Click here to read this mailing online.
"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles
“Teachers, Use These Small Moves to Engage Students”Teachers, Use These Small Moves to Engage Students is the headline of one of my recent Education Week columns. Tell students upfront why a lesson’s important and other pieces of advice from educators. Here are some excerpts:
     My Three VERY Popular Gratitude Lessons – One For Newcomers, One For Intermediate ELLs, Another For More English-Proficient StudentsNOTE: I’m republishing this post from 2017 since both of these lessons are extremely popular this week, and thought new readers might want to hear about them.
(Editor’s Note: I originally published this post in 2015) I’ve previously posted about A Simple & Effective Classroom Lesson On Gratitude, one that I’ve done with my mainstream and Advanced ELL classes. I’m modifying it this year for my Low Intermediate English Language Learner students. I’ll first explain the Thanksgiving holiday, and the word “gratitude.” Then, as in the “original,” I’ll be showing the Soul Pancake video that’s embedded below. The subtitles appear to be ones the video’s creators made and not the automatic ones YouTube generates, so that means they actually reflect what people are saying and not gibberish. Next, I’ll go over this student hand-out. Here’s what it says: Gratitude
Thanksgiving is a holiday in the United States. Many use this time to think about what gratitude. Gratitude is feeling thankful about something or someone. Close your eyes and think about someone who is important to you. You can think about more than one person, too. Why is this person important to you?
I am grateful to have _______________________________________________________ in my life because ___________________________________________________________________. He/she makes me feel ______________________________________________________________. I would feel ________________________________________________________________ if he/she was not in my life.
I am grateful to have _______________________________________________________ in my life because ___________________________________________________________________. He/she makes me feel ______________________________________________________________. I would feel ________________________________________________________________ if he/she was not in my life. I’ll model completing the form. Next, I’ll call my wife, put her on speakerphone, and say what I wrote about her. I’ll invite students to do the same. As in previous years, I suspect a fair amount of tears will be shed. We’ll end the lesson with students turning what they’ve written into cards to give the people they’ve written about, or posters we can use with an Adobe Express video they can send to those in other countries. Here’s the video I’ll be using:  Feel free to offer suggestions on how I can make this a better lesson. ADDENDUM: Here’s how I modified it today for my ELL Newcomers class: I made it very simple. I read the handout and had peer tutors help students complete it. Then, students did speed-dating to share reading in English what they wrote. Lastly, I had everyone call one of the people they wrote about and tell them what they wrote – in English and in their home language. It went great! I’m adding this post to The Best Resources On “Gratitude.”  This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues
Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here):
Democrats Will Control Congress. What Educators Can Expect is from Ed Week.
I’m adding this tweet to The Best Resources On The Importance Of Correctly Pronouncing Student Names:
I’m adding this tweet to The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy:
I’m adding this post to The “Best” Resources For Learning How Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Causing Student Trauma AND Reduced School Enrollment:
5 Reports, 5 Different Conclusions About Fairness in School Funding is from MindShift.  The Berlin Wall Came Down 29 Years Ago Today – Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources emkanicepic / Pixabay
The Berlin Wall came down 29 years ago on this day. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About Walls That Separate Us.  Research Studies Of The Week Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay
I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature. You can see all my “Best” lists related to education research here. Here are some new useful studies (and related resources): Research Bite #60: Teacher–student relationships and student outcomes is from Tips For Teachers. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students.
Schools Made Steady Progress Boosting Attendance With This Strategy Change is from Ed Week. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Student Absenteeism.  More Recent Articles
|
