As you probably have heard, this past week most of us here in California finally got some clarity – we’re starting the school year all online. In addition, our district put out a tentative schedule for our online school, though it still has to be negotiated with our union. I decided to put some time into planning what my typical week might be, assuming our final schedule looks at least something
Free-Photos / Pixabay Here are three articles/videos that I think are worth reading by educators. I’m adding them to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Newsom Order Would Keep Most California Schools Online is from The NY Times. How Trump Closed Down the Schools is from The Atlantic.
Nine 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 2020 – PART ONE , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this w
Each year, I publish year-end statistics of how visitors find my blog (you can find previous posts here ). About 19,000 readers subscribe to this blog daily and can read the content without visiting directly. However, another six-thousand or so readers do visit to read the posts each day. How do they get here? Well, for 2020 so far, the answer was: The number one source of referrals was Facebook
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . I’ve previously shared THE BEST SPANISH-LANGUAGE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS – HELP ME FIND MORE. It included resources I use with ELL Newcomers when the focu
PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay I used to post weekly collections of my best tweets, and used Storify to bring them together. Unfortunately, Storify went under. Fortunately, however, Wakelet was a new tool that was able to import all of a person’s Storifys. So you can see all those previous Twitter “Best” lists here . You might also be interested in MY MOST POPULAR TWEETS IN 2019 – PART TWO and NEW &
Q&A Collections: Teaching English-Language Learners is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. All Classroom Q&A posts on Teaching English-Language Learners (from the past nine years!) are described and linked to in this compilation post. Here’s an excerpt from one of them:
Rep. John Lewis, a Civil Rights hero, has passed — Wesley (@WesleyLowery) July 18, 2020 What terrible news…. What a great man. I have posted a lot about his work over the years: VIDEO TRAILER FOR MUST-WATCH DOCUMENTARY: “JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE” VIDEO: JOHN LEWIS AT 55TH ANNIVERSARY OF SELMA MARCH VIDEO: JOHN LEWIS COMMENCEMENT SPEECH AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY VIDEO: “JOHN LEWIS REFLECTS ON THE FREED
sammisreachers / Pixabay The United Nations has declared July 30th to be The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Human Trafficking Today .
mohamed_hassan / Pixabay Fall reopening plans continue to heavily in the news. Here are a few articles that I think are worth reading by educators. I’m adding them to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : ‘A challenge we can meet’: Sacramento-area teachers react to plans for an online fall is from the Sacramento Bee. There Are Literally No Good Options for Educating
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . TeroVesalainen / Pixabay We’re doing a series of professional development sessions (about three hours each) for all of our teachers on teaching English Language Learners. Because
A Superintendent Explains Why Having to Decide About Fall Reopening Is the ‘Absolute Worst’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. District school Superintendent PJ Caposey shares the challenges and questions he is grappling with as he plans for a school year during the pandemic. Here are some excerpts:
Free-Photos / Pixabay WindowSwap lets you look out windows from homes all around the world. It would be easy to open up to browser tabs and have students use the photos to create a Venn Diagram and then some compare/contrast paragraphs. In fact, that’s what I had my Newcomers class do in the spring when we were doing remote learning. The difference was I had them take photos of what they saw outs
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
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
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
Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here. Of course, this is a crazy time for “classroom” instruction…. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES ON INSTRUCTION IN 2020 – PART ONE. Here are this week’s picks: How formative assessment boosts metacognition—and learning is from Teach Lea
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 2020 – PART ONE. Finally, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources . Here are this week’s picks: The Collaborative for Acad
The Washington Post article, Trump administration, congressional Republicans eye tying school aid to reopening in next funding bill , describes Republican plans to provide money to K-12 schools in the next stimulus bill. Education groups have asked for $175 billion, while it appears the Republicans opening “offer” is going to be $70 billion. My assumption is that – after negotiations with Democra
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . Research in Action: Ramping Up Support for Long-Term ELLs is the headline of my article that appeared earlier this year in ASCD Educational Leadership. It describes the efforts ou
It’s official – our district, and every other district in our county – will begin the year doing distant learning. You can read about it in the Sacramento Bee article, It’s official: Sacramento County public schools won’t reopen this fall . I’m still hoping, though, that we can have small-scale on-site instruction for vulnerable populations like ELLs: I’m all for being “very, very careful.” I jus
Q&A Collections: Parent Engagement in Schools is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. All Classroom Q&A posts on parent engagement in schools (from the past nine years!) are described and linked to in this compilation post. Here’s an excerpt from one of them:
Curriki Studio is a new free tool that lets teachers create a huge variety of interactive exercises for students. You have to request early access, but I received mine within hours of my request. I’ve just started playing around with it, and my initial impression is very positive. Here’s a video about it:
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay It’s Bastille Day today, remembering when the infamous prison was stormed during the French Revolution. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Bastille Day .
