Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY
April’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
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy
Here are a few recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues: Charter School Refugees is an excellent New York Times column by Andrea Gabor. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools. ‘If only American teachers were smarter…’ is from The Washington Post. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Professional Development For Teachers. The No. 1 trait of
Even More Resources On The Rwandan Genocide
This weekend is the twentieth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. Here are even more additions to The Best Sites To Learn About Genocide In Rwanda: Portraits of Reconciliation is from The New York Times (you might also be interested in Another Good Writing Prompt: Reconciliation. Following Orders in Rwanda is is also from The NY Times. Rwandan Stories is an impressive site. A Good Man In Rwand
“The Image Story” Is A Nice Site & Provides An Even Better Classroom Idea
The Image Story is a new site where photographers submit their pictures along with the “back story” about them — their inspiration, gear, etc. It has some nice photos but, more importantly for me, it gave me an idea for a classroom activity that I hadn’t thought of before (though I suspect someone else has). What not have students show their own photos and provide their own back story? I don’t th
The iTunes Link To My Interview With Carol Tomlinson Wasn’t Working Before, But It Is Now!
I had previously posted a link to my ten minute BAM! podcast interview with Carol Tomlinson. You could here it on BAM!’s website, but, because of technical problems, couldn’t download it on iTunes. It’s fixed now, and worth listening to the person who’s done more to support differentiation in the classroom than just about anybody else…
Ways To Cultivate ‘Whole-Class Engagement’
Response: Ways To Cultivate ‘Whole-Class Engagement’ is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. Jim Peterson and William & Pérsida Himmele provide practical suggestions on how to get our students participating more in class more of the time. Here are some excerpts:
Today Is The Anniversary Of Martin Luther King’s Death — Here Are Some Related Resources
On this day in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. You might The Best Resources To Remember Dr. Martin Luther King’s Death (& Life) useful…
APR 03
April’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
Wow! The NY Times’ “Time Machine” Is One Wild “This Day In History” Site
The New York Times has unveiled a “Time Machine” feature that lets you read online what appears to be most (or, at least, many) pages of every edition they’ve published. Plus, you can print out PDF’s of the articles — at least, for the ones on the front page. Unfortunately, it says you have to be a home or digital subscriber to The Times in order to access the feature. I wonder if they might ever
One Of The Worst Tweets I Read This Week Came From The Gates Foundation
It’s been a rather long week — I always know I teach at a 100% free breakfast and lunch comprehensive high schools, but there are some weeks I really know it. This was one of those latter weeks, with many challenges facing our students coming to the forefront. One pleasant thought I had though, after our staff meeting was this one: At least this year, most of our students here in California don’t
Here Is The Simple Outline I’m Having My TOK Students Use For Their Oral Presentation
I’ve previously posted about my questions and ideas related to the new changes in the required International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge Presentation (see “The Times They Are a-Changin’”…For IB Theory Of Knowledge Oral Presentations), and invited other teachers to weigh-in, too. In that post, I shared a downloadable version of the new TOK Presentation Planning Document, as well as links to
The Vergara Lawsuit Fixes Nothing & Can Make Things Worse
A decision on the Vergara v. California should be announced in the next few months (see The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights). Josh Eidelson interviews Linda Darling-Hammond about the case in Salon. Here’s an excerpt:
Free Resources From All My Books
I have many free resources, including excerpts and student hand-outs, available from all my books. Clicking on the covers will lead you to them (and look for two new books being published over the next eighteen months — one will be the third volume in my student motivation “trilogy” , and the other will a new book on teaching English Language Learners):
Resources On The Genocide In Rwanda
This weekend is the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the genocide that took place in Rwanda. You might be interested in the following “Best” lists: The Best Sites To Learn About Genocide In Rwanda The Best Web Resources On Darfur The Best Sites For Learning About The Holocaust The Best Resources For Learning About Genocide
APR 02
April’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part One
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
“How Can We Get All Students Participating More All The Time?”
How Can We Get All Students Participating More All The Time? is the new “question-of-the-week” at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave a response there or here in the comments….
I Interview Carol Tomlinson In My New BAM! Podcast
I interview Carol Tomlinson in my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio program on How Can We Differentiate Instruction More Effectively? As most would agree, there is no one more knowledgeable on differentiation than Carol, and it was a privilege interviewing her. Also look for her written contribution to a future column at my Education Week Teacher blog.
Our New ASCD Educational Leadership Article: “Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs”
My colleague Katie Hull-Sypnieski and I wrote wrote a lengthy and, if I say so myself , excellent article that has just been published by ASCD Educational Leadership. It’s titled Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs, and it discusses very practical ways to teach writing to Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced English Language Learners — especially in light of the new Common Core Standards. But I th
Bus Boycott “Choose Your Own Adventure” Game
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis is reopening this weekend after a $28 million renovation (see the NY Times article, From Slave Ship Shackles to the Mountaintop). That’s great news for people who live nearby or who can travel there for a visit. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear they spent any of that money on providing web resources for people unlikely to go there in person. Their site
APR 01
Video: “Sacramento Time Lapse”
I’m adding this video to The Best Websites To Learn About California:
Another Good Writing Prompt: Reconciliation
I have lots of useful resources at My Best Posts On Writing Instruction, and it’s also the place I collect posts about the writing prompts I use in my various classes. Here’s one I’m using in my class right now. We’re ending a unit on Nelson Mandela, but it can be used in other contexts, too. I can’t take credit for it, though. It was developed by my colleagues Lara Hoekstra, Katie Hull, and Cary
Lingua.ly Launches App ELLs Might Like
I’ve previously posted about Lingua.ly, a very useful Chrome extension for people learning another language, including English (see Lingua.ly Is A Useful Tool For Second-Language Learners). In fact, it’s on The Best Websites For English Language Learner Students In 2013 list. They just launched their first mobile app (it’s Android-only now, but they should have a version for the iPhone, too) that
MAR 31
“Testing Talk” Is A Forum For Feedback On “Next Generation” Of State Tests
Testing Talk is a new site designed to solicit feedback from educators on this next generation of state standardized testing. I’m not quite clear on how it’s different from the Assessment Advisor, developed by the National Education Association (you can read my post about it at NEA Partners With Teach Plus & Creates Online Rating System For Student Assessments). I do have to say that the com
I Am Tired Of “School Reformers” Using The Civil Rights Movement Legacy To Support Their Agenda
Los Angeles Schools Superintendent John Deasy spoke today at USC on the Vergara lawsuit (see The Best Resources On California Court Case Attacking Teacher’s Rights). Los Angeles Times reporter Howard Blume is not going to write a story about his speech, but he did send out these tweets: L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, in USC address today, links Vergara court case to the chain of civil rights stru
World Malaria Day Resources
April 25th is World Malaria Day. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About World Malaria Day. Additional suggestions are welcome…
My Latest NY Times Post For ELLs Is About Nouns, Soccer In China & More!
Learn about nouns, soccer (football) in China, and using interviews as an engaging sequencing activity for learning English — all in my latest post in the New York Times. A student interactive and teaching activities are included. You can find all my New York Times posts for English Language Learners here.
MAR 30
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
Video: “Beeline World Music Mix”
This has got to be one of the more unusual international music mashups around. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures:
“You Really Need To Get A Life, Mr. Ferlazzo”
I had this dialogue in class on Friday and shared it on Facebook. It got such a positive reaction there, I thought readers here might enjoy it, too: Me to class: “Email your outlines to me and I’ll send you back comments.” Student: “When are you going to read them?” Me: “Over the weekend” Student: “You really need to get a life, Mr. Ferlazzo.”
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.
March’s “The Best” Lists — There Are Now 1,284 Of Them!
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 1,284 of them categorized here): The “All-Time” Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of EnglishLanguage Learners The “All-Time” Best Science Sites The Best Resources For Learning About Mudslides The Best Sites For Learning About Japan The Best Sites For Learning About India The Best Sites Fo
Video: Colorado Fire Tornado
I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About Tornadoes:
Video: “This Is a Generic Brand Video”
If you teach a lesson on advertising, or if you teach Perception in an IB Theory of Knowledge class, you’ll want to use this video:
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts, Articles & Videos On Education Policy
Here are some recent useful resources on educational policy issues: Teachers union fights new plan by Sacramento and other school districts to address low-performing schools is from The Sacramento Bee. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On The NCLB Waiver Given To Eight California School Districts (Including Ours). New York Schools: The Roar of the Charters is by Diane Ravitch at The
MAR 29
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: What kind of teacher are you? is a fun little Facebook quiz that the British Council has developed for ESL/EFL Teachers. TEFL Reflections has a nice post listing different ways teachers can check for student understandin
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). I also sometimes include tech tools that might not exactly fit the definition of Web 2.0: Sketch Toy is a simple and useful online drawing tool. You can learn more ab
March’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
Just Revised & Updated ” The Best Sites For Learning About Taxes”
I’ve just revised and updated The Best Sites For Learning About Taxes. Yes, it’s that time of year again….
Easter & Passover Resources
Both the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover take place next month. You might find The Best Sites For Learning About Easter And Passover useful.
“The Times They Are a-Changin’”…For IB Theory Of Knowledge Oral Presentations
I’ve been writing, and have been publishing guest posts, about how the changes instituted by the International Baccalaureate this year have affected those of us who teach Theory of Knowledge classes. You can see some of those posts at: The Best Commentaries On The New IB Theory Of Knowledge Teaching Guide The Best Posts On Teaching TOK “Knowledge Questions” Of course, you can also see all my TO
“Tools for flipping your class”
Ana Maria Menezes, whose Life Feast blog is a must-read for any ESL/EFL/ELL teacher, has just put together an excellent list of “Tools For Flipping Your Class.” I’m embedding it below, though I’m not sure if it will show up in an RSS Reader. It’s a pretty exhaustive list, but she’s inviting others to add to it. All you have to do is click “ADD TO LIST.” I’m not sure if you have to go directly to
‘Best Practices’ Are Practices That Work Best For Your Students
‘Best Practices’ Are Practices That Work Best For Your Students is the final post in my three-part Ed Week series on the five best practices teachers can use in the classroom. Today’s post features contributions from Roxanna Elden, Barnett Berry and Pedro Noguera, along with comments from readers. Here are some excerpts:
Great Interactive Video: “Sounds Of GREAT Britain”
Sounds of GREAT Britain is a very cool series of interactive videos that allow viewers to take a customized audio and visual tour of…Great Britain. It’s very creative. I’ve embedded the first video below… The creators of the video also have a very engaging site called LoveWall – Visit Britain which provides excellent categorized images from around the country. I’m adding both to The Best Sites F