My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• ▶ Vocabulary Matters [YouTube video]

  A webinar, in which Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert discusses why gaining proficiency with the core vocabulary is important for students in their journey toward college and career reading readiness. Dr. Hiebert explores effective strategies educators can use to scaffold students’ vocabulary development.

  tags: vocabulary video 5630 3210

• The Lowdown on Longhand: How Writing by Hand Benefits the Brain [from Edutopia]

  I resist the dichotomy that suggests writing by hand is better than taking notes digitally. I think it's up to the individual. I do like the idea of adapting the "lab notebook" used by scientists into "a personal notebook" in which students record observations and draw pictures.

  tags: textCoding comprehension writing

• The New Literacies Research Lab

  "The New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut is the most widely recognized center in the world for conducting research on new literacies, including the new literacies of online research and comprehension and the learning skills required by the Internet and other emerging information and communication technologies. Our work develops research-based evidence to prepare students for their literacy and learning future."

  tags: new_literacies research

• The Importance of Asking Questions to Promote Higher-Order Competencies [from Edutopia]

  tags: questioning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Unite for Literacy library

  Free nonfiction, diversity-focused picture books for new readers - No login required. No personal information collected. Accessible with all smartphones, tablets and computers. Projectable as BIG books. Displayed in English. Narrated by native speakers of 26 languages. They are perfect for ELL families and preschool, primary, and foreign language students. Enjoy!

  tags: eBooks ELL ESL textSets USTU3400

• Seven ways schools kill the love of reading in kids — and 4 principles to help restore it [from The Washington Post]

  In this reprint of an article first published in 2010 in "English Journal," Alfie Kohn argues that teachers cannot so much create motivation to read and to write as they can "tap" intrinsic motivation. It is less about motivating and more about avoiding those traps that destroy kids' natural drive to read and to write. Central to the problem is a lack of choice and decision-making for kids: [...[T]he fact is that kids learn to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions.... A lack of opportunity to make decisions may well manifest itself in a lack of interest in reading and writing. Were that our goal, our single best strategy might be to run a traditional teacher-centered, teacher–directed classroom."

  tags: motivation readIng

• What Meaningful Reflection On Student Work Can Do for Learning [from MindShift]

  "For student reflection to be meaningful, it must be metacognitive, applicable, and shared with others."

  tags: reflection

• SmithsonianTweenTribune | Articles for kids, middle school, teens from Smithsonian | faqs2014 | tweentribune.com

  Smithsonian news sites with leveled content for kids in grades K-4, 5-8, 9-12

  tags: readability lexile textSets 5630 3210

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Literacy Through Photography for English-Language Learners | Edutopia

  Building on Freire's definition of literacy as something more than just a subject confined to a "block" -- literacy is the ability to understand both "the word and the world" -- this post includes five strategies for using non-print texts (namely, photography) in language development

  tags: multimodal_composition photography ELL ESL

• How Storytelling Inspires Children to Learn English [from Edutopia]

  How does storytelling help ELL students?

  tags: ELL ESL

• everythingESL: The K-12 ESL Resource from Judie Haynes

  Judie Haynes is an ESL teacher with more than 34 years of teaching experience, who has authored and co-authored four books on ESL

  tags: ESL ELL

• Strategies and Resources for Supporting English-Language Learners [from Edutopia]

  A list of Web sites and books about supporting English-language learners

  tags: ELL ESL differentiation

• What Should I Read Next?

  Enter a book you like and the site will analyse a database of real readers' favorite books to provide book recommendations and suggestions for what to read next.

  tags: textSets readIng 5630 3210

• Read With Me: 5 Tips to Foster a Love for Reading [from Edutopia]

  "Fostering the love of reading in your class may take a little work, but there are plenty of resources available to support you in this effort. Here are five suggestions that can help you get started with leading the 'love for reading' charge."

  tags: motivation readIng 5630 3210

• Apps for Learning with Literacy

  Web page companion to Beach and O'Brien's eBook, "Using iPad and iPhone Apps for Learning with Literacy Across the Curriculum"

  tags: iPad apps readIng writing technology instructionalTechnology

• Teaching in the Present—Empowering Teachers and Students through Formative Assessment [from the Literacy in Learning Exchange]

  Formative assessment practices support both teachers and students in becoming purposeful decision makers. This article from The Council Chronicle (March 2014), published by the National Council of Teachers of English, shares insights from educators Cathy Fleischer and Scott Filkins about how educators can use formative assessment effectively. Fleischer and Filkins are, respectively, chair and member of the NCTE task force that produced the position statement Formative Assessment That Truly Informs Instruction.

  tags: assessment

• Igniting Student Writer Voice With Writing Process Strategies [from Edutopia]

  This post shares a variety of strategies for pre-writing and drafting that help teachers to coach students.

  tags: writing

• SMITH Magazine Six-Word Memoirs

  "Since the Six-Word Memoir® debuted as a project of SMITH Magazine in November 2006, nearly 1 million short stories have been shared on Six-Word Memoirs and its younger cousin, SMITH Teens. In classrooms and boardrooms, churches and synagogues, veterans’ groups and across the dinner table, Six-Word Memoirs have become a powerful tool to catalyze conversation, spark imagination or break the ice."

  tags: writing

• Six Word Stories

  This is a collection of short short stories consisting of just six words. It was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famous challenge and first six word story, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

  tags: writing

• Reflecting on Reflection: A Habit of Mind [from Edutopia]

  You're thinking, "I planned this, and it went like this, and now I think this."Ideas for engendering more reflection, from abstraction to tangible shifts in practice.

  tags: reflection

• When High School Students Struggle with Textbook Reading [from Edutopia]

  Advice from Sheila Valencia on how to scaffold content-area textbook reading

  tags: textbooks scaffolding 5630 3210 contentLiteracy

• This Linguistic Family Tree Is Simply Gorgeous

  Infographic

  tags: infographics ELL ESL languageEducation

• "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes

  Beautiful multimodal rendition of "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes

  tags: multimodal_composition poetry video

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Flocabulary - Educational Hip-Hop

  An online library of educational hip-hop songs and videos for grades K-12. There is a pricing plan for individuals and institutions, but there is also a free trial.

  tags: videos textSets 5630 3210

• CrashCourse [YouTube]

  A YouTube Channel hosted by brothers John and Hank Green. From the YouTube About page: "Eight awesome courses in one awesome channel: John Green teaches you World History and Hank Green teaches you Psychology. Check out the playlists for past courses in World History, Biology, Literature, Ecology, Chemistry, and US History."

  tags: videos textSets 3210 5630

• NutshellEdu [YouTube]

  A YouTube subscription-based served. From the YouTube About page: "In a Nutshell will attempt to provide you with short fun clips about topics you can't afford not knowing."

  tags: videos textSets 3210 5630

• The 4Ss of Note-Taking With Technology [from Edutopia]

  This column is specifically about digital tools for note-taking, but it also provides a broad framework for evaluating digital tools in a way that does not draw from an either/or fallacy. Instead, the author suggests looking at the old "pen vs. computer" debate through a lens of affordances: supporting students, saving content, searching content, and sharing content. The author dismisses the either/or fallacy by asking, "What if we approach the concept by identifying what is best for individual students? In other words, does the system adequately support the students' learning needs? Allow students to save their notes to multiple locations? Let students search for salient points? Permit students to share with peers and teachers?"

  tags: edtech writing

• Middle Grade Reading Flowchart [from HarperCollins Children's Books]

  Cool infographic/flowchart that helps teachers and parents match up kids with books based on "what they get excited about outside of the pages."

  tags: textSets YA middleSchool 5630 3210

• 6 Rules to Break for Better, Deeper Learning Outcomes [from Edutopia]

  The author provides six new "rules" for breaking out of "the 20th century's all-expansive curriculum where students 'sit and get.'"

  tags: pedagogy

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Science News for Students [from the Society for Science]

  "Science News for Students (SNS) is an award-winning free online publication dedicated to students, parents, and teachers that connects the latest in scientific research to in and out-of-classroom learning. It was launched in 2003 as Science News for Kids by the Society as a youth edition and companion to Science News magazine, with content tailored to be accessible and interesting to student scientists and serves as the flagship publication of the Student Science section of SSP’s website. SNS offers timely, interesting news stories and features, accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, and web resources."

  tags: STEM textSets resources 3210 5630

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Tackling the Misconceptions of Text Dependent Questions

  Good advice for understanding the "text-dependent question" buzzword: "Students need lots of opportunities to ask their own questions and develop their own interpretations of text."

  tags: ccss assessment questioning 3210 5630 USTU3400

• How Storytelling Inspires Children to Learn English [from Edutopia]

  Storytelling in the K-12 classroom and its benefits for ELL students

  tags: ELL strategies ELA USTU3400 3210

• Standards Spotlight: Mastering Reading Standard 5 [from Getting Smart blog

  How and why to teach text features. It was important before the Core Standards mandate. Ray Reutzel explains why.

  tags: textFeatures ccss 3210 5630 red

• The Best Children's Books!

  A collection of themed text sets created by teachers and for teachers

  tags: textSets USTU3400 5630 3210 resources

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Standards Spotlight: Mastering Reading Standard 7 [from Getting Smart]

  A good argument for text sets, even if it's framed by Core Reading Standard #7

  tags: red ccss textSets 5630 3210

• Setting the Stage [Reading Rockets video]

  A video about the social dimensions of prereading strategies with high-interest texts, but also a good demo of how to introduce think alouds

  tags: thinkAloud contentLiteracy minilesson strategies 3210 5630 USTU3400 video

• Developing Theories Of Characters While Reading [TeachingChannel video]

  A video demonstrating a minilesson and a teacher-modeled think aloud

  tags: thinkAloud minilesson 3210 5630 USTU3400

• ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’ [from The Washington Post Answer Sheet blog]

  Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory includes 8 intelligences, and possibly even more according to Gardner himself. However, over the decades, he has become increasingly dismayed at the practice in K-12 to lump his theory with another trend, called "learning styles." Over time, “multiple intelligences” became synonymous with “learning styles.” In this Answer Sheet blog post, Garner, as guest columnist, seeks to set the record straight.

  tags: multipleIntelligences pedagogy instruction

• Ready, set, blend! [inforgraphic from ISTE]

  tags: blendedLearning

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students | Edutopia

  Six scaffolding strategies for K-12 and a good explanation of "scaffolding" vs. "differentiation"

  tags: scaffolding differentiation instruction pedagogy

• Making the Most of Mentor Texts [from Reading.org]

  "'The Writing Thief' author Ruth Culham led a passionate discussion on mentor texts Oct. 28 as part of the International Reading Association’s first Google Hangout on Air.... The discussion covered a number of topics, including how to motivate reluctant writers and how exactly to use mentor texts in the classroom, regardless of text length....Culham said she finds mentor texts every day, whether it’s picture books or signs at the zoo."

  tags: mentorTexts writing red textSets 3210 USTU3400 5630 literature

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Novels on Location - Read Your Way Around the World [from Richard Byrne's blog]

  "The idea behind Novels on Location is to help readers find novels according to the story's geographical settings. When you visit Novels on Location you can find novels by clicking on the placemarks that you see or by using the location search bar in the upper, right corner of the site. If you want to contribute to Novels on Location you can do so very quickly by simply entering a location then entering the title and author of your favorite book set in that location."

  tags: socialstudies literature ELA textSets

• College Readiness: Writing to Learn [from Edutopia]

  A nice discussion on writing to learn (as distinguished from "writing to think"); very valuable post for future reference, if for nothing else than the well laid out distinction of "reflective" versus "reflexive" writing

  tags: writing

• Start a Reading Revolution: Flip Your Class With Blogs [from Edutopia]

  What does flipped learning look like in a literacy classroom? Basically this blog post describes the reading/writing workshop model gone "high-tech," with students creating blog posts from home on topics of their choosing.

  tags: blogs flippedLearning writing readIng

• The best way for students to become writers [from the The Answer Sheet blog]

  Guest columnist, Janet Yatvin, discusses the reading-writing connection and mentor texts: "More than lessons on how to write an effective argument or an informational piece students need to immerse themselves in the worlds of stories, poems, myths, fables, business letters, opinion and information essays, advertisements, instructional manuals, newspaper articles, memoirs, biographies, and whatever else captures their interest."

  tags: mentorTexts textSets 3210 5630 USTU3400 writing

• Warning! Rigor without Relationship Will Fail: An Interview with Joseph Murphy [from Literacy in Learning Exchange]

  Dr. Joseph Murphy, Professor of Education at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development

  tags: 5630 humanDevelopment schoolreform

• Travel the World From Your Classroom: Free iPad Apps for Virtual Field Trips [from Edutopia]

