Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE WEEK
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
Daily Show Does Great Segment On Child Refugees
I’m adding this great video segment to The Best Resources For Learning About The Children Refugee Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border: The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive
SEP 04
September 17th Is U.S. Constitution Day — Here Are Related Resources
© 2010 Mr.TinDC, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Federal legislation requires schools in the United States to offer lessons related to the U.S. Constitution on U.S. Constitution Day — September 17th of each year. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About The Constitution Of The United States.
Infographic: “The 6 Elements of a Powerful Blog Post”
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sources Of Advice For Teachers (And Others!) On How To Be Better Bloggers: Courtesy of: Quick Sprout
170,000 Library Of Congress Images Put Online At Unique Interactive Site
Yale has just unveiled a unique interactive site of 170,000 images from The Library of Congress taken during the Great Depression, and it includes over 3,000 photos taken by the legendary Dorthea Lange, including the famous one at the top of this post. The Library of Congress states: Most photographs in this collection are considered to be in the public domain; however, labels on a few images ind
Three New — & Good — Guides To Twitter
© 2009 marek.sotak, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are three new excellent guides to Twitter that I’m adding to The Best Resources For Beginning To Learn What Twitter Is All About: Twitter education chats: An astonishing source of professional development is from Scholastic. Twitter Demystified: How To RT, MT, #FF And Fave Like A Pro is from ReadWrite. Go Ahead-Take Control is from EdChatma.
All The Interviews I’ve Done With Authors Over The Past 3 Years — In One Place!
My latest Ed Week Teacher post brings together all the interviews I’ve done with authors over the past three years. Here’s an excerpt from one:
SEP 03
The Onion: “Teacher Asks Students To Split Into 2 Groups To Simulate Ideal Class Size”
You’ll want to read the funny and sad piece in The Onion that’s titled “Teacher Asks Students To Split Into 2 Groups To Simulate Ideal Class Size.” I’m adding it to The Best Education Articles From “The Onion.” You might also be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About How Class Size Does Matter.
Uh Oh, It Looks Like Facebook’s Zuckerberg Now Has His Own Pet Teacher Evaluation Project
© 2010 Damian Gadal, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Mark Zuckerberg, fresh from his disastrous $100 million investment in Newark schools (The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook) has decided he wants his own piece of the teacher evaluation business. He’s just become a major (I assume, THE major) investor in an education start-up called Panorama that is prom
More Great Teaching Ideas For #Ferguson #MichaelBrown
© 2014 Debra Sweet, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio I’ve previously posted this list twice before, but I felt it was worth sharing again because of some new additions (at the top): [View the story "Teaching Ideas For #Ferguson #MichaelBrown" on Storify]
All My Ed Week Posts On “Relationships” From The Past 3 Years — In One Place!
My latest Ed Week Teacher column brings together all my posts there from the past three years on the topic of “relationships.” Here’s an excerpt: I’m adding it to The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students.
SEP 02
Big Surprise — NOT!: Study Says Students Are More Successful With “Active Learning” Than With Lectures
© 2011 Ian Barbour, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio I’ve written a lot about how active learning is more effective than lectures (see The Best Research Demonstrating That Lectures Are Not The Best Instructional Strategy). A big New York Times article headlined Active Role in Class Helps Black and First-Generation College Students, Study Says discusses yet another study that reinforces that view. Her
New “Edu-Messaging” Firm Needs To Work On Their “Messaging” Skills
© 2009 Ben Sutherland, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Education Post is a new “edu-messaging” organization that is backed by the “Broad Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Walton Family Foundation and an anonymous donor” and led by the former spokesperson for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The Washington Post says it has: the aim of encouraging a more “respectful” and fact-based national
Hispanic Heritage Month Begins On Sept. 15th — Here Are Related Resources
© 2013 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Hispanic Heritage Month.
The New York Times Learning Network Begins Another Year!
The New York Times Learning Network, one of the best resources out there for teachers (I said that before I began writing for it, and I’ll continue to say it), just published a useful post describing its upcoming activities for the new school year. Last year, I wrote a short weekly post about teaching activities for English Language Learners that included a student interactive. The previous year,
Online Presentation-Creator Powtoon Giving Away 50,000 Classroom Accounts
I just learned through Richard Byrne’s must-read blog that Powtoon, a unique online tool for creating presentations that is on a number of “Best” lists (including The Best Ways To Create Online Slideshows), is giving away 50,000 classroom accounts to teachers. Each account provides 60 student accounts. You can read more about it the deal, and about how Powtoon works, at Richard’s post.
SEP 01
School Starts Tomorrow!
The first day of our new school year is tomorrow! It should be a great year! I suspect that there might be fewer posts on this blog than usual over the next few days — I’m usually pretty exhausted at the end of the first two-or-three days of school until I get my “teacher legs” back. And any remaining energy will be devoted to evening basketball and memorizing student names, which will leave littl
“‘The Teacher Wars’: An Interview With Dana Goldstein”
‘The Teacher Wars’: An Interview With Dana Goldstein is my latest post at Education Week Teacher. I interview journalist Dana Goldstein about her book, “The Teacher Wars.” Here are some excerpts:
More Theory Of Knowledge Changes From IB
© 2012 Nana B Agyei, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Over the past year, the International Baccalaureate program has been making lots of changes to the Theory of Knowledge course, and I’ve posted about them all. The changes continue… IB just sent out a document to all IB Coordinators sharing even more changes around the TOK oral presentation and the essay. In regards to the presentation, I’ve already p
Two Valuable Labor Day Resources
© 2010 Karen Horton, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are two important additions to The Best Websites For Learning About Labor Day: US unions are shrinking. These 7 charts show what that means. is from Vox. The Power In Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States is from The Zinn Education Project.
