Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE WEEK
Video: Potentially Useful TED Talk – “Why ordinary people need to understand power”
© 2007 Bronson ABbott, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio TED recently shared a TED Talk by Eric Liu titled “Why ordinary people need to understand power.” I’ve embedded the video below, and you can access it and the interactive transcript at the TED site. He says some good things in the video the demonstrates he has an understanding of at least a few community organizing concepts, including: He’s cre
September’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
Useful Resources On Race & Racism
© 2012 Michael Fleshman, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are new additions to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism: Racial Profiling Curriculum, Resources & Know Your Rights is from the NAACP. I’m using some of their resources here in my IB Theory of Knowledge class when we examine racial profiling. Study finds range of skills students taught in school li
From The Onion: “Tips For Fixing The Nation’s Education System”
Tips For Fixing The Nation’s Education System is another great satirical article from The Onion. Here are a couple of them: Discourage teacher turnover by downplaying the importance of having money and respect Maybe get some underprepared, overconfident recent college graduates in there to figure things out I’m adding it to The Best Education Articles From “The Onion.”
“A Visual History of Kids Being Unimpressed with President Obama” Is Great For English Language Learners
The Atlantic has just published some great pictures at “A Visual History of Kids Being Unimpressed with President Obama.” They’d be perfect to use with English Language Learners to have them talk and write about them. I’m adding this resource to The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons.
Video Just For Fun: “La Bamba” From Playing For Change
I’ve previously posted various songs from Playing For Change. Here’s one of their latest ones:
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy
© 2012 firedoglakedotcom, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are some recent valuable posts and articles on educational policy issues: Lily Eskelsen Garcia talks to Al Jazeera is a good interview with the new NEA President. The Coming Revolution in Public Education appeared in The Atlantic. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy. Usable Knowledge:
September’s (2014) Best Tweets — Part Two
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
YESTERDAY
Video: “What Does Scottish Independence Mean?’
Scotland will be voting on independence in a few days and, though the narration of this two-minute video from Slate is too fast for English Language Learners, it is the best short explanation of what’s going on that I’ve seen on the issue:
A Beginning “Best” List On Domestic Violence Resources
With the Ray Rice video bringing attention to the tragedy of domestic violence, I thought it would be useful to bring together a few related resources. These are particularly accessible to English Language Learners, but can also be useful for all students. I hope readers will contribute more: by obizmedia. by NowSourcing. The Most Brutal Domestic Violence Awareness Ads is from BuzzFeed. H
SEP 11
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
© 2009 Renato Ganoza, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio 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: Urban Districts Develop Common-Core Guide for Teaching ELLs is from Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Common Core Standards & English Langu
Wondering How To Handle A Controversial Topic In Class? What We Did This Week Worked Out Very Well
© 2010 Enokson, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio As all teachers know, controversial topics can be very tricky to handle in class. Here’s a process I used in my International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge classes this past week they went far better than I had expected, and I think this series of lessons might be able to be applied to other classes. FIRST DAY: I introduced The Belief-Knowledge Contin
New Hans Rosling Video: “How not to be ignorant about the world”
TED Talks just released a new Hans Rosling video (done with his son) called “How not to be ignorant about the world.” You can see it on the TED Talk site with all its bells and whistles, including a transcript, but I’ve embedded the YouTube version below. I’m, of course, adding it to The Best Hans Rosling Videos:
1,700 Categorized Links For IB Theory Of Knowledge Course
© 2012 Chris Potter, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio As regular readers know, I’ve been accumulating teaching/learning resources for the International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge class ever since I began to teach it a few years ago. The collection is now up to nearly 1,700 links that are categorized by Ways of Knowing and Areas of Knowledge, and you can access them all here.
Updated UNESCO Infographic On World Literacy
September 8th was International Literacy Day, and I have a lot of related resources at The Best Resources For International Literacy Day. There’s an infographic from UNESCO on that list from last year, and they’ve published this new one with updated statistics, which I’ll be adding there: by unesco.
SEP 10
How Should Teachers Dress?
How Should Teachers Dress? is the first “question-of-the-week” at my Ed Week column this year. Responses are welcome there or here in the comments section.
Author Of Newest IB Theory Of Knowledge Textbook Has Begun A Blog
Eileen Dombrowski is the co-author of the newest IB Theory Of Knowledge textbook, and has previously written guest posts on this blog. She’s now writing her own blog, which is a “must-follow” for any TOK teacher. Here’s her description: Eileen Dombrowski, lead author of the IB Theory of Knowledge Course Companion (OUP, 2013), has recently launched a TOK blogsite that complements the course overvi
Here’s The Table Of Contents To My Upcoming Book On Student Motivation
It’s not quite yet available for pre-order from Routledge, but they do have it up on their website with a publication date of March 15, 2015. I thought blog readers might be interested in seeing the Table Of Contents: Chapter 1. I Still Want to Know: How Do You Motivate Students? Chapter 2. Still Want to Know: How Can You Best Handle Classroom Management? Chapter 3. Still Want to Know: How Can Yo
Interactive Map: “100 Years of Unrest”
100 Years of Unrest is an interactive map that has: tried to gather information on social unrest throghout last century. Protests, uprisings, rebellions and revolts, civil wars, wars for independence, revolutions were mapped. Mapping events in time has enabled to follow hotspots or temporal trends of civil disobedience across the globe. It’s based on information from Wikipedia. Thanks to Google M
How Can A Parrot Help Students Develop Self-Control?
© 2012 Tambako The Jaguar, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Previous readers of this blog and my blogs are familiar with much of my writing about helping students develop self-control, including lessons using the famous Marshmallow Test (see The Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control). In fact, in about ten days you’ll be able to read at my Ed Week Teacher column an
SEP 09
Video: A Rube Goldberg Machine Powered By Light
I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About Rube Goldberg Machines:
“My Storybook” Is A New (& Free) Good Site For Students To Write Online
My Storybook lets students easily create simple virtual books with text and images/characters you can insert with a click. You can also draw your own. I’m adding it to The Best Places Where Students Can Write Online.
Teaching Tolerance Releases Ambitious “literacy-based, anti-bias curriculum”
Teaching Tolerance, the organization justifiably well-known for developing very good social-justice oriented teaching resources, has just unveiled: “Perspectives for a Diverse America… a literacy-based curriculum that marries anti-bias social justice content with the rigor of the Common Core State Standards.” It’s a very ambitious site, and I think most teachers will find the highlight to be 300
The Ten “All-Time” Most Popular Posts From My Ed Week Column
My latest column at Ed Week Teacher features links to the ten “all-time” most popular posts that have appeared there. Here’s an excerpt from the number one post:
SEP 08
Heganoo Looks Like A Very Nice & Easy Online Map-Making Site
Heganoo looks like a very nice and easy online map-making site. After a quick registration (though I never received a confirmation email, but was still able to use the site without it) you can identify any location or locations on a map and make it a point-of-interest where you can add text, links and, most importantly as far as I’m concerned, an image by just pasting its url address. That abilit
My Latest British Council Post Shares A Fun Introductory Activity I Do Every Year
Building Relationships is the title of my latest British Council post where I share a fun introductory activity I do with students at the beginning of each school year. It includes a link to a downloadable student hand-out, along with this artistically challenged teacher model I use: By the way, you can see all my previous British Council posts here.
NEA Today Unexpectedly Runs Article Featuring Classroom Practice Of…Me?
More Teachers Adopting Restorative Discipline Practices is the title of an NEA Today story that unexpectedly features my classroom practice. I had a short email interaction with the writer over the summer, but hadn’t thought much would come of it. You might find it interesting. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Classroom Management.
Here’s The Cover Of My Upcoming Third Book On Student Motivation (Along With Free Resources)
This is the cover of my upcoming third book on helping students develop intrinsic motivation (my own little trilogy ). It will be published by Routledge in early 2015. You can get free resources from all my six books here, including downloading all student hand-outs from my previous two student motivation books.
SEP 07
Study: “Asking for Advice Makes You Seem More Competent, Not Less”
New York Magazine (and a bunch of other news outlets) recently reported on new research which found, as the headline of the magazine article and this post says, that “Asking for Advice Makes You Seem More Competent, Not Less.” Here’s an excerpt: I’ve certainly found this to be true, and often ask parents and students for their teaching advice, and definitely never hesitate asking the same of my c
Four Valuable Posts On Classroom Instruction
© 2012 Port of San Diego, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are several recent and valuable resources on classroom instruction: No More Language Arts and Crafts is a must-read post by the one-and-only Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer. Dispelling the Myths: The Truth about Student Engagement is from the Alabama Best Practices Center. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagem
September’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
Quote Of The Day: “The Book That Got Teaching Right”
Samuel G. Freedman has written a great column in The New Yorker about the book Up the Down Staircase whose author, Bel Kaufman, died this past summer. His column is headlined The Book That Got Teaching Right. Here’s an excerpt: I certainly had heard of the book and movie before, but only as a faint memory. I’ve ordered both now and looking forward to reading and watching!
Research Studies Of The Week
I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature. By the way, you mi
SEP 06
September’s (2014) 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
Even More Useful Articles & Videos On Race & Racism
© 2012 Dominic Dominic Jacques-Bernard, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are new additions to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism: When Whites Just Don’t Get It, Part 2 is by Nicholas Kristof at The New York Times. White People’s Obsession with Reverse Racism Three quarters of whites don’t have any non-white friends is from The Washington Post. Mapping the count
Teaching History In The News!
© 2011 Sean MacEntee, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Boy, the teaching of history is in the news! First up, Bill Gates, who thinks we should all learn math through the Khan Academy (see The Best Posts About The Khan Academy) because he likes it, now has a way in mind he wants us all to learn history. Read about it in today’s New York Times story, So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class … Appar
All My Ed Week Posts On Professional Development — In One Place!
My latest Ed Week Teacher column brings together all my posts from the last three years loosely connected to professional development — in one place! Here’s an excerpt:
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
© 2010 Shane Global, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio 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: Florida Officials Will Fight Feds Over Testing of English-Language Learners is from Ed Week. ELLs to Keep Increasing as K-12 Schools Cross ‘Majority-Minority’ Threshold is fr
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Ed Policy
© 2010 Dave, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Here is this week’s collection of important articles and posts on educational policy issues: I’ve got to start off with this extraordinary video of Dana Goldstein discussing “As if teachers’ jobs aren’t hard enough, they’re asked to fix poverty, too”: I’m adding that video to The Best Resources On Why Improving Education Is Not THE Answer To Poverty &
Teachers, T-Shirts & The Messages That They Send
© 2014 Gerard Flynn, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Particularly in light of what’s happened in Ferguson recently, and in light of the death of Eric Garner, who was killed by a New York City police officer using an illegal choke hold, it just boggles my mind that a number of New York City teachers chose to wear NYPD T-Shirts to begin the school year. Did they even stop to consider the message that th
New “Fillable” PDF Forms For IB Theory Of Knowledge Presentations & Essays
© 2011 Ewa Rozkosz, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio I recently wrote about some new changes for teachers and students in International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge courses (see More Theory Of Knowledge Changes From IB). Thanks to my colleague, Chris Coey, who braved the IB TOK website to get them, here are the new planning forms for the oral presentation and essay. They are “fillable.” In othe