EBTL2

The NYTimes' new feature, the Text to Text series, matches Times content with excerpts from often-taught literary, cultural, historical or scientific material. Their goal is, "to show students how relevant what they study in school can be to the real world." The series is an excellent resource for teachers who are trying to add more nonfiction texts to their classroom and also has links to graphic organizers for comparing texts, close reading and analyzing primary sources. From what I've seen so far, the topics are a little advanced for sixth graders and are probably better suited for high school students. That being said, the Times is encouraging teachers to submit ideas for new editions!

I think Twitter has its benefits, but the "Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings" is a little much. Can't we even sit down and enjoy a little TV time anymore without sharing our thoughts and opinions with the world?

I think Twitter has its benefits, but the "Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings" is a little much. Can't we even sit down and enjoy a little TV time anymore without sharing our thoughts and opinions with the world?

TED-Ed was mentioned in at least two different workshops I attended at MassCue. We're all familiar with TED Talks; this takes a similar idea and moves it towards kid-friendly videos, lessons, and quick assessments. One example that I saw was a third grade teacher using a YouTube video (which works along with TED-Ed) about the phases of the moon for the students to watch at home. The website includes a "Flip this Video" button so that teachers can assign a short video for students to watch at home, along with quiz questions as they watch. This could be a great tool for flipping the classroom. Each time I heard it mentioned, the presenters commented on the quality of videos. In addition to using YouTube videos, TED-Ed is pairing up good teacher lessons with animators and visual artists to create a video library that teachers can access for free. I believe you can also suggest or submit a lesson idea that they will consider for a future video. Definitely worth checking out. The URL listed above takes you to a short video explaining the website.

I've started playing around with this site and it's great! I'm looking forward to using some of these as I begin to flip my classroom this year.

I heard this on the way to soccer this morning. It speaks to the idea of "fake writing days" that create for the sake of data. - Steve. "Want to do well on the essay portion of the SAT? Just make it up! Scott Simon speaks to English professor Anne Ruggles Gere of the University of Michigan who says that the college entrance exam is turning out a generation of bad writers who are fast and loose with the facts."

Latest results released by the National Center for Education Statistics. Massachusetts is #1 in science and math again! Amid growing alarm over the slipping international competitiveness of American students, a report comparing math and science test scores of eighth graders in individual states to those in other countries has found that a majority outperformed the international average.