Saturday, March 14, 2020

This Week With 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



This Weekend’s Updated Resources Supporting Teachers & Students Coping With School Closures

geralt / Pixabay Here are new additions to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! : How to Schedule and Host Google Hangouts Meet Events – Video is from Richard Byrne. Google Meet as a screen recording tool is from Ceauthres. OUR JOURNEY THROUGH ONLINE SCHOOL is from The American International School. Please do a bad job

YESTERDAY

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

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 and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART TWO.
Important New Resources To Support Teachers Dealing With School Closures!

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay Our district and most others in California announced multi-week closures today . In addition, some excellent online tools just announced they are making them free to schools who are closed down, though it would have been a bit better to make those announcements well-known prior to the closures. It’s a lot more challenging to add new tools without having practice
Yet Another Collection Of Resources To Support Teachers During School Closures

geralt / Pixabay Our schools will be closing down next week, so I just sent this tweet out: Now that our district is closing on Monday, we’ll see how well my plan works: Here’s My Online Teaching Plan If Our School Closes Down Because Of The Coronavirus https://t.co/eN5c02qLpV — Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) March 13, 2020 Also, a reminder that I think joining the Facebook group Educator Tempor

MAR 12

My Most Popular Tweets Of The Month

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 &
Video: “Why Americans Say ‘Like’ In The Middle Of Sentences”

Isucc / Pixabay Here’s a new interesting new language-related video:
“…learning changes the structure of the brain”

The Brain Learns in Unexpected Ways is the headline of a long, and not-very-accessible, article in Scientific American. However, if you dig through it, there are several passages that could be useful when teaching students about what happens to the brain when you learn something new. You can see the lesson I use at The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Lea
Video: Daily Show Interview – Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi – “Stamped” and the Story of Racism in the U.S.”

Earlier this week, I shared VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH AUTHORS OF “STAMPED: RACISM, ANTIRACISM AND YOU” PLUS FREE TEACHING GUIDE. Today, The Daily Show posted this interview they did with the co-authors:
Updated Resources For Teachers Dealing With School Closures

geralt / Pixabay Wow. Today, so many colleges moved to online learning, and schools in Ohio and Maryland closed down (read more at As schools weigh whether to close amid the coronavirus threat, confusion and second-guessing reign from the Washington Post ). Moments ago, our local unions took this action: Our tchers’ & SEIU unions just sent this letter 2 Supt requesting: “closure of SCUSD schls un

MAR 11

Today’s New Resources For Teaching Online If Schools Are Closed

mattthewafflecat / Pixabay Seattle schools and other announced closures today, and it looks like things will only get worse. Here are new additions to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions!: Coronavirus Has Led to a Rush of Online Teaching. Here’s Some Advice for Newly Remote Instructors is from Ed Surge. Coronavirus is p
Not Only Can It Be Motivating To Have A Growth Mindset, But New Studies Find Learning About Others Who Have It Can Be Motivating, Too

I’ve posted a lot about a growth mindset, related research, and how I apply it in my classroom (see The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset” ). New studies have now found that students learning about scientists who succeed through effort and exhibit a growth mindset can be more motivating to them than learning about scientific “geniuses.” Read about more about it at S
California Announces Deal To Provide Free Internet To Low-Income Families

Low-income Californians to get free internet for 5 years under T-Mobile merger settlement is the headline of an article in today’s Sacramento Bee. It’s the result of a lawsuit from the state of California that tried to block the T-Mobile and Sprint merger. Of course, the devil is in the details – there have been a number of questions about how effective Comcast’s similar Internet Essentials progr

MAR 10

‘Culturally Responsive Teaching Is Not a Quick Fix’

is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Five educators share culturally responsive teaching “tips,” including the use of restorative circles and creating lessons with students’ cultures in mind. Here are some excerpts: I’m adding it to The Best Resources About “Culturally Responsive Teaching” & “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy” – Please Share More!
Today’s Resources – & There Are Many Of Them – For Teaching Online If Schools Are Closed

iXimus / Pixabay Here are today’s additions to Here are new additions to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions!: I'll add 1 more. There are lots of lists popping up of "best practices in online instruction" I haven't yet found one that starts with "Consider how you will identify struggling learners and personally connect
Very Impressive Interactive On Selma From Teaching Tolerance

Here is how Teaching Tolerance describes its new resource, Selma Online : Selma Online is a new resource we developed with Harvard’s Hutchins Center and Left Field Labs, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The online platform uses scenes from the film Selma directed by Ava DuVernay and offers educators an innovative, interactive resource to teach the history of the civil rights movement and
Video Interview With Authors Of “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You” PLUS Free Teaching Guide

Henry Be Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi have just authored a new book for young people on the history of racism. NPR did an interview with them: It’s Not A History Lesson. New Book Tackles Racist Ideas Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul produced a free accompanying teaching guide. And CBS This Morning did this interview with them, too: I’m adding this info to New & Revised: Resources To Help Us Predominant
Today Is Harriet Tubman Day – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

Today is Harriet Tubman Day . You might be interested in The Best Teaching & Learning Resources About Harriet Tubman .
New PBS NewsHour Video Segment: “How this school district is educating students at home during coronavirus outbreak”

coyot / Pixabay Check out tonight’s PBS NewsHour segment on a school district in Washington that closed down because of the coronavirus. They were able to provide 2,000 computers to students who did not have one, along with hot spots! You might also be interested in: THE BEST RESEARCH RELATED TO CLOSING SCHOOLS BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Beca
My Latest BAM! Radio Show Is On Teaching Poetry

Yes, Teaching Poetry Can Be Powerful, Riveting and Fun, If You Do This…. is the title of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio Show. I’m joined by Gretchen Bernabei, Kelly Love, Jennifer Casa-Todd and Donna Shrum, who have also all contributed written commentaries to my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions . By the way, the show is now availa
No Surprise – Another Study Finds “Active Learning” Is More Effective Than Lectures

Underrepresented college students benefit more from ‘active learning’ techniques in STEM is from Eureka Alert which reports on a new study that has found the same thing many others have found before it – “active learning” is more effective than lectures. Here’s more: “You can sum up the difference between passive and active teaching methods in three simple words: ‘Ask, don’t tell,'” said co-corre

MAR 09

Even More New Resources To Help With Online Teaching

Miguel Orós Here are new additions to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions!: Preparing to Take School Online? Here Are 10 Tips to Make It Work. is from Ed Surge. Preparing students to learn from home with Chromebooks is from Google. Resources to Support Teleschool Plans: COVID-19 is from Common Lit. Learning shouldn't st
Video: Trailer For Documentary On Lebron James’ School

Howard Bouchevereau Here’s a new trailer for an upcoming documentary on LeBron James’ school. In addition, here are a few articles about the school that I’ve shared in the past: Inaugural class at LeBron James’ school to receive free tuition to Kent State is from CNN. LeBron James helped open a public school in his hometown. Now he’s building transitional housing for at-risk students there. is fr
The Best Research Related To Closing Schools Because Of The Coronavirus

I’ve been sharing lots of resources about preparing online learning for if schools are closed because of the coronavirus (see The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions!) But, does it make sense to consider closing schools. It seems to me that under certain circumstances it might make sense, but I really have no idea what I’m
Here’s My Online Teaching Plan If Our School Closes Down Because Of The Coronavirus

Pexels / Pixabay I’ve been sharing a lot of posts with advice about online learning if schools are closed (see The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions!) And since the adjacent school district has just closed down (see THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ADJACENT TO OURS JUST CLOSED DOWN FOR A WEEK – IS THERE ANY EXCUSE FOR SCHOOLS NOT TO H

MAR 08

Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week

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 CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION IN 2019 – PART TWO. Here are this week’s picks: 3 Ways This I Believe Essays Support Writing Instruction is from The National Writing Project. I’m adding it to Tons Of Resource
Pins Of The Week

I’m fairly active on Pinterest and, in fact, have curated 20,000 resources there that I haven’t shared on this blog. I thought readers might find it useful if I began sharing a handful of my most recent “pins” each week (I’m not sure if you can see them through an RSS Reader – you might have to click through to the original post). You might also be interested in MY MOST POPULAR PINS OF 2019 The f
Research Studies Of The Week

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature . By the way, you mig
This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues

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 TWO ): A fairer way to judge high schools? This state is trying to find out which schools really help students graduate. is from Chalkbeat looks pretty interesting. ATTENDANCE PLAYBOOK: SMART SOLUTIONS FOR REDUCING CHRONI
Ed Tech Digest

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this
Valuable NY Times Column On The Importance Of Compromise

The Simple Reason the Left Won’t Stop Losing is the headline of a NY Times column by David Leonhardt. It’s pretty simplistic, and omits some important points, but it’s main message is an important one that progressives – and everyone else – needs to hear. It’s important to be able to compromise. During my nineteen year career as a community organizer, that was always our practical goal, and which
Making Lessons Relevant To Students’ Lives Is Focus Of My Latest BAM! Radio Show

