Teaching Children Reading Online
Learning to read is one of, if not the most important educational milestone for a child. As such, the internet is now home to countless reading and literacy games, activities and programmes that teach children reading online. So, are online reading resources effective?
As with any reading programme, the effectiveness of children reading online depends on the educational basis of the online programme they are using. The conventional wisdom among early childhood educators seems to agree that effective literacy instruction needs to target five key areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. The best reading programmes, including online programmes, use all five of these literacy areas in the structure and content of each lesson.
Here follows a brief outline of the five key areas of literacy and how Reading Eggs teaches them in its lessons:
A word is rarely just a single sound. Most words are made up of a number of smaller units of sounds, called phonemes. For instance, the simple word ‘cat’ is made up of three phonemes, /c/a/t/. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words.
Reading Eggs concentrates on phonemic awareness early in the programme. Strategies for developing phonemic awareness include structured activities using:
- Nursery rhymes
- Listening skills
- Sound play
- Alphabet books.
Later on in the programme, readers listen to words in order to discern the lesson’s focus sound, and also work with onsets and rhymes, such as c-at, b-at, r-at, so that they become adept at breaking words into smaller parts. Being able to manipulate phonemes builds phonemic awareness skills, which combined with phonics, rapidly increases a student’s bank of readable words.
Phonics instruction helps beginning readers link letters to sounds (phonemes) in order to form letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns. Children can then use this strategy in their reading, in order to see how letters and sounds relate. Early lessons of Reading Eggs each include 8-10 activities that map an individual letter to its appropriate sound, reinforcing this relationship through repetitive pictures, animations and audio. By completing these activities, young readers develop a firm understanding of the alphabetic principle – the notion that sounds relate directly to the letters of the alphabet.
Fluency enables readers to quickly span the gap between recognising a word and understanding the meaning. This means that they can spend more time deriving meaning from a text and less on sounding out and decoding words.
Reading Eggs lessons are accompanied by comprehensive vocal audio that provides children with a model for the fluent reading of text. Sounds, words and phrases are repeated vocally, with matching visuals, so that children have a clear example of what the letter or word looks like and how they should sound.
Every child approaches reading with a different level of vocabulary, but the more words they know and understand, the easier reading and deriving meaning from text will be.
Early in the programme, Reading Eggs lesson activities introduce new words with matching pictures, providing children with a visual understanding of what the new word means. In other activities, children are asked to match words to their appropriate pictures.
Comprehension of a text is the end goal of reading. When a child understands the meaning behind a text they are able to:
- Answer questions about a text
- Ask questions about a text
- Monitor their comprehension
- Put a jumbled-up text back in order
- Recognise story structure
Reading and understanding real books is the goal of every Reading Eggs lesson. By the end of Lesson 9 kids read their first e-book, and they continue to read books after every subsequent lesson. The Reading Eggs Story Factory, which allows kids to write their own stories and post them online, also provides them with skills to build their understanding of story structure.
It is by incorporating these five essential literacy skills that Reading Eggs effectively teaches children reading online, setting them up for future success at school.
Reading Eggs has simply taken off in our school! It allows students to work at their own level and provides students at the lower end of the scale with the opportunity to gain success. The kids love the games, stories and different challenges! Claire Badrock, Meekatharra School of the Air
My child LOVES Reading Eggs! This programme has been exactly what I’ve been looking for. We tried two other popular reading programmes and while they were fun, just didn’t translate to my child becoming a reader. He’s a reluctant reader, capable but frustrates easily. With Reading Eggs I have never witnessed an ounce of frustration, just watched my son having fun. And even better – I’ve watched him start to read in such a natural progression that is a beautiful thing to watch. Thank you, Reading Eggs! C. Bryant


GRADE 1 TOOLKIT FOR PIANO TEACHERS
Practical strategies for teaching Grade 1 successfully
This online course is available to purchase for a limited time only
Discover the basic principles needed to prepare pupils positively for their Grade 1 piano exam (ABRSM, LCM & Trinity) with the practical guidance of the Grade 1 Toolkit.
By working through and implementing the ideas in the Grade 1 Toolkit you will:
1. Know how to judge whether or not a pupil is ready to start preparing for Grade 1
2. Learn about a range of teaching strategies for covering the various requirements
3. Be able to help your pupils achieve their best in their Grade 1 piano exam
The Grade 1 Toolkit for Piano Teachers consists of 4 Modules. Each module contains approx. 60-120 minutes of videos - plus cheatsheets and other teaching resources. The course will need a minimum of 8 hours to complete but can be completed at your own pace.
Module 1 | Starting Off
Know when it’s time to start Grade 1 preparation along with a timeline overview and strategies for getting parents involved in a positive way.
Module 2 | Preparing the Groundwork
Gives strategies for how to connect the technical work, aural training, pieces and sight-reading together.
Module 3 | Building Momentum
Considers the specific elements required by the 3 exam boards covering technical work, supporting tests, pieces and sight-reading.
Module 4 | Towards the Big Day
Looks at the exam criteria and how to prepare students for their performance including on the day and performance anxiety.
Get started now!
The Curious Piano Teachers was founded in 2015 by Sally Cathcart and Sharon Mark-Teggart. Both are outstanding practitioners and communicators, as well as researchers in music education.
They realised the power of learning from each other to make their lessons work better, pursue new opportunities and increase their love of teaching piano.
Together, Sally and Sharon created a unique online Community that is now helping hundreds of piano teachers from across the globe to learn as much as they teach.
"Sally and Sharon have built a profoundly meaningful Community of piano teachers across the globe that provides members with high-quality opportunities and resources for professional development."
- Dr Christopher Fisher | Professor of Piano, Ohio University School of Music
Sally Cathcart, PhD | Co-Founder, The Curious Piano Teachers
Sally's innate curiosity has taken her to many corners of the world to explore different approaches to music education. After her travels as a 2005 Winston Churchill Fellow, Sally founded the Oxford Piano Group as a vibrant, collaborative place for pianists and teachers to meet and share experiences.
She was awarded a PhD from the Institute of Education, UCL in 2013. Her topic was the first comprehensive study of UK piano teachers, exploring common practices, expertise, values, attitudes and motivation to teaching. She has many years of teaching experience both as a piano teacher and as a classroom music teacher. Sally is a Principal Tutor on the Piano Teachers’ Course and is a consultant for ABRSM and The Voices Foundation.
Sally is married to Michael and lives down the road from the real Downton Abbey!
Sharon Mark-Teggart, MA | Co-Founder, The Curious Piano Teachers
Sharon says: “Being curious has taken me to places I never thought I’d reach. As a piano teacher, with incredibly humble beginnings, I’d never have moved on without my sense of curiosity and my courage to change.”
In 2007 Sharon achieved a Masters of Music Education with distinction. She has over 20 years of piano teaching experience and since 2012 has delivered Associate and Licentiate teaching diploma courses to groups of piano teachers - with well over 100 piano teachers successfully gaining accredited piano teaching diplomas.
Sharon has been described as being a visionary entrepreneur within the world of music education. After founding evoco in 2012 (Northern Ireland’s Music Education Organisation, specialising in piano teacher training) she founded The Curious Piano Teachers in 2015 with Dr Sally Cathcart.
Sharon lives close to the beautiful Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland, with her husband Philip and 3 year-old son Reuel.


Pioneers are beginning to present exciting glimpses into a reimagined view of education - one with “whole-person learning” at its centre. These pockets of innovation, however, are not enough unless we can move away from the prevailing system, which is organised around a narrow set of exams. As we think about the urgent and increasingly complex global issues that must be solved, time is of the essence. We must focus not only on innovating but also on driving system wide change – both now and in the future.
A century ago, the education system aimed to give large numbers of children basic literacy and numeracy skills to use in the manufacturing workforce. In developed countries, the standardised model of education was developed to meet those needs. Since then, although the education system has been modernised to some extent, changes have been modest and largely incremental:
• Content has been expanded to include modern subjects (e.g., computer science), and additional competencies and skills (e.g., social and emotional learning); the focus, though, is still primarily on foundational literacies (i.e., reading and maths).
• New pedagogies have emerged, e.g., the use of project-based learning, but their uptake has been limited. Lecture-based teaching remains the main form of instruction for most students.
• Increased attention has been given to accountability and progress for disadvantaged students. Performance, though, is still measured primarily along the same industrial standards.
• This emphasis also fails to reflect the fact that jobs in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) comprise an increasing proportion of the economy; their growth between 2008 and 2018 is projected to outstrip that of non-STEM jobs (17% versus 10%).
These modern trends have significant implications for the ways in which we approach education. Incremental changes to the education system are not enough. We need to put the needs of young people first and prepare them for the reality of the world beyond the classroom. If this doesn’t happen:
• Individual wellbeing will suffer, with a reduction in productivity
• The needs of the economy will not be met; the skills mismatch between workers and the job market will contribute to high youth unemployment
• Communities will continue to fracture; with both a rise in disenfranchisement and isolationism
• Complex modern problems requiring advanced thinking and collaboration will remain unsolved, with individuals ill-equipped to address key issues effectively. As communities fracture and divisions become increasingly prevalent across borders, the need to come together anew and act on time sensitive global challenges is increasingly urgent
Whether you look at this from a moral, economic or social angle, the answer is the same – we need to reimagine education from the point of view of what young people, communities and businesses really need.
In doing so, we must dare to question WHAT students learn, HOW they are taught, HOW their learning is measured and WHO is teaching them.
Thomas Schaedler, 27 February 17


Our mission is to work 'together with mutual trust, respect and love to provide the highest quality of Catholic education to our communities.
A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
Music is a unique way of communicating. It is a vehicle of personal expression, and it can play an important part in personal and cognitive development. Our teaching aims to reflect the culture and society that we live in and so the teaching and learning of music enables children to better understand the world they live in.
Our Gospel Values are at the heart of our musical journey. As pupils progress, they should create a critical engagement with music and be able to listen and appreciate music with the ability to review. Where appropriate, children have exposure to the practical elements of music. Musical theory and vocabulary are at the forefront of what the children learn. Children develop descriptive language skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent different feelings, emotions and narratives. Throughout the music curriculum pupils are developing a map of musical knowledge, skills and understanding that they can add too from the early years to when they leave in year 6. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject which will inspire them throughout their lives.


Welsh Education Secretary Kirsty Williams has announced that online assessments are set to replace paper for national reading and numeracy tests in Welsh schools.
With the aim to find out about pupils’ reading and numeracy skills, the tests are currently taken from years two to nine on paper format. These paper tests will be replaced with personalised assessments to be taken online that have been specifically designed for use in Wales.
The new assessments will automatically adjust the level of the questions to match the individual taking the test, providing an appropriate level of challenge for each learner.
The change to online tests will reduce marking time and administration. Other benefits of the new system include:
- Assessments tailored to individual pupils.
- More detailed information on a child’s performance.
- A reduction in feedback times to teachers and learners.
- Schools will be able to test classes, small groups or individuals according to their facilities and at a time that works for them and their learners.
The full announcement (made on May 1st) is available from the Welsh Government website.


My students need 11 art supplies such as People Sticks, beads, Model Magic, and wiggle eyes.
Students can be taught to read and they can be taught reading comprehension strategies. The challenge is to get them to use them every time they read, whether for school or for pleasure. I believe that students make more progress when they enjoy what they are learning and are experiencing new things
My students want to love reading.
They get excited when they see new books and they work hard to learn how to understand what they are reading. Many of my students come from homes where there are no books and no art supplies. Their only exposure to new experiences comes from school. Many start their education behind and struggle to catch up. More than 75% of our students receive free and reduced lunch. Many families struggle to purchase even basic school supplies each year.
I am requesting a selection of art supplies so that my students can integrate art and reading in ways they may never have experienced before. After my students are done reading their assigned texts, they will use some of their Independent Work Time to study their text and create an art project showing what they learned. They might make puppets of the main characters and create a puppet show to share, or a map of the important places in the story. They could write and create their own story book telling what happened after the story ended. By allowing them to show their learning in their own way, they will become more invested in our classroom. By using art in our classroom, students will enjoy and become more proficient with their reading and reading comprehension.
Our students face more struggles than many students and do not have many of the opportunities that some people take for granted.
By allowing my students to explore materials they may not have worked with before, and use them in new ways, I hope that my students will become more enthusiastic and invested in their learning and that this will translate into improved academic achievement.
Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mrs. Godbey is requesting.See our finances
|MODEL MAGIC CLASSPACKS 75 COUNT A ASSORTED----*Comments* • Teacher's School Supply Inc.||$47.09||1||$47.09|
|STENCIL MILL 24/PK IN PLASTIC BOX----*Comments* • Teacher's School Supply Inc.||$19.99||1||$19.99|
|METALLIC PAPER 2 EACH OF 10 ASSORTED COLORS----*Comments* • Teacher's School Supply Inc.||$6.21||3||$18.63|
|BRIGHT HUES 50 PC. ASST----*Comments* • Teacher's School Supply Inc.||$7.85||1||$7.85|
|BEADS LETTER PACK OF 288 • School Specialty Inc.||$10.85||1||$10.85|
|SPONGE SCHOOL SMART HANDLE ALPHABET • School Specialty Inc.||$13.51||1||$13.51|
|WIGGLE EYES PEEL ASST SIZE BLACK PACK OF 125 • School Specialty Inc.||$2.94||1||$2.94|
|SHOE BOX CRAFT COLLECTN EA=BX • School Specialty Inc.||$15.27||1||$15.27|
|FRAME PRECUT ASSORTMENT • School Specialty Inc.||$21.42||1||$21.42|
|JJ216 - Peel & Stick Design Boards • Lakeshore Learning||$12.99||2||$25.98|
|BC557 - Jumbo People Sticks - Set of 36 • Lakeshore Learning||$9.95||3||$29.85|
Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.View complete list Show less


The Families as First Teachers (FaFT) program is an early learning and family support program for remote Indigenous families.
The aim of FaFT is to improve developmental outcomes for remote Indigenous children by working with families and children prior to school entry.
FaFT early learning activities have an emphasis both on child and adult learning and are described as dual generational.
The key components of dual generational early childhood learning in FaFT and Mobile FaFT programs are:
- quality child-centred early learning experiences
- facilitated adult-child interactions through the Abecedarian Approach including Conversational Reading, Learning Games, enriched caregiving and Language Priority
- adult learning opportunities
- nutrition, health and hygiene
- linking families with support services and agencies.
Phone: 8958 5183


Standard #1: Learner Development
The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
A teacher in any discipline must understand how his students learn and develop. Furthermore, a teacher must know how to plan and process to help students learn and retain knowledge effectively. For a music teacher, this includes careful preparation and detailed procedures that fit within the zone of proximal development (ZPD) for his students.
Although many of my Music Education courses at BSU have taught me about how students learn and develop, my courses at the Teacher’s College have prepared me specifically for understanding cognitive development. In EDPS 390 we learned about various teaching strategies, philosophies, and theories. Vygotsky’s work is especially pertinent for teachers. A master teacher should understand the ZPD of a student and how he can use scaffolding to help the student achieve mastery within the Zone of Actual Development. During student teaching, I had to adapt to the varying developmental levels of my students. More specifically, each grade level required different approaches and strategies. For my beginning string and band classes I would do much more modeling and rote-to-note teaching due to their limited knowledge and playable range. I would model a simple melody featuring eighth notes, break it down into manageable parts for the students to demonstrate, and then finally put it all together. This provided my students opportunities to explore the content (eighth notes) prior to discussing and understanding the more technical aspects of eighth notes such as subdivision, notation, and identification. I would utilize similar strategies in terms of processing with the 7th grade band, but when sight-reading new material I would also have them analyze the melody or piece using the S.T.A.R.S. method to identify notes, rhythms, tempo and key changes, and any road map or expressive markings. These sight-reading guidelines would help them discover some of the content of their piece on their own as we listen and play, and students would share some of their discoveries with the class. Finally, 8th grade band builds on both of these approaches. In addition to modeling by singing, performing, or playing a recording and using the sight-reading guidelines, I would also ask students to come up with their own interpretations, guidelines, or suggestions for the music. Though each grade level incorporated similar strategies, the approaches I used in each grade level dove a little deeper as students developed over time.
Student teaching also gave me many opportunities to plan and process to ensure student learning across various domains. Each day at the start of class I would write the Daily Learning Objectives and the procedure or schedule for the day on the board and go over these with the students before we began. Then, I would summarize with the students what we had learned the previous day to recover and reinforce information. If the lesson that day featured sight-reading I would use the following process: model, sing pitches and finger, count and clap, and play in chunks. This process allows learners to take a piece and break it down into its fundamental components to understand and demonstrate it more effectively. Throughout a lesson my primary form of informal assessment would be question and answer, calling students by name to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate. At the end of a lesson we would summarize what we had learned that day, and finally I would inform the students what the focus would be the next day so that they knew what to look forward to.


Improving education outcomes in Laos
Client name: Australian Government – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
Duration: June 2015 - ongoing
Location: Lao People’s Democratic Republic
The Basic Education Quality and Access in Laos program is working towards improving children’s basic primary education, especially for the poor and marginalised, across 65 educationally disadvantaged districts across the country.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse with 49 recognised ethnic groups and more than 200 sub-groups. This diversity presents real challenges in delivering social services such as education with many non Lao-Tai (ethnic persons) facing language barriers while living in remote regions.
The goal of the Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR program is to ensure all girls and boys, especially the poor and marginalised, finish their primary education, giving them important literacy and numeracy skills.
The program forms part of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Australian Government’s 10-year strategy for investing in basic education in Laos. The program aims to achieve three main outcomes:
Participation: disadvantaged children and young people participate on a regular basis in primary education and attend school ready to learn
Resourcing: learning environments in targeted locations are accessible and equitable for all children and are properly resourced
Effective teaching: better teaching with more qualified teachers so that disadvantaged children have improved access to education
By the end of the program we expect to see an increased number of children enrolled in primary school across 65 disadvantaged districts.
To do this Coffey is focusing on five key areas. We are working with other donors and non-government organisations to address education policy, planning and coordination with the Government of Lao PDR and to assist disadvantaged children to overcome barriers to participation in education.
We are also helping teachers with increased pre-service and in-service training, and by providing improved materials to assist Lao language teaching and learning, will the program will also deliver improved school infrastructure with new and renovated classrooms and sanitary facilities.


By Cheryl Kim What is project-based learning? At the start of this unprecedented season of shelter-in-place, many parents found themselves having to become teachers overnight. Although there is an abundance of online resources, the amount of information being shared can be daunting. For parents … [Read more...] about Too Many Home Learning Resources? Start Here.
By Gholdy Muhammad Over the past seven years, I have been deeply involved in studying archival documents of the 19th century that chronicled literacy development among Black Americans. I engaged in archeological digs through hundreds of historical documents and literary artifacts, such as … [Read more...] about How to Move Beyond the Common Core and Connect Historical Excellence to Your Classroom


Don't Use Gimmicks to Motivate Students
My son Miles hopped up on his bed with six of his favorite short stories that he wanted to read before bedtime. He had a voracious appetite for reading and loved asking "what if" questions about the characters in the stories. On this night, however, something changed. He finished reading the second book, closed the cover and then looked at me and said "I'm done." With a puzzled look I uttered, "But I thought you wanted to read all six of these books tonight?" Miles replied, "I only need to read two to get the pizza coupon." In an instant I saw my son's intrinsic motivation evaporate. Miles now saw reading as a means to an end; a hurdle to jump over in order to earn the reward.
I believe this discredited theory of motivation has done damage to our student's innate intrinsic motivation. Need more evidence? Just visit virtually any school in America and you will see programs that offer gold stars, food treats, verbal praise and grades as extrinsic motivators with children. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin; they try to coerce or manipulate children into doing what we want. As Alfie Kohn states "I call these if-then rewards. If you do this then you will get that. It only gets you one thing, temporary compliance, but at a very high cost."
As an instrumental music educator I am often asked, "How do you get kids to practice?" When I first began teaching, I did what I knew - practice charts. However, I found that students would lie about practice, forge parent signatures, and do the very minimum amount of time to achieve an A. As Dan Pink states, "The problem with making an extrinsic reward the only destination that matters is that some people will choose the quickest route there, even if it means taking the low road." I have found that when practice minutes or grades are the focus, students will work only to the point that triggers the reward and no further. Recall Miles and his reading—if students get a prize for reading two books, many will not pick up a third, let alone embark on a lifetime of reading.
I believe that we need to "work with" kids and not "do things to" them. We need to fan the flames of curiosity in every child and foster their love of learning. We can tap into intrinsic motivation by providing students some autonomy. How often do students have a say in what they do, when they do it and how they do it? Intrinsic motivation is also fueled by purpose or relevance. People, not just students, yearn to be part of a cause greater and more enduring than themselves. How often do we help students to "connect the dots"? Intrinsic motivation is also the desire to get better at something that matters to us. Mastery is the realization that getting better takes time, effort and persistence. How often do we empathize with our students? I love showing my students this video as it perfectly embodies the desire we need to have to get better and to learn more.
Educators, let us use research, not gimmicks, to inspire our students. Inspire students using autonomy, mastery, and purpose. My son and all future generations deserve the best we have to offer.
Enough with the carrots and sticks!
Chris Gleason is an instrumental music educator at Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He is the 2017 Wisconsin Middle School Teacher of the Year and the first Wisconsin teacher to be named a finalist for National Teacher of the Year in 50 years. Chris is the recent recipient of the UW-LaCrosse Burt & Norma Altman Distinguished Alumni Award, 2017 GRAMMY Music Educator Award semifinalist, 2016 Michael G. George Distinguished Music Education Service Award and 2018 National LifeChanger of the Year Award nominee. Chris is a Teacher Leadership and Engagement Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and serves on committees with TED-Ed and Teach Plus. He is also a proud member of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.


Say Hola to Spanish Otra Vez (Again!)
By Susan Middleton Elya
by Loretta Lopez
With its lively illustrations and humorous verse, this companion volume to the acclaimed Say Hola to Spanish makes language learning a fun activity for the whole family. The colorful format and pages packed with action will appeal to a child's sense of humor while fans of children's verse in the tradition of Dr. Seuss will appreciate the style and art of this engaging educational storybook.
For educator resources and ideas on how to teach Say Hola to Spanish Otra Vez (Again!) in the classroom, click here.
About the Creators
SUSAN MIDDLETON ELYA is the author of more than twenty popular picture books for children, including Lee & Low’s Say Hola to Spanish series and Home at Last. She has degrees in Spanish and elementary education, and she taught Spanish for many years. Elya is known for blending English and Spanish to create clever, lively, rhyming stories. A native of Iowa, she now lives in Danville, California. You can visit her online at susanelya.com.
who was born in El Paso, Texas, earned a fine arts degree at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in New York City. Visit her online at lorettalopez.com.


The Reception children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.
Curriculum coverage is provided through the seven areas of learning and development:
There are three prime areas:
• Communication and Language;
• Physical Development;
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
And four specific areas:
• Literacy Development;
• Mathematical Development;
• Understanding the World;
• Expressive Arts and Design.
For more information go to:
It is important to understand that all children progress at different rates. Some aspects may appear to have been achieved more quickly than others. As children learn they build on what they have achieved, enabling them to reach their next steps. With a planned environment in which they work and play, and through carefully planned observations and teaching of the children, we provide the opportunity for each child to develop at their own pace.
The Reception learning environment is organised to enable children to source and access resources for themselves, promoting independence and responsibility.
We ensure there is a balance between adult led and child initiated activities, both through indoor and outdoor play.
The children’s interests are paramount when planning activities, in order to fully engage them in their learning. These interests are developed further through enhancing the resources provided within the learning areas.
Please click on Curriculum link below to see what we have been doing in Reception this half term.
Don’t forget to look at our photographs too via the link below 'Inside Ash & Gallery' ! Our Forest School photographs can be found on the Forest School webpage by clicking this link.


Alberta Education offers high school students a number of streaming choices. Students should select the appropriate stream based on post-secondary plans and their willingness to be challenged academically.
Coming out of grade 9, the most independent, mature, and motivated students who were successful in grade 9 consider Math 10C as their primary course. Students should find Math 10C a challenge as the "jump" from grade 9 to 10 can be large - due largely in part to a quicker pace and a more intense workload.
Students who may have struggled in grade 9 or who plan on going into the workforce after grade 12 may consider Math 10-3 as their first high school math course.
So what course SHOULD I take?
For curious parents/students, ALIS is a government website which discusses the math requirements for post-secondary at a variety of universities, colleges, and technical schools.
People are often surprised that 30-2 math is can be used for entry into elementary education, nursing, etc. at some institutions (Find out more at http://alis.alberta.ca/ec/ep/aas/ta/mathreq.html)
Students should expect their decision of whether to pursue academic excellence in Math 10C to be guided, in part, by their willingness to practice and internal motivation.
Bev Facey recommends the following calculators:
Dash 1: TI-84+
Dash 2: TI-83+ or TI-84+
Dash 3: scientific


education is the process of discovery that invites truth and infinite possibilities into one's world
The first things to ask ourselves, whether a parent, a teacher or a student, are what education means and what is its purpose? The questions seem straightforward enough at first, but the answers to them can get complex. What matters most, is for the teachers, parents and students to be on the same page in regards to our answers. Our aim is to agree on our definition.
As a society, we have gotten through different time periods and yet the concept of education has stayed with us as a powerful weapon. At each point of our history, people made decisions on what should be taught to the new generation and how it should be done. Education could mean preparation of the new generation for a specific career, the transfer of cultural values, the general disciplining and code of conduct, or the exploration of new ideas and the notion of independent and critical thinking.
Education, regardless of the form it took, shaped the views and conducts of the new generation. It helped them put in perspective the good vs bad, correct vs wrong, black vs white, etc. In this regard, education provided the framework by which to understand the world and classify the occurring events.
However, transfer of knowledge and facts has not been the single goal or definition of education. The knowledge of facts was never enough to answer all the questions one had. It is the critical thinking that provides the wisdom to understand new events, pose previously unknown questions and seek their answers.
Hence, successful education should include cultural literacy, synthesis of information and critical thinking in addition to specific skills.
Art & Music education has been fundamental since the most primitive era of our civilization. Philosophers such as Confucius and Plato have emphasized the importance of arts and music education and argued that it is this that makes us complete as humans.
Here at Arts & MusiCom we also strongly value adaptability of the society and individuals with the changing times. Which is why, in addition to providing individualized music and art education, we also provide Computer Coding and Communications Classes. It is a holistic approach, where artistic and musical education which has been valued for last 6,000 years meets the coding and communication values which are arguably one of the most important in today's workforce.
As we understand it, education is the process of discovery that invites truth and infinite possibilities into one's world. This is our one corner, join us and find the other three.
Vahe Vanesyan, Ph.D., Ed.D,
Co-Founder & Director, Arts & MusiCom


Once you’ve worked out which Social Science you want to study (or if you need help deciding what area interests you the most), there are lots of good online resources for helping you read up about different topics within the subject. The first port of call is to read your course description so you know what is covered and what you should be reading – it is very important to be sure you will enjoy your course. All Oxbridge Social Science courses are rigorous and may require strong numeracy skills so you need to be sure that your interest is strong enough to get you through it. It is a great idea to get the first year reading list and choose a range of books from there – that way you can see what type of topics you will be covering in your first year. Some courses have their reading lists available online but if not, contact the Faculty and they will be able to send it to you.
Social Science students may not have studied the main subjects in their course – if you feel there are gaps in your knowledge then the BBC website is actually a really good source. It covers all current affairs issues in simple, easy to follow language and is wonderful if you feel your understanding of recent events is a little weak. The BBC website also does country profiles so if your understanding of big issues such as what’s happening in Syria or Libya, that should be your go to website.
For students studying Economics/E&M/EEM/PPE/Land Ec (any subject with economics in it!) if you have not studied it at A-Level, the Edexcel revision guides are a great way to quickly and easily increase your knowledge. At interview, you will be expected to have some theoretical knowledge and the revision guides are simple and short. For learning/revising theoretical information, student websites such as Tutor2u are good for short, bite-sized pages on A-level courses.
All Social Science students will be expected to be able to read and analyse from a wide range of sources in order to come to their own opinions and form critical arguments. In order to ensure you have a wide range of viewpoints to form your own opinions, make sure you read different newspapers. This does NOT include the Metro/Sun/Daily Mail/Mirror etc. Make sure you regularly read a range of newspapers (maybe a different one 3 or 4 times a week) – obvious examples would be The Times/Guardian/Telegraph/Economist etc.
These days, reading and preparing for your course are made particularly easy by the availability of online resources. Many Universities hold lectures by special speakers that are open to anyone who wants to register and attend. If you are not keen on reading too much, these lectures are a great alternative/addition – you might even be able to tie up a lecture by the author of a book you have read to get further insights. Alternatively, lots of these lectures are available online on youtube or on the websites of different Universities so check them out and you’ll be able to add it to your personal statement and utilitse it in your interview.
The good thing about reading from now is that you will have a bank of knowledge to draw on for your Personal Statement and interview. If you read now you can work out your areas of interest and focus on developing those when you prepare for December.


United Kingdom Quiz – FREE General Knowledge Quiz for Kids Online
Enjoy this Easy Science for Kids United Kingdom Quiz – you’ll get your quiz score after completing this FREE online interactive quiz on the United Kingdom. You need to answer all the questions to be able to get your score. You can do this fun quiz about the United Kingdom again, till you get the perfect score and become a quiz champion!
Tip: To get it right the first time, read the page with fun facts about the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Quiz – FREE Earth Science Quizzes
Our fun general knowledge Geography quizzes are a free to use online quiz resource for teachers and educators of kids in elementary school, grammar school and preschool. This fun United Kingdom Geography quiz helps your kids learn fun facts about the United Kingdom while enjoying this FREE easy quiz questions for kids.
If your kid is enjoying home-schooling, or is interested in learning about the world we live in, then this is a fun yet educational activity, with reading comprehension benefits for grade one to grade five kids. Kids will enjoy competing against their classmates and friends, to see who gets the best score, doing this fun Geography quiz for kids on the United Kingdom.
As a reading comprehension fun activity for your kids, you can set a timer to encourage kids to do the reading comprehension in a faster and more efficient manner as they train to remember what they read, or you can simply limit the number of times your kids can read about the United Kingdom quiz topic, before they do the actual free online Geography quizzes we offer.
Younger kids who cannot yet read or write, such as Pre-K kids, Kindergarten kids or Preschool kids, will benefit from doing this and our other fun online quizzes, as a listening comprehension activity; you read out to them about the topic and then read the quiz question and answers. You will select the United Kingdom quiz answer they think is correct, and at the end you get the United Kingdom quiz score. Your child can try again and again, till gets the perfect score faster, as your kids learn to listen more carefully and develop a better memory and attention span!
Enjoyed doing this free online quiz about the United Kingdom? Check out all our other fun Easy Science Quizzes for Kids and other fun science facts for kids. Visit our Easy Earth Science for Kids all about the United Kingdom page. Get lengthy info here.
Cite This Page
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MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " United Kingdom Quiz – FREE General Knowledge Quiz for Kids Online - ." Easy Science for Kids, Sep 2020. Web. 21 Sep 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/united-kingdom-quiz-free-general-knowledge-quiz-for-kids-online/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2020). United Kingdom Quiz – FREE General Knowledge Quiz for Kids Online -. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/united-kingdom-quiz-free-general-knowledge-quiz-for-kids-online/
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Students involved in GIPS practice powerful problem-solving skills that engage their critical and creative thinking.
A stand out project-based program for schools. Students select a real world problem, identify a solution, and then actively implement their action plan to address the problem.
A Scenario Writing competition in which students develop and submit short stories. Students compete individually, developing short stories related to one of five FPSP topics for the year.
An oral storytelling activity for individual students offering them the opportunity to develop creative and entertaining, short, futuristic stories related to one of five FPSP topics.
A non-competitive problem-solving program designed for implementation in the regular classroom divided into three stages: Foundational Skills (Prep -2); Developing Skills (Grades 3-4)


It is a fantastic book. Another book on problem solving, focusing more on ways to think, for solving tough problems, is written by the greatest of them all, namely George Polya. Mathematical Discovery on Understanding, Learning, and Teaching Problem Solving, Volumes I and II By George Polya. I highly recommend this book.
General Problem-solving Process. Introduction. The following is a general problem-solving process that characterizes the steps that can be followed by any discipline when approaching and rationally solving a problem. When used in conjunction with reasoning and decision-making skills, the process works well for one or more participants.
Math for Kids: A Medieval Adventure in Problem-solving - ThinkQuest Junior A site designed by two fourth-graders for sharpening math problem-solving skills: students can practice and learn to solve 30 word problems step-by-step (multiple-choice answers with answer pages are provided), or share word problems they've written.
In cognitive psychology, the term problem-solving refers to the mental process that people go through to discover, analyze, and solve problems. This involves all of the steps in the problem process, including the discovery of the problem, the decision to tackle the issue, understanding the problem, researching the available options and taking actions to achieve your goals.
This set of flashcards will help you review the different problem-solving strategies that can be used to organize, understand, and solve.
Math problem solving is one of the most challenging concepts for students. Providing word problem practice for each concept you teach can help students apply their learning in meaningful ways. Designed to teach students to think critically and apply math problem solving strategies, these story probl.
Problem Solving Booklet. Patio Problem I need to replace the slabs on my patio. I need 78 new slabs to cover my patio. The slabs come in packs of 12.
I teach math to homeschooled students, and I limit my practice to Art of Problem Solving curricula and preparing for math contests like MOEMS, MathCounts, and AMC. Today I want to talk about a certain type of student that I help more than any other: The Online AoPS Student. AoPS offers terrific online classes for students who love math.


The future we want
Since 2000, we have made enormous progress towards universal primary education – with 91 percent of children in developing countries enrolled in primary school. This is a good start, but we still have a long way to go.
The 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have committed to achieving inclusive and quality education for all to promote lifelong learning by 2030. This goal will be achieved by ensuring free and equitable access to quality early childhood education, and primary and secondary schooling for all.
Save the Children lobbied for, and is working to support this goal, by striving to ensure that all children can read by the time they leave primary school, and that all children caught up in humanitarian crises have access to quality education.
Our work engages children before they enter the school system, by supporting parents, early childhood teachers and children themselves through early childhood care and development programmes. Our Literacy Boost efforts will continue to reach the most poor and marginalised children in the world, supporting them to learn the basic literacy and numeracy skills needed to survive in the 21st century.
We are working to guarantee universal access to quality education, supporting children living in areas of conflict and humanitarian crisis to return to school, because we believe that access to a quality education is a fundamental human right.
Thousands of children have already been given a chance at a better future by Literacy Boost but, with 250 million still unable to read, write or count, we have a long way to go until every child gets the education that is their right. We can get there – if we work together.


In Loudoun County Public Schools, our purpose is for all students to make meaningful contributions to the world. The way we do that is through designing authentic, challenging learning experiences for Deeper Learning.
We have many instructional and assessment approaches to get us to authentic and deeper learning, including Project-Based Learning (PBL), Performance-Based Assessments (PBA), and Personalized Learning (PL).
We provide equitable learning opportunities and supports that lead to deeper learning for all students.
The Office of Elementary Education (OEE) focuses its efforts on developing school-based leadership in the area of instructional improvement. Support is provided to school administrators on creating and monitoring school improvement plans, implementing the new teacher performance evaluation system, and ensuring that quality assessment practices are used to determine student progress. This office works collaboratively with the Department of Instructional Services and elementary schools to promote individual achievement in a learning environment where equal access is provided for all students.
The mission of Loudoun County Elementary Schools is to create and maintain an environment that ensures a high level of growth and academic achievement for each student as measured by national, state, and district standards.
Middle School Education
The Office of Middle School Education works to promote high academic achievement in a learning environment that provides equal access to all students. The Director of Middle School Education is responsible for the supervision and evaluation of middle school principals and provides the focus for purposeful leadership in implementing the school improvement process throughout the middle schools within our division. Click here to learn more.
High School Education
The Office of High School Education works collaboratively with the Department of Instruction and High Schools to systemically promote individual achievement and post secondary readiness. Click here to learn more.
Instructional ProgramsThe Office of Instructional Programs provides leadership and coordination in administering a variety of instructional programs to the school division. These programs include: Adult Education, Career and Technical Education, Community Connections, Educational Technology, Gifted Education, Instructional Facilitators, Library Media Services, Professional Learning, School Improvement, and Virtual Learning.
Teaching and Learning
The LCPS Office of Teaching and Learning consists of the following areas: Art, Driver Education, Family LIfe, Health, P.E., English Learners, English/Reading-Secondary, Math, Music, Performing Arts, Reading and Writing-Elementary, School Improvement & Accountability, Science, Social Science & Global Studies, STEM, and World Languages and Cultures. Click here to learn more.
The office of School Administration builds capacity with principals, assistant principals and deans by facilitating effective communication, reducing complaints, and supporting a positive learning environment for students, staff, parents and community. The Director of School Administration supports the Athletics Program in providing opportunities for students to extend learning beyond the classroom and to promote the physical, mental, moral and social development of the participants. Our Athletic Programs support the academic mission of the school system and provide lifelong lessons in the value of teamwork, hard work, and common sacrifice for a goal, all within the values of good sportsmanship and honor. Click here to learn more.


We can create a bespoke education project for students to work on throughout the year as part of a weekly community service programme, CAS project, or linked to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Our EduSTEM and EduLIT programmes aim to improve practical science education and train volunteers and teachers in phonics training. We can create projects for students to get involved in supporting these programmes remotely, or create other subject specific projects with communities.
In 2019 we also introduced a STEM-focused project which enables students to learn about teaching and learning in the Ghanaian context directly from our Head of STEM. Students then created their own science experiment videos and resources using resources that could be found locally. Physics teacher, David Roche, said: ‘As a teacher, I found the experience hugely rewarding, seeing the collaborative efforts of our students and students in Ghana come to fruition.’
In 2019 we ran a literacy focused community service placement at Sevenoaks School. As well as providing learning opportunities on literacy and international development, students worked with our Ghanaian Head of Literacy Development to produce Ghana-relevant phonics cards and literacy resources – and see these used in practice. They also worked with a Ghanaian illustrator to create a collaborative storybook based on local events – ‘Kwame’s Adventures.’


Japanese violinist and educator, Shinichi Suzuki, was born on Oct. 17, 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. Though his father owned a violin factory, Suzuki did not appreciate the beautiful tone of a stringed instrument until, as a 17 year old, he heard violinist Mischa Elman's recording of Schubert's Ave Maria. After hearing the recording he went to the factory, picked out a violin and bow, and spent days trying to imitate what he had heard. He began formal violin study a few years later, and at 22, had the chance to study in Germany. His own beginning attempts on the violin, and the experience of learning the German language as an adult, influenced Dr. Suzuki's later ideas about teaching children.
After WWII, Suzuki moved to Matsumoto. There he started a conservatory where pre-school aged children could learn to play the violin. He wanted to test his theory that if music was taught in the same manner as we learn our mother-tongue, every child would be successful and develop their musical skills to a high level. Just as one learns whatever language is spoken in their environment, Suzuki believed that a musical environment has more effect on a child's ability than his/her genetics--a novel thought in the 1940s. He also believed that if children hear good music and learn to play with sensitivity and beautiful tone, they will become noble citizens who recognize beauty in the world and the people around them, and thereby mature into people of peace not war.
In 1964, the American String Teacher's Association (ASTA) invited Suzuki to bring a tour group to play at their convention. The teachers attending were amazed at the advanced skills and musicianship demonstrated by Suzuki's students. To learn more about the Suzuki method, ASTA arranged a tour to Japan for American teachers in 1967. Margery V. Aber was one of those on the tour. The day before she left for Japan, she interviewed for the position of professor of violin at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP). She was notified of her hiring while still in Matsumoto. When Aber returned to UWSP, she began to use the Suzuki method with beginning violinists in the University Lab School. Four years later, in 1971, to provide a more comprehensive musical environment for the fledgling group of Suzuki students, she founded the American Suzuki Institute (ASI) at the UWSP.
In 1976, at Aber's invitation, Suzuki spent two weeks at the American Suzuki Institute. During this time he gave lectures and demonstrations to teachers and parents, and taught master classes and group classes to students. All of his presentations were recorded. The footage in this collection is important from both a teaching and a historical standpoint. At age 77, Suzuki was still very active. He was at the pinnacle of his career and traveling internationally to promote his philosophy and his particular approach to teaching the complexities of string playing, especially to children as young as 3 or 4 years of age. His playing skills were still at a high level and his English language skills were at their peak. In later years, Suzuki's teaching focused exclusively on teaching tone and its implications for the bow arm almost to the exclusion of the left hand. These videos show him at an earlier stage in his career when Suzuki's attention was more balanced between left hand and right hand techniques.
In addition to the original footage, Aber and UWSP graduate students of that era compiled twelve tapes that are edited versions of the original videos. These are organized by topic so that anytime Suzuki spoke or demonstrated a technique for changing strings that clip is on the tape of that title. For example, when he spoke about posture and left hand technique that clip is on the tape of that title. The topics represented in these edited videos are:
Dr. Suzuki died on January 26, 1998. There is now a whole generation or more of teachers and students who never met or observed Suzuki teaching. Seeing and hearing him speak about his philosophy of education allows viewers to gain insight into the person behind the vision. Those researching the development of string technique, the mother-tongue approach to music education, or early childhood music education now have access to a primary source that shows Suzuki at the peak of his career.
The American Suzuki Institute is held on the UWSP campus each August. It is the oldest and largest of its kind outside of Japan. It is also the prototype for other institutes that have been established in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and other countries. Because of the vision of Margery V. Aber, the American Suzuki Institute developed a reputation for being at the center of the Suzuki movement. It became a gathering place for many of the best nationally and internationally known teachers in the field. When these innovative minds gathered at the Institute with enthusiastic students and dedicated parents, the resulting environment was rich with excellence, collaboration, inspiration, and confidence in the belief that every child can learn. It is only fitting then that this collection of videotape continues to contribute to the Suzuki legacy.


Sequence Meaning Order will help you show – over and over again – that if it’s out of order it doesn’t make sense!
Help students improve communication as well as literacy skills.
Some specific skills addressed include:
Phonological ability, working memory and logical sequencing, are important elements of a student’s communication and literacy development–activities in the first part of this book are designed to strengthen all of these areas. Students blend sounds into words, order syllables in words and organize words into sentences or questions. The ability to sequence sounds and syllables in words is essential to success in reading and spelling. The ability to organize events in sequence, sentence by sentence is necessary to succeed in writing tasks. Picture cues and enjoyable activities help students find success with pleasure as they improve these important skills.
Early Years, 5-8 Years, 8-12 Years, 12-15 Years, 15-18 Years, 18+ Years
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Basic Skills Exam, Minnesota Teachers Licensure Exam
What you need to know!
All applicants for a first-time Minnesota teaching license must successfully complete required teacher licensure tests in:
- basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics;
- professional knowledge; and
- content/subject matter.
If you are already licensed but would like to add another license, you will only have to take the content knowledge test in the new licensure field.
The Basic Skills Exam is a basic competency test in reading, writing, and mathematics. Evidence of having taken the test is required as part of the admission process for Professional Education.
Professional Education admittance is required before students can continue with certain courses in their program. Students will want to plan accordingly so they are not held up for registration.
- MTLE test registration is now available for test dates
- Preparation materials available for every test in the MTLE program
- ACT/SAT Requirements for Basic Skills
Pedagogy and Content/Subject Exams
The Pedagogy exam measures general pedagogical knowledge and the Content/Subject exam(s) measure general and subject-specific pedagogical skills and knowledge.
Pedagogy exam consists of three levels of assessment. Students take one test within the scope of their licensure:
- Elementary (Grades K - 6)
- Secondary (Grades 5 - 12)
Students will need to take a Content/Subject exam for each teaching field. For example, Social Studies and ESL Major would take the Social Studies content and the ESL content tests.
Note: Elementary Majors take a content test for elementary education.
The Content and pedagogy exam should be taken prior to student teaching.


Thinking of homeschooling this fall? Our standards based program focuses on learning foundational skills through play at a fraction of the cost of traditional preschool!
Preschool Play Tricks is a simple, hands-on, play-based curriculum designed for ages 2-4. The curriculum will contain 19 themed units. Each themed unit contains 10 days of learning at home, 190 days of learning in all. Designed by a teacher Mom and based on learning standards, each lesson combines play-based activities and hands-on printable manipulatives to make learning together organized and fun
Purchasing this growing bundle means that you save over 75% on every unit, any updates to the resources, easy access to all the units, and ALL future units for free (19 in all) once they're complete without making any additional purchases. You'll receive an email notification when a new unit is ready to be downloaded.
As additional units are added to this bundle, the price of the bundle will increase accordingly. By purchasing the bundle at the current price, you will receive future units for free.This growing bundle currently contains the following units:
* Click each unit to learn what's included!
Unit 1- All About Me
Unit 2- Apples
Unit 3- Outer Space
Unit 4- Monsters
Unit 5- Food & Nutrition
Unit 6- Nature
Unit 7- Animals
Unit 8- Balls + Sports
Unit 9- Arctic
Unit 10- Transportation
Unit 11- Dinosaurs
Unit 12- Pets
Unit 13- Construction
Unit 14- Bugs & Insects
Unit 15- Garden
Unit 16- Farm
Unit 17- Weather
Unit 18- Water
The following units will be added to this bundle:All dates and themes are tentative and subject to change.
- Ocean Animals- 10/31/20
- This is a downloadable product.
There is a master file that contains all the lessons and printables together and separate. There is also each unit individually. You don't need to print all three files.
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Heart Beats: Everyday Life and the Memorized Poem
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Many people in Great Britain and the United States can recall elderly relatives who remembered long stretches of verse learned at school decades earlier, yet most of us were never required to recite in class. Heart Beats is the first book to examine how poetry recitation came to assume a central place in past curricular programs, and to investigate when and why the once-mandatory exercise declined. Telling the story of a lost pedagogical practice and its wide-ranging effects on two sides of the Atlantic, Catherine Robson explores how recitation altered the ordinary people who committed poems to heart, and changed the worlds in which they lived.
Heart Beats begins by investigating recitation's progress within British and American public educational systems over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and weighs the factors that influenced which poems were most frequently assigned. Robson then scrutinizes the recitational fortunes of three short works that were once classroom classics: Felicia Hemans's "Casabianca," Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," and Charles Wolfe's "Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna." To conclude, the book considers W. E. Henley's "Invictus" and Rudyard Kipling's "If--," asking why the idea of the memorized poem arouses such different responses in the United States and Great Britain today.
Focusing on vital connections between poems, individuals, and their communities, Heart Beats is an important study of the history and power of memorized poetry.
the window at the driving rain or the falling leaves. When I made it to secondary school in 1973 as a member of the first year’s intake in the new comprehensive system, English—now the subject of separately time-tabled lessons and with its own dedicated teacher—was still connected, by and large, to what was out of the window. Our reading matter—Kes, A Kind of Loving, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner—was as gritty, as northern, as contemporary, and as depressed, as the landscape of
eighteenth-century volumes, continued to exert a perceptible and enduring influence upon the recitation of literary selections in American classrooms. For much of the first half of the nineteenth century, a limited number of textbooks dominated what were effectively only two stages of reading within the classroom. For the rudiments of literacy, the most prevalent manuals were the New England Primer, still holding firm into the first three decades of the nineteenth century, and Noah Webster’s
laid out the poetic curriculum in the United States became increasingly likely to name individual works for memorization. While the poems assigned to the youngest two or three year-groups in elementary education on both sides of the Atlantic tended to belong more obviously to the category of “juvenile literature” than to Arnold’s and Eliot’s desired “real literature,” here too an author’s repute carried weight: certain apparently simple and sufficiently short works by poets with canonical
founding documents, official or unofficial, of the public elementary systems in these two nations; consequently the practice, at that time formally continuous with their schools’ general practices, became encoded, so to speak, in the DNA of mass education. Once established within their regimens, regimens famously slow to change and especially prone to the repetition of the tried and tested, the memorized poem proved to be remarkably tenacious. If verse recitation began its career in popular
literary pieces, often penetrating as deeply into their consciousnesses as the memorized poem. “ ‘O measureless might, ineffable love’ and ‘Who hath believed our report’ sound to me now as no other words ever sound,” records Albert Mansbridge (b. 1876), founder of the Workers Educational Association, in his autobiography, The Trodden Road (12). In church or chapel, Sunday school, morning assembly, or scripture lesson, children could thrill to what Patricia Beer calls the “rich and splendid” words


Discover acids as well as bases as well as the chemical response that happens when you make apple seeds dancing with a leaping apple seeds testing as seen on JDaniel4s Mommy. Build Do It Yourself Paper Kites Afterward the types will certainly be described as well as, ultimately, an example of a scientific experiment will certainly be provided. Aesthetic Scientific Research Experiment for Kid-- Fire Requirements Oxygen from Mother Smiles-- Along with being a very easy, engaging experimentation, it additionally touches on fire safety.The materials you may need consist of squirt containers (6 bottles for 6 colours ), corn starch, baking soda, vinegar, food coloring or grated watercolors. With researching with this Lego Scientific research experiment, integrate their love of Legos.
Have some enjoyable this summer with this suspended vinegar experiment as seen on Ideas Laboratories.Create an Egg Bounce out of Science Stimulates-- Youngsters know an egg splits when it's dropped, yet do they recognize how to make an egg dip? These finding out programs can be linked to a broad choice of preschool science activities (see following area). Need to you throw a unopened container of cleansed water into the fridge freezer for a bit much less than three hrs, the container will be chilled well below the temperature level where regular water totally free, zes.Preschoolers discover finest by doing, so select preschool science tasks that emphasize hands-on experiences and require minimum explanation from you.I really try to find science experiments which are straightforward and utilize supplies we have or can conveniently get.
Experiments For Kids
You probably currently have the components in your cupboard with this amusing jumping corn scientific research testing. Well, while that is most definitely except enjoyment, this experiment is.After that you recognize we highly believe in straightforward fun and also discovering. By doing these straightforward science experiments, kids will certainly make their very own blubber and also see the manner in which polar bears stay science for kids warm, so create a storm cloud in a container to see just how climate adjustments, produce a potato battery that will actually power a lightbulb, and much more.
- Transform your regular baking soda and vinegar trial and error into scienceshowforkids.com a lively explosion.Below, you might discover links to regarding 10 of our preferred simple science jobs for children along with videos! Only a couple typical family parts are essential for this particular rainbow container science experiment for kids that can incorporate a terrific lesson about the concept of thickness.Among our basic science experiments is a little bit like magic, as well as it's called dancing corn! One of our easy science experiments is a little bit like magic, as well as it's called dance corn!
Get Lively with Balloon Tennis Only get a large-ish foliage, location it in a dish (glass works best so you can see what) complete of water, placed a little rock on the leaf to consider it down, a, nd abandon it somewhere bright. For your eruption, all you need is cooking soft drink and soft drink (dishwashing detergent adds some excess power to the eruption), however you can develop the"volcano" as elaborate and realistic as you want. Youngsters will certainly adore this scientific research experiment between Mentos as well as Diet Coke.This awesome scientific research experiment for youngsters likewise deals with Mentos candy. Remove the waxed paper as well as established the sponge onto the paper to soak up the excess water.Left Mind Craft Brain-- Add the scientific research of magnets into your art to make it much more fun.Cooking soda volcanoes are one of the typical science projects for children, as well as they are also one of the most prominent.This interesting science experiment for youngsters from Kindergarten Powol Packets increases as an enchanting program. Compare the amount of salt in various sorts of water using this salty egg experimentation as seen on Uplifting Chaos.


- We strive for children to learn skills alongside knowledge, ensuring that both are developed and intertwined. The curriculum is about how we can ensure that pupils develop both.
- We do this by having an emphasis on cross-curricular teaching with a strong focus on sequential and progressive skills. We believe that this is important for making the curriculum relevant and meaningful to pupils and for putting knowledge into context.
- We believe that it is our responsibility to develop the Literacy and Numeracy skills for all of our pupils. Using the Early Years Foundation Stage Strategy and National Curriculum as a basis, age-appropriate progression and knowledge for each core and foundation subject has been identified. This has been mapped out to ensure coverage of identified knowledge is secured across KS1 and KS2. We carefully select the sequence of when, what and how knowledge is taught and subject leaders work actively to review this regularly.


The goal of the Fox Chapel Area School District’s robust and rigorous elementary curriculum is to foster strong foundational skills in early literacy, critical reading, academic writing, and problem solving. Through the process of data analysis and differentiated instruction, our highly qualified teachers are able to understand each of our students individually, allowing us to maximize the potentials of each of our young learners.
The K-5 curriculum is aimed at developing a growth mindset and cultivating persistence, perseverance, resilience and curiosity. Students in the primary grades learn to read, express their thoughts in writing, acquire deep mathematical thinking skills, receive exposure to world languages and utilize technology across the curriculum. Special classes add lessons in art, music, physical education, computer science and library. In the intermediate grades, instruction turns to expanding and applying their comprehension, linguistic and mathematical skills to different settings.
At every level, classrooms are organized to meet varying instructional needs, and our students engage in lessons appropriate for their readiness.
All instruction aims to prepare and motivate our students for a rapidly changing world by instilling in them a solid academic foundation, critical thinking skills, and a respect for Fox Chapel Area’s core values of respect, responsibility, and integrity.


High in the Sky
Make starry art projects and paper planes.
- Target Age: 4-6
- Creative Expression
- Fine Motor
- Language and Literacy Development
- Related Episodes:
- #105: Shooting Stars
- #107: Touching the Moon
- #204: Icarus' Wings
- #307: Out in Outer Space
- Pie tin
- Star-shaped cookie cutters
- Sponge (cut into a star shape)
- Tissue paper
- Shoe box
- Cutting tool (for adult only)
- Black construction paper
- Pencil or push pin (to be used with supervision)
1. Make starry wrapping paper with your child. Pour paint into a pie tin, dip star-shaped cookie cutters and sponges into the paint, then make prints on tissue paper. You may want to sprinkle some glitter on the wet paint. The next time you need wrapping paper, you will have some on hand!
2. Make a night sky nightlight with a shoebox and a flashlight. Cut the bottom out of the shoebox. Cut a rectangle of black construction paper that is slightly bigger than the bottom of the shoebox. Have your child use white chalk to draw a "constellation picture" on the black paper-it can be an animal or a person or anything your child wishes. Your child may want to write the name of her or his constellation on the drawing. Tape the picture onto the bottom of the shoebox, with the drawing facing out. Supervise as your child uses a sharpened pencil or push pin to poke holes along the lines of the drawing. Make the room as dark as possible and shine a flashlight through the shoebox to light up your child's constellation.
3. Does your child know how to make paper airplanes? This may be a good time to learn! Instructions for making a wide variety of planes and helicopters are available on many Web pages.
Talk about It
If possible, go outside after dark with your child and look up at the night sky. Talk about what you see. Sing or recite familiar songs and rhymes together about stars and moon, for example, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight./ I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." At the library, look for sky-related books that interest your child: books about space exploration or pioneers in flight, fantasy stories about people with wings, or folktales about the moon, the Milky Way, and constellations.
- Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of Brave Bessie Coleman by Reeve Lindbergh
- There Was a Bold Lady Who Wanted a Star by Charise Mericle Harper
- Wings by Christopher Myers


The school curriculum refers to a planned set of educational experiences provided to a learner by a school and encompasses general objectives of learning, courses of study, subject-wise instructional objectives and content, pedagogical practices and assessment guidelines.
At AVV, Curriculum issues focus mainly on two areas:
1) The range of courses or instructional programs available to students;
2) The aggregate of activities, materials, procedures, and instructional aids used in the instructional program.
We frame the curriculum in synchronization with the CBSE Curriculum guidelines and thus truly follow the National Curriculum Framework.
Pre- Primary Curriculum
Education with a happy moment is achieved only because of our belief and focus on making Agarwal Vidya Vihar a home place for kindergarten where we keep our children at the centre of learning. Our commitment to enhancing the young minds with teaching practices that focus not only on academics but also gradually inculcate among the toddlers the basics of a sound academic base, moral values, respect towards our country and kindness. The emphasis is on the overall growth, well grooming our little angels and strengthening them with a positive attitude to see the world. We prepare students for regular school in a play way manner.The Subject areas in Jr.K.G., Sr.K.G. & I
|Languages – English & Hindi|
|E.V.S. (introduced in Class I)|
|Drawing & Craft|
Primary School Curriculum
The aim of the Primary school curriculum at AVV is to ensure that all children are provided with learning opportunities that recognise and celebrate their uniqueness and develop their full potential. The focus is on the child as a learner, and the use of a variety of teaching methodologies is an essential feature of the curriculum.
The Subject areas in Classes I to V
|Languages – English and Hindi, Gujarati (Introduced in Class V)|
Co-Curricular Activities and Club Activities to enhance the integration of work and study and to provide an opportunity for adaptation to life in the group, forming life-long habits and cultivating a voluntaristic spirit.
Secondary School Curriculum
The Students of secondary Classes of VI to X are provided with significant understanding of each subject. Once the foundation of learning is established in the primary classes, they are further nurtured with required academic rigour in order to prepare them for the upcoming challenges.
The Subject areas in Classes VI to VIII:
|Classes VI to VIII||Classes IX & X|
|Languages – English and Hindi, Gujarati/ Sanskrit||Languages – English and Hindi|
|Social Science||Social Science|
The curriculum for this phase focuses on the career building of a student apart from academic achievements, for which different activities and program are initiated along with the academic subjects in the curriculum.
From Class VIII onwards, our students are channelised towards a specific syllabus to help them focus on their Class X milestone. A special batch of Super – 40 is formed to focus on Maths & Science and to prepare our students for competitive exams. W.E./ SUPW, Art Education, Health & Physical Education, V.E., G.K. are an integral part of the Secondary Curriculum.
The Senior Secondary School Curriculum at AVV offers a wide range of choices in the three streams of studies i.e. Science, Commerce and Humanities.
The Subject areas in Classes XI & XII:
|Maths/ Biology||Accountancy||Pol. Science|
|Computer Science/ Physical Education||Maths/ Computer Science/ Physical Education/ Entrepreneurship||Economics/ Physical Education|


Great schools never stop evolving and don’t shy away from trying new ideas.
Next school year (2019-2020) St. Thomas will open a mixed-age-group preschool class where 3 and 4-year-olds learn together; this idea is new to St. Thomas, but has been a standard practice in many early child education circles for decades. This new program will exist only for our partial week Pre-K classes, MWF and T-Th classes respectively. Our 5-day-a-week classes will remain as single-age group classes.
How does it work?
The preschool day will consist of all the typical happenings you would expect in a single-age class: morning circle time, outdoor play, snack, etc. just side by side with younger or older students respectively. Academic lessons (pre-literacy or numeracy skills for example) are taught in small groups of 2-3 children rather than as a whole class. This enables a 3-year-old who is ready to read and count the opportunity to hone those skills, and for 4-year-olds to receive the instruction that will prepare them for kindergarten.
What’s the benefit?
Mixed age preschool classrooms have been studied for decades, and the research suggests several benefits for both the younger and older students. One of the most frequently discussed areas of research has to do with the social dynamics within mixed age classrooms. Younger children learn more prosocial behaviors from observing and interacting with older kids, and older students in turn learn valuable social skills like listening,patience, and adaptability, and In addition to these social-emotional benefits for all students, further studies have demonstrated benefits for the younger and older children respectively.
For the younger students (3-year olds):
For the older students (4-year olds):
What are the challenges?
There is no detriment to mixed age group classes for either the younger or older children. The biggest challenge falls on the teacher to be able to differentiate instruction to students based on their development (rather than their grade-level), which is something St. Thomas teachers are quite experienced in!
If you are interested in reading more about the benefits of mixed age classrooms, you can check out this 2011 article for the American Journal of Play.


The Professor’s Perch: Questioning – As American as Apple Pie
By Dr. Francesco Crocco
The Professor’s Perch is a weekly column offering teaching tips for how to use the Excelsior OWL to help students improve their reading and writing skills.
As we bear down on the Fourth of July holiday, let’s remember that nothing is more American than questioning. Yes, questioning. The proverbial Founding Fathers and Mothers of what would later become the American republic questioned the unjust and oppressive policies of King George III and the British Empire. In so doing, they sparked a political revolution that would eventually lead to the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The United States of America was officially born, and the critical thinking practice of questioning had no small part in making this happen.
No doubt questioning can spark revolutions. But it can also do other things that are less spectacular, yet no less significant. To wit, questioning is a vital strategy for improving reading comprehension. Thankfully, the Excelsior Online Reading Comprehension Lab (or “ORC” for short) has an extensive section on questioning for reading comprehension.
This vital resource, which was developed by reading experts from several colleges, explains why questioning before, during, and after reading can improve your reading comprehension. Questioning helps you (1) identify what you want to learn from a text before you read, (2) monitor your understanding of a text as you read, (3) evaluate and respond to specific ideas raised in the text, (4) locate answers to specific questions you may have, and (5) reflect on what you’ve just read.
These and other tips for using questioning to improve reading comprehension are conveyed in a short, entertaining, animated video that can be played on any device. The video also includes links to related reading comprehension strategies, such as analyzing nd synthesizing. If you’re concerned about accessibility, fear not! The video even comes with optional closed captioning.
After watching the video, you can download a full-color or black-and-white reference guide that sums up the main ideas in the video. You can also practice what you’ve learned by completing a questioning activity. Did I mention that the activity asks you to apply questioning strategies by reading the Declaration of Independence? Perfect, right?!
Questioning gave rise to a nation. Later on, it would spark a Civil War to abolish slavery and fuel many movements for justice in the United States (e.g., Labor Rights, Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, LGBTQ Rights, Environmentalism, and many more). Questioning is truly as American as apple pie.


Every Gambian child has the right to free and compulsory education, according to the Gambian constitution. Literacy is seen as very important to the government, and to this end, the Ministry of Education has designed radio programs to provide lessons on literacy, outreach to prisons to educate inmates, and literacy efforts for youth who are not in formalized schooling programs. During elementary education, students are taught in their native language; however, the post-elementary/secondary level sees Eng
The central African country of Gabon boasts one of the highest literacy rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Gabonese government is in the process of implementing a series of reforms to designed to improve teacher training and access to education for all citizens. Gabon’s education system is based on the French model, and the primary language of instruction is French. Schooling is free and compulsory for children ages 6-16.
In theory, schooling in Ethiopia is free and compulsory; however, students outside of main cities often lack access to quality schools and teachers, and enrollment and literacy are comparatively low. The Ethiopian system includes ten years of general education, consisting of eight years of primary schooling followed by two years of general secondary education.
Although Eritreans are guaranteed free primary schooling, the country’s education system continues to face numerous challenges brought on by years of war and drought. Eritrea’s government, with the help of development partners, has implemented a variety of programs designed to improve access to education and increase the ranks of qualified teachers.
Education in Equatorial Guinea, a tiny country in west Africa, is free and compulsory for children from the preschool level through secondary school.
Egypt’s constitution states that education is the right of every citizen. Primary schooling for children ages 6-15 is compulsory, and the country’s leadership wants to extend obligatory education to higher cycles. Egypt’s government is also working towards greater access to education among poor, rural and nomadic citizens.
Education is a high priority in Djibouti (formerly known as Somaliland), a small country in the Horn of Africa. The Djiboutian government has increased spending on education, and enrollment and literacy rates are climbing in response to improvements in infrastructure, technology, and teacher recruitment and training.
Cote d’Ivoire continues to rebuild an education system devastated by the country’s 2011 civil war. Recent months have seen positive developments, including the re-opening of the country’s universities, which were closed for much of the past two years. The Ivoirian government and development partners are working to train teachers and repair infrastructure with the goal of providing quality schooling for children throughout the country.
While the Democratic Republic of Congo’s constitution mandates free, universal and compulsory primary education, years of civil war followed by ongoing political and ethnic strife have kept millions of children away from school. Literacy remains relatively low, and the Congolese government faces many challenges in improving citizens’ access to and quality of schooling.
Every person has the right to a quality education; so says Congolese law. Yet years of instability have taken a toll on the country’s ability to provide schooling for its citizens. In spite of such challenges, the Republic of Congo boasts a relatively high literacy rate. New reforms, implemented in 2004, aimed at boosting infrastructure and improving teacher training, should brighten Congo’s educational future.


Common Core State Standards
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading
- Reading 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
- Craft and Structure 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
- Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
- Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing
- Production and Distribution of Writing 4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Research to Build and Present Knowledge 9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language
- Language 1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- Language 2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- Language 3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listing.
- Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
- Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in a word meaning.
- Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 6: Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening
- Comprehension & Collaboration 1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- Comprehension & Collaboration 2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
- Presentation of Knowledge 4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
- Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
- Theme 3: People, Place, and Environments
- Theme 7: Production, Distributions, and Consumption
- Theme 8: Science, Technology, and Society
National Standards for Music Education – National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
Core Music Standard: Responding
- Interpret: Support interpretations of musical works that reflect creators’ and/or performers’ expressive intent.
- Evaluate: Support evaluations of musical works and performances based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria.
Core Music Standard: Connecting
- Connecting 11: Relate musical ideas and works to varied contexts and daily life to deepen understanding.


The continuous invention of gadgets and the advancement of modern technology made many academic practices obsolete and old-fashioned. Many districts and schools in the world have taken off handwriting in their curriculum. They replaced cursive skills and old calligraphy with proficiency in writing on a keyboard. Additionally, many outdoor activities have been taken out and replaced with more screen time, making Generation Z miss out on a lot of stuff.
However, the State of Texas decided to bring somethings back. Initial changes were made in 2017, however, the 2019-2020 school year is planning on teaching cursive writing skills again. The development of children will become detrimental if too much technology is involved in their life. Even though some computer and technological skills are essential to have, scientists have proven that hand-written notes are easier for children to understand and learn from. Since the early 2000s, cursive writing was taken off the curriculum.
Benefits you have from cursive writing skills
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills made an update where they examined the state’s standard for the curriculum in every grade and concluded that the second graders need to take classes on cursive writing from 2019-2020 new session. The cursive writing classes will take until their 5th year. Not only is cursive a fine art, but it is also a great stimulant for the brain. This can synchronize the communication between both the right and left hemispheres of the brain which cannot be done by texting or typing.
Even though many benefits have been proven by scientists about cursive writing, many parents think it’s a waste of time to add it again in the curriculum of their children. They think that their children are taken back two decades instead of going forward for the future.
Diane Schallert, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas explains that “Language is so integral to the thinking process. In the first grade, we learned only cursive, we never learned to print. In language comprehension, there’s this reciprocity between producing and comprehending.”
Additionally, she says that adding or removing subjects from the curriculum is not as easy as everyone thinks. Factors have been considered before adding or removing any subjects from the students’ curriculum.
She says that “There’s only so much time in a day. Whatever you decide to put into the curriculum, you’re deciding to take something out.”
Other schools took a step ahead of the TEKS board such as the Schools in the Temple Independent School District. These schools include cursive as part of their lesson plans and as of now, it is a full subject in the standard curriculum.
Elizabeth Giniewicz, an executive director of elementary curriculum for Temple ISD explains that “It’s important that our kids are able to communicate through the written word and through the spoken word,” Additionally, she says that cursive writing will help the children develop a better hand-eye coordination, memory, fluidity in writing, and motor skill development.
Giniewicz states that “It helps make those connections and the fluid strokes and all of the lettering so your brain just develops appropriately.”