Jokes You Can Use:  

You’re American when you go into the bathroom, and you’re American when you come out, but do you know what you are while you’re in there?

-You’re a European.

Did you know the first French fries weren’t actually cooked in France?

• In Greece.

Want to hear a joke about a piece of paper? Never mind… it’s tearable.

Spring is here! I got so excited I wet my plants!

Did you hear about the guy who invented Lifesavers? They say he made a mint.

What do you call a factory that sells passable products? A satisfactory.

Two peanuts were walking down the street. One was a salted.

Why did the invisible man turn down the job offer?

A woman is on trial for beating her husband to death with his guitar collection. Judge says, “First offender?” She says, “No, first a Gibson! Then a Fender!”

When you ask a dad if he’s alright: “No, I’m half left.”

I had a dream that I was a muffler last night. I woke up exhausted!

5/4 of people admit that they’re bad with fractions.

Advisory:

Going to School

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/11/syrias-students-going-to-school-in-a-war-zone/545474/

Parking in a Handicap Spot

http://twentytwowords.com/this-student-battling-cancer-was-shamed-for-parking-in-handicapped-spot-and-her-response-is-incredible/

The ByStander Effect

We’d all like to consider ourselves helpful people, but are we always quick to lend a hand whenever the opportunity arises? In this episode of The Science of Empathy, we tested, through various scenarios, just how long it would take for people to offer assistance to someone struggling right in front of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy6eUTLzcU4

ARTIST REMOVES ONE LETTER FROM MOVIE TITLES AND DRAWS THE RESULTS

http://www.awesomeinventions.com/movie-titles-with-one-letter-removed/

Middle School Science Minute  

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

 

Update for Dave  on Gediminas’ Castle:  https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2017/06/27/gediminas-castle-hill/  

Learning Cycles

I was recently reading the November, 2017 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 the article, “Teaching with Learning Cycles and Storylines.” It was written by Susan German.  Learning cycles are the blueprint to student learning.  Thoughtful consideration of instructional models such as the 5E can guide teachers in structuring learning cycles in such a way as to optimize learning.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/11/14_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Learning_Cycles.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Amanda Laforet‏ @MrsLaforet

Three of the most important things to inspire huge change in education are #bravery #creativity #empathy @jheil65 #edtechteam #tvdsbtech

Sandra Balestrin‏ @technolit

3 qualities we need as educators to make revolutionary change: Bravery, Creativity, Empathy #EdTechTeam #tvdsbtech

Will Richardson‏ @willrich45

Change Your Screen to Grayscale to Combat Phone Addiction https://buff.ly/2zSmjiR

Aaron Hogan‏ @aaron_hogan

What a powerful question! What if choice—more than fancy tech options, maker spaces, or any number of other novelties—empowered students to take control of their own learning? #EmpowerBook

Diane Ravitch‏ @DianeRavitch

Timothy Egan: Blame Our Civic Stupidity on Failure to Teach Civics and Government http://dianeravitch.net/2017/11/18/timothy-egan-blame-our-civic-stupidity-on-failure-to-teach-civics-and-government/ …

Dr. Dru Tomlin‏ @DruTomlin4Edu Nov 16

Dr. Dru Tomlin Retweeted Todd Bloch

A5. Admin need 2B out there in the hallways, classrooms, cafeteria–& setting a positive tone (not just reinforcing rules). Building relationships & greeting Ss & Ts. Recognizing Ts who take joyful risks. Step up. Don’t just show up. #mschat

Rick Wormeli‏ @rickwormeli2 Nov 17

Want to build student self-efficacy? One great way to do it is by teaching students to construct and deconstruct their own, and others’, metaphors in their learning.

Donalyn Miller‏ @donalynbooks

Powerful words from Anna Quindlen. #ncte17

George Couros‏Verified account @gcouros

3 Myths About “Empowering” Students in Schools Today https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/7853 …

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

Strategies:

Computer Programming

https://csfirst.withgoogle.com/materials

Resources:

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg offers over 54,000 free eBooks: Choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, especially older works for which copyright has expired. We digitized and diligently proofread them with the help of thousands of volunteers.

No fee or registration is required, but if you find Project Gutenberg useful, we kindly ask you to donate a small amount so we can digitize more books, maintain our online presence, and improve Project Gutenberg programs and offerings.

Lithuania Teachers Language Association  

The FIPLV Nordic-Baltic Region (NBR) Conference 2018 “Teaching and Learning Languages in the 21st Century:  Linguistic, Educational and Cultural Aspects” June 7-8, 2018.  

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES:

• To bring language policy makers, language teaching professionals and researchers together for a discussion about the mission of teaching in 21st century, the meaning of teaching quality, efficiency and effectiveness, as well as analyse the aims, needs and perspectives of teaching /learning languages in multicultural environment that could consequently enhance the promotion of democratic citizenship, social cohesion, and intercultural dialogue.
• To exchange information and knowledge, share best practices and experiences across national boundaries on teacher training and the enhancement of the development of teachers’ competences that would serve to acquire a better understanding of teaching the New Generation of students.
• To disseminate best practices and experiences of Lithuanian teachers as well as of language teaching professionals from abroad in language teaching at all levels in all stages of life.

http://www.lkpa.vdu.lt/category/conferences/  

BouncyBalls

Noise monitor

https://bouncyballs.org/

PBS Learning

Good resources. Videos can be downloaded with a FREE account. Search by grade level, subject area, etc.

https://dptv.pbslearningmedia.org/

Class Hook

Teach, engage, inspire

Teach your students using their favorite TV shows and movies.

Find curated video clips for use in your classroom.

https://www.classhook.com/

Web Spotlight:

Second Life

The Digital Ruins of a Forgotten Future

Second Life was supposed to be the future of the internet, but then Facebook came along. Yet many people still spend hours each day inhabiting this virtual realm. Their stories—and the world they’ve built—illuminate the promise and limitations of online life.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/12/second-life-leslie-jamison/544149/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Moodle Minute

For my Economics class, I run an Acquire Tournament to help them learn financial literacy.  Last Thursday I add some reality to the rules.  I introduced . . . TAXES.  Here’s what they think about taxes:  

Mr. McGirr has decided to include taxes.  This is fair or unfair because . . . .

You must post one answer and respond to two other people. #PayUp!  

• “This is not fair because people who are working hard for there money are getting taxed for no reason, but the people who just sit there and are lazy just go get money handed to them.It’s just like a BIG SLAP IN THE FACE for the people who are working very hard for there [sic] $$.Mr. McGirr I thought we were friends.  🙁 🙁 “ #taxationwithoutrepresentation
• “Its not Fiar [sic] we need money for our grade so bac players are getting better grades and the higher people get lower grades.”  
• “I [sic] feel it fair to a point then it becomes to much. I do agree with the president in this topic maybe if the tax is lowered to 22% it would be better for both sides. We get less money taken from us an they still get money.”  
• “This is unfair because people make choices on what to do with their money and for people who made the right decisions and used their money wisely and got a good job get payed good but for people that are lazy and don’t use their money wisely end up with no money. The goverment [sic] should be able to make money not take money. And people should learn that money cost money”  
• “I think this is unfair because everyone is getting taxed differently. It would be more fair if everyone was taxed the same amount. I’m not necessarily against the taxes themselves, otherwise how would the government be able to pay for roads and such? I just disagree with the fact that half the class gets taxed less than the first half.”

Personal Web Site

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:

Why was Peter Pan banned from using any Airline?

My books all piled on top of me, I’ve only got my shelf to blame.

I read this book about Mount Everest… It was quite the cliff hanger!

Two engineers were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking at its top. A woman walked by and asked what they were doing.

“We’re supposed to find the height of this flagpole,” said one, “but we don’t have a ladder.”

The woman took a wrench from her purse, loosened a couple of bolts, and laid the pole down on the ground. Then she took a tape measure from her pocketbook, took a measurement, and announced, “Twenty one feet, six inches,” and walked away.

One engineer shook his head and laughed, “A lot of good that does us. We ask for the height and she gives us the length.”

Eileen Award:  

• Twitter: Ron King (Special LifeTime award)

Advisory:

Habituation

As human beings, we get used to “the way things are” really fast. But for designers, the way things are is an opportunity … Could things be better? How? In this funny, breezy talk, the man behind the iPod and the Nest thermostat shares some of his tips for noticing — and driving — change.

https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_fadell_the_first_secret_of_design_is_noticing

Creativity

The process of being creative can be fun and take on different “looks”.  The Swingle Singers are a vocal group that jump starts the creative writing juices with a writing exercise.  They get three words in an envelope.  They pair up and have to come up with a song that builds off of those three words.  Here’s an example:  Tree, Friend(s), and Attack.    https://www.facebook.com/TheSwingles/videos/10155002322541421/

National Day…

April 8th

• National All is Ours Day
• National Empanada Day
• National Zoo Lovers Day

http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/

Mindfulness makes a difference in schools

Relaxation techniques calm K12 students and staff, leading to better grades and better behavior.

“We decided to respond to our students’ anxiety, rather than have to deal with the behavioral challenges,” Hanscom says.

Districts that succeed in making mindfulness a regular part of the school day—and an impactful part of students’ lives—start by training the adults in their buildings to become competent practitioners, says Saltzman, whose Menlo Park, California-based mindfulness practice operates training programs in schools.

And a little time spent on mindfulness at the beginning of class can pay off. “A teacher may think, I can’t add another thing to my day,” Saltzman says. “But what teachers find is, if they start class with five minutes of mindfulness—movement, breathing, journaling—most teachers will report ending up with more teachable time.”

“There were just so many layers of yuck to get through before we could get to academics,” Achterhoff says. “If we don’t address the trauma, then the kids are going to become stunted in academic growth.”

Teachers who use the techniques report improvements in behavior, and that students often ask to take short yoga or breathing breaks so they can refocus on instruction.

https://www.districtadministration.com/article/mindfulness-makes-difference-school  

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Best STEM Books, Part 1

I was recently reading the February, 2017 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 on the best STEM Books for 2017, for students in grades K-12, as recommended by the National Science Teachers Association.  In this first of a two part series, we look at 5 of the recommended books that are appropriate for middle school students.  Titles include:

1.  Emmet’s Storm
2.  Genetic Engineering: Science, Technology, and Engineering
3.  A Global Warming Primer: Answering Your Questions About the Science, the Consequences, and the Solutions
4.  Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat
5.  Sabotage: The Mission to Destroy Hitler’s Atomic Bomb

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/3/27_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Best_STEM_Books_Part_1.html

Lithuania Update for Dave

From the Twitterverse:  

Scott McLeod‏ @mcleod

Strategizing Your BYOT Implementation, Part 1 | @mguhlin http://bit.ly/2npImKu  #edcolo #iaedfuture

MiddleWeb‏ @middleweb

REVIEW: An essential guide to becoming an ELA teacher. @HeinemannPub #educoach #elachat @ncte #mschat #teachered https://www.middleweb.com/34545/making-the-journey-as-an-ela-teacher/ …

AMLE‏ @AMLE

#MiddleSchool educators, submit an article to AMLE Magazine & share your sch & classrm ideas that make a difference

Jerry Blumengarten‏ @cybraryman1

My PLN (Personal Learning Network) page https://www.cybraryman.com/pln.html  #nt2t Build a PLN of passionate educators who are willing to connect & share

Rick Wormeli‏ @rickwormeli2

Scratching My Head: Project 180, Day 129 http://www.letschangeeducation.com/?p=1704  via @MonteSyrie

Jessica Van de Kemp‏ @jess_vdk

Helpful ‘closure’ activities for teachers and students: http://edut.to/2mOfYOA  via @finleyt @edutopia #edchat #hschat #mschat

Jasper Fox Sr.‏ @JasperFoxSR

Calling for a “Timeout” on Rubrics and Grading Scales http://jfox.cc/2crkJc3  essential reading frm: @rickwormeli2

David Geurin‏ @DavidGeurin

12 Rules Of Great Teaching – http://buff.ly/2p8QhIP  via @TeachThought

Paul Chenoweth‏ @bruingeek

I approve of this message:

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

Strategies:

How to support wiggly students

In fact, according to Nea.org, “A 2008 study found that children actually need to move to focus during a complicated mental task. The children in the study—especially those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—fidgeted more when a task required them to store and process information rather than just hold it. This is why students are often restless while doing math or reading, but not while watching a movie, explained Dr. Mark Rapport, the supervisor of the study and professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.”

1. Redirect
2. Experiment.
3. See what’s on the market for support.

http://smartbrief.com/original/2017/04/how-support-wiggly-students

No Grade Is Too Early for Flexible Seating

A decade ago, I watched college students break out for small group work on hallway benches, on the floor in the corner, and standing at tables. I noticed that kindergartners could learn while standing, kneeling, huddling under a table, and even sitting in a wooden cubby. I saw my principal take a reading group to the office, where students loved to cram themselves beside the copier, between UPS boxes, and under a table. All this got me thinking: Why do we work at desks? Why stop students from wiggling? Could we purposefully educate students to recognize the locations they work best in?

Plan your transition to flexible seating with:

• a variety of workspaces
• clear expectations for behavior
• guidelines for where/how students may work
• consequences for abuse of the seating options

When developing your seating options, consider the needs of different activities:

• clipboards for writing
• flat surfaces for word work sorts
• comfort for pleasure reading
• stability for electronics

Offering just one or two seating options may put your students in the same boat as traditional seating. Just as traditional seating doesn’t work for everyone, flexible seating may not either.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/no-grade-is-too-early-flexible-seating-john-s-thomas

Resources:

WriteAbout

WRITE. Find creative inspiration to write. Make their writing better. Have fun writing. Share their writing. Read other students’ writing. Respond to writing. Write some more.

https://www.writeabout.com/

Web Spotlight:

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site

Jokes You Can Use:  

Poodle: “My life is a mess. My owner is mean, my girlfriend is leaving me for a German shepherd, and I’m as nervous as a cat.”

Collie: “Why don’t you go see a psychiatrist?”

Poodle: “I can’t. I’m not allowed on the couch.”

A man goes to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor checks him out thoroughly doing various tests. He then goes back to his table and sits down. “I’m prescribing these pills for you,” he says.

Noting the weird name of the prescription, the man asks, “What am I taking now?”

“Oh, I don’t want you to swallow them. Just spill them on the floor twice a day and pick them up, one at a time.”

I wrote a book about birds…

It flew off the shelf.

Advisory:

Are you the Majority?

*Short ad at the end.

Prisencolinensinainciusol

Instead, pick a language you don’t know, but can roughly approximate what it sounds like when spoken. Then, “speak” it, making up a nonsense version of that language as you go along. Now, take your “words” and put it to music which you think is appropriate for that language’s culture. If you do it well, you’ll end up with a song which to a native speaker is gibberish, but to someone who doesn’t know the language sounds like it could be real.

http://nowiknow.com/prisencolinensinainciusol/

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Tapping Into Energy

I was recently reading the December, 2016 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 the Editor’s Desk article, “Tapping Into Energy.” It was written by Patty McGinnis, Editor of Science Scope.  The article describes how the topic of energy is one that touches every middle school science classroom regardless of the science discipline taught.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/2/17_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Tapping_Into_Energy.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Jordan Hubbard ‏@_MsHubbard  

Jordan Hubbard Retweeted Jack Berckemeyer

Bahah love my 8th graders.

Jordan Hubbard added,

Jack Berckemeyer @JBerckemeyer

If you teach middle school you know that 8th graders invented alternative facts – just saying 🙂

Big History Project ‏@BigHistoryPro

If you teach history, you teach writing: http://bh-p.co/2jBN9ql  #satchat #edchat

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

Stacy St. Clair ‏@StacyStClair

Another president’s take: – at Tribune Tower

Dr. Justin Tarte ‏@justintarte

If you’re looking for a list of educators to follow on #twitter, I’d recommend starting here: http://goo.gl/m3Nlul  #knobpride #education

Glenn Robbins ‏@Glennr1809

Hey #PLN please follow & RT to show one of my great teachers the power of Twitter PD! @AmyLeeBrewin

History News! ‏@historynews

Fashions for February 1813 http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com/2017/02/fashions-for-february-1813.html … #twitterstorians

Aaron Duff, M.Ed. ‏@education_geek

Students will tell you…if you ask! #WritetoLearnMO #edchat #elemchat

Todd Distelrath ‏@tdistelrath

Anti-Common Core bill looks to replace MI standards with old Mass. standards. Mass. currently uses CC. http://on.freep.com/2lbZtv6  via @freep

#mschat every Thursday 8:00 pm.  Join Todd Bloch for a great conversation!  

Strategies:

Sharing Resources, Preparing for tests

Discussion of sharing resources and preparing for tests.

26 Research-Based Tips You Can Use in the Classroom Tomorrow

https://www.edutopia.org/article/26-research-based-tips-you-can-use-in-classroom-tomorrow-todd-finley

Resources:

Presidential Historians Survey

C-SPAN’s academic advisors devised a survey in which participants used a one (“not effective”) to ten (“very effective”) scale to rate each president on ten qualities of presidential leadership: “Public Persuasion,” “Crisis Leadership,” “Economic Management,” “Moral Authority,” “International Relations,” “Administrative Skills,” “Relations with Congress,” “Vision/Setting An Agenda,” “Pursued Equal Justice for All,” and “Performance Within the Context of His Times.”

Surveys were distributed to historians and other professional observers of the presidency, drawn from a database of C-SPAN’s programming, augmented by suggestions from the academic advisors. Ninety-one agreed to participate. Participants were guaranteed that individual survey results remain confidential. Survey responses were tabulated by averaging all responses in a given category for each president. Each of the ten categories was given equal weighting in arriving at a president’s total score.

https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/

Learn about the past Presidents of the United States

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/american-democracy

Women in History

A collection of interviews with people who were there at key moments in women’s history

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jb8q3

7 Google Forms

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/02/7-great-google-forms-templates-to-use.html

Web Spotlight:

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site