Nearly every individual with Williams syndrome will benefit from therapeutic intervention to help overcome developmental delays, joint problems, fine motor issues and other characteristics common to Williams syndrome. Your physician can help you determine the need for therapy or provide a referral to have your child evaluated by a therapeutic service provider. It is important to start therapies as soon as possible to gain the most benefit.
Most school-aged children can receive therapy services as part of their IEP. Services provided by a school district will be paid for by the district. However, districts will only provide therapy to overcome weaknesses that are a "road block" to a child's successful education. For some delays, private services are the only answer.
Children with Williams syndrome can have balance problems and weak muscle tone. Physical therapy will address gross motor skill development in children with Williams syndrome.
Physical therapy should be provided by a licensed Physical Therapist. You can obtain more information about Physical therapy by visiting the website of the American Physical Therapy Association
Children with Williams syndrome often have visual-spatial deficits and difficulty with fine muscle control, such as picking up small objects. Occupational therapy primarily addresses fine motor skill development in children with Williams syndrome, but is also your source for help with feeding issues and sensitivity to textures.
Occupational therapy should be provided by a licensed Occupational Therapist. You can obtain more information about Occupational therapy by visiting the website of the American Occupational Therapy Association
Onset of speech is often delayed in children with Williams syndrome and articulation can be affected by muscle tone issues. Once speech has been acquired children often experience difficulties with processing information. A speech therapist can address all speech/language related issues.
Speech therapy should be provided by a licensed Speech Therapist. You can obtain more information about Speech therapy in your state by visiting the website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association


There are over 10 million children out of school in Nigeria, and even those who do go to school often lack the books, school supplies and even trained teachers to get the basic literacy and numeracy skills they need to get ahead. A small private school in the northeast of Nigeria, however, is taking the education of its students into its own hands. It offers extracurricular classes in a program run by the American University of Nigeria. According to the Baobab blog in The Economist, the teachers use a computer called a Raspberry Pi to facilitate the math and science courses they offer.
A Raspberry Pi costs less than $40 and is the size of a credit card. This makes it accessible to students in countries where computers are beyond the means of most families and school budgets.
The advent of technologies like the Raspberry Pi, as well as tablets and smart phones, have the potential to bring quality educational resources to poor children around the world.
The 60 million girls Foundation is committed to using new technologies to advance education, especially for girls, in developing countries. We are currently running a pilot project in Sierra Leone to bring science and math tutorials to girls in the integrated learning centre in Kabala. The first phase of the project gave the girls access to the programs on a USB key, which could then be downloaded on to their computers. The second phase brings a wider range of programs on the Raspberry Pi.


6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
This unit focuses on developing students' understanding of English and literacy teaching and learning in the early and middle years of primary education. Students engage critically with current research, practice and policy in literature in multiple contexts. The unit builds on the broader theoretical perspectives introduced in(English education 1). In particular, it addresses the importance of early literacy acquisition for future learning success and focuses on teaching approaches that build the competencies required to engage with and produce a range of texts of increased complexity. Students refine their understanding of local and national English and literacy curriculum, assessment and reporting for schools, and develop effective literacy pedagogy that will enable them to maximise the learning of diverse young literacy learners.
Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:
- utilise the connections between home, community and school literacy practices for the teaching and learning of English and literacy
- demonstrate a critical understanding of key theoretical and practical teaching approaches related to young children's language and literacy development
- develop and demonstrate application of a range of effective literacy pedagogical and assessment practices to meet the primary school English curriculum outcomes in the early and middle years of school
- plan literacy lesson sequences to address specific learner needs
- use a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in accessing relevant research literature, to support learning and in presenting evidence of their own learning in the area of literacy.
Lesson planning task (2000 words, 50%)
Critical essay (2000 words, 50%)
Minimum total expected workload equals 144 hours per semester comprising:
- Contact hours for on-campus students:
- 24 contact hours comprising of lectures, tutorials and online activities
- Additional requirements:
- independent study to make up the minimum required hours per week
See also Unit timetable information


At the beginning of this module, I used to leave my life as normal with few skills that I have learned from my parents, for example the “Communication skills” and “Team working skills”, but even it was not enough to communicate or to work with whomever. Communication skills and team working skills are the closest skills; team working can not occur if there is no communication. Since our childhood, our parents push us to get in touch with people of our ages. At beginning, it is never easy seeing the quarrels that happen with our friends in the youngest ages while playing together, but these skills get developed in growing older. I also had an experience of team working during few years when I used to play football in a club, and as we know this sport is not played individually, but in a team, and I had learned a lot during this experience.
It is sure that we learn a lot from our parents and the activities in our childhood, but studying complements the path our parents put us on to build our future in order to get the objective of having a good life later on.
I have also learned during my past years some important skills that our module covers, such as “Numeracy skills” and “Information Skills”. However, they were not as important as we studied during this semester. Numeracy skills are taught in increasing levels since the youngest ages, starting from the primary school until we get our degree at the university, but before, it was just numbers and relations that I learned and that don’t stand for anything real. On what concerns the information skills, I have learned a few about it during the high school and I increased my level on it during the foundation year I have done last year at the university.


Art education, inspiration and encouragement for children and parents in Arlington, VA
Wet on Wet Technique with ages 5-8
Watercolors are extraordinarily fun, inexpensive art materials you and your child can use to do art together. Yes together, you need art too!
Here is a highlight of our class in case you would like to reinforce the learning or repeat the lesson at home:
Slow down and draw - Patience and Perseverance
Looking at pictures and real life is a great opportunity to get your child to see and not just look. Describing what they see first and then drawing it is the first step to a good drawing.
To be helpful, I draw on my own paper and explain what I'm thinking as I draw. I let children copy my drawings and I tell them there is no "correct" way to make a drawing. There is only the way that works best for the person drawing. Letting them see different ways to draw gives them a wider visual vocabulary.
Go Lightly - Practice
Most children do not know how to apply light pressure, Practice making doodle sketches with them using the lightest pressure possible.
Draw lightly on watercolor paper. I suggest touching the four edges of the paper with my drawing and I encourage students to draw large (if they are use to making micro drawings). If children are unafraid to draw large, I encourage them to work to make an interesting composition (for young children I focus on balance: does it look like it weighs the same from side to side and top to bottom?). .
Wet the Paper
Use clear water and wet the paper all around the drawing without getting the actual drawing wet. Use a larger brush to work faster.
Wet on Wet Background
While the paper is shiny wet., load the brush with a cool color (blue, green purple). Make a long, straight or winding, slow, line shape with the brush. Do not brush over and over the same area-move on!.. Get another color and make another slow, brush line shape near the other color. Watch the colors mix. Continue until all the background is filled in. (This is the mesmerizing part).
Let the wet background dry (about 10 minutes). Paint the actual drawing. Use wet on wet, or just paint with the watercolor as usual.
Jean Frank Stark
I make art and have taught to children for over 20 years.


Resources › For Educators State Versus National Standards Share Flipboard Email Print Ableimages / Getty Images For Educators Secondary Education Lesson Plans Grading Students for Assessment Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Special Education Teaching Homeschooling By Melissa Kelly Education Expert M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida B.A., History, University of Florida Melissa Kelly, M.Ed., is a secondary school teacher, instructional designer, and the author of "The Everything New Teacher Book: A Survival Guide for the First Year and Beyond." our editorial process Melissa Kelly Updated April 18, 2019 As you write lesson plans, you will need to refer to standards for your subject area. Standards are created to ensure that students from one classroom to another are taught the same basic information in a particular subject. While that concept might seem simple stated as such, it can, in fact, be much more complicated for the individual classroom teacher. State Standards The situation is further complicated by the periodic changes that occur to standards. When a particular curriculum area meets to change their standards, teachers are handed and expected to teach to a new group of standards from that point on. This can cause problems when drastic changes occur and teachers are still using textbooks based on the older standards. So why does this situation exist? The answer lies in flexibility and the desire for local control. States are able to determine what is important for their citizens and focus the curriculum accordingly. National Standards Will there ever be mandated national standards? At this time, it looks doubtful. Proponents claim that the curriculum would be standardized across the nation. However, the desire for local control is one of the foundational beliefs of the United States. An individual focus desired by the states would be virtually impossible with national standards. Getting Involved How can you get involved? On an individual level, just learning the state and any national standards will keep you informed of what is current in your field. You should join any organizations for your subject area such as the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). This will help you stay up-to-date as national standards are changed. In terms of your individual state, contact the state Department of Education to see if there is a way for you to become involved in reviews and changes to standards. In many states, teachers are selected to be a part of the standards process. In this way, you can have a voice in future changes to the standards for your subject area.


Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Zilla Panchayat, South Bastar Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, India.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India’s flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right.
SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations.
The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.
Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level.
SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl’s education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide.
‘Development through Education and Education through development’ is a motto of Vigyan Ashram (fig.1). VA believe it is necessary to use technology to increase pace of our rural development. VA also believe technology is needed to increase efficiency and effectiveness of everything we do. To spread the available technology to masses, we need to educate them. Such technology based services can only be made accessible to villagers through small enterprises. Small enterprises will give boost to local economy which in turn helps in real development of village.
To realize vision of RDES, VA has following program, which are interlinked to each others (fig.2). Education is at the center of the VA’s program. Technology development is another division of VA’s work. Technology developed will be disseminated through education program. Students learn by ‘Learning while doing’ methodology and while doing so they provide services to community at modest cost. This gives students experience and confidence to start their own enterprises. Appropriate technologies will get disseminated through these rural enterprises and at the same time large pool of technology literate will be created through school program, who will have scientific temper and work culture imbibed in them.
Fig. 2 RDES
Basic Principles of Vigyan Ashram’s program »
- Learning While Doing – Students will learn by actually doing things in real life situation i.e ‘Natural way of learning’.
- Multiskill training – Students will learn multiple skills in nature. Nature is the syllabus.
- School must be a production center – Students are expected to provide services to community. Community is expected to pay for the services. They will learn to work on real life problems of community and find solutions to it.
- Instructor must be an entrepreneur – He must have demonstrable skills.
Jnana Prabodhini (Marathi: ज्ञान प्रबोधिनी) which means ‘Awakener of Real Knowledge’ in Sanskrit is a social organisation in India. Started with the motto of “Motivating Intelligence for Social Change”, its work now has grown in to multiple directions of social work.
Jnana Prabodhini works in fields such as education, research, rural development, health and youth organisation. It spans its presence to various locations in Maharashtra, India, such as Pune, Nigdi, Salumbre, Solapur, Harali, Ambajogai. It is also doing some works in parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the north eastern states of India.The organisation has started a school in Nigdi, Solapur and Sadashiv Peth, Pune.
Jnana Prabodhini, which is non-political organization headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India, aims at the development of physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual qualities of people in general and of the youth in particular. This development should lead to leadership qualities, motivation building, attitude forming and understanding the problems of India.


Visual Art Overview
“Because the Catholic school educates the total child, art should not be seen as an “extra” or as something that is dispensable in the school experience, but as a subject integral to the mission of Catholic school education.
The visual arts curriculum at St. Stephen of Hungary School incorporates the basic goals of the curriculum of the Archdiocese of New York, while allowing for the individual student to explore their own creativity; work collaboratively; practice problem solving; and see the relationship between art and other subjects, such as math, English Language Arts, social studies, and science. Over the course of their Pre-K through 8th grade years, our students will gain confidence in their ability to interpret their world and express their point of view through many different visual media.
THE FOLLOWING IS EXCERPTED FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK: VISUAL ARTS CURRICULUM
- Create, perform, and participate in the Arts.
- Know and use materials and resources of the Arts.
- Respond to and analyze works of art.
- Understand the cultural dimensions & contributions of the Arts.
“The arts are the voice and memory of all communities and all societies. They are a universal language, a unifying force for humanity and an opportunity for our students to express themselves. Throughout the ages, individuals have used the God-given gift of fine art as a way to bear witness to and commemorate the great moments in the life of Christ and the Church.
Our Art curriculum meets the high expectations of the National and New York State Standards in Art Education. It includes grade-level-appropriate exploration of:
- Art criticism
- Art heritage
- Art production
We encourage children to express their own thoughts and emotions through fine art as a way to cultivate creative thinking and emotional development. We integrate the role of the Church in the discussion of art history and criticism.”
Visual Arts at St. Stephen of Hungary School
Each year, every grade will create projects that explore the following techniques: drawing, painting, collage, clay, sculpture and printmaking. They will gain skills in each of these areas at an age-appropriate pace, revisiting the techniques in different ways over the course of the school year. A focus is placed on art production to provide the most hands-on and satisfying experience in the classroom. Each grade will have a different theme that guides the curriculum over the year, ensuring that students will not repeat the same exact project but rather, will have the opportunity to use familiar techniques to explore different subject matter.


As our Child Care Month celebration of Learning Through Play continues, we would like to explore how play supports early literacy. Language development is perhaps one of the most subtle benefits of play, and also one of the most crucial.
From birth children are constantly exposed to language, the primary stepping stone to literacy. As adults, we instinctively expose children every day to the skills they will need to learn to read by speaking, singing, rhyming and reading with them. A child’s own exploration through play further reinforces their language learning by providing opportunities to try out an array of developing skills. Play, like the development of language, is a natural and essential component of a child's life.While reading to a child is the most obvious way we can facilitate literacy development, it is far from the only one. Singing teaches children event sequencing, word recognition and concepts. Libraries and book corners allow them to practice being respectful of books, creating stories based upon pictures, noticing & recognizing letters, and retelling familiar stories. Group story times encourage children to hypothesize about what will happen next, follow the left to right flow of text and to recognize the difference between fact & fiction. Dramatic play provides opportunities to recognize that text is all around them (for example: magazines at the doctor’s office and boxes in the store,) and encourages familiarity with letter recognition. Art supports language development and literacy in many forms, including making books, seeing their name on their pictures and documenting the story of their art to encourage storytelling, flow of text and modelling of writing. Almost any play experience will offer opportunities to support emerging literacy!
Here are some easy ways to build literacy learning into your child’s play experience at home...
· Have your child help you make a grocery list by “reading” the flyer. Through identifying the pictures they learn to recognize the text.
· Spell words and names aloud as you write them.
· Create stories together, particularly ones which feature alliteration and rhyming.
· Read, read and reread.... familiar stories encourage children to take part in reading by completing lines and “fill in the blanks.”
· Identify letters everywhere- stores, signs, etc. Pick a letter and count how many you can find together wherever you are... this is a great way to fill time in waiting rooms and long lines!


Music can have a drastic impact on many things including your mood, alertness, and even education! In the past, research has been done to analyze the effect that music can have on children as they learn.
Dr. Nina Kraus has done significant research on the effects music has on the brain, and how it may benefit children who are in school. “The team showed that exposure to music lessons physically stimulated the brain and changed it for the better. However, simply being exposed to music education doesn’t seem to be sufficient, you have to also be actively involved.”
We’ve compiled a list of the benefits that music lessons can have on a student’s performance in school or academic activities.
1. Keeps Children Engaged
We all had areas of school that we didn’t like very much. Maybe we had a couple of classes that we really enjoyed and excelled in. For many children, learning music in school (or on the side, while doing school) can help them not only learn to engage, but also come to enjoy their classes. It may not have a big effect for some children, but for others it could change the way they learn.
2. Teaches Discipline
For very few, learning an instrument may come naturally. But even for students with exceptional abilities, they must be taught to some degree - and practice. Learning anything - especially an instrument - takes time and willpower. Kids can learn how to be disciplined with their work by playing an instrument. Practice makes perfect!
3. Helps with Memorization
When you play music, you are constantly having to memorize - your mind is remembering what notes to play, your fingers are remembering the correct positions, etc. The goal for some musicians is to be able to play pieces without music sheets in front of them. When kids get to exercise the skill of memorizing music, it helps them increase their skill in memorizing other things they learn in school.
4. Boosts Pattern Recognition
When you are learning to play music, you often learn repetition of patterns. This skill is also useful in subjects like math. The more a student trains their brain with music, the better they may become at quick calculations. It may vary from student to student, but in general, music helps develop these skills.
5. Improves SAT Score
There is speculation that children who learn to play music - and play frequently - may perform better on tests such as the SAT. Whether or not this is true, you can be sure that their mind may be sharper thanks to the focus it takes to learn how to play a musical instrument.
As your kids are going through school, you may want to consider having them try music lessons as an after-school or extracurricular activity!


Interested in Teaching High School?
Unlike at the elementary level, secondary level teachers are responsible for teaching a particular subject such as History or English. The preparation to teach at the secondary level is thus of a more specialized nature. Depending on which subject you enjoy the most and want to teach, there are two options.
Option 1. Complete a Major Related to Your Chosen Teaching Subject
Undergraduate Preparation for Teaching Secondary School
- Complete the departmental major that most closely corresponds to the subject you want to teach. For example, if you wish to teach English, pursue the major in English and then take the CSET exam in that field. The CSET exam in your particular field must be passed in order to earn a teaching credential in that field. Subjects taught at the secondary level include:
• American Sign Language
• Foreign Languages
• Health Science
• Home Economics
• Physical Education
• Social Science (History, Government, Economics)
• Science (Biology, Earth, Physical)
• Technical Education
Sample exams for each field are available on the CSET website and should be reviewed with relevant faculty.
Option 2. State-approved Programs
If you want to teach Music, the University of Redlands has state-approved preparation programs. Through The School of Music. Successful completion of the Music Education major also takes the place of the CSET exam in Music. For more information, contact Dr. Kathy Hickey.


As parents look for ways of helping their children towards the eleven plus their minds, at times, may be drawn to the Newcastle Report of 1861. The terms of reference were to enquire into the state of popular education in England. The report was to comment on what was required for cheap but sound elementary education.
The report ended up with some far reaching recommendations. Like so many good ideas few of the recommendations were adopted at the time. There was one, however, that was accepted and acted upon: schools should be financed partly through rates and partly from direct grants. The rates part was to be determined by children’s attainments which were tested by examiners from the county boards of education.
There was a recommendation that `peasant’ boys should not be educated after they reached around ten years old.
It was also felt that trained teachers were better than the untrained. The trained teachers, however, felt that they were not being paid enough!
Did these ideas have much to do with the emergence of the present eleven plus?


Cheri Chloe July 30, 2020 worksheets
There are also teachers who use these kinds of techniques to teach in a more animated manner. The idea is to keep.children interested because without their attention, it is difficult to make them absorb what you are trying to teach.There are many types of worksheets you can use as a teaching aid. First is coloring pages. This is good in teaching kids the different colors and their names, and the proper way to color. With First Crafts, kids learn how to make simple crafts and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.
If education is your goal, you may want a set of worksheets designed to teach your child all of the basic skills they will need for school.
Both lower-level-thinking worksheets and too many (even high quality) worksheets can hold students back by not providing stimulus and challenge. Studies have shown for years (just do a Google search!) that children learn best through active involvement and real-life experiences. Virtually every teacher knows that children learn to read by being exposed to books and by being read to, NOT by completing worksheets. The same applies to all areas of learning.
3. If the materials do not specifically indicate ”brain-based,” determine if they are at least ”brain-friendly.” This would mean that you are looking for lots of color, material interesting to the child, many varied activities-especially involving movement, and using several of the senses. I saw one company whose worksheets included the instruction to ”say the number out loud as you…” This is very good! Speaking out loud is very important for learning to occur. Ideally, all worksheets should include this instruction. If you can’t find any that do, then you need to add that instruction yourself.
If you must use worksheets, then be sure you do the following 6 things:1. Know what you are buying. If you can’t see it (there is no sample shown), then do not buy it. There are many people out there trying to make a buck off the current popularity of worksheets. Many, if not most, of these people know nothing about mathematics, teaching, or how the brain learns. Anyone can type columns of addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. problems; but these worksheets will be bad for your child. Don’t trust what you can’t see.
5. Never allow boredom to set in. We know now that when learning is fun and exciting, the brain is actually growing many new dendrites that make connections with many other dendrites. The more connections the better. We also know now that boredom destroys dendrites. Small children quickly become bored with worksheets, especially skill and drill worksheets. Yet another reason to avoid skill and drill worksheets like the plague.
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This post was contributed by Lisette of Where Imagination Grows.
Simple Science for Kids on the Light Table!
Hands-on science for kids is a great way to teach children about the world around them. My preschoolers are fascinated with rocks, gems, and agates lately so I introduced them to this simple beginning geology activity on our light table to let them follow their interests.
Exploring Geology on the Light Table
All the rocks and agates we have are from a local rock shop and the bright colored agates I got off ebay (less than $1 each with free shipping!) but I’ve seen this cool sliced agate set on Amazon if you don’t have a rock shop local to you.
I set out the various rocks and agates on our light table and gave my girls a magnifying glass to explore the rocks and agates with.
When planning activities that center on science for kids I try to create kids activities that are visually enticing and offer sensory experiences for them. This was the perfect activity for that!
After they examined the rocks with the magnifying glasses the girls then spent a great deal of time sorting them by color.
They also paired them up with similar rocks and sorted them into lines based on the different type we had on the light table. The girls decided that we had “rocks, crystals, & gems.” I was impressed with the different types of rocks they remembered from our recent reading of two National Geographic books: Rocks & Minerals and Everything Rocks & Minerals.
I asked my preschool aged girls simple questions about the textures, size, coloring, patterns, weight, and more as we played with the rocks and agates. If you have older kids you can ask more in depth geology questions and discuss the things like what types of rocks are they, how are they formed, and where would you find them but with my younger ones I kept it simple.
The girls loved this easy geology activity and they’ve spent hours examining, sorting, and playing with the rocks. They enjoyed them so much that we now keep them out with our light table loose parts so they can explore them whenever they want to. When you add the light table to this simple geology activity it makes science for kids even more fun!
Supplies, Books, & Toys to Supplement This Activity:
More Light Table Fun:
How do you explore science with your kids? Do share in the comments below!


Want to simplify some music for your beginning chorus or transcribe a piano piece for flute? Arranging a copyrighted musical work requires the permission of the copyright owner.
There are Fair Use exceptions in U.S. copyright law that support educators:
- “Music teachers can edit or simplify purchased, printed copies, provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, are not altered or lyrics added if none exist.
- “Music teachers who get a compulsory license* for recording can make a musical arrangement of a work to the extent necessary for their ensemble. The arrangement cannot change the basic melody or fundamental character of the work.” (“United States Copyright Law: A Guide for Music Educators”)
Here’s what the law (37 U.S.C. §107) considers to determine Fair Use:
- the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
- the nature of the copyrighted work;
- the amount used and how substantial the portion used is in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
- the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
Derivative Works that Require Permission
- Simplified editions
- Instrumental accompaniments
- Translations of lyrics
2) Contact the copyright owner and ask for permission. NAfME member Jay Althouse recommends providing as much information as possible:
- The kind of arrangement—band, chorus, orchestra, etc.
- The number of copies or parts
- Who is making the arrangement—you, a student, or someone for hire
- Who will perform the arrangement—your chorus, the local symphony
- Whether you will sell the arrangement and its price
- How often the arrangement will be used—the 2008 Winter Concert or every year from now on
3) Get permission in writing.
4) Show a copyright notice on the arrangement—on all copies and all parts.
5) Keep in mind that permission may be denied or come with a fee.
6) Don’t risk infringement if permission is denied. Statutory damages range from $500 to $20,000 for each act of infringement, but can soar to $100,000 if the infringement was willful.
In his book, Copyright: The Complete Guide for Music Educators, Althouse describes noninfringing and infringing adaptations:
- Noninfringing: You buy enough copies of a choral work for your SATB choir and change a few notes in the tenor line.
- Infringing: You buy one copy of a 2-part work and adapt it for your SATB choir. You write men’s parts, notate them with Finale software, and distribute copies to your male singers.
Althouse’s rule of thumb: What if everyone did it? In the above example, if the publisher already has an SATB version in print, this adaptation could cause a loss of sales for the publisher’s edition.
Jay Althouse is a music educator who served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher, as well as serving a term on the executive board of the Music Publishers Association of America. He composes choral music and has written several books in addition to his book on copyright.
–Linda Brown, October 1, 2008 © National Association for Music Education (nafme.org)
* Compulsory License: If a musical work has been recorded for public distribution, the copyright owner is required to license it to anyone who wants to record it.


The beliefs and practices of itinerant teachers of deaf and hard of hearing children about literacy development
AdvisorShort, Kathy G.
Antia, Shirin D.
MetadataShow full item record
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
AbstractThe purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the beliefs and practices of itinerant teachers of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students about literacy development. The study examined the match between the itinerant teachers' beliefs and their practices match and the effects of the itinerant setting on beliefs and practices. These are important questions in the field as so many d/hh students are currently enrolled in public school settings. Five itinerant teachers participated in the study and met the following criteria: spend 70% or more of their time providing itinerant services and who serve two or more elementary schools, provide itinerant services to elementary age d/hh students, have at least five years of teaching experience with two or more years spent as an itinerant, and located within a 150 mile radius of Tucson, Arizona. A series of three interviews and four observations were completed with each teacher. The qualitative analysis program QSR Nudist 4 (2000) was used initially to analyze all of the data from the interviews and observations. This was followed by at least four readings of the original transcripts, once for each research question. Conclusions were drawn and similar patterns, phrases, ideas and themes were labeled and indexed. The teachers believe that d/hh students develop literacy in similar ways to hearing children if they have a strong language base. They also find it valuable to have a broad knowledge of literacy development for hearing children in order to identify gaps that d/hh students might have. The teachers use a combination of service delivery models, pull-out and in-class. The teachers use a combination of meaning-centered and skills-based models and a wide variety of practices for developing literacy. The majority of the teachers' beliefs match their practices. A number of specific effects of the itinerant setting affect the teachers' practices including: support from team members, space, consistency of student sessions, isolation, availability of resources, time, student teacher ratio, ownership of students and programming, and flexibility. Importance of the findings and their implications are discussed.
Degree ProgramGraduate College
Language, Reading & Culture


Led by Lauren Linahon, art education masters student, UI College of Education
Stanley Creates is an interactive program for children and teens to learn artmaking techniques using everyday materials. Taking inspiration from the museum’s collection, participants will play with materials to create unique projects at home. Lauren Linahon will demonstrate the process and provide feedback and support to participants as they make their artwork.
In this workshop, participants will learn how to marble paper using materials found at home. Taking inspiration from the exhibition Fluidity, Linahon will guide kids through the process of creating colorful marble patterns on paper. She’ll also give participants ideas for how to use the marbled paper in other projects.
Lauren Linahon is a graduate student in art education. She has led artmaking workshops for United Action for Youth and taught studio sections of the course Create, Imagine, Play: Human Development through Arts at the University of Iowa.
After registration, you will receive a welcome letter with a supply list, all of which are common household items.
Video instructions will be available after the event for those who are unable to attend, but would like to make the projects.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the SMA in advance at 319-335-1727.


Some say the first language of babies is music as they experience it in the womb. From this early exposure, babies learn to love rhythm. I noticed Bobby’s special connection with rhythm from the first moments of meeting him. He was a bit of a fussy baby. So, a constant dance-like bounce was all that would soothe him. Once that stopped working, he would calm by listening to Yo Yo Ma. The drastic impact music had on Bobby got me thinking about the relevance of music in his development. I’ve learned that a connection with music plays an important role as the foundation for literacy and other social and cultural development.
Why is Music Important?
“The necessity of music in human intellectual development has been discussed as far back as ancient Greece, in the 6th century B.C. In Plato’s Book of Laws II, a discussion is presented between an Athenian student and his teacher, Clinias, that describes the ancient Greek views on the importance of music education.
Athenian: So, by the uneducated man we shall mean one who has no choric training; and by an educated man whose choric training has been thorough.
Athenian: And, mark you., the choric art as a whole embraces both dance and song.
Clinias: No doubt.
Athenian: Thus it follows that a well-educated man can both sing well and dance well.
Clinias: So it would seem.” CITE
Many advocate for continuing a child’s early exposure to music. One such group of experts explain: “Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain’s circuits in specific ways.” (Cite)
Music At Our House
Continuing Bobby’s exposure has been a bit tricky. At 3.5 years old, he seems a bit young to sit through lessons. But music is still on his mind. The other day, he was in the backyard with two sticks. One was double his height. He held it upright in one hand and took another stick and began to strum the larger stick. When asked what he was doing, he replied that he was playing the cello. Later that night he pretended to play the flute. And, his little brother, who we call Bam Bam due to his love of banging on everything and everyone, used two sticks to beat the ground. Future drummer? Maybe. So, we had a delightful time singing songs amidst the trees. After all, in the words of Raffi, you’ve gotta sing when the spirit says sing.
The favorite song these days is Baby Beluga. Thank you Raffi Cavoukian, the superstar of kids’ music, for creating this charming song that introduces lil ones to the wonders of the ocean. Singing Raffi with my kids is nostalgic for me as I remember singing his songs with my six younger siblings.
The All Time Children’s Superstar, Raffi
Haven’t heard of Raffi? Well he has been creating classic children’s music since the 70s. I’ve been a fan since probably the 80s when his tunes entertained me and my little brothers and sisters. For me, it is wild that now, I am enjoying his music with my own children. What’s wilder than that? Well, letting them experience Raffi in concert.
Raffi will be on tour this year. He will be in Berkeley on April 6, then hopscotching around the country. Interested in more details, then check here. The concerts will benefit Child Honouring, an organization founded by Raffi based upon a Covenant for Honouring Children, an absolutely inspirational movement to help make the world a better place for all children. Check back for more information about the Covenant for Honouring Children as it more than warrants a separate discussion.
Ways To Introduce Your Kids To Music
There are so many ways to introduce young kids to music. From streaming music in the background, asking them what they think of it, singing, dancing and playing instruments or sticks as the case may be. In addition, concerts are a great way to let them gain another perspective. Raffi’s concert is one such event and should be amazing! But if you can’t make that, then check out your local community. Consider attending a high school performance, church choir concert, music class or youth symphony. Library storytimes also can incorporate music as well.
Thanks for reading! Wishing you and your little ones magical times making music memories!


Creating Dialogic Spaces Around Controversial Issues in Teacher Education
by Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth - April 04, 2008
Background/Context: Dialogic space is imperative for teacher educators and students to grow and learn around polemic issues. For this space to work as dialogic, it is imperative that the histories and truths of the people interacting within the place are taken seriously and acknowledged. For a dialogic space to be present in classrooms, teachers and students must be willing to engage in conversation that pushes the boundaries of participant comfort zones and provides a place where participant identities and histories are taken into account.
Focus of Study: This article examines qualities that encourage engagement in dialogue around polarizing issues between a teacher educator and a preservice student. In this case study, “Jianna,” a self-described conservative Christian, and the present author, the out lesbian instructor in the class, engage in a dialogue around gay and lesbian issues in elementary education. At the center of our dialogue is the timely and contentious issue of the intersection of conservative Christianity and the inclusion of gay- and lesbian-themed texts in elementary classrooms. This case provides an example for educators who seek to address polarizing issues with their students. I identify three characteristics necessary for the creation of dialogic space: the desire for dialogue among all dialogue participants, common texts and common language, and the coexploration of personal perspectives.
Research Design: This is a qualitative study with data drawn from in-depth interviews with one participant, teaching journals, student papers, and student discussions.
Conclusions/Recommendations: The researcher argues that when teachers work to establish space where reciprocity is both modeled and expected among their students, the opportunities for dialogue around threatening issues could be increased. This dialogue provides the opportunity for increased knowledge around these issues.
To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:


Music is a stimulating way to develop early communication, literacy and numeracy skills, whilst lifting the mood and promoting well-being.
A music specialist, who works with community choirs and the Cornwall Youth Choir, Matt has led our weekly Music in the Med sessions for over two years, encouraging under 5s and their grandparents to sing, play and move to the Beat of the Biome. New songs, developed especially for these sessions and inspired by the natural world, will resonate wherever you are.
Join in by watching our online sessions and sing along with the lyrics. Use the online resources to have a go and share your finds or feedback with us.
Songs inspired by Eden's Rainforest Biome, with fun facts about its fascinating plants. Watch the video and download the lyrics to sing along!
Join us in the Med Biome with songs for little ones about ancient trees and hot chillies. Watch the video and download the lyrics to sing along!
Eden's wild and magical outer estate inspires songs about wildflowers and pollinators.


I Scream. You Scream. We All Scream for Ice Cream! Go ahead and have a spoon full of ice cream! I created this Mini Ice Cream Cookie Craft to celebrate the end of the school year and to welcome summer!
These easy to make Mini Ice Cream Cone Cookies encourage fine motor skill development such as using a knife to cut or spread frosting. Dexterity skills are definitely challenged for picking up tiny pieces of candy and the itty, bitty sprinkles.
When it comes to sensory processing, this cookie craft is especially good if your child is working on increasing their tolerance for having messy hands. The pairing of a non-preferred sensation (getting hands dirty with frosting) with a positive association of ice cream, can serve as an experience that turns a messy activity into a fun experience. Plus, licking this kind of ice cream may also introduce a new texture that some kids may otherwise avoid.
I always have a wet paper towel or wet wipe on hand so kids can wipe their hands. Plus, it’s also best practice for little chefs to learn to not lick their fingers while cooking, no matter how delicious. It’s not only good practice for sanitation, but also good practice for exercising self-control!
I know you’re gonna love making these with your kids! Would you like one scoop or two? Or perhaps you prefer having a spoonful of ice cream? In this case, each mini ice cream cone fits onto a tablespoon, and although small, they’re sure to be a big hit at your next celebration.
Check out the video tutorial below for step by step instructions to make these tasty treats.
Here’s what you’ll need
- Wafer cookie
- Mini Nilla Wafer cookie
- Mini M&M or red hot candy
- 2 Knives (1 to cut and 1 to spread the frosting)
- Consider subbing ingredients to make it dairy and gluten free.
- Use a rocker knife.
- Use tweezers to pick up small candies.


- Subject index
Fifty research-based literacy strategies designed for busy K-8 classroom teachersOrganized around 10 key areas for teaching and learning literacy—phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, story comprehension, comprehension of informational text, questioning for understanding, discussion for understanding, narrative writing, and writing to learn-Promoting Literacy Development offers 50 clearly written, step-by-step strategies for developing proficient readers and writers. The authors also include suggestions for differentiating instruction for English language learners and for students with special needs.
Section VI: Essential Strategies for Teaching Comprehension of Informational Text
As we complete the first decade of the 21st century, society is experiencing the explosion of the information age as we surf the Internet to gather news, compare products, purchase items, or conduct banking. In order to prepare students for this digital age, teachers are seeking methods for teaching informational text across the grades, from early childhood through adolescence. This section discusses current research on best practices for teaching comprehension of informational text and explores instructional strategies.
A Brief Overview of Comprehension of Informational Text
Comprehension is the essence of reading, and effective comprehension instruction enables readers to construct meaning from text, connect new concepts to prior knowledge, and formulate ideas (Block ...


Kindermusik for the Young Child: Building a Musical Foundation
Using a small-group approach to music education, Kindermusik Level 5 (Young Child) provides a pressure-free environment where your child can develop a strong musical foundation alongside creativity, confidence and a life-long love of learning. It is the perfect compliment to your child’s schooling – many families find that attendance at Kindermusik classes aids in the development of skills (such as inhibitory control, coordination, fine-motor skills, auditory discrimination, ensemble play/team-work etc.) that enhance the school learning experience.
During the course of this 4-semester program your child will learn the concepts, language, notation and vocabulary of music and explore a variety of musical styles and genres through songs, games and movement. They will explore and play authentic percussion, string, pre-keyboard and woodwind instruments.
Young Child Semester 1 & 2 introduce the glockenspiel, a beautiful hand-crafted instrument with individually hand-drilled keys for accurate pitch. Children love creating melodies on this delightful sounding instrument. Young Child Semester 3 features Appalachian music and the 2-string dulcimer and Young Child Semester 4 introduces the recorder and music from around the world.
Small class sizes allow learning to progress in a welcoming and nurturing environment at each child’s individual pace. Parents or caregivers attend the last 10-15 minutes of class where homework is explained and we do an activity together to help you stay in touch with what your child is learning.
What parents are saying about Kindermusik for the Young Child at Music2Grow:
“Not only is Kindermusik a fun, supportive and play based way for kids to enjoy and learn music but it is also a great way to meet other families! We have loved Verna’s teaching style and the kids really get a lot out of her classes. My daughter is now playing piano and her teacher says her skills are amazing at such a young age. “- Tanya S.
“It’s fun for the child. They are exposed to different types of music and instruments. Its a great foundation for future music choices. My child can now read music – impressive.” – Lisa O.
“Kindermusik respects that children need to play to learn. The materials both in the class and for home are wonderful and engaging. The parent information sheets are a great guidance. The gentle approach to meet individual children’s social and emotional needs is also very important to us.” – Melissa S.
About the Classes
Age Range: 5 to 7 years
Class Structure: 15 classes in a semester
Class Length: 50-60 minute class each week
Class Size: Class with no more than 8 children
Parent Involvement: Last 10-15 minutes of class
What A Parent And Child Will Experience In Class
- Singing and vocal development – It may sound like a foreign language when a child sings “ta” and “ti-ti,” but this is the language of professional musicians and composers and getting young children ready to read and write simple rhythm patterns.
- Movement — See children dance expressively to music, giving them the practice they need to coordinate their body movements to the sound of music. This kind of musical play not only improves musicianship, but physical coordination as well.
- Reading and writing — Young children will learn melodic notation and identify pitches such as the C, A, and D notes on the treble clef, plus rhythmic notation – eventually even composing their own music.
- Focused listening — Children will learn to identify a range of orchestra instruments and their sound qualities, while also gaining an early awareness and knowledge of composers and masterworks in Western arts tradition.
- Exploring and playing musical instruments — Authentic percussion, string, pre-keyboard, and woodwind instruments expose children to the many choices for future musical study, and at the same time provide them with the opportunity to musically succeed before taking on more formal instruction.


- Subject index
Fifty research-based literacy strategies designed for busy K-8 classroom teachersOrganized around 10 key areas for teaching and learning literacy—phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, story comprehension, comprehension of informational text, questioning for understanding, discussion for understanding, narrative writing, and writing to learn-Promoting Literacy Development offers 50 clearly written, step-by-step strategies for developing proficient readers and writers. The authors also include suggestions for differentiating instruction for English language learners and for students with special needs.
Strategy 8: Phonics Through Shared Reading
Speaking Briefly: An Overview of the Literacy Strategy
Phonics Through Shared Reading provides emergent and early readers with an explicit model of how to apply their phonics skills while reading. Shared reading allows developing readers to see how new vocabulary words are identified by fluent readers (Gill, 2006). Its explicit modeling and application of word identification skills in context of use enable teachers to target instruction for specific skill sets.
Phonics Through Shared Reading may be used with picture books, songs, or poetry. Through repeated readings, developing readers learn to listen for rhymes, discriminate among sounds, and identify onset/rimes within a risk-free environment (Invernizzi, 2003). Observational data during shared reading may also aid the teacher in designing intervention lessons for ...


Towards the Development of An Assessment of Employability Skills
As the world faces higher and higher unemployment rates among its youth, there is increasing interest in evaluating whether schools are adequately preparing their youth to enter the workforce. Do early school leavers (those leaving by Grade 9) possess the “foundational” and “employability” skills needed to effectively enter the workforce? Assessment instruments for literacy and mathematics appropriate to the end of the primary cycle do exist. However these tend to be in depth, large scale, regional or national assessments and not the rapid assessments that EGRA/EGMA are. In addition, these tools only measure some foundational skills, such as reading and math. Previous investigation on employability skills identified three “clusters” of commonly cited skills in the international literature: cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills. These three clusters align favorably with the three domains specified by the Committee on Deeper Learning and 21st Century Skills, convened by the US-based National Research Council, as well as other prominent models. A subset of these skills could be assessed, in combination with foundational skills such as literacy and mathematics, in order to ascertain whether or not youth of secondary school age (i.e. around 15–18 years of age) are finishing their tenure in formal schooling with at least a modicum of “work readiness” skills. This report describes a framework for understanding and measuring employability skills.


Nature Reader Book K Second Edition
This completely revised, full-color reader will introduce students to God's marvelous creation while reinforcing phonics principles. Beginning vocabulary skills are also learned as students are exposed to new words (a glossary is located in the back of the text). Introducing an animal with each letter of the alphabet, twenty-six chapters will take readers from alligator to zebra. Simple review questions have been added to help with comprehension.
Note: This text is considered to be an advanced reader and should be used after completion of a kindergarten-level phonics-based reading program. Students who have completed such a program should be able to read this book with minimal help.
Kids love to read about animals and nature, and Christian Liberty Press offers six readers chock-full of interesting stories and appealing illustrations. Book K introduces an animal for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet, and includes a story on each one of them. Book 1 focuses on Creation and reinforces phonics principles. Book 2 emphasizes small creatures and lessons from nature. Books 3 and 4 discuss the daily routine and other aspects of animal life. Book 5 has been completely rewritten and teaches about the earths hydrosphere and the multitude of creatures that live in the ocean. Review questions are provided at the end of each chapter or section. Answer keys are available for Books 1-5. These contain detailed answers to the review questions found in the student text.
Teach reading skills using this God-honoring program filled with enriching and interesting reading material. Throughout this series, students read children- and history-oriented stories. Grade K emphasizes phonics instruction (2 books of single-syllable, short vowel, words; 2 books use multi-syllable words, long-vowel sounds). Grade 1 reinforces and applies these phonics skills. Grade 2 assumes students have a good grasp of phonics, so the series then shifts to progressively more challenging vocabulary and reading and emphasizes reading comprehension. Grade 3 stories span a broad history, including ancient and Bible. Grades 4-5 emphasize American history readings. Grade 6 highlights abridged and revised selections from classic authors. Some levels require Teachers' Manuals, student activities, and tests.


Brass Musical Instruments
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination, and life to everything.” - Plato
These beautiful photographs of brass instruments are meant to inspire and capture your child's curiosity. This set includes a photo wall decal of:
- french horn
Let your child enjoy the fun of playing a toy version of a brass musical instrument. Find websites that play their sounds. Visit places where they can actually experience the sounds and the magic of the real ones.
Music is the greatest creation of man. It is an essential part of life. Everyone loves some type of music. Music is everywhere, it pervades our world. Music has power and importance. It is transformative!
It builds imagination and intellectual curiosity. Introducing music in the early childhood years can help foster a positive attitude toward learning and curiosity. Artistic education develops the whole brain and develops a child’s imagination.
Musical training helps develop language and reasoning. It is scientifically proven that music enhances brain functioning. Children who have early musical training develop the areas of the brain related to language and reasoning. The left side of the brain is better developed with music, and songs can help imprint information on young minds. Playing music uses many brain functions simultaneously such as motor control, imagination, hearing, sight and memory.
Music teaches pattern recognition. Children can develop their math and pattern-recognition skills with the help of musical education. Playing music offers repetition in a fun format.
It teaches memorization. Musicians have to constantly use their memory to perform. The skill of memorization can serve children well in so many areas in education and beyond. Music education greatly enhances children's understanding and achievement in non-musical subjects.
It increases coordination. Children who practice with musical instruments can improve their hand-eye coordination. Just like playing sports, kids can develop motor skills when playing music.
Music can develop spatial intelligence. Children who study music can improve the development of spatial intelligence, which allows them to perceive the world accurately and form mental pictures. Spatial intelligence is helpful for advanced mathematics and more.
Music is a simple pleasure. All it takes is your ears and your imagination!
So now that you see how important music is, how about some lessons?
Our bright colored fabric wall decals are perfect for children's rooms or classrooms!
These wall decals are removable, repositionable, reusable and easy to apply. They do not damage paint and they never leave behind a sticky residue on your walls!
We provide a kit with a small level to get it perfectly positioned!
These decals are 10" x 10". We can make these decals smaller or larger and priced accordingly. Please contact us!
Made in USA
We do our best to ship same day!


This PowerPoint shows you how to make a foam core light box for your classroom.
This is an essential tool in art classrooms that teach skill-based art education. This simple design, once created, takes less then five seconds to assemble and disassemble which maximizes the amount of time students can spend on their actual art projects. It stores completely flat and although suited for anyone who wants to control their light source while drawing, it is perfect for classroom use. It can be created for $1 using simple supplies. Teachers can make this box themselves or have their students make them. We have created a video that demonstrates how to use this box and talks about its benefits which we have made available to the public for free. It can be accessed via The Da Vinci Initiative’s Youtube channel, or by clicking here.


One of my primary interests in teaching and studying music is the relationship and dynamic that develops between the student and teacher. As a teacher it is my responsibility to ensure that I guide my students toward a working knowledge, technical competency, and appreciation and enjoyment of the musical instrument and style they are learning to play. Ideally, a student shares these same goals. However, for many students, and especially with younger children, the concept of playing an instrument is much more appealing than the challenging and often frustrating learning process. This includes developing the physical capabilities required of the instrument, learning the musical fundamentals of notation and rhythm, and dedicating oneself to the sheer repetition and regular practice that is necessary to reach the desired level of proficiency.
To successfully achieve my goal as a teacher, it is essential to cater to each student’s unique style of learning. This may require temporarily compromising a sound and logical lesson plan for a tangential, but more immediately rewarding and impactful impromptu lesson. The advantage to this flexibility is that it enables a teacher to adjust during the course of a lesson to maximize the benefit to the student. Examples of such spur of the moment adjustments include teaching a child a theme from a Mario Bros game instead of “The Ode to Joy,” or allowing him to “compose” and write his own melody, which for that student made reading the notation more fun and rewarding.
It is not solely in my role as a teacher, nor only with children, that I see compromises and negotiations shaping the experience of learning music. In my lessons with my jazz guitar teacher unplanned topics are openly explored with the understanding that prepared materials will always be available for discussion at a later date. Similarly, my teachers of Hindustani (North Indian) music constantly assess my understanding of the music and adapt their teaching accordingly. Lessons are designed and unfold in real time, dictated by the dynamic between teacher and student and the ability of the teacher to recognize the best method to advance the student’s progress.
It is the freedom of the private lesson format, void of strict curricula requirements, that makes private music education so effective. Private music lessons are one of the few opportunities to engage in a meaningful educational activity, acquire and develop a new artistic and creative skill, and experience learning in a completely personalized manner. I can only imagine how much I would have benefited if this same flexibility were regularly practiced in mandatory subjects such as math, English, and science when I was a student.
*As negotiation and compromise are two of my primary interests in music education I suspect there will be a number of posts sharing this title. This is only the first of many.


This course explores topics in discrete mathematics including the language of logic, set theory, enumeration, probability, and statistics. Basic elements of probability and statistics will be used to solve problems involving the organization, description, and interpretation of data. Furthermore, it explores topics in Euclidean geometry.
This course is one of the required courses for the Minor in Mathematics for Elementary Education program at Mount Royal University (MRU) and was designed especially for elementary education students. The purpose of this course is to introduce future elementary (grades K-6) educators to the basic language of mathematics, and to give them an introduction to abstract concepts in set theory, geometry, probability, and statistics. The relationship of concepts to the elementary mathematics curriculum is emphasized. We started offering this course in Fall 2013. I taught this course for 5 years since its inception. I created these lecture notes to facilitate student learning. This course partially fulfills the need for mathematics to be taught as a language with reasoning and gives students spatial sense. Students will be exposed to numbers and number sense in a second course: MATH 2150 Higher Arithmetic.
The following chart gives a quick overview of further learning opportunities at MRU as they relate to this course's scope:
|Chapter||If you are interested in learning more in-depth, you can choose to take this course at MRU.|
|3||MATH 2150 Higher Arithmetic|
|4||MATH 1103 Introduction to Geometry|
|5, 6||MATH 1102 Introduction to Statistical Reasoning|
Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- show knowledge of fundamental concepts in mathematics,
- encourage mathematical investigations,
- demonstrate an understanding of mathematical reasoning,
- reflect major algebraic ideas such as algebra as a set of rules and procedures; algebra as the study of structures; algebra as the study of the relationship between quantities,
- do problem-solving by using mathematics, and
- perform mathematical calculations that involve measurements, estimation, similarity, and probability.
A Note on Formatting:
Throughout this resource, practice exercises can be found at the end of each chapter. No answer key is provided for some questions. This is to encourage students to experience mathematics as a synthetic and creative field and also to attend class to ask questions. The "Thinking Out Loud" sections are to prompt discussion - take these up with your classmates and see if you can justify your position using what you know.
The creation of this resource would not have been possible without significant help from a variety of sources. They are, in no particular order,
- Provost's Teaching and Learning Innovation Grant, Mount Royal University
- Professor Delmar Larsen, LibreTexts, for his unconditional support
- The Academic Development Center, Mount Royal University
- The Media Production Group, Mount Royal University
- The Department of Mathematics and Computing, Mount Royal University
- The Faculty of Science & Technology, Mount Royal University
- Former students, who have taken this class in person, and who donated their class notes as reference material, namely: Ms.Amy Rebisz and Ms. Marianna Moodie.
- Pieter van Staalduinen, Undergraduate Research Assistant at Mount Royal University
- Undergraduate student James Bergeron, Mount Royal University
Thank you all so very much for your help, insights, and resources.
If you find any errors or mistakes, please send me an email stating the section number.
Pamini Thangarajah, PhD
September 2017, edited in September 2019.
Thumbnail: Academic knowledge is a second-order form of knowledge that seeks abstractions and generalizations based on reasoning and evidence. Image used with permission (Public Domain; Pearson Scott Foresman donated to the Wikimedia Foundation).


The English Language Arts standards include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Listening and reading are “decoding”, and speaking and writing are “encoding.” The purposeful interaction of these skills creates literacy -- being able to understand and communicate both orally and in writing. The foundational skills in the standards contain sub-skills that are required for literacy and should be taught concurrently with the listening, speaking, reading, and writing standards in each grade.
Our newly adopted ELA instructional materials, Benchmark Advance, use a balanced literacy approach in which students listen, speak, read, and write daily. Coupled with SIPPS in grades K-3, students will experience rigorous and well-rounded instruction in ELA, including decoding/encoding, fluency, and comprehension.
SIPPS (Gr. K-3)
Lexia Core 5 (Gr. 1-8)
Accelerated Reader (Gr. 2-6)


When you send your child to a preschool, you are preparing them for their elementary education. Maths skills learned in preschool lay the foundation of understanding concepts and applications easily in elementary school and beyond. For this reason, early childhood educators should focus on activities and lessons to develop these basic skills.
Basic Math Skills
Early childhood education should be more like play for a child. When you introduce number concepts without the child realising it, math learning in elementary school becomes easy. Educationists feel that a three-year-old child is mentally ready to adapt to these concepts.
There is an advantage in building this foundation of concepts and terminology during early childhood education. Children are well prepared when they need to apply the information in the classroom. Their familiarity with these math basics helps elementary teachers to concentrate on the application of new concepts and ideas.
Learning Numbers via Pictures or Representation
A child’s mind absorbs visual inputs easily and can quickly build a relationship between numbers and items placed before them. Most children develop a clear understanding of this relationship through pictures or representation, and this is an excellent way of introducing mathematics to a child.
The method of representing numbers with toys, pictures, or even the child’s family members or friends becomes a fun and easy way for them to learn. Early childhood educators should focus on this approach, making children count pictures of animals, fruits, etc. The child understands that the number represents the item. In this way, math becomes a part of their life and reduces the possibility of any confusion in later classroom learning.
Developing Number Sense
Number sense is what the numbers mean to the child and indicates their fluidity and flexibility with numbers. This vital basic maths skill encourages children to think dynamically and promotes their confidence with numbers. Preschool teachers must ask children to count numbers forwards and backwards so that they understand the relationship between the numbers in the future as well.
Number sense must be taught before a child reaches kindergarten. The teachers here will review children’s skills in counting forward and backward. If preschool educators lay a foundation in number sense, it can lead to a stronger understanding of this vital skill before the child starts with their elementary education. Early development of number sense is a significant maths skill that plays a vital role in learning mathematical concepts and advanced calculations in later years.
Addition and Subtraction
These are the basic skills that children use while interacting with each other. The give and take of cookies, biscuits, candies while they eat together is a simple way of teaching them addition and subtraction. That makes the introduction of concepts easy and natural.
Learning in this way also lays a more solid foundation for maths skills advancement in future education. It obviates the need to prepare any special maths lessons that may be difficult for them to understand at their age and level of knowledge.
Preschool Learnings Become the Building Blocks for Academics
Young children learn many skills at an amazing speed, and that includes basic maths. They learn these concepts through normal activities in a playful way. Teachers can encourage skills such as number sense, addition & subtraction, and similar simple maths concepts to ease the children’s transition into elementary education. These learnings become the building blocks for their later academic career. Check out our maths preschool activity here.
We at Clovel Childcare and Early Learning Centres, provide a very nurturing environment for children to learn and grow. For any information about our services, give us a call at 02 9199 0294 or fill in this contact us form
Thanks for reading,
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The theoretical foundations are the cardiovascular system for conducting research within a given area. It is the construction on which the complete research project is based.
It is a rationally described, elaborated and produced network of relationships among the list of variables deemed important to the situation situation and identified through such procedure as literature survey, interview and observations. An effective theoretical foundation pinpoints and establish the relevant parameters in a situation that are necessary to the problem defined. Likewise, the building blocks of conducting an excellent research will be the existing facts, theories and hypothesis regarding the topic of study. They serve as helpful information for the representation of existing information about the problem, thus supporting and encouraging the research in regard to the topic.
An illustration of this the building blocks of a research is the literature assessment, which provides information regarding what have been put out regarding the problem (Taber, 2012). Difficulties To Executing A Good Study Looking for analyze participants. Choosing the participants from the research is generally difficult as a researcher needs to define the prospective participants ahead of he or she goes to the discover. In most cases this sort of participants are generally hidden, which makes it hard to find all of them.
Nevertheless, the simplest way to solve this challenge is usually through marketing. Networking through methods such as snowball approach eliminates this kind of challenge (Webster & Tuckman, 2000). An investigation can also assist other established researcher during a call for marketing Dealing with collected data.
If the study is completed, the specialist is confronted with the challenge of experiencing a large volume of data, which usually he or she has to link that with the present research. He or she has to show how his or her study contributes to the body of knowledge. Significant data happen to be hard to assess. But , it might be solved by simply referring to the methodology employed in the study. He or she can also concentrate so as to not be sidetracked by minor data.
Recommendations Taber, E. (2012). Executing research in educational situations. Teacher Creation, 395-397. Webster, P., & Tuckman, N. (2000). Executing Educational Analysis.
Journal of Research in Music Education, 271-271.


The Reggio Emilia-inspired approach at Community Day provides children the tools to navigate their own unique paths of discovery. Our project-based curriculum encourages children to be active participants in the learning process and to develop the skills needed to explore their ideas, interests, and questions in a meaningful way.
Research overwhelming supports play-based learning
Play-based learning embraces giving children time to carry out their own ideas through play. Children are allowed to explore information in their surroundings in an experiential, exploratory way, rather than in a didactic, script-based format. Link here for research commissioned by the United States Department of Education documenting the signifigant benefits of play-based learning outcomes.
Community Day's Early Childhood program incorporates the HighScope Preschool Curriculum which is based on more than 50 years of research on early childhood development.
In the HighScope Preschool Curriculum, learning is focused on the following eight content areas:
- Approaches to Learning
- Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development and Health
- Language, Literacy, and Communication
- Creative Arts
- Science and Technology
- Social Studies
Preschool Curriculum Content
Learning in these areas is guided by 58 key developmental indicators for Early Childhood learning and 42 key development indicators for Infants and Toddlers (KDIs). Each KDI identifies an important learning goal for young children. We recognize that the normal pace of children’s development and learning varies widely across these eight categories and the KDIs reflect that continuum of widely held expectations. Our curriculum is designed to help teachers appropriately scaffold learning for every child across all areas.
The HighScope key developmental indicators
- Provide teachers with a child development “filter” for observing and choosing appropriate interactions and activities
- Help teachers interpret what young children say and do along a developmental continuum
- Enable teachers to maintain reasonable expectations for young children
- Reinforce children’s play as the primary mechanism for learning
- Allow teachers to be more knowledgeable and intentional in their daily planning for individual children and the class
The classroom model
Active learning is at the center of the HighScope Curriculum. It’s the foundation of young children gaining knowledge through their natural play and interactions with the environment, events, and other people.


Give children the power that comes from being able to read. Bud-e Reading is a foundational reading resource that sets children up to succeed at school. Bud-e Reading is a resource designed by Jill Eggleton QSO, a leading international educational consultant in literacy and author of over 800 children's books. Designed for students at the beginning of their reading journey, it makes teaching a simple and fun experience.
Sixty books with engaging stories and simple text encourages oral language, thinking about the story, builds foundational skills, and of—vital importance—the confidence and joy in reading.
Twenty fun, simple poems to listen to and recite together as a whole class. Developing the love of language, enriching vocabulary, encouraging thinking, practising phonics and phonemic awareness in context—all in a five-day plan.
Before she became an International Educational Consultant in Literacy, Jill Eggleton had a wide variety of successful teaching experiences—both in the classroom and in administrative roles. As an International Educational Consultant, she’s passionate about motivating teachers and providing practical ideas in lighting the literacy fire for students.
Discover Jill's personal approach to literacy in the classroom.
Jill Eggleton provides the fuel that will ensure learners are captured by the spark to become successful, lifelong readers and writers. Today's readers and writers have a greater need to be engaged in both regular and sustainable practice in oral language as well as comprehension skills.
Lighting the Literacy Fire emphasises the teaching of these skills within the context of the complete literacy program. This is literacy teaching explained plainly, at its most explicit, for teachers to transfer directly into their classrooms. Buy Now.


Now that we are entering another school year, it is hard to believe that our modern school system is less than 100 years old. According to Wikipedia, in 1900, out of 45 states, 34 had compulsory schooling laws for elementary education, of which only four were in the South. As a result, in 1910, 72% of American children attended elementary school, of which half attended in one room schools. Finally, by 1918, every state required students to complete elementary school.
In the 1880s, American high schools were preparatory academies for colleges, but, by 1910, they had been transformed into what are now the core elements for the high-schools system. In 1890, there were 200,000 high-school students, which grew to one million by 1910 and two million by 1920. Seven percent of kids [ages] 14 [to] 17 were enrolled in high school in 1890, rising to 32% in 1920. In 1910, 9% of Americans had high-school diplomas, which grew to 40% in 1935 and 50% by 1940. Today, 88% of all Americans age 20 and older have graduated from high school.
Obviously, our public education system is so much better than it was 100 years ago, [b]ut are our schools any better than they were last year, five years ago or even 10 years ago? In the most recent decade, the “No Child Left Behind” act was passed by a bipartisan coalition in Congress and signed by President Bush on January 8, 2002. [The act] marked a new direction in education. In exchange for more federal aid, the states were required to measure progress and punish schools not meeting the goals measured by standardized state exams. According to Education Week, 38% of schools were failing to make adequate yearly progress in 2010, up from 29% in 2006, [a]nd now, right before our new school year begins, six more states […] and the District of Columbia were the latest to be approved for waivers to this law. This brings the total to 33 states that have been granted waivers to get out of the tough test requirements in order to get more federal funds. In 2011, $14.5 billion was spent by the federal government on this program, so it is a program every educator must live and breathe.
According to the New America Foundation, America spent over $500 billion a year on public elementary and secondary education. This averages $10,591 per student. The federal government picks up $40 billion of this, or 8%, which is less than 3% of our total federal budget. This means 92% of public schools are funded by the states and local government. […] Wealthier states like those in the Northeast have more funding available than states with limited resources. Is this fair for the children of the United States?
Not everyone has kids [or] grandchildren in school, so many of us tend to not pay much attention to the status of education, [b]ut even if you do support your local schools, there are so many other schools we can all help that are struggling because they just don’t have adequate funding. Take a look at Donors Choose, which is an online charity connecting donors to classrooms in need. Here, public school teachers from every corner of America post needed projects, and donors can give any amount to help these classroom projects succeed. […]
To think that the federal government spends less than 3% of our budget to educate the upcoming generation to be smarter and better than us is an embarrassment for the American way of life. To realize that more schools today are failing to make progress than schools just five years ago is appalling. If we could just educate the next generation on how to eliminate poverty or war, we could then use that savings from our federal budget to fund more education for the following generations.
This cannot be the start of another school year where we fall behind the year before. It looks like the only way we can avoid this American tragedy is to get involved. Volunteer at your local schools so schools can move their paid staff to help the students most in need. Give your time and your money to help your local PTA to fund the extracurricular activities that may have been lost over the years, [a]nd, as important[ly], lobby your local, state and federal government to increase the funding needed to make this generation of kids better than the last generation. With the major election cycle coming up this November, this is the time to elect representatives who know a better education for all is tied to the future of America. Help our kids now so they can help us later.
Original article here:


By Hollyanna Bates
As a school district literacy coordinator, I worry about literacy. I worry about students learning how to read. I worry about those who find reading difficult. I worry that we aren’t spending enough time creating readers who choose to read.
I have found that I can fend off a little worry when I leverage the worry into powerful actions. These actions have developed from small steps to well-developed projects. The projects are implemented across our schools in order to impact both reading achievement and a love of reading. The projects are possible because teachers, administrators, and volunteers work together with the belief that we have to do whatever it takes. We stand firm in the belief that students need access to the behaviors of literate cultures and we aim to provide this access in a variety of ways. We offer our students a seat at the literate table.
A few years ago we read Allington and McGill’s research on summer reading and were persuaded to make a change. We hadn’t seen much success from our traditional summer school model and limited funds reduced the number of students we were able to impact. Since we had surveyed students using Donalyn Miller’s tool in the Book Whisperer, we knew that many students would not read during the summer if we didn’t provide books. Many of our students reported having 0-2 books at home.
With district funds and a heck-of-a-lot of grant funding from our local Rotary club, we have replicated the work of Allington and McGill. Each student in K-4 gets to choose summer books from a large library we created just for this purpose. Our team researched the newest, most popular titles and cultivated a collection for each school. Each May we roll out the bins, add some new titles and invite students to select books to take home for the summer.
Our local education foundation has partnered with the school district to provide author visits to all K-8 students each year. Because literate citizens know the names of authors, have books inscribed by authors, and have read several books by a favorite author, we implemented the visits as a way to provide this access. Last year one hundred percent of teachers reported via a survey that they found the visits effective for these reasons: the author visit built excitement around reading, writing and art, inspired students to read books, provided access to literate cultures, and built understanding around the writing process. Before the author visit each year, students write letters persuading a committee to be chosen to eat lunch with the author. This year, *Carlos, a student who is living in poverty and learning English as a second language, wrote, “I want to be picked to eat lunch with the author because it will change my life.” Today he ate breakfast with Colorado author Todd Mitchell and I think both of them will be forever changed after their time together!
When our district leaders looked at the research related to the number of books children have at home, the number of students who choose to read and the correlation with achievement, we couldn’t help but take action. The pilot project was funded by our education foundation and has grown to be funded by every community resource available. Now implemented in our three schools most impacted by poverty, students in 3-5th grades are well on their way to having authentic home libraries. Each month students select two books from the Scholastic order. These books belong to the students and become their home libraries. In a recent survey, 93 percent of participating students reported they had read all the books ordered through the project, with 76 percent of students reporting that they read some books twice.
While I still worry about literacy development of our students, I am proud of the projects we have in place, the opportunities we provide, and the improvements we make each year to help all children fall in love with reading.
Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Achievement Gap by Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen
*name changed to protect identity
Hollyanna Bates is a Past President of CCIRA and a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader/Literacy Coordinator in Summit School District in Frisco, Colorado. Follow her on Twitter @hollyannabates


Delivering Well Prepared Teachers Policy
The state should ensure that new elementary teachers have sufficient knowledge of the mathematics content taught in elementary grades.
Washington relies on its standards for teacher preparation programs as the basis for articulating its requirements for the mathematics content knowledge of elementary teacher candidates.
The state does not specify any coursework requirements regarding mathematics content. However, Washington has articulated teaching standards that its approved teacher preparation programs must use to frame instruction in elementary mathematics content. The state's standards appropriately address content in mathematics foundations, but although they mention such areas as algebra, geometry and statistics, the standards lack the specificity needed to ensure that teacher preparation programs deliver this mathematics content of appropriate breadth and depth to elementary teacher candidates.
Finally, Washington requires that all new elementary teachers pass the Washington Educator Skills Test — Endorsement (WEST-E). Although the state subject-examination test requires passing scores on both subtests that comprise the overall test, the test combines the subtest for mathematics, science and physical education, so it may be possible to answer many mathematics questions incorrectly and still pass the test.
WAC 181-78A-270(1) Endorsement Competencies http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/profed/competency.aspx http://www.west.nesinc.com/
Require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers.
Although Washington requires knowledge in some key areas of mathematics, the state should require teacher preparation programs to provide mathematics content specifically geared to the needs of elementary teachers. This includes specific coursework in foundations, algebra and geometry, with some statistics.
Require teacher candidates to pass a rigorous mathematics assessment.
Washington should ensure that its math assessment evaluates candidates' knowledge beyond an elementary school level, challenges their understanding of underlying concepts and requires candidates to apply knowledge in nonroutine, multistep procedures. The state should also require a passing score specifically in math for its content assessments to ensure that teacher candidates have adequate mathematics knowledge. Such a score could be used to allow candidates to test out of coursework requirements. Teacher candidates who lack minimum mathematics knowledge should not be eligible for licensure.
Washington recognized the factual accuracy of this analysis. The state added that the elementary education Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) will focus on specific subject areas, and it is likely the Board will require that a certain percentage of randomly selected candidates have a separate score on the math portion of the TPA, thus allowing for specific analysis of candidate and program effectiveness related to elementary math instruction.
While it is clear that looking at the specific scores of a percentage of randomly selected candidates can be useful for program accountability, it does nothing to ensure that the state is not licensing individuals who are not prepared to teach mathematics to their elementary students.