MSM 326: Just Your “Average” Podcast . . .
Jokes You Can Use:
What did Zero say to Eight? Nice belt. 0 – 8
I cut off part of my finger cutting cheese. But I think that I may have grater problems.
Today a girl said that she recognized me from the vegetarian club. But I’m pretty sure that I’ve never met herbivore.
I used to work in a calendar factory, but I got fired because I took a couple of days off.
Did you hear about the guy who invented LifeSavers? They say he made a mint.
Did you hear the FedEx and UPS are merging? They are going to go by Fed-Up.
Did you hear about the two peanuts on the street? One was assalted.
Eileen Award:
- Google+: Christopher Kochinsky
Advisory:
When Bullies Called This Girl a Fat Whale, She Decided to Help Actual Whales
Long story short, bullies suck. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, they will sniff out your insecurities and find any way to exploit them.
You can cower and lick your wounds, or you can do what this teenager in Lampasas, Texas did, and use their venom in a way that actually does some good.
(The Booster project is now closed.)
The Most Terrifying Urban Legends From Every Single State
http://twentytwowords.com/the-most-terrifying-urban-legends-from-every-single-state/
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Appropriate Chemicals
I was recently reading the February, 2016 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, “Scope on Safety.” It was written by Ken Roy, director of environmental health and safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, CT. The article focused in on the safety question of the month, which was: “How do I know whether a chemical is appropriate for my middle level science laboratory activity?”
From the Twitterverse:
Too often schools buy 3D printers because they are “bright/shining” items. We need designer first- DONT BUY TO BUY! #satchat
Storyboard That @StoryboardThat
Are you familiar with the story of Romulus and Remus? If not, read through our lesson plan! http://ow.ly/10bRu5
Middle level students learn content area vocabulary using the Vocabulary, Language, Prediction (VLP) approach http://ow.ly/IobS6
#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!”
Strategies:
ACTIVITY: FEEDBACK ACTION PLANNING TEMPLATE
I’ve been doing a ton of tinkering this year with the way that I give students feedback in my classroom. My goal is to steal Dylan Wiliam’s idea that our goal should be to turn feedback into detective work. That just feels right to me.
http://blog.williamferriter.com/2016/04/02/activity-feedback-action-planning-template/
Resources:
Differentiated Instruction in the Middle and High School, Strategies to Engage All Learners by Dr. Kristina Doubet
We did an interview with Dr. Doubet a while ago on Differentiated Instruction and it seems she has a book on the subject (differentiation, not our interview) which was published while we were in China last year.
Alternatives to YouTube
Some excellent educational content can be found on YouTube. However, many teachers cannot access YouTube in their classrooms. Therefore, I compiled a list of other places to find educational videos that don’t rely on YouTube.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/47-alternatives-to-using-youtube-in.html#.Vv_YQRMrJdA
5 tips to improve your critical thinking – Samantha Agoos
Every day, a sea of decisions stretches before us, and it’s impossible to make a perfect choice every time. But there are many ways to improve our chances — and one particularly effective technique is critical thinking. Samantha Agoos describes a 5-step process that may help you with any number of problems.
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/5-tips-to-improve-your-critical-thinking-samantha-agoos
Web Spotlight:
What Do We Lose By Measuring ‘Average’ In Education?
http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/28/what-do-we-lose-by-measuring-average-in-education/
NOT JUST A GIRL
5 Ways to Help Girls Achieve Their Potential
by Vicki Davis
I dropped my end of the heavy battery. Daddy and I needed to “jump off” or start up the irrigation system. I was perhaps eight and my sister and Mom were somewhere else.
“It is too heavy for me Dad, I’m just a girl.” I whimpered as dust swirled around my end of the battery.
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/closing-the-gender-gap-one-girl-at-a-time/
Chronicle of the Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle.html
SINGULAR EDUCATION FOCUS
http://sweattoinspire.com/2016/04/02/singular-education-focus/
Random Thoughts . . .