Category: advisory

Jokes You Can Use:

What did the teacher say after breaking up a fight by two invisible students.

“Move along, folks. There’s nothing to see here!”

Advisory:

Middle School Science Minute  

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

3D Design Class

I was recently reading the Summer, 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 the article, “The New Standard in Technology Education: 3D Design Class.” It was written by Andrew Gillen.  The article explains how to get started in 3D design and provides an introductory 3D modeling course outline.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/9/8_Middle_School_Science_Minute-3D_Design_Class.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Robyn McCarthy ‏@moocargirl

@DruTomlin_AMLE Link to #trustmapping journal article by Peter Cavanagh http://www.adolescentsuccess.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AdolescentSuccess_November_Volume14-2.pdf …

Will Richardson ‏@willrich45 New Jersey, USA

Always interesting to me how we seem to ignore the very nature of learning when we talk about “learning.” It’s joy, not work.

7 retweets 13 likes

Promethean ‏@Promethean

Free Teacher Tools for #BacktoSchool – Interest Inventories ready for your class! http://bit.ly/CFBTS2016N  @ClassFlow

Gary G. Abud, Jr. ‏@MR_ABUD

How do you add skills for only 1 student? Considering Using @ClassDojo to Support PBIS, IEPs & Special Education:

WeAreTeachers ‏@WeAreTeachers

9 creative ideas to help your students go device-free. #teaching #unplug http://bit.ly/2ca4OQ7

pammoran ‏@pammoran

.@WMSWildcatNews 6th grdrs learn 2 open lockers – handy QR code linked 2 video lesson if needed #BYOD #1stday #acps

#TeacherGoals ‏@teachergoals

Is a student not a good test-taker?

Tony Vincent ‏@tonyvincent

iPad Apps for International Dot Day from @erintegration http://tonyv.me/erindot

MindShift ‏@MindShiftKQED

Have you thought about why you are using #edtech before you jump in? #sketchnote via @sylviaduckworth #edchat

Dan McCabe ‏@danieldmccabe Aug 22

Why I Tweet (As a Teacher) #edchat

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

Strategies:

World’s Largest Lesson

http://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/

<iframe src=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/178464378″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/178464378″>The World&#039;s Largest Lesson 2016 –  with thanks to Sir Ken Robinson and Emma Watson</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/worldslargestlesson”>World&#039;s Largest Lesson</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

Resources:

Fun with English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfRSvTSY0d4

Chemistry Books to Curl Up with

I have a set of books that Shawn might enjoy reading about Chemistry.  I know he said that no one ever curls up with a good Chemistry book, but then again, maybe they do.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Oliver Sacks – “Uncle Tungsten”: Oliver Sacks recently wrote a wonderful and poignant editorial in the NYT about his imminent fate, but the good doctor should rest supremely assured. All his writings are memorable and will live on forever, and none so much in my opinion as his delightful romp through the wonders of chemistry as a child narrated in “Uncle Tungsten”. I myself grew up experimenting with hazardous chemicals, and so this book resonated with me like few others. The book is a paean not just to the magical world of chemistry as explored by a young and receptive mind but also to a nostalgic and charming time when one could buy a pound of each alkali metal from a hardware store and drop it in a lake to see what happens (as Sacks did).

2. Deborah Blum – “The Poisoner’s Handbook”: This volume is a riveting account of the sinister side of chemistry, and of human nature in general, as it manifested itself in the heyday of New York City during the Jazz Age. Blum is exceedingly accomplished at bringing out the devious motives of poisoners as they exploited the unique chemistry of each poisoning, and she is also very adept at chronicling the rise of forensic science as it pitted science against murder. Thankfully science has largely won that fight – Blum tells us how. If there’s any doubt about how chemistry can come alive and impact society in the most consequential and personal ways, this book should dispel that doubt.

3. Natalie Angier – “Natural Obsessions”: Angier’s book is a rare example of an underexploited and revealing science genre; what one might call “fly on the wall science”. In this case the particular wall belongs to the laboratory of Robert Weinberg at MIT. Weinberg is one of the most important cancer researchers of the past fifty years and his lab has discovered many of the most important genes and biochemical pathways involved in the spread of this diabolical disease. Angier does a really great job of documenting the everyday struggles, passions, pitfalls, blind alleys and triumphs of basic research. Science done by human beings, with all its warts and glories.

