Summary:

Shawn and Troy share the importance of family, discuss less work, more focus, types of noise, and Gallery walk ideas. Dave drops some citizen science (and a bit of a red herring).

Jokes:  

I was singing Monkees songs the other day. My friend said that she’d had enough. I wasn’t sure. 

• Then I say her face. 
• Now, I’m a Believer

If a piano falls you, your head would B-flat

We’re house hunting right now. In one house, I looked up and told my wife “that’s a pretty good ceiling. It’s not the best, but it’s up there”. 

Of all the inventions over the last 100 years, the dry-erase board has to be the most remarkable. 

The average person is really mean. 

Why did the illiterate witch get kicked out of the coven? 

• She couldn’t spell

Where did the college aged vampire like to shop?

• Forever 21

I tried to come up with a joke about social distancing, but this is as close as I could get. 

I don’t know why Marvel hasn’t put advertisements on the hulk. He is essentially a giant banner. 

Accidentally played Dad instead of dead when I encountered a bear. Now it can ride a bike without training wheels. 

Eileen Award:  

• Twitter:  Todd Bloch  

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

River Herring: A Citizen Science Project

I was recently reading the March/April 2021 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section “Citizen Science” written by Jill Nugent.  Jill wrote an article entitled “The Return of the River Herring.”

The Mystic River Herring Education Project is an online citizen science project with a user-friendly website full of information and resources.  To engage in the citizen science project, students will visit the project home page and watch short video clips of migrating river herring.  They will count the number of river herring that they observe swimming from right to left on the screen.  To learn more, visit:

https://www.mysticherring.org

Reports from the Front Lines

• The push to the end of the year . . . 
• Training vs Education
• Concepts vs Buttons
• OBSBot Review
• Podcasts 
  • Over 26% only have 1 episode
  • 44% have 3 or fewer
• Qlone

Advisory:  

‘So Deep And So Rich’: Seniors Stay Connected Via Their New Life On Zoom

While many of us are suffering from “Zoom fatigue,” I found these women were invigorated by the virtual platform, and just as committed as ever to their meeting every week to discuss their writing.

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/04/983895036/so-deep-and-so-rich-seniors-talk-about-their-new-life-on-zoom

The Twitterverse  

Typical EduCelebrity   @EduCelebrity

1. Those who think kids can’t write a full essay haven’t seen the subject lines of emails they send to their teachers.
2. Sometimes the most effective therapy a teacher gets is the discussion one has with their colleague going to and from their car in the parking lot.  
3. We need to stop pushing college on every single student. There are good paying jobs that do not require a college education. Somebody, after all, needs to run your inservices.

Shane  @theedpodcast

Be honest: when was the last time you updated your teacher blog?

𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓾 𝓔𝓭.𝓓.  @daveschmittou

Today, instead of just hitting retweet on a good idea, go to your calendar and put some action on your schedule to put the idea into practice.

Kim Campbell  @KimCamp4Kids

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!”  Eileen Award for Todd Bloch’s recommendation on Twitter.  

Strategies:  

25 sites for students with free time on their hands

When students are done with an assignment or project, how can they spend extra time wisely? These sites give them something academic to chew on.

The Wakelet

*I find this completely overwhelming. 

13 Effective Study Strategies to Help Students Learn

Between kindergarten and twelfth grade, students are expected to learn how to study, schedule their time and complete sizable assignments without procrastinating. Yet these skills often aren’t taught explicitly. With the increased self-sufficiency necessitated by virtual education, educators and parents can help students learn and manage their goals more effectively by directly teaching study skills.

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/57644/13-effective-study-strategies-to-help-students-learn#annotations:yhksTpYUEeuOqqcU9dphIQ

Resources:

The Louvre

The Collections database consists of entries for more than 480,000 works in the Musée du Louvre and Musée National Eugène-Delacroix. Updated on a daily basis, it is the result of the continuous research and documentation efforts carried out by teams of experts from both museums.

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/#annotations:LPfBBpPtEeuPL-csC-6M3w

Anagrammaker

Anagram Maker is designed to create anagrams by swapping letters in a name, word or phrase, resulting in new words. The generator uses all original letters.

https://anagrammaker.com/#annotations:DVCmYpPIEeuSM29rAVD6EA

Fake Airplane Tickets

http://omatic.musicairport.com/ 

Rules of Sports

Decimal Blocks

Free and paid versions. Very visual representation of blocks. Could be useful to demonstrate or have kids demonstrate (screen capture). 

https://www.mathspad.co.uk/i2/teach.php?id=decimalBlocksTool

Web Spotlight:  

Cartoons

https://mapologies.wordpress.com/2021/03/21/cartoons/

The Culture Translator:  Slang of the Week

edgelord: a person who makes extremely dark or exaggerated statements on social media in order to get attention, be controversial, or be seen as “edgy.” (Ex: “That used to be my favorite online forum, until the edgelords took it over and started posting Joker memes.”)  

milkshake duck: someone who goes viral for something charming and funny, only to be revealed later as offensive or problematic. (Ex: I thought that meme about the stuck shipping container in the Suez Canal was funny, but then I found out the person who tweeted about it boils frogs to death for fun. Total milkshake duck.)  

redpilled: having become “enlightened” (or at least thinking you have become enlightened) about how the world really works, as Neo famously did in The Matrix movies. (Ex: “I used to think social media was just helping us connect with others… then I got redpilled.”)  

Gen Z is planning a Post Panny Party!  Use that one at the next teacher’s meeting . . . 

Regions of the US

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Summary:

Ratholes are most of the show. We talk about conferences, teaching and technology, and more. Dave has some things that “bug” him career-wise.

Jokes:  

Why is everyone so tired at the beginning of April?

• They just finished a 31 day March

I’ve been cleaning up. Going through books and such. A copy of “A Christmas Carol” fell on my toe. 

• Man, it hurts likes the Dickens 

One friend got another friend a rat for a present. The rat had a tank top on. 

• The first friend asked why it was wearing a tank top. Ah, it’s a Gym rat. “I hope he works out for you”. 

I finally did it!

• I bought a new pair shoes with memory foam insoles. No more forgetting why I walked into the kitchen. 

I once a parrot a song. He has since forgotten the words. 

• Now, he’s just a hummingbird

Where do Dad’s keep their jokes? 

• In a Dad-a-base

How do you cut an ocean in half?

• Use a sea saw.

I fell asleep last night while reading old magazines. 

• I woke up this morning with back issues. 

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Careers in Entomology

I was recently reading the January/February 2021 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section “Career of the Month” written by Luba Vangelova.  Luba wrote an article entitled “Entomologist Ary Faraji.”

Entomologists study insects and may work for educational or research institutions, government agencies, private industry, and consulting.  Ary Faraji works as an entomologist in a local government agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The mission of his agency is to reduce the annoyance levels posed by biting mosquitoes and to protect residents from pathogens mosquitoes can carry.

Reports from the Front Lines

• The push to the end of the year . . . 
• Practice Interviewing
• Understanding of Technology
• Testing…
• Vaccines (and kids)
  • 
• Virtual Tours
• Extra Credit

Advisory:  

Teen Vogue

Future Predictions

Resources:

Complete Knot List

Eyes on the Prize

Produced by Blackside, Eyes on the Prize tells the definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue to be felt today. Winner of numerous Emmy Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, an International Documentary Award, and a Television Critics Association Award, Eyes on the Prize is the most critically acclaimed documentary on civil rights in America.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/eyesontheprize/

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Overview:

This is show 500! Shawn and Troy continue their thoughts on middle school and what the future of middle school can/should/will be. Dave captures Instantly Wild thoughts. 

Jokes:  

I have a friend who wrote an autobiography. He was using some glue and the story got stuck to him. 

• At least, that’s his story and he’s sticking to it. 

What does Unlockable mean?

• It cannot be locked?
• It can be unlocked

The Governor of Texas has made it a crime to eat apple pie with ice cream in order to cut down on obesity. 

• There are thousands of protestors at a rally carrying signs: “Remember the A La Mode”. 

No matter how much you push the envelope, it’s still stationery. 

I had to subscribe to an NPR show by Terry Gross on my computer.  

• I had a bunch of windows open but I needed some Fresh Air. 

Did you follow directions last Thursday? 

I used to be afraid of speed bumps. 

• I’m slowly getting over it.

My friends had a clam dinner without me. 

