Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
Here are new additions to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl: The 13 Most Controversial Super Bowl Ads Ever is from TIME. The 19 Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time is from TIME. Super Bowl Commercials 2014 is from The Wall Street Journal.
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: Few L.A. teachers get bad ratings, trial documents show is from The Los Angeles Times. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights. Vergara Suit: When Is A Teacher ‘Incapable of Remediation?’ is from Ed Week. I’m adding it to the same list. Fight Over Effective Teachers Shifts
This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t” — February (Part One)
I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in 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, too
Today’s The Anniversary Of The Greensboro Sit-Ins
Today is the 54th anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins. As a local television station describes it: On Feb. 1, 1960, four black students at N.C. A&T sat down at the segregated lunch counter at the F.W. Woolworth store in downtown Greensboro and demanded service. The protest continued until July, when the counter was desegregated. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About The G
Even More Resources On Chinese New Year
Here are a few more additions to The Best Resources For Chinese New Year: The Year of the Horse: Chinese New Year Celebrations Around the World is a slideshow from TIME. Happy Chinese New Year 2014 is a slideshow from Atlantic. Chinese New Year is an info website from the BBC. In pictures: Chinese New Year around the world is from The BBC.
Today’s Update On Sochi Olympic Resources
I’ll be regularly adding resources to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Also, look for my upcoming post in The New York Times with teaching ideas. Here are the latest ones: Twelve new events to watch at the Olympics is an interactive from The Washington Post. ‘Mariachi Olympic Prince’ Takes Glamour To Sochi Ski Slopes is from NPR. Russian activist creates Soch
‘Character Is Not Compliance Out Of Fear’
‘Character Is Not Compliance Out Of Fear’ is the final post in my three-part Ed Week series on teaching character. This final post in the series shares a guest response from Lester L. Laminack, educator and author, as well as many comments from readers. I also include an interesting chart that, I think, provides some food for thought… I’m adding the series to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SE
Quote Of The Day: “We Must Always Take Sides”
Tobey Steeves tweeted this quote from Elie Weisel, which I discovered came from his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. We’re just beginning a unit on Nelson Mandela in our ninth-grade English classes, and I’m thinking of using the quote with a short writing prompt: What is Elie Weisel saying about what we should do when we see injustice? What do you think of his view? To develop your position, be sur
YESTERDAY
Video: “What Did You Learn In School?” By Pete Seeger
The great Pete Seeger died this week, and I previously posted a video of his performance at President Obama’s Inauguration. Here’s a video that Alexander Russo just shared at his blog of him singing “What Did You Learn In School?” that was taped in 1964. You can find the lyrics here.
“American Freedom Stories” From The Biography Channel
February is Black History Month in the United States. The Biography Channel has announced a number of related resources that I’m adding to The Best Websites To Teach & Learn About African-American History: One is American Freedom Stories, a series of videos on the Civil Rights Movement. Here’s a sample: They also have a number of Black History videos. Here’s a sample: Plus, they have a numb
Valentine’s Day Resources
I’ve just done a quick update of my sizable The Best Sites To Learn About Valentine’s Day list. You might find a handful of “dead” links, but at 95% of them are still alive and kicking….
The Best Mobile Apps For English Language Learners
I’ve been putting some effort this year into thinking how to encourage my English Language Learner students, particularly Beginners, to make language-learning a part of their entire day — not just the time they are in school or doing homework. I’ve written about one attempt at Having English Language Learners Use Cellphones To Identify High-Interest Vocabulary. And I definitely encourage them to
From The Archives: “Getting students to engage — not just comply”
I’ve recently re-started an effort I’ve tried to do previously by regularly highlighting previous posts and articles I’ve shared in previous years that I think might be worth a second look. Getting students to engage — not just comply is a piece I wrote for The Washington Post last year. It describes how I hold students accountable for reading at home. Here’s an excerpt:
JAN 30
Good Super Bowl Interactives
Here are two new additions to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl: Super Bowl Sunday: Everyone’s a football fan is from The Associated Press. Commercials are a super business is also from The Associated Press.
Just Emailed Free Monthly Newsletter
I just sent out my free monthly newsletter to two thousand subscribers. You can subscribe here if you’re interested…..
Infographic: “Chinese New Year”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources For Chinese New Year: 50 Unbelievable Facts About Chinese New Year [Infographic] by the team at Giraffe
January’s “The Best…” Lists – There Are Now 1,257 Of Them!
