Middle School Matters

February 5, 2017Podcast, Strategy, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 349: Teach those video and audio skills.

Jokes You Can Use:

“There are so many cemeteries in your neighborhood.”

“I know, people are just dying to live here.”

The magazine about ceiling fans went out of business…

… due to low circulation.

One day, I saw a friend of mine crying over a bag of chips.

I asked him what’s wrong and he said that he was just following the instruction written on the bag of chips.

“Tear here to open!”

George Washington was such a great president.

He never blamed any of the country’s problems on the previous administration.

My sister explained to my nephew how his voice would eventually change as he grew up.

Tyler was exuberant at the prospect.

“Cool!” he said. “I hope I get a German accent.”

Eileen Award:

iTunes: Anonymous Listener

Advisory:

Americans

How are we different than the rest of the world?

http://www.fashionbeans.com/content/odd-things-about-america-that-americans-havent-realized/?loc=0

Middle School Science Minute

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

Science Cafes

I was recently reading the November, 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, “Science Cafes.” It was written by Arianne Bazilio, Amy Ryan, and Jennifer Welborn. The article describes an affordable, easy-to-implement model that introduces young girls to STEM-related topics, careers, and role models.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/2/2_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Science_Cafes.html

From the Twitterverse:

ReadWriteThink.org ‏@RWTnow

Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born today in 1913. Students consider her legacy in this lesson plan: http://bit.ly/brRi2u

Bill Ferriter ‏@plugusin

This was a good @lifehacker read: Everything You Need to Shoot Good-Looking Video With Your iPhone – http://bit.ly/2kGZ9my #edtech

Matt Miller ‏@jmattmiller

Google Classroom: Check In with Students http://ift.tt/2k754BI via alicekeeler #DitchBook #gsuiteedu

George Couros ‏@gcouros

How Being Bored Makes You More Creative

https://t.co/CupKYArSMk

Tom Loud, Ed.S ‏@loudlearning

Dinosaurs Didn’t Read! Don’t Risk It! #edchat #education

Will Richardson ‏@willrich45

How is Finland building schools of the future? http://buff.ly/2k3DF3x Interesting.

Ted Fujimoto ‏@tedfujimoto

How Schools Build A Positive Culture Through Advisory via @TeachingChannel http://ow.ly/WWSwv #edreform #edchat #stemed #edpolicy #stem

EdTech K–12 Magazine ‏@EdTech_K12

Help your #students create solid @Google Portfolios by following these steps:

https://t.co/oCoXcghqq8

Mahara: https://mahara.org/

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

Strategies:

Positive Notes

A simple idea built on a suggestion from my friend Chris Tuttell, Kudos Cookies are short, handwritten notes of praise paired with a sweet treat. I write anywhere from two to eight notes every morning — depending on how much time I have after arriving at school — and make deliveries all day long.

The good news is that Matt Townsley and Santo Nicotera have found a solution. Both are starting every faculty meeting with the same agenda item: Writing positive notes to two kids that are hand delivered the next morning.

http://blog.williamferriter.com/2017/02/04/want-better-faculty-meetings-start-here/

Teaching Good Study Habits, Minute by Minute

Take studying, for example. If you are a parent of a struggling or resistant learner, you’ve probably heard more than one person suggest, “She just needs to study more.” Most kids think this means filling in a study guide or rereading a chapter. But many don’t learn by writing or reading. Their strengths lie in the visual, kinesthetic, musical, or social realm. How, then, are we to help our children develop their studying skills?

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/good-study-habits-minute-by-minute-heather-lambert

Resources:

Twisted wave

Audio editor. Available online or for Mac and iOS. (Think of GarageBand).

Need to register for a free account. Free account is limited to 5 minute projects and one hour total. Projects are kept for 30 days.

https://twistedwave.com/

Hemingway App

Interesting writing feedback for students.

“Now, when we say “grade level,” we aren’t saying that’s who you’re writing for. In fact, Ernest Hemingway’s work scores as low 5th grade, despite his adult audience. What our measurement actually gauges is the lowest education needed to understand your prose. Studies have shown the average American reads at a tenth-grade level — so that’s a good target.”

http://hemingwayapp.com/

http://hemingwayapp.com/help.html

Google Forms

Use them to collect information for yourself.

http://ditchthattextbook.com/2017/01/30/quick-google-forms-time-savers-for-teachers/

Web Spotlight:

Charter Schools spend MORE on administration

A new report finds that New Orleans schools spend more on administration and less on teaching than than they would have if they had not undergone a transformation to charter schools after Hurricane Katrina.

The drop in instructional expenses — $706 per student — is due mainly to lower salaries and reduced benefits for instructional staff, Harris and Buerger found.

But salaries make up just a third of the instructional spending drop. Half of it is due to reduced spending on benefits.

http://thelensnola.org/2017/01/17/study-says-new-orleans-schools-spend-more-on-administration-and-less-on-teaching-after-charter-transformation/

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

January 28, 2017PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 348: Goldilocks and the Three . . . err Forebears!

Jokes You Can Use:

Hey, Thanks for defining “many” for me. It really means a lot.

French guy (showing me his yachts): This is Un. This is Deux. This is Trois. This is Quatre. This is Six.

Me: Where’s the 5th?

FG: Cinq.

And the award for best neckwear goes to..

Well would you look at that, it’s a tie

I let a Pasta Chef borrow my car and he returned it all denty

Mozart was a great composer, but now that he’s dead he’s a great decomposer.

Why do we call it “hiring a hitman” and not “ordering takeout”

“You have to look at the big picture” – Aggressive museum guard

*Abe Lincoln on trial*

Judge: How do you find the defendant?

Foreman: We find the defendant in a cent.

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Holly Berchet-Hall

Advisory:

Forebears

“So, Where are you from?” Use a geographic “heatmap” of last names to find out!

http://forebears.io/surnames

Middle School Science Minute

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

eBird

I was recently reading the November, 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 Citizen Science article, “Fly Into Schoolyard Citizen Science with eBird.” It was written by Jill Nugent. The article describes how classrooms can join 100,000 users providing accessible bird data to the online global community. For more information, please visit:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/1/25_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Citizen_Science-eBird.html

From the Twitterverse:

Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo

Our School Is Not “Flush With Cash” & Our Students Are Not “Deprived Of All Knowledge” http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2017/01/20/our-school-is-not-flush-with-cash-our-students-are-not-deprived-of-all-knowledge/ …

OJ DeJonge MS ‏@OJ_Orioles

Congrats to all of the participants in the Geo Bee, and thank you to the Social Studies dept. for their hard work! #OJpride

Kids on stage with speaker at podium.

