Educational Links 2/28/16

 

Teaching Channel--videos on the Common Core

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos?page=1&categories=organizations_national,topics_common-core&load=1

Strategies for Reaching Quiet, Disengaged, Struggling, and Troublemaking Students

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reaching-quiet-disengaged-struggling-troublemaking-students-david-cutler?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20EdutopiaNewContent%20%28Edutopia%29 

Understanding Dyspraxia

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyspraxia/understanding-dyspraxia 

What Savvy Teachers Know About Managing Disruptive Student Behavior 

http://www.bamradionetwork.com/classroom-management/2417-what-savvy-teachers-know-about-managing-disruptive-student-behavior 

The Week in Review - The Most Popular Posts of the Week

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ 

Teaching Strategies that Enhance Higher-Order Thinking 

http://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies-enhance-higher-order-thinking 

What is Student Centered Learning? 

http://edtechreview.in/dictionary/2292-student-centered-learning 

In a student centered classroom the instruction command changes from “Do-As-I-Say” to “Lets See How We Can Do This” where the solutions are brought forward together and not just by the teacher. Allowing students to share and have a voice in what, how and why of the classroom activities give them a sense of responsibility and authority over their learning which again is a good thing. Student-centered classrooms include students in planning, implementation, and assessments. Involving the learners in these decisions will place more work on them, which can be a good thing.

Priyanka Gupta

 

Educational Links 2/27/16

Fusion Invites “Dear Next President” Videos – Nice Student Project Idea

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/02/26/fusion-invites-dear-next-president-videos-nice-student-project-idea/ 

Beyond Being Nice

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2016/02/25/beyond-being-nice/ 

5 Confusing Signs of Nonverbal Learning Disabilities 

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/nonverbal-learning-disabilities/5-confusing-signs-of-nonverbal-learning-disabilities?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=understoodorg 

Election Guide: 5 Education Takeaways From the Presidential Candidates

http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/election-guide-5-education-takeaways-from-candidates.html?cmp=soc-edit-fb 

Critical Shortages in Special Education Teachers. Sound Familiar? 

http://www.specialneedsdigest.com/2016/02/critical-shortages-in-special-education.html 

Children from poor families 'twice as likely' to have special needs

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/children-poor-families-twice-likely-have-special-needs 

How high school would be different if students could design it

http://hechingerreport.org/how-high-school-would-be-different-if-students-could-design-it/ 

 The day would start later and end earlier. Testing and school uniforms would be banned. There would be dancing in the hallways. And – some changes adults might get behind, too – there’d be more art, more projects and more computers.

Sarah Garland

 

Trending On MzTeachuh 2/26/16

How important are recess and 'brain breaks?'

I want to play!

Hey, Meet Me At Recess By The Swings
http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2015/08/hey-meet-me-at-recess-by-swings.html 

"Getting students to help plan your lessons provides valuable opportunities for student voice and this has a measurable impact on the quality of learning." - See more at: http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/educational-links-22216.html#sthash.hIXNA6LU.dpuf

Student Involvement and Exciting Lesson Planning 

Educational Link 2/22/16

 http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/educational-links-22216.html

SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) and Poetry--a super match! 

Five Poems To Soothe Kids' Toxic Stress

http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/five-poems-to-soothe-kids-toxic-stress.html 

 New Special Education Law and Insights Into Learning and Attention Issues

Educational Links 2/20/16

 http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/educational-links-22016.html

Books! Literacy! Whoopee! 

Educational Links 2/25/16

http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/educational-links-22516.html 

Educational Links 2/23/16

http://melanielinktaylor.mzteachuh.org/2016/02/educational-links-21316_22.html 

 So much gratitude to international readers! What a blessing to know fellow educators share MzTeachuh around the world. That means so much to me! So amazing!

 USA, France, Canada, Germany, Slovakia, UK, India, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Ireland

Educational Links 2/26/16

5 Apps to Transform Teaching and Personalize Learning

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/apps-transform-teaching-personalize-learning-ann-feldmann?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow 

Design Thinking and PBL

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/design-thinking-and-pbl-beth-holland?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20EdutopiaNewContent%20%28Edutopia%29 

Are You Creating Confident Students?

