Jokes

What did the duck say when he bought some lipstick?

• Put it on my bill

Which animal is the worst at hide and seek?

What starts with E, ends with E and only has 1 letter in it?

• An envelope

Why does Humpty Dumpty’s love autumn?

• He had great fall/

The last thing the principal said before leaving the building was “Pints, Liters, Gallons”. 

• That really spoke volumes. 

I was sitting drinking coffee in my slippers this morning when I had a thought. 

• I really need to wash some mugs. 

What’s the difference between a cranky two-year-old and a duckling?

• One is a whiny toddler and the other is a tiny waddler.

We are going on a cruise and my wife is worried about meeting new people. 

• I told her not to worry, We’ll all be in the same boat. 

I warned my daughter about using her whistle inside and gave her one last chance.

• Unfortunately, she blew it.

My friend Jay recently had twin girls, and wanted to name them after him.

• So I suggested Kaye and Elle.

What are terminators called when they retire?

• Exterminators

Advisory:

Clown on a Unicycle

You don’t have a student who unicycles in a clown suit every day, so you have to take advantage of these things.”

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/what-clown-on-a-unicycle-studying-cell-phone-distraction/#annotations:0VGADPgDEemWZEu2wlBtQg 

(reference:  http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/gorilla_experiment.html)  

World Toilet Day

https://www.worldtoiletday.info/wtd2019/ 

Cost of Living

https://www.adt.com/where-our-money-goes 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Crowd The Tap

I was recently reading the September 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  

In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” section, written by Jill Nugent.  The title of the article was “What Are Your Pipes Made Of? Find Out With Crowd The Tap Citizen Science.”  In this article, we learn about the Crowd the Tap Project which was created to create a comprehensive national inventory of tap water pipes as a first step toward ensuring safe drinking water for all. To learn more about this project, 

visit:

https://crowdthetap.org

From the Twitterverse:  

Jen Wall@JenWallLCPS

I spent some time with the unified mental health team at Lunsford MS. The students, parents, & staff have an awesome group of professionals supporting the schools needs. I also spotted this Sources of Strength display! #lcpsmh

@sourcesstrength @JML_MS_Official @DrAsiaRJones

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

When I make a directions document I type DIRECTIONS super huge in the title. #googleEDU

𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙯@ShellTerrell

Where to Find Tons of Awesome Student Templates for Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drawings! http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2019/10/13/googletemplates/ #edchat #edtech #elearning #gsuiteedu #googleedu

Phyllis Fagell, LCPC@Pfagell

Research shows that scolding won’t change a child’s behavior. Instead, invent a game that reinforces the desired behavior. For instance, if you want your child to make eye contact with adults, say: “Bet you can’t stare into my eyes for a full 10 seconds.”

DoInk Tweets@DoInkTweets

RT@MrAKovach

Students painting the green screen corner in the Innovation Center #greenscreen

Lisa Maucione@DrLMaucione

A couple of middle grade books to be published in 2020 that I enjoyed – From the Desk of Zoe Washington

@JanaeMarksBooks and Wink: Surviving Middle School With One Eye Open. They are definitely two to keep an eye out for. #pd4uandme

Pixton Comics@PixtonEDU

“Art is particularly powerful when it allows students to communicate learning when they cannot express it through writing.” https://teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/05/17/arts-integration #artseducation #edchat

⁩

Pixton Comics@PixtonEDU

The 32-page comic meets Common Core State Standards offers a concise overview of each branch of government, along with some encouraging messages about the importance of civic engagement, lest anyone feel helpless to change the status quo. https://sevendaysvt.com/vermont/a-new-comic-book-explains-how-government-democracy-work/Content?oid=28275256 #edchat

NPR@NPR

Crows have a reputation of being creepy. I mean, a group of them is called a “murder” —not exactly subtle. But what’s REALLY unsettling is that they can memorize human faces, they use tools, and they have so-called “funerals” for their dead. #NPRShortWave

Eric Sheninger@E_Sheninger

Don’t Forget Closure http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2019/10/dont-forget-closure.html

#edchat #edutwitter #education #pedagogy

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

Free, Online Conference

Practical Ed Tech Creativity Conference. It will be held over the course of three afternoons/ evenings in December (10-12).

https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2019/10/a-new-free-online-conference-for.html 

Digital Escape Room

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2019/10/21/how-to-create-a-digital-escape-room-for-your-class-or-pd/ 

Resources:

Math Resources

https://robertkaplinsky.com/ 

Voraciously Made in America:

How four dishes with roots in other lands tell a story of immigration and transformation.

By Tim Carman and Shelly Tan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/voraciously/what-are-american-foods/#annotations:6i6ToPKxEem_AvPyClPkVw 

NPR Student Podcast Challenge

Will be announced in January. 

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/22/771843477/the-npr-student-podcast-challenge-is-back 

Earth History

http://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#240 

National History Day

https://www.nhd.org/

Sacrifice for Freedom®: World War II in the Pacific Student & Teacher Institute, sponsored by the Pearl Harbor Historic Site partners, provides an exceptional opportunity for 16 student/teacher teams to study World War II in the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawai’i, in summer 2020.

https://www.nhd.org/sacrifice-for-freedom-pacific  

Web Spotlight:

OliCav

https://www.olicav.com/#/posters/ 

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Advisory:

Mystery Photo Contest

Hello fellow photo sleuths!

For your frustration, we submit to you nine more super-hard, super-obscure publicity stills that the Library is trying to identify.

This new batch, like others in the previous MPC series, came to the Library’s Moving Image section as part of a much larger collection of film, TV and music stills. Most were properly identified, but these are among those that stumped us.

So we need your help. Do any of the people, places or things below look familiar?

A few words of caution:

• We’ve tried web-based reverse-image searches; they don’t work.
• We have no information beyond what is listed below. There are no dates, locations or titles. They may not be from the United States.
• Standards of proof: We’d most like to see the same photo, with the person’s name, in a newspaper, magazine or somesuch. Failing that, another image from the same photo shoot, but with the person named

Good luck to one and all!

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/09/who-am-i-new-mystery-photo-contest/

Bluff The Listener

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/28/765337636/bluff-the-listener

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Test Retakes

I was recently reading the August, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association. 

In this issue, I read the article “Creating a Self-Sufficient Classroom,” written by Katelyn McGlynn and Janey Kelly. In this article, we learn how various teachers have developed strategies to help students improve on assessments with which they were unhappy.

From the Twitterverse:  

Eric Curts@ericcurts

You can watch the live stream of my #avedtech keynote at 11:30am EST at https://youtu.be/_RuAi5LEEDI #edtech #gsuiteedu #GoogleEdu #ControlAltAchieve

Todd Bloch@blocht574

Middle level peeps #AMLEasks will be a weekly question about middle grades from

@AMLE follow the hashtag and join in Questions drop 7 pm ET on Monday’s! #mschat #colchat

Mrs. Englert@mrs_englert

Diving into the Five Critical Levels of Professional Development Evaluation with an amazing group of colleagues. What a great Friday afternoon! #proudtobeLBUSD

@tguskey

Bobson Wong@bobsonwong

I found this story really interesting. It raised a lot of good questions about the relevance of today’s math curriculum. #mtbos #iteachmath

Quote Tweet

Freakonomics@Freakonomics

Ninety percent of the data ever created by humanity was produced in the last two years. But are the students graduating high school prepared to understand it? https://bit.ly/2nNthEh

XQ@XQAmerica

In anticipation of #WorldTeacherDay, we asked #students if they had anything they’d like to share with the #teachers in their lives. And no, we’re not crying, our eyes are just… sweating.

#ReThinkHighSchool

Happy #WorldTeacherDay 2019

Happy #WorldTeacherDay from all of us at XQ. —- #ReThinkHighSchool Learn more about XQ: https://xqsuperschool.org Video is here:   https://youtu.be/jddKHdGwFAc  

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

Spaced Practice

I’m sometimes asked by other teachers how I show my students the positive effects of spaced practice. By definition, it takes time to see the results of spacing out your practice of material and this fact makes it more difficult to demonstrate in class. This past week, however, I was granted that perfect moment of instruction when it all came together and I was able to say, “See…I told you this stuff works.” 

Resources:

SnackVid

https://www.snackvids.com/#annotations:SmRCqOICEemvfVNz4sxHyw

SMS Generator

https://www.classtools.net/SMS/

Personal Web Site  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Weekly Review:

• Social Media Threat
• Greta Thunberg

Advisory:

WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES

by Mary Oliver
Amanda Palmer reads “When I Am Among the Trees” by Mary Oliver – licensed under a Creative Commons License.

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

The United Nations has declared October 16th to be World Food Day.

Fish Bullies

http://nowiknow.com/the-aquarium-that-turned-a-blind-eye-toward-bullies/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Celebrate Urban Birds with Citizen Science
I was recently reading the August, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.
In this issue, I read the “Citizen Science” section, written by Jill Nugent. The title of the article was “Celebrate Urban Birds with Citizen Science.” In this article, we learn about the citizen science project – Budburst. To learn more about this project, visit:
https://celebrateurbanbirds.org

From the Twitterverse:  

Typical EduCelebrity  @EduCelebrity

Before every lesson, students should record the learning targets, pertinent state and common core standards, their goals in life, preferred learning style, hopes and dreams for the world, Myers-Briggs type indicator, and current blood pressure. Otherwise, no learning will happen.

Ian Jukes@ijukes

If kids are way ahead of teachers in developing the skills needed to succeed…

Jordan Shapiro@jordosh

More and More Children Are Feeling Anxious. This Graphic Novelist Is Trying to Help.

Joy Kirr  @JoyKirr

Huge shout out to those educators who keep the conversations going – when they disagree politely, welcome more conversation about an issue, and dive deeper with questions – instead of simply judging based on the little they know about the situation (280 characters or so).

Also from Joy Kirr:

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

“Reading actual books alongside other people reading actual books.”

Scott Merrick@scottmerrick

Greta Thunberg’s famous speech turned into Swedish death metal is pure magic https://mashable.com/video/greta-thunberg-heavy-metal-remix/ via

@mashable

Trevor Muir@TrevorMuir

I spoke at a school today and just realized I accidentally stole this marker from a teacher‘s classroom. Is this an act of war?

Daniel Pink@DanielPink

Frequent short breaks beat the occasional elongated vacation, says @TimHarford. Why? The benefits of long vacations wear off depressingly fast. Meanwhile, regular exposure to new places, situations, and activities can spark creativity. http://ow.ly/lfTg50wubId

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

A Simple Practice Yields Big Results in Middle School for Less Than $2

A new study shows how a low-cost writing exercise improves the sense of belonging for incoming middle school students

While other social and emotional interventions cost more than $500 per student, according to researchers, the writing intervention costs a tiny fraction of that—an eye-popping $1.35 per student—and the results outperform the more expensive interventions, Lunscombe writes.  

The proposed solution is simple: New middle school students in the study completed two 15-minute writing exercises at the beginning of the year that asked them to reflect on statements like these from prior students: “Almost all 7th graders said they had worried a lot about taking middle school tests at the beginning of 6th grade, but almost all 7th graders say that they now worry much less about taking tests,” and “Almost all 7th graders said they had worried at first that they did not ‘fit in’ or ‘belong’ at the beginning of 6th grade, but almost all 7th graders say that they now know that they ‘fit in’ and ‘belong.’” 

https://www.edutopia.org/article/simple-practice-yields-big-results-middle-school-less-2#annotations:H4ffmNp6EemhzrcLD_d6yg

4 myths about great teaching debunked

MYTH #1: Traditional teaching methods should be replaced with more innovative, student-centered approaches.

MYTH #2: Lessons should be as creative and fun as possible to increase engagement.

MYTH #3: Including elements of students’ cultures in your lessons is the best way to teach a diverse group of students.

MYTH #4: Planning great lessons always takes a lot of time and preparation.

https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/4-myths-about-great-teaching-debunked/

(See first Twitterverse entry . . . .)  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Advisory:

Story Songs

Enjoyed the podcast as always this week.  Especially enjoyed the music link. I also liked the comment about how kids seldom hear stories in their songs.  This may be one of the advantages of ballads. I was talking to one of our ELA consultants and she was saying how Taylor Swift is one of today’s artists that uses songs to tell stories. But I had an interesting comment from my grandson the other day.  He was listening to Abiyoyo:

a song by Pete Seeger that often comes up when we are in the car.  But the other day, he said it was his favorite “story song.” We talked a bit about it and it aligned with what you were talking about – songs that tell a story and there are not a lot of songs that do that.  I am glad I keep playing that song.

Mindful Internet

Share with students. What do they think? Is this worthwhile? How do they monitor their own use of “wasteful” sites?

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Moving Toward 3-D Learning

I was recently reading the August, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association. 

In this issue, I read the section “From the Editor’s Desk” written by Patty McGinnis. She wrote an article entitled, “Moving Toward 3-D Instruction.” She cites some valuable resources that will help with this movement:

Quality examples of science lessons and units: http://bit.ly/2IMzxCz

NSTA classroom resources: http://ngss.nsta.org/Classroom-Resources.aspx

EQuIP Rubric: http://nstahosted.org/pdfs/ngss/equiprubric.april.2014.pdf

NGSS Lesson Screener: http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/NGSSScreeningTool-2.pdf

From the Twitterverse:  

Eric Curts@ericcurts

20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know http://controlaltachieve.com/2016/05/google-search-cards.html #edtech

Amanda Dykes@amandacdykes

OK class, what did we learn today? If you pout about rules, get in fight w/your boss, & air the drama on Insta, you get $15M + $9M signing bonus on a better team.   (Antonio Brown Reference)  

I’m pretty sure those were not any of the “I can…” statements on the board.

Paul Murphy@VirtualMurph

Teachers: trusted with other people’s children and the future of our democracy. Not trusted with the color copier.

Typical EduCelebrity@EduCelebrity

We must work hard to teach students with special learning needs. But we must work harder to teach students with special learning wants.

Responsibility.org@goFAAR

Happy #NationalLiteracyDay! Our friend @Pfagell, author of #MiddleSchoolMatters, told us 5 truths about middle schoolers.  Read them here>> https://t.co/BDjxdmIhcX?amp=1  

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

Stop wasting your time. If students don’t learn from your comments what’s the point? If you leave feedback, make it actionable and don’t release their score until they respond.

June Cheng 程君 @JuneCheng_World

“Glory to Hong Kong,” the unofficial anthem of Hong Kong, was created/shared on YouTube less than two weeks ago and now people are gathering in malls to sing it together. Incredible.

Quote Tweet

     antiELAB@anti_elab

This evening’s #GloryToHK thread. First off #CausewayBay Times Square

Orchestral Version:  https://twitter.com/i/status/1171786302527856640   

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

Play-Doh/Activity Dough Beginning of the Year Thingy

Perspective (First Day in class in China):  

Resources:

Place Value

https://thelearnersway.net/ideas/2019/9/8/trulyunderstandingplacevalue#annotations%3AXtWO1NPMEemS0HezWc1kqg=

Web Spotlight:

No Copyright Video Backgrounds – YouTube 

Trebek Affirmation

http://trebek-affirmations.com/

A Rare Universal Pattern in Human Languages

Some languages are spoken more quickly than others, but the rate of information they get across is the same.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/09/people-speak-faster-less-efficient-languages/597391/

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:  

The first rule of Passive Aggressive Club is…

• …you know what? Never mind. It’s FINE.

I’ve decided to become a math teacher, but I’m only going to teach subtraction.

• I just want to make a difference.

Why do Dads tell Dad jokes?

• Because they want to see their kids all groan up.

My calculus professor was 16 minutes late for his first class, 8 minutes late for the second, and 4 minutes for the third.

• At this rate, he’ll never be in class on time.

I’m trying to convince my wife that I want a Segway for my birthday.

• But every time I bring it up, she changes the topic.

Eileen Award:  

• WeChat: Hannah and Helen

Advisory:

Every Noise at Once

Every Noise at Once is an ongoing attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical genre-space, based on data tracked and analyzed for 3,442 genre-shaped distinctions by Spotify as of 2019-09-06. The calibration is fuzzy, but in general, down is more organic, up is more mechanical and electric; left is denser and more atmospheric, right is spikier and bouncier.

http://everynoise.com

Paper Airplanes

John Collins, better known as “The Paper Airplane Guy,” has devoted himself to designing, folding, and flying the world’s finest paper airplanes. 

https://www.thepaperairplaneguy.com/

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Chris Geerer

I was recently reading the July, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association. 

In this issue, I read the “Member Spotlight” section where NSTA highlights a middle school science teacher, from across the United States. This month, Chris Geerer is featured. She is a Sixth and Eighth Grade Science teacher in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. Her advice for a new science teacher is:

“Be open to nontraditional ways of using your skills.”

From the Twitterverse:  

Blunt Educator @BluntEducator

There’s a special place in heaven for certain ppl in schools: 1. Middle school teachers 2. Pleasant receptionists 3. KG teachers who have 20 kids reading by the end of the yr 4. Custodians who clean baseboards & take the time to talk to students What are some others?

Erin Scholes@ScholesE15

Make it your goal to contribute to #mschat this year! (See what I did there?!)

Mr. D’s Dream Team@MrDsDreamTeam

Today was the day we shredded the dreaded reading log and I received a standing ovation lol. It was my promise to them that they will never fill one of these out in my room. So that sheet ended up only where it belongs

@alicekeeler #ditchbook #tlap #xplap @jmattmiller

Michigan History Day@mihistoryday

In case you forgot…a new school year has started which means a new theme, new topics, and new projects. Excited? We are!!! #mihistoryday2020 #NHD2020 #breakingbarriers

Sammy Rebandt @MrsRebandt

Look at these happy faces working together on the Marshmallow Challenge! #EJPride

Jennifer Gonzalez @cultofpedagogy

How to Stop Yelling at Your Students http://ow.ly/HplQ30prO8e #classroommanagement #buildrelationships #classroomclimate #teachertips

Miss D@TeachWithMissD

Imagine being given this card. JUST IMAGINE.

#teachergoals @teachergoals

There is no tired like end-of-the-week tired #teacherlife

DoInk Tweets@DoInkTweets

@GoharHamo

My mind is racing with ideas I can use with a green mask. Thanks for the simple suggestion.

 https://twitter.com/DoInkTweets/status/1169792515589005312 #doink #greenscreen #everyonecancreate

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:  

Retake Thoughts

When I reflect back on retesting, it was a very positive experience.  I remember one boy in particular who did not seem to try on the first test, but then did well on the retest.  I finally asked him why he does not do better on the first test. He said that he did not like the classroom testing environment.  He enjoyed coming in after school, on his own time, to take the test because he felt much more relaxed. I remember his saying, that he appreciated having a choice of when to take a test.

Resources:

1619 Project

https://pulitzercenter.org/builder/lesson/reading-guide-quotes-key-terms-and-questions-26504#annotations:iP97BMKzEemZ87sJCchUWw

Foundation for Teaching Economics Simulation:  https://www.fte.org/teachers/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/efiahlessons/indentured-servitude-activity/  

Bad News (& Bad News Junior)

In Bad News, you take on the role of fake news-monger. Drop all pretense of ethics and choose a path that builds your persona as an unscrupulous media magnate. But keep an eye on your ‘followers’ and ‘credibility’ meters. Your task is to get as many followers as you can while slowly building up fake credibility as a news site. But watch out: you lose if you tell obvious lies or disappoint your supporters!

Bad News Junior

We also developed a special Junior version of Bad News, intended for children age 8-11. This version can be played here (American English) and here (British English).

http://getbadnews.com/droggame_book/junior/#intro (intended for children age 8-11)

https://getbadnews.com/#intro (

Mentor Texts from NY Times

Web Spotlight:

Here’s What Students Think of our “Powered Off and Away” Policy.

Op-Ed: My high school students don’t read anymore. I think I know why

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-08-22/death-of-reading-high-school-cellphone#annotations:mJly1MeXEemMn2v_luwv2g

3700 MOOC’s

3,700+ MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are getting underway in September, giving you the chance to take free courses from top-flight universities. 

Here’s one tip to keep in mind: If you want to take a course for free, select the “Full Course, No Certificate” or “Audit” option when you enroll. If you would like an official certificate documenting that you have successfully completed the course, you will need to pay a fee.

http://www.openculture.com/free_certificate_courses

http://www.openculture.com/2019/09/3700-moocs-massive-open-online-courses-getting-started-in-september-enroll-today.html

Papercraft-inspired math turns any sheet into any shape

https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/25/harvard-kirigami-math-transforms-sheets/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:  

Thirteen Presenters Who Ruin the First Day

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-thirteen-presenters-who-will-ruin.html

Advisory:

Ice Breakers & Beginning The Year Activities:

1. Head and Shoulders, Knees and Cup Activity:  Play it like Simon Says.  Start with a cup for every two people.  Do the “Simon Says” thing, but when you say “cup” whomever gets the cup stays in the game.  Narrow it down to the last few. Issue a prize at the end.  
2. Play Dough “What is Creativity” Activity:  Give each student a mini tub of “Activity Dough.”  Put a timer on the screen and tell them they have 5:00 minutes to come up with the most creative thing they can think of.  Constantly remind them of the time. Update them on the time every 30 to 40 seconds. At the end of the five minutes, do a gallery walk so they can see each others’ ideas.  Ask them to rate their creation on a creativity scale of one to 5. Next, tell them that the second part of this activity, they may take their dough and find one or two other people to work with and come up with the most creative thing of which they can think.  They may combine efforts and dough. Go. Don’t start a timer. Don’t reference time. Don’t even answer their questions about time. Sometime before the end of the class, tell them to stop, do a gallery walk. Have them evaluate their work again. Most of the time they will say that they came up with something more creative that time than they did the first.  Now talk about the planner and how important it is to have enough time to be creative and do good work. Show the advertising company video on the importance of time in creativity and coming up with ideas.  
   1. Activity Dough:  https://www.dollartree.com/kids-activity-dough-8ct-packs/119977  
   2. Video:  https://youtu.be/VPbjSnZnWP0  
3. Cup Stacking:  Take a rubber band and tie different lengths of string at uneven points along the band.  Issue 3-6 cups per table. Ask students to arrange the cups in designs you display at the front of the room.  Start with simple designs, work to flipping the cups, work to stacking higher and higher, etc. The only rules are that they cannot touch the cups with their hands and can only manipulate the cups with the string and rubber band.  They must hold the string at the farthest end. The idea being that they have to communicate with each other to get the rubber band stretched, around the cup, and in position – together.  
4. Table Soccer:  Students line up on either side of a table at chin level.  Put a ping pong ball in the middle. Students may blow, but that is all, to move the ball off their opponents’ side.  If the ball goes off the ends, it doesn’t count. It must go past them. Score it just like soccer. Score it just for fun.  
5. One Thing . . . :  Put a post it note on each student’s desk (or seating assignment).  Have them write their name, date and one thing they are excited for today.  You get a personal message from them, set a positive mindset, and in case you messed up attendance, you also have a paper record of who made it today.  (Kevin Leichtman via Facebook)  

Frayer Model Icebreaker

Icebreaker Fun Questions

Use with Frayer Model above

https://museumhack.com/list-icebreakers-questions/#funny

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Monitoring Precipitation

I was recently reading the July, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association. 

In this issue, I read an article entitled, “Monitoring Precipitation,” written by Bob Riddle. The author shares NASA resources that teachers can use to help students better understand our Earth System. One of the best resources is the NASA Precipitation Education Website at:

https://pmm.nasa.gov/education

From the Twitterverse:  

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

We are working to get discounts and flat out funding for what you’re paying out of pocket for in your classroom. Fill out this Form if you would like solutions to you paying out of pocket. http://teachersareprofessionals.com

@PledgeCents  #teachersareprofessionals

Larry Ferlazzo@Larryferlazzo

A Look Back: My Growth Mindset Lessons Usually Go Well, But What I Did Today Was The Best Yet (Student Hand-Outs Included)  https://t.co/svGeJvX32e?amp=1  

Shelley Burgess @burgess_shelley

A3: “Rigor” rubs a lot of educators the wrong way. I prefer talking about “complex thinking or the “complexity of thought” needed to solve the problem or do the work… #LeadLAP

Christine Johnson (aka Dr. J)

When your first year teachers completely get it!!

#betheone #root4Sterling #kidsdeserveit #leadlap #JoyfulLeaders

Stephanie Auditore@steph_auditore

Almost 5% of middle school students vape…I’ve heard different strategies on curbing vaping. What are you doing in your school? #middleschool #vaping #mschat

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Tood Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.  

Strategies:  

Edutopia – The Case Against Allowing Retakes

What are the practicalities of allowing retakes and the problems with allowing it with students?  Edutopia takes a look: https://www.edutopia.org/article/case-not-allowing-test-retakes?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR1L8-1fMqe4uW7FzIt114NH56jLHkzPvycFEAZf6rlNZUZSj2C3gMoOnMA  

Resources:

Horrible Histories – BBC

Made for TV series from the books by the same name.  Do watch beforehand. Produced by the BBC, they use British vernacular and reference things that are commonplace on British TV, but not outside the United Kingdom.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw9mXdTejPuOhE7eHSWLIKA

Random Thoughts . . .  

Pinky & The Brain: Postmodern Jukebox

The video highlights the original two voice actors.  It’s not the fast paced theme song we remember, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:  

An onion just told me a joke. 

• I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

What did the teutonic plate say when it bumped into another one?

• Sorry, my fault.

I saw a guy walking along carrying a Scrabble Board. He tripped and the box went flying everywhere. 

• I asked him, “What’s the word on the street”

What kind of dinosaur writes romance novels?

• A Brontësaurus.

I’m trying to convince my wife that I want a Segway for my birthday.

• But every time I bring it up, she changes the topic.

Where can you buy chicken broth in bulk?

• The Stock Market

When one pizza guy falls over, several others tend to also fall over. What’s this called?

•  The Domino’s Effect

Which weighs more, one gallon of water or 10 gallons of butane?

• Water, no matter how much you have, butane will always be a lighter fluid.

Advisory:

History of Population 

US Population of Each State 1790-2018

US City Populations 1790-2018

This Old Town

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Computational Thinking

I was recently reading the July, 2019 issue of “Science Scope,” a magazine written for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association. 

In this issue, I read an article entitled, “Computational Thinking,” written by Susan German. The author shares her thoughts on the difference between computational thinking and mathematical thinking and how to implement computational thinking into instruction.

From the Twitterverse:  

Phyllis Fagell, LCPC @Pfagell

Parents of middle schoolers have more sway over their kids’ decisions than they think–about 50%, to be exact. Popular kids aren’t the strongest influencers—kids’ attitudes fall between those of their parents & peers.”

@mitchprinstein@jpinsk@TheAtlantic

Chad Livengood  @ChadLivengood

17. Winner, Winner, Frankenmuth chicken dinner!

Alice Keeler@alicekeeler

Do math on paper but then take a picture into #googleSlides Allows the students to EXPLAIN their reasoning and for feedback conversations to happen! WIN! 

Stephanie Auditore@steph_auditore

Had a fun time with the @AMLE team promoting the #AMLE19 Innovation Challenge. Submit your pitch video by September 5th! (link: http://AMLE.org/innovation) AMLE.org/innovation #middlechat #middleschool #BackToSchool2019

AMLE@AMLE

The August issue of AMLE Magazine focuses on Exceptional Classroom Management. See this cover story by @VictoriaLentfer (link: http://www.amle.org/)

DoInk Tweets  @DoInkTweets

Looking for inexpensive Green Screens for the classroom? We love using painted pizza boxes. Fun for green screen storytelling. Added bonus is that you can store your green screen “props” in them! #doink #greenscreen #everyonecancreate

June Cheng 程君@JuneCheng_World

“Well-educated Hong Kong youths are learning lessons not taught in school: how to extinguish tear gas canisters, which helmets can best protect against projectiles, and how to administer first aid for tear gas exposure.” How did HK get here?

Jeff Crews@crewsertech

16 iPad Apps Ideal for Social Studies Classes (link: http://dlvr.it/R9zmZv) dlvr.it/R9zmZv

Jordan Shapiro@jordosh

How Parents Can Help Middle Schoolers Build Confidence and Character

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54064/how-parents-can-help-middle-schoolers-build-confidence-and-character

Don’t forget #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST.  Look for your host Todd Bloch to have a middle school topic all ready to go!  Make it a strategic part of your personal professional development.

Strategies:

Making Number Talks Matter Even More

Number Talks are 15 minute (suggested – length can vary) mental math exercises that help students verbalize their personal math strategies and allow them to hear and discuss math strategies from other students.

Used effectively, Number Talks can produce many desirable results: students build self-confidence, expand their appreciation for math studies, and gain working expertise with flexible strategies rather than just fixed rules.

https://www.middleweb.com/40885/making-number-talks-matter-even-more/

Let Students Read! Why Quantity Really Counts

We have to freely give them time for the kind of reading that is guided by curiosity, joy, and desire to fall deep into story. Pleasure reading. Real reading.

“We serve a wonderful community that includes an increasing number of students who live in poverty. Despite that fact, we consistently are marked as “Exceeding Expectations” on the state report card and have literacy scores that place us in the top 5% of schools in the state.”

My school is successful in large part because our students read. They read a lot. But that tends to drop off as kids enter middle and high school.

Should We Give Attendance Awards?  

Edutopia Article

https://www.edutopia.org/article/extrinsic-motivation-it-might-be-even-worse-you-thought

Resources:

Build Empathy and Understanding by Pairing Comics With Novels

https://www.edutopia.org/article/build-empathy-and-understanding-pairing-comics-novels#annotations:JIwwfrePEemt-H9iRxr1SA

The Illusion of Life | Principle of Animation | 12 Basic Principle of Animation

Web Spotlight:

Treat Your Teacher

Nominate your favorite teacher to win Sun Basket meals for an entire school year! We wanted to honor the real heroes of back-to-school season: the teachers who make it all possible.

So with your help, we’re going to treat 10 exceptional teachers to free Sun Basket dinners for the whole school year! Know a phenomenal teacher? Nominate them now!

Easing Fears About Shift to Middle School Can Pay Off in Behavior, Grades

https://psychcentral.com/news/2019/08/01/easing-fears-about-shift-to-middle-school-can-pay-off-in-behavior-grades/149074.html

OER Commons

https://www.oercommons.org

Random Thoughts . . .  

Books that we are reading

• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Teach Kids to Thrive by Debbie Silver
• Make It Stick by Peter Brown
• PLC Learning by Doing
• The Man Who Could Be King by John Miller
• Ish 
• James Madison Biography
• A Woman of Importance
• Churchill, Into the Lions Mouth
• The Moscow Rules by Antonio Mendez

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!