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 1,257 of them categorized here): The Best Sites For Learning About The International Space Station The Best Sites For Learning About South Africa A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On California’s Drought The Best Fun Sesame Street Songs — Contribute Your Own! The Best Resources On California Court Case A
Infographic: “In Charted Waters – Mapping a Brave New World”
Here’s a pretty cool interactive infographic from MSC Cruises: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
January’s Best Tweets – Part Five
Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I 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 Twitter, yo
More Chinese New Year Resources
Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Chinese New Year, which starts tomorrow: How to Teach Chinese New Year is from The Guardian.
JAN 29
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are a few recent useful posts on educational policy issues: L.A. Unified unprepared for computerized state test is from The Los Angeles Times. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The “Next Generation” Of State Testing. Houston Launches Ambitious 1-to-1 Computing Initiative is from Education Week. The hype and reality of ‘school choice’ is by Valerie Strauss. I’m adding it
Two New Sochi Interactives
Here are two new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: The Associated Press has an interactive on the Olympic Medals. The Guardian has an interactive on the different Olympic venues.
More Engaging State Of The Union Resources
Here are a few more engaging resources on The State Of The Union address that I’m adding to The Best (& Most Intriguing) Resources For Learning About The State Of The Union Message: New words and old words:Forty years of evolving State of the Union themes is an interactive from The Washington Post. Use of Inequality of Language in State of the Union speeches is also from The Washington Post.
Video: “Puppy Love” – The First Of Many Super Bowl Commercials That Might Be Useful For Language-Learning
There are lots of great Super Bowl commercials from past years that are great for English Language Learners to watch and describe, and you can see all of them at The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl. The first ones for the game on Sunday are coming out, and this one from Budweiser called “Puppy Love” tells a neat story. I don’t use beer commercials in my class (there are plent
Two Nice Visual Collections Of Infographic-Creation Tools
Photo Credit: Ernesto Lago via Compfight If you want to create an infographic, I have just about the most exhaustive collection you’re going to find of useful web tools at The Best Resources For Creating Infographics. However, it’s not a particularly “visual” post. Two sites have recently published posts sharing lists of infographic-creation tools that aren’t as complete as my list is, but do sh
‘Teaching Character Is Not A Program Or Curriculum’
‘Teaching Character Is Not A Program Or Curriculum’ is Part Two in my Ed Week Teacher series on teaching character. Here are some excerpts:
JAN 28
New “State Of The Union” Resources
Here are new additions to The Best (& Most Intriguing) Resources For Learning About The State Of The Union Message (I’m sure there will be a lot more I’ll be adding tomorrow): History through the president’s words is a cool interactive from The Washington Post. If It Happened There: The State of the Union is a fascinating article in Slate.
Today’s Update On Lawsuit Attacking California’s Teachers
Vergara v. California is a carefully-watched court case that began this week and attempts to eliminate fundamental teacher rights likes tenure and due process. It’s being financed by a multi-millionaire corporate reformer. Here are the newest updates to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights: Trial over California teacher protection laws opens is from The LA Times.
More Learning Resources On The Super Bowl
Here are two new additions to The Best Sites Where ELL’s Can Learn About The Super Bowl: Teach the Super Bowl: Ideas for Subjects Across the Curriculum is from The New York Times Learning Network. Super Bowl Ad History is an interactive from The Wall Street Journal. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
The Best Fun Sesame Street Songs — Contribute Your Own!
I thought it would be fun to bring together the fun Sesame Street videos of songs I’ve sometimes posted here. I’m not including any of the ones designed to teach social emotional skills — just the ones I would more characterize as primarily pure fun (you can see the SEL message ones here. Feel free to suggest your own! This next one was suggested by Travis True:
My Newest 8-Minute Podcast: “What Are the Basics Every Teacher Should Know About the Maker Movement?”
