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"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles
Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week
Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here. You can also see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here. Here are this week’s picks: How to Differentiate Without Splitting Students Up is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction.
What Wemby’s Training Can Show School Leaders And Teachers About Self-Directed Learning is by Tyler Thigpen. It’s related to this post: What Is The “Constraints-Led Approach,” The Hottest Thing In Sports Training, & Can It Be Applied To The Classroom? 3 ways to provide differentiated instruction for advanced learners is from Teach Learn Grow. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction. 3 Innovative Instructional Coaching Models is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Instructional Coaching”
     2026’s Best Social Studies Resources – So Far
I’m continuing with my mid-year “Best” list posts… You can see all previous Social Studies lists here. Here picks for this year – so far: The Best Resources For Teaching & Learning About The 2026 World Cup The Best Instructional Strategies For Social Studies Classes The Best Resources For Teaching About The Supreme Court Ruling Gutting The Voting Rights Act How To Teach About The Evil Acts Of Cesar Chavez? The “Best” Ideas For Teaching About The U.S., Israeli/Iran Conflict
The New York Times published America, One Line At a Time: The United States was written into being. Now, 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, we look at six sentences that shaped the American story — taken from a founding document, an incendiary speech, a classic autobiography, an inaugural address, a protest song and a baseball cap. I think highlighting sentences and examining them can be very useful in the classroom – with both students and teachers choosing them. And, as regular readers know, I also publish a regular “Sentences of the Week.” I’m adding this info to: The Best “Lists Of Lists” Of Influential People, Events & Ideas The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution
UNESCO has an interactive online museum of lost and stolen cultural objects from around the world.
Deep Time is a cool interactive about the history of Australia’s aboriginal peoples. I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Australia.
Tune Journey is pretty straightforward – you’re shown a globe with a bunch of dots, click on one to listen to that radio station. It’s similar to other tools on THE BEST TOOLS FOR TAKING STUDENTS “AROUND THE WORLD”.
Cool History Games is a nice collection of ad-free games students can play with no registration required. They would be easy to play by projecting them on the front classroom whiteboard and have students divided into groups with mini-whiteboards. Then, just keep track of points. Then you’ve got a nice way to end class on a Friday!
60 Seconds Knowledge seems like it could be a pretty useful YouTube channel for educators. They create short videos providing the answers to intriguing questions. I could see teachers showing them followed by a short writing prompt. For example, students could be shown this video and asked to write about times in their own lives and in other points in history where people won the battle but lost the war, and reflect on why that might have happened: 
You may remember that earlier this year the CIA stopped updating and publishing its World FactBook that provided info on all the countries in the world (see CIA ends publication of its popular World Factbook reference tool). Now, an organization has created the OpenFactBook as its successor: OpenFactBook provides free, comprehensive, and accurate information about every country in the world. We believe geographic and demographic data should be accessible to everyone—students, researchers, journalists, developers, and curious minds alike. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries.
The UCLA Asian American Studies Center unveiled a very impressive online textbook for high school classes on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. It’s titled Foundations and Futures. Here is an excerpt from its description: Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook celebrates the hidden histories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to provide a fuller understanding of the American experience and the contemporary world. The scapegoating of Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders remain little understood despite centuries of history as part of the United States and touched by its reaches across the Pacific. This textbook democratizes over fifty years of scholarship that flourished since the emergence of Ethnic Studies in the 1960s. Together with over 200 of the nation’s top scholars, subject experts, and curriculum developers, the textbook features dozens of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the United States, its territories, and the Pacific. It contains hundreds of images, videos, poems, archival documents, and interviews, with ready-to-use lesson plans for high school and college students and the general public. Foundations and Futures features standards-aligned high school lesson plans available to download for free, providing teachers with the tools and resources to implement textbook chapters directly into their classroom. Foundations and Futures utilizes open access technology to create a multisensory learning experience. The textbook features a variety of tools to create an engaging reader experience, enhance student comprehension, and develop digital literacy skills. It is available on any device connected to the internet (computers, tablets, phones). Digital learning tools include an embedded glossary, hyperlinked sections that enable easy navigation, information pop ups, and a large collection of interactive audio and video media elements. Foundations and Futures website also hosts a collection of accessibility features including reading rulers, color filters, reading masks, customizable text size, spacing, and font options. The website experience was built to be accessible through keyboard navigation, compatible with screen reader technologies, and features alt-text for every multimedia asset. Google Translate is embedded for instant translation. All written content is downloadable and WCAG (Website Content Accessibility Guide) compliant. You can read more about it at this Associated Press article, UCLA online textbook gives voice to Asian American, Pacific Islander history and cultures. I’m adding this info to The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness is a new exhibition from the Smithsonian that features 250 Objects; 250 Stories from the American Revolution. And, if those aren’t enough for you, The Associated Press has their own collection of Revolutionary Objects. I’m adding them to: The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution The Best Resources For Using “Object Lessons” In History
War Atlas shows you – on a world map – most of the major recorded battles from the past few thousand years. It will also show you a Wikipedia entry for each one. In addition, it can give you “tours” of the battles that take place during extended conflicts. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History.
The Birth Lottery will show your potential life trajectory if you had been born in a different country (“There but for fortune…”). It could certainly make country comparisons in class personal. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries.
This infographic from Visual Capitalist would certainly be an interesting one to use in class, with students researching each one and deciding their own rankings.
The Globe of History, like some similar 3D globe tools, lets you use a slider to choose the year and then shows you markers. Once you click on the markers, it will tell you what happened there at that time. Google Maps Mania describes how this part of it is a little different: While many history maps pull raw facts from Wikipedia or Wikidata, the creators of Globe of History have built a multi-stage pipeline to turn this information into structured, readable narratives. Using AI, this system expands the raw data into more detailed historical summaries, which are then cross-referenced using AI-driven fact-checking to double-check the generated text. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History.
The Time Travel App lets you use a “slider” to identify the year, then shows you a globe with markers around the world. Click on the markers, and you’ll see what was happening there at that time, with a summary and link to a Wikipedia page. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History.
The Size of Anything lets you compare…the sizes of countries, lakes, parks, etc. I’m adding it to The Best Online Tools For Comparing The Physical Sizes Of Different Countries.
Where In The World.. operates like most Geoguesr-type games – you answer the question by clicking on where you think is the correct geographic location, and it will tell you how close you to actual correct answer. The difference here, though, is that the questions ask you about the location of historical events. I’m adding this info to The Best Online Geography Games.
Podcasting Democracy is from KQED, San Francisco’s public television station. Here’s how they describe i:
Podcasting Democracy is a free, project-based, standards-aligned curriculum unit covering the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Constitutional principles.
In the first half of the unit, students explore historical case studies, including landmark Supreme Court cases, grassroots advocacy and legislative actions. The curriculum focuses on the experiences of Americans who were instrumental in establishing the rights and responsibilities that shape our lives today.
In the second half of the unit, students connect the Constitution to their everyday lives. To do this, they choose an issue they care about and create a podcast commentary advocating for a change or solution using a Constitutional principle as the foundation for their argument.
The unit culminates with ideas for how students can join the longstanding tradition of citizens making their voices heard by sharing their podcast on Youth Media Challenge Showcase and with decision makers or elected officials. I’m adding it to: The Best Sites For Learning About The Constitution Of The United States The Best Resources For “Bill Of Rights Day” You also might be interested in The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution.
I just discovered that the great PBS NewsHour publishes a Daily News Lesson about current events. You’ll find lots of other resources at The Best Resources & Ideas For Teaching About Current Events but, now this site and the NY Times Learning Network have become my favorites.
American Empire is an impressive interactive showing American military bases and interventions for the past 125 years. In addition, it compares them to those of other countries. You can read more about it at Google Maps Mania. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About U.S. History.
Type in any two locations in the world, and New Life will almost immediately provide a comparison to how it is living in each place, including economic and “socio-cultural” factors. It doesn’t quite fit, but I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries.
I’m adding this video to The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About World History: 
There are a fair number of free tools out there that let you compare economic and demographic data in different countries, and you can find them at The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries. Globy does the same thing, with one major difference. It shows the results visually, and give you various options – line graph, bars, table or map. This could come in very handy in the classroom.
Google has unveiled quite an extensive site providing access to tons of exhibits and resources related to the United States 250th anniversary celebration. Check out Making of the Nation: America at 250. My favorite part of it are one-minute accessible displays about national parts. The provide audio support for the text, unlike most of the other resources on the site. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution.
TIME Magazine is doing a YouTube series offering short clips portraying important days during the American Revolution. Here’s their introductory video, and you can see them all here. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution:   Video: “Give me 11 Minutes and I’ll Make you Dangerously Persuasive”
I’m adding this Dan Pink video to The Best Posts & Articles On Building Influence & Creating Change:   The Best Resources On Classroom Instruction In 2026 – So Far
Nine years ago I began publishing a regular Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week post. You can see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here. Here are my choices from the past few months: The Best Resources On The Gradual Release Of Responsibility Framework – And Its Variations This Short Piece On Student Engagement Is Worth Reading & Would Be Worth A Faculty Discussion Inductive Teaching Has Always Been An Effective Strategy, Perhaps Even More So In The AI Era UCLA Unveils Free Online Multimedia High School Textbook About Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders This Is Pretty Interesting: Meta-Analyses Ranking Instructional Math Strategies How Did I Not Know That The PBS NewsHour Publishes A “Daily News Lesson” …Daily? I Would Have Students Read This Article On Ways To Learn Better & Then Respond To This Prompt The Best Resources For Helping Students Understand The Impact Their Behavior Has On Classmates A Good Assignment, With An Important Caveat I Think It’s Okay Not To Teach Whole Novels In High School The Power Of Affirmation In The Classroom NBA Coach Echoes Rita Person’s Famous Line About Teaching Project Zero, One Of My Favorite Teaching Resources, Unveils Spiffy New Website Here’s The Table Of Contents For Our New Book Another Article On Using Visualization To Help Further Success The Best Ideas For Teaching About Bad Bunny & His Super Bowl Halftime Show The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Offers Great Lesson Materials For Free I Love These “Game Poems” & Think They Would Be Great Models For Students Creating Their Own The “Best” Lesson Ideas For Teaching About The Protests & Killings In Minneapolis Here’s Advice I Gave To My Student Teacher Grandson This Week About Student Engagement Two New (To Me, At Least) Sites For Excellent Free Lesson Plans The Best Lesson Ideas About The U.S. Intervention In Venezuela Video: “Proof” Is An Amazing Poem Written For The Inauguration Of Mayor Zohran Mamdani Small Slights Matter – This Workplace Research Has SO Much Relevance To The Classroom Meaningful feedback is by Jo Castelino. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students. At 250, the Declaration of Independence Still Sparks Hard Questions in Class is from The 74. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teach About The 250th Anniversary Of The American Revolution. Elevating Tier 1 Instruction With Differentiated Small Groups is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Differentiating Instruction. Boosting Engagement in Biology With Storylines is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES ON TELLING STORIES WHEN WE TEACH. Free Decodable Texts for Each Phonics Skill is from Reading Universe. I’m adding it to The Best Articles & Sites For Teachers & Students To Learn About Phonics. The Claims of Close Reading appeared in The Boston Review. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Close Reading” — Help Me Find More. Rethinking the KWL Chart + 8 ideas for working with conceptual organizers is from the University of Toronto. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of Prior Knowledge (& How To Activate It). How Student-Led IEP Meetings Promote Self-Advocacy is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES ABOUT IEPS. Provide Models is from DistillED. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES TO LEARN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHER MODELING. 7 Teaching Practices that Nurture Student Voice is from Cult Of Pedagogy. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Student Agency & How To Encourage It. Using Tech Tools to Amplify Classroom Thinking Routines is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT PROJECT ZERO’S THINKING ROUTINES. Before You Decorate Your Classroom, Here’s a Better Idea appeared in Cult of Pedagogy. I’m adding it to SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES ON SUPPORTING & VALUING STUDENTS’ IDENTITIES. 5 ways to boost reading fluency for middle and high school students is from Teach Learn Grow. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Reading Fluency (Including How To Measure It). Peer tutoring helps students while saving schools money is from Ed Source. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES ON PEER TUTORS. How to get the most out of student grouping is from Teach Learn Grow. I’m adding it to Best Posts On The Basics Of Small Groups In The Classroom. A Simple Visual Routine to Help Students Engage With Poetry is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best World Poetry Day Resources – Help Me Find More. Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning is by Dylan Wiliam. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Formative Assessment. Ramping Up Relevance With Community-Centered Learning is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Ideas For Helping Students Connect Lessons To Their Interests & The World. A Tool to Help Students Navigate Difficult Text is from Middleweb. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Close Reading” — Help Me Find More. Scaffolding Strategies to Teach Challenging Text is from Middleweb. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Providing Scaffolds To Students. 6 Active Reading Strategies to Engage Students (DOWNLOADABLE) is from Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Reading Strategies & Comprehension – Help Me Find More! Math is creative? Yes! 4 ways to encourage creativity in math class is from Teach Learn Grow. I’m adding it to The Best Apps, Online Tools & Other Resources For Math. From Superheroes to Taylor Swift: Using Students’ Passions to Ignite Learning is from Edutopia. I’m adding it to The Best Ideas For Helping Students Connect Lessons To Their Interests & The World.
 A Look Back: An Outline For How Students Can Learn To Write Essays InductivelyFor the next several months, each week I’ll be republishing posts from the past that I think readers might still find useful. This post first appeared in 2019.
I’ve written a lot – both here and in my books – about teaching and learning inductively (see The Best Resources About Inductive Learning & Teaching). One inductive strategy is the use of data sets – a list of short passages (ranging from one sentence to a paragraph) which students categorize and then add new information to those categories. They can then do a variety of follow-up options, including turning those categories into paragraphs and those paragraphs into an essay. You can find tons of data set examples in my books and in that “Best” list (including at my ASCD Educational Leadership article, Get Organized Around Assets, and at one of my NY Times pieces. One of the goals of using these kinds of data sets and the inductive process is to help give students one simple strategy they can use when they have to write essays for our class and other classes. As students have shared on this blog in the past, they appear to have found it very helpful. In my Long-Term English Language Learner support class, we’ve been using a data set about Kenya from their Geography test to learn this process. They followed it to write an essay about Kenya. Now, they get to choose their own topic (subject to my approval) and, using the process I scrawled (with student assistance in reconstructing the steps they used to write their Kenya essay) on the sheet of paper pictured at the top of this blog post, get to write an essay. The sheet uses the topic of cars as an example of how they can construct their essay. My handwriting ain’t pretty, but it gets the job done 🙂 This instructional strategy, I think, is a good example of transfer of knowledge – applying the skill you learned in one context to another one. If you’d like a refresher on transfer of knowledge, check out this animated video I did on the topic with Education Week:   More Recent Articles
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