Middle School Matters

Jokes You Can Use: Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. Three men were sitting on a bench in heaven discussing how they died. The first man said "I died of cancer." The second man said, "I died of tuberculosis". The third man said "I died of seenus". The first two men said, "No, you mean sinus." The third man said "No, I mean seenus. I was out with my best friend's wife and he seen us!" A recently hired nurse listened while the doctor was yelling, “Malaria! Chicken pox! Polio!” the nurse asked another nurse, “why is he going on like that?” The other nurse replied, “Oh, he just likes to call the shots around here.” On Our Mind: Holidays. Eileen Award: Stephanie Francis Advisory: The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011 *Warning, you need to review prior to showing live. You’ll probably want to download the ones that you want to share. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most-powerful-photos-of-2011 or The year in 60 seconds http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/12/06/year-in-60-seconds?videoId=226168503 or Reuter’s Pictures http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: PE, Recess standards- more schools meet standards Schools are more likely to offer students 150 minutes of physical education per week if located in a state or district that mandates that level of P.E., according to a study published online today in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/schooled_in_sports/2011/12/study_phys_ed_recess_mandates_boost_school_physical_activity_time.html Friendly Advice For Teachers: Beware Of Facebook by NANCY SOLOMON The new and ever-changing world of social networking has blurred the lines between private and public, work and personal, friend and stranger. It's becoming a particular challenge for teachers who can quickly rile students and parents by posting comments or photos online. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/07/143264921/friendly-advice-for-teachers-beware-of-facebook Resources: Online Conversion Take just about any format and convert it to another. Sections: Audio Image Ebook Hash Generator Video Document Archive http://www.online-convert.com/ Web Spotlight: Strategies: AMLE 2011: Thursday Sessions Keynote: Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education See Dept. of Education website. Rick Wormeli: Tiering Assignments and Assessments "Even a man on the right track will get run over if he just stands there" -Will Rogers. Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: ISTE News: ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education. The ISTE Special Interest Group: Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 - 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island. Ohio Middle Level Association: The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference. OMLA Registration Form OMLA Presentation Proposal Form AMLE Affiliate Conferences: The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 2012 in Warren Woods, MI. MAMSE Exhibitor Form MAMSE Registration Form MAMSE Presentation Form MAMSE Conference Program Book (2011) The North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference March 13-15, 2012 Conference Brochure Presenter’s Application Who They Are . . . This year’s sessions . . . Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: Archived content is available. Second Life: Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details. Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week. Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

Jokes You Can Use: My cat started his writing career by authoring a feline-oriented soap opera; he titled that project, "Nine Lives to Live." My cat's writing a feline-oriented Christmas movie script. He has titled this project: "It's A Wonderful Nine Lives." On Our Mind: Holidays. Feedback. Facebook/Google+ Eileen Award: Eric Runyan - He followed our advice about Rick Wormeli and was greatly pleased. Eric Stockmeyer - me too! (to several of his points) SteveParkerZ: New Twitter follower Dr. Monte Tatom: Cyberbully article suggestion Advisory: Museum of Obsolete Objects http://www.youtube.com/mooojvm We are the Solution The Pledge to Stop Bullying (with video) http://wearethesolution.net/ Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Dave is back with a podcast about Acrylic Nails in the Lab and the safety concerns that exist. Student safety - always a focus. From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: What Kinds of Things DO Teachers Buy for Their Classrooms? By Bill Ferriter After swinging through Target and dropping another $10 bucks on supplies that I need for an upcoming science lab, I decided to pull out my envelope o' receipts and see how much I've spent on school purchases so far this year. http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/tempered-radical/11-2011/what-kinds-things-do-teachers-buy-their-classrooms Teachers’ newest online worry: ‘cyberbaiting’ 11 percent of teachers know a friend who has been 'cyberbaited,' or taunted by a student hoping to record an outburst, according to a new survey. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/11/27/teachers-newest-online-worry-cyberbaiting/ Resources: Using Wolfram|Alpha in the Classroom Wolfram|Alpha is a free online computational knowledge engine that generates answers to questions in real time by doing computations on its own vast internal knowledge base. Our long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. This can be valuable to educators in many ways. http://www.wolframalpha.com/educators/ HistoryWorld Timelines http://www.historyworld.net/timesearch/default.asp?