Elementary School Teachers: Job Requirements, Duties and Career Info
Elementary school teachers instruct children from grades 1-8. All teachers must hold both a bachelor's degree and a state teaching license to work in public schools. Employment of teachers is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. Read on to learn more.
Elementary School Teacher Job Requirements
Since a bachelor's degree is a requirement for state teaching licenses, all aspiring public school teachers must graduate from a 4-year program before submitting an application for a license. Students hoping to work as elementary teachers need to look for schools that offer programs in elementary education. Most schools conferring education degrees require students to complete a supervised student teaching experience prior to graduation.
The definition of elementary differs from state to state. For example, a state may define elementary as K-8 (kindergarten through to grade eight) while another state may define it as K-6. Students should consider the grade level they want to teach and state certification guidelines when choosing a degree program.
Observations of elementary school classrooms supplement many classes in an elementary education degree program. Students also take courses in which they create sample lesson plans and give mock lessons to their classmates. Additional courses may include educational psychology and elementary school science.
Most states require aspiring elementary school teachers to have teaching experience, so elementary teacher preparatory programs typically include this in their curriculum. Sometimes referred to as internships, these opportunities allow aspiring elementary school teachers to prepare reading assignments, grade papers and work with kids.
Teaching in a public school requires a state license. State boards have varying licensure requirements; however, most require a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Aspiring elementary school teachers may also need to successfully complete skills tests in subjects like reading and writing. Applicants should consult their respective state boards for more specific requirements.
Elementary School Teacher Duties
Most elementary school teachers are in charge of a single classroom of students who are all in the same grade. Accordingly, elementary school teachers typically instruct students in a variety of subjects, from language arts to social studies. While they still deliver formal lessons, elementary school teachers often use games, crafts and other entertaining activities to help students learn material.
Elementary school teachers are often required to know how to encourage and communicate well with young children in order to help them develop in their earliest academic years. Since school children learn intellectually and behaviorally at their own pace, a high level of patience is needed for the job. Teachers may be required to communicate with parents on a regular basis. This may include phoning parents about specific issues or giving progress updates through report cards.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects a large number of elementary school teachers to retire in the years 2012-2022 (www.bls.gov). Therefore, the BLS anticipates employment of kindergarten and elementary school teachers to grow 12% between 2012 and 2022. Aspiring teachers willing to relocate to high-need rural or urban areas will have the best job prospects.
As of May 2012, median annual earnings of kindergarten and elementary school teachers were $53,400 as reported by the BLS. The highest-earning ten percent earned salaries exceeding $83,160. Since most school districts use a salary ladder, the salary of an elementary school teacher tends to increase each year. School districts may pay teachers who have earned credits beyond a bachelor's degree, such as completing a 1-year professional development program or a master's degree, higher salaries.
Related to Elementary School Teachers
- Recently Updated
Elementary school teachers mentor children at crucial points in their lives. These educators may teach children in grades 1-8....
Middle school teachers, also known as junior high teachers, instruct students who have completed elementary school, but have...
Dealing with bad behavior from immature students may be considered a normal part of an elementary, middle or high school...
Elementary school teachers instruct children from kindergarten through either fifth or eighth grade, depending on their state's...
- Elementary School Teacher Career Info
- Elementary Principal: Career Profile
- Elementary Education Teacher: Educational Requirements
- Bachelor's in Travel & Tourism: Degree Overview
- Associate of Design Drafting: Degree Overview
- Top University in Tampa for a Computer Science Degree Program
- Automotive Technology Certificate for Diesel & Industrial Technicians
- California Elementary School Combines Reading Encouragement with Business Writing
- Career Info for a Degree in Teaching Elementary School Curriculum
- Electronics Certificate in Computer Technology & Telecommunications
- Top School for Becoming a Chef - San Bernardino, CA
- Bachelor of Science (BS): Marketing and Advertising Degree Overview


(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a March 21 column by Cornelia Janke incorrectly stated that there were riots recently at the Bagram prison in Afghanistan. The riots occurred at the Policharki prison in Kabul.)
A LOT OF BAD NEWS has come out of Afghanistan lately. There are reports of increasing insurgent activity in the country's southern provinces, including Kandahar and Helmand. Schools in these provinces are being burned, teachers shot, and students threatened. In Kabul, a city with a strong military presence, suicide bombings have increased over the last two years. Poppy production has grown dramatically since the start of the Karzai government in 2002. Earlier this month, there were riots at Bagram Prison, dubbed by some as ''Son of Guantanamo" for the reportedly poor living and human rights conditions of its detainees.
In the face of such discouraging news, it is tempting to assume that Afghanistan is too volatile and dangerous, and Afghans too beleaguered, for any positive changes to take hold.
This assumption is incorrect. Despite its precariousness, Afghanistan is progressing. Despite their insecurity, many Afghans are hopeful.
For example, school enrollment has grown from 900,000 in 2001 to nearly 5 million today, with girls comprising nearly 50 percent of the total. Millions of children are being immunized. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Afghanistan has virtually eradicated polio just five years after the disease caused more disability than did land mines. And, thanks to the government-supported National Solidarity Programme, thousands of Afghans are creating democratically elected Community Development Councils, implementing community initiatives (such as village wells or bridges or electrification), starting small businesses, and, above all, steadily ushering in positive change.
Such change is not easy and does not happen overnight. It requires courage and commitment on the part of Afghan citizens. The majority of Afghans must confront a host of daily challenges, including the lack of potable water and heat, high infant and maternal mortality rates, an average illiteracy rate of 70 percent, and poor access to roads, markets, and economic resources.
Despite these obstacles, Afghans are determined to make their lives, communities, and homeland better. But they can not do it alone. Decades of war, political instability, and poverty have left the country in desperate need of human and financial resources.
US, European, and other donors, as well as private investors, recognize this and are supporting many initiatives to rebuild Afghanistan's physical and social infrastructure. The USAID-supported Literacy and Community Empowerment Program, building on the successes of the National Solidarity Program, works in nearly 200 rural communities to develop village-level governance, encourage savings and credit activity, support micro-enterprise, and build literacy and numeracy skills among women and youths.
However, more assistance at the local levels is critical if Afghans' determination and optimism are to find fertile soil. Such aid might take the form of micro-enterprise development, support for schools and health clinics, or support for local government. But whatever form it takes, it must give Afghans the tools to help them build a better future for themselves.
Finally, Afghans -- and the world at large -- need some good news. They need to learn about the positive changes that are happening. Not only will increased pubic attention to progress yield a more accurate picture of today's Afghanistan, it will also encourage lawmakers and investors to create more and better avenues for international support.
Of course, the presence of international military forces plays an important role in containing the insurgency in parts of Afghanistan. But it is obvious that much of the struggle for the direction of Afghanistan will be carried out by ordinary villagers, in Kandahar and elsewhere, who know that the future is not with the Taliban but in their own, increasingly capable hands.
Cornelia Janke, of Education Development Center Inc. in Newton, recently returned from Afghanistan, where she manages the Literacy and Community Empowerment Program.


Music makes you smarter. That’s the conclusion from a recent study of children who spent at least two years learning to play a musical instrument at The Harmony Project, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides free music lessons to low-income students from gang-ridden neighborhoods.
The Harmony Project’s founder, Margaret Martin, noticed several years ago that many of the program’s music students were not only graduating high school, but heading on to UCLA, Tulane, and other notable universities. They were regularly beating the odds compared to their neighborhood peers, and she wondered why.
Researchers at Northwestern University took a look at The Harmony Project’s students, analyzing their graduation rates and other markers of academic success. The study tracked 44 students over two years as they learned to play an instrument. The results, published this week in The Journal of Neuroscience, show evidence of measurable changes in the brain. The researchers believe the musical training caused those changes, allowing the students to process sounds more easily. That increased ability directly translates into improved reading and speech skills.
Nina Kraus, the study’s lead researcher and director of Northwestern’s auditory neuroscience laboratory, compared the difference to that of building up the body through exercise.
“I like to say to people: You’re not going to get physically fit just watching sports,” she said.
The findings provide a welcome boost for advocates of music education. Music programs are often at risk in public schools as governing boards struggle to balance competing financial interests. Music classes, bands, and ensembles can seem like “extras,” not worth fighting for when budgets are tight and public scrutiny is focused on math and reading scores.
But unlike most other subjects, playing a musical instrument engages students holistically. It challenges them academically, requiring literacy and math skills ranging from mundane to sophisticated. It requires students to experience learning physically—moving fingers, arms, legs, and even feet to produce the proper sound. It probes students’ emotional and spiritual depths, asking meaningful, artistic questions that often have deeply personal answers.
April Benasich, a professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University, said Kraus’ previous research has demonstrated the value of music in improving concentration, memory, and focus in children.
Benasich, who researches early brain development, said the study’s findings are “a game-changer for both the scientific and public policy domains, particularly in an era when these sorts of enrichment activities are being aggressively eliminated from our schools.”
Adelina Flores, whose 11-year-old daughter, America, was a test subject, said she wasn’t surprised by the results. Her daughter had already told her she was getting better at math because playing music had taught her to divide notes into fractions and count them out in measures.
“She’s improved a lot through this,” Flores said, adding, “And she’s grown to be more confident too.”