Just Published! 42nd ELT Blog Carnival: Back To School!
David Deubelbeiss has just published the 42nd edition of the ELT Blog Carnival (formerly known as the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival) and it’s a great one on back-to-school activities. Teachers from all around the world have contributed their ideas! I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Planning The First Days Of School. You can see all the previous Blog Carnivals here. And you can express your inte
AUG 31
New Theory Of Knowledge Resources: 2015 Essay Titles & A Cool Diagram
As regular readers know, I have been teaching International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge classes at our school for years, along with many other courses. This year, for the first time, I’m excited to be teaching two TOK classes that also include several of my former English Language Learner students. Thanks to TheoryofKnowledge.net, I just learned that IB released the May 2015 essay titles. Yo
In 24 Hours, Look For A Lengthy Interview With Dana Goldstein In My Ed Week Column
A lengthy and fascinating interview with Dana Goldstein about her new book, “The Teacher Wars,” will appear in my Ed Week Teacher column late on Monday night. Here’s how a recent NY Times review of her book concluded:
Great “Animations & Explainers” From The Guardian
The British newspaper The Guardian publishes a neat series of video “animations and explainers” that you can find on their YouTube channel. I’m adding it to The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events. Here’s an example: I’m adding that example to The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World.
“12 million historic copyright-free images” Now Available For Free Online
I’m just going to quote from this new BBC article, Millions of historic images posted to Flickr: An American academic is creating a searchable database of 12 million historic copyright-free images. Kalev Leetaru has already uploaded 2.6 million pictures to Flickr, which are searchable thanks to tags that have been automatically added. The photos and drawings are sourced from more than 600 million
This Weekend Is The Ninth Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina — Here Are Related Resources
© 2005 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio This weekend is the ninth-anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. You might be interested in The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans, where I have many Katrina resources, and in The Best Short Video Clips About Hurricane Katrina. Here are new resources published around this anniversary: Swipe the ph
AUG 30
This Week In Web 2.0
In yet another attempt to get at the enormous backlog I have of sites worth blogging about, 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: Comment Bubble lets you have a virtual discussion via comments
Excellent NY Times Column: “The Original Charter School Vision”
The Original Charter School Vision is an excellent Op-Ed in The New York Times, written by Richard D. Kahlenberg and Halley Potter. Here’s an excerpt: I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles Analyzing Charter Schools.
New Resources On Race & Racism
© 2012 zeevveez, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are new additions to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism: Three quarters of whites don’t have any non-white friends is from The Washington Post. For first time, minority students expected to be majority in U.S. public schools this fall is from The Washington Post. Is Everyone a Little Bit Racist? is by Nicholas
August’s (2014) Best Tweets — Part Four
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
September 16th is Mexico’s Independence Day — Here Are Related Resources
© 2009 grahamc99, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio September 16th is Mexico’s Independence Day. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Mexico’s Independence Day.
Dilbert Demonstrates How The Concept Of “Grit” Can Be Misused
You might also be interested in my Washington Post piece, The manipulation of Social Emotional Learning, where I elaborate on how Social Emotional Learning skills like grit have a place in the classroom, but also have to be kept in its place. The Best Resources For Learning About “Grit” might also be of interest.
More Resources On Accompanied Minors Coming To U.S. As Refugees
© 2011 Takver, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The Children Refugee Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border: A day in S.F. court with undocumented kids flooding the system is from The San Francisco Chronicle. S.F. school for immigrants offers soft landing to new kids in town is from The San Francisco Chronicle. After Journey From Honduras, B
“Look at Life Through Autistic Eyes”
© 2010 hepingting, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Two film-making students: created an animated simulation of life through the eyes of a non-verbal child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) “and her constant struggle to cope with the world around her,” as they write in their artist statement. That description comes from an article in the New York Times headlined Look At Life Through Autistic Eye
Gov. Jerry Brown Appeals Awful Vergara Court Ruling
California Governor Jerry Brown, with the encouragement of state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, has announced the State of California will appeal the awful Vergara court ruling, which blames teachers for all of education and society’s ills. You can read about the decision to appeal in these two articles: Gov. Brown appeals ruling that struck down teacher job protections is from the LA
“Imagining Successful Schools”
I’ve previously shared a number of posts that Marc Tucker has written about teacher evaluation. Today, New York Times columnist Joe Nocera has written a column about Tucker’s ideas and a new report his organization has published. The column is headlined “Imagining Successful Schools.” Here’s an excerpt: Here’s a link to Tucker’s report: Our report calls for a new system of school #accountability
AUG 29
Video: Captain America & Thinking Outside The Box
I’m adding this video to The Best Videos Showing “Thinking Outside The Box”:
Four New & Useful Links About Instruction
© 1995 Seattle Municipal Archives, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are several new and useful links about classroom instruction: New Study: Engage Kids with 7x the Effect is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On Student Engagement. Want to Take Over My Class? Be My Guest! is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to the same list. Encouraging student questioning is by Warren Berge
ASCD’s Ed Leadership Is Online – Here Are My Recommendations
© 2012 Steven Depolo, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio The newest issue of ASCD’s Educational Leadership publication is now online, and its theme is Motivation Matters. Here are three pieces that are not behind a paywall that I would highly recommend: Rick Wormeli has a typically great article that’s titled Motivating Young Adolescents. It includes a list of “Top 12 Demotivators” that I think should be
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
© 2013 Jinho Jung, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | 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: Here’s How Russian, French, Portuguese, And German Native Speakers Screw Up English is from Business Insider. Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners is a w
9/11 Anniversary Is Coming Up – Here Are Related Resources
© 2001 The U.S. National Archives, Flickr | PD | via Wylio The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is coming up soon. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11.