Jokes You Can Use:  

I met a guy from Australia who works in IT.

I asked him, “Do you come from a LAN down under?”

Have you heard of the blind cyclops brothers?

• Neither have eye.

Where do naughty rainbows go?

• Prism.

Advisory:

Smart Home

The film opens in a smart home, where the slightly smug owner can do everything from making a smoothie to unlocking the front door simply by voice command. Everything runs smooth (sic) until a trip to the dentist and a numbing Novocaine injection…  [Run time: 1:10]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwPtcqcqz00#annotations:qz3WxmOKEem0aZewj9dYsQ

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Outstanding STEM Books for 2019 Part 2

This is the second of a two-part podcast series initiated by reading the March, 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 on the “Outstanding STEM Trade Books for Students K-12: 2019. In this podcast, I feature four STEM books:

1. Cyrus Field’s Big Dream: The Daring Effort to Lay the First Transatlantic Cable
2. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Rivalry, Adventure, and the History of the World From the Periodic Table of the Elements
3. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
4. Inga’s Amazing Ideas

From the Twitterverse:  

Jessica Golz‏ @teachergolz

“Mrs Golz, do you have any good books?” …currently working on making our library shelves come alive with these *genre exploration stations* book summaries read to our kids by my amazing staff #empower203 #edtech #librarylife #millstreetmustangs

Kathi Kersznowski‏ @kerszi

WHOA! You’ve just GOT to see this! There is magic in this cube, I swear! Check out this quick video I made to see some of the new awesomeness brought to us by @MergeVR #edtech #MIEExpert #MicrosoftEdu #MergeCube #merge #ARVRinEDU #FlipgridFever  

Global Problem Solvers: The Series‏ @gpstheseries

While Millennials spend an average of 35 hours every week on digital media, nearly six out of 10 can’t do basic tasks such as sorting and searching for and emailing data from a spreadsheet.

Michigan History Day‏ @mihistoryday

Who’s in the auditorium, ready for the opening ceremony? #MHD2019

Will Richardson-Moving schools to Modern Learning‏ @willrich45

“If we don’t assess what we value, we will end up valuing what we assess.” Truth is, most of what we assess for has little or nothing to do with learning. It’s the “immeasurables” that will determine whether or not kids thrive. #satchat

Ms.Lavery‏ @fssdPGMSLavery

Teacher Tip Print out premade late passes and include your @Bitmoji for a personal touch! Check out these below These are great when you are busy teaching and need to quickly fill in the information. @WeAreTeachers @teacher2teacher

Jacie Maslyk‏ @DrJacieMaslyk

Great Ways to Make Learning Visible #satchat

Screencastify 🎬‏ @Screencastify

Have you applied to be our April Teacher of the month yet? If not, what are you waiting on? You could win $300 in @DonorsChoose , a free #Screencastify premium account, and a lot of bragging rights TODAY IS THE LAST DAY. Apply now!

Ditch That Textbook‏ @DitchThatTxtbk

30 activities for any Depth of Knowledge level Fabulous ideas curated from last night’s #DitchBook chat https://wp.me/p3bT67-2y3  via @jmattmiller #DOK

Chad Frye‏ @ModestlyChad

Bears do love their honey. I love doing drawings in my toned tan paper sketchbook. Have a happy weekend everybody! #animation #illustration #cartoon #animals #bears #bear #InkSketch #inked #sketchbook #sketch #drawing #honey #bees

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

Strategies:

Benchmark Assessments: Weighing the Pig More Often?

Benchmark Assessments: Weighing the Pig More Often?

Brain Breaks and Focused Strategies – Edutopia  

Quick breaks that help students refocus so they can return to work feeling centered and ready to learn.  But do be aware that half of them are the old “Brain Gym” strategies that Britain spent millions of dollars researching to discover that they don’t work.  

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/brain-breaks-focused-attention-practices-lori-desautels

For information on the British view of “Brain Gym” see:  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/apr/07/education

The Daily Mail quotes Education Secretary Ed Balls on “Brain Gym”:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1237042/Brain-gym-pupils-pointless-admits-Balls.html  

Resources:

Evidence for ESSA

Our goal is to provide clear and authoritative information on programs that meet the ESSA evidence standards and enable educators and communities to select effective educational tools to improve student success.

https://www.evidenceforessa.org/#annotations:oM5xOmN9EemkzoOlpFbHZw

Principles of Instruction

This booklet is about the most effective methods of teaching and presents ten research-based principles of instruction. These principles come from three sources:

(a) research on how the brain acquires and uses new information;

(b) research on the classroom practices of those teachers whose students show the highest gains; and

(c) findings from studies related to students’ learning strategies.

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/en/document/principles-instruction-educational-practices-21#annotations:IPgQ4mN9Eem71ut24oSETw

Creative Law Center – Open Access

Nicely done information about Open Access. Great list of museums which have resources available.

https://creativelawcenter.com/museums-open-access-images/

Open GLAM

Welcome to OpenGLAM Open Collections. We have brought together collections from around the world that provide digital scans or photos that can be freely used without any restrictions. This is an ever expanding list so if you know of collections that are not listed here please add them through our contribute an item page and we will get them online!

https://openglam.org/open-collections/

Open Access at the Cleveland Museum of Art

http://www.clevelandart.org/open-access

Web Spotlight:

Cheery Thoughts

https://www.middleweb.com/40050/why-i-keep-a-supply-of-cheery-thoughts-nearby/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site  

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:  

How do you make a water bed more bouncy?

• Add spring water

What do you call a polite man who builds bridges?

• A civil engineer

I just Googled the phrase “missing medieval servant”.

• It came back with “Page not found”.

I’ve written a book about falling down a staircase.

• It’s a step by step guide.

A friend asked me if I knew anything about 1’s and 0’s.

• I told him I knew a bit.

If you aren’t impressed with the picture of the first black hole…

• You clearly don’t understand the gravity of the situation.

I totally understand why people work at fragrance factories.

• Makes scents

A cop pulled me over and asked me, “Where were you between 5 and 6?”

• I replied, “Kindergarten.”

Advisory:

Teach Girls to be Brave, not Perfect

We’re raising our girls to be perfect, and we’re raising our boys to be brave, says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. Saujani has taken up the charge to socialize young girls to take risks and learn to program — two skills they need to move society forward. To truly innovate, we cannot leave behind half of our population, she says. “I need each of you to tell every young woman you know to be comfortable with imperfection.”

May be best to be shared with Staff.

How risk-taking changes a teenager’s brain

Why do teenagers sometimes make outrageous, risky choices? Do they suddenly become reckless, or are they just going through a natural phase? To find out, Kashfia Rahman — winner of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (and a Harvard freshman) — designed and conducted an experiment to test how high school students respond to and get used to risk, and how it changes their still-developing brains. What she discovered about risk and decision-making could change how we think about why teens do what they do.

Optical illusions show how we see

Beau Lotto’s color games puzzle your vision, but they also spotlight what you can’t normally see: how your brain works. This fun, first-hand look at your own versatile sense of sight reveals how evolution tints your perception of what’s really out there.

Rube Goldberg Machine

135 Facts

http://mentalfloss.com/article/508255/amazing-facts-people-who-amazing-facts

Easter in European Languages

https://jakubmarian.com/easter-in-european-languages-map/

Middle School Science Minute  

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

OUTSTANDING STEM TRADE BOOKS 2019 – PART ONE

This is the first of a two-part podcast series fostered by reading the March, 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 on the “Outstanding STEM Trade Books for Students K-12: 2019.  In this podcast, I feature three STEM books:

1.  Astronaut-Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact

2.  Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree

3.  Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon

From the Twitterverse:  

MiddleWeb‏ @middleweb

REVIEW: Strategies for Building on Students’ Strengths. @Dr_Armstrong #mschat #educoach #edchat @ASCD In the 4th edition of his Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, Thomas Armstrong offers a practical, balanced approach. #tlap #elachat #ellchat https://www.middleweb.com/40131/strategies-for-building-on-student-strengths/ …

John Meehan‏ @MeehanEDU

A4. Every Thursday our admin team sends a weekly enewsletter with faculty Shout Outs! Once a year for teacher appreciation week, we even ask students to submit their own shout outs to teachers who are making an impact in the classroom. Great way to spotlight great work! #satchat

George Couros‏Verified account @gcouros

It’s Friday GIF Day 🙂 You get an email from your admin that just says, “Come see me at the end of the day.”. In GIF form, share how you are feeling. Go!

