June 15, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Thanks to Edutopia and Amy Erin Borovoy, who published Five-Minute Film Festival: The Best Cat Videos for Educators, I found this great video that English Language Learners could watch and then describe verbally & in writing:
June 13, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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TED-Ed has published this video about supervolcanoes (you can find the entire lesson here).
I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes.
June 11, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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I’ve previously shared how I experimented with having both my IB Theory of Knowledge students and my English Language Learners create Instagram videos as part of their finals. I’ve since gotten a chance to upload more of them, and you can see the TOK ones at our TOK class blog and more at our ELL class blog.
Here are a few examples:
Here’s a fun one my TOK students created and, unbeknownst to me, I was a star in it:
And another fun one from TOK:
Here are a couple of more from my ELL Geography students:
And here’s an example of one created by a Beginning English Language Learner:
I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning To Use The Video Apps “Vine” & Instagram.
June 11, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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June 9, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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“What A Wonderful World” by Louie Armstrong is a super-popular song, and well-used by teachers of English Language Learners throughout the world.
This evening, Wendi Pillars shared a spoken version by David Attenborough that I hadn’t seen before, and I thought I’d take the opportunity to share the versions I’ve used with my students. I hope readers will share ones they like, too.
Here’s the version I use with my students:
Here’s the one Wendi shared:
Here’s a very unusual one I’ve share on my blog previously. It’s called “An Abridged History of Western Music in 16 Genres”:
Here’s Armstrong himself:
And here are a few others I’ve seen:
allatc offers an ELL lesson plan for the Wonderful World song.
June 8, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
Here are two very different videos I’m adding to The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes:
Here’s a video from the view of a Polar Bear. You can read more about it here:
June 7, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Another day, another mid-year “Best” list (you can find all 1,300 Best lists here).
You might also be interested in:
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 and The Best Video Clips On Goal-Setting — Help Me Find More.
Here are my choices for The Best Videos For Educators In 2014 – So Far:
Over at Vox, Ezra Klein interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates about his article, “The Case for Reparations.” I’ve embedded the video below, but Vox has a nice interactive table of contents that might make it more useful — especially if you don’t have an hour to watch the whole thing. I’m adding it to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism.
Who’s not familiar with the famous Schoolhouse Rock video, I’m Just A Bill? Just in case, though, it’s the second video after this description. The first video is an updated version by Vox that is more cynical and more accurate (I’m not sure of that one will show-up in an RSS Reader).
I added this video to The Best Hans Rosling Videos:
I added this video to The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research:
I’ve previously posted the video and links to the full text of George Saunders’ well known commencement speech on “The Importance of Kindness.”
Now, this animation of part of it has been created….
I added this next video from Business Insider to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures:
I added this amazing video to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History:
Watch as 1000 years of European borders change (timelapse map) from Nick Mironenko on Vimeo.
I added this video to The Best “Language Maps”:
TED Talks unveiled a new animation titled “The Long Reach Of Reason.”
Here’s how Chris Anderson at TED describes it:
Two years ago the psychologist Steven Pinker and the philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, who are married, came to TED to take part in a form of Socratic dialog. Steven Pinker and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein: The long reach of reasonSteven Pinker and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein: The long reach of reasonShe sought to argue that Reason was a much more powerful force in history than it’s normally given credit for. He initially defended the modern consensus among psychologists and neurologists, that most human behavior is best explained through other means: unconscious instincts of various kinds. But over the course of the dialog, he is persuaded by her, and together they look back through history and see how reasoned arguments ended up having massive impacts, even if those impacts sometimes took centuries to unfold.
They turned it into a “talk in animated dialogue form.” I’ve embedded it below, and you can read more about it here.
This next video is only a little over two minutes. Watch it til the very end…
Neil deGrasse Tyson shared this great video showing effective teaching in action. I’ve added it to The Best Places To Learn About (And View Video Clips Of) Teachers In The Movies:
Here are two good videos. Make a point of reading Joe Bower’s analyses of the South African reading commercial (the first video) and of the video of the young girl learning to ski. You won’t be disappointed.
John McCarthy shared this short video clip of U.S. Olympic bobsledder Lolo Jones. She begins by sharing her favorite quote (though doesn’t cite the source and I can’t find it online, either):
“A failure isn’t a failure if it prepares you for success tomorrow”
I showed the video to my students, along with writing that quotation on the board. Then, I asked them to respond to this writing prompt:
What is Lolo Jones saying about how we should view failure? What do you think of her view? To develop your position, be sure to include specific examples. These examples can come from the video, anything else you’ve read, and/or your own observations and experiences.
I added this to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures and to My Best Posts On Writing Instruction (where I collect all my writing prompts).
I’m Not Sure You’ll Find A Better Video Illustrating The Importance Of Libraries Than “El Bibliotecario”:
The Librarian / El Bibliotecario from Facebook Stories on Vimeo.
This is a very creative video from TED-Ed. You can see the whole lesson here.
Ann Foreman shared this Life of Brian video on Facebook. It’s a classic scene of how NOT to teach grammar:
TED Ed shared a nice lesson and video called “Who Invited Writing?” You can see the entire lesson here:
Do we teach like cats or dogs? This video was shared by Daniel Coyle on Twitter:
@Larryferlazzo Patience vs. speed. They both get to the bottom, but which one wants to try it again soon? Ha.
— karrieweb2004 (@karrieweb2004) January 20, 2014
I’ve added this video to The Best Online Resources For Teaching & Learning About World War II (Part Two):
I don’t think I’d use this with students, but, as Greg Toppo said when he shared this on Twitter, it seems like a “spot-on take on bullying.”
Because of that, I’m adding it to A Very, Very Beginning List Of The Best Resources On Bullying.
June 7, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I’ve written a fair amount about the importance of teacher modeling.
This cat definitely gets the idea!
June 2, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Over at Vox, Ezra Klein interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates about his article, “The Case for Reparations.”
I’ve embedded the video below, but Vox has a nice interactive table of contents that might make it more useful — especially if you don’t have an hour to watch the whole thing.
I’m adding it to A Collection Of Useful Posts, Articles & Videos On Race & Racism.
May 31, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
1 Comment
“3 guys Irish dancing around the world” is the latest video showing travelers doing the same thing in different countries. The genre was begun by “Where The Hell Is Matt,” which continues to be the best.
May 30, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
May 28, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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May 28, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Creating art can be a great language-learning activity for English Language Learners!
We’re lucky to have an extraordinarily talented and caring art teacher — Mr. Johnny Doolittle — at our school. Every year he gives up his free period for many days to lead our English Language Learners in many different activities, including origami when we are studying Japan in Geography class; drawing when we are learning art vocabulary; and replicating a Depression-era mural we’re going to see at Coit Tower in San Francisco on our annual field trip.
Often, we combine these lessons with days when his mainstream art students help teach our newcomers — a neat opportunity for practicing speaking skills. Our class also talks, writes and reads about all the activities we do with Mr. Doolittle and his students. And since many of our ELL students don’t have much time in their schedule for electives like art, our time with his classes provides a little taste of that activity.
Here’s a video of our most recent week-long art project — replicating a mural that we’re going to see tomorrow on our field to San Francisco. Believe me, students will be looking very, very intently at the artwork when we get there and talking about it with their classmates — in English!
You can see videos of all our previous art projects at our class blog.
You might also be interested in The Best Resources Discussing The Importance Of Art In Education.
May 24, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Dan Pink shared an article in Business Insider about a great project, This Amazing School Bag Doubles As A Desk For Students In Rural India.
Here’s a video about it:
May 22, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
May 18, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
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Thanks to David Deubelbeiss for subtitling this video that I’m adding to The Best Sites For Learning About The 2014 World Cup In Brazil.
By the way, look for my New York Times post tomorrow, which is also on the World Cup…
We are one World Cup anthem with subtitles from David Deubelbeiss on Vimeo.
May 18, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
TED-ED has a new video (and accompanying lesson) on “What Is The World Wide Web?”
I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About The Internet.
May 14, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
Here’s another great video for English Language Learners to watch and then describe in writing and verbally what happens.
You can read more about it here.
May 14, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
In his own version of “Where The Hell is Matt?”, here’s a guy who took panoramic videos of himself in different places around the world.
I don’t think it’s anyway near as interesting as the two “Matt” videos (which are also embedded below), since Matt shows much more interaction with people, but it still could be useful in a Geography class…
Matt in 2012:
And here’s the original from 2008:
May 11, 2014
by Larry Ferlazzo
0 comments
I’ve previously posted about some elements in my upcoming finals (see My Best Posts On Writing Instruction and scroll down near the bottom).
Another element I’m trying out this year is having students in all my classes create Instagrams (see other ways I’ve used Instagram and Vine in my classes at The Best Resources For Learning To Use The Video Apps “Vine” & Instagram). They’ll all be somewhat different:
* My ninth-grade English students will identify questions (following some lessons on Bloom’s Taxonomy) they still have about the units we’ve studied this year and find the answers to them.
* Intermediate English students will be choosing questions related to the English language.
* My Geography class for English Language Learners will be identifying questions they have about the United States, since we’re finishing up the year studying our country.
* My IB Theory of Knowledge students will identify the TOK topics they were most interested in and illustrate them in the video.
You can download the instructions I’m giving to my ninth-grade students here, and I’ll also share them in this post. In addition, I’ve embedded an example I created for them.
Any feedback on how I can make these better activities are welcome!
Here are the instructions:
Instagram Video Project Instructions
Ninth-Grade English
You will be creating three Instagram videos highlighting questions about any of the units we have studied this year (Natural Disasters, New Orleans, Mandela, Jamaica, Everest) that you still have on your mind. You may also include questions about any of the life skill lessons we learned (grit, learning and the brain, goal-setting, etc.). You will need to provide the answers to them after spending time researching in the library.
One of your questions may be related to the lower two levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and the other two need to be connected to the higher levels. Your questions must be approved by Mr. Ferlazzo.
The video must:
First, show the question and say it, and show your name (first name only).
Other portions of the video must include drawings, at least one sound effect, the answer to your question, and an image of at least one of your sources.
You can also include puppets, music, your own acting, images from elsewhere and other narration.
Everything in your video must be appropriate for a classroom.
Remember, you only have fifteen seconds, but you can fit a lot into that time.
Practice and time it.
NOTE: Shortly after this post was published, I added “You may also include questions about any of the life skill lessons we learned (grit, learning and the brain, goal-setting, etc.).” to the above instructions. However, I did not add it to the downloadable student hand-out that I had already uploaded.
And here’s the teacher example I created in about five minutes:
