SchoolPRPro / Pixabay My friend and colleague Katherine Bell did a survey of our students, and their reflections about distance learning have just been published by The Washington Post at From ‘pretty good’ to ‘really difficult’ — students at one high school talk about online learning during the pandemic. You might also be interested in a similar four-part series I recently did at Education Week
Atlantios / Pixabay May 22nd has been named The International Day for Biological Diversity by the United Nations. Started in 2006 by the U.S. Congress, Endangered Species Day is the third Friday of May. You might be interested in The Best Resources For World Biodiversity Day (& Endangered Species Day) .
Adapting Social Studies for Remote Teaching is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Three social studies teachers share the instructional strategies they are using in distance learning, including project-
Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay I wouldn’t add it to The Best Commencement Speeches , but this compilation of speech excerpts for this year has some good ones:
Sacramento’s public television has a weekly half-hour discussion show called Studio Sacramento. Here’s how they describe today’s show, “School at Home”: Students are in school but they’re at their homes. How is at-home learning working for one district? Joining host Scott Syphax with an update from Sacramento City Unified School District are School Board President Jessie Ryan, Superintendent Jorg
PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay I have a zillion history-related “Best” lists. However, I thought it would be useful to bring together the different resources I use in my IB Theory of Knowledge classes when we study the “idea’ of history (I also use some of these in my actual history classes). I know I’m missing a ton of good stuff, so let me know what it is! Here they are: Excellent History Quest
priyampatel4 / Pixabay Here’s how National Geographic describes this new video: In March 2020, many cities and countries around the world went into lockdown, restricting movement and encouraging social distancing in an attempt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Five filmmakers, Nick Moir, Veda Shastri, Alexia Webster, Felix Gaedtke, and Guglielmo Mattioli documented their cities under lockdown in 3
kreatikar / Pixabay The United Nations has designated May 21st at the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development . You might be interested in a massive “Best” list: The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures .
Social Studies Instruction in the Age of the Coronavirus is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Five social studies teachers discuss their online instructional strategies, including emphasizing relevancy and maintaining high standards. Here are some excerpts:
I’m adding these new resources to various “Best” lists. You can find links to all of those many lists that relate to race and racism at “Best” Lists Of The Week: Resources For Teaching & Learning About Race & Racism: Asian Americans is the PBS site for the series of the same name. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month . Improving Teacher Workforce Diversity is
The Centers For Disease Control released guides for reopening different sectors of society called Communities, Schools, Workplaces, and Events: Guidance for Where You Live, Work, Learn, Pray, and Play. One part of it was Interim Guidance for Administrators of US K-12 Schools and Child Care Programs . I might be missing something, but I’m not sure most districts are going to find it very helpful.
TheDigitalArtist / Pixabay The latest TED-Ed lesson and video is on “What is a coronavirus?” I’m adding it to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS .
Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this
qimono / Pixabay Schools are obviously going to have lots of challenges during the next school year (see A teacher predicts what his classroom (and others) will look like in the fall) . An additional issue is going to be getting substitute teachers. One challenge is going to be that – if we are teaching in a physical school – there will be far more teacher absences than there have been in the pas
Free-Photos / Pixabay Based on a survey done in Ed Week , the journal suggests that student engagement in distance learning is “plummeting.” My classes seem to holding fairly steady (especially in my live daily ELL Newcomers class), though a few in my IB Theory of Knowledge class who have been on the periphery from the start have pretty much disconnected. In an effort to “hold on” to what I have,
Tumisu / Pixabay We Might Have Gotten Remote Learning Wrong. We Can Still Fix This School Year is the headline of a new op-ed piece I’ve written for Education Week. It’s an expanded version of my previous post, ARE WE GOING ABOUT THIS WHOLE “DISTANCE LEARNING” THING ALL WRONG?
This is just the latest press attention to a huge issue they most of us teachers already know about… Imagine the stress and pressure going on in so many of our students’ homes right now. I’m adding this info to The Best Places To Learn What Impact A Teacher (& Outside Factors) Have On Student Achievement .
BedexpStock / Pixabay Ma Xi Lee, our district’s extraordinary Director of Social Emotional Learning, invited me to participate in this podcast . Here’s how she describes it: This week’s episode features important voices in our Sac City community- those of teachers. Teachers are critically important for students’ academic growth as well as their social and emotional well-being. Particularly during
Teach Current Events as ‘History in the Making’ is the headline of a new excerpt from The Social Studies Teacher’s Toolbox . It was published at Middleweb, and is authored by Elisabeth Johnson and Evelyn Ramos. The Social Studies Teacher’s Toolbox is one of three books Katie Hull and I have edited and were released last week. I’m adding this excerpt to a section where excerpts from all of them ar
Students’ Thoughts About Online Learning is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Seven high school students share their feelings about distance learning, especially compared with learning in person, and they aren’t pretty. Here are a few excerpts:
A meta-analysis of math and reading interventions targeting middle and high schools students experiencing academic difficulties found several interventions helpful, but found one that was not – offering incentives to students. It has a long title: Targeted school‐based interventions for improving reading and mathematics for students with, or at risk of, academic difficulties in Grades 7–12: A sys
Using Movement to Engagement Students In Traditional and Virtual Classrooms is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio show. I’m joined by Valentina Gonzalez and Jenny Vo in the conversation, who have also contributed written commentaries to my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .
A lot of sites have sprung up over the past two months offering lesson plans of varying qualities to teachers. Of all the ones I’ve seen so far, only two deserve to be added to The Best Places To Find Free (And Good) Lesson Plans On The Internet: National Museum of American History has a lot of very impressive lesson plans that can be used online or in the physical classroom. Science in the City
Wokandapix / Pixabay I have a number of regular weekly features (see HERE IS A LIST (WITH LINKS) OF ALL MY REGULAR WEEKLY FEATURES ). This is a relatively new addition to that list. Some of these resources will be added to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions ! and the best will go to The “Best Of The Best” Resources To
Katie Hull and I did a two-part video series with Ed Week on creating the conditions for encouraging student intrinsic motivation during remote learning. They just released Part One. I’m adding it to THE “BEST OF THE BEST” RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TEACHERS DEALING WITH SCHOOL CLOSURES . You can see a series of animated videos we on this topic on my videos page . You might also be interested in Best P
‘Challenges, Curiosity, Creativity, & Community’ in the Online Science Classroom is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four science educators share online teaching tips, including having students conduct hands-on experiments at home and maintain scientific notebooks. Here are some excerpts:
BiljaST / Pixabay Six years ago I began this 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. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART ONE and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART TWO. A
As regular readers know, three books following the format of our ELL Teacher’s Toolbox , and which Katie Hull and I edited , just came out (clicking on the covers below will lead you to their Amazon pages). And just as all the student hand-outs from our books are available free-of-charge, with no registration required, the same is true of these three. Just go to publisher’s webpages for each of t
TED-Talks just unveiled a neat project of inviting graduates and their supporters to record a message: Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of students won’t have the opportunity to be honored at an in-person graduation this year. However, billions of us can still celebrate these students online. TED invites all members of the class of 2020 to record and share a #gradua TED talk . Let’s ligh
10-4: How to Reopen the Economy by Exploiting the Coronavirus’s Weak Spot is the headline of a pretty interesting article in The New York Times today. In it, some professors/researchers propose a strategy for re-opening the economy and schools. It’s definitely not one I’ve heard before now. I’m still not sure I fully understand it, but that may be only because it’s still very early in the morning
Science Instruction in the Age of the Coronavirus is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four science educators share their experiences adapting to online instruction, including through collaborative learning and the use of online labs. Here are some excerpts:
I’m fairly active on Pinterest and, in fact, have curated 21,000 resources there that I haven’t shared on this blog. I thought readers might find it useful if I began sharing a handful of my most recent “pins” each week (I’m not sure if you can see them through an RSS Reader – you might have to click through to the original post). You might also be interested in MY MOST POPULAR PINS OF 2019 Here
The upcoming question-of-the-week at my Ed Week Teacher column is: We all know end-of-year activities are important – what celebratory or reflective lessons do you have in mind? Let me know by Sunday, May 17th! Send your ideas – in 200 words or less – along with a one sentence biography to me through one of several ways: * By leaving a comment on this blog * By sending an email to me at at lferl
I’ve recently begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists. You might also be interested in THE BEST SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO Finally, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources . Here are this week’s picks: Researcher Behind ‘10,000-H
I’ll be sharing lots of new and interesting resources over the next week. Here’s a list of what to expect: Over at Education Week, I’ll be finishing-up a two month focus on supporting teachers during the school closure crisis with series on virtually teaching science and social studies. After publishing over sixty posts during the past two months, including videos, written commentaries, infograph
geralt / Pixabay Contact tracing is the next key strategy in fighting COVID-19. Here are three new videos that do a very good job of simply explaining what that is and what it might look like. Also, at the bottom, I’ve included a useful video that compares this pandemic with the 1918 Spanish flu. I’m adding this post to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS .
‘I Am Doing My Best’ – Teaching Math During the School Closure Crisis is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four math educators offer advice about remote instruction, including providing more specific targets and cultivating home connections. Here are some excerpts:
I’m making a change in the content of the regular feature. In addition to sharing the top five posts that have received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they may have originally been published on an earlier date), I will also include the top five posts that have actually appeared in the past week. Often, these are different posts. You might also be interested in IT’S THE THIRTE
What Have We Learned During the Rapid Transition to Remote Learning? is the title of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio show. I’m joined by Ashley McCall, Claudia Leon, Elvis Epps and Lori Barber, who have also contributed to my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .
Tumisu / Pixabay Yesterday, I shared my predictions of what the next school year might look like (see It’s Going To Be A New Classroom World In The Fall – Here Is What I Think It Might Look Like ). Today, I thought I’d write about what long-term changes COVID-19 might bring to schools – even after a
