Just Asking for some Teachers I know. | BustED Pencils

Just Asking for some Teachers I know. | BustED Pencils

Just Asking for some Teachers I know.

Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated,

We must … recognize that part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators who teach our kids. Wisconsin pays our public school teachers less than the national average, which makes it harder to recruit and retain talented educators. According to recently-released data, Wisconsin has fallen to 33rd in the nation for average teacher pay. Teacher salaries in our state are some of the lowest in the Midwest. Teachers moving across the border to Illinois or Michigan can see pay bumps of $10,000 or more….. That’s just not good enough folks.

That’s it? Salaries are bad. Really? And that’s why Wisconsin is not able to “recruit and retain” teachers? Pointing out that other states—with massive teacher recruitment and retention issues— pay more doesn’t seem like a positive strategy to address the real issues facing teachers in Wisconsin.

• What if he put collective bargaining back on the table?
• What if he demanded an end to high stakes testing?
• What if he dismantled  CONTINUE READING: Just Asking for some Teachers I know. | BustED Pencils

Education Department Proposes Key Changes To Civil Rights Data Collection : NPR

Education Department Proposes Key Changes To Civil Rights Data Collection : NPR

Key Changes Would Alter The Government's Massive Survey On Schools And Civil Rights

The Department of Education has proposed several key changes to its massive survey that collects data from the nation's public schools on a wide range of civil rights issues.

Among the changes, the 2019-2020 version of the Civil Rights Data Collection would remove questions that focus on preschool and school finance. The proposals would also add in more questions about sexual assault and bullying based on religion.

NPR ED

The Civil Rights Problem In U.S. Schools: 10 New Numbers

The CRDC, as it's known, is a massive trove of self-reported information published every two years by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. The data collected is used by the Department, education researchers, policymakers and scholars from many fields. Every public school in the country is required to participate, and the government gets data from nearly all of them: more than 96,000 in 2015-16, from around 17,000 school districts.

The proposals for the upcoming survey, which will gather data from this school year, are still under review. The public comment period ends Nov. 18, and the department said the earliest that these proposals could go into effect is 2020.

Here are some of the proposed changes.

What's being added

While the CRDC previously compiled information about the number of sexual assaults reported at schools, it didn't distinguish whether those incidents were committed by students or school staff. In addition to collecting that information, the new survey CONTINUE READING: Education Department Proposes Key Changes To Civil Rights Data Collection : NPR

Demanding 'Education Justice and Equality,' Striking Chicago Teachers Call on Mayor to Put Campaign Promises In Writing | Common Dreams News

Demanding 'Education Justice and Equality,' Striking Chicago Teachers Call on Mayor to Put Campaign Promises In Writing | Common Dreams News

Demanding 'Education Justice and Equality,' Striking Chicago Teachers Call on Mayor to Put Campaign Promises In Writing
"We mean business. It's got to be about shifting and transforming the infrastructure of inequity."

On Friday, the second day of the Chicago Teachers Union strike, union leaders said that contract negotiations have seen some progress but that teachers and Chicago Public Schools have more work to do before achieving "educational justice" for the city's 300,000 public school students—not just raises for teachers.

Before heading into negotiations Friday morning, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said the city offered $8 to $10 million to reduce class sizes—an improvement over the $1 million it initially offered.

But with lingering disagreements over staffing schools sufficiently and providing competitive pay to attract the highest quality teachers possible, Sharkey told the press the two sides are "not there yet."

The 25,000 CTU members and the 7,000 teachers' aides, custodians, and security guards who joined the strike—have won praise for focusing their demands on making structural changes to the city and school district, instead of just teacher raises.

"It's a short-term disruption for what we hope is a long-term commitment to educational justice in this city," Sharkey told reporters.

The teachers are calling for affordable housing for students and are treating their negotiations with the city as an opportunity to "bargain for the common good."

"We mean business," Stacey Davis Gates, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, told reporters. "It cannot be about politics and personalities. It's got to be about CONTINUE READING: Demanding 'Education Justice and Equality,' Striking Chicago Teachers Call on Mayor to Put Campaign Promises In Writing | Common Dreams News

Always Running Out of Time? Apply Scarcity and Budgeting to Your Classroom - Teacher Habits

Always Running Out of Time? Apply Scarcity and Budgeting to Your Classroom - Teacher Habits

Always Running Out of Time? Apply Scarcity and Budgeting to Your Classroom

By Brian Rock

We’ve all been there. There was a cool project you wanted to do with your students, but you didn’t. Or there was a timely event going on, but you didn’t discuss it.

Because there’s so much to get through in one year, and there’s just not enough time.

Well I’ll let you in on a little secret. You’ll never make it through everything in that thick curriculum guide. The sooner you realize that, the better. You shouldn’t feel guilty about glossing over some things and skipping over others in order to spend time teaching what you really enjoy.

After all, that’s what your students are actually going to remember.

We’re Set Up to Fail by the Curriculum

When I first started teaching, I took a look at the curriculum guide for my course, Early U.S. History. It listed sixteen units, and we were supposed to cover everything from pre-colonization to the end of the 19th century.

It seemed daunting, but I tried. I moved as quickly as I could, but something always got in the way. There was an assembly or a fire drill, and I’d have to spend some time re-grouping. Or students bombed a CONTINUE READING: Always Running Out of Time? Apply Scarcity and Budgeting to Your Classroom - Teacher Habits

Sarah Michelle Gellar Says Parents Should Thank Their Kids’ Teachers More | HuffPost Life

Sarah Michelle Gellar Says Parents Should Thank Their Kids’ Teachers More | HuffPost Life

Sarah Michelle Gellar Says Parents Should Thank Their Kids’ Teachers More
The “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star opened up about her policy on Halloween candy.

As the daughter of a teacher, Sarah Michelle Gellar knows the important role educators play in children’s lives.

The “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star talked to HuffPost about parents’ relationships with teachers while promoting Lysol’s “Here for Healthy Schools” campaign — an initiative to equip classrooms with tools to fight germs, curb the spread of preventable illnesses and promote healthy habits among kids. Gellar and her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., have a 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and 7-year-old son, Rocky.

“Often parents go into schools and complain, saying, ‘This child did this to my child!’ and, ‘We didn’t get this part in the play!’ But let’s just take a moment and appreciate what they’re giving your child because there’s nothing better than the gift of education,” said Gellar.

The actor encouraged parents to ask teachers if there’s any way they can help supply their classrooms or offer their unique skill set to enhance their students’ experience. “And just remember to thank teachers for what they do,” she added.

Gellar praised the #ClearTheLists campaign, which helps the public provide teachers in underserved communities with the supplies their classrooms need. “It’s one of the few times social media has been really good,” she said, noting that she was heartened by her followers’ response to a call to help a third grade teacher clear her supply wish list and even provide some copies of the “Harry Potter” books for her Wizarding World-themed classroom.

“Harry Potter” is also a big part of Gellar’s household. She said her kids love CONTINUE READING: Sarah Michelle Gellar Says Parents Should Thank Their Kids’ Teachers More | HuffPost Life

Going on strike is not for the faint of heart. The Trib’s Kristen McQueary is Chicago’s cross to bear. – Fred Klonsky

Going on strike is not for the faint of heart. The Trib’s Kristen McQueary is Chicago’s cross to bear. – Fred Klonsky

GOING ON STRIKE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. THE TRIB’S KRISTEN MCQUEARY IS CHICAGO’S CROSS TO BEAR

What the Trib’s Kristen McQueary calls “strike-hungry teachers” at Logan Square’s Darwin elementary school. Have you ever seen such an evil looking bunch?

The Trib’s Kristen McQueary handles the paper’s union-bashing beat. She’s not the only Trib reporter writing anti-union crap, but she may be the most unbearable.

Maybe John Kass.

I go with McQueary.

Today she writes about a teacher whose name I won’t mention who in 2016 crossed the picket lines during the CTU’s one day strike. He’s crossing the picket lines again this week.

Kristen McQueary found the one guy who is never going to be remembered in song as another Joe Hill.

I don’t know the guy, but I knew guys like him.

There was one in 2003. He was just a terrible teacher and to my ever-lasting regret, as union president I worked really hard with administration, his principal and his CONTINUE READING: Going on strike is not for the faint of heart. The Trib’s Kristen McQueary is Chicago’s cross to bear. – Fred Klonsky

Max Brantley: The Waltons Vicious Assault on Arkansas’ Public Schools and Its Teachers’ Union | Diane Ravitch's blog

Max Brantley: The Waltons Vicious Assault on Arkansas’ Public Schools and Its Teachers’ Union | Diane Ravitch's blog

Max Brantley: The Waltons Vicious Assault on Arkansas’ Public Schools and Its Teachers’ Union

Max Brantley, the editor of the Arkansas Times, is a journalist who fearlessly stands up to the all-powerful Walton Family in the state they think they own. Brantley is a hero of the Resistance in my forthcoming book SLAYING GOLIATH.

In this post, Brantley describes the Waltons’ efforts to destroy the Little Rock School District and to crush the Little Rock Education Association.

He writes:

They are doing to Little Rock schools what the foundation of the family fortune did to small towns all across America — hollowing them out. It’s a years-long, billion-dollar effort that favors “choice” — privately run charter schools, vouchers for private schools, taxpayer support for homeschoolers and a diminishment of the role of elected school boards.  Parents know best, the Walton acolytes assert, even when the studies show little proof that the various choices beat conventional public schools. They are still searching for the magic bullet for the grinding reality of the impact of poverty on standardized test scores, the misleading standard by which “failure” is determined…

Little Rock teachers are…complaining of a mass e-mail from the anti-union Arkansas State Teachers Association last night warning teachers against striking CONTINUE READING: Max Brantley: The Waltons Vicious Assault on Arkansas’ Public Schools and Its Teachers’ Union | Diane Ravitch's blog

Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools

CLICK HERE TO Pre-order NOW

$1.3M Wasn’t Enough: Still More Walton Money Appears in La.’s October 2019 Elections | deutsch29

$1.3M Wasn’t Enough: Still More Walton Money Appears in La.’s October 2019 Elections | deutsch29

$1.3M Wasn’t Enough: Still More Walton Money Appears in La.’s October 2019 Elections

Arkansas billionaire siblings Alice and Jim Walton pumped $1.3M into Louisiana’s October 12, 2019, primary elections, which included elections for 7 out of 11 state ed board (BESE) seats.

But there’s more.

An October 09, 2019, filing by the Louisiana Charter Schools in Action (LCSA) PAC indicates that Jim and Alice Walton spent yet another $200K ($100K apiece) on September 20, 2019, to promote two particular BESE candidates: Sandy Holloway (District 3) and Ronnie Morris (District 6).

LCSA PAC is chaired by Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) executive director, Caroline Roemer, whose brother Charles was a member of the BESE board. (To read about that conflict of interest, see my March 2013 post.)

Holloway won her seat, and Morris will be in a runoff against Gregory Spiers on November 16, 2019.

According to its September 03, 2019, filing, the LSCA PAC had a balance of $1,718 and had not received any contributions since January 2019, related to its support for two candidates for East Baton Rouge (EBR) school board, Tramelle Howard (District 3; elected the primary on November 06, 2018) and Dadrius Lanus (District 2; elected in a runoff on December 08, 2018). (On October 01, 2018, Jim Walton donated $25,000 via LSCA PAC towards that election. The only other contributor to LSCA PAC for that election was Stand for Children, at $12,000. And not to leave Alice Walton out: She donated $30,000 to LCSA PAC in November 2016.)

Despite LSCA PAC laying dormant for nine months between the 2018 EBR and 2019 BESE elections, LSCA PAC continued to name Howard and Lanus as the CONTINUE READING: $1.3M Wasn’t Enough: Still More Walton Money Appears in La.’s October 2019 Elections | deutsch29

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cell Phones in Seattle Schools: Away for the Day or Away We Go?

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cell Phones in Seattle Schools: Away for the Day or Away We Go?

Cell Phones in Seattle Schools: Away for the Day or Away We Go?

KUOW had this story a couple of weeks back:

Now that most middle-school students have cell phones, some teachers are embracing the technology for schoolwork and to communicate with kids. Others say phones detract from learning. 

Sure, they occasionally check out YouTube or Instagram during their lunch period, the friends say, but their phones mostly come in handy at school for classroom activities, like the app Kahoot! some teachers use. "It’s just like an educational game, kinda – you answer questions," Smith said. "It’s a fun way to learn, too. It’s not super-boring."

 Kids who don't have phones can look over a friend’s shoulder to play Kahoot!, or sometimes use a computer.

Other times, Pomeroy said, phoneless kids "just sit there."

Those thoughts encompass the three major issues with cell phone use as part of teaching and learning.

1) It could be a good use of time students might have between teaching and learning to keep them engaged (like Kahoot!).

2) However, not every kid is going to have a cell phone in middle school.  That is an equity issue.

3) If a parent has given their middle school student a cell phone, CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cell Phones in Seattle Schools: Away for the Day or Away We Go?

Stop the Misuse of Tests | Live Long and Prosper

Stop the Misuse of Tests | Live Long and Prosper

Stop the Misuse of Tests

Chalkbeat, whose sponsors include such pro-privatization groups as the Gates Family Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, ran this piece about Indiana’s ILEARN test was.

Schools were quick to downplay ILEARN results, but experts stand by the test. Here’s why.

While school leaders and lawmakers were quick to reason away concerns over shockingly low ILEARN scores, some testing experts and state education leaders are standing by Indiana’s new exam.

Calls to shield schools and teachers from any negative consequences of the low ILEARN scores were swift, after it was revealed that only one-third of students in grades 3-8 passed both the math and English portions of the exam. But when detangled from the question of accountability, experts say the results provide a valid measure of what students know.

Low 2019 scores weren’t a sign of a faulty exam, said Ed Roeber, Michigan’s former testing director and a consultant on Indiana’s technical advisory committee for assessments, said. Rather, Roeber said, it’s a reflection of “what instruction is or is not taking place in our schools.”

“I’m not discouraged by low performance,” he said. “I think it could be a real rallying cry for Indiana schools to evaluate what they are teaching and what students are learning.”

The experts said that the test was “a valid measure of what students know.” If experts said that, they were not using precise language and were promoting CONTINUE READING: Stop the Misuse of Tests | Live Long and Prosper

Record number of colleges drop SAT/ACT admissions requirements amid growing disenchantment with standardized tests - The Washington Post

Record number of colleges drop SAT/ACT admissions requirements amid growing disenchantment with standardized tests - The Washington Post

A record number of colleges drop SAT/ACT admissions requirement amid growing disenchantment with standardized tests

For students who fear they can’t get into college with mediocre SAT or ACT scores, the tide is turning at a record number of schools that have decided to accept all or most of their freshmen without requiring test results.

Meanwhile, two Ivy League schools have decided that many of their graduate school programs do not need a test score for admissions, fresh evidence of growing disenchantment among educational institutions with using high-stakes tests as a factor in accepting and rejecting students.

And the nine-campus University of California system is studying whether to continue using test scores in admissions and, if so, which exams. Famously, a 2001 proposal by then-UC President Richard C. Atkinson to stop using the SAT for admissions spurred the College Board, which owns the test, to add an essay component in 2005 (although it was later dropped as an admissions requirement by many schools after it failed to produce the results they hoped for).

It may not quite have reached a tipping point, but the admissions world is clearly grappling with the use of standardized tests in admissions.

Research has consistently shown that ACT and SAT scores are strongly linked to family income, mother’s education level and race. The College Board and ACT Inc., which owns the ACT, say their tests are predictive of college success, but (as with many education issues) there is also research showing otherwise.

The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit known as FairTest, just analyzed SAT scores for the high school class of 2019. It reported that the gaps between demographic groups grew larger from a year earlier, with the average scores of students from historically disenfranchised groups falling further behind students from more privileged families.

The issue of elitism in college admissions was underscored this year by Operation Varsity Blues, a federal investigation into admissions fraud that resulted in the indictments of dozens of people, including wealthy parents and college coaches caught in schemes to create false records to secure admission to top schools. Actress Felicity Huffman is among the better-known defendants; she is serving two weeks in jail after pleading guilty to paying $15,000 for her daughter’s SAT score to be CONTINUE READING: Record number of colleges drop SAT/ACT admissions requirements amid growing disenchantment with standardized tests - The Washington Post

'I Didn't Know It Had a Name': Secondary Traumatic Stress and Educators

'I Didn't Know It Had a Name': Secondary Traumatic Stress and Educators

‘I Didn’t Know It Had a Name’: Secondary Traumatic Stress and Educators

It wasn’t long ago that many educators complaining of burnout were greeted with a collective shrug from school leaders. Teacher exhaustion or stress were dismissed as signs of weakness and an inability to cope. Schools and districts were not going to offer much in the way of support, so the burden was always on educators to deal with whatever was dragging them down.

Although this scenario still plays out in too many schools, districts are becoming more aware and sympathetic to the pressures teachers face in school every day and the adverse impact it has on the profession and students. This acknowledgement leads to – hopefully, eventually  – strategies and programs designed to support educators.

Experts caution, however, that policymakers resist a once-size-fits-all approach. Yes, educators are burned out, they are stressed, they are fatigued, they are demoralized,  and many are now coping with trauma—all conditions with similar symptoms that require proper diagnosis to treat effectively.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),  more than half of all U.S. children have experienced some kind of trauma.

Whether you’re a teacher, paraprofessional, counselor, or school resource officer, every staff member cares deeply about students. And that means being exposed to the traumas students bring into school every day, including poverty, grief, family CONTINUE READING: 'I Didn't Know It Had a Name': Secondary Traumatic Stress and Educators

School effectiveness linked to diversity in Stanford study

School effectiveness linked to diversity in Stanford study

School effectiveness linked to diversity in Stanford study

Stanford University’s Educational Opportunity Project database gives a best estimate of the effectiveness of every elementary and middle school in the nation. Its recently released evaluation of test score growth from 2009 to 2016 further explains what it really takes to provide equal educational opportunity. Researchers Sean Reardon, Ericka S. Weathers, Erin M. Fahle, Heewon Jang, and Demetra Kalogrides also provide a diagnostic tool for assessing the relative effectiveness of individual schools.

Before wrestling with what is required to bring equity to the nation, Oklahomans can find data on how each of our own schools is doing. Oklahoma City Public School students scored 1.62 grade levels below the U.S. average. Average OKCPS scores were .68 grade levels lower than districts with similar socioeconomic status, and their learning rates were about the same.

Tulsa had more advantages and less poverty, but its scores were .81 grade levels lower than districts with similar socioeconomic status. Its racial and economic achievement gaps were worse, and poor students declined further in comparison to similar districts.

Reviewing the OKCPS numbers

Since my background is secondary education, I’ll briefly summarize the data for all five middle schools in northeast Oklahoma City.

The students at Northeast Academy, Centennial, Rogers, and Douglass scored .71, .91, .91, and 1.2 grade levels below other schools with similar free/reduced-price lunch percentages. KIPP students scored 2.93 grade levels higher than schools with similar free/reduced-price lunch percentages, and its “learning rate” metric was higher.

Northeast scores declined by 0.02 grade levels compared to schools with similar CONTINUE READING: School effectiveness linked to diversity in Stanford study

Charter Schools Cherry Pick Students & Call it Choice – PART 1: The “I Didn’t Do It!” Excuse | gadflyonthewallblog

Charter Schools Cherry Pick Students & Call it Choice – PART 1: The “I Didn’t Do It!” Excuse | gadflyonthewallblog

Charter Schools Cherry Pick Students & Call it Choice – PART 1: The “I Didn’t Do It!” Excuse

It takes a certain kind of hypocrite to be a charter school champion.

You have to deny any wrongdoing one minute. And then admit you’re guilty but explain it away with the excuse “Everyone’s doing it!” the next.

Take cherry picking – one of the most common admonishments leveled against the school privatization industry.

Detractors claim that charter schools keep enrollment low and then out of those who apply, they pick and choose which students to accept.

Charters are run by private enterprise but funded with public tax dollars. So they are supposed to accept all comers just like the authentic public schools in the same neighborhoods.

But charter schools don’t have to follow the same rules as authentic public schools. They pretty much just have to abide by whatever was agreed upon in their charter contracts. Even then states rarely check up on them to make sure they’re in CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Cherry Pick Students & Call it Choice – PART 1: The “I Didn’t Do It!” Excuse | gadflyonthewallblog

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... 

 The latest news and resources in education since 2007

TODAY

The Best Videos Showing We Have More Than Five Senses

by Larry Ferlazzo / 19min

geralt / Pixabay When we learn about perception in IB Theory of Knowledge class, we talk about how there really are more than five senses. Here are some videos I’ve shown to students about the topic:

Tons Of Resources For Teaching Students To Write “This I Believe” Essays

by Larry Ferlazzo / 19min

742680 / Pixabay People may remember the great This I Believe broadcasts on NPR a few years ago ( that are still available on their site ). Many of us have used them in class. Lots of educators probably know this already, but it was new to me – there is a huge separate This I Believe website with zillions of essays and related curriculum for all age groups! And if you can’t get enough teaching id

YESTERDAY

Updated Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST ARTICLES & VIDEOS FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE 2019 CHICAGO TEACHERS’ STRIKE: On the Picket Line With Chicago’s Teachers is from The Nation. Chicago schools strike is for aides living off less than $36,000 a year, union members say is from USA Today. What issues remain open in Chicago’s teachers contract talks? An internal union document

New Helpful Resources For Teaching About Impeachment

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

quinntheislander / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST TEACHING & LEARNING RESOURCES ABOUT IMPEACHMENT : What’s next in the Trump impeachment inquiry, and will Trump cooperate with it? is from The Washington Post. A lesson plan for an impeachment inquiry is from PennGSE.