• I told them they were shellfish

I just got a job as a Senior Director at Old McDonald’s Farm. 

• I’m now the CIEIO….

A middle schooler tried to order a snake off the internet. What arrived was a box of feather scarves. 

• Looks like a Boa cons tricked her. 

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Instant Wild: A Citizen Science Project

I was recently reading the January/February 2021 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section “Citizen Science” written by Jill Nugent.  She wrote an article entitled “A Window to the Wild.”

“Instant Wild” is a Citizen Science project that brings you live images from cameras around the world.  Students can tag the animals to help conservation research.  You can visit the “Instant Wild” website at:

https://instantwild.zsl.org

Reports from the Front Lines

• Kids coming back
• Virtual Academies
  • Constructs
  • Tools
  • Funding
  • Return to What Was?
  • Who does this?
• Reporting with Moodle

Advisory:  

How Masayoshi Matsumoto creates his magic balloon artworks

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/masayoshi-matsumoto-isopresso-balloon-art-030321?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email#annotations:mdYIeH3-EeurJMPB1Qmiug

The YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk42pkkIIhaZfkWjAQYRz2A

TemplateMaker

Fold paper into a variety of useful shapes: 

• Bags
• Elliptical Boxes
• Polygon Boxes
• Star Shaped Boxes
• Box with Lid
• Pyramid

https://www.templatemaker.nl/en/#annotations:NvQu9HuUEeur09d3I9vmsg

The Twitterverse

Shawn McGirr @Frideswidel

@TheRoop says that it’s ok to dance alone . . . https://youtube.com/watch?v=CWqrdzNoBKA…

Quote Tweet

Mark Ryan@RunEducator

I’m on a hill dancing alone. Comment if you’ll join the dance.

𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓾 𝓔𝓭.𝓓.   @daveschmittou

Who was the best teacher you ever had and what grade did they teach?

Ryan Hazen @MisterHazen

Here is my latest piece of digital artwork. It’s called “How to upload files to #Moodle using drag and drop : a .gif”  https://twitter.com/i/status/1367966616500146176  

GIFasdf

𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓾 𝓔𝓭.𝓓.   @daveschmittou

Admin- This month, instead of doing walkthroughs, do tag outs. Go to a teacher’s classroom, take over, & send them to walk through the rooms of their peers. They will learn more from them than you. You will learn more from teaching than preaching.  

Jay McTighe @jaymctighe

It’s time for Curriculum Mapping 3.0! Check out my latest blog that makes the case for a needed shift from curriculum as content “coverage” to a more deliberate focus on authentic performance — and what students can DO with their learning. https://solutiontree.com/blog/its-time-for-curriculum-mapping-3-0/

Karen Bosch @karlyb

Student AR book scene created in @ARMakrApp showing Joseph and his coat of many colors. Thanks @JacobWoolcock for your great tutorial. https://kidblog.org/class/scs-ms-multimedia-tech-21/posts/6pa0fmwhq7zjgtc1zsnad6nww… #EveryoneCanCreate #AppleEDUchat  https://twitter.com/i/status/1367235393729527808  

Katie Hurley @katiefhurley

Tip from a middle schooler: sometimes you don’t want the solution. Sometimes you just want the hug. More hugs, please.

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Resources:

ISTE on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP7TnhcyFNxaZglIVWCswYg#annotations:znLaWnonEeu7ZSdJXsVBBQ

Project Gucciberg

An AI project that uses Gucci Mane’s voice to read classic literature. 

https://projectgucciberg.mschfmag.com/

Web Spotlight:  

Folded Map Project

Tonika Lewis Johnson’s Folded Map™ Project visually connects residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South Sides of Chicago.* She investigates what urban segregation looks like and how it impacts Chicago residents. What started as a photographic study quickly evolved into a multimedia exploration with video interviews. The project invites audiences to open a dialogue and question how we are all impacted by social, racial, and institutional conditions that segregate the city. Her goal? For individuals to understand how our urban environment is structured. She wants to challenge everyone to think about how change may be possible and to contribute to a solution.*This is an ongoing project, which will have more interviews, an interactive mapping website and a Chicago West Side study as well.

https://www.foldedmapproject.com/

An Incomplete (yet heavily annotated) List of Things That Don’t Help Me as a Teacher Right Now¹.

https://mrtomrad.medium.com/an-incomplete-yet-heavily-annotated-list-of-things-that-dont-help-me-as-a-teacher-right-now%C2%B9-bd5b397a3ddf

The Culture Translator – Axis

The Original Problematic Fave

What it is: The person who ran a popular Tumblr account called “Your Fave is Problematic” in the early 2010s has revealed in an op-ed for the New York Times that she was a high school girl at the time, using the account to sort through grief after her older sister’s death.

Why it’s illuminating: As Liat Kaplan, the Tumblr account’s owner, reflects on her own actions as a harbinger of “cancel culture,” we get a peek behind the curtain at how quickly our culture rewards certain types of accusations, and how social media tends to take a poster’s authentic expertise or authority for granted. Your Fave is Problematic was quoted in multiple media outlets and lauded as having some sort of inside hook into the world of celebrities. In reality, the account was the work of a single seventeen-year old girl who was good at Googling things and who happened to feel very sad, very alone, and very angry at the unfairness of the world. It’s important for our kids (and for us) to understand that the behaviors that certain segments of the internet so energetically embrace can sometimes be a cry for help.

Slang of the Week

fire: used to describe something exciting, incredible, or fun. Sometimes simply indicated by the emoji. (Ex: “Have you heard the latest TSwift track? That song is straight fire.”) 

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

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Jokes:  

My friend just left his job as a human cannonball at the circus. They aren’t replacing him. 

• They can’t find someone of the same calibre. 

How do hipsters talk about shoes? 

• Converse

Did you hear that Sting was kidnapped?

• The Police have no lead

Why can’t pirates finish the alphabet?

• They get lost C.

Don’t run with bagpipes. 

• You could put an aye out.
• Or worse yet, get kilt. 

Here’s a thought. 

• Getting paid to sleep would be a dream job. 

Why did the dog financial advisor suggest to invest in tennis balls?

• They have a high rate of return

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Meteorology

I was recently reading the November/December 2020 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the “Career of the Month“ column written by Luba Vangelova.  Her article was entitled “Meteorologist.”

Meteorology is a branch of atmospheric science.  It emphasizes the study of atmospheric chemistry and physics, with the aim of forecasting weather.  Maureen McCann is the featured meteorologist in this podcast.  She is a meteorologist at Spectrum News 13, a television station in Orlando, Florida

Reports from the Front Lines

• What does success mean?
  • How much testing are we doing?
• Technical Troubles
• Play
• Where are they?

Advisory:  

Along – SEL Software for the COVID Era

Along is a free tool provided by Gradient Learning, a non-profit committed to helping all students feel encouraged and inspired. Founded and run by educators, Gradient Learning partners with schools and teachers across the country to ensure each student is prepared for life beyond the classroom. With the support of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Gradient Learning works with teachers, learners, and partners to offer free services and tools—such as the Summit Learning program and Along.  As a side note, I’d like to propose their slogan be “Go Along to Get Along” as a marketing campaign.  Maybe not . . . 

https://www.along.org/

The Twitterverse

Pernille Ripp  @pernilleripp

I keep looking at the reports of teachers teaching while hospitalized for COVID or other things and how insane that is. We are replaceable, we may feel as if no one else will ever teach our students the way we do and while perhaps true, we will be replaced when we die or leave

Typical EduCelebrity @EduCelebrity

Putting “Authentic” in front of any educational word makes it sound novel, unique, and forward thinking…even if it is the same thing you’ve always done: Authentic Assessment Authentic Conversations Authentic Curriculum Authentic Lunch It also means extra hours of PD.  

MMSA @InTheMiddleMMSA

We are thrilled to announce that Michelle Miller has been elected as President of MMSA! @nupseagles She has served as a middle-level educator in various roles including 7th grade LA teacher, Athletic Coach, Gifted & Talented COORD, Instr. Coach and Administrator.

Jeremy Hyler @Jeremybballer

I keep seeing the phrase “best practices for remote teaching” Do we really know what best practices are right now? We have been in the pandemic for less than a year and I am not comfortable saying I know “best practices for remote teaching.” #miched #mschat #6thchat #ncte #nwp

Liz Kleinrock @teachntransform

My favorite procrastination activity during Zoom school is spending an hour deciding which downloadable Google Slides template matches my teaching objective.

AMLE @AMLE

And the finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year are: Alejandro Diasgranados (@ThatDCTeacher), Juliana Urtubey (@urtublj), Maureen Stover (@StoverScience) & John Arthur (@9thEvermore)! Learn more at https://bit.ly/36fi0zz. #NTOY21 @CCSSO

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

Teacher Health:  Sleepwatch App

SleepWatch is a health-focused sleep app that automatically tracks sleep with the Apple Watch. It uses A.I. to help you track, achieve, and improve.  

https://www.sleepwatchapp.com/

Primary Source of the Day:  A Warm-Up Activity

Middle Level Learning, National Council for the Social Studies article May/June 2010

Types:  Quotes from notables, political cartoons, physical objects that students can handle, copies of documents (patents, certificates, letters, newspaper articles, etc.), photographs/sketches/artwork.  

Sources:  National Archives, www.nara.gov, Library of Congress, memory.loc.gov/learn, National Museum of American History americanhistory.si.edu/collections/index.cfm, NCSS Online:  U.S. History Collection www.socialstudies.org/teacherslibrary  

Good questions:  Create a question that forces them to answer with evidence from the primary source.  

Teaching this in the Age of COVID:  Use the forum module in Moodle to generate inter-class discussions and allow conversations on posts.  Create a series of glossary modules for random primary source generation in the sidebar in Moodle for student reflection pieces in Moodle both oral and written.  

Usage:  

• Snag headlines from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/?loclr=blogtea  and don’t reveal the articles.  Ask students to create the article they think went with the headline and then reveal it after they have written for a short bit.  
• Create a History Jukebox by making a playlist out of songs from particular dates that the kids can peruse and relates to the chapter or unit.  
• Students use a Backpack type app or their cell phone cameras to record a “You Are There“ segment modeled after the Walter Cronkite series.
• Send students on a historical figure scavenger hunt using Sparticus Educational.  http://spartacus-educational.com/  

Resources:

Backyard Meteorology

The weather forecasts we see every day are based on an army of meteorological sensing networks and intensive computer modeling. Before the rise of these technologies, forecasts were made by understanding cloud formations and wind directions.

This course will explore the science behind weather systems by teaching the observational skills needed to make a forecast without using instruments or computer models. We’ll discuss the physical processes driving weather and the global forces that shape global climate systems. Finally, we will examine the limits of prediction in both human observations and computer models.

Can the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? Take this course to find out!

https://online-learning.harvard.edu/course/backyard-meteorology-science-weather?delta=1

Random Thoughts . . .  

Mastodon – open source Twitter like experience. Follow me https://scholar.social/@troypatterson 

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jokes:  

No matter how much you push the envelope,

• It’ll still be stationery

After Beast reverts to his original form as a Prince, he and Belle get married and have kids. This makes him, wait for it, the Fresh Prince of Belle Heirs. 

Hockey season has been cancelled. Nobody has seen the Zamboni driver. Don’t worry though, I’m sure that he will resurface eventually. 

What’s another name for dental x-rays? 

• Tooth pics

My wife told me that I’ve grown as a person. 

Her actual words were “you’ve gotten fat”, but I know what she means. 

Eileen Award:  

• WeChat:  Becessie of Shijiazhuang  

Middle School Science Minute  

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Interdisciplinary Science

I was recently reading the November/December 2020 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the “Editor’s Corner“ column written by Ann Haley Mackenzie.  Her article was entitled “Why Science Teachers Must Employ Interdisciplinary Science Methods to Save the World.”

Interdisciplinary science is when two disciplines come together to broaden the portrait of the concepts being uncovered by their students.  Climate change, cancer, overpopulation, food deserts, pollution, and other critical topics benefit from individuals engaging in collaborative interdisciplinary science.  It is a way to help students see the interconnections of the natural world. 

Reports from the Front Lines

• Still thinking about the student teacher experience in all of this.  
  • Communication?
  • Back Channel?
  • Lead Teacher
  • Passwords & Access
• What happens if the technology goes down?  
  • Circuit Delivery App for when you have to . . . . deliver.  https://getcircuit.com/  
• The Future of Tech
  • Recreating Teacher Centered Classrooms

Advisory:  

Pictionary Online Recipe

1. Student Chromebooks are charged.
2. Grab  https://randomwordgenerator.com/pictionary.php for random pictionary word generation.
3. Start a Ziteboard (https://ziteboard.com/) for drawing.
4. Go!  

Possible scenarios:  

• Use Google Meet breakout rooms and turn the kids loose on it.
• You make a board, you invite one student to use a word from the generator and then play as a class.
• Invent your own method!  

The Twitterverse

Cpjones  @icpjones

Online learning: 3 crucial elements for student engagement | Tes

https://t.co/rOATbAv401?amp=1

AMLE  @AMLE

UPCOMING- “It’s Not Too Early to Begin Planning Middle Level Schedules for School Year 2021-2022” w/ Elliot Y. Merenbloom https://bit.ly/2Lm08fa

Jennifer Abrams  @jenniferabrams

20 Hilarious Bernie Sanders Memes Inspired by His Iconic Appearance at the Inauguration https://mymodernmet.com/bernie-sanders-inauguration-meme/?fbclid=IwAR1QhmLhVeh2xmGdOas0rnF1y7vwQuoLfT8sLG7z_HFKbsI1a98mx-KMR8A  Via  @mymodernmet

Bernie Sits

http://bernie-sits.herokuapp.com/

Nick LaFave  @NFLaFave

QR Code Chrome Extension – Instantly create a QR Code for any site with one click. A convenient way to share links with students. https://buff.ly/2WcpHA1 #EdTech #GoogleEdu #QRCodes

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.  And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” 

Strategies:  

5 Ways to Take the Distance Out of Distance Learning

1.  Be Dramatic!  Shout and Whisper 
2. Focus on Connecting with Students
3. Make sure everyone speaks.
4. Really see each student – be specific with praise
5. Incorporate Social Emotional Learning  

https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-ways-take-some-distance-out-distance-learning

Low-Tech Scientific Exploration for Students at Home

https://www.edutopia.org/article/low-tech-scientific-exploration-students-home#annotations:cAc2-lstEeuwAmOE6WFKog

Resources:

The Michigan Council for the Social Studies Resources

This list was produced as a quick go to for January 7th, but certainly could be used well beyond that.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d5iRi2ooD5n9coC3JFv_h37Qjf2GT0v8tJP5fDFxssk/preview?pru=AAABdwE7O4E*yseDaIYDQAlBMb_8zxvhNw

Interdisciplinary At Work!  Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments Aren’t Blank

Ozone Layer Game

The game is tied to a similarly-titled animated series. It’s billed as a “2D platform runner” with puzzle solving based on your characters’ unique abilities, such as hacking devices, slowing time and even exploding manhole covers. This won’t be a particularly in-depth adventure game or even a complex shooter like Fortnite, but that’s not really the point — it’s meant to teach science in an engaging way.

The Reset Earth game should be available on February 10th, or slightly later than the January 24th premiere of the series. 

https://www.engadget.com/un-reset-earth-ozone-layer-game-144340172.html

From AXIS:  The Culture Translator – Spotify Playlists as conversation starters

This week we’re making conversation starters out of popular songs. Though we may hope our teens don’t know any of these, if they do, we want to help you meet them in their world. If they like a song, try asking first what they like about it. (FYI: The explicit version of every song here contains profanity, and some contain sexual content, so use discretion.)

1) “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo: a heart-wrenching ballad about driving to places haunted by memories of an ex.

• It’s tempting to minimize breakup pain, but for teens, pain feels eternal. Consider asking, “How do you feel when you hear this song?” and sharing part of your own story. 

2) “Good Days” by SZA: another song about struggling to get over an ex, but holding out hope for good days in the future. 

• Key lyric: “All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile”
• If your teen likes SZA (pronounced “sizza”), consider asking what they think the key lyric means, 

3) “Bad Boy” by Juice WRLD: about sex, drugs, and power, surprising only because Juice WRLD was often more introspective.

• Consider asking, “What do you think about Juice WRLD? Are you surprised to hear him on a song like ‘Bad Boy’?”

4) “Whoopty” by CJ: another song full of braggadocio, using lots of obscure slang. 

• Consider asking, “Why do you think so many people rap and sing about how rich they are?” 

5) “34+35 (Remix)” by Ariana Grande: one of the most sexually explicit songs on positions, made more so with Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. 

• Consider asking, “Why do you think so many women see music like this as empowering?” 

6) “Mood” by 24kGoldn: a song about relational conflict and avoidant attachment styles. 

• Consider asking, “Have you ever felt the impulse to unattach when you start getting close to someone?” 

7) “Lemonade” by Internet Money: drugs and braggadocio with shimmering guitar.  

• Consider asking, “How many people do you think actually pay attention to the lyrics in songs like this?” 

8) “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI: another painful breakup ballad (reviewed in detail here). 

• Consider asking, “Do you think most people like this because they’re going through heartache, or for other reasons?” 

9) “positions” by Ariana Grande: about love, commitment, and flexibility in relationship (full album reviewed here). 

• Key lyric: “Know my love infinite, nothin’ I wouldn’t do”
• Consider asking, “Is anyone’s love actually infinite? Why?” 

10) “Streets” by Doja Cat: about regretting a breakup and getting back together. 

• Consider asking, “How will you know if you’re in the right relationship? Is any relationship ever 100% right?”

Bleak

Bleak is a young adult novel inspired from my experiences with bullying in elementary school. Writing the book was a 15 year journey for me and I was continually motivated by my middle school students who said that their voices weren’t being heard. The thought I couldn’t run away from at 11 was if “life is this bad now, it will never get any better.” If you’re struggling with similar thoughts – it is my hope that this book is a light in your world. 

https://benhoneycutt.com/bleak#annotations:XaeyFFwJEeuJylvsWw4X6Q

Whiteboard Chat

https://www.whiteboard.chat/#annotations:cg8tYFshEeuvUkPhL5NwXw

Web Spotlight:  

Can PBIS Build Justice Rather Than Merely Restore Order?

In a multicase qualitative study, inclusive school leaders attempted to move their schools from the excessive use of suspension; they employed positive behavioral intervention and support (PBIS) as an alternative they thought would be therapeutic rather than punitive. However, the PBIS system traded a disciplinary system of control for a medicalized system of restoring order. Unwanted behavior came to be defined as evidence of possible behavioral disability. Hence, the PBIS system exchanged one deficit identity of “disorderly” student for another of “disordered” student, subsuming other considerations of race, class, and gender identity. Following the study’s findings, this chapter proposes more liberatory practices for PBIS that interrupt dominant culture discourses of normal behavior and power, and hold promise for establishing justice, rather than simply reinstating order.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314013323_Can_PBIS_Build_Justice_Rather_Than_Merely_Restore_Order#annotations:gvx8zl2LEeuZi3_5zqrGlg

50 Things You Won’t Be Able to Unsee

The Misremembering of ‘I Have a Dream’

Half a century after the March on Washington and the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the event has been neatly folded into America’s patriotic mythology. 

Instead, it is hailed not as a dramatic moment of mass, multiracial dissidence, but as a jamboree in Benetton Technicolor, exemplifying the nation’s unrelenting progress toward its founding ideals.

Central to that repackaging of history is the misremembering of King’s speech. It has been cast not as a searing indictment of American racism that still exists, but as an eloquent period piece articulating the travails of a bygone era.

Regardless, any contemporary discussion about the legacy of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech must begin by acknowledging the way we now interpret the themes it raised at the time. Words like “race,” “equality,” “justice,” “discrimination” and “segregation” mean something quite different when a historically oppressed minority is explicitly excluded from voting than it does when the president of the United States is black. King used the word “Negro” fifteen times in the speech; today the term is finally being retired from the US Census as a racial category.

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/misremembering-i-have-dream/#annotations:Cbx-kFtCEeustOP7vD_IXg

In Congress Assembled . . . 

HR-33 117th Congress – January is Mentoring Month

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/33?s=2&r=2

HCR-4 117th Congress – Support for National No-Name-Calling Week 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/4?s=2&r=1

HR-3982 116 Congress – Protect Women’s Sports Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8932?s=2&r=3

HR-8797 116 Congress – Establish a Commission on American Civics.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8797?s=2&r=9

HR-8715 116th Congress – Pandemic Planning and Response for Schools Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8715?s=2&r=12

HR-8714 116th Congress – Family Friendly Schools Act  

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8714?s=2&r=13

Random Thoughts . . .  

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