© 2013 LongitudeLatitude, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are three new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: Refrigerators of the World is from The Atlantic. What The World Eats is from National Geographic. How Often People in Various Countries Shower is from The Atlantic.

© 2006 hobvias sudoneighm, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio I have both my IB Theory of Knowledge students and my ELL history classes do "What If?" projects, and they’re pretty popular. You can read all about them, and see student examples, at The Best Resources For Teaching "What If?" History Lessons. Here are three new resources that students could review to get ideas for their own projects: What If the Allies Had Lost World War I? is from The Atlantic. Why We’d Be Better Off if Napoleon Never Lost at Waterloo is from The Smithsonian. If you could undo one historical event, which would it be? is from Ideas.

Here are the most popular posts so far this year from this blog. Some were published prior to 2015, but they continue to remain popular (and, of course, I continue to update them): 1. The Best Resources For Helping Teachers Use Bloom’s Taxonomy In The Classroom 2. The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL 3. The Best Online Virtual "Corkboards" (or "Bulletin Boards") 4. The Best Comic Strips For Students & Teachers In 2012 — So Far 5. Easily Make Your Own Unique (& Fake) CNN, NY Times, Etc. Website With "News Jack" 6. This Has Got To Be One Of The Most Useful Sites On The Web For ELL Teachers 7. March’s Infographics & Interactives Galore - Part Four 8. The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures 9. The Best Websites For Creating Online Learning Games 10. Not "The Best," But "A List" Of Music Sites 11. All 1,400 "Best" Lists 12. The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A "Growth Mindset" 13. The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2013 — So Far 14. The Best Sites To Practice Speaking English 15. The Best Movie Scenes To Use For English-Language Development 16. The Best Sites For Grammar Practice 17. The Best Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced English Language Learner Sites 18. The Best Applications For Creating Free Email Newsletters 19. The Best Places To Read & Write "Choose Your Own Adventure" Stories 20. The Best Sites For Learning Spanish Online 21. The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects 22. The Best Places To Get The "Same" Text Written For Different "Levels"

© 2008 Chris Gladis, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are reports on several new studies I’m adding to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep: Zombieland? Tech Wrecking Sleep for Scores of Teens: Study is from NBC News. How sleep helps us learn and memorize is from Science Daily. The less you sleep, the more you eat is also from Science Daily.

There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called "Infographics & Interactives Galore." You can see others at A Collection Of "The Best…" Lists On Infographics and by searching "infographics" on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you’ll find others in this regular feature. Here goes: Seven maps that will change the way you look at history is an interactive you don’t want to miss. Check out Journey To The Centre of the Earth from the BBC. The Upshot from the NY Times shares their most popular interactive infographics from the past year. This Is How Fast America Changes Its Mind is a fascinating interactive from Bloomberg Business. Here’s a final interesting infographic (for some reason, the entire infographic may not show, so you’ll have to click on it):

Ways To Encourage Support For English Language Learners is my latest Education Week Teacher post. In it, Diane Mora, John Wolfe, Toby Karten, Armine Spoelstra Kirke H. Olson and Rick Murry share additional ways to encourage teachers and administrators to support English-language learners. Here are some excerpts:

© 2014 Daniel X. O’Neil, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are some new additions to The Best Resources For Learning About Restorative Practices - Help Me Find More: Zeroing out Zero Tolerance is from The Atlantic. Brilliant article: the mindlessness of school suspensions and a better way http://t.co/mY3Ht9uVMQ @acestoohigh @nctsn — David Bornstein (@dnbornstein) May 18, 2015 The discipline gap in American education needs our attention, too http://t.co/gn38FDZatF pic.twitter.com/83mm64oCP6 — Pacific Standard (@PacificStand) May 15, 2015 Alternatives to Suspension: Inside a 'Restorative Justice' High School in Brooklyn, Listen http://t.co/fZnozXLSUC via @WNYC — Beth Fertig (@bethfertig) April 27, 2015 Reasons to try out RJ a few schools at a time.//In Classroom Discipline, a Soft Approach Is Harder Than It Looks https://t.co/sTAzzToBps — Paul Bruno (@MrPABruno) April 15, 2015

© 2010 Justin P Lambert, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are new additions to The Best Sources Of Advice For Making Good Presentations: A TED speaker coach shares 11 tips for right before you go on stage is from TED Talks. .@alicrowley makes it look easy!Not a natural public speaker?Check out these presentation tips-http://t.co/a7PVAdcUjX pic.twitter.com/Mf6uqzqGVu — CTQ (@teachingquality) June 15, 2015 Free e-book: How to Present at a Language Teacher’s Conference is from Adam Simpson.