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/student-engagement/5-signs-your-students-are-growing-more-confident/ 

Enrich the Learning Experience with Cross-Curricular Projects

http://blog.mimio.com/enrich-the-learning-experience-with-cross-curricular-projects 

Proposed Rule to Help Minority Students in Special Education

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/proposed-rule-minority-students-special-education-37140508 

The 2016 Google Science Fair is Now Open 

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2016/02/the-2016-google-science-fair-is-now-open.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=freetech4teachers#.Vs_rutA1uec 

PBS Announces New Children’s Media Available 24/7

PBS Announces New Childrens' Media Available 24-7

PBS Announces New Children’s Media Available 24/7http://www.educationnews.org/parenting/pbs-announces-new-childrens-media-available-247/

 http://www.educationnews.org/parenting/pbs-announces-new-childrens-media-available-247/

17 Great Resources for Building a Student’s Self Image

http://www.edudemic.com/17-resources-for-self-image/ 

What do your students see when they look in the mirror? Do they see someone worthwhile or someone who will never be good enough? While it isn’t your responsibility to dig into the nuances of every student’s self-perception, you can still help the members of your class to have healthy views of themselves. Such a view can bolster their academic performance and serve as a bulwark against bullying.

 Joy Nelson

 

 

Educational Links 2/25/16

10 Children’s Books that Teach Acceptance and Empathy

http://homegrownfriends.com/home/10-childrens-books-that-teach-acceptance-and-empathy/?utm_content=bufferab0eb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

ELLs & Special Needs Is Topic Of My New BAM! Radio Show

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/02/24/ells-special-needs-is-topic-of-my-new-bam-radio-show/ 

The Limitations of Teaching ‘Grit’ in the Classroom

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/12/when-grit-isnt-enough/418269/?utm_source=SFFB 

High School ‘Work From Home Day’ Gives Students Taste of Independence

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/02/24/high-school-work-from-home-day-gives-students-taste-of-independence/ 

Discover, Mashup, and Share Smithsonian Collections - for Free

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/open-resources-free-smithsonian-tool-ashley-cronin?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20EdutopiaNewContent%20%28Edutopia%29 

How Much Longer Will ‘School’ Be Relevant?

http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/trends-shifts/how-overly-academic-learning-is-killing-education/ 

Children who feel closer to nature do better in exams

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/children-who-feel-closer-nature-do-better-exams 

He(Dr Miles Richardson)is quick to insist that what is being measured is not how much time children spend in nature, but the quality of their connection with it. “It’s that feeling of having a relationship to the wider ecology – enjoying it, and finding wonder and awe. An emotional experience in the natural world,” he said.

 Adi Bloom

Educational Links 2/24/16

Energy and Calm: Change It Up and Calm It Down!

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/energy-calm-change-it-up-lori-desautels 

New Study Finds That Most Kids Don’t Think Collective Punishment Is Fair – Here’s What I Do Instead

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/02/23/new-study-finds-that-most-kids-dont-think-collective-punishment-is-fair-heres-what-i-do-instead/ 

Bill and Melinda Gates call on high school students to help solve global problems

https://www.tes.com/us/news/breaking-news/bill-and-melinda-gates-call-high-school-students-help-solve-global 

Ed. Dept. Seeks Standard Approach to Flagging Racial Bias in Special Education

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2016/02/racial_bias_special_education_standard.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB 

Private Schools and IDEA

http://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/know-your-childs-rights/private-schools-and-idea/ 

Does Education Have A Pinterest Problem?

http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/trends-shifts/does-education-have-a-pinterest-problem/?utm_campaign=trueAnthem&utm_content=56ccf64204d30161e65d9ce7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook 

Study: Classroom-Management Fixes Work Best When Addressing Social-Emotional Needs

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2016/02/most-effective-classroom-management-interventions-metaanalysis-study.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB 

Teaching with Tech: How Can Teachers Embrace Technology Tools

http://edtechreview.in/research/1881-tips-for-using-technology-in-the-classroom?utm_content=buffere64b7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Education has evolved from a pen, paper and textbook affair to using iPads, online resources and even mobile apps in the classroom.  If you are aiming for a career in education, being able to utilize technology effectively is a crucial skill that you will have to be able to demonstrate.

 

Beautiful Dreamer, Wake Unto Me (What To Do About Daydreaming in the Classroom)

 

This article has a great checklist--

Working with an Inattentive Child

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-behavioral-disorders/127618-causes-of-inattention-in-students/ 

Check that Classroom Management 

School-Wide Strategies for Managing... OFF-TASK / INATTENTION

http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/challenging-students/school-wide-strategies-managing-task-inattention 

Here is A Developmental Checklist 

The Child with Attention Problems - The Inattentive Child

https://www.hincksdellcrest.org/ABC/Teacher-Resource/The-Child-with-Attention-Problems/The-Inattentive-Child.aspx 

Is It A Learning Disability? 

What’s the Difference Between ADD and ADHD? 

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/add-adhd/difference-between-add-adhd 

ADHD and ADD: Differences, Types, Symptoms, and Severity

http://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/difference-between-add-and-adhd 

What is the difference between ADD and ADHD?

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/ask-an-expert/2014-6-30-what-difference-between-add-and-adhd 

ADHD OVERVIEW

TOP 10 QUESTIONS on ADHD

http://www.drhallowell.com/add-adhd/top10questions/ 

Not A Learning Disability? What Then?

When It’s Not ADHD: Other Causes of Inattention in Children 

http://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/2015/03/when-its-not-adhd-other-causes-of-inattention-in-children/ 

Students who have chronic difficulties paying attention in class face the risk of poor grades and even school failure. Inattention may be a symptom of an underlying condition such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. However, teachers should not overlook other possible explanations for student off-task behavior.

http://www.interventioncentral.org/behavioral-interventions/challenging-students/school-wide-strategies-managing-task-inattention

 

 

Educational Links 2/23/16

Statistic Of The Day: The Older Kids Get, The Less They Want To Go To School

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/02/22/statistic-of-the-day-the-older-kids-get-the-less-they-want-to-go-to-school/ 

Beware the Bigoted Subtext of Children's Literature

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/02/17/beware-the-bigoted-subtext-of-childrens-literature.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB 

Principals Share Advice on Addressing Racial Bias in Schools

http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/principals-share-advice-on-addressing-racial-bias.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB 

10 Benefits of Teacher Developed Curriculum

http://gettingsmart.com/2016/02/benefits-teacher-developed-curriculum/ 

Tribes: Agreements for Learning Together 

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/positive-class-culture-nea 

40 Best School Accommodations for Your ADHD Child

http://www.additudemag.com/slideshow/5/ 

Free Handbook

A digital handbook on technology integration.
http://practicaledtech.com/free-handbook/ 

Educating an Original Thinker

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/educating-an-original-thinker/462468/ 

Teaching Is Truly a Joyous Profession 

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/work_in_progress/2016/02/teaching_is_truly_a_joyous_pro.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB 

Elaborate "aha moments" coupled with the unexpected, makes education a very exciting field to be in. However the day to day of planning and mundane paperwork can take us away from the parts we love most.

Starr Sackstein

 

Educational Links 2/22/16

Don't Wait: Six Simple Ways to Support Your Struggling Learners Tomorrow

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/reaching-all-students/2016/02/dont_wait_six_simple_ways_to_s.html?cmp=SOC-EDIT-FB 

10 Commonly Misdiagnosed ADHD Symptoms

http://www.additudemag.com/slideshow/174/slide-1.html 

109 Common Core Resources For Teachers By Content Area

http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/109-common-core-resources-for-teachers-by-content-area/ 

How Looking at Student Work Keeps Teachers and Kids on Track

http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/09/19/how-looking-at-student-work-keeps-teachers-and-kids-on-track/ 

Five Roles in Literature Circles 

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/literature-circles 

Study: Too Many Structured Activities May Hinder Children's Executive Functioning 

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2014/07/study_too_many_structured_activities_hinder_childrens_executive_functioning.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-FB 

Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2016/02/21/classroom-instruction-resources-of-the-week-72/ 

If you want to improve your teaching, let students co-plan your lessons

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/if-you-want-improve-your-teaching-let-students-co-plan-your-lessons 

"Getting students to help plan your lessons provides valuable opportunities for student voice and this has a measurable impact on the quality of learning."

Chloe Darracott-Cankovic 

 

Five Poems to Soothe Kids' Toxic Stress

Grandpa was really sick now, thin like a skeleton.
The last thing I remember him saying was, "Did you bring the little dog?"
We hadn't brought Kip because Grandpa was in a hospice, but the pain-killers made him think he saw the chihuahua at the foot of the bed.  Kip had been a faithful friend stationed at the foot of his bed the previous five years at home when Grandpa was bedridden due to cancer.

Melanie, Grandpa and Kip 1962

Technically, Grandpa wasn't our 'real' grandfather. He was our grandmother's second husband. But to me, my sister, and all the many cousins, he was the best grandpa in the whole world. Everyone says that, even over fifty years later. He loved children. He loved us. He spent time talking to us, taking us on walks, teaching us to play the card game 'Casino.' And card tricks, too. All the photos with him showed everyone smiling. He was like that.

I recall watching baseball on television with him. He was a San Francisco Giants' fan. I realized last year that the reason I knew so much about the Giants was because I watched the World Series (1962) with him (the last baseball season Grandpa was at home), before he passed away the following spring. His going left a dark hole in the family.

Literature can ease the stress of a child's serious loss, so the effect doesn't advance to toxic, chronic stress. Literature draws the isolating pain out in the open. We aren't alone in our experiences; universal themes speak to our human condition, too. For me, I somehow found  "The Rainy Day," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, probably in my parochial school library. It soothed my heartbroken, prepubescent soul with lines like "Behind the clouds is the sun still shining" and "Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary."  Henry knew how I felt. http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/longfellow/12207 

#16 Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All by Ian Lantz

Childhood can be filled with fears, even terrors, real and imagined. We don't need to
describe the traumas kids suffer. Maya Angelou's "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," infers a child's nightmares and possible real terrors;  the voice in the poem stands up to her fears. A group discussion of a poem allows a student to absorb the comfort at her own pace and need; she can share her fear or not. But the universal experience of fear is acknowledged. http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/life_mayaangelou.htm

Kids can be demeaned, betrayed, bullied. How can a kid handle that? Students, usually middle-schoolers, respond with shock at the opening lines of'

                                            I'm nobody! Who are you?
                                            Are you nobody, too?

Someone else knows how it feels? I'm not the only one going through this? When you're born into the caste of the rejects--what's a kid to do? Like Emily Dickinson suggests, reject the insult--its the conformists who are to be ridiculed.  To read how the totally unique Emily suggests we do this, go to this link and see all the poem. http://www.online-literature.com/dickinson/448/

Every year I have taught in Southern California, I have students that have had traumatic losses due to violence close to them. Even what we consider to be a cliche can comfort them. Famous sayings and poems aren't famous to kids--its new material.  The well known saying from Tennyson's "In Memoriam" is still valid:

                      

                                           I hold it true, whate'er befall;

                                           I feel it, when I sorrow most;

                                           'Tis better to have loved and lost

                                           Than never to have loved at all.

For the rest of the poem, 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174603. I always liked the reference to not wanting to be a 'linnet' (caged bird) that was never free to experience 'the summer wood.' Life has joys and sorrows, and we fly to the first despite the eventual descent into the second. 

Our people, our family can uphold us. Langston Hughes' "Mother to Son" speaks a mom's heart.http://allpoetry.com/Mother-To-Son Life's exertion, exhaustion, and unexpected reversals require relentless effort to overcome, often too much for the young  person by himself. Whether its a mother to son, grandpa to granddaughter, teacher to student---there are grown-ups reaching out to you. Someone cares. We can navigate you, one step at a time, past the hidden trip-ups. We know where they are-- we've tripped over a few--but let's get up and keep on climbing.

The comfort from the community;  poets from even two hundred years ago can be a member of that community. A poem can embrace the sad, frightened, lonely soul of a child.





I thought of Grandpa when his Giants won the Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014.  I couldn't share it with him, except in my heart. That's a comforting thought. I learned it from poetry.

Go Outside--Check Out the Clair de Lune

Full Moon

Okay, you must go outside and look at that beautiful moon. Maybe take your guitar, or at least a device to play like James. (see below.)

Clair de lune by Claude Debussy, arranged and performed by guitarist James Edwards, with smalin's graphics. Its just as special as a piano solo. Maybe better, because its easier to play a guitar outside under the moonlight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTJbLei7A2c&feature=relmfu

MzTeachuh's Meditations: The Battle Is The Lord's

I Samuel 17:37  Know that the Lord does not save with the sword or with the spear; for the battle is the Lord’s.”

Yolanda Adams - The Battle Is The Lord's (Live) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snsmn_fEzLw