Matt Miller ‏@jmattmiller

Stop doing too much: The ‘minimum effective dose’ for educators http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/04/14/stop-doing-too-much-the-minimum-effective-dose-for-educators/ …

John R. Sowash ‏@jrsowash

Multitask with ease on your #Chromebook! http://bit.ly/2j3V9ga #techtips #edTech

MiddleWeb ‏@middleweb

MiddleWeb Retweeted MindShift

Handy reflection and conversation tool for coaches and instructional partners… #educoach #alpartners #coteachat

Diane Ravitch ‏@DianeRavitch

Peter Greene Confesses: Trump is Right: I am Flush with Cash and I Don’t Teach Anything! http://ln.is/dianeravitch.net/201/1L01K …

https://dianeravitch.net/2017/01/21/peter-greene-confesses-trump-is-right-i-am-flush-with-cash-and-i-dont-teach-anything/

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

Strategies:

Students with Scattered Minds

Explicit instruction about executive function and how to improve it is especially useful for students with learning challenges, as they can benefit the most from learning to rein in and consciously direct their “scattered minds.”

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/strategies-students-scattered-minds-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers

Play-doh Art

* Why is your creation art? Review your notes and materials and write an ABC paragraph responding to this question (Answer the question; Back it up with a quote as evidence; make a further Comment or Connection to elaborate on your position.

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2017/01/22/play-doh-ib-theory-of-knowledge-student-hand-out-videos/

Resources:

6 Practices that “Work” to Accelerate Student Learning

In education, we are often inundated with programs, curriculums, and frameworks that are “guaranteed to increase student learning”. Promises of a silver bullet that will fix all learning difficulties find their way to teachers and administrators alike.

Teacher credibility (.90 effect size) Trust, competence, energy, enthusiasm, and consistency are among the top characteristics students consider when determining if their teacher is credible and if they are going to choose to learn from them.
Teacher-Student Relationships (.72 effect size) Positive teacher-student relationships involve trust, fairness, open communication and maintenance to sustain and impact student learning.
Classroom Management (.52 effect size) Students understand expectations and are consistently held to those expectations. Promotes healthy relationships with teachers and peers.
Self-Reported Grades/Student Expectations (1.44 effect size) Students set their own goals, monitor their own achievement, and reflect upon their process of learning.
Teacher Clarity (.75 effect size) Learning targets are clear and articulated with success criteria. Students should be able to answer: What am I learning today? Why am I learning this? How will I know that I learned it?
Feedback (.75 effect size) Just-in-time feedback identifies where the student is at, what the expectation is, and actions they can take to close the gap.

https://shaelynnfarnsworth.com/2017/01/18/6-practices-that-work-to-accelerate-student-learning/

30 Of The Best Books To Teach Children Empathy

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/50-of-the-best-books-to-teach-children-empathy/

Web Spotlight:

A new movement to treat troubled children as ‘sad, not bad’

The concept behind these so-called “trauma-informed schools” is supported by research showing that traumatized students — those who have been exposed to repeated violence, abuse and deprivation — maintain such high levels of vigilance and anxiety that they cannot flourish at school until they can calm themselves.

http://hechingerreport.org/a-new-movement-to-treat-troubled-children-as-sad-not-bad/

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

January 14, 2017January 14, 2017PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 347: Practice is Best Practice

Jokes You Can Use:

Student: “I’m cold”.

Teacher: “Go stand in the corner, it’s usually about 90 degrees there”.

What do you call a belt made of watches?

A waist of time.

Why can’t bicycles stand on their own?

They are two tired.

What’s the best thing about living in Switzerland?

Well, their flag is a big plus.

How long is a Chinese name.

Middle School Science Minute

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

Literacy Engagement

I was recently reading the October, 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, “Literacy Engagement and Its Role in the Science Classroom.” It was written by Kaitlyn McGlynn and Janey Kozlowski. In the article they talk about the importance of helping students unlock science content through reading engagement.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2017/1/5_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Literacy_Engagement.html

From the Twitterverse:

Derek McCoy ‏@mccoyderek

9 Fundamental Digital Skills for 21st Century Teachers

Dru Tomlin ‏@DruTomlin_AMLE

A6. A6. Convos w/ other Ts/admins/colleagues, Twitter (#mschat too), & have This We Believe 2 remind me what a Gr8 middle school is #satchat

Meredith Johnson ‏@mjjohnson1216

A1. Love this chart that explains personalization, differentiation and individualization for the learner. #satchat

Tony Vincent ‏@tonyvincent

Recap for iOS, Android & Web is a free way to collect short selfie videos from students. http://letsrecap.com

Christopher Weiss ‏@ChrisWeissCT

RT @Alex_Corbitt Powerful 4-Step Learning Sequence (by @4OClockFaculty) #edchat #education #edtech #engchat #sunchat #satchat #leadupchat

Will Richardson ‏@willrich45

5 Big Ideas In Education That Don’t Work http://buff.ly/2ivJ6d4 Shocking.

Dru Tomlin ‏@DruTomlin_AMLE

A6. And of course I turn to http://www.amle.org and @AMLE when I need middle grades help! Got everything 4 #middleschool #satchat

Oliver Schinkten ‏@schink10

10 Skills All Students Need to Be Successful https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/education/10-skills-all-students-need-to-be-successful … on @LI_Learning

Brad Currie ‏@bradmcurrie

All It Takes is 100 Minutes a Week #Satchat

edutopia ‏@edutopia

Create a rockstar rubric with this editable template: http://edut.to/2ipbf2f .

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OCpYFYkcIwOwa0d5BCcTH5xahQ6GiaS1PnP0O3lqMsY/edit#

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

Strategies:

New Year’s Resolution: I’m Moving ALL Assessment into the Classroom

This may sound like a crazy resolution given that most teachers spend hours of time outside of school assessing their students’ work. However, there are three reasons I’d argue we should NOT spend our time outside of class grading:

Our prep time is better spent designing creative and engaging lessons.
Real-time feedback and assessment are way more effective.
We don’t get paid for the time we spend grading outside of class.

http://catlintucker.com/2017/01/new-years-resolution/

Practice is Best Practice

As I have sat down with students who are not doing well in my class over the past 17 years, one recurring conversation has gone something like this: “Mr. Harrison, I’m studying for your tests, but I’m still not doing well on them. I don’t know what else to do.” I would reply, “Well, how exactly are you ‘studying’?”

The responses have usually gone something like this: “Well, I read over the study guide, I read over the notes, I read the book…”

http://techcoaches.dearbornschools.org/2017/01/11/practice-is-best-practice/

Ten things we may be doing wrong in middle school

https://medium.com/@irasocol/ten-things-we-may-be-doing-wrong-in-middle-school-510bc0b9f069#.u5syivqc5

How To Make Writing Report Cards Easier

You can make writing your report cards quicker and easier by completing one simple action right now!

You need to match your assessment tasks to your report card.

http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/how-to-make-writing-report-cards-easier/

Resources:

Mars Challenge Winners

Look at the winning submissions.

http://ajjuliani.com/thousands-students-participating-marschallenge-maker-project/

All Entries:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B3IX5e8RaR6xekN4bE96UWZ2OEE

Web Spotlight:

Poet: I can’t answer questions on Texas standardized tests about my own poems

Badly worded or poorly conceived questions on standardized tests are not uncommon (remember the question about a “talking pineapple” on a New York test in 2012?). But here’s something new: The author of source material on two Texas standardized tests says she can’t actually answer the questions about her own work because they are so poorly conceived.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/07/poet-i-cant-answer-questions-on-texas-standardized-tests-about-my-own-poems/?utm_term=.e224738a5e14

Academic Write Center

Lots of resources. You might want to share this with kids, or know about it for plagiarism.

https://academichelp.net/

How Design Thinking Became a Buzzword at School

At a recent teaching conference in Richmond, Virginia, a session on “design thinking” in education drew a capacity crowd. Two middle-school teachers demonstrated how they had used the concept to plan and execute an urban-design project in which students were asked to develop a hypothetical city or town given factors such as population, geography, the environment, and financial resources.

Design thinking, like Carol Dweck’s work on fixed and growth mindsets and Angela Duckworth’s research on grit, are best understood in context, as a complex and nuanced approach to learning rather than a checklist of executable tasks. Dweck was so alarmed by the rampant oversimplification of fixed and growth mindsets that she wrote an article for Edutopia to clear up common misconceptions about her work. Just as Dweck’s work can’t be conveyed adequately in a Life Hack infographic, and Duckworth’s research is apt to be misunderstood when reduced to a listicle, design thinking seems likely to fail as an educational tool when communicated in terms of “Five Simple Steps.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/01/how-design-thinking-became-a-buzzword-at-school/512150/

Are you a blithering fool? Here’s 10 words to make you sound smarter

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/01/03/wayne-state-word-warriors-smarter/96100822/

EVO

Since 2000, the Electronic Village Online (EVO), has been offering free professional development workshops for English language educators around the world. Organized by volunteer coordinators, with five-week sessions conceived and facilitated by teams of volunteer moderators, the EVO is open to anyone (TESOL members and non-members alike) with a computer or smart phone and an internet connection. No academic credit is offered for either moderating or participating in an EVO session; it is a labor of love–the love of learning, and the love of sharing what we have learned.

The EVO was originally conceived as a project of TESOL’s Computer-Assisted Language Learning Interest Section (CALL-IS). Almost since the beginning, IATEFL members and SIGs have also been involved in the EVO, as participants, moderators, and coordinators.

http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/10708567/FrontPage

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

December 31, 2016Podcast, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 346: Goodbye 2016, Strategies and a Funeral.

Jokes You Can Use:

Why couldn’t the butterfly go to the fancy New Year’s Eve dance?

It was a moth ball!

Q: What did the janitor yell when he jumped out of the closet?

A: “Supplies!”

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in…

A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

“I don’t know what more they want? They give me questions I don’t know, I give them answers they don’t know.”

So, how do you get down off this elephant?

You don’t. You get down off a goose.

Advisory:

The Case Against Sugar

https://aeon.co/essays/sugar-is-a-toxic-agent-that-creates-conditions-for-disease

The Present

What do you see in others?

Steve Jobs on Asking

New Laws for 2017 (and some old ones)

Silly laws still on the books.

New California Laws for 2017

Because we teach Middle School . . .

Quilted Northern Commercial

Middle School Science Minute

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

PHENOMENAL ENGAGEMENT

I WAS RECENTLY READING THE OCTOBER, 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, “PHENOMENAL ENGAGEMENT.” IT WAS WRITTEN BY SUSAN GERMAN. IN THE ARTICLE SHE DISCUSSES HOW TO ENGAGE STUDENTS THROUGH THE USE OF RELEVANT SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENA.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/12/15_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Phenomenal_Engagement.html

From the Twitterverse:

Tanya Snook ‏@tanyapsnook

This is what it is about. Kids will move mountains for teachers they respect and like.

Mark Dunk ‏@unklar

xkcd: 2017 http://buff.ly/2hDiKW6

Jon Gordon ‏@JonGordon11

Make 2017 a great year!

Michael Beschloss ‏@BeschlossDC

Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation tomorrow 1863—here from his early handwritten draft:

Common Sense Media ‏@CommonSense

Wondering what to download for the kids tonight? Here are 10 NYE-themed movies for ages 3-17: http://bit.ly/2iAtEup

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

Resources:

ListenWise

Based on NPR podcasts, this site provides the podcast segments and lesson plans. The basics are free. There is a tie in with Socrative as well. (You get a code that you can use to Import a quiz into Socrative. You must have a teacher account with Socrative, then go to Quizzes, Add a Quiz, import and enter the code). The questions that I looked at were pretty short and simple. Still, this could be a great option to get some stories for kids to listen to. It also brings out the possibilities of using podcasts (NPR in particular), for kids to listen to and react. Tie this into reading skills. Naturally, I would use Moodle to provide students that audio and follow up questions.

There is a premium option that includes interactive transcripts, student accounts and more. Pricing is not straightforward though (you need to request a quote, there are no costs listed).

https://listenwise.com/

Primary Sources Sets at DPLA

We’ve talked about DPLA (Digital Public Library of America) before. Now, they also have primary source sets.

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/

Web Spotlight:

Counting on Your Fingers

How high can you count on your fingers? (Spoiler: much higher than 10) – James Tanton

4 Non-Negotiables for Schools

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/6939

TED Periodic Videos

http://ed.ted.com/periodic-videos

Time For These Seven Edu Funerals

These things are so embedded in the culture, frameworks, policies, practice and mindsets of our schools and educational organizations, that many educators just blindly accept them, implement them and perpetuate them…..all regardless of their lack of success. Indeed, there is often overwhelming data or evidence that these things are not only unsuccessful, but often counterproductive.

Homework As We Know It.
Lecturing, Note Taking.
Non-Digital Approaches
Textbooks – Digital or Not.
Factory-Style Classrooms.
Final Exams.
Fear & Compliance.

http://changingislearning.blogspot.com/2016/12/time-for-these-seven-edu-funerals.html

GUEST POST: A Student Tries out the Six Strategies for Effective Learning

I put these six evidence-based strategies to the test for the past six weeks. I used a different strategy each week to prepare for my weekly Research Methods quizzes, examining my own experience using each strategy, the difficulty (regarding time or thought) that went into it, as well as how I perceived the overall effectiveness of the strategy, as well as my own results with using it.

Spaced Practice
Retrieval Practice
Elaboration
Interleaving
Concrete Examples
Dual Coding

http://www.learningscientists.org/downloadable-materials/

http://www.learningscientists.org/posters

Random Thoughts . . .

A New Year’s Message from Mr. David:

DEAR Friends,

The Boarding on Flight 2017 has been announced……

Hope you have checked in only the best souvenirs from 2016 in your luggage….

The BAD and SAD moments if carried, must be thrown away in the garbage on arrival …….

The flight will be for 12 months long.

So, loosen your seat belts, jingle and mingle.

The stop-overs will be :

✳Health,

✳Love,

✳Joy,

✳Harmony,

✳Well-being

✳Peace.

Refueling will be at

👍Giving

👍Sharing

👍Caring.

The Captain (God) offers you the following menu which will be served during the flight…….

✅ Cocktail of Friendship,

✅ Supreme of Health,

✅ Grating of Prosperity,

✅ Bowl of Excellent News

✅ Salad of Success,

✅ Cake of Happiness,

All accompanied by bursts of laughter…

But remember, you will enjoy these meals and the journey better if you talk, share, smile and laugh together. Sitting silent and sullen will make the flight seem longer.

Wishing you and your family 👪 an enjoyable trip on board of flight 2017…..

💥✨😖💃🏃👫💑👯❤💓📩💗💍☔⛄🌊🌈🌁🌴🌹🌷🍀

Before the Flight 2016 ends,

Allow me to Thank All my Amazing Friends

Who Made 2016 Beautiful For me. I Pray that you all be Blessed With an Awesome Year Ahead.

😘😍💝🎁🎊🎉🎈

Personal Web Site

December 11, 2016December 11, 2016UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson

MSM 345: Don’t Paddle, and Watch Your Language. Mapping Paddling the Blueberries ‘Cause We’re Going to MARS!

Jokes You Can Use:

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Dilbert, Dogbert, Garfield, Jon Arbuckle, and a whole lot of comic strip characters and their pets were on an airplane flying from Miami to Los Angeles.

In the middle of the flight, the flight attendant gave out food to everyone but Charlie Brown and Snoopy. They asked him why everyone else got some food and they didn’t.

The flight attendant said, “Sorry, but we don’t serve PEANUTS on this flight.”

Two circus acrobats got married…

They just FLIPPED over each other!

Never tell a pig a secret… because they love to squeel.

My dental hygienist retired, after 55 years of working…

All she got was a lousy plaque.

Eileen Award:

Email: Amber Wickham

Advisory:

Middle School Science Minute

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

CITIZEN SCIENCE-S’COOL

I WAS RECENTLY READING THE, 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 CITIZEN SCIENCE ARTICLE, “CLOUDS IN THE CLASSROOM – CITIZEN SCIENCE GOES TO S’COOL.” IT WAS WRITTEN BY JILL NUGENT. THE ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE PROCESS BY WHICH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS CAN GET INVOLVED IN A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT — “STUDENTS’ CLOUD OBSERVATIONS ON-LINE” (S’COOL). FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

HTTP://SCOOL.LARC.NASA.GOV

HTTP://K12SCIENCE.NET/PODCAST/PODCAST/ENTRIES/2016/12/5_MIDDLE_SCHOOL_SCIENCE_MINUTE__CITIZEN_SCIENCE-SCOOL.HTML

From the Twitterverse:

Dale Rogers ‏@MisterRog

Teacher observations have been a waste of time and $$ https://www.brookings.edu/research/teacher-observations-have-been-a-waste-of-time-and-money … @nancyflanagan @NancyEBailey1 @teacherpolicy @TeacherCrusader

Paula Naugle ‏@plnaugle

In case you missed it or couldn’t get in the room, here is my 15 Chrome Extensions You and Your Ss Need http://bit.ly/ExtenLACUE2016 #LACUE2016

Chris Hubbuch ‏@DrChrisHubbuch

“Making “The Olin Effect” Your Own” http://willrichardson.com/making-olin-effect/ … from @willrich45

Daisy Dyer Duerr ‏@DaisyDyerDuerr

What parents of successful kids have in common http://ow.ly/MAun306ZOj2 #edchat

Jim Averbeck ‏@jimaverbeck

Teachers often request this image after my school visit. Left=Drafts Right=Final Manuscript #edchat @SSEdLib more @ http://www.jimaverbeckbooks.com/p/resources.html …

Kelly Gallagher ‏@KellyGToGo

Use This Checklist To Find Out If You’re Looking At Fake News https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/fake-news-checkllist?utm_term=.joj634jL3E … via @CraigSilverman

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

Strategies:

Formative Assessment

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/key-factors-fantastic-formative-assessment/

HOW TO TEACH STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE WITH SELF CONTROL

Author of “Brain Charge” book and curriculum.

http://www.drmelrose.com/product/brain-charge/ ($99.00-$199.00)

Set the stage for 60 seconds at the beginning of the class. Have the students sit “in” the chair, not “on” the chair.

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/emotional-dysregulation-teach-self-control/

These States Allow Teachers And Staff To Hit Students

Twenty-two states still allow corporal punishment in school: 15 expressly permit it while another seven do not prohibit it.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/01/503749071/these-states-allow-schools-to-hit-students

Resources:

School on Mars

what if that school wasn’t even on this planet? What if it wasn’t governed by any of our nation states? What if we really had the chance to start over, knowing what we no know about the science of learning and the brain?

http://ajjuliani.com/creating-school-mars-scratch/

Top Baby Names of 2016

http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2016.htm

Why maps are wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIID5FDi2JQ

Web Spotlight:

Why schools aren’t businesses: The blueberry story

“If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn’t be in business very long!”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/09/why-schools-arent-businesses-the-blueberry-story/?utm_term=.466dfcf27034

DeVos’ Michigan schools experiment gets poor grades

The results in Michigan are so disappointing that even some supporters of school choice are critical of the state’s policies.

“The bottom line should be, ‘Are kids achieving better or worse because of this expansion of choice?’” said Michigan State Board of Education President John Austin, a DeVos critic who also describes himself as a strong charter-school supporter. “It’s destroying learning outcomes … and the DeVoses were a principal agent of that.”

The DeVos family efforts to shape school choice policy in Michigan date back at least to 1990, when Dick DeVos was elected to the state school board and Betsy DeVos created a foundation that gave private-school scholarships to low-income families “so that parents could decide where their kids would go to school,” DeVos told Philanthropy Roundtable in 2013.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/betsy-devos-michigan-school-experiment-232399

Standardized Testing Motivation Slogans Courtesy of the Gaokao . . .

So my district put up our NWEA test scores in the hallway for our students to see. It includes signs that read “Move to the right.” I like these motivating statements from China’s Gaokao testing slogans . . .

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2015/06/motivation-for-the-gao-kao/

Random Thoughts . . .

Moodle 3.2

Great update.

Personal Web Site

December 3, 2016PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 344: Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see – Except for us. :-)

Jokes You Can Use:

Advisory:

Birth Order

http://twentytwowords.com/heres-what-your-birth-order-among-siblings-says-about-your-personality/

Optical Illusions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoK0I1lvOVM

Middle School Science Minute

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

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE: IMPORTANCE OF EARTH SCIENCE

I WAS RECENTLY READING THE OCTOBER, 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 EDITORIAL, “FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK.” THE EDITORIAL WAS TITLED, “TYING IT ALL TOGETHER WITH EARTH SCIENCE,” AND IT WAS WRITTEN BY PATTY MCGINNIS. IN THE EDITORIAL SHE EMPHASIZES HOW THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE IS MORE CRUCIAL TODAY, THAN EVER.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/12/1_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Importance_of_Earth_Science.html

From the Twitterverse:

Dave Schmittou

⚓️ ‏@daveschmittou

Staff affirmation board taking on a holiday spirit. My staff is better than yours. #WEgotTHIS

Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo

“Does Your State Provide Good Data On Your Schools? Probably Not”

https://t.co/v73F0Aus8Y

Smoochie ‏@TySmithdrums

Cop- “Do you know why I pulled you over?” Bear- “Because I’m a bear.” Cop- “No. You were speeding.” Bear- “Bearly.”

Kelly Gallagher ‏@KellyGToGo

How to help students sort through fake news? One man’s opinion:

http://theduran.com/updated-list-of-false-misleading-clickbait-y-andor-satirical-news-sources/

Molly Smith ‏@historyfriend

History classes are our best hope for teaching Americans to question fake news http://flip.it/A_O6c2 #sschat

https://t.co/4VZIRJQxQW

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

Strategies:

Secondary school BANS pupils from raising hands in class because it ‘doesn’t challenge and support the learning of all’

A secondary school has today been accused of putting ‘gimmicks’ over education after banning pupils from raising their hands to answer questions.

The Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has written to parents to say it has abolished the ‘age old practice’ because it doesn’t ‘challenge and support the learning of all’.

Liam Conway, who is also a member of the union, added: ‘This is a policy which may have some good reasoning behind it. But problem with this is I suspect it’s a policy that hasn’t been put to proper consultation.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3986156/Secondary-school-BANS-pupils-raising-hands-class-doesn-t-challenge-support-learning-all.html

Resources:

T-Bear

Use the description of each section of the paragraph and the sentences stems listed to help you write your topic sentence (T), brief explanation (B), examples (E), analysis (A), and to relate or reflect (R).

http://nsbsdcreditrecovery.wikispaces.com/file/view/5TBEAR_GraphicOrganizer4.pdf

9 Simple Solutions for Common Teaching Problems

Student Tech Gurus
Inspiration Boards
Tracking Progress Transparently
“Morecabulary”
Broadcast Student Voices
OPB (Other People’s Books)
Celebrity Couple Nickname Game
Boomerang Model
Question Carousel

http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/hack-learning-series/

Web Spotlight:

Blabbr Update

What happens when your favorite web resource runs out of money? Well . . . 🙁 Moodle anyone?

Dear Dan Rather

Some disasters hit us with a sudden and unexpected fury like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. But some boil beneath the surface wreaking destruction without enough of us paying attention.

If you want to see the hair on the back of my neck stand up in anger ask me about one such disaster – our support for public education.

I lay the blame at the doorsteps of state houses across the country. They can’t have it both ways. Either pay for a quality education, or be prepared to pay the consequences. We have enough challenges in this country. Why are we creating another one?

Why declare that our students are failing? Why is education increasingly contentious and polarizing?

And so in public education, we are constantly under attack by folks intent on showing that teachers stink, schools are failing, and the only possible solution is to bring in free market solutions. I would not for one moment contend that all is hunky dory in public education, and it is unquestionably less so every year as more crises are manufactured and jump-started by these folks. Of course we are polarized.

The questions citizens and journalists should be asking in every instance are as follows:

1) Is this crisis real? Is someone playing games with numbers? Did government create this crisis through funding or policy choices?

2) Did we consider all possible solutions, or did we just jump straight to “give a bunch of money to private operators to magically fix this”? Because the fact that we have a problem (and we have many in public education) does not automatically mean that the proposed solution is a real solution.

http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2016/11/dear-dan-rather.html

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

November 26, 2016PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 343: The TED-ED Club does that 100 Word Challenge . . . Go!

Jokes You Can Use:

A frog, a duck, and a skunk went to the movies. The frog and duck were allowed to see it, but the skunk wasn’t.

Why?

Because the frog had a greenback, the duck had a bill, but the skunk had only one scent.

***********************

What kind of medical help does a mermaid seek, a vet or a doctor?

***********************

The father of five children had won a toy at a raffle. He called his kids together to ask which one should have the present.

“Who is the most obedient?” he asked. “Who never talks back to mother? Who does everything she says?”

Five small voices answered in unison. “Okay, dad, you get the toy.”

Middle School Science Minute

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

A Closer Look at Flowers

I was recently reading the September, 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, “A Closer Look at Flowers: Exploring Structure and Function in Science and Art.” It was written by Laura Robertson. In the article she shows how she integrates artistic design into her unit on flowers by adding another lens through which students can evaluate the specialized structures and organization of flowering plants.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/11/24_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Closer_Look_at_Flowers.html

From the Twitterverse:

Dave Schmittou

⚓️ ‏@daveschmittou

So true! Collaboration cannot be a hoop to jump through or a facade created by admin.

#TeacherGoals ‏@teachergoals

Black Friday…when the rest of the world gets to experience what it’s like to be at recess duty for a teacher. #teacherprobs

Scott Rocco ‏@ScottRRocco

Good info: Using Graphic Organizers Correctly http://edut.to/2fyJHG3 #satchat #k12 #education

Tom Loud ‏@loudlearning

Rules w/out a relationship leads to rebellion! @nalang1 #edchat

MSMI ‏@MSM_Institute

This section of the Middle School Matters Field Guide lays out principles for schools to follow in implementing… https://t.co/FhKw7Ov0mu

Sharon LePage Plante ‏@iplante

5 Ways to Bring Literature to Life with @Buncee – @ClassTechTips http://bit.ly/2gg5Wm0 #edtechchat

ASCD ‏@ASCD

Here are our top ten strategies and practices that can help all students overcome barriers. http://bit.ly/2gCO0WV

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

Strategies:

Blubbr

Appears to be gone.

http://www.blubbr.tv/

Resources:

TED-ED Clubs

How Clubs Work

In TED-Ed Clubs, students work together to discuss and celebrate creative ideas. Club leaders receive TED-Ed’s flexible Clubs curriculum to guide their school’s club and to help inspire tomorrow’s TED speakers and leaders.

You can start the application process by filling out the TED-Ed Clubs application. After your application is reviewed, you’ll receive an email with next steps for gaining approval to start an official TED-Ed Club.

Want to learn more? Dive into the details by downloading this information packet.

http://ed.ted.com/clubs

Digital Public Library of America

https://dp.la/

Web Spotlight:

Biology Resources

ATEP Project.

http://atep.techlit.org/

100 Word Challenge

We ask children to write in school but often there is no apparent purpose that they can see other than pleasing their teacher! This can prompt some very reluctant writers in our classrooms. The 100 Word Challenge seeks to address this problem.

It is a weekly creative writing challenge for children under 16 years of age. Each week a prompt is given, which can be a picture or a series of individual words and the children can use up to 100 words to write a creative piece. This should be posted on a class blog and then linked to the 100 Word Challenge blog. The link is usually open from midday on Sundays until midnight the following Saturday.

By setting a limited word count with a focused theme and a guaranteed audience beyond the class teacher, children have far greater motivation for writing. Those who are reluctant writers feel safe with only 100 words to write, whilst those more advanced writers can really extend themselves with the word restriction.

One of the special things about 100WC is that those entering a piece are encouraged to visit other blogs and leave a constructive comment. Peer ‘talking’ to peer is very powerful and we have seen a real improvement in some writing that has come from suggestions from other children. It also provides another teaching point for teachers to show children how to comment constructively.

The 100 Word Challenge has been used for homework tasks and up leveling practice as well as a regular writing activity. Teachers have found that this has helped with their workload. It certainly helps drive traffic to a blog which in turn helps the motivation for blogging in general. The Quadblogging phenomenon has been able to use 100 Word Challenge for a shared activity. This of course provides an international audience.

Above all – it is fun! Children feel challenged and then really rewarded when they see the comments (please see Team 100WC). Do join in and see writing improve!

https://100wc.net/

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

November 19, 2016November 19, 2016advisory, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 342: ELL strategies, Pictures and Collaboration

Jokes You Can Use:

At a meeting, the principal told a joke. Everyone laughed except one guy.

The principal asked him, “Didn’t you understand my joke?”

The guy replied, “Oh I understood it, but I resigned yesterday.”

I went to this great yard sale the other day. There were lots of sports memorabilia, electronics, and guy stuff. A huge 50 inch flat screen TV caught my eye with a price tag on $50 on it!

“You only want $50 for this big TV? It must have something wrong with it” I remarked.

“I’ll let it go for $50”. He said. “It works great, except when you turn it on the volume starts out and stays all the way up.”

“Man, I sure can’t turn that deal down!”

Once over the hill, I started to pick up speed!

Did you hear about the blind man who took a hammer and saw?

I would think you’d have to be open minded to be a brain surgeon…

Eileen Award:

Twitter: David Carruthers

Advisory:

http://twentytwowords.com/facing-a-tricky-situation-this-mom-turned-to-the-internet-for-some-very-entertaining-solutions/

Middle School Science Minute

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

TESTING THE WATER

I WAS RECENTLY READING THE SEPTEMBER, 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, “TESTING THE WATER: WORLD WATER MONITORING CHALLENGE.” IT WAS WRITTEN BY JILL NUGENT. THE ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE PROCESS BY WHICH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS CAN GET INVOLVED IN A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT — THE WORLD WATER MONITORING CHALLENGE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

HTTP://WWW.MONITORWATER.ORG

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/11/16_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Testing_the_Water.html

From the Twitterverse:

#TeacherGoals ‏@teachergoals

Leaving school before anyone needs you be like…

David Britten ‏@colonelb

If I hear one more time, “But what about the test scores?” Ugh. Humanity is doomed by it’s own limits on critical thinking. #suptchat

Amber Teamann ‏@8Amber8

Thanksgiving Read Alouds for Upper Elementary {Free Printables} http://goo.gl/tvvCds via @TeachToInspire5

edutopia ‏@edutopia

15 questions to replace “How was school today?”: http://edut.to/2g3JNXd . #ptchat

Bashaer Kilani M.Ed ‏@bashaierk

#edchatMENA #meaningful_feedback #satchat

Jennifer Williams ‏@JenWilliamsEdu

Where Are Quality Instructional Materials for English Language Learners? https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/10/27/where-are-quality-instructional-materials-for-english-language-learners/ … Thanks for sharing @vifglobaled! #ELL

Roberto A. González ‏@robertoglezcano

Cooperation vs Collaboration by @spencerideas #edchat #education #elearning #edtech #designthinking #mathchat

Todd ‏@ToddWhitaker

The minimum goal of professional development is that teachers need to be more excited about teaching tomorrow than they were today. #satchat

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

Strategies:

Five Tips for Getting the ESL Student Talking by EduTopia

Fluency
Individual Needs
High Interest Engagement
Model
Allow Time

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/getting-the-ESL-student-talking-marc-anderson

This Teacher Taught His Class a Powerful (and Debatable) Lesson About Privilege

To teach his class about privilege and social mobility, a high school teacher did an exercise that started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asking them to crumple it up.

http://twentytwowords.com/this-teacher-taught-his-class-a-powerful-and-debatable-lesson-about-privilege/

Breaking the Plane

It’s not just Breaking the Plane that matters, It’s breaking it often. You want to signal that it is normal for you to wander just about anywhere as you teach.

It’s especially important to break the plane early — getting near to students plays such a critical role in managing behavioral situations and especially in making those interactions more private. If, in contrast, you move out into the classroom to establish proximity only when you need to (to address a behavioral situation), this action will be highly visible.

http://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/what-is-breaking-the-plane/

Resources:

Learning English Pronunciation – Antimoon

Reasons for learning how to pronounce English and some tips and strategies for getting it right. This resource is written for the student to reference.

http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc.htm

4 Creative Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL Students– FluentU

Using menus, job applications, and newspaper articles to teach practical ESL skills.

http://www.fluentu.com/english/educator/blog/authentic-materials-for-teaching-english/

TIME 100 Photos

Though photography is a much younger medium than painting—the first photo is widely considered to date from 1826—the astonishing technological advances since then mean that there are now far more pictures taken every day than there are canvases in all the world’s galleries and museums. In 2016 alone, hundreds of billions of images were made.

http://100photos.time.com/

Free Download: Learner Profile Survey

We get a lot of requests for our Learner Profile template. Today, I’m sharing the first piece: the Learner Profile Survey. These are the questions we ask our students each year to get a better understanding of who they are, what makes them tick, what their vulnerabilities are.

http://ilearntechnology.com/wordpress/?p=5669

Web Spotlight:

About Don’t Memorise

With our ‘Don’t Memorise, Know More!’ philosophy the learner always remains at the very heart of what we do. Relating real life to theory using a simple story format makes our educational content accessible to all styles of learning.

And It’s Completely Free

https://dontmemorise.com/

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO TEACH STUDENTS TO SPOT SKETCHY NEWS STORIES?

Buzzfeed, a popular online source covering digital media and technology, opened the criticism by publishing the frightening results of an analysis of the election stories generating the most engagement — think likes, shares and comments — on Facebook in the final three months of the election. Here’s what they found:

http://blog.williamferriter.com/2016/11/19/what-are-you-doing-to-teach-students-to-spot-sketchy-news-stories/

WWII SketchNotes

At 21-years-old, sketch artist Victor Lundy enrolled in the military at the height of World War II. But instead of completely abandoning his artistic abilities, the architectural enthusiast decided to document his experiences on the battlefield in a series eight of sketchbooks, which he has since donated to the Library of Congress. His incredibly detailed records of the war stretch from scenes of fallen soldiers, air raids, and beach landings, to more conventional scenarios like soldiers playing games on their downtime or taking much needed naps. The now 92-year-old veteran went on to have an acclaimed architectural career after returning from the war in 1944.

It’s hard to imagine a service man taking the time to sketch scenes from one of the bloodiest wars in history, but to have detailed recordings of the event is in itself extraordinary. All sketchbooks have been digitally remastered and can be viewed online HERE.

http://thechive.com/2016/11/15/21-year-old-soldier-sketches-wwii-in-visual-diary-of-his-experiences-21-photos/

https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=partof%3Alot+14007

Random Thoughts . . .

Thoughts on using WorkShop module in Moodle.

Personal Web Site

November 12, 2016November 12, 2016PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 341: Thanks Dave!

Jokes You Can Use:

Advisory:

They Said He Didn’t Look Disabled, So This Man Showed Them the Reality of Crohn’s Disease

For some reason, random strangers sometimes get the urge to make assumptions out loud about other random strangers. And no assumption is more frustrating that implying someone is “fine” and “healthy” based solely on their outward appearance.

Ste Walker, a patient with Crohn’s disease, was in a hospital shop in Yorkshire, England, when another customer asked why he was even there, since he looked “fine.”

http://twentytwowords.com/they-said-he-didnt-look-disabled-so-this-man-showed-them-the-reality-of-crohns-disease/

Cerebral Palsy Hasn’t Stopped This Inspirational Man From Achieving Success as a Pro Bodybuilder

The next time you find yourself saying the words “I can’t,” think about Wade McCrae Washington.

http://twentytwowords.com/cerebral-palsy-hasnt-stopped-this-inspirational-man-from-achieving-success-as-a-pro-bodybuilder/

Middle School Science Minute

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

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE MINUTE: DOUBLE-STUFFED CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES

I was recently reading the September, 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, “Start the School Year With an Authentic Activity.” It was written by Susan German. The article describes an activity in which the author uses double-stuffed chocolate sandwich cookies to help teach students about scientific argumentation.

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/11/10_Middle_School_Science_Minute__Double-Stuffed_Chocolate_Sandwich_Cookies.html

From the Twitterverse:

Dave Schmittou

⚓️ ‏@daveschmittou

There’s no such thing as an average day. You plan for the variations. There’s no such thing as an average student, why do you plan for them?

Kim Campbell ‏@KimCamp4Kids

Kim Campbell Retweeted Monica Fulton

Love this man!!

Kim Campbell added, https://twitter.com/fulton_monica/status/797085112529776640

Ted Fujimoto ‏@tedfujimoto

What letter grades are like #edchat #EdPolicy #edreform #deeperlearning #teaching #edchat #STEMed #pblchat

Liz Davis ‏@lizdavis2

Templates for historical thinking that invite inquiry http://historicalthinking.ca/historical-thinking-concept-templates … #satchathack

TCEAmg ‏@tceamg

ESL/ELL Students Playing with Words http://www.tcea.org/blog/meme-quote-generators/ … #TCEA #txed

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

Strategies:

Two Options for Collecting Students’ Questions to Appear on Review Games

Earlier this week I received the following email from a reader,

“My desire is to create a database of questions in multiple choice, short answer and T/F . I guess a quiz, however I would like to “share” (like g docs) this database with my students so that they could add questions . What app or program would be best for this (open source)?”

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/11/two-options-for-collecting-students.html#.WCc5gqIrJdB

Six Tools for Creating Classroom Quiz Games – A Comparison Chart

Twice in the last week I have given presentations about tools for creating fun formative assessment activities.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/11/six-tools-for-creating-classroom-quiz.html#.WCc_vaIrJdA

WHY DO WE ASK KIDS TO SIT DOWN AND LEARN WHEN THE RESEARCH SAYS…

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/movement-helps-kids-learn/

Resources:

Welcome to IfItWereMyHome.com

The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?

IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration.

You can also use our visualization tool to help understand the impact of a disaster. The Pakistan Flood and BP Oil Spill are currently featured. Check out the individual pages to gain some perspective on these awful tragedies.

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/

Free Resources From All My Books

November 11, 2016 by Larry Ferlazzo | 0 comments

Every few months, I reprint this post so that new subscribers learn about these resources.

I have many free resources, including excerpts and student hand-outs, available from all my books. Clicking on the covers will lead you to them (and look for two new forthcoming books – another one on ELLs that Katie Hull and I are writing, and a fourth in my student motivation series):

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/11/11/free-resources-from-all-my-books-7/

The Encyclopedia of Middle Grades Education

The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Middle Grades Education has been revised, updated, and expanded since its original publication in 2005. The Encyclopedia is a comprehensive overview of the field; it contains alphabetically organized entries that address important concepts, ideas, terms, people, organizations, publications, and research studies specifically related to middle grades education. This edition contains over 210 entries from nearly 160 expert contributors, this is a 25% increase in the number of entries over the first edition. The Encyclopedia is aimed at a general audience including undergraduate students in middle‐level teacher preparation programs, graduate students, higher education faculty, and practitioners and administrators. The comprehensive list of entries are comprised of both short entries (500 words) and longer entries (2000 words). A significant number of entries appearing in the first edition have been revised and updated. Citations and references are provided for each entry.

http://www.infoagepub.com/products/The-Encyclopedia-of-Middle-Grades-Education-2nd-ed

Teaching French Resources:

French Literature Adapted

Web Spotlight:

How to Create MadLibs Story Starters in Google Sheets

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/11/how-to-create-madlibs-story-starters-in.html#.WCdANKIrJdA

Make Beliefs Comix Offers a Free Book of Bilingual Writing Prompts

Make Beliefs Comix is a free web and iOS app that offers a huge collection of comic templates for students. One of the features that you’ll find on the website is a set of editable ebooks for students to write in. One of the newer additions to the collection is a book titled A Book of Questions.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/11/make-beliefs-comix-offers-free-book-of.html#.WCdAo6IrJdA

Random Thoughts . . .

Personal Web Site

November 5, 2016November 5, 2016PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 340: History, Elections and Adolescents.

Jokes You Can Use:

After years of wondering why he didn’t look like his younger sister or brother, a young man finally got up the nerve to ask his mother if he was adopted.

“Yes, you were son,” his mother said as she started to cry softly. “But it didn’t work out and they brought you back.”

What kind of meds do kleptomaniacs take to get better?

Did you hear about the professional golfer who got arrested for assaulting his chauffeur?

I opened my electric bill at the same time I opened my water bill.

Needless to say, I was shocked.

The owner of a factory that manufactures thick, brown syrup, produced during the refining of sugar, called his production crew in. “We have more work than we have people do it,” he told his staff. “And, I find that the women we’ve hired in the past do a far better job than the men.”

“What do you suggest we do?” asked one employee.

“It’s simple,” the owner said. “We need mo’lasses!”

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Randy Ziegenfuss

Advisory:

The End of Adolescence

Adolescence as an idea and as an experience grew out of the more general elevation of childhood as an ideal throughout the Western world. By the closing decades of the 19th century, nations defined the quality of their cultures by the treatment of their children. As Julia Lathrop, the first director of the United States Children’s Bureau, the first and only agency exclusively devoted to the wellbeing of children, observed in its second annual report, children’s welfare ‘tests the public spirit and democracy of a community’.

Today, more and more young people’s lives do not fit the contours of adolescence, and the institutions of the 20th century have become worn and dated. Parents are left without the intellectual resources to understand how their teenagers and 20-somethings will manage in a future that seems ever more unlike their own

https://aeon.co/essays/adolescence-is-no-longer-a-bridge-between-childhood-and-adult-life

Middle School Science Minute

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

GROUND PRONGS

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 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: “WHY SHOULDN’T EXTENSION CORDS WITH BROKEN-OFF GROUND PRONGS BE USED?”

http://k12science.net/Podcast/Podcast/Entries/2016/9/30_Middle_School_Science_Minute-Ground_Prongs.html

From the Twitterverse:

Secondary Principals ‏@massp

There are a number of ways to design a PBA-GRASPS & RAFT are two blueprints. This ex is “on demand” completed in a class period. #ASCDCEL16

Secondary Principals ‏@massp

Grand Rapids charter school a step closer to youth homeless shelter

Ted Fujimoto ‏@tedfujimoto

RT @Larryferlazzo Stanford professor who pioneered praise movement says we parents are doing it all wrong http://qz.com/587811 via @qz

Tim Childers ‏@tchilders

Just my opinion. Your thoughts?

Jasper Fox Sr. ‏@JasperFoxSR

“So You Wanna Be A Podcaster? Helpful Tips and Tricks from 5 Years of Podcasting” http://jfox.cc/1QHolS8 Tips from @teachercast

Steve Seward ‏@sewardstephen

Are we simply talking about change OR truly walking the talk when it comes to “deeper learning”? #ASCDCEL16 @ASCD @massp

Steve Seward ‏@sewardstephen

Deeper Learning: 4 components theory of action. We MUST empower our teachers if we wish for them to empower students. #ASCDCEL16 @massp

Nick Gourevitch ‏@nickgourevitch

Reminder of where public polling error occurred in 2012. Colorado/Nevada, but also Michigan which always has public poll problems. RCP data:

Josh Ochs ‏@JoshOchs

The Good and Bad Teen Apps Parent Guide now features Pokemon Go & Musical.ly (Videos): http://buff.ly/2d1mPRG

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

Strategies:

Letters to the Next President

https://letters2president.org/

Resources:

YouTube Copier

The YouTube copier tool will help you create a copy of any YouTube video playlist into your own Google Account in 2 easy steps. You can duplicate your own playlists or clone the videos of someone else’s playlist in your own account.

Simply sign-in with your YouTube account and then enter the URL of any YouTube Playlist that you wish to clone. You can set the privacy of the cloned playlist as public (visible to everyone), private (visible only to you) or unlisted (visible to people who have the playlist link).

Merge YouTube Playlists

In addition to copying other playlists into your own YouTube account, you can also use the tool to merge someone else’s playlist with any of of your existing playlist.

There are no restrictions and you can copy any number of YouTube playlists to your channel.

Simply enter the full URL of the website in the search box and hit Submit. If the tool fails to display ads for a particular keyword or web domain, chances are that it is a restricted keyword or the domain is not part of the AdSense program.

https://ctrlq.org/youtube/playlists/

How to search for publicly shared Google Documents, Presentations, and Spreadsheets.

Great tips for searching Google.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYDR4vaLBGE

Random Thoughts . . .

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