  Virtual field trips for thematic text sets

  tags: textSets iPad apps

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• How Important is Teaching Literacy in All Content Areas? [from Edutopia]

  If you are a math, history, science, or art teacher, where does literacy fit into your classroom instruction? It's common to believe that literacy instruction is solely the charge of language arts teachers, but, frankly, this just is not so.

  tags: 3210 5630 disciplinaryLiteracy contentLiteracy

• Getting Started with Questions of Literacy as a Shared Responsibility [from Literacy in Learning Exchange]

  NCLE resource page for disciplinary literacies

  tags: 3210 5630

• Projects to Engage Middle School Readers [from Edutopia]

  "In middle school, we ask students to dissect texts and perform literary analysis. However, that does not mean that we have to limit how we assess their understanding of the books." This post offers five alternatives to the traditional book report.

  tags: middleSchool readIng red 5630 3210 booktrailers digitalstorytelling

• Studying With Quizzes Helps Make Sure the Material Sticks [from MindShift]

  tags: assessment

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Reading Is About More Than "Evidence" [commentary from Education Week]

  tags: readIng ccss readerResponse

• Six Word Memoirs Can Say a Lot [from the MiddleWeb blog]

  Using the Bitstrips site to write a six-word memoir and a start-of-the-year project called "Dream Scenes," in which students create a personal story that centers on their aspirations for their lives in the years ahead"

  tags: digitalstorytelling comics

• Bitstrips for Schools

  tags: comics digitalstorytelling

• Why kids should choose their own books to read in school [from The Washington Post "Answer Sheet" blog]

  One of the most effective ways to accelerate literacy development is to simply give students access to developmentally appropriate high-interest texts and plenty of uninterrupted time to read. This column by former NCTE president Joanne Yatvin describes the heydey of independent reading and Silent Sustained Reading (SSR), two popular classroom practices that ultimately met with disfavor and fell out of use after publication of the NRP report in 2000 and the era of high-stakes testing that followed. Yatvin specifically addresses how to overcome some of the hurdles and negative perceptions of independent reading and SSR in K-12 classrooms.

  tags: textSets readIng red

• BOOKLISTONLINE.ORG

  Booklist Online is a repository of thousands of book reviews from the experts at the ALA. Users can look up one title and then find what the ALA editors call "read-alikes," a range of books on one theme.

  tags: textSets

• Metacognition: The Gift That Keeps Giving [from Edutopia]

  Brief post defines "metacognition" and its benefits in education and provides steps for the explicit instruction of metacognition in the K-12 classroom

  tags: metacognition strategies instruction

• 50 Ways to Teach With Current Events [from NYTimes.com]

  50 ideas to help teachers bring current events into the classroom, grouped below by category: Reading and Writing; Speaking and Listening; Games and Quizzes; Photographs, Illustrations, Videos and Infographics; Design and Creativity; Making Connections; and Building Skills

  tags: currentEvents journalism socialstudies

• On-the-Spot Scaffolding for Students | Edutopia

  A brief explanation of what is "scaffolding," how scaffolding compares to "differentiating," how to know when extra scaffolding is needed, and three simple scaffolding techniques

  tags: scaffolding differentiation instruction pedagogy

• The New Teachers' Aides: Superman and Iron Man [from Atlantic Mobile]

  The author, an educator, describes the history of and rationale for comics in education.

  tags: comics graphicNovels textSets visualLiteracy

• Reading With Pictures: Comics that Make Kids Smarter

  An anthology from the Reading With Pictures people that "unites the finest creative talents in the comics industry with the nation's leading experts in visual literacy to create a game-changing tool for the classroom and beyond. This full-color volume features more than a dozen short stories (both fiction and nonfiction) that address topics in Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, and Science, while offering an immersive textual and visual experience that kids will enjoy."There is a downloadable teacher's resource on the page.

  tags: comics graphicNovels textSets visualLiteracy contentLiteracy

• Reading With Pictures

  A nonprofit established to get "comics into schools and schools into comics." The site includes a search tool for finding resources by grade level ad topic area. From the mission statement: "Reading With Pictures is a nonprofit organization that advocates the use of comics in the classroom to promote literacy and improve educational outcomes for all students. We work with academics to cultivate groundbreaking research into the proper role of comics in education. We collaborate with cartoonists to produce exceptional graphic novel content for scholastic use. Most importantly, we partner with educators to develop a system of best practices for integrating comics into their curriculum. At Reading With Pictures, we get comics into schools and get schools into comics."

  tags: graphicNovels comics textSets

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Digital Storytelling with Daniel Meadows [from web2literacy]

  Filmmaker Daniel Meadows speaks succinctly and eloquently about the digital storytelling form.

  tags: digitalstorytelling

• Why Do You Abandon A Book? [from Edudemic]

  This blog post includes an infographic on the psychology of book abandonment based on the tastes and habits of users at the GoodReads social media site.The data within the infographic could be the basis for discussion on how to abandon books and how to choose better books that will maintain interest without taxing one's stamina.

  tags: readIng literature ya

• The Book With No Pictures

  If Radical Change theory "is known as a spatial/temporal theory, rooted in the belief that authors and illustrators are influenced by the time and place within which they write" Dresang, 2008), then B.J. Novak's new book is a Radical Change text, remarkably without illustrations. It is a twist on Radical Change theory in children's literature. From the publisher's site: "At once perfectly simple and ingeniously imaginative, The Book With No Pictures inspires laughter every time it is opened, creating a warm and joyous experience to share—and introducing young children to the powerful idea that the written word can be an unending source of mischief and delight."

  tags: radicalChange multimodal_composition readAloud

• Looking through a Disciplinary Lens [from the Literacy & NCTE blog]

  A great list of questions to consider as a discussion/research guide for what it really means to teach "disciplinary literacy" in your field

  tags: disciplinaryLiteracy contentLiteracy 3210 5630

• Preparing Students to Be Creators of Knowledge [from the Literacy & NCTE blog]

  A nice example of disciplinary literacy, in this case, what it means to be "scientifically literate" by the awesome Neil DeGrasse Tyson

  tags: disciplinaryLiteracy STEM video

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Think Aloud [YouTube video]

  In this video, a 4th-grade teacher uses a think-aloud protocol for whole group instruction about text connections.

  tags: video thinkAloud comprehension strategies

• Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension [from Reading Rockets}

  "This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers."The article also includes sample text sets for think-alouds based on different culturally relevant topics.

  tags: comprehension readAloud thinkAloud USTU3400

• Build Custom Cloze Activities

  A tool for creating cloze activities using teacher-created text or content-area text

  tags: cloze assessment vocabulary contentLiteracy 5630 3210

• Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension [from Reading Rockets]

  "Students need to think while they are reading. By using modeling, coached practice, and reflection, you can teach your students strategies to help them think while they read and build their comprehension."

  tags: thinkAloud USTU3400 educ3210 strategies

• Addressing Disciplinary Literacy in the CCSS[from Literacy in Learning Exchange]

  "Inquiry is at the heart of disciplinary practices. In order for students and teachers to operate from an inquiry-based approach, teachers must recognize and make accessible to students the habits of practice used by disciplinary experts and be able to identify linguistic features specific to each discipline. The authors offer tips for choosing literacy strategies that match disciplinary goals and objectives, cultivating academic conversations academic conversations and fostering writing for argument."

  tags: disciplinaryLiteracy contentLiteracy ccss educ3210 EDUC5630

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

  developed as a resource for teachers and students who are interested in how multimedia can be integrated into a variety of educational activities. The site was created by faculty members and graduate students in the Instructional Technology program in the University of Houston.

  tags: digitalstorytelling multiliteracies multimedia mul

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Let It Marinate: The Importance of Reflection and Closing [from Edutopia]

  quotes Freire and a nice list of prompts at the end

  tags: reflection EDUC5630 educ3210

• Writing in the Digital Age [from the Edutopia "Big Thinkers Series"]

  Elyse Eidman-Aadahl of the National Writing Project

  tags: writing multimodal_composition USTU3400 3210 multiliteracies

• Common Core in Action: Using Digital Storytelling Tools in the ELA Classroom [from Edutopia]

  One thing I like about the Core Standards is that it opens up pathways for multimodal content production in support of -- or as an alternative to -- traditional writing tasks. Based on the premise that "from kindergarten through 12th grade, students are expected to share their writing through technology," this blog post discusses digital storytelling with one particular app, Adobe Voice.

  tags: multimodal_composition digitalstorytelling

• Strategies and Resources for Supporting English-Language Learners [from Edutopia]

  This blog post serves as a resource page for educators who understand that "a lot of old assumptions about how to serve ELLs need to be checked."

