Topic: How do you revisit taught material and recycle effectively?

It’s been a while since I wrote an #edchat review and I was happy to volunteer to summarize this week’s #ELTChat. I blogged about the topic of recycling vocabulary a few weeks ago in ESL-Library’s #FF tribute post, and I was eager to join the chat to discover other tricks from teachers like Leahn. The art of “recycling” seems a bit sneaky, doesn’t it? We don’t want to come out and tell students that an upcoming activity or game is designed to drill structures, vocabulary, or rules into their heads. Or do we?

You can find the transcript for this week’s ELT Chat here.

Questions we pondered…
How does “recycling” differ from “reviewing”?
@vladkaslniecko …recycling can imitate a real life learning (outside the classroom)…practice the same things in various contexts
@rliberni …recycling always deals with putting the old material into new contexts 4 the sake of 1. memoriz., 2 activation
@DinaDobrou …revision like “reminding” them; recycling “getting them to use it”? Revision is sth they do on their own too

When is the best time to recycle material?
#ELTChatters said…

• beginning of class
• end is best
• throughout
• in quick bursts
• whenever, wherever
• whenever it’s logical

@cgoodey “According recent Pearson seminar from Norbert & Diane Schmitt – recycle very soon after introducing new vocab.”

Some more research is clearly needed. Anyone care to blog about this or share links to further research about retention? As I mentioned in the chat, I recently watched a video about memory that talked about the importance of “endings” in the human memory. As I was working on this summary, I saw my tweet and suddenly remembered the video. It was a TEDTalk by Daniel Kahneman about “the remembering self” vs. “the experiencing self” and it discusses the importance of time. I hope you’ll find 20 minutes to watch it (perhaps at the end of your day).

What are some ways we can recycle grammar, structure, pronunciation, and items other than vocabulary?

• reading/ listening: re-visit same listening or reading passage in a subsequent lesson with a different purpose, such as a class discussion
• grammar:  use flashcards created by stds …and keep them for later
• sentence structure: dominoes…good for things like conjunctions, conditionals.
• for review of “stems” shout out beginning stem of a structure, ss have to write 2nd part down
• pronunciation – jazz chants. Ss write new one or add on more verses, then chant

Suggested Techniques

• do a little bit every day
• put students in charge (creating activities, puzzles, warmers, projects)
• keep it fun (This is not a test! A competition maybe)
• change the context from the original lesson

Suggested Activities

• miming
• pictionary
• shouting game/a.k.a hot seat
• Friday language auction (ask @sueannan for more details)
• have students create their own picture dictionaries (address books/ Google Docs)
• project work
• write stories based on vocab
• diaries (or blogs) to review in a personal way (what did we learn)
• words in a hat (pull out and make a sentence or tell short story together)
• tic-tac-toe
• sticky note on head or back/ they mingle and guess their word (“who am I” style)
• action charades for revising verbs and objects
• word search and crossword competitions
• create cartoons
• design their own memory game
• question box based on previously taught content

Wise Tweets

• “teaching/learning without recycling is useless” @vladkaslniecko
• “little and often is the key” @KarenInGreece
• “Use the walls to scaffold previously taught lang and vocab” @Fuertesun
• “Learning new vocab should be with production in mind, so the opportunity to recycle should come naturally. Easy to forget though!” @theteacherjames
• “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.I think we have to engage our students” @du_siemens

Although #ELTChat always raises important questions, provides useful suggestions, and allows English teachers to connect with teachers from various backgrounds and specialties, it often leaves us with a bunch of outstanding questions to ponder.

Such as…

• How can we organize our time to fit recycling in?
• How can we convince learners (with the finish-the-book mentality) that recycling/review is a crucial component to learning?
• How do we choose which vocab. to recycle each day? Is there an ideal #?
• What do we know about long and short term memory?
• How can class blogs help with recycling?

(If you are a blogger, please consider tackling one of these questions. That includes you Eduardo.)

Useful Links Shared
The Forgetting Curve
Cybraryman’s Vocab Page
Jason Renshaw’s Word Wise Vocab Bank
Karenne Sylvester’s What does it mean to Know a Word
Vocabulary Games and Activities
Sandy Millan’s Vocabulary Boxing
7 Tricks to Remembering New Words Quickly and Easily

Download the audio to use in class via this podcast, or simply play it here or in iTunes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s Holiday Lessons here.

Coming soon to ESL-Library mini podcasts…Mini Biographies.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our  lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators. If you know of a related post on this topic, please click the button at the bottom of the post to share your link.
Title: I have to be who I am

Why we pulled it from the archives? Our upcoming Discussion Starters lesson has students talking about neat freaks and slobs, and asks students to think about whether or not disorder sparks creativity. Students also discuss whether or not we as humans are too clean and too obsessed with avoiding germs. In her post, Natasa describes how she is taking a sick day and accepting every moment of it. Natasa says, “Of course I don’t like being ill, but illness, like sleep, serves its purpose – it makes you pause and reflect.” The next time you are feeling sick and unable to go into work, grab a tea and take a moment to read Natasa’s post. It may be exactly the cure you need.

Summary: In her blog bio, Natasa admits she has Multiple Bloggonality Disorder. This post proves that fact, showing all four sides of her (Teacher, Learner, Writer, Geek) and delighting the reader at every turn. You can almost feel Natasa’s fever burning off as you read along. She begins by shuddering at the thought of a world of humans living in a perfect world where nobody gets sick and everything is in order. She describes her classroom: “When I walk into class, the first thing I do is scatter books and papers all over my desk.” She finishes off with a translation of a beautiful poem, which you may just want to bring to class. Like many good lessons, this post goes off course but works for the very reason that Natasa is working from the heart.