Gardening helps kids learn
BY Nicola Conville Freelance Journalist
Green thumbs make better thinkers, so kids should get gardening.
Spending time gardening is linked to improved reading, writing and numeracy skills in children, according to a UK study. Researchers surveyed 1300 teachers and looked at 10 schools to examine the impact of gardening on kids. Teachers who encouraged students to get involved in school gardens as part of their education said the children who did so displayed more independence and were better at problem-solving. The report claims that the changeable nature of gardening projects - where weather and plant disease can affect outcomes, for instance - encourages children to become more flexible and better equipped for problem-solving.
Pregnancy & Parenting Most Popular
Pregnancy & Parenting Galleries
Your chance to Win
Talk and text all you want with this great amaysim prize pack


The rural poor in countries like India often benefit more from cheap, simple projects than they do from big, internationally-aided ones, a study by a group of economists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found.
Women invest more in infrastructure, the study found
The economists, members of the school's Poverty Action Lab, have been evaluating anti-poverty programmes in India, Kenya, South Africa, Peru and the Philippines.
In India, the Lab has nine completed and continuing projects on subjects ranging from computer-assisted learning to women as policy makers, and school health to affirmative action in colleges.
One of the projects is an evaluation of village councils run by women in the states of West Bengal and Rajasthan.
A 1993 law reserved one-third of India's village council leader posts for women.
These councils control the allocation of funds for local infrastructure projects - such as the construction of roads and drinking water and irrigation systems, and the repair of schools and other public buildings.
The MIT study found that women leaders invested more in infrastructure that related to their concerns - water and roads in Bengal, and water in Rajasthan.
It also found that women were more politically active in village councils with a woman leader.
Helping children learn need not cost much
The findings, says Professor Abhijit Banerjee, an MIT economics professor and co-founder of the Poverty Action Lab, cast doubt on the general perception in India that men - often the husbands of the elected leaders - rule these women-led village councils by proxy.
"Women leaders spend differently from their male counterparts voicing their priorities," says Professor Banerjee.
The Lab evaluated another project run by an Indian non-governmental organisation in poor urban neighbourhoods.
In this innovative programme, the NGO hired young local women - called balshaki (or child's friend) - to provide remedial education to high school pupils who lacked primary school level competencies.
These students are taken out of regular classes for two hours of the school day and taught basic literacy and numeracy skills. The programme costs $5 a child every year, and is being implemented in 20 cities around India.
The MIT study showed that helping the students improves their grades and "effectively decreases inequality in classroom test scores".
Health and learning
The other interesting finding pertains to an evaluation of a NGO-run pre-school nutrition and health project in the slums of the capital, Delhi.
The programme provides for giving children medical treatment for intestinal worms and iron supplements to improve health. It costs on average less than $2 per child every year.
Health and learning were found to be linked
The MIT study found that the children gained weight and that average pre-school participation jumped sharply. Absenteeism reduced by a fifth.
The study raises questions about whether high-profile, foreign-funded poverty alleviation projects really deliver the desired results.
Developed nations and international donors, including the World Bank, spend more than $55bn every year in programmes designed to improve the condition of the world's 2.7bn poor people.
"There are cheap, simple and effective approaches that can have important benefits for the poor which are not being done," says Abhijit Banerjee.
One good example, he says, is that a fourth of the world's population have intestinal worms. Providing cheap deworming medication has no side effects, costs just pennies per child and increases health and school attendance substantially.
"Interventions that people assume are effective do not always work as well as expected or have the expected consequences," says Professor Banerjee.
One example he quotes is a Lab study finding that providing text books to children in poor Kenyan schools only raised the test scores of those already doing well at school.
"It is possible that the majority of children could not use the standard textbooks effectively as they were in English, the third language of most children in rural Kenyan schools," says Professor Banerjee.
The Lab's economists suggest that donors and those receiving aid should evaluate their programmes rigorously and "reorganise" them accordingly.
"We believe one important benefit of careful evidence on development programmes is that it can help address the cynicism about aid. People are more likely to give funding to programmes that have been demonstrated to have important benefits," says Professor Banerjee.


4-12 year olds
Art experiences are provided through an integrated art therapy and art education approach. Children will explore a wide range of media and techniques including: mixed media collage, pencil, paint, charcoal, pastels, print-making, clay, & recycled & natural materials. Preliminary studies and weekly art experiences build upon the next. Each child’s pace and style of working is considered while providing an open environment for individual creativity, emerging ideas, and opportunities for collaboration. Emphasis is placed on the PROCESS of self-expression as a vehicle through which to gain a heightened self-awareness. Art sessions provided year-round–Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer Camp.
A serene studio—a secure garden setting


The Open Eye in Learning
The contributors to this volume are primarily concerned not with building an argument regarding "eye-training" but with the question "What kinds of art courses are necessary to fulfill the objectives of general education and also satisfy a complex set of personal needs?" The book contains numerous and significant illustrations on all levels of achievement in art and an extensive bibliography.
"Bassett's book is sensitive yet scholarly... the finest text one could use in art education courses... a beautifully written book!"—Choice
"The executive committee of the National Association of Independent Schools appointed a special committee on the study of art to produce an evaluation and report. The committee expanded its scope and received support from The MIT Press. In the report here, five contributors offer nine articles that are evaluations of present educational programs and suggestions for future art involvement by secondary schools and colleges."—Library Journal
"An examination of art education from primary grades through college. Explores characteristics of art courses that meet both educational and personal needs. Proposes specific studio, historical, and critical courses, and discusses outstanding examples of school art programs."


Teachers' self-reports and documentation of their secondary literacy instruction
Few studies have documented how teachers implement research-based practices in secondary English/Language Arts (ELA) classrooms. Self-reports of 9 urban and suburban middle-school and high-school teachers from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were examined in this qualitative investigation. Data from semistructured interviews, classroom artifacts, and student work were explored through recursive, constant comparative analysis to present a narrative of authentic practices reported by the participants.^ Findings indicate that most teachers integrate research-based instructional strategies such as independent reading, instruction in reading comprehension strategies, scaffold learning over time, making connections to students' lives, and using supplemental materials to teach concepts. The study also documented that secondary teachers' perceptions of literacy fall along a "literacy continuum" and they believe students should arrive in secondary school with proficient literacy skills; that most teachers reported that students met academic expectations when they integrate multiple research-based approaches, such as flexible grouping, and teacher modeling to teach reading and writing; that most teachers teach reading, writing, vocabulary, and test preparation; and that structural factors such as testing shape teachers' instructional choices and often contradict their beliefs about literacy. ^ Hypotheses generated from the findings led to recommendations for the ways literacy instruction can be integrated with ELA content. First, secondary teachers should teach more reading comprehension strategies, beyond making connections, to foster students' independence and interaction with text. Second, classroom conversation should facilitate discussion of social issues and promote critical literacy. Third, teachers should use unit planning to immerse students in study throughout the school year. Unit planning provides the opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice, integrate a variety of research-based practices, provide students with choice through multiple learning experiences, and modify the curriculum to meet the needs of the students. Fourth, teachers need to provide students with explicit instruction by using models, rubrics, and establishing clear expectations for academic tasks.^
Education, Secondary|Education, Reading|Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Salika Ann Lawrence,
"Teachers' self-reports and documentation of their secondary literacy instruction"
(January 1, 2007).
ETD Collection for Fordham University.


By Mary Bellis
Luther Burbank was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts on March 7, 1849. Despite receiving only an elementary education, Burbank developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants, including 113 varieties of plums and prunes, 10 varieties of berries, 50 varieties of lilies, and the Freestone peach.
His Burbank potato was introduced in Ireland to combat the blight epidemic. Burbank sold the rights to the potato for $150, enough to travel to Santa Rosa, California. There he established a nursery, greenhouse, and experimental farm that have become famous throughout the world.
Plants were not patentable until 1930. Consequently, Burbank received his plant patents posthumously. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1986. In California, his birthday is celebrated as Arbor Day and trees are planted in his memory. Had Burbank lived fifty years earlier, there can be small doubt that he would universally be regarded as the father of American horticulture.
Luther Burbank built the Burbank potato which is the precursor to the Idaho potato. - Invention Dimension.
Luther Burbank - Plant Patents
Agricultural patents on different types of potatoes, peaches, "Idaho" potato - National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Seeking to improve the "Irish potato", the self-taught and brilliant American horticulturist Luther Burbank took the first step. Growing twenty-three seedlings from an Early Rose parent, he discovered that one seedling produced two to three times more tubers of better size than any other potato variety he had yet grown. After testing this new variety, Burbank marketed the seedling he called the Burbank to the West Coast states in the late 1800's.
George Washington Carver
Return Inventors - B
[Images courtesy of Rick Hall, About Nutrition Guidehttp://nutrition.about.com].
Important disclaimer information about this About site.


The standards for Arts and Humanities are located in the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. The standards incorporate the four arts disciplines of dance, drama, music, visual art. Schools are urged to provide their students with rigorous arts programs that emphasize creativity, production and performance, and response to the arts.
The arts and humanities program in the elementary grades centers on an exploration of the art forms of dance, drama/theatre, music and visual arts. Emphasis should be placed on exposing students to a variety of arts through active experiences in all four art forms. This exploration includes a beginning of literacy development in the arts content areas, simple analysis and critique of the arts, and active creating and performing in the arts.
The arts and humanities programs at the middle school level should center on establishing grounding in the arts so that students are able to communicate at a basic level in each of the art forms of dance, drama/theatre, music and visual arts. Emphasis should be placed on exposing students to a variety of arts through active experiences in all four art forms. Students may have already begun to, or at this level choose to focus on one art form for more in-depth study. This will help students to prepare should they choose specialization in one art form at the high school level. Grounding in the arts involves literacy development in the four arts content areas, analysis and critique of the arts, and active creating and performing in the arts.
At the high school level, students may choose to specialize in one or more art forms. Specialization will enable students to study an art form in an in-depth manner and work toward achieving proficiency and mastery in creating, performing, and responding to their chosen art form. Students who specialize in an art form will participate in performance-based arts courses designed to develop skills and understanding that will enable students to use the art form as a high level communication tool. This is accomplished through the development of creativity and production or performance skills. Performance-based courses also connect the arts with their historical and cultural contexts as students study exemplary works and learn the impact of time, place and personality on the arts. In addition, these courses promote an understanding of the interrelationships among the arts disciplines and connections with other academic content areas.
Students choosing not to specialize in an art form in high school should move beyond the grounding in the arts achieved at the middle school level toward proficiency in the arts. Emphasis for these students should be placed on exposing students to a variety of arts through active experiences in all four art forms, and developing further understanding and appreciation of the historical and cultural significance of dance, drama/theatre, music and visual arts. A higher emphasis on the process of responding to the arts is a natural outcome of this more general approach to arts and humanities education, however creating and performing the arts remain as critical processes in the general education of all students and promote deep understanding and appreciation of the arts.
At all grade levels, students should have the opportunity to learn about the arts in the context of creating and performing. As students create and perform, they learn that the arts are basic to human communication and that they can use the arts to communicate specific meaning through their choices in the use of various arts elements and principles of design.
Creating involves planning and creating new music, dance, drama/theatre or visual arts, or it may involve improvising in music, dance or drama/theatre. Improvising is the composing of new music, reciting/acting new dramatic material, or creating new dance movements on the spur of the moment.
Performing is limited to the performing arts of music, dance and drama/theatre. Visual arts students should consider the exhibition of their art as ‘performing.’ Performing involves presenting previously created works for an audience as well as performing original works. Although the process of performing involves following a creative plan conceived by a composer, playwright or choreographer, there is still opportunity for creative interpretations in the performance.
Responding to the arts involves responses on multiple levels. The arts are a tool for communication and are capable of delivering meaning through literal and emotional content. Responding to the emotional content of artworks involves actually feeling the emotion(s) set forth by the creator. Responding can also involve intellectual analysis of works of art in regard to their design, effectiveness and quality.


Remember the first time your toddler said "no!" or your teen became determined to have the last word?
One of the most frustrating issues parents will ever face is how to deal with a child who is talking back, according to nemours.org, a national children's health system based in Jacksonville, Fla.
Because few parents can escape this, the Pocono Record talked to a few experts for advice on how to deal with a smart mouth.
"It can start around the time the child turns 4 and could be even earlier," said Caroline DiPipi-Hoy, assistant professor of education and rehabilitation at East Stroudsburg University.
One of the most important things parents need to remember is that research proves children, no matter what age, learn their behavior from their environment, DiPipi-Hoy said.
"Children aren't born knowing how to act. They mimic the behavior around them," she said.
That means the environment the parents create around the children in the home will affect their behaviors in public, she said.
To encourage the child to develop a cooperative and respectful attitude, DiPipi-Hoy said parents need to make sure they acknowledge the child's good behavior, as well.
"You can use a reward chart or some other type of positive reinforcement for good behavior," she said.
Sometimes taking away a favorite toy for a specified amount of time can be a good deterrent for children at this age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
DiPipi-Hoy also suggested using timeout.
At this age, Cynthia Whitham, associate director of the Parent Training Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, said it isn't about winning a battle. It is about changing the child's behavior.
"If your child yells, 'You're a dummy' and runs out of the room when you ask her to turn off the TV, you should let your child know such language is not acceptable," Whitham said.
Ignoring negative behavior after a brief, but firm, reminder that your child's words hurt your feelings can have more impact than starting a prolonged battle of wills, she said.
The concrete operational stage begins around age 7 and continues until about age 11, when children gain a better understanding of mental operations, said Dr. Andrew Whitehead, chairman of early childhood and elementary education at East Stroudsburg University.
Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or what-if concepts. Yet they need to be held accountable for disrespect or talking back, he said.
It isn't until around age 12 that they can truly understand that talking back and having a smart mouth are socially not acceptable and there will be some type of punishment.
"When they reach this age, they need to be held responsible for their actions," Whitehead said.
Sometimes, they are simply acting out and once you help them communicate what they are upset about, the behavior improves, DiPipi-Hoy said.
Youths 13 to 19 are developing abstract reasoning skills, and they can participate more fully in their own consequences.
Having them be involved with their punishment gives the teen a chance to use his or her adult decision-making skills, according to kidshealth.org, part of Nemours children's health system.
Discuss abstract concepts such as trust and responsibility with your teenager. Understand that your teen will probably be inconsistent in her ability to apply what she has learned.
"Don't let guilt keep you from punishing your child," said Denise Witmer, author of "The Everything Parent Guide to Raising a Successful Child: All You Need to Encourage Your Child to Excel at Home and School."
The resounding advice repeated by the experts is to be consistent with parenting rules.
Even though it is hard at times and you would rather just let it slide, DiPipi-Hoy said, "Parents really lose credibility if they don't remain consistent with what behavior they expect."


What Is Computational Thinking?
Senior Project Manager Carolyn Sykora outlines ISTE’s
work on an NSF grant to define computational thinking
and create resources that facilitate its teaching
What is computational thinking, and what skills would a student exhibit as a computational thinker? In April, a group of educators and
researchers met to explore these questions.
Academics have vigorously debated these questions since
2006, when Jeannette Wing of Carnegie Mellon University
wrote and published Computational Thinking, which outlines her viewpoint that “ubiquitous computing is to today
as computational thinking is to tomorrow. Ubiquitous
computing was yesterday’s dream that became today’s
reality; computational thinking is tomorrow’s reality.”
ISTE and the Computer Science Teachers Association
(CSTA) took up the challenge to define computational
thinking as something that can be understood, valued,
and implemented by K– 12 teachers. The project, funded
by the National Science Foundation, will include the development of prototype resources that teachers can use to
implement computational thinking in their classrooms.
The group that met in April agreed on many things:
•;Students need computational thinking skills to be
competitive in today’s global knowledge economy.
•;The foundational skills of computational thinking
can be introduced in elementary school, and students
can progressively build higher-order skills throughout
•;Educators can and should teach computational thinking
within computer science courses and beyond, across all
So what does computational thinking look like? In some
cases, teachers are already facilitating computational thinking with their students but don’t recognize it as such. For
example, in the younger grades, a teacher might focus
students on sequencing, collecting, and analyzing data or
developmentally appropriate algorithmic thinking. In the
48 Learning & Leading with Technology | August 2010
upper grades, students may explore open-ended, inquiry-based problems that require a tolerance for ambiguity or
confidence in dealing with complexity.
For many, recognizing how to apply computational thinking in math or science is a much smaller leap than applying
it to language arts, the social sciences, or humanities. In
language arts, for example, applying computational thinking
can include performing a linguistic analysis of sentences.
Identifying patterns for different sentence types can be
components of data collection and analysis. Using similes
and metaphors can exemplify abstraction, and using a spell
checker can illustrate automation.
As ISTE and CSTA work with K– 16 educators and
education leaders as well as specialists at district and state
levels to refine the definition of computational thinking, we
will be identifying target audiences, messages, and prototype resources. The April meeting kicked off the discussion
and was followed by a session at ISTE 2010 to get feedback
on an operational definition and brainstorm resources that
would help teachers implement this kind of learning across
a variety of curriculum areas. A practitioners workshop,
slated for November, will bring together a group of teachers, curriculum developers, and staff developers to write
prototype resources for implementation in K– 12.
Principal investigators Leslie Conery from ISTE and
Chris Stephenson from CSTA are collaborating on a joint
project for the NSF called “Leveraging Thought Leadership
for Computational Thinking in the K– 12 Curriculum.”
NSF recognized their expertise and leadership in bringing
together educators from K– 12 with computer scientists
to explore and build consensus around this concept.
ISTE and CSTA recognize the exciting potential this
project has to meet our respective missions and help bring
about the systemic change to develop tomorrow’s students
into strong computational thinkers.


Our Site Has Moved...
Day Care Course Description
Weight: 1.0 Credit: 0.5 – semester
This course is open to juniors and seniors who have successfully passed the Child Care course with a “B” or better or with teacher approval. If you like working with children, then this course is for you! The course provides valuable experience for those students furthering their education in early childhood or elementary education, and also provides skills for the future role of parenting.
The course of study includes child care options, health and safety concerns, infant and child CPR certification (fee involved), and skills such as learning games, craft activities, storytelling, children’s songs, and planning nutritious snacks. Students “work” in a 10 week preschool setting with 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children.
The Lion’s Den Preschool Experience
The Lion’s Den Preschool is a lab-type experience for students who are motivated, have demonstrated effective work habits in the Child Care course, and have an interest in a possible career related to working with children.
This experience involves students in the Day Care course planning lessons for the preschool children that include mini lessons, snacks, games, songs, stories and crafts based on weekly themes that are age appropriate.
Students are divided into groups of two or three to develop lesson plans, observe the children and create eye-catching bulletin boards in the preschool room.
The goal for each teacher is to help the children in the preschool program develop into learners who will be ready for kindergarten by the age of 5. The teachers help the children develop acceptable social skills and behaviors that will enable them to succeed in a school setting and have a positive sense of self.


The Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction: Reading with an Emphasis in Elementary Education is designed for licensed K-8 educators who want to focus on elementary literacy strategies in order to improve the reading abilities of their students. Some individuals who pursue this curriculum and instruction master‛s program are interested in becoming a reading coach or a reading intervention specialist.
Students in this program learn to apply theory and educational best practices to the delivery of curriculum, instruction and assessment in order to improve the reading abilities and reading comprehension of their students. The curriculum and instruction master‛s courses are aligned to the International Reading Association standards.
Students are provided with the foundation needed to diagnose and assess reading deficiencies and corrective reading strategies. Students will also learn how to develop and implement corrective reading plans and analyze the results. Past trends and the evolution of reading instruction are also explored. Other topics of focus include: foundational theory and research, children and young adult literature, developmental learning and assessments, corrective reading assessment, and instructional leadership and literacy coaching. In addition, there is a focus on elementary reading and writing and a study on the use of textbooks, trade books, literature and electronic texts that are relevant in every elementary content area. Students also learn how to use the various genres and delivery methods (paper and digital) to meet literacy goals.
An Elementary Practicum is included in this curriculum and instruction master‛s program, which provides an in-depth study of the International Reading Association (IRA) Standards by examining research-based approaches linking assessment and instruction for elementary teachers. Teachers learn to use a wide range of formal and informal assessment tools and methods to diagnose and assess reading and writing development, instruction and assessment.
Geared toward individuals who are already licensed as teachers, this curriculum and instruction master‛s program does not lead to licensure but may lead to career advancement. Program applicants must submit a copy of a current teaching license or provide evidence of a minimum of one year of teaching experience. In addition, it is essential for students to have access to a K-12 classroom to complete the program assignments.
* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.


- Partner Project Home
- About The Project
- Project Staff
- Institutional Partners
- Advisory Board
- Project News
Lyn Hale, Project Manager
The University of Toledo
Gillham Hall 4000B, MS 954
2801 W.Bancroft St.
Toledo, OH 43606
It is important that early childhood teachers are able to communicate effectively with children and families. In inclusive settings it is especially important for teachers to be able to develop partnerships with parents so that both parties can develop an understanding of how to best address the individual child’s developmental skills within natural settings.
The National Center on Inclusion (NTCI)
The National Center on Inclusion(NTCI) project, Kids Included Together (KIT) specializes in providing best practices training for community–based organizations committed to including children with and without disabilities into their recreational, child development and youth development programs. KIT offers many resources, including instructional videos.
In the following video clip KIT trainers discuss and model skills related to communicating effectively with families.
In the following video clip KIT trainers discuss and model skills related to communicating
expectations to students.
In the following video clip KIT trainers discuss and model how to use gestures and objects in order to communicate effectively with children with disabilities.
In the following video clip KIT trainers discuss and model how to use your voice in
order to communicate effectively with children with disabilities.
Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC)
The Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) outlines strategies to guide teachers in effective ways to communicate with parents and caregivers about children.
The center also provides strategies to help teacher support families.
Zero to Three
Zero to Three, the national center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families outlines three key steps to effective communication with families.
The following essay from First Steps, provides some strategies for sharing concerns with parents about their child’s development. https://www.firstsigns.org/concerns/parent_parent.htm
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities
The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD) is a statewide, nonprofit organization that serves families of infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities in Ohio, and agencies who provide services to them. OCECD works through the coalition efforts of over 40 parent and professional disability organizations which comprise the Coalition. The OCECD’s programs help parents become informed and effective representatives for their children in all educational settings. http://www.ocecd.org/index.php
Evaluation of a Family-Centered Early Childhood Special Education Preservice Model
by Program Graduates by Mary Murray and Colleen Mandell
This qualitative study evaluated the impact on program graduates of two personnel preparation projects founded on a family-centered preservice model and funded by the Office of Special Education Programs. Study findings indicated that family involvement in content-based and field-based coursework positively affected the use of family centered practices. PDF
Blogging as a Way to Promote Family-Professional Partnerships
This article describes how to use blogging as a way to promote communication with families.
Listening for Details of Talk: Early Childhood Parent-Teacher Conference Communication Facilitators
In this article, the authors illustrate common communication patterns and provide links to some of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children’s recommended practices for communicating and collaborating with parents.
CLASP Toolkit for Planning Home Visiting Partnerships
CLASP's toolkit, Home Away From Home: A Toolkit for Planning Home Visiting Partnerships with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers, offers help in exploring partnerships between home visitors and caregivers. PDF
Community Mapping in Action: Uncovering Resources and Assets for Young Children and
This article describes the process of community action and how it can be used to gather resources for families with young children. PDF
Home-School Collaboration for Embedding Individualized Goals in Daily Routines
This article describes how collaborative planning using an activity based approach to intervention can be used to help teachers and parents work together on shared goals within natural environments. PDF
Fostering Parent and Professional Collaboration: Research Brief
This article summarizes historical trends in parent-professional collaboration, describes some potential barriers to collaboration, and provides practical strategies for collaboration. PDF


(National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1997; Olson and Goldstein, 1997) covers several areas:
Use of native-language assessments. Assessments can be developed in languages other than English, a strategy under active investigation. New York state, for example, will offer three of its four core subject Regents examinations in five languages in addition to English (Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Russian, Chinese, and Korean); the English exam must be taken in English.
A number of technical difficulties arise in attempting to create a comparable test in another language. Difficulties include "problems of regional and dialect difference, nonequivalence of vocabulary difficulty between the two languages, problems of incomplete language development and lack of literacy development in students' primary languages, and the extreme difficulty of defining a 'bilingual' equating sample (each new definition of a bilingual sample will demand a new statistical equating). Minimally, back-translation should be done to determine equivalent meaning, and ideally, psychometric validation should be undertaken as well" (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1997:121).
Results of a recent NAEP field test of mathematics items illustrates the challenge of using native-language assessments (Anderson et al., 1996). "Spanish-language items were translations of English-version items. This research found substantial psychometric discrepancies in students' performance on the same test items across both languages, leading to the conclusion that the Spanish and English versions of many test items were not measuring the same underlying mathematical knowledge. This result may be attributable to a lack of equivalence between original and translated versions of test items and needs further investigation" (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1997:122).
Implementation of non-English-language achievement tests as part of assessment systems needs to be accompanied by research establishing the validity and reliability of such assessments and their comparability to scores on related assessments in English.
Decreasing the English-language load through modification of items or instructions. This is difficult to do and research thus far is limited. "While some experts recommend reducing nonessential details and simplifying grammatical structures (Short, 1991), others claim that simplifying the


According to Kolman, "El Languaje de la Música, al Descubierto"(Editorial Seleer, Spain, 2013) is the first book published in Spanish on the fundamentals of how to read and write music.
Critics have praised "The Language of Music Revealed" for "moving musical theory and practical application into a new and engaging realm," and hundreds of teachers have adopted the book as their standard student text.
"Unlike most music theory books, Kolman has worked hard to ensure that the book is fun, engaging and develops a deeper understanding and appreciation of the subject," wrote one critic.
Kolman hopes the success of the English version will be repeated in the Hispanic community with the Spanish language edition.
"This was a labor love," said Kolman. "I was appalled that there were no books written in Spanish on music fundamentals for the average person. Spanish universities told me that they translated whatever books they found into Spanish and also used a lot of British books. But there were no books written in Spanish."
Like the English version, the book includes graphics, a cartoon character and jokes to guide the reader through music theory. "The jokes didn't quite translate into Spanish," said Kolman, "so the translator and I made up jokes that would work in Spanish."
He credited Washington and Lee University for providing the funds to hire the translator, who needed to know about music since musical terms don't translate verbatim.
Kolman introduced the book and played clarinet to a Hispanic audience at the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 10th Annual Hispanic Gala in October. He has also been invited to work with various schools in Chicago, Ill., talking about the book and giving mini lessons on how to read music.
Kolman conducts the University-Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra (USSO), along with teaching music fundamentals, introduction to music, applied clarinet, and conducting. He is a frequent guest conductor of orchestras around the world.
He received his B.Mus. in music education from the Crane School of Music, his M. Mus. in clarinet performance from Illinois State University and his Doctor of Arts degree in conducting from the University of Northern Colorado.
"El Languaje de la Música, al Descubierto" is available at bookstores and online.


You're in elementary or high school. Your head is busting with invention ideas. No idea how to make them work? This is your guide.
1Think about what you want to make. If possible, take a pad and pencil with you when you go places so that you can write down ideas.
- One place to start thinking of ideas is with a problem. What annoys you? What could work better? What task could you use help doing? What would you like to be able to do better or faster?
- The problem doesn't need to be new and the device doesn't need to be new. Even if a dozen designs for a particular device exist, you're still inventing something if you make a new design to do the same thing in a different way.
2A great way to get ideas is to ask others in your household about daily problems they face and recording their feedback.
3Once you have several ideas, look through them and decide which one(s) to build. Start with one that isn't too hard to make, with easy-to-get materials.
4Sketch your invention, using as many sketches as you want and any labels or notes you'd like it to have. If you plan on it working, don't forget to sketch in the inside. Remember to list the materials you need!
5Think about how it will work. An idea is fine, but unless you know how it works, you cannot invent it.
6Get your materials. Go to shops like Home Depot or Radio Shack to get what you need for your invention. If none of the stores you can think of have what you need (don't rule out WalMart!), try eBay or Amazon.
- Sometimes, the materials can inspire the invention. Go to a garage sale and see what you find there. What else could it become? The new purpose doesn't have to be anything like the original purpose.
7Get some tools. If you are using anything potentially dangerous, get your parents' help.
8Figure out a good time to put your invention together. Mom or Dad might need to be there, so don't forget to ask them if one of them is free when you plan on putting it together.
9Only you know exactly how to put your invention together. Make sure you have everything, and go ahead and get started. If glue needs to dry or something like that, don't make the adult that helped you sit around if they have things to do. Just make sure they understand when they need to get back and help again.Ad
Are you an expert on video streaming?
If so, share what you know about how to improve video streaming.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
We are a bit smarter today because of you.
- Before starting on the project, see if there are any previous patents for that specific project
- Look at other inventions in your surroundings and learn how they work. Inventions don't need to be complicated.
- Be creative. Your imagination can do wonders.
- If you need to glue something and not have gaps where you joined it, do NOT use hot glue. Use rubber cement or superglue.
- Use balsa wood only if you need its properties. It is light and easy to cut, but it is also very delicate. Most of the time, you'll want something stronger
- Learn all you can about the things that will comprise your invention, whether those are wood or metal rods, circuits and software, motors and gears, or fabrics and threads. The more you know about how the pieces work and how they work together, the more robust your invention can be.
- Make sure your idea is your own. If it's a school project, you won't get as high a grade, and if it's for fun, you won't get that feeling of satisfaction.
- Usually the simplest solution is the best one, but feel free to sketch and even try several ideas.
- Turn all parts of the invention in on time and at the same time if it's for a school project.
- Always have a parent in the room with you while you are inventing. They know how to use the tools and will be a huge help.
- If you have to use a hot glue gun, there are mini ones on the market. You can use those by yourself, but make sure a parent is in the room.
- Wear old clothes you don't care about. Paint and glue have a tendency to get all over everything.
- Use all tools safely. If you're not sure how to take proper precautions, don't use them until you know.
Things You'll Need
- Ruler or a straight object
Categories: Science for Kids
Recent edits by: Daniel Bauwens, Abrogation316, Noah Lovelady-Allen
In other languages:
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 33,925 times.


Last name origins & meanings:
- English: habitational name from any of the various places, for
example in Hertfordshire, Kent, and Somerset, so named from Old
English strǣt ‘paved highway’, ‘Roman road’ (Latin
strata (via)). In the Middle Ages the word at first denoted a
Roman road but later also came to denote the main street in a town or
village, and so the surname may also have been a topographic name for
someone who lived on a main street.
- Jewish: Americanized
form of the Sephardic surname Chetrit, of uncertain
- Americanized form of Ashkenazic Jewish
Strasser and a number of other similar surnames.
- The Rev. Nicholas Street (1603–74) came from England to Taunton,
MA, between 1630 and 1638, and later moved to New Haven, CT, where his
descendant Augustus Russell Street, a leader in art education, was
born in 1791 and went on to become one of the most important early
benefactors of Yale College.
Comments for Stonestreet


In our classroom, we use our cell phones and other devices primarily in a literacy development fashion. I am a high school English teacher, and I find that many of my students feel more comfortable writing on their devices rather than using paper and a pen. From their devices, they can post their writing to our class blog for peer review and feedback.In terms of critical thinking, my students research extensively on the web and it is very convenient for them to pull out their phones to access our wireless network rather than going to a computer lab in the school. They can share the links to various sites via text messaging or Facebook in a timely and efficient manner. Many of my students communicate regularly in these mediums so it allows for the ubiquitous transmission of ideas into and out of the classroom.For the artists in my classroom, cell phones promote the expression of their thinking and learning. The students use the cameras on their phones to take photos for projects as well as to document the learning process for reflective writing pieces. Many students also use the cameras to take photos of our in-class work anchor charts and exemplars posted on the bulletin boards.Cell phones and other devices also help my students to stay organized. The students in my class use the calendar apps in their phones and can also access my Google Calendar to keep track of important dates. From their devices, they can also visit my website which houses our tasks for the day and digital copies of class assignments.


Oh no! Watch out! It's a tiger! Where is that big cat? This is a very lively read-aloud for all ages, but especially ages 3 and up.
Mr. Magee and his little dog Dee pack up the camper and go on the road. A trip to the forest up a hill with a beautiful view. All is quiet and peaceful until a bear wanders in who wants their marshmallows! A fun rhyming read-aloud for all ages.
When a boy moves into a new neighborhood he devises a way to meet new people and make new friends. Neville!? Where did he go? A fun read-aloud for ages 4 and up.
For Kids: Great Reads
New Children's Books
News for Little and Big Kids
One of the first early literacy skills to develop is print motivation. Print motivation is a child's interest in and enjoyment of books. Parents can cultivate this skill early on by reading to their infants. Even though they aren't able to follow the story, they still very much enjoy hearing their parent's voice. If children witness their parents enjoying reading, they learn to...Read more
At some point in early childhood, children realize that letters are different from each other. They learn to recognize all letters, in both lower and upper cases. They learn the name of each letter and what sound accompanies each letter. This process is known as letter knowledge. This skill can be developed by every day reading and writing activities such as playing with alphabet letters on a refrigerator, reading and pointing out...Read more
Print awareness is noticing print everywhere! Print awareness is knowing that the squiggly lines on a page symbolize something meaningful. Print awareness is the knowledge that writing in English is read from left to right and that the text flows from the top of the page to the bottom. Another aspect of print awareness is being familiar with how a book works; that books have covers, and pages to be turned, left to right....Read more
Vocabulary is simply knowing the names of things. Words and their meanings are the building blocks of literacy development. The more words a child knows, the easier it will be for him or her to understand what they read. A parent can help their child build vocabulary by exploring different types of books, formats, and subjects in both fiction and non-fiction. As unfamiliar words are encountered, the parent and the child can sound them out...Read more
The teen advisory board of the UAPL recently sponsored a poetry contest for grades K-12. The winner of the K-4 Division was Graci J. Here's Graci's winning poem:
Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow where the stars shine shine bright.
Over the Rainbow where there is no fright.
Where the sun is shining,
the clouds are no longer crying.
That's where I...Read more
Connect with Your Librarians
Join our Youth Department's Goodreads Group: connect with your librarians and other Goodreads Group members to discuss and share book recommendations.
Resources for Preschool Kids
Events for Kids & Teens
For a full events calendar for kids and teens, please follow this link.
Join us for stories, songs, and rhymes for children 0-24 months and their caregivers.When?10/06/2014 - 10:15am to 10:45amWhere?Miller Park Branch Library
For children 0-24 months and their caregivers. Caregivers will learn songs, stories and rhymes to enhance personal reading time.... (full entry)When?10/06/2014 - 10:15am to 10:45amWhere?Tremont Road - Main Library
- ‹ previous
- 3 of 3


Structure of Number Systems
- Application of Number Systems (MATH172)
- Early Childhood Methods I: Infant/Toddler/Preschool (EDUC311)
- Elementary Education Math Preparation (MATH71)
- Elementary Methods I: Integrating Literacy, Social Studies, and the Arts (EDUC321)
- Mathematical Thinking (MATH270)
- The Web of Science (GS301)
Examines the structures and properties of mathematics while focusing on the development of problem-solving skills. Includes sets, functions, whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, and number theory. Intended for prospective elementary school teachers. Utilizes appropriate grade-level technology. Prerequisite: Passing grade on the proficiency examination. Fall, Spring.


Most everyone can stand to improve reading comprehension, from early readers to adult professionals. An internet search for reading comprehension strategies to improve this skill yields a multitude of exercises and recommendations, but overall, they all seem to arrive at a singular idea: to improve reading comprehension skills, we must prime the brain through creating a framework that allows the reader to experience a text with intent.
Teaching our students (or just re-training ourselves) to enter into the reading experience with intentallows the reader to extract and retain the key elements of information. This is quite different from simply picking up a book, flipping to page one and jumping right into “Once upon a time...” A number of things can happen before that moment to frame the reader’s mindset and prime the brain to better comprehend the information it is about to delve into.
So, what are some ways of improving reading comprehension by creating that intent and priming the brain? Here are some examples of pre-reading activities and questions that we can offer students young and old to frame their reading for improved comprehension.
Before reading, take a look around.A book is much more than the words on its pages. What is the title? What do we see on the cover? Who is the author and what kinds of stories and books does this person create? When was the book written? By taking a few minutes to focus on these elements, we can set up expectations in our minds—like a loose outline—that we will later fill in with the details.
Get a 30,000 foot view.Delving in a bit deeper, what can we learn about the story by reading the table of contents and flipping quickly through the pages? Tables of contents offer huge amounts of information to help readers further develop expectations and outlines.
Make it personal.Our brains are more likely to absorb information when it is directly applicable or related to our interests and our lives. Thinking about the information we have just accessed by answering the above questions, what aspects of this book grab our interest on a personal level? What features of the book relate directly to our lives?
Write it down.Now that we have a framework of expectations around what we are about to read, write down questions that have arisen about the story and its characters, and make some predictions about how the story might unfold.
All of these pre-reading activities help the reader to create a mental framework that will later hold the details of the text. Readers can then use these notes during and after reading to see where predictions were on target or where they might have gone off course.
Regardless of their simplicity—or maybe because of it—the reading comprehension strategies above help create the reading intention to improve reading comprehension skills. Your own internet search will yield countless additional helpful hints and resources, but don’t underestimate your own creativity. How many ways can you think of to engage students in thinking about a text prior to turning to page one?


Increasing Fall-to-Spring Persistence among New Students
In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”
Earning a college degree plays a critical role in an individual’s ability to be successful in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. For some students, persevering long enough to obtain a degree is a tremendous challenge.
Throughout California’s 112 Community Colleges, 50% of freshmen will drop out within their first year. Among these dropouts, 42% will be recent high school graduates (Center for Student Success, 2005; 2007). There is an urgent need for California Community College educators and administrators to implement programs that will increase the fall-to-spring persistence of entry students.
Research studies suggest that a students’ academic preparedness is a key factor in college retention. Well-prepared students are much more likely to persist semester to semester. In addition, research has shown the importance of student engagement and connectedness to the campus community. Community colleges need to offer programs and services that integrate new students into the college community so that they feel a part of the campus culture from the very outset.
Many community colleges are adopting programs and services that have proven effectiveness in increasing persistence among new students. These programs include mandatory orientation and assessment, integration of intrusive counseling practices in Basic Skills courses, embedding foundational skills (i.e., reading and study techniques), cohort programs, multicultural and learning resource centers, and learning communities.


The study, by researchers from the University of Melbourne and University College London, is set to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. (Media embargo applied until 7am Tuesday 19 August Australian Eastern Standard Time)
The study investigated the number skills of children from two Indigenous communities – a group of Warlpiri speakers in the Tanami Desert, north west of Alice Springs, and Anindilyakawa speakers from Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria – and a group of Indigenous preschool children from Melbourne.
It found that even though these children lived in communities which did not have words or gestures for numbers they were able to demonstrate strong numeracy skills based on quantity and spatial concepts.
It also found that their skills were equal to the English-speaking indigenous children.
Study co-author Associate Professor Bob Reeve, from the University of Melbourne's School of Behavioural Science, says the study strongly contradicts previous research which claimed people needed a language with "counting words" to develop number skills.
He says that it has strong implications for the way numeracy is taught, not only to Indigenous children, but to students from all cultures.
And it could also be a key to a better understanding of why some children struggle with basic numeracy skills.
"This study shows that number abilities are not simply based on culture or language,'' Associate Professor Reeve says.
"Our findings are consistent with the idea that we have an innate system for representing quantity ideas and that the lack of number words in a language should not prevent us from completing simple number and computation tasks."
Associate Professor Reeve says the study shows Indigenous Australian children have very strong basic quantity skills which can be the basis for building further mathematical skills.
"We need to investigate ways in which we can add on to these building blocks to develop ways of teaching numeracy that are relevant to Indigenous students culture,'' he says.
"We also need to redefine the way we think about numeracy across the board – moving away from the view that we need words to describe numbers and basic computations."


The Visions of William Blake
In William Blake’s first notable work, Songs of Innocence, he imagines that a poor chimney sweep is visited by angels:
And by came an angel, who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins, and set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Being a chimney sweep was one of the worst fates for a child in London, but because of this vision, Blake writes that "though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm"—a solution that seems vaguely unbelievable even as it soothes. Visions were a sustaining force for William Blake throughout his artistic and poetic life. At the age of four, he saw God "put his head to the window," and at nine, he saw "a tree full of angels." Because of poverty and illness, these visions increased, and the world of angels and dreams made its way into Blake's highly prolific artist life—his poetry, engravings, and watercolors.
Blake was born in London in 1757. His parents, recognizing that he was different from his peers, sent him to art school. But when it became too expensive, he left, and became an apprentice to an engraver. He bought inexpensive reproductions of artists like Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Albrecht Dürer, and Maerten Heemskerck, who were not widely studied during the eighteenth century, and his father brought him plaster casts so that he might learn to draw the human form. One of his many projects was engraving the tombs at Westminster Abbey, and many historians believe he did the preparatory sketches for the engravings as well (it was unusual for an apprentice to do anything besides the most tedious engraving work), stimulating his interest in Gothic themes and forms.
In 1779, Blake began his formal art education at the Royal Academy of Art’s Schools of Design, where he was encouraged to study painters such as Rubens instead of the Renaissance works that his teacher called "stiff and unfinished." Blake pursued his own artistic goals, and a short time afterward published his first book of poems, Poetical Sketches.
In later works, including Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, the engravings and verses are inextricably intertwined, part of a singular vision where neither word nor image is privileged over the other. He produced them with the help of his wife, using a method called relief engraving (which he is credited for inventing) and hand-coloring each plate. His poetic and artistic work is characterized by a unique commitment to imagination as opposed to reason, and the visionary, almost terrifying, and sometimes grotesque nature of his subject matter.
Drawing on religious themes, and preferring a loose, expressive style, his book Songs of Innocence has the quality of a children’s book, with darker, adult political themes just beneath the surface. Angels are depicted alongside men, women, and children, and in the poem "London" he imagines the city as a dark, unreal realm, illustrated with an old man bent toward a child in a shadowy doorframe. The poem begins:
I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
The chimney sweeper acts as an almost prophetic reminder of the social evils he witnesses:
How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls
At the time of his death, Blake was working on a cycle of drawings to accompany Dante's Divine Comedy. At the William Blake Archive website, visitors can see complete illuminated versions of eighteen books, as well as his drawings, paintings, and commissioned illustrations.


Filed under: composers, resources, women's history month. Tagged as: Julia Smith.
Born and raised in Texas, Julia Smith (1905-1989) achieved acclaim as a composer, pianist, and musicologist – but is is perhaps best remembered for composing the music for the University of North Texas alma mater.
After graduating from UNT, Smith completed her graduate work at Juilliard and New York University. She performed as a pianist in Orchestrette Classique, an all-woman chamber orchestra in New York City. Later, she accepted a position at the Hartt School, where she founded the music education department. Her scholarship focused on the life of Aaron Copland, but she also edited and published a Directory of American Woman Composers, with selected music for senior & junior clubs in 1970 through the national Federation of Music Clubs, suggesting her own activism in promoting underperformed works. She also chaired the Decade of Women Committee from 1970-1979.
Among her numerous compositions, Smith is best known for her operas and orchestra works – all of which were performed in her lifetime, but have fallen to obscurity today. Her talent was recognized in her lifetime, evident by her achievements and the numerous commissions that she Unfortunately, I was unable to find any recordings readily available online to share with you.
You can read her obituary printed in the New York Times here.


This is an archived story; this page is not actively maintained. Some or all of the links within or related to this story may no longer work.
For the latest University of Minnesota news, visit Discover.
A child helps her mother with her literacy homework.
UMD prof helps her homeland
By Pauline Oo
From M, Winter 2007
If you're reading this, chances are you can also understand numbers and spell. Lucky you. With these basic skills, you can hop on a bus and arrive at the correct destination, pay your electric bill, and read the ingredient labels on the food you buy.
In Turkey, the male literacy rate is 95.7 percent and females lag behind at 81.1 percent. But the women in Turkey are becoming more literate and self-sufficient, thanks in part to the efforts of Aydin Durgunoglu. The University of Minnesota, Duluth, psychology professor helped develop and improve a literacy program for the Turkish Mother-Child Education Foundation. The foundation recently won one of two UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prizes, not only for contributing to literacy but also for increasing women's self-confidence, independence, and participation in decision-making processes.
"We target women with very low levels of literacy or who have not gone to school," says Durgunoglu, speaking of the Functional Adult Literacy Program she helped create in 1995, "not because they have cognitive problems, but because their fathers didn't let them go to school or they were too poor or they lived too far from a school. In the rural areas, having no or low literacy is okay; they can survive. But when they [move] to the big city--where they have to take a bus or go to a hospital--that's when they run into difficulties."
In Turkey, the male literacy rate is 95.7 percent, and females lag behind at 81.1 percent.
In the program's courses, trained volunteers teach literacy skills, such as reading and listening comprehension, spelling, and recognizing numerals, and "they make it very relevant for everyday life," says Durgunoglu, who specializes in adult and child literacy development and bilingual cognition. In addition to using the three textbooks she helped write, the volunteers use reading material related to citizen rights, consumer rights, and reproductive health with their 35- to 70-year-old students.
"Although we have reached approximately 65,000 women in about 20 provinces across Turkey, this is still a drop in the bucket," says Durgunoglu, considering that her homeland has 81 provinces and more than 7 million adults--mostly women--who are illiterate.
This past summer, Durgunoglu, who has lived in Duluth the last 13 years, returned to Turkey to oversee the adaptation of the literacy program so it could be broadcast on national television.
"We were trying to make it entertaining but still have a lot of content related to teaching literacy and women's empowerment," she says. Early evaluations indicate that the TV program is making a difference. Durgunoglu will continue her work to improve the lives of Turkish women.


Visual representations of music
designed to support musical understanding
I have found Musical Maps to be a powerful classroom tool that enables students to engage in music listening that supports their natural strategies of visual connections, movement, and singing while providing opportunities for peer interaction and support.
Musical maps with suggested ideas for musical experiences in the music classroom comprise the pages on this website. These maps and lessons ideas have been created by me and my students here at Oakland University. Please feel free to use them in your classroom and to adapt them to connect to the musical lives of your students in your own unique school community.
Deborah V Blair, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Music Education
Oakland University, Rochester MI
Dr. Magne Espeland, Professor of Music and Education
Stord/Haugesund University College, Norway
The value of research in music education is not always judged by its usefulness to the music classroom. Teachers who visit this website on the use of musical maps for music listening will immediate recognize the usefulness of Deborah's research, and many researchers should visit it because they might have a lesson to learn. When I started my research into responsive music listening--including music puzzles and maps-in Norwegian classrooms in the mid 1980s, the reports from teachers about students’ enthusiasm and engagement in their listening processes were of major importance to the research team. Deborah Blair's work represents a major step forward in our knowledge about useful and efficient pathways for students on all levels towards discovering the many meaning aspects hidden in this wonderful and colorful instrument for human expression we call music. It is therefore, with great pleasure, that I recommend this website to all music teachers!


The focal point in an art work—where
your eye goes first—provides the piece
2 Winslow Homer’s painting Artists Sketching in the White Mountains is an example of emphasis (the
which is achieved by the repetition of the
artists seated outside on the hill.
Ask your student to make a drawing of
their favorite outdoor game with friends.
Remind your student to provide emphasis: a real focal point that someone will
spot immediately. An example would
could be on the receiver just jumping up
for the winning catch!
Some artists naturally consider all of
these principles when they are planning
a work of art. But young artists need to be
intentional about developing these eight
principles in order to really understand
how their work can be impacted and improved. Though art styles may change
never go out of style!
Pat has been drawing and painting since
she was able to hold a crayon. Pat has a de-
gree in art education, a teaching credential,
and has taught art in Pennsylvania and
California. In addition to being the master
artist for the See the Light ART CLASS and
ART PROJECTS DVD series, Pat teaches
art and chorus at a charter elementary
school in the Los Angeles area. Pat lives in a
windy part of southern California with her
husband and two almost-grown sons.
Winslow Homer’s Artists Sketching in the White Mountains
Your children’s Math is at risk...
...if they haven’t memorized their times tables
Home Tutoring program
Let us teach your children their times
tables, in just 10 minutes a day.
No rote learning
No finger counting


But test data does not tell the whole story. Whitmore can tell when students are struggling. They may have trouble focusing. They may choose books to read that are too easy. They repeatedly don't want to read in front of others.
“I pretty much have knowledge within the first week,” she said.
Does he need to be tested for special education? Does she need services as an English language learner? Or is the child simply behind?
Whatever the reason, intervention is necessary for students to catch up, Whitmore said.
A team of educators identifies ways to help. Maybe he needs to practice phonics. Maybe she needs work on identifying the main theme of a story. Intersession classes during breaks may help. Or she might just need more practice reading.
“It's more valuable when we are specific,” Whitmore said.
In Oklahoma City Public Schools, intervention is shifting to even younger grades, said Natalie Johnson-Papageorge, associate director of elementary education and reform.
“We know when students cannot read, they have difficulty in content areas across the board,” Johnson-Papageorge said. “It's up to us as educators.”
Students in kindergarten, first grade and second grade can benefit from options such as tutoring, intersession classes, small groups and volunteer mentoring, she said.
As reading improves, other areas do, as well.
“Accountability is at an all-time high,” Johnson-Papageorge said. “When they can read on level, they're going to be more successful in math, science, social studies, activities.”
Sometimes, even the most thorough interventions won't give students what they need: extra time.
The decision to retain a student will be made by the child's teacher and the school principal, but educators communicate with parents throughout the year if there is a possibility a student may not be promoted.
The district has an appeals process for students who are retained, Johnson-Papageorge said.
The state Education Department does not keep statistics about student retention.
The law does allow for exceptions, such as students who speak English as a second language or who have disabilities. Students who are unable to take tests can submit a portfolio of class work that proves they are capable of reading. And children who don't pass the test the first time around can try again with a different exam.
The decision to retain can't be made lightly, said Whitmore, the third-grade teacher. It's a lengthy process that should involve lots of communication with parents.
For some students, spending another year in third grade could be crushing. For others, it can build confidence as they catch up to their peers.
With so much at stake, Whitmore said, teachers must focus on helping students succeed.
“Something has to be done,” she said. “We can't just push them on through.”


Orlando (PRWEB) January 30, 2013
At FETC 2013 today, Pearson announced Forward, the new K-5 instructional system of services, tools and curriculum designed to transform the way that teaching and learning happens. Developed through a public-private partnership between Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and Pearson, Forward integrates instruction across reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies, focusing on the rigors of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), with a strong emphasis on critical thinking, creativity and academic success skills. Based on the concepts of MCPS' highly rigorous program, Curriculum 2.0, Forward integrates the content areas in a way that will save teachers valuable planning time and encourages compelling and engaging teaching.
Commenting on Forward's transformative approach to teaching and learning, Dr. Erick Lang, MCPS's Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instructional Programs, said "Reading and mathematics are essential to a child’s success, but students do better in these subjects when they are well-rounded students. The integrated curriculum renews focus on the whole child and nurtures skills that build confidence and success.”
Lang noted that Forward adheres to the CCSS approach to text complexity, and helps teachers strongly focus on the CCSS for mathematics, deepening students’ conceptual understanding and procedural skills. It also engages students beyond reading and mathematics to spark greater interest in science and social studies. He said, “By encouraging the applications of reading comprehension strategies across science and social studies topics, students are encouraged to progress from learning to read to reading to learn."
Featuring a learning hub of select materials from Pearson's classroom-tested curriculum programs, such as enVisionMATH, Reading Street and Interactive Science, Forward's instructional design encourages students to read earlier and helps them achieve a better understanding of mathematical practices. Students learning with Forward also receive a more robust education with an increased focus on science and civic engagement.
There are two types of assessment in Forward. Content-area formative assessments support the content being taught and are tied directly to Forward’s curriculum in each sample lesson. Forward's Success Skills Assessments nurture and measure student growth around key critical thinking, creative thinking and academic success skills. These activity-based assessments are embedded into the curriculum and engage students in classroom activities that are consistent with the Common Core State Standards.
"The development of Forward reflects a true partnership between Pearson and MCPS. We share the core belief that building a firm foundation and strong critical thinking skills in the elementary grades is the lynchpin to ensuring that students are prepared for success in high school, college and career," said Pearson Senior Vice President Mike Evans. "Now available to schools around the country, Forward provides teachers with a learning environment for helping students become agile thinkers, problem solvers, collaborators and, ultimately, lifelong learners."
Districts interested in implementing Forward will receive support from Pearson
through a combination of on-site and virtual training and professional development for the first three years of implementation.
For more information about Forward, visit http://www.pearsonschool.com/forward.
Pearson has as its mission to work side-by-side with states, districts, teachers, students and parents to ensure that every child is prepared for college and career (NYSE: PSO). http://www.pearsoned.com
For more information, press only:
Kate Miller, Kate.miller(at)pearson(dot)com


|Comments and Teaching Tips given for Windows to the Universe||Comment on this resource|
Aug 24, 2007
As a teacher, I would take advantage of the teaching tips and links. I liked that the resource was useful for many age groups. The graphics are motivational.
Aug 24, 2007
I used one of the activities that was entitled snack tectonics. The students enjoyed it because they got to play with food. They also enjoyed eating their "plates" after the activity was over.
Jun 21, 2005
You should click on all the links because it really helps you to learn.
May 23, 2005
Use a computer with high speed connection for better results
Dec 8, 2004 by Katie Bauman, Geo 305
I am an elementary education student at MSU. I came across this site while searching for resources that will help me teach the fifth grade Minnesota Standard on the earth's spheres. I found this site to be very well organized and easy to navigate. I will definately use this site in my future teaching. Being able to access the information in both English and Spanish is helpful, since many classrooms today are growing in diversity. The visual images on the site are wonderful, and the graphics accompanying the lessons provide a great visualization of how to set up the experiments and activities.


Music appeals to a broad range of audiences; children are particularly captivated by anything melodious. According to Plato: “music is a more potent instrument than any other for education.” Exposure to a plentiful variety of music in early childhood equips the brain for improved spatial learning, and leads to enhanced performance on standardized testing. Music is a tool for self-expression for babies as well as older students. Giving youngsters music education builds skills like listening, following directions, hand-eye coordination, teamwork, and discipline while preparing them for future successes.
Blue’s Clues Theme - Short video of Blue’s Clues theme song.
Brain Music - Information on using music to build brains.
Campfire Songs - Lyrics to songs for scouts or anyone to sing around the campfire.
Children’s Shows Theme Music- Listen to soundtracks from Scooby Doo, Barney, Spiderman, and other popular television shows.
Christmas Songs - Over 1,900 songs with music and lyrics.
Dragon Tales Songs - Fun songs and activities based on the television show Dragon Tales.
Folklore Jump Rope Rhymes - These rhymes can also be sung as silly songs or hand-clap songs.
Kids Public Radio - Listen to lullabies or sing along songs of your choice.
Lullabies - Lyrics - Lyrics to over 2,000 children’s lullabies.
Musical Activities - Sing along, learn about music, play along, or just listen to many children’s songs.
Nutrition Songs - Lesson plan for teaching about nutrition with fun food themed songs.
South African Scout Campfire Song Book - Hundreds of traditional, silly, and funny children’s songs.
Spanish and English Preschool Songs - Rhymes, finger plays, and action songs in Spanish and English, some with audio files.
Jump Rope Rhymes - Make exercise fun by singing these tunes while jumping rope.
Online Songbook - Lyrics, and other musical activities based on children’s songs.
Sesame Street Songs - Lyrics to the Sesame Street theme song, It’s Not Easy Being Green, Rubber Ducky, and other Sesame Street favorites.
Listen to Raffi Online- Listen to 25 free songs per month from famous children’s musician Raffi.
Dora Theme Song - Listen and learn the words to Dora the Explorer's theme song.
Sing Along Alphabet - Lyrics and audio files for teaching children the alphabet.
This Day in Music - Find out what happened in music - day by day.
The Lied and Art Song Database - Text archive of classical art songs.
Piggyback Songs - Fun songs using familiar tunes to teach children various subjects.
New York Philharmonic - Be on stage or behind the scenes with this interactive guide to the orchestra.
Kids Sing Along Songs - Extensive list of links to midis of favorite children’s songs.
Bugle Calls - Listen to bugle calls performed by the U.S. Army Bands.
Beethoven’s Baseball - Play ball with Beethoven and learn about composers.
Virtual Classroom - Learn about the history of music, famous composers, and other musical facts.


Being responsible for one of the biggest exam boards in Britain, you might think I’d be content with how well the UK educates our young people in maths.
Edexcel sets and marks one million .athematics GCSEs, International GCSEs and A-levels every year in our schools and colleges.
Many Telegraph readers will have studied our courses and I’m very proud of what we help many to achieve.
But as this paper’s campaign has shown vividly over the past few weeks, it’s time to scale up our ambition and aim even higher – so that our maths teaching, learning resources and exams match the very best in the world.
Maths is now a necessary part of virtually every career in our society – not only professions like engineering and banking, but also jobs ranging from nursing to retail, to air traffic control.
As digital skills become a driver of future growth, mathematical literacy will become even more vital.
But the UK’s national ambition to lead in new high-tech industries is threatened by an alarmingly widespread cultural apathy to maths in this country.
Maths is seen by too many students as something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
The UK came just 18th in last year’s “Maths Olympiad” held in China.
So as The Telegraph’s campaign has highlighted, making Britain count must be our top skills priority if we are to equip our young people to compete in a global jobs market.
It is a cultural and an educational problem.
Our experts in education note that young people don’t see maths as relevant to their lives or ambitions.
For the majority of young people, maths is a meaningless subject, with 85 per cent of students quitting it as soon as they are allowed. For too many, maths is just a series of disconnected techniques and formulae. It seems dry and academic. In reality, mathematical literacy is (next to English literacy) the most important, vibrant, practical, vocational skill you can acquire.
We urgently need a new approach that makes innumeracy as unacceptable as illiteracy.
With other exam boards, we are already in discussion with the exams regulator Ofqual about how we can further strengthen maths GCSEs.
But it is a serious failing that when young people make their post-GCSE choices, there is little to inspire a love of maths, nor to emphasise the impact maths will have on their future career.
The 85 per cent of students whose maths ends at 16 are currently being deprived of huge intellectual and personal opportunities.
I believe every young person should be keeping their maths skills fresh and improving them up to the time they leave education. Some experts are now making a case for maths to be compulsory until age 18.
Whether or not that happens, far more children should study maths to age 18. We need to motivate them to do so.
Of course, a full Mathematics A level may not be for everyone.
But where young people don’t gain a C grade first time at GCSE, the education system must offer new courses which encourage them to continue with maths.
We can do this by associating maths more closely with other academic disciplines such as the pure and social sciences.
Universities should make mathematical literacy a clearer requirement for entry to those majority of courses which will use it.
We must show how maths is applied in careers from construction to web design.
We need to embed the sort of mathematical literacy that enables young people to see the connection between an abstract formula and the interest rate on their credit card.
And we must bring the maths and digital worlds together.
Engaging computer games encourage the ‘learning by doing’ essential to building numeracy skills, and we should make clear the role of maths in producing those games in the first place.
Pearson are working with experts like Carol Vorderman and innovative British games designers to create a range of resources to bring maths into the digital age.
We’re considering new courses that will require young people to apply logic, probability, trigonometry to develop their own games and applications and programming skills.
The study of maths has inspired awe and wonder since before Archimedes jumped out of the bath. It’s also driven Britain’s economy and spirit of invention, from Brunel and Babbage to Tim Berners-Lee and James Dyson.
So if we want our young people to excel and lead the way internationally in maths, we must repurpose our maths teaching, learning and our exams, and use the tools of the future to change the ugly sister culture around mathematics.
Otherwise, Britain will count less and less.
*Rod Bristow is the president of Pearson UK, which owns Edexcel.


Art teacher's lessons published in national magazine
I have used wine corks to use in my preschool classes since I started. I just ask any parents if they have any and have found that they do keep them. Just need 1 per color...and it works BEAUTIFULLY! - Kat wines, wine corks, fall crafts, painting activities, fall trees, cork paint, all about me craft, tree paintings, kid
I have used wine corks to use in my preschool classes since I started. I just ask any parents if they have any and have found that they do keep them. Just need 1 per color...and it works BEAUTIFULLY! -
Typisch Mies: Woensdagmiddag knutsel
Collagraph Printing and How to use it in the classroom: The Collagraph Lesson will integrate science with art, focusing on how animals and insects use camouflage (the Collagraph print) to survive in their environment. Students will create a texture or pattern of an imaginary animal or insect skin using the Collagraph print. printmaking art lessons, texture lesson, texture art lessons, printmaking projects, art classroom ideas, art lesson ideas, art education lessons, printmaking lessons, collagraph print
Shapes and printmaking with Auguste Herbin- This is great as shapes is part of math and I love when we can study an artist.
Fine art for kids: Shaping with Auguste Herbin
"Fish Lino Print | Flickr: Intercambio de fotos. I could see this as a cooperative project with a few middle or high students, sharing printing plates, creating art together, combining images." Sounds like a fun class. S
Mod Pattern 4 - Linocut Relief Print Monoprint. by Margaret Rankin
Printmaking cityscapes...Orange, yellow, and red watercolor adds a sunset backdrop. Then make the cityscape imprint in the foam using the end of the paintbrush and cut it out. Use a hard rubber brayer to apply thick ink
30-Minute Collograph Printmaking » K - 6 Art K – 6 Art
30-Minute Collograph Printmaking
Ro Bruhn Art: Roller stamps
Ro Bruhn Art: Roller stamps
It says it's a middle school lesson......maybe adapt and use with elementary for architecture. Love the idea of starting with paper collage first. Brilliant!
Audubon Birds Printmaking. Inspired by the book "The Boy Who Drew Birds" 3rd graders are to draw birds using pencil and then outlined their drawings with sharpie. Use Watercolors to add color. Rubber leaf stamps (or styrofoam stamps) may be used to print a background of green tints on construction or butcher paper. art crafts, bird printmak, art lesson, backgrounds, audubon bird, bird of paradise, bird art, art projects, kid
Audubon Birds Printmaking and Mixed Media Lesson We read, The Boy Who Drew Birds and both the kids and I loved the book. 3rd graders drew birds using pencil and then outlined their drawings with sharpie. Watercolors were used to add color. I inherited a great set of rubber leaf stamps and students printed a background using green tints.
Multiple designs from one stamp-Printmaking
Balzer Designs: 2011 in Review: Favorite Other Projects
Mexican Animal Pennant Banner - Project #182 Like having each student print on a banner and hanging as a class or grade level for an art show.
Mexican Animal Pennant Banner - Project #182
Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists: Mosaic Collographs, 3rd grade
Art with Hand Sanitizer Our 5th grade students made monoprints using washable markers and hand sanitizer. It made some cool and very CLEAN art work! Follow my classroom blog: ericksonartroom.w...
The Art Room - Art Room
moniquilla_ prints_pattern design: Masterclass con ALFA
cork stamping, create stamp from styro and glue to cork, make some of these for our backgrounds in winter scenes.
red bird crafts: h o u s e s
Create with Me: Mixed-media Holiday Projects Part 1
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer: Scratch Foam Prints