How a Montana Tribe Is Growing Its Own Teachers
Rural districts often struggle to find and retain teachers. This can be even more difficult for tribal schools, which have some of the lowest test scores in the nation and enroll students who come from generations of poverty.
These challenges were detailed recently by a story in Slate about schools on Montana's Blackfeet reservation. The tribe has recently ramped up initiatives to train and employ more Native teachers in the hopes of hiring teachers who can better understand the lives of Native students and who are more likely to continue teaching in the community.
To expand the pool of potential educators, Blackfeet Community College recently partnered with the University of Montana to offer a four-year elementary education degree to students in the community college's two-year program. Students will earn their degree by taking online classes and in-person classes with visiting professors. The local school district also allows tribal members who have specific cultural and language knowledge to teach with a special license, and it recently started a language-immersion program to teach students the native Blackfeet language. That program will ultimately create more jobs for Blackfeet teachers.
A 2011 report in the Journal of Indigenous Research found that high-quality Native teachers are needed in tribal schools, and "many reservation schools continue to hire temporary and sometimes poorly prepared teachers to fill in the gaps" due to a lack of American Indian teachers. Native teachers account for less than 1 percent of the teachers enrolled in teacher preparation programs, even though 1.3 percent of the nation's K-12 students identify as Native students.
Nationwide, several colleges and universities have ramped up efforts to recruit and train more Native teachers. In 2014, Oregon's Portland State University received $1.2 million in federal money to recruit American Indian students to its teacher-preparation program. In Wisconsin, the Menominee Indian school district in Wisconsin has worked with the College of Menominee Nation to increase the percentage of Native teachers from 20 percent to 35 percent over the past decade. Officials say that has led to promising results—the district's graduation rate has increased from 60 percent to more than 95 percent since 2008.


Heartland Head Start’s approach to School Readiness means that children are ready for school, families are ready to support their children's learning, and schools are ready for children. Heartland Head Start views school readiness as children possessing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for later learning and life.
Historically, Head Start often has led the early childhood field with a strong, clear, and comprehensive focus on all aspects of healthy development, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, all of which are essential to children getting ready for school.
All Head Starts are required to establish school readiness goals which are defined as "the expectations of children's status and progress across domains of language and literacy development, cognition and general knowledge, approaches to learning, physical health and well-being and motor development, and social and emotional development that will improve readiness for kindergarten goals" and that "appropriately reflect the ages of children, birth to five, participating in the program" (45 CFR Chapter XIII Head Start Regulation Part 1307.2 and 1307.3 (b)(1)(i), as amended).
For parents and families, school readiness means they are engaged in the long-term, lifelong success of their child. Head Start recognizes that parents are their children's primary teachers and advocates. Programs are required to consult with parents in establishing school readiness goals (45 CFR 1307.3 (b) (1) (iii), as amended). As Head Start programs and schools work together to promote school readiness and to engage families as their children make the transition to kindergarten, schools will be ready for children.


With this rigorous and engaging resource your children will know their color words in no time!!
When a child is able to identify and spell their color words they are well on their way to becoming a thriving reader and writer. I have developed simple poems that teach color words. These poems promote vocabulary development, concepts of print and oral language while increasing student achievement in reading and writing. In addition each poem contains common nouns of that specific color that will help increase vocabulary knowledge. Before you know it your students will be reading and writing sentences using color words.
Color words included: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, pink, gray, white, purple, black, and brown. Color Words Made Simple has a total of 11 poems that teach all color words. Each color word has a poem, a handwriting sheet, and a little book with 5-6 sentences that reinforce each color word. This can be used as a supplement to any curriculum. These poems are a classroom favorite and your students will love them. I also have Sight Word Poems available. Below you will see that Color Words Made Simple is aligned with the following CCSS. In addition, my product Color Words Comprehension is a great extension activity that you can use with the students. Thank you in advance for your purchase and positive feedback! Please visit my store for more instructional resources that will surely enrich your learning environment!
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Your Partner in Education,
Dr. Mia's Learning Lab
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy Standards
Reading Foundational Skills (Print Concept)
Reading Foundational Skills (Phonics & Word Recognition)
Reading Foundational Skills (Fluency)
Language (Conventions of Standard English)


The Development and
Music Learning Theory
Edited by Maria Runfola and Cynthia Crump Taggart
with a Foreword by Edwin E. Gordon
“How do children learn when they learn music?” For nearly fifty years Edwin E. Gordon has been searching for the answers to this question using his groundbreaking research-based Music Learning Theory.
In The Development and Practical Application of Music Learning Theory, 31 authors, all experts in their fields, take up the challenge raised by Gordon—to continually improve classroom music instruction in truly practical ways.
Some of the questions addressed include:
- How can Music Learning Theory and Orff Schulwerk be combined in the general music classroom for maximum learning?
- Why are healthy singing techniques so important when introducing Gordon’s solfege system?
- How can Music Learning Theory be applied to beginning senior citizen musicians?
- In what ways can a better understanding of rhythm and sight-singing methods improve even college-level aural skills and theory instruction?
- What does world music offer proponents of Music Learning Theory?
The four main sections are Early Childhood, Elementary, General, and Choral Applications; Instrumental Applications; Higher Education Applications; and Current Trends in Implementation. This clear organization allows teachers to quickly jump to the section that interests them most, making effective use of their already limited time.
Readers are encouraged to tailor Music Learning Theory tailored to their classrooms’ needs. The editors write, “Music Learning Theory will always be a work in progress, developing through the learning that takes place as excellent practitioners use its principles in their teaching.”
The Development and Practical Application of Music Learning Theory is a must for anyone interested in further exploring how children learn music and what the implications are for day-to-day classroom instruction.
Maria Runfola is Department Chair and Associate Professor for the Graduate School of Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She earned her PhD in Music Education from the University at Buffalo. Her professional and research interests include measurement and evaluation in music, music aptitude, assessment in the arts, and early childhood arts education.
Cynthia Crump Taggart is an Associate Professor of Music Education at Michigan State University School of Music where she also directs and teaches in the Early Childhood Music and Young Musicians Program of the MSU Community Music School. Prior to coming to Michigan State, she taught at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She holds a bachelor of music and master of music from the University of Michigan and a PhD from Temple University.
Co-authors: Christopher D. Azzara, Eric Bluestine, Suzanne L. Burton, Richard M. Cangro, Kilissa M. Cissoko, Susan Wharton Conkling, Colleen Conway, Bruce Dalby, Elisabeth A. Etopio, Edwin E. Gordon, Richard F. Grunow, Denise Guilbault, Warren Henry, Kristin Slocum Kreiss, Diane M. Lange, Nadine C. McDermott, Herbert D. Marshall, Michael E. Martin, Elaine Alba Mitchell, Michael Norman, Alison Reynolds, Sheryl Iott Richardson, Helena Rodrigues, Debbie Rohwer, Joanne Rutkowski, M. Christina Schneider, Janet Smith, Lelouda Stamou, Bruce Taggart, Cynthia Crump Taggart, Kenneth R. Trapp, and Wendy Hicks Valerio.View - The Development and Practical Application of Music Learning Theory Table of Contents


– Tranquility is invited with a Smile and a long, slow, deep breath (shamatha).
– Tip of the Nose is the first step toward unwavering steadfastness in meditation. For the beginner practitioner, putting the attention on the tip of the nose starts the training of meditative focus.
– Flow invites our senses to do what they do: sense, feel, experience, delight, and report. This introduces the qualities of vipassana. How so? Vipassana is clear perception, a use of the senses together with logic and the reasoning capacity of mind. The senses are used to gather a wide variety of information. With that, the practitioner can begin the deductive process of ascertaining what brings benefit, what induces stability, what is light and how many different ways can it be experienced? Each of these questions (and many more) leads the meditator deeper into the sensations, the qualities being experienced, and thus into the experience itself. Direct experience is the best teacher for a human being, whether that is about the taste of a strawberry, the qualities of fire, or the nature of Awareness and Reality. The step “Flow” is pivotal in all of the above and more.
Additionally, there is flow itself. Flow is the experience of ease, coming and going expressing through the breath but describing the impermanence and changeable nature (the coming and going) of everything. Thus Flow trains the practitioner in how to dance with the natural arisings that occur within a meditation session as well as in life.
– Soften and Open begins to blend the two skills of tranquil abiding – shamatha and clear perceiving – vipassana, long before they are skills and before the beginning practitioner can actually hold a state of concentration. Nonetheless, the incremental training of The Practice through its steps brings forward the refined capacities of mind-Awareness and states of well-being through using the qualities represented by Samantabhadri (she) and Samantabhadra (he).
The rest of the steps continue as this, enhancing these foundational skills in meditation practice, and helping the meditator integrate the benefits of shamatha and vipassana into everyday life.


We’ve previously discussed the emergence and salience of digital media in the classroom, and iPads are no exception with its increasing accessibility, versatility and effectiveness as a classroom resource. In the article ‘iPads and Kindergarten – students’ literacy development‘, Jones (2012) highlights the benefits of integrating iPads to develop literacy as well as technical capabilities in young students. With the myriad of educational applications and games available, iPads have been shown to significantly increase engagement levels as the learning shifts from the teacher to a student-centred practice, becoming a “powerful medium for meaning-making” in a play-based context (Jones, 2012, pp.36-37).
Many aspects of literacy development can be targeted with iPad applications, including better understanding the narrative structure and features such as settings, characters, dialogue and plot development. This enables students to create their own texts, summarise and retell texts already seen, and reflect on their own learning through playback of any composed stories and videos (Jones, 2012, pp.36-37). Furthermore, adding layers of interactivity, communication and discussion to how picture books and stories are traditionally studied enables the teacher to provide more scaffolding and ongoing tracking and planning in order to meet different student learning needs (Jones, 2012, p.36).
PlaySchool Art Maker app
The PlaySchool Art Maker app is a wonderful tool to encourage oral and visual literacy in the classroom. By selecting characters and backgrounds, students are able to record short stories, creating dialogue and basic movements to bring their story to life.
A key aspect of literacy that can be developed is creating dialogue between characters, where students can consider the context and setting, the characters chosen and what they are doing, thinking, feeling, and saying – and how this translates to actual dialogue in story-telling. Teachers can model how to construct call-and-response dialogue by discussing with students what personality their characters have and their relationship to other characters, and how this can be portrayed using words, tone and expression to drive the story forward. Furthermore, students are able to develop technical capabilities by familiarising themselves with the different functions of the application – drag & drop, matching, recording and playback functions can all be driven by the students.
Puppet Pals: App Review
Puppet Pals is another educational app for creating digital stories. Users can choose a number of characters and backdrops for scene changes, as if composing a stage play. The app is set up like a stage with puppets, and users can opt for a full view to see onstage and backstage, or close-up view of the stage only. Users can then record their plays – dragging characters to create movement and voiceovers for character speech – and play back as a movie.
The app required some navigation to understand all the features, particularly how to change the backdrops, so it is recommended that teachers explicitly show features and how to use the app to students. While the backdrop changes are great for story progression and consideration of settings and context, there is a restricted number of characters, with more variety available through in-app purchases. Character scaling is also an issue for grasping spatial perspective, as an example squirrels were the same size as people!
The coolest feature that was found was the ability to upload your own photos of characters and backdrops – the opportunities for this in the classroom is endless! Students can use themselves, each other, scenes around school or the home to create genuine, personal and relevant stories. The use of the microphone to narrate and record their own voice also adds to the creative potential. Finally, the different views of onstage and backstage can be used as a great planning tool for script writing, where students can consider stage directions and take a macro view of producing a play.
Jones, M. (2012), ipads and kindergarten- students literacy development, SCAN, 31(4), 31-40.


The role and significance of music in modern society are in constant transformation. Who values each of the myriad styles and genres of music today, as reflected in their creation and consumption? Who composes, performs, and produces them, and who attends concerts, buys recordings, and studies them? How do the styles cross-pollinate, consciously or not? How does popular culture and media impact music of all kinds? The following quotations provide some provoking ideas:
“It’s not that culture has abandoned classical music. It’s that classical music has abandoned culture. Music must adapt to changes in the culture—not to expect culture to remain static. Music education is not the cause—or the solution.” Greg Sandow
“A love of classical music is only partially a natural response to hearing the works performed. It also must come about by a decision to listen carefully, to pay close attention, a decision inevitably motivated by the cultural and social prestige of the art.” Charles Rosen
“I venture to credit myself with truly new music which, being based on tradition, is destined to become tradition.” Schoenberg
“If I can write the songs of the nation, I don’t care who writes the laws.” Plato
Music in 21st –Century Society is a series of talks and debates by major cultural figures addressing the changing consumption, creation, contexts, and valuations of today’s music. They are presented in midtown Manhattan by the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (Fifth Avenue @ 34th Street).
The series is curated by Antoni Pizà.


At Crays Hill Primary School we teach "Big Maths" to help support our children with essential numeracy skills.
Each lesson in maths is built up of a Big Maths CLIC session (counting, learn its, its nothing new and calculation) as well as other aspects of the national curriculum.
On a Friday, all the children take part in a Beat That! challenge where the children are timed to see how many number facts they can do mentally in a set amount of time.
In Foundation stage, children are taught "Little Big Maths" which makes maths progress in Early Years easy and fun for children to access.
Little Big Maths and Big Maths all follow progress drives which allow the children to see how they are progressing with their numeracy and what they need to do next.
For more information on Big Maths or Little Big Maths please see their website;
Little Big Maths - http://www.andrelleducation.com/little-big-maths
Big Maths - http://www.andrelleducation.com/big-maths


Amazing around the world
Interested in learning more? Below are some of our favorite articles, movies and more from other experts and advocates on the topic of early childhood development.
How parenting has changed in a digital world, Mashable.com
Read about how parenting is different in a digitally-connected world, plus tips for appropriately incorporating technology into family time from Children’s Minnesota’s own Dr. Mike Troy.
Thirty Million Words, public initiative/program
Learn about the “Three T’s” – tune in, talk more and take turns – on ThirtyMillionWords.org, an Illinois-based education effort for parents to help build young brains with words.
Listen to Dr. Dana Suskind from the University of Chicago discuss the Thirty Million Words initiative on NPR, including the word gap, the 0-to-3 age period, socioeconomic factors and the “Three T’s.”
Talk With Me Baby, public initiative/program
Visit TalkWithMeBaby.org, an education program for parents to learn why talking, reading and singing with your baby every day can make a big difference in their first three years of life.
Read about how health officials and care providers in Georgia are linking early childhood development to the overall well-being of the state. The Atlantic explains the Talk with Me Baby initiative and its effect on public health.
Healthy Children Radio: Reading aloud to infants, American Academy of Pediatrics
Hear what Dr. Pamela High from Hasbro Children’s Hospital has to say about early childhood literacy development on the Healthy Children show on RadioMD, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Some Spanish-speaking families in Minneapolis are participating in early childhood education classes to build their communications skills with their young children. Read more about unique programs like these and how they are helping to close the word gap in Minnesota on MinnPost.com.
10 reasons play makes babies smarter, Parents.com
Read about most importance benefits of play and learn some new playtime tips and tricks at Parents.com.
Caution! Caution! Children at play! American Academy of Pediatrics
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents should regularly schedule time to play with their kids. Read more about the importance of play on healthychildren.org.
Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that turning off the TV may make it easier for your toddler to learn new words. Listen to NPR to learn how background noise can affect your child’s learning abilities.
The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages passive screen time for kids, especially babies under age two. Listen to NPR to learn more about the difference between passive and active screen time.
Visit PBS.org for tips on introducing your child to handheld wireless devices like smartphones or tablets.
Parents today often work via their mobile phones while spending time with their children. Check out UNICEF’s new public service announcement and learn how to use the PlayTimer app.
Pioneering new film “The Beginning of Life” to be released across global streaming and multimedia platforms, UNICEF
The Beginning of Life documents the early lives of children and their families from several different cultural, ethnic and social backgrounds. Visit UNICEF’s website to watch the trailer or download the video.
Listen to psychologists Roberta Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek on NPR, discussing the “6 C’s” of early childhood development – collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence.
Secret Life of Babies, PBS series
Watch the Secret Life of Babies series on PBS.org that documents the early development of children, starting with newborns and following their growth as they become toddlers.


Formal learning takes place in education and training institutions, is recognised by relevant national authorities, and leads to diplomas and qualifications.
Non-formal learning is learning that has been acquired in addition or alternatively to formal learning. In some cases, it is also structured according to educational and training arrangements, but more flexible. It usually takes place in community-based settings, the workplace and through the activities of civil society organisations.
Informal learning is learning that occurs in daily life, in the family, in the workplace, in communities and through the interests and activities of individuals… In some cases, the term ‘experiential learning’ is used to refer to informal learning (UNESCO, 2012).
Non-formal learning is often broken down for policy purposes into two subsets: learning for life and learning for work. The term ‘pre-accredited’ is sometimes used to distinguish vocationally focussed pathway programs, which attract government support, from other non-formal learning programs.
There is a significant body of research that has identified non-formal community-based learning as a useful means of engaging learners with poor literacy and numeracy skills, and / or poor experiences of schooling, and / or a lack of confidence in their ability to learn in a formal setting, and of setting them on a pathway into employment.
Examples of community-based non-formal learning might include:
- short classes held at a neighbourhood house,
- mentoring schemes,
- learning circles,
- volunteer induction and training, and
- U3A groups.
Examples of informal community-based learning might include learning through:
- community men’s sheds,
- community-based committees and working groups,
- public libraries,
- community arts programs,
- community history museums, and
- social activism.
Adult literacy and learning
A strong body of research suggests that the most effective way for adults to develop their literacy and numeracy skills is by applying them in context for particular purposes.
Community-based informal learning, where adults master texts in order to, for example, take minutes at a community meeting, manage the finances for a netball club, measure out a woodwork project in a men’s shed or take a child through story time at the local library, is an effective way to develop literacy. Non-formal learning, where adults work in small groups or individually is similarly supported by the research.
The proliferation of internet-based new technologies and the speed at which they change has made ongoing informal and non-formal learning a necessity. There is a strong and growing correspondence between social inclusion and digital literacy.
Despite its obvious benefits for disadvantaged learners, the vast majority of non-formal adult learning is offered through the workplace in the form of professional development or on a fee for service basis in the community. As a result it is more likely to be accessed by:
- full time workers over part time workers and the unemployed,
- adults with a higher level qualifications over those with a lower level qualifications or no qualifications,
- those working in large companies over those in small and medium enterprises.
Non-formal personal interest learning is also more than twice as likely to be accessed by people living in areas of relatively high socio-economic status than people in areas of disadvantage.


Lodge Primary School Curriculum Statement
At Lodge, we encourage our pupils to share and value others because of their uniqueness, whilst celebrating and appreciating difference in our school community. Our children are encouraged to be active, responsible thinkers who care about each other and all members of our society. Through our curriculum, they are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and be active, fully engaged children with a lifelong love of learning.
Our curriculum has been designed to address all of the key components that underpin an understanding of British Values.
The PSHE coverage includes an understanding of the law, individual liberty and related responsibilities, acceptance and tolerance resulting in mutual respect and a deeper understanding of diversity and how this impacts society for the greater good. We teach and foster a culture of tolerance and acceptance in all aspects of school life but specifically through RE and collective worship.
We examine democracy and encourage the pupils to articulate their views and beliefs through debate and discussion using our school council model as a vehicle. We promote a programme of self-awareness and responsibility. We expose pupils to a wide range of social and cultural events that are celebrated by our diverse communities in Sandwell. Lodge is a positive learning environment where all members of our community are valued.
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 1 Summer 2017)
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 2 Summer 2017)
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 3 Summer 2017)
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 4 Summer 2017)
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 5 Summer 2017)
Curriculum Newsletters (Year 6 Summer 2017)
Curriculum (Reception Summer 2017)


“Social learning” is about more than using social media to support collaboration and learning. It goes beyond how people use Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and other media, to consider how your organizational learning strategy can leverage the technology infrastructure to support behavioral change.
In this article, Bill Brandon takes the theory of social learning, as developed by renowned social psychologist Albert Bandura, and explores how we can leverage it to support elearning.
New evidence has been accumulating rapidly in recent years about how much a social aspect influences elearning’s effectiveness. Not only do students engage more with the content when there is a social element, but they remember more and are better able to apply it exogenous situations. And, as Brandon stresses, sociality is not just achieved through scoreboards or social media; humans learn by observation as much as, and sometimes even more than, by behavioral reinforcement. If your sister gets grounded for missing curfew, you learn not to miss curfew yourself—you don’t need to be grounded yourself.
Older students’ elearning success is aided by use of discussion boards, scoreboards, cooperative gameplay, and even player versus player gameplay. Most younger students lack the foundational skills (reading, writing fluently, sportsmanship) to enter afresh into these modules and benefit from a positive interaction. There are, however, ways to get around this. I am reminded of Kathy Cassidy and her class blog. I am also intrigued by possible co-op opportunities or social notifications when peers’ perform especially well. There are many possibilities here, and we want to build the best product we can, we can’t ignore them.


The Pre-Preparatory Phase (Grades 000-0)
The Pre-Preparatory Phase introduces children to fundamental concepts that are central to successful learning in a secure and relaxed environment.
Class sizes vary according to grade, and range from approximately 16 to 20 children per class. In our play rich environment, children use their senses to discover new things and learn the many lessons they will need before formal education begins in Grade 1.
Our programme allows children to develop their creativity, enhance their communication skills and acquire social interaction abilities through play. It is at this developmental stage that children learn about themselves. The perceptual skills that form the foundation for further learning are developed in our carefully structured programme, which includes baking, climbing, running, construction, creating, singing, dancing and communicating. Literacy and numeracy skills are developed gradually using carefully structured programmes that progressively nurture self-confidence.
Our colourful classrooms are alive with the chatter of happy, busy children. We believe that we develop children who are physically, emotionally, spiritually and cognitively ready to face the challenges that lie ahead.
A visit to the Pre-Preparatory facility will allow prospective parents to see the qualitative difference between child-care and child minding, and provide a clear understanding of the importance of formal education in this age group.


Play has an important role in children’s activities. It happens at home, in school and in many other indoor and outdoor places. Physical contexts, artefacts and materials have a big influence on the way how children are enabled and encouraged in their play activities, especially in outdoor playgrounds. Designers and educators focus on formal and visual aspects of the playground, neglecting the potential of sound. Although sonic activities are common everyday phenomena in playgrounds and take an important role in children’s development, there is a lack of knowledge how to design sound for urban playgrounds. With the interdisciplinary project Sonic Playground we would like to change this situation by developing methods, tools and guidelines which will emphasise the role of sonic interactions on urban playgrounds.
We argue that a joint effort of design and pedagogy is needed to achieve this goal. We want to explore the roles of sound in play activities thereby contributing to provisions to increase sonic competence of children as sonically aware citizens. The Sonic Playground project involves all parties responsible for enabling sonic playful learning, being it parents, caretakers, city authorities, urban planners and playground designers.
Thus, in order to approach the development of principles, methods and tools, we propose to follow a participatory research through design approach complemented with ethnographic research and expert reviews. The expected outcomes of the project are:
Integrated design and pedagogy epistemologies and methods
A series of case studies bringing interactive sound to playgrounds
A conceptual framework for design and pedagogy of interactive sonic playgrounds.
With this, we aim to set foundation for design and research of sonic playgrounds.
We have conducted a pilot study at the Bauspielplatz in Zürich Affoltern and are currently avaiting for results regarding funding from Swiss National Foundation.
Team: Daniel Hug, Moritz Kemper and Karmen Franinovic
Partners: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School for Teacher Education (PH FHNW): Chair for Music Education and Chair for Teaching Development at Pre-Primary and Primary School Level (in cooperation with 'Lernwerkstatt Spiel')


Staff members at Fresenius Medical Care clinics in Argentina know that when a patient says “I’ll read it later – I forgot my glasses,” it may be more than mere forgetfulness: The patient may be trying to conceal an inability to read and write.
Despite Argentina’s high overall literacy rate, a third of Fresenius Medical Care’s patients in the country do not have a primary school diploma. This results directly in a high rate of functional illiteracy.
Whether it was poverty, growing up in a remote rural area at a time when regular school attendance was not possible for many children, or some other cause, the reasons for lacking a basic education are many. The serious life-long problems that illiteracy causes, however, are clear: significantly reduced enjoyment of life and a much higher chance of being poor. And from the perspective of Fresenius Medical Care’s work, a patient’s inability to read can have seriously negative consequences for their compliance with the treatment regime.
Yet having these patients coming regularly to the same location, where they will required to sit largely immobile for four hours, free from outside distractions, also represents an opportunity to help.
This opportunity is one that Fresenius Medical Care started using in 2008 by working with government to open a “school” for patients in a company dialysis clinic. In cooperation with the education ministries of several provinces, 18 of these schools are now operating in Fresenius Medical Care clinics in Argentina, each staffed by teachers specializing in adult education. Sixteen of the schools teach a general primary school curriculum with a heavy emphasis on reading and writing (five of them also offer secondary school courses), while two teach basic computer skills.
Some 500 patients are currently taking part in this public-private initiative, with 53 already having received a primary school diploma. The students are equally divided between men and women. More than 85 percent of them are at least 40 years of age.
The schooling makes participating patients feel they are making more productive use of the many hours being spent in dialysis. They say they can now understand the literature about their therapy and better follow written instructions dealing with such things as diet. But beyond even these hugely important practical benefits, the clinic staff has noticed something else about the patients who have taken part: they feel more socially involved as a result.
“My family is delighted – my son helps me with my homework,” said one patient. Another patient at the clinic in San Justo said: “It is something I always wanted, but it seemed far away from my possibilities.”
With company and education officials delighted at the success of the program, Fresenius Medical Care hopes to expand it into additional clinics in coming years, to help even more patients. Due to the growing number of patients who have now graduated primary school, the focus on secondary education will be increased, and the potential for more specific career-oriented training is also being explored.
“We are aware that educational deficits in dialysis patients can be a problem in other latitudes as well,” said Gabriela Cannatelli, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care Argentina. “This solution – providing a learning environment – has broadened our perspective of opportunities to respond to patient’s needs, and improve their quality of life.”


In writing this practical book, Ronit Bird has drawn on her teaching and training experience to create teaching plans for key numeracy topics, aimed at those working with students aged 9-16.
She provides detailed strategies for teaching numeracy skills through a progression of practical activities and visualisation techniques which build the self-esteem of students who need extra help and give them a basic foundation in number. While the plans cover the National Numeracy Strategy, they can also be used in any setting where maths is being taught.
Topics covered include:
- games and puzzles for learning number components
- reasoning strategies
A bank of accompanying resources, games, activities and Su-Doku puzzles is available on the CD included with this book.
This is an ideal resource for both class teachers and maths subject teachers, , and is equally useful for teaching assistants and learning support assistants
More than 50 Ideas to help pupils stop counting in ones
Pre-skills for learning the bridging technique
Bridging through 10
Bridging through multiples of 10
Pre-skills for the area model of multiplication & division
The area model of multiplication & division
Making the transition to written short and long multiplication
Making the transition to written short and long division
List of suggestions for further reading
Appendices and resources
'I have tried some of the activities with pairs in a whole class situation and they work very well, particularly with children struggling to remember facts through traditional methods (that are not always particularly successful with many) or with younger children learning to count and memorize number facts for the first time'
- Mike Eatwell, Deputy Headteacher, Bristol
'The best part of the book for me is the range of resources in the appendices and the discussion of classroom activities. I like the way the activities are tightly focused on the four operations and yet have a wide variety of approaches e.g. Suduko, Connect 4 etc.' -
Claire Creason, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education, Edge Hill University
'She really knows what she is talking about when it comes to maths and dyscalculia and can provide the right type games and help for both teachers and parents. This is fast becoming my maths bible in my work with pupils who are struggling with maths' - Amazon Review
'The beauty of this book is that it provides so many well-sequenced activities in one easy-to-use resource... would be a valuable addition to the shelves of both the numeracy co-ordinator of a primary school and the secondary mathematics department a most useful resource for those involved with the recently launched One to One Tuition Programme' Support for Learning 'Ronit Bird is one of the most skilled and experienced teachers of learners suffering from dyscalculia. Her approach is based on years of reflective practice but also a deep understanding of the roots of numerical difficulties and disabilities. She stresses the importance of starting with concrete and manipulable materials before moving on to more symbolic materials. Her teaching scheme building systematically on the basis of the learner's current understanding, rather than on mechanical measures of performance. This seems to me of fundamental importance. Overcoming Difficulties with Number provides a wealth of numerical activities and games, taking the most effective from a range of sources, including Cuisenaire rods and domino patterns for the earliest stages where learners are still counting in ones. As learners progress, clear methods for reasoning about more complex numbers are introduced. She provides very lucid methods for areas where many children, not just dyscalculics, have great difficulty, such as solving 5 ¢ x 1 ¢ or (x+1)(x+3) using grids. I highly recommend this book for teachers and teaching assistants who deal with children who have number troubles, but I also believe that most teachers of early maths will find much that is helpful with all learners' -
Professor Brian Butterworth, University College London
Athor: Ronit Bird Pub 2009 UK Pb 154 pages


The Arts Curriculum
At Hungerford Primary Academy, we believe that art gives us unlimited opportunities to further stimulate creativity and imagination in children. Through the disciplines of drawing, painting, designing and making, our children will acquire important communication and making skills that significantly contribute to their learning in other areas of the primary school curriculum.
Aims and Scope
- To introduce children to a wide range of tools and techniques to enable them to record from observation, experience and imagination.
- To provide children with a variety of starting points for their own work.
- To improve children’s awareness of visual and tactile elements of art and design, and to develop their understanding of: Line, Shape, Colour, Form, Texture and Pattern.
- To teach children about the differences and similarities of: Artists, Designers and Craftmakers from different cultures and time periods.
- The ability to reflect on, analyse and critically evaluate their own work and that of others.
At Hungerford, we understand that music is a unique form of communication that can influence the way pupils feel, think and act, and enables personal expression. The teaching of music can aid in developing pupils’ ability to appreciate a variety of music and make judgements about musical quality. It encourages active involvement in different forms of music making, both individually and in groups, developing a sense of group identity.
Aims and Scope
- To develop a rapidly widening repertoire which children use to create original, imaginative, fluent and distinctive composing and performance work.
- To enable a very good awareness and appreciation of different musical traditions and genres.
- To participate with enjoyment in the activities of: Performing, Composing, Listening and Appraising.
- To develop an understanding of: Pitch, Duration, Dynamics, Tempo, Timbre and Texture.
The Arts are regularly taught by the class teacher in accordance with the Primary National Curriculum through whole class, group and individual activities. Music is taught alongside the Charanga Music Programme, using their flexible and entertaining scheme of work.
We recognise the importance of providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils to achieve within The Arts. We aim to set suitable learning challenges, respond to pupil's diverse learning needs and overcome potential barriers to learning for individuals and groups of pupils in accordance with Hungerford Primary Academy's inclusion policy.


- A study in 2002 by the Arts Education Partnership states that " children exposed to drama, music, art and dance are often more proficient at reading, writing and math".
-The 2006 Guggenheim Museum Study showed a link between Art education and imporved literary skills.
-In 2009 The Center for Arts Education published a report suggesting art education may improve graduation rates.
- Johns Hopskins researchers studies show that sustained arts education is can be essential part of social and intellectual development.
To read more studies click here:
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ART EDUCATION?
-increases hand-eye coordination
- develops problem solving skills
- learn about how colors work together (good for all careers in the art field!)
- learn about art history,
as well as geography and art from other cultures
- young children learn words and colors, and shapes, increases their fine motor skills
- helps to calm the brain, and turn on the Right Side of the brain
- studies have shown a correlation between art and academic achievement.
Mini Monet Art Studio
64 Railroad Avenue
Sayville NY 11782


Q: USA Hockey recommends practicing body-checking at 12U, but do you have any recommendations for how to teach it?
A: Hockey is a progression of skills. Body-checking is an important hockey skill, and for most, the technique takes many years to master. Exposing young players to a body-checking clinic is a positive start to this progression, but there's more. It’s crucial for players to have confidence, stability and the ability to navigate through physical contact in order to excel at higher levels of play. There are many ways you can help them gain that confidence, stability and ability.
Players must first have a clear understanding of the purpose of a body-check and how to apply it in today’s game. Players also need to understand which are the risky areas on the ice and also the concept of “heads-up, don’t duck.” These are mental lessons that you can and should begin teaching long before 12U hockey.
When it comes to the purpose of body-checking, the key is to separate an opponent from the puck. There are several key components that comprise proper body contact: body position, angling, timing, gap control, stick-on-stick. These are things that players must continue to practice at all levels. Just like any other skill, players must continually work on their motor skills and technique to refine their body-checking abilities.
Proper body-contact isn’t a difficult thing to teach, and the benefits of practicing it are many. Start by implementing basic technique drills.
- Stationary stability drills, on ice or dry land, are a great way to begin.
- Good body position is the foundation of proper body contact. Focus on teaching players to position themselves with flexion in the ankles, knees bent, hips down, chest up and head up. These will be your focus points while teaching the art of giving or receiving a check. Being stable and strong on the ice will contribute to enhanced confidence and performance for players.
- An important early teaching point when practicing body contact is to promote the phrase "close and slow.” The idea is to avoid high-impact, high-speed collisions in these drills.
- After some stationary stability drills, you may want to introduce angling drills at a slower pace, on or off the ice. Emphasize that the “checkers” should:
- always maintain a stick-to-puck defensive posture.
- take away the opposing player’s hands.
- accelerate through contact.
- Puck protection 1-v-1 drills are also a great way to practice utilizing the body to gain possession.
- Additional elements that should be included in body-contact training: puck retrieval, ice awareness (including risky locations) and how to receive a check.
- As players’ body-contact skills improve, remember to implement drills that create time-and-space situations that teach anticipation and game sense. Proper “gap” – the distance between an offensive and defensive player – should be a point of emphasis. Promoting “good gap” will help defensive players be more effective and force offensive players to find ways to defeat “good gap.” Defensively, tracking and closing on the puck carrier should also be a part of the teaching and emphasis in these drills. Proper angles, timing and comparable speed are the key teaching points. When possible, checkers should look to take ice away from the opponent and use proper angling to squeeze them out of the play. This should be done under control and at a comparable speed to the attacking player, thereby increasing the checker’s chances of separating the opponent from the puck with proper (legal) and strategically effective body contact.
Nobody wants to see injuries in our game. Teaching the foundational skills of proper body contact in a controlled environment, while providing positive feedback, dramatically reduces the chances of injury while also assisting in skill acquisition. Ultimately, it creates better hockey players.
We strongly recommend implementing drills that teach proper body contact in a controlled, fun way while elevating the compete level.


Looking for some great picture books for teaching students to ask questions? In this post, I’m sharing 5 of my favorites!
Picture Credit: SergiyN, Shutterstock
Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this post.
1. A Chicken Followed Me Home! (Robin Page
This nonfiction book is set up in a question-and-answer format. Before you read the book with students, you can have them brainstorm some of their own questions about chickens, and read to see if their questions are answered.
2. The Arrival (Shaun Tan)
This is a wordless graphic novel that tells the story of a man who immigrates to a new country without his family. Because there are no words, much of the story is left up to the reader’s imagination. This lends itself nicely to kids asking questions about what is happening, why things are happening, etc. Make sure to model a few of your own questions as you begin the story, so that students can come up with their own questions as time goes on.
3. The Tea Party in the Woods (Miyakoshi)
This text is great for teaching kids to ask questions because it’s full of mysteries! A little girl goes to find her father for a tea party in the woods. She comes across a strange house, as well as some animals that are having their own tea party. The ending is mysterious, as well! Model asking questions a couple of times as you begin reading the book, and then have your students chime in with their own questions throughout the rest of the text.
4. Plant Secrets (Emily Goodman)
Plant Secrets is a nonfiction book that uses suspense to keep the readers interested. The author tells us that seeds have a secret….that plants have a secret…that flowers have a secret….and so on. The book naturally lends itself to encouraging kids to ask questions about what these “secrets” are!
5. The Most Magnificent Thing (Ashley Spires)
This story is about a little girl who is working hard on an invention! Throughout the text, the reader wonders exactly what she’s building. The pictures will inspire lots of questions from your students! Throughout the story, they can ask questions about what this mysterious invention might be.
Do you have any other suggestions for picture books that teach inferring? Please leave a comment below!
If you’re looking for resources to teach asking questions and many other reading comprehension strategies, check out my K-1 reading comprehension or 2nd grade reading workshop bundle:


M.S. in Teaching
Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education
College of Education
English language--Composition and exercises; Second grade (Education)
Elementary Education and Teaching
The purposes of this study were to (a) evaluate the effects of a student-generated instructional rubric on second grade students' (n = 21) abilities to write personal stories and their understanding of the qualities of good writing; and (b) assess student metacognitive behavior resulting from the use of a rubric. Student writing assignments prior to and after rubric instruction were assessed in order to determine the effects of rubrics in improving writing skills. Student interactions and behaviors were observed and noted in order to determine metacognitive performance. A questionnaire gauged student impressions, management, and application of a rubric while writing a personal story. Analyses revealed that the students' writing skills and metacognitive behaviors significantly improved as a result using student-generated instructional rubrics as a tool for teaching how to write a personal story.
Germani, Ann Marie, "The effect of rubrics on second grade students' abilities to write a personal story" (2003). Theses and Dissertations. 1301.


BJU Press English, Writing & Grammar
Hit the Ground Writing
BJU Press believes that writing is a critical part of effectively communicating in all academic and professional pursuits. Themes used in English lessons, such as museums, sports, science, and travel, support this approach by linking topics with other subjects and real-life situations.
Age-appropriate lessons are presented in a sequential way that makes learning meaningful and enjoyable. The foundational skills of writing and grammar are built in the elementary grades and applied in secondary using higher-level writing assignments. Students are guided step-by-step through the writing process as they write reports, stories, descriptions, poems, letters, and essays.
Use English to Glorify God
Quality writing that exemplifies good grammar is a way to show our love for God by communicating truth in a loving way to our neighbors. Using correct grammar and accurate writing, students can share the Gospel in a letter or a story, write a Christian book review, or compose a poem that communicates God’s faithfulness.


Where art thou? : bringing the arts into elementary school classrooms
Capstone Project (B.A.) Liberal Studies Department
There is not enough art education in local elementary schools, and the curriculum, time constraints and funding make increasing arts education difficult. Interviewing a diversity of local elementary school teachers allowed us to get a broad understanding of the situation of the arts in schools, and to discover attitudes toward the arts which might encourage or discourage increasing arts education in schools. More privileged schools with the means to include art education find that students are excited and engaged in learning. There is, however, a lack of training, funding, and time in the curriculum to allow for greater arts education. A grant was applied for in hopes of bringing a professional in the arts, associated with the Arts Council of Monterey County, to provide a ten hour lesson on the arts to a school with no formal arts education. Teachers want to bring the arts into their classrooms, but faced with current restrictions, they are finding it difficult.


Invented in 1821 by Christian Buschmann, the harmonica consists of a small casing containing a series of free reeds leading to holes on the side of the instrument. It is played by placing the instrument between the lips and inhaling or exhaling as necessary to activate appropriate reeds with the tongue being used to cover unwanted holes. Through lateral movement between the lips, the player is capable of producing, most commonly, a range of three octaves from “c1” to “c4”. Two main types of harmonicas include the diatonic and the chromatic.
The harmonica is used primarily for entertainment and folk music, however composers such as Milhaud, and Vaughan Williams have written serious pieces for the instrument. In addition, Arthur Benjamin, Malcolm Arnold and others have written full concertos for harmonica and orchestra. The harmonica also plays an important role in music education as it is very accessible with a substantial repertory of pedagogical music.


Biology | Biological Science for Elem Teacher
Q201 | 13329 | Hanratty, P
Course format: Lecture: 10:10A-11:00A, MWF, JH A100; one required lab
weekly. Exams given on Fridays during lecture period, unless otherwise
noted in syllabus.
Requirements: Requires Q201 and is restricted to elementary education
Course Description: Q201 is an introduction to the basic principles
and practice of biology designed especially for prospective elementary
teachers. All major areas of biology are considered, with a concluding
emphasis upon the relations between various organisms and their
environment. Students are expected to bring together their previous
experiences with their present lecture/text and hands-on lab exercises
to develop a sound understanding of the way that the biological world
functions. Specific mention is made or situations they will likely
encounter in their future teaching.
Required Texts: "Biology: Concepts and Connections", Fifth Edition, by
Campbell, Reece, Taylor, and Simon, and "Biological Science for
Elementary Teachers" (Lab Manual), by Bronwyn H. Bleakley and Pamela
Weekly Assignments: Readings from the text, some website work,
pre-lab readings and written assignments, weekly lab data sheets, and
a three-hour laboratory experience.
Exams/Papers: Three hourly exams covering lecture and lab material,
one lab report, one independent project, several quizzes in lecture
and in lab, Portfolio of Experiments for Kids, and a comprehensive


Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
The world we live in has become heavily influenced by technology. Elementary education is no exception. In today’s classrooms, there are a multitude of technological programs and resources used by teachers and students. This capstone examines the changing role of technology at the elementary school level. Through the use of literature review, online research, and interviews with multiple elementary teachers in Santa Cruz County, results findings reveal the effects on teaching and learning at the elementary school level. There are many positive outcomes as well as some of concern for this transition. This new technology comes with a learning curve that will require schools to provide more resources for teachers, including training and technological assistance. With the right tools and trainings, technology can be a very powerful tool when used in moderation in the classroom.
Kaysen, Jenna, "The Changing Role Of Technology at the Elementary School Level" (2015). Capstone Projects and Theses. 485.


The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 86, July 1982 - April, 1983 Page: 136
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
American communities that had sprung up in Texas since Stephen F.
Austin had founded his first colony in 1821, frontier conditions and
political unrest had discouraged educational efforts.2
The establishment of Texan independence did not bring immedi-
ate change. The majority of Texans were rural folk who, like their
counterparts in the United States, were suspicious of learning for learn-
ing's sake and favored a rudimentary practical education instead. Even
the political leaders, most of whom appreciated the need for formal
education, disagreed about whether to commit public funds to schools
and colleges. The Republic's first president, Sam Houston, favored a
private system of elementary education and doubted the need for insti-
tutions of higher learning in Texas at the time. His successor, Mira-
beau B. Lamar, held contrary views. In December of 1838 Lamar ad-
dressed the Texan Congress. Declaring that a "cultivated mind is the
guardian genius of democracy," the president called on the lawmakers
to set aside a generous land endowment to support a system of general
education and to provide for "the establishment of a university where
the highest branches of science may be taught."3
Houston, Lamar, and others in Texas were but reflecting widely
held but diverse views about higher education in the land of their
birth. Since late in the eighteenth century there had been a growing
sentiment favoring the establishment of state-supported institutions
of higher learning, with curricula including the sciences and even agri-
culture. Its first notable success was the founding of the University of
Virginia in 1825. Though many publicly supported colleges and uni-
versities had come into being in the South and the New West early in
the nineteenth-century, most were plagued by underfinancing, a lack
of an adequate supporting system of primary and secondary schools,
and the strong opposition of the supporters of private, especially sec-
President Lamar's call brought forth a positive, albeit inadequate,
2H. P. N. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 . . . (io vols.; Austin, 1898),
I, 451, 823, 1,078-1,079 (quotation); Max Berger, "Education in Texas During the Spanish
and Mexican Periods," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, LI (July, 1947), 49.
SMichael Allen White, "History of Education in Texas, 186o-1884" (Ed.D. diss., Baylor
University, 1969), 68-70o; Texas (Republic), Legislature, House of Representatives, Journal
of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, Regular Session of the Third
Congress . . . (Houston, 1839), 167-168, 169 (first quotation), 170 (second quotation).
4John Seiler Brubacher and Willis Rudy, Higher Education in Transition: A History
of American Colleges and Universities, 1636-1968 (2nd ed.; New York, 1968), 143-147,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 86, July 1982 - April, 1983, periodical, 1982/1983; Austin, Texas. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101209/m1/172/: accessed July 21, 2017), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.


Individual Support Program (ISP)
The Hardisty K-9 School Individual Support Program (ISP) assists students with severe to profound developmental delays who may also experience physical, sensory or behavioural challenges or medical conditions. Students participate in programming to gain functional skills that enhance their quality of life.
Students benefit from a positive, supportive and structured learning environment with programming tailored to meet their special education needs. Individual Support classrooms provide students with the structure, regular routines and close, constant supervision that they need. Students are supported in smaller sized classes by teachers and educational assistants with training and experience in special education. Classrooms are wheelchair accessible and provide students with adaptive equipment, furniture and assistive technology. In addition to program staff, a team of service providers and community agency supports can be available to meet student needs. Students are grouped into classes with other students of approximately the same age.
Individual Support programming focuses on building each student’s skills, promoting participating in school activities and enhancing quality of life. Students learn and practice skills that are important for community, social interaction, self-management and for personal pursuits. Programming builds foundational skills and concepts selected from the Alberta Program of Studies.


This study details the growth of education in Botswana, with specific reference to the lack of development of Music as a subject. One of the main obstacles to the development of Music in schools has been the theoretical bias in the Colleges of Education, which generally ignore practical and instrumental work, including traditional instruments. This observation was noted during the pilot project of the draft Music syllabus in Botswana, which began in 1999 and continues until the end of 2001. What the teachers in training are taught bears little relation to the syllabus they are expected to teach in schools. Teacher trainers have little practical experience in music making and have little support from institutions that cannot relate to a perceived, noisy (music-filled) environment. Music lecturers have no experience of teaching Music at Primary or Secondary level, and began their own Music careers as adults, when they were sent to the University of Reading, England, for further studies, having expressed an interest in the subject. The training there appears to have been entirely theoretical. The aim of this study is to suggest and offer a course of work for use in teacher training institutions based on a three year/nine term academic programme, as presently followed in Botswana. Although the programme suggested correlates with the Music syllabus for Community Junior Secondary schools in Botswana, it can be used in other teacher training environments, such as training colleges, distance education modules or inservice courses. Following guidelines set by the Music Education Unit Standards for South Africa(MEUSSA) research team at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and the Department of Vocational Education and Training in Gaborone, Botswana, with reference to international standards and exit levels, this thesis supplies generic music unit standards for use in Botswana, but which are easily adaptable for other Southern Africa Development Community countries (SADC). The units contain Access statements, Range statements, Performance criteria, Evidence requirements and Support notes, which are based in the African tradition in the early stages, so that trainees have a familiar basis from which to spread their wings. At present, there are no suitable Music resources for use in Botswana. The thesis discusses educational research in Botswana concerning teaching methodology and the pertinent Government literature and recommendations.


The curriculum is designed to meet Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards.
Developmentally appropriate practices are considered in all curriculum planning. The teachers develop learning experience plans based on standards and children's interests in the guidance of the Creative Curriculum. There are resource books in the office that all teachers and assistants are welcome to use in planning lessons. The schedule is a balanced schedule to help children develop physically, socially, emotionally, creatively, and cognitively. All learning experiences that are created and taught at the center integrate content areas to foster all areas of development. All employees also are required to consider the developmental level of each child in their room and individualize their learning experience plans and activities in the classroom to meet the learning needs of each child. We strive to engage children in a variety of play, which meets the Early Learning Standards for the state of Pennsylvania. We value the importance of play and how much children learn and grow socially, emotionally, and developmentally from it. Each lead teacher plans their own curriculum which is aligned to the PA early learning standards. Activities are planned to best meet the children's individual learning styles and needs. The domains we align to are Approaches to Learning through play, creative thinking and expression, cognitive thinking, mathematical thinking and expression, scientific thinking and technology, social studies thinking, health, wellness, and physical development, language and literacy development, partnerships for learning, and social emotional development.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program
is a federal program that provides reimbursement for healthful meals and snacks served to children and adults. Because CACFP participants' nutritional needs are supported on a daily basis, the program plays a vital role in improving the quality of day care and making it more affordable for families.
What kinds of meals are served?
CACFP facilities follow the meal patterns established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• Breakfast requires a serving of milk, fruit or vegetable and bread or grain product.
• Lunch and dinner consist of milk, bread or grain product, meat or meat alternate, and two different servings of fruits and/or vegetables.
• Snacks include servings from two or the four components: milk, fruits or vegetables, bread or grain product, or meat or meat alternate.
Admissions, the provisions of services, and referrals of clients shall be made without regard to race, color, religious creed, disability, ancestry, national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, or sex. Program services shall be made accessible to eligible persons with disabilities through the most practical and economically feasible methods available. These methods include, but are not limited to, equipment redesign, the provision of aides, and the use of alternative service delivery locations. Structural modifications shall be considered only as a last resort among available methods.
To respect each child’s individuality and each families diversity.
To build confident learners through positive guidance and praise.
To encourage children to express their feelings in safe ways and we as teachers to validate their feelings.
To be committed to helping all children reach their full potential socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.
To be committed to excellence through education, training, and support through each other and outside resources for our team.


New Framework for Music Education
In spring 2014, I will go on sabbatical to direct a handful of choirs in Morelia, Mexico; not only will it be my first experience as a conductor in residence, but it will also be my first time teaching in Spanish! In what ways do you try to encourage your students to appreciate and participate in music? I make sure my students have many experiences in performing, creating and listening to music. In my opinion, all three aspects are crucial to a well-rounded music education. When it comes to performing, I believe it is important that students can sing in tune and tap a steady beat. When they can clap a steady beat, I teach them to clap on the off-beat as well! From kindergarten on, I have them compose and improvise music so they know that creating music is not something mystical that only highly trained composers do.
For more information, visit http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/12/03/music-teacher-feature-brad-ollmann?refid=0
Equipment and Facilities for Music Education In Australian schools music classes are often run in utterly unsuitable spaces too small, or too big, or acoustically poor, or difficult to access, or used for storage of unrelated equipment and materials. Musical instruments and items of audio-equipment are frequently of poor quality or simply unavailable. Although a few hundred schools were able to upgrade their equipment and facilities with funds made available by the Howard government in its last two years, this went only a small way towards providing for universal music education. The Australian Government must set benchmarks for quality teaching spaces, instruments and other hardware. It must then see that funds to purchase them reach the schools.
For more information, visit http://suite101.com/a/new-framework-for-music-education-a53094


We applaud the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) new policy statement recommendation that "pediatric providers promote early literacy development for children beginning in infancy" (AAP Policy Statement -- Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Practice. June 29, 2014). The policy statement carefully embeds reading in the larger project of early literacy development, and in infants' relationships with their parents and other caregivers. We want to highlight here a few critical points of the AAP statement, reported on in the front page New York Times story, "Pediatrics Group to Recommend Reading Aloud to Children from Birth" (June 24, 2014), because books are just a start.
Almost half a century ago, scientific observation of newborns and very young infants led to the conclusion that brain development is not only rapid and extensive at the beginning of life, but that it is highly responsive to the care that parents and others provide. With the subsequent advent of brain imaging technology and its power to convince, these findings finally began to attract the attention of policymakers in the mid-1990s. Yet, we have only begun to take their implications seriously. It still may come as a surprise to some that reading to babies in the first six months of life contributes to their brain development and later academic success.
Although reading can be a powerful force for early brain development, the nature of parent-baby conversations while reading and during other interactions matter at least as much. Even in the first weeks of life, parents and infants are attending to and responding to remarkably subtle features of each other's vocalizations, gestures and facial expressions. These are the interactions that stimulate early brain development. Through these interactions, infants learn to engage with environmental stimulation and protect themselves from it when it is more than they can handle. Babies have short attention spans, are easily distractible and of course may be done reading before even a short, developmentally appropriate story is over. Yet their pleasure in being read to and in pointing to the pictures on the page is its own reward for parents, reinforcing and perpetuating these times for learning together.
Reading can prompt these conversations, but it is just one instance of language-rich social interactions that can start at the beginning of life. These account for much of the difference in processing speed among 15-month-olds and vocabulary size in 4-year-olds. They prepare children's brain for learning and later academic success. It is through these interactions that children develop the executive functions they will need to be school-ready. For example, the ability to focus and prolong attention and the motivation to keep on focusing -- all the way to the next page -- begins on a loving parent's lap. There, a book can spark curiosity and questions even before a child has words to ask them with, and a shared story can lead to a lifelong love of learning.
Still, if parents are to read to their children from the beginning of life, they need more than books. They need time to be with their children and enough protection from overwhelming stress to be able to not simply read at their children, but to converse intimately with them. Paid parental leave, a fair minimum wage securely above the poverty level and family-friendly workplace policies for all working families would certainly help.
Parents also need access to high quality treatment for depression. A very common condition in parents, it can interfere with their brain-building interactions with their infants. Treatment is out of reach for most, even though depression is one of the most treatable of all medical conditions.
Because most parents must work, most infants and young children spend many of their waking hours in the care of others. Infants, toddlers and young children need reading and other language-enriched social interactions all day long -- whenever they are ready, wherever they are cared for. We know what high quality early education and care look like, and we know that they pay off.
Books are a terrific scaffold for getting parents and babies talking with each other. In addition, without even realizing it, when parents read to their babies, they are instilling pre-literacy skills, for example, the understanding that print on a page stands for something, and that the pages of a book progress in a particular sequence. And of course parents' enthusiasm about books and the rewarding reading experiences that parents and babies have together build a foundation for children's excitement about school and learning. But, as every pediatrician knows, books are not enough.
During the first weeks, months and years of life, there are no quick fixes or silver bullets for brain development. Babies' brains are the infrastructure for our nation's future. We need to invest not only in books, but also in babies, their parents and those who care for them while their parents are at work.
Joshua Sparrow, MD
T. Berry Brazelton, MD
Harvard Medical School
Brazelton Touchpoints Center
Division of Developmental Medicine
Boston Children's Hospital


We've listed some common homeschooling approaches here, but, realistically, there are as many different approaches to homeschooling as there are homeschooling families. Review each one, though, as each method carries its own educational philosophy. Click on the links (or use the side menu) to discover free resources, informational websites, inspiring blogs, and to find out where to buy related curriculum and supplies.
|Uses "living books"—books written by one person in a conversational or narrative style—and first-hand resources rather than textbooks. This method covers the core subjects of reading, writing, and math with short, interest-filled lessons and incorporates the fine arts with real-life experiences.|
|This approach uses the three-part process called the trivium. The early years are spent learning and memorizing facts, the middle years are spent putting those facts together logically, and the high school years are spent communicating knowledge through rhetoric.|
|Also known as the Moore Formula, is based on a balanced approach that includes study, work and service. This method allows the child to develop at his own pace through informal education until the age of eight. Between the ages of 8 and 10 the child begins formal education.|
|Any combination of homeschooling methods. This method involves putting together your own curriculum, usually from a variety of sources. Typically, there are guides available to help you in your planning. Many families at some point end up as eclectic homeschoolers regardless of their initial methodology.|
|Courses are generally accredited and everything is provided online. There are usually no books to buy or documents to print. Students advance automatically upon successful completion of lessons. There are certified teachers available via email and live chat rooms and some schools will implement the use of web cams.|
|Primarily for preschool and elementary students, this method allows children to participate in activities of their own choice in a carefully planned learning environment full of hands-on, self-correcting learning materials.|
|A Christian method of education in which the Bible is the center of every subject. God's principles are the basis of every area of your child's education. There are no textbooks or workbooks. Instead, your child uses the Bible as a resource and creates a notebook using what is known as the 4-R (Research, Reason, Relate, Record) Method.|
|Resembles the method used in public schools, can be secular or faith-based, and can be implemented by either the parent or a private school. Students are provided with textbooks, workbooks and regular tests and parents are provided with teaching guides and lesson plans. This method is perfect if your child prefers structure, but if your child is enrolled in a school that determines when assignments must be done, there may not be time to expand on particular topics of interest.|
|Unit Studies typically incorporate a variety of subjects into a single topic or theme. Choosing a topic that interests your child creates an immediate motivation to learn. Unit studies can be used at any grade level and can take anywhere from days to weeks to complete. There are many free unit studies available online, as well as for purchase, and you can easily create your own.|
|Also referred to as deschooling, free range learning, life learning, and zenschooling, is based on the belief that children are natural learners and will learn and retain more if they are free to follow their own interests. The child leads the way, the parent provides the appropriate learning environment. There is no specific curriculum or structure unless it is what the child wants.|
|Early childhood learning is largely experiential, imitative and sensory-based, learning in the middle grades is regarded as artistic and imaginative, and the emphasis during the upper grades is on developing intellectual understanding and ethical ideals such as social responsibility.|
Even if you find yourself leaning toward a particular approach or teaching method, don't think you have to actually "pick" one. And if you do pick one, don't forget that you can always try something else if it doesn't work for your family.


Tue, 25 Jul 2017
At the end of 21st century, the population of illiterates in India is larger than its total population in 1947. Not all children of India are able to get education and millions of children drop out before completing the higher primary grade.
Education has been a big problem since a long time and a very small minority in the elite get excellent education facilities where as the poor gets no education at all. Especially, a girl child is deprived of education by her own parents due to various reasons. In India there are hundred million missing women as mentioned by Amartya Sen. Girl children are neglected without education.
With malnutrition being another serious problem, about half of Indian children are malnourished. The problem is worse and India is still a poor country. It is estimated that an average person in India earns less than $2 per day.
One main reason for inadequate education in India is due to the funding problem. Besides, there is an over-regulation of the school market.
Education must be supported by removing rules that hinder the establishment and operation of schools in the primary, the secondary and the higher secondary areas of education.
Government should focus more on the neediest sections of the society.
The poor quality of elementary education has kept India's economy at stake.
For More Articles, visit Back to INDIA EDUCATION Home


Travel to the most inspiring tropical islands on the planet! Everything you need is in this one convenient Okinawa travel guide—including a large pull-out map.
Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands is the first comprehensive travel guide to the 150 sub-tropical island chain that stretches across 600 miles from Japan to Taiwan. These are some of the most stunningly beautiful islands in the world!
Trek up active volcanoes, soak in nature hot springs, enjoy pristine white sand beaches, and sample Okinawa's superb homegrown cuisine. Experienced author Robert Walker tells you how to get there, where to go, where to stay and what to do, including: Ferry schedules and flights Lodgings on all inhabited islands Best beaches and surf spots Hikes and nature walks Sights suitable for families with children Historical and cultural landmarks
Illustrated with over 200 color photographs and 40 maps, this book provides essential travel tips to help tourists avoid costly mistakes. It also includes a large fold-out map of Okinawa and the Ryukyu chain with insets for the major islands and cities.
This is an important work that addresses the complex issues surrounding musical meaning and experience, and the Western traditional justification for including music in education. The chapters in this volume examine the important subjects of tradition, innovation, social change, the music curriculum, music in the twentieth century, social strata, culture and music education, psychology, science and music education, including musical values and education. Additional topics include the origins of mania, aesthetics and musical meaning related to concepts that are well-known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, which are compared to contemporary life. The rise of studies of musical behavior by social psychologists has been an important feature for the last two decades, and the relevance of this development to music education is explored. Articulating the difference between education and entertainment has been central to discussions and debates about the role of music in education since Plato and Aristotle first examined the problem. Many of the questions and issues raised by these two Greek philosophers in ancient Greece about the nature of music and its role in education are highly relevant today, and these are examined in the context of the twenty-first century. The writer stresses that music is a product of specific cultural ways of thinking and doing, and its inclusion in education can only be justified in terms of the importance a particular culture places on its music as a valued art form. The implications for music education are that those teaching music should focus in the ways musicians employ special cultural ways of thinking in their compositions and performance practices, whatever the genre.


Handbook of child development and early education : research to practice
- edited by Oscar A. Barbarin, Barbara Hanna Wasik.
- New York : Guilford Press, c2009.
- Physical description
- xv, 624 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.
- Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
- Part 1: Development and Early Education. Developmental Science and Early Education: An Introduction. Rethinking Early Schooling: Using Developmental Science to Transform Children's Early School Experiences. Bridging Developmental Theory and Educational Practice: Lessons from the Vygotskian Project. Part 2.:Brain Functioning and Learning. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience and Education Practice. Neurodevelopmental Changes in Infancy and Beyond: Implications for Learning and Memory. Learning to Remember. The Mind of the Preschool Child: The Intelligence--School Interface. Part 3: Social and Emotional Development. Development of Self, Relationships, and Socioemotional Competence: Foundations for Early School Success. Taming the Terrible Twos: Self-Regulation and School Readiness. Teaching Hearts and Minds in Early Childhood Classrooms: Curriculum for Social and Emotional Development. Supporting Peer Relationships in Early Education. Promoting Social Acceptance and Respect for Cultural Diversity in Young Children: Learning from Developmental Research. Part 4: Language and Literacy. The Social Context of Language and Literacy Development. Teaching and Learning to Read. Changing Classroom Conversations: Narrowing the Gap between Potential and Reality. Young Latino Children's English Reading Development: Insight for Classroom Teachers. Supporting Parental Practices in the Language and Literacy Development of Young Children. Part 5: Mathematics and Science. Early Mathematics Education and How to Do It. Improving Preschoolers' Number Sense Using Information-Processing Theory. The Early Construction of Mathematical Meanings: Learning Positional Representation of Numbers. Applying Developmental Approaches to Learning Math. Construction and Representation of Space in 5-Year-Old Children. Enhancing Mathematical Problem Solving in Primary School Children. Science Education for Young Children: A Conceptual-change Point of View. Improving Science Teaching for Young Children. Part 6: Conclusion. Applying Lessons from Developmental Science to Early Education.
- (source: Nielsen Book Data)9781606233023 20160528
- Publisher's Summary
- How and what should young children be taught? What emphasis should be given to emotional learning? How do we involve families? Addressing these and other critical questions, this book discusses what an integrated, developmentally appropriate curriculum might look like across the preschool and early elementary years.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)9781606233023 20160528
- Publication date
- Title Variation
- Handbook of child development & early education
- Child development and early education
- 9781606233023 (hbk.)
- 1606233025 (hbk.)
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A pretest-posttest experimental design was utilized to determine the efficacy of the Yuba Method on inaccurate elementary singers. Testing of pitch accuracy was analyzed using the Sona-Speech Model 3600 software program. Inaccurate singers (N=168) from a population of 320 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students, were divided into three subgroups and a random sample of subjects was selected to be in a treatment group (N=30) and a control group (N=30). The Yuba Method, which is meant to target training of the cricothyroid muscle utilizing a series of vocal exercises intended to facilitate maneuverability over the vocal register break, was administered to treatment subjects (N=30) in a single 45-minute session. The effect of treatment was highly significant at the p < .001 significance level. Significant differences were also found among singing ability subgroups (before training) at the p = .002 significance level. Among inaccurate singers, the least accurate subgroup benefited the most and the most accurate singers benefited the least. Based on the results, the treatment was highly successful in correcting inaccurate elementary school singers in this study.
Miyamoto, Karen A.
"Effects of a remedial singing method on the vocal pitch accuracy of inaccurate elementary singers,"
Research & Issues in Music Education: Vol. 3
, Article 2.
Available at: http://ir.stthomas.edu/rime/vol3/iss1/2


Drawing requires us to actually see what we're looking at. Drawing is about looking hard at the object before us, translating that looking into a mental image, and then transmitting that image into neural impulses that drive our muscles and reproduce an image. The connections in our minds and nervous system are complex and still being worked out. Nonetheless, it appears clear that drawing alters one's perception of space, objects, light and dark, and a myriad of other properties.
In contemporary times Kandinsky, then an avalanche of others freed themselves from imaging the real object and began to produce abstractions in both drawing and painting. And our late 20th century and early 21st perceptions have changed as well. We've strayed from strict depiction of reality into individual interpretation. Regardless of how one parses the history of art, though, drawing has been the foundation.
Drawing was once widely taught, and it makes sense as a skill since drawing a map or a tree or an animal would obviously make it much easier for others to understand. Before photography, drawing would have been almost a universal skill, at some level. Through much of the last century, art in various forms was taught in public schools. At least through the pre-high school level, art was a required portion of the American public school curriculum. But money concerns and changing priorities have produced reductions in art education, inevitably including drawing.
One of the greatest things about the Internet is the opportunity to discover how wide and unknown the world of creating is. Just this week I learned that October is the month of The Big Draw. According to their website, The Big Draw is an international celebration of drawing that began as a day of drawing in the UK at the beginning of this century and has turned into an annual month-long festival of drawing worldwide. The first Big Draw in 2000 attracted 180 partner organizations. This year the festival worldwide will involve at least 1800 events. And anyone can participate, either by making drawings or by running a drawing event. The links below give a much better explanation and history than I can.
How the big draw festival helped me see
The Big Draw
The Campaign for Drawing


Key Stage 4
Progress and Well-Being Manager
Our curriculum for Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4) is broad and balanced during which pupils develop their learning skills across the Core subjects and a choice of optional courses. Our curriculum teams offer learning programmes that meet the requirements of the National Curriculum and ensure that pupils of all abilities are provided with challenging opportunities to maximise their potential.
The National Curriculum subjects in Wales are split into two categories, core subjects and optional subjects. In Key Stage 4, the subjects taught to all pupils in each of these years are:
- Cymraeg (First Language) or Welsh (Second language)
- Mathematics and Mathematics Numeracy
- Science and Additional Science
- Personal & Social Education
- Religious Education
- Welsh Baccalaureate – Skills Challenge Certificate
- BTEC Agriculture (equivalent 2 GCSEs) (bilingual provision)
- BTEC Motor Vehicle (equivalent 2 GCSEs)
- BTEC Business (equivalent 2 GCSEs)
- Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE)
- GCSE Art
- GCSE Child Development
- GCSE Design and Technology - Resistant Materials (also available in Welsh)
- GCSE Design and Technology - Food Technology
- GCSE Drama
- GCSE French
- GCSE Geography (also available in Welsh)
- GCSE History (also available in Welsh)
- GCSE Information Technology
- GCSE Music (also available in Welsh)
- GCSE PE
- GCSE Textiles
- GCSE Triple Science (also available in Welsh)
In Key Stage 4, optional subjects are taught in mixed ability groups. The Core subjects of Cymraeg (First language), Welsh (Second Language), English, Mathematics and Science are organised in sets according to ability.
If any pupil has difficulty with any aspect of life at school, we take action quickly to discover the reason and try to remedy the problem. All staff are keen to ensure the curriculum is engaging, stimulating and challenging with agreed targets achievable for students in a supportive and caring atmosphere.
Pupils are provided with advice and guidance on how to improve in all their subjects. Some pupils require further learning support for a range of individual needs, literacy, and numeracy skills as appropriate and their curriculum may be personalised accordingly.
Additional Learning Needs
The Learning Support Team offers support to all students and actively seeks to promote their academic progress and emotional welfare. As a school, we identify pupils’ needs by working with a wide range of external agencies as well as seeking information from teaching staff, teaching assistants and parents.
Once a need has been identified, the pupil is placed on the Additional Learning Needs register which is a way of recording the individual need and support a pupil requires.
When a subject teacher or parent feels that a pupil may need additional support they can communicate this to the ALNCo (Nia Ballard) or the Specialist Teacher for ALN (Donna Palfreman) who will then start to collect further information and/or arrange to carry out an assessment.
Mrs Palfreman is responsible for Access Arrangements. Access arrangements are pre-exam arrangements made on behalf of a candidate with particular needs. For example, the use of a scribe, modified papers or extra time.
We always aim to develop a student’s talents in order to achieve excellence, for example, music is encouraged and enhanced by external peripatetic instrumental teachers who come to the school (for details please contact Mrs Ennis or Mr Preston).
Our extensive educational visits and extra-curricular programme supplements and supports pupils’ studies and encourages them to fulfil their potential and talents.


Your Guide to Becoming a Teaching Assistant
Becoming a teaching assistant is an excellent way to start a career in the education sector. As a teaching assistant, you will be asked to provide support to a teacher in the classroom, which allows them to focus on instructing their students.
A teaching assistant will help the teacher to plan, organise, and deliver each lesson to students. They will also work closely with students, monitoring their behaviour and helping them understand each lesson.
It can be a very rewarding position because you will have a dramatic impact on developing young minds. Teaching assistants can form strong bonds with students and gain great satisfaction from watching their students learn new things. It is the perfect role for anyone who enjoys working with children and is passionate about teaching.
This guide to becoming a teaching assistant will take a look at the tasks that teaching assistants typically perform before explaining the process for entering this exciting profession.
What are the responsibilities of a teaching assistant?
The most common responsibilities of a teaching assistant include:
Helping the teacher to prepare each lesson
Lesson preparation can be an arduous task for teachers. As a teaching assistant, you will help the teacher by performing research, gathering materials, preparing presentations, and ensuring the lesson runs smoothly.
Performing clerical tasks
Teaching assistants will be asked to perform clerical and administrative tasks including the checking of the student register, grading tests, writing memos to parents on behalf of the teacher, requisitioning supplies for the classroom, and ordering textbooks. They may be asked to organise and operate equipment in the classroom including computers, projectors, and televisions. At the end of the lesson, the teaching aid will help the teacher clean the room and prepare it for the next class.
Monitoring student behaviour
Teaching assistants will be required to monitor student behaviour in the classroom and on school trips. They must ensure the school remains a safe and positive learning environment for students.
The teaching assistant will work with students to help them understand the lesson after the teacher has presented it to the class. This may involve working with small groups of students or providing individual assistance to a specific pupil. A teaching assistant often helps the teacher understand which students are struggling with the material and how well the lesson has been received by students.
Helping students with special needs
Teaching assistants are often called upon to provide specialised help to students with learning difficulties or a disability. They will help the student understand the coursework and participate in the class. Some teaching assistants specialise in helping students with special needs and have additional responsibilities including adapting classroom materials to formats the student can understand, communicating on behalf of the student, and helping the student with personal issues.
What are the working conditions of a teaching assistant?
Both part-time and full-time teaching assistant positions are available, ranging anywhere from 8 hours per week up to 40 hours per week. Most teaching assistants will only work during school hours.
A teaching assistant will spend most of their working hours inside a classroom, but they may occasionally be asked to travel to remote locations for school excursions and sports events.
How do you become a teaching assistant?
There is no specific qualification requirement for most entry-level teaching assistant positions in the UK. However, each local education authority (LEA) has a different set of requirements for teaching assistants. Typically, teaching assistants must have the following skills and background:
- Strong reading, writing and numeracy skills
- GCSEs (A* to C) in English and Maths
- Strong organisational skills
- Excellent communication skills
- IT skills
- The ability to develop positive relationships with teachers, parents and children
- Clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
Most schools prefer entry-level teaching assistants to have previous experience tutoring or supervising children. You can obtain this experience by volunteering at a school or tutoring children privately. Applicants with a qualification in childcare or youth work also have a greater chance of securing a teaching assistant position.
What are the career advancement opportunities for teaching assistants?
After a teaching assistant has gained more experience, skills, and qualifications, they can gain apply for a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) role. HLTAs are expected to have stronger knowledge of the teaching curriculum and more experience with children. There are university courses available to help teaching assistants transition into a HLTA role. Many teaching assistants continue their education and eventually become teachers.
How Strategy Education can help
Strategy Education is a leading recruitment agency that specialises in connecting employers with talented workers. We can help you find a teaching assistant position that you love! Contact us today on 0345 521 9987 for more information.