The focus of this pedagogical study was to create a sequential music curriculum using the Orff Schulwerk approach for the multiage classrooms of the Aquila Primary Center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. This was to be a working model which would provide the framework for implementing developmentally appropriate practices into the music curriculum for the first/second and second/third grade multiage classes. These practices include (a) integrating curriculum, (b) active child involvement and interaction through peer teaching and cooperative learning, (c) use of manipulative and multi-sensory activities, and (d) a balance of teacher-directed and child-initiated activities.
Developmentally appropriate child-centered learning is the cornerstone of multiage primary education. Orff Schulwerk, based on the work of Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman, is a philosophy of music education that is a natural extension of developmentally appropriate practice. Speech, song, movement and instrument playing allow children to become actively involved in their music making. There is a sense of community that is built by children cooperating in group activities. Students in a multiage classroom are continually involved in building a sense of community throughout the day and it naturally carries into the music classroom.
This paper reviewed the research of mixed age grouping and comparisons of graded and non-graded classes. Successful implementation of multiage practices in the classroom was reviewed through writers who are active multiage teachers.
A multiage curriculum was developed for common elements based on the Music Education Standards for grades K-4 from the National Standards for Music Education and the St. Louis Park music curriculum. A twelve-week curriculum was developed and piloted using peer teaching, cooperative learning and learning partners. Lesson plans were developed around the elements of rhythm and melody and are included to serve as models.
The first and second grade multiage concepts focus on (a) the review of do, re, mi, and so; (b) melodic improvisation of mi, so, and la, (c); partner improvisations using do, re, mi, so and la; and (d) creation of 8-beat phrases using known rhythms of half, quarter and eighth notes and rests. The second and third grade multiage concepts focus on (a) reading, improvising, writing, and composing syncopation; (b) preparation of sixteenth note patterns; (c) question and answer phrases, and; (d) improvising and writing 16-beat question and answer phrases for piano. Assessment of student progress was made by recording specific activities and behavior through teacher observation, anecdotal records, and student portfolios.
The result of this project is a sequential music curriculum for the multiage primary grades. Recommendations for implementation include allowing extra time for lesson planning and curriculum development to meet the needs of all students. Adequate preparation for teachers is a key element to success in teaching a multiage class. Time needs to be allowed in the day for personal reflection and student reflection at the end of lessons. Starting simply with one multiage technique in one class allows the teacher time to practice and adapt techniques that will meet the needs of his or her teaching situation.


The growth of image collections in U.S. educational and cultural institutions has evolved since the early days of photography and the image collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art is no exception. Images have played a critical role in the educational and research functions of the museum. In its earliest days, lantern slides played a significant role in the history of the museum. As early as July 1914 Cleveland Museum of Art director, Frederic Whiting, used lantern slides to illustrate his talks on American Museums in order to publicize the new Cleveland Museum. "The Director is prepared to talk before clubs and other organizations on the need of an Art Museum in the Community, either with or without stereopticon slides."1 It was the first time images could be seen by an entire audience.
In 1920 the Cleveland Museum of Art's Lantern Slide Department officially opened with 7,500 photographs, 1,500 lantern slides and around 300 etchings and engravings all donated by various individuals. The goal of the Lantern Slide Department was to provide the museum staff and the Cleveland community with an educational resource for classroom support and lectures for various clubs and organizations. The lantern slides were lent at no cost for no longer than three days.
For the 20th Anniversary Exhibition which opened June 26, 1936, the lantern slides were used for two lecture series in the Museum Auditorium given by Mr. Dudley Crafts Watson. The first ran August 14–16, 1936 and the second ran October 2–4, 1936. Mr. Watson used a portion of the library's Lantern Slide Collection and inadvertently returned to Chicago with four of the slides. He returned the lantern slides with a letter praising the staff of the Lantern Slide Department.
Because lantern slides were considered a necessary educational and research tool, the museum expanded its collection in order to support the mission of continued art education and awareness. In a report to the Board of Trustees, museum Director, William M. Milliken, presented statistics of the Lantern Slide Department, showing that as of June 1, 1939, approximately 2,134,640 slides had been loaned since the Slide Department opened in 1920, a remarkable record of service to the community.2
The early collection's strength "…is especially to be looked to for Oriental scenes. It is weak in paintings. We need especially slides, as we do photographs, showing works of painters of whom we have examples in the galleries"3
The Lantern Slide Department evolved further with the development of 35mm slides. This advancement in film made images more convenient and desirable. In 1956, in a new and larger facility, the Lantern Slide Department began to acquire 35mm slides. Due to their smaller size there was more space to grow the collection. At the same time, the usage of lantern slides slowly declined.
When the Lantern Slide Department moved in 1984, it was renamed the Slide Library and focused exclusively on the 35mm slide collection. Slides were circulated to the museum staff, faculty and students in the CMA/CWRU Joint Program in Art History and Museum Studies, researchers, area educators and any member of the public giving a presentation for educational purposes.
By the time digital technology began to impact the Slide Library in the late 1990's the collection included approximately 500,000 slides representing a comprehensive treatment of the world's artistic and architectural history. In 2000 a project to digitize the 35mm slides began. The current building project dictated that the entire slide collection be digitized in order to provide space for other library needs and services and in 2005 the museum was awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant to fund the digitization of 86,000 slides by an outside vendor. Remaining slides were digitized on-site.
When the Ingalls Library moved to its current location in September 2006, the Slide Library once again changed its name to the Image Services Department.
Currently, the Image Services Department serves all museum staff and CWRU faculty and students in the CMA/CWRU Joint Program in Art History and Museum Studies. The Image Services staff also fills image requests compliant with copyright restrictions for outside researchers.
The Image Services department provides the following services:
- Scanning 35mm slides
- Digitally photographing or scanning images from books
- Scanning transparencies, negatives, and film prints
- Converting, resizing, and cleaning digital images
- Transfer requested images to CD
- Creating PowerPoint presentations of images requested
The library's ability to provide needed images for education and research has continued despite changes in name and changes in technology.
1. The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art, July 1914.
2. Minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees, June 30, 1939.
3. The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, September-October, 1917, p. 124


Swim Lessons for the Autistic Child: Swimming Can Improve an
Autistic Child’s Mental Development
A child with Autism can usually do anything a Neuro typical child can through proper guidance. Teaching a child with Autism to swim allows them to work the large muscles of the body, which produce chemicals that are sent to the brain that produce further chemicals that improve cognitive function. Multiple mental disorders and diseases can be improved through physical activity. This has been seen in both children and adults in a variety of studies performed to link the benefits of exercise and cognitive function.
Researchers have found that injured neurons in the brain can be stimulated through physical activity causing them to regenerate. New neurons are created while old neurons form dense interconnective webs that allow the brain to work faster and more effectively. For the parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders this is a light of hope. Knowing that a child with a pervasive developmental disorder can begin to better communicate due to mental stimulation is priceless. Though the connection between exercise and mental growth is not fully understood scientists are pleased to see many positive relationships have been found.
With such knowledge many fitness experts are reaching out to their communities and offering physical fitness opportunities for children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders in order to provide the beneficial tools to improve the lives of both parents and children. Julie Gross and her fellow professional swim coaches of Swim With Mr. Blue have experienced the beneficial side effects of exercise first hand. They occur on a daily basis, which is why they have created the Super Swimmers Foundation. Not only will the program help to produce successful swimmers but it will also improve a child’s speech, muscular tone and overall well-being. They understand that a child with autism can learn to swim and understand water safety. Swimming stimulates a child in a balanced manner working with sensory processing, gross motor skill development and increasing cognitive processing skills.
Each child is unique and each swim lesson is approached in accordance with each child’s preferences and abilities in mind. Swim lessons are provided in small achievable steps that are broken down as needed, even beginning with the tolerance of putting feet in the water. Some children respond to the water with ease while others may require lessons to be broken down into extremely small steps for comfort. Swimming lessons for a child with autism or other concerns are adapted by taking a child’s response to water (fear or enthusiasm) into consideration along with their sensitivity to smell (chlorine), auditory processing and vestibular motion for a safe and comfortable learning environment. Julie Gross and her team have had countless success stories with their swimming lessons for the autistic child and continue to grow in these efforts through the Super Swimmers Foundation.
For more information about swim lessons for the autistic child, view our additional articles.


Every year at ScienceBlogs, we do a charity drive for
DonorsChoose.org. If you haven’t heard of them, DonorsChoose is a charity that takes proposals from schoolteachers, and lets people pick specific proposals to donate money to. We run our charity challenge through the month of October.
For personal reasons, I couldn’t participate last year. The year before that, Good Math/Bad Math readers donated just over two thousand dollars to support math education in impoverished New York area schools.
This year, I’m still focusing on the NYC area, because with where I live and work, I get to directly see how these schools and students are treated, and how desperately they need help. I’ve selected a number of projects that fit into two main categories:
- Basic Supplies: These are proposals to buy very
basic classroom essentials, like pencils and paper. It’s
pathetic that teachers need to come to a charity asking for this
kind of stuff. But the unfortunate fact is, there are schools in
NYC where the school can’t even provide paper and pencils for their
students. How can you possibly expect a student to learn math, when
they don’t even have blank paper to work problems on?
- Math Manipulatives: manipulatives are much more
interesting. They’re things like shaped pattern blocks blocks,
which can be used to provide a direct, tactile tool for
understanding math. I live in an excellent school district, and my
children’s classrooms have enormous supplies of manipulatives of
several different kinds. I’ve seen very directly how these simple
things make basic mathematical concepts concrete and understandable
for elementary school children. Manipulatives can be used to help
develop the intuitions behind shapes, numbers, addition,
multiplication, patterns, areas, fractions, angles, and basic
geometry. They’re an amazing tool for elementary education, and I
think every school should have boxes of manipulatives in every
elementary classroom. They’re not terribly expensive, and they’re
To me, there’s a bit of a personal element to this stuff. The work that I’m most proud of in my life is several summers that I spent working for something called the New Jersey Discovery program. Discovery took children from some of the worst schools in the state of New Jersey, and set out to help them. The kids spent their weekends all year in tutoring. Then during the summer, they came to Rutgers, and spend the summer at the university. Three days a week, they took classes; the other two days, they worked for the university. If the kids did this for the two full years, then they got scholarships to get their bachelors degree at Rutgers.
I got to teach the Discovery kids computers and math. They were great kids: smart, hard-working, and motivated. I got to hear from them what their schools were like: places where they didn’t have basic essentials. In 1990, they were using math textbooks from 1960 – books that were falling apart, with missing pages. And that was one of the better equipped classes. They had english classes where they had no books at all. They didn’t have paper. They had classrooms where the blackboard were cracked and broken, and couldn’t be written on.
Before that experience, I had no idea that poor schools
were anything remotely close to that bad. It astonished me, and
opened my eyes. It’s easy to not realize, to not notice
how bad things can be for people who are less fortunate that you.
It’s a bad time in the economy, so I understand that a lot of us have a lot less money available to donate to things like this. But at the same time, it’s important to realize that inner city
impoverished school systems will generally be hurt much worse by economic troubles than the schools of those of us are better off.
So please: go to Donors Choose, and find some good proposals, and help
Of course, I’ll throw in some goodies. If you throw in over $100, you can pick a topic for me to write an article about. I’ll probably also set up something at Cafepress to make some Good Math/Bad Math goodies for donors. Don’t wait though – I’ll still send you the goodies even if you donate before I decide what they are.


Nearly eight years after the Constitution was amended to make education a fundamental right, the government on Thursday implemented a historic law to provide free and compulsory education to all children in age group of 6-14 years.
The 86th Constitutional amendment making education a fundamental right was passed by Parliament in 2002. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, a law to enable the implementation of the fundamental right, was passed by Parliament last year. Both the Constitutional amendment and the new law came into force from Thursday.
The new law makes it obligatory on part of the state governments and local bodies to ensure that every child gets education in a school in the neighbourhood.
Its implementation will directly benefit close to one crore children who do not go to schools at present. These children, who have either dropped out from schools or have never been to any educational institution, will be enrolled in schools.
The Right To Education is being touted by the UPA government as another major achievement after Right To Information Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
At present, there are nearly 22 crore children in the relevant age group. However, 4.6 per cent of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are out of school, a ministry official said.
The school management committee or the local authority will identify the drop-outs or out of school children above six years of age and admit them in classes appropriate to their age after giving special training.
The Act makes it a right of every child to get education. The Act makes it obligatory for the appropriate governments to ensure that every child gets free elementary education.
The Act mandates that even private educational institutions have to reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections.
Certain schools have already challenged the law in the Supreme Court as being "unconstitutional" and violating fundamental rights of unaided private educational institutions. However, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has said that legal process would not affect the implementation of law.
The Finance Commission has provided Rs. 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the Act.
As per the government's estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs. 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementation of the Act. Sibal said that the government has arranged the required funds for implementing the law.


In 1997, Congress recognized that too many children were reading below grade level. Because children's reading ability is critical to their overall success in school, this was simply unacceptable. Congress directed the creation of the National Reading Panel to reevaluate educational research and give our teachers and schools a roadmap to address this problem.
The Panel found that for children to be good readers, they must be taught:
- phonemic awareness skills - the ability to manipulate the sounds that make up spoken language;
- phonics skills - the understanding that there are relationships between letters and sounds;
- the ability to read fluently with accuracy, speed, and expression;
- and to apply reading comprehension strategies to enhance understanding and enjoyment of what they read.
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development.
Below are links to many resources pertaining to DIBELS and literacy.


Music History & Liberal Arts
Gain a well-rounded music education by delving into arts, history, creative writing, and other disciplines.
Discover the history of rock 'n' roll in more detail than you can imagine from the people that lived it. Learn about the musical and business trends in rock, major technological innovations, the prime innovators, and the historical context that has seen rock alternately flourish and struggle over the past 60 years.
Just as learning the theory behind how music creation works, exploring the history of music is key to understanding the genres of music that we perform, create, and consume today. Music History of the Western World, Part 2: (Classical, Romantic, and Modern) will provide you with a foundation for understanding how music has developed in the Western world through the study of composers, compositions, and key characteristics of a number of musical genres.
Gain a thorough understanding of film and television, and learn to communicate effectively with directors, producers, and others involved in the production of these media.
Learn to write clearly and strongly in your own unique voice, bringing your full self to your writing process every time you write.
Learn to craft and control your writing, enhance your ideas, and write better lyrics through the study of poetry.
Working in the music industry involves a never-ending series of projects. These projects come in all sizes, budgets, and levels of complexity, but for each, setting up a process for planning, executing, and monitoring your work is crucial in achieving your goals. Project Management for Musicians will provide you with an overall approach, with many specific tools, to help you successfully complete your music industry-related projects
Explore the mental processes underlying musical behaviors and how emotion, environment, cognitive capacity, personality, individual differences, and other factors influence how we perceive music.
Learn effective techniques for producing any kind of video, including a music video or short film.
Build your own knowledge of, and confidence in, math in practical ways that relate directly to the world of music. This action-oriented course is designed specifically for those who find math intimidating or who feel that their math skills have become rusty.
Strengthen your writing skills and creative expression by exploring and learning from the works of musician-writers and those for whom music has had a profound influence.
3D Design with Blender is an introduction to the world of cinematic visual effects designed for musicians who want to add interesting visual, non-existent elements or environments to self-made videos.
Through the eyes of two professors of art history with differing yet complementary approaches to understanding art, you will look at a wide variety of media, including painting, sculpture, and architecture, and discover the diversity of ways that works of art are meaningful to the human experience.
Professional Certificates (4-6 Courses)
Create your own certificate program by adding five courses from any interest area into a dedicated program.
Specialist Certificates (3 Courses)
Create your own certificate program by adding three courses from any interest area into a dedicated program.
This program provides a solid primer on the origins and backgrounds of music, from the romantic period through the 20th century, and will help you develop as a creative, musical, individual.
Learn the history and language of visual media, and develop the technical skills necessary to create and edit video for a wide variety of personal and professional uses.
Learn the necessary tools needed to communicate effectively through writing. This program takes an approach that incorporates literature study along with extensive writing workshop exercises.
Spring Term Starts April 7 for Courses and Multi-Course Certificates
Online Music Degrees Are Here!
Early Application Deadline is February 14 Learn More
Contact an Advisor


On the non-random distribution of educational deprivation of children in India
AbstractThe emphasis on education assumes importance given the recent recognition of human capital, human rights and human development perspectives of development. Hence educational deprivation is recognised as the primary agent of human deprivation and all necessary measuresare required to ensure minimum education for every child. Such auniversal recognition emanates from the given magnitude of educationally deprived children all around the world. On this premise,this is an attempt at examining the levels and inequities associated withthe phenomenon of educational deprivation of children during 1990's in India. This exercise provides a detailed exposition of the household characteristics of the deprived children based on information obtained in National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). The persistence of educational deprivation among children in India is due to socio-economic deprivation in general; however, it remains debatable but whether the remedy lies in making the schooling provision universal. This paper argues that the provision may be necessary but not a sufficient condition to accomplish the dream goal of universal elementary education. Alternatively it argues for a greater role of the state to ensure the enabling conditions in the household domain; in otherwords, the state has the responsibility of ensuring the well-being of all children on an equal footing. The state's responsibility is of equal importance of that of the parents.
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum, India in its series Centre for Development Studies, Trivendrum Working Papers with number 372.
Length: 51 pages
Date of creation: Jul 2005
Date of revision:
India; Deprivation; Educationally Deprived Children; Child Labour; Educational Inequalities; Group Inequalities;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
- I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
- I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
- R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
- J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
- J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2005-10-04 (All new papers)
- NEP-CWA-2005-10-04 (Central & Western Asia)
- NEP-DEV-2005-10-04 (Development)
- NEP-EDU-2005-10-04 (Education)
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Sonia Bhalotra & Christopher Heady, 2003.
"Child Farm Labor: The Wealth Paradox,"
World Bank Economic Review,
World Bank Group, vol. 17(2), pages 197-227, December.
- Bhalotra, Sonia & Heady, Christopher, 2001. "Child farm labour : the wealth paradox," Social Protection Discussion Papers 24088, The World Bank.
- Sonia Bhalotra & Christopher Heady, 2003. "Child Farm Labor: The Wealth Paradox," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 03/553, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
- Canagarajah, Sudharshan & Coulombe, Harold, 1997. "Child labor and schooling in Ghana," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1844, The World Bank.
- Folbre, Nancy, 1994. "Children as Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 86-90, May.
- Chaganti, Ravi & Motkuri, Venkatanarayana, 2007. "Inclusive Growth and Employment, Poverty, and Inequality : With Reference to SC and STs in India," MPRA Paper 48505, University Library of Munich, Germany.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Shamprasad M. Pujar).
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.


8 Steps to Harmonization
The middle school choir years are crucial since there is so much ground to cover in the transition from elementary school singing to high school choir. How can we take our young students from basic unison singing to SATB divisi? If we are serious about music being a core subject, then we should be serious about having sequential benchmarks. This class will use ideas and resources to layout a sequential path to harmonization for our young singers. Hal Leonard will provide packets with octavos particularly suited to young developing choirs, with resource ideas reinforcing the concepts being discussed.
Click HERE to view the syllabus for this course.
Instructor: Catherine DeLanoy
Cathy DeLanoy is a musician currently living in the suburbs of Chicago. She has taught music at every grade level in the public school system. She has recently retired from teaching at Westmont Junior High School, where she taught general music and directed their four choirs. WJH choirs consistently earned top scores, honors and prestigious performances under her direction.
Ms. DeLanoy enjoyed arranging compositions for her choirs and has octavos published by Shawnee Press, Bri-Lee Music and Carl Fischer Inc. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She went on to earn her Masters of Music Education degree from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. Her newest publication is WARMING UP WITH ROUNDS (Shawnee Press).
Outside of school, she sings professionally as a member and soloist with the critically acclaimed Chicago Choral Artists. She can be heard on many of their numerous concert CDs. In addition, she works as a clinician, instructor and adjudicator whenever possible. In the summer she can often be found on a cruise ship lecturing on "Classical Music You Know and Love". Her love of music history continually motivates her to make classical music accessible and exciting for everyone.
6593 8 Steps to Harmonization
1 graduate credit
Location: VCM Room 100
Click HERE for a campus map
Tuition is due in full with registration.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.


|Name:||Sally Sherwin Jeffrey|
|Title:||SHARING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN'S LITERACY DEVELOPMENT IN FIRST GRADE: CHILD - PARENT - TEACHER PARTNERSHIPS|
|Degree:||Doctor of Philosophy|
|Department:||Curriculum and Instruction|
|Committee Chair:||Jerome A. Niles|
|Committee Members:||Thomas M. Gardner|
|Rosary V. Lalik|
|James E. LaPorte|
|Mary Ann Lewis|
|Keywords:||Child-Parent-Teacher Partnership, Literacy Development, First Grade, Parent-Teacher Relationship, Primary Language Arts|
|Date of defense:||September 5, 1997|
|Availability:||Release the entire work for Virginia Tech access only.
After one year release worldwide only with written permission of the student and the advisory committee chair.
SHARING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN'S LITERACY DEVELOPMENT IN FIRST GRADE: CHILD - PARENT - TEACHER PARTNERSHIPS
Sally Sherwin Jeffrey
Jerome A. Niles, Chairperson
College of Human Resources and Education
The purpose of this study was to describe what happens when parents and children are invited to participate in a child-parent-teacher partnership which mutually supports the child's literacy development during transition into first grade. Questions which helped focus the study were: How do child-parent-teacher partnerships develop? How are participant's understandings and expectations about literacy affected and what is their influence on literacy development? What kind of changes related to involvement with literacy occur during the transition period? What are the conditions under which partnerships were promoted or impeded? Constructivist theory and ecological theory of human development provided the theoretical foundation for the study.
Families from the researcher's classroom were invited to participate in child-parent-teacher partnerships. Eight families participated in the study. A case study design was used to describe the partnership process. Data collection consisted of three family surveys, child and parent journals, researcher folios, children's work samples, school records, written and verbal correspondences, unstructured interviews, and audio taped at home child-parent work sessions. Data analysis followed grounded theory methodology.
Analysis revealed a uniqueness to each family and each child-parent-teacher relationship. Child-parent-teacher partnerships developed with seven of the eight participatory families. One surprising partnership developed without a positive parent-teacher relationship. The eighth intended partnership failed to emerge. Findings indicate the eight characteristics of partnership development are: interest and willingness to participate; shared purpose; reciprocal flexibility; ability and willingness to negotiate and compromise; unconditional commitment; mutual respect; effective communication; and availability of curriculum materials. Three benefits of child-parent-teacher partnerships are: enhanced literacy development; enriched parental understanding, expectation and involvement; and more informed child-parent-teacher communication.
List of Attached Files
|At the author's request, all materials (PDF files, images, etc.) associated with this ETD are accessible from the Virginia Tech network only.|


It is an accepted truism that we live in a world of change. People nod approvingly at generalizations about the inevitability of change and its impact upon our lives.
In a sense, the phenomenon of change has always been with us, even in ancient Egypt where permanence and stability were seen as desired ends. What is different in our present time is the rate of change. Seen from our current perspective, we can begin to assess the cumulative impact of change brought about in our lifetime. Just consider change in the speed of transportation and communication in the past 50 years. Simply put, the rate of change in our lifetime has been both dramatic and all encompassing. More than 30 years ago, McHale (1971) wrote:
The pace and notion of change itself has become almost autonomous and no more than routinely perceived; change is now normal. Like sense trauma, the "culture shock" of change may numb our perceptions of its full import and obscure the implications of its forward consequences. (p. 67)
For many of us, revolutionary changes pass almost unnoticed, obscured by the ongoing drumbeat of mass media and communications. One such development is that ofglobalization.
What is Globalization?
The term globalization has come into popular use in many areas of discourse. For the most part, it refers to the development of global financial markets, the growth of transnational corporations, and their increasing domination over national and local economies. As we use the term in this article, the meaning and significance of globalization can be extended far beyond marketplace and economic conditions to include how we think about virtually all areas of human exchange in our lives, including visual culture and art education.
Globalization is not a clearly defined "thing." Globalization cannot be measured completely nor can it be turned fully on or off. For some, globalization "is what we are bound to do if we wish to be happy; for others globalization is the intractable fate of the world, an irreversible process" (Bauman, 1998, p. 1). In this sense, globalization is defined and engaged at any given moment through its construction and context within specific discursive spaces. While meanings of globalization are positioned within specific contexts, for the purpose of this article we focus on four interrelated ideas, each of which might become the subject of more extended discourse in art education:
We are experiencing an overwhelming globalization of economic and cultural exchanges. The speed of information movement, in what has become for many our global village, means that every human action or event involves others in the consequence of these actions and events. According to Hannerz (1996), "Globalization is a matter of increasing long-distance interconnectedness" (p. 17).
Physical and conceptual boundaries that have helped establish and maintain distinctions are now giving way to different configurations and intersections. For example, a salient feature of globalization is that it permits financial capital to move more freely, making it possible for transnational corporations to distribute this capital over various markets. Many transnational corporations go where they can reap greatest financial gain. Oftentimes, this means going to economically deprived areas where they affect existing cultural patterns. There is a new dynamic that comes into play; people need to adjust to the operating system and the system seeks its own balance with its new surroundings.
The forces of globalization make necessary standardization or, at least, systems that cross boundaries to accommodate and fit the larger patterns of manufacture and distribution.
For example, although the products of McDonald's(TM) and Nike(TM) can be seen as global commodities that stem from an unchanging and inflexible system of production, people are expected to translate and utilize these standardized products even if their settings and cultural values are different. …


Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
Re: Teach timeline,theme or cultures?
[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]Rosa Juliusdottir
Thu, 22 Aug 1996 11:17:10 GMT
Diane, I agree with you about using themes that are relevant to kids rather
than timelines. I have used timelines but also found that I did not seem to
get the students interested (elementary). I have used the DBAE curriculum
sampler quite a bit, I really like it and it fits right in with my using of
themes. I both use themes which deal with social and psychological needs of
the students. Family, loving and caring, different festivities or holidays
and for the youngest ones I usually start with themselves that is; I this
and I that, with lots of selv portraits and books that they make about
themselves throughout the year. Then I have used themes like Animals
f.example when we did Birds we went to visit an artist in our town that
does works, both painting and printmaking, were birds are the main theme
and he showed the students his works and talked about it and they could ask
lots of questions. We also went to the Museum of Natural History and they
did sketches of birds. Some students also brought their pet birds to school
and we drew and painted those. In the end the students did work in the
spirit of the artist we had visited, both prints and paintings. The works
they did were great and they loved this whole project. Another theme I
have used very successfully is the elements; water,fire,air and earth both
around us and in us! It is too long to describe but I could maybe do it
later if you are interested. It involved doing outdoor artwork and all
kinds of things. Well this is it for now. Regards from Iceland, Rosa
<I personally like to recommend themes that are relevant to students,
<timelines or cultures. Timelines and cultures seem to be outside of what
<children in the elementary school. Themes allow the curriculum to be
<individual, group and cultural perceived needs or interests. The DBAE
<sampler, which you have no doubt received by now, uses themes and does a great
<job of dealing with the big questions and experiences of life. To me that
is <what art
<is all about and that is what our discipline really has to offer others.
<approach also allows for an interdisplinary approach that makes it
feasible to <relate
<other curricular areas to the art curriculum. It really allows teachers
<disciplines to work together making learning relevant and related to
other <areas. It
<gives a sense of cohesion to the total curriculum,which is more difficult
<with the timeline or cultural approach.
<The big question is always: What themes should one use? I would
<hear what themes artsednet readers are using and I think my art education
<would also like to know this as well.
<Thanks for listening and I hope my thoughts do not come too late.
<Best of luck with your planning.
Diane C. Gregory, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Art Education
Southwest Texas State University


27 August 2013
Visual-research methods allow us to introduce images into the research process. Artworks, photographs and artifacts can be created as sources of data, often collaboratively with research participants and co-researchers, or as unique aesthetic interpretations of the research. Pre-existing images drawn from society also form part of this method.
In this final lecture in the "Towards an understanding of arts-based and arts-informed research" series presented by the Office of Doctoral Studies, Lea Mai and Dr Robyn Gibson will look at the benefits and limitations of the visual and the ways that visual research methods can frame a study beyond words alone.
Education Building A35, Room 612
Click image for interactive map.
Download further reading (pdf, 62kB) for "Visual research methods" presentation.
Lea Mai lectures in the early-childhood program in the areas of creative arts, and ethics and social justice. Her PhD dissertation used visual-research methods to represent aesthetic experiences in the early years through childrens' own voices. Dr Mai holds degrees in art history and law from the Australian National University.
Dr Robyn Gibson is a senior lecturer in visual and creative arts education and Director of Community Relations at the Faculty of Education and Social Work. Her past research focused on children's attitudes to art, art-making and art education. Currently she is examining the role of arts education in academic motivation, engagement and achievement. Her other academic research – which utilises interdisciplinary methodologies such as arts-informed inquiry, concerns art as research; research as art, particularly the connection between clothes and memory.
© 2002-13 The University of Sydney. Last updated: 22 Aug 2013
ABN: 15 211 513 464. CRICOS number: 00026A. Phone: +61 2 9351 2222.
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This project proposes to research and develop a game-based learning platform to engage children ages 7-14 in online art education to support the Barnes Foundation family program, ArtSee Artists. The digital game-based learning (DGBL) system will utilize works of art from the ensembles in the Barnes Foundation based on John Dewey’s art and educational philosophies.
The learning objectives of this digital-game based learning system are to help museum visitors 1) learn the aesthetic principles of art and design, 2) increase their creative self-efficacy and 3) develop personally relevant artistic experiences. In doing so, the researchers will design a platform around the natural curiosities of people for inquiry, communication, construction, and expression through play, curricular activities, reflection and discussion–the Game Network Analysis for designers (GaNA).
The complete project will last for one-year using a design-based research approach involving the design, development, and assessment of a mobile system. Development will proceed iteratively with alpha testing providing feedback in the development phase and assessment of users art education, creativity, and appreciation of the platform in the final month.
The research and development of the system will have a broader impact on museum education for learners aged 7–14 and the design of game-based learning environments to facilitate creativity and transformative learning experiences using systematic models. Because this innovative, cutting-edge project is digital and will engage users on a mobile platform, it holds the potential to reach learners from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Ultimately, the DGBL system will help to broaden participation in the museum experience and can be integrated into the onsite family program curriculum of the Barnes Foundation, as well as K-12 schools serving Philadelphia, and beyond.


When Apple first introduced iBooks Author as a tool to create your own iBooks for the iPad (and now viewable on the Mac desktop), I didn’t immediately see a whole lot of use in art education. I would much rather engage my students in creative art studio experiences and skip the solitary chapter book reading about the history of art. However, after experimenting with iBooks Author, I soon discovered an iBook is so much more than just an electronic text book. It is a tool that can help deliver curricular content, differentiate learning to meet a wide range skills, assess for student understanding and growth, and even allow for students to showcase their own work.
Differentiate Instruction – Students all learn at different levels and speeds. Then why not create an iBook with a lesson that allows for students to learn at their own pace? Record yourself in a demo and outline directions alongside the embedded video. Use as an extension for early finishers, a student who misses a class, or even as a sub plan.
Showcase Student Work – Allow students to create their own iBook pages featuring artwork, video, or artist statements and share online.
Assessments Measuring Student Growth - Create assessments to check for student understanding or document progress toward a learning goal using the built in review widget within iBook Author or the sketchpad widget found in Bookry.com.
The video below shows the interactivity of iBooks I have created for my classroom:
What other uses do you see for iBooks in art education?


Amateur Architect is a hands-on math project that requires students to read directions and compute fraction operation problems. Students use the resulting measurements and a ruler to construct a house and garage. (See pictures below.) This is one of my all-time favorite math projects!
(View Actual Pages from the Amateur Architect Fraction Project)
(42 Math Lessons, Projects, and Games – 438 pages)
(9 Number Sense Lessons and Projects)
Lesson Description: Amateur Architect is a hands-on math project that requires students to read directions and compute fraction operations problems. They use the resulting measurements and a ruler to construct a house and a garage. Students use pencil and ruler to draw and center parts of the house and garage. This project combines the foundational skills of solving fraction operation problems with the practical application of ruler measuring skills.
Math Content: Fraction Operations, Measuring and Constructing Drawings with a Ruler
Suggested Grade Level: 5th-8th
Time Required: This project usually takes about 4-7 class periods, depending on whether or not the Ruler Skills worksheets are used and if you allow any part of the project (such as the final title and drawing) to be done at home.
Materials Needed: Rulers (class set), two transparencies, construction paper (optional)
Teacher Testimonial: This is one of my all-time favorite math projects. Amateur Architect was created over 10 years ago and has been used in the classroom many times by a number of teachers. Students combine their knowledge of fraction operations with the practical application of ruler measurement in order to create a house and garage. It has been amazing to see how many students did not previously know how to read a ruler or to construct and center objects accurately. The project also provides a real-life context for the use of fractions. The students enjoy the project and the finished projects make a great display for the classroom.
The Amateur Architect Project includes:
- 1 Amateur Architect project cover sheet
- 3 Ruler Skills worksheets (for optional preparation prior to the Amateur Architect project)
- 3 Ruler Skills worksheet answer keys
- 2 Amateur Architect project pages
- 1 Amateur Architect project Fraction Calculations worksheet
- 1 Amateur Architect project Fraction Calculations worksheet answer key
- 2 Amateur Architect Grading Templates (one with dimensions included)
- 1 Amateur Architect project Terms Transparency
- 2 Amateur Architect Teacher Tips pages
- 1 Amateur Architect Grading Rubric
17 pages in all!!
VERY IMPORTANT: When printing Amateur Architect be sure that “NONE” is selected for Page Scaling in the Adobe Print Box. Otherwise, templates of the project and the lengths of the segments on the Ruler Skills pages will not be accurate.
Enjoy your lesson!!
Mark P. Tully
“I’ve taught for 30 years and this is the best project, using fractions, that I have ever used. The kids love it! I love it!”
-Judy Arlotti, Suzanne Middle School, Walnut, CA
“I recently bought your book of projects and I am in the process of doing the Amateur Architect with my class. I love it! The students have found it to be challenging and fun. The student discussion has been great. I can hear the math as they discuss how to figure out the dimensions.”
-Cheryl Blum, Mandarin Middle School, Jacksonville, FL
“I just collected the Amateur Architects that I used with 7th math. Students really worked hard and were motivated. Again, I like the reinforcement and practical application of fractions. I think they may actually be able to measure with a ruler on their own….The teacher directions were perfect. I was able to follow your directions and feel successful at it the first time around.”
-Linda Adrid, Suzanne Middle School, Walnut, CA
“My students loved working on the Amateur Architect project. The project allowed them to practice their fraction skills, collaborate with classmates and realize yet again how relevant math is in everyday life!”
-Bethany Korn, The Archer School for Girls, Los Angeles, CA


In the former life, people have to subscribe a media, such as newspaper, tabloid, and magazine to get the most update information around the world. During the big advance of technology, people are able to access knowledge and information freely and easily through a media that called internet.
Through the internet, people not only get the information but they are also able to do their daily activities using such helpful thing. Nowadays, Internet is not only a secondary need, for some people internet becomes the main need of their daily life. Unfortunately, not all of the internet users are adult.
Children or teenagers now are able to browse the internet freely, whether in their home or in the internet cafe. Children are fast learner. They can even master the internet literary only by watching their friend or adult browsing the internet.
There are some advantages of internet for the children:
Positive effect on physical development of the children
People may not see the impact of internet to the physical development. However, internet usages give a positive impact to the physical development. According to the knowledge of muscular development and motor control skill, the use of internet that demands the keyboard and mouse usage will naturally enhance the child’s eye-hand coordination and motor skill.
Positive effect on cognitive development
Children who use the Internet show gains in cognitive abilities such as memory, logical problem solving, critical thinking, concentration, abstraction and comprehension. The Internet exposes children to information to improve the quality of learning that they can transform into knowledge. Through the use of the Internet, children’s language and literacy development is often promoted, allowing for greater gains in verbal and nonverbal skills.
Positive effect on social development
Internet cannot and should not replace human interaction or relationships, nor take the place of activities such as sharing verbal conversations with our children or reading together. However, internet allows children to socialize with other children through the use of email, chat rooms, and instant messaging, increasing the development of communication and social skills.


Poor maths skills hurting British economy says National Numeracy
Poor maths skills are blighting individual's chances in the workplace, and in turn affecting UK plc, warns The National Numeracy charity. It has found that 17 million people - more than half of the adults in the UK - have a poor understanding of maths.
Figures show that the number of innumerate adults in England have increased by two million in eight years, with most adults having numeracy skills equivalent to that of an 11 year old.
Chris Humphries, chairman of National Numeracy, termed this a “scary figure” because it shows that adults are unable to comprehend basics such as understanding deductions on their payslip, calculating change, interpreting graphs, charts and metres, and understanding timetables and tax; all things that are necessary for their jobs.
He added, "It does matter. Poor numeracy seriously blights an individual's life chances”. He believes it is inexcusable for anyone to say “I can't do maths”.
This could lead to higher levels of unemployment among adults, while students could face the prospect of being excluded from schools.
UK employers are responding by training their workforce in basic remedial maths, such as mental arithmetic, so as to be able to work out percentage changes, discounts and fractions to ensure errors in accounts or even fraud does not go undetected.
The charity found that most people did not even seem concerned about their numerical inabilities but hopes to encourage people of all age groups to improve their poor levels of numeracy.
Chief executive Mike Ellicock of National Numeracy called this problem “perennial” and said that people tend to focus more on enhancing literacy skills rather than numerical ones as the former are much easier to do. There was a need to change the attitude of people towards maths with some treating their poor mathematical abilities as a “badge of honour”.


Music Theory Basics 7.21
Music Theory Basics 7.21 Ranking & Summary
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Platform: Windows XP, Windows 2000
Date added: 2008-10-30
Publisher: Center for Art Education (de Plantage)
Music Theory Basics 7.21 description
Music Theory Basics allows you to learn the names of the notes in an easy way. This little program has many added benefits, such as error checking, timing the note-reading speed. The chapters of Music Theory Basics are note reading, note writing, yes or no game (note reading), learn the piano keys, rhythmical dictation, interval dictation (unison, second, third, fourth and fifth), interval ear training (unison, second, third, fourth, and fifth), create a major scale (scales of C, D, Eb, F, G, A and Bb), melodic dictation (containing the intervals above). Theory about note reading, scales, intervals, and rhythm.
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Indian Homes in Kansas Trunk - Kansas Curricular Standards
The Indian Homes in Kansas traveling resource trunk correlates to the first grade Kansas Curricular Standards in the following areas:
Kansas Standards for History, Government, and Social Studies
Standard #4: Societies experience continuity and change over time.
- Benchmark 4.1: The student will recognize and evaluate continuity and change over time and its impact on individuals, institutions, communities, states, and nations.
Standard #5: Relationships among people, places, ideas, and environments are dynamic.
- Benchmark 5.1: The student will recognize and evaluate dynamic relationships that impact lives in communities, states, and nations.
Kansas College and Career Ready Standards
Reading Standards for Informational Text
- Key Ideas and Details #3: Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.
- Craft and Structure #6: Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provide by the words in a text.
- Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity #10: With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade 1.
Reading Standards for Foundational Skills
- Fluency #4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
Speaking and Listening Standards
- Comprehension and Collaboration #1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- Comprehension and Collaboration #3: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
Return to the Indian Homes in Kansas Resource Trunk


Art has always been presented as an essential element in the development and evolution of man. It is through art that any selfless vision is able to be expressed using resources that can be plastic, sound, or linguistic. It is well known that the study of fine arts from an early age helps man to cultivate a sensitivity that leads him to develop very strong ethics during adulthood.In Colombia, it was not until the XIX century that art education was
institutionalized.In Colombia, it was not until the XIX century that art education was institutionalized. As I see it, this explains with certainty the flaws in our education system and its underdevelopment in comparison with other nations which place a higher value on and enhance art education. However, despite the lack of resources aimed towards the artistic education of Colombians, there exists an ever expanding number of individuals who are truly dedicated to demonstrating the importance of art in a country deeply affected by violence and other problematic social issues.
The changes that are occurring in Colombia concerning art education are becoming more and more significant as people are increasingly responding to violence with artistic and cultural expressions. There are now hundreds of movements that promote this major change. Fortunately, those movements are taking their nonviolent artistic expressions to the communities and, more specifically, to the schools and high-schools. It can be hard to believe, but these nongovernmental entities are precisely the ones who are taking back art to the common people.
I would like to end this article by pointing out that Colombia is an extremely diverse country, with a lot of different races, ethnicities, and cultural features that converge in the same place and make it really interesting. All these elements can positively contribute to the development of a strong and well-structured art program. The folklore and the music of the different regions, all the different rhythms and types of dances are great examples of our extensive and vivid musical traditions.
On the other hand, some of the most recognized Colombian writers have been able to portray our reality and our culture at high levels. Very important Colombian authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Andres Caicedo, León de Greiff, and Rafael Pombo, are clear examples of all the great Colombian literature that should be read and cherished in our schools and universities as a simple, but significant way to promote art amongst the people.


