January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Mike Klonsky reports on a public radio debate between the chief spokesman for Education Secretary Duncan and my favorite education writer, Richard Rothstein.
I’d encourage you to read Mike’s analysis of the discussion, which he titles “Punching A Marshmallow.”
He’s also kind enough to provide a link to a recording of the debate, titled “Will The ‘Race To The Top’ Leave No Child Behind?” The discussion starts at the eight minute mark.
January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
I’m interested in hearing examples of innovative ways school librarians are working with English Language Learners — it’s for an article I’m writing.
If you have some good examples, please share them in the comments section of this post.
Thanks!
January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I’ve had concerns for a long time about Teach For America, the national organization that recruits college students from prestigious universities to teach in inner-city schools for two years.
Claus von Zastrow informs, clarifies, and enlightens — as he so often does skillfully — us all on this topic in his post “Why the Love/Hate Relationship with TFA?”
His post helped me get clearer that my issues are not necessarily with TFAers but, instead, with how the media often portrays them and how some “school reformers” might use them.
January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
NBC and the National Science Foundation have created free, short videos explaining the science behind many of the winter Olympic events. The language is probably accessible to high-intermediate ELL’s, especially because they have transcripts that you can view at the same time.
I’m adding the link to The Best Sites To Learn About The Vancouver Winter Olympics.
These videos are part of NBC’s extradordinary iCue site, which has had accessible videos and games on English, government and U.S. History for quite awhile, and is on several of my “The Best…” lists because of it.
In addition, though, I also see that they have a relatively new section on Environmental Science. This new addition ensures that iCue will definitely be on my 2010 list for Best Science Sites.
January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see back issues of those newsletters here and my previous “Top Ten” picks at Websites Of The Month.
These posts are different from the ones I list under the monthly “Most Popular Blog Posts.” Those are the posts the largest numbers of readers “clicked-on” to read.
Since I put out December’s list early because of the holidays, this post contains some posts from late December, too.
Here are the posts I personally think are the best, and most helpful, ones I’ve written during this past month-and-a-half (not in any order of preference):
Updates On Some Classroom Lessons & Research I’ve Been Doing
A Growth Mind-Set For Educators
“How to have more self-discipline”
How Do You Use Photos In The ELL Classroom?
How Much “Content” Knowledge Do You Really Need To Be An Effective Teacher?
Update On My Website For Students
How Do Students Feel About Using Computers To Help Learn English?
Newest Assessment Results From Family Literacy Project
Interview Of The Month: Jim Burke
My Thoughts On Seth Godin’s Post “Without Them”
A Few Reflections On Daniel Pink’s New Book, “Drive”
Thanks, Thomas Edison, For The Light Bulb, Phonograph and…the SAT?
More On Saying “I’m Sorry” To Students
I Love This Quote From Education Secretary Arne Duncan
“Dumb Arguments for Stupid Ideas”
“How Not To Communicate With Parents”
If You Drop-Out Of High School, You’ll Be Less Healthy
Academic Research Has Its Place, But It Also Has To Be Kept In Its Place
Intriguing Study On Self-Control
Helping Students Respond To Writing Prompts
January 25, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Fiction in Action: Whodunit is a new textbook for English Language Learners (it appears to me for Intermediate level) that is freely downloadable.
I’m not a big fan of any textbook but, if you have to use one or want to use one, it is certainly worth a look.
Here’s how the publisher describes it:
Fiction in Action: Whodunit is something not seen before, a textbook designed to act as a bridge to extensive reading. Over 12 units encompassing two original six-chapter stories, the book introduces students to the hows and the pleasures of reading accessible fiction in English. Fiction in Action focuses on extended and connected passages in one genre—in this case, the detective story—familiarizing students with the language, style and literary conventions associated with this form of story. A special feature of the text is tasks that are not merely supportive of but intrinsic to the stories.
January 24, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The Transamerica Pyramid Building is the iconic skyscraper in San Francisco. The Sacramento Bee has published a slideshow and chart on it.
I’m adding them to both The Best Sites To Learn About The World’s Tallest Buildings and The Best Sites To Learn About San Francisco.
January 24, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I just added the following links to The Best Resources For Learning About Homework Issues:
Alfie Kohn has written “Rethinking Homework.”
Dr. Kathy Vatterott has created a website called The Homework Lady, and you can read an EdWeek interview with her here. She is the author of Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs (ASCD, 2009).
End Homework Now is an article that appeared in Educational Leadership magazine.
January 24, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
4 Comments
PowerPoint presentations have certainly be abused in many contexts, and the classroom has been one of them. I really don’t use them much in my own teaching.
However, sometimes I’ve been able to find a good PowerPoint presentation that has already been created by another teacher; that’s related to a topic I’m teaching; and that’s accessible to an English Language Learner. I’ll sometimes then put a link to the presentation on one of our class blogs or my website for students to access.
I thought it might be useful to put together a “The Best…” list sharing sources of decent PowerPoint presentations that are free to use and are accessible to English Language Learners. All these sites cover most of the content areas.
Here are my picks for The Best Online Collections of PowerPoints For Teachers (Pete’s PowerPoint Station is clearly my number one pick, but the rest are not in any order of preference):
Here’s a list of 7 Search Engines for PowerPoint Presentations. I wasn’t too impressed with any of them, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for in any of the sites I listed in this post, you might want to try them out.
As always, feedback is welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
I’ve discovered two intriguing sites where people can create user-generated content related to next month’s Winter Olympics. To tell you the truth, I’m not convinced that either one will really enhance one’s understanding of the Olympics much. But, for English Language Learners, they both certainly provide lots of good listening and speaking opportunities. So, for that reason, I’m adding them to The Best Sites To Learn About The Vancouver Winter Olympics:
Become A Virtual Sportscaster lets you, after registration, be a…sportscaster calling the action for several different video clips of Olympic events. You can then share the video with others.
The Best Of Us Challenge lets you see “challenges” (strange and fun competitions like balancing a stick on your foot) that Olympic athletes have created for ordinary people to beat them at. You can record your attempt at their challenge and post it at the site. In addition, you can create your own video challenges.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Groove To English has quite a few different activities for English Language Learners, and it looks pretty good. They’re divided into sections, including vocabulary, writing, and listening. It’s worth a visit.
I learned about it through Michelle Henry, who has an incredible amount of resources for ELL’s on her website.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
St. Valentine’s Day is a series of interactive exercises for English Language Learners. It was created by Renee Maufroid, who has created many similar activities.
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Valentine’s Day.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Magnificence on Cave Walls is the title of a Wall Street Journal article about a cave in Zimbabwe that has extraordinary paintings by prehistoric people. The article isn’t accessible to English Language Learners, but an excellent slideshow is.
You might also be interested in a previous post, Incredible New Site On Cave Of Lascaux.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I just sent-out the February issue of my monthly email newsletter.
I’ve been sending it out for three years, and have about seven hundred subscribers now. You can see all the past issues here, and subscribe to it here.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
4 Comments
Last month I wrote a post titled Creating A Lesson On “Blaming Others” & Need Your Help. I’ve appreciated all the feedback I’ve received, and am now preparing the lesson. I think it should be pretty good. On the other hand, I also think it has the potential of being a “bust.” We’ll see.
For part of that lesson, I’m now trying to identify good, short scenes from the movies or television of characters taking personal responsibility for their actions and mistakes — real life clips from the news are even better. If you have some suggestions, please leave them in the comments section of this post.
Of course, I’ll be posting the lesson plan and a description of how it went here.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
The American Revolution Center is the online home of an organization that houses many artifacts of that time in U.S. History. Their interactive timeline is especially accessible to English Language Learners.
I’ll eventually add it to my United States History page.
January 23, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Where To Next? takes you on a short audio tour of the United Kingdom, and then you’re asked comprehension questions.
It’s accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners.
I’ve placed the link on my website under Europe.
January 22, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I’ve been adding more and more links to The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Haiti. Here are some of the more exceptional ones:
CNN has an incredible 360 degree video from Haiti. I have never seen a 360 degree video before. Thanks to Jerry Swiatek for the tip.
The Big Picture has The Faces of Haiti.
Here’s a good interactive map.
The BBC has a very interesting interactive map and information on relief supplies getting to the island.
The Washington Post shares an infographic, What Caused The Quake.
January 22, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
2 Comments
Cinchcast is a simple tool that lets you basically create an audio blog, and you can upload images, too.
I’ve added it to The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English.
Thanks to Jen Farr for the tip.
January 22, 2010
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
PBS has a feature on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony that’s accessible to Intermediate English Language Learners. I was pleased to find it, because I had been having a surprisingly difficult time finding resources on them that were good for ELL’s.
I’ve placed the link on my United States History blog, where you can find an entire year’s curriculum.
