Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day… https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:11:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://edublogs.org?v=6.9.4 Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/12/around-the-web-in-esl-efl-ell-353/ Sun, 12 Apr 2026 07:27:21 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=156733

Eight years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention.

You might also be interested in all my Best lists on teaching ELLs.

Also, check out A Collection Of My Best Resources On Teaching English Language Learners.

In addition, look for our latest book on teaching ELLs, The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox 2.0.

Here are this week’s choices:

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Using “If This Animal Or Image Could Talk” Lesson Idea In Class:

Here are some recent research studies that are worth reviewing:

Exploring University EFL Educators’ Perceptions of Student Motivation and Their Strategies to Enhance English Language Learning. A Qualitative Study in Japan

Empowering ESL Learners: Crafting Effective Strategies for Comprehension Enhancement

The Impact of Perceived Cultural Affirmation on Reading Development Among English Language Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study

AmgiDex is a nice and simple free tool for learning languages (not English, though).  I’m adding it to The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Learning English & Other Languages.

Model English Learner Policy for School Boards is from New America.

How States Can Reinforce English Learners’ Civil Rights is from New America.

ELLs could watch this video and talk/write about what they saw:

Best recording – enhancing reading aloud and metacognition through a fully student-centred task is from The Language Gym.

A 13-year longitudinal study of students who enter kindergarten as English learners: early vs. late reclassified fluent English learners is sort of a weird paper. It suggests that the actual reclassification of ELLs as English-proficient younger rather than older is the cause of increased academic achievement, without providing proof that it’s anything but correlation. Do better, researchers! I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Ins & Outs Of Reclassifying ELLs.

Helping EFL/ESL Students Develop Basic Conversation Skills is a useful paper. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Developing English Conversational Skills.

]]> 156733 Sentences Of The Week https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/12/sentences-of-the-week-15/ Sun, 12 Apr 2026 07:19:29 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=162719

geralt / Pixabay

 

I thought readers might, or might not, find this new regular post useful.

Each week, I highlight several sentences, with links to their sources, that I find interesting/concerning/useful.  And they may, or may not, be directly connected to education.  I may also include my own comments or related links.

This regular post will join my other regular ones on teaching ELLs, education policy, Artificial Intelligence, infographics, and Pinterest highlights, not to mention sharing of my regular Education Week posts.

Here are this week’s sentences:

The state education agency estimates that the population of English learners in Massachusetts schools has dropped by 7,000 since 2024.

There is a morality to verbs, especially in political speech. 

There’s a growing body of research showing that classroom environments can create a sense of belonging, and that should also guide what you include in your classroom.

The longer the lesson—we looked at a 10-minute versus a 30-minute instructional block, for example—the less students were on task.

Students in Utah will soon be studying Bible passages in social studies classes after the legislature passed a new bill to that end, signed into law this week by Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican.

When “we love other persons or serve causes other than ourselves,” Dr. Viktor Frankl said in a 1975 lecture, “we actualize ourselves by way of a side effect.”

A literacy advocate is running as a Pencil in the race for Oregon governor to get candidates talking about education issues in the state.

“AI is going to help,” said Khan of this reimagined Khan Academy. “But I think our biggest lever is really investing in the human systems.”

If you want students (really anyone) to put effort into learning, then you must center their interests, goals, values and perspectives so they can endorse doing what is asked of them and, in turn, regulate their own behavior.

Analyzing results of student and teacher surveys, the research team found that attendance was strongly connected to relationships between peers and teachers, students finding value and meaning in classes, a sense of safety and teacher-parent relationships.

If this was victory, I’d hate to see what failure looks like.

So the war stands as a strategic failure and a moral calamity.

For the second year in a row, Trump is proposing to zero out longstanding federal education programs that support educators’ professional development (currently $2.2 billion a year), services for English learners ($890 million), academic enrichment and student supports ($1.4 billion), before- and after-school programs ($1.3 billion), rural schools ($220 million), and support for students experiencing homelessness ($129 million).

Seems to me if you think you have divine sanction for your warmongering when it goes badly you have to consider the opposite proposition but they never seem to!

— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) April 4, 2026 at 7:20 AM

Remember all this nonsense about the supposed inferiority of “third world” immigration? They really believed that and applied their theory to international relations and it failed. Racism makes you stupid.

— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) April 5, 2026 at 7:13 AM

Nothing I could say about the GOP base is as illustrative as the fact that Trump understands that posting black people in what his audience considers a “white space” will make them incandescently angry bsky.app/profile/atru…

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 5:49 AM

This is real

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— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) April 7, 2026 at 11:36 AM

“Why aren’t college students protesting” stories are almost always wrong (they are protesting), omit crucial context (they were brutally punished for protesting before), and somehow suggest that 19 yr olds have more moral responsibility than elected officials three times their age

— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge.bsky.social) April 9, 2026 at 8:21 AM

It’s hard to overstate how much of this moment is driven by people who got a taste of accountability and were very, very mad about it.

— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) April 9, 2026 at 4:25 AM

]]> 162719 “Many Teachers Have Novels Living Inside. Here’s How to Write Them” https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/12/many-teachers-have-novels-living-inside-heres-how-to-write-them/ Sun, 12 Apr 2026 07:13:01 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=159817 Many Teachers Have Novels Living Inside. Here’s How to Write Them is the headline of one of my recent Education Week columns.

How do I start to write a novel? How do I get it published? Look here for those answers and more.

Here are some excerpts:

]]> 159817 National Library Week Is From April 19th-25th – Here Are Learning & Teaching Resources https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/11/national-library-week-is-from-april-19th-25th-here-are-learning-teaching-resources/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:40:02 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=157145

 

National Library Week is April 19th- 25th.

You might be interested in The Best Sites To Teach ELL’s About Libraries.

]]> 157145 Research Studies Of The Week https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/11/research-studies-of-the-week-186/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:39:34 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=157188

Mohamed_hassan / Pixabay

I often write about research studies from various fields and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature.

You can see all my “Best” lists related to education research here.

Here are some new useful studies (and related resources):

Peer relationships and student motivation: Discussion of methodological approaches is a new study that doesn’t actually say much about the impact of peer relationships on student motivation, but it does identify several other studies that do. In the past, I’ve found it difficult to find research on this topic.

Evidence-Based Approaches to Designing Effective Career and Technical Education Programs is from Ed Research For Action.

The Impact of Gamification on Student Engagement An International Literature Review is a new study. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On “Gamification” In Education — Help Me Find More.

The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning Programs Among African American Middle School Males

Community-Connected Redesign at Fremont High School is from The Learning Policy Institute.

Sleep duration and subject-specific academic performance among adolescents in China is from Nature. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep.

Study links greater inequality to structural changes in children’s brains is from The Guardian. I’m adding it to The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality .

]]> 157188 “An Iranian American Educator Speaks From a Broken Heart” https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/11/an-iranian-american-educator-speaks-from-a-broken-heart/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 07:00:22 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=163013 An Iranian American Educator Speaks From a Broken Heart is a headline of one of my recent Education Week columns, a guest post from an Iranian American educator.

The Iranian children will carry their fear, confusion, and loss of safety forever.

Here are some excerpts:

]]> 163013 Tons Of Parent Engagement Resources! https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/10/tons-of-parent-engagement-resources-10/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:59:04 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=156552

finelightarts / Pixabay

 

Readers may or may not know that I post two-or-three times a month at another blog called Engaging Parents In Schools.

They are mainly resources, and I also have a collection of related parent engagement “Best” lists (some which I need to update).

I started the blog years ago to support my first book, Building Parent Engagement In Schools.

]]> 156552 “World Wide Wood” Is Google’s New Site On…Trees https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/10/world-wide-wood-is-googles-new-site-on-trees/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:11:30 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=153684

 

From Google:

Celebrate the wonders and importance of trees with World Wide Wood, a Google Arts & Culture project dedicated to these incredible organisms. World Wide Wood features contributions from more than 100 partners in 36 countries, including natural history museums, intergovernmental organizations, conservation initiatives and research centers. Here are some highlights from the project.

I’m adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Trees.

]]> 153684 New Study Confirms What Most Teachers Know – Having A Sense Of Humor Helps Big-Time In The Classroom https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/10/new-study-confirms-what-most-teachers-know-having-a-sense-of-humor-helps-big-time-in-the-classroom/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:08:21 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=159769

 

I always found that having, and showing, a sense of humor had a huge impact on my success as a teacher, and anonymous student evaluations seemed to confirm that every year.

A new study that is not behind a paywall, The impact of teacher humour on teaching quality and student learning: An experimental approach, confirms the importance of teachers using humor in the classroom, as long as it’s somehow connected to the lesson or its flow (in other words, not a random “joke-of-a-day”).

I always found the self-deprecating kind to be particularly effective. I also think sarcasm can work great with high-schoolers, though it has to be used in the context of having solid relationships and not be “weaponized.”

As a volunteer tutor now working with elementary-age ELL Newcomer students, I have to tame down my sarcasm tendencies, though it works well with the youth I’m tutoring at Juvenile Hall.

]]> 159769 The Best Resources For Using The “Spot The Difference” Strategy With English Language Learners https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/09/the-best-resources-for-using-the-spot-the-difference-strategy-with-english-language-learners/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:50:18 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=159764

2567670 / Pixabay

 

Students, and I, enjoyed using spot the difference images as a language-learning opportunity.

Here are some of my previous posts about it, along with a video sharing an interesting “take” on how to use that idea in a text for listening:

Using “Spot The Difference” Pictures With ELLs

Using ChatGPT’s New Image Creation Ability For Creating “Spot The Difference” & “Hidden Objects” Images For ELLs

I Don’t Know How I Missed It, But Google’s Gemini Can Generate Images Again, Including “Spot The Difference” Ones & Others

Using (Or, Trying To Use) Google’s Gemini To Generate “Spot The Difference” Images

You can find his playlist of similar exercises here.

Bogglesworld has a ton of them for ELLs.

]]> 159764 “Lucent Earth” Shows You Web Cams From Around The World https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/09/lucent-earth-shows-you-web-cams-from-around-the-world/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:43:58 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=162669

 

Lucent Earth lets you access webcams from round the world.

That in itself is nothing special – several other sites on THE BEST TOOLS FOR TAKING STUDENTS “AROUND THE WORLD” list do the same.

Lucent Earth, though, lets you identify them on a cool-looking 3D globe.

Quozix News offers something similar, though you can access tv stations through that tool.

 

]]> 162669 SEL Weekly Update https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/09/sel-weekly-update-289/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:08:12 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=157357

 

I’ve begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists.

Also, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources.

Here are this week’s picks:

How to improve restorative justice in NYC schools is from Chalkbeat. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Restorative Practices – Help Me Find More.

You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why. is from The Harvard Business Review. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles On Boredom & How Students & Teachers Can Deal With It.

Social-Emotional Learning and Interventions Among Students with Disabilities: A Literature Review is from NASET.

What can we learn from Steph Curry about leadership? Our 4 favorite lessons is from The Athletic. I’m adding it to The Best Ways To Use Stephen Curry & The Warriors For Teaching Social Emotional Learning Skills.

What is the ‘power of touch?’ An NFL head coach believes it can help his team win is from The Athletic. I’m adding it to The Best Posts About The Power Of Light Touches In The Classroom.

]]> 157357 Infographic: “Every ‘Word of the Year’ According to Various Dictionaries (2020-2025)” https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/08/infographic-every-word-of-the-year-according-to-various-dictionaries-2020-2025/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:59:07 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=159732

 

I’m adding this infographic from Visual Capitalist to The Best “Words Of The Year” Features For 2025.

]]> 159732 The ML Summit, A Great & Free Online Event For ELL Teachers, Is Scheduled For July 25th https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/08/the-ml-summit-a-great-free-online-event-for-ell-teachers-is-scheduled-for-july-25th/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:57:54 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=162640

 

The annual ML Summit has been a great, and free, online professional development day over the past few years for teachers of English Language Learners.

The next one is scheduled for July 25th.

You can find out all about it here.

And you can view all the previous sessions at the same link, too!

You might be interested in The Best Places For ESL/EFL/ELL Teachers To Get Online Professional Development.

]]> 162640 Here Are Hundreds Of Articles About Education I’ve Written Over The Years https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/08/here-are-hundreds-of-articles-about-education-ive-written-over-the-years/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:48:49 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=156523

sweetlouise / Pixabay

 

Along with thirteen books and thousands of blog posts, I’ve written several hundred articles about education over the years.

You can access their titles and links here, and see my choices for the best ones here.

]]> 156523 Even MORE Research Finding That Reclassifying ELLs Isn’t The Preferred Goal That It’s Cracked Up To Be https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/08/even-more-research-finding-that-reclassifying-ells-isnt-the-preferred-goal-that-its-cracked-up-to-be/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:39:19 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=160705

 

More and more research is supporting my long-held belief that reclassification of ELLs is mostly harmful to many of our students (see I’ve Always Thought “Reclassification” Of ELLs Was The Wrong Priority & New Research Supports That Position and Even More Research Suggests That Focusing On ELL Reclassification Is The Wrong Priority).

Now, yet another study has come out finding that reclassified ELLs in Texas have their chances of high school graduation decreased.

Check out the study (not behind a paywall): Bulwark or Barrier? The Effect of Academic Criteria-Based Reclassification on the High School Outcomes of Multilingual Learners in Texas

How about we focus on what’s best for students, instead of of emphasizing some made-up measurement?

I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Learning About The Ins & Outs Of Reclassifying ELLs.

]]> 160705 Taxes Are Due On April 15th – Here Are Learning & Teaching Resources https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/07/taxes-are-due-on-april-15th-here-are-learning-teaching-resources-3/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:44:42 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=157149

stevepb / Pixabay

 

Federal taxes are due on April 15th.

You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About Taxes.

]]> 157149 This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/07/this-weeks-round-up-of-useful-posts-articles-on-ed-policy-issues-500/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:30:05 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=162618

 

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):

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources To Support Schools, Teachers, Students & Families In The Face Of Trump’s Deportation Threats:

How are school and district leaders handling pressures related to ICE and immigration enforcement? New insights from @uscedpolicyhub.bsky.social edpolicyhub.substack.com/p/when-ice-c…

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— Morgan Polikoff (@mpolikoff.bsky.social) April 1, 2026 at 9:36 AM

Get ready for testing season by boning up on your knowledge of assessment. bit.ly/4sQE6R8

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— National Education Policy Center (@nepc.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 7:50 AM

Literacy grant produces big gains for Black and poor students in D.C. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 4:14 AM

Lawsuits Are the New Trump Tactic in the Fight to Overhaul Education www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 1, 2026 at 8:43 PM

Trump Again Proposes Major Education Cuts in New Budget Proposal is from Ed Week.

The Classic Learning Test’s footprint on Indiana college admissions and school accountability is growing. Supporters say it’s a worthy competitor of the SAT and ACT. Critics say its claims don’t match reality.

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— Chalkbeat (@chalkbeat.org) April 3, 2026 at 4:05 AM

Recommended reading: Nora De La Cour’s latest for Jacobin on how the right ended up with a more appealing vision for public schools than test/career prep jacobin.com/2026/04/righ…

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— Jennifer Berkshire (@jenniferberkshire.bsky.social) April 3, 2026 at 5:23 AM

Fight Over Funding Islamic Schools in Texas Exposes G.O.P. Tensions www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 3, 2026 at 6:16 AM

Stories of School Reform: Hyperactive Innocence and Passive Resignation is by Larry Cuban.

Judge blocks Trump’s college admissions data push in 17 states

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— Politico (@politico.com) April 4, 2026 at 8:20 AM

Moms for Liberty wanted a seat on the school board. Trump gave them a voice in the White House
apnews.com/article/moms…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 4, 2026 at 5:42 AM

This is pretty interesting——-China Mourned an Education Influencer. The Grief Was a Quiet Revolt. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/b…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 5, 2026 at 9:09 PM

International Students Remade a College. What’s Left When They’re Gone? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 5:45 AM

More states adopt college entrance exam touted by conservatives despite concerns www.washingtonpost.com/education/20…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 5:28 AM

Exhibit number 957 showing that these Trump people are truly terrible human beings ——-Trump Administration to Pull Out of Civil Rights Settlements Backing Trans Students www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/u…

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— Larry Ferlazzo (@larryferlazzo.bsky.social) April 6, 2026 at 12:33 PM

]]> 162618 Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/07/classroom-instruction-resources-of-the-week-532/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:20:15 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=156943

Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here.

You can also see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here.

Here are this week’s picks:

I’m adding this post to The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students:

4 Activities to Foster a Positive Math Identity is from Edutopia.

Provide Models is from DistillED. I’m adding it to THE BEST RESOURCES TO LEARN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHER MODELING.

I’m adding this video to The Best Resources For Learning About Retrieval Practice:

The Power of Public Charting in Math Classrooms to Engage Every Student in Accountable Talk is from The Institute For Learning.

]]> 156943 Ed Tech Digest https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2026/04/06/ed-tech-digest-427/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:52:20 +0000 https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=156845

 

Ten years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “Ed Tech Digest” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps.

You might also be interested in checking out all my edtech resources.

Here are this week’s choices:

Chartle is a game where you have to guess data about a particular country.  It’s like Dataguessr. I’m adding it to The Best Tools For Comparing Demographics Of Different Countries.

PDF Peak has lots of tools for…PDFs. I’m adding it to Not “The Best,” But “A List” Of Ways To Convert PDF & Word Documents.

PDF Tools World has…lots of PDF tools.  I’m adding it to the same list.

LeedPDF is a PDF annotation tool.

Pie Chart Maker does what its name says.  I’m adding it to The Best Tools To Make Simple Graphs Online.

Create music with Beat Maker.

Draw Audio is another music-making tool.

]]> 156845