts”
This post over at Education Week sure looks interesting: Kellogg Foundation to Invest $5 million in Family Engagement Efforts. Here’s how it begins: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation plans to invest $5 million to enhance and develop family engagement efforts to support the education of children from birth to age 8 living in low-income and/or minority communities.
All My Ed Week Posts On Parent Engagement In One Place
Q & A Collections: Parent Engagement In Schools is my newest post over at Education Week Teacher. It brings all my posts on…parent engagement together in one place. I’m adding it to: The Best Overviews Of Parent Engagement My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers
My Advice To Parents In “USA Weekend”
My advice to parents is featured in tomorrow’s USA Weekend, the Sunday Magazine carried by many newspapers across the country. The article What teachers want you to know, ends with this: Research suggests that one of the best things parents can do to support a child is to help him/her develop a motivation to learn. Larry Ferlazzo, a teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, has identifi
“Community Schools: A Worthwhile Investment”
Community Schools: A Worthwhile Investment provides a very good overview of community schools. It appears in Education Week. Here’s an excerpt: Research has made it clear that instructional improvements can be successful only when they are combined with family and community engagement and genuine efforts to improve the school’s climate for learning—in other words, when resources are organized for
“A Parent’s Letter: What I Want From My Kids’ Teachers”
A Parent’s Letter: What I Want From My Kids’ Teachers is a nice piece at Education Week Teacher. It’s a….letter from a parent (and teacher) to the teacher of his child.
“What Message Are We Sending In Our First Contact With Parents?”
What Message Are We Sending In Our First Contact With Parents? is a great post by Principal Chris Wejr. Here’s an excerpt: Although ongoing communication WITH parents/families helps the school, the students, and the families… it is also important that at this time of year, we work hard to lay the foundation and make that first communication with families a positive one. It is also a great opportun
AUG 10
Sorry Again About The Multiple Emails
Sorry again for the multiple emails. This post is a test one being sent out by Edublogs staff to confirm the problem has been fixed. It’s another example of why I recommend Edublogs so highly — their customer service is unmatchable!
Prezi: “Syracuse: A Citywide Education Experiment”
Syracuse: A Citywide Education Experiment is a Prezi presentation (embedded below) by Sarah Sparks from Education Week. It’s on a pretty interesting effort in…Syracuse. It expands on the idea of community schools, and sounds great. I still have the same concern that I have with most community schools, however — that families might be viewed more as clients instead of partners. I’m adding this The
Sorry About Multiple Emails About The Last Post
Some of you who subscribe to this blog might have received four or five emails notifying you of the last post. Sorry about that — something in the email system went kaflooey. I hope that’s the first, and last time, for that problem.
Great Collection: “55 Best Back-to-School Articles for Parents”
Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell has posted a great collection of the 55 Best Back-to-School Articles for Parents. I don’t think you’re going to find anything like it anywhere else on the Web!
“Parents Get Testy Over Philadelphia’s New School Report Cards”
Parents Get Testy Over Philadelphia’s New School Report Cards is a new article about parents and the more and more discredited idea of giving grades to schools. Here’s an excerpt: “We’re using consultants to grade schools instead of spending more time fixing them,” said school activist Helen Gym. Several saw the report card as little more than a thinly veiled effort to use consultants to justify
Excellent Article On Teaching Making Home Visits — & It Features Our School!
Home visits help Sacramento families see college path is an extensive article in today’s Sacramento Bee that features the staff and families at our school. It’s a good one, and I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits.
The Guardian: Parents Complain About Not Getting Comments On Report Cards
School reports: could teachers do better? is the headline of a recent article in the British newspaper, The Guardian. Here’s how it begins: The school report is the traditional end to the academic year. But parents are more critical of them than ever: some say computer-generated comments are too bland and general, while teachers grumble about having to produce hundreds of reports in the midst of
“New Orleans Schools Face Complaint About Treatment of ELL Families”
From Education Week, another example of how NOT to encourage parent engagement: A new complaint alleging that some charter schools in New Orleans are discriminating against the non-English-speaking parents of Vietnamese and Latino students has been filed with federal civil rights officials. Announced earlier today, the complaint—brought by two Asian-American civil rights organizations—says that a
“How To Do Student-Led Conferences”
How To Do Student-Led Conferences is a good post by Pernille Ripp sharing how to organize student-led conferences with parents and teachers. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Parent Involvement Advice For Principals
Parent Outreach for Busy Leaders is an article at the Responsive Classroom website that offers basic, but good, advice on eight things principals can do to help promote good relationships with families. It’s worth a look….
“Community Learning Centers” In Cincinnati
Here’s a pretty interesting piece in the Huffington Post about community schools in Cincinnati. Here’s an excerpt: A little more than a decade ago, voters passed a bond levy making possible the rebuilding or renovating of every public school in the district. The promise to taxpayers was that the facilities would be much more than just traditional academic settings during traditional school hours.
Big Benefits From Home Visits In Jamaica
I’ve posted a lot about the importance of making home visits to families, pre-school parent involvement, and parent engagement in countries across the globe (you can find those posts here). Now, here’s a story that combines all of those elements. A report has recently come out on pretty amazing results that came from making home visits to families in Jamaica. You can read an article about it in th
“Do Schools Work Hard Enough to Engage Parents?”
Do Schools Work Hard Enough to Engage Parents? is a new and useful post by Peter DeWitt at Education Week. He shares some practical suggestions. Here’s how the post ends: Parental involvement is about involving parents in all aspects of the educational conversation. Not everyone will take part in it, but those who do may help stretch everyone’s thinking. We want to make sure that when our parents
The Best Education Blogs For Parents
10 Amazing Education Blogs for Parents is a helpful post from Ed Tech Review that I learned about from Starr Sackstein. I think they missed a few important ones, though, so I decided to make my own list. Let me know if you think I’m missing some: Parent Cortical Mass Raising Modern Learners Joe Mazza’s blog, eFace Today Our School: Parents As Partners ParentNet Unplugged from Parent Involvement Ma
Video: “Parent Involvement Matters”
Here’s a new video from PTO Today. There’s probably nothing new in that’s new to readers, but it’s short and to the point:
JUL 31
“Parents Add Heft to Bond, Tax-Measure Campaigns”
Parents Add Heft to Bond, Tax-Measure Campaigns is an Education Week article worth reading. Here’s an excerpt: Though the specifics may differ from community to community, parents throughout the country are increasingly becoming advocates for bond and tax measures needed to fill budget holes and better the quality of schools. Their outreach often goes beyond knocking on doors, posting on Facebook,
“New School Funding Formula Mandates Parental Involvement”
New School Funding Formula Mandates Parental Involvement is an article from Public Radio that points out an important point in California Jerry Brown’s potentially revolutionary new school funding formula — it requires that parents reviews plans to spend the extra money that low-income districts will be receiving. The key, of course, will be if schools take it seriously and view it as an opportuni
“Parental involvement in education leads to successful students, stronger schools”
Parental involvement in education leads to successful students, stronger schools is a few months old, but is still worth reading. It’s a column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about parent involvement. I’d skip the first part, which is about a charter school and solely focused on test scores. But the last two-thirds of the piece is pretty good.
Quite A Round-Up Of Pre-School Parent Involvement Research
Head Start recently published quite a compilation of recent research related to parent involvement and pre-school youth. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Pre-School Parent Engagement.
“Back to School: 10 Great Movie Teachers”
Back to School: 10 Great Movie Teachers is a nice video collection from TIME Magazine. I’m adding it to The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies.
YESTERDAY
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful articles on education policy issues: Seven facts you should know about new Common Core tests is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing. What Words Would You Love to Ditch? is from John Spencer. Seven Thoughts On Education Policy is also from John Spencer. Word Attack: “Objective” is by Sab
Finally, You Can Search All Your Tweets
Topsy now lets search all the tweets ever sent! You can read more about it at The New York Times (If Google Could Search Twitter, It Would Find Topsy) and at NBC News (You can now view (almost) every tweet ever). I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About.
New Resources On Syria
Here are the latest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About What’s Happening In Syria: Syrian refugee numbers pass 2 million – interactive is from The Guardian. Syria News Quiz is an interactive from The New York Times. Here’s an updated Associated Press interactive.
Infographic: “International Literacy Day”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For World Literacy Day: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Quote Of The Day: “A Sandy Hook Parent’s Letter to Teachers”
Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose child was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year, just had a guest column published in Education Week — A Sandy Hook Parent’s Letter to Teachers. Here’s an excerpt: You might also want to visit A Collection Of Resources On The Sandy Hook Shooting.
Some Final Links About The Yosemite Fire
Happily, it looks like the Yosemite Fire is finally under control. Here are some final links to The Best Resources For Learning About The Fire Near Yosemite Valley: Could the Yosemite Rim Fire Be Ecologically Beneficial? is from The Atlantic. California Rim Fire Was Started By Hunter’s ‘Illegal’ Fire is from NPR. Here’s a NY Times video that I’m actually adding to The Best Sites For Learning About
Resources For The Fall Season
I’ve made some additions to The Best Sites For Images Of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season). Additional suggestions are welcome…
First Draft: My Theory Of Knowledge Lesson About Syria Next Monday — Help Me Make It Better
This is the first week of school, and my Theory Of Knowledge class is learning about the difference between knowledge and belief, and the different justification used for a variety of claims. Tomorrow, we’re going to examine Reuben Abel’s nine types of evidence, and students will rank them in terms of reliability and validity. I’m tentatively planning on doing a lesson on Syria on Monday where the
SEP 05
Daily Show Video: “science’s embarrassing failures are just as important as the revolutionary successes”
I’m adding this interview from The Daily Show to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures: The Daily Show with Jon StewartGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook
These May Be Some Of The Most Important Passages About Self-Control That I’ve Ever Read
It’s no surprise to readers here that I’m a big believer is helping students develop self-control (see The Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control) done in the context of helping students develop intrinsic motivation in a student-centered classroom. My posts, my practice, and my books reflect that perspective. I’ve also been very critical of those who — in the na
14 Ways to Use The New York Times Learning Network This School Year
As many readers of this blog know, after writing a monthly post focused on English Language Learners for The New York Times Learning Network last year, they asked me to start contributing a weekly one including an interactive for students and teaching ideas. The first one was posted there a couple of weeks ago, and it will appear every Monday. You can find all my posts there here. They’ve also ju
September’s (2013) Best Tweets — Part One
Every month I make a few short lists 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. I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in this post. If you don’t use Twit
Infographic: “Rosh Hashanah”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
SEP 04
PBS Releases Second Video Showing The Cookie Monster Learning About “Delayed Gratification”
PBS just released its second video in a month showing The Cookie Monster learning about “delayed gratification.” You can see, and read about, the first video here. I’m also adding this second one to The Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.
“TEACH” Is Showing On CBS This Friday — It’s The Second Film Davis Guggenheim Has Done This Year To Make-Up For “Waiting For Superman”
Davis Guggenheim is sure in overdrive to make-up for all the harm he caused with his awful movie, Waiting For Superman (see The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events). First, he worked with campaigners for The Dream Act to produce The Dream Is Now (that thirty minute film is embedded below). Now, he’s produced TEACH, a documentar
The Best Infographics About Teaching & Learning English As A Second (or Third!) Language
I thought readers might appreciate this collection: Learn English with Kaplan How to learn English via Kaplan Blog How to learn English via Kaplan Blog Love learning English with Kaplan Learn English with Kaplan Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually. If you’re reading this post on an RSS Reader, I think you’ll have to click t
“What Advice Would You Give Someone Who Wants To Be A Principal?”
What Advice Would You Give Someone Who Wants To Be A Principal? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave you advice in the comments over there or here.
A Little Respect Can Go A Long Way In The Classroom
Today was the third day of school. Three times a year, one of the many formative assessments we do in ninth-grade is have students read two passages to us for a minute each so we can gauge their reading fluency. I always set a couple of chairs just outside the door so the student can read privately and I can keep a close eye on what’s happening in the classroom. The rest of the class was focused
New Study: “Using harsh verbal discipline with teens found to be harmful”
A new study has found that: Many American parents yell or shout at their teenagers. A new longitudinal study has found that using such harsh verbal discipline in early adolescence can be harmful to teens later. Instead of minimizing teens’ problematic behavior, harsh verbal discipline may actually aggravate it. The findings obviously can be related to classroom discipline, as well, and are relate
SEP 03
New Issue Of ASCD Educational Leadership Is Out – Here Are Some Articles Worth Reading
ASCD has just published the September issue of their periodical, Educational Leadership. Its theme is “Resilience and Learning.” Here are some highlights: The Significance of Grit: A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth doesn’t really have anything new to people familiar with Duckworth’s work, but it does provide a good overview. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Importa
New Study: Sleep Boosts Production Of Myelin
A new study has come out suggesting that sleep boost the production of myelin, and that lack of sleep reduced it. “So, what?” you might ask…. I wrote about myelin in a previous post titled Deliberate Practice, Myelin & The Brain. Here’s an excerpt from that earlier post: Myelin is white matter in the brain that forms layers that make nerve impulses faster and stronger (see the image at the top
U.S. Constitution Day Resources
Federal legislation requires schools in the United States to offer lessons related to the U.S. Constitution on U.S. Constitution Day — September 17th of each year. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About The Constitution Of The United States.
Infographic: “What’s a Toilet Worth?”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World: by worldbank.Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
The “Broken Picture Telephone” Online Game Is Back!
Broken Picture Telephone is an online “take-off” on the old game of “Telephone” (where one person whispers to another and so on — a favorite game of ESL teachers to promote speaking practice. It had been taken off-line three years ago, but just came back. I’m just going to quote from Jay is Games to describe how the online game works: Someone writes out a phrase (essentially an idea for a drawing
Interview: “Self-Driven Learning and Student Motivation”
School Leadership Briefing just posted a fifteen minute audio interview they did with me over the summer. Here’s how they describe it: Efforts to improve our schools are typically focused on teaching, curriculum, and testing, but ignore a critical piece of the puzzle—the students. In this segment, Larry Ferlazzo, author of the book, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation,
Special NY Times Section On Science Education
The New York Times just published a special section on science education called Science Times Special Section: Learning What Works. It seems surprisingly ambitious. Here are just a few of the articles it includes: Sesame Street Widens Its Focus Young Students Against Bad Science Standard-Bearer in Evolution Fight: Eugenie C. Scott Fights the Teaching of Creationism in Schools Guesses and Hype Giv
SEP 02
Resources For Mexico’s Independence Day
September 16th is Mexico’s Independence Day. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Mexico’s Independence Day.
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: New Guide To Help States Commonly Define English-Learners is from the Learning The Language blog at Education Week. Second Language Acquisition is a blog post worth reading by Nicholas Meier. Cutting to the Common Core: Ma
Video: “President Obama’s Labor Day Message”
I’m adding this video to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day:
Extremely Positive Review Of Our ESL/ELL Book
The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language — August, 2013 has just published a very positive review of our book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide. Look for it under “Reviews” on the right side of the page. It’s a pretty lengthy review by Grace Christino at the University of Central Florida. Here’s how she ends it: If an ESL teacher could have one book, The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Surviv
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth sharing, I’ve recently begin a regular feature called “The Week In Web 2.0.” It’ll be a short compilation of new decent sites that are worth noting, but maybe not necessarily worth a separate post and generally — though not always — not worthy of being on a “The Best…” list (let me know if you think I’m wrong in my assess
Labor Day Infographics & Charts
Here are some new additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day: Happy Labor Day, in eight charts! is from The Washington Post. Where Wages Have Grown the Most (and Least) Since the Recovery is from The Atlantic.
This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t” – September
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 few and list them here with a minimal description. It forces me to look through these older links, and help me organize them for my own use. I hope others will find them helpful
School’s Starting Tomorrow!
Well, as you can see from the above image of my new room, I’m ready — more or less — for school starting tomorrow. My colleague, Katie Hull, and I both moved our rooms and Small Learning Communities, so it was an opportunity to get rid of a lot of “stuff” (I think switching rooms at least once every ten years is probably a good idea, even though it can be a bit of a pain) and have a “new beginnin
Resources For Teaching About 9/11
I have a very extensive collection of resources at The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11. I haven’t gotten a chance to review them all to see if there are any dead links, but most, if not all of them, should still be okay. I’ll be adding a whole lot more between now and anniversary date, and I’m very open to hearing suggestions from readers for sites I may have missed.
SEP 01
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are some recent good posts on education policy issues: Five bad education assumptions the media keeps recycling is by Alfie Kohn, and is a response to a NY Times review of Amanda Ripley’s new book. Though I haven’t read her book, I’ve certainly had issues with articles she’s written about school issues. E.D. Hirsch, Jr. comes out against Value Added Assessment for teachers, at least for thos
Video: “How Grover Cleveland Invented Labor Day”
Here’s a new video from The Washington Post that I’m adding to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day:
New ESL/ELL/EFL Blog Carnival On Pronunciation Just Published!
Carissa Peck has just published the 34th ELT Blog Carnival (also know as the ESL/ELL/EFL Blog Carnival) and its focus is on teaching/learning pronunciation. It’s so good that I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Learning English Pronunciation. You can see all the previous Blog Carnivals here. And you can express your interest in hosting a future edition of one here.
Video: “How climate change is fueling disasters like Yosemite”
I’m adding this video from Slate to The Best Sites For Learning About Forest Fires:
K-12 Online Conference 2013 Presenters Have Been Announced
Presenters for the K-12 Online Conference have just been announced, and it’s quite a line-up. You can see them all here. The Conference is an annual great free opportunity for professional development, and takes place in October. I’ll be the keynoter for the strand on “Leading Learning.”
A Few More Good Resources About The March On Washington
Here are a few more additions to The Best Resources About The March On Washington: Organizing Manuals for the March on Washington is from The Wall Street Journal. The ‘Dream,’ Then and Now is a split screen photo gallery from the Wall Street Journal. A half-century after the ‘dream’: 10 signposts on America’s race journey is from CNN. Here’s an embedded video from English Central: “I Have A Dream:
“There Are No Shortcuts”: An Interview With Rafe Esquith”
“There Are No Shortcuts”: An Interview With Rafe Esquith is my newest post at Education Week Teacher. I think people will find this interview I did with Rafe Esquith, one of the most famous teachers in the world, very interesting….
A Collection Of New Resources On Natural Disasters
Here are a variety of new resources related to natural disasters: How Science Has Battled Natural Disasters is a slideshow from Popular Science. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Learning About Natural Disasters. Explore the 8 Worst U.S. Tornado Disasters With Interactive Maps is from Wired. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Tornadoes. California’s Prison Problems Won’t E
AUG 31
Video: “Why do Americans and Canadians celebrate Labor Day?”
Here’s a great video from TED-Ed (you can see the complete lesson here). I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day.
Video: New Version Of “Blooms According to Andy Griffith (Edited Version)”
I’ve previously shared a thirteen minute version of Bloom’s Taxonomy According to Andy Griffith, which you can find at The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom. The video’s creator has now edited its length down considerably. Here’s the new version:
Quote Of The Day: Teacher Salaries
The Associated Press has just published Facts, figures as students return to the classroom. Here’s an excerpt: