Jokes You Can Use:

 

When I found out my toaster wasn’t waterproof, I was shocked!

I’m an optimist. I didn’t lose a sock in the dryer. I found an extra one!

I wish more people were fluent in silence.

Here’s a joke for all you mind readers out there……..

In Canada, she’s Kilometery Cyrus.

I love how television has redefined the word ‘marathon’ to the exact opposite of physical exercise.

If Plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters. Keep calm.

A cross-eyed teacher has no control over her pupils.

Advisory:

 

Rules to Live by

 

Have your students write up the rules that they live by.

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-16-rules.html

http://notesonbliss.com/rules-to-live-by/

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

ECLIPSE 2017 CITIZEN SCIENCE

 

This is the third in a multipart series on Eclipse 2017 utilizing the resources from NASA that can be found at:

http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov

 

Four questions are asked and answered regarding Citizen Science and the Eclipse.  They include:

1.  What can I do to become more involved with eclipses?
2.  How can I photograph a total solar eclipse?
3.  Do animals really change their behavior during a total solar eclipse?
4.  Typically, how big a temperature drop do you get during a total solar eclipse?

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/5/18_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Eclipse_2017__Citizen_Science.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

Susan Zanti‏ @SusZanti5

Getting more teachers connected to Twitter as a means of personalized professional learning-growing PLN #bfc530

Dru Tomlin‏ @DruTomlin_AMLE

Lift up Ss & staff who feel like minor characters in story of school! The @AMLE ABCs blog has 5 easy steps: http://www.amle.org/Publications/BlogABCsofMiddleLevelEducation/TabId/937/ArtMID/3115/ArticleID/821/Major-and-Minor-Characters-in-the-Story-of-School.aspx … #mschat

AMLE‏ @AMLE

What Can Middle Level Leaders Learn from the Student Experience? http://ed.gr/b41  via Supt. Nikki Woodson @AASAHQ #middleschool

Mental Floss‏Verified account @mental_floss

These $425 Jeans Can Turn Into Jorts — http://bit.ly/2rzvFeL

Kim Campbell‏ @KimCamp4Kids

Exactly what I said to a colleague today….

Sandra Boynton‏Verified account @SandyBoynton

It’s been a wild week. #saturdaymorning

(⌐■_■)‏Verified account @dorseyshaw

*watches cable news in horror* “It’s going to be OK. The young people will save us from all these mistakes.” *checks the internet*

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

 

Strategies:

 

DOK

https://twitter.com/sjunkins/status/858419438122668032/photo/1

To Engage Students and Teachers, Treat Core Subjects Like Extracurriculars

document the variables that contribute to deeper learning. But as they spent more time in schools, it was hard to ignore the ways in which the activity around the edges of institutions — elective courses, extracurricular activities — was where students and teachers “were most fired up,”

 

“Like a theater production, there’s sense of purposefulness,” said Fine. “You’re working toward producing something that has an audience beyond your teachers and your peers.”

 

One thing that is consistent, according to Fine, is that teachers are very deliberate beforehand. They have to know exactly what all students need to demonstrate mastery of and where they can allow students to move in their own direction.

 

One example Fine has seen is in a project-based humanities classroom. Students started the class by reading about the anti-communist fervor of the 1950s and McCarthyism. Then for the latter half of the semester, students were tasked with using the same rhetoric from that time to create documentary films on a controversial subject of their choice. Essentially, the project allows students to understand propaganda by making their own propaganda film.

 

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2017/05/15/to-engage-students-and-teachers-treat-core-subjects-like-extracurriculars/

Resources:

 

Dyslexia Simulation

This simulation demonstrates some common symptoms of dyslexia. You are given 60 seconds to read a paragraph aloud. The letters in this paragraph are reversed, inverted, transposed, and spelling is inconsistent. There will be two questions to answer at the end of the 60 seconds, so you must decipher the words as best as you can.

*Caution: requires Flash Player

http://webaim.org/simulations/dyslexia

 

Web Spotlight:

 

Good with Tech

Here’s another one of my analogies for you:

Being “good with technology” : integrating technology :: being good at cursive : writing ability

 

https://techcoaches.dearbornschools.org/2017/05/16/good-with-technology/

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

 

Jokes You Can Use:  

 

I’m thinking of taking a second job. I’m going take a job cleaning mirrors. It’s something that I can really see myself doing. 

 

What do you call an educator who will not fart in public?

• A private tooter.

 

I’m really a down to earth person? Why?

• Gravity.

 

I love long walks. Especially when people who annoy me take them.

 

Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.

 

I’d like to propose a new day of the week – Someday. Just think of all the awesome stuff that would happen on it.

 

There’s a button on my oven that says “stop time”, I’m pretty sure it supposed to say “stop timer”, but I don’t touch it….just in case.

 

Advisory:

 

When to grit and when to quit

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

There is ample research suggesting that cultivating the ability to walk away from existing goals when for whatever reason (e.g. health, lack of hoped-for resources, or skills that despite practice never really developed) no longer serve us, and in order to pursue alternative goals, can be courageous, smart and strategic.

Rather than “Winners never quit,” I prefer, “A real winner knows when to quit and when to grit.” It’s a little long for a bumper sticker, but in my view, a better guide to live by.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-grit-quit-susan-a-david-ph-d-

 

Thumb Trick

Source: Removable Thumb Magic Trick by ViralHog on Rumble

 

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

 

Eclipse 2017 – Facts

 

This is the first in a multipart series on Eclipse 2017 utilizing the resources from NASA that can be found at:

http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov

 

Topics included in this podcast include:

1.  The date of the eclipse.
2.  Definition of a solar eclipse.
3.  Date of the next solar eclipse.
4.  Where to watch the eclipse.
5.  How to watch the eclipse.
6.  The length of the eclipse.
7.  The path of the solar eclipse.

 

For information on how to safely watch the eclipse, please visit:

http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

 

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/4/28_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Eclipse_2017_Facts.html

 

From the Twitterverse:  

Dru Tomlin‏ @DruTomlin_AMLE

Who made the list? The Final C Words We Need 2 Create Gr8 Schools 4 Young Adolescents! @AMLE ABCs blog=here: https://www.amle.org/Publications/BlogABCsofMiddleLevelEducation/TabId/937/ArtMID/3115/ArticleID/816/The-Last-C-Words-for-the-Critical-Middle-Grades.aspx … #mschat

Kelly Malloy‏ @kellys3ps

#truth

Marzano Research‏Verified account @MarzanoResearch

11 Active Learning Strategies by @finleyt #edchat #education #pblchat

Dave Burgess‏ @burgessdave

“The Danger of Never Being Done” Real talk about a real issue in education..the lack of balance. http://daveburgess.com/the-danger-of-never-being-done/ … #ZenTeacher #tlap

Kelly Malloy‏ @kellys3ps

Love this! What a great lesson for kids and adults alike! http://buff.ly/2pJatF5

MiddleWeb‏ @middleweb

REVIEW: Deepen Mathematical Thinking w Percussive Dance! @HeinemannPub #msmathchat #mathchat #edchat @mathinyourfeet https://www.middleweb.com/34632/deepen-math-thinking-with-percussive-dance/ …

Kelly Malloy‏ @kellys3ps

Minute to Win It Games are great for brain breaks, indoor recess, end of the year fun and more! http://buff.ly/2q6W2uV

 

#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/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/alternatives-to-homework.jpg

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

 

Ideas For How to Do Better Book Clubs in Middle School

 

“In 2015, I wrote a post discussing how I was doing book clubs with my 7th graders and how their ideas had shaped our process to be more powerful.  Two years later, I look at some of those ideas and see how my thinking has changed and also how much more ownership the student shave taken.  I, therefore, decided to update that post with what it looks like now.”

 

https://pernillesripp.com/2017/04/10/ideas-for-how-to-do-better-book-clubs-in-middle-school/

 

Resources:

 

“Why Can’t Our Business Be More Like Schools?”

But I’m also fully aware of many schools that are creating wonderful learning opportunities and spaces that take full advantage of limited resources.

The “make school more like a business” mantra creates all kinds of bad scenarios. Indeed, our obsession with data is partially due to the influence of business practices.

Businesses should be sending their emerging leaders to watch people like Chris Kennedy and Jordan Tinney or Kevin Worthy in action. They should see teachers like Kelli Holden co-teach with her colleagues. They would learn lots from seeing Sara Badiner keep 9th graders focused and learning despite raging hormones. I could spend the rest of my day listing all the amazing, talented educators who are pure artists.

http://ideasandthoughts.org/2017/04/11/why-cant-our-business-be-more-like-schools/

 

To Boost Higher-Order Thinking, Try Curation

 

Most of the above activities would not be very academically challenging if students merely had to assemble the collection. Adding a thoughtfully designed written component is what will make students do their best thinking in a curation assignment.

 

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/curation/

 

The Best Curator in the Room

In fact, I would argue that in our efforts at self-validation–in our needing to be the expert–we’re doing our students a disservice. Oh, we’re needed, without a doubt–just not for the same things any more. We still need to be experts in our content. We still need to have the discernment to know what materials are good and what are not. But our role has changed.

https://techcoaches.dearbornschools.org/2017/05/01/the-best-curator-in-the-room/

 

Web Spotlight:

 

Libivox

 

Public Domain AudioBooks.

https://librivox.org/

 

SYNC

SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for teens 13+. Returning April 27, 2017 SYNC will give away two complete audiobook downloads a week – pairs of high interest titles, based on weekly themes.   In 2016, 30 titles were given away over 15 weeks.

SYNC is sponsored by AudioFile Magazine and titles are delivered through the OverDrive app. Download the app in advance to whichever device you anticipate listening on and be ready to go!

Simply sign-up to get notifications of when the FREE audiobook downloads are available. You can receive alerts by text message, email newsletter, or by visiting www.audiobooksync.com. Titles change every Thursday at 7am ET when the program is running.

http://www.audiobooksync.com/

 

Random Thoughts . . .  

 

Personal Web Site

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!