Another day, another mid-year “Best” list (you can find all 1,900 Best lists here).

You might also be interested in:

The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2017 – Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2017 – So Far

The Best Videos For Educators In 2016 – Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2016 – So Far

The Best Videos For Educators In 2015 – Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2015 – So Far

The Best Videos For Educators In 2014 – Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2014 – So Far

The “All-Time” Best Videos For Educators

The Best Videos For Educators In 2013 – Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — Part Two

The Best Videos For Educators In 2012 — Part One

The Best Videos For Educators In 2011

Part Two Of The Best Videos For Educators — 2010

The Ten Best Videos For Educators — 2010

And you might also want to see The Best Funny Videos Showing The Importance Of Being Bilingual — Part One ; The Best Videos Illustrating Qualities Of A Successful Language Learner ; The Best Video Clips Demonstrating “Grit”; and The Best Fun Videos About Books & Reading.

You might also want to check out The Best Video Collections For Educators ; The Best Video Clips On Goal-Setting — Help Me Find More ; The Best Movie Scenes, Stories, & Quotations About “Transfer Of Learning” – Help Me Find More! ;  The Best Funny Videos To Help Teach Grammar – Help Me Find More ; The Best Videos About The Famous “Trolley Problem” and The Best Videos For Teaching & Learning About Figurative Language.

The Best TV/Movie Scenes Showing Good & Bad Classroom Discussions

The Best TV/Movie Scenes Demonstrating A “Growth Mindset” – Help Me Find More

The Best Movie/TV Scenes Demonstrating Metacognition – Help Me Find More

The Best Videos About The Importance Of Practice – Help Me Find More

The Best Videos Explaining Gravitational Waves (In An Accessible Way)

The Best Random Acts Of Kindness Videos

The Best Videos For Learning About Civil Disobedience

The Best Videos For Learning About The Scientific Method

Here Are All My “Best” Lists Related To Movies

I’ve also written a guest post for Edutopia titled 5-Minute Film Festival: 8 Videos for ELL Classrooms. You might find it useful.

Here are my choices for The Best Videos For Educators In 2018 – So Far (some may have been produced prior to this year, but are just new to me):

Here’s how the PBS NewsHour describes this video segment:

Fifty-five years ago, thousands of African-American children walked out of their schools and began a peaceful march in Birmingham, Alabama, to protest segregation. They were met with attack dogs and water hoses. For a new generation of students, traveling to Birmingham has made that moment in history come alive. Special correspondent Lisa Stark reports.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources Sharing The History Of Teens Organizing For Justice:

This new TED-Talk video, titled “How language shapes the way we think,” is definitely worthwhile for an IB Theory of Knowledge class.

You can read the transcript here.

I’ve shared a lot on the concept of “deliberate practice,” including lessons I use in my own classroom (see The Best Resources For Learning About The 10,000 Hour Rule & Deliberate Practice.

Character Lab (led by Angela Duckworth) released an extensive lesson plan and short video (with Wynton Marsalis!) on what they call “Expert Practice” (I’m perplexed about why they would change the term, especially since they say it was inspired by Anders Ericsson, who originated the phrase “deliberate practice”).

There are definitely some very useful materials in the lesson plan though, like in their previously-released materials, I’d bet most teachers will want to pick-and-choose which they use in their class.

Here’s the short video with Marsalis:

Brainwaves Videos on YouTube is a great channel to find short videos of educators discussing important topics (in fact, you can find one of me talking about helping students develop intrinsic motivation).

This new video on “Why Teachers Quit” is a great one to watch. I’ve shared Richard Ingersoll’s work at The Best Posts & Articles About The Importance Of Teacher (& Student) Working Conditions, and he provides an important summary of it all here….

Here’s how Playing For Change introduces this video:

We are proud to share this video, produced by Playing For Change in partnership with Turnaround Arts, to share the message that the arts have the power to improve our schools and build more compassionate, connected communities.

Turnaround Arts infuses struggling schools with the arts as a strategy to bolster reform efforts and is a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The program is in 73 schools in 37 districts across 17 states and the District of Columbia.

“Love Train” features Turnaround Arts students performing alongside their Turnaround Artists…

I was a speaker at the California Teacher Summit a couple of years ago, and just discovered it was put online:

Katie Hull and I did a 30 minute Facebook Live event for Education Week Teacher, and here it is:

You can find links to the resources we mention here.

Speaking of Facebook Live, a while back I did one on writing with KQED MindShift. You can see it at A Look Back: Video – “10 Strategies to Help Students Develop Intrinsic Motivation to Write.”

And you can access lots of free resources from Katie and my new book here.

I very seldom miss school because of illness.

Usually, I know well in advance when I’m missing class, and am able to go over the plan with students and with a “leadership team” for each class period (see Use ‘Compassion’ When Planning for a Substitute Teacher).

I’ve always wanted to videotape sub instructions for my classes. However, anytime I’ve been sick enough to miss school, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to anybody – much less make a video.

This morning, though, I woke-up with a sore throat and since I’m also recovering from sciatica, and some things are happening tomorrow that I can’t miss under any circumstances, I decided to take the day to rest up.

And I felt well enough to make this video, which both my student teacher and the sub say students thought was funny, but they also “loved it.” It’s not great shakes of a video, but I think the novelty of it had an impact.

Have you used videos when you’re going to be gone? If so, how did it go?

Absence instructions from Larry Ferlazzo on Vimeo.

One of the most popular posts appearing here this year has been Three Videos Of English Language Learners Giving Advice To Teachers.

That post shares three short panel discussions our students have done as part of our faculty trainings this year.   They [and I] love the fact that in the evaluations participating teachers spend far more time talking about how much they got out of the student presentations than commenting on my part of the training 🙂

One of the students did some splicing and dicing of presentations at one of the trainings, and I thought readers would find it interesting….

I’m adding this new video from Productivity Game to The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset.”

 

Though I think the title of the segment is a bit strange (“The power of your suffering is in how you tell your story”), this segment from last night’s PBS NewsHour would be a good tool to promote student agency (you can get the written transcript here).

I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Student Agency & How To Encourage It.

 

The PBS NewsHour did a short and impressive segment with poet Alberto Rios.

Here’s the video, and I’m adding this to The Best World Poetry Day Resources – Help Me Find More.

You can read the transcript here.

I’m adding these resources to The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom:

I’ve previously posted some of the group OK Go’s music videos, and was pleased to read today that they had teamed-up with Google to create the OK Go Sandbox, a collection of classroom activities connected to their music.

The lessons go along with these three videos (in the unlikely event you haven’t seen them already):

I’m adding this new video from The Biography Channel to The Best Resources On Malala Yousafzai:

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About Rube Goldberg Machines:

Here’s a video from The Wall Street Journal (that is, unfortunately, already outdated), “20 Years of School Shootings.”

I’m adding this year-old video to The Best Resources For Helping Students (& The Rest Of Us) Learn The Concept Of Not Blaming Others:

Whether you plan on going gradeless or not, this video by Starr Sackstein offers some excellent advice on assessment.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Grading Practices.

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About “Flow”:

I’ve written a lot about how I’ve used exercises with both English Language Learners and mainstream students to help them visual success (see My Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success”).  That “Best” list includes lots of research on the idea, along with results from my Teacher Action Research projects (see The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Action Research – Help Me Find More).

The NY Times published a series of short videos having Olympic athletes share what they visualize before their competition begins, including animations of what they see.   They are perfect to show students since some might think the exercise is a waste of time.

You can see all of them at Inside An Olympian Mind.

Here’s an example of one:

I’m also adding this info to A Beginning List For Learning About The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

I’ve shared many of the great StoryCorps animated videos over the years.

They released a new one this year. Here’s how they describe it:

Ronald Clark’s father was custodian of a branch of the New York Public Library at a time when caretakers, along with their families, lived in the buildings. With his daughter, Jamilah, Ronald remembers literally growing up in a library, creeping down to the stacks in the middle of the night when curiosity gripped him. A story for anyone who’s ever dreamt of having unrestricted access to books.

You might also be interested in The Best Fun Videos About Books & Reading.

Check out this quote from Eagles quarterback Nick Foles:

“I think the big thing is don’t be afraid to fail,” Foles said. “In our society today, with Instagram and Twitter, it’s a highlight. It’s all the good things. When you look at it, you have a bad day, you think your life isn’t as good, you’re failing. Failure is a part of life. It’s a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times, made mistakes. We all are human. We all have weaknesses. Just being able to share that and be transparent.

“I know when people speak and share they’re weaknesses, I listen. Because I can (relate). I’m not perfect. I’m not Superman. We might be in the NFL and we might have just won the Super Bowl, but we all have daily struggles…. I think when you look at a struggle in your life, just know that it’s an opportunity for your character to grow.”

Here’s the writing prompt I’m used with it:

What does Nick Foles say about failure? What does he say about comparing yourself to others? To what extent do you agree with what he or she is saying? To support your opinion, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observations of others, or any of your readings.

I also showed the video of him saying it:

Before introducing the quote, though, students got a chance to watch some of his highlights:

 

I’m adding it to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

Elmo is teaching about a growth mindset in a newly released Sesame Street video.

I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A “Growth Mindset.”

Rick Wormeli sent this great tweet:

Showing it would be a perfect way to begin a professional development exploration on the topic!

You might also be interested in The Best Posts & Articles On How To Teach “Controversial” Topics.

Here’s the YouTube version of the video in case Twitter is blocked by your District content filters:

Here’s how The Daily Show describes this interview:

“Long Way Down” author Jason Reynolds describes his path to becoming a prolific writer and makes the case for expanding the literary canon to reach more kids.

It’s definitely worth watching!

I’ve previously posted about the great Dollar Street site (see “Dollar Street” Is Clearly One Of The Best Online Educational Resources Of The Year).

Now, Anna Rosling Rönnlund has given this TED-Talk about it:

 

You might also be interested in The Best Hans Rosling Videos.

This was everywhere on social media earlier this year but, just in case you missed it, here’s a USA Today video:

I’m adding this new video from Edutopia to The Best Resources For Learning The Advantages To Being Bilingual:

My daughter, granddaughter and I went to see the movie, “Lady Bird.”

It’s a great movie, and I say that not because it’s very Sacramento-centric.

There’s also a great clip in it about a growth mindset.

Here’s the quote itself in text form, followed by the video clip itself (I’ve embedded the trailer, and it should be set to start at the 2:17 mark when the growth mindset piece takes place):

 

I’m adding this to:

The Best TV/Movie Scenes Demonstrating A “Growth Mindset” – Help Me Find More

The Best Apps, Online Tools & Other Resources For Math

Here’s how the PBS NewsHour describes this video:

Literature can be daunting for some young people, so how can we create a culture of avid readers? Poetry can be a non-threatening alternative introduction for fledgling bibliophiles, giving them more “white space” on a page without losing narrative elements. Author Jason Reynolds shares his humble opinion on how poetry can entice young readers.

You might also be interested in The Best World Poetry Day Resources – Help Me Find More.

The Rusty Radiator Award, also known as the Radi-Aid Awards, recognize the best and worst charity ads each year.

You can see the nominees at the Rusty Radiator site. You can also see past year’s winners by clicking “Archive” at the top.

NPR has a very good article on the program at Vote For The Best And Worst Charity Ads Of 2017.

They are good to show students for analyzing persuasive techniques, as well as for introducing some of the world’s problems highlighted in the ads.

This video is one of those nominated for this year’s best. I don’t think anyone will disagree:

Since many of the videos are refugee-related, I’m adding this to The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day.

The New York Times has published a series of 360 videos on “The New Seven Wonders.”

Here’s their introductory one (you can see all of them by clicking here and scrolling down):

I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Various “Seven Wonders”

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center published this amazing short film.

Here is how they describe it:

“America is in the Heart” is a novel written by Carlos Bulosan in the 1940’s to capture his Filipino American experience, but its words still resonate with the greater immigrant experience today.

This film, created by Frank Chi and presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, features a passage read by comedian Hasan Minhaj, community organizer Ivy Quicho, and writer Junot Díaz – and features footage from throughout the United States of some of the 45 million immigrants who have become Americans since the publishing of the book in 1946.

You can read more about it in the NBC News story, ‘America Is in the Heart’: Smithsonian video spotlights U.S.’s immigrant history.

The text of the video will make a great centerpiece for a lesson. Since it’s so short, it will be easy to transcribe or copy from the book itself. I just haven’t had time yet to do either.

It even includes shots of students learning in an ESL class!

The television series “The Good Place” recently featured an episode titled “The Trolley Problem.”

Yes, it was about that Trolley Problem.

Here’s a clip from the beginning of the show, followed by the entire episode. I’m adding it to The Best Videos About The Famous “Trolley Problem”.

I’ll be showing parts of it to my TOK class when we learn about ethics after the first of the year.

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources About “Culturally Responsive Teaching” & “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy” – Please Share More!:

I suspect you’ll agree that this is one impressive video and one impressive speech.

I’m adding it to The Best Online Resources About President John F. Kennedy.

This is a very thought-provoking video on an important issue we should be discussing with our students, though many of us don’t because it could be a scary one to have.

It does include two classroom inappropriate words but, after clearing it with my principal (I assume he would be okay with it), it’s one I would want to show to my IB Theory of Knowledge class.

What do you think?

I’m adding it to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism – Help Me Find More.

This new animated video would be good for IB Theory of Knowledge classes, as well as others.

It echos the famous Richard Feynman quote about ““The Difference Between Knowing The Name Of Something & Knowing Something.” I’ve embedded that video at the bottom of this post.

I’ve shared many resources related to Dan Pink over the years, including the well-known RSA Animation of one of his talks (I’ve embedded it again at the bottom of this post).

Now, Productivity Game has just published its own animation highlighting key points in Dan’s book, Drive.

Check it out (I’m adding it to Best Posts On “Motivating” Students):