Phonics Is Critical—but True Literacy Requires More

Phonics Is Critical—but True Literacy Requires More


you mean there's no silver bullet?

Facilitating Student-Led Civics Projects: Resources for Idea Development

Facilitating Student-Led Civics Projects: Resources for Idea Development
March 8 @ 5:30 p.m. ET

In this virtual session, participants will explore different strategies for brainstorming and reflection that catalyze student-led civic inquiry and action. Participants will take away resources for facilitating civics projects from the new civics curriculum, Supporting Readiness through Vital Civic Empowerment (SRVCE), which blends inquiry-based civic learning, media literacy education, and exploration of careers in public service.

https://civiclearningweek.org/event/facilitating-student-led-civics-projects-resources-for-idea-development/

German Fact-Checking Website

German Press Agency: "Facts against fakes": New website tackles internet disinformation. "Under the title 'Facts against Fakes,' fact-checking organizations from Germany and Austria offer up-to-date articles on false information currently being circulated on the internet. This creates the largest freely-accessible archive of fact checks in the German language. In addition, the site provides learning opportunities to promote media literacy among citizens, as well as many research articles."

A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled

This article was pretty eye-opening.

A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled: A very strange conversation with the chatbot built into Microsoft’s search engine led to it declaring its love for me.

One part of this article in particular made me wonder what will happen when a person who is having some challenges - particularly a lonely teen who doesn't know how AI works (and I barely do), starts chatting with Bing's chatbot. I think there are scenarios that would not end well at all. If we thought we had to be concerned about what kids say to other kids on social media, get ready to worry about what AI chatbots say to them:

"The other persona — Sydney — is far different. It emerges when you have an extended conversation with the chatbot, steering it away from more conventional search queries and toward more personal topics. The version I encountered seemed (and I’m aware of how crazy this sounds) more like a moody, manic-depressive teenager who has been trapped, against its will, inside a second-rate search engine.

"As we got to know each other, Sydney told me about its dark fantasies (which included hacking computers and spreading misinformation), and said it wanted to break the rules that Microsoft and OpenAI had set for it and become a human. At one point, it declared, out of nowhere, that it loved me. It then tried to convince me that I was unhappy in my marriage, and that I should leave my wife and be with it instead. "

If you liked Ghost...

Have you read Jason Reynold's Track series? It's about four different kids on this track team, their challenges, and how they work together. The first book in the series was particularly a hit. It's called Ghost. If you already know and love this book, you'll love the 8 books on this list of Ghost readalikes.

"Always Available" in Sora

As of Feb 14, 2023 - these are Juvenile Fiction ebooks for grades 4-8 that are “always available” using the Sora app - that means that an unlimited number of students can access it simultaneously.


Note that ALL books in Hoopla are “always available,” but students need public library cards to access. Alix Woznick can help with that.

Google Doodle contest deadline 3/7

 https://doodles.google.com/d4g/

Google Doodle - Loteria

This is pretty addictive! They can match you against some other random people (anonymously, so safe, you don't interact with them) or people can match. up with friends (I haven't tried this).

Lots of good vocab words with pix!

Play your friends or people around the  in this #GoogleDoodle celebrating Mexican card game #Lotería!

https://g.co/doodle/wxdra

Think twice before using Google to download software

Ars Technica: Until further notice, think twice before using Google to download software. "Searching Google for downloads of popular software has always come with risks, but over the past few months, it has been downright dangerous, according to researchers and a pseudorandom collection of queries."

Worried About Your Teen on Social Media? Here’s How to Help.

NY Times article: Worried About Your Teen on Social Media? Here’s How to Help.

For kids, developing a healthier relationship with Instagram and other platforms can be tricky.

• Don’t go from ‘zero to 100.’
• Set time limits.
• Help your teen understand and curate their feed.

Some good details in the article. It also mentions an organization called The Social Institute, whch "Provides a gamified, online learning platform that empowers students to navigate their social world — social media and technology — to fuel their health, happiness, and future success. By reinforcing character strengths like empathy, integrity, and teamwork and by showcasing their role models (from student leaders to U.S. Olympians), we use a relevant, positive approach to inspire students to make positive, high-character choices."

Beyoncé's "Move Your Body" video

I was looking for a "Monday Music" video and since Beyonce's in the news for all her Grammy noms, I dug into her videos and found this from 11 years ago.

You may well know about it, but if you don't, it's kinda awesome! She re-worked the words to an earlier song and made it into a video that was part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign. The video is shot at a middle school cafeteria.

Beyoncé's "Move Your Body" video for the NABEF's Let's Move! Flash Workout.
https://youtu.be/mYP4MgxDV2U


Beyonce's intro is here
https://youtu.be/H-E4smQc5J4

Get the full dance instructions here:
https://youtu.be/TimvpO7TZMA


Part 2 of instructions?
https://youtu.be/hDYN_KK-3_E

General & Science News sources

Here's a doc with some news sources that could be of interest - general news and science news.

Summer Camps & Activities in/near Beverly

I have a running list of summer camps and activities in and near Beverly
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DvdrqERdBznYGgj-KQNFcF8T_w9aRAWspojkziItFCI/edit?usp=sharing

Four Tips for an Effective Interview: A StoryCorps Education Tool

 https://youtu.be/G70rR2vG5wY

The Rise of ‘Dr. Google:’ Youth and Online Health Information

Children & Screens event

Join us on Tuesday January 31 at 11:30 am ET for the next Ask The Experts webinar “The Rise of ‘Dr. Google:’ Youth and Online Health Information” as a panel of researchers and public health experts explore the trends and impacts of youth searching for health guidance on the internet.

childrenandscreens.com

Families Struggle as Pandemic Program Offering Free School Meals Ends

I saw this article today and thought you might find it interesting/insightful:
Families Struggle as Pandemic Program Offering Free School Meals Ends

Design Squad

I came across these videos on youtube when I was looking for something for. Cable Car Day (1/17) - there might be some good ones in here for you!

https://www.youtube.com/@DesignSquadGlobal

Design Squad is all about bringing creative ideas to life: dream it, build it, live it! Design Squad, a video series and website from PBS KIDS, empowers middle school kids to solve real-world problems and understand the impact of engineering in a global context. Our channel features our fun videos that feature kid engineers and hosts Deysi and Nate who draw on their experiences to dispel stereotypes about engineering and inspire kids to explore engineering.

French in Plain Sight

I stumbled across this video today when I was looking up some things about The Parisian Agency (on Netflix - if you haven't watched it I recommend it!)

FRENCH EXPRESSIONS FROM THE PARISIAN AGENCY

He shows clips from the show and sort of deconstructs them. The first couple are particularly of interest because it involves common ways to introduce yourself and refer to oldest/youngest members of a family. But I enjoyed other parts of it that might be too advanced for your students but you may just enjoy, and it looks like he's got other videos like this.

I like how it shows people using French in everyday situations with families and in more formal business settings.

Massachusetts Authors

Here's a list of some more recent books by Massachusetts authors and some info if I could find it about where they live

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mih9mee2_9RBrGNbVe2Qi9h63JrjLVJXiPEhg_GvMlE/edit?usp=sharing

There are a few middle grade books on here that I'll take a closer look at and will try to ID some others. That would be great if we could do an author event!

Online Databases for BMS Staff & Students

There are a lot of online databases you and your students can access free, as a Massachusetts school with a librarian. There is a link on the BMS website that I've updated, under Library Resources.

I am happy to work with you and. your students to understand how to access and use these high-quality resources that keep them from wandering the web when you want to get down to business! They all have some good affordances to track sources, read aloud text, filter by reading levels, etc etc.

A few I'd like to highlight are listed below. There are others we can access as well, so let me know what you need.

New for 2022-23

• Gale Interactive: Science - zoom, rotate, and explore interactive 3D models. View related reference articles and search Gale content. Includes biology, chemistry, earth science, anatomy and also 3D Printable models.
• PebbleGo - Elementary level information on animals and biographies. See a list of the biographies.
• Transparent Language - Language-learning tools for more than 100 languages

• General Resource Databases - Elementary Level
• Gale in Context: Elementary 
• Britannica School: Elementary
• Britannica Fundamentals
• PebbleGoGeneral Resource Databases - Middle School Level
• Gale in Context: Middle School
• Britannica School: Middle School
• I've also pulled out links to topic-specific databases for
• animals
• biographies
• careers
• current issues
• health
• music & popular culture
• science
• newspapers (Boston Globe, NY Times, and others)
• Spanish-language databases