Diigo bookmark (weekly)

• Meet El General: Ben Amor, the Tunisian rapper who changed the world

  Describes Ben Amor, his arrest and his song

  tags: hiphop socialjustice socialstudies

• How Teachers Can Build Emotional Resilience

  Description from middleweb: "The reality for those of us working in public schools is that ourwork is very, very stressful," writes middle grades teacher‑coachElena Aguilar. "At a breakneck speed we must perform a multitude ofmentally and emotionally draining tasks." Add the pressures ofhigh‑stakes testing, budget cuts, and constant change from above "andsometimes it feels like it can't get any harder." Which no doubtexplains why Aguilar's thoughtful advice on how teachers "canincrease our emotional reslience" has drawn a huge readership at theEducation Week website.

  tags: resilience

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

More vokis from Solana!

This was interesting for me because Solana created four characters (two of them below) and started building a narrative around all three. I had never thought about this use before. Then she asked if she could email them to a friend. 21st century student at work!

Setting reading goals

Last summer I was preparing to work with a small group of teachers to discuss and plan for guided and independent reading in their classrooms in the fall. I found Franki Sibberson’s Bringing Reading to Life DVD and the video resources on the Daily Café web site (which I have access to as a member ) invaluable resources.

As a common thread in these best practice videos, I saw teachers working with students to set reading goals. It made perfect sense that we should help students set reading goals for themselves and monitor their own progress as readers. So why we don’t do it more often?

Recently, Solana has taken an interest in some of the parenting books I’ve taken out from our local library or older books that I have on the bookshelves. She especially liked Kid Cooperation. (Not my absolute favorite, but I think she responded to the definitiveness of the tone.) After reading a section on using step-by-step charts for bedtime routines, she asked me to make a chart on her wall of her own routine for us to refer to at bedtime. She started giving me tips on how I could get her to clean her room and go to bed on time. (And most cringeworthy, easily recognized when our commands to her were not the ideal ones recommended in the book!)

I’ve noticed how different it is when Solana is in on setting the rules with me rather than me racking my brains trying to think of ways to motivate her or losing my patience. The same thing happens to us as teachers. So I’m hoping to learn more about goal setting with students and practice what I preach in the classroom as well as at home.

Calameo

Trying out Calameo at the recommendation one of my technology mentors, Karen Brooks. Can see the possibilities for this in terms of publishing student research as well as creative writing. I just wish you could edit it once you upload the document.