Kindergarten Standards, Kindergarten Reading Standards, Kindergarten Foundational Skills Standards, Kindergarten Reading, Kindergarten Skills, Reading Standards Kindergarten
Kindergarten Reading: Foundational Skills Standards
- RF.K.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
- Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
- Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
- Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
- Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
- RF.K.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
- Recognize and produce rhyming words.
- Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
- Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
- Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.1 (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.)
- Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Phonics and Word Recognition
- RF.K.3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
- Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.
- Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
- Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
- Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
- RF.K.4. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
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An administrator for a mutual fund management firm, April deals with the written word daily. She loves to write and plans to author a memoir in the near future. April attended Morehead State University to pursue a BA degree in Elementary Education.
Learn more about April...
If you walk through a forest or landscape populated densely with trees, notice the wildflowers that grow naturally in the shade. Chances are you will see species that require nearly bog-like conditions to thrive, such as jewelweed, forget-me-not, and cardinal flower. More often, however, you will see flowers that require light shade, adequate moisture, and rich mulch.
You can replicate those conditions in your landscape to create the perfect environment to grow shade-loving flowers. Shade plants usually require less maintenance than their full-sun counterparts since they require less water to grow, and weeds don't grow as fast in shade. One of the best places to grow flowers in the shade is under a large shady tree. Follow these guidelines to grow flowers in the shade:
A frugal gardener will choose flowers that come back each year, but sometimes it is difficult to find perennials that thrive in shade. Some shade-loving perennials are foam flowers, geraniums, primrose, and astilbe. A very hardy flower that not only returns each year and grows in shade, but also produces large, vibrant blooms is the hydrangea. Hydrangeas come in a variety of colors and some species grow to great heights and can form a hedge or wind break.


|Lesson Plan ID:
The topic and focus of this lesson will be teaching basic and fundamental volleyball skills. The instructor will provide demonstration of skills for students. The students will then be given time to practice the skill under teacher supervision.
|PE(7) ||1. Apply critical elements for all locomotor, nonlocomotor, and manipulative skills in modified game situations. |
|PE(7) ||2. Demonstrate striking skills in modified versions of sport and recreation activities. |
|PE(7) ||3. Analyze manipulative skills for specific sports or recreational activities. |
|PE(7) ||13. Identify the characteristics of both good and poor sportsmanship. |
|PE(7) ||17. Exhibit attributes needed to accomplish a set goal in a competitive and cooperative environment. |
|PE(8) ||2. Incorporate striking skills that demonstrate accuracy, distance, trajectory, and consistency in a variety of innovative activities. |
|PE(8) ||3. Discuss the concepts that affect motor skill development and performance. |
|PE(8) ||5. Critique game strategies for innovative or cooperative group activities. |
|PE(8) ||6. Provide performance cues and feedback while participating in partner skill practice sessions. |
|PE(9-12) ||4. Utilize safe practices when participating in physical activities. |
|Primary Learning Objective(s):
The students will be able to demonstrate the overhand and underhanded volleyball serve.
|Additional Learning Objective(s):
Students will be able to analyze and apply the rules of the sport throughout the lesson. The 2007-08 rules can be found here.
|Approximate Duration of the Lesson:
|| 91 to 120 Minutes|
|Materials and Equipment:
Volleyballs, Volleyball Nets
|Technology Resources Needed:
Internet access for video demonstration
The instructor will prepare for this lesson by studying the most updated volleyball rule books. The major concepts of this lesson will be to teach the rules of the game and to demonstrate the fundamentals so that students will learn to practice the proper skills.
Students will be given a brief description of the rules and procedures used in volleyball.
Students will view the video demonstration at the link below. A computer with a digital projector can be used for large group viewing.
Students will divide into two groups and line up on the endlines of the volleyball court.
The instructor will describe and demonstrate the proper form for the under and overhanded serve.
Students will be allowed to practice for an allotted time.
Students will be monitored by the instructor to ensure that students are using the proper techniques.
The instructor will provide feedback for student improvement.
(Basic Serve Techniques
)Video demonstration with coach guidance on a variety of volleyball skills.
|Attachments:**Some files will display in a new window. Others will prompt you to download.
For assessment the students will be required to complete 8 of 10 over- or underhanded serves across the volleyball net.
Students may work on receiving the volleyball if they have mastered the skill of serving.
Each area below is a direct link to general teaching strategies/classroom
for students with identified learning and/or behavior problems such as: reading
or math performance below grade level; test or classroom assignments/quizzes at
a failing level; failure to complete assignments independently; difficulty with
short-term memory, abstract concepts, staying on task, or following directions;
poor peer interaction or temper tantrums, and other learning or behavior problems.
|Presentation of Material
||Using Groups and Peers
|Assisting the Reluctant Starter
||Dealing with Inappropriate
Be sure to check the student's IEP for specific accommodations.
|Variations Submitted by ALEX Users:


Statues commemorate great men and women all over the world. But it was a little strange to see one put up for a 20-year-old student whose only achievement was being the first in his school to get into the elite Tsinghua University.
The highest scorer in the imperial examinations in pre-modern China was conferred with the title of zhuangyuan, and set for life. Although the examinations were abolished a century ago, popular enthusiasm for examination champions has never receded, but shifted over to the gaokao, or national college entrance examination.
The enshrined Tsinghua freshman comes from Laifeng county, Hubei Province. As the first to make it into this top school, this innocent young man, as stated on the inscriptions under the statue, "opens a new leaf of Laifeng's education, and creates a miracle of mass education."
According to the statement of the high school which erected the statue, this was supposed to be a motivational strategy and set a model for its students.
Although the statue was demolished soon after a few media outlets started to cover the incident, public attention has focused on the obsession with scores that is still commonplace in China's exam-oriented education.
There is an old Chinese adage that well describes the examination process: hordes of mounted and foot soldiers crossing a single-log bridge. Years of educational development means that 30 percent of kids now go to university, but a sharply unbalanced allocation of educational resources still forces the unvalued schools to be more score-oriented.
Rather than condemn the ridiculous activity of this high school, it's better to introspect the ubiquity of educational injustice. A centralized system in which educational resources are rigidly pooled in urban areas, especially big cities in eastern China, is the crux of the problem.
While blaming the high school, most people are unaware of its status as a non-government-funded school. Unlike the popular Western private schools, most Chinese non-government-funded schools are struggling to survive in the cracks left between public schools. In China, the top urban public schools are filled with the children of the rich, while migrants and other disadvantaged groups are forced into private education.
Chinese non-government-funded schools have mushroomed in recent years, but the heavily skewed distribution of educational resources leaves little space for them to develop. Not only do they face restrictions imposed by the authorities, but they are much less competitive in recruiting more qualified teachers and above all, competitive students.
Therefore, erecting a statue for a high-scoring student is more than a strategy to inspire the students to be more studious. It is a publicity attempt to attract quality students with quality excellence.
Chinese education confirms the famous "Matthew effect" coined by sociologist Robert Merton, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," making the heavily supported and elite public schools increasingly better, while self-dependent schools are mired in troubles.
The educational monopoly is growing rapidly in China. As Chinese universities, especially top ones like Tsinghua, have become more autonomous, they are becoming more active in recruiting the most competitive students. This means students who come from the less developed regions, especially in terms of education, lose an invaluable opportunity to expand their horizons and explore their potential.
What's more, universities are inclining to develop win-win partnerships with top high schools that are well known for cultivating privileged students, who are usually given extra marks in the gaokao. It further diminishes the chances of many students who graduated from mediocre schools to go to better colleges.
It is critical that a transparent competitive mechanism be established to give equivalent status to public schools and non-government-funded schools.
A restructure of the educational resources should favor disadvantaged groups, such as the students from rural areas and non-government-funded schools.
A bigger and stronger group of top schools can never be the standard of the development of Chinese elementary education, and the least developed schools are what really matter.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. email@example.com


Welcome to the Music Therapy Program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music.
Music therapy involves using music as a tool to help people regain or develop important life skills, such as communication, physical movement, attention and memory, emotional growth or social skills. Therapeutic techniques are based on scientific knowledge regarding how the human brain and body respond to and utilize musical stimuli.
Music therapists work with individuals of all ages who require treatment due to deficits in physical, cognitive or social/emotional functioning. Potential employment sites include medical or psychiatric hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, special education or early intervention school settings, hospices, or correctional settings. Music therapy can be a rewarding career for the individual who has a strong musical background and who is interested in a health care profession.
Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy
Master of Music degree in Music Therapy
Master of Music degree in Music Therapy with Equivalency
Doctor of Philosphy degree in Music Education with Music Therapy Emphasis
Learning in a humanistic and scientifically-based music therapy curriculum
Faculty trained in an evidence-based approach, known as Neurologic Music Therapy
A low student-teacher ratio to promote thorough learning of academic concepts and clinical skills
Exceptional standards for clinical training opportunities and supervision
A rich music environment with a plethora of performing opportunities
A 95% employment rate among music therapy graduates
The Magic of Music and Babies


French Camp for Young Learners provided elementary school children with some basic knowledge of the French language and culture. Michigan has recently integrated the new requirement of two years of foreign language study for students graduating in 2016, namely this year’s seventh graders. This hands on ASL project will provide cross-cultural appreciation and contrast, promote interest in future language study, and integrate foreign language study with social studies, language arts, music, math, and other areas of elementary education. The camp took place over a three day period for the duration of the FR305 class, of one hour and forty minutes with time allowed for travel from campus and back. For this pilot project Mrs. Adams’s third-grade class at Sandy Knoll was involved. The curriculum was as follows: first day, “Discovering Ourselves and Our Friends,” saying hello, description and presenting ourselves to the class. Second day, “Cooking,” using basic cooking vocabulary, counting off amounts of items (eggs, croissants, etc.), saying what you like and do not like, learning important foods in French culture. Third day, “Fine Arts,” using basic art vocabulary, familiarity with some important art aesthetics (impressionism, rococo, etc.), familiarity with major artists (Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, Fragonard), familiarity with Paris museums and other Parisian monuments.
The challenge was to create a curriculum that would have the right combination of rigor and accessibility for third grade learners. We had to generate a list of vocabulary for children who may have never heard a foreign language before and may even be resistant to learning one. This meant that we had to accomplish two items. First, select the right kind of vocabulary with some cognates. Second, we had to generate the right amount of vocabulary so as to provide a complete lesson to allow students to communicate with each other, but not too extensive as to overwhelm them. Also, the factor of “fun” was essential in order to spark enthusiasm at the very beginning, and also maintain that enthusiasm for three days of camp. Likewise, it was hard work for students to take the role of teachers who have to show patience, compassion, and persistence in leading the young learners to feel success in the end of the three-day camp.
Students of French 305 Conversational French had the opportunity to review and improve some of their cultural knowledge and to plan a way to teach it to small children. Students benefitted by reviewing their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge and sharing some of their skills with young learners. This opportunity provided NMU students with a rewarding experience of helping others learn and in turn lent meaning to their own learning.


The son of the famous Baroque cellist, Giovanni Battista
Vitali, Tomaso Vitali's fame today almost entirely rests upon a single
composition—the colossal Chaconne in G minor for violin. Tomaso was born on
March 7, 1663 and his early music education likely came from his father. When
the elder Vitali took up the post of vicemaestri di capelli at the d'Este court
in Modena in 1675, Tomaso, then only twelve years of age, joined the court
orchestra as a violinist. He would remain at the Modena court for nearly the
remainder of his life, leaving the court just three years
before his death. From an instrumentalist in the court orchestra, he eventually
rose to the position of orchestral director. In 1703, he became a member of the
prestigious Accademia Filarmonica, of which his father was a founding member.
Within three years of joining, he earned the rank of composer within the
academy. Tomaso died in Modena on May 9, 1745.
All of Vitali's surviving output is instrumental works. His
first published compositions, two collections of trio sonatas (opp. 1 and 2)
influenced by the style of his father and Corelli, appeared in 1693. Another
collection, his opus 4, appeared a few years later and were dedicated to
Cardinal Ottoboni, a prominent patron of music. The famous Chaconne in G minor
is attributed to Vitali based on a manuscript, marked with Vitali's name in the
corner, in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden. It was edited by Ferdinand
David and published in 1867. Much speculation surrounds its authenticity.
Though there is evidence to suggest the manuscript is authentic, many discredit
the work's authenticity because of its wide-ranging modulations. Nonetheless,
it remains a popular composition with violinists, appearing in several
arrangement including one with a full orchestra accompaniment by Ottorino
Resphigi. It has also been arranged for viola and cello.
Copyright 2008-2014 Classical Connect, LLC


Opera On The Go!
‘JACK AND THE BEANSTALK‘
An operatic version of the story of Jack & the Beanstalk based on scenes from the operettas of Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Living in poverty with his mother, Jack sells the family cow to a mysterious dustman for a handful of beans. When he returns home and shows his mom the scrawny seeds, she throws them out a window in despair. The beans, of course, take root, and in the moonlight a magical stalk grows to the sky. Discovering the beanstalk and climbing it, as any boy hero would, Jack finds himself in the castle of a very large oaf and his kindly, but haggard, wife. Learning that this giant has taken his father’s golden hen, Jack, with the help of the Giant’s wife, stealthily takes it back. The Giant, in pursuit of Jack, receives a bump on the head after falling from the beanstalk, causing him to forget he’s supposed to be “bad.” Realizing all the trouble he’s caused, the Giant resolves to behave well, agreeing that consideration for others requires people large and small to treat other people as they would want to be treated.
Length: 40 minutes
Performed in English
(suitable for grades K-5)
By John Davies
The Florentine Opera will entertain and engage students in schools, libraries, and various community venues for ten weeks beginning in January, 2016.
Jack and the Beanstalk features the 2015-2016 Florentine Opera Studio Artists. These artists-in-residence portray the beloved characters and facilitated an educational, post-performance question and answer session with audiences.
The Florentine Opera Company provides teachers with a Teacher Resource Guide* designed to enhance student’s learning experience. The resource guide provides supplemental opera and music education materials, and connects the program to Wisconsin Academic Standards. Using visual, aural and action methods, Jack and the Beanstalk exposes students to opera in a multi-disciplinary format. Additionally, students receive the developmental benefits of arts education, such as expanded abstract thinking and problem solving abilities, increased interest in self-expression, and a venue to enhance self-discipline, communication skills, perseverance and leadership.
Click here to download our Teacher Resource Guide for Jack and the Beanstalk
For more information or to schedule a performance:
Contact Pablo Siqueiros, Education & Outreach Manager, at 414-291-5700 ext. 214.


Current music practices and teachers' needs for teaching music in public preschools of South Korea
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The present study aimed to investigate the current music practices and teachers' needs for teaching music in public preschools of South Korea. The data were obtained from the public preschools in South Korea, and 66.7% (n = 606) of the total sample (N = 908) responded. The online survey consisted of 42 questions: a Likert-type scales, single and multiple-choice responses, and open-ended questions. The 42 questions regarding the current music practices of public preschools were divided into seven categories according to question content. The majority of teachers stated that their lesson plans included group music activities more than twice a week, lasting less than 30 minutes on average. The most important reason indicated for including music in the curriculum was "enjoyment and recreation." Almost all teachers planned music curriculum with a weekly theme, and they chose songs to complement the theme. Singing and finger play were reported to be the most frequently occurring activities in public preschools. The teachers taught songs with piano accompaniment or a CD, and several common CD collections for music activities were revealed. Rhythmic instruments were the most accessible instruments in a music center, but a piano was the most frequently used by teachers during circle time in the classroom. Teachers identified a lack of ideas for music activity in preschools as a difficulty. The majority of participants requested more applicable and thorough preservice and inservice music education programs for preschool teachers.


In the early 20th century, a curriculum known as nature study flourished in inner city urban environments, streetcar suburbs, small towns and even rural one-room schools. This object-based approach to learning about the natural world marked the first systematic attempt to introduce science into elementary education and came at a time when such institutions as zoos, botanical gardens, natural history museums, and national parks were promoting the idea that direct knowledge of nature promoted individual and community benefits for an increasingly urban populace. Administrators and the public endorsed themes that ranged from a nostalgic world of aesthetically pleasing and benign plants and animals to the assertion that learning to observe and use the natural world would be critical for pupils coming of age in a more modern, scientific age.
The growing professional cadre of academic educators promoted nature study through on-campus schools, summer programs, textbooks, and public speaking. Critical to the implementation of the new curriculum were teachers—primarily women—who embraced nature study both as an opportunity to bring their creativity to the classroom and as a means to encourage their pupils to explore the world around them. Some successful women created a niche as nature study supervisors in large school systems and were able to design terrariums and window boxes; guide trips through parks, nature preserves, and museums; and organize vegetable and flower shows to demonstrate the effectiveness of the curriculum.
By the 1920s the rich diversity of nature study programs no longer sat easily with an increasingly standardized curriculum. By that time, however, nature study was moving beyond schools into summer camps, afterschool activities, and the scouting movement. Its school legacy is sustained, however, in the living plants and animals in classrooms and environmental fieldtrips that remain central parts of science education today.
Teaching Children Science is now available from the University of Chicago Press.


Resources for Writing-Enhanced Courses
- Goals of Writing Enhanced Courses
- Hallmarks of Writing Enhanced Courses
- So, You're Teaching a First Year Seminar...
- List of Writing Enhanced Courses
- Proposing a New Writing Enhanced Course
- Using Peer Groups
- Using Portfolios in a Writing Enhanced Course
- Writing Assignments in Writing Enhanced Courses
- Writing to Learn and Communicate in Writing Enhanced Courses
Examples of Writing-Enhanced Assignments and Syllabi
Examples of Successful Proposals for WE Courses at Stetson
- HIST 105 "Modern Western Civilization"
- PSYC 203 "Great Experiments"
- MUSC 197A, "History of Popular Music"
- COMM 311 "Classical Rhetoric"
- GESS 498 "Senior Research Proposal"
- ECON 498 "Senior Research Proposal"
- MC 392 "Song Literature"
- AFST 350A "Advanced Africana Literature"
Examples from Other Colleges and Universities
- In Geography:"The Human Use of the Environment," taught at Boston College
- in Anthropology: "Aging and Culture" at University of South Florida
- In Political Science, "American Government" taught at CUNY-Hunter College
- In Music Education, "History of Music" taught at Eastern Michigan University
Faculty Development Workshops
- Spring 2016 Information Sessions
- September 2013 Faculty Development: Handling the Paper Load
- August 2013: FSEM Pre-Term Faculty Development workshop packet
- April 2012: FSEM Faculty Development Workshop packet
- August 2011 FSEM Faculty Workshop packet of materials.
- April 2009 workshop on Incorporating Writing into Course Unit Classes.
- 2008 "Teaching Conversation" about teaching with writing. Includes example grading rubrics and assessment criteria.
- 2008 "Teaching Conversation" document offering an example rubric for a term paper in any discipline.
Guiding Principles of the Writing Program
- NCTE Position Statement on Writing Assessment
- NCTE Position Statement on Teaching, Writing, and Assessing in Digital Environments
- WPA's Outcomes Statement
- Students' Right to Their Own Language
About Writing to Learn
- "What is Writing to Learn?" from the WAC Program at Colorado State University.
- "Write to Learn" from the University of Richmond.
- Avoiding Plagiarism: more than a checklist of what not to do. Check this out, from Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
- Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism "Best Practices," The Council of Writing Program Administrators
- Harris, Robert. "Anti-Plagiarism Strategies for Research Papers." 2009
- Plagiarism Scenarios - A useful activity for teaching your classes about plagiarism
- Preventing Plagiarism
- One of our reference schools, Carleton College, instituted a writing-intensive curriculum in 2001; part of their program is the writing portfolio. See this article for information about Carleton's Writing Program (from the American Association of Colleges & Universities and from the National Commission on Writing).
- Hesse, Doug. Portfolio Grading Standards for ENGL 101. from Teaching Composition, Urbana, 2005. (PDF file.)
- Portfolio terminology. Nedra Reynolds, from Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Instructors (PDF file)
- Reflective elements in portfolios. Nedra Reynolds, from Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Instructors. (PDF file)
- Grading the portfolio. Nedra Reynolds, from Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Instructors (PDF file)


Another study proves link between music education and the brain
Instrumental lessons found to improve academic performance
A study carried out at Boston Children’s Hospital has revealed that those who are trained in music from a young age for two years or more benefit from improved executive brain function.
The results, published in the journal PLOS ONE, show that the part of the brain responsible for cognitive processes such as problem solving, behaviour regulation and the processing and retention of information was more active in the musically trained individuals.
Senior study investigator Nadine Gaad, PhD, says ‘Since executive functioning is a strong predictor of academic achievement, even more than IQ, we think our findings have strong educational implications’
She continued: ‘While many schools are cutting music programs and spending more and more time on test preparation, our findings suggest that musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future.’
For the study, a group of 15 musically trained children aged 9 to 12 were compared with a control group of 12 children of the same age. Two groups of adults, divided into professional- and non-musicians were also compared.
Gaab added ‘Our results may have implications for children and adults who are struggling with executive functioning, such as children with ADHD or [the] elderly. Future studies have to determine whether music may be utilised as a therapeutic intervention tool for these children and adults.’
Researchers have noted that children who study music already have strong executive function, something that initially caused their attraction to, and perseverance with, music. They hope to establish whether musical training influences executive function or vice-versa in future studies, following children over time and assigning them to musical training at random.
- Article Type: | News |


Children at primary school are to be given compulsory lessons on evolution for the first time under a shake-up of the curriculum unveiled yesterday.
The move follows protests from scientists that there had been no mention of the topic in a previous consultation document published earlier. Some said the topic, to be introduced in science lessons, was necessary to combat growing attempts to bring creationism into the curriculum.
Announcing the move, Schools minister, Vernon Coaker, said: "Lots of teachers came forward and said it should be part of the compulsory programme of study."
Under the proposals, children would start to learn about Darwin's theory on the origins of species during their later years in primary school. The new change would be brought in from September 2011. The move was welcomed by the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science, whose vice-president, Sir Martin Taylor, said: "Teachers should aim to explain why evolution by natural selection is the only known way of understanding all the available evidence. Learning about evolution can be an extraordinary, exciting and inspiring experience for children."
The move was one of only two changes to the primary school curriculum recommended in a government review by Sir Jim Rose, a former inspector with the education standards watchdog Ofsted, which was accepted by ministers in April.
The second change is to give more emphasis to the teaching of British history in primary schools. Ministers said they had chosen to "reinforce" the subject following fears that it could be sidelined under proposals to include all subjects under six new areas of learning – which have history and geography as part of just one topic heading.
The curriculum guidance includes a reference to the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans as examples of what pupils could be taught.
Other key proposals accepted from the review include making it compulsory for every child to learn a modern foreign language from the age of seven. The proposals were included in the Education Bill introduced to Parliament yesterday.


A School-Randomized Clinical Trial of an Integrated Social–Emotional Learning and Literacy Intervention: Impacts After 1 School Year
Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Objective: To report experimental impacts of a universal, integrated school-based intervention in social– emotional learning and literacy development on change over 1 school year in 3rd-grade children’s social– emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Method: This study employed a school-randomized, exper- imental design and included 942 3rd-grade children (49% boys; 45.6% Hispanic/Latino, 41.1% Black/African American, 4.7% non-Hispanic White, and 8.6% other racial/ethnic groups, including Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American) in 18 New York City public elementary schools. Data on children’s social–cognitive processes (e.g., hostile attribution biases), behavioral symptomatology (e.g., conduct problems), and literacy skills and academic achievement (e.g., reading achievement) were collected in the fall and spring of 1 school year. Results: There were main effects of the 4Rs Program after 1 year on only 2 of the 13 outcomes examined. These include children’s self-reports of hostile attributional biases (Cohen’s d 0.20) and depression (d 0.24). As expected based on program and developmental theory, there were impacts of the intervention for those children identified by teachers at baseline with the highest levels of aggression (d 0.32–0.59) on 4 other outcomes: children’s self-reports of aggressive fantasies, teacher reports of academic skills, reading achievement scaled scores, and children’s attendance. Conclusions: This report of effects of the 4Rs intervention on individual children across domains of functioning after 1 school year represents an important first step in establishing a better understanding of what is achievable by a schoolwide intervention such as the 4Rs in its earliest stages of unfolding. The first-year impacts, combined with our knowledge of sustained and expanded effects after a second year, provide evidence that this intervention may be initiating positive developmental cascades both in the general population of students and among those at highest behavioral risk.
Jones, Stephanie M.; Brown, Joshua L.; Hoglund, Wendy L. G.; and Aber, J. Lawrence, "A School-Randomized Clinical Trial of an Integrated Social–Emotional Learning and Literacy Intervention: Impacts After 1 School Year" (2010). Psychology Faculty Publications. Paper 130.


Scholastic FX Books is a collection of 24 high-interest, age-appropriate texts for struggling readers and English-language learners in middle and high school who need to practice and review essential phonics concepts.
Practice Essential Decoding Skills
Scholastic FX Books target important phonics patterns in sequential order. These patterns — called the FX Factor — are listed on the inside front cover of each book. As students engage in the text, they practice the FX Factor, build fluency, and vocabulary.
The Teacher’s Guide provides supplemental activities to help students practice the targeted phonics patterns while building fluency, vocabulary, and confidence.
Easy-to-Use Instructional Support
The Teacher’s Guide provides comprehensive support for phonics instruction, student activities, and other valuable resources.
Teacher materials include:
Student Activity Sheets
Teaching Routines for Vocabulary Instruction
High-Frequency Vocabulary Word List
Download Entire Scope and Sequence (PDF)
A teaching plan for each FX Book presents instructional support for teaching the targeted phonics patterns.
Teachers can use this proven-to-work teaching routine for introducing new vocabulary to students.
300 High-Frequency Words
The Teacher’s Guide includes a list of high-frequency words that teachers can use with students to build and assess fluency.


Voice of Lyrics
The composer, pianist, choral director, poet, journalist, novelist, music teacher and historian Johanna Kinkel ( Mockel ), was born on 8 July 1810 in Bonn. Her father, a teacher at the French Gym-nasium, and mother encouraged their daughter’s musical talents. They chose Franz Anton Ries (1755-1846), Beethoven’s childhood violin instructor, to be her piano and composition teacher. With Ries’ support, Johanna began a career as a coach, accompanist and choral director while still in her teens. He also helped her to publish Die Vogelkantate, her Op. 1, in 1830.
In 1832, Johanna married the Cologne music merchant Johann Paul Mathieux, but she left the abusive relationship in less than six months. Divorce proceedings lasted for several years. After a long period of debilitating depression, Johanna was able to resume her artistic career. Dorothea Schlegel arranged for her to meet Felix Mendelssohn in 1836. He strongly encouraged her to pursue a musical career. Following his advice, she moved to Berlin in November of that year and studied with Karl Böhmer and Wilhelm Taubert. Johanna financed her stay in Berlin by giving private piano lessons. Her pupils included the daughters of Bettina von Arnim. She frequented the most elite literary circles and performed in Fanny Hensel’s Sunday Musicals. The most famous houses and salons were open to her. During these exciting years her Lieder, Op. 6 - 12 were published. Important critics, among them Ludwig Rellstab and Robert Schumann, wrote glowingly about her compositions.
Because of pending divorce proceedings, Johanna returned in 1839 to provincial Bonn. She was soon involved again as a conductor, performer, and composer with various chamber music and vocal ensembles in her home. Johanna’s Gesangverein was one of the first choral groups in Germany to be conducted by a woman. In 1842, she, a Catholic divorcée, married the Protestant theologian, poet and university lecturer Gottfried Kinkel. Together they founded a literary group, the Maikäferbund.
Johanna Kinkel’s literary and musical circles collapsed in 1848, the year of revolutionary upheaval in Germany. Gottfried Kinkel was chosen by the democratic electorate to represent Bonn in the National Assembly in Berlin. There he was arrested and condemned to death for his political activities. Johanna, with the help of Bettina von Arnim and others, was able to have his death sentence overturned and changed to life imprisonment. Karl Schurz, organized Gottfried’s escape from Spandau prison and helped him to find exile in London.
Johanna and their four children joined him there in 1851. She fully supported her husband in his political pursuits in their adopted country and the Kinkels soon became the center of the expatriate German community. To earn a livelihood Johanna, whose English was very good, gave piano lessons, taught singing to small children and published two books on music education. She again directed a choir and wrote music, librettos, poetry and a two-volume novel. An article on Frédéric Chopin as Composer and another on the works of Felix Mendelssohn published after her death come from his period.
But it was also a time of depression and despair. Besides her many musical activities, she was almost solely responsible for the household and their children. Gottfried continued his political activities and was perhaps unfaithful.
On 15 November 1858, Johanna’s body was found in the garden of her home. She had either fallen or had jumped from the window of her third floor bedroom. While suicide was suspected, it could not be proven.
Johanna was not forgotten in her native country. She lived in the memory of German intellectuals as an eccentric revolutionary and as a musician with a broad cultural background.
The words Freiheit, Liebe und Dichtung (Freedom, Love, and Poetry) were inscribed on her tombstone.
Suzanne Summerville, Dr. phil.


"Teaching English-Language Learner Students: Professional Standards in Elementary Education in Central Region States"
A new report offers some guidance for classroom teachers working with English-language learners in seven states in the central part of the United States, where the number of students learning English is climbing steadily.
The report, released last week by the Institute for Education Sciences, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, focuses on Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
It spells out what K-8 general education teachers are expected to know and be able to do to teach ELLs and notes where some states' teaching standards fall short in addressing topics that research has shown to be key to improving achievement for English-learners.
The guide was put together for the institute by the Regional Educational Laboratory Central in Englewood, Colo.
Vol. 31, Issue 23, Page 5


With the exception of Native American music forms, the blues was created by African-Americans and is the first pure American music form to have originated in this country. Coming from the oral traditions of African-American folk music, the blues is the foundation for all other popular music forms students listen to today.
Lacking an educational system, these early country blues men and women created beautiful poetry that responded to the conditions of their world. Sometimes the lyrics expressed the anger they could not speak. Other times, they painted a vivid picture of African-American life in those fields. Through the blues, student listeners can learn the history of those times. Students can be shown the essential role these rural lyrics played in the African-American oral traditions.
The Piedmont Blues Preservation Society has been providing performances, exhibitions, and educational programs exploring the importance and history of the blues music genre in our schools for many years. Studies have shown that music education is beneficial by increasing reading comprehension, writing ability, mathematics problem solving, and on-task-performance in science classrooms.
Over the years the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society has occasionally been able to secure nationally known blues music performers, such as Cephas and Wiggins or most recently, Fruteland Jackson to supplement our local Blues in the Schools performers. As a matter of fact, Fruteland personally reached teaching 1 million students while in Greensboro as part of PBPS Blues in the Schools program in 2010. These artists have “lived the blues,” and are happy to share stories, experiences, and their music to educate and entertain our children.
Fruteland Jackson has graciously provided his permission to use his teaching materials for use with our program.
Blues in the Schools Activity/Workbook download.pdf
BITS Course Descriptions download.pdf
BITS Lesson Plan Outlines download.pdf
BITS Blues Bibliography download.pdf
BITS EFX download.pdf
Donations are used to provide educational materials and to compensate musicians for their time andtravel expenses while working with Blues in the Schools.


DuBose Heyward, author of "Porgy and Bess" and other important musicals
Eugene Dubose Heyward, a White American writer and playwright, was born on this date in 1885.
Although his parents were descended from Charleston, SC, aristocracy, the young Heyward did not know the wealth of his grandparents. The city and its citizens were proud, dignified, mannerly, vain, courageous, and poor. The Heyward family knew poverty and lived modestly.
Dubose wrote children's stories, fiction, and short stories during the 1920s and 1930s that focused on the lives of black Americans living on the waterfront of Charleston. Heyward was fascinated with the Gullah language of Black American culture.
He and his wife, Dorothy, dramatized his most successful novels, resulting in major Broadway successes, namely "Porgy & Bess," the first U.S. folk opera, with music by George Gershwin and lyrics co-written by Ira Gershwin and Heyward. Many of the songs from the classic opera have been performed and recorded countless times over the decades, including "Summertime," "I Love You Porgy," and "I'm On My Way."
Heyward and his wife later dramatized his book, "Mamba's Daughters," with much success. Heyward then wrote the screenplay for the 1933 motion picture based on Eugene O'Neill's "Emperor Jones," starring Paul Robeson. The Charleston native also founded the Poetry Society of his home state.
Eugene DuBose Heyward died in 1940.
Lillian B. Hart
early childhood/elementary education
Today in American History


You know the phrase well: we can’t see the forest for the trees.
There is a strong sentiment that America’s children are over-scheduled and need to spend more time in relatively unstructured settings such as unsupervised outdoor play. Richard Louv, the San Diego journalist who coined the phrase “nature deficit disorder,” makes a compelling case that children need more time in nature in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods. In a recent Slate blog post, Emily Bazelon begins:
“In their new book, The App Generation, education professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis argue that kids today are becoming more risk averse: ‘Rather than wanting to explore, to try things out by themselves, young people are always pushing to find out exactly what is wanted, when it is wanted, how it will be evaluated, what comes next and where we end up’ they said in a recent Q-and-A.”
Ms. Bazelon contrasted this description of American children’s difficulty with feeling lost, with a Swiss “forest kindergarten” in which young children go to school outdoors every day in all weather.
It’s easy (for me, anyway) to be swept up by the fantastic idea of sending children off to a forest kindergarten. It’s interesting to imagine such schools springing up in the US and how well adjusted our children would then be. That’s the forest part. It certainly makes for a happy fantasy. But we know that not many schools or districts will convert their programs any time soon to be like the forest kindergarten as described.
Now for the trees. I personally would be happy if we just look for simpler, less dramatic—certainly less so than forest kindergartens!—solutions to this problem. Why not begin by providing even a little more time and space for the less-structured, yet engaging and challenging experiences in settings where we currently find our children? We seem to be attracted to the dramatic, impractical ideas, while simply adding more time for hands-on investigation in which we challenge children to think for themselves appears impossible. It’s as if we cannot make the time for children to engage in such pursuits even when we know how valuable they are. Somehow this seems frivolous, while we emphasize the structured, “serious” experiences that lead to more prescribed, “certain” results.
For that matter, what about the rest of us– the adults? A recent experience I had as a co-instructor of a science teaching course for early childhood educators raises the question of why we see this as something only children need. I was facilitating experiences having to do with sinking and floating, a topic often explored in the early years. The adults were chattering away, engaged in thinking about various factors that affect whether something sinks or floats in water. But at a certain point the educators insisted I provide an explanation for why we were seeing what we were. I dutifully explained a bit about density and how objects that are more dense than water will sink, etc., all in what I thought were reasonably simple terms. Most of the teachers pretty much stopped the excited discussions they were having before this explanation and looked stunned. Several then expressed frustration with not understanding. I explained that the concept is not simple, and that it was fine if they did not understand, and that science is exciting because there is so much that is not yet understood. I was struck at how they were so uncomfortable with the lack of certainty brought on by not understanding, as if they were incapable of doing a little work to try to understand it better. They really just wanted to be told. And we wonder why children are having difficulty.
Jeff Winokur is an early childhood and elementary science specialist. He is an Instructor of Elementary Education at Wheelock College, and currently working with the Aspire Institute and Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care on new, state-wide Science, Technology, and Engineering standards for preschools.
Photos courtesy of Ullakko, Thelouse, and Anguskirk and used under Creative Commons License.


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- Professional Development | Grades 8 – 12 | Professional Library | Journal
Analyzing Grammar Rants: An Alternative to Traditional Grammar Instruction
Kenneth Lindblom and Patricia A. Dunn teach language awareness and use through published complaints about the teaching of grammar. Students are able to recognize issues of race and class that determine acceptable usage and learn the importance of audience in their own language use.
- Professional Development | Grades K – 2 | Professional Library | Journal
Five Internet Sites Too Good to Miss
The author shares five developmentally appropriate websites for primary-grade readers to support their literacy development.
- Professional Development | Grades 3 – 5 | Professional Library | Journal
Matching Books and Readers: Selecting Literature for English Learners
This article offers suggestions on how to choose books to aid English learners with language acquisition and comprehension.
- Professional Development | Grades 6 – 8 | Professional Library | Journal
Recentering the Middle School Classroom as a Vibrant Learning Community: Students, Literacy, and Technology Intersect
Examine the ways in which community can be constructed in the middle school classroom using online electronic discussions of literature.
- Professional Development | Grades K – 8 | Professional Library | Book
Setting the Stage for Creative Writing: Plot Scaffolds for Beginning and Intermediate Writers
Want to foster creativity and originality in student writing? This practical guide shows how plot scaffolds can be used to help beginning and intermediate writers.
- Professional Development | Grades K – 12 | Professional Library | Book
The Literacy Coach’s Desk Reference: Processes and Perspectives for Effective Coaching
Cathy Toll offers practical information for pre-K–12 literacy coaches on conferencing with individual teachers and groups, as well as on providing demonstration lessons, services to entire schools, and services to students.


The work relief programs spawned by the Great Depression of the 1930s shaped a decade of public art in the New York City public schools. The state and federal governments initiated huge numbers of projects, but government support of art in schools extended beyond auditorium walls. The New Deal institutionalized public art, providing the blueprint for government sponsorship that would eventually give rise to the U.S. General Services’ Administration’s Art in Architecture Program and Percent for Art legislation in various cities and states. The federal art programs provided schools with new types of art, such as portfolios of original graphics, and reawakened interest in traditional mediums, including true fresco. Work relief for artists generated artistic diversity, and greater numbers of women and artists of color created art for New York City public schools. The decade also ushered in a more global perspective, prompting artists to think about American culture in the context of world civilizations, a new theme for public art in schools.
The federal programs launched under the Works Progress Administration (later Works Projects Administration) touched schools on many levels, ranging from improving the physical plant to advancing art education and supplementing the general education programs provided by the Board of Education. In the area of public art, however, the programs that had the largest impact on the New York City public schools were the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), which operated from December 1933 to June 1934, and the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (WPA/FAP), in effect from 1935 to 1943. The WPA/FAP had several different divisions, centered on music, theater, writing, and the visual arts. The visual arts division was further categorized according to fine art (portable graphics, paintings, and sculptures, as well as architectural sculpture and murals), applied art, and art education.


Communities developing resources and competencies for using their languages
Foundational understanding for language development work of all kinds
Publications, fonts and computer tools for language development, translation and research
SIL offers training in disciplines relevant to sustainable language development.
7,105 languages are spoken or signed. CLICK for map of world languages & regional websites.
SIL's dedication to language development past and present
This paper presents a sociolinguistic survey conducted in the Ginyanga speech community Guang language family) of Togo. The survey was designed to help SIL Togo-Benin administrators determine whether there is a need for SIL participation in Ginyanga language development and, if so, the priority and strategy for such involvement.
Through the administration of a Recorded Text Test (RTT), we evaluated the Ginyanga speaker’s comprehension of Gikyode. Gikyode is a speech variety spoken in Ghana, which is closely related to Ginyanga. In this paper, we give the results for the RTT and briefly investigate testing of written Gikyode. In addition, we present information collected pertaining to dialectology, multilingualism, and the religious situation.
In general, the test results show “mixed levels” of comprehension of Gikyode. This means, no segment of the population scores below 80%, but some segments score below 90%” Marmor 1996:2). The reported level of bilingualism in Ewe is high, but there are few indications of language shift.
The results from the RTT and information presented in this paper are one part of a larger sociolinguistic survey. More information, such as language attitudes and contact patterns between the Anyanga and the Akyode, is discussed in a separate report titled, “Ginyanga Literacy Development,” which primarily addresses recommendations for literacy development.


The Chicago School of Art
The K-12 Dinner Party Curriculum
The development of The K-12 Dinner Party Curriculum Project was born out of frustration.
While Judy Chicago, developer of The Dinner Party, and her husband, photographer Donald Woodman, were artists in residence at Vanderbilt University in 2005, Chicago was shown an article from an education magazine on a teacher's use of The Dinner Party in class.
Chicago's work consists of a triangular table with place settings set for important female figures, such as Emily Dickinson, Kali, Sacajewea and Eleanor of Aquitaine. One of the intentions of the installation is to highlight the oft-ignored contributions of women, so when Chicago saw that this teacher's class had instead created their own autobiographical plates, she was disturbed. There's nothing wrong with that approach, she writes in an introduction to the curriculum, but "it is a mistake to claim that such a project has anything to do with The Dinner Party, which is about women’s achievements in history."
He response to the class project spurred her to think about developing guidelines for educators who want to use The Dinner Party, as many have done since the project's completion in 1979. She and Woodman began working with Constance Bumgarner Gee, a professor of education at Vanderbilt. The hope was to guide students' interactions with the piece in a way that honored the original intention of saving the role of powerful women from obscurity.
The Dinner Party itself was born out of collaboration, taking five years and the work of hundreds of people to come to fruition. The curriculum developed along a similar course, bringing in the experience and insight of educators. Chicago and Gee approached Kutztown University's Marilyn Stewart, Peg Speirs and Carrie Nordlund to direct the project. They in turn enlisted a host of K-12 teachers to work together on developing lessons surrounding The Dinner Party. The teachers went back to their classrooms and implemented the strategies, highlighting what worked and refiguring what didn't. The final curriculum is a product of this highly synergetic process.
One aspect that both Chicago and the curriculum's developers stress is the examination of content and context. Chicago says modern art education is obsessed with form—that is, how to create art—prioritizing format and technique. As an artist, she focuses on content (what the piece is saying) and the context of its creation (why it's saying it, who it's saying it to). The curriculum then asks students to investigate metaphor, symbolism and history as a way to understand the work's meaning.
The teaching of women's history and achievements is often ghettoized, shoved into segments and special months, rarely integrated as part of a comprehensive program. The K-12 Dinner Party Curriculum Project isn't slaying that particular behemoth, but it does attempt to create a space where students can realize that history isn't just created by wars and shifting borders, but also by poetry, resistance and silent sacrifice.
Another goal of the program is to "emphasize that there are many ways to be involved in art,” Chicago says. “When it's only hands-on art-making and they don't end up being artists, they don't have any other ideas that they could have a lifetime involvement with art other than making it.” Chicago, Woodman and the curriculum’s developers want to open students up to a world where participation in art includes curation, criticism, appreciation and patronage.
"There are all kinds of ways to be involved in art," she says. "Hundreds of thousands of people who have seen The Dinner Party had a profound change and they learned a lot, and that's what art should do."
The K-12 Dinner Party Curriculum Project was officially launched on May 1 at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. For more information on the curriculum, go to throughtheflower.org/dpcp.
What Are Fractals? at Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity ReStore
Learn about fractals through presentations and hands-on activities.
Words and Images at Tortuga Gallery
Arun Gandhi: Become the Change at KiMo TheatreMore Recommended Events ››


This product is currently not available for purchase.
CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF RECTANGULAR SOLIDS MADE OF SMALL CUBES. Edition No. 1
- ID: 1898413
- January 2010
- 116 Pages
- VDM Publishing House
This study investigated fourth graders' understanding of rectangular solids made of small cubes through equal sharing activities involving cube buildings. A quasi-experimental design was utilized. In the first phase, clinical interviews were conducted individually to assess the level of functioning both in concrete and pictorial situations. In the second phase, they engaged in equal sharing of spatial constructions using drawings, concrete buildings, loose cubes, and colored pens. In the last phase, post-clinical interviews were conducted to probe their improvements. Students used three distinct conceptualizations for cube arrays depending on what they formed as a unit and how they structured the whole building. Initially, their structuring was distracted by the complexity of buildings and none of them used the same strategies consistently across the problems. During the instruction, they exhibited the same three conceptualizations. After the instruction, all students consistently used layering strategies regardless of the complexity of the buildings. Equal sharing situations paved the road in establishing units, composite units, and unit iteration.
Sinan Olkun is currently working for Ankara University, as a Professor of Mathematics Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Elementary Education. His area of interest includes children’s mathematical development, geometric thinking, spatial visualization and word problem solving.


- App Store Info
Description"iShape” is an early childhood learning game. The game helps kids learn about basic shapes including Square, Circle, Star, and Triangle.
iShape has a very intuitive and user friendly interface. All the user needs to do is to drag the shape from the bottom of the screen to the main screen or simply touch the button on the screen to display the characteristics of the shape. The game will immediately notify the user if an incorrect decision has been made and allow the user to try again. Sound support has been embedded inside the game to help the users understand if the selection is correct or incorrect.
iShape offers the kids the ability to learn various shapes that come in Square, Circle, Star or Triangle. These shapes can be found in our everyday life that the kids can easily recognize and associate with.
Help your kid master all shapes with iShape.


Teen Girls Discover Digital Technology as ‘COMPUGIRLS’April 1, 2011 |
by Valerie Menand
Dr. Kimberly Scott, an associate professor in women and gender studies at Arizona State University, the digital divide is not just about “who has access to computers, but what happens during that access.”
Scott is the principal investigator and creator of a National Science Foundation-funded project called COMPUGIRLS, an innovative technology program designed to teach girls of color how to use technology to bring about social change.
“I was concerned with the low participation of young women from higher needs school districts in science, technology, engineering and math,” says Scott. “Excluded from the fastest growing technological fields, their economic prospects were grim; yet I knew the interest in technology was there. As a teacher, it’s important to empower my students and provide them the skills that will expand their opportunities.”
It was Scott’s own desire to make a difference that put her on the journey to ASU and COMPUGIRLS. The art history and French literature graduate from Smith College taught fourth grade in New Jersey, but was “appalled at how poorly the teachers treated the students.” Hoping to effect change, she returned to school, earning a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction/elementary education from Long Island University and a doctorate in education from Rutgers.
Scott developed COMPUGIRLS from a program she initiated at Hofstra University in New York. Targeting 13- to 18-year-old girls from under-resourced school districts in the Phoenix area, COMPUGIRLS combines digital technology training with social activism. Funded in part by a three-year, $853,000 grant from the NSF, it requires participants to attend mentor-led classes after school and in the summer. The girls choose a topic to study and then construct research around it, including a research paper and video documentaries. They even constructed virtual buildings via Second Life to help visualize solutions.
“Our intention is to close the gap, not only between girls and technology but between learning these skills and adapting them to real life, so that they become technologists,” Scott says.
So far, the junior technologists have investigated an array of community or social issues, including Arizona SB 1070, the controversial state law that grants local police the authority to check the immigration status of people they stop. The girls also have examined the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan and the prevalence of multiple myeloma in American Indian communities. “The girls tend to believe that the best solution is providing more balanced information about a topic,” Scott says. Besides the NSF, Scott also receives funding from the Arizona Community Foundation.
“I consider COMPUGIRLS a ‘three-fer’ — it targets young women, fits our educational criteria and addresses the low participation of girls in STEM,” says Michael Kelly, a trustee at the fund. “It benefits the community by making its participants hungry for education, which makes them, ultimately, more employable.”
Since its inception in 2007, the program has served 200 girls — 70 percent Latina, 15 percent African-American and 15 percent American Indian.
The mother of a young daughter, Scott says she remains buoyed by the occasional testimonials of past participants. “One graduate of the program went on to graduate from high school and find work with a community group. She was promoted to the head of technology, which left her a little intimidated. But she told me that because of COMPUGIRLS she knew that even if she was unsure of the technology, she knew she could figure it out.”


Use: Provides references especially helpful in teaching music to physically or mentally handicapped.
Coverage: Covers material published between 1975-1996. Not comprehensive. Includes books, videos, dissertations, and articles from journals.
Organization: Six categories: Articles, Books, Recordings, Videos, Other Resources, and Organizations. Each entry includes bibliographic information, a few are annotated.
Pros: Fulfills a very specific need, fairly extensive listing.
Brenan, Jeffrey S. Music Education Launch Site.http://www.talentz.com/MusicEducation/index.mv Accessed 29 September 1999.
Use: Geared to public school music teachers, but the Allegro search is very useful for private teachers in finding other useful sites.
Coverage: Lesson Plans, Mr. Note, Web Interactive Games, Links to sites dealing with many different aspects of music. Begun around 1994.
Organization: Home page has three categories: About Us, Resources, and Services. The home page and each branch-off page has a search box for Allegro.
Pros: Offers access to a wide variety of different music sites.
Cons: No explanations about how Allegro, the search engine of other related music sites, is organized or used except that you need to type a word.
Kantorski, Vincent J. A Bibliography of Source Readings in Music Education. Detroit Studies in Music Bibliography, ed. J. Bunker and Marilyn S. Clark, No. 78. Warren, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 1997. Mus Ref ML 128 .I64 K36 1997
Uses: A single volume of selected source material for music education and related fields. Useful for student as well as professional research.
Coverage: Includes topics on music education as well as psychology of music, philosophical foundations, research practices, as well as curriculum and instruction. Contains titles of books, journals, and standardized tests in music; reviews of journals and chapters of edited books. Does not contain dissertations titles, theses or journal article titles.
Organization: Eight categories: arts; bibliographic resources; curriculum and instruction; foundations, philosophy, and aesthetics; journals; psychology; research; reports, symposia, and conferences. Each reference is followed by abbreviations that list the different categories to which the item relates. Includes an Author Index and a Title Index.
Pros: Author tries to discriminate in selection of entries to include the most pertinent references for graduate students. Items appear under more than one category so they can be easily located under any heading to which they apply.
Cons: Not annotated – only gives the bibliographic information for each entry.


Extracurricular Involvement for Teachers
Are you looking for a way to stand out among your colleagues? Consider participating in some extracurricular activities. These opportunities will allow you to see another side of your students, while also making a name for yourself within your educational community.
1. Get Involved in an Extracurricular Activity that You Are Passionate About
Look for extracurricular activities and opportunities that match your interests and expertise. For example, if you are passionate about photography, then you might be an ideal candidate to lead a photography club or mentor the yearbook staff. If you are passionate about exercise, consider coaching long-distance running, soccer, or another sport that you particularly enjoyed as a child. Make a list of the experiences and skills you possess that would make you a natural leader for an existing or brand new extracurricular activity.
2. Partner Up
Don't presume that you have to lead an extracurricular activity alone. In fact, partnering with another staff member could prove to be far more fun. Look for another staff member who shares similar interests and skills. Alternatively, you could seek out a fellow staff member who might be able to trade off days and responsibilities with you, so that you wouldn't have to run the entire extracurricular activity on your own.
3. Make It Fun
The whole point of having extracurricular activities at school is to expose students to different experiences and allow them to develop skills that they will need in the real world. At the same time, extracurricular activities allow kids to have fun and practice their social skills at the same time. As a teacher, cultivating an atmosphere of fun and learning via an extracurricular activity allows you to see your students in a different, more casual atmosphere. At the same time, they get to see you – the teacher – having fun and being relaxed. The opportunity to share this type of exchange on a regular basis can foster a deeper type of respect between you and your students, which can spill over into the regular classroom.
4. Create Rules
While extracurricular activities are designed to be fun, it's also important to communicate with your students about your expectations. Can they bring a snack with them? Should they arrive immediately after the school day ends? What will happen if they are late? Also, what are your expectations for how they enter your space? Should they come in peacefully and have all of their supplies with them? And what about being picked up? Do parents have to sign their children out, or can the kids leave on their own and meet their parents outside? Think about these rules ahead of time, and be sure to communicate them to your students and their parents. In addition, make sure that all of your rules comply with your school's student handbook as well.
5. Communicate Your Needs
As a dedicated teacher, it's easy to begin spending your own money, and an exorbitant amount of time, facilitating an extracurricular club. Instead, make sure that you communicate your needs to your building principal or supervisor and, if appropriate, to your students and their parents. There's no need for you to spend the extra money you're earning by sponsoring an extracurricular club on the very things that are needed to run the club. Make sure that you give others a chance to participate and make their own contribution of time and resources.
6. Train Student Leaders
Don't forget to pass your leadership skills on to the participants of the extracurricular activity you are facilitating as well. This will reduce the load that is on your shoulders, while also helping your students to take ownership of the club and their work.
Finally, running an extracurricular activity can allow you to get to know your students on anther level, while also making a positive impression about your dedication to your school and your students on your supervisors and the larger school community.
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Definitions for numeracy
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word numeracy
skill with numbers and mathematics
skill with numbers and mathematics; -- the skill with numbers analogous to literacy, the skill of reading.
The quality of being numerate; numerical skill
Numeracy is defined as the ability to reason and to apply simple numerical concepts. Basic numeracy skills consist of comprehending fundamental mathematics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For example, if one can understand simple mathematical equations such as, 2 + 2 = 4, then one would be considered possessing at least basic numeric knowledge. Substantial aspects of numeracy also include number sense, operation sense, computation, measurement, geometry, probability and statistics. A numerically literate person can manage and respond to the mathematical demands of life. By contrast, the lack of numeracy or innumeracy can have a negative impact if the skills are absent. Numeracy has an influence on career professions, literacy, and risk perception towards health decisions.
The numerical value of numeracy in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
The numerical value of numeracy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Images & Illustrations of numeracy
Translations for numeracy
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for numeracy »
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The high school I work at as an educational sign language interpreter will soon be enrolling a young girl from a refugee camp. The student has a hearing loss, but it is not known to what degree. She has had no formal learning experiences except for a few years in the refugee camp she lived in. I would like some resources in order to help the student be as successful as possible. At this point, she will be mainstreamed because there is not a teacher of the deaf full time at this high school. Can you suggest some good resources to tap into in order to help this student with language acquisition?
This profile of a student arriving from a refugee camp, sadly, is not uncommon.
A principle that Dr. Gilbert Delgado established in his groundbreaking book The Hispanic Deaf, published in 1984, is that above all, each student has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. This seems like common sense, but unfortunately, we often hope that there are solutions that we can pull off the shelf or recommend for whole categories of students.
With that principle I mind, I can recommend the following:
Where is she coming from? Are there other refugees from the same refugee camp and country in the school district? What resources exist in the community for this group of refugees. People who are providing community support for the refugees should have more information that can be relevant. It is important to network.
How does the student communicate with her family and people in her environment?
If she is hard of hearing, does she speak? What language? What language does the family speak?
Does she use gestures and home signs?
The student’s hearing loss should be determined as soon as feasible.
If the student is hard of hearing, and high school age, hearing aids are not likely to be effective without one-to-one therapy. This may be a goal a little further down the road.
Placing a student with a hearing loss in mainstreamed classes with an interpreter is not an appropriate placement. Unless she and the interpreter share a sign language, she has no access.
If she doesn’t know English, under Federal law, including Title IV of the Civil Rights Act, her language needs must be addressed. “ELL students must be provided with alternative services until they are proficient enough in English to participate meaningfully in the regular program.” https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/qa-ell.html
Regarding resources for language acquisition, all students entering special education are required to have a full educational evaluation. These professionals should, after evaluating the student, provide goals for language and literacy development. Materials used should be at a basic level, and because she is an adolescent, not designed for very young children. If there are other hearing students in the district who also lack formal schooling, what has been done for them? Does the district have ESOL specialists? What materials does the district have for teaching English to students new to the language?
These are very broad and general suggestions for a complex issue. Without more specific details, such as how the student communicates, family language, specifics about the school district, it is difficult to be specific. Finally, a sign language interpreter should not be responsible for language development of this student. I do not believe this satisfies Federal Law requirements for alternative services to assure acquisition of English.


Henri Matisse | Painting with Scissors
from the Lesson Zone Index
Students will be introduced to the art of French modern artist Henri Matisse, and will recreate a work of their own after one of his cut-outs. This free lesson plan is in fulfillment of Standard #4: K-4 and Standard #4: 5-8 of the National Standards for Art Education: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
Colored Construction Paper
Tell students, "We will be learning about the art of French artist Henri Matisse. This modern artist created a collection of artworks with a technique he referred to as "painting with scissors."
Show students Matisse's cut-out collages, Icarus (1947), Japanese Mask (1950), and The Snail (1953) as examples of this style.
Tell students, "These works were created late in Matisse's life when he was confined to a wheelchair, and could not paint anymore."
Tell students, "While these cut-outs look very simple to make, it takes a special talent to cut out and arrange these shapes, as well knowing which colors will work well together to make the most interesting picture."
Tell students, "Our art project will be to create your own version of one of these art masterpieces."
Tell students, "At your tables you will find construction paper in a variety of colors. Begin by deciding which cut-out you would like to recreate.
Tell students, "Take a sheet of white paper from the middle of the table, and place it in front of you. This piece of paper will be the paper to which all of your cut out shapes are glued."
Tell students, "Select the construction paper that you will need to complete the project. Sketch the shapes lightly on the construction paper with your pencil. When the shape looks right, cut it out and place it on the white paper."
Tell students, "When you are happy with your collage, glue all the pieces in place."
As the students work, you can quiz them on a few facts about Henri Matisse.


« Back to Civic & Community Engagement
Immigrant Outreach by the Library's Adult Literacy Students
Providence Public Library, RIGo to Website
The Discovery Guide Program at the Providence Public Library hires adult immigrants enrolled in its literacy program to provide a welcoming presence to families at the library’s Chace Children’s Discovery Library. The Discovery Guides provide outreach to area immigrants to inform them about library programs.Innovation Leader:
Karisa Tashjian, Literacy Program Coordinator, firstname.lastname@example.org
In Rhode Island, only 20% of fourth grade English Language students scored at or above the proficiency level in reading on standardized tests, compared to 71% of other students. It is critical that immigrant families regularly visit the Library as there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between children’s services in public libraries and early reading success at school. One of the ways to encourage early reading and literacy is through the Chace Children's Discovery Library that opened in January 2012 in partnership with the Providence Children's Museum. The Discovery Library features hands-on activity centers focused on key elements of early childhood literacy development. Although the library staff is eager to help immigrant families build their children’s literacy skills, immigrants are sometimes hesitant to visit the library for various reasons: some families do not know about the resources the library offers, some don’t know the procedures to follow; and others hesitate because of their language barriers. The Discovery Guide Program is designed to: (i) increase the number of immigrant families who view the Library as a free family fun and educational destination resulting in their overall increased use of Library's resources and programs; and (ii) equip immigrant adults with transferable work skills, increased English language and literacy skills and an established US work history.
The Providence Public Library hosts the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative (RIFLI), a literacy program that provides ESL, Citizenship, high school diploma, workplace readiness and digital literacy instruction in five public library systems in the state. The Discovery Guide program trains and hires adult immigrant literacy students enrolled or previously enrolled in RIFLI to serve as "spokespeople" for the Library in immigrant communities. Six Guides have been hired to date and four more will be hired in May 2013. The Guides work 4 hour shifts once a week and are paid a modest hourly wage. They participate in trainings about family literacy strategies and principles. There is close collaboration between library staff and RIFLI staff members. They design and present the training curriculum together. Library staff further trains the Guides “on the job”. The Guides bring the value of not only being multilingual but also being culturally familiar with various immigrant communities. The Guides recruit new immigrant families to the Library and spread the word about the Library to non-native English speakers. The Guides visit adult education and social service agencies, attend community fairs and help to develop the Library's relationships with immigrant communities so that the Library can promote its other programs and resources such as its free computer classes, book groups and small business trainings. The Guides have translated Library information into their respective languages (which totals five and counting). A special Open House held on a Saturday morning welcomed many immigrants who had never visited the library before.
Since the start of the Discovery Guide program, the number of visitors to the Discovery Library has continued to increase. The baby storytime hour has increased so significantly that it now requires that two Discovery Guides be scheduled to help during that time. The Guides have benefited greatly from their training and experience. As a workforce development program, they have become more comfortable and familiar with an American work setting. For most, this is their first work experience in the United States. They have remarked that their English language skills have increased considerably as a result of working with Library staff and English speaking patrons. Since the start of the program, three Guides have entered college classes; one is studying early childhood education because she has enjoyed working with children so much at the Library. Two Guides obtained other part-time jobs in addition to working at the Library. The impact on the Library has been equally significant. Prior to the Guide program, there was only one staff member who was bilingual. The Guides now help support English/Spanish story times. The library and literacy program staff members have a better understanding of each others’ expertise and a real interest in promoting their respective programs. The program has been such a success that the Library has incorporated it into next year’s budget transitioning from grant funds from the National Center for Family Literacy that provided start-up support.


The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Bill making it mandatory for private schools to reserve 25% seats for children of economically weaker sections of society.
The RTE judgement will come into effect from today and the court said prior admissions would not be affected.
See also - Quality Education (Teacher Eligibility Test ) to implement RTE :
A bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar, which had reserved its verdict on August 3 last year, upheld provisions of the law which made right to education a fundamental right of children in the age group of 6-14 years.
The RTE Act will be applicable for day schools and not for boarding schools. The RTE Act will also not be applicable in private minority schools.
The order was passed on a bunch of petitions by private unaided institutions which contended that the Act violates the rights of private educational institutions under Article 19(1)(g) which provided autonomy to private managements to run their institutions without governmental interference.
The Centre had defended the law saying it was aimed at uplifting the socially and economically weaker section of society.
The Centre had emphasised the need to de-link merit and talent from social and economic differences among different sections of society and said that the act calls for "moving towards composite classrooms with children from diverse backgrounds, rather than homogeneous and exclusivist schools".
FAQs on the Right To Education
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today has said Right To Education is constitutionally valid and has made it clear that it will apply to all schools controlled by govt or local bodies. Here are some FAQs on this act.
What is the Right to Education Act?
All children between the ages of 6 and 14 shall have the right to free and compulsory elementary education at a neighbourhood school. There is no direct (school fees) or indirect cost (uniforms, textbooks, mid-day meals, transportation) to be borne by the child or the parents to obtain elementary education. The government will provide schooling free-of-cost until a child's elementary education is completed.
What does this mean for schools across the country?
Right to Education Act, 2009, mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government aided and private unaided schools uniformly across the country. However this will not be applicable to private minority institutions that get no aid from the government. Government schools will have no quota. These schools have to admit all.
Schools will have to implement the 25% reservation at the entry level of the school. States will have to bear the cost of this.
How will the poor students be selected?
Poor students from neighbourhood areas have to be admitted, based on a lottery system.
What are problems with the Act and its implementation?
Many activists feel, that exempting private minority schools from admitting poor students is the biggest drawback as many private schools will exploit this. Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO, conducted a study across 9 states last year to understand the impact of the Right to Education Act and discovered some disturbing trends.The names of a large number of students were enrolled but they were not in schools. Bodies which are to implement the Right to Education Act haven't even been set up in many states.
What happens if the RTE is not implemented by schools?
The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) can review the safeguards for rights provided under this Act, investigate complaints and have the powers of a civil court in trying cases.


Do you know how to teach yourself music?
Professor Lucy Green found out how popular musicians taught themselves to play their instruments. She discovered these five ways:
- They chose their own music
- They played by ear
- They worked by themselves and with friends
- The learning was haphazard
- They integrated several musical skills
Lucy Green adopted and adapted these strategies for the school classroom. She found that the children became much better listeners and could describe the “underneath bits” rather than just the lyrics.
Classically trained musicians, who comprise the majority of music teachers, typically don’t learn how to play by ear or how to improvise and these are exactly the skills of the popular musician.
Lucy Green’s success in this project led to her being invited to join the Musical Futures Project operating in UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand and Brazil.
I have tried some of these ideas in my studio teaching practice, such as letting the child try to imitate a song they’ve chosen by playing the parts into a MIDI sequencing program. I can see now that what was missing was the “friendship-group”.
I know many self-taught musicians, traditional instrumentalists, singers and electronics buffs. They are startlingly good at what they do and have enviable fan bases. The decision to make popular music or none at all begins at around ten years of age. It’s the very time that children decide what they are “good at” and drop all interest in things that, in their minds, will expose them to derision.
This ten-year old watershed moment makes me think that the decision to put the lion’s share of education resources into secondary music teaching is wrong. By the time the child is thirteen it’s too late – the horse has bolted! Development of skills (requiring endless repetition) is a great pleasure for an eight year old so that’s a perfect time to begin to master an instrument.
Richard Gill, OAM, thinks we should teach a song-based curriculum in primary school because children can learn almost everything about music through singing, including notation. And singing, he says, has the added benefit of strengthening community. He is adamant that music education should start in preschool and have a strong place throughout childhood. So when Richard Gill says it would be wonderful if every child in every nation, aided by the United Nations, had access to music I couldn’t agree more, in fact access for all children is the keystone of my education philosophy.
Personally, I think we should use all means available (voices, violins and vocoders) to connect with children to make music meaningful. Right now I’m using nursery rhymes, maracas and chime bars because of the age of the children I work with (0-6 years) but I have managed a suite of 24/7 access electronic music studios when I taught adults (1990s) and they got the very lastest samplers, keyboards and speakers I could buy. My music education philosophy is based on the notion of horses for courses, the essential thing is that lots of music-making is going on for each learner.
Green, L. (2011). What can teachers learn from popular musicians? A conversation with Lucy Green Professor of Music Education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r8zoHT4ExY
In this video, Lucy Green discusses the research behind the Musical Futures Project.
Gill, R. (2015). Richard Gill on music literacy [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=7&v=DzRbw9xpOeo


© Alissa DanielsCalendar: Science, Tech, Eng & Math This Week
Notice, wonder, question, play. Investigate magnets. Experiment with dry ice. Touch a live snake. Boston Children’s Museum is a welcoming, imaginative learning environment that helps children develop foundational skills in science, technology, math, and engineering, and supports families in nurturing their children’s curiosity.
Museum educators develop daily activities that inspire hands-on investigation and greater awareness of the world around us. Children may practice using tools such as magnifying glasses to take a closer look at everyday objects. Experiments introduce visitors to new materials, such as water-repellent fabric engineered through nanotechnology. Games and puzzles help children recognize patterns, and develop math and problem solving skills.
Live animal programs help children understand their connection to all living things. Boston Children’s Museum offers many opportunities to meet the Museum’s resident live animals up close! Creature Features happen frequently in Play Space, Countdown to Kindergarten and Investigate. Monthly Critter Days are special live animal programs that bring experts to the Museum to share everything from live hawks and alligators to domestic working dogs that help kids learn to read.
Saturdays are special science days at the Museum. Museum wide events such as National Engineering Week Celebration feature guest presenters from partner universities and organizations such as the Society of Black Engineers. The annual Chemistry Day is developed in partnership with scientists and students from the American Chemical Society. Once a month you will find a Kitchen Science experiment or an Engineering Design Activity developed to challenge older kids.


Does your child love sushi? How about creating something a little different with avocado sushi bites! She can hone her culinary skills as well as expand her flavor palate. And, the whole family will love the finished creation!
What You Do:
- Invite your child to find the carrot peeler as well as washing the cucumber before preparing to make the sushi bites.
- Now she can carefully use the carrot peeler to slowly create lengths of cucumber starting at one end, and peeling to the other. The top few peels with just the cucumber skin can be put to the side.
- Once she’s got a nice long length of cucumber, she can cut it in half, and coat one side with a dollop of cream cheese.
- Now she can carefully cut and cube the avocado. Using a paring knife with an avocado can be a bit challenging, especially when removing the pit. Ask an adult to help if needed!
- She can place a cube of avocado at one end of the cucumber strip and then begin rolling things up, just like a sushi roll.
- Encourage your child to hold her cucumber sushi bite together with a small amount of cream cheese, or use a toothpick for extra support.
Tell your child to keep peeling and rolling until the entire cucumber and avocado have been used. Then she can serve to friends and family for a perfect afternoon snack!
Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.


Reciprocal Teaching of Reading Comprehension Strategies for Students with Learning Disabilities Who Use English as a Second La
Publisher Elementary School Journal, 96(3)
Page Numbers 275-293
Summary This study investigated the efficacy of 2 related interventions on the reading comprehension of seventh and eighth graders with learning disabilities who used English as a second language. All 26 students participated in reciprocal teaching for 15 days and then were randomly assigned for 12 days to 1 of 2 groups: reciprocal teaching with cooperative grouping or reciprocal teaching with cross-age tutoring. Though there were no statistically significant differences between groups on 2 measures of comprehension, students in both groups made significant progress in reading comprehension. Analyses focused on understanding the performance of more and less successful students within groups. Findings revealed that initial reading ability and oral language proficiency seemed related to gains in comprehension, that a greater range of students benefited from strategy instruction than would have been predicted on the basis of previous research, and that students in both groups continued to show improvement in comprehension when provided minimal adult support.


What is Carpenter Literacy?
Carpenter Literacy is a phonetic reading program for beginning or struggling readers. It is a method to teach reading that is phonetic, systematic, repetitive and easy to use. Research has shown that phonics instruction is essential for a new reader's success. Because of my frustration with beginning reading curriculum, I wrote Carpenter Literacy while teaching Title I reading to simplify and organize the introduction of word families with high-frequency words. The students learn to read by sounding out and learning words with guidance and practice.
The program consists of 11 components: a teacher's manual with complete instructions for lessons, assessments and guidance through the curriculum; a book of 17 short vowel family story lessons; a book of 18 long vowel family story lessons; a book of 18 digraph, diphthong, silent consonants, r-controlled vowel story lessons; a final book of word lists with common suffixes, prefixes and endings patterns; two Sight Word Block booklets to teach high-frequency words and a booklet of word family flashcards that correspond to the story lessons. Each story lesson teaches a new word family and a few high-frequency words. Each story lesson contains 3-6 pages, questions, a word family list, "Write-Five" spelling activity and corresponding high-frequency word cards. As the student works through the story lessons, the stories build in a very organized and systematic repetition of previously taught word families and high-frequency words as well as introduce new families. Syllabication is a book containing a list of words on each page with a common suffix, prefix or ending to practice reading and dividing more difficult words into syllables. This activity allows students to practice word attack of multisyllable words before they encounter them in a text and increase their fluency and comprehension.The Sight Word Blocks booklets contain ordered sentences of high-frequency words that are repeated throughout the booklet. Students cut apart the words, build and read the sentences in guided lessons. A new sentence is introduced each week for students to repeat and master words.
A preschool line of tools has been introduced to complete the curriculum. The Sound Song is an effective, catchy tune that teaches very young children the sounds of the alphabet. Used as a teaching tool 2-3 times a day, children as young as 3 can learn to recognize and repeat the different sounds which is an essential first step in beginning reading. The Blending Book is an excellent tool to teach children how to blend three-letter words after they know all the sounds of the alphabetic letters. It includes 15 phrases of three-letter words to give children the opportunity to practice blending the different sounds to make words. It was written specifically for two 4 yr. old boys in my preschool and successful in teaching them how to blend three letters into words within two months. It is another very important piece to beginning reading. Bingo Boards is a methodical tool to teach and assess the progress of high-frequency words or alphabetic letters and sounds to young children. It consists of 6 blank Bingo Boards with 5 copies of each letter of the alphabet or high-frequency word to provide children with much exposure and practice for learning these reading skills. The high-frequency words correlate with those introduced in the leveled books. It was written for Title I kindergarten students and provides a simple, fun method to teach alphabetic principles and high-frequency words.
Why Carpenter Literacy?
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