(I’m republishing posts on my My All-Time Favorite Posts list. This one appeared in 2013. You can see them all here)   Anyone who has regularly read this blog or my books know that I’m a big believer in “positive,” not “punitive,” classroom management strategies (see The Best Posts On Classroom Management). At the same time, however, there are some occasions that negative consequences are called for — for “serious” offenses and for those times (and for those students) when all the positive classroom management tools in one’s toolbox aren’t working. A key issue, though, is how — in those ..read more

PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay   May 12th is Mother’s Day! You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Mother’s Day.   ..read more

  I’m fairly active on Pinterest and, in fact, have curated 25,000 resources there that I haven’t shared on this blog. I thought readers might find it useful if I began sharing a handful of my most recent “pins” each week (I’m not sure if you can see them through an RSS Reader – you might have to click through to the original post). Here they are ..read more

Josch13 / Pixabay   This viral video has been featured on CNN and on other media. Check it out ..read more

(I’m republishing posts on my My All-Time Favorite Posts list. This one appeared in 2013. You can see them all here) Photo Credit: Tambako The Jaguar via Compfight An old community organizing adage goes like this: “Sometimes the only thing worse than losing a fight is winning one.” In organizing, that can mean your group gave so much to an issue campaign that you’re left with burnt-out leaders and a hollowed-out organization, or perhaps you burned too many bridges with potential allies along the way (it could mean many other things, too). I was reminded of this saying when I overheard a teach ..read more

geralt / Pixabay   At least, for now, I’m going to make this a weekly feature which will highlight additions to THE BEST NEW – & FREE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM. Here are the latest: Leveled Texts and Resources with Diffit is from FLT Magazine. I’m adding it to: The Best Places To Get The “Same” Text Written For Different “Levels” NOT NECESSARILY THE “BEST,” BUT A LIST OF AI TEACHER PREP SITES THE BEST POSTS ABOUT USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ELLS   TALC AI lets you test AI by comparing its questions to the answers found in Wikiped ..read more

  Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be interested in seeing all my “Best” lists related to education policy here): NEW: As 15 states sue to block new Title IX rules that offer expanded protections to LGBTQ students from taking effect, kids are caught in the middle. “It’s hard to describe how much anger and pain there is,” one Louisiana high schooler told @meltzere https://t.co/vO7dk0VL6p — Kalyn Belsha (@kalynbelsha) May 1, 2024 I understand these pouches can work. But I still think what our school does- all tchrs commit 2 enfo ..read more

pascal_ottiger / Pixabay   This is sort of an “inside baseball” type of post – I’m not really sure how many people are interested in the ins-and-outs of my “Best” lists. But, I figured there might be a few readers who might find this kind of post interesting. As of today, there are about 2,500 “Best” lists, covering just about any topic imaginable that an educator might find useful. These lists also include biannual lists, where I highlight what I think are the very best resources and articles in different educational topics each year.  I’ve done those lists for the past seventeen ..read more

(I’m republishing posts on my My All-Time Favorite Posts list. This one appeared in 2013. You can see them all here)   Here’s an old community organizing concept applied to the classroom:   You might also be interested in SIX WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO BE POWERFUL IN THE CLASSROOM – WHAT ARE MORE IDEAS ..read more

  Every two months, I reprint this post so that new subscribers learn about these resources. I have many free resources, including excerpts and student hand-outs, available from all “my” books (“my” is quotation marks because several are ones I have co-authored or edited). Clicking on the covers will lead you to them. Katie Hull and I have also begun working on the second edition of The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox.  It probably won’t be out until late 2025.  And we have plans for another book after that which will be for both ELL and non-ELL educators. Coming up with an idea for ..read more