Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 12-15-12 …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.



More Resources On Dealing With Tragedies

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 25 minutes ago
Here are recent additions to The Best Resources On Talking With Children About Tragedies: Talking to Children About Violence:Tips for Parents and Teachers is from The National Association of School Psychologists. School Crisis Resources is from the NEA Health Information … Continue reading →

The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2012 — Part Two

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 10 hours ago
Here’s the latest end-of-the-year “Best” list…. You might also be interested in: The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2012 — Part One The Best Social Studies Sites Of 2011 The Best Social Studies Websites — 2010 The Best Social Studies … Continue reading →

More Advice On Dealing With Tragedies

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 13 hours ago
Here are new additions to Best Resources On Talking With Children About Tragedies: Here’s some wisdom from Mister Rogers (thanks to Barbara Lindsey for the tip). Helping Kids During Crisis comes from American School Counselor Association.

The Best Resources On Talking With Children About Tragedies

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 16 hours ago
Today’s tragedy in Connecticut seems too awful for words. Here are some resources on talking with children about tragedies. I hope you’ll share more: The Best Resources For Helping Students Deal With Grief might be useful. Resources: Talking and Teaching … Continue reading →

The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part Two

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
My annual list postings continue…. You might also be interested in: The Best Articles, Videos & Posts On Education Policy In 2012 — Part One The Best Articles & Posts On Education Policy In 2011 — Part Two The Best … Continue reading →

Two Fascinating Interactives: “How Long Will You Live?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
A new report came out today reviewing life expectancies — and quality of life — in countries all throughout the world. In addition, it compared its results with a similar report issued twenty years ago. The Washington Post turned the … Continue reading →

Infographic: “All You Need To Know About Kwanzaa”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
I’m adding this infographic to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa: by herrimanjoe. Browse more data visualization.

This Is Pretty Cool: Search The Internet 1960′s Style

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Have you ever wondered how people in the 1960′s might have been able to search the Internet if it existed? Probably not, but an Austrian Web developer has, and created the “Google 60: Search Mad Men Style” site which simulates … Continue reading →

Send A “Chatty Santa”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 day ago
Type what you’d like Santa to say to a particular person, and Chatty Santa will say it. Then send it to the designated person or post its link on a student or teacher blog or website. I’ll add it to The … Continue reading →

” And the 2012 Edublog Award winners are….”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
This year’s Edublog Award winners were announced last night. Check-out the list here and learn about some worthy new blogs to explore….

More Holiday Resources

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Here are new additions to The Best Places To Learn About Christmas, Hanukkah, & Kwanzaa: Festival of Lights is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal. O Christmas Tree! is another Wall Street Journal slideshow. Santa Claus 2012 is a … Continue reading →

Excellent Analysis Of District Race To The Top “Winners”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that sixteen districts were awarded funds from the District Race To The Top program. David B. Cohen from Accomplished California Teachers has written an excellent, must-read, analysis of these results. Check out … Continue reading →

The Best Articles (And Blog Posts) Offering Practical Advice & Resources To Teachers In 2012 — Part Two

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
I continue my end-of-year “The Best…” lists… The title of this “The Best…” list is pretty self-explanatory. What you’ll find here are blog posts and articles this year (some written by me, some by others) that were, in my opinion, the ones … Continue reading →

The Best Resources On Learning About “Right To Work” Laws

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Yesterday’s debacle in Michigan with the Governor signing a “right to work” law after saying it wasn’t on his agenda has generated a lot of interest in what “right to work” actually means — for Michigan and for other parts … Continue reading →

Video: Google’s “Zeitgeist 2012″

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
Every year Google puts out an amazing year recap, and this year isn’t any different. Check out Google:Zeitgeist 2012. Here’s just one small sample of what it offers: I’m adding it to The Best “Year In Review” Features That Aren’t … Continue reading →

“What Are The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom?”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 2 days ago
What Are The Best Ways To Use Tech In The Classroom? is the new “question of the week” at my Education Week Teacher blog. Please leave your responses there or here in the comments…..

Video: “Climate Change 101″ With Bill Nye

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Bill Nye has just produced this video. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Climate Change:

The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — Part Two

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Another day, another “The Best…” list….. You might also be interested in: The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In 2012 — Part One The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELL’s In … Continue reading →

What Can We Learn From Today’s Most Depressing Piece Of News?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
Though it could easily fit the label of “today’s most depressing piece of news,” the title of this post is not referring to the Michigan Governor’s signing of awful “right to work” legislation. No, it’s referring to a major new … Continue reading →

The Best Analyses Of Today’s Release Of TIMSS and PIRLS International Student Test Results

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
International test results were released today, and I thought I’d pull together a short list of posts that can make good sense of them. You might also be interested in The Best Sites For Getting Some Perspective On International Test … Continue reading →

The Best “Year In Review” Features That Aren’t Photo Collections — 2012

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
I do an annual “The Best…” list of images (see The Best Year-End Collections Of Images — 2012) and I also curate a post of year in review features that aren’t photo collections. I thought I’d get it started now … Continue reading →

“Rat Poison” & Students Evaluating Teachers

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
I’ve written a lot about the usefulness of students evaluating teachers and how school reformers want to destroy that very usefulness. You can see those posts at The Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers). Larry Cuban weighs in … Continue reading →

“Keep Calm & Carry On” About International Test Results Released Today

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 3 days ago
We are being greeted this morning with alarmist newspaper headlines like this one in The New York Times, U.S. Students Still Lag Globally in Math and Science, Tests Show. Instead of being alarmed, take a deep breath and read The … Continue reading →

New Common Core Unit Plan On Persuasive Writing

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Stanford’s Understanding Language has produced a free five-lesson unit plan for English Language Learners on persuasive writing called Persuasion Across Time and Space: Analyzing and Producing Persuasive Texts. I only quickly reviewed it, and it seems to have some nice … Continue reading →

“Arab uprisings: 10 key moments”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Arab uprisings: 10 key moments is a nice video review from The BBC. I’m going to add it to A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Egypt & Beyond, which you’ll find lots of information about the Arab Spring.

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2012

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
It’s that time of year again when I start posting year-end “The Best….” lists. There are over one thousand lists now. You can see them all here. As usual, in order to make this list, a site had to be: … Continue reading →

Edublog Awards Winners To Be Announced On December 12th

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
I usually “virtually” attend the Edublogs Awards ceremony each year — it’s a lot of fun to connect in the chat window with bloggers and twitterers from around the world, and to hear actual voices! I’m probably going to miss … Continue reading →

Video: Uploading Twitter Profile, Header, & Background Photos

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
This is a minor issue, but Twitter has announced that by December 12th, all users will have the ability to upload a “header and background photos” on their profile page. They have a short and sweet video showing how to … Continue reading →

Google Offers $99 Chromebooks For Education

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 4 days ago
Google announced today that Chromebooks for education will be available for $99 through December 21st (see the Reuters article, Google makes MIT prof’s dream of $100 laptops for students a reality). I don’t know how realistic it is for teachers … Continue reading →

December’s (2012) Best Tweets — Part One

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Every month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a … Continue reading →

This Week’s “Round-Up” of Recent Good Posts On Education Policy

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Here are a few relatively recent good posts on education policy: On the Uses and Meaning of Data is by David B. Cohen. I’m adding it to The Best Resources Showing Why We Need To Be “Data-Informed” & Not “Data-Driven.” … Continue reading →

This Is A Very Worrying Interview About Students Grading Teachers

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Thanks to Alexander Russo, I learned about this recent radio interview (if you’re reading this on an RSS Readers, I think you’ll have to click through to see the embedded audio player) with Ron Ferguson and Thomas Kane from the … Continue reading →

Make Your Own…..Gumball Creature?

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
There apparently is a popular Cartoon Network show about gumball creatures, and now you can create your own! Without needing to register, you can choose its image and shape, select various other body and facial features, and you are given … Continue reading →

“Lincoln Learning Hub” Looks Useful

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
The Lincoln Learning Hub is an official “education” site for the popular movie and has been created by Disney. It has several useful features, including: What Would Lincoln Do? — this looks at various challenges facing the U.S. after his … Continue reading →

Create A Holiday Skittles Commercial

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 5 days ago
Create the Rainbow lets you create your own holiday Skittles commercial, and it has more learning possibilities than one might think… You choose your characters and location, and then can “drag & drop” various quotations to create a dialogue. Add … Continue reading →

