Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
Updated Ukraine Resources
Here are new resources I’m adding to The Best Resources On The Protests In Ukraine (though I’ll change the name of that list if the Russians continue with their invasion): Ukraine protests: the roots of the political division is an interactive from The Guardian. Ukraine in Maps is an interactive from The New York Times. Tensions escalate in Ukraine (2nd March, 2014) is a lesson from Breaking News
March’s ( & Some Of February’s) Best Tweets — Part One
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 post. If you don’t use Twitter, you can
Resources For St. Patrick’s Day (& April Fools Day)
With both St. Patrick’s Day and April Fools Day coming up, readers might find The Best Sites For Learning About St. Patrick’s Day (& April Fools Day) useful. Additional suggestions are welcome….
“Ways To Reduce Teacher Attrition In High Poverty Schools”
Ways To Reduce Teacher Attrition In High Poverty Schools is my latest post over at Education Week Teacher. It’s the first in a three-part series on that topic. In today’s post, educators Angel Cintron and Paul Bruno share their thoughts. Here are some excerpts:
Wash. Post Does It Again With “25 maps and charts that explain America today”
The Washington Post keeps on coming up with excellent collections of maps and charts. Last year they published 40 maps that explain the world. It linked to another site called 40 Maps They Didn’t Teach You In School that also has a number of other good maps. However, that second site also includes a few maps with topics and language that wouldn’t be appropriate for the classroom. Then, The Post p
California PTA Trying To Bounce Back From Election Fiasco
The California PTA made some horrible miscalculations leading to the November, 2012 elections (see California PTA Sets Back Parent Engagement Efforts In State) and, though they have a long way to go, it appears to me they are making some good moves to rebuild their credibility. They seem to be having some success with a School Smarts program, though I think it can be improved. They are also workin
“A Lesson on the Common Core”
A Lesson on the Common Core is a good short and sweat summary of the Common Core for parents. It’s by Jessica Lahey, and appeared in The New York Times. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Talking To Parents About The Common Core Standards.
FEB 27
Threatening To Take Away Welfare From Parents Because Of Truancy Didn’t Work In Australia…
Taking away social service report from parents who are not involved with their child’s school is one of the ideas on The Worst Parent Engagement Ideas list. The Hechinger Report describes what happened with a similar experiment in Australia in their post, Skip school and lose welfare? The good and bad of Australia’s tough tactics on truancy. Here are some excerpts: To make sure all students stayed
FEB 25
“Research Review Gives Thumbs Up to Community Schools Approach”
Research Review Gives Thumbs Up to Community Schools Approach the headline of a post at Education Week. Here’s an excerpt: In the wake of newly elected New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pledge to open 100 community schools, a report released Tuesday finds promise in this type of educational intervention. The study, supported in part with a grant from an organization founded by de Blasio’s predecesso
Parent Engagement Progress In New York
The New York City schools have had a lengthy history of not taking parent engagement/involvement seriously, but the new Chancellor has been taking steps to change that attitude. Her latest effort was announced yesterday when a committee was formed to evaluate how decisions are made to start new schools and to “co-locate” charters in existing public school buildings. You can read more about it here
Infographic: Math Cheat Sheet For Parents
I’m going to add this infographic to The Best Infographics About Parent Involvement In Schools, but I hope a math teacher out there will tell me if it’s accurate or not…. Click image to see a larger versionMath Cheat Sheet via Math Game Time
Newark: The Model Of How NOT To Do Parent Engagement (& A Whole Lot Of Other Ed-Related Things)
I’ve previously published a number of posts about the ed-insanity going on in Newark — including, but not limited to, parent engagement efforts. Here’s the latest from Bob Braun in Cami to Newark parents: Don’t worry, we know best: Pity the parents of Newark’s public school children. Many are unsure where their children will attend school in the fall. They’ve had to fill out application forms and
National Center for Families Learning Recognizes Five Organizations
The National Center for Families Learning has highlighted five organizations around the United States for their parent involvement efforts. You can read a summary of the awardees, and learn a lot more about each of them here.
Secretary Arne Ducan To Guest Moderate A #PTchat In April
Excited to announce I'll be guest moderating a special #ptchat on 4/8 during the Nat'l @FCEnetwork Conference in Ohio! Hope you can join. — Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) February 21, 2014 You can see all information about #PTchats here. And you can learn here about the Family and Community Engagement Conference he refers to in the tweet.
A “Parent Learning Walk” Is An Interesting Idea
Chalkbeat shares highlights from a letter New York City Chancellor Carmen Fariña recently sent to principals. It runs thirteen pages, but this particular excerpt caught my idea. It seems like an interesting idea: At M.S. 319 Maria Teresa in Manhattan, Principal Ysidro Abreu and his parent coordinator host a monthly “Parent Learning Walk.” They start each session by discussing the elements of good
Study: “Involved parents raise slimmer adults”
Involved parents raise slimmer adults is the title of a report on new research. It’s an excerpt: “One of the best safeguards against your children becoming overweight as adults is how involved you are with their lives,” says Cornell’s Brian Wansink, professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and a leader of the team that used crowdsourcing to ask 532 adults, “Whic
FEB 21
California “PTA program creates parent advocates”
PTA program creates parent advocates is an article published in Ed Source describing a parent training program developing by the California PTA. It’s called School Smarts. The article provides a lot of information, including links, about the program.
Resources For Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month in the United States and I’ve just updated The Best Sites For Learning About Women’s History. Suggestions for new additions are welcome…
YESTERDAY
The “All-Time” Best Science Sites
I’ve been posting annual lists of The Best Science Sites for a number of years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. I’ve begun creating a number of these “All-Time” Best list, with The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly being the first ; The “All-Time” Best Web 2.0 Ap
Just Sent-Out Free Monthly Email Newsletter
I’ve just mailed out the March issue of my simple free monthly email newsletter. It has about 2,000 subscribers, and you can subscribe here.
February’s “The Best…” Lists – There Are Now 1,268 Of Them!
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 1,268 of them categorized here): The Best Mobile Apps For English Language Learners The “All-Time” Best Online Learning Games The “All-Time” Best Social Studies Sites The Best Resources On The Protests In Ukraine The Best Posts, Articles & Lesson Plans On The Jordan Davis Tragedy & Verdict: Our “Class
Mardi Gras Is Next Week & Here Are A Ton Of Resources
Mardi Gras is next week, and I’ve just updated The Best Sites To Learn About Mardi Gras & Carnivals. It’s a huge list, but there’s always room for more if you’d like to offer suggestions….
March 6th Is World Book Day — Check Out Updated Resources
World Book Day is March 6th. You can learn more about it, and find lots of resources, at The Best Resources For World Book Day — March 6th.
FEB 27
‘Reading Is Intensely Social’: An Interview With Jeffrey Wilhelm & Michael Smith
‘Reading Is Intensely Social’: An Interview With Jeffrey Wilhelm & Michael Smith is a new special post at my Education Week Teacher blog. Educators Jeffrey Wilhelm and Michael Smith are co-authors of the new book, Reading Unbound. This interview with them is a special follow-up to the three-part series on developing life-long readers that I published earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt:
The “All-Time” Best Social Studies Sites
I’ve been posting annual lists of The Best Social Studies Sites for a number of years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. I’ve begun creating a number of these “All-Time” Best list, with The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly being the first ; The “All-Time” Best Web
Video: Though It Seems Like A Parody, It’s A Real Professional Development Event
Karen Lewis, head of the Chicago Teachers Union, sent this out tonight: This is what PD looks like in Chicago. Sick. http://t.co/SmF4kPszIS — Karen Lewis (@KarenLewisCTU) February 28, 2014 Here is the video’s description: This presenter was one of several consultants flown in from California and the United Kingdom for the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Strategic School Support Services’ spec
Check Out Our New Article: “English-Language Learners and Academic Language”
My colleague and co-author, Katie Hull Sypnieski, and I just published a post over at Edutopia titled English-Language Learners and Academic Language. I think readers might find it helpful. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary.
FEB 26
February’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 pas
“Why Do Teachers Leave High-Poverty Urban Schools?”
Why do teachers avoid, or leave, high poverty urban public schools and what can be done to improve the situation? is the latest “question-of-the-week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave your responses there or here in the comments….
FEB 25
Another Study Demonstrates The Ineffectiveness Of Extrinsic Motivation, But Also Something More….
Yet another study has found that extrinsic motivation is not a effective in enhancing motivation. Since there is so much research showing this already, that’s not really big news. But it’s the details of this study that are particularly intriguing. Daniel Pink has written and spoken about research showing that extrinsic motivation is effective in enhancing mechanical work that doesn’t require cre
The “All-Time” Best Online Learning Games
I’ve been posting annual lists of the The Best Online Learning Games for a number of years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. I’ve begun creating a number of these “All-Time” Best list, with The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly being the first ; The “All-Time” Bes
My New BAM! Podcast: “How Can We Better Support English Language Learners?”
What Do We Need to Do to Better Support English Language Learners? is the subject of my latest nine minute BAM! Radio podcast with guests Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. and Judie Haynes. Karen and Judie are both contributors to an upcoming column at my Education Week Teacher blog on the same subject.
Impressive Video On Ukrainian Protests
Here’s how the New York Times describes this video: [It mixes] footage of the demonstrators with inspirational speeches on the importance of overcoming fear first spoken by Will Smith, in “After Earth,” and Sylvester Stallone, in “Rocky Balboa.” It was shared at the height of last week’s violence by Pavel Durov, the founder of the most prominent Russian social network, VKontakte. I’m adding it to
FEB 24
Okay, These Are My Final Resources On Sochi
Okay, this post will contain my final additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: Our Favorite Moments from the 2014 Winter Olympics is from The Atlantic. 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Comes to a Close is a photo gallery from The Atlantic.
Hot Spot Interview — Report From Venezuela
Three years ago, I began a new regular interview series. There are always lots of “hot spots” around the world — places where there are natural disasters, political upheavals, etc. And English teachers can be found in most of those places. If you are an EFL/ESL teacher in one of those areas, please let me know. Today, I’m lucky to be able to interview Miguel Mendoza from Venezuela (he also shared
The “All-Time” Best Videos For Educators
I’ve been posting annual lists of the Best Videos For Educators for a number of years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. I’ve begun creating a number of these “All-Time” Best list, with The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly being the first and The “All-Time” Best W
Using “Dvolver Moviemaker” With English Language Learners
Dvolver Moviemaker has been a longtime favorite of many English teachers around the world. Students can very, very easily create short animation — with music and dialogue bubbles — to tell a short story. The final creation can be embedded in a blog (though its embed code is not very elegant) or, as I usually do, just post the link. I’ve used it in many ways. We’ve been learning how to write a per
Learn About Comparatives & Superlatives At My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs
My latest New York Times post for English Language Learners includes a student interactive and teaching ideas. It focuses on comparatives and superlatives. You can see all my previous Times posts for ELLs here.
FEB 23
The “All-Time” Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education
I’ve been posting annual lists of the Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education for seven years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. I’ve begun creating a number of these “All-Time” Best list, with The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly being the first one. Some of the
From The Archives: “Dancing Guy: Why teachers should ignore his advice”
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. One piece I wrote that received a fair mount of negative feedback was Dancing Guy: Why teachers should ignore his advice, which appeared in The Washington post. Here’s an excerpt. Let me know what you think:
Final Sochi Resources
Here are some final additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: Sochi Winter Olympic Games closing ceremony – in pictures is from The Guardian. Closing Ceremony Draws Russia’s Big Moment to a Close is from NBC. 10 Inspiring Sochi Moments That Embody the Olympic Spirit is from Mashable. Sochi’s bleak future: What happens to Olympic cities after the Olympics
FEB 22
The “All-Time” Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly
I’ve been posting annual lists of the Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly for seven years. I thought it would be useful for readers, my students, and me to review them all and identify my choices for the “all-time” best ones. These web tools are excellent ways for English Language Learners, and others who might not be very tech-savvy, to have a good experience working with tec
Stop The Presses! Tom Friedman Writes Second Column In Four Months Related To Ed That Makes Sense…
New York Times opinion writer Thomas Friedman is generally as incoherent as most of The Times’ editorial writers when it comes to education-related issues. However, he wrote a very good piece in October (see Stop The Presses! Thomas Friedman Actually Writes Something Semi-Coherent About Education) and, today, he’s done it again. His column today is basically an interview with the head of hiring f
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: I’m adding these first two posts to The Best Ideas For Using Games In The ESL/EFL/ELL Classroom: 3 fun ways of incorporating games into beginner level classes is by Adam Simpson. A homemade revision game is by Sandy Milli
Video: Excellent Update On What’s Happening In Ukraine
Channel 4 in Great Britain created this short and excellent report on what happened in Ukraine today. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On The Protests In Ukraine.
Two Excellent Analyses Of Learning Videos (Plus A Bonus!)
I’ve previously published the two videos I’m posting at the bottom of this post. However, both times I didn’t provide much commentary. Joe Bower, on the other hand, has done an excellent job providing short, simple, and very insightful posts highlighting what we can learn from both of them. Make a point of reading his analyses of the South African reading commercial (the first video) and of the vi
Quote Of The Day: Have You Ever Wondered How Many Decisions We Teachers Need To Make Each Day?
In an excellent post awhile back, Larry Cuban summarized research related to how many decisions a teacher has to make each day: *Researchers Hilda Borko and Richard Shavelson summarized studies that reported .7 decisions per minute during interactive teaching. *Researcher Philip Jackson (p. 149) said that elementary teachers have 200 to 300 exchanges with students every hour (between 1200-1500 a d
This Week’s Round-Up Of Useful Posts On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: Teachers union head calls for Core ‘course correction’ is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common Core Standards. The Case Against Tenure Seems Weak is by Paul Bruno. I’m adding it to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important &
Excellent Wash. Post Piece: “You think you know what teachers do. Right? Wrong.”
Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post has published a piece by Sarah Blaine that is sure to go “viral” among educators. It’s titled You think you know what teachers do. Right? Wrong. Here’s an excerpt:
Saturday’s New Sochi Olympics Resources
Here are today’s additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games: A Brief History of Sexism in TV Coverage of the Olympics is from The Atlantic. The Sochi Olympics, Frame by Frame is from The New York Times. Olympians’ Least Favorite Questions is from The NY Times. ‘To everybody, it’s my 1st Olympics, but to me, it’s my 1,000th’: Journals help Shiffrin prep is f
“Ways To Engage Students In Reading”
Ways To Engage Students In Reading is the final post in a three part series at my Education Week Teacher column. Today, Jason Flom and many readers share their suggestions… Here’s an excerpt:
Great Video For Language Development (& For Ethics Discussion): “Would you give your jacket to Johannes?”
Here’s a great video created by an organization in Norway to raise awareness of the plight of Syrian refugee children. English Language Learners can describe what they see happening the video and discuss what they would do….
Any EFL/ELT Teachers In The Ukraine Willing To Be Interviewed?
Three years ago, I began a new irregular interview series. There are always lots of “hot spots” around the world — places where there are natural disasters, political upheavals, etc. And English teachers can be found in most of those places. As you can see from previous interviews, I’ve been able to contact teachers in lots of different “hot spots.” I write up a few questions, and then they respo