4. Barry Werth – “The Billion Dollar Molecule”: Another true fly on the wall account, Barry Werth’s book would get anyone interested in the fast-paced, high-stakes world of drug discovery and biotech research. It is quite definitely the best and only book I know in which a probing, highly articulate writer was allowed virtually untrammeled access to the secret world of cutting-edge research carried out by a major, upcoming company (Vertex Pharmaceuticals). Werth’s prose is breathless, vivid and Promethean and makes the scientists at Vertex alternatively look like Gods descended from Olympus and rock stars at Woodstock. While he takes some poetic license, nowhere else have I seen the real world of highly risky and lucrative drug research and the sheer passion of industrial scientists described with such loving care and attention to detail. A must read, along with its less stratospheric but still readable sequel.

5. Philip Ball – “H2O: A Biography of Water”: If I had to single out one writer who consistently produces highly readable books on popular chemistry it would be Phil Ball. Phil has written many excellent books on the world of molecules and his writing covers a remarkable range of topics – from Paracelsus to Chartres Cathedral – but in my opinion none bridges the mundane and the profound as well as his book on that most beguiling, commonplace and enigmatic of substances – water. Phil explores an astounding range of phenomena in which water plays a key role, from the water cycle in glaciers to water in outer space to water at the molecular level in the human body. There is also a great chapter on what Irving Langmuir called “pathological science” which describes in gory detail the polywater controversy. This book is a must have on the shelf of anyone interested in popular chemistry.

http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2015/04/top-10-popular-chemistry-books-for.html

Keep up the great work,

Dave

Web Spotlight:

Edmodo – Connect with your Facebook or Google accounts.

Gradecam – New interface rollout.  

20 practical ways to use Google Forms in class, school

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2016/09/08/20-practical-ways-to-use-google-forms-in-class-school/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Happy National Teachers Day to all of our Chinese Teachers!  

Personal Web Site

Jokes You Can Use:

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start.

So far today, I have finished 2 bags of chips and a chocolate cake.

I feel better already.

A buddy of mine has two tickets for the 2017 Super Bowl. Box seats, plus airfares, accommodations, etc. But he didn’t realize when he bought them that this is going to be on the same day as his wedding, so he can’t go.

If you’re interested and want to go instead of him, it’s at St Peter’s Church in New York City at 5pm. Her name’s Louise. She will be the one in the white dress.

Thanks for your help!

I used to be in a band called Missing Cat… you probably saw our posters.

An anesthesiologist has a stock answer to the usual question asked by pre-surgical patients:

“How much will the anesthesia cost?”

“Oh, about $100.00. $1.00 to go to sleep and $99.00 for waking up. Most patients buy the whole package.”

Advisory:

Advisory Tips:

“An advisory is an organized group of one adult and a dozen or so kids that serves as the students’ first line of affiliation in their school,” said Stevenson in Teaching Ten to Fourteen Year Olds. “The group meets at least once daily, usually for the first 20 minutes or so of the day.”

Among the purposes of the advisory, Stevenson writes, are to

• ensure that each student is known well at school by at least one adult who is that youngster’s advocate (advisor);
• guarantee that every student belongs to a peer group;
• help every student find ways of being successful within the academic and social options the school provides;
• promote communication and coordination between home and school.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr127.shtml

Middle School Science Minute  

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

Dissection Preservatives

I was recently reading the April/May, 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: “Is there an alternative to the preservatives found in commercial dissecting specimens?”