October Is National Bullying Prevention Month – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

johnhain / Pixabay October is National Bullying Prevention Month . You might be interested in A Very, Very Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Bullying — Please Suggest More .

“What The Fact” Are Good Video Explainers About Current Events

by Larry Ferlazzo / 11h

geralt / Pixabay What The Fact is a series of videos created by Newsy in partnership with PolitiFact. They analyse if claims made by figures in current events are true or not. I’m adding this info to The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events. Interestingly, today’s video in the series (embedded below) is about the Chicago teacher’s strike. I’m adding this particular video to THE BEST A

The Best Online Learning Games – 2019 (Part Two)

27by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

My end-of-year “Best” list post continue… You can see all my previous Online Learning Games “Best” lists (and there are a lot since I’ve doing this since 2007) here. Note that they’re also continually revised and updated. I’ll be adding this list to I’m adding this post to All My 2019 “Best” Lists In One Place! Here are my picks from the first part of 2019: There are several free online games des

OCT 17

The Loma Prieta Earthquake Happened Here Thirty Years Ago Today – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Angelo_Giordano / Pixabay The Loma Prieta Earthquake hit Northern California thirty years ago. I remember it well – at first I thought I was fainting until I realized it was the earth that was shaking instead! You might be interested in: The Best Sites For Learning About Earthquakes The Best Sites To Learn About San Francisco

Five Videos About Today’s Teachers’ Strike in Chicago

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST ARTICLES & VIDEOS FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE 2019 CHICAGO TEACHERS’ STRIKE:

Google Publishes Cool Interactive About Books: “Books: From Scrolls to Screens”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

Gellinger / Pixabay Books: From Scrolls to Screens is a neat interactive at Google Arts & Culture. It tells the history of books and reading – and a lot more! To tell you the truth, I’m not actually sure how “new” it is – it may have been around for awhile. I just learned about it from a Google announcement about a new design for Google Books and some other book-related tidbits, none of which see

Nov. 5th Is “World Tsunami Awareness Day” – Here Are Related Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

WikiImages / Pixabay The United Nations has declared November 5th to be World Tsunami Awareness Day. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About Tsunamis .

Pins Of The Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

I’m fairly active on Pinterest and, in fact, have curated 19,000 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 Seven Most Popular Pins In 2018

Terrible Statistic Of The Day – Suicides Increase Among Teens

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Teen suicides are increasing at an alarming pace, outstripping all other age groups, a new report says is the headline of a Washington Post story summarizing recent research. The article begins with: Suicide death rates among teenagers and young adults have increased at an alarming pace in the past decade, according to a new government report. While suicide has steadily become more common across

OCT 16

The Best Articles & Videos For Learning About The 2019 Chicago Teachers’ Strike

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

succo / Pixabay Chicago teachers have gone on strike. I’ll keep adding new updates to this “Best” list. You might also be interested in my list from their previous strike a few years ago, The Best Resources On The Chicago Teachers’ Strike . Here’s the latest: Classes Canceled For 300,000 Students As Chicago’s Public Teachers Prepare To Strike is from NPR. Chicago Teachers Will Go On Strike, Cappi

Video: “Hubble’s New Image of Interstellar Object”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Andrew-Art / Pixabay As Business Insider writes : The second interstellar visitor ever detected is plummeting into our solar system, and NASA’s Hubble telescope just snapped a clear photo of it. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope .

This is Intriguing: The Most Important Lines Of Computer Code In History

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3d

Pexels / Pixabay The Lines of Code That Changed Everything is a Slate article that discusses what they say are the thirty-or-so most important lines of computer code in history. I’m adding it to The Best “Lists Of Lists” Of Influential People, Events & Ideas .