I’m adding these two videos to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures:

The Stanford Prison Experiment is a staple of IB Theory of Knowledge classes around the world, and it was news to me that a major theatrical film was being released about it. Here’s the video trailer, and you can read more about, including recent debate about the experiment itself, at Slate. I’m adding this info to The Best Movies For IB Theory Of Knowledge Classes - What Are Your Suggestions?

I spend a lot of time working with my IB Theory of Knowledge students on the importance of illustrating each point they make, both in essays and in presentations, with stories. In fact, many highlight that fact in their end-of-year class evaluations as one of the most important things they have learned. You can see many of the resources I use to back-up my hammering on that concept at The Best Digital (& Non-Digital) Storytelling Resources (especially in the bottom-half). Adam Grant shared an article this morning on Twitter that is a nice addition to that collection. It’s titled People Remember What You Say When You Paint a Picture. Here’s an excerpt:

© 2013 Gonzalo Díaz Fornaro, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio I’ve written a lot about positive classroom management writer/thinker Marvin Marshall. He’s just written a post sharing a long list of questions teachers can keep in their back pocket to ask students who could be making better choices in class. Here are a few, but you want to go to his blog to read all of them: • Is this going to get you what you want? • Is this going to move you forward or backward? • What can I do to help you? • Are you going to let this (situation, person, problem, setback, disappointment etc.) hold you back? • Are you going to be able to rise above this _______ (situation, disappointment, etc.)? • Look at _______’s face. How is he/she feeling right now as a result of (what you have done/said)? I’m adding this post to The Best Posts On Classroom Management.

Arika Okrent is the language columnist for The Week. Here’s a useful video she created:

© 2004 Mai Le, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio I haven’t really explored the concept of positive self-talk though, after watching Stephen Curry in the video below using it ("Control Your Destiny!"), I thought it might be work learning more about it. I did find this NPR piece, Why Saying Is Believing — The Science Of Self-Talk, which had a lot of information, including suggesting that research says we shouldn’t use "I." Instead, use either "you" or your own name. Have you had experience working with students on the idea of positive self-talk?

© 2012 Sue Waters, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio The Statue of Liberty arrived in the United States 130 years ago today. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About The Statue Of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor 130 years ago today, on June 17, 1885. Here she is in 2015. pic.twitter.com/seZDpFoaaB — The New York Times (@nytimes) June 17, 2015

© 2013 Takver, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day: Violence Has Forced 50 Million People From Their Homes is from The Atlantic. The UN Refugee Agency has an amazing interactive. Fifty Most Populous Refugee Camps is an interactive map. A Bangladeshi photographer has spent six years documenting Rohingya refugees from Myanmar http://t.co/OEgIiOS4xV pic.twitter.com/RccvBhpXdi — NYT Photo (@nytimesphoto) June 4, 2015

Several times each year, Jimmy Fallon plays a game on The Tonight Show that can easily be modified as a language-learning activity for the classroom. I’ve written about many of them. Last week, he played a new one called Random Picture Association. As the video below shows, it’s exactly what the name implies — they show photos and players share what comes to mind. It seems to me that this could be a fun exercise for students to practice speaking — either give groups of two or three a pack of picture cards or show funny images from the web on an overheard. Then one student in each group - taking turns - tells the others in English what comes to their mind. Has anyone tried something like this in your classroom? I’m adding this post to The Best Ways To Use Photos In Lessons.

The upcoming movie "The Secret Life of Pets" looks like it’s a winner, if this new trailer for it is an accurate picture of what it will be like. The trailer itself would be great to show English Language Learners and have them describe in writing and verbally what happens in it (also see The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2015 - So Far). In addition, the segment in the trailer showing how the cat is trying to demonstrate self-control would be a great example to demonstrate an unsuccessful strategy to use….

I’ve written a lot in my books and on this blog about the concept of deliberate practice and how I use it in the classroom (see The Best Resources For Learning About The 10,000 Hour Rule & Deliberate Practice). Yesterday, in a post-game press conference, NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala said something that will be a perfect introduction to a lesson on deliberate practice if your students are basketball fans - and don’t live in Cleveland:

© 2012 Jai Kapoor, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Muslims will celebrate Ramadan on the sunset tonight and will continue for 30 days until Friday, July 17th. You might be interested in The Best Sites To Teach & Learn About Ramadan.

© 2012 luhtalam, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Here are some useful resources connecting Social Emotional Learning with Common Core Standards. I’m adding them to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources (you’ll be able to find other related resources already there): Social and emotional learning gaining new focus under Common Core is a very useful and interesting article published by Ed Source. How Are Social-Emotional Learning and the Common Core Connected? is by Maurice Elias. Social-emotional skills can boost Common Core implementation is also by Maurice Elias. Teaching The Whole Child How to Integrate Social-Emotional Learning into Common Core is from The Greater Good Science Center. Integrating Social Emotional Curricula and the Common Core is from Inside the Classroom, Outside The Box. Webinar: Social-Emotional Learning Integrated with Academic Literacy Equals Secondary Students’ Common Core Success is from WestEd. Webinar Recording: Where Does Resiliency Fit in the Common Core? is from ScholarCentric. Resiliency Key to Students’ Success in Common Core is from the same group.

In front of a statue of Alexander Hamilton, Treasury Secretary Lew announced that a woman would be put on the newly-designed ten dollar bill, and that public input was invited over the summer on social media using #TheNew10 hashtag on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. It’s a great idea. However, too bad he isn’t inviting that kind of input in the fall, too, which would be a great time to integrate it in lots of classroom learning activities….

As regular readers know, I’ve been doing a weekly ten-minute online BAM! Radio Show for the past year-and-a-half. In each show, I’ve interviewed guests who have contributed to one of my Education Week Teacher columns. They’ve been pretty popular, with nearly 30,000 downloads each month. I thought readers might find it helpful if I put links with descriptions to each show in one place. I won’t be starting them up again until September, but will continue to update this list when I do… Three Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Teaching with Val Brown, Julia Thompson Overwhelmed: Help for Those of Us Whose Lives Are Out of Balance with Debbie Silver Would These 5 Tips Make You More Open to New Teaching Practices? Sally Zepeda, Bill Sterrett, and Pete Hall Encouraging Other Teachers Who Work with English Language Learners with Sonia Nieto, Alicia Lopez The Three Best Ways Teachers Can Encourage Support for English Language Learners with Jennifer Connors, Diane Staehr Fenner, Sydney Snyder Teaching Strategies 2.0: What Is a Digital Portfolio? Why It Matters with Rusul Alrubail, Michael Fisher The Do’s and Don’ts of Effective Professional Development with Rick Wormeli Why Some Teachers Stay, While Others Quit with Sharon Jacobs A Second Look: Teacher Attrition at High Poverty Urban Schools Karen Baptiste, Pia Wong, Yvette Jackson How Small Learning Communities Create Powerful Climates for Academic Success with ReLeah Cosette-Lent, Ted Appel How Are Common Core Standards Impacting Teaching Math to ELLs? with Ben Spielberg, Denisse R. Thompson, Gladis Kersaint Exploring the Difference Between Student Participation and Student Engagement with Jennifer Gonzalez, Bill and Pérsida Himmele Fitting Technology Into the Common Core Standards: Do This, Don’t Do That with Michael Fisher, Andrew Miller What Are Good Examples of Reading Lessons Aligned to Common Core Standards? with Cheryl Dobbertin What Are the Differences Between Project-Based, Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning? with Jeff Wilhelm, Suzie Boss What Are the Best Ways to Teach Literature in the Age of Common Core? with Nancy Steineke, Sean McComb, Bill and Pérsida Himmele Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs): Five Strategies That Work with Judie Haynes, MaryAnn Zehr The 10 Best Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary in the Classroom with Katie Brown, Marilee Sprenger Maker Movement, DYI, 3D Printers: New Fad or Real Path to 21st Century Skills? with Laura Blankenship What Is Your Advice to Educators Who Want to Write a Book? with Marjorie McAneny, PJ Caposey, Alan Sitomer Differentiated Instruction and Tracking Students: Is It Time to Reconsider? Laura Robb, Regie Routman Effective Classroom Management: Do This, Not That with Pernille Ripp, Dr. Bryan Harris How Can We Increase the Ranks of Teachers of Color? with Gloria Ladson-Billings Are Caring and Relationship Building Compatible with Implementing Common Core Standards? with Mai Xi Lee, Sean Slade How Can Teachers Meet Common Core English Standards with English Language Learners? with Maria Montalvo-Balbed, Debbie Zacarian Can We Effectively Evaluate Teachers Based on Factors Teachers Completely Control? with Ben Spielberg and Ted Appel Student Engagement Versus Student Compliance: How Much Does It Really Matter? with Debbie Silver, Dr. Bryan Harris What Are the Myths and Misconceptions Around Formative Assessment? with Nancy Frey How Can We Help Students Appreciate the Value of Learning Geography? Elisabeth Johnson, Kelly Young Close Reading: What It Is, What It’s Not with Chris Lehman Accountability: What are the Alternatives to Using Test Scores for Teacher Evaluations? with Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D., Ben Spielberg How Can We Make Math More Engaging and Accessible to Students? with Dr. Anne M. Collins, Sue O’Connell What Is the Best Way to Train Student Teachers? with Emily Geltz, Linda Rief How Can Teachers Best Manage Race and Class Issues In Schools?  with P. L. Thomas, Ashanti Foster Second Thoughts: Teacher Attire, Does it Really Matter? with Roxanna Elden, Renee Moore How Is Globalization Changing How and What You Teach? with  John Spencer, Diana Laufenberg How Can Teachers Meet the Common Core Requirement for Complex Reading? with Amy Benjamin, Wendi Pillars What Are We Losing By Eliminating Arts From the Curriculum? with Virginia McEnerney, David Booth What Can We Do to Develop a Culture of Success in our Classrooms? with Heather Wolpert-Gawron, Chris Lehman How Can History Teachers Make the Curriculum More Engaging? Peter Pappas, Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez What Are the Best Ways for Teachers to Work With School Counselors? with Leticia Gallardo, Mindy Willard How Can We Help Students (And Ourselves) Stay Organized? with Julia Thompson , Ariel Sacks How Can Administrators Help Create an Engaging Curriculum with Anne Reeves, Kelly Young Dissecting Grades: What Do They Mean, What Are They Worth? with Rick Wormeli How Can We Help Students Handle Loss and Grief? with Mary Tedrow, Stephen Lazar How Can We Differentiate Instruction More Effectively? with Carol Tomlinson What Are the Real Benefits of a 1:1 Program? What Are the Biggest Challenges? with Alice Barr, Dr. Troy Hicks How Can We Get All Students in Our Classes Thinking and Learning All the Time? with Bill and Pérsida Himmele, Jim Peterson What Are the Five Best Practices to Promote Better Student Learning with Diana Laufenberg, Jeff Charbonneau What Do We Need to Do to Better Support English Language Learners? with Karen Nemeth, Judie Haynes How Can We Reduce Teacher Attrition at High-Poverty Schools? with Barnett Berry, Ilana Garon Why Precisely Do Teachers Leave High Poverty Schools? with Angel L. Cintron Jr. and Paul Bruno What Are the Habits of Lifelong Readers, How Do We Instill Them? with Donalyn Miller What Are the Basics Every Teacher Should Know About the Maker Movement? with Sylvia Martinez, Tanya Baker Character, Grit, Perseverance: Magic Bullet? with Jason Flom and Debbie Silver How Do We Increase Involvement Among Parents Who Are Already Overwhelmed? with Darcy Hutchins and Mai Xi Lee

Rafe Esquith, the extraordinary Los Angeles teacher (you can see an interview I did with him last year here) has been suspended from the classroom, allegedly because he recited a Mark Twain quotation to his class. The whole thing sounds insane. You can read a Los Angeles Times article about the situation here and a comment left at a local CBS station story that may or may not shed a little more light on what happened. I’ll be looking forward to getting the full story and, with luck, to seeing Rafe back in the classroom. Here’s a short video of him giving advice to new teachers: