Resources › For Educators Issues With Integrating Technology in the Classroom Share Flipboard Email Print Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images For Educators Teaching Technology in the Classroom An Introduction to Teaching Tips & Strategies Policies & Discipline Community Involvement School Administration Teaching Adult Learners Issues In Education Teaching Resources Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Secondary Education Special Education Homeschooling By Melissa Kelly Education Expert M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida B.A., History, University of Florida Melissa Kelly, M.Ed., is a secondary school teacher, instructional designer, and the author of "The Everything New Teacher Book: A Survival Guide for the First Year and Beyond." our editorial process Melissa Kelly Updated July 03, 2019 Many schools and districts across the nation spend a lot of money upgrading their computers or buying new technology as a method to increase student learning. However, just buying technology or handing it out to teachers does not mean that it will be used effectively or at all. This article looks at why millions of dollars of hardware and software are often left to gather dust. 01 of 08 Buying Because It's a 'Good Deal' Most schools and districts have a limited amount of money to spend on technology. Therefore, they are often looking for ways to cut corners and save money. Unfortunately, this can lead to buying a new software program or piece of hardware just because it is a good deal. In many cases, the good deal lacks the application necessary to be translated into useful learning. 02 of 08 Lack of Teacher Training Teachers need to be trained in new technology purchases in order to use them effectively. They need to understand the benefits to learning and also to themselves. However, many schools fail to budget time and/or money to allow teachers to go through thorough training on new purchases. 03 of 08 Incompatibility With Existing Systems All school systems have legacy systems that need to be considered when integrating new technology. Unfortunately, the integration with the legacy systems can be far more complicated than anyone envisioned. The issues that arise during this phase can often derail the implementation of new systems and never allow them to take off. 04 of 08 Little Teacher Involvement in the Purchase Stage The teacher should have a say in technology purchases because they know better than others what is feasible and can work in their classroom. In fact, if possible students should be included as well if they are the intended end user. Unfortunately, many technology purchases are made from the distance of the district office and sometimes do not translate well into the classroom. 05 of 08 Lack of Planning Time Teachers need additional time to add technology into existing lesson plans. Teachers are very busy and many will take the path of least resistance if not given the opportunity and time to learn how to best integrate the new materials and items into their lessons. However, there are many resources online that can help give teachers additional ideas for integrating technology. 06 of 08 Lack of Instructional Time Sometimes software is purchased that requires a significant amount of classroom time to be fully utilized. The ramp up and completion time for these new activities may not fit within the class structure. This is especially true in courses like American History where there is so much material to cover in order to meet the standards, and it is very hard to spend multiple days on one software application. 07 of 08 Does Not Translate Well for a Whole Class Some software programs are very valuable when used with individual students. Programs such as language learning tools can be quite effective for ESL or foreign language students. Other programs can be useful for small groups or even a whole class. However, it can be difficult to match up the needs of all your students with the available software and the existing facilities. 08 of 08 Lack of an Overall Technology Plan All of these concerns are symptoms of a lack of an overall technology plan for a school or district. A technology plan must consider the needs of the students, the structure and limitations of the classroom setting, the need for teacher involvement, training and time, the current state of the technology systems already in place, and the costs involved. In a technology plan, there needs to be an understanding of the end result that you wish to achieve by including new software or hardware. If that is not defined then technology purchases would run the risk of gathering dust and never being properly used.


The purpose of basic education is to give the pupils knowledge and skills necessary in life, and to give everyone an equal educational foundation. Other goals include supporting the development of pupils as human beings, and their growth into ethically responsible members of society, and the promotion of learning and equality in society.
Upper comprehensive school
Comprehensive schools provide basic education (primary and lower secondary levels) and their tasks include both teaching and a broader educational role. Their objective is to provide each pupil with the opportunity for diverse growth and learning and for development of healthy self-esteem. All comprehensive schools provide good basic skills and knowledge and sufficient all-round learning.
Basic art education
Basic art education is goal-oriented education progressing from one level to the next. It teaches children skills in self-expression and capabilities needed for vocational, polytechnic and university education in the chosen art form.
Rovaniemi School of Visual Arts
The Dance Art Institute
Lapland College of Music


HART2207 Caravaggio and the Baroque
- 6 points
Availability Location Mode Semester 1 UWA (Perth) Face to face
- Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 2 option in the History of Art major sequence
- The area of knowledge for this unit is Design and Creative Arts
- Category B broadening unit for students
- Level 2 elective
- In Italian art of the seventeenth century, things are never quite as they seem. Caravaggio's highly naturalistic paintings merge biblical figures with local prostitutes and beggars; the sculptor Bernini turns hard marble into soft flesh and stillness into motion; Borromini's buildings appear to pulsate and envelope their visitors; and heaven and earth converge in vast ceiling paintings of palaces and churches. Besides such illusions, the Baroque revels in drama. Art no longer needs to be aesthetically pleasing - it can be ugly or horrific in its quest to provoke strong emotions. It is a period of innovation, producing the first feminist artist and the first global style. Yet it also is the first period fully aware of the history of art, bringing about changes in collecting and theorising art that reverberate into the nineteenth century. This unit examines Baroque art and architecture in the context of major historical developments, such as the Catholic Counter-Reformation and early colonialism. It also studies contemporary art theory through the prism of its arguable most iconic artist, the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
- Students are able to (1) demonstrate oral communication and interpersonal skills; (2) analyse formal and technical qualities of Mannerist and Baroque artworks; (3) place artworks in cultural and historical contexts of central and southern Europe in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and demonstrate an understanding of how artworks can mediate social or cultural meaning; (4) apply principles of argument in art historical discourse; and (5) apply research techniques in art historiography.
- Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) short essay; (2) long essay; and (3) oral assessment. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit except in the case of a bachelor's pass degree student who has obtained a mark of 45 to 49 overall and is currently enrolled in this unit, and it is the only remaining unit that the student must pass in order to complete their course.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Susanne Meurer
- Unit rules
- Contact hours
- lectures: 2 hours per week; tutorials: 1 hour per week
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Unit readings, including any essential textbooks, are listed in the unit outline for each unit one week prior the commencement of study. The unit outline will be available via the LMS and the UWA Handbook. Reading lists and essential textbooks are subject to change each semester. Essential textbooks can be purchased from the commercial vendors to secure the best deal. The Student Guild can provide assistance on where to purchase books if required. Books can be purchased second hand at the Guild Secondhand bookshop (second floor, Guild Village), which is located on campus. Copies of textbooks and other readings will be made available for students to access from the Library, online wherever possible as well as in print.
- If this unit is offered as on-campus face-to-face study only, students who are presently unable to enter Western Australia and whose studies would be delayed by an inability to complete this unit, should contact the unit coordinator (details given on this page) to ascertain, on an individual case-by-case basis, if alternate arrangements can be made to support their study in this unit.


Music educators now have essential questions on which to base their instructional units and by extension the lesson plans within those units. These questions are meant to get at the heart of the discipline of music. They are not like questions students might be asked such as "what is binary form?" or "who was John … Continue reading What Are The Answers To Music’s Essential Questions?
One of the challenges of being an Arts Educator is the relatively limited time we have with our students. Whereas Math or L.A. teachers see their students every day, music teachers often see a class once or twice a week. Teaching a year's curriculum within these curtailed contact hours can be daunting. A common response … Continue reading Time Is Precious, How We Use It Even More So
Psychologists will tell you that you are a blend of "nature and nurture--" that you are what you are partly because of inherited traits, and partly because of what your interactions with your environment have been. Today, I am interested in the musical aspect of the environment in which we all matured from early childhood … Continue reading Passing Along Your Musical Roots
Children develop the ability to sing accurately by repeating short patterns or song fragments. As they do so, they are building a vocabulary of music patterns that they will be able to remember, sing, and eventually read, write and use to improvise. While children can learn patterns by singing them with others in a class, … Continue reading The Importance of Echo Songs in the Early Grades
Amid the frequent pronouncements of doom over classical music, and the unenthusiastic attitude of many of my general music students toward it, I sometimes ask myself what drew me to classical music. I never became a great musician, yet my love for music has always been great. That's important because when a child is raised … Continue reading My Lifelong Love of Music: I Wonder Where It Started
Among the nine intelligences identified by Howard Gardner in his Multiple Intelligences Theory, is musical intelligence. An intelligence is a way of knowing, and different people have different ways of knowing and learning. Someone who has a prevalent musical intelligence is able to use rhythms and patterns to assist learning. Such a person will learn well … Continue reading Musical Intelligence, Three Systems, and the Creative Processes
Today, as I attended the fifth biennial Symposium on Music in Schools at Yale University, I became occupied with a question that came to mind as I listened to Sebastian Ruth talk about helping students find their voice through music education. His talk and the discussion that followed included points on developing relationships with students … Continue reading Can Encouraging Creativity Include Correcting Errors?
Music teachers of young, primary grade children know it is important to teach children to find and use their singing voice for singing. Left on their own, most children will try to sing with the same voice they use for speaking, which is very limited in range, and usually too low to sing accurately or … Continue reading The Other Singing Voice
One of the pitfalls of doing anything over a long period of time, is that we can wake up one day and realize we've forgotten why we do what we do. We've been doing it for so long, it has become a habit, a lifestyle, a part of who we are. Chances are those of … Continue reading Why Do We Make Music?
If you are a music reader, want you to pretend you know nothing about music notation. If you don't read music, you're all set. Now take what I'm about to write absolutely literally. "A quarter note gets one beat, and a half note gets two beats." Just from that description, do you know that the … Continue reading Describing Music and Teaching Music


Section I - The Past is Our Future / The Past is Not Our Future
Place of Publication
London, Ontario Canada
Estelle Jorgensen, continuous critique, dialectical pairs, juxtapositional pedagogy, musical thinking and learning, epistemology of emergence
Numerous scholars have provided philosophical perspectives to justify the inclusion of music education in public schools. The philosophical work of Jorgensen offers a framework that allows educators to move beyond singular agendas and apply eclectic approaches to meet the needs of unique teaching environments. This chapter offers commentary on her concept of dialectics and how Jorgensen’s philosophy nurtured innovative curricular approaches to music teacher preparation in a university teacher certification program.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Citation of this paper:
Heuser, F. (2019). Of dialectics, juxtapositions, and flexible thinking: A tribute to Estelle Jorgensen. In R. E. Allsup & C. Benedict (Eds.), The road goes ever on: Estelle Jorgensen’s legacy in music education, (pp. 3-9). London, Ontario: Western University. https://doi.org/10.5206/q1144262.jorgensen.2019.ch01


A University at Buffalo psychologist has published a neuroimaging study that could help develop tests for early identification of dyslexia, a disorder that effects 80 percent of those diagnosed with difficulties reading, writing and spelling.
Tasks which require audiovisual processing are especially challenging for children with dyslexia, according to Chris McNorgan, an assistant professor in UB’s psychology department and project lead for the research published in the journal PLoS ONE.
Designing tests sensitive to the problem of audiovisual integration could determine the presence of a disorder that often goes undetected during the early years of elementary education since many children with dyslexia are considered, initially, as simply being on the lower end of a normal range of reading levels.
“Until these kids with dyslexia are lagging so far behind their peers, there’s no way to reasonably assume that they’re not part of a continuum of ability, but rather a separate group altogether,” says McNorgan.
The study’s results suggest that the reading difficulty associated with dyslexia stems from a lack of coordinated processing in the four brain areas known as “the reading network.”
“We find that the organization of the brain outside of the core reading network does not appear to be related to how well or poorly dyslexic children read,” says McNorgan, an expert in neuroimaging and computational modeling. “This is notable because it would be consistent with dyslexia as a problem related to the wiring specifically of the brain areas associated with integrating auditory and visual information, and not with some other general cognitive disruption, such as memory or attention.”
Unlike much previous research on dyslexia that focused on the strength of connections in the reading network, McNorgan and his colleagues looked not only at that strength, but also the manner in which these regions are connected, a critical point in order to better understand dyslexia.
“To think of the ‘manner’ of connections, by way of analogy, as being separate from ‘strength,’ a city planner trying to optimize traffic flow is probably not going to be successful by just dropping a multi-lane highway down the middle of a city if the neighborhoods and other city streets are not organized in a way that can take advantage of the extra traffic capacity.
“While connection strength is absolutely an important factor, our results indicate that it is only one of several components of the brain network that is optimized for fluent reading through practice.”
In cases of dyslexia, there is no problem with how someone’s eyes or how someone’s ears work. But reading isn’t about just what’s seen and heard; it’s a multisensory task that involves decoding letters into their associated speech sounds.
“Don’t imagine someone as seeing words with scrambled letters or seeing letters upside down,” explains McNorgan. “Dyslexia is about being unable to figure out how a particular sequence of letters fits together and then mapping that sequence to a particular sound.”
Consider coming across a new word, like reading “Brobdingnagian” for the first time in Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels.” The unfamiliarity requires a laborious effort to unpack the letters’ sounds into what becomes the word.
“It’s a struggle,” says McNorgan. “And though even fluent readers occasionally encounter this difficulty, the exertion required to get the word is what happens all the time for people with dyslexia.”
For the current study, McNorgan and UB graduate students Erica Edwards and Kali Burke, and Vanderbilt University collaborator James Booth used fMRI, a technology that measures and maps brain activity, to look at how the regions of the reading network connect and interact.
The 24 participants, ages 8-13, completed rhyming tasks under three conditions: seeing two words; hearing two words; and hearing the first words while seeing the second. The rhyming tasks required participants to map visual representations to sounds.
As the participants completed the tasks, fMRI scans revealed what brain regions were activated and how they were communicating.
“We’re taking a brain network perspective,” says McNorgan. “We’re want to learn, not just what these brain areas are doing, but how are these areas talking to each other.”
The goal, says McNorgan, is to determine whether or not the network’s configuration is determining the degree to which dyslexic children experience reading difficulty.
“The way things are wired is going to make a big difference in how communication occurs within this network,” he says. “And why some children’s brains seem to be resistant to becoming optimally wired remains an outstanding question.”


Researchers have connected student achievement to teacher collaboration; however, there is a paucity of studies conducted on how teachers use identified advantages and disadvantages of cross grade level collaboration to improve collegial interactions to achieve better student performance, professional development, teacher effectiveness, and job satisfaction. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how rural southeast Georgia elementary school teachers use identified advantages and disadvantages of cross grade level collaboration to improve collegial interactions. The theory of collegial coaching provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on improving teacher effectiveness and student learning via collaborative dialogue. Data were collected via interviews, observations, and archival records from 14 teachers and administrators (maximum variation used) and analyzed for overarching emergent and dominant themes, patterns, issues, topics, ideas, relationships, cases, cross-cases, and concepts. Hatch’s typological analysis was employed to decipher the data. Ethnograph v6.0 and QDA Miner 4.0 were used to code the data for triangulation. Quality control and validation were achieved through triangulation and member-checking. The findings illustrated the merits of ongoing collaboration and effective collegial interaction for teaching and learning. They also highlighted the potential of meaningful discussion in achieving effective collegial interaction. This study can lead to positive social change by providing teachers, administrators, and collaboration facilitators 2 models that can be used as guides for planning quality collegial interaction opportunities and in justifying time to collaborate across grades.
|Advisor:||Long, Nathan A.|
|School Location:||United States -- Minnesota|
|Source:||DAI-A 74/08(E), Dissertation Abstracts International|
|Subjects:||Educational leadership, Elementary education, Continuing education|
|Keywords:||Across-grades collaboration, Collaboration, Collegial interaction, Cross-grades collaboration, Debriefing as collaboration and professional development, Professional development|
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Art is important. Interacting with art is important. Creating art is important. From the day we’re able to move our hands as babies, we’re communicating on an artistic level. Art challenges us. It challenges us to see things from someone else’s perspective. It teaches us to empathize and consider how we treat one another. What’s great is there is a large amount of evidence being published that supports these claims. A recent study from Brookings showed that art participation in adults contributes to a healthy society. It increase civil engagement, social tolerance, and reduces the opposite behaviors.
The last few decades has seen a huge reduction in the amount of art education our children are experiencing at school. This makes the role of our institution that much more important.
As our fall classes are starting back up, I implore you to invest in yourself or your child and take an art class or workshop at Studio 23. Because you’re not just investing in yourself… you’re investing in our community… you’re investing in our future!
Making art accessible is important to us here at Studio 23. Come join our art community as we endeavor to make the world a little better and a little brighter every day.
I hope to see you in class!


Why Game-ify? Scholars have an answer for that too. "Gamification has gained traction in recent years as an effective way of engaging users to perform actions in contexts that would otherwise be considered tedious and undesirable." Gianetto et al. from Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology. So motivation and engagement are a big part of why you might want to implement learning games and activities into your music lessons. According to Dr. Gwen Dewar, play can actually stimulate the growth of the cerebral cortex and promote creative problem-solving. You can read more about that in her article here. I've been a fan of game-based learning for a while, but it's nice to know there's research supporting what I'm doing. :)
Two of the most tedious and frustrating tasks I encountered in my music education were dictation and sight reading--and all of the solfege, intervals, rhythms, and Kodaly hand signs that went along with it. Sometimes it would seem easy and intuitive and then I'd encounter something that my brian just didn't want to compute. I seemed to be constantly practicing. In fact, one of my college roommates has told me that she saw/heard me solfeging and doing the Kodaly hand signs in my sleep. Talk about tedium, haha!
Kids especially respond well to being "tricked" into learning (although I play games with older students too!). In my last post I created a Chutes and Ladders game to teach three really basic intervals: unison, major second, and major third. It's quite impressive to me how easily children pick up on the intervals and then seem to even forget they're practicing them as they focus on the game. My four year-old kept begging to play the game. Well, I wanted to add to students' interval repertoire, so I've created Whoops! It's basically a modified Sorry! that uses intervals to tell players how many spaces they can move. I've kept unisons, major seconds and major thirds, and added perfect fourths and fifths. It can be played with 2-4 players/teams, and you can use the intervals either visually or auditorily. You can control the length of play by choosing how many player pieces to use. I also think that this makes excellent practice/homework, especially if the student has a parent or sibling that can help him/her by playing or singing the intervals. You can download the full game below, and let me know how it goes!


Dyslexia affects 1 in 10 people.
Do you or a loved one have dyslexia?
Statistics show that 1 in 10 people suffer with dyslexia. Those are very high odds. What is life like when you struggle to read every day?
As an NILD Educational Therapist, I already knew that our therapy program was beneficial for dyslexia, but I didn’t realize just how impactful it really was! According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), the most effective way to treat dyslexia is to use an evidenced-based reading intervention. And that is exactly what NILD Educational Therapy does!
An article from IDA’s April 2018 newsletter cites many research studies which substantiate this. It was noted that a specific reading intervention will help with recovery of abilities and/or create compensatory strategies. These strategies are used by most readers up to a certain age and then are slowly dropped as the age and abilities increase. For those with dyslexia, however, these strategies are key in helping them further develop their reading skills.
According to these research studies, the key to aiding students with dyslexia in developing compensatory strategies, and thus their reading skills, include a morphological awareness (the study of word structure), language comprehension and articulation, semantic knowledge (word meanings/vocabulary) and visual memorization. These foundational skills are exactly what is developed in our students through our Blue Book technique, Moveable Alphabet, puzzle techniques, and Buzzer technique let alone the more than 20 other techniques that we provide in NILD Educational Therapy.
These studies have proven that these are some of the best ways to develop the necessary strategies to strengthen reading abilities.
Our Rhythmic Writing technique, which develops connectivity between hemispheres of the brain among other things, may also be beneficial in helping develop alternative strategies to improve reading.
It is no wonder then, that the International Dyslexia Association has chosen to recognize the National Institute for Learning Development and its educational therapy program, as an approved program to treat dyslexia!
“Following an in-depth review of NILD’s program using the International Dyslexia Association Knowledge and Practice Standards, we are pleased to report that IDA recognizes your program,” Suzanne Carreker, Chair of IDA Professions Development Committee. (Read more: https://nildcanada.org/research/) Some of the strengths which the IDA further commends NILD for are:
- Therapeutic, research-based, individualized approach
- Grounded in test and observational data
- Rich vocabulary development
- Components of reading are addressed within a cognitive development framework
We are honoured to receive this distinction, but we are even more excited for all of the students with dyslexia whose lives can be impacted through this therapy!
I, personally, have watched many people struggle with dyslexia for a good part of their lives. But, I have also witnessed the impact that this program has had on students who struggle with this condition. It gives hope and help to those in need! If we can help even one student to either recover weak components or to develop strategies that will allow them to compensate for their challenges, it will all be worth it.
Please consider the difference NILD Educational Therapy would make in your life, or in the life of someone you love!
To read all of the research and full article, go here.


- Chartism in Scotland
Just over forty years have elapsed since the publication of Alexander Wilson’s The Chartist Movement in Scotland (1970). This makes particularly welcome the appearance of a new history of the movement in the north of the British Isles, which can moreover benefit from the great advances made by the historiography of Chartism in the meantime. W. Hamish Fraser intends to present Scottish Chartism as part of a wider movement, while also highlighting its distinctive features. To achieve the former, the bulk of [End Page 134] the book is devoted to a chronological account of Chartism, from a scene-setting chapter covering the period between the 1780s and 1836 to the evolution of the movement into Liberalism. In each chapter, developments in both English and Scottish Chartism are recounted in detail, though with varying geographical emphasis, leading to the Scottish movement at times being submerged by its English counterpart. Only in the final two chapters, entitled “Leaders and Supporters” and “Being a Chartist” respectively, and in the conclusion does the reader find some general characterizations and assessment of the movement in Scotland. Moreover, it is only here that Fraser engages with ongoing debates in Chartist historiography, though but selectively and cursorily. In the introduction, too, his treatment of it is limited to what little has been written on Chartism in Scotland.
Conditions peculiar to Scotland made for a number of distinctive features of the movement in comparison with English Chartism. There was an easy alliance with temperance and Church Chartism was much stronger. The democratically run Chartist churches thrived on growing antipathy to clergy chosen by patrons instead of congregations. The churches also provided education, not in order to make up, as in England, for the lack of any schooling available to the working class, but to offer an alternative in a country where elementary education was nearly universal. Chartists wanted education to be freed from the influence of the Church, which was prone to suppress critical inquiry; to place more emphasis on the teaching of science so that it could be put to use; and to be less authoritarian.
The way in which relations with the rest of Britain were called into question also surfaced within Chartism. Thus the Scottish Convention, called in 1842, debated, and eventually split over, the merits of getting up a Scottish petition rather than collecting signatures for the one produced by the National Charter Association. Despite its name, the latter appears to have been seen as an English rather than a British organization. By contrast, the Land Plan met with an enthusiastic response among the Scots, its English origins notwithstanding. Relations between Chartism and trade unionism were overshadowed by the effects of the protracted Glasgow cotton spinners’ strike in 1836 that ended in defeat and draconian sentences for its leaders. This seriously weakened trade unions—leading many Chartists to take a dim view of any combination of politics and trade-union activity—and produced a general ambivalence toward trade unionism and a marked dislike of strikes. Furthermore, the crushing defeat impeded factory workers’ commitment to the movement. They only formed a minority among the Chartist rank and file. Conversely, the legal authorities were remarkably cautious in their prosecution of Chartists, wishing to repair a reputation that had been badly damaged by their action against the spinners’ leaders.
Scottish Chartists appear to have taken a different route into Liberalism than their English counterparts. Relations with the middle class, to which Fraser devotes much space, were more amicable, not least because both classes shared criticism of church patronage, but also because large parts of the middle class, while rejecting the Chartist label, embraced the demand for household, if not manhood, suffrage. Conversely, Chartists targeted their criticism of the abuse of political power on the aristocracy rather than the middle class, though the reasons for this are not elucidated by the author. On a shared language of denunciation of the aristocracy was founded an alliance between both classes that formed the base of Liberal politics in Scotland. [End Page 135]


When Augusta Ahlm first visited the Colorado State University Todos Santos Center with her Sustainable Agriculture class, it was only the beginning of her love for the town.
Now, two years since her initial trip, Ahlm has returned from more than three weeks finishing the research for her thesis at Casa Del Estudiantes, a boarding school in Todos Santos.
The ethnographic case study for Ahlm’s master’s work looks at the challenges and opportunities of the next generation of agriculturalists in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, where CSU began programming at an international educational hub in 2015. As a Weld County, Colorado, Extension agent, Ahlm has a passion for educating the next generation and shifting perspectives around agriculture.
“People think of a farmer being a guy with a pitchfork, but farmers are applied scientists. My point is that every single person is a part of agriculture – they’re not separated from agriculture. Exposing them to new careers opens their minds,” said Ahlm, noting agriculture professions in fields such as agronomy, food quality, animal husbandry, nutrition, hydroponics, aquaponics, and bioplastics.
In Mexico, Ahlm worked with 25-40 students – mostly 15 and 16 year olds – on a voluntary basis during their free period. She gave them the opportunity to take a skill assessment, and explore potential careers and resources in their own community.
Students involved with the Sustainable Agriculture (AGRI 510) class and the new Field Practicum (AGRI582A) will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Todos Santos community while working on innovative agriculture projects developed throughout the semester. The dynamic project-based experience builds on the theory of sustainable agriculture and provides real-time enrichment of knowledge, skills and global awareness.
Sustainable Agriculture course registration closes May 1, 2017.
Many students are farm laborers, attend school, and hold another job on the side – often they come from rural areas and live at school during the week and work on the weekends, Ahlm said. “I don’t always see them as kids because they are dealing with things and responsibilities that are far beyond.”
Ahlm made a commitment to working from a community-based approach, she said, and had leaders from the community speak with the students to share not only their successes, but also their struggles.
“It was very important to me that the youth hear from leaders in their own community that they can live and work there … and become successful,” Ahlm said. “All of the adults that came to talk to kids were really, really honest. The kids are looking for someone to engage with, and they were happy to have someone working with them.”
Ahlm’s thesis will be a bilingual data analysis, which she will defend in the coming months, and also share with the Baja California Sur community. Ahlm, who is passionate about the urban and rural interface, doesn’t have any predetermined ideas of her thesis outcome, but she is proud that her students have already noted a difference from working with her.
“It made me feel really good because a kid said in his letter that walking through the program made him think about what he wanted in his life,” she said.
Regardless of the thesis outcome, Ahlm is hopeful that her research will have lasting impact for students and the Todos Santos community.
“These kids are amazing – to discredit them or to not value their views would be to lose the perspective and their valuable input,” she said. “These are young adults that are already making an impact.”
About the CSU Todos Santos Center
The Colorado State University Todos Santos Center is the university’s first international location and is core to CSU’s mission of teaching, research, service, and outreach.
The Center provides opportunities for CSU students and Baja California Sur residents to collaborate with local partners and businesses to identify needs, conduct research, and produce impactful outcomes.
CSU’s vision in Todos Santos is to cultivate generations of global citizens and to be a part of creating thriving communities through collaboration, experience, and exchange of knowledge in areas such as agriculture, infectious disease, elementary education, environmental and social sustainability, wildlife ecology, veterinary medicine, and public health.


There are approximately 44 sounds in English, with a slight variation in numbers based on accent. The sound cue cards provided are appropriate for speech sound cues to use in therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech, and other speech sound delays/disorders. The sound cards are also appropriate for literacy instruction in schools, or in the 1:1 setting. The cards are particularly useful for sounds first phonics instruction which takes the focus off letters and their names, and instead focuses on sounds and their corresponding graphemes (single letter or a group of letters which represent one of the 44 sounds).
Each phoneme is represented by a well thought out illustration which relates to the sound and has word level examples. For example, the image for /k/ has a picture of a kiwi, and a camera, the /k/ sound is presented in these words, but can also be likened to the noise of a clicking camera. The International Phonetic Alphabet symbols are embedded in each image for reference. These symbols are subtle and are not intended as prompts for children, but rather a reference symbol for educators.
Small cards can be printed double sided (9cm), with the information on the sound cue and spelling examples on the back of each card. There is also the option of printing out the images at a larger size (18cm) which is ideal for sound based word walls in the classroom setting.
This pack contains:
- 44 clear images to represent the 44 sounds of English, with explanations of the images and examples of spellings for each sound
- Printing options for small (9cm) double sided cards and larger images (18cm) for sound based word walls
- Print with or without spelling and spelling descriptions (e.g. long a) on the front of the cards.
Format: Two PDF files
Within 1-3 days of the order being placed you will receive the PDF link via email.$32.00
or 4 payments of $8.00 with Afterpay


Arlette Rosalie March 2, 2020 worksheets
As far as using worksheets for busy work, the verdict is in. It is destructive to classroom learning to assign worksheets to simply keep students occupied. Busy work creates monotony, causes boredom and increases the likelihood of behavior problems. Period.
– Are students excited about learning in my classroom? (The answer should be yes!)
Students can certainly benefit from practicing new skills and concepts on paper. From letters and numbers to report summary formats, worksheets can provide students with a framework for practice – an avenue for synthesizing new information in their brains. Well designed worksheets can also give students a platform for expressing creative ideas and reaching towards higher levels of thinking.
When you’re teaching your student to write, there are a whole host of worksheets online that you can use. Many of these include clipart that will help the students learn the sounds of letters and letter combinations. There are other sheets that help the student learn to write his or her numbers. It’s helpful having printable worksheets for something like this, because parents often go through quite a few of these before the child masters writing the numbers or letters correctly.
Different worksheets are available for different areas of study at home. If you know what your child will be learning for the year, you can already find worksheets for homeschooling on that particular topic.In choosing a worksheet, it is important to review the source and check the material. Ensure that the material and answers are accurate. Evaluate the worksheet by completing it yourself. The worksheet should provide information clearly and accurately. Make sure it is exactly what you need to homeschool your child.
5. Never allow boredom to set in. We know now that when learning is fun and exciting, the brain is actually growing many new dendrites that make connections with many other dendrites. The more connections the better. We also know now that boredom destroys dendrites. Small children quickly become bored with worksheets, especially skill and drill worksheets. Yet another reason to avoid skill and drill worksheets like the plague.
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“Overview of the study
This article examines the literacy and numeracy skills of off-reserve First Nations and Métis adults, focusing on the factors and labour market outcomes associated with higher skill levels. In this study, individuals in the higher range for literacy and numeracy are defined as those who scored level 3 or higher (out of 5 levels) in tests administered by the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).
- Off-reserve First Nations and Métis adults have lower literacy and numeracy scores than non-Aboriginal adults. For example, just over one-third (35%) of off-reserve First Nations people and 50% of Métis aged 25 to 65 had higher literacy scores (level 3 or higher), compared with 57% among non-Aboriginal adults.
- For off-reserve First Nations, Métis and non-Aboriginal adults, a higher level of education was associated with higher literacy and numeracy skills. Among those with a university degree, however, the proportion of off-reserve First Nations adults with higher skills remained lower than that of non-Aboriginal adults.
- Among those who had higher literacy skills (level 3 or higher), off-reserve First Nations adults aged 25 to 54 had a 75% probability to be employed, compared with 80% among Métis adults and 91% among non-Aboriginal adults.
- Non-Aboriginal adults aged 25 to 54 with lower literacy skills (level 2 or lower) were more likely to be employed than off-reserve First Nations adults with higher skills (level 3 or higher), even after accounting for other factors related to the probability of employment.
- Among those who were employed, off-reserve First Nations and Métis workers who had higher skill levels were as likely as their non-Aboriginal counterparts to work in a managerial or professional occupation.”


What’s the best way to solve problems between people? By talking them over and working them out. It’s never too soon for children to learn the process of peaceful conflict resolution. In both English and Spanish, this book distills conflict resolution into clear, simple language and supporting illustrations. Children learn to calm themselves, state the problem, listen, think of solutions, try one, evaluate results, and even agree to disagree when a solution isn’t possible. Includes conflict resolution skill-building games and role plays for adults to use with children.
Praise for Talk and Work It Out
“Teaches children that they will be faced with times where they will have personal opinions that differ from someone else’s, but the real test in life comes in how they handle the situation.”—noirbaby.com
Praise for the series
“Surely needed . . . I heartily applaud this important series.”—Jay A. Monson, Ph.D., professor of elementary education, Utah State University
“Top Five Character Education Series”—Booklist
“Positive, gentle messages are given without preaching.”—Library Media Connection
Supports the domains of Social & Emotional Development, Logic & Reasoning, Language Development, Literacy Knowledge & Skills, and Social Studies Knowledge & Skills in the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework.
BS.SMS.1, BS.SMS.2, BS.SMS.4, BS.SMS.7, BS.SMS.9, BS.SMS.10
BS.SS.1, BS.SS.2, BS.SS.3, BS.SS.4, BS.SS.5, BS.SS.6, BS.SS.7, BS.SS.8, BS.SS.9


- How do you teach phonics in a fun way?
- What is the phonic sound of a?
- What order do you teach letters in?
- Do you teach uppercase and lowercase at same time?
- What are the types of phonics?
- What are the 4 types of phonics instructional approaches?
- Does phonics work for every child?
- What are the steps to teach phonics?
- What is the most effective way to teach phonics and why?
- What is the best order to teach phonics?
- Which letters to teach first?
- What age should a child be able to recognize letters?
How do you teach phonics in a fun way?
Fun Phonics Activities for Your PreschoolerHunt for Letters.
Indeed / Getty Images.
Teach Phonics Through Picture-Taking.
Tap into their creative mind when you hand them a camera and send them on a phonics adventure.
Play Alphabet Ball.
Read Phonics Books.
Watch Phonics DVDs..
What is the phonic sound of a?
The 3 above words all include the short A sound, which very much sounds like “AH”. We write the “AH” sound as /a/.
What order do you teach letters in?
What’s the Best Sequence to Learn Writing Letters?scribbles (1-2 years)horizontal and vertical lines, and checked (2-3 years)square (3-4 years)diagonal lines (4-5 years)
Do you teach uppercase and lowercase at same time?
There are many different approaches to teaching children to write. Most have their advantages. But often they teach lowercase letters in conjunction with the uppercase letters. This approach assumes that because your child can recognize lowercase letters, they are ready to learn to write them.
What are the types of phonics?
There are two main types of phonics instruction: Implicit and Explicit. Explicit phonics, also referred to as synthetic phonics, builds from part to whole. It begins with the instruction of the letters (graphemes) with their associated sounds (phonemes).
What are the 4 types of phonics instructional approaches?
Types of phonics instructional methods and approachesAnalogy phonics. … Analytic phonics. … Embedded phonics. … Phonics through spelling. … Synthetic phonics.
Does phonics work for every child?
“Research shows overwhelmingly that systematic phonics is the most effective way of teaching reading to children of all abilities, enabling almost all children to become confident and independent readers.
What are the steps to teach phonics?
How to teach Phonics: A Step-by-Step GuideStep 1 – Letter Sounds. Most phonics programmes start by teaching children to see a letter and then say the sound it represents. … Step 2 – Blending. Children are taught how to blend individual sounds together to say a whole word. … Step 3 – Digraphs. … Step 4 – Alternative graphemes. … Step 5 – Fluency and Accuracy.
What is the most effective way to teach phonics and why?
By far, the best way to teach phonics is systematically. This means moving children through a planned sequence of skills rather than teaching particular aspects of phonics as they are encountered in texts.
What is the best order to teach phonics?
As we stated on our Keys to Success page, phonics instruction must be systematic and sequential. In other words, letters and sounds are taught first. Then letters are combined to make words and finally words are used to construct sentences.
Which letters to teach first?
Letter-Sounds Correspondence Teach the sounds of letters that can be used to build many words (e.g., m, s, a, t). Introduce lower case letters first unless upper case letters are similar in configuration (e.g., Similar: S, s, U, u, W, w; Dissimilar: R, r, T, t, F, f).
What age should a child be able to recognize letters?
Most children can recognize letters between the ages of three and four. Most kids will recognize the letters in their name first. For example, a boy named Jace will probably be able to remember what the letter “J” looks like as well as recognize most other letters in his name.


A painter is an artist or craftsman that creates works made using paint. Some are formally trained through art school or an apprenticeship, while others choose to train themselves. Painters, like any artists, have a chance at becoming famous or wealthy through their work, but most painters do their work out of a love and passion for it, rather than for the possibility of lucrative returns.
As far as experts can discover, painting is one of the world's oldest art forms. Examples of paintings in French cave-dwelling societies date back to around 30,000 BCE. Not much is known about these earliest painters, who used natural pigments to create murals of animals, abstract geometric figures, and human beings. Historians are not even sure what the paintings commemorate, or why they were made. The painters of Lascaux and Chauvet do serve as an ultimate reminder of the vast history and culture of painting, and may even provide inspiration for painters today.
There are many famous painters throughout history, each beloved by fans for their unique perspective, prodigious skill, or vision. There is not one quality that makes a great painter, because the styles brought to the medium are so diverse. Luckily, the ongoing human fascination with the arts has allowed many famous paintings to be preserved, studied, and used to influence new generations of painters and art lovers alike.
To become a painter, a few basic tools are required. Paint comes in several different varieties, including acrylic, oil, and watercolor versions. When just beginning, it may be important to experiment with different types of paint, brushes and canvas material to determine personal preferences. Even if a new painter has a desire to be mostly self-taught, some experts suggest taking one basic class in each major painting medium in order to better understand the qualities and use of each paint type.
A painter may like to have a completed pencil or ink sketch of the finished work before actually painting it on a surface, but others prefer to work without a plan. Basic drawing skills may be helpful in creating drafts of a painting, especially if a painter wishes to have an element of realism in the drawing. For a painter that wishes to create at least semi-realistic art, an understanding of light, color, figure drawing, and shading is important. An artist who prefers to create abstract art may choose to eschew all formal ideas of an art education so as to better express his or her personal viewpoint.
Painters can choose to sell or display their work in many different ways. Some hold shows or art exhibitions, offering their work for sale. Others reproduce their finished paintings to create other objects, such as greeting cards, stationary, mugs, or even clothing. Some painters become muralists, creating large scale paintings on walls, ceilings, or even skyscrapers. For many artists, painting is a passion and hobby rather than a salable skill; they may choose to keep paintings or give them as gifts rather than try to sell them.


There are dozens of ways to say “yes” or “no,” but they aren’t just different looking, actually they are all subtly different in meaning.
“Sign language” can be a tool to help children learn to read.
This week we’d like to encourage what may be new for many families…Poetry!
The material we read is best if it’s fact checked by reliable sources. Children should be encouraged to question what they read for accuracy and truth.
I’ve just finished reading one of 10 essays from the 2012 book When I Was a Child I Read Books, by Marilynne Robinson. It was a no brainer for a literacy teacher, teacher educator and a contributor to a children’s library like myself to be drawn to a book with this title. However, I received this […]
Learning self-expression is, for many, a lifelong process of growing to be a presence for others. It can be an elusive goal, even for adults, but when nurtured early on in life, a foundation for sincere sharing of oneself in writing can become a magical ingredient to powerful interactions. I was reminded of this when I […]
Like so many others during this stay-at-home period, I have spent an unusual amount of time watching television, especially news or current events programming. It helps me stay up to date on how my life, which feels completely out of my control, is likely to change or when it might ever return to some semblance […]
History books are a gift to help us never forget. They are like breathing in at the focus time and then breathing out years later. By recording history we capture a point in time for future reflections. Daunting? But writing a history book that accurately reflects the facts is challenging. A well-written, vetted history book takes planning and […]
Sometimes we educators get focused on literacy development in young children exclusively in the form of reading, as if print is the only kind of communication between humans. Granted, print is the most venerated form of literacy in our culture. Mastering this literacy skill leads to becoming avid, self-determined, lifelong print readers, writers and learners, and […]


The dance and musical traditions of Ghana's four main ethnic groups are covered comprehensively in this book. Discussed are not only concepts of music, dance and performance in general, but also cultural perspectives, performance practices, and the form and structure of 22 musical types or dance drumming ceremonies. Historical, geographical, cultural and social backgrounds of the groups are included, as well as orthographies of each language with their unique characters. As a guide to multicultural education, the book provides teaching methods and components of curriculum development. Numerous photographs, maps, and musical scores serve to generously illustrate the book.
Paschal Yao Younge — Paschal Yao Younge is an associate professor of Multicultural Music Education and the Director of the Annual International Summer Program in African Interdisciplinary Arts and co-Artistic Director of the African Ensemble at Ohio University. A multi-talented musician, he is a recipient of many awards including Marion Anderson/Alvin Ailey Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Outstanding Achievement and Service, Award of Excellence in Service and West Virginia University Division of Music, Award of Excellence in Research.
Younge, Paschal Yao. Music and dance traditions of Ghana: history, performance, and teaching. McFarland, 2011. 448p bibl index afp ISBN 0786449926 pbk; ISBN 9780786449927 pbk. Reviewed in 2012mar CHOICE.
Twenty-two music genres representing four ethnic groups, transcriptions of 41 songs, notations in score for 21 drum ensembles--this is a list that is hard to match. Younge (Ohio Univ.) includes all of these, plus outline maps, diagrams, and very clear black-and-white photos of all instruments, individual players, dancers in step-by-step poses, and full ensembles. Also included are 25 color photos of musicians and dancers in traditional attire. A set of ten DVDs is also available. The author, a Ghanaian himself, writes clearly about the technical details of the music but also makes a strong point about the interdisciplinary nature of performance in Africa, noting that instrumental music is always associated with singing, dancing, and community involvement. Specifically, the book includes all one needs for teaching the following music/dance genres: seven southern Ewe, four central and northern Ewe, three Ga-Dangbe, four Akan, and five Dagbamba. Historical background sketches are given for the country as a whole and the individual groups. All African terms are written in proper phonetic spellings, with guides to pronunciation and tonal inflection. This book is a boon to an already-popular subject, and will be greatly welcomed by anyone involved in African music and dance.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. -- R. Knight, emeritus, Oberlin College


The Sandwell Numeracy Test comprises of a revised edition for pupils aged 4-8 (SENT-R) and a version to enable the assessment of older pupils experiencing difficulties with numbers suitable for pupils aged 8 to 14 years (SENT KS2–KS3).
The Sandwell Early Numeracy Test assessments enable teachers to assess a pupil's ability with numbers, through exploring five strands of basic numeracy skills: identification, oral counting, value, object counting and language.
This standardised assessment is particularly useful in helping to identify targets for pupils with Special Educational Needs and it can also be used with older pupils whose performance is well below average their age group.
Administered on a one-to-one basis the assessment has been designed to identify specific number skills that require targeted teaching and to monitor the impact of teaching interventions. For children with Special Educational Needs, it can also be used to identify targets for an individual education plan (IEP) and to provide information to support decision-making within the SEN Code of Practice.
Why use SENT-R and SENT KS2-3?


Fun Niagara Falls Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about the ...
www.sciencekids.co.nz › sciencefacts › earth › niagarafalls
Apr 11, 2020 · The Niagara Falls are located on the border of Ontario, Canada and New York, USA. The Niagara Falls are made up of 3 waterfalls, the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. The Horseshoe Falls are the largest and the Bridal Veil Falls the smallest.
Niagara Falls Facts for Kids · Niagara Falls are on the border of Ontario in Canada, and New York, USA. · They are made up of 3 waterfalls called the American ...
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Niagara Falls for Kids (All You Need to Know!) - CoolaBoo ...
www.coolaboo.com › earth-science › niagara-falls
More Facts About Niagara Falls: · It is illegal to go over the falls. · More than 30 million people each year go to visit Niagara Falls. · T. · The oldest United States flag is ...
Niagara Falls - facts for kids - Oddizzi
www.oddizzi.com › waterfalls › world-waterfalls › niagara-falls-usa-canada
NIAGARA FALLS · Height: Only 52 metres (167 feet) high but the volume of water is HUGE, in summer 100,000 cubic feet of water falls over the falls per second.
Fun Facts for Kids about Niagara Falls - Easy Science For Kids
easyscienceforkids.com › niagara-falls-facts
Niagara Falls has been a destination for world explorers. They were formed more than 12,000 years ago. They are made up of 3 waterfalls: the American Falls, ...
Niagara Falls Facts For Kids - Fun Facts About Niagara Falls For ...
www.coolfactsforkids.com › niagara-falls-facts-for-kids
Located on the Niagara River, which flows right into Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the combined flow rate is the highest than any waterfall in the entire world.
Niagara Falls - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
kids.britannica.com › kids › article › Niagara-Falls
The larger part of the falls is in Canada and is known as Horseshoe Falls because of its curved shape. It measures about 2,600 feet (792 meters) along its curve ...
Falls in Canada Niagara
Things to do in Niagara Falls with toddlers
Types of waterfalls


There are so many fun themes and activities that I love to use in the long winter months of Wisconsin. One of my favorites is Penguins. Why? Penguins are interesting, cute and there are so many movement activities and crafts that can be incorporated into your lessons. The activities below are a part of a unit, click (here) to check it out.
Kids LOVE facts. I always start out this unit reading a factual book. Penguins are unique birds and your students will eat this up! I always use some sort of a comprehension graphic organizer to help them store all of the facts in their brain.
I love to use this crown the first day of our unit. They keep it at school throughout the week for movement activities. I like to have the boys and girls glue the facts around the crown. They can discuss the facts as they build them.
I love the Emperor’s Penguin by Jane Chapman. The Emperor penguin is one of the most well known penguins. The boys and girls are always excited to talk about baby penguins.
The boys and girls also enjoy measuring themselves next to the emperor penguin. I like to write the words taller and shorter on the board and we discuss how many children are taller and how many are shorter than an emperor penguin.
To help the boys and girls remember all of the facts that we have learned about penguins, I love to complete an interactive fact book throughout the week. The boys and girls love sharing this book with their families.
I love to use the cute penguin theme to strengthen skills in the areas of literacy an math as well. The boys and girls help the penguin fish for food. They will identify the number and feed it to the penguin. The boys and girls build on their number sense by matching penguins to numbers in large group. Then, they will color the matching number on penguins in this cute reproducible.
We continue to work on sorting symbols as letters or numbers throughout the year. I like to practice it each month using different activities. We continue to work on uppercase letter identification as well. My children love write the room. I attach the printable to a clipboard and tape the center cards around the room. As they find the letter, they will color the matching letter on their printable.
The sensory table is one of my favorite areas of the classroom. For our penguin unit I add snow (of possible) or I freeze large chunks of ice in ziplock bags and containers and put it into water, along with a penguins.
In the centers or learning tubs, I like to place additional activities. Each activity is working on important skills to help students grow in the areas of literacy and math, as well as fine motor skill development. Click (here) to check them out.
If you are looking for homework ideas, or supplementary materials for preschool check out the pages below. I am not a huge fan or worksheets for this age group, however, now that I have children that age I have seen how much they enjoy them. It makes them feel big like their older brothers and sisters. If you use this as homework, it gives parents a glimpse into what their child is working on. The ideal age is mature 4-6.


Mechanics - Basic Reading Skills
Decoding or sounding out words is the first step in reading. Children can decode when they understand that each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding sound. Children then learn how to look at words in print, isolate each separate sound, then blend them to read the word as a whole. The goal of phonics instruction is to enable readers to become proficient at decoding so they are able to read words on their own and with little effort.
Fluency is the ability to read accurately with expression and at a speed that lends itself to comprehension. Fluent readers will be able to read smoothly without having to take a lot of time to sound out words. They are also able to use context clues to figure out unknown words. Fluency is most evident when a person reads aloud, but it can also be seen by the reader’s ability to understand what they read. Fluent readers are able to pay attention to the details in a book because they don’t have to spend a lot of time sounding out words.
Good readers increase their vocabulary every time they read and are able to recall these words when they see them again. They begin by developing a sight word vocabulary. Sight words are words that are frequently found often in common speech and books, such as “the,” “is,” “were,” “was” and “said.” Generally, these words cannot be sounded out, so readers have to memorize them. Knowledge of these words is essential because they can be found in any book.
Comprehension is a basic reading skill that develops as children learn to sound out words and recognize sight words. The more they read, the easier it is for them to remember specific things like the main characters, setting and plot. As reading skills progress, children will develop advanced comprehension skills like inferring, evaluating and retelling.
Shared Reading Activities for Kindergarten
Shared reading is a group activity. Children learn to predict and make meaning out of what is not directly expressed. Through a sense of community, children develop a pleasure for reading while acquiring skills such as building vocabulary, learning story elements, and tracking reading left to right and word to word. Shared reading activities like dramatic play, echo and choral reading, narrative story-boarding and word games engage children in reading literacy.
Acting out stories helps children relate to the characters and choices they make. Retelling the story through dramatic play improves reading comprehension by helping children remember what happened. Children learn narrative structure through the characters and themes as the story unfolds, enriching play with literacy. For example, in Aesop’s Fable “The Lion and the Mouse,” as children act out the story, they learn bravery, mutual kindness and that size doesn’t always equal effectiveness.
During choral reading, children read aloud together with the teacher. Children are given a copy of the story and follow along with a marker or finger. Choral reading models fluent reading and gives less skilled children an opportunity to practice before reading on their own. Choose material that engages students’ imagination, such as Aesop’s Fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” and encourage them to read each line with the proper expression and emotion.
In echo reading, children imitate the teacher’s skilled reading. The teacher reads the words aloud while tracking them in the children’s view. This strategy allows children to learn sight words, begin reading more advanced text, and gain confidence. Through echoing, students learn expressive, fluent reading. Read from a variety of genres, such as poetry, folk tales and fairy tales, to spark their interests. For example, read Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “Bed in Summer,” one line at a time and have the students read each line back to you.
A storyboard is a graphic organizer with pictures of the story unfolding in sequence. Students visualize the series of events as the story is read. For example, read “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and have students arrange the pictures on the storyboard to display the events as the story is read. Story-boarding conveys a story’s theme through visualization, which can remove barriers when English is not the primary language.
Teaching children to recognize high frequency and sight words allows them to focus on understanding their reading, rather than decoding unfamiliar words. Primary Concepts suggests playing games such as Word Bingo. The teacher calls out a word. Using a Word Bingo board, if a player has the word a counter is placed on it. The first player to get five words marked in a row or column wins. High frequency and sight words can also be learned through music and word walls.


Looking at the impact that arts education could have on the development of various skills sets was the original idea behind the OECD’s book Art for Art’s Sake? The book consists of a rigorous ‘meta-analysis’ or review of the existing research literature on arts education. Thousands of articles in scientific journals were categorized and analysed and a vast number of fascinating research results could be listed.
And, indeed, arts education seems to yield some very promising results. Students who took various art classes also performed better on various other cognitive tests and in many other school subject assessments. Several studies in the US revealed that test scores improved when students took drama, music or other arts classes. Students taking arts classes benefited in IQ, general academic performance, language skills, and even math.
Unfortunately, there are two very important caveats to these promising findings. The first is that research on creativity outcomes of arts education is still very rare and yields only weak results. This is mainly due to the fact that the research community still doesn’t seem to be able to measure and assess creativity well. Definitions differ and it’s not easy to find an agreement on how exactly to assess creativity. So, we need many more studies on assessing creativity skills. That’s also one of the big ambitions that OECD’s CERI has for its future work.
The second caveat is that a lot of this research is able to establish relationships (“correlations” as researchers call it), but no causal relationships. We know that students attending arts classes perform better, but we can’t say that they perform better because they attended art classes. There are only very few studies that have the necessary scientific rigour and depth to find causal relationships. And the few ones that are around, temper our enthusiasm: they were not able to show any causality. So, probably, there was a selection effect in the positive results: if students who follow art classes get better academic marks, it probably is because they just are better students. So, not only do we need more research, but we also need more sophisticated research.
At the same time research has revealed two other very promising findings. First, there are many reasons why arts classes probably have a beneficial impact: neurological reasons (art classes activate more and different areas of the brain than other school subjects), cognitive (art classes train cognitive skills on other matters and hence reinforces them), social (art classes develop a student’s social skills), and motivational reasons (art classes provide motivational stimuli for students, who tend to also start to like other topics).
And, secondly, the way art is taught seems to be extremely important. An art class is not valuable because it is about art, but because it can engage students in different, more active ways. A math class can teach creativity and imagination if well-taught; and an art class can leave creativity and imagination untouched if poorly taught. Art education can be very powerful, but only if it really engages students in developing their creativity skills. Nothing worse than a boring art class…


ATDLE’s 3-part Saturday Series “How Spanish Works!” Starting this Saturday!
In adapting to the COVID-19 world, ATDLE is meeting the desire for the lack of conferences by offering a 3-Part Saturday Series, titled “How Spanish Works!” ATDLE invited Silvia Duque de Reyes, a leading expert in Spanish literacy development, to lead the charge and help further dive into elements of the Spanish language. Silvia will be using the incredible resource book written by Velazquez Press authors Drs. Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campo, Palabra Amiga which you can purchase below through Velazquez Press. For more information about the event, we spoke with Rosa Molina in an interview below.
The Association of Two-Way & Dual Language Education-ATDLE, is a non-profit national organization (www.atdle.org) that promotes the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in all students, and highly committed to providing professional development sessions that are designed to advance the understanding of the language/s our Two-Way Bilingual Immersion & Dual Language Immersion (TWBI/DLI) teachers teach their students. For years on end, K-8th grade teachers have requested professional development in services and work sessions that support their instruction in the Spanish language with their students.
ATDLE became very interested in the book written by Drs. Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, Palabra Amiga, published by Velazquez Press in 2018, and it has become one of our most highly recommended resource books for TWBI/DLI programs. Most of our teachers, bilingual/biliterate in their own right, understand that the Spanish language is not a mere translation of English and that instruction in Spanish calls for serious and continued study of the language. They also know, firsthand, that the acquisition of a second language and development of literacy is both a fluid and multi-year process that requires formal instruction in the language. ATDLE is responding in kind by offering this series of workshops.
The trainings are presented as a Saturday Morning Series, once a month for August, September and October, and designed by grade level: K-2nd grade teachers for 90 minute sessions; followed by a 90 minute session for intermediate and middle school TWBI/DLI instructors. Each day will focus on another aspect of the language and prepare teachers with practical ideas on how to teach the various language structures to their students. A schedule of the three days is attached to this email.
We are focused on supporting both our TWBI/DLI teachers but know that teachers that are teaching in traditional Bilingual Programs with Spanish-speakers and Spanish for Native Speakers courses will greatly benefit from reviewing the elements of the Spanish language. The presenter is designing the three days to focus on specific aspects of the language and converting that understanding to instructional practices for the teachers.
I have attached Silvia Dorta Duque de Reyes’ bio and we are excited that we will be able to present Silvia to the network of TWBI/DLI and Bilingual programs in these sessions on How Spanish Works. We will be joining her on the “chat” and attempt to answer questions as she presents. We believe that this series of workshops will assist teachers as they prepare their lessons on the development of the Spanish language with their students!


Today’s Education in the media blog looks at the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results that were published yesterday and the Barnardo’s survey about young carers.
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
Yesterday, Tuesday 5 December, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) results were published. The figures looked at the reading ability of nine and ten-year-olds across 50 countries. England ranked joint eighth out of 50, a significant improvement following reforms to the primary school curriculum including the introduction of phonics.
The Times Red Box newsletter said the results show that the effects of phonics teaching are starting to be felt, adding: that “English primary schoolchildren have achieved the highest reading standards for a generation.” The Mail pointed out that the results will come as a surprise to some of those who have previously opposed phonics, including some union representatives.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:
Thanks to the hard work of teachers across the country, our increased emphasis on phonics and our continued focus on raising education standards, 154,000 more six-year-olds in England are reading better than ever before.
Today’s results show that we are building a Britain fit for the future, where every child is afforded the best start in life because of our education reforms.
Our rise up the global rankings is even more commendable because it has been driven by a rise in the number of low-performing pupils reading well. This demonstrates our determination to ensure this is a country that works for everyone, regardless of background.
Today, Wednesday, 6 December, Barnardo’s called for more support to be given to young people who also act as carers in school.
Young careers play a vital role in society and that’s why we support schools to identify pupils who are young carers and offer them appropriate support.
We have worked with the Children’s Society and the Carers Trust since 2011 to share good practice and address young carers’ needs. The Carers Trust continues to host many of these materials on its websites www.carershub.org and www.makingastepchange.info as part of its grant-funded work for the Department for Education.
We have also invested over £3 million in funding Carers Trust and The Children’s Society since 2011 and are encouraging schools to make links to their local young carer support group.
Children and Families Minister Robert Goodwill said:
We recognise the enormous contribution that young carers make and we know that schools play a very important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and offering them appropriate support.
We have worked with the Children’s Society and the Carers Trust since 2011 to share existing tools and good practice, supporting local authorities to work collaboratively with schools to better identify and support young carers and their families.
The joint Carers Trust and Children’s Society Young Carers in Schools Programme is important to help identify young carers among teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses to ensure that individuals get the support they need and are able to live a full life beyond their caring responsibilities.


We provide a bespoke, highly personalised curriculum for our students within which we can be very flexible and creative, adapting to pupil needs as well as the length of time they may spend with us.
At the heart of the curriculum is a core of PSHE and Citizenship which allows children to develop their skills through a meeting a series of challenges. Literacy and numeracy skills are embedded into this to give a sound practical foundation in functional Maths and English. Accreditation at Key Stage 2 is through the ASDAN Stepping Stones Award. For pupils attending Forest School we also run the John Muir Award which is a 4 part environmental award scheme for people of all backgrounds and ages designed to encourage people to connect with, enjoy, and care for wild places. This award is non-competitive and inclusive.
For older students (Key Stages 3 and 4) PSHE and Citizenship continue to underpin the curriculum but with increased depth and challenge. Accreditation where appropriate is through the Key Steps Awards at Key Stage 3 and at Key Stage 4 through a range of ASDAN short courses, which at the appropriate stage can in turn feed into qualifications that appear on the OfQual register such as the Award or Certificate of Personal Effectiveness. We will also be able to offer the Prince’s Trust Personal Development and Employability qualification at Entry Level through to Level 2 where this is suitable. Students also have access to a range of GCSE courses including English, Maths and Science.
Developing interpersonal and social skills is the key to our approach and is integrated into the timetable in the form of Nurture groups, Forest School, ASDAN Awards and other individual or small group activities. PSHE is combined with learning practical life skills such as shopping, cooking and using public transport to form the main strand of our core curriculum.
Our approach will be to teach basic functional mathematical skills based on Singapore Maths and to use as many practical applications as possible to embed understanding, for example cooking activities can be used to demonstrate the use of fractions and ratio. Those students with the capabilities will follow the national curriculum working towards GSCE Maths.
We will deliver guided reading, comprehension and writing sessions and will also use every opportunity to apply literacy to “real world” situations such as shopping and cooking. Each pupil is set individual learning targets according to their level and learning style. Those students with the capabilities will follow the national curriculum working towards GSCE English.
Our range of additional subjects and activities include the following:
• Sports: Football, Basketball, Badminton etc • Archery • Swimming • Indoor Climbing • Teambuilding, Role Play and Social games • Textiles, Arts and Crafts • Construction Skills • Forest School • Gardening • Cooking • Animal Care • Science


A child’s early experiences are critical in shaping how constructively they respond to future learning situations and beyond into their adult lives. At Prep Montessori International Kindergarten, early years learners are placed in a planned and structured learning environment where they can develop a wide range of foundational skills and positive attitudes towards learning, in readiness for elementary schooling.
The values and beliefs which serve as the foundation of Prep’s learning process are:
Education is a profound process. It is very important for every human being. Education changes lives. It improves lives. A quality education allows your child to lead a happy and prosperous life.
“Play is the Language of Kids”
Our Expected School – wide Learning Result:
“Independent Learner with a Love of Learning”
At Prep Montessori International Kindergarten, we make learning a happy and fruitful experience by:
– providing a safe, natural and enabling learning environment;
– recognizing the uniqueness of each child;
– offering opportunity for active learning through play and exploration;
– using a well-structured and creative curriculum taught using fun activities; &
– embracing child-centered and Montessori methods in early learning.


Support instructional practices that drive student achievement in mathematics
Meaningful shifts in instructional practice require the development of foundational knowledge, modeling of instructional skills, and ongoing feedback and support for teachers. Illustrative Mathematics (IM) offers a suite of Professional Learning Services that provide opportunities for educators to enhance and strengthen their instructional practice and improve learning outcomes for all students.
Support standards-aligned instruction
Provide teachers with the foundational skills and confidence to implement state, college, and career readiness mathematics standards.
Develop deep understanding of coherence
Ensure instructional coherence across lessons and within and across grade levels to provide students with learning experiences that are clear, meaningful, and motivating.
Demonstrate meaningful mathematics discussions
Build teachers’ skills in facilitating mathematics discussions that encourage students to think deeply and share their thinking.
Benefit from the experience of expert educators
Work with IM certified facilitators who have gone through a rigorous qualification process and attended intensive training to deliver impactful professional learning experiences.


Five and six year olds are responsible and full of initiative! Activities that promote active independent learning are staples in Our Juniors’ Schoolhouse Kindergarten programme. By the time our juniors are in Kindergarten 2, they are vocal, eager to learn and thrive on challenges. Busy are their days with activities that promote cooperative teamwork, explorative discoveries, and independent thinking – all acquired in fun and energetic ways!
Our Juniors’ curriculum is purposefully designed to ensure our children enter primary school capable, confident, and eager to take on new challenges. We utilise the best and most updated educational research, tools, and time-tested methods to effectively prepare them for the primary years. Aligned with the Ministry of Education’s mainstream primary school requirements, clearly identified learning outcomes develop in our juniors a strong academic foundation. More importantly, however, we believe in training our kindergarteners socially and emotionally to enjoy new challenges with social interaction and positive resilience. More than mere knowledge accumulation, they are taught to visualise and think discerningly even as they acquire language and numeracy skills, along with a global appreciation of the world through an effective bilingual programme enriched with culturally diverse experiences.
Click on the icons below to learn more about each stage of your child’s developmental journey with Our Juniors’ Schoolhouse.


During the Ottoman Empire madrasas (schools) were very common educational institutions. These madrasas were a continuation of the traditional Islamic madrasas, which were established to educate people on Islamic traditions. However, what many people do not know is the fact that there was something called the Enderun Mektebi, or the Palace School. And although the Enderun Mektebi was founded by Sultan Murad II in Istanbul, it was his son Mehmet II who extended and expanded the purpose and ideas of this special school.
Originally, this shool was designated for the education of Ottoman princes and people with important political positions. Afterwards it was also used to educate future administrators of the Empire. They were trained in order to become military leaders or high administrators.
The Enderun Mektebi was not like any other educational institution. This is not only because of the strict and complicated admission procedure. In fact, you could not apply for this school on your own. You had to be chosen by one of the scouts that were trained in the Empire’s European lands. Their task was to travel around the Empire and look for specific youngsters who fit into the desired profile description. This included an outstanding ability in school subjects, a great character and personality as well as a good physique. You also had to be between 10 and 20 years old and should not be an orphan or the only child in the family because of the important family values you are supposed to have. Moreover, there was something called the devşirme, a procedure where young Christian boys were first placed into a Muslim Turkish family in order to learn the Turkish language and customs and afterwards sent to the Palace School for education.
The curriculum consisted of various subjects that can be divided into five main divisions. The first one is the Islamic science division. This included subjects like Arabic, Persian and Turkish language, Islamic theology, the Quran and hadith. Under the division of positive sciences, they got subjects like mathematics and geography. They also got art, calligraphy and music education. The fourth one was all about the customs of the Palace and government issues. Lastly, they were trained in horsemanship, fencing, weaponry and archery. These last two divisions made the big difference with usual madrasas.
Amongst all of the students the best were selected as the iç oğlan, pages or inner palace boys of the Sultan. They stay at the Palace school for two or seven years before graduating and being sent to one of the chambers of the Sultan. Graduating was also possible if you were able to advance yourself in science or government. If you fail to do so, you will be assigned to military. However, all students were able to speak, write and read three languages, had at least a craft, knew about the latest scientific developments and had great combat skills after finishing their studies at the Enderun Mektebi.
The end of the Enderun Mektebi came with the Ottoman countercoup in 1909.


Reviewed by Sep 30, 2020| Updated on
A poverty trap is an economic condition created due to loss of capital. Due to the poverty trap, governments have to infuse capital to escape a condition of poverty. The economic condition of poverty trap also indicates difficulty in acquiring capital by individuals who need it, lack of adequate credit facilities and infrastructure.
Factors leading to the creation of a poverty trap include extreme legislations on the acquisition of land and other natural resources required for production. Also, including extreme legislations for obtaining environment clearances, lack of public utilities, public infrastructure, non-availability of credit facilities, social and political disturbances lack basic education facilities, and so on.
The government can fight a poverty trap by spending on social welfare measures, such as the provision of employment programmes, basic and elementary education programmes, and creation of public infrastructure and medical facilities at low or nil cost to the public. Other measures also include the provision of loan facilities at low-interest rates or without collateral security.
Provision of capital facilities enables individuals to come out of poverty, create self-employment, and a regular stream of income. Provision of capital, basic education, and infrastructure enables individuals to come out of poverty. Also, the provision of basic medical facilities helps in eradication of life-threatening diseases.
A research report by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in 2013 reveals that countries lacking basic medical facilities and health conditions remain poverty-ridden with low economic growth and per capita income. A similar case is seen in a country with less money and credit facilities.
Various developed countries in the world, including those part of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), actively provide financial aid to developing countries, participate in joint venture programmes for infrastructure development and industrial development.
The measures taken by the developed countries help developing countries progress and create a market for developed countries. The financial aids are provided in the form of loans, capital investments, business investments and so on.


Not many people know this, but the power of music training can prove to be all-encompassing, and it can have numerous cognitive benefits for anyone choosing to indulge in it. The cognitive benefits of music training can help you experience many major positive changes in your mind and body.
For many, music study is intrinsically rewarding, and music learning is an end in itself. However, active engagement with music has enduring cognitive benefits, such as concentration, memory, self-discipline, and confidence (Rentfrow & Levitin, 2019). The cognitive benefits of music education extend from early childhood to old age.
Here Are 5 Cognitive Benefits Of Music Training
Formal music practice involves several cognitively challenging elements (e.g., long periods of controlled attention, keeping musical passages in working memory). For example, a study showed that increased reliance upon sustained attention was attributed to boosts in working memory in persons over 60 who received piano training (six months) compared to those who did not receive piano training (Lesiuk et al., 2018).
Music training enhances impulse control. Impulse control is saying no to that third alcoholic drink or eating healthy foods even though the unhealthy ones are tempting. People high on a measure of self-control have better outcomes in various aspects of life (e.g., academic, coping skills, and meaningful relationships with others).
Evidence shows that musical training is a powerful intervention that could help children mature emotionally and intellectually. A research study (Fasano et al., 2019) showed that even an intense and brief period of orchestral music training (10 lessons over three months) had a positive impact on inhibitory control in school-age children.
Empathy enables people to recognize the emotional and mental states of others and to respond to these with appropriate emotions. During music listening and performance, we perceive the emotional and psychological content in music. Listening to music that contains reflective, thoughtful, and gentle attributes may increase empathy and improve reflective functioning (Greenberg et al., 2016).
Learning an instrument is one of the best ways to build one’s confidence, and high self-confidence is associated with a positive self-image. And when people’s self-esteem is enhanced, they are more likely to live a healthier lifestyle (Creech, 2019).


|Title:||Developmental Signatures, Core Values and Practices in Waldorf Education for Children ages 3 to 9 - eBook|
|Categories:||eBooks, Elementary School, Kindergarten, PreSchool, Birth to PreSchool, Play, About Anthroposophy, Early Childhood, Reading, Parenting, Speech, Writing, Inner Life of the Teacher, Social Skills, Movement, Arithmetic and Mathematics, Evaluation/Assessment, Child Development, General Waldorf Curriculum, General Waldorf Education|
Reiner Patzlaff, Wolfgang Sassmannhausen, et al.
|Number of pages:||159|
The developmental stages of childhood provide the bedrock for Waldorf education. Observation and study of the child through these stages yield an understanding of the needs of children which is then transformed into a rich and diverse curriculum. Translating these significant “signatures” into goals and standards set by state authorities has been a task of this book, thus the title Developmental Signatures.
The research completed by colleagues in Germany that provided the material for this study on early childhood can be seen in parallel to the recent study in North America concerning Waldorf graduates. Published by the Research Institute of North America, the Survey of Waldorf Graduates, Phase 2, strives to penetrate the results of the foundation set in the goals of this book. Together they should provide teachers, parents, and educators at all levels a window into this comprehensive education.
keywords: rhythm; nine year change; seven year rhythm; transition to first grade; early childhood learning; resilience; environment; repetition; teaching