Click here to read this mailing online.
"Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day…" - 5 new articles
Sentences Of The Week geralt / Pixabay
I thought readers might, or might not, find this new regular post useful. Each week, I highlight several sentences, with links to their sources, that I find interesting/concerning/useful. And they may, or may not, be directly connected to education. I may also include my own comments or related links. This regular post will join my other regular ones on teaching ELLs, education policy, Artificial Intelligence, infographics, and Pinterest highlights, not to mention sharing of my regular Education Week posts. Here are this week’s sentences: Reading is hard to teach, hard to sustain and not connected to any one policy shift. “The interesting issue for folks to consider is not should there be more homework, but should there be better homework,” Epstein said. Some families recently delivered to Mayor Zohran Mamdani a petition with thousands of signatures calling for a two-year moratorium on generative A.I., such as chatbots. What I’ve learned, across every one of these close calls and near misses, is that what keeps us safe isn’t the stuff we pack or stockpile; it’s the community we build before calamity strikes. Each time we focus on learning from failure instead of being consumed by it, we rewire our brains, building pathways that make thoughtful responses more natural than automatic reactions. We understand the risks there, and I think that we have to understand the same risks when we talk about media and devices that aren’t inherently bad, it’s just that they need to be used in a way that’s appropriate for the person using them. Students need explicit instruction in how algorithms shape what they see, how online communities can normalize dehumanization, and how emotions like shame, envy, and humiliation are often being deliberately activated and exploited. “They are using generative A.I. to write before they learn how to write. They are reading ChatGPT summaries of a book before they have ever read a book,” he said. Fantasies of violence against political enemies are, in fact, a defining feature of Trump’s political language.
     What I Do As A Volunteer Tutor In Our County’s Juvenile Facility Elf-Moondance / Pixabay
As regular readers of this blog know (see How I’m Spending My Time Now That I’m Retired From Classroom Teaching), in addition to writing and playing Pickleball, I’ve been working as a volunteer tutor at our county’s Juvenile Facility, as well as being a volunteer tutor at an elementary school working with ELL Newcomers. I thought readers might, or might not, be interested in hearing about my work at the county. First, I need to say that I’m quite impressed with the facility itself and the quality and attitude of the officers working there. A sense of caring for the youth is pretty obvious. My time there is divided in half. I spend the first hour each day working in the “pod” containing the younger youth who are working online to complete high school classes. They primarily work on an asynchronous program which I suspect is as good and as bad as all online asynchronous programs are. There is a teacher supervising them in the facility, and I have been impressed that they receive narrative feedback on their work from the online program relatively quickly, though I don’t know if it’s all AI-driven (I suspect it might be AI and then human-edited). There is also off-line work available, though it seems like most of the youth prefer working on the computer. While there, I’ll sit next to one and help them for awhile before switching to another youth. Our conversations are sometimes about the academic work, sometimes about their lives and interests. There are very few youth in my teaching career that I haven’t been able to develop some kind of a connection with, and that skill has served me well here. Next, I move to the older youth. When they have access to computers, I’m able to help them with online community college classes. When they don’t have computer access, I’ve purchased books of their choice for them (approved by Facility staff) and we read and discuss a chapter from the book each week. I’ve encouraged some of them to write about their lives, and that seems to have inspired a couple to start. I’ve been pretty impressed with the titles they’ve selected: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, Mastery by Robert Greene, The Miracle Of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained are a few of them. It doesn’t take me very long to read a chapter from each one during the week and come up with some questions. At one point, I tried asking ChatGPT to develop discussion questions, and they were absolutely terrible! Our discussions seem to go well – the youth seem to get something out of them, and I enjoy the time. Every other month, I come in during their PE time and we have three-point and free-throw shooting contests (I’m not allowed to actually play a basketball game). Just like when I was teaching, interacting with students outside of a classroom setting does wonders to solidify relationships. Playing ball here is like going to see a high school student at my old school playing in a game or acting in a play. Hopefully, my presence helps a bit….
 Teacher Appreciation Week Is May 4th – 8th – Here Are Some Useful Resources 12019 / Pixabay
Teacher Appreciation Week on May 4th-8th in the United States this year. You might be interested in The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day  The Best Resources For Teaching About The Supreme Court Ruling Gutting The Voting Rights Act MarkThomas / Pixabay
The US Supreme Court issued a ruling this past week gutting the Voting Rights Act. Here are some resources for teaching about it (you might also be interested in The Best Sites To Learn About The U.S. Supreme Court and USEFUL RESOURCES FOR TEACHING ABOUT THE REPEAL OF ROE : Supreme Court decision weakens the Voting Rights Act is a lesson plan from PBS. What to know about the Voting Rights Act after historic Supreme Court decision is from The Hill.   Here are two slightly older lesson that can be modified: A Documents-Based Lesson on the Voting Rights Act and Lesson Plan: Voting Rights, Then and Now
Facing History’s The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit is also applicable, as are resources from The Zinn Education Project.   Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
Eight years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in all my Best lists on teaching ELLs. Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners. In addition, look for our latest book on teaching ELLs, The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox 2.0. Here are this week’s choices: I’m adding this tweet to The Best Posts On Looking At Our Students Through The Lens Of Assets & Not Deficits:
Transforming ESL Writing Fear Through Autobiography is from LRNGO. I’m adding this video to The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons: 
Check out a recent issue of my favorite language-teaching periodical, Humanising Language Teaching. ELL students could watch this video and then talk/write about what they saw: 
How to make listening actually drive acquisition: Ten staples of Listening as Modelling is from the Language Gym. Scaffolding Text with AI: Sample Prompts is from Colorin Colorado. I’m adding it to THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR “ENGINEERING” TEXT SO THAT IT’S MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ELLS. Five Instructional Strategies for Supporting English-Language Learners is from TechNotes. 11 surprising Truths About Grammar Acquisition — and How Long It Really Takes to Master It! is from The Language Gym. I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Using “If This Animal Or Image Could Talk” Lesson Idea In Class:
12 (Nearly) Useless Things Language Teachers Do When Teaching Grammar is from The Language Gym. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Grammar Practice. 10+1 Reasons Why you Should Read How to Write Mediation Activities is from HLT Magazine. Here’s another video for ELLs to watch and talk/write about:  10 + 1 Halloween Songs: An Update is from On The Same Page. I’m adding it to The Best Websites For Learning About Halloween. 3 Simple Formative Assessment Techniques You Can Use in Your Next Song Lesson is from The Song Activity Factory.  More Recent Articles
|
