Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 10-6-12 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF



Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL


Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day
Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.

“Seven Ideas for Meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 7 hours ago
Seven Ideas for Meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences is an excellent post by Nancy Flanagan over at Education Week Teacher. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences.

“5 Educational Resources for Parents and Families”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 2 days ago
5 Educational Resources for Parents and Families is a nice new collection from Edutopia. Here’s their introduction: New Resource Roundup! Helping Parents Get Engaged with Student Learning Experts tell us that parent involvement is one of the biggest predictors of student success at school. So where should they begin? We’ve compiled a list of articles, [...]

Check Out “The PTA Rap”

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 3 days ago
Thanks to Alexander Russo

This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 5 days ago
By Dana Sirotiak Image credit: http://www.pbs.org Parents are the driving force behind their child’s education. The partnership between the home and school is important in the social and educational development of the child. As a teacher, I am usually asked the question “How can I help my child?” “How can I assist with the educational [...]

Even More Articles On “Won’t Back Down” Film

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago
Here are even more good additions to The Best Posts & Articles On Parent Trigger Movie “Won’t Back Down”: A Political Football in the Classroom: ‘Won’t Back Down,’ With Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis is by The New York Times. Director of “Won’t Back Down” Tries to Explain, but Questions Remain is by Anthony Cody [...]

Useful Advice For Parents Of Children Moving Into Secondary School

Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 6 days ago
Parenting the secondary student: We’re not in elementary school anymore, by teacher Cindi Rigsbee, offers some useful advice to parents of children moving into secondary school. Here’s how it begins: As an educator who hangs out in a middle school hallway on a daily basis, and as a parent who hasn’t forgotten my children’s middle [...]

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a … Continue reading →

“Phonics: The Sounds Of English” Is A Nice BBC Interactive

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 8 hours ago
Phonics: The Sounds Of English is a very impressive interactive from The BBC. This new site and Reading Bear are clearly the two best sites on the Web for phonics reinforcement. I’m adding it to The Best Articles & Sites … Continue reading →

Nice Review Of My Book, “Helping Students Motivate Themselves”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 12 hours ago
Becky Bair just wrote a positive review of my book, Helping Students Motivate Themselves. It’s part of a Festival of Book Reviews, a collection put together by Middleweb.

Lead Story Today In Sacramento Bee Is On Our School

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
The Sacramento Bee’s lead story today is on our school. Here’s an excerpt: When the International Baccalaureate program started at Burbank, only a few dozen students enrolled in the classes. Now, one in five kids on campus takes at least … Continue reading →

Offering Financial Incentives ““may hinder the empathic processes needed to succeed” in “helping professions”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
The Wall Street Journal reports on a new study: Psychologists at the University of California-Santa Barbara found in two separate tests that young adults who were encouraged to focus on a financial incentive to infer someone’s feelings did so less … Continue reading →

Special Edition Of “This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
I’m am hopelessly behind sharing relatively recent good posts and articles on education policy: Why I Am Against For-Profit Public Schools is by Chris Lehmann. I’m adding it to A Beginning “The Best…” List On The Dangers Of Privatizing Public … Continue reading →

“Using Photos With English Language Learners”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Edutopia has published Using Photos With English Language Learners, an excerpt from the recent book on teaching ELL’s that Katie Hull Sypnieski and I have written. I’m adding it to The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons.

“Bloom’s Taxonomy according to Andy Griffith”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
I’m adding “Bloom’s Taxonomy according to Andy Griffith” to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom. By the way, I’ve also replaced a couple of videos on that list that no longer worked, too.