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/9/1_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Dissection_Preservatives.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Donny Sikora ‏@WWMSPPal

Can’t wait to see you on Tuesday!   Mr. Sikora #CHAMPIONS

Beth Houf ‏@BethHouf

Beth Houf Retweeted Shelley Burgess

I do the same when people come to me and say “everyone” thinks this or “parents” complained. Which ones? #satchatwc

Beth Houf added,

Shelley Burgess @burgess_shelley

A5: May sound silly, but whenever someone blamed “The District”, I would say…”Who exactly do you mean?” Causes a pause… #satchatwc

Daisy Dyer Duerr ‏@DaisyDyerDuerr

@BethHouf Exactly! “Who is Everyone?” Hand them paper and ask them to write down names. ;0) #satchatwc

Cherra-Lynne Olthof ‏@cherraolthof

Dear teachers…..we got this! Welcome back!! #abed

REMC Association ‏@REMCAssociation

MeL is the place for Michigan Teachers to find classroom resources #BackToSchool http://ow.ly/RXfG303Gk5b  #MichEd

Daisy Dyer Duerr ‏@DaisyDyerDuerr

Learning Foreign Languages Sharpens Our Minds http://ow.ly/n9U1303RAS6  #edchat

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

Resources:

Writing Prompts

http://theoryofknowledge.edublogs.org/2016/09/01/tok-essay-prompts-for-may-2017/

Crossword Puzzles

Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the keys to success in learning a language. Many learners spend hours learning long lists of words or trying to memorize flashcards, which can be rather boring — and not always very effective. When doing a crossword, on the other hand, you are actively thinking about the language and using your brain to literally solve a puzzle.Research has shown that this engagement with the language helps the learning process, and it’s certainly a more fun way to learn. But that’s not all, it seems that crosswords may also be beneficial to your social, emotional, mental, and physical health!

http://crosswordenglish.com/

The Great Fire of London

This website was created by the Museum of London in partnership with London Metropolitan Archives, Guildhall Art Gallery and the Monument to mark the 350th anniversary of the fire. It also contains material from seven other contributors and is a one-stop shop for trustworthy, child-friendly content for key stage 1 teaching.

http://www.fireoflondon.org.uk/

Timelines

Easily create timelines. Download as a PDF. Can include pictures and descriptions.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline_2/

Web Spotlight:

25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites

Left can mean either remaining or departed. If the gentlemen have withdrawn to the drawing room for after-dinner cigars, who’s left? (The gentlemen have left and the ladies are left.)

*

Trim as a verb predates the noun, but it can also mean either adding or taking away. Arising from an Old English word meaning ‘to make firm or strong; to settle, arrange,’ “trim” came to mean ‘to prepare, make ready.’ Depending on who or what was being readied, it could mean either of two contradictory things: ‘to decorate something with ribbons, laces, or the like to give it a finished appearance’ or ‘to cut off the outgrowths or irregularities of.’ And the context doesn’t always make it clear. If you’re trimming the tree are you using tinsel or a chain saw?

*

http://mentalfloss.com/article/57032/25-words-are-their-own-opposites

Smarthistory

Smarthistory is a leading resource for the study of art and cultural heritage. Our growing collection of videos and essays are designed to be engaging and conversational and cover art that ranges from the paleolithic to the present. Everything on Smarthistory is completely free and our content is offered with no advertising. We are a tiny non-profit organization based in New York, but we reach millions of learners around the world.

Smarthistory is a collaboration of more than 200 art historians, archaeologists, curators and other specialists who want to make the highest-quality art history learning content freely available to a global audience. Contributing editors oversee specific content areas.

http://smarthistory.org/

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site

 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.

http://twentytwowords.com/when-bullies-called-this-girl-a-fat-whale-she-decided-to-help-actual-whales/

(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?”

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/3/28_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Appropriate_Chemicals.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Glenn Robbins ‏@Glennr1809

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

ReadWriteThink.org ‏@RWTnow

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.  

http://www.amazon.com/Differentiation-Middle-High-School-Strategies/dp/1416620184/ref=pd_rhf_schuc_s_cp_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=51%2B9dQKqPOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_SL500_SR104%2C135_&refRID=1D2G7CFG4WZQ8P3236JD

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 . . .  

Personal Web Site

Jokes You Can Use:

Original German:

“Aber Herr Ober, der Kaffee ist ja kalt!” “Gut, dass Sie mir das sagen, mein Herr! Eiskaffee kostet nämlich einen Euro mehr …”

English translation:

— “But Waiter, the coffee is cold!”

— “Thanks for telling me, sir! Ice coffee is one Euro more….”

Original German:

“Chef, darf ich heute zwei Stunden früher Schluss machen? Meine Frau will mit mir einkaufen gehen.” “Kommt gar nicht in Frage.” “Vielen Dank Chef, ich wusste, sie würden mich nicht im Stich lassen.”

English translation:

— “Boss, can I leave work two hours early today? My wife wants me to go shopping with her.”

— “That’s out of the question.”

— “Thanks, boss! I knew you wouldn’t let me down.

Original German:

Eine alte Dame trinkt zum ersten Mal Whisky. Sie überlegt eine Weile und meint dann: “Merkwürdig, das Zeug schmeckt genau so wie die Medizin, die mein seliger Mann zwanzig Jahre einnehmen musste.”

English translation:

An old woman drinks whisky for the first time. She thinks for a while, and then says: “Strange, the stuff tastes exactly like the medicine my late husband had to take for twenty years!”

Original German:

Herr Doktor, Herr Doktor, ich hab jeden Morgen um 7 Uhr Stuhlgang!” – “Ja, das ist doch sehr gut!” – “Aber ich steh erst um halb acht auf!”

English translation:

Patient: Doctor, Doctor, I have a bowel movement every morning at 7!

Doctor: But that’s great!

Patient: But I wake up at 7:30!

A good looking girl waved at me today…

But there was no way I was swimming out that far to save her.

What kind of car does a Jedi drive?

A Toy-YODA!

Last week our police station was broken into and the commode was stolen from the rest room. Yesterday police reported that the investigation is ongoing but the still have nothing to go on.

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Hunting flies,” He responded.

“Oh, killing any?” She asked.

“Yep, three males, two females,” he replied.

Intrigued by this she asked, “How can you tell?”

He responded, “Three were on a beer can, two were on the phone.”

Eileen Award:  

• Twitter: Aaron Grossman

Advisory:

When Do You Become an Adult

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/when-are-you-really-an-adult/422487/

30 Vintage Inventions That Will Make You Shake Your Head

http://twentytwowords.com/vintage-inventions-that-are-borderline-genius-and-crazy/

Why Creativity Is a Numbers Game

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/why-creativity-is-a-numbers-game/

Paper Airplane

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Paper-Airplane

Middle School Science Minute  

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

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE-CLASSROOM COMMUNITIES

I was recently reading the January, 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, “Cultivating a Next-Generation Classroom Culture.”  It was written by Christina Krist, Lisa Brody, Michael Novak, and Keetra Tipton.  The article identifies four key challenges that classroom communities will encounter when trying to engage students in NGSS-aligned instruction and presents some strategies for addressing those challenges.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/1/20_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Classroom_Communities.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Strategies:

This graphic by Thomas Guskey Thomas Guskey is a fantastic challenge to whether we should be averaging grades — or honestly, if we shouldn’t just drop some BEFORE we average.

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/photos/11157/

Resources:

Timelines

http://timelines.tv/

Tom Richey

Interesting History Materials

http://www.tomrichey.net/

HipHughes History

HipHughes History is an arsenal of over 300 Instructional Videos for students of the Social Studies, teachers looking to flip their class and life long learners. So whether you’re looking for a pedagogical ally, a non-biased explanation of that new Supreme Court case or you’re a kid who needs to study some good ole’ history, HHH has your brain’s back!

http://hiphugheshistory.weebly.com/  

US National Archives

https://www.youtube.com/user/usnationalarchives

Web Spotlight:

Rick Wormeli

A new web site for the wonderful Mr. Rick Wormeli. Check it out. If you haven’t seen the videos, these are an amazing resource for talking about education.

http://www.rickwormeli.com/

100,000 NYC School Children Face Airport-Style Security Screening Every Day

On the coldest morning New York City has seen this winter, a stream of teenage students hit a bottleneck at the front of a Brooklyn school building. They shed their jackets, gloves and belts, shivering as they wait to pass through a metal detector and send their backpacks through an x-ray machine. School safety agents stand nearby, poised to step in if the alarm bleats.

