Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Monthly Archives: March 2011

March 25, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The Best Resources For Learning About The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Today is the 100th anniversary of the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. Here’s an excerpt from a CNN piece that explains it well:

Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Co. fire, a blaze at a sweatshop in New York that shocked the nation and became a defining moment in the history of the American work force. Its death toll would reach 146 — mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrants struggling to earn a living making blouses in a garment factory in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

Shock and outrage from all strata of society quickly brought demands for better working conditions. New York state enacted nearly 40 labor laws in the following three years. Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, improving workers’ rights across the country.

Here are my choices for The Best Resources For Learning About The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire:

Remembering The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.

Remembering the Triangle Fire 100 years later comes from CNN.

100 Years Later: Examining the Impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is the title of a great resource from The New York Times Learning Network.

1911 Fire Proved Photojournalism’s Power is from The New York Times photo blog.

This is the central page for all the NY Times related resources.

The 1911 Triangle Fire Tragedy is a slideshow from CBS News.

Triangle Fire is an excellent resource from PBS.

A Century After Triangle Fire, Labor Struggles Remain is from Voice Of America.

Triangle Fire: Tracing A Tragedy is a slideshow from Wall Street Journal.

Infographic: How unions succeeded in making your workplace safer in the 100 years since the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is from SEIU.

NYC Marks 100th Anniversary of Deadly Factory Fire is from ABC News.

Teaching About the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is from the Zinn Education Project.

Triangle Factory Fire – March 25, 1911 contains resources from the National Education Association.

Photo Essay: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is from PBS.

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.

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March 25, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Impressive Resources On Water

World Water Day was earlier this week, and I’ve just added some pretty impressive resources to The Best Resources For Teaching & Learning About World Water Day:

There was a contest connected to the Day to develop the best water-related infographics. You can see all of the submitted infographics — and there are a lot of them — here.

Fresh Water Supply is an interactive that lets you explore water usage around the world.

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March 25, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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A Couple Of Good ESL/EFL Resources

David Deubelbeiss shares some nice resources and ideas in his post, Using Silent Video in the EFL Classroom. I’m adding it to The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL.

Checking-out ESL Library has been on my “to do” list for quite awhile. I’ve been impressed with the free sample lessons and worksheets they offer, but, with all the quality free resources out there, I’m hesitant to spend time on sites that charge. Jason Renshaw saved me the trouble by writing a very informative and positive review of the site (which charges $55 a year). Since I value Jason’s opinion so highly, I’ve got to take his word for it, and so I’m adding ESL Library to The Best Sites For Free ESL/EFL Hand-Outs & Worksheets with the important caveat, of course, that it’s not free, but worth paying for. I also have another important caveat — before you spend any money on any ESL/EFL materials, you need to go to Jason’s own site, English Raven, and join it. Many of his materials are free, and to access additional resources, he just asks that you pay what you can. His stuff is the best!

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March 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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New Japan Resources

Here are the newest additions to Here are the newest additions to Part Two of my “The Best…” list on the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (you can see Part One here):

First Glimpses Of The Workers Inside Japan’s Troubled Nuclear Plant is a slideshow from NPR.

Japan Struggles to Deal with the World’s First “Complex Megadisaster” is from TIME Magazine.

I thought it would be useful to add resources related to the country of Japan and its history:

Factmonster on Japan

National Geographic Kids — Japan

National Geographic Japan Guide

Zoom School Japan

TIME for Kids — Japan

Kids Web Japan

Make an animated Japanese folktale

Faces of Ainu from the Smithsonian

World Info Zone Japan

Here are two Japan-related listening exercises for English Language Learners.

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March 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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How Stress Affects Our Students (& Their Parents) — Plus, How We’re Trying To Help

There’s an impressive article in this week’s New Yorker Magazine titled The Poverty Clinic, written by Paul Tough (unfortunately, it’s behind a paywall for now, but the New Yorker usually makes it publicly available at the same url address a week or two following publication).

The article describes research being put into practice that demonstrates high stress levels among children result in serious heath problems as an adult. In fact, it actually alters a person’s DNA in the brain. Scientists found that certain stresses have a direct connection to adult health problems through using a simple nine question Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) test.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The researchers looked at patients with ACE scores of 7 or higher who didn’t smoke, didn’t drink to excess, and weren’t overweight, and found that their risk of ischemic heart disease (the most common cause of death in the United States) was three hundred and sixty per cent higher than it was for patients with a score of 0. Somehow, the traumatic experiences of their childhoods were having a deleterious effect on their later health, though a pathway that had nothing to do with bad behavior.