What Are the Basics Every Teacher Should Know About the Maker Movement? is the title of my latest eight-minute BAM! podcast. My guests are Sylvia Martinez and Tanya Baker. Sylvia Martinez is co-author of “Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom.” She works with schools worldwide to introduce Maker tools, technology. Tanya Baker has been the director of National Progra
Creating Instagram Video “Book Trailers” With English Language Learners
I’ve written a lot in the past, and shared student work, about using Instagram and Vine videos with English Language Learners to learn academic vocabulary. Last week, I shared how I was going to try to do a similar project with my English Language Learners — this time, having them create fifteen second video “book trailers” — in other words, mini-book reviews. In that same post, I shared a number
Video: R.I.P. Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger, the extraordinary folk singer and advocate for social justice, died last night. Here’s a great performance from 2009:
JAN 27
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.” (you might also be interested in The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2013): Curriculet lets teachers assign what appears to be books in the public domain (though I might be wrong on that) and embed quizzes and questions into them. Here’s a vi
Updates On California Case Attacking Teachers
The Vergara vs. California court case began today. Here are new additions to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights: California teacher tenure, dismissal challenged in lawsuit is from The San Jose Mercury News. RT @Joy_Resmovits: #Vergaratrial defendent, repping Cali: VAM is "purely theory," plaintiffs cannot prove teachers are "grossly ineffective&q
How To Turn A Negative Consequence Into A Positive Classroom Management Strategy
Anyone who has regularly read this blog or my books know that I’m a big believer in “positive,” not “punitive,” classroom management strategies (see The Best Posts On Classroom Management). At the same time, however, there are some occasions that negative consequences are called for — for “serious” offenses and for those times (and for those students) when all the positive classroom management to
My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs: Learn The Progressive Tense & Create A Future Family Tree
My latest New York Times post for English Language Learners helps students learn the progressive tense and family vocabulary. It also includes a teaching idea about creating “future” family trees. A student interactive is included. You can see all my NY Times posts here.
JAN 26
January’s Best Posts From This Blog
I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here). Here are some of the posts I personally think are the best, and most helpful, ones I’ve written during this p
Court Case Attacking California Teachers Begins This Week
It appears the media has discovered the major court case unfolding in California attacking teachers, which is set to begin this week. Here are new additions to The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights: Lawsuit takes on California teachers’ job protections is from The Los Angeles Times. Teacher Job Protections Vs. Students’ Education In Calif. is from NPR. Teacher te
“Let Them Eat Character”
I thought readers might be interested in a comment I included in my latest post at Education Week Teacher about teaching character in schools:
I’ll Be Presenting At San Francisco “Learning & The Brain” Conference — Here Are Supporting Resources
My colleague Katie Hull Sypnieski and I will be leading workshops at the Teaching Self-Aware Minds: Using Brain Science to Boost Social and Emotional Skills Conference in San Francisco on February 14th and 15th. Katie and I will be co-presenting on Friday, and then she’s abandoning me to do the Saturday workshop on my own. It will be interesting — it looks like we’re the only K-12 teachers prese
The Latest Videos From Our Sister Class Geography Project — This Time, From Spain!
I’ve been posting about the short-and-sweet video exchanges my English Language Learner Geography classes have been doing with English classes from around the world — we videotape questions about their countries and they respond. Here are a few of my past posts on the project: More Video Responses From Sister Classes — Time From Latvia! Terrific New Videos: Using English “Sister Classes” From Thro
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: Growing Pains for Rocketship’s Blended-Learning Juggernaut is from Education Week. David Berliner Invites You to Try a Thought Experiment is from Diane Ravitch’s blog. Declaring war on teachers’ rights won’t improve children’s access to a sound education is by Gary Ravani. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Californi
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: Teaching English at The British Council has greatly expanded the number of bloggers who are writing monthly posts on different topics. You can find them all here. I’ll also be writing there, and you can find my posts her
JAN 25
Video: “Who Invented Writing?”
TED Ed has a nice lesson and video called “Who Invited Writing?” You can see the entire lesson here.
January’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Four
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
The Best Sites For Learning About South Africa
As regular readers know, my ELL Geography class has been working with sister classes from throughout the world. We’re studying Africa now, and will be exchanging videos with classes in that country. Though we’ll be doing other forms of study about that country, one of the simple projects will be having students use “inductive learning” to identify information from this “The Best…” list (probably
‘Character Should Be An Integrated Element Of Education’
‘Character Should Be An Integrated Element Of Education’ is Part One in a multi-post series on the topic over at my Education Week Teacher column. Today’s post features responses from Debbie Silver, Jason Flom and David B. Cohen. Here are some excerpts:
“Australia Day” Resources
Tomorrow is Australia Day, which commemorates the first convict ships that brought immigrants to the continent to start the country. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About Australia.
Tons Of Resources On My Blog’s Sidebar
Between five and seven thousand readers visit my blog each day, so they see the very extensive resources listed on my sidebar — organized links to all my “Best” lists; free materials from my books; links to my favorite posts and much, much more. However, thousands more read my posts on RSS Readers (I make my entire posts readable on them and don’t just have “teasers”) and don’t have to go to my b
From The Archives: “Cultivating A Positive Environment For Students”
I’ve recently re-started an effort I’ve tried to do previously by regularly highlighting previous posts and articles I’ve shared in previous years that I think might be worth a second look. Today, I’d like to highlight an excerpt form one of my books that appeared in Ed Week Teacher a year ago: Cultivating A Positive Environment For Students. Here’s an excerpt from that excerpt: