Blogzulli

Here’s a fun newsletter that was sent to us from Vic Wilson, and his students Chandler, Anahy and Alex, at Jones Elementary School in Hall County, GA.  They put this newsletter for students together after using Renzulli to learn about newspapers.  Vic says he’s been working for “over 30 years in the public arena and honestly with resources such as Renzulli, I wish I was starting my career all over again. In a way I am!”

They’ve entitled their newsletter the “RenZOOlli Report”, because, they say, it’s “a captive, choice collection of the rarest and most intelligent animals on earth”  We can’t argue with that… and look forward to reading future editions!

Dr. Seuss is one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors.  Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2^nd with Renzulli Learning!   From the Cat in the Hat to Hooray for Diffendoofer Day, the characters and themes of Dr. Seuss’s work comes to life in several online activities and games.  Do you know Dr. Seuss’s real name?  Was Dr. Seuss a real doctor?  Visit our featured Dr. Seuss resources by clicking the links below.

Featured Dr. Seuss Activities
Welcome to Seussville (Creativity Training)  fun and learning for K-8
Storybook Maker (Online Activities) K-5
ABC Hide and Seek (Online Activities) K-2
Dr. Seuss Patterns (Online Activities) K-2
Find the Funny Fish (Online Activity) K-2
Horton’s Who Hunt (Online Activities) K-2
Elephant Ball (Online Activities) K-2
Lorax Saves the Trees Game (Online Activity) K-5
Sam-I-Am Says (Online Activity) K-2
The Diffendoofer Teachers (Online Activity) K-2

Dr. Seuss Activities for BIG KIDS!  (Grades 6-12)
All About Dr. Seuss (Research Skills)  4-9
Dr. Seuss Biography (Research Skills) K-8
Dr. Seuss the Political Cartoonist (Website) Grades 6-12

For more Dr. Seuss activities search the Renzulli Database using the following key words:

-          Seuss

-          Dr. Seuss

-          Seussville

-          Cat in the Hat

-          Theodor Geisel

Here’s an idea from Esther LeeFoon, our New York City professional development guru, for one way to gauge student learning when you’re using Renzulli’s Curriculum Connections to differentiate materials for students:

During PD sessions, some teachers have expressed concern regarding accountability and assessing what students know once they have viewed differentiated resources sent to them via Curriculum Connections.  As we brainstorm the many ways a teacher can go about getting this information, I always mention the Data Retrieval Chart I have used throughout my career as an educator.  I used the graphic organizer (sample attached) as an elementary teacher in the Bronx, and later as an adjunct professor for undergrad and graduate students.  As a 3^rd grade teacher  teaching the unit Life in Colonial America, I might use this chart to have the students record information they find out about social life, economics and politics in various parts of the country.  It is a great tool for comparing and contrasting information and for identifying similarities and differences.

EXAMPLE:
[Build a Curriculum Connection for students, selecting Grade 3, Social Studies, and Colonies, then assign the following charts for students to track their work.]
Settlement: Everyday Life in Colonial America
Directions: For each line below, list what you’ve learned for each of the regions listed below.

………………………….. New England           Mid-Atlantic            Southern
Social Life:
Shelter
Food
Clothing
Beliefs
Customs
Education
Social Structures

Economic Life:
Land System
Occupations
Industry
Currency

Political Life:
Government
Leaders

What an honor and a privilege to work with such a dedicated group of teachers, managers, principals, and outstanding director. As I visited many of the YBM Appletree and GATE facilities, I was amazed at the level of instruction and learning experiences provided for young learners. Halls were adorned with the intriguing work of young children as evidence of the wonderful teaching transpiring inside each classroom, from beautifully designed snowflakes to explicit reflections of studies about the digestive system all written in English. Over the last five days, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the finest educators in YBM’s Appletree, PSA, GATE, and IA programs. As we visited some of the Appletree and GATE schools, the enchantment began with specially designed surroundings encouraged young children to explore possibilities within a colorful and intriguing setting. From the tunnel climb and slide into the PE room to the radio station, an environment for discovery learning and total engagement of the child was reflected. Concept development evolved from interactive participation and preparation for focused learning was reflective in every aspect of the school. Every day of the Renzulli Learning Systems training I found teachers investing their time in the creation of assignments and projects supporting their curriculum to promote further engagement of learners through technology and allowing for the development of independent inquiry into the content. Through lively discussion and a little friendly competition, participants had fun presenting their assignments to the group. Active engagement of the student with the learning content through their interest area, learning style, or expression style, provides for integrating the relevance and application of their material to real world situations. Parents play an important role in the support of their child’s education, which teachers were very concerned what was available for them in the system. Assignments and especially Curriculum Connections allowed the teachers to support parents by providing these additional opportunities to participate in the learning experiences of their children. Teachers left the training inspired and excited about re-entering their classrooms to open new doors into the world of learning for their students. Thank you to everyone for exceptional experiences and memories of Seoul, Korea and YBM.

- Debbie Crawford, Renzulli’s PD Coordinator for Houston, and other exotic locales.

Thanks to popular demand, here are links to the PowerPoint presentations used during last night’s webinar with Drs. Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis.

Research on Schoolwide Enrichment and Renzulli Learning;  Dr. Joseph Renzulli (14.6 MB)

Practical Applications:  Renzulli Learning; Dr. Sally Reis  (26.7 MB)

We’ll also be sharing our responses to some of the most popular questions we received during the webinar, but which we were unable to answer due to overwhelming number of attendees… so watch this space!

Unfortunately, due to technical issues beyond our control we were unable to recover the recording to archive this presentation. We are working now to plan another webinar with Drs. Renzulli and Reis as soon as possible.

Dear Friends,

2009 was a rewarding year for the tens-of-thousands of teachers using Renzulli Learning around the world (including new friends in South Korea, Turkey, and a dozen other countries).  We are especially grateful to the hundreds of teachers that applied to our inaugural, “Better Teaching & Learning through Technology” competitive grant.  These stories reminded us that teachers are doing great things for kids and saving hundreds of hours through the use of technology.  Existing lessons go smoother and children connect with the curriculum more readily thanks to a modest weekly infusion of our resource match-making tool.  Our favorite success story included the following: ”It’s like having a dozen teaching assistants in my classroom, every day, all day!”

The main reason we developed this program was precisely to accomplish this time-saving goal.  With so many diverse needs to serve, and with many teachers’ concerns about “initiative overload,” we wanted a tool to make their work easier rather than a new program added to their already busy schedules.  For those of you who are just beginning to use Renzulli Learning, please take a minute to look at our latest innovation – Curriculum Connections.  It was designed to automate the differentiation process with the teacher simply scheduling the basic lesson plan parameters in a few minutes.

As we begin making a difference in 2010, please join Sally and I for a free 90 minute “Virtual Keynote” on Thursday, January 21st @ 6:30 pm EST / 3:30 pm PST.  The theme of the session will be to re-invigorate and resolve our passion for raising achievement by celebrating ALL students’ strengths & talents rather than focusing on deficits!  Attendance will be limited to the first 1,000 to enter the room.  Please register using the following link as soon as possible: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/501122466.

I send to each of you my best wishes for a safe, healthy, and enjoyable 2010.  Sally and I look forward to chatting with you at the Virtual Keynote.

Regards,

Dr. Joe Renzulli

The Renzulli Personal Success Plan’s Heroes and Helpers Page is a great place to think and learn more about heroes – and more Renzulli students have identified Martin Luther King as one of their heroes than any other figure of the past or present, by a wide margin.

Monday, January 18th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and a wonderful time to reintroduce your class to the ideals and values of this American hero.  As you might imagine, Renzulli offers a wealth of information about Dr. King’s life – and the lives of many of those community leaders and activists who were inspired by his work.

Here are some of Renzulli’s best resources for learning about Dr. King (you must be signed into Renzulli on this computer):

Citizen King

Martin Luther King Jr. Encyclopedia

The Seattle Times:  Martin Luther King

And, from a link in the Heroes section on the PSP, here’s a wonderful matrix for finding other heroes, where you can compare and contrast heroes based on their individual attributes. http://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/design/

“We need creative extremists.”  – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

holidays

Originally uploaded by Renzulli Learning

From the staff at Renzulli Learning, and of course, Joe and Sally –

Have a happy, safe, and engaging holiday break!

Our list continues:

31.  Create your own virtual assignment from scratch.  Do you have some great resources you’d like to assign your students – along with some guiding questions or tasks you want them complete?  Use the Renzulli Assignment Maker to build your own virtual assignment.  Be sure to click the orange “Create A New Assignment” button to start from scratch.  You can add your own directions, questions or guidance, and send immediately to student inboxes.

32.  Take the class on a virtual field trip. Did you know virtual field trips raise test scores?  Renzulli has nearly 700 virtual field trips in our database – from the Louvre to the inside of a human cell – so fire up your LCD projector, or your Smartboard, and take your class on a trip.  You can use Renzulli’s Advanced Search page to find virtual field trips – just click the Virtual Field Trips box under Select Enrichment Type, and enter any keyword to start your search.

33.  Have students critique websites they find. Students can critique each of the sites or resources they explore in a session, including the categories below. Teachers may want to discuss evaluation criteria with students in a whole class mini-lesson. The type of criteria that students may want to consider are:

• Can I read and understand this resource?
• Do the graphics (pictures, illustrations, print characteristics) grab my attention and make me want to explore the site more?
• Does this site have the type of information I thought it would?
• Does this resource have the kind of information that I am looking for?
• Is this resource something that will help me learn more about a topic or subject?
• Does this resource teach me something new or help me practice something I already know?
• Can I create a product (some type of work) on this site that I can share with others?
• What type of site is this?

34.  Create a Collaborative Learning Group. Renzulli provides a workspace for groups of students to collaborate in a safe, teacher-moderated online platform.  Check out this video for all the info you need to get started.

35.  Open-Ended Questions draw out even more about your students as learners. In addition to the 4-part Renzulli Profiler, Renzulli includes a number of thoughtful questions for your students that will help them to express their interests, and give you more ideas for connecting the curriculum to their lives.  Some of these questions include:

• Pretend that you are a photographer and you have one picture left to take on your roll of film or on your card. What will you take? Why?
• If you could conduct an interview with a woman you admire, past or present, who would you choose? What three (3) questions would you ask her?
• If you could be an exchange student in any other country for half a school year, what country would you like to visit as a student? Why?

36.  Help kids learn to deal with bullies. There’s a great collection of online resources that can help kids deal with difficult peer situations.  You can find a list of recommended resources on our Teacher Resources page – click “Top Rated Student Activities” – then “Specialties” – and click “Bullying Resources.”

37.  Use the PSP to teach math. Did you know you can use the Renzulli Personal Success Plan to teach subject-area content for the core curriculum (and beyond)?  Find a doc with some ideas to get you started on our Teacher Resources page – click PSP Help, then PSP Subject Area Starters – and select Math.

38.  Instant differentiation of content for any curriculum topic. Here’s the fastest way to give each student a completely differentiated set of resources for learning about the curriculum topic of your choosing.  With all of the students in the computer lab, direct each student to click Search Enrichment Activities.  Then give them the keyword(s) you want them to search.  Be sure the students select “Search Your Enrichment Activities”, and each student will automatically get a menu of activities that match the topic you choose AND their unique learning interests and strengths.

39.  Find a contest! With our constantly-updated database of nearly 200 real world contests, your students can find lots of great new opportunities to have their work exhibited, published and critiqued by their peers.  You can use Renzulli’s Advanced Search page to find contests – just click the “Contests & Competitions” box under Select Enrichment Type, and enter any keyword to start your search.

40.  Generate a bar chart of student learning styles (Manager Site only). With just a few clicks, you can create beautiful full-color bar charts reflecting the learning styles, interests and expression styles of all of the students you manage via the Renzulli Manager Site.  From the Manager Site, just click “Reports” in the blue menu bar, then click “Student Profile Report“, and follow the onscreen prompts.

101 Ways to Use Renzulli:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Soon, we’ll be hitting that time of year when it seems like the kids have more days off than days at school – but not to worry! Renzulli gives you a number of ways to keep connected with your students – and keep them working on enriching, engaging activities that will keep them signing in, even during their break.

Here are a couple ideas:

• Send your students a “Favorite” – they’ll get a note in their inbox that tells them you’ve sent them an activity – AND lets them know you’re thinking of them.
• Set up a collaborative group to lead a discussion among your students on an upcoming topic. You can even attach an assignment. This is a great way to keep students connected to you and each other during a break – and keep the content you need to teach in the forefront of your students’ minds.
• Set up a couple “Curriculum Connections” on topics you have coming up after the break. Direct your students to login during the break and explore a set number of these resources, and give them a couple guiding questions in the directions. This will allow the students the freedom to “dabble” in the resources Renzulli selects for them, but still be exposed to the new concepts they will have to master when they return to school.