OCT 15

“What Does Student Agency Look Like?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3d

What Does Student Agency Look Like? is the new question of the week at my Ed Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave a response in the comments section here or there…

Most Popular Posts Of The Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3d

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 TWELFT

Google Unveils “Exploring the Maya World” Interactive

100+by Larry Ferlazzo / 3d

FlavioMoura / Pixabay Google has just unveiled a Exploring the Maya World interactive with the British Museum. You can read all about it here , and watch the video below. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Maya .

Another Study Finds Supporting A Student’s Home Language Benefits Their English Acquisition

by Larry Ferlazzo / 3d

Read to kids in Spanish; it’ll help their English is the headline of a Eureka Alert summary about a new study. In addition to the excerpt above, it goes on to say: Plainly stated: children who had stronger Spanish reading skills upon entering kindergarten did better across time, even than their Spanish-speaking peers who were more fluent in speaking English but less proficient in reading Spanish.

The Best Social Emotional Learning Resources Of 2019 – Part Two

21by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

Time for another end-of-year “Best” list! I’ll be adding this list to I’m adding this post to All My 2019 “Best” Lists In One Place! I publish a regular series called SEL Weekly Update , and I thought it would useful to readers and to me to review them and highlight the ones I think are the best of the year. You might also be interested in “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resou

OCT 14

Video: “FireStorm: How Wildfires Are Spread”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

skeeze / Pixabay I’m adding this new video from The Weather Channel to The Best Sites For Learning About Forest Fires:

“Students Feel More Motivated When Writing for ‘Authentic Audiences'”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

Students Feel More Motivated When Writing for ‘Authentic Audiences’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Shanna Peeples, Mary K. Tedrow, Amy Sandvold, and Laverne Bowers “wrap up” this five-part series on students writing for “authentic audiences.” Here are some excerpts: I’m adding it to The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience”

Video: “What if We Nuke a City?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

TGrand / Pixabay Here’s a new and terrifying video from Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Nuclear Weapons .

We’re Taping A Four Video Series On Student Motivation This Week – Here Are A Ton Of Related Resources In The Meantime

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

geralt / Pixabay Katie Hull and I will be videotaping a four-part (short) video series on student motivation for Ed Week, and it’s happening this week! As regular readers know, I’ve written three books on the topic and have a fourth one in the works, too. The videos will be out later this year but, in the meantime, you might want to check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Student Motivatio

New Law In California Says Schools Will Start Later In Morning – What Opportunities Might It Offer

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

California’s governor just signed a law requiring schools to start later in the morning. For our school, that will mean beginning twenty minutes later (from 8:10 to 8:30 AM). Interestingly, I seldom have had students initiate a conversation about a current event as much as they did today after reading about the law online. And it was all positive. Like our state union, I wasn’t a big fan of the b

New Resources On Indigenous Peoples’ Day & Columbus Day

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay Here are new additions to an already massive list, The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus & Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? is from NPR. Illuminative is a new resource site created by Native American youth. “This isn’t a day about protesting Columbus, it’s about celebrating indigenous people,” the founder of Indigenous Peoples

My Latest BAM! Radio Show Offers Suggestions On When To Use – & Not To Use – Tech In The Classroom

by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d

Knowing When to Say Yes and When to Say No to Education Technology is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio show. I’m joined in the discussion by Anne Jenks, Irina McGrath, and Michelle Shory, who have also all contributed written commentaries to my Education Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions .

Big New Study Finds That Inquiry & Problem-Based Instruction In Math/Science Is Effective

by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d

Students Learn More From Inquiry-Based Teaching, International Study Finds is an article in Education Week that does a good job summarizing a new study finding that inquiry and problem-based teaching can be effective in math and science instruction. You can find the study itself at Effect of Inquiry and Problem Based Pedagogy on Learning: Evidence from 10 Field Experiments in Four Countries , tho

OCT 13

The Best Resources On Classroom Instruction In 2019 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d

Here’s another end-of-year“Best” list… I’m adding this post to All My 2019 “Best” Lists In One Place! Six years ago I began publishing a regular Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week post. You can see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here. Here are my choices from the past few months: How Might You Launch a Lesson? is from the Desmos blog. It’s focused on math, which is why I

‘Invite Students to Write Real Arguments’

by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d

is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. In it, Rita Platt, Alexis Wiggins, Dr. Jenny Grant Rankin, Kristen Koppers, and Mara Lee Grayson share their ideas on how and why students can write for an audience other than the teacher. Here are some excerpts:

My Latest Favorite Tech Tool For ELL Students To Practice Speaking

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay I’ve used a lot of tech tools over the years to record English Language Learners speaking, whether to record stop action videos of word definitions (see The Best Resources For Learning To Use The Video Apps “Vine” & Instagram ), or, more often, to describe images or practice dialogues (see The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English ). Unfortunately, though, mos

OCT 12

New Resources On Race & Racism

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

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: Artist Kehinde Wiley unveils bold sculpture in New York’s Times Square is from NBC News, as is Wiley believes monuments to Confederate figures should be placed in social context, not

SEL Weekly Update

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

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 ONE Finally, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources . Here are this week’s picks: Why Intentionally Building

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in THE BEST ARTICLES, VIDEOS & POSTS ON EDUCATION POLICY IN 2019 – PART ONE ): The true cost of being a teacher is from Vox. I’m adding it to The Best Data On How Much Money Teachers Pay Out Of Their Own Pocket – What Do You Spend? . School Districts Sue Juul, Saying Student Vaping Drains Res

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

BiljaST / Pixabay Five 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. Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learner

This May Have Potential: Teachers Doing Low-States Observations Of Their Colleagues Resulted In Improvements For Both

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

geralt / Pixabay A new study in secondary schools found that teachers observing their colleagues two-or-three times and providing feedback using one-half of what lots of educators tell me is a ridiculously complex Danielson rubric resulted in improved academic results for students of both (a little more for students of the observers). It was not part of any formal evaluation process. You can read

“Imagine Forest” Looks Like An Excellent Writing Site For Students

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

I briefly posted about Imagine Forest over two years ago and, though it looked like it had some potential, there really wasn’t much there. I just checked back on it and came away very impressed. It’s free, filled with images that students can write about and lots of other writing opportunities, and teachers can create virtual classrooms. I’m adding it to: The Best Places Where Students Can Write

Ed Tech Digest

22by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

Six 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 ONE , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . You might also w

Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week

25by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

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. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES ON CLASS INSTRUCTION IN 2019 – PART ONE. Here are this week’s picks: 3 Ways to Ask Questions That Engage the Whole Class is from Edutopia. I like the third way: Pause, Star and Rank. I’m adding it to T

Three Useful Updated “Visual Timelines” Of Impeachment Process

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

geralt / Pixabay Here are three new additions to THE BEST TEACHING & LEARNING RESOURCES ABOUT IMPEACHMENT : Trump, Ukraine And The Path To The Impeachment Inquiry: A Timeline is from NPR. A diagram of events in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump is from USA Today. Trump impeachment inquiry: A visual timeline is from CNN.

Guest Post: Ways To Create A Student-Driven Class

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

Editor’s Note: Earlier this month I published We Shouldn’t “Empower” Students – Instead We Should Create The Conditions Where They Can Take It , and invited readers to answer this question: What are actions you take to create conditions for students to gain and exercise power in your classroom? Outi Frisk submitted this previous guest post, which had previously appeared at Ditch That Textbook . O

Resources For Learning About Indigenous Peoples

27by Larry Ferlazzo / 6d

alexstrachan /Pixabay With Indigenous People’s Day (also known as Columbus Day) coming up, I thought it would useful to put my related “Best” lists together: The Best Online Resources About Christopher Columbus (& ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’) The Best Sites For International Day Of The World’s Indigenous People THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT PROTESTS AGAINST THE TELESCOPE IN HAWAII The Best

OCT 11

All My 2019 “Best” Lists In One Place!

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7d

Prawny / Pixabay I’ve recently begun posting my end-of-the-year “Best” lists for this year. They’ll eventually number about thirty or so, and I’ll just keep adding links to them here. I have compilation posts to all of my many previous annual lists here . Here’s what I have so far: THE BEST THIRTY-FIVE WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION IN 2019 . The Best Social Studies Websites – 2019 (Part Two)

The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2019 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7d

I’m continuing with end-of-year “Best” lists. So far, I’ve published: THE BEST THIRTY-FIVE WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION IN 2019 . The Best Social Studies Websites – 2019 (Part Two) Best Videos For Educators In 2019 – Part Two I use short, funny video clips a lot when I’m teaching ELLs, and you can read in detail about how I use them in The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL (& How To

This Year’s Nobel Peace Prize Has Been Awarded – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8d

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay The 2019 Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. You can find many resources about him, past winners, and the Prize itself at The Best Sites To Learn About The Nobel Peace Prize .

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