Month: April 2017

MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 356:  AMLE, Poetry, Blended Sixth Graders.

 

Jokes You Can Use:

 

Last night I had a bad dream. I dreamt I was a muffler.

  • I woke up exhausted.

 

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

 

What do you call a part time band leader?

  • A semi-conductor

 

There was this limo driver who was in business for 25 years without a single customer…

  • All that time and nothing to chauffeur it.

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Best STEM Books — Part 2

 

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 second of a two part series, we look at 5 of the recommended books that are appropriate for middle school students.  Titles include:

Steve Jobs: Insanely Great

Super Gear: Nanotechnology and Sports Team Up

Trailblazers: 33 Women in Science Who Changed the World

Welcome to Mars

Women of Stone and Steel

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/4/12_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Best_STEM_Books_Part_2.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

AMLE‏ @AMLE

These novels teach learning from loss & overcoming adversity, great for #middleschool http://edut.to/2nNcgsC  via @Edutopia #growthmindset

MiddleWeb‏ @middleweb

NEW: Poetry Writing Made Fun–10 Cool Teaching Ideas. @CherylTeaches #elachat @ncte #poetrymonth #nwp #educoach @amle https://www.middleweb.com/34549/poetry-writing-made-fun-10-teaching-ideas-for-april/ …

AMLE‏ @AMLE

#Quote from today’s AMLE Newsletter. Get the newsletter w/ free Associate Membership http://bit.ly/2mAtbtX

Kelly Malloy‏ @kellys3ps

10 Wordless Videos That Teach Problem Solving – Could also be used as writing prompts or to practice re-telling http://buff.ly/2pgFHmu

AMLE‏ @AMLE

Removing Imaginary Boundaries Around Content – Teacher and students benefit from an integrated curriculum http://bit.ly/2p5pIYJ  #mschat

Kenneth Ward‏ @kennethdward

Why I Read to My Middle School Students #oklaed #mschat  https://www.weareteachers.com/read-middle-school-students/  

 

Tan Huynh‏ @TanELLclassroom

3 types of #scaffolding for all SS. #ellchat #chatesl #ellchat_bkclub #ell #educhat #teachchat #WIDA #k12 #ESOL http://wp.me/p7NKW2-nl

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

 

Strategies:

 

Blended Learning

 

  1. Blended Beats Virtual
  2. Choose and Train the Right Teachers
  3. Student Engagement is Essential
  4. Parents Need to Be Educated, Too
  5. You Need Support Over Time
  6. Decide What Scaling Means to You

http://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/04/6-best-practices-for-expanding-a-blended-learning-initiative/

 

Homework Alternatives

 

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/alternatives-to-homework-a-chart-for-teachers/

 

Resources:

 

College-Ready Sixth Graders

Mike Petrilli, Big Cheese at the Fordham Institute, a reliably reformy thinky tank, is concerned. While he allows that some students and families are uber-stressing about the whole college thing, the rest of us should be in a greater state of panic:

 

We need the majority of parents and kids to be more stressed out. We need to shake them out of their complacency and tell them: You and your kids are heading toward a coming-of-age catastrophe, but you can avoid it if you act now! [emphasis his]

 

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2017/04/college-ready-sixth-graders.html

 

Interactive Word Wall

An Interactive word wall can transform spaces in your classroom. They provide a way for students to engage with content in an authentic matter and promote a sense of curiosity among your students.

http://classtechtips.com/2016/11/09/create-interactive-word-wall-scannabletech%EF%BB%BF/

 

Random Thoughts . . .

 

Personal Web Site

advisory, MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 355: The Ron King Award 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

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

 

advisory, MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 354:  The “Rat Hole” Show and a Half

 

Jokes You Can Use:

 

What’s the difference between a Hippo and a Zippo?

 

What always runs, but never walks, often murmurs, but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?

 

Two men are in a desert. They’re both wearing backpacks. One of the men is dead. The man who is alive, has his pack open. The dead man’s pack is closed. What is in their packs?

 

What has rivers with no water, forests but no trees, and cities with no buildings?

 

I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation and I surround every place. What am I?

 

The manufacturer doesn’t need it, the buyer doesn’t want it, and the user doesn’t know that they are using it. What is it?

 

You leave home, make three left turns and return home where you find two men wearing masks. Who are they?

 

If you are running in a race, and you pass the person in second place, what place are you in?

 

You can easily touch me, but you can’t see me. You can throw me out but not away. What am I?

Advisory:

 

The Invisible Gorilla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=vJG698U2Mvo

http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html

 

Appolo Robbins – The Art of Misdirection

Evelyn Glennie

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

CoCoRaHS

 

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 the the Citizen Science article, “Citizen Science for a Rainy (or Snowy) Day: The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.” It was written by Jill Nugent.  The article describes the CoCoRaHS Network, a nonprofit network hosted by Colorado State University with support from NOAA.  The goal of the network is to report weather data that will then be used by meteorologists.  For more information, please visit:

http://www.cocorahs.org

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/3/23_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Citizen_Science-CoCoRaHS.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

Scott McLeod‏ @mcleod

What We Ask of Our Students and What we Do | @conprin http://bit.ly/2olWQuR  #cpchat #edadmin

 

Eileen Harrity‏ @EileenHarrity

Eileen Harrity Retweeted edutopia

Interesting video of a London school that focuses on wellbeing, PBL, & oracy (like literacy, but for oral presentation of info).

Miguel Guhlin‏ @mguhlin

Immersive Reader Samples  https://t.co/mnPT4b9tEU  

 

Sean Marie Sweeney‏ @ssweeney602

Help ESL students learn vocabulary using the app Aipoly Vision @aipoly http://aipoly.com/  #edtech

 

Snagit‏ @Snagit

BREAKING NEWS! New product offering from TechSmith​, the makers of Snagit:

 

Seesaw‏ @Seesaw

Engage students by creating a listening station for your classroom today! http://bit.ly/2mkYdot

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

 

Strategies:

 

Read This Before You Ever Make Fun of Comic Sans Again

 

http://narrative.ly/read-this-before-you-ever-make-fun-of-comic-sans-again/

 

Fonts and Dyslexia

  1. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK The main conclusion is that font types have an impact on readability of people with dyslexia. Good fonts for people with dyslexia are Helvetica, Courier, Arial, Verdana and CMU, taking into consideration both, reading performance and subjective preferences. Also, sans serif, monospaced, and roman font types increased significantly the reading performance, while italic fonts decreased reading performance. In particular, Arial It. should be avoided since it significantly decreases readability.

http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/sites/default/files/good_fonts_for_dyslexia_study.pdf

 

A DSA Assessor noted student preference for 1.5 line spacing. It is likely that line length, line spacing and font size are just as important. Bigelow and Holmes make this point in their 2014 review of research which found no evidence for a best typeface for dyslexia. Arnold Wilkins showed that children aged 7 to 9 read better with a bigger font size

Comic Sans is the most popular Microsoft font for children. However, some dyslexic adults consider it looks childish. They love it or hate it. It was designed for comic strips. It is not considered professional in the publishing or academic worlds. There is even a ‘ban comic sans’ web! It meets all dyslexic ‘likes’ except mirrored b and d.

 

https://bdatech.org/what-technology/typefaces-for-dyslexia/

 

Based on the evaluation of 48 dyslexic subjects ages 11-50, reading 12 texts with 12 different fonts, they determined that reading performance was best with sans serif, monospaced, and roman fonts used in the study. They also found that reading was significantly impaired when italic fonts were used.

As someone who has wrestled with the issue of font choice and legibility for years, I was not surprised at the poor performance of OpenDyslexic. Although the font has been widely promoted as being designed for dyslexics, I find the font clunky and difficult to read, and others I have talked to had mixed reactions (some liked it, others not).

At the same time, I question an assumption underlying the researchers’ conclusion that font design is paramount. It seems to me that their research showed simply that the most commonly used fonts were also the ones that were the easiest for their subjects to read.  I remember how my son struggled as child with cursive, and his own insistence for using 14 pt. Times New Roman for all of his own written work.  I think familiarity with the type face and individual letter forms may be particularly important for dyslexic readers.  It may be that dyslexics are far more sensitive to minor variations in letter shape, form, and spacing. That they did best with the font sets that they were most likely to have been exposed to in the past does not necessarily mean that those fonts are the best for everyone.

https://blog.dyslexia.com/good-fonts-for-dyslexia-an-experimental-study/

 

Dsylexie Font

Free for home use, special pricing for schools.

https://www.dyslexiefont.com/en/

 

List of Fonts

https://www.dyslexic.com/fonts/

 

OpenDyslexia

http://opendyslexic.org/

 

Potential Google Fonts

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Slackey

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Chelsea+Market

 

3 Things to Know About “Dyslexic Fonts”

What if people with dyslexia could read more easily by switching to a special font? That’s the promise behind several typeface designs created in recent years. Here are three things to know about all fonts:

1) While font design can impact reading effectiveness, reading time and perceptions of legibility, this holds true for all readers including those who have dyslexia and those who do not.

2) It’s important to compare apples to apples. Many factors need to be taken into account when comparing fonts including text characteristics, text size, line and character spacing and computer display settings.

3) There are tradeoffs. For example, research points to a relationship between fonts, reading accuracy and reading speed. Some studies show fonts that are read faster may also read less accurately.

Still thinking about switching fonts? Whether you have dyslexia or not, experimenting with fonts may be worthwhile and boils down to personal preference. Above all, it’s important to remember for those who have dyslexia there are no quick fixes and switching fonts is not a substitute for a Structured Literacy approach to reading instruction.

 

https://dyslexiaida.org/3-things-to-know-about-dyslexic-fonts/

 

I made my classroom look like the real world…and test scores soared

 

The school year is a simulation of adulthood where students work, create, and learn about personal finance and entrepreneurial skills. They experience real-world situations and gain insights into global affairs. Students tend to view my classroom less as a “classroom” and more of an interactive city where all projects intertwine to create an ecosystem of businesses and homes.

Each student has the opportunity to become an entrepreneur, politician, banker, and more. They are given $1,000 in Johnsonville cash to begin their lives. Students must buy a house or rent an apartment, earn wages, and manage their finances. As the children buy and sell items I donate, they learn math skills along with life lessons.

Students are in control. Other teachers trying PBL often tell me, “my kids can’t do it” or “it’s a lot of work.” I think the real issue here is teachers not wanting to give up control of their classrooms. PBL gives me the freedom to facilitate and encourage critical thinking. Additionally, I find students work better when the teacher isn’t hovering over them. PBL promotes students to think creatively and build the 21st-century skills they need to be successful in today’s job market.

 

http://blog.ed.ted.com/2017/02/22/i-made-my-classroom-look-like-the-real-world-and-test-scores-soared/

 

Resources:

Opened.com

Assessment resource with lesson plans and over 700,000 games, audio, lesson plans, assessments and more . . . some for free.  

 

ESSA Resources

The website is produced by the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University School of Education, in collaboration with a distinguished Technical Work Group and a Stakeholder Advisory Group. It is information solely intended to be useful to educators and the public and has no official status.

https://www.evidenceforessa.org/

 

Material Review

EdReports.org is an independent nonprofit designed to improve K-12 education. EdReports.org increases the capacity of teachers, administrators, and leaders to seek, identify, and demand the highest-quality instructional materials. Drawing upon expert educators, EdReports.org’s evidence-based reviews of instructional materials and support of smart adoption processes will equip teachers with excellent materials nationwide.

 

http://www.edreports.org/#?f=&o=0

 

Music Creation

Soundation is a powerful online music studio with professional features like recording, effects, virtual instruments and over 700 free loops and sounds.

 

Soundation Chrome is the latest version of our online studio and is developed using Google Native Client for Chrome web browsers. This means a faster and more stable environment with lower latency and CPU usage and does not require Flash. Soundation Chrome has an entirely new audio engine and we made it as “backward compatible” as possible with the flash version of Soundation Studio so it looks and loads all your previously created songs.

https://soundation.com/

 

BandLab is the easy-to-use, all-in-one, social music creation platform.

 

https://www.bandlab.com/

 

Web Spotlight:

 

Erosion

 

Images of Change — http://cleanet.org/resources/42813.html

Dig This! Erosion Investigation — http://ngss.nsta.org/Resource.aspx?ResourceID=481

Investigating Erosion — http://ngss.nsta.org/Resource.aspx?ResourceID=511

 

I Learned Nothing, I Just Googled The Parts of the Cell

Can we get real? There are a lot of well-intentioned assignments and projects that frankly have very little LEARNING that goes with them. Create a poster of the solar system. The kid spends a lot of time (and money on supplies) with the outcome that they can (hopefully) identify the 7 planets. This is a DOK 1 task… and maybe even DOK 0.

http://alicekeeler.com/2017/03/26/learned-nothing-just-googled-parts-cell/

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

And Now for Something Completely Different:  https://www.facebook.com/LRT.sestadienis/videos/1761409750815614/

Play this in class one day as they come in.  Just for fun.  

 

Personal Web Site