To Connect Teaching and Learning to Real-World Impact, Do This, Not That is the topic of my latest ten-minute BAM! Radio Show. Denise Krebs and Rebecca Mieliwocki join me in the discussion, and they have also contributed written commentaries in my Ed Week Teacher column. I’m adding this show to All My BAM Radio Shows – Linked With Descriptions . By the way, the show is now available on iHeartRadi
Have Students Classify Images Of ‘Galactic Interactions’ In Cool Citizen Science Project

Galaxy Cruise sounds cool: “GALAXY CRUISE” is a Citizen Astronomy project (citizen science project in astronomy) run by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). This project utilizes the data from a large-scale survey program using Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) , the world’s best wide-field imaging camera mounted on the Subaru Telescope. We hope that, while exploring the Universe captured
Edublogs Has Just Posted THE Guide For Online Learning Caused By School Closures

I’ve shared quite a few resources at The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! However, there is nothing better than a guide just published by Edublogs called RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ONLINE DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSURES: You’ll learn about: Options for structuring your school day Setting up a virtual home base or online platform All
‘Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy Honors the Humanity & Identity of Young People’

is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Five educators provide recommendations on how to incorporate culturally sustaining pedagogy in the classroom, including offering a four-step process and encouraging teachers to start with educating themselves about their students. Here are some excerpts:
Video: “Why Do We Celebrate International Women’s Day? A Look Back At The History”

Dulcey Lima Today is International Women’s Day! I’m adding this new video from Newsweek to The Best Sites For Learning About Women’s History .

MAR 07

Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL

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 and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2019 – PART TWO.
March 25th Is “International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade” – Here Are Related Resources

Engin_Akyurt / Pixabay The United Nations has declared March 25th to be the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. You might be interested in USEFUL RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF BRINGING ENSLAVED AFRICANS TO AMERICA .
Most Popular Posts Of The Week – Mostly Coronavirus Related

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
The School District Adjacent To Ours Just Closed Down For A Week – Is There Any Excuse For Schools Not To Have Online Contingency Plans At This Point?

The Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest school district in Northern California and one that is immediately adjacent to ours, just announced they are closing all schools down next week (see Elk Grove Unified, largest district in N. California, cancels all classes over coronavirus from the Sacramento Bee). Listen, I get that it’s a crazy, uncertain time. And that school districts have lo
Is Your School Closed Because Of COVID-19 & Want To Write A Guest Post About Your Online Teaching Experience?

pixelcreatures / Pixabay I’ve been publishing a series of posts to assist teachers who might need to teach online if their schools are closed because of the Coronavirus. You can see them all at The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! I’m now inviting teachers to write guest posts sharing their online teaching experiences i
Guest Post: My School Was Closed Because Of COVID-19 & Here Is A Report About Our Online Teaching

Editor’s note: I’ve been publishing a series of posts to assist teachers who might need to teach online if their schools are closed because of the Coronavirus. You can see them all at The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! I’m now inviting teachers to write guest posts sharing their online teaching experiences. Please con
More Tools & Resources To Help With Online Learning If Schools Are Closed

geralt / Pixabay Here are new additions to The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! , where links to all my posts helping educators prepare for online learning can be found: How to Schedule, Host, and Customize Google Hangouts Meet Events is from Richard Byrne. Kahoot! offers free distance learning tools during the coronavi
“Earth Hour” Is On March 28th – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources

Earth Hour is on March 28th this year. On that day, “lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour” say the organizers of the annual Earth Hour event.” You might be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About “Earth Hour”
A Look Back: “Why Viewing Classroom Management as a Mystery Can Be a Good Thing”

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . In 2015, Routledge published the third book in my student motivation series, Building A Community Of Self-Motivated Learners: Strategies To Help Students Thrive In School and Beyond . Education Week published an excerpt from the chapte
More Evidence We Should Encourage Our Students To Pursue Post-Secondary Education

The New York Times just published How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts , and it shares overwhelming evidence about how important it is to attend college on many different levels. I published a short excerpt at the top of this post, and here’s a complete quote: Other economic research has found that a college degree isn’t simply a marker. Students who attend and graduate from col


If You Are Looking For Professional Development On Teaching ELLs, I Recommend These People To Help

PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay I often am invited to come to places across the country to provide professional development on teaching English Language Learners, as is my friend and colleague Katie Hull. Very occasionally, we can fit 


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