CommonLit, the free website for 5th-12th grade literacy, launched version 3.0, a new interactive platform allowing teachers track student progress in reading and writing.
New features enable teachers to differentiate reading instruction, tailored to the unique needs of students. This major release was made possible through the support of AT&T, Brinker Capital, AmerisourceBergen, and Fast Forward.
CommonLit addresses a critical need. Despite a flurry of educational reforms, only 34% of eighth graders can read at a proficient level (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2015). In a single classroom, student reading aptitudes often span eight reading levels (Firmender, Rice, & Sweeney, 2013).
At CommonLit.org, users access a free collection of high-interest, leveled reading passages, and assign rigorous lessons to students digitally. CommonLit’s curriculum is designed to promote higher-order thinking, analysis, and college-level discussion with the goal of ensuring that all students graduate high school with the literacy skills they need to be successful. The online product is designed to promote the use of research-based best practices for reading instruction.
CommonLit’s digital library is freely accessible to students, teachers and parents. Version 3.0 allows users to:
Assign reading assessments to students;
Score written responses with one click;
Send personalized writing feedback to students;
Review score reports on Common Core-aligned question sets;
Access high-quality texts and question sets, available for free only through CommonLit.
CommonLit’s digital library contains over 450 texts and question sets that include authentic published works from National Public Radio, Science News for Students, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Digital Public Library of America, and more. Each text includes a standards-aligned question set, a discussion guide, linked to related multimedia, and a guide to engage parents and promote literacy development at home.
Matt Stephens, a 7th grade teacher at E.L. Haynes Charter School in Washington, D.C., is an avid user of CommonLit. “CommonLit is game-changing for classroom teachers,” says Stephens. “The articles are rigorous and promote engaging classroom debates. The new version helps me deliver targeted formative assessment, and make better use of data so that I can personalize instruction to meet the needs of my students.”
Michelle Brown, the founder of CommonLit, formerly taught in a high-poverty rural school in Mississippi. “Students in underserved communities are getting left behind by the current edtech market,” she said. “Our goal is to make a dent in the adolescent literacy crisis at scale by giving teachers the tools they need to challenge students that read at many different levels. Today, we’re reaching hundreds of thousands of students in more than 12,000 schools across the nation.”
Founded as a non-profit in 2013, CommonLit’s mission is to help students make measurable gains in reading and writing. CommonLit has been recognized with innovation awards from Teach for America and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Check out this video interview and product demo respectively.
For more information and to explore the site’s new features, visit www.CommonLit.org.
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ORIGO Education Launches Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics Program
Mathematics curriculum developer debuts new course materials for young math learners at the 2016 National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference and Expo
CHARLES, Mo. (Nov. 1, 2016) – To address the need for core mathematics instruction and learning materials for early childhood, ORIGO Education, a leading mathematics solution provider for grades Pre-K–6, announces the launch of Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics. The new program provides a variety of developmentally appropriate resources that engage children as they begin to learn mathematics.
“Our play-based, meaningful activities are rich with language experiences to ensure all children are successful and enjoy learning,” said Jessica Bobo, contributing author of Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics and a former educator in large, urban school systems. “We are supporting social-emotional learning as well as mathematical understanding.”
The new program materials help children learn crucial concepts in preparation for the elementary grades which have increasingly rigorous standards. In each learning experience, students interact in an informal environment through play-based, child-initiated explorations and guided instructional activities to build a conceptual foundation which is essential for students to transition to pictorial learning and, later, to abstract learning.
Every core and targeted ORIGO Education curriculum is a strategically planned and carefully sequenced program that promotes the use of language through interactions with other students and adults. Children naturally use language to describe what they learn and are encouraged to talk about and explain their work as they immerse themselves in the program.
“Children have a natural curiosity, are eager to investigate and want to communicate what they learn and see,” said Rosemary Irons, an educational consultant with ORIGO Education. “As early childhood education leaders, we have the responsibility to provide learning environments for children that capitalize on their curiosity and support their development. We’re excited to equip teachers with a curriculum that makes this possible.”
The Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics program will debut at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference in Los Angeles from November 2-5, 2016. Educators attending the conference are invited to experience interactive program demonstrations at booth #1114 and attend a featured presentation on the importance of language in the early childhood learning environment.
For more information about Stepping Stones Pre-K Comprehensive Mathematics, visit www.origoeducation.com/sspre-k.
About ORIGO Education
ORIGO Education covers all facets of elementary mathematics education, from traditional printed products to digital interactive resources and professional learning. ORIGO’s web-based curriculum, Stepping Stones, is an award-winning, comprehensive, core mathematics curriculum for grades Pre-K–6. This comprehensive print and digital elementary core mathematics curriculum is dedicated to making learning meaningful, enjoyable and accessible for all students. Available in English and Spanish, the customizable lessons and balanced instructional design provide educators with a scalable solution for differentiation, developing student confidence, computational strategies, and conceptual mathematics understanding. The technology-rich program blends online resources with printed materials, resulting in classrooms that are engaged and provide differentiated learning. Professional development videos are embedded within the online program, giving teachers the confidence and knowledge they need to be successful. For more information about ORIGO Education, visit http://www.OrigoEducation.com/.


Yes! iPad apps can play an important role in ceramics lessons!
Let's explore the Pottery HD app -
This fun app can let students create virtual clay vessels. The students, and you, will be involved in the game of the app but it has so much more value in the art room than just a game. Students can use the app to develop designs for clay vessels. It can also be a great way for students to learn and become familiar with different types of vessels shapes.
See how middle school art educator Lockie Chapman uses this app with her students in her blog post - Ceramics and Gamification
Another great app for creating 3D clay work on the iPad is 123D Sculpt
This one is a free app. Has anyone tried this app with students in art classes? If so...tell us about it!
I have been teaching Art for over 18 years in the Moline School District in Illinois. I have a BA degree in Art Education and a MEd degree in Education & Technology. I love Art and Technology - it's a great combination! I enjoy coming up with new projects and ideas for the students and I to get creative with. Personally I enjoy many different art mediums. Acrylic painting is perhaps my favorite, but I’ve never met a visual art form I didn’t enjoy.


Sophomore Paige Arthur, music education student at AU, writes about the novel The House of the Spirits by Chilean author Isabel Allende. Paige read this novel in Dr. Rathbun’s FL 220 Latin American Literature in Translation class.
The House of the Spirits is a great novel for a class that double dips (Core Humanities & Border Crossing). The amount of history and culture we see is astounding. The novel focuses on a family the entire time, which paints a cultural picture of the importance of family in Latin America. We also see a lot about women’s suffrage and identity in Latin America in the novel - this was a very real thing in Latin America, a real struggle for the women.
The most significant historical/ cultural event that The House of the Spirits focuses on is the Chilean military coup in 1973. We see how a country (represented in whole by one family) deals with the dictatorship, the torture, and the hard times of the Coup.
This novel is also a great one for its literary applications. For example, the use of intertextuality , particularly toward the end, allows the readers to connect with other literary works and themes. The literary use of “full circle” writing leaves the reader with questions answered by still wanting more. Additionally, the fact that some words in the English translation were not translated I believe was a great use of causing the reader to search for more. Overall, I believe this book covers the “double dip” more than any double dip class I have ever taken.
|Paige Arthur on the left.|


That is so true in everything, including choir. I hope that we can work hard this year to continue the long-standing tradition of excellence in our music programs.
National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Since 1994, the National Standards of Music have been implemented in schools across the country.. For more information, feel free to visit www.menc.org


Occupational Therapy for Children
Our expert occupational therapists evaluate and treat children with conditions related to general development, sensorimotor skills, play, feeding and daily living skills to enhance each child's capabilities. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) provides a helpful document that explains the role of occupational therapy with children and youth.
Play is a Child's Work!
Play is the work of childhood, and toys are the tools of the occupation of play! Click here for a wealth of great tips on choosing toys for the children in your life!
Self Care for Kids!
Learning how to take care of yourself is part of growing up! Occupational therapists can help kids learn how to dress, bathe, use the bathroom, brush teeth, and all other daily living tasks! Click here for additional resources!
Independent Living Skills!
All kids benefit from working on independent living skills (cooking, money management, using schedules, use of phones, etc.) from an early age, and as they grow this becomes even more important! Check out this section for resources to assist your child in becoming independent!
"Your Special Chef" is a collection of resources to help teach cooking skills to individuals with a variety of special needs. The website has simple to complex breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and drink recipes with visual picture instructions to help plan and sequence steps of cooking tasks as well as safety warnings to help practice kitchen safety.
Fine Motor Skill Development!
Developing the muscles in the hand and the ability to use your hands is critical for children in all activities they engage in! Occupational therapists can help kids learn how to use their hands and to develop skills such as writing, typing, using scissors, and buttoning a shirt! Click on these links for additional resources to use at home!
Handwriting and keyboarding are both skills students need to master to produce effective written work. These two skills work together in the classroom to create an engaged, balanced, and successful learning environment. View the document, Handwriting and Keyboarding Skills: Standards for the Production & Presentation of Writing to help guide instruction to make sure that children are learning to write and type in a developmental order that promotes success.
It is a Sensory World out there for Kids!
Occupational therapists are skilled at assisting children to get to know their bodies and to learn how to regulate their behaviors in response to the sensory experiences they encounter every day! The following links provide useful information for parents seeking to further help their child develop strong sensory regulation skills!
Research, education, and awareness from the Sensory Processing Disorders Foundation (SPD foundation)
Networking for parents and professionals working with children with Sensory Processing Disorders, along with articles and support, from Sensory Planet


The Ryarsh Primary School Curriculum is all the planned activities which we organise in order to promote learning, personal growth and development. It includes not only the formal requirements of the National Curriculum (DfE,2014) and Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE,2012), but also the additional elements that enable us to develop our learners in line with the values and ethos of school. This ensures that, as well as meeting current aims and statutory requirements, we are developing children for a brighter future. This is in line with our school motto of:
“Forward thinking for a brighter future.”
Although our curriculum is underpinned by the aims of the National Curriculum, there are other planned opportunities that make up the wider school curriculum. These reflect our children at Ryarsh and allow us to develop a personalised approach to learning, which is continuously evolving in line with our children’s needs. With our school environment, we aim to develop our setting so it captivates our children and gives us a platform to strengthen and deepen learning. We provide our educators with the opportunity to drive the highest standards, whilst at the same time promote a creative approach. This develops a love of learning in our children, as well as preparing them for the next stage in their education. At Ryarsh, we understand and appreciate that all of our children are unique and we aim for our children to leave Ryarsh Primary School with lifelong happy memories.
Throughout our curriculum we aim to develop the core skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Where links can be made, subjects are taught creatively in a cross curricular thematic manner. Where this is not achievable, subjects are taught discretely. Running through all our teaching is our aim to develop life long learning skills through a focus on ‘growth mindset’ to allow the children to grow as both a learner and a person. We want our children to be comfortable in learning from their mistakes and seeing the value in failure.
Our curriculum is designed to be:
At Ryarsh, we aim to constantly inspire our children to order to develop ‘awe and wonder’ moments. We want our children to be captivated by their learning and believe that learning is stronger when emotional links are made. We aim to provide inspiring learning opportunities which allow the children to take ownership of their own learning. Through developing creative and open-ended activities, we are able to give purpose to learning and achievements. We also aim to inspire children beyond the classroom through providing a variety of extracurricular opportunities.
Our curriculum aims to equip our children with the vital knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in the future. We strive to personalise our curriculum for our children in order to make purposeful links with the real world. This allows us to help our children bridge the gap between the known and the unknown.
Our curriculum aims to promote excellence and encourage children to reach the highest standards possible. There is a strong expectation placed on the children in the school that ‘nothing but their best will do’. Through delivering engaging and challenging learning experiences, we are able to provide the best possible platform for our children to succeed. We celebrate excellence both in terms of the quality of children’s learning outcomes as well as children’s approach to learning.
Our curriculum also links to our school values which can be seen on the Ryarsh Value Tree below:


Several educators had been educated in the notion that phonics skills are the best figured out implicitly inside the circumstance of traditional literature. Although is obviously correct that most individuals often will find out crucial decoding abilities in this manner, additionally it is genuine that specific phonics coaching is actually a more potent approach to instructions. Most importantly, it is now increasingly positive inside a single physique of investigation that a specific number of college students usually do not learn how to read through implicit phonics education. So, indeed we should train phonics to remedial visitors.
Phonics involves pronouncing and blending the dialog noises (phonemes) when they are represented by the alphabetic emblems (spellings). Phonics training means to instruct how you can pronounce sounds and words and phrases using their spellings. There are about 43 frequent conversation appears to be (phonemes) in British and these are represented by about 89 typical spellings. Phonics is not phonics, that requires the opportunity to recognize and manipulate the presentation appears to be. It is not spelling, as it will not apply the appears to be towards the alphabetic symbols.
Reading is not really a developmentally received expertise that in a natural way derives from phonics. Phonics instructions, using the most prevalent audio-spelling connections, is easily the most efficient and successful method for many young children. New research shows that phonics-structured instruction can in fact modify head activity in adults with dyslexia, resulting in substantial improvements in reading through. Investigation-dependent specific, systematic phonics instruction performs efficiently and quickly to “fill in the spaces” as dependent upon analytical phonics evaluations. Trustworthy complete-type evaluations recently been created to allow remedial reading professors to isolate the phonetic components that personal college students must master. In relation to this info, educators can form small groups to remediate each phonetic component.
Specific speech seems be different amongst languages, generating phonics class singapore and phonics purchase more difficult for The English language-words Pupils (ELLs). ELL analysis discoveries are constant with primary vocabulary study conclusions because equally phonics and phonics instruction clearly gain ELL reading through growth. In addition, there is not any proof that phonics and phonics instruction in English language needs to be postponed till a specific degree of English language dental terminology expertise is achieved.


October is here, and we are enjoying the season change. Beautiful colors are all around; squirrels are hopping through the yard gathering acorns, the smell of apple cider fills the house, and kids are tossing leaves in the air. Don’t you just love this time of year? It seemed like the perfect time to learn about pumpkins and enjoy a few fun pumpkin activities.
The Perfect Pumpkin Activities for Kids
Does a pumpkin sink or float Science Experiment?
Pumpkin Science just wouldn’t be complete without a little investigation. So we spent time using our senses to explore our pumpkin.
Every child had their own pumpkin to learn about. We measured, we inspected, and we jotted down our findings on the pumpkin investigation sheet. (You can grab a set of free pumpkin activities printables below)
We learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin life cycle. The children LOVE learning about life cycles.
The Pumpkin Runner is an excellent book based on a true story about a sheep rancher that loved to run with his yellow dog and got all of his energy from a pumpkin. The ending is the best so pick it up at your library or add it to your wish list it’s a great addition to your fall reading.
More Pumpkin Sensory and Science for Kids
Do you have favorite fall books to read? I’d love to hear about them. Feel free to leave a comment below.
Sign Up Here for Free Printables. Enjoy!
You Are Also Going to Love:
Studies have shown that if you really like this, you will also love the following articles. 🙂 I have pulled them together for you right here!


ERIC Number: EJ594676
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 1998
Reference Count: N/A
Literary Theory and Appreciation: Learning about the Literary Craft.
Soter, Anna O.; Letcher, Mark
Journal of Children's Literature, v24 n2 p22-31 Fall 1998
Presents two scenarios representing two very different critical perspectives: a text-focused and a reader-focused approach. Argues that using literary theory to look at a literary text anew results in a richer engagement with that text and helps students to want to engage with the work. (SC)
Descriptors: Childrens Literature, Elementary Education, Literary Criticism, Perspective Taking, Student Interests, Student Participation, Theory Practice Relationship
Children's Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English, The Ohio State University, School of Teaching and Learning, 333 Arps Hall, 1945 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43210-1172.
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom; Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A


Creative Classrooms Connect
Welcome to Creative Classrooms Connect, a space for Key Stage 2 teachers to access, share and respond to music-making resources created by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, primary teachers and other experts in music education. We’ll be regularly uploading ideas for classroom music activities, with which we invite teachers to interact.
In this article you will find all you need to prepare your children for, or work with them in response to the LPO's Key Stage 2 BrightSparks concert on 5 June 2018. For teachers who aren't attending the concert, you can still use the PDF Teachers' Pack to deliver a creative composition project in class, based on Stravinsky's Petrushka.
This resource is designed to help you and your class use Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in the classroom. We have found that by working in a creative, hands-on way children can begin to understand and enjoy the repertoire the London Philharmonic Orchestra performs and this in turn can enliven your music lessons. We have outlined the background to the piece, how to listen it and included a four-session creative project that shows you how to create your own version of the famous opening.
This is a vocal composition project based on the music and stories of Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. We have outlined the background of the piece and the composer, followed by how to create your own version of Scheherazade with your children. This project is designed to be flexible, so you can make it as simple or as challenging as you like. This being the case, it could take as few as two sessions or be extended much longer.
Please feel free to adapt the ideas below to suit the resources you have and the needs of your children.
In these two projects we explore Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture in different ways. Project 1 focuses on composition inspired by Tchaikovsky, in which two tunes from the piece are used to create a class battle of the melodies. In Project 2 we invite teachers to recreate the victorious finale of the piece with your class, using classroom percussion, any instruments children already play, and body percussion.


Music Together® for Schools
Make Music an Essential Part of Your Core Curriculum
Music is amazing: it can help us relax, become energized, or feel able to focus. It touches our hearts and brings us closer to each other. Music also has a tremendous power, early in life, to support the developing child in all his growing capabilities. It forges unique connections in the brain, integrating the mind, body, and emotions. It enhances a child's language, cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. Simply put, music learning supports ALL learning.
Bring the power of music to your learning community though the Music Together In-School program! This comprehensive music curriculum allows your preschool to offer a consistently high level of music education that is geared to the way children learn. It goes beyond the once-a-week model of in-school music to create a music-making sensibility that infuses children, their teachers, and their parents with a sense of shared community and musical rapport.
Music at School
Music building COMMUNITY
Ask about Music Together In-School Outreach
With the generous support of the Allen Saylor Foundation, Music Together in Phoenix had been involved with teaching Music Together Preschool at a very exciting Head Start Preschool in downtown Phoenix for five years. Teachers, children and parents have benefited from the extraordinary music experiences.
Our research-based program is aligned with standards set by NAEYC and Head Start. Because Music Together Preschool includes a strong parent participation and parent education component, funding providers know that the program helps families to bond at home and makes parents active participants in their child's education.
Contact us to find out how you can make music a part of your school's core curriculum with the Music Together In-School program. We would love to come share a sample Music Together preschool class and find out how your school would benefit.
Read more and Music Together Preschool at Music Together's national website: Music Together for Schools


A literature review, like a term paper, is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized this means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time no as you read widely but selectively in your topic area,. Writing a term paper in english and american literary studies 1 writing a term paper in english and american literary studies deadlines: see “regelungen und fristen für den erwerb von studienbegleitenden leistungs- nachweisen in kursen der englischen und amerikanischen literaturwissenschaft” issued in. A review article or review paper is based on other published articles it does not report original research review articles generally summarize the existing literature on a topic in an attempt to explain the current state of understanding on the topic review articles can be of three kinds: a narrative review. Guidelines for term papers in literary and cultural studies 3 topic some instructors will provide you with topics, but most will let you find an appropriate topic when choosing a topic, please make sure it fulfils the following criteria: ❖ you are interested in the topic ❖ the topic area in general has been. Term papers: page design o layout: din a4, print on one side of the paper only, right margin: 3 cm, left margin: 4cm, top and bottom margins: 2,5 cm o text: use times new roman font, type size 12pt, 15 line spacing, justification, mark each paragraph – except those following immediately after a headline or sub-headline. The very first undertaking, when assigned a paper, is to choose from the colossal list of topics for research papers that are available (and here comes the sometimes, there is no surrogate for a great paper on literature, and with the changing world, there are always innovative ways to observe literature,.
5 days ago critical essays literature, - high school dropout persuasive essay read alternative approaches in music education vol. Conducting research literature reviews: from the internet to paper 2nd ed thousand oaks, ca: sage, 2005 hart, chris doing a literature review: releasing the social science research imagination thousand oaks, ca: sage publications, 1998 jesson, jill doing your literature review: traditional and systematic. Order your world literature essay at pro-paperscom if you have no clue how to write a world literature research paper, don't worry, we will gladly help you.
3 days ago ideas for writing papers research topics on english literature initially start off broad and then narrow down and you come up with your thesis using any of the research topics listed to the left (gender, comparisons, historical background, politics, and religion) can take you almost anywhere choose your. Therefore, it is both easy and hard to choose a research paper topic in english literature since there are various literary works to choose from, each with their own importance and well of study, a student is bound to get confused therefore, here are eleven outstanding topics for research papers in english literature. Order a high-quality term paper in english literature all our custom english literature term papers and research papers are written by professional writers from scratch plagiarism-free guarantee.
Writing a research paper in literary studies 1 the most important aspect to bear in mind is that you are writing a research paper and not an essay this means that you are arguing a thesis with reference to secondary literature – it is essential that you conduct relevant research and that you integrate your findings into your. This handout provides examples and description about writing papers in literature it discusses research topics, how to begin to research, how to use information, and formatting.
In addition, the time allotted for the completion of literature papers is sometimes kept short and students face issues in terms of management of time tutors associate a number of hopes with the students' performance in terms of writing literature papers and in the event, their expectations and hopes aren't. If you are struggling to pick a topic for your research project in literature, use our help here given is a selection of great subjects to choose from.


When our family traveled in Eastern Europe in the early 1990's, our Prague pen-pals took us to the Jewish Cemetery and the Jewish Museum. In the small museum was a powerful exhibit of art made by children in concentration camps. The impact has never left me and I have always questioned how such artwork could have been made under the circumstances and how it was preserved.
I chose to review Through A Narrow Window via Story Circle Book Reviews because it not only answers the questions I've had but has more artwork and background about the art teacher, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, and her students.
Below is an excerpted version of my review now posted on Story Circle.Through a Narrow Window
by Linney Wix
Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-826-34827-2.
Reviewed by Barbara L. Heller
Posted on 03/08/2010
Through a Narrow Window: Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and Her Terezin Students is a beautiful book about a heart-breaking story. Friedl Dicker-Brandeis (1898-1944) was an artist, facing the usual tribulations of being a female artist in the early 1900s, but she faced a bigger struggle being a Jew in Czechoslovakia when the Germans came to power in the 1940s.
The author, Linney Wix, discusses Friedl Dicker-Brandeis' background as an art student and art teacher and the famous artists who taught and influenced her. The primary focus of the book is on Dicker-Brandeis' time in the Terezin concentration camp, which was created as a "model ghetto" for Nazi propaganda but in reality was a way station to the gas chambers. Friedl Dicker-Brandeis was interred in Terezin at the end of 1942 and was killed at Auschwitz less than two years later.
The fairy tale part of the story concentrates on Dicker-Brandeis' inspired teaching of art to children in the concentration camp and her wherewithal to hide two suitcases full of the artworks before she was transported to her death. This stash was found after the end of WW2.
Through a Narrow Window can serve many audiences. It is a beautiful art book filled with reproductions of work produced by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and her Terezin students. Wix' essays illuminate Dicker-Brandeis' dynamic theories of art education and art therapy; and, Through a Narrow Window also honors a talented artist and Holocaust heroine.Dr. Linney Wix is an Associate Professor in the Art Education Program. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Thought and Socio-Cultural Studies from the University of New Mexico (2003), her M.Ed. in expressive therapies from Lesley College (1980) and her B.A. in social work and B.F.A. from the University of Montana. Linney's creative work is in painting and ceramics. She is a Registered Art Therapist (A.T.R.) with the American Art Therapy Association and a licensed professional art therapist (L.P.A.T.) in New Mexico.


At Cowan, we implement a curriculum aligned to current state standards and seek to ensure that all our students have a strong elementary education to be career and college ready. We take pride in the reponsibility we have toward our students and have designed an interdisciplary curriculum to promote literacy across disciplines which include social studies and the sciences.
We understand that 21st century learners must have opportunities to develop critical thinking skills through exposure to rich literary and informational text, which can be comprehended, evaluated, and synthesized. We encourage our students through thoughtful and engaging instruction to deepen and widen their understanding of themselves and the world around them. While elementary education encompasses only the first steps in a student’s journey, at Cowan, through our curriculum and instruction, we hope to cultivate a lifelong love of learning.
For more information on LAUSD’s literacy instruction, please use the link below:
Various Core Literature
Selections include classic and contemporary literary works like Charlotte’s Web, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Wonder, and The Maze Runner
Time for Kids


The Studio's Story
Opening in 2013, Wwjartcenter is dedicated to connecting people, promoting art education, and showcasing the benefits that come from creativity. In essence, the studio is a sanctuary for creators, curators, collectors, and appreciators of art.
Art is differentiated from science.
Painting can be done in a variety of media. For example, Oils, Watercolour, Acrylics, Gouache and Tempera.
Dreams are shared, ideas are formed, and creativity is incubated and let loose. Art in itself is amazing but when brought together for a broader purpose it is as powerful a force as anything man has ever created.
Children's art exhibition in Washington DC
Our Students won the Drawing competition of whole world.
An orthographic sketch is a drafting term for the standard layout of an object by using three views, such as top, front, and side.


Tom Thumb's Musical Maths : Developing Maths Skills with Simple Songs Paperback
Edited by Ana Sanderson
Illustrated by Michael Evans
Part of the Songbooks series
A fantastic collection of songs and rhymes with familiar tunes, teaches children the numeracy skills they need in fun and memorable ways. Tom Thumb's musical maths - the book which put the fun into the numeracy hour - is relaunching with a fresh new cover.
This wonderfully clever collection of songs and rhymes with familiar tunes, teaches numeracy skills in fun and memorable ways. Completely new is a whole set of content links with the National Numeracy Strategy.
Everyone familiar with Bingo Lingo and the support it gives to literacy, will enjoy the support which Tom Thumb's musical maths offers to numeracy.
Quick clear links can be found on our music and children's websites.
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 64 pages, (line and tone)
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication Date: 01/01/2005
- Category: Teaching of a specific subject
- ISBN: 9780713672954


Teaching is a creative process. To direct, train and educate artists requires more than a knowledge of art. An effective teacher must communicate visual ideas, facilitate creative growth and engender a desire for learning to prepare artists for professional challenges. Students at PrattMWP prepare for their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in Art and Design Education by completing the foundation art courses in their freshman year then developing both their visual art skills and abilities in communicating those visual ideas to others. Students who major in Art and Design Education may then go on to earn a New York State Initial Certification in Teaching Fine Arts in grades Pre-K through 12.
From Studio to Classroom
This course draws on each student's studio core and considers ways that the artist-teachers can adapt studio competencies to an educational setting. Through fieldwork observations and research, students will identify the concepts, skills, techniques, materials and language specific to each studio core. Students then begin to adapt, translate, and make studio learning accessible for the diverse abilities and interests of individual learners and groups of learners. This course includes 25 hours of fieldwork in a k-12 setting. Students must leave one day free in their schedules for school visits.
Youth in the City
New York City's neighborhoods and institutions serve as a lens through which to examine how educators, social activists, artists, and policy makers frame, debate and negotiate racial, economic and social inequalities among the city's youth. The course challenges the deficit model approach to addressing inequality and in doing so questions assumptions about purposes of education within the context of an ongoing struggle for democratic rights and opportunities. Through an institutional study of a school and its neighborhood, students explore youth, family, and community assets. Leadership and agency. Students analyze and synthesize evidence, take into account different viewpoints and perspectives, and apply their findings to professional practice.
Students will observe, assist, and eventually teach in an art classroom. Fieldwork journals including lesson planning, classroom management, and evaluation are brought to the weekly seminar for discussion and analysis.
Child and Adolescent Development
Theories of development from infancy through adolescence are critiqued through readings in psychology and literature, formal observations, and personal experiences. Learning and environmental factors such as gender, race, disability, and economics in the home, school, and community are included in the discussion. Students consider language acquisition and literacy development, sexuality, and cultural identity development.


Difference between revisions of "Ohrloff Mennonitische Zentralschule (Ohrloff, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)"
(CSV import - 20130816)
Revision as of 19:10, 16 August 2013
Ohrloff Mennonitische Zentralschule was the first secondary school established among the Mennonites in Russia. It was founded in 1820 by an educational society (Schulverein) headed by Johann Cornies, the great Mennonite organizer and colonizer. The first site of the school, which at that time had only one classroom, was between the villages of Ohrloff and Tiege in the Molotschna settlement in the Ukraine. In 1847 the school building burned down, the following year Johann Cornies died, and the school remained closed till 1860, when it was reopened in a new building at Ohrloff.
Like all other Zentralschulen in the Molotschna and its daughter settlements, the Ohrloff school had a three-year course of study, in contrast to this type of schools in the Chortitza settlement, where the course of study was four years. The first teacher was Tobias Voth, whom Cornies invited to come from Prussia. Because he could teach only in the German language and was not strict enough in his school discipline, Cornies dismissed him after seven years of service. He was followed by Heinrich Heese, another pioneer of education among the Russian Mennonites, who also came from Prussia. He had studied Russian for several years and now at the wish of Cornies this language was introduced into the curriculum of the school. Heese taught for 15 years, then also disagreed with Cornies, left the school, and went to Chortitza, where he founded the Chortitza Zentralschule. After its reopening in 1860 the Ohrloff Zentralschule had three classrooms with three teachers. Its curriculum supplied a very substantial higher elementary education. Some prominent teachers of the school were Hermann Janzen, P. H. Ediger, P. J. Wiens, J. Janzen, and especially Kornelius Unruh and Johann Bräul, two of the most prominent schoolmen among the Russian Mennonites.
In 1912 the school was moved into its new beautiful modern building. But soon, with the advent of World War I and after it the Russian Revolution, the Communist regime took over the school and it ceased to be a center of Mennonite education.
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga." 1911.
Cite This Article
Gerlach, Horst. "Ohrloff Mennonitische Zentralschule (Ohrloff, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 24 May 2018. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ohrloff_Mennonitische_Zentralschule_(Ohrloff,_Molotschna_Mennonite_Settlement,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=59781.
Gerlach, Horst. (1959). Ohrloff Mennonitische Zentralschule (Ohrloff, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 May 2018, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Ohrloff_Mennonitische_Zentralschule_(Ohrloff,_Molotschna_Mennonite_Settlement,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=59781.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 32-33. All rights reserved.
©1996-2018 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


First, the same rhythmic ability can develop from simple to more complex procedures, in which the overlap of different events can be practiced by one person, or by more people in interaction.
Vocality can develop from monody to polyphony, ie the superimposition of many voices in mutual independence.
The musical competence will develop later in the discovery of the wealth of harmonic procedures, in the variety of musical forms (in analogy with literary forms, until the discovery of the autonomy of the musical language), in the knowledge of scales and modes that do not necessarily correspond to those more familiar to the dominant cultural context. We will then arrive to grasp the historicity of musical language and to take a critical relationship with the contemporary.
It will also come to understand that some contemporary phenomena, that the market wants to impose as a "genius", are not even remotely comparable in artistic quality and skill level, with other personalities, also contemporary to us, who are other things caliber.
Certainly, music education, as every human competence, is favored if it develops from childhood. But the fact remains that the musical competence can develop in every person, and in all stages of life. Surely also count attitudes, the bent; but I would not put too much emphasis on these aspects, which can become a convenient alibi for both the teacher hurried, both for the lazy learner. What interests me more stress the potential that each person can grow, at any time of life, for their own welfare; a being that, again, involves the body, emotions, intellect and spirituality, all vital functions harmoniously stimulated by this wonderful experience.


This is a guest post I wrote on Quartz – original appeared a week ago and is available here:
Almost every university student takes 101 classes. Usually, they’re viewed as ways to build foundational skills or complete requirements, rather than gateways to exposing students to interesting career possibilities. The 101 course should be a place where a student experiences the beauty of discovery for the first time—the fact that the cure for cancer could lie in her hands. Often this discovery gets lost in the granular details. It’s time we start thinking about introductory education in universities differently.
According to the New York Times, at Penn State University, 80% of freshmen—even those who have declared a major—said they’re uncertain about their chosen path in college. With the current skills shortage (particularly within engineering), we can’t afford to leave this many students undecided. The 101 class can be used to get more students motivated to pursue engineering, computer science, medicine, genetics—the list goes on and on.
To spark discovery at the 101 level, we need to change the way we teach altogether. Education reformists are trying to disrupt the classroom as we know it in a variety of ways—one method is a “flipped classroom,” where students listen to lectures at home and interactively work on homework in the classroom. A slightly different idea is to switch the order of the curriculum—teaching big ideas first and working down to granular levels of detail at the end of the course.
Let’s take Biology 101 as an example. Most 101 classes start with basic (arguably, uninteresting) concepts and work up to the big ideas. You might never know that you’d be able to clone a wooly mammoth by studying the structure of a cell in intense detail. When you’re learning about the nucleus and mitochondria, you’re often not getting the broader context about why this information matters in the real world. What if we inverted the order of the curriculum, starting with exciting concepts and digging down into detail? Would we have more geneticists? More bioengineers?
At Boundless, we’ve done a lot of research about how 101-level college students use our textbooks. More than 50% of students visiting our open textbooks online look up very specific terms or concepts, and spend most of the time on the site highlighting and quizzing themselves on these concepts to make sure they’ve got them right. Rather than spending time connecting the dots on big-picture concepts, students are researching and being graded on their ability to retain smaller details. They’re immersed in the assembly line model of teaching, which has been done for years and, to some extent, people argue that it’s proven.
But the sheer statistics about how our students rank in math and science skills prove otherwise. According to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, “economic forecasts point to a need for producing, over the next decade, approximately 1 million more college graduates in STEM fields than expected under current assumptions.” With American students scoring 23rd in math and 31st in science compared to 65 other top industrialized nations, something must change the way we produce workers in these fields.
Major institutions are coming around to change—Princeton president and molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman spoke out about the need to invert the science curriculum. Salman Khan of Khan Academy has also advocated for change on the K-12 level through a flipped classroom model. But how do we get more universities to adopt the change?
We need to do two big things. First, hook students with 101—don’t be afraid to make broad changes to the way classes are taught. Freshman year is a chance to get students interested in new subjects before majors are declared or set in stone. Second, use technology to make it easier for professors to be flexible. We need more flexible textbooks and adaptive study resources for students that aren’t rigidly tied to a set order or the “way things have always been.”
Math and science provide the answers to some of the world’s most pressing problems. And math and science careers are exceptionally interesting, ubiquitous, and in-demand. It’s a shame that we’re burying those realities in mundane details. Let’s make sure students know why they’re learning what they’re learning, before drilling into the basics. An inverted approach can make learning more exciting and get graduates prepared to compete in the global economy.


Teachers who are looking for new and engaging ways to jazz up the sometimes boring task of teaching kids to memorize sight words will find Endless Reader a nice option. Give kids free reign to choose words to explore and let them take advantage of the exposure to sight words. Teachers should use the new option that requires kids to put letters together in the correct order to spell the target words (available in the settings menu). This will help accurately represent the relationship between letters and word formation. Kids will need to play individually to get the most out of interacting with the letters and words. However, there's no tracking or multiple account creation options, so teachers don't have a way to monitor progress or know which words kids have been working with.Continue reading Show less
Endless Reader teaches young kids those all-important sight words. Words are organized in alphabetical order by level: Level 1 is for PreK-K; Level 2, K-2; and Level 3, grades 2-3. Kids choose a word from inside a monster's mouth, a group of monsters mess up the word's letters, and kids drag the letters back to their correct places (indicated by dotted outlines). Kids hear the letter's sound when they tap on it. Then, the target word is used in a sentence; once again, monsters knock the target word and other sight words out of place, and kids drag the words back in place. By tapping on the words, kids can hear them pronounced. Every action also results in a little animation. The school version provides 223 words in the first two levels; level 3, with 118 more words, will be available as a free download in late 2014.
Endless Reader is certainly fun, and the graphics and animations make the words and letters come alive quite nicely. Kids get a lot of opportunities to tap on letters and words to hear them pronounced, which helps solidify the connection between the written word or letter and the sound it makes. Words also often get repeated as they show up in multiple sentences throughout the game. With the focus on single letter sounds rather than complete phonemes, though, kids can't deeply explore how to pronounce words. Letters aren't even always pronounced correctly for the target word (for example, y is pronounced "yuh" rather than the "ee" sound it makes in the target word funny). Some more game features would also be nice, such as the option to repeat the same word, create multiple accounts, track progress, choose which words to download (downloading them all can overload the memory on your device), or choose specific words to assign to kids. Though Endless Reader is an engaging app for learning vocabulary, it falls short for sight reading and phonics learning.
Key Standards Supported
Reading Foundational Skills
Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or many of the most frequent sound for each consonant.
Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).


Children are still in the process of developing their learning, communication and creative abilities. Some children might already display sparks of creative talents and others have yet to find their favourite outlet. However, creativity is something that should be encouraged so that they can develop their gifts or discover hidden talents they might have. Creativity will also boost their mental strength by helping them think outside the box and also improve their problem solving skills.
What Are Your Children Interested In?
Depending on the age of your children their interests will vary. For example, children from ages 3 to 5 years are still very young and playing with modeling clay or just having fun with colours and art materials is something they would enjoy. Children who are in elementary school might already be learning basic art theory at school and might enjoy water coolers, pastels and craft projects. Find out what their interests are and try to merge them with creative outlets.
Helping Children Express Themselves
It is very important that children are allowed to express themselves creatively through mediums they enjoy whether it is art or music. You can even send them for art or music classes at a creative child development center Hong Kong where they focus on bringing out a child’s abilities through creative means. Even at home, encouragement and support from parents play vital roles as positive constructive feedback can help boost their confidence and even help them with their academic performance too. Art helps them gain interest and exposure to the outside world.
Fun Creative Outlets
Enjoyable activities like drawing and craft work can also keep children occupied during holidays instead of always being glued to electronic devices, this would even be the best time to introduce them to creative art classes by getting them enrolled at a center where art education for kids is being provided. Don’t try to force them if they seem reluctant to try something new at first, let them ease into things slowly with firm but gentle encouragement. Often times having a hobby is not taken seriously, but doing something you enjoy is actually mentally stimulating. Visit http://creativekids.com.hk/children-and-adult-workshops/
Doing Creative Projects Together
You can involve yourself in small ways as aparent if you like. There are several websites and apps like Pintrest with countless DIY projects that you can do with your children to keep them occupied. There are some art studios where special workshops are being held for children which are great ways to slowly introduce them into creative outlets. Some of these workshops even get parents and children involved too.


Whether a child is the subsequent learner or more probable to sing solos in a shower, he/she is sure to benefit from certain form of the music education.
Investigation shows that acquiring them can help the children excel in the ways beyond the fundamental ABCs.
More than only Music
Research has discovered that learning music at music lessons columbus ga enables learning other topics and improves skills that children unavoidably use in different areas.
The children’s IQs are tested before achieving the first grade; further again before arriving the second rank. Surprisingly, the offspring who are providing music lessons over a school year tried on average certain IQ point’s superior to the further groups. The drama unit did not have the same upsurge in IQ, however did experience amplified social behavior welfares not seen in an only music group.
Harder Working of Brain
Students those were in study music lessons columbus ga who received music teaching had improved sound insight and fine motorized tasks, and mind imaging showed alterations to the nets in the brain related with those capabilities, according to a Foundation, which is a private charitable organization that cares brain research.
Temporal/ Spatial Skills
Research has even found a causal web link between spatial and music intelligence, that means that sympathy music can aid children visualize numerous elements that would go together, as they would do while solving a math difficulty.
Improved Test Scores
A study issued in 07, by a professor of music therapy and education at University of Kansas, exposed that students in music lessons columbus ga with excellent music education plans scored about 22 percent more in English and even 20 percent more in math notches on consistent tests, compared to the schools with music programs of low-quality irrespective of socioeconomic differences among schools or its districts. Even expert compares the attention that music exercise requires to the attention needed to achieve well on a consistent test.
Music can increase the child’ abilities in education and other nonmusical tasks, however it’s important to grasp that music doesn’t make a person smarter.
As specialists explain many intrinsic aids to music education at music lessons columbus ga comprise being disciplined, studying a skill, being role of the music world, handling functioning, being part of somewhat one can be pleased of, and even stressed with less than faultless teacher. While parentages may hope that registering their child in a best music program would make her a improved student, the primary motives to provide a child with a melodic education at music lessons columbus ga must be to aid them become further musical, to rise all aspects of the music, and to esteem the process of acquiring an instrument or further learning to sing, that is valued on its individual merit. “There is a huge benefit from being melodic that we do not understand, however it’s individual. Melody is just for song’s sake”, said expert. “The profit of music teaching for anybody is about being melodic. It gives one have a well understanding of self.


My Name Is Maria Isabel
By: Alma Flor Ada
http://www.almaflorada.com/mynameismariaisabel.htm Website for general information and purchasing information as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Name-Maria-Isabel-Aladdin-Chapter/dp/068980217X Website for purchasing information
·This chapter book is about a little girl, Maria Isabel, who has to go through the usual challenges of being a new student. Her biggest problem, however, is to be called Mary Lopez by her teacher instead of the name she was born with and is supremely proud of-Maria Isabel Salazar Sanchez. To her, this name has so much meaning because of her grandparents and feels that it is one of the most important aspects about her. Throughout the book she struggles to find the courage to stand up for the way she feels and to be understood by her teacher.
· I like this book because it highlights the Hispanic culture which allows Latino students to feel empowered but also encourages respect and acceptance of other cultures since they are focused on as well. I also like that the book revolves around the issue of valuing student’s names and cultures and that it helps students and teachers to realize that these are extremely important aspects of a person that should be respected and understood.
· Currently, I am using Maria Isabel for a book club and will use it to teach literacy while integrating social studies, math, art, and issues of social justice. Social studies ideas: studying Puerto Rican people who have made a change in society, learning about Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States. Literacy ideas: character analysis, reading comprehension strategies, learning of literary elements, persuasive writing, text to self connections, text to text connections. Math ideas: graphing the increase of Maria Isabel’s courage throughout the book. Social justice ideas: exploring their own identities (all of these students are of Hispanic culture), exploring methods of how they can be courageous, learning and exploring other cultures, learning about the importance of their names and culture, exploring and accepting other people’s holidays and traditions, teaching children conflict/resolution/communication strategies Arts ideas: creating a web of problems and how to get out of it and performing Amahl.
· Ways in which it falls in the domains of sje:
1. Children of Hispanic culture are encouraged to love and accept themselves.
2. Various cultures are represented in the book and encourage acceptance of other’s cultures, traditions, and holidays.
3. This book deals with racism and oppression.
4. The method in which Maria Isabel stands up for herself is through a courage driven, detailed essay to the teacher describing why her culture is so important and why devaluing her name and culture is like overlooking the biggest part of her. Students will see how these small social movements can easily be done within the classroom community.
5. This book doesn’t directly apply to this domain.
· This book can easily connect to the literacy curricular unit but not limited to the subjects that have been mentioned above.


If we limit children to the modern art depicted in cartoons and picture books, we withhold the greatest works of all time during the years when their brains are most active. The art of Monet, Van Gogh and Da Vinci, among others, is not too complex for youngsters.
The concept of children understanding art in their own way is not new. Charlotte Mason, a liberal thinking educator in the late 1800's, wrote in her book Home Education, "We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the children's sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life..He is enriched more than we know in having really looked at a single picture."
Bette Setter, founder of the mobile art education program, Young Rembrandts, has seen firsthand that exposure to the arts at a young age makes children more aware of details. They become whole thinkers, she explains, and they keep the art images for life.
Sarah Herbert, early childhood teacher at The Center of Creative Arts in Missouri, explains that teaching children art through the works of the Masters encourages the development of many skills. When they are painting, they become more autonomous. Sarah also points to fine motor skill development from working with paints and other media. The drawings of a two year old promote the development of pre-reading and writing skills because of the symbolism created. To foster the development of language and the concept of process-oriented art, Sarah suggests asking the child what he wants to say with his creation instead of what the creation is. The way a child thinks about his art is more important than the way you think about it, says Sarah. Make observations from fact. Say, "There is a red circle," or "See these three red lines?"
Introducing the Masters to Young Children
Hang prints of famous paintings on the wall at eye level so children can study the paintings up close. Prints can be purchased in art stores, online, or checked out from the library. You can also find magnets, coffee mugs, and calendars that feature artwork by the Masters.
- Discuss colors and shapes in the art. Can the children name the color or shape? Can they find another object of the same color or shape?
- Talk about the distance of items in the print. Items close up are larger than ones far away. Look out the window to see how this same concept is true in reality.
- Identify items in the print. For instance, in Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, children can identify the stars, houses, trees, darkness, and even the wind.
- Use descriptive words to discuss the prints. Help children learn how to describe items with words.
- Link art and life through literature. For example, read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Discuss the emotion on Max's face when he is angry. Present some of Rembrandt's sketches. What emotions do the subjects express? How do you express emotion?
- For an easy-to-clean finger painting center, tape newspaper over a low windowsill, lay a drop cloth on the floor, and tape a piece of white paper to the window. A child can paint on the paper and the window. The natural backdrop, as seen through the window, may provide inspiration for budding artists.
- Outdoor painting is also fun and provides easy clean up.
Teachers cannot travel inside their children's brains and ensure that all the educational efforts made are learned, stored, and applied appropriately. They can be certain, though, that art enriches a child's overall education. The developing mind of a child will soak up whatever it is surrounded with, so why not provide the best history and culture have to offer?
Shauna Smith Duty is a freelance writer and homeschooling mother of two in Roanoke, Texas. She writes activities, crafts and parenting articles for websites, magazines, and newsletters. Visit www.shaunasmithduty.com to read more of Shauna's articles and find out about her latest projects.


NAPLAN testing starts this week. With calls for a review, many education experts are calling the Future of NAPLAN into question. In this series, the experts look at options for removing, replacing, rethinking or resuming NAPLAN.
This week year three, five, seven and nine students will be undertaking NAPLAN testing. And while standardised testing might be relevant for some fields of study, NAPLAN promotes a narrow view of literacy and writing and hinders the creative process.
If teachers want to prepare their students for the writing portion of NAPLAN, they must teach rigid writing structures that don’t allow for creative flow. This may then turn children into bad writers.
The limitations of NAPLAN are frequently discussed among researchers, policymakers, teachers and in the community. So, if standardised tests hinder creativity, what can we use instead?
The benefits of creativity
One of the problems is NAPLAN places children as young as eight in an exam situation. These kinds of tests stigmatise mistakes, but mistakes are essential if schools are to encourage the original thoughts required to conquer the challenges young people will face in their futures.
Sometimes, traditional testing is functional and appropriate. We want our doctors and nurses to be able to do drug calculations and our engineers to be able to calculate the load of a bridge. Exam-style testing should be used when it’s appropriate for students to demonstrate rote knowledge or something that requires a basic competency.
But solutions to big issues such as climate change and the recycling crisis are only going to be solved with creativity.
Creative thinking, learning and play have a valid place in the curriculum, but are difficult to test. Traditional assessment methods that ask learners to replicate predetermined knowledge aren’t a good fit for creative thinking. Creative tasks ask students to apply original thinking to create new ideas, new inventions or their own interpretation of a style.
For example, international research found text is more easily understood when enacted using the body, as might happen during a drama lesson. Students’ reading comprehension also improves.
Creative tasks accommodate a degree of risk-taking, and often students have to consider the audience for whom they want their creative product to have meaning. There are many correct solutions to a problem. Divergent responses, where students create something the teacher didn’t anticipate, are permitted and even encouraged.
Despite all of this complexity, creative work still strikes some as academically “soft” or less rigorous than traditional learning. Sadly, creative processes carry common perceptions of being too abstract, or only associated with high culture.
Many also assume creativity is impossible to assess, because of its association with taste and personal preference. For example, two people could have distinctly different opinions on the one piece of art, theatre performance or a piece of creative writing.
But creative work is assessed rigorously and often as part of our curriculum, at all school year levels. On a regular basis, students are asked to demonstrate creativity that can be quantified as part of dance, drama, English, media arts, visual arts or design and technology.
Creative learning is always grounded in knowledge and practice. Tasks often involve the demonstration of skills and craftsmanship developed as part of classroom learning.
What we could do instead
Creative tasks actually assess a wider range of skills that traditional testing can ignore, including effort, collaboration, context, originality and imagination. There are several alternatives to NAPLAN that assess students’ skills in a way that doesn’t constrain their responses.
For example, a national bank of creative tasks can be created that contains everything from devising performances to creating electrical circuits. Teachers could log in and modify a task for their own class. Annotated work samples could be made available to help teachers cross reference their judgements. The literacy and numeracy skills accessed by the task can easily be mapped and judged in an applied context.
It’s also possible to make greater use of technology, in a way that avoids the reductive robo-marking that has caused community concern. Multi-media tasks, scenario-based exercises and hands on experiences are regularly used in the US now, as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), providing an experience that is more authentic for the child, as it looks and feels like part of their everyday life.
Finally, we can return to encouraging and assessing artistry through creative writing that is not formulaic. Proponents of NAPLAN might think we’re giving children a harmless check-up with these tests. But look at what we’re taking away in the process: creativity, originality and the joy of engaging in beautiful writing. We want our children to be more than functional. Creative children will thrive and build a new and better world.


DALLAS (Sept. 20, 2016) – While the nation casts attention on a projected STEM employment deficit, activists and education leaders are addressing the diversity gap in education programs as a contributing factor. RoboKind, the world leader in social robotics, debuts a humanoid robot designed to expand access and engagement for African-American students in K-12 STEM education. The robot, with African-American likeness, will deliver the Robots4STEM curriculum designed in partnership with Quadrant 4 System Corporation (QFOR).
Guided by the Robots4STEM curriculum, the robot Jett helps students in third grade and beyond gain foundational skills in coding and computer science. The program is designed to support educators with or without experience in computer science in implementing Robots4STEM, all while meeting math and science curriculum standards.
"Our mission is to enable students, no matter their age or background, to take full advantage of opportunities in STEM," said Fred Margolin, CEO and founder of RoboKind.
The Robots4STEM curriculum builds a steady progression of skill mastery in computer science through a series of grade-appropriate coding languages, developed at the University of California, Berkeley. Students explore computer programming by coordinating movements and actions for the lively and approachable robot.
“This course can be critical for capturing the interest of African-American students in STEM, and ultimately preparing them for a new economy,” said Shekhar Lyer, president of the QFOR Education Division. “We’re proud to share RoboKind’s dedication to creating equal opportunity in education.”
Robots4STEM has indicated strong promise for boosting course enrollment, increasing engagement and creating enthusiasm for coding in a pilot school in Texas. The robot, available in Caucasian and African-American likeness, and the Robots4STEM curriculum are anticipated to be fully available during the 2017-18 school-purchasing season.
"It’s critical to reduce real and perceived barriers to STEM fields for students of color at an early age," said Dr. Gregory A. Firn, senior vice president of strategic initiatives of RoboKind and a former superintendent. “Students learn by doing with the robot, which activates new ways to create, collaborate and solve problems.”
For more information or to request a demo of Robots4STEM, visit https://quadrant4edu.com/robots4stem.
RoboKind, the world leader in social robotics, designs and builds a series of robots that enable people to engage with robots on a personal level. Through the Robots4Autism and Robots4STEM programs, RoboKind leverages these advanced social robots to supplement autism therapy, special education and STEM instruction. The programs use humanoid robots that feature life-like facial expressions, natural social interaction and comprehensive curriculum to assist educators and therapists in helping students learn and grow. For more information, visit www.robokindrobots.com.
# # #
Contact: Greg Firn
972-331-7050, ext. 126 | firstname.lastname@example.org


This is the 3rd of 5 units in Digging Reading, a classroom curriculum for teaching reading comprehension strategies.
Unit 3: Questioning and Predicting
Questioning is at the heart of reading and learning. And, Predicting is often a natural outcome of questioning. These two strategies are the focus of the 12 lessons in Unit 3. Students learn to read with questions in mind, gathering text clues in order to form answers. They also make predictions about what they are going to read and note whether their predictions are correct as they read on.
Students learn the reading strategies through activities and interactive reading of the trade book Frindle by Andrew Clements. All materials are provided except the trade book.
You will receive:
• Teacher's Guide (PDF)
The Teacher's Guide provides step-by-step instructions for four lessons and answers to the Activity Book pages.
• Activity Book (PDF)
The Activity Book is designed with plenty of student appeal! Thematic illustrations enhance the activities, whether students are reading a passage, working with a partner, or recording their ideas.
• 3 Posters (JPGs)
Full-color posters, all with an archaeology theme, provide visual reminders of the strategies and how to use them.
• 11 Transparencies (PDFs)
The transparencies are used to model the strategies, stimulate thinking, and gather class input.
• 3 Quizzes with Answer Keys (PDFs)
Each week of instruction ends with a quiz.


I just happened upon this bundle from http://www.eartrainingandimprov.com/ in my inbox this morning.
It’s a great assortment of beginner music theory worksheets for children. I printed them all out and am going to assemble a worksheet packet that my students will work through up until Halloween. Kristin (the lady behind the packet) gives great suggestions for how to make these exercises extra fun for kids. I’m especially looking forward to the rhythm dictation worksheet called “Knock, Knock Trick or Treat.” If the student “knocks” correctly, they get the treat. I know my students are just going to eat that up (literally and metaphorically.
Anyway, serious thanks to Kristin. Here’s a preview of some of the sheets and links to get them (click on image).
My students LOVE these kind of worksheets. I’ve shared a few of my own making, but these are really great:
My students often don’t get enough consistent practice drawing the treble clef sign and grand staff. It’s my recent resolution to focus on this more, so it’s great to have a Halloween-themed way to bring it to them this month!
Ear training, despite how vital it is, often gets put to the side in lessons – there’s just too much to teach in one hour, once a week. Definitely going to use this to make sure my students get a well-rounded music education.


This class is designed to introduce students to technical theater and the design process. Students will be exposed to all aspects of theater production including backstage, front of house, and production management. Students master the safe operation of some of the equipment in the theatre and complete a design process, working towards a public performance (showcase or MS Play/Musical).
This course focuses on Musical Theatre. By admission to the course, you will be in the school musical happening in the spring. Students will learn how to prepare for an audition and perform in a musical. Being in this course guarantees students a place in the show and they will have a minor or major role in the production. This course will have an after-school component to it of 1-2 rehearsals per week throughout part of the semester and everyday after-school (excluding Tuesdays) rehearsal 2 weeks prior to the production. The course will focus on analyzing, staging, and performing in the school selected musical for the semester.
PAGE TO STAGE
This course focuses on the process required to create original plays and theatre performance pieces. Students take stimuli and ideas and use them to produce a performance for an audience. Students learn techniques for devising original theatre pieces such as playwriting, acting and directing. Students collaborate in small groups and as a class to develop comedic and serious short plays and performance pieces based on middle school life, issues and concerns. The culmination of the course will be a class created performance. Much modern theatre is created through ensemble work and this class focuses on developing and cultivating these 21st-century creative skills.
Students can only select this course if they have completed one of the following units (Improvisation, Theatre Foundations, Comedy in Performance or Stagecraft)
Length of Course: Semester
COMEDY AND IMPROVISED PERFORMANCE
This course is about laughter and getting people to laugh. Students will learn a variety of different techniques to engage an audience and make them laugh. The units focus on storytelling, improvisation, physical comedy, sketch and stand-up comedy. Students will first develop their improvisational skills through skill-building activities and games. The focus will be on saying yes, accepting and building on offers and learning from our mistakes. Students will be assessed on their energy level throughout the improvised scene, character creation, scene progression and partner interaction. Students will then work to develop an understanding of timing, rhythm, physicality, and wordplay to highlight topics they are interested in exploring. Last, students will perform personal comedic writings, physical theatre performances and work to polish and perform a stand-up comedy routine. The emphasis of this course is placed on students developing their stage presence, listening and reacting skills and ultimately finding their comedic voice.
In this course, student learn the basic foundational skills of an actor. Students learn to work creatively in collaborative group settings and individually to research, develop and perform: scripted monologues, scenes and a one-act play. All students perform a monologue at the beginning of the course, followed by the performance of a scene and finally a one-act play. Through the process of getting these performances ready students work to develop the skills required to create fully formed characters using their voice, movement, gesture and interaction with their fellow performers and the audience.
Length of course: Semester


The Arts, the Common Core, and English Language Development in the Primary Grades
by Christa Mulker Greenfader & Liane Brouillette
Background/Context: Throughout schooling, English learners (ELs) perform well below their monolingual English-speaking peers on literacy assessments, and Hispanics make up the majority of EL students in the United States. There is a strong consensus about the importance of early English oral language skills for ELs’ literacy development, yet teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the needs of these young learners. Historically, policy has not provided incentives for educators to focus on oral language development in the classroom. However, the recently adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS) emphasize oral language skills.
Purpose/Objective: This study examines a professional development program that equipped early elementary teachers in five urban schools with arts-based strategies to promote the oral English development of ELs. A second line of inquiry looked at the extent to which the creative drama and dance activities were aligned with CCSS.
Participants: There were 3,792 K–2 Hispanic ELs (treatment: N = 497; control: N = 3,295) from Title I schools in a large school district in California.
Intervention: The Teaching Artist Project (TAP) was a two-year K–2 arts and literacy professional development program consisting of 28 weekly 50-minute lessons (14 theater and 14 dance). The project provided classroom teachers with in-service training on utilizing movement, gesture, and expression to promote stimulating English verbal interactions. TAP was specifically intended to engage non-native English speakers in classroom dialogues, facilitating their oral English development.
Research Design: This study utilized a mixed methods design. To address the first research question, schools were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Multiple regressions were run on data from the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) to investigate the impact of the program on the English speaking abilities of K–2 Hispanic English learners. To address the second research question, document review was used to compare the K–2 CCSS speaking and listening standards and the TAP lesson plans.
Findings: The treatment group was found to significantly outperform the control group (β = 0.13; p < 0.05) on CELDT speaking scores. Additional review suggested that the performing arts activities corresponded well to the CCSS speaking and listening standards.
Conclusions/Recommendations: Creative drama and dance activities provide rich verbal classroom interactions, boost English oral language skills of ELs, and align with the CCSS. Yet concerns are raised about the lack of speaking assessments on tests created by the Smarter Balanced and PARCC consortiums and the potential subsequent distortion of K–2 instruction.
Cite This Article as: Teachers College Record Volume 119 Number 8, 2017, p. 1-38
http://www.tcrecord.org/library ID Number: 21915, Date Accessed: 5/22/2018 12:30:41 AM


Technology Operations & Concepts Plan
Content Standard 7
Technology Operations and Concepts
Use of technological tools, operations, and concepts to enhance learning,
7.a. Understand the equity, ethical, legal, social, physical, and psychological issues surrounding the use of technology in K-12 schools and apply those principles in practice;
DFN 119 Digital Fundamentals, an introductory course in computer skills is a requirement to complete the Foundation curriculum. Students explore the computer as a tool in support of artist/designer's practice, including software required for the college information system, word processing and creative digital imagery in both pixel and vector based software. Students work with popular software packages, appropriate for design, to gain an understanding of the tools used to create and manipulate digital imagery and to develop a broad understanding of how and why the computer is so prominent in image making today. All Art Education courses require use of technology in research, design, and delivery of assignments. DAE 315 Elementary Art Teaching Methods, Materials, and Content Area Literacy and DAE 405 Secondary Art Teaching Methods, Materials, and Content Area Literacy instruct age-appropriate use of technology.
7.b Successfully complete and reflect upon collaborative online learning experiences;
DFN 119 Digital Fundamentals as mentioned in 7.a is an online course. In addition, all CCS courses are represented on Blackboard, the education portal of record for CCS. Students learn to communicate ideas, concepts, and process with instructors and peers through Blackboard. In DAE 520 Directed Teaching Seminar students use a blog to communicate with faculty and peers while student teaching.
7.c. Demonstrate an understanding of and the ability to create an online learning experience, and demonstrate continued growth in knowledge of technology operations, resource evaluation for quality, objectivity, and reliability and concepts including strategies for teaching and learning in an online environment;
All students use Blackboard to obtain and share course information. All Liberal Arts courses and DAE 200 Education Foundations: History and Philosophy of Education research assignments require searching ERIC and similar web based databases to find information. Students discern between appropriate and inappropriate databases for reliability. In DAE 315 Elementary Art Teaching Methods, Materials, and Content Area Literacy and DAE 405 Secondary Art Teaching Methods, Materials, and Content Area Literacy students create lessons in illustration and graphic design using software applications and computer tools.
7.d. Plan, design, and evaluate effective technology-enhanced learning environments and experiences aligned with Michigan’s Content Standards and Grade Level Content Expectations and Michigan Educational Technology Standards for each student;
As noted in 7.c. DAE 315 & DAE 405 include lesson planning in accordance with the grade level-appropriate State of Michigan content standards for art, reading, and technology.
7e. Implement curriculum plans that include effective technology-enhanced methods and strategies to maximize student learning;
DAE 315, DAE 405, & DAE 510 students write and deliver age-appropriate lesson plans. Delivery of instruction is aided by overhead projection equipment to allow for ease of reading. Field Experience/Practicums include hearing impaired headsets and microphones when needed, interactive SMART Boards are used in many districts and at Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies our on-site charter school.
7.f. Apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies; and
In DAE510 Directed Teaching Student teachers are required to use digital record keeping systems as defined by each district. Experience in online processes is gained in all classes at CCS through the Blackboard system. Formal course evaluations are processed online at the end of each semester.
7.g. Use technology to engage in ongoing professional development, practice, productivity, communication, and life-long learning.
In DAE 520 Directed Teaching Seminar student teachers blog with faculty and peers to communicate issues, ask questions, and share ideas while teaching off campus. All CCS students do thumbnail designs, and problem-solve on the computer and many produce illustrations, which they use as teaching tools in the classroom. Students have access to Lynda.com an online software training resource.


SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Common Sense Media, the national non-profit dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, today announced a partnership with Edmodo, the free and secure K-12 social learning network. The partnership provides teachers with a set of student activities based on Common Sense Media's free K-12 curriculum, "Digital Literacy and Citizenship in a Connected Culture," for the Edmodo platform. The curriculum introduces the basics of using social networks and other digital technologies safely, responsibly and respectfully and is based on the work of Dr. Howard Gardner and the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
"Teaching kids to think critically and behave responsibly in today's fast-paced digital world is essential, and Edmodo is a perfect platform on which to provide these important foundational skills. It's learning about technology by using technology," said Mike Lorion, general manager of education at Common Sense Media. "Giving teachers and students access to our curriculum through a private social learning network is a unique opportunity to put digital literacy and citizenship lessons into practice."
Through Edmodo's free and secure social network, teachers have access to the Digital Citizenship community. The community is loaded with resources designed to spark conversations in virtual and physical classrooms about how to engage safely and smartly with technology. Additionally, educators will have a roadmap that deepens conversations about topics ranging from Internet safety and security to privacy, plagiarism and cyberbullying and uses full lessons from Common Sense Media.
"We created Edmodo as a free and secure place for students and teachers to connect in the classroom. But it's also important for students to become digitally smart and savvy as they navigate the Web both inside and outside of the classroom," said Nic Borg, CEO and co-founder of Edmodo. "We partnered with Common Sense Media because they are an outstanding resource with a successful digital citizenship curriculum. Our partnership offers Edmodo teachers a new and exciting way to teach their students critical digital citizenship skills."
Common Sense Media's educator programs also include comprehensive professional development tools and components for parents. Since their launch in 2008, the programs have been adopted by a network of more than 35,000 schools in all 50 states, and more than 200 countries worldwide.
Edmodo is the largest, fastest growing social platform for education. There over 10 million Edmodo users in all 50 states, in every country in the world. Edmodo's goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner. The site is free for teachers and students, and always will be.
With 10 million users and growing rapidly, Edmodo provides a safe and easy way for teachers and students to connect with each other to share content and access homework, grades and school notices. Edmodo enables teacher-to-teacher resource sharing, global professional development and networking opportunities, and is accessible from any Internet-enabled device. Schools and districts can establish unique Edmodo URLs and access additional management and analytic tools. Edmodo is free for teachers and students and always will be. Edmodo is headquartered in San Mateo, CA. Make your classroom a community at www.edmodo.com.
About Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. We exist because our kids are growing up in a culture that profoundly impacts their physical, social, and emotional well-being. Common Sense Media empowers parents, educators, and young people to become knowledgeable and responsible digital citizens. www.commonsense.org.


Date of Award
Master of Science in Education (MSEd)
Education and Human Development
With the integration of an increased literacy and math based curriculum for young children, it is important to keep students engaged while maintaining efficient and effective instruction. As a proven practice, play-based education allows a focused classroom that effectively educates children in literacy. This thesis project examines the effects of theme-based play centers on classroom literacy as well as suggested methods in lesson planning, engagement, and success. The literature review considers previous research regarding integrated theme-based play centers which suggests improved emotional, social, linguistic, and cognitive abilities in students. The research project used observation and qualitative research to focus on interactions of children with adults and peers through reflection on the different themes each week. The results conclude that a consistent weekly theme allows students to focus and recall previously learned information and attributes the success to the use of props and fiction, nonfiction and poetry books integrated within the theme, and the implementation of interactive read-alouds, which allowed for interaction among peers and literacy improvements. Recommendations for further research include: further exploration of theme-based curriculum, investigation of dramatic play center practices to foster interaction among children, and implementation of this instructional technique to create learning and development within this new curriculum style.
Gross, Shannon, "Exploring the Literacy Development of Preschoolers Through Theme-Based Center Activities" (2012). Education and Human Development Master's Theses. 720.


Therapeutic putty play
Some examples of fine motor skills in toddlers include grasping and pinching objects with their fingers. Parents can help their children to improve hand strength with the use of resistance putty, which can be purchased online. Eva Pacchetti-D'Amaro, occupational therapist at Every Person Develops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, recommends this technique: "Hide coins or beads in the putty for your child to find," she said. (Use larger objects for children under three years old.) Then, "instruct your child to place coins in a piggy bank or string beads onto a string to make jewelry," she adds. Parents can also make putty circles for their child to open. This skill is especially helpful when the parent helps their child isolate their thumb, pointer, and middle fingers to open the circles and encourages the child to switch between left and right hands, says Pacchetti-D'Amaro.
Bear and crab walking
"Core muscle strength, upper body stability, visual-spatial skills, and gross coordination are foundations necessary for children to master fine motor skill development," says Pacchetti-D'Amaro. In order to develop these skills, toddlers can perform a wide variety of exercises to master fine motor skills and to engage their brain for learning. One exercise that can easily be done at home involves homemade bowling pins created from empty soda bottles. Parents can paint the bottles bright colors and fill them with rice to add weight. Set them up in a random bath in a large space and have your child bear walk on all fours or crab walk from pin to pin. Once they reach a pin, they can kick it or hit it to knock it over.
Hole punching fun
Using a hole punch to create a picture or design will improve both hand strength and visual skills, according to Pancchetti-D-Amaro. Here's to do: With a marker, draw the shape or design of your child's choosing on a piece of paper. Instruct them to use the hole punch to create the border of your drawing. An older child can use yarn or a pipe cleaner to lace in and out of the punched holes. This activity is perfect for a rainy day as well as these other indoor activities for toddlers.
"Beading builds the small muscles in one's hands by having to stabilize the yarn or string and then place each bead on the string," says Liz Matheis, PhD, of Psychological and Educational Counseling in Parsippany, New Jersey. Stock up on large, wooden beads and colorful yarn and twine for this fun activity that requires both concentration and steady hands. "The great thing with beading is you can help your child make a necklace or bracelet as a gift for someone else" says Dr. Matheis. "It's very motivating for a little one to see that her jewelry is appreciated." Here are other kid crafts that make perfect presents.
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A colorful challenge
Although she admits this activity may seem a bit mean, Dr. Matheis suggests breaking your child's crayons. Don't worry, it's for a good reason: "A smaller crayon activates and engages more muscles in your child's hand." Most of the time, kids won't even care anyway.
Make "spaghetti and meatballs"
Toddlers love Play-Doh, so why not use this popular activity to strengthen the muscles in their hands? Dr. Matheis suggests encouraging your toddler to make "spaghetti and meatballs" since it requires rolling and forming.
Play cat's cradle
Toddlers who are struggling with their fine motor skills don't have adequately developed muscles in their hands and wrists, according to understood.org. While it may take time to teach your child, yarn games like cat's cradle will provide endless entertainment throughout their childhood. Additionally, yarn games improve fine motor skills for toddlers because they require the use of small hand muscles as well as hand-eye coordination.


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