Here Are My Favorite Fun Christmas Resources
As regular readers know, I have an enormous The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa list. I thought people might enjoy seeing a much shorter list of my favorite fun ones: To start off with, here are some easy tools to send neat and unique holiday greetings through the Web: Chatty Santa is one of my students’ favorite ways to use English and send holiday e-greetings. It’s
My Holiday Gift To You…
(I first posted this two years ago, but it’s a timeless gift!) I just received a special Christmas gift from Mary Ochs, a good friend who gave me my first job as a community organizer twenty-seven years ago and who was my mentor during my nineteen year organizing career. It was an older copy of a very small book titled “Axioms For Organizers” by Fred Ross, Sr. Fred Ross, Sr. was a legendary com
“Small Typo” In D.C. Teacher Evaluation Illustrate Bigger Problem With VAM
As you might have already heard, the Washington, D.C. schools announced yesterday that errors with their Valued Added Measurement formula resulted in teachers paying a price. You can read more about it in these articles: Errors found in D.C. teacher evaluations (2nd update) is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. ‘Small typo’ casts big doubt on teacher evaluations is at Politico. VAM Expert
Two Excellent “Year In Review” Features — From Washington Post & From Twitter
Here are two excellent additions to The Best Year In Review Features — 2013: Year in Review: Great Stories of 2013 is a great collection from The Washington Post. #YearonTwitter 2013
More Video Responses From Sister Classes — This Time From Latvia!
I’ve been sharing an ongoing project my ELL Geography class has been doing — studying different countries, developing questions about them, and then recording videos of themselves asking those questions that we’d send to an English class in that country. It’s been a great experience for everyone involved, and I’ve previously shared some of those videos: Terrific New Videos: Using English “Sister
“Pancho Claus”
From The Associated Press: A South Pole Santa known as ‘Pancho Claus’ has become a fixture in Texas cities, bringing a Feliz Navidad to low-income families and at-risk kids. In Houston, it’s Richard Reyes who dons the red suit and fedora to spread holiday cheer. He wears a sombrero, comes from the South Pole and swaps reindeer for a Harley Davidson and donkeys. That’s right, Pancho Claus is comi
“Grit” Isn’t Everything, But I Still Think It’s Important For Students To Learn About (& Practice) It
Recently, there has been a fair amount of backlash against how some people, especially some “school reformers,” who may have seized on the concept of “grit” as a way to avoid dealing with much more substantial challenges facing our schools and students. I’ve certainly been one of those critics (see No, L.A. School Reformers, Grit Does Not Equal Giving Students Rewards & Being Data-Driven and
December’s Infographics & Interactives Galore — Part Two
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
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: MakeBeliefsComix has created a free downloadable book with writing prompts for English Language Learners. It looks like a nice piece of work. The Education Commission of the States (who I had never heard of, but that may just be
12-23-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: A Few More Christmas ResourcesHere are some new additions to my massive The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa list: An expat Washington Christmas: Antelope and ptarmigan can be tough to find is from The Washington Post. I wouldn’t say this video is in the “Christmas spirit,” but it would certainl