In Defense of Read-Aloud by Steven Layne

Make the most of an essential literacy practice

Preview the entire book online! (registration is optional)

In Defense of Read-Aloud by Steven Layne challenges and inspires teachers of all grades and subjects to make the most of this essential literacy practice. Includes valuable tips on preparation, book selection, and how to read with expression to engage students.

=============

The Nonfiction Minute

Short pieces of nonfiction on a wide variety of topics

http://www.nonfictionminute.com/the-nonfiction-minute/category/animals

An interesting text, an audio file of that text being read aloud, a pic or two and an associated Youtube video - all on the same topic!

"You will find short pieces of nonfiction on a wide variety of topics, written by outstanding nonfiction writers for children. And the best news is—it's all free and waiting to be used by you and your students. So get to know really good nonfiction writing.

The archives cross-index the entries by topic and author. If you want to send students to the link for a particular day, click on the title of the "article" that interests you and then copy the url for that specific entry.  

============

Tips to Create Positive Vibes in the ESL Classroom

An atmosphere that fosters comfort and confidence

http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/5-tips-to-create-positive-vibes-in-your-esl-classroom/

"To reach the ultimate learning objective – communicating in English – students must engage with the language by using it, and they need an atmosphere that fosters comfort and confidence to facilitate this engagement. Here are a few tips:

1. Give students the opportunity to get to know you.

2. Give students the opportunity to get to know each other.

3. Ensure students are comfortable making mistakes.

4. Maintain a sense of confidence and honesty.

=========

How-To: Link Images to QR Codes

Eliminate extraneous text or ads

http://classtechtips.com/2014/05/06/how-to-link-images-to-qr-codes/

Monica Burns offers a useful tip on how to link directly to images using QR codes. This is great if you want to create a gallery walk, or present an anticipation guide, or provide conversation/story starters without all of the extraneous text or ads students often find on a website. Find a great image? Right click to view the image by iteslf and simply link a QR code to the image file directly. (Monica does a quick walk-through on her blog post of how to do this.) Students will then see just the image when they scan the code with their device.

==========