Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
November’s Infographics & Interactives Galore — Part Three
New Feature: Videos Of The Week
“Nominations Open! The 10th Annual Edublog Awards Are Here!”
The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap”
“Getting Parents Engaged with School”
“Even the Best Teacher Could Be Considered a Negligent Parent”
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: Dictations Are Fun! is from TEFL Reflections. It doesn’t exactly fit, but I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning How To Use The Dictogloss Strategy With English Language Learners. How Monolingual Teachers Can Support Yo
‘Listen, Empathize, Connect’ For Student Motivation
‘Listen, Empathize, Connect’ For Student Motivation is the last post in a three-part series I’ve published at Education Week Teacher. Today, educators Jason Flom and Barbara Blackburn contribute their thoughts, along with many comments from readers.
Video: “¿Qué Pasa U.S.A.?”
It’s completely new to me, but ¿Qué Pasa U.S.A.? was the first Cuban-American sitcom, which aired from 1977-1980″ on the Miami PBS station. This new remix, created by Melody Sheep for PBS, is really interesting. You can find many episodes on YouTube, and I’ve also embedded a clip from one where they are attending a citizenship class. It’s pretty funny.
Better Late Than Never: Several Final New Gettysburg Address Resources
Here are a few more additions to The Best Online Resources For Learning About The Gettysburg Address: The Gettysburg Address as a Powerpoint is from The Atlantic. The President’s Hand-Written Response to the Gettysburg Address is also from The Atlantic. The Associated Press has an interactive on the Address. Text to Text | The Gettysburg Address and ‘Why the Civil War Still Matters’ is from The N
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts On Education Policy
Here are some recent good posts on educational policy issues: The King of MOOCs Abdicates the Throne is from Slate. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On MOOC’s — Help Me Find More. Coalition wants the state to let more schools skip the Regents is an article about the New York Performance Standards Consortium. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Describing Alternatives To High-Stakes T
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There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you’ll find others in this regular feature. Here goes: Incredible High-Resolution Interactive Map of the World’s Shrinking Forests is from Wired. Where Poor and Uninsured Americans Live is an interactive
In yet another effort to get at my backlog of resources to share, I’m starting this new regular feature to share useful videos. I’ll still periodically highlight certain ones on their own, but the rest will be found on this regular post: This video shares some good advice to presenters and to teachers: I’m adding this next embedded video from The NY Times on The Future of Storms to The Best Resources For Learning About Typhoon Haiyan: Lectures Didn’t Work in 1350—and They Still Don’t Work Today is a useful article in The Atlantic. It’s an interview with David Thornburg. One of the many thin
It’s that time again — Nominations Open! The 10th Annual Edublog Awards Are Here! These awards recognized education blogs from around the world, and I think they’re great opportunities to learn about blogs and great work that is out there that all of us might not know about. You can read about my past nominations (and past winners) in my previous posts about the awards. I’ll be offering my nominees for this year in a future post…. Go the above link to learn about how you make your own nominations!
YESTERDAY
A Simple & Effective Classroom Lesson On Gratitude
I’ve written in my books and here on my blog how I use the concept of “gratitude” in class (see The Best Resources On “Gratitude”). Today, my colleague Katie Hull did a simple and powerful lesson using one of the resources on that “Best” list and I thought I’d share it here. It’s based on an experiment and video that “Soul Pancake’ did (the video is on that list, but I’ve also embedded again in t
You Can Now Add Maps To Pinterest
Pinterest has just added the ability to add maps to your Pinterest boards. You can read moare about it at TechCrunch and Mashable. You can see an example below. It could be a helpful feature for students. However, since Pinterest is presently blocked in most Districts, I doubt it will used much in classrooms. I’m adding this info to The Best Guides To Figuring Out Pinterest but, because of the blo
More JFK Resources
Here are new additions to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy: The Death of President Kennedy is a NY Times interactive. Teaching About J.F.K. With The New York Times is from The New York Times Learning Network. Iconic JFK images: Then and now is from Reuters. Scenes From the Kennedy Assassination is from The Wall Street Journal.
NOV 21
Here Are My Nominees For The 2013 Edublog Awards
It’s that time again — to make nominations for the 2013 Edublog Awards. As I’m always said, I like the Edublog Awards because they’re great opportunities to learn about new blogs, people and resources that are out there. You can see my list of nominees from last year here. Here are my new ones (and I hope you make time to make your own): Best Individual Blog — This was a tough one. I tried to thi
Some Excellent Resources On “Grit”
I’ve often written about the idea of “grit,” the term given to perseverance by Professor Angela Duckworth (recent winner of a MacArthur Genius Award. You can see all of those posts at The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of “Grit” (I also have a lesson on it in one of my books). One of those resources is a simple “grit” test that anyone can take (it’s at Professor Duckworth’s site
“Collection Of Tweets From Second Week’s Chat On Classroom Management”
I’ve just posted a Collection Of Tweets From Second Week’s Chat On Classroom Management over at Education Week Teacher. Today marks the end of a two-week Twitter “chat” (using the hashtag #classmgmtQA ) on my new Education Week-published book, Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching. It’s been a very active two weeks, with my tweeting out quotations from the book, along with
Great Interactive: “Why are we building new walls to divide us?”
The Guardian has published an excellent, though sad, interactive titled Why are we building new walls to divide us? It’s a perfect addition to The Best Sites To Learn About Walls That Separate Us.
November’s (2013) Best Tweets — Part Three
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
NOV 20
Video: Rube Goldberg Machine Ad To Show That “girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses”
In case you haven’t yet seen this ad that shows ” girls deserve more choices than dolls and princesses,” here it is (you can read more about it at The New York Times). I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Rube Goldberg Machines.
‘Good News & Bad News’ About Student Motivation
‘Good News & Bad News’ About Student Motivation is my newest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s the second post in my Ed Week series on student motivation and includes responses from Cindi Rigsbee , Stevi Quate & Maurice Elias, plus a chart by me…
NOV 19
Using The Amazing New Bob Dylan Video With English Language Learners
As you might have heard, Bob Dylan released an amazing interactive video of his song, Like A Rolling Stone, today. You can see it here, and read about it here. It has sixteen different tracks, like television channels (including a cooking channel as the above image shows), synchronized with different people in different locations mouthing words to the song. It’s got to be seen and heard to be bel
The Best “Mind-Blowing” Videos About Technology That I’ve Seen — Help Me Find More
I post a lot of videos on this blog, and you can see links to all my annual “Best Videos For Educators” lists here. Occasionally, I post videos that are, in some ways, just “mind-blowing” — at least to me — in showing the potential of technology. I’m posting three to start off this list, and hope readers will contribute more: Here’s an excerpt from The Boston Globe about this first video: In a pa
Geography Students Use “Stay.com” To Create Virtual Trips
As I’ve previously posted, I’ve been energized to try-out a fair amount of Web 2.0 tools this year with my English Language Learners. I’ve been wanting to do a number of these projects for years, but the Internet filter our District had been using made often made doing it quite difficult — if not impossible. You can see what I’ve been doing in just the first three two-and-a-half months here and h
Infographic: “Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2013″
Oxford Dictionaries has just named “Selfie” as their word of the year, and published this infographic. I’ll certainly be including it in my annual end-of-the-year “Words of the Year” Best list. Here are previous lists: The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2010 The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2011 The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2012 And here’s an article from The Atlantic
Create Collaborative Online Documents Using “Notepad” With Audio Chat
On my The Best Online Tools For Real-Time Collaboration list, I have quite a few tools that let you create documents with others, including some that allow instant chat. Notepad is a new tool that has both of those features and, unlike most other sites, also provides an audio chat feature. No registration is required to use all its features. I’m adding it to the previously-mentioned “Best” list….
Two Interactives On The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy
Here are two new interactives on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I’m adding them to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy: A Moment That Change Everything is a particularly impressive feature from The Washington Post. John F. Kennedy’s assassination, 50 years later is from CBC News.
NOV 18
Today Is World Toilet Day!
Today is World Toilet Day to recognize the tragedy of poor sanitation throughout the world. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World.
“Choice Equals Power: How to Motivate Students to Learn”
Choice Equals Power: How to Motivate Students to Learn is a nice article over at KQED’s MindShift blog about an online conversation I had during Connected Educators Month. People might find it useful/interesting…
Lesson On John F. Kennedy
Learn about John F. Kennedy, the past tense, and how to use inductive text data sets with English Language Learners in my latest NY Times post for ELLs. A student interactive is included. I’m adding it to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy.
NOV 17
“Teachers Should Be Friendly With Students But Not Friends”
Teachers Should Be Friendly With Students But Not Friends is the title of an excerpt that has just been published from my book, Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching. It’s been published by Middleweb. The excerpt includes a contribution from Rick Wormeli and my thoughts, too.
The Best Sites For Learning About Italy
Later this week, my ELL Geography class will be finishing up our unit on France by videotaping questions we have for our “sister” English classes in that country. Next on our list is Italy. Here’s a very beginning collection of resources I’ve collected (I hope you’ll suggest more!), and I’ll be adding this post to The Best Geography Sites For Beginning & Intermediate English Language Learners
Second Week Of Twitter Chat On Classroom Management Begins Today — #classmgmtQA
The second and final week of the Twitter Chat on classroom management and student motivation begins today at the hashtag #classmgmtQA. It’s been quite active, and you can check out the Collection Of Tweets From First Week’s Chat On Classroom Management.
‘There Is No Such Thing As An Unmotivated Student’
‘There Is No Such Thing As An Unmotivated Student’ is my new post over at Education Week Teacher. Today’s “line-up” of contributors is impressive with guest responses from Cris Tovani, Josh Stumpenhorst and Eric Jensen. It’s the first in a three-part series on the topic.
NOV 16
Professor James Heckman Publishes New Paper On “Non-Cognitive Traits”
Thanks to Matthew Di Carlo at The Shanker Blog, today I learned about a new research paper by Nobel-Prize winner James Heckman. It’s called Fostering and Measuring Skills: Interventions That Improve Character and Cognition. It’s a lengthy one. I’ve copied and pasted a few short excerpts that I thought were particularly important. You can see all my previous posts about Professor Heckman’s work he
“The Best Resources For Learning About The ‘Word Gap’”
I’ve just posted The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap” over at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. “Word Gap” is the term used to describe the difference in vocabulary development of low-income children and middle-and-high-income children during their pre-school years.
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth , 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… Screencasting In The Classroom is a guide from Kathy Schrock (thanks to Vicki Davis for the tip). I’m adding it to The Best Tools Fo
VERY Long Infographic With VERY Useful Info: “How To Promote Your Blog”
This is a very useful infographic — unfortunately, it’s also very long. I’m adding it to The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers: Courtesy of: How to Promote Your Blog
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: The Teaching English-British Council Facebook page had a very useful post on writing instruction. I’ve embedded it below, and am not sure if it will show-up in an RSS Reader. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For K-12 Wri
“Go Public” Looks Like A Great Film On Education
This is from an article in NEA Today: Go Public: A Day in the Life of an American School District, a documentary in which 50 small-camera crews followed a wide-ranging group of individuals who attend, support, and work in the Pasadena Unified School District, a racially and economically diverse district of 28 public school campuses. Screening in theaters during American Education Week and in t
Video: “What Gives You Meaning?”
As I constantly tell my students, the ability to identify patterns is a key to higher-order thinking and to language-learning. This would be a great video to play — at first, without sound — and have students try to identify the pattern in the images they see…
The Best Videos Showing “Thinking Outside The Box” — Help Me Find More
Earlier this year, I had asked people to help me find videos that would demonstrate “thinking outside of the box” and received some suggestions. I’m still looking for more, but here’s what I have so far: This is from Yahoo News: Here’s a famous scene from the movie Apollo 13 (thanks to Christian Schrock for the suggestion): Heddi Craft suggest clips from MacGyver. Here are a couple I found on Y
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There has recently been a flurry of media attention to what is called the so-called “word gap.” It’s the term used to describe the difference in vocabulary development of low-income children and middle-and-high-income children during their pre-school years. In addition to the media attention, there have been some high-profile efforts at trying to respond to the issue, and that’s where it gets particularly controversial. I thought a “Best” list here on the topic might be useful to readers: I’d say the best piece that talks about the issue has been written by Esther Quintero at The Albert Shanke
Getting Parents Engaged with School is a lively public discussion that’s going on at Edutopia right now. Good thoughts and ideas are being shared — Check it out!
Even the Best Teacher Could Be Considered a Negligent Parent is a thoughtful post at Ed Week Teacher by Marilyn Rhames. Here’s an excerpt: When parents are going through tough times in life, I want to be the kind of teacher who uplifts them and their children. It is not my place to judge or assume that the mom who says she is too busy to come to parent conferences just doesn’t care. While I want to encourage and challenge parents to do better by their kids, I must walk a fine line so that my actions or words do not also make them feel out of place in their child’s school. I know. I understand.
NOV 17
“What to do if your child is accused of being a bully”
What to do if your child is accused of being a bully is from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and offers pretty decent advice. It’s a delicate issue, but I think it’s a useful article for parents to read….
British Experiment Begins To Pay Parents To Attend Trainings — I Don’t Have A Good Feeling About This….
A fairly substantial experiment has been launched in Great Britain — 14 schools will start paying parents of their students to attend eighteen parent training sessions. You can read more about it at The Telegraph and at The BBC (and at The Guardian). You can read more about why I don’t have a good feeling about it at my Washington Post column, Why paying parents to attend school events is wrong.
View A Taped Webinar On “Using Leadership to Promote Strengths-Based Family Engagement”
Harvard’s Family Involvement Network Of Educators did a Webinar today on Using Leadership to Promote Strengths-Based Family Engagement, and they have made it available for free on-demand viewing. Just go here to watch the recording….
“Sandy Hook Promise Launches ‘Parent Together’ As Tragedy’s One Year Mark Approaches”
Sandy Hook Promise Launches ‘Parent Together’ As Tragedy’s One Year Mark Approaches is the headline of an announcement from the Sandy Hook Promise organization about a new initiative. Here’s an excerpt: Sandy Hook Promise today announced the launch of Parent Together, a national grassroots campaign to educate and empower parents to prevent gun violence in their communities. Emphasizing mental well
“When Parents Yank Their Kids Out of Standardized Tests”
When Parents Yank Their Kids Out of Standardized Tests is an article in the Atlantic, by Alexander Russo, that gives a good overview of the “opt-out” movement. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Parents “Opting-Out” Of Standardized Tests For Their Children.
New Sacramento Area Superintendent Appears To Understand Parent Engagement
The Twin Rivers School District in north Sacramento has undergone many challenges recently, and has just hired a new superintendent. According to an article about him in today’s Sacramento Bee, he seems to have a good grasp on the importance of family engagement: Among his many ideas: Partnering with Pacific Gas and Electric’s Power Pathway program, which provides job training for adults and high
“Rethinking Parent-Teacher Conferences”
Rethinking Parent-Teacher Conferences is the subject of The New York Times feature “Room For Debate.” It includes responses from eight educators — my favorite being Jose Luis Vilson. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences.
“If a Child Is Bullied, Parents Offer Advice on When and How to Intervene”
If a Child Is Bullied, Parents Offer Advice on When and How to Intervene is a useful piece in The New York Times, and don’t neglect reading the comments. You might also be interested in A Very, Very Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Bullying.
“Good Teachers Embrace Their Students’ Cultural Background”
Good Teachers Embrace Their Students’ Cultural Background is a new article from The Atlantic. Here’s an excerpt: Culturally responsive teaching doesn’t mean lowering standards, Irvine says. Take dialect, for example. Teachers need to help students speak and write in Standard English, but they’ll be more successful in that effort if they begin by respecting the way a student and his family speak at
Video: Chicago Teachers Union & Parents Urge Opposition To Tests
Chicago Teachers Union urges parents to oppose standardized tests for young kids is an article in the Chicago Sun-Times about a teacher/parent campaign against the pressure of standardized tests: I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Parents “Opting-Out” Of Standardized Tests For Their Children.
“Turn On, Tune In, Opt Out”
Turn On, Tune In, Opt Out is an article in The Nation about the growing popularity of efforts by parents to have their children “opt-out” of taking standardized tests. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Parents “Opting-Out” Of Standardized Tests For Their Children.
“Parents Push for More Nurses in N.C. Schools”
Parents Push for More Nurses in N.C. Schools is an article in North Carolina Health News. Here’s how it begins: “I know there’s a lot of important issues, but to us, this is one that’s top,” said Teri Saurer, founder of N. C. Parents Advocating for School Health. The issue she’s referring to is more nurses in schools. Saurer, whose 6-year-old daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy at 9 months old an
“How to Get the Most Out of a Parent-Teacher Conference”
How to Get the Most Out of a Parent-Teacher Conference is a useful post over at Mind Shift. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences.
“Hidden Causes of Low Parental Engagement in Urban Schools and What to Do About It”
Hidden Causes of Low Parental Engagement in Urban Schools and What to Do About It is the topic of a new short episode at BAM Radio. There’s a good discussion on the program, though I suspect that readers of this blog aren’t going to learn anything new. A couple of the positive comments about using charter schools as a model seem a bit simplistic and don’t recognize the “creaming” aspects of those
“The Role of the K-12 Parent” Is An Important Education Week Special Report
The Role of the K-12 Parent is a special multimedia Education Week report. It includes a number of important articles, videos and infographics. Here’s a small sample of what it offers: And I’m adding their infographic to The Best Infographics About Parent Involvement In Schools:
“National Center for Family Literacy Changes Name, Affirms Mission”
National Center for Family Literacy Changes Name, Affirms Mission is the title of a blog post over at Education Week describing changes at the Center. I’ve previously posted a number of times about the work of the Center…..
Video: “Educate Our State”
I’ve previously posted about Educate Our State, a parent organization here in California. Though I’ve sometimes disagreed with them, I think it’s a good group with potential. Here’s their latest video:
My Most Popular Parent Engagement Posts In 2013
This blog is now a little over four years old and, as usual, it’s time for a slightly early list of my most popular posts of the year. You can see previous annual lists here, along with a list of the most popular posts from over the last four years. Here are My Most Popular Parent Engagement Posts In 2013 (some were published prior to this year, but still remained popular): 1. Writing Letters To P
“Houston Dad Learns Valuable Lessons Volunteering at School”
Houston Dad Learns Valuable Lessons Volunteering at School is a good post over at Education Week about a group emphasizing getting fathers involved in schools. Here’s an excerpt: Watch D.O.G.S. is a K-12 father-engagement initiative run by the National Center for Fathering in Kansas City, Mo. Two fathers in Springdale, Ark., founded the program following the tragic school shootings at a Jonesboro,