Middle School Matters

Shawn and Troy talk about Julius Caesar, go on a rathole or two, and conferences. Dave is all about implicit bias.

Troy and Shawn share thoughts about kids starting a podcast about book club, going to Europe, and more. Dave has some tips about teaching science.

MSM 537: It’s One Button Shawn and Troy discuss technology in Shawn’s room, H5P, world events, and more. Dave has designs on science success. Get all the show notes at https://middleschoolmatters.com

MSM 536: Law of Unintended Consequences Summary: Shawn and Troy talk about mask mandates, posting lessons,students cheating, and more. Dave has designs on success in science. Jokes: Eileen Award: Tom Acker, Technology Integrator Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Design Thinking http://k12science.net/design-thinking/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Hack Your Classroom Activity Resources: Illusion of the YearTop 10 Finalists Airzooka https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=Airzooka&crid=1L7C6SLYM9AIP&sprefix=airzooka%2Caps%2C188&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Web Spotlight: 45 Eighth Grade Science Fair Projects and Classroom Experiments https://www.weareteachers.com/8th-grade-science-projects/ Google Slides is Hilarious https://medium.com/@laurajavier/google-slides-is-actually-hilarious-83c1ced857ee Middle Schoolers Lau

MSM 535: I’ll Buy the Cake, You Eat It . . . or the Cepelani Summary: Shawn and Troy talk about cake, celebrations, and cats. Dave has some great books for middle schoolers. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Middle School Students http://k12science.net/outstanding-science-trade-books-for-middle-school-students-2/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Resources: You've Got Perseverance! https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/got-perseverance/#annotations:UMvRXIqrEeyfjqPEK374zw Nightly News for Kids https://www.nbcnews.com/nightlykids#annotations:TXOUyoj_Eey1EZ_BW9DnQg Worldle https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/ Web Spotlight: Do We Really Need PD? https://katielmartin.com/2018/04/22/do-we-really-need-pd/#annotations:1V5FPok_EeypIieqAI_SUg Quordle It’s Wordle times 4 https://www.quordle.c

MSM 534: Teaching All Day Not Enough, We’ve Got a Plan Summary: Shawn and Troy explain last week (the missing Mr. McGirr), what does a “snow day” look like? Dave takes a look at Woodpeckers. Jokes: Eileen Award: Shannon Lundgren….. Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) The Woodpecker Cavity Cam Project https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/elwest/woodpecker-cavity-cam Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: 7 Attention-Getters to Use Instead of Raising Your Voice https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-attention-getters-use-instead-raising-your-voice#annotations:E6RM-oQ0EeygN3OhWIgbwQ Resources: Our 2022 Winter Book Review Festival https://www.middleweb.com/46498/our-2022-winter-book-review-festival/#annotations:JyRkPoKhEeya5IehYMWpnA Shawn’s Reading Reference: A parenting expert shares the 5 toxic mistakes that can make ki

MSM 533: If You Swing a Cursor, You’ll Hit an Assignment . . . Summary: Shawn and Troy talk about Wordel, subs, trying to throw the teacher under the bus and more. Dave talks about the challenges of science teaching with all that is going on. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Science Teaching Challenges http://k12science.net/science-teaching-challenges/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Why Wordle Works, According to Desmos Lesson Developers https://danmeyer.substack.com/p/why-wordle-works-according-to-desmos#annotations:uKqUEIB1EeybimvsI2kwPw Resources: Wordle Inspired Games https://learninginhand.com/blog/wordle-games-for-the-classroom#annotations%3AUXk74H3uEey8t9v4vZ4U9A= Apple Personal Safety Guide https://help.apple.com/pdf/personal-safety/en_US/personal-safety-user-guide.pdf Bark https://www.bark.

MSM 532: Testing Waltz . . . The Warm-Up to the Ballet Summary: Shawn and Troy talk about the rest of the school year. Dave addresses safety in Science. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Seven Teacher Tips to Create a Culture of Science Safety http://k12science.net/seven-teacher-tips-to-create-a-culture-of-science-safety/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse Andrea @teachbk #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Breaking the Plane https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2022/01/20/a-look-back-remembering-breaking-the-plane-solved-my-classroom-problems-this-week/ All You Need to Select and Use Mentor Texts https://www.middleweb.com/46430/all-you-need-to-select-and-use-mentor-texts/ Resources: Inside the Mind of A Master Procrastinator https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator Slang of the Week (from Axis, The Cultur

MSM 531: The Trees That They See Are In a Different Forest Summary: Troy and Shawn talk about teachers, teaching, certification, and more. Dave is Calling Us to Action. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Call To Action Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Pixar’s 10 Rules https://ditchthattextbook.com/pixar/#annotations:8QQ7Rm75Eey3RVfqWBj3WA Post Reading Activities https://onthesamepageelt.wordpress.com/2020/05/10/15-post-reading-activities/#annotations:4M6HKm16EeyHRNspRZgZPA Resources: The Art of Misdirection https://www.ted.com/talks/apollo_robbins_the_art_of_misdirection Web Spotlight: Scapes https://scapes.art/#annotations:-AOqaG2LEeyRFhMK4EzceQ Disciplinary Literacy https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/disciplinary-literacy-a-shift-that-makes-sense#annotations:AP91SG1fEeygooc5IhL-Dw https://troypatterson.

MSM 530: I’ve Been To China, No TikTok for Me Summary: Troy and Shawn talk about coffee, how to help students study, and much more. Dave goes all nuclear with RadioChemists. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) RadioChemists I was recently reading the November/December 2021 issue of “The Science Teacher” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association. In this issue, I read the section, “Career of the Month” which featured an article on Radiochemistry. It was written by Luba Vangelova. Radiochemists study radiation from an atomic and molecular perspective and find ways to harness the power of radioactive chemical reactions. The radiochemist featured is Catherine Riddle, senior research scientist, at the Idaho National Laboratory. http://k12science.net/radiochemist/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Re

MSM 529: They’re Decorating the Hall, But We’re Decorating Our Brains! Summary: Shawn and Troy talk real-world connections, books, vacation plans, teaching strategies and more. Dave goes Graphic (Novels that is). Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) K12Science Podcast: Graphic Novels http://k12science.net/graphic-novels/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Pretesting https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxap0000345 https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-and-uses-of-pretests-7674 Resources: The Birthday Problem https://nowiknow.com/the-birthday-problem/ Common Language (Other than English or Spanish) https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/VC_US_CommonLanguagesV9.jpg https://www.visualcapitalist.com/most-common-language-spoken-in-the-u-s-map/ Slang of the Week Yassification: W

MSM 528:HiTake Your Victories Where You Can…like Maybe British Columbia Summary: Shawn and Troy discuss what is going on. They discuss self-assessment, field trips, and more. Dave discusses language in science. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Theory, Law, and Hypothesis http://k12science.net/theory-law-and-hypothesis/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Resources: THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HOW WE LOOK AT CAR CRASHES & HOW WE LOOK AT SCHOOLS https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2021/11/30/the-similarities-between-how-we-look-at-car-crashes-how-we-look-at-schools/#annotations:Zz1W-lUcEeymmO9pDHlKNg Ways to Say No - Elge Slienotiene of LKPA Web Spotlight: Where Do We Find The Time? - AMLE https://www.amle.org/where-do-we-find-the-time-to-do-all-this-stuff/?fbclid=IwAR2KqdwGa8PQUNmiUbBrHY_k_rKjHWAlEc95Wh2p

MSM 527: Squid Games . . .We Got You Mr. McGirr Summary: Shawn and Troy start with a long discussion of online learning and lots of real-world experiences. Dave is going to Touch, Talk, and Text Science. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Touch, Talk, Text http://k12science.net/touch-talk-text/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: 15 Second Video Vocab Challenge https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/learning/our-9th-annual-15-second-vocabulary-video-challenge.html Reading Strategies https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2021/12/03/new-study-examines-what-helps-students-most-with-reading-comprehension/ Resources: Mouse.org https://x-ray-goggles.mouse.org/ Richard Byrne has a nice example: https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2021/12/view-whats-behind-website-with-mouse-x.html Spinner Wheel https://spinnerwheel.com/

MSM 526: But It Says, “Pro” . . . Summary: Shawn and Troy talk about tablets, a few ratholes, add-ons, and more. Dave has the Language of science. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) The Language of Science http://k12science.net/the-language-of-science/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse Elizabeth Curtis @Eli2003_10 #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Resources: H5P.org Gamification Web Spotlight: PianoTV https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz0PmHG0RvQHazlEsFU-4uQ Unfiltered: Teens get real about the fake lives lived on social media https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/unfiltered-teens-social-media-1.6250963#annotations:MZPcBkumEey4_98Rqte24w Random Thoughts . . . Food you need to try: Cepelinai https://www.linoslithuanianfood.com/product-page/cepelinai Michigan Marching Band - Pregame Show 11-27-2021 https://www.facebook.com/wat

MSM 525: Put the Kids in Rows and See How it Goes Summary: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Nature's Notebook http://k12science.net/natures-notebook/ https://usanpn.org/natures_notebook Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: The Greatest Enemy of Creativity In Schools Isn’t Testing, It’s Time https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-12-18-the-greatest-enemy-of-creativity-in-schools-isn-t-testing-it-s-time/ Resources: Slinky Drop 6 Toilets From History, and What They Taught Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTqDmkTh0IY Web Spotlight: Living in the Coldest Place on Earth https://www.wired.com/2015/01/amos-chapple-the-coldest-place-on-earth/ Random Thoughts . . .

MSM 524: The Teachers Are Just Like the Students Summary: Professional Development for staff, a few ratholes, and how teachers can continue to grow. Hey, Dave has PD tips too. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) The Importance of Professional Development http://k12science.net/the-importance-of-professional-development/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: Student Self-Assessment Resources: Open ClipArt https://openclipart.org/#annotations:gQp1DD9mEeyg5oOcAXkM3A SMART - Servier Medical ART https://smart.servier.com/#annotations:a8jOokFxEeykE_d5oqZQKg Web Spotlight: 16 Powerful Little Known Facts to Help Manage Your Life https://charliestephen6.medium.com/16-powerful-little-known-facts-to-help-manage-your-life-821fe4006120#annotations:GfF3MEHDEey1GYuLjOFFyw Slang of the Week Bugman: A man who loves being p

MSM 523: Add This To Your Saddle Bag Summary: Shawn and Troy start with a rathole, Dave gets down and dirty. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Soil Scientist Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse Andrew Wheelock @AMWheelock #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Resources: AXIS: The Culture Translator Slang of the Week: Trap House - Originally used to describe a house where illegal drug sales occur, now used by younger people to describe the location of a party where there’s alcohol or simply a wild party. Web Spotlight: Can Data Die? https://pudding.cool/2021/10/lenna/#annotations:nEFEYjzTEeyOrE8VMdrBQg

MSM 522: Spaced Practice! Summary: We take a deep dive into Spaced Practice and what that looks like. Dave brings up the Energy! Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Tricky Energy Terminology Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Strategies: The Most Popular Lullaby From Every Country https://mornings.co.uk/popular-lullaby-by-country/ Teens Know They’re Addicted to Social Media. How to Help Them Cut Back https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-teens-know-theyre-addicted-to-social-media-research-shows-what-can-help-them-cut-back/2021/10?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=tu&M=64190457&U=1030907&UUID=5a9d0ec8f5882da5968bcc87c68b5a21 How to Use the Method of Loci – The 2500-Year-Old Memory Hack https://www.missiontolearn.com/method-of-loci/ Resources: AXIS The Culture Translator UnGoogle Me Ohio M

MSM 521: Swivl Me Timbers, I’m a Textrovert! Summary: Performative Arts and evaluation. How do we evaluate teachers? Dave has 360 degree view. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Three-Dimensional Teaching and Learning http://k12science.net/three-dimensional-teaching-and-learning/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Resources: Authoring H5P Interactive Content and Releasing as OER by @sushumanaro Video: https://youtu.be/qpNWiN5NAqA Web Spotlight: Axis - The Culture Translator Teachers Are Barely Hanging On. Here’s What They Need. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/barely-hanging-on/ Learn to let go of sleep battles with your teen https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/15/health/teen-sleep-schedule-wellness/index.html#annotations:n7gofi7QEey8YZOPI3SGFg Where is Vilnius? Here’s a video to help you. https://youtu.be/1OYbDuM4Y3s

MSM 520: Friday at 3:00 Summary: Shawn and Troy discuss getting tired. The kids are returning to “normal”. Dave has a spoiler alert. Jokes: Middle School Science Minute by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com) Spoiler Alert http://k12science.net/spoiler-alert/ Reports from the Front Lines The Twitterverse #mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. And as Troy says, “The Twitter never stops!” Resources: Practical Ed-Tech Guide https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2021/10/get-your-free-copy-of-practical-ed-tech.html MiddleWeb - Do You Sometimes Miss The Mute Button? https://www.middleweb.com/45926/do-you-sometimes-miss-the-mute-button/ Document Analysis Worksheets https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets Web Spotlight: Walk the Great Wall https://artsandculture.google.com/project/great-wall-of-china School Surveillance https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/oct/12/school-surveillance-dragnet-suicide-attempt-healing#annotations:3_Ks1ixEEe