Summary:
Shawn and Troy discuss ISTE, summer, and more. Dave has us naturally looking.
Jokes:
My kids love their trampoline, but they only spend 50% of the time bouncing up, wasting the other 50% falling down.
That’s why I’m not spending another penny on trampoline maintenance until they can improve efficiency and reduce wasted falling time to at most 25%.
What do you call a snail on a boat?
- A snailor.
Im color blind and the other day I thought I could actually detect purple… …but it was just a pigment of my imagination.
don’t run behind a car…
- you’ll get exhausted
don’t run in front of a car
- you’ll get tired
Me: I used to use an exercise bike
Daughter: Did you?
Me: Yeah, but I stopped
Daughter: Why?
Me: It was getting me nowhere
When I was abducted the aliens made me wipe my feet, blow my nose, and eat my greens…I think I was on the mother ship…
What do you call someone who has 10 ants?
- A landlord.
Do you think the movie Singing in the Rain would have been more effective is it was filmed in Singapore?
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Nature Scavenger Hunt
I was recently reading the May – June 2025 issue of “Science and Children”, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue, I read the section, “Science 101” written by Matt Bobrowsky. He wrote an article entitled, “‘What Would Be An Activity That Involves Both Learning and Play?.”
A nature scavenger hunt can encourage exploration, observation, and critical thinking while being fun and engaging which shows that it can be an activity that involves both learning and play.
http://k12science.net/nature-scavenger-hunt/
Reports from the Front Lines
- New Building
- Alaskan Heat Advisory
- WWDC
- Room Clean Out
- Flags
- Next Year Planning
- Field Trips
- Mi Youth in Government
- ISTE Prep
- EduCelebrity Sessions
- Food
- Wander
- Poetry Update
The Social Web
OED #WordOfTheDay: spring fret, n. A sense of restlessness or desire to wander, felt by humans or animals in the spring. View entry: https://oxford.ly/4kjWTj8
Gitanas Nausėda @GitanasNauseda
84 years ago, on June 14, the Soviet occupiers began the mass deportations from Lithuania. On this Day of Mourning and Hope, honor the memory of the hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians who were torn from their homes, families, and homeland by totalitarian Kremlin regime. Children, parents, intellectuals—entire generations—were deported in cattle cars to the unknown, condemned to hunger, suffering, and death. Their broken lives became the price of our lost freedom. But Lithuania did not surrender. Through resilience and courage, our people endured and reclaimed liberty. The pain of the past became the seed of our freedom. We remember. We carry their names, their stories, their truth. And we vow: never again.
REVIEW: Support student-driven learning in ELA classes. “Step Aside” is full of ideas secondary teachers can use to build classrooms that support and encourage students to be involved and engaged readers and writers. By Sarah Zerwin. https://middleweb.com/52319/support-
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social
Review: SUPPORT STUDENT-DRIVEN LEARNING IN ELA CLASSES. “Step Aside” is full of ideas secondary teachers can use to build classrooms that support and encourage students to be involved and engaged readers and writers. #edusky #educoach @laurenadavis.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/52319/suppor…
Foeke Postma @foeke.bsky.social
We ran 500 tests and: LLMs are quickly passing the threshold of being the most useful tool out there, if you’re looking for the location of a photo from scratch.
Yanis Varoufakis @yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social
Against Technofeudal Education – Pillars For Protecting Our “Core Infrastructure” From OpenAI theamericanvandal.substack.com/p/against-te…
AMLE is committed to supporting future educators. ⭐ That’s why we’re excited to announce a new program to celebrate exceptional middle level teacher prep programs. Congrats to @GeorgiaCollege & @NationalLouisU for their 2025 recognition! 🥳 Learn more: ow.ly/GJr050W7FRM
Strategies:
How to Make Learning Stick
For decades, there has been evidence that classroom techniques designed to get students to participate in the learning process produce better educational outcomes at virtually all levels. A Harvard study suggests it may be important to let students know it. The study shows that, though students felt as if they learned more through traditional lectures, they actually learned more when taking part in classrooms that employed so-called active-learning strategies by scoring higher on tests.
https://esheninger.blogspot.com/2021/05/how-to-make-learning-stick.html
Scaffolding Strategies to Teach Challenging Text
1 – Frontloading Key Concepts or Vocabulary
2 – Making Connections to Prior Experiences
3 – Partially Completed Graphic Organizers
Question-Answer Relationships, or QAR (Raphael, 1986)
https://www.middleweb.com/52305/scaffolding-strategies-to-teach-challenging-text/
Getting Math Students to Show Their Reasoning
…it feels like no matter what we do, students resist showing their reasoning.
https://www.middleweb.com/52313/getting-math-students-to-show-their-reasoning/
Resources:
AXIS The Culture Translator
Fake Plastic Trees
What it is: A new game on Roblox called “Grow a Garden” is attracting millions of players—and was reportedly created by a 16-year-old.
Why it’s popular: You might have guessed that the game would be about tending to a virtual garden. What you might not have guessed, unless you’re familiar with Roblox’s game mechanics, is how the game incentivizes spending (your parents’) real-life money to get ahead. Players start with a small amount of in-game currency, called “Sheckles.” They get enough to buy a few seeds, which grow into carrots, strawberries, and other crops—and they can then sell their harvest to make more Sheckles. It’s satisfying, but it also takes time—and seeing other players’ elaborate, gorgeous gardens might make the average player want to ask mom for her credit card to purchase more Sheckles and keep up. For more on how Roblox works, check out our 7 Minute Video.
Rock Lobster
What it is: Nautical-themed knitwear, such as lightweight beach sweaters emblazoned with lobsters, are selling out for Gen Z this summer.
Why it makes sense: “Coastal grandma” and “tomato girl summer” were both trending aesthetics in the warmer months last year, and this summer’s must-haves combine both. Searches for “lobster sweater” are surging, but the trend is bigger than Maine’s favorite fresh catch. Teen girls are aiming for a look that feels breezy, luxe, and kitsch—informed by proximity to wealth, but ultimately too cool to care. (See also: jewelry that celebrates sardines). This trend also reflects a change in how Gen Z wants to spend their summer. Jet-setting to a splashy (read: spendy) destination is still seen as desirable, but young people are also looking to elevate more humble experiences, like road tripping to quaint beach towns in Massachusetts or Rhode Island (“townsizing”)—locations where an embroidered crustacean is right on vibe.
National History Day Theme 2026
Revolution, Reaction, and Reform in History: https://nhd.org/en/contest/theme/
Organizer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1baC7qfreopboC5D19RRAQfmhAHCcx_URFT2q2SxyO5g/copy?usp=sharing
Web Spotlight:
The Phrases That Keep Us Stuck and What to Do About Them
These phrases are more than just words—they’re warning signs of fixed mindsets, low expectations, and a resistance to change. Left unchecked, they become part of the culture, quietly influencing decisions, limiting innovation, and undermining student success.
1. “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
2. “These kids can’t…“
3. “We tried that already.“
4. “It’s not my job.“
5. “They’re just not motivated.“
6. “That won’t work with our kids.“
https://esheninger.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-phrases-that-keep-us-stuck-and-what.html
Random Thoughts . . .
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