Questions To Ask People We Want To Mentor, Including Students (& Ones We Might Want To Ask Ourselves)

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
The New York Times ran an interview with Tony Tjan today. I had never heard of him — he’s a venture capitalist from Boston. Whoever he is, and whatever his qualifications are or are not, he lists five good questions … Continue reading →

“Sacred Stories” Is An Amazing Site For Learning About Religions

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Sacred Stories is a series of animated books with audio and subtitles that shares stories from many of the world’s major religions. It’s very accessible to English Language Learners, which is one of the main reasons I’m so enthusiastic about … Continue reading →

“Teaching Writing by Respecting Student Ideas”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Teaching Writing by Respecting Student Ideas is my fifth and final post in a five-part Education Week Teacher series on teaching writing. In addition to including my advice, teachers Renee Moore and Ray Salazar contribute their responses.

The Importance Of Sleep

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Here are new additions to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep: For God’s Sake, Let the Kids Sleep! is from The Wall Street Journal. Just A Little More Sleep Makes Kids Ready To Learn … Continue reading →

Check Out Pam Moran’s TEDx Talk, “Tomorrow is Today”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
I’ve written about Pam Moran, Superintendent of the Albemarle County School District in Virgina (See Interview With Superintendent Pam Moran On Instructional Coaching). There are few, if any, superintendents around who are as sharp and insightful. Today, her TEDx Talk … Continue reading →

How To Recover From A Classroom Train Wreck….

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 6 days ago
Photo Credit: Trey Ratcliff via Compfight I wouldn’t want to teach at any other school than where I’m teaching now, and I think the same goes for the vast majority of our faculty. And I think the same percentage of … Continue reading →

“The 5 Most Persuasive Words in the English Language”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Copyblogger has published a post highlighting what they suggest are The 5 Most Persuasive Words in the English Language. The piece contains a lot of useful research, so it’s definitely worth reading. Here are the five words they listed: You … Continue reading →

Useful Infographic & Commentary On Flipped Classroom

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Michelle has written a useful post at her blog on Flippin’ for ESL. If you’re an ESL teacher, I’d suggest it’s a “must-read.” In her post, he shared this infographic from Daniel Grafton, which I think anyone exploring the idea … Continue reading →

New Year Celebrations

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
It’s a little early, but I’ve just updated The Best Sites For Learning About New Year Celebrations. Additional suggestions are welcome…

The Best Articles Pointing Out That Our Schools Are Not Failing — Please Suggest More

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
There is a often a hue and cry, sometimes generated by those who hope to make a profit, about our so-called “failing schools.” Many of the challenges facing young people have little to do with what’s going on inside the … Continue reading →

Wow, What A Chart On International Education!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Thanks to Alexander Russo (his blog and twitter account are among the ones I read first), I saw this chart appearing in the NAACP’s report, Finding Our Way Back To First. It’s a useful report, and I especially liked their … Continue reading →

Video: Amazing Magic Performance Useful For Theory of Knowledge & For ELL’s

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Check out this amazing performance by French magician Yann Frisch. It joins other videos that I can show my Theory of Knowledge class when teaching about perception, and it’s also a good video to show English Language Learners and then … Continue reading →

Excellent Collection Of Songs For English Language Learners

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
The British Council reorganized their website awhile back, and now that have all their songs for English Language Learners (including closed-captioning) all in one place. It’s an excellent resource. I’m adding it to The Best Music Websites For Learning English.

Great Quote On Writing

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
I’m adding this to So, You Want To Write A Book? Here’s The Best Advice…: Source: changemakrs.com via Larry on Pinterest

“Memories For The Future”

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Memories For The Future is a series of Google Maps Street View images of the destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. here’s an image of Rikuzentakata Municipal Kesen Junior High School I’m adding it to The Best … Continue reading →

“20 Great Infographics of 2012″

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
20 Great Infographics of 2012 has just been published by Visual.ly. Many of them look pretty good, but I personally prefer my own choices in The Best Infographics Of 2012 — So Far.

New Title For My Upcoming Book!

Larry Ferlazzo at Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - 1 week ago
Eye On Education, the publishers of my upcoming sequel to Helping Students Motivate Themselves, have come up with a new and better title for it — Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation. Sounds good to me. Look for it … Continue reading →