MSM 348:  Goldilocks and the Three . . . err Forebears!

Jokes You Can Use:

 

Hey, Thanks for defining “many” for me. It really means a lot.

 

French guy (showing me his yachts): This is Un. This is Deux. This is Trois. This is Quatre. This is Six.

Me: Where’s the 5th?

FG: Cinq.

 

And the award for best neckwear goes to..

Well would you look at that, it’s a tie

 

I let a Pasta Chef borrow my car and he returned it all denty

 

Mozart was a great composer, but now that he’s dead he’s a great decomposer.

 

Why do we call it “hiring a hitman” and not “ordering takeout”

 

“You have to look at the big picture” – Aggressive museum guard

 

*Abe Lincoln on trial*

Judge: How do you find the defendant?

Foreman: We find the defendant in a cent.

 

Eileen Award:  

  • Twitter:  Holly Berchet-Hall

Advisory:

Forebears

“So, Where are you from?” Use a geographic “heatmap” of last names to find out!  

http://forebears.io/surnames  

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

eBird

 

I was recently reading the November, 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 Citizen Science article, “Fly Into Schoolyard Citizen Science with eBird.” It was written by Jill Nugent.  The article describes how classrooms can join 100,000 users providing accessible bird data to the online global community.  For more information, please visit:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/1/25_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Citizen_Science-eBird.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo

Our School Is Not “Flush With Cash” & Our Students Are Not “Deprived Of All Knowledge” http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2017/01/20/our-school-is-not-flush-with-cash-our-students-are-not-deprived-of-all-knowledge/ …

OJ DeJonge MS ‏@OJ_Orioles

Congrats to all of the participants in the Geo Bee, and thank you to the Social Studies dept. for their hard work! #OJpride

Kids on stage with speaker at podium.

Matt Miller ‏@jmattmiller

Stop doing too much: The ‘minimum effective dose’ for educators http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/04/14/stop-doing-too-much-the-minimum-effective-dose-for-educators/ …

 

John R. Sowash ‏@jrsowash

Multitask with ease on your #Chromebook! http://bit.ly/2j3V9ga  #techtips #edTech

 

MiddleWeb ‏@middleweb

MiddleWeb Retweeted MindShift

Handy reflection and conversation tool for coaches and instructional partners… #educoach #alpartners #coteachat

Infographic of Coaching Competencies

Diane Ravitch ‏@DianeRavitch

Peter Greene Confesses: Trump is Right: I am Flush with Cash and I Don’t Teach Anything! http://ln.is/dianeravitch.net/201/1L01K …

https://dianeravitch.net/2017/01/21/peter-greene-confesses-trump-is-right-i-am-flush-with-cash-and-i-dont-teach-anything/

 

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

 

Strategies:

 

Students with Scattered Minds

 

Explicit instruction about executive function and how to improve it is especially useful for students with learning challenges, as they can benefit the most from learning to rein in and consciously direct their “scattered minds.”

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/strategies-students-scattered-minds-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers

 

Play-doh Art

* Why is your creation art?  Review your notes and materials and write an ABC paragraph responding to this question (Answer the question; Back it up with a quote as evidence; make a further Comment or Connection to elaborate on your position.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2017/01/22/play-doh-ib-theory-of-knowledge-student-hand-out-videos/

Resources:

 

6 Practices that “Work” to Accelerate Student Learning

In education, we are often inundated with programs, curriculums, and frameworks that are “guaranteed to increase student learning”. Promises of a silver bullet that will fix all learning difficulties find their way to teachers and administrators alike.

 

  1. Teacher credibility (.90 effect size) Trust, competence, energy, enthusiasm, and consistency are among the top characteristics students consider when determining if their teacher is credible and if they are going to choose to learn from them.
  2. Teacher-Student Relationships (.72 effect size) Positive teacher-student relationships involve trust, fairness, open communication and maintenance to sustain and impact student learning.  
  3. Classroom Management (.52 effect size) Students understand expectations and are consistently held to those expectations. Promotes healthy relationships with teachers and peers.  
  4. Self-Reported Grades/Student Expectations (1.44 effect size) Students set their own goals, monitor their own achievement, and reflect upon their process of learning.
  5. Teacher Clarity (.75 effect size) Learning targets are clear and articulated with success criteria. Students should be able to answer: What am I learning today? Why am I learning this? How will I know that I learned it?
  6. Feedback (.75 effect size) Just-in-time feedback identifies where the student is at, what the expectation is, and actions they can take to close the gap.

 

https://shaelynnfarnsworth.com/2017/01/18/6-practices-that-work-to-accelerate-student-learning/

 

30 Of The Best Books To Teach Children Empathy

 

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/50-of-the-best-books-to-teach-children-empathy/

Web Spotlight:

 

A new movement to treat troubled children as ‘sad, not bad’

The concept behind these so-called “trauma-informed schools” is supported by research showing that traumatized students — those who have been exposed to repeated violence, abuse and deprivation — maintain such high levels of vigilance and anxiety that they cannot flourish at school until they can calm themselves.

http://hechingerreport.org/a-new-movement-to-treat-troubled-children-as-sad-not-bad/

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

 

MSM 347:  Practice is Best Practice

 

Jokes You Can Use:  

 

Student: “I’m cold”.

Teacher: “Go stand in the corner, it’s usually about 90 degrees there”.

 

What do you call a belt made of watches?

A waist of time.

 

Why can’t bicycles stand on their own?

They are two tired.

 

What’s the best thing about living in Switzerland?

Well, their flag is a big plus.

Flag of Switzerland hanging from a building.

How long is a Chinese name.

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Literacy Engagement

 

I was recently reading the October, 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 article, “Literacy Engagement and Its Role in the Science Classroom.” It was written by Kaitlyn McGlynn and Janey Kozlowski.  In the article they talk about the importance of helping students unlock science content through reading engagement.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/1/5_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Literacy_Engagement.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

Derek McCoy ‏@mccoyderek

9 Fundamental Digital Skills for 21st Century Teachers

Poster with Digital Skills

Dru Tomlin ‏@DruTomlin_AMLE

A6. A6. Convos w/ other Ts/admins/colleagues, Twitter (#mschat too), & have This We Believe 2 remind me what a Gr8 middle school is #satchat

Meredith Johnson ‏@mjjohnson1216

A1. Love this chart that explains personalization, differentiation and individualization for the learner. #satchat

Tony Vincent ‏@tonyvincent

Recap for iOS, Android & Web is a free way to collect short selfie videos from students. http://letsrecap.com

Christopher Weiss ‏@ChrisWeissCT

RT @Alex_Corbitt Powerful 4-Step Learning Sequence (by @4OClockFaculty) #edchat #education #edtech #engchat #sunchat #satchat #leadupchat

Will Richardson ‏@willrich45

5 Big Ideas In Education That Don’t Work http://buff.ly/2ivJ6d4  Shocking.

Dru Tomlin ‏@DruTomlin_AMLE

A6. And of course I turn to http://www.amle.org  and @AMLE when I need middle grades help! Got everything 4 #middleschool #satchat

Oliver Schinkten ‏@schink10

10 Skills All Students Need to Be Successful https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/education/10-skills-all-students-need-to-be-successful … on @LI_Learning

Brad Currie ‏@bradmcurrie

All It Takes is 100 Minutes a Week #Satchat

edutopia ‏@edutopia

Create a rockstar rubric with this editable template: http://edut.to/2ipbf2f .

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OCpYFYkcIwOwa0d5BCcTH5xahQ6GiaS1PnP0O3lqMsY/edit#

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

 

Strategies:

 

New Year’s Resolution: I’m Moving ALL Assessment into the Classroom

This may sound like a crazy resolution given that most teachers spend hours of time outside of school assessing their students’ work. However, there are three reasons I’d argue we should NOT spend our time outside of class grading:

  1. Our prep time is better spent designing creative and engaging lessons.
  2. Real-time feedback and assessment are way more effective.
  3. We don’t get paid for the time we spend grading outside of class.

http://catlintucker.com/2017/01/new-years-resolution/

 

Practice is Best Practice

As I have sat down with students who are not doing well in my class over the past 17 years, one recurring conversation has gone something like this: “Mr. Harrison, I’m studying for your tests, but I’m still not doing well on them. I don’t know what else to do.” I would reply, “Well, how exactly are you ‘studying’?”

The responses have usually gone something like this: “Well, I read over the study guide, I read over the notes, I read the book…”

http://techcoaches.dearbornschools.org/2017/01/11/practice-is-best-practice/

 

Ten things we may be doing wrong in middle school

 

https://medium.com/@irasocol/ten-things-we-may-be-doing-wrong-in-middle-school-510bc0b9f069#.u5syivqc5

 

How To Make Writing Report Cards Easier

You can make writing your report cards quicker and easier by completing one simple action right now!

You need to match your assessment tasks to your report card.

http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/how-to-make-writing-report-cards-easier/

Resources:

 

Mars Challenge Winners

Look at the winning submissions.

http://ajjuliani.com/thousands-students-participating-marschallenge-maker-project/

All Entries:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B3IX5e8RaR6xekN4bE96UWZ2OEE

 

Web Spotlight:

 

Poet: I can’t answer questions on Texas standardized tests about my own poems

Badly worded or poorly conceived questions on standardized tests are not uncommon (remember the question about a “talking pineapple” on a New York test in 2012?). But here’s something new: The author of source material on two Texas standardized tests says she can’t actually answer the questions about her own work because they are so poorly conceived.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/07/poet-i-cant-answer-questions-on-texas-standardized-tests-about-my-own-poems/?utm_term=.e224738a5e14

 

Academic Write Center

Lots of resources. You might want to share this with kids, or know about it for plagiarism.

https://academichelp.net/

 

How Design Thinking Became a Buzzword at School

At a recent teaching conference in Richmond, Virginia, a session on “design thinking” in education drew a capacity crowd. Two middle-school teachers demonstrated how they had used the concept to plan and execute an urban-design project in which students were asked to develop a hypothetical city or town given factors such as population, geography, the environment, and financial resources.

Design thinking, like Carol Dweck’s work on fixed and growth mindsets and Angela Duckworth’s research on grit, are best understood in context, as a complex and nuanced approach to learning rather than a checklist of executable tasks. Dweck was so alarmed by the rampant oversimplification of fixed and growth mindsets that she wrote an article for Edutopia to clear up common misconceptions about her work. Just as Dweck’s work can’t be conveyed adequately in a Life Hack infographic, and Duckworth’s research is apt to be misunderstood when reduced to a listicle, design thinking seems likely to fail as an educational tool when communicated in terms of “Five Simple Steps.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/01/how-design-thinking-became-a-buzzword-at-school/512150/

 

Are you a blithering fool? Here’s 10 words to make you sound smarter

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/01/03/wayne-state-word-warriors-smarter/96100822/

 

EVO

Since 2000, the Electronic Village Online (EVO), has been offering free professional development workshops for English language educators around the world. Organized by volunteer coordinators, with five-week sessions conceived and facilitated by teams of volunteer moderators, the EVO is open to anyone (TESOL members and non-members alike) with a computer or smart phone and an internet connection. No academic credit is offered for either moderating or participating in an EVO session; it is a labor of love–the love of learning, and the love of sharing what we have learned.

The EVO was originally conceived as a project of TESOL’s Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL-IS). Almost since the beginning, IATEFL members and SIGs have also been involved in the EVO, as participants, moderators, and coordinators.

http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/10708567/FrontPage

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site