&keywords= Themeefy Create, Curate, Share http://www.themeefy.com/landing Web Spotlight: Join.Me Instant screen sharing. Instant Aha! Get everybody on the same page, when they're not in the same room, instantly. Review documents and designs. Train staff. Demo products or just show off. join.me is a ridiculously simple screen sharing tool for meetings on the fly. join.me free screen sharing 250 viewers share control multi-monitor chat send files viewer: iPad/iPhone or Android Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: ISTE News: ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Ohio Middle Level Association: The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference. OMLA Registration Form OMLA Presentation Proposal Form AMLE Affiliate Conferences: The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 2012 in Warren Woods, MI. MAMSE Exhibitor Form MAMSE Registration Form MAMSE Presentation Form MAMSE Conference Program Book (2011) The North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference March 13-15, 2012 Conference Brochure Presenter’s Application Who They Are . . . This year’s sessions . . . Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar. Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: Archived content is available. Second Life: Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details. Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week. Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

Jokes You Can Use: A skeleton once wanted to go to a party but then he realised he had NO-BODY to go with. On Our Mind: AMLE Attendance Flipped Classrooms Eileen Award: Vlad Gutkovich of Flowcabulary Use AMLE11 to get a free month of Flowcabulary for your classroom! Jack Berckemeyer Advisory: Google Fun http://geekbeat.tv/6-awesome-google-tricks-and-games/ (Correction: Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19th . . . ) Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This middle school science minute is about nature artists. It is based on an article written by Ashley Campbell, entitled, "Avenues to Inspiration: Integrating the Life and Work of Nature Artists into Middle School Science." The article can be found in the October, 2011 edition of Science Scope, which is published by the National Science Teachers Association. The following nature artists are cited in this podcast: Marie Sibylla Merian John James Audubon Wilson A. Bentley Andy Goldsworthy From the Twitterverse: The former usually is just using tech to do the same as we've always done. #grumpytour Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: This American Life http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/449/middle-school http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/449/transcript Common Core Webinars http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/common-core-webinars.aspx Resources: BrainHoney BrainHoney is learning infrastructure hosted in the cloud. Use complete solutions today, like the BrainHoney LMS, or build cloud solutions using BrainHoney components. http://brainhoney.com/ Simple Science’s Video http://vimeo.com/user697789/videos MathChimp Welcome to Math Chimp! We collect free online math games and organize them by the common core standards. We're glad you've come to play cool math games here... they're free and always will be! http://www.mathchimp.com/ Pictures that bring the War home Draw a StickMan Fun, time waster. You draw, the story unfolds. http://www.drawastickman.com/ Web Spotlight: Strategies: How to Creatively Integrate Science and Math AMLE 2011: Thursday Sessions NMSA/AMLE Affiliate Meeting Thursday 7:30 am. Session Title: Advocating for AMLE Article passed out at registration: Mark of Leadership: If Not You, Then Who? by Tom Burton (p. 44 AMLE) (I get to sit next to Ross Burkhardt!) Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use: 1. Why are round pizzas put in square boxes? 2. If a deaf person must appear in court is it still called a hearing? 3. Why does the sign read, “Enter at your own risk" who else could you risk other than yourself? 4. If it's called "frying pan" is it OK to boil something in it? 5. Why doesn't every doughnut have nuts in it? Do you know what happens to quarterbacks when they reach the ends of their lives? They just pass away. Troy’s Backup Jokes: Test Question: Give a brief explanation of the meaning of the term “hard water.” Student Answer: Ice Test Question: What is methane? Student Answer: Methane is a smelly greenhouse gas that is produced when trees and/or cows are burned. (F in Exams by Richard Benson) On Our Mind: Week and a half to AMLE/NMSA 2011 in Louisville . . . Sessions Affiliate Sessions: Contact Doug Herlensky if you’re attending. Dinner Eileen Award: Kam Yousaf Advisory: What would it take to make a model look like Barbie? Here’s a breakdown of what she'd need done to be the kind of doll women aspire to: a brow lift, a jaw line shave, rhinoplasty, a cheek and neck reduction, a chin implant, scooped-out shoulders, a breast lift, liposuction on her arms, and tummy tuck, which would also have to be sculpted as if it were lined in whale-bone from the inside. And that’s just the half of her. http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie-2584798 Respect Respect Rap – I use this with grades 2 – 4 but it’s suitable through middle school. Just love the message, the instrumental track, the editing, the kids’ performances (and the Principal’s, too). The choreography is amazing, the scene setup, the dancing at the end … it’s just dripping with awesome. Congratulations, Fearless Lions at Frank Porter Graham Elementary in Chapel Hill, NC. YOU, QUITE LITERALLY, ROCK! http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=6844 Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) From the Twitterverse: News: Testing Costs As the nation endures its sputtering recovery, significant cuts to state and local education Will Richardson: Make It Stop. Please. http://willrichardson.com/post/11862306546/make-it-stop-please Resources: 60 Seconds http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2011/06/internet-60-seconds-infographic.jpg Stitch.it Simply copy-and-paste a set of links in our text box and click 'Stich It'. We'll convert those links into one short URL for you to share. It's that easy! http://stich.it/ Good to Know Stay safe online Your data on the web Your data on Google Manage your data http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/ WhatFolio http://www.whatfolio.com/ Primary Sources: Documents from a variety of eras. From 4000bc - 21st Century. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp Welcome to the David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog. http://www.davidrumsey.com/ Royal Society http://royalsocietypublishing.org/search Music Primary Sources: Victrola Book of Opera http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/victor-book-of-the-opera Acoustic Recordings http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/about/acoustical-recording iPad Resources https://sites.google.com/site/iccarsproject/home/ipad-ios-resources Shift Happens . . . With Resources http://bigthink.com/ideas/39600 Now with PDF resources for group discussion: http://www.iowafuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IDYK-DIscussion-Guide.pdf Web Spotlight: Larry Ferlazzo Strategies: How YouTube Is Changing The Classroom Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use: After dying in a car crash, three friends find themselves at an orientation to enter heaven. Each one was asked, “When you are in your casket, what would you like to hear your friends and family saying about you?” Sean says, “I would like to hear them say I was a great doctor and a great family man.” Karl says, “I would like to hear them say I was a wonderful husband and an excellent teacher who made a difference in children’s lives.” Juan says, “I would like to hear them say, ‘Look! He’s moving!’” Ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps, Bug-eyed mosquitoes and bowlegged ants! I’m about to tell you a story I’ve never heard before, So pull up a chair and sit on the floor. Admission is free, so pay at the door. One fine day, in the middle of the night, two, dead boys got up to fight. Back to back, they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise, and saved the lives of the two dead boys. If you don’t believe my lies are true, ask the blind man, he saw it too! On Our Mind: CMU CMLA meeting on Wednesday. Eileen Award: CMUCMLA From the Twitterverse: News: As minds get quicker, teens get smarter U.S. researchers say they have demonstrated for the first time that adolescents become smarter because their brains process information faster. http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/09/29/As-minds-get-quicker-teens-get-smarter/UPI-84711317352462 GlogsterEDU Dear Glogster EDUcators, We sincerely apologize for the site issues you’ve been experiencing lately. We can assure you that they are temporary, and Glogster EDU will be better as a result. Glogster (glogster.com) and Glogster EDU (edu.glogster.com) are currently sharing server infrastructure. Sometimes this results in capacity overload, which can lead to slow loading or unexpected errors. We are in the process of moving Glogster.com to a separate infrastructure so that Glogster EDU will be fast and reliable for you and your students. We will keep you updated on all known issues via Twitter and Facebook, so please follow Glogster EDU on either platform. We are committed to you, our valued educators, and are taking the necessary steps toward providing you with high quality service you can count on. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we complete the moving process. Resources: Science360 We gather news from wherever science is happening, including directly from scientists, college and university press offices, popular and peer-reviewed journals, dozens of National Science Foundation science and engineering centers, and funding sources that include government agencies, not-for-profit organizations and private industry. http://news.science360.gov/files Free EBooks http://www.free-ebooks.net/ Biology Warning, these are anatomically correct. http://www.zygotebody.com/# http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/ http://www.biodigitalhuman.com/default.html Password Generator Help students create better passwords. This is limited but easy to use. http://passwordbird.com/ Triptico http://www.triptico.co.uk/ Web Spotlight: Teacher Wall Scholastic, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and DonorsChoose.org bring you the Teacher Wall – a virtual teacher town square where America’s educators can share their stories, knowledge, and ideas on our nation’s schools. Strategies: ISTE 2011: Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina Dr. John Medina Crossing the brain is scientific bunk. Question and answer session. 20% to 110% boost with 150 minutes of aerobic exercise. Does the use of Google change the brain? Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use: On Our Mind: Congratulations to Dr. Monte Tatom NMSA/AMLE early registration extended a week. Dr. Debbie Silver is rumored to have a new book out soon on motivating the hard to motivate student. Eileen Award: Sara Kaviar Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Part 4 of the podcasts on Lab Safety. It is about the 7 Standards for Maintaining a Safer Laboratory Environment. From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: A Separate Peace http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2095385_2096859_2096805-1,00.html Resources: iPads in the Science Classroom Last year, around October 2010, I got 13 iPads for my Science students through a service-learning grant. This is the start of my second year using those iPads with my Science students. The summer before I got the iPads I was able to try one out myself and wrote about the possibilities here. I elaborated further on how I was going to use the iPads here. Once students started to use the iPads I used a Google form to see which apps they liked the best. Here are the results of that survey. http://www.educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/09/28/ipads-in-science-2/ Common Core Maps http://commoncore.org/maps/ National Geographic Xpeditions Geography lessons and free resources for your classroom: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/g68.html Better Lesson http://betterlesson.com/home Google Lit Trips The short version is simple. Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story. The focus is on creating engaging and relevant literary experiences for students. I like to say Google Lit Trips “3-dimensionalize” the reading experience by placing readers “inside the story” traveling alongside the characters; looking through the windshield of that old jalopy in The Grapes of Wrath or waddling alongside Mr. and Mrs. Mallard’s duckling family in Make Way for Ducklings.” What Google Lit Trips AREN’T Google Lit Trips aren’t like sparknotes and other resources that can be used to circumvent the need to actually do the reading. They are designed to stimulate higher level thinking skills and to connect the story’s themes and messages to the issues of the real world in which students live. http://www.googlelittrips.org/ Web Spotlight: Welcome to the 21things4Students Site This site was created by a grant from the REMC Association of Michigan for the creation of an educational resource for students preparing for 21st century skills. Members of the REMC Instructional Technology Specialists in Michigan along with teachers from around the state have created this site to provide project-based activities which are aligned to the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S), and the Michigan Educational Technology Standards for students (METS) as well as the Framework for 21st Century Learning identified by the Partnership For 21st Century Skills. http://www.21things4students.net/ For Educators: http://www.21things4teachers.net/ For Administrators: http://www.21things4administrators.net/ Strategies: Deb’s Data Digest A wide variety of resources and strategies. http://datadeb.wordpress.com/ ScreenCasts as Assessment/Instruction Here are some examples. http://wwcsd.net/groups/screencasts/ Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: NMSA News: National Conference: Thursday, November 08, 2011 —Saturday, November 10, 2011

Jokes You Can Use: Ruth_A_Buzzi 1. Why are hot dogs at Detroit Tigers’ stadium so much better than the ones sold by the Seattle Mariners? Because you can eat them in October. 2. Ultimately, my ex broke up with the blond chick and married a sweet little Native American lady. I hope they're one big Hopi family. On Our Mind: New “toys” for Shawn. https://www.sifteo.com/ Eileen Award: Kerry Derminer Noel Parish Kevin Upton Advisory:kkinstruction Kalysta How to Make a 1920s Flapper style Dress in only One Hour! Includes 4 Special Bonuses. http://j.mp/nDRXcO Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Part 3 of the 4 part series on lab safety. This podcast focuses in on standards on specific safety precautions involving chemicals and lab equipment. The importance of lab safety was pointed out last week in the Chicago area when a student suffered a serious injury while passing around dry ice and water in a plastic bottle and it exploded. The full article can be found at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-09-26/news/ct-met-science-class-20110926_1_chemistry-class-nsta-national-science-teachers-association From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: A bet on No Child Left Behind http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/who-won-a-2007-bet-on-no-child-left-behind/2011/09/26/gIQAwBBi0K_blog.html How Teacher Turnover Harms Student http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/advancing-teaching-profession/09-2011/how-teacher-turnover-harms-students http://www.nber.org/papers/w17176 How to fix this mess called middle school http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-to-fix-the-mess-we-call-middle-school/2011/09/25/gIQAjCx1yK_blog.html Resources: Dead Sea Scrolls Online http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/from-desert-to-web-bringing-dead-sea.html VizLingo Turn text into a video representation. http://www.vizlingo.com/ History Pin YouTube introductory video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT3eKdto4w http://www.historypin.com/ SpeakIt! http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/09/speak-it-text-to-speech-in-google.html Web Spotlight: Cheating Here's an overview of some of the most shocking instances of teacher cheating, plus a few episodes that may have been overblown. http://www.propublica.org/article/americas-most-outrageous-teacher-cheating-scandals Students need to develop Grit http://edcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/09/teaching-character-strengths-and-values.html Teaching All Site has activities for Interactive Whiteboards (IWB’s), iPad Apps and much more. Tons of links! http://teachingall.blogspot.com/ Digital Promise Founded after more than a decade of effort, including a 2004 report to Congress, Digital Promise has been endorsed by virtually every major national association of educators and educational institutions, libraries, and museums. The project that gave rise to Digital Promise was launched by the Carnegie, Century, Knight, MacArthur, and Open Society foundations, sustained by the Federation of American Scientists, and championed by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, civic and business leaders, who came together on its behalf. http://www.digitalpromise.org/ Strategies: Read Ten Classic Books in Under a Minute http://flavorwire.com/213381/read-ten-classic-books-in-under-a-minute What Will Improve a Student’s Memory? By Daniel T. Willingham Question: I often have students tell me that they studied for a test, meaning that they reviewed their notes and the textbook, but they still did not do well. If they have reviewed the material, why don’t they remember it? Is there anything I can do to help them study more effectively? http://cdl.org/resource-library/pdf/What%20Will%20Improve%20a%20Students%20Memory.pdf Events & Happenings:

On Our Mind: Changing positions Start of the school year Eileen Award: Dr. Tatom: Thanks for the mention on Twitter! Advisory: Permanent Record http://www.slate.com/id/2301449/ The Secret to Success https://plus.google.com/117689362923608221663/posts/8v7RBNncmAJ How many really? http://howmanyreally.com/ Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Part two on lab safety and focuses in on personal safety of students. From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: Beautiful Teenage Brains http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text Resources: Writing Prompts http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/ YouTube for Teachers http://www.youtube.com/teachers http://www.youtube.com/education iPad App Resources: In iTunes, go to the iTunes Store (sidebar on the left). Then select App Store on the bar along the top of the window. Then select the drop down Education under Categories on the right (OR-Just to the right of the word App Store on the top will be a small triangle- click that and select Education) This will reveal App categories for Teachers including: Apps for Teachers Special Education Education Volume Purchasing Mobile Learning http://www.eschoolnews.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2011/09/mobile_star.pdf Alternate Assessment Apps for Eighth Grade Eighth graders need to demonstrate their mastery of skills in English, math and science. http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3110 Web Spotlight: Implementing Common Core Standards Over the next year, the accomplished teachers I met at CTQ will face down these tough questions. They will design—and test-drive in their own classrooms, with their own students—lessons and assessments linked to the Common Core State Standards. http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/advancing-teaching-profession/09-2011/implementing-common-core-standards Cheating Here’s an overview of some of the most shocking instances of teacher cheating, plus a few episodes that may have been overblown. http://www.propublica.org/article/americas-most-outrageous-teacher-cheating-scandals Students need to develop Grit http://edcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/09/teaching-character-strengths-and-values.html Common Core Maps From the website: “Common Core has released a new, Second Edition of the K-12 Curriculum Maps in English Language Arts. The Maps are designed to help educators meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards, which call for the standards to be “complemented by a well-developed, content-rich curriculum.” Our draft ELA Maps have received more than three million views since last August. We’ve listened to your advice and have added many new features, including: Nearly 200 new writing, grammar, and research activities Guidance for differentiated instruction Library of seventy digital resources More informational and contemporary texts throughout Map users can now: Rate and comment on each of the seventy-six unit Maps along with thousands of suggested works, activities, and resources Submit lesson plans Get preferred pricing on Maps services and tools that are under development Common Core has been inundated with requests for professional development services, more Maps-based curriculum tools, and more Maps, including math Maps. In order to generate the resources needed to respond to these requests, we are offering the opportunity to become contributing members of the Mapping Project for a nominal cost.” Strategies: Inside Story Flash Cards Combine visuals with vocabulary words to help increase retention. http://www.insidestoryflashcards.com/ Jokes You Can Use: Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: NMSA News:

Jokes You Can Use: Ruth_A_Buzzi Ruth Buzzi If Catholic dogs go to Catechism, how can Catholic cats accept that dogma? (#HappyCaturday to @jwgagne) When choosing a cat, remember the striped ones make you look thinner. #happyCATurday An older cat, reclining on a psychiatrist's couch, said, "Sometimes I think I could have done so much more with my lives." #HappyCATURDAY Were you first hibited before you were inhibited, after which you could become uninhibited? If so, #yougottaberealspecial Eileen Award: Patty Riccardi Advisory: Don’t Laugh at Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTNVXlirF4Y (Book version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv9fN0-062k (This one includes the lyrics on screen) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9xyIGCp7ss (Peter Yarbourgh) Lyrics: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/don't-laugh-at-me-lyrics-peter-paul-mary/3a0b58077c50623648256a22002cb23e What People Don't Get About My Job: From A(rmy Soldier) to Z(ookeeper) Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This middle school science minute is the first in a series of four podcasts on lab safety in the middle school lab. You can download a copy of the Science Laboratory Rules and Regulations from the National Science Teachers Association, by visiting: http://www.nsta.org/middleschool In this podcast, we look at the 7 standards of student conduct in the laboratory and in the field. From the Twitterverse: News: The bait and switch of school "reform" http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2011/09/12/reformmoney What was Ron Clark Thinking? September 10th, 2011 by Larry Ferlazzo http://engagingparentsinschool.edublogs.org/2011/09/10/jeez-what-was-ron-clark-thinking/ Middle School AP Posting: I am posting a Middle School Assistant Principal position today. If you know of anyone that may be a good fit, send them my way. It is a short posting. Deadline is next week Monday at 4:00pm you know of a good candidate that may be the right fit, pass it on to them. Thanks Mr. Ryan K. Pfahler Resources: The Likeable Constitution http://www.thelikeableconstitution.com/#state=EV&part=bor&order=mostliked FauxFlash Fauxflash is an online application that takes the hassle out of flash cards and lets you get right to studying. http://fauxflash.com/ Super Book of Web Tools http://www.docstoc.com/docs/66326425/The-Super-Book-of-Web-Tools-for-Educators Web Spotlight: Confessions of a bad teacher http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/08/29/confessions_of_a_bad_teacher/index.html Strategies: More on Teaching Innovation with the Curiosity Box Is REAL Formative Assessment Even Possible? http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/tempered-radical/09-2011/real-formative-assessment-even-possible Web Tools: Teacher 2.0 Steve Hargadon has created a place for teachers to do their own professional growth online. As you answer questions about your teaching, you get feedback from other participants and the chance to encourage others in their growth.

On Our Mind: Is it fair to students to make personnel changes during the first few weeks of school? Eileen Award: To all our Diigo followers . . . group hug! Advisory: String Theory: Take a piece of twine and stick it under the student’s heel. Unwind it up to their head and cut. Take a piece of tape and label the string with the kid’s name. Hold onto the string and repeat the activity at the end of the year. Compare and contrast. NMSA/AMLE Video Contest: Taking the Lead Video Contest Open to middle grade students (5-9) Those working on the video must be 10 to15 year - olds, but teachers may submit the videos. Each video must be 3 minutes or less. Video(s) must be submitted via SchoolTube. See submission process below. Schools may enter as many videos as they would like. Deadline: Videos must be uploaded no later than October 24th, 2011, at 11:00 pm EST. Top 3 winners will be notified by November 7, 2011. Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This middle school science minute is the third in a three part series about the ELA common core standards in writing and their relationship to science. The four areas of writing include: text types and purposes; production and distribution of writing; research to build and present knowledge; and range of writing. In this podcast, we look at the writing standards that relate to science in grades 6 - 8 in the areas of production and distribution of writing; research to build and present knowledge, and range of writing. From the Twitterverse: News: Beyond Testing ...my Chinese colleagues didn't mention their test scores, nor did they inquire about mine. I quickly learned that we share a similar goal for our students: to promote innovation and foster independent thinking. Every Chinese teacher I spoke with expressed concern with their nation's emphasis on testing. One teacher explained that students spend their entire final year of high school preparing for national examinations at the expense of other educational opportunities that would enable them to acquire a broad range of skills. She described Chinese students as "unhappy" because they are "forced" to drill for high-stakes examinations. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-shearer/beyond-testing-a-lesson-f_b_954135.html What teachers really want to tell parents By Ron Clark, Special to CNN So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand? http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html Teaching Technology Resources: Ambrosia Releases Soundboard for iPad Ambrosia Software has released their sound effects software for iPad. You can now put sound effects in the iPad and control your soundboard with the touch of a finger. You don’t do drama? (You do if you’re a middle school teacher!) What about your ESL kids? What about attaching sounds to word combinations and when they have a hard time sounding things out, they tap the screen and get the correct sound? I can see this being a great resource for the Speech-Language Pathologist in your district. Comparison Search Two ways to look at search results. Could help with looking at the pro’s and con’s of a subject. http://www.gleancomparisonsearch.org/ Web Spotlight: Arizona Technology Integration Matrix http://azk12.org/tim/ Go Social Studies Go Looks really interesting. Includes a virtual book on Columbus. http://www.gosocialstudiesgo.com/ Using Film in any Class Web Tools: Are you funnier than Scott Adams? Create the text from a Dilbert cartoons. http://dilbert.com/mashups/ ISTE 2011: Teacher 2.0 with Steve Hargadon How do you use the tools of the web to get teachers recognized and get them involved? PDF: http://mrmcgirr.com/page20/downloads/files/ISTE%20Steve%20Hargadon.pdf Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: NMSA News:

On Our Mind: iPads in Education Advisory: Quotations on Character Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind. —Robert G. Ingersoll http://josephsoninstitute.org/quotes/ Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This is the second in the three part series on the common core ELA and their relationship to science. Like the first in the series, it focuses on Text Types and Purposes, but this time focuses in on writing informative and explanatory texts. From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: A Teacher Finds Good in Testing By Ama Nyamekye http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/08/31/02nyamekye_ep.h31.html?tkn=XTCFBe283Qrdff9t68CNVw5QPQU12ZEh0gb2&cmp=clp-sb-cec Resources: Video Time Machine $1.99 App for iPhone/iPad VIDEO CONTENT TOTALS: 2000′s = 1,521 videos 1990′s = 1,607 videos 1980′s = 1,874 videos 1970′s = 1,565 videos 1960′s = 1,848 videos 1950′s = 589 videos 1940′s = 256 videos 1930′s = 227 videos 1920′s = 196 videos 1910′s = 150 videos 1900′s = 140 videos 1860-1899 = 60 videos http://itunes.apple.com/app/video-time-machine/id438078438?ign-mpt=uo%3D5 iPad Hub http://www.macnews.com/2011/08/31/new-usb-hub-provides-large-scale-syncing-ipads-other-devices Movie Mount iPad Video Production http://www.makayama.com/moviemount.html Web Spotlight: Learn more about Geocaching Geocaching is a fun, educational, technology-infused activity that I have tried a couple of times. But I am by no means an expert (totally newbie would be the description) on the topic. Therefore, I asked Jen Deyenberg if she would write a guest post about geocaching. Jen has done extensive work developing geocaching activities with students and has a ton of knowledge to share. After reading this post I hope you will visit her blog to learn more about geocaching. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/09/learn-more-about-geocaching-great.html Two Nice Guides to Web 2.0 at School and Work http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/09/two-nice-guides-to-web-20-at-school-and.html Constitution Resources Federal legislation requires schools in the United States to offer lessons related to the U.S. Constitution on U.S. Constitution Day — September 17th of each year. http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/08/10/the-best-sites-for-learning-about-the-constitution-of-the-united-states/ www.teachinghistory.org Jokes You Can Use: Recently the President of the United States received a call from a Yooper (someone from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). The Yooper told the President he and several of his friends had declared war on the United States. The President replied, “You know I have a million men in my army, are you sure you want to declare war?” The Yooper replied, “Let me check, I’ll call you tomorrow.” Sure enough, the President gets a call. The Yooper says, “Mr. President, the war is still on. We picked up some trucks and the guys down at the watering hole have joined up, so we’ve expanded our army too.” “Well,” says the President, “since I talked to you yesterday, I’ve added another half-million men to my army. Are you sure you still want this war?” The Yooper thought for a second, “Let me call you back tomorrow.” Sure enough, about the same time the next day the President gets a call. “Mr. President, we added the ultra-light group from the airport and we can now bomb you from above. The war is still on.” The President replied, “You do know I have an Air Force too of modern jets and since I talked to you yesterday, I’ve added another half million to the army for a total of 2 million men. Are you sure you still want this war?” “Let me call you tomorrow,” says the Yooper. The next day the President gets a phone call. “Mr. President, the war is off. We talked it over and we decided we don’t have any way of feeding 2 million prisoners.” Events & Happenings:

Jokes You Can Use: I recently visited a Mental Asylum & I asked the director, "How can you know when a person needs to be institutionalized?" He said, "Well, we fill a bathtub with water & we offer them a Teaspoon,a Teacup and a Bucket & ask them to empty the tub." I said, "I see...A normal person would choose the bucket because it is bigger." He responded, "No. A normal person would pull the plug...would you like a bed by the window? Ruth_A_Buzzi Ruth Buzzi I knew the Washington Monument would develop a crack problem in that neighborhood. The U S Mail is considering dropping back to just 4 days a week next year. The other three days, mail will be carried by Jehovah's Witnesses. Have a heart, Col. Qadhafi, before you leave town; please send all that old clothing back to the estate of Ethel Merman. On Our Mind: Starting of the school year. Education and Election Reform Eileen Award: Ellizabeth S - iTunes comment (I bet Principal Beth ROCKS!!!) Advisory: The Mindset List http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/ Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) This middle school science minute is about the ELA common core standards in Writing and their relationship to science. The four areas of writing include: text types and purposes; production and distribution of writing; research to build and present knowledge; and range of writing. In this podcast, we look at the five reading standards that relate to science in grades 6 - 8 in the area of text types and purposes, with a special focus on writing arguments focused on science content. From the Twitterverse: News: Chiquita Sweepstakes. Starting August 15th, Chiquita, in partnership with Rio the movie, will celebrate back to school and healthy eating by giving away up to $5,000 in prizes! The interactive site will give you and your students the tools to learn about healthy nutrition with FUN and original lesson plans, games, worksheets and more. The sweepstakes is open to all teachers from accredited schools in the U.S. Simply register your class at Chiquita.com/BananaBrain http://www.chiquita.com/bananabrain/ Resources: Monte Selby Free Song of the Week Check out the Monte Selby web site. This week is a free song about Matter. http://monteselby.com/Matter.mp3 Web Spotlight: Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive by Richard Byrne http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/08/understanding-911-television-news.html Which Rules Are Worth Circumventing? By Tina Barseghian Rules are important in any civilized society. Without them, chaos would ensue. But some rules are worth questioning, especially when the consequences negate their very purpose. http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/08/what-rules-are-worth-circumventing/ "What Would You Attempt to Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?" http://lifehacker.com/5827067/what-would-you-attempt-to-do-if-you-knew-you-could-not-fail Ten things every new teacher should know By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor 1. Focus on the positives, not the negatives. 2. Be clear in your student expectations. 3. Have a backup plan. 4. Students are not your BFFs. 5. Many times, you’ll find yourself alone. 6. Lashing out will get you nowhere. 7. Learn to put your foot down. 8. Teaching is often political. 9. Make friends with custodians and secretaries 10. Make sure your professors have experience with current instructional practices. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/08/19/10-things-to-know-before-teaching/ ISTE 2011: What are we doing for our leaders? PDF: http://mrmcgirr.com/page20/downloads/files/ISTE%20IT%20Leadership.pdf Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) It runs a little longer (2 minutes--but hey, I took off my watch and found I had all the time in the world). It is about the announcement of the new Science Framework that was released last week. From the framework will come the new science standards (late 2012). This will probably become the common core for science, just like ELA and Math--thus the National Curriculum in Science. So, it is a good heads up for people. If you want to mention it in the show notes, the audience can download the full 320 page report for free at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165 News: Beyond Seat Time: Advancing Proficiency-Based Learning Can we do without the traditional school year? Is it feasible to shift to a system of student advancement based solely on proficiency? iNacol's Susan Patrick shares her vision of what such a system would look like and what it will take to get there. (Hint: It's already underway in some states.) http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/08/10/beyond-seat-time-advancing-proficiency-based-learning.aspx NMSA becomes AMLE: Watch for the change during the months of August and September. Jeff LaRoux wins NMSA/AMLE election! Congrats! Resources: U.S. Debt clock http://usdebtclock.org/ Ten ideas for interactive teaching By Jenna Zwang, Assistant Editor http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/06/06/ten-ideas-for-interactive-teaching/?ast=42&astc=3032 http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/CourseDesign/Assessment/content/101_Tips.pdf Web Spotlight: Teenage Girls And Social Media: Tips For Parents From A Best-Selling Author Nearly 10 years ago, author Rachel Simmons wrote a best-selling book called Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. Now she has updated her book to include the role of social media and technology. http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/08/09/139176817/teenage-girls-and-social-media-tips-for-parents-from-a-best-selling-author?ft=1&f=1019 ISTE 2011: Professional Development led by Liz Davis Students did a screen cast for each of the Google products. Checkout Flipboard for the iPad. On Our Mind: Starting of the school year. Eileen Award: Linda Chapman Broderic Dave T. Debbie T. Advisory: http://usdebtclock.org/ From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. Jokes You Can Use: Events & Happenings:

Jokes You Can Use: On Our Mind: RIM buys JayCut for the PlayBook. Eileen Award: BuzzGarwood (twitter) Advisory: Visualization of the United States National Debt. From the Twitterverse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: Atlanta Cheating Resources: Bill McBride http://billmcbride.pbworks.com/w/page/14094960/Welcome-to-my-Wiki Timer Tab Online Timer, Alarm & Stopwatch. Keeps time on a tab in your browser. http://www.timer-tab.com/ Pic4Learning Web Spotlight: Lino Online stickies. http://en.linoit.com/ ISTE 2011: BYOD Bring Your Own Device Led by Scott Meech References: https://profiles.google.com/smeech.net/posts http://www.linkedin.com/in/smeech http://globaleducation.ning.com/profile/ScottMeech How Paul R. Woods got it in his district: Install wireless first. Students can bring in their own machines, but they must allow the school to put their proxies on their machines. If kids try to get around it, the network locks their screen and they have to see the building tech person to get it unlocked again. How did you get teachers on board? First year: bring your device in and allow our techs to look at it. Following years: pick an electronic textbook. The school bought the licensing for all the books on all the devices. The best way to get teachers involved is to let the kids use it and then let them ask the teachers that don't use it if they can use it in their classroom. BYOD is a better way to sustain a 1 to 1 program. District provided computers are an unsustainable way to provide tech. Find schools that are doing this successfully and then go to the IT department. Get administrators on your side before going to IT department. There is some risk going forward: 3-2-1 Rule: Save in 3 different spots. Create a safe place to fail in to create buy-in with your staff/admin/tech. www.schoolweblockers.com: Cloud storage for $1.00 per year. @paulrwood on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/paulrwood Website: http://whatisyouritvision.blogspot.com/ Related: Scott McLeod (http://bigthink.com/blogs/dangerously-irrelevant) UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) ISTE 2011: Professional Development led by Liz Davis Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use: While walking to the ninth hole, one psychiatrist said to his colleague, would you believe that yesterday I had a patient who claimed he heard music every time he put on his hat?” “Really? What did you do?” The psychiatrist answered, “I took it away and removed the band.” A man was on a beach when he discovered an old lamp in the sand. He rubbed it and a genie popped out. The genie said "I will grant you three wishes. The only condition is that you cannot wish for more wishes." "Alright," said the man, "I wish for more genies." A tribal farmer watching a Tarzan movie rushed out of the hall the moment a tiger appeared on screen, advancing menacingly towards the audience. The gatekeeper trying to stop him argued that it's only a movie, to which the tribal replied: “I know it’s a movie, you also know it is, but does the tiger know"? Q: How do Eskimos have babies? A: They keep on rubbing their noses together until the little boogers come out. On Our Mind: mthman Ron King Hey @MSMatters...do you remember the #NMSA session about HOTS question stems on colored paper in the teacher's line of sight? #midleved Eileen Award: Liz N. and Tim H. Thanks for the kind words. Advisory: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Part 3: This middle school science minute is about the ELA common core standards in Reading and their relationship to science. The four areas of reading include: key ideas and details; craft and structure; integration of knowledge and ideas; and range of reading and level of text complexity. In this podcast, we look at the three reading standards that relate to science in grades 6 - 8 in the area of integration of knowledge and ideas, along with the range of reading and level of text complexity. From the Twittervse: Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST. News: http://www.minddump.org/you-have-the-same-hours-per-day-as-helen-kell https://www.sifteo.com/product Coming this summer. Show & Tell These results suggest children are extremely sensitive to the subtleties of a teaching scenario, Schulz says: What matters is not if children are shown a function, but how they are shown that function. If they believe that an informed teacher has taught them everything, they will be less motivated to explore. http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/06/30/if-students-believe-that-a-teacher-has-taught-them-everything-they-will-be-less-motivated-to-explore/ The original post: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/miot-dsd063011.php What should students be able to do with technology in grade school? http://www.edutopia.org/blog/elementary-technology-skills-mary-beth-hertz Resources: Fur.ly http://fur.ly/ Brain Rules http://www.brainrules.net/about-brain-rules Brightstorm Thousands of FREE video resources for Math & Science. One neat thing is that you can search by textbook. There is also Test Prep materials. Includes transcripts for the videos. http://brightstorm.com/ National Archives Document of the Day A different historical document every day. Includes support links. Also a mobile app is available. http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/ Knovio: Animaps Create and view beautifully informative animated maps, for free! http://www.animaps.com/#!home Kodu Kodu is a visual programming language made especially for creating games. Kodu’s language is entirely icon-based, fairly easy to learn, and aimed at kids 9 to 17. It works on PCs and on the Xbox. http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/07/students-create-games-that-focus-on-global-issues/ Show Me iPad app. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8 Web Spotlight: Snag Films: Red, White & Blue Voting. 35 minutes. http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/journeys-through-the-red-white-and-blue Events & Happenings: