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Writing a newsletter is an essential tool to growing your online audience. While it may sound like a fairly straightforward process, it can be difficult to make sure your newsletter reaches your readers. Via Jim Lerman 
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"Next Thursday, June 24, from 7-8 p.m. ET, Chalkbeat will put student voices front and center with a virtual event titled In Their Voices: Students Speak with Secretary Cardona. Via Jim Lerman
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Here are all of our Student Opinion questions from the 2020-21 school year. Each question is based on a different New York Times article, interactive feature or video.
"Each school day we publish a new Student Opinion question, and students use these writing prompts to reflect on their experiences and identities and respond to current events unfolding around them. To introduce each question, we provide an excerpt from a related New York Times article or Opinion piece, as well as a free link to the original article. "During the 2020-21 school year, we asked 177 questions, and you can find them all in this post. The questions are divided into two categories — those that provide opportunities for debate and persuasive writing, and those that lend themselves to creative, personal or reflective writing. "Teachers can use these prompts to help students practice narrative and persuasive writing, start classroom debates and even spark conversation between students around the world via our comments section. For more ideas on how to use our Student Opinion questions, we offer a short tutorial along with a nine-minute video on how one high school English teacher and her students use this feature."
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AA Google Docs add-on to create a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet or CLOZE exercise. Simply highlight or underline the words you'd like to be blank, click create - done! Via Nik Peachey, Jim Lerman
Malcolm Kenny's comment,
May 17, 2021 4:01 AM
Hi Salomi, Thanks for scooping this article as I never would have come across it at all if it wasn't for you! One thing I liked about this article but in particular this add on feature, is how much time it could possibly save. As being teachers in the future, I know our time will be very important and the more time we can save through digital resources and planning. The easier the lesson in my eyes! Once again, thanks for sharing this unique feature surrounding google docs. Kind Regards Mal
Miss D's curator insight,
May 31, 2021 6:51 AM
Scooped via Nik - I've only just found out about this google doc add-on but think it would be extremely useful in all learning subjects. Focusing on English would be useful to create when teaching students the importance of adding words into their assignments in order to be better. Even creating a short story and leaving important words out that could change the story, allowing students to see the importance of language and literacy.
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In this lesson, students will learn about the wave of new Black superhero stories and how they are reimagining the genre. Then, students will create and pitch their own superhero reboot.
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As more students return to in-person school in the near future, it seems wise to invest our time and energy on strategies to increase student engagement that work both virtually and in person. Like all of us, students are most engaged when their work honors their experiences, connects to their interests, and has the potential to lead them to improvement of themselves, their lives, and issues that matter to them. Teachers can increase student engagement by re-envisioning their curricula in the following ways. Via Jim Lerman
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![Writing Assessments | Thoughtful Learning [FREE gr.2-12] | Scriveners' Trappings | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/NK4d82J37C8NUgblM84aHjl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Writing Assessment
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"Noting that art is deduced from this activity, Buck nonetheless cautions against preoccupation with forms and techniques at the expense of clarity of creative vision:
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'Writing, Rebranded': Kickstart Kit (Level I)
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"Make an argument in 450 words or fewer about something that matters to you, and persuade us that we should care, too.
"Take a look at the full guidelines and related resources below. And consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board. Please post any questions to the comments here, or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com."
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Free access to all of the chosen stories. -JL
"It can be a challenge to get middle schoolers interested in reading. The thought of tackling a thick novel can be overwhelming, especially during distance learning. Short stories are always a great choice.
Ebigo Nwachukwu's curator insight,
June 7, 2021 10:24 PM
I currently work with 6th graders this article was very beneficial to implement during my weekly class connects with my students.
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Why and How to Use YouTube Video Essays in Your Classroom :: Common Sense Education :: Tanner Higgin
"YouTube video essays are long-form (relative to many other internet videos) critical videos that make arguments about media and culture. They're usually meticulously narrated and edited, juxtaposing video footage, images, audio, and text to make an argument much like a writer would do in a traditional essay. As former YouTube talent scout Jeremy Kaye puts it, video essays "take a structured, in-depth, analytical, and sometimes persuasive approach, as opposed to the quick 'explainer' video style."
"It's easy to dismiss a lot of what circulates on YouTube as frivolous, silly, or even obnoxious, but video essays are the opposite. They demand students' attention but not through cartoonish gesturing, ultra-fast editing, and shock value (which even some of the more popular educational YouTubers fall prey to) -- there's room to breathe in these essays. To capture attention, video essays use a time-tested trick: being flat-out interesting. They present compelling questions or topics and then dig into them using media as evidence and explication. This makes them a great match for lessons on persuasive and argumentative writing.
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Recommendation by Nik Peachey:
"A while back I wrote a blog post about texting fiction and how popular it is with teens. At the time the choice of apps for creating these texting stories was quite limited if you wanted a free one. Now MessagInk seems to be changing that. It's a really nice free website that makes creating and reading texting fiction really easy. Great to use to get students writing."
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From
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Description by The Scout Report
"TreeSheets calls itself a "free form hierarchical spreadsheet," that offers the intuitive usability of a spreadsheet or text editor combined with the organizational capabilities of an outline or mind map. From simple to-do lists and calendars to more complex data organization such as project management and requirements gathering, the hierarchical spreadsheet is astonishingly versatile. It is structured as a grid that will be familiar to spreadsheet users, but TreeSheets can also be easily divided into subgrids, allowing for nested organization and endless layout options. Users can change fonts or colors and insert images with a few clicks (also worth mentioning is the availability of unlimited "undo" functions). As evidenced by the simple website design, TreeSheets is compact and uses minimal memory (5MB for the equivalent of 100 pages of text on Windows 7, according to the developer). To see the tool in action and view a sampling of the style and layout options, readers can click the "Screenshots" link. Selecting the "Tutorials" link, readers will find how-tos for three types of learners: an in-app follow-along tutorial, a video, and a written tutorial. TreeSheets is free and open-source and is developed by Dutch programmer Wouter van Oortmerssen. "
Jim Lerman's insight: This may not look like it at first glance, but Tree Sheets is an excellent mind map tool to use to teach writing. In my experience, there is no better tool to teach writing to secondary level (and above) students and adults, than mind-mapping. And Tree Sheets is the only FREE tool available that meets my standards for functionality. Having said that, it could be a bit more visually attractive - but hats off to the developer, Wouter van Oortmerssen, who, it seems, made it by himself. A great accomplishment and a wonderful contribution to us all.
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"For those of us on a budget, buying software can be expensive. With many companies switching to subscription models, the cost of paying for new versions of business essentials like Microsoft Office can ratchet up.
"But, there is a method for saving money on software that not many people know about—renewed software. Buying renewed license keys can save you a mint as long as you buy from a reputable online reseller. Today, we’re going to show you the best way to get Microsoft Office for a deal. This process doesn't require a physical copy of the software, and getting set up is easy. Let’s get into it."
Jim Lerman's insight:
I "almost never" recommend anything here that isn't free. This time I'm making the rare exception. Here is a perfectly legal way to purchase a used license for a copy of Microsoft Office for quite a reasonable price. It's sort of like buying a used car...it will work perfectly fine but isn't brand, spanking new and so costs substantially less.
I've found recommendations from Make Use Of to be consistently on point, so feel confident about passing this info along.
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From
mailchi
Novels and short stories are filled with emotions. The characters in them experience the ups and downs of the human condition, often in dramatic fashion. And as we read along, we feel things, too—about the characters and ourselves. For these reasons, literature offers a gateway to social-emotional learning in your classroom.
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Due in part to the coronavirus pandemic, Asian Americans have endured a challenging year of increased racism — from violent attacks and verbal harassment to civil rights violations and online bullying. Chalkbeat asked students of Asian descent, and allies, to share their thoughts about these trying times.
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Where do scientists — and science writers — get their ideas? They pay close attention to the world around them and ask questions, then look for answers to the ones that fascinate them most.
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Whether a part of online or in-person classes, videos are a teaching tool that can enable students to learn new concepts and skills and engage in practice activities, all at their own pace. What actually happens when students watch instructional videos in class, however, doesn’t always lead to the expected outcome. Before the pandemic, when I used videos in a classroom setting, students would hit play, sit back, and watch. When it came time to complete the subsequent activities, however, they immediately required assistance, despite my having explained and demonstrated what to do. Via Jim Lerman
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![Writing Units | Thoughtful Learning K-12 [Free writing units gr. 3-12] | Scriveners' Trappings | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/bwjPW2y6t5n3K2Rxi4lx-Dl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Each writing unit leads your students step by step through the process of creating a specific form, with models, examples, activities, assignments, audio, and much more! All units are optimized for viewing on any device, from smartphone to whiteboard.
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"This 1853 etiquette manual written by Eliza Leslie is not only funny, but there's even plenty of advice in there that still holds true today."
Mentioned by MIT Technology Review newsletter. Full book available for download, free.
Jim Lerman's insight: Great source for discussion and writing prompts. Via Jim Lerman
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More than ever, students need frequent chances to express and develop thoughts and feelings through the written word, to reflect and ask questions, to construct ideas about the world around them, to complain and argue in writing, to understand and name emotions, to wonder, to learn, to grow.
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In 1953, celebrated novelist Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1913–April 16, 1994) gave a remarkable National Book Award acceptance speech, arguing for fiction as a soapbox for injustice and a chariot of hope. Thirteen years later, in 1966, he gave a rare interview for the National Education Television, in which he discusses a number of timeless, timely topics — national identity, race, the purpose of literature — with extraordinary eloquence and grace, complementing E.B. White’s insights on the role and responsibility of the writer and George Orwell’s thoughts on the writer’s motives and political purpose.
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Student Portfolio Apps and Websites
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No matter the circumstances, the most powerful learning experiences for high school students often involve student-led discussions that foster connections with each other, as well as with critical texts and ideas. A highly structured, well-planned Socratic seminar can be an effective way to do both, whether your school is in person, virtual, or hybrid.
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