The article provides some very accessible descriptions of how stress affects our body, and suggests some ways to help. It cites examples of foster parent education programs that have helped them “be more responsive to the emotional cues of the children.” In studies, the children in these programs show “cortisol patterns that echoed those of children brought up in stable homes.” (Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone).

In addition, the article discusses that cognitive-behavioral therapy has been effective with adolescents in reducing stress. There has been a lot written about using cognitive behavior techniques in classroom management, which echo a lot of the ideas in my upcoming book, Helping Students Motivate Themselves. One key element of this strategy is encouraging positive “self-talk.” Visualizing could be another.

One example of this is something I recently tried with a student who has a history of having many behavioral challenges. One day, he and I were talking, and he was telling me he knew he needed to get a handle on his behavior, but he didn’t know how. I told him I wanted to suggest an idea, that he could feel free to reject. I first showed me several different colors of large Post-Its, and asked him to choose one. We then put it on his desk, and I asked him to think of a word or a phrase that he thought would remind him to stay focused on what he was doing, and to remind him to work hard on controlling his behavior. I told him to think about it for awhile, write down whatever he wanted, and let’s just see if it helped.

He was extraordinarily focused that day, and has been the same for the past week. He chose to write down “Future,” and everyday he gets a new post it. When we go to the computer lab, he places it on the screen. Sometimes he has forgotten to get the post-it, but he has been able to maintain his self-control even during those times, he says, “because I say it to myself.”

You can’t tell a whole lot by one week, but it is a start.

My colleague, Katie Hull, and I are creating a life skill lesson (in a long line of ones I’ve posted about in this blog that combine literacy development with social emotional learning, including lessons on the brain, goal-setting, sleep, etc. — more extensive versions are in my book) on the issue of stress management. We’ll uses excerpts from the New Yorker article, along with this article from the Mayo Clinic on Stress Management (though we will not have students take the ACE test for a variety of reasons). We’ve discussed working with students to explore ways to reduce stress, including getting more sleep and eating healthy, plus working together to make a list of potential words or phrases that might help students become calmer during stressful times. We might have them place the phrase or phrases of their choice on their school binder and on other things they see regularly as a reminder to encourage positive self-talk, then have them use it for a week and reflect on how it went.

I’ll let readers know what we end-up actually doing. I’d love to hear your ideas, too.

Also, as I’ve previously posted, our school has what I and others consider to be a national model for a Parent University that demonstrates parent engagement at its best. At their next meeting, parent leaders might discuss if they’d like Katie and me to come share what we’ve learned and tried with them, and possible have parents take the ACE test themselves as a tool for self-reflection.

Here are a few other resources on cognitive behavior strategies in the classroom you might find interesting:

Applying Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques to Social Skills Instruction

Improving Behavior and Self-Efficacy Beliefs In the Classroom: Through Cognitive-Behavior Modification

Cognitive Behavior Modification

Also, coincidentally, today Edutopia published an interview with one of the authors of a major study I posted about earlier this year that found this kind of “Social Emotional Learning” (including the other topics I cover in my book) have a significant positive impact on student academic achievement.

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March 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“Hot Spot” Interview With An EFL Teacher — In The Middle Of The Japanese Disaster

I recently began a new regular interview series. There are always lots of “hot spots” around the world — places where there are natural disasters, political upheavals, etc. And English teachers can be found in most of those places.

Today, English teacher Joanne Sato agreed to answer a few of my questions:

Can you tell us a little about yourself, including how long you’ve taught English and why, where you’re from, and anything else you’d like to share?

I moved to Japan from England in 1998 straight out of university to start work at a huge private English school in Tokyo. The plan was to spend a year here and return to complete a masters degree at a university in the UK and eventually become a university lecturer. The plan changed as I fell in love with the job, Japan and my future husband. We moved to Fukushima city in 2001 and I finally got my masters last September in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. I have taught at a local women’s college since we moved to Fukushima and greatly enjoy the lifestyle offered by this lovely city in the north.

Where were you when the earthquake and tsunami struck, what happened, and how did you feel?

On the day of the earthquake we had been practicing for the graduation ceremony all morning, it is a complex affair with each student receiving their graduation diploma directly from the college president. The auditorium is a beautifully designed hall, which seats over 600, and it is a wonderful sight to see the students file in wearing their caps and gowns. Every year it fills me with a great pride that many teacher know, the pride as we watch our students fly into their new lives after each has triumphed over hurdles unique only to them.

After lunch it was time for class photographs in all their graduation finery. I have been in charge of this for the last few years, there were two hundred students, two photographers and myself in the hall. The first group of students were in position up on stage with others lining up awaiting their turn, adjusting stray tendrils of hair, checking make-up, reminiscing amongst themselves. The shaking started.

Anyone who has lived in Japan for any length of time will know how earthquakes feel. Usually we look up from our cups of tea, grading papers, TV viewing and shrug, “Just an earthquake”. This time it felt very different. The hall seemed to be shifting up and down by feet at a time, our legs gave way, and within a minute I heard a sound I had never heard during an earthquake. It was a scream.

As material began to fall from the stage ceiling we knew we had to get out. The doors were flapping wildly, big heavy sound proofed doors were made to look and act as flimsy as paper. The photographer shouted “get out” and the students held on to each other as they staggered to the doors which I held with all my might. I know my face was white, my heart in my throat, my fear was of losing them all under a roof collapse. I shouted, “it’s okay the building is strong…this way”, not believing any building could be that strong. The last student made it out and I let the door swing shut.

We crouched in the stairwell as the earthquake continued to bounce us around. When the last student rounded the corner to the car park I let out my own big sob on the shoulder of the librarian. “I thought I would lose them” was all I could say.

What were your experiences in the immediate aftermath?

My daughter attends the elementary school across from the college. The building housing the school is much older than the college and before I made it to the car park I ran to the school only to find the children had already left for the after school program. The moment I found her and hugged her in the car park surrounded by students, who had forgotten their own fear in the face of the younger children’s it felt like a scene from a film and I have played it over and over in my mind in the days since. The cars appeared to have elaborate hydraulics rocking them up and down on the spot as the earthquakes came thick and fast.

It started to snow. The trains had stopped, the students were stranded and we made our way into the cafeteria, a one storey building with reinforced pillars. The students’ mobile phones constantly warned of aftershocks and we spend hours running for cover under the tables as the earth shook, rocked and trembled. The mobile phones told us the earthquake had been in Sendai, the next city north, and students desperately tried to contact family in the worst affected areas. At this point we had no idea about the tsunami. Then the news trickled in, a ship lost with one hundred people aboard, houses washed away, many dead. It took days to know the true extent of the damage caused by the wave.

Places where we had camped, surfed, enjoyed oysters next to the warm Pacific ocean, had been obliterated. So many people lost. When a call came from my husband in the early evening I felt truly lucky that he had been working inland. The previous week he had been at Sendai airport. My thoughts are with those who will not get that call or the film-like hug.

What have you learned from the experience, and do you think there are lessons Japan, and all of us, can learn, too?

Two days after the quake we watched in horror as the first explosion occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Our home is located 62 kilometers west of the station and with growing unease we packed a few things and headed west out of the city. Our apartment still did not have water and the constant aftershocks had us all spooked. The British and American governments are advising staying outside of 80 kilometers of the power station. I am ready to go back to my home but will wait a few more days and monitor the radiation levels before returning.

I have an incredible admiration for the workers at the power station trying their best in a difficult situation. They are fighting to make safe the beautiful area I have been lucky enough to call home for ten years. I have learnt that the life we live can be changed in an instance and it is up to us how we deal with the new challenges of a different situation. I know the fishing villages will spring up again and the white beaches will return, time is the great healer. I know there will be a day when I sit outside a small seafront stall enjoying a cold beer in the summer heat while cringing at my husband eating raw sea urchin straight from the spiky shell.

Is there anything you’d like to share that I haven’t asked you about?

My great love and admiration for my adopted country and the people here has grown stronger. The evening of the earthquake I returned to my apartment to assess the damage I found all my neighbors in the entrance hall sharing hot tea. I shared a cup and a high school student offered to accompany me up the ten flights of stairs to help me in case the door was jammed shut. He is usually desperately shy and I saw him come out of himself that night. He watched as I discovered we did not have one glass left intact. I said to him in Japanese, “all we can do is laugh” and we giggled as the hi-tech refrigerator reprimanded us in a robotic voice over and over, “you left the door open…you left the door open…you left the door open”!

Thanks, Joanne! You can stay in touch with Joanne through twitter — @SugarJo

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March 24, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions

Much is written, especially by “school reformers” about the importance of merit pay and how much more money will motivate us all to work harder and better. I’m all for a fair and just wage, but working conditions are a key element of teacher retention and a quality education for students.

Here are my choices for The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions:

I’ve got to start off with a great xtranormal video created by Dan Brown called “Keeping Teachers Around.”

I worked with a group of talented inner-city teachers from throughout the United States last year through the Center For Teaching Quality. We created a pretty thorough report, “Transforming School Conditions: Building Bridges to the Education System That Students And Teachers Deserve.” You can read my summary of the report in The Washington Post, as well as finding a link to the entire study.

Stephen Lazar has written an important three-part series on this issue:

Turnover – The Biggest Problem We Face: Part 1

Part Two

Part Three

U.S. vs highest-achieving nations in education by Linda Darling-Hammond appeared in the Washington Post earlier today, and makes several good points about this issue.

Accountable for What? at Failing Schools

Gen Y Teachers and the Future of the Profession by Barnett Berry

The beatings will continue until teacher morale improves appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and is by Walt Gardner.

The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries is by David Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari and appeared in The New York Times.

Additional suggestions are welcome. I’m sure there are some great articles out there that I just don’t know about.

If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.

You might also want to explore the over 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.

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March 23, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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YouTube Announces Super-Easy “Create” Feature

I certainly wouldn’t place any bets on YouTube getting through most school district content filters anytime soon, if ever. But they’ve just announced a great new ability to make videos and animations on the YouTube site itself using GoAnimate, Stupeflix, or Xtranormal and then posting it there.

The YouTube feature is called YouTube/create.

I can see myself using it sometimes to illustrate a concept for a lesson, or pointing out the idiocy of the latest school reform fad. But I suspect that it’s a super-cool tool that, outside of the two ideas I mentioned and potential use in adult ESL classes, won’t have much K-12 impact.

But, because it’s so cool, I’m still adding it to The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Animations (for adult students) and to The Best Ways For Students To Create Online Videos (Using Someone Else’s Content).

Thanks to TechCrunch for the tip.

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March 23, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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I’d Love To Meet You At The ASCD Conference!

I’ll be at the ASCD Conference in San Francisco this Sunday, and would love to meet readers of this blog!

Unfortunately, I’ll only be there on Sunday. You’ll be able to find me at the Eye on Education booth #2423 from 11:45 AM — 2:00 PM (they’re the publishers of my new book coming out next month, Helping Students Motivate Themselves. Alice Mercer is also going to try to do a live webcast from the same place at 11:00 AM that day, so if that works well I’ll be there then, too, and she’ll be hoping to have other drop-in visitors speak.

The rest of the time that day, I’ll either be wandering aimlessly, doing what Alice tells me to do (which is what usually happens at these conferences), or going to events/workshops that any of you recommend. Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions.

You can see a list of other people who will be blogging and twittering about the conference, too, at this ASCD post

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March 23, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy

I have many “The Best…” lists on specific education policy and school reform issues, and I will soon be creating a compilation of them all.

However, I thought it would also be useful to start identifying pieces that do a good job of “putting it all together.” Towards that end, I’ve identified a small number to start off with and hope that others can suggest more.

Here are my choices for The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy:

As I wrote yesterday, The American Association of School Administrators has published the text of a speech (and the video) Diane Ravitch gave at their recent conference, and I don’t think you’re going to read or hear a better commentary on education anywhere.

You can read the text of her speech here.

Here are links to the video of her speech, dividing into three parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Another article I like is Blinded by Reform by Professor Mike Rose.

Leaving “No Child Left Behind” Behind is a few years old, but Richard Rothstein’s points are still dead-on.

5 myths about teachers that are distracting policymakers is by Barnett Berry and appeared in The Washington Post.

Cathie Black and the privatisation of education comes from The Guardian.

The Test Generation is an article by Dana Goldstein that was just published in The American Prospect magazine.

Who’s Bashing Teachers and Public Schools and What Can We Do About It? appeared in Rethinking Schools and is by Stan Karp. It’s an edited version of a talk Stan gave that I previously posted about.

Five myths about America’s schools is an excellent Washington Post column by Post reporter Paul Farhi.

The Service of Democratic Education is a truly exceptional speech Linda Darling-Hammond gave at Teachers College of Columbia University. Here’s an excerpt:

These new scientific managers, like those of a century ago, prefer teachers with little training—who will come and go quickly, without costing much money, without vesting in the pension system and without raising many questions about an increasingly prescriptive system of testing and teaching that lines the pockets of private entrepreneurs (who provide teacher-proofed materials deemed necessary, by the way, in part because there are so many underprepared novices who leave before they learn to teach). Curriculum mandates and pacing guides that would “choke a horse,” as one teacher put it, threaten to replace the opportunities for teachable moments that expert teachers know how to create with their students.

The new scientific managers, like the Franklin Bobbitts before them, like to rank and sort students, teachers and schools—rewarding those at the top and punishing those at the bottom, something that the highest-achieving countries not only don’t do but often forbid. The present-day Bobbitts would create “efficiencies” by firing teachers and closing schools, while issuing multimillion-dollar contracts for testing and data systems to create more graphs, charts and report cards on which to rank and sort… well, just about everything.

Her speech will certainly be on “The Best..” list of educational policy articles for this year. It provides some fascinating historical background, including much I didn’t know.

Steve Brill’s Report Card on School Reform is a New York Times book review of Brill’s recent book. I’m adding it, with some minor reservations (I’m not as enthralled with Doug Lemov’s teaching techniques as the reviewer says she is) to this list.

American Schools in Crisis is by Diane Ravitch and appeared in The Saturday Evening Post.


School ‘Reform’: A Failing Grade is by Diane Ravitch.

The bait and switch of school “reform” is from Salon.

‘Education is about preparing young people to make the world better than it is’ is by Pedro Noguera.

Roxanna Elden has hit another homerun with her post “Five School Reform Sound Bites That Hurt Teacher Buy-In.”

Changing the Poisonous Narrative:A Conversation with Diane Ravitch comes from ASCD’s Educational Leadership.

Diane Ravitch gave a great speech at the National Opportunity to Learn Summit.

Why Is Congress Redlining Our Schools? is by Linda Darling-Hammond.

Additional suggestions are welcome. I’m sure there are some great articles out there that I just don’t know about.

If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.

You might also want to explore the over 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.

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March 22, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
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I Think This AASA Speech By Diane Ravitch Is The Best Commentary On Education I’ve Read Or Heard

The American Association of School Administrators has published the text of a speech (and the video) Diane Ravitch gave at their conference last month, and I don’t think you’re going to read or hear a better commentary on education anywhere.

You can read the text of her speech here.

Here are links to the video of her speech, dividing into three parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Thanks to the great organization, Learning First, for the tip.

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March 22, 2011
by Larry Ferlazzo
5 Comments

“Why Teachers Like Me Support Unions”

Teacher bloggers throughout the United States today are writing about “Why Teachers Like Me Support Unions.” You can see links to all their posts at EduSolidarity (click on “posts” at the top of the page).

I’m feeling a little under the weather today, and am not up for writing a lengthy post (and wasn’t organized enough to write this earlier). I’ve previously shared a number of reasons at The Best Resources For Learning Why Teachers Unions Are Important.

Two specific ways I’d like to highlight about how my union has helped my students and me are through two projects. One is through the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA), a union-initiated efforts that has resulted in inner-city schools like ours receiving millions of additional dollars each year for reduced class size, technology-enhancement, and more counselors. You can read more about it at “Teachers’ Union Leading School Reform? Impossible!”

The second is through the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project, a joint effort of a community group, our teachers union, and our school district. This project, with strong union leadership, has provided the needed training and financial support for schools throughout the country to make thousands of visits to parents homes to develop relationships and help families and students achieve their goals.

These two reasons are just drops in the bucket. Read what other teachers have to say at EduSolidarity, and read what my Sacramento colleague Alice Mercer writes on her blog today on the same topic.

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