Here’s a cool new tool from Google about ancient Egyptian languages: …thanks to the new Google Arts & Culture tool Fabricius , anyone can interactively discover this fascinating language by means of three dedicated gateways: First, you can “Learn” about the language of ancient Egypt by following a short educational introduction in six easy steps. Secondly, Fabricius invites you to “Play” and tran
On-Site and Online Hacks for Teaching in “The New Normal” is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio Show. I’m joined in the discussion by Serena Pariser, Jennifer Orr and Laurie Manville. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .
Here are Wednesday’s additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Most Big School Districts Aren’t Ready to Reopen. Here’s Why. is from The NY Times. Israeli Data Show School Openings Were a Disaster That Wiped Out Lockdown Gains is from The Daily Beast. Teachers worry about how we’ll keep them safe if their schools reopen is from CNN. ‘Normally, people don’t p
Q&A Collections: Student Voices is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. All Classroom Q&A posts featuring commentaries written by students (from the past nine years!) are described and linked to in this compilation post. Here’s an excerpt from one of them:
paulbr75 / Pixabay The roller coaster ride continues. Here are Tuesday’s additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : DeVos Abandons a Lifetime of Local Advocacy to Demand Schools Reopen is from The NY Times. I hope our district can do something like this: California district designs novel plan to boost remote learning with in-person ‘student support hubs
geralt / Pixabay I’m in the final week of an International Baccalaureate online course to review all the new changes to the Theory of Knowledge class, and my head is spinning a bit. Here are some new additions to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE NEW THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE SYLLABUS : Mr. Hoyes TOK Website TOK Resource The Oxford University Press has two videos you can watch, though you have
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . In the wake of recent murders of Black citizens, like George Floyd, and subsequent protests, there has been a lot of attention being paid to the concept of implicit bias and how t
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay The Sacramento Bee has just published California school districts announce fall closures. Will Sacramento schools be next? , and that gives the most recent update about where we are on reopening. For what it’s worth, here are my observations that appear in the article: Luther Burbank High School teacher Larry Ferlazzo said teachers want to return to their classrooms,
So much of the discussion about school reopening has been on safety procedures in school – masks, social distancing, temperature checks, cleaning, etc. I understand that is important and support – and have participated – in those talks. Of course, the primary determining factor about if schools will be able to open will be the rate of community spread of COVID-19. Just as over two-thirds of the f
I’m adding this info to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Los Angeles and San Diego Schools to Go Online-Only in The Fall L.A. Unified will not reopen campuses for start of school year amid coronavirus spike So many districts in CA have been making the same announcement over past few days. . @officialSCUSD should work w/ unions 2 make similar announcement now so
Katie Hull and I are working hard on the second edition of The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide, the first book we wrote as a team. We think it’s a great book, and we’re keeping most of what’s in the first edition. In addition to minor changes, though, we are adding content to double the size of the book. In addition to writing new chapters ourselves, we’ll be including new ones from other great
Five Ways to Use Music in Lessons is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Five educators share ways to use music in lessons across the curriculum, including for textual analysis and to help create a positive classroom culture. Here are some excerpts:
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Every day, a new school district in Northern California is announcing they are going to full remote teaching in the fall. I suspect that similar announcements will be happening in other states, including Florida. It’s still unclear what’s going to happen in Sacramento. I’ve previously shared my own ideas about what I think would be good to happen (see FOR WHAT IT’S W
I’m fairly active on Pinterest and, in fact, have curated 22,000 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 2020 – PAR
Nine 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 2020 – PART ONE , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this w
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . When teaching English Language Learners, many – if not most – of us have students repeat newly-learned words chorally. It encourages shy students to practice pronunciation and dev
geralt / Pixabay Here are four new additions to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS : How 2020 Remapped Your Worlds is from Bloomberg and is a good lesson idea – have students draw maps of how “their” world looks right now. How a History Textbook Would Describe 2020 So Far is another good lesson idea – have students write what they think a chapter in a future
Skitterphoto / Pixabay The media blitz about school reopening continues. Here are four from the past twenty-four hours that are worth a read. I’m adding these to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : How to Reopen Schools: What Science and Other Countries Teach Us is from The NY Times. Trump Threatens to Turn Pandemic Schooling Into a Culture War is also from The NY
Here’s the next question-of-the-week at my Ed Week Teacher column: What are examples of projects your students have done to improve their community and how (and why) did you encourage them? You can send me your responses here or leave a comment on this post. Thanks!
I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from the first half of this year. You can see the entire collection of best posts from the past thirteen years here . 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
Here are some new videos I’m adding to various “Best” lists… I’m adding this first video to The Best Explanations For Why You Shouldn’t Say “All Lives Matter” : I’m adding these next two videos to HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ABOUT GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH : I’m adding this next video to New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominantly White Teachers To Reflect On How Race Influences Our Work : An
Dyadya_Lyosha / Pixabay The massive media coverage continues about school reopening plans. Here are my choices for the top four that have appeared over the past twenty-four hours. I’m adding these to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : Reopened schools in Europe and Asia have largely avoided coronavirus outbreaks. They have lessons for the U.S. is from The Washingt
Q&A Collections: Using Tech With Students is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. All Classroom Q&A posts sharing advice on Using Tech With Students (from the past nine years!) are described and