Is there a blog post in your archives about sick days, disorder, or just being your best self in the classroom? If yes, please add your link below.

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Please encourage your students to use our FREE podcasts. These can be used for individual listening practice or as a preview to the ESL-Library lessons that you use in class. Introduce your students to iTunes today!

Do you use text messaging on your mobile device? Do you text while engaging in other activities? Why do teenagers love texting? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, and discussion questions. Your students will take turns playing the devil’s advocate. If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current Discussion Starters here. If you have any suggestions for topics, please leave a comment.

Coming soon…ebooks.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Do you and your students use mobile devices for learning English? Why not join The English App on Facebook. We share educational apps that your students can use for self-study. You can also use these apps for one-on-one tutoring sessions or with groups that have mobile devices. Friend our page and share your favorite educational apps with us.

In honour of Valentine’s Day this year, I’d like to share a little list to show my gratitude towards a profession that I love.

10 Reasons I Love Teaching English

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators. If you know of a related post on this topic, please click the button at the bottom of the post to share your link.
Title: Recycling Vocabulary in Primary ELT

Why we pulled it from the archives? We know that primary teachers use our Flashcard Library to help teach vocabulary, but we don’t always know how they use them. Blogs like Leahn’s can provide teachers with excellent ideas about how to use flashcards with young learners. Our artists have fun bringing these words to life, and we can only hope that the students have fun playing with the cards. Most importantly, we hope teachers think of many different ways to use flashcards that go beyond teaching the meaning of a word. We really enjoyed Leahn’s idea of the “Vocabulary Box” and we hope some of our subscribers will read her blog and create a box of their own!

Summary: Leahn shares a picture of the hand crafted Vocabulary Box that she uses in class. She fills the box with flashcards and plays various vocabulary review games with her students. In the post, Leahn describes 5 games that her young learners play with flashcards, including “I’ve lost my voice” and “I’m the teacher”. Look for more vocabulary ideas and links in the comments of her post.

Is there a blog post in your archives about vocabulary review or the use of flashcards? Please add your link below. If you have a fun idea for using flashcards in the classroom, please leave a comment.

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Do you prefer writing or drawing? Are you logical or intuitive? Which subject do you prefer, music or math? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, and discussion questions. Learn a little about the dominance theory and find out if your students are risk takers, dreamers, or multitaskers. This lesson comes with an Optional Web 2.0 activity.

If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current Discussion Starters here. If you have any suggestions for topics, please leave a comment.

Coming soon…eBooks.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Here’s a podcast from some fellow Canadians that your students are sure to love: ESLCulips.

This image is from ESL-Library's Flashcard Library (Fast Food)

Do you or your students have food allergies? Does your school have a food allergy policy? How do you educate English language learners about the seriousness of food allergies? Is it up to you, the teacher, to make sure that your classroom is food safe for all?

Valentine’s Day is coming up and many students will be excited to share chocolate and other treats at school parties. Do food allergies get in the way of some of your students enjoying special holidays in your classroom? What about regular treats like pizza day? Is it up to the school or the parent to make sure that students with allergies don’t feel left out?

We are working on a new HEALTH section for the ESL Library and are interested in getting topic and content suggestions from real English teachers and students. One of our upcoming topics will be about food allergies. Please take a moment to share some information about your school’s response to food allergies. You can answer one or all of the questions. Don’t forget to tell us which country you teach in. Thanks!

1. Is your school nut-free?
2. Are students prohibited from sharing snacks?
3. Are your teachers trained to deal with allergic reactions?
4. Do any of your students have allergies? If yes what are they? dairy/wheat/shellfish/gluten/peanuts/bananas/msg/eggs/onions/other
5. Do you take the time to educate your students about allergies? Have you found any good resources for educating ESL learners about allergies?
6. Is it up to the parent to make sure that students with allergies don’t feel left out?
7. Should young students with allergies be trained to protect themselves, or should the main responsibility fall on the adults (teachers/parents/admin)?

Have you ever tried doing a One Word lesson plan? Perhaps a one word lesson plan on “allergies” would work well.

Here are some of the other upcoming topics in our Health section:

• Happiness
• Sleep
• Chocolate
• Vegetarianism
• Centenarians

What health topics would your English learners be interested in? Please ask your students to share their ideas with us! Leave a comment here, or share your ideas on our Facebook page.

February is the perfect month to study a love story with your English learners. Everyday Idioms is a popular series in our library. It features a simple love story between Jon and Amy. This story can also be enjoyed in our Conversation English app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

If you have already used this series, your students may also enjoy the “first love” story between Kate and Jason in Everyday Idioms 2. We also have a mystery series called The Case of the Missing Ring that features Emma and Paul, a bride and groom to-be.   We hope your students enjoy learning new idioms as they explore the relationships between these fun characters.

New Lesson Plans this Month

• Discussion Starters: Left Brained vs. Right Brained (with audio)
• Discussion Starters: Texting (with audio)
• Warm up (FREE): Cabin Crew
• Warm up (FREE): Home Sweet Home

In the works: A NEW set of Role Play cards for Intermediate to Advanced learners.

February Features

Flashcards- Feelings: Our Feelings and Conditions flashcard set can be used to help your beginner students get to know how to express themselves in English. Look for words like “crushed” and “heartbroken” to go along with other Valentine’s Day themed lessons. Don’t forget to tell us how you are using our flashcards in the classroom. We want to hear your ideas!

Holiday - Valentine’s Day: Our online library has beginner and intermediate level Valentine’s Day lessons. Beginners can learn some basic vocabulary related to the holiday and practise writing Valentines. Higher level learners can learn interesting history and practice fun idioms related to love, such as puppy love and pop the question. (February 14)

Famous People- Steve Jobs: Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, was born in February. His name has been all over the news since he announced last month that he would be taking a medical leave. Share this lesson with your tech savvy students this month.  Did you know that he was adopted when he was a baby? (February 24, 1955)

Famous Things- Cocoa: If you are a chocoholic, you probably know that February is chocolate month! Share this interesting lesson about cocoa and find out how the first chocolate bar was made.

Loving the Language

Speaking of love…when did you first realize that you loved the English language? Have you always had a special love for words and how they are put together? Some kids grow up loving the sounds of certain letters or words.  Some people don’t “get” this love that language teachers have for the written or spoken word. Your students should be able to feel the love.

Think about the teachers who meant the most to you.  It is usually those who have been passionate about the subject they are teaching who stand out. Think of the art teacher who adored oil pastels or the history teacher who knew every detail about the World Wars. Don’t be afraid to share your crush on the English language. This month, share your favourite quotes, your favourite words, and your favourite authors with your students. Encourage your learners to fall in love with the language as you did. It may be impossible to love every aspect of your job, but loving the language, and letting this love show is an important aspect of teaching English.

“Language is the dress of thought.” Samuel Johnson

Happy February to you and your students!

Sincerely,

The Staff at ESL-Library

Why is Chinese New Year two celebrations in one? Why does Chinese New Year not have a fixed date in the western calendar? What do children receive on Chinese New Year? The full intermediate Chinese New Year lesson contains a reading, comprehension questions, vocabulary review, and pair and group activities. Your students will love learning all of the “red” idioms, such as “paint the town red”.

If you have used this lesson before, be sure to download the 2011 (Year of the Rabbit) version. Download the audio to use in class via this podcast, or simply play it here or in iTunes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s Holiday Lessons here.  

Coming soon to ESL-Library mini podcasts…Texting.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our  lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Check out: ELTChat podcasts and Top 40 Podcasts for Teachers.

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators. If you know of a related post on this topic, please click the button at the bottom of the post to share.
Title: One Word Lessons

Why we pulled it from the archives? Our goal at ESL-Library has always been to make life easier on a teacher. What could be easier than a one word lesson plan that requires zero preparation? This idea is brilliant, and Ceri’s description of how it went down in class is very interesting. We hope you’ll give it a try after visiting Ceri’s post. Check the comments too!

Summary: Ceri describes how she was inspired by an idea by blogger, Andrew Pickles about teaching a lesson based on one single word. In her post, she describes how she tried it out using the word “advice”. The class discussed the form, function, and collocations of the word before transitioning to a story-telling activity and eventually a simulation. Ceri completes her post by challenging readers to share a word that could be used in a one word lesson.

Is there a blog post in your archives about a lesson that requires zero preparation? Please add your link below.

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Please encourage your students to use our FREE podcasts. These can be used for individual listening practice or as a preview to the ESL-Library lessons that you use in class. Introduce your students to iTunes today!

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators.
Title: I is for Imagination

Why we pulled it from the archives? Whether you teach children, teens, or adults, the language learning classroom is a fantastic place for developing the imagination. We’re working on a new section in the ESL-Library that will require students to make use of their imaginations, and Carol Read has some interesting thoughts on the topic. This point was extremely helpful: “It can also be extremely frustrating for children if their imaginations far outstrip their language competence.”

Summary: Carol reminds us of Alice in Wonderland’s resistance to believing in impossible things and relates it to what we expect of young learners in the classroom. She defines imagination as  ”conceptualizing and visualising with our ‘mind’s eye’ “. Carol lists some benefits of combining imagination and language learning and notes a few activities that work well. Each of Carol’s blog posts focus on one important aspect of teaching children. It is an extremely valuable resource for teachers of young learners and can  be read in any order. Please share these ABC’s with your teacher friends.

Is there a blog post in your archives about “Imagination”? Please add your link below.

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Why do people overeat? Which parts of the world have the highest obesity rates? What types of food are high in fibre? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, and discussion questions. If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current Discussion Starters here. If you have any suggestions for topics, please leave a comment.

Coming soon…Left Brain vs. Right Brain thinking.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out ELTChat podcasts and transcripts. ELTChat takes place on Twitter on Wednesdays. There are two different times and topics to pick from.  This week the ELTchatters discussed ideas for motivating teens as well as  the merits of testing. Have your say about what to discuss during #ELTChat by voting in the poll each week.

In Chapter 29,  John (you probably know him as the writer of “Marley and Me”) has taken his elderly dad out for what turns out to be their final sail on the family boat. John tries to calm his dad’s nerves as he hands the steering over for the first time in many years:

“Remember how you used to tell me that life was like skippering a sailboat? How you need to pick a dot on the horizon and be careful not to veer off course?”
John’s dad recalls his own advice and repeats what he used to tell his kids when they were in their formative years:

“Small corrections…Life is all about small, continuous corrections.”

No matter how many times you tell your students to tackle their new language little by little, they still want quick results. They dream of speaking like a native speaker and use the word fluency as if it’s a golden ticket. Imagine what they could accomplish if they just kept an eye on their language goals  and made small adjustments to a continuous plan of action throughout their lifetime. Yes, lifetime! Because learning a second or third or fourth language is a lifelong journey.

Students aren’t the only ones who expect big results as quickly as possible. Do you ever catch yourself looking for that one perfect “if-only” solution that will make your teaching day easier or your classroom more organized? What about your family life? Instead of thinking of life as a juggling act, try imagining it as a voyage  that requires you to pay close attention to your own personal map. Make small corrections on a regular basis and stay true to the journey you believe in.

Have you picked a dot on the horizon?

Contributed by Tara Benwell

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators.
Title: More than 5 Things to do with LEGO®

Why we pulled it from the archives? Emma had us at the clever word “Bricktation,” which she admits came to her in the middle of the night. (Good ideas are like that! Note to teacher-self: Keep a notebook under your bed or pillow. You might want one in your shower too.) We love what she wrote in the comments: “I’m a firm believer in the correlation between creativity and language development. I’m also sure than when our students have the opportunity to become immersed in a cognitive and creative task, that the language will fall out of their mouths – I’ve seen it.”

Summary: Emma writes about having the opportunity to do every child’s dream job (Yes, she worked  for LEGO®. ) and offers some fascinating information about the company. If you don’t know what LEGO® means, be sure to visit the post for a fun history lesson. She then goes on to describe a verbal dictation activity and a writing activity that can be used in the ELL classroom using LEGO® model instructions that can be downloaded in PDF. Emma provides detailed instructions as well as important warnings for teachers who want to give it a try. It get’s even better. There’s a Part 2.

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

What is the difference between conscious and subconscious? How can you break a bad habit? Have you ever quit anything “cold turkey”? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, discussion questions, a class panel activity and a punctuation tip about using semicolons. We hope a discussion on bad habits will help some of your learners keep their New Year’s resolutions throughout 2011. If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current Discussion Starters here. If you have any suggestions for topics, please leave a comment.

Coming soon…Left Brain vs. Right Brain thinking.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out ELTChat podcasts and transcripts. ELTChat takes place on Twitter on Wednesdays. There are two different times and topics to pick from. All of the information is on ELTChat.com. This week the ELTchatters discussed using translation tools in the classroom. Have your say about what to discuss during #ELTChat by voting in the poll each week.

In our January newsletter we reminded teachers to leave a moment of empty space in their day. Empty space refers to time between activities and chores when nothing is planned. For teachers, recharging your batteries is more than just taking a break from a busy classroom. The moments you spend on your own, with no lessons to plan, no papers to mark, and no emails to answer can spark some great ideas.

Bill Gates is well-known for his Think Week. For many years, Gates dedicated an entire week to thinking about his business. He would go off on a retreat by himself and spend his days just reading and thinking and brainstorming about new ideas. He attributed much of Microsoft’s success to innovations that were born out of these retreats.

Most teachers cannot afford a week alone to read and write and think about how to be more creative in the classroom, but what amazing ideas would they come up with if they could? What if you just had a Think Day each month, or even each semester? What if your next PD Day was a Think Day in which each teacher got to spend a day in a library rather than attending a set of meetings? What if each teacher spent part of that day brainstorming about what could be done differently and then submitted a report or used a program like Scribblar for an online collaboration? Would your administration go for Think Day?

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators. Now that it is 2011, we can officially dig through the 2010 goodies, including reflections from some of the new ELT bloggers, like this week’s writer.
Title: Are you a teacher all the time?

Why we pulled it from the archives? Cecilia’s reflection hit close to home for many teachers who read her post when it was first published. Many people feel they are born to teach, and have difficulty “turning off the teacher” (as one commenter’s spouse called it). The story of Cecilia checking her daughter’s homework is one that many teachers will sympathize with. Many other reflections were brought out in the comments as teachers tried to answer Cecilia’s question, “Is it wrong to be a teacher all the time?”

Summary: Cecilia shares the quote she uses as an email signature and then questions whether it is good that she is a teacher all the time. She describes a personal experience about helping her child with her homework in a way that a teacher would, rather than how a “non-teacher mother” might approach it. She fears that her teacher mode may also spill into other aspects of life, such as when she is in the company of friends. Cecilia concludes her post with a great question for her readers. Visit the blog and leave a response for one of 2010’s top ELT bloggers!

What quote do you have in your email signature? Will you be changing it for 2011?

Check out all of our 2010 “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Did you know that New Year’s Day wasn’t always celebrated on January 1st? Where is the first major New Year’s celebration each year? How long does it take for the New Year’s ball at Times Square to drop? Who is Mr. Old Year? Find the answers to these questions in the full Holiday lesson. Our beginner and intermediate lessons include a reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, discussion questions and group activities. We hope it’s not too late to share this lesson with your class. Happy New Year!

Preview all of ESL-Library’s current and upcoming Discussion Starters here.

Coming soon…Bad Habits.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our featured lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out ELTChat podcasts and transcripts. ELTChat takes place on Twitter on Wednesdays. There are two different times and topics to pick from. All of the information is on ELTChat.com. Have your say about what to discuss during #ELTChat by voting in the poll each week.

We hope you had a fabulous holiday and are refreshed to begin a New Year. Will you be doing anything differently in 2011? Perhaps you’ll try out some new technology or use a different teaching approach? Subscribing to blogs written by English language teachers is a great way to keep up with what’s new in ELT. Another way is to join in the discussion on various social networking platforms, such as #ELTChat on Twitter. You might also think about setting up a class blog in the new year. Many of ESL-Library’s NEW lesson plans will include Optional 2.0 Challenges that your students can share with the world via a class blog.

In case you missed our exciting news over the holidays, Red River Press just released two new iPad apps for language learners. We were hard at work on these apps in 2010 and were very excited to have them ready before the new year. Conversation English HD and Spanish Conversation HD are available in the iTunes store now! They were just featured by Apple as New and Noteworthy. If you’ve used any of our language learning apps, please take a moment to write a review.

New Lesson Plans this Month

• Discussion Starters: Bad Habits (with audio)
• Discussion Starters: Obesity (with audio)
• Discussion Starters: Gender Roles (with audio)
• Warm up (FREE): Old Me, New Me
• Warm up (FREE): Find Someone Who Didn’t

In the works: A NEW section on Health for Intermediate to Advanced learners.

January Features

Flashcards- Hobbies: Do you have a new set of students this semester? Our Hobbies flashcard set can be used to help your students get to know each other. Watch ESL-Library.com in 2011 for new ideas on how to use Flashcards in the classroom. If you have any ideas to share please send us an email or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Holiday (full length intermediate lesson)- New Year’s: Our beginner and intermediate level New Year’s lessons are suitable for using throughout January. After all, New Year’s wasn’t always celebrated on the 1st of January. Learn about New Year’s traditions around the world. (December 31)

Holiday (full length beginner and intermediate lesson)- Chinese New Year: It doesn’t happen until the beginning of February, but here is an early reminder! Don’t forget to download our lesson on Chinese New Year. 2011 is the year of the Rabbit. (February 3)

Invite Creativity into your Classroom in 2011

As you ponder the many different ways to mix things up, don’t underestimate the power of silence. A few minutes of structured alone time is an absolute must for any teacher who wants to be more creative. If you can’t give this time to yourself during the work day, be sure to schedule it in before class or after your family members or roommates go to bed. Unplug yourself and sit with your own thoughts for a few moments each day. You’ll be surprised how many great ideas you come up with if you pencil a few moments of solitude into your daily schedule.

“Empty time is time to rest, renew, and replenish by following the impulse of the moment. ” Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Happy New Year to you and your students!

Sincerely,

The Staff at ESL-Library

A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

When I joined the Mac cult my new bookmarking habits began to fail. There was a handy Bookmark bar right in my browser and I started using it instead of delicious. Did I set up folders? No. Did I transfer over my bookmarks from my previous computer? No. Did I ever go back to Delicious to find those tasty links? Maybe once or twice, but it seemed like too much work to transfer over the list that was growing so quickly on my computer. Since switching from PC to Mac I’ve collected numerous bookmarks that I intend to share or revisit, but I have failed to come up with a quick, easy system that I will stick to.

I  was having one of those you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone moments today after hearing the sad news that Yahoo was shutting delicious down. Then, half way through writing this post I learned that Delicious users need not panic. While Yahoo sorts this out, and users panic (I would if I had 10 000 bookmarks), I need to figure out something that will work for me. This media leak gave me the kick I need to get organized before the new year. I often tell English learners, sometimes all you need to do is write out your plan.

In 2011 here are the folders I plan to set up in my Bookmark bar. I’ve also included a link to my top bookmark from each folder.

My Bookmark Folders for 2011

Useful Stuff for Young English Learners
Jason’s Renshaw’s Little Readers

Useful Stuff for Adult English Learners
50 Essential Resources for ESL Students

Useful Stuff for Language Teachers
Collaborative Learning/Icebreakers

Mac Tips
56 Useful Mac Shortcuts

Material Writing and Lesson ideas
Vocabulary Comprehension

Stuff to Review later
Russell Stanard’s VRT presentation

Articles or blog posts I’ll want to reread or share
Japanese Study English by Tweeting

Mlearning stuff
Cybraryman’s iPod Touch page

Social Media
100 Inspiring Ways to use Social Media in the classroom

Videos
Dan Pink’s TED Talk on Motivation

Tips for Speaking
The TED Commandments

Tech Help
Podcasting with Garage Band

PR Stuff
Media on Twitter

Beyond ELT
Interviews with Margaret Atwood

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t keep this all on my computer. If you have any tips for keeping bookmarks organized, please let me know.  You could also share a few of your top bookmarks from 2010.

Contributed by Tara Benwell

Have you ever taken an online course? Do you use your mobile phone for learning? What is an interactive white board? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, discussion questions and an optional Web 2.0 activity. We hope a discussion on digital learning will get your learners thinking about the various ways of using technology for educational purposes in 2011. If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current and upcoming Discussion Starters here.

Coming soon…Obesity.

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out ELTChat podcasts and transcripts. ELTChat takes place on Twitter on Wednesdays. There are two different times and topics to pick from. All of the information is on ELTChat.com. Last week the ELTchatters discussed their hopes and dreams for ELT in 2011. They also discussed the advantages of being a non-native English teacher. Have your say about what to discuss during #ELTChat by voting in the poll each week.

“From earthquakes and politics to popstars and hashtags, Twitter Trends are a window into what the world is talking about.”

As soon as I read this list, the wheels started turning for me. How could teachers use this list of trending topics with English learners? I’m sure you will think of many ways yourself, but I’ve included a few below to get you started. You may want to explore these topics on the last day of class in 2010 or on the first day back in 2011. If you have your own ideas, please share them in the comments below.

10 Ways to use 2010’s Twitter Trending Topics with English learners

1. Write the headings on the board (movies, people, news, etc.). Read out the subtopics. Have students put the contents under the correct headings.

2. Before showing students the list, have learners create their own trending list for 2010. Are any of the items the same?

3. Place trending subtopics in a hat. Have students pull out topics and discuss. Which topics generate the most discussion? Students can research one topic that they are not familiar with from the list.

4. Have students choose one trending topic to blog or journal about. (Or two for a compare and contrast writing assignment.)

5. Have a debate about which topics from the news were most important in 2010.

6. Play pictionary or hotseat using the trending topics.

7. Have students predict what the trending topics will be in each category in 2011.

8. Have students interview each other about the most important trending topic  from 2010. Why did this person, thing, or event mean so much to each student? Have a class vote or create a poll.

9. Discuss how important social media was in 2010. What types of social media did your students use to share trends?

10. Work together to create fun and useful hashtags for 2011. Share these in the comments. If your students don’t know how to use twitter or hashtags, explore some useful resources. Get your students on twitter in 2011!

Useful Twitter resources for English teachers and learners

ELTChat (for teachers)

Educational Chats on Twitter (Did you know students can use the tag #twinglish to tweet with English learners and teachers?)

Educational Hashtags

More than Chirping on Twitter (for English teachers)

How Twitter Helps ESL Students Learn

How to use Twitter (for English learners)

Top People to Follow in ELT

Twister Tweet (a warm up from our Mini Library)

Since 2008, the question has changed from What are you doing? to What’s happening? but this is still one of the best videos to explain how to use Twitter. Do you have other twitter resources to recommend?

Better late than never, right?

Best individual blog: Ken Wilson’s Blog Amazing writer. I learn so much from this blog. Ken always has his door open for guests. We featured his first post in our From the Archive series a few weeks back.

Best individual tweeter: @ShellTerrell The thing about Shelly is you feel like you know her even though you may have only tweeted with her or chatted with her on Skype a few times. You find yourself referencing Shelly so often, even your kids know who “Shelly” is.  If all else fails, ask Shelly. She will respond.

Best new blog: Cecilia Coelho You know you’ve found a good blogger when you always feel the need to leave a comment. Her reflections lead to my reflections. Plus I’m a sucker for chocolate. (New chocolate lesson on ESL-Library coming soon!)

Best class blog: @Gret’s student blog Sharing Good News I fell in love with Greta’s story during her Virtual Round Table conference presentation. She is such an inspiring teacher. Why not adopt these kids by commenting every time Greta tweets a request?

Best student blog: Expector Smith This doctor has improved his English through blogging. He is also the blogging moderator on MyEC. He started out as a student, but these days he’s more of a teacher.

Best resource sharing blog: Teacher Reboot Camp Shelly could compete with Google, no? She’s like ELT’s Mashable.

Most influential blog post: Dogme Challenge This was the start of a very interesting series that I have enjoyed immensely.

Most influential tweet / series of tweets / tweet based discussion: Comments4Kids No kid blog post left behind.

Best teacher blog: Langwitches I often tell people that I wish Silvia could teach my kids. Her posts are so creative and informative. Here’s one recent example on Wall Blogging.

Best librarian / library blog: @cybraryman1 The King of the Microblog.

Best educational use of audio: Teacher Training Videos Especially “You don’t need an iPod.” which I share regularly on the ESL-Library mini podcasts for English learners.

Best educational use of video / visual: TED You know you’re getting old when you suggest to your husband on a Friday night: Let’s watch a TED Talk! Now, if only I remembered to bookmark the last one we watched so that I could share it here.  In 2011 I vow to become a better bookmarker. Please share some advice in the comments.

Best educational wiki: Technology4Kids

Best educational podcast: ELTChat ESL-Library just announced a sponsorship deal with ELTChat!

Best educational webinar series: Virtual Round Table I really enjoyed getting to know my PLN here. Congrats to Heiki, Berni, and Shelly for the ELTons nomination.

Best educational use of a social network: EC on FB. Okay, I’m a little biased, but this page should pass 15, 000 friends this weekend and the learners and teachers are having a lot of fun. Feel free to share your links and teaching ideas. Here are some more FB pages for teachers and learners.  If you use ESL-Library resources please join our FB page and tell us what you like (or don’t like) about our lessons. We take requests!

Best use of a PLN: ELTpics I recently did an interview with @Victoriab52. This resource is growing quickly!

Lifetime achievement: Alex Case Karenne Sylvester said it best here. Or should I vote for the English Raven. I can’t decide! Not only are these guys amazing teachers, writers, and idea spreaders, but they both share funny stories and parenting tidbits from their real life beyond ELT and that’s what I really love about them.

What is a holistay? What would you do with a week off at home? Do you find vacations stressful? The full Discussion Starters lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, comprehension questions, discussion questions and a class survey. We hope a discussion on staycations will get your learners talking this holiday season. If you are using our Discussion Starter lessons in class, be sure to check out our NEW Teachers’ Notes. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current and upcoming Discussion Starters here.

Coming soon…Digital Learning

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our Discussion Starter lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Check out: ELTChat podcasts and transcripts. Last week the tweeters discussed learner autonomy and content based lessons. This week, ELTchatters are addressing hopes and dreams for ELT in 2011 and the advantages of being a non-native English teacher.

While there are conflicting opinions about exactly how the December 26th tradition began, one thing is for certain. Boxing Day was not intended as a day to punch out a guy in a line up at an electronics store. It also wasn’t meant as a day to make good on I.O.Us handed out to loved ones on Christmas Day. How many of you hold off giving a gift to a special someone on Christmas Day so that he or she can wake up at the crack of dawn and get a better deal the following day? Cash gifts and gift cards are easy and people get to buy what they want instead of what you’d like to give them. On the other hand, our need to save a buck and get one more gadget for our collection means that thousands of workers around the world have to go back to work before digesting their turkey.  And what about all of those who didn’t even get a turkey or a gift card? Surely, they are in more need of a gift on December 26th than our kids are for another pony or video game.

This Christmas season I would like to invite you to share ESL-Library’s FREE Boxing Day lesson in class. In the lesson you will find a charity challenge to help bring back the true tradition of Boxing Day in your small corner of the world. Here’s how you can take part.

1. Share ESL-Library’s FREE Boxing Day lesson with your class.

2. Take the charity challenge.

3. Share your story with ESL-Library. (infoatESLLibrarydotcom) Please include a picture of your Christmas Box and tell us where it’s going and what your students have put in it.

4. Watch for your story to be published on our blog. (Or publish your story and photo on your own class blog and share a link so we can help promote it. If you don’t have a class blog, maybe 2011 is the year to start one!)

Did you hear our big news? ESL-Library is now sponsoring #ELTChat! Having been involved with twitter throughout 2010, we truly believe in the power of a personal learning network. We are excited about this opportunity to give back to the teachers who have supported our site. If you missed last week’s #ELTChat episode, you can listen to RRP President, Ben Buckwold, discuss his thoughts on the sponsorship here. If you’re not yet participating in the weekly chats on twitter, visit eltchat.com to learn more about how you can join in the conversation. Speaking of twitter, there are some interesting ideas here for using twitter with students.

Also, a big thank you to all of those teachers who were tweeting from TESOL France. We found this a great experience at TESOL Boston last year and were glad to be able to connect with you while you attended the conference. If you are interested in writing a guest post about your conference experience, please contact us. And finally, congratulations to all of the tweechers who have been chosen to speak at IATEFL 2011 in Brighton.

New Lesson Plans this Month

• Every Day is a Holiday (FREE): World Aids Day (December 1)
• Discussion Starters: Staycations (with audio)
• Discussion Starters: Digital Learning (with audio)
• Warm up (FREE): Flying Affixes
• Warm up (FREE): Whose “To Do List”?
• Detective Series: Review and Quiz 2 and 3 (Episodes 4-10)
• Famous People: Charles Darwin

In the works: Conversation Spanish App for iPad.

December Features

Holiday (full length intermediate lesson)- Chanukah: ESL-Library provides lessons based on holidays and traditions from many different cultures and religions. Use this lesson to introduce your intermediate students to the Jewish “Festival of Lights”.  (December 2-9)

Flashcards- Christmas: This collection features Christmas vocabulary for beginners, including “stocking” , “reindeer” and “ornament”. How do you teach vocabulary with flashcards? We’d love to hear your ideas. Please contact us to share your suggestions and tips for teaching with flashcards.

Holiday (full length beginner and intermediate lesson)- Christmas: Teach your beginner and intermediate students vocabulary through our popular Christmas lessons.  Students learn about traditions and share their own favorite parts of the holiday season. (December 25)

Holiday (full length intermediate lesson)- Kwanzaa: Teach your intermediate students about this African American holiday that began during the civil rights movement. Find out what the word “Kwanza” means, and why the founder of the festival decided to add an extra “a” to the word. (December 26-January 1)

Mini Holiday - Boxing Day: Was Boxing Day always about shopping and watching sports? Not exactly. Share this lesson with your students and try out our Christmas Box challenge. We will be posting more information about the Christmas Box challenge on our blog later this month, so stay tuned. (December 26)

Gifts for English Learners and Teachers

Are you wondering what to get  your teacher friends for Christmas? Many friends give each other magazine subscriptions. Why not make your life easy and do the same for your Secret Santa exchange this year? Buy your teacher friend an annual subscription to ESL-Library!

Are your students  looking for gift suggestions for each other? Our language learning apps are the perfect gifts for students to buy each other. If you teach one-on-one you might put these apps on your own list too. Check out our English App page on Facebook for more educational apps.

Happy holidays to you and your students!

Sincerely,

The Staff at ESL-Library

P.S.

We now have 40 episodes in our Mini Podcasts for English learners. The short listening files are FREE to download and can be used in combination with our lessons or as extra listening practice. Your students can listen for FREE on iTunes. They do not need an iPod. Thanks for spreading the word!

Coming soon to ESL-Library mini podcasts…Staycations

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our  lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Are you a teacher of English? Are you looking for tips, suggestions and a way to connect with other teachers of English from around the world? Check out: #ELTChat podcasts. You won’t be disappointed!

Please encourage your students to use our FREE podcasts. These can be used for individual listening practice or as a preview to the ESL-Library lessons that you use in class. Introduce your students to iTunes today!

Speaking of podcasts, don’t miss this interview with ESL-Library’s President, Ben Buckwold.

Listen to the podcast to find out:

• the reason ESL-Library wanted to sponsor #ELTChat
• what ESL-Library.com and Red River Press are all about
• how #ELTChat will benefit from the partnership
• how to win an annual subscription to ESL-Library.com via #ELTChat
• how to contribute to the #ELTChat conversation
• when the new and improved ESL-Library is expected to launch
• Red River Press’s big plans for next year
• Where #ELTChat will be broadcasting from next week…

#ELTChat takes place on twitter every Wednesday at 15:00 and 21: 00 London time. Each week you can vote for the topic you want to discuss via the poll on the website. Use the tag #ELTChat whenever you tweet about news, ideas, or links related to teaching English.

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators.

Title: Oberve Thy Learners

How does a blogger-to-be know that the time is right to write and publish that first post? Share your experience in the comments below.

Check out all of our “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

Please encourage your students to use our FREE podcasts. These can be used for individual listening practice or as a preview to the ESL-Library lessons that you use in class. Introduce your students to iTunes today!

You might also be interested in the 30 New Podcasts for ESL Learners.

We were excited to add the 33 brave Chilean Miners to the Famous People section of our library last month. One great thing about studying famous people is that English learners tend to have some prior knowledge about them. Who doesn’t know that Oprah Winfrey is a famous American talkshow host? Who doesn’t have an opinion about the art of Pablo Picasso? The shared experience surrounding celebrities allows for great discussion.

We currently have over 60 lessons about famous people in our library. We hope to fill this section with famous people from all over the world and we’re looking for your help. Is there a celebrity that your students are crazy about? Do your learners talk non-stop about a certain musician or politician? We want to know! Please ask your students who they consider famous. Make a big list and check out our library to see if any of the names are missing from our shelf. Leave us a comment or send us an email and we’ll consider adding your students’ famous people suggestions to our lesson library.

5 Ideas for using our Famous People lesson plans in your class
1. Weekly ritual: Study one new person each week. Pick a day of the week to do your Famous People lesson. Students like rituals! Put all of the names in a hat and have a different student choose the lesson plan the day before the lesson.
2. Presentation: Have students each choose a famous person from the ESL-Library shelf. Assign students (or pairs) the reading and later have the students present their famous person in their own words.
3. Group Project: Give each group a famous person to study. Have students complete the lesson together and do extra research about their figure. Students can create their own Who am I quiz for the class. (see below)
4. Writing Assignment: Have students use the ESL-Library lessons as a model. Can they create their own reading and quiz based on a famous person of their choice?
5. Interviews: After studying a famous person, have students get into pairs and write and act out interviews. What questions would a reporter ask Mother Teresa?

A NEW Famous People lesson is coming out very soon. Give your students these hints and see if they can guess who it is.

Who: An Englishman

What: A scientist

Where: He traveled the world.

When: Born over 200 years ago

Why: He changed how we viewed life itself.

*Watch our December Newsletter for the answer.

Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts by educators.

Title: Saying Goodbye

Check out all of our “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.

What other names are there for Remembrance Day? What does the poppy symbolize? What does Lest We Forget really mean? The full lower-level Remembrance Day lesson contains warm up questions, pre-reading vocabulary, a short reading, vocabulary review activities, and comprehension and discussion questions. This lesson also features an optional Web 2.0 Challenge with an invitation to publish a Remembrance Day poem (see example) or story on ESL-Library’s blog. Our library also has a lesson for intermediate to advanced learners. Preview all of ESL-Library’s current and upcoming Holiday Lessons here.  Join our mini-library for a selection of FREE holiday lessons and warm ups.

Coming soon to ESL-Library mini podcasts…Staycations

Please introduce your students to our FREE podcasts. These can act as a preview to our  lessons or as extra listening homework. You can also use our weekly podcast (posted every Wednesday) as a warm up for an online tutoring session. If you like using our podcasts with your English learners, check out iTunes to see which other podcasts our listeners enjoy!

Check out: ELTChat podcasts and Top 40 Podcasts for Teachers.

Remembrance Day Poem: An Example

An example of an acrostic poem. You could also use “poppy” or “peace” or “November 11th or “Lest We Forget”.
R is for red. The color of poppies.
E is for easy. It’s easy to forget. November 11th makes it easier to remember.
M is for memories. Ask veterans to share their war stories.
E is for eleven. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
M is for millions. Millions of lives are lost due to war.
B is for brave. The men and women who fought for peace were very brave. Some were still teenagers!
R is for real. World War I and II were real. Many kids only know war through video games and movies.
A is for always. We must always remember the promise we kept.
N is for never. We must never forget the pain and sorrow of world conflict.
C is for careful. Take special care to live in peace with people from other countries and cultures.
E is for everyone. Everyone deserves to live in peace.

D is for dream. World peace is a dream. Each human must dare to dream.
A is for alive. Celebrate your life each day.
Y is for your turn. Please write a Remembrance Day poem with your class and share it with ESL-Library.

We’ll post the best poems on our blog. Don’t forget to share a link with us if you publish your poem on your own blog. You could also create a story based on the reading, such as the moment of silence below. Send it to info@esl-library.com.

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Each Follow Friday (#FF on Twitter) we pull a buried blog post from the dusty archives of the web. We hope you agree that there is a lot to learn from these “oldie but goodie” posts on education.

Title: Time for Educators to Get off the Couch
Writer: Vicki Davis
Role in Education: High School Teacher and IT Director
Date Posted: December 5, 2009
Subject: Teachers supporting one another in fitness
Twitter ID: @coolcatteacher
Blog: Cool Cat Teacher Blog
Why we pulled it from the archives? Canadian schools are placing more and more emphasis on student fitness during school hours. In many schools, teachers are encouraged to participate in daily physical activity along with the kids. Unfortunately, not all schools place such an important emphasis on fitness. In some cases, gym time is only offered once or twice a month. We were pleased to find this archived post by Vicki Davis about the edurunners. The idea of logging progress is great for students, but here teachers are practising what they preach. Just as it is important for kids to see adults reading for pleasure, it is also important for kids to see teachers exercising for health. “After all, our students are watching,” admits Vicki.

Summary: Vicki Davis shares a message that she sent to her fellow edurunners, a group of educators who “run, are trying to run, are starting to run, or want to get motivated to run”. Vicki’s post includes 5 reminders as well as a video of using DailyMile.com to track progress. She finishes off with motivational tips for those considering joining a group like this: “There is a huge mind body connection, I mean our mind is part of our body.  I find that I think more clearly and experience things so much better since running and in fact, somehow it has overflown into many areas of my life.”

Check out all of our “From the Archives” tributes here. Be sure to follow all of these great educators on Twitter.