It’s an everyday occurrence for more than 100,000 middle and high school students across the city.

Almost as many New York City students run the gauntlet of x-ray machines each day as pass through the scanners at busy Miami International Airport. And the procedure is numbingly similar. Students must remove belts, shoes, and sometimes bobby pins as the wait stretches as long as an hour.

https://www.propublica.org/article/nyc-school-children-face-airport-style-security-screening-every-day

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site

Jokes You Can Use:

Waitress: “Do you want a box for that?”

• Dad: “Not really. But I’ll wrestle you for it”.

What do you call a man with no body and no nose?

• Nobody nose (Nobody knows).

What did the termite say when he walked into the bar?

• Is the bar tender here?

Did you hear that FedEx and UPS are merging?

• They are going to be called Fed UP.

Did you hear about the two peanuts walking down the street?

• One was a salted.

Did you hear about Bob? He had a dream that he was a muffler.

• He woke up exhausted.

Did you hear about Fred? He has a fear of elevators.

• He’s taking steps to avoid it.

Eileen Award:  

• iTunes:  Nickbal (who will never know)  
• Twitter:  David Knox

Advisory:

The Pilgrims: Mayflower Compact

Discover why most of the Mayflower’s male passengers signed an historic agreement, in this video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Pilgrims. In September 1620, religious dissenters, called “Separatists” by their detractors, were joined aboard the Mayflower by other English colonists recruited by the project’s financial backers. Many of these newcomers did not share the Separatists’ religious zeal. The ship set sail for America at a time of year when Atlantic storms were perilous. The Mayflower made landfall 66 days later. With tensions threatening to divide the passengers, a social compact was drafted and signed before going ashore. All signers would submit to the government created, officers elected, and laws drafted.

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/americanexperience27p-soc-compact/wgbh-americanexperience-the-pilgrims-mayflower-compact/en/

Middle School Science Minute  

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

STEAM: Atmospheric Science

I was recently reading the April/May, 2015 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, “Using Authentic Data to Enhance Middle School Science: Atmospheric Instruction.”  It was written by Rachel Goldberg, Nathan Magee, and Lauren Madden.  The article provides a lesson that is sequenced in a way that allows a teacher to scaffold information about tornadoes.  In incorporates the “Tornado in a Bottle” activity and the NOAA Weather and Climate Toolkit.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2015/8/26_Middle_School_Science_Minute-STEAM_-_Atmospheric_Science.html

From the Twitterverse:  

Strategies:

Students Self Assessing

Tacyana will be asked to determine how her own work stacks up to a model.

Gust is one of a growing number of schools across the country where student self-assessment is one type of formative assessment that is woven into the school day.

‘Hey, wait a minute, kids have to be involved, too.'”

Learning is much deeper if the student is thinking, ‘I am doing this because it will help me learn this.’

actively judging their work and progress toward a goal, and determining what steps to take to reach it.

“The expectation is that not only are teachers using data, students are owning data,”

Padilla said it takes time to teach students how to read rubrics or use systems to track their progress. But, she said, the shift is worth it. “I think students tracking their own data is key to getting students invested in their education,” she said. “If they don’t see the direct results in that moment, it’s hard for them to know where to go.”

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/11/11/students-self-assess-their-way-to-learning.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news1

3 Tips on Student Self-Reported Grades

by William Parker • November 20, 2015

Tip #1: Have Students Set Expectations For Performance

Tip #2 Help Students Set Goals For Overall Learning

Tip #3 Share Rubrics for Self-Assessment

http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/12103

Resources:

The Most Instagrammed Spot

https://www.busbud.com/blog/top-instagrammed-locations/

Disputed Territories

http://metrocosm.com/disputed-territories-map.html

Student Privacy Pledge

http://studentprivacypledge.org/

Free Stock Photos

http://www.freestockphotos.org/

FlipQuiz

http://flipquiz.me/

Web Spotlight:

National Archives Document Feed

We highlighted this in show 161, but it’s time for a comeback.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TodaysDocument

Random Thoughts . . .  

Personal Web Site