  tags: red ELL ESL EDUC5630 educ3210 USTU3400

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Helping Diverse Learners Succeed [from Edutopia]

  Opens with a cautionary tale about failing to understand the learner's background, experiences, interests, and affinities. A good read because it implicates the strategies and approaches put forth in the literature on assessing and understanding adolescent motivation. Includes a downloadable handout with tips and a link to a research review of strategies for working in diverse classroom contexts.

  tags: 3210 5630 responsive_instruction ELL ESL struggling_adolescent

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Erik Palmer's Web site

  Is Erik Palmer the only one out there paying attention to how we teach (or don't teach) listening and speaking skills? He may well be. His home page has some good resources, plus a nice explanation of the PVLEGS rubric for assessing public speaking. Resources on listening are in short supply everywhere, and Palmer's site is no different. But he is one of the few people out there who is speaking to teachers about digital ICTs and the foregrounding of speaking and listening skills.

  tags: speaking_listening

• A New Literacy: Making Connections in Electronic Environments [YouTube]

  tags: new_literacies video USTU3400 multiliteracies

• What is Digital Literacy? [YouTube]

  tags: video multiliteracies USTU3400

• Looking at writing [a teacher training module from Reading Rockets]

  "Looking closely at a child's writing allows us to discover what students know and have learned. We see what writing tools and techniques a student is experimenting with, and what the next steps for instruction might be. Our writing samples from real kids provide examples and next-step guidance for students from pre-K to third grade."

  tags: writing assessment earlyLiteracy emergentLiteracy USTU3400

• Informal Classroom-Based Assessment: Watch & Learn [from Reading Rockets]

  A video playlist that demonstrates how to informally assess young readers by watching and listening to them

  tags: videos earlyLiteracy emergentLiteracy USTU3400 assessment red

• Making the Most of Mentor Texts [from Ed Leadership]

  "We must teach students to imitate model texts before they write, as they write, and as they revise."

  tags: mentorTexts writing 3210

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century [from PBS]

  "Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century explores how exceptional instructors are increasingly using digital media and interactive practices to ignite their students’ curiosity and ingenuity, help them become civically engaged, allow them to collaborate with peers worldwide, and empower them to direct their own learning."

  tags: 21st_century_literacy new_literacies multiliteracies video

• Literacy in Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects: Scaffolding Levels of Text Complexity (With Discipline-based Texts) [from Literacy in Learning Exchange]

  "This one-hour on demand web seminar describes strategies piloted among teams of interdisciplinary teachers, grades 6-12, who implemented reading strategies for complex texts, including primary sources, and facilitated students in conducting research to answer a question, citing evidence to make their claims."

  tags: contentLiteracy 3210 disciplinaryLiteracy STEM socialstudies textComplexity

• Piccsy

  Customizable photo streams

  tags: photography art graphics

• ReciteThis

  Select an inspirational quote or supply your own, and this meme generator styles it with fancy typography and an appropriate background. You can share through social media or download to your desktop.

  tags: memes quotes

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Graphic Novels for the Digital Classroom

  tags: graphicNovels

• 5 Digital Storytelling iPad Apps for Elementary [from iPad Apps for School]

  "Reading stories, watching videos, and listening to podcasts is one way to learn with an iPad. But a more fun way to learn with an iPad is to create things. Here are five iPad apps that elementary school students can use to create stories."

  tags: digitalstorytelling

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Global Conversations in Literacy Research [YouTube channel]

  "Global Conversations in Literacy Research (GCLR) is a series of interactive open access web seminars that feature cutting-edge literacy research conducted by international literacy researchers. GCLR is grounded in critical literacy, and sees as its mission to use networked technologies to connect global audiences in a virtual space that allows participants to exchange ideas on literacy theory, research, and practice. Each year, GCLR features scholars whose work addresses a range of literacy areas of interest to international audiences. GCLR is sponsored, in part, by the National Writing Project."

  tags: literacy videos

• Choices Reading Lists [from IRA)

  "Each year, thousands of children, young adults, teachers, and librarians around the United States select their favorite recently published books for the “Choices” reading lists. These lists are used in classrooms, libraries, and homes to help young readers find books they will enjoy. The annotated and reading lists of titles and authors of Choices selections for the current year are made available in April, just before the Association's annual conference and are available for free download. Check individual Choices programs below for details."

  tags: textSets ya literature

• YALSA's Book Awards & Booklists

  tags: textSets

• MERLOT

  "MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) is a free and open peer reviewed collection of online teaching and learning materials and faculty-developed services contributed and used by an international education community."

  tags: multimedia blendedLearning flippedLearning

• Guides from the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University

  tags: instruction pedagogy strategies reflection assessment

• Team-based learning [from Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt]

  tags: TBL

• Educational Leadership:Reading: The Core Skill:Every Child, Every Day

  Allington and Gabriel describe six basic elements of instruction that every child should experience every day: "Each of these elements can be implemented in any district and any school, with any curriculum or set of materials, and without additional funds."

• 21st Century Literacies [fron Reading Rockets]

  "Because success with technology depends largely upon critical thinking and reflection, teachers with relatively little technological skill can provide useful instruction. But schools must support these teachers by providing professional development and up-to-date technology for use in classrooms." This is the NCTE 2007 policy brief on 21st Century literacies summarized in the form of a blog post.

  tags: 21st_century_literacy teachers teacherlearner

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Writing and Thinking Through the Student User's Guide Assignment [from Edutopia]

• Teach with Your iPhone: Apps to Use in the Classroom [from Edutopia]

  tags: apps iPhone instructionalTechnology

• Vocabulary Voyage: How a Spontaneous Lesson Became a Favorite Strategy [from Reading Today Online]

  A good vocabulary lesson and, more importantly, a good lesson about teaching

  tags: vocabulary wordStudy instruction

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Using Mentor Texts to Motivate and Support Student Writers [from Edutopia]

  tags: writing mentorTexts 3210 USTU3400

• What Will You Do Differently? [from Reading Today Online]

  A collection of strategies, practices, and digital tools for getting to know students and for promoting school-to-home communication from Day 1 of the new school year

  tags: technology backToSchool assessment

• Technology Fuels Engaged Summer Reading [from Reading Today Online]

  "The Cyber Cafe Summer Reading Program has grown over the years with varying themes but consistent in digital reading and discussion, collaborative response projects, and communicating with authors and others online. Its success relies on great books, the collaboration of a public middle school, library, and university and the integrated use of multiple technologies."

  tags: summerReading 3210 technology

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• The Right Approach to Reading Instruction [from NYTimes.com]

  "The student-led approach to reading and writing known as balanced literacy is making a comeback in New York City schools. But critics say students need closer instruction from teachers and more work on phonics and facts." This collection of opinion pieces by a variety of "debaters," including Lucy Calkins and E.D. Hirsch, seeks to answer, "What is the right approach to improving student literacy?"

  tags: USTU3400 3210 5630 balancedLiteracy red

• The Fallacy of ‘Balanced Literacy’ [blog post from NYTimes.com]

  An interesting response to NYC school chief's idea to restore a "balanced literacy" agenda. Really draws into question what is "balanced literacy" and what is "muscular instruction" and are the two mutually exclusive? This piece would be a great launching pad for discussion.

  tags: USTU3400 3210 5630 balancedLiteracy

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Jennifer Koch Lubke

  • 

• Promoting a growth mindset for all students [from SmartBlogs on Education]

  Discusses "fixed" versus "growth" mindsets and what educators can do to reduce the former and increase the latter. This gets to the very heart of what we can do to help adolescents become more agentive and self-directed learners. The author suggests a number of classroom-based reforms, but he also takes on the subject of our national obsession with achievement tests.

  tags: 5210 humanDevelopment mindset

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)

My latest Diigo links (weekly)

• Why Our Kids Need Drama [from the Conceptual Revolution blog at PsychologyToday.com]

  This guest blog post by Peter Smagorinsky of the University of Georgia argues the value of arts education in the lives of young people. Smagorinsky describes the creation of "a social updraft" through the performing and creative arts that. Updraft "provides cultural mediational means that allow people to become fully involved in significant cultural activity that brings them a feeling of social belonging."

  tags: 5210 artEducation humanDevelopment

• What's In A Label? In Special Ed, Words Matter [from the NPREd blog]

  How do we refer to individuals with physical or mental disabilities?

  tags: 5210

• NCDJ Style Guide on Disability Labels

  The National Center on Disability and Journalism, headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, has prepared a style guide for how to refer to different categories of people.

  tags: 5210

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My latest Diigo links (weekly)