Science >> Earth Science for Kids
Earth Science for Kids
What is topography?
Topography describes the physical features of an area of land. These features typically include natural formations such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and valleys. Manmade features such as roads, dams, and cities may also be included. Topography often records the various elevations of an area using a topographical map.
Topography studies the elevation and location of landforms.
- Landforms - Landforms studied in topography can include anything that physically impacts the area. Examples include mountains, hills, valleys, lakes, oceans, rivers, cities, dams, and roads.
- Elevation - The elevation, or height, of mountains and other objects is recorded as part of topography. It is usually recorded in reference to sea level (the surface of the ocean).
- Latitude - Latitude gives the north/south position of a location in reference from the equator. The equator is a horizontal line drawn around the middle of the Earth that is the same distance from the North Pole and the South Pole. The equator has a latitude of 0 degrees.
- Longitude - Longitude gives the east/west position of a location. Longitude is generally measured in degrees from the Prime Meridian.
A topographical map is one that shows the physical features of the land. Besides just showing landforms such as mountains and rivers, the map also shows the elevation changes of the land. Elevation is shown using contour lines.
When a contour line is drawn on a map it represents a given elevation. Every point on the map touching the line should be the same elevation. On some maps, numbers on the lines will let you know what the elevation is for that line.
Contour lines next to each other will represent different elevations. The closer the contour lines are to each other, the steeper the slope of the land.
Ways Topography is Studied
The lower map shows the contour lines for the above hills
There are a number of ways that information is gathered to make topographical maps. They can be divided into two primary methods: direct survey and indirect survey.
Direct survey - A direct survey is when a person on the ground uses surveying equipment, such as levels and clinometers, to directly measure the location and elevation of the land. You have probably seen a surveyor along the road sometime making measurements by looking through a leveling instrument sitting on a tall tripod.
Indirect survey - Remote areas may be mapped using indirect methods. These methods include satellite pictures, images taken from planes, radar, and sonar (underwater).
Worker performing a survey
What is topography used for?
Topography has a number of uses including:
- Agriculture - Topography is often used in agriculture to determine how soil can be conserved and how water will flow over the land.
- Environment - Data from topography can help to conserve the environment. By understanding the contour of the land, scientists can determine how water and wind may cause erosion. They can help to establish conservation areas such as watersheds and wind blocks.
- Weather - The topography of the land can have an impact on weather patterns. Meteorologists use information on mountains, valleys, oceans, and lakes to help predict the weather.
- Military - Topography is also important to the military. Armies throughout history have used information on elevation, hills, water, and other landforms when planning their military strategy.
Earth Science Subjects
Science >> Earth Science for Kids
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Written especially for parents, Growing Readers (formerly Ed Extras) provides monthly tips for raising strong readers and writers. Schools and PTAs can add these preformatted briefs to their parent newsletters. Growing Readers is also a great resource for libraries and community literacy organizations. The one- or two-page articles are available as a PDF in both English and Spanish.
Sign up to have Growing Readers delivered monthly to your inbox!
Download and print the latest Growing Readers article:
Got a newspaper? You've got learning!
We've archived all of our past Growing Readers articles by topic:
Nursery Rhymes: Not Just for Babies!
Finding and Sharing Great Kids' Books
Rediscover Your Public Library
Early literacy development
Tips for Teaching Your Child About Phonemes
Simple Yet Powerful Things to Do While Reading Aloud
Good Night, Sleep Tight: Preschoolers and Sleep
How to Read With a Squiggly Baby (or Toddler!)
Does My Preschooler Have Delayed Development?
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: Math and Literacy for Preschoolers
Building Your Child's Vocabulary
Handwriting: What's Normal, What's Not
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
Families and schools
Supporting the Common Core Writing Standards
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
Children and Digital Media: Rethinking Parent Roles
Flipped Classrooms and Flipped Lessons: What Does It Mean for Parents?
When to Call Your Child's Teacher
Choosing a Preschool
Listen and Look at Back-to-School Night
Preparing Your Child for Testing
The Parent-Teacher Conference (Pre-K)
The Parent-Teacher Conference
Literacy activities for the family
Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Reading Time
Mission Critical: Reading Together to Build Critical Thinking Skills
Use a PEER When You Read Aloud
Picture This! Using Mental Imagery While Reading
Playing with Word Sounds: Stretch and Shorten
The Night Before the Museum
Grocery Store Literacy for Preschoolers
Grocery Store Literacy
Developing Writing and Spelling at Home
Reading for Meaning with Your Child
A Fresh Look at Your Home Library
Playing with Words
Creating a Home Library
The Role of Fathers in Their Child's Literacy Development: Pre-K
The Role of Fathers in Their Child's Literacy Development: K-3
Developing Writing and Spelling at Home: Pre-K
Making Reading Relevant: Read, Learn, and Do! (K-3)
Making Reading Relevant: Read, Learn, and Do! (Pre-K)
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
Writing and Spelling Ideas to Use with Kids
Back-to-School, for Parents!
Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
Easing Into Preschool
Easing Back Into School
Ready to Read
Five Literacy-Based Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Your Child
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
Creating Holiday Learning Traditions
Learning That's Hands-On Holiday Fun (Pre-K)
New Year's Resolution: Help Your Kids Do Great in School
Summer Learning, Side-by-Side
Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge
Take a Break, but Bring a Book!
Struggling readers and learning disabilities
Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision
Successful Transition to Kindergarten for Learners Who May Be at Risk for Learning Disabilities
Recognizing Reading Problems
Common Signs of Dyslexia
Developing Research and Information Literacy
Share What You Discover! Publishing Your Work
Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions
Recording Observations: Capturing and Sharing Images
Recording Observations: Journals and Field Notes
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Play It Forward: New Xbox Games for LearningOctober 24, 2011 | Alex Games
Readers of this blog know that students are learning all the time, whether or not they're in school. Indeed, the vast majority of learning happens outside of school -- in homes, playgrounds, workplaces and so on. Play has a fundamental role in this learning, as great minds in education from Plato to Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky have recognized over the years.
In play, children explore their world, learn to interact with others and use their imaginations to discover ways to understand and predict the connections between actions and their consequences in the world. For young children, these play interactions provide the training wheels of scientific reasoning and language acquisition, which most early childhood educators use in one form or another to encourage their healthy development.
Nearly three decades of scientific research in games and learning have shown evidence that game play can help players develop a systemic understanding of world phenomena, creativity and strategic problem solving skills. In the sequence of solving complex problems, the act of playing engages players cognitively and emotionally, and assesses knowledge where it is highly relevant to those problems' solution.
In my work with Microsoft Studios, we acknowledge the power of play and its intellectually enriching value with what we call "playful learning," our approach to designing high quality, intellectually enriching, interactive experiences for children and their families using Kinect for Xbox 360.
Kinect embodies "playful learning" in a portfolio of experiences which changes the relationship between children and the tools they learn with: television, books and games. "Kinect Sesame Street TV" takes the renowned educational television show and brings it to life by allowing children to meaningfully interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters.
With Kinect, children are invited to participate in early literacy in a dialogic form. For example, anyone who has ever seen a young child respond to Elmo or Grover inviting them to sing, dance or say their letters and numbers will now see what happens when the TV show is able to hear or see the child's responses, and scaffold their learning with feedback as a result.
Another aspect in which Kinect alters learning with TV experiences is by allowing players to use more of their senses in the process of learning. For example, "Kinect Nat Geo TV" blends the award-winning Nat Geo WILD TV shows with the intuitive Kinect for Xbox 360. This lets children use a situated learning approach to understanding the nuanced relationship that exists between the survival of grizzly bears in the wild, and the tiny army cutworm moth -- a connection one does not often think about when appreciating these magnificent and wonderful creatures -- by jumping into the shoes of a naturalist or even a bear in its authentic habitat. In this way, the experience fosters curiosity, bringing the habitats of wild animals into the living room and playfully encouraging players to explore, discover, learn and develop a love for the world and creatures around them. With "Kinect Nat Geo TV," we seek to inspire children and their families to become stewards of the planet.
Jump into Learning
"Project Columbia," the code name for another experience being designed in conjunction with the Sesame Workshop Curriculum team, is a new environment where active fun and literacy meet. Using Kinect for Xbox 360, "Project Columbia" invites children to use a more embodied learning approach to understanding texts by letting them jump into beloved storybooks and become part of the story themselves. Through full-body interactions, Xbox and Kinect bring the objects and characters in the books to life so that a child's playful interactions become foundational experiences for understanding the relationship between the words in text and their meanings, as well as their sounds. By letting kids jump into the books they read, "Project Columbia" seeks to develop in kids a lifelong love of books and reading so necessary for their literacy development.
Another new experience is called "Double Fine Happy Action Theater," a title developed by Double Fine Studios' world-renowned game designer Tim Shaffer. It is a series of play activities that encourage the youngest players to practice their gross motor skills and stretch their imagination in active ways. Designed to create an inclusive and highly accessible experience for the whole family, in "Happy Action Theater," children, their parents and even their grandparents can play in virtual ball pits, firework parades and even lava-filled volcanoes all within their living room. The "Happy Action Theater" experiences are digital toys and playscapes that capture the imagination of old and young alike. No rules, no menus, no instructions -- just play.
Through these and other new titles, Xbox 360 is continuing to broaden its children's portfolio with rich experiences that expand our definition of learning into something participatory and experiential.
Do you use video games in your classroom? How do you see these new experience like those described above changing the way students learn?


Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
Introducing students to computers and the Internet is obviously an important
activity since this tool is becoming such an integral part of our lives, both
personally and professionally. I do believe, however, that we should consider
using the computer as a tool in education to provide and enable students to
create experiences and opportunities for which ONLY the computer can do, or
can do best. Julian's dissertation research and project is an example of
this, as it would be virtually impossible to create the world-wide
conversation and galleries without the use of computer technology and the
Internet (and it's good to see you're FINISHED, Julian! Congrats!).
At the same time, let's remember that the computer is not the end all answer
to education. And if we as educators do not make certain that we use this
tool appropriately and successfully, it could become an abused toy.
For example, should students use the Internet for research? Sure. But I
think just as we have always asked students to use multiple types of sources
to verify or challenge information, so must we require students to use other
sources besides the Internet. And regarding art-making with the computer, I
think it is important again to consider what the computer can do best in this
area... Another example: compare and contrast creating a painting and a
montage. What materials do we typically use for each? How do these translate
into the computer? Does the use of the computer truly enable us to create
with these "media" better, or is it just another way to do it?
Finally, it also seems critical for us to discuss the problematic issues with
computers, as well as its many benefits. If we can paint on a computer,
should we give up the "real" materials altogether? Yes it's great that we can
email, but what happens (and is happening) to social skills? Yes it's
wonderful that we can do all of our banking from our home computer, but what
happens when our computer crashes (because inevitably it will)? Are we able
to function without it?
Finally, I would like to say that I offer these thoughts for us to think
about. I do not expect everyone to agree with me, and I hope those of you do
or do not will engage in a healthy discussion from your points of view and
experiences. I am concerned about the comments regarding "crtitqueing"
others' ideas; if we as a profession do not consider the current implications
of our actions, or stop evolving, challenging, and changing art education's
discourses and practices, then the profession will not grow. As a
professional and graduate student I am aware of the "pains" associated with
being challenged. However, I am also aware that these challenges are to
enable me to better question and formulate--and understand!-- the theories and
practices which I utilize.
I have been a member of ArtsEdNet for approx. 18 months. If we can discuss
what to do with broken crayons, pinhole cameras, or nude works of art in the
art museum, it is my opinion that we should certainly also discuss the
implications of our actions, both professionally and critically.
Elizabeth B. Reese
The Pennsylvania State University


learners across the many places of instruction share literacy development needs, learning goals, and other characteristics; on the other hand, learners at a single site vary in these characteristics. In many instances, it would not be possible to know how to categorize the research because research reports do not specify the place of instruction, describe the goals of instruction, or clearly and completely describe the study participants. Indeed, one of the critical needs for future research is to systematically define segments of the population to identify constraints on generalizing research findings and specific features of instruction that might be needed to effectively meet the needs of particular subgroups.
Thus, this report is organized according to the major topics that deserve attention in future research to develop effective instructional approaches. The topics reflect those about which most is known from research—albeit mostly with populations other than one that is the focus of our study—and that have the greatest potential to alleviate the personal, instructional, and systemic barriers that adults outside school experience with learning.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of what is known about the major components and processes of reading and writing and the qualities of instruction that develop reading and writing for both typical and struggling learners in K-12 settings. The chapter presents principles for intervening specifically with struggling learners. Although supported by strong evidence, we stress that caution must be used in generalizing the research to other populations. Translational research is needed on the development of practices that are appropriate for diverse populations of adolescents and adults.
Chapter 3 describes the adults who receive literacy instruction, including major subgroups, and the demographics of the population, what is known about their difficulties with component literacy skills, and characteristics of their instructional contexts. The chapter conveys the state of research on practices that develop adults’ literacy skills and identifies priorities for research and innovation to advance knowledge of adult literacy development and effective literacy instruction.
Chapters 4 through 6 synthesize research from a variety of disciplines on topics that are vital to furthering adult literacy. Chapter 4 summarizes findings from research on the conditions that affect cognitive processing and learning. The chapter draws on and updates several recent efforts to distill principles of learning for educators and discusses considerations in applying these principles to the design of literacy instruction for adults. Chapter 5 synthesizes research on the features of environments—instructional interactions, structures, tasks, texts, systems—that encourage engagement with learning and persistence in adolescents and adults. The chapter draws on research from multiple disciplines that examine the psychological, social, and environmental factors that affect motivation, engagement in learn-


Gallery of drawings from
National Visual Art
Connecting Classrooms, Curriculum & Collections
21 – 23 January 2014
The NAB passionate about supporting Australian communities and helping young artists reach their potential. Learn more at nab.com.au
Graphic recordings of NVAEC 2014 conference by Jessamy Gee (graphic recorder)
As part of the National Visual Art Education Conference, some of the sessions were recorded graphically by Jessamy Gee from Think in Colour.
These images can provide a useful summary of some of the key sessions of the conference.
(CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE)
Graphic Recording (or Scribing) is the process of visually capturing a presentation, conversation or meeting in real time using a combination of images and words to create a 'map' of key themes and ideas. It is, quite literally, the art of listening.
More than just pictures, the process is a powerful tool in assisting analysis, dialogue, decision-making, brainstorming, conflict resolution and visualising strategy. It also creates a clear common understanding, sense of ownership, comprehension and memory tool for the participants. See more information on Graphic Recording.


Site contains authentic video and audio material that is educational or culturally informative and includes cuisine, dance, the arts, and news. Intermediate through advanced students.
From CONACULTA (Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes), this site showcases authentic audio materials on cultural and educational news from Mexico (México). Advanced intermediate through advanced students.
From Dirección General de Culturas Populares, a section of a larger site focusing on holidays celebrated in Mexico and their wider significance. Intermediate through advanced students.
Writings, heroes, history from Educarchile (portal educativo chileno). The site surveys the history, literature, and cultures of Chile. Intermediate through advanced students.
From the Secretaría de Educación Pública (México), a searchable and downloadable online textbook on geography, including cultural geography such as human migration and world economy, as well as research assignments. Intermediate students.
From the Secretaría de Educación Pública (México), a searchable and downloadable online textbook with high quality visuals, vocabulary, and text on appreciating and analyzing the arts, both visual and performing, with activities that invite participation by students. Intermediate through advanced students.
From the Secretaría de Educación Pública (México), a searchable and downloadable online textbook on art education rich with images, to teach vocabulary and the appreciation of the arts, with spaces with activities for the students to analyze aspects of art education. Advanced beginning through intermediate students.
Created October 6, 2010
Students electronically recover and analyze artifacts from historic archeological sites in order to discover what these artifacts reveal about the people who used them.
Created September 28, 2010
Students study census data showing the names and occupations of early settlers of the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. (Archaeology, U.S. Colonial History)


The brain's executive function is a kind of internal "air traffic control system" that is a group of skills that helps us to focus on multiple streams of information at the same time, monitor errors, make decisions in light of available information, revise plans as necessary and resist the urge to let frustration lead to hasty actions. The development of solid executive function is one of the key learning tasks of early childhood, and a significant contributor to later success in life.
In his recent webinar on the topic, Scientific Learning Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder Dr. William Jenkins dug deep into the three interrelated skills which comprise this air traffic control system: working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive/mental flexibility. These three skills help us keep information in mind, master our impulses, and remain flexible in the face of change—and are crucial building blocks for the development of both cognitive and social interaction skills in young children.
Dr. Jenkins outlined a number of reasons that parent should take an interest in helping their children develop sound executive function skills in early childhood:
1. Strong executive function skills provide the best possible foundation for school readiness.
In many ways, executive function skills could be called the "biological foundation" for school readiness. It has been shown that children with strong working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive/mental flexibility skills make greater gains in academic areas than peers with weaker executive function skills. Coming to school with these foundational skills well-developed is just as important, if not more important, than fluency with letters and numbers.
2. Executive function skills begin at home.
Executive function skills are not automatic. These skills are built over time through practice, and can be observed in infants as early as six months, when some infants can understand and obey a simple directive such as "don't touch that plate." Parents can support (or "scaffold") the development of these skills from early childhood by teaching and reinforcing common concepts such as taking turns and using "inside" and "outside" voices. In addition to the home, executive function skills continue to be developed in childcare programs, pre-schools, elementary school classrooms, and other social settings, into adolescence.
As Dr. Jenkins notes in the webinar, elementary school teachers are keenly aware of the importance of executive function. Parents who are actively, consciously participating in the development of their child’s executive function skills will have a richer understanding of the importance of all activities and expectations revolving around classroom life, from the way one lines up for lunch to the way one studies for a spelling test. This has the potential for a dynamic, integrated educational experience for the student, teacher, and parents, working together to build a better brain for each child.
4. Executive function skills help lay the foundation for the kind of student, citizen, and social being a child will become.
Ultimately, the skills that cohere into executive function are the skills we use to navigate family, school, and work settings for our entire lives: retaining and using information, filtering thoughts and impulses, focusing on a task at hand, recognizing errors, changing plans, and understanding how different rules apply in different settings are all skills that require stewardship from birth to adulthood. Parents armed with this knowledge are more apt to take an active part in the development of these skills from an early age.
5. Understanding executive function gives parents a fuller understanding of a child who is struggling.
It is a mistake to immediately brand a child who struggles with things like inhibitory control as a "bad kid". Understanding the concepts behind executive function gives parents a fuller picture of what is happening with their child when he or she is having difficulty controlling impulses, focusing on a given task, or understanding that different rules may apply at different times. This will help parents decide if outside help may be needed to help their child (studies show there is at least short-term effectiveness in interventions that support executive function development).
Interested in learning more? Listen to Dr. Jenkins’ webinar here for more in-depth information on all aspects of executive function and its importance in early childhood development and brain fitness.
Attend one of our popular webinars with thought leaders in learning. Live and pre-recorded webinars are available. Register today!


I am certainly in favor of pre-testing to see what students know and can do. However, it may not be possible or it may not be the best use of time to bring every student up to the same level before moving on. We risk boring the best students who need to be challenged more. Diverse ability levels are hard to teach en mass, but easy to teach one-on-one.
Therefore: CREATE A COLLABORATIVE STUDIO CULTURE
I find it useful to tutor the advanced students on how to tutor the slower students when the needs arise? I like to challenge every student to help with the teaching and learning. If peers can learn to teach with questions and by helping to set up experiments, (not doing things for them) all will benefit. Self-instruction and peer-instruction are natural and often the most effective ways to learn. The culture of an art classroom should be a learning environment where citizenship means that we all pitch in to leave no mind behind. I call it creating a collaborative studio culture.
If a pre-test is used, try asking them to name the most famous woman artist they know. I have had many elementary education college students who could not name one.


This is segment 3 of a continuing series of clips from a presentation on the use of interactive whiteboards in music education. Featured in this segment are even more reasons to consider using IWB's in a music education or general education classroom.
Of primary importance in this segment is the discussion that even more important than the board is the software that goes along with the board to create lessons and other interactive activities for classroom use. Featured are some of the flash based interactive activities provided by the SmartBoard company and their Smart Notebook software.
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Music in Our Schools Month
Now, when public school music programs face budget cuts, is a critical time to support music in our schools. March is Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM), and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) website provides ideas in how to participate in MIOSM and promote support for school music. A menu offers downloadable MIOSM logos for web and print use, and activity ideas.
- Using Songwriting to Build Awareness of Beginning Letter Sounds
Students in grades K-2 create alliterative animal songs to help them learn letter names and consonant sounds and build phonemic awareness.
- With ArtsAlive’s Activities & Games students in grades 3-8 can compose a few bars of music and identify instruments and composers in two quizzes. The site also has composer specific activities for Vivaldi, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mozart.
- Students in grades 9-12 learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos, which dates back to the 1800s and continues to be very popular in Form and Theme in the Traditional Mexican Corrido.
last updated: March 6, 2014


Numeracy Research and Practice
- "Preparing Students for College-level Math" A new Promising Practice Brief with hands-on activities thanks to Pam Meader, ANN president. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html (submitted 2/28/06 by C. Zafft)
- Research on Adult Numeracy Practice (CALPRO Research Brief) http://www.calpro-online.org/documents/100924AdultNumeracyProof.pdf
- The Components of Numeracy by Lynda Ginsburg, Myrna Manly, and Mary Jane Schmitt. This NCSALL occasional paper attempts to describe the complex nature of numeracy as it exists today. While there are large-scale assessments, standards documents, and position papers, there has not been a field- and research-based synthesis of the components required for adults to be numerate, to act numerately, and to acquire numeracy skills. This paper attempts to identify and clarify the nature of these components with the hope that such identification and clarification will guide instruction, contribute to the design of assessments, frame research, and inform policy. To download the paper, go to: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=26#numeracy [submitted 12/28/06 by E. Leonelli from a posting by Kaye Beal, World Education, to the NIFL Poverty/Race/Women list on 12/27/06}]
- Changing the Way We Teach Math: A Manual for Teaching Basic Math to Adults (Submitted by David J. Rosen, 3.14.07) http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/mathman/mathman.pdf http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/mathman/mathman.pdf What do the experts say about how to teach basic math to adult students? Most people who teach math have heard about most of their recommendations, but putting those recommendations into practice is harder than it seems. After consulting ABE math instructors about their reactions to some of the research literature about adult numeracy instruction, I wrote Changing the Way We Teach Math. It includes sections on Group Work, Hands-On Learning, Real Life Math, Student Resistance , Students in Charge of Their Learning, and No-Prep Activities for Students. Download it from the National Adult Literacy Database, and let me know what you think. Kate Nonesuch (Nonesuch@mala.bc.ca)
- More Complicated Than It Seems: A Review of Literature about Teaching Math to Adults (Submitted by David J. Rosen, 3.14.07) http://www.nald.ca/library/research/morecomp/morecomp.pdf http://www.nald.ca/library/research/morecomp/morecomp.pdf As a practitioner, I danced with the literature, looking for insights that would help me understand why instructors find it difficult to apply the findings to their practice. Kate Nonesuch
- A Review of Literature in Adult Numeracy: Research and Conceptual Issues This includes contributions by Iddo Gal, Diana Coben and Kathy Safford. "The review is the first major product of the Adult Numeracy Initiative, a two-year project funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, and conducted by the American Institutes for Research. The report provides a synthesis of conceptualizations of adult numeracy, a review of the U.S. and international research evaluating instructional approaches and interventions in adult mathematics and numeracy teaching, a summary of professional development initiatives and discussion of issues around assessment for adult numeracy. The second report of the project, a comprehensive review of professional development initiatives in adult numeracy, will be available later this winter." (Katherine Safford-Ramus, Ed.D., in a post to the numeracy electronic discussion list, January 9, 2007) http://www.air.org/projects/projects_ehd_adult_ed.aspx to download the literature review.
What is Numeracy?
What are some resources for teaching about scatter plots?
What are the numeracy and math requirements for External Diploma and other alternative competency-based adult high school diploma programs? What should they be?
This is an area created by Esther D. Leonelli (ABEstimator) and Susan K. Cowles, members of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN), an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and a cooperating organization of the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE).


I use power point presentations in my undergraduate art education classes that I
teach at Southwest Texas State University. I use them for a course called ArtT
3370; Art Theory and Practice. This course is designed for the elementary
classroom teacher who in Texas is 48% likely to be the one and only art teacher
I use it to teach art concepts such as the elements and principles of design. I
have learned over the years to keep text to a minimum and when I do use text, I
often present an open-ended question rather than supplying information. This way
I can get more interaction and discussion going. When I do present just straight
information, I always, always, always use a visual example along with it. I also
try to keep the information on one screen to a very bare minimum.
If you want to provide detailed text information you can do this by creating
detailed speaker notes that can be passed out as a handout. I have found the
teaching more enjoyable if the powerpoint presentation focuses on visual examples
of concepts that are presented usually one at a time, with particular emphasis on
asking questions to test their understanding and to act as a direct teaching tool
and review tool.
As Pam said, it is great to have for students who miss the presentation. I find
it also builds vocabulary, spelling, discussion and critical thinking skills.
However, it did take me a while to resist the temptation of putting up a
detailed, boring outline with a lot of text. This is typically what students
experience, unfortunately, in most university classes.


The growth of the show choir since the 1970's has caused controversy among choral music educators. In spite of the traditional paradigm which questions the value and validity of show choirs, their presence and significance continue to increase in music education. The purpose of this study was to determine to what degree high school choral music students prefer to participate in concert-type choirs and show choirs. Also examined was the perceived meaning of the choral singing experience and how dimensions of meaning might predict students' preferences for participation in each type of choir. To address the research questions, an adaptation of the Choral Meaning Survey (Hylton, 1980) was administered. Students ( N = 307) from 7 high schools in Alabama and Georgia participated in the study. Results indicated a very strong overall preference for show choir participation with 239 respondents (77.9%) selecting "strongly agree" and only 4 respondents (1.3%) selecting "strongly disagree." Conversely, for concert-type choir, only 65 (21.2%) selected "strongly agree" and 32 (10.8%) "strongly disagree." Principal components analyses were performed to examine the perceived meaning of the choral experience for high school students who participate in choirs that perform both concert-type and show-choir music. While there was consistency with items related to two of Hylton's factors, Spiritualistic and Musical/Artistic, items from the remaining four, Achievement, Communication, Integrative, and Psychological, appeared to converge on the first resulting factor. Given the interrelationships presented by many of these items, the investigator created a fourth variable, Social Interactivity. The six identified dimensions, Social Interactivity, Spiritualistic, Physical Activity, Musical-Artistic, Dance, and Travel were used to conduct a discriminant function analysis to determine which dimensions of choral meaning predict student preference for participation in concert-type choirs or show choirs. DFA results indicated that 59.6% of the originally grouped cases were correctly classified. Of those preferring show choir 64.2% were correctly classified, 50% preferring concert choir were correctly identified, and 48.1% preferring both equally were correctly identified. Of the six identified factors, dance was statistically significant (p < .001), indicating that it predicts preference for show choir but not concert choir or preferring both equally. Results of this study show that high school choral musicians have a strong regard for participating in show choirs. While they do not reject the performance of concert music, it is not at the forefront of their preference. Choral directors who can balance their curricula to be as diverse as possible will conceivably be able to involve more high school choral musicians.


Constructing Melodic Jazz Improvisation - Bass Clef Edition by Brian Kane. For Trombone/Bass. Constructing Melodic Jazz Improvisation contains detailed explanations and analysis of the creative and improvisational techniques musicians use for style, phrasing, solo development, and motivic improvisation in an easy to follow step-by-step format. Jazz Improvisation Method Book. Beginning and Intermediate. Book and CD. 168 pages. Published by Jazz Path Publishing (JH.JP-008).
ISBN 978-0-97760977-7-8. Jazz Improvisation Method Book.
Ten progessively difficult chapters, containing dozens of improvisational exercises, explore jazz improvisation from creative, melodic and technical perspectives. The book is designed to meet all of the national standards and frameworks for music education and is a comprehensive improvisational curriculum for individual musicians or group classes. The book includes a 52 track play-a-long and demonstration CD. Readers will learn that improvisation is about more than technique, right notes, and playing patterns. Improvisation is about style, phrasing control, creative design and intent, and learning to speak the language of jazz.