Secondary Principals‏ @massp

Would your students benefit from an hour lunch break with built in time to make up assignments & get extra help? Learn about one school’s “half time” program: http://sbne.ws/r/BXYa

John Meehan‏ @MeehanEDU

A3. We’ve rolled out the @oconnellhs “igKnight Academy” – a radical self-guided approach to PD where teachers pursue their passion projects and earn “course” credit for asynchronous learning. Now sleepy PD meetings become collaboration days! Details: https://edrenalinerush.com/resources/igknight-academy/ …

Ditch That Textbook‏ @DitchThatTxtbk

50+ awesome end-of-year ideas, activities and projects Brilliant ideas curated from last night’s #Ditchbook chat https://wp.me/p3bT67-2wo  via @jmattmiller

Eric Curts‏ @ericcurts

Google Tools for English Language Learners https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2018/08/google-ell.html … #GSuiteEDU #edtech

Kayla Weidert‏ @MrsWeidert

Alright twitter, do your magic… our 7th grade geo class needs your help. We are collecting data from around the US about words that are prounced [sic]  differently by region. Please consider filling out this survey! Our goal is 1000 responses! RETWEET away! https://t.co/uy6kTcyrO5  

Karalee Nakatsuka 🐸‏ @historyfrog

John Brown is getting a lot of support for his Raid on Harper’s Ferry. My Ss did a great job creating historical Go Fund Me campaigns. @historysandoval @lantonha @FirstAveMS Happy #FrogtasticFriday

Lee Araoz‏ @LeeAraoz

Genius Hour projects are an awesome way to end the school year with passion-based, student-directed learning!! #satchat My updated collection of Genius Hour resources is here:

https://www.smore.com/8u0qp

Edgar Allan Foe‏ @blacksmoke1033 Apr 18

This cretin has been dropping sticks down our chimney for weeks and today he finally accidentally dropped himself, this is the face of someone who knows they’ve been HAD

Let’s jump right in! How can we build a culture of readers in our classrooms and/or at home? #pd4uandme

Teresa Gross 📝📚‏ @teresagross625

Our librarian does flipgrid videos and then puts them in the stacks as QR codes. The Ss fill out a form, record and submit to her. @PMMSLibrary #pd4uandme

John Faig‏ @johnfaig

John Faig Retweeted Simon Kuestenmacher

Thanks. Where were you when I needed this in the 6th grade (40 years ago).

John Faig added,

Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600

The Mercator projection distorts size of countries on a map. This animation compares the real area of countries with the distorted view in Mercator projections. Source: https://buff.ly/2Gx4ydJ

0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes

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

Strategies:

Is Your School Schedule Flexible?  AMLE and Elliot Merenbloom

Early leaders of the middle school concept established the goal of flexible organizational structures. But what is flexibility? The answer might include

• The utilization of opportunities to make change
• The absence of rigidity
• An openness to various ways of implementing decisions, programs, or policies
• Recognition of the unique needs of individuals

http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/1018/Is-Your-School-Schedule-Flexible.aspx

Resources:

GREAT – & I MEAN GREAT! – COLLECTION OF SCIENCE EXPERIMENT YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Great – & I Mean Great! – Collection Of Science Experiment YouTube Channels

TEACHING OUR KIDS ABOUT THE NECESSARY WORK TO HAVE AN OPINION

“I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that

I don’t know the other side’s argument better than they do.”

— Charlie Munger

http://ajjuliani.com/teaching-our-kids-the-necessary-work-to-have-an-opinion/#annotations:uZhXkloBEemSYDdmz1NuLg

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Pomological Watercolor Collection

The USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection documents fruit and nut varieties developed by growers or introduced by USDA plant explorers around the turn of the 20th century. Technically accurate paintings were used to create lithographs illustrating USDA bulletins, yearbooks, and other series distributed to growers and gardeners across America.

https://usdawatercolors.nal.usda.gov/pom/home.xhtml#annotations:yIc1xFu_Eemvhns7HcPOOg

Museum of Endangered Sounds

http://savethesounds.info/

Web Spotlight:

Crowd

Be a virtual volunteer!

Anyone can contribute. Improve access to history by transcribing, reviewing, and tagging Library of Congress documents.

https://crowd.loc.gov/

Click the Play button below to listen to the show!

Jokes You Can Use:  

Science Humor

• Two satellite antennas got married. The ceremony was only so-so, but the reception was fantastic.

• I thought about cutting my sodium intake, but then I was like, “Na.”

• Parallel lines have so much in common, it’s a shame they’ll never meet.

Did you hear about the Dad who taught his daughter the definition of “bargain”?

• She said, “Thanks, Dad, that means a great deal”.

Did you hear about the guy who was looking at Tuxedo’s? He was irritated that the salesman kept hanging around and asked him to leave. The salesman’s response?

• Fine, suit yourself

Seems every morning someone is putting a bunch of celery on my porch.

• I think I’m being stalked.

What do you call friends that you like to eat with?

• Tastebuds

Middle School Science Minute  

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

I was recently reading the February, 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, Michelle Stagnitta is featured. She is a middle school General Science and Living Environment teacher in New York. Her advice for a new science teacher is:

“Use inquiry whenever possible to get your students thinking.”

“The dihydrogen monoxide parody involves calling water by the unfamiliar chemical name “dihydrogen monoxide” (DHMO), or “hydroxylic acid” in some cases, and listing some of water’s well-known effects in a particularly alarming manner, such as accelerating corrosion and causing suffocation. The parody often calls for dihydrogen monoxide to be banned, regulated, or labeled as dangerous. It illustrates how a lack of scientific literacy and an exaggerated analysis can lead to misplaced fears.”

From the Twitterverse:  

John Spencer‏ @spencerideas

My daughter created a sketch-note writing prompt. She’ll be adding music tomorrow. She wrote it, recorded it, edited it, and then decided to scrap it when she didn’t like her voice. Then, she said today, let me record again, and she’ll be posting it.

Richard Byrne‏ @rmbyrne

One of my new hobbies is unfollowing ed tech “influencers” who are clearly only influenced by the companies who pay them. Doing that has tremendously lowered my blood pressure.

John Meehan‏ @MeehanEDU

Slideshows 101: 1. SEVEN words. Max. 2. With kids: Take the age of the youngest person in the room. Double it. That’s the smallest font you’re allowed. 3. With adults: Take the age of the oldest person in the room. Divide it in half. That’s the smallest font you’re allowed.

Maire Cervenak‏ @MaireCervenak

Standardized tests were not created to understand kids, they were created to segregate them.

Gary G. Abud, Jr.‏ @MR_ABUD

Get a head start on your summer reading list this weekend at @BookstockMI. The largest event of its kind pays it forward by making great used books available at great deals, and for a great cause! #michED #AD #Detroit Spread the word!

WeAreTeachers‏ @WeAreTeachers

Use plastic eggs for classroom curriculum! Check out these curriculum ideas using Easter eggs. Plus more ideas here —-> #ClassroomHack #Upcycling #HandsOnLearning

Phyllis Fagell, LCPC‏ @Pfagell

To kick off a positive cycle, urge teen girls to replace selfies & party pics w/ shout-outs for friends who’ve reached personal goals. Girls want to reciprocate kind gestures, & they learn that loyalty & tenacity matter more than popularity or appearance.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/7-ways-parents-can-teach-girls-to-build-each-other-up-instead-of-tearing-each-other-down/2018/10/29/92550976-c016-11e8-9005-5104e9616c21_story.html?utm_term=.731d3cee440c  

Larry Ferlazzo‏Verified account @Larryferlazzo

Class Invention Project – Including Handout & Examples https://t.co/lVJnI5xb3b  

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

Strategies:

The Science of Drawing and Memory

https://www.edutopia.org/article/science-drawing-and-memory#annotations:1YExlFelEemuMPfneGojSw

Don’t Let Questioning Be Like a Ping Pong Game

https://www.middleweb.com/40018/dont-let-questioning-be-like-a-ping-pong-game/

Resources:

Sans Forgetica

Sans Forgetica is a font designed using the principles of cognitive psychology to help you to better remember your study notes.

It was created by a multidisciplinary team of designers and behavioural scientists from RMIT University.

Sans Forgetica is compatible with both PC and Mac operating systems. Download it for free today, or keep scrolling to learn more about how it was made.

http://sansforgetica.rmit/

Writing A Better Multiple-Choice Question: What Does Research Indicate?

https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2018/09/26/wabmcq/#annotations:maHPMFQXEemv9itslo5ggg

Fold 3:  Civil War Records Free Until April 15th

http://fnote.it/6wzm

Web Spotlight:

Vox Article:  The Dunning-Krueger Effect

There are some interesting quotes to take away from the article and use in class.  A meme generator would be good here. “When arguing with a fool, first make sure the other person isn’t doing the same thing.”  

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/11/18/16670576/dunning-kruger-effect-video?fbclid=IwAR2bJoqcAwxZblRwatoCwVMCkR9NkCcNyO1_na5mfS0WPaTALiykdPxrE7Q

This Program Preps Middle Schoolers for Top-Notch High Schools

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/04/04/this-program-preps-middle-schoolers-for-top-notch.html#annotations:NxfRBlemEemebhdf-ZuWyQ

Launch Michigan

https://launchmichigan.org/press-release-nearly-17000-educators-share-perspectives-in-launch-michigan-statewide-survey/#annotations:KZ1w-FemEemC9Idow2h93g

7 Future Driven Questions to Discuss With Your Team

http://www.davidgeurin.com/2019/04/7-future-driven-questions-to-discuss.html

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