Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Spring Break, Learning Loss, and more. Dave journals Nature. 

Jokes:  

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I’m thinking of getting trained to use trucks in reverse.

• It’s a backup job

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I talk to myself. 

• Sometimes I need expert advice.

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I asked my German student if he knew what 10-1 was equal to.

• He told me no.

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I just saw a Cure cover band. They were amazing. If anything, they were even better than the Cure. 

• They’re called Prevention.

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There’s a contest to name a bridge. The leading name is currently Chuck Norris. I don’t think that is going to work. 

• Nobody crosses Chuck Norris

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My day started out really bad. I rear ended a car so I got out with my documents. Out of the car I hit came a dwarf looking angry. I said you’re not Happy are you…that’s when the fight started.

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I just saw a car being driven by a sheep in a swimsuit.

• It was a Lamb Bikini

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A friend of mine called and asked to meet at the music shop in 45. I made it in 33; which is record speed.

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Did you know the word “gullible” is not in the dictionary? True, you can look it up. 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Nature Journals

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section, “Interdisciplinary Ideas,” written by Katie Coppens.  She wrote an article entitled, “Creating Confidence and Community Through Nature Journals.” 

Nature journals are a great tool for teaching students how to think about and express science in a way that’s individualized to their needs, while also connecting them to their classmates, teacher, and nature.  Nature journaling also allows students to grow in their ability to observe, reflect, and document their own scientific understanding.

http://k12science.net/nature-journals/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Summer PD
• Moving buildings – chip shortage
• Tools that you have
• Instructional Coaching
• Router Update
• Apple Learning Coach

The Twitterverse  

Jack Berckemeyer  @JBerckemeyer

Middle School Educators- I am working on a list of what teams need from their admin. Some examples- Permission to be flexible with core time, ability to create reward systems for our students on our team, one parent communication log verse one per core teacher…… What else?

dailySTEM (Chris Woods)  @dailystem

Hey teachers…here’s a fun paper project on @instructables for your students… Instructions: https://instructables.com/Easter-Egg-3D-

The Kyiv Independent@KyivIndependent

Award-winning film composer Hans Zimmer interrupted his own concert in London on March 25 to show a video of Lviv-based pianist Alex Pian performing Zimmer’s pieces from the film Inception “Time,” amid air raids.  https://twitter.com/i/status/1507515074264641538  

RandomTeacher

@TheReelRandom

I was today years old when I learned you can just drop an emoji on the GIF search bar and “POOF”… you get results… proving once again that I’m old as dirt.

Yasin Dahi  @ymdahi

5 New #H5P Content Types now available on #LibreStudio, bringing the total number to 55! There are also 6200+ openly licensed (mostly #CC) H5P in the Catalogue, making it the largest openly shared @H5PTechnology repo (I think?!) #OER https://studio.libretexts.org

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

Strategies:  

Readlee

Effortlessly identify struggling readers, monitor progress, and automate differentiated scaffolding. 

https://www.readlee.com/

Resources:  

Analyze My Writing

Several interesting choices. These could be used by students or teachers. 

• Basic Text Statistics
• Common Words and Phrases
• Readability
• Lexical Density
• Passive Voice
• Cloze Test

https://www.analyzemywriting.com/index.html#annotations:g5Y2bKeUEeyhIU8loz1lYA

TEACHING THE HARD HISTORY OF AMERICAN SLAVERY

https://www.splcenter.org/teaching-hard-history-american-slavery#annotations:-TX61KxhEeyaLQvee9dPMw

Civics Connected

https://www.civicsconnected.com/virtual-field-trip/#annotations:klM-5KncEey9V89QUdS6KA

Incredible Comparisons

https://magazine.lensvid.com/article/tw/1170023852/incredible-comparisons-show-us-things-in-a-new-way/#annotations:0N4_TKxcEeyluBvrtWiPag?pg=34

The Art of Luca

https://disney-studios-awards.s3.amazonaws.com/luca/books/flipH45pEt23wR/index.html#annotations:CU9g-Kk0Eeyk7fNzJkiIBA

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy talk about Julius Caesar, go on a rathole or two, and conferences. Dave is all about implicit bias. 

Jokes:  

Where do you go if you are injured while playing Peek-a-Boo!?

• The ICU

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If the first picture is a pair of scissors, what is the second?

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What if my dog only brings back the ball because she thinks I like throwing it?

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Intentionally losing a game of rock, paper, scissors is just as hard as trying to win.

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What has four letters, never has five letters, and always has six letters?

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I was having dinner and the waitress screamed “does anyone know CPR?” I yelled, “I know the entire alphabet” and we all laughed and laughed. Well, except for this one guy.

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People have always told me that icy is the easiest word to spell. Now that I think about it, 

• I see why

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Middle School Science Minute  

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

Implicit Bias

I was recently reading the March/April 2022 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section, “From the Editor’s Desk,” written by Patty McGinnis.  She wrote an article entitled, “Implicit Bias Has No Room in the Classroom.” 

The tendency for stereotype-confirming thoughts to pass spontaneously through our minds is what psychologists call implicit bias.  One way to cultivate an awareness of our own implicit biases is to participate in Harvard University’s Project Implicit:

https://bit.ly/3rpscjM

The project website contains numerous tests designed for individuals to uncover their biases.

http://k12science.net/implicit-bias/ 

Reports from the Front Lines

• Julius Caesar Forums
• Conferences going in-person
  • ISTE hybrid
• Looking forward to break
• Surprise!  

The Twitterverse  

Dr. John Spencer  @spencerideas

Debunking 5 Myths About Project-Based Learning https://edutopia.org/blog/debunking-five-pbl-myths-john-larmer

Via  @edutopia

Nick LaFave @NFLaFave

Transform text with this awesome font generator. Choose from a variety of popular fonts from products to video games to movies and TV shows. https://ift.tt/HmAzTPC #EdTech #EdChat #Fonts

TeacherGoals  @teachergoals·

For real! 

𝓓𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓾 𝓔𝓭.𝓓.   @daveschmittou

Dear Principals- This spring, ask your staff if they can identify your three most important principles. You are a more effective principal if you have clearly defined and explicitly activated principles.

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

Strategies:  

Resources:  

Axis:  The Culture Translator

1. Tokking Points:  What it is: The White House briefed TikTok stars on the Russian invasion and subsequent humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.  
2. Slang of the Week:  Flop era: a period in your life when it feels like everything is falling apart. (Ex: “That time my face was breaking out, my parents grounded me from my phone, and I couldn’t pass advanced calculus… that was my flop era.”)

Hemingway App

Useful for students to review their own writing. There are two modes, write and edit. Students get lots of feedback. 

https://hemingwayapp.com/

Habits for a Healthy Democracy

The principles, habits, and behaviors that are important to support a healthy democracy

https://www.globalonenessproject.org/lessons/habits-healthy-democracy#annotations%3AIYSPGKYAEeyywstBe3ljlw=

StorySet

https://storyset.com/#annotations:RD3ECqRoEeymeN_6oLq8xQ

Web Spotlight:

Does Teaching Experience Increase Teacher Effectiveness? A Review of the Research (Tara Kini and Anne Podolsky)

Does Teaching Experience Increase Teacher Effectiveness? A Review of the Research (Tara Kini and Anne Podolsky)

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Summary:

Troy and Shawn share thoughts about kids starting a podcast about book club, going to Europe, and more. Dave has some tips about teaching science. 

Jokes:  

When you clean your vacuum, you become the Vacuum Cleaner.

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Had a debate with a flat earther. He said he’d walk to the edge to prove me wrong. I said, “you’ll come around eventually”. 

---

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Shout out to the people who want to know what the opposite of in is. 

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Hey, now that things are opening back up, the re-opening of the Lego store was a huge event.

• People were lined up for blocks.

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Your fingers have fingertips, but your toes don’t have toetips.

• Yet, you can tiptoe, but not tipfinger. 

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• The word Queue is just a Q followed by 4 silent letters. 

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You recite in a play and play in a recital. 

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Middle School Science Minute  

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

Classroom Success

I was recently reading the January/February 2022 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  In this issue, I read the section, “Focus on Physics,” written by Paul G. Hewitt.  He wrote an article entitled, “A Personal Journey to Classroom Success.” 

There are some central rules to heed, in order to be, an appreciated and effective science teacher:

1. Attitude
2. Do Less professing and more questioning and listening
3. Not knowing everything is okay
4. Pace your class well
5. Exam coverage
6. Don’t frown on the notion of “teaching to the test”
7. Exam fairness
8. Grade exams in a timely manner and post scores quickly
9. Respect is a two-way street

http://k12science.net/classroom-success/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Podcast from kids
• PD for next year
• Tech use moving forward
• How is student behavior different

The Twitterverse  

Alan See @AlanSee

20 Enduring Proverbs Written By Ben Franklin!

https://t.co/YJDjn3z1st

Joy Kirr (she/her)  @JoyKirr

My #DailyGoodness for today: Student who was failing (how can you fail Mrs. Kirr’s class?!?!) put in effort today and got all answers right. I asked, “Hmm… why do you think that is?” Answer: “I actually read the article.” Small successes are still successes.

Ramona Towner @rmbtowner_tech

Apple Elements of Learning – Personalized Learning https://bloglovin.com/blogs/tales-an-icoach-10950069/apple-elements-learning-personalized-learning-8404359267 on @bloglovin

Dr. Joanne Freeman  @jbf1755

Want Americans to understand their government? Teach them history. Want them to know the rights & duties of citizenship? Teach them history. Want them to understand present problems? Teach them history. Want numbed disoriented Americans? Close history dept’s

Natalie Arias, M.Ed.  @natariastx

Students don’t hate technology. They hate the substitution of technology for work that was already busy-work on paper.

Fixing Education  @FixingEducation

When educators are given way too much to do.

When educators are given way too much to do. pic.twitter.com/AxBbYYdS1g

— Fixing Education (@FixingEducation) March 9, 2022

Revolving_Door_Admin  @RAD_is_awesome

The Coordinator of Curriculum and Director of Curriculum can’t agree on the latest flavor-of-the-month acronym they want teachers to implement. So instead of arguing, they decided that teachers will be required to use both in their classrooms.

Typical EduCelebrity   @EduCelebrity

Principal: What is a good opening activity that will tie in to my presentation? Me: “Turn to a partner and discuss a moment in which you needlessly wasted everyone’s time.”  

Warren Smith  @WarrenColeSmith

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

Resources:  

France24:  Truth or Fake?

Want a resource that focuses on showing how media can be “managed?”  Take a look at France24’s Truth or False? Segment.  Airs daily and you can find it here:

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/

Axis:  The Culture Translator

Outta pocket: This older slang has been making the rounds and is used to mean “out of line” or “acting inappropriate.” (Ex: “This guy is absolutely outta pocket, cutting me off like that.”)

Pi Day

Pi Day – Celebrate Mathematics on March 14th

Annotate With Ease

Try a free tool that does all you need without the bloat. Made for Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome and your web browser.

https://markuphero.com/try/annotate.html#annotations:XfzD_qIREey4UJePmg5V0w

TypaTone

https://typatone.com/annotations:mxi8wJ8UEey7H9enNKsDCw

Vocal Remover

https://vocalremover.org/#annotations:A2mzhJ8UEeysDifKokDbHQ

Teaching Digital Citizenship

InCtrl is a series of free standards-based lessons that teach key digital citizenship concepts. These lessons, for students in grades 4-8, are designed to engage students through inquiry-based activities, and collaborative

and creative opportunities.

https://teachinctrl.org/#annotations:qacFWKIREeyjR89ga8dohQ

Web Spotlight:

Maps

#4: The Highest Paid Public Employees in America

https://parentinfluence.com/these-maps-portray-the-u-s-more-accurately-is/5/

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Summary:

Shawn and Troy discuss technology in Shawn’s room, H5P, world events, and more. Dave has designs on science success. 

Jokes:  

Did you hear about the guy who got hit by a milk truck? I mean, what are the odds?

• Like 2%

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A cop pulled me over for speeding in my RV. He asked me where I live.

• I said right here. … 

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Where does Captain Hook buy his hooks?

• At the second-hand store

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Please welcome our next band, the Subtractions

• Take it away….
• I just hope that there is no division between them

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My favorite waltz band is called the 75%

• They always play in 3/4 time

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What part of a person dies last?

• The pupils – they die late

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My friend named his new dog Liberace because he drinks a lot of water. 

• That’s right, he’s a peeinsist

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If a wild male pig kills you, doesn’t that mean you’ve been boared to death?

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What does one tree that has been cut down say to other trees?

• I’m stumped…

Middle School Science Minute  

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

K12Science Podcast:  Uncovering Students’ Ideas About Using Designs From Nature

I was recently reading the January/February 2022 issue of “Science & Children” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.  

In this issue, I read the section, “Formative Assessment Probes,” written by Page Keeley.  She wrote an article entitled, “Uncovering Students’ Ideas About Using Designs From Nature.” 

Scientists seek to understand the natural world, while engineers solve problems in a human-designed world.  While there are similarities and differences between the work of scientists and engineers, some students may think the natural world applies only to science.

 http://k12science.net/uncovering-students-ideas-about-using-designs-from-nature/

Reports from the Front Lines

• Current Events
• New H5P – Pickup with Cornell Notes

The Twitterverse  

Typical EduCelebrity 🧠@EduCelebrity·

Teachers, I know many of you go into your school while it is still dark outside. But don’t fret! That same beautiful night sky will be there to greet you when you get home!

Melissa D@Dean_of_math

This.

https://twitter.com/Dean_of_math/status/1497695305608826884/photo/1

Social Media Lab @SMLabTO

Fake viral footage is spreading alongside the real horror in Ukraine. Here are 5 ways to spot it

https://t.co/Yc7Kz1q3ch

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

Strategies:  

Jigsaw

From the wonderful Larry Felazzo

https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2022/02/25/heres-a-short-slidedeck-i-made-for-our-school-on-the-difference-between-cooperative-collaborative-jigsaws-2/

Resources:  

Name Picker Ninja

https://www.namepickerninja.com/index.html#annotations:OKV7Po54EeyJI2MmMkf2tA

Axis:  The Culture Translator

1.  Big Sis Tok:  TikTok and Instagram personalities like Tinx are giving advice on dating, fashion, and a new type of lifestyle sensibility.
2. Fake Breaking News:  Some content creators on social media are claiming to offer an inside look at what war looks like in Ukraine right now. A lot of these posts are fake.  
3. Slang of the Week:  Lovebombing: therapy-speak for when an abusive romantic partner or loved one deluges you with gifts, praise, and affirmation as a form of manipulation, this term has made its way to mental health TikTok where it is applied to a variety of different situations. (Ex: “I thought he was really into me because he went all-out Valentine’s Day, but he’s been ghosting me ever since. Total lovebomber.”)

Heardle

Like Wordle but for music

https://www.heardle.app/

Pirate Math Equation Quest

We designed this version of Pirate Math Equation Quest as an individual intervention for use with students at the third-grade instructional level. This version of the program was developed to offer support to Tier-2 and Tier-3 students who require supplemental mathematics remediation in the area of word-problem solving. The focus of the Pirate Math Equation Quest individual intervention is single-digit and double-digit additive word problems that include three schemas: Total, Difference, and Change.

https://www.piratemathequationquest.com/

Podcasts For Kids

https://www.timeout.com/kids/best-podcasts-for-kids-of-all-ages#annotations:JiEi6JlxEeydcYfqZIkFbg

National Anthem Day

Web Spotlight:

Trauma and Learning in an International Context

The Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity invites you to join our inaugural international convening of trauma and learning. Six educators from Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Ecuador, and the United States will facilitate a dialogue on the conceptualization of trauma and responses to it based on the country and cultural context.

Register for this free virtual event.

https://lesley.edu/events/international-convening-of-trauma-and-learning

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