The Freedom Rides Began On This Day In 1961
As NPR says, on this day in 1961: 13 activists piled on a bus headed south to test new laws against segregation. The group of “Freedom Riders” that left Washington, D.C., that day would be one of many to confront racial discrimination in public transportation. Learn more at The Best Resources For Learning About The “Freedom Riders.”
Videos For Theory Of Knowledge: “What Is A Photocopier?”
The old Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First?” routine is used by Theory of Knowledge teachers around the world to illustrate how language can be used to discourage understanding. Jimmy Fallon also did a remake with famous comedians. You can see them both here. The New York Times recently shared a sad, but funny, video, What Is A Photocopier?, that can be used for the same purpose: It reminded me
New York Times Summer Reading Contest
The New York Times Learning Network has just announced their fifth annual summer reading contest. Here’s a brief description from them: Every Friday from June 13 through Aug. 15 we’ll pose the same question: What interested you most in The Times this week? Anyone 13 to 19 years old from anywhere in the world can post an answer, and contestants can choose from any Times article, essay, video, inte
“TUZZit” Looks Like An Intriguing Site For Online Graphic Organizers & More
I just learned about TUZZit from Carla Arena. It’s a free online graphic organizer tool that provides lots of different options of organizers (you can also create your own); lets you paste online images videos, virtual post-it notes and more onto them; and then you can share your creation with online collaborators. In some ways it seems like an Exploratree on steriods (that site is on Not “The Be
More Resources On California’s Drought
Here are some new additions to A Beginning List Of The Best Resources On California’s Drought: California’s Historic Drought is a photo gallery from The Atlantic. Parched is a chart from The Economist. What the Devastating Droughts in California and Texas Look Like When Graphed is from The Atlantic.
New RSA Animated Video Of Daniel Pink Talk
People are probably familiar with Dan Pink’s “TED Talk” which is one of their most popular of all time, and some are familiar with the RSA Animation of another one of his talks on motivation (I’ve embedded both below). A few days ago RSA posted another animation of a talk he gave on his most recent book (by the way, for what it’s worth, Dan interviewed both my wife and me for it). I’ve embedded t
Video: Violence ‘Interrupters’
It’s new to me, but apparently there’s an organization in Chicago called “Ceasefire” that works to reduce gang violence in Chicago. Here’s a useful clip from a Stephen Colbert interview with Ameena Matthews, one of the group’s leaders. I think the short segment on why people join gangs is one that will be particularly helpful since we write about that in our English class. You can also view an ent
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: Good language teachers, as seen through the eyes of teachers and learners is by Adam Simpson. There’s a lot of substance there, and I would label it as a “must-read.” Are School Turnaround Efforts Overlooking English-Lear
Here’s The Writing Prompt I’m Using As Part Of My Final For Ninth-Grade English
I’ve been sharing the writing prompts I have used, and plan to use, in all my classes — both as formative and summative assessments. You can find them all at My Best Posts On Writing Instruction. Here’s one I’ll be using with my mainstream ninth-grade English class… The Most Important Question You Can Ask was recently published by The New York Times. It’s a short essay by Tony Schwartz. Here’s ho
Video: “Hans Rosling – fossil fuel distribution in two minutes”
I’m adding this video to The Best Hans Rosling Videos:
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 5-3-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY‘The Grading System We Need to Have’‘The Grading System We Need to Have’ is my latest Education Week Teacher post. It features Rick Wormeli and others. Here are some excerpts:by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h Oops — May Day Was Yesterday & I Forgot To Share My Updated “Best” ListYesterday was May