“Does Your Name Predict Who You Will Vote For?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Here is a neat interactive I learned about from Go Kicker. It’s particularly timely for my Theory of Knowledge class, since we’re learning about Language right now and I just had students do research on their own names. They’re answering … Continue reading →

The Best Posts & Articles About Why Book “Leveling” Is A Bad Idea

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
I’m not a fan of book “leveling” through the use of Lexile measures — in other words, restricting book choice by students based on reading test results. Here are my choices for The Best Posts & Articles About Why Book … Continue reading →

Three New & Good Presidential Election Resources From The New York Times

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Here are three New York Times resources on the presidential election: What Romney and Obama’s Body Language Says to Voters Quiz: Presidential Election History Wall Street Takes a Beating in Campaign Ads I’m adding them to The Best Resources For … Continue reading →

October 5th Is World Teachers Day

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
The United Nations has declared every October 5th to be “World Teachers Day.” You might want to check out The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day.

Watchitoo Creates Online Video Chat Service

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Watchitoo has created a “Playground” video service that lets you have up to eleven people on a video call at one time for free. You can pay for expanded services. Unfortunately, all the participants actually have to register on Watchitoo … Continue reading →

Reminder To Join Us For An Online Chat On ELL’s Next Thursday

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
“Strategies for Working With English-Language Learners” is the title of a free Education Week online chat with my co-author, Katie Hull Sypnieski and me that will take place next Thursday. You can learn the details here.

What A Great Presidential Debate Interactive For English Language Learners!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
The Guardian has created Spin It! Create your own lines from the presidential debates. It shows most of the debate’s transcript, and you can drag and drop words into a box to create your own “soundbite.” Then, you’re given a … Continue reading →

“How Can We Apply Research Findings To The Classroom?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
How Can We Apply Research Findings To The Classroom? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher blog. Check it out, and feel free to leave responses there or here….

“Rap Genius” Could Be So Useful In Classes — Too Bad It Will Never Get Pass School Content Filters

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Rap Genius lets you annotate any documents (obviously, the initial focus is on rap music, but it has plenty of other political & historical docs) in a cool way to explain or further elaborate passages. Go to the Gettysburg Address … Continue reading →

Wash Post Re-Publishes My Piece On Importance Of “Making A Deal”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
The Washington Post has republished Daniel Willingham’s post on civility in the education reform debate and my response to it that was posted here yesterday, It’s Not About Who’s “Evil” — It’s About Who’s Willing To Make A Deal. There … Continue reading →

More On The Presidential Debates

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: History Says, Debate Moments Matter is from NPR, and includes several video clips. Lynn University has created a number of debate-related curriculum materials. … Continue reading →

“Image Code” Makes Photo Attribution Easy

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
I just learned about Image Code from Wesley Fryer. It lets you search Flickr from Creative Commons’ licensed images, get the url address of the photo you want to use, and then turns it into a code you can copy … Continue reading →

Special Edition Of “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
(Usually, I just post a weekly version of this regular feature. However, sometimes I post an extra “Special Edition” when I have more good links than usual) I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post … Continue reading →

“Unforgettable” Presidential Debate Moments

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
The New York Times has published a very nice series of “unforgettable” moments from past Presidential debates. You watch the short video clips and then vote for your “favorite.” I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The … Continue reading →

“Romney Would Keep Obama’s Deportation Relief Intact”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Romney Would Keep Obama’s Deportation Relief Intact is the headline of a post from Ed Week’s Learning The Language blog. Here’s how it begins: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said young undocumented immigrants who’ve been granted relief from deportation and … Continue reading →

Changemakrs Could Be A Nice Source For Quotations, But….

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Changemakrs is a new site that lets you create nice visual online posters with famous quotes. It’s still “invitation-only” to be able to register and create them, but anyone can see the ones already made and tweet them or post … Continue reading →

It’s Not About Who’s “Evil” — It’s About Who’s Willing To Make A Deal

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Daniel Willingham wrote a thoughtful post today titled Your edupolicy adversaries: they’re not evil and you don’t know what they think where he discusses the importance of respectful dialogue in educational policy debates. Robert Pondiscio followed up, as did Anthony … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education Policy

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are some relatively recent good posts and articles on ed policy: The big business of charter schools is from Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post. I’m adding it to A Beginning “The Best…” List On The Dangers Of Privatizing … Continue reading →

Newest Resources On Presidential Election

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Here are the newest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: Teaching With the Presidential Debates is from The New York Times Learning Network. Presidential Debates Trivia is an interactive from The Associated Press. … Continue reading →

“What education reformers did with student surveys” Is Clearly A Candidate For Best Educational Policy Post Of The Year

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
As regular readers know, I’ve been very outspoken in my support and use of student evaluations of teachers as formative assessments and outspoken in my criticism of efforts by the Gates Foundation to incorporate them in formal summative evaluations of … Continue reading →

Infographic: “If the World were 100 People”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Sites That Show Statistics By Reducing The World & The U.S. To 100 People: by KVSStudio. Learn about data visualization tools.

“The Best Ways To Use Interactive White Boards”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
The Best Ways To Use Interactive White Boards is my new Education Week Teacher post. You might find some unexpected advice there….

Oh, Great! Researcher Who Compared Baseball Players With Low Averages To Teachers Needed To Be Fired Wins MacArthur Award

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
The MacArthur Foundation just announced their “genius” awards, and one of the winners was Raj Chetty, a researcher who co-authored a study being used by by school reformers to — and I can’t think of any other way to put … Continue reading →

“Hundreds of Thousands of California’s Undocumented Immigrants Are Now Eligible for Drivers’ Licenses”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Hundreds of Thousands of California’s Undocumented Immigrants Are Now Eligible for Drivers’ Licenses is the title of an Atlantic article describing Governor Brown’s decision to sign a bill letting immigrants who qualify for the new Deferred Action program qualify for … Continue reading →

The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2012 — So Far

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
This is probably by last “so far” The Best list. I’ll be posting end-of-the-year editions in December. You might also be interested in: The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2011 Part Two Of The Best Comic Strips … Continue reading →

Hot Spot Interview — Report From Spain

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Last year, I began a new regular interview series. There are always lots of “hot spots” around the world — places where there are natural disasters, political upheavals, etc. And English teachers can be found in most of those places. … Continue reading →

How Our Principal Thinks Using Test Scores To Evaluate Teachers Will Hurt Students — What Are Your Thoughts?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Earlier today, I posted about New York Principal Carol Burris’ great article on how using test scores to evaluate hurts students. I sent it to our school’s principal, Ted Appel (who has shared his thoughts on educational policy in previous … Continue reading →

Free Monthly Email Newsletter Just Sent-Out

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
I just sent out my free monthly email newsletter to about 2,000 subscribers. You can subscribe to it here.

“Urlist” Is Now My Favorite Tool For Creating Internet Scavenger Hunts

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
I created a model Internet Scavenger Hunt for my recently monthly New York Times post, and was surprised to find that, though the tools on my The Best Places To Create (And Find) Internet Scavenger Hunts & Webquests list were … Continue reading →

How Using Test Scores To Evaluate Teachers Hurts Students

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
(Check out How Our Principal Thinks Using Test Scores To Evaluate Teachers Will Hurt Students — What Are Your Thoughts?) Source: shareasimage.com via Larry on New teacher evaluations start to hurt students is a new piece by New York … Continue reading →

The Best “Fun” Sites You Can Use For Learning, Too — 2012 (So Far)

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
The resources on this list were not designed with education in mind, but which can easily be used for learning purposes — particularly, though not exclusively, for English language development. I only hope that creators of “educational” content can learn … Continue reading →

September’s “The Best…” Lists — There Are Now 980 Of Them

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 980 of them categorized here): The Best Places To Find The Most Popular (& Useful) Resources For Educators – 2012 (So Far) The Best … Continue reading →

September’s Best Posts From This Blog

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see my previous Best Posts of the … Continue reading →

Even More Resources On The Presidential Election

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here are some more good additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election: Here’s a video from The New York Times on Presidential Debate Moments: Resources for Designing a Political Ad Campaign Project is from … Continue reading →