Curious George is a little monkey with an insatiable curiosity. Like George, children are intrigued by new things. They're natural explorers and scientists, and they're anxious to know how things work.
The CURIOUS GEORGE series takes full advantage of this natural curiosity, using George to motivate children to expand their own investigations of the world. George's memorable adventures — from dismantling clocks to rounding up errant bunnies — offer the perfect vehicles for introducing preschoolers to key concepts in science, engineering, and math.
Exploring the world around him with wonder and intrigue, George embodies the preschool child's potential in the field of science. George's desire to use his four little hands to skillfully take things apart and figure out how they work exposes children to the basic concepts of engineering. And his interactions with patterns, measurements, and geometric shapes introduces early mathematical concepts.
Did we mention that the show is funny? This isn't a series of lectures (ever try to get a monkey to sit still for a lecture?). These are comic adventures. When each adventure ends, kids will have gained some knowledge, and had plenty of laughs along the way.
And there's something to be learned by adults here, too. Many parents and caregivers know how to support language literacy development in their children: they read aloud to them, and fill their environments with letters, words, and labels. But few are aware that by embracing children's natural curiosity, they are supporting their educational potential in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics. So while George is nurturing children's innate tendencies toward inquiry and hands-on exploration, he is also motivating parents and caregivers to do the same.
Science, engineering, and mathematics are disciplines representing years of accumulated knowledge. The objective of the CURIOUS GEORGE series is to help children appreciate these disciplines and the wealth of knowledge contained in them. Appreciation and understanding begins for young children with exploration, observation, discovery, and most importantly, curiosity. Curious about the world around them, children begin to observe properties, discover how things work, and, ultimately, develop scientific thought processes.
Curious George is a production of Imagine, WGBH and Universal. Curious George and related characters, created by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. Television Series: ©2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. The PBS KIDS logo is a registered mark of PBS and is used with permission. Proud sponsors of Curious George® on PBS KIDS® are Kiddie Academy and ABCmouse.com.
For more fun and games, check out curiousgeorge.com


Born in 1925 in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, William Daley, a self-proclaimed "mud man," was raised in a home that valued art and poetry.14 In the wake of Pearl Harbor he enlisted and served as an aerial gunner in the Army Air Corps. After the war he took advantage of the GI Bill and enrolled at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. A class with Charles Abbott, a ceramist from Maine, introduced Daley to the idea of making pots.
Oval Chamber by Daley, 1986. Slab-constructed and oxidation-fired stoneware; height 40 ⅜, width 23 ⅜, depth 20 ½ inches. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D. C., gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program.
After graduating, he enrolled at Columbia Teachers College where he received a master's degree in art education. Daley joined the Philadelphia College of Art (PCA), now the University of the Arts, where he taught many now established ceramists. He retired in 1990 and today dedicates himself to a studio practice.
Daley's work focuses on the vesica, a form that is an ovoid at its core. He describes the space that is created by the intersection of two circles as "an ancient icon which informs the mystery of two as a new one."15 Although these vessels are not functional in the strict sense, they are meant as spaces or containers for contemplation.16 His vesicas are steeped in ceramic antecedents but display a structural and spiritual vocabulary that is very much their own. ERA


How to Bring Kids to a Museum Without Losing Your Mind
Lots of parents want to expose their children to art as early as possible. But taking kids to a museum or gallery can be challenging, to say the least. Kids want to touch everything, run around, and shout, all which are frowned upon in most art spaces.
The key to a successful museum visit with children is to plan ahead with activities that will keep their interest and make sure the visit doesn’t exceed more than an hour and a half, at most. Visit the museum store before walking through the galleries and have each child pick out three post cards from the collections. Then make a game out of trying to find each artwork. The kids will stay entertained because it is like an art treasure hunt.
Another trick is to ask children to point out colors, patterns, shapes, textures, materials and recognizable images in paintings to encourage discussion and critical thinking. Try to engage your kids in conversation about what you will be seeing before you go to the museum and continue discussing it afterwards. It is never to early to get your kids excited about art, the most important ingredient is your own enthusiasm.
Filed under: education, museums | 5 Comments
Tags: kids, kids art education, museums, visiting museum with kids


Storyville: Early Learning Literacy Centers
Problem StatementIn 2004-05, only 65% of children entering kindergarten in Baltimore County were rated as “fully ready” on a composite score of the Work Sampling System which tests school readiness skills in young children with only 55% rated as “fully ready” in the areas of Language and Literacy. A child’s level of language and literacy skills is the single greatest indicator of later learning success. Parents and early child care providers need resources that help them understand school readiness skills and provide models of activities and experiences for developing those skills. Baltimore County Public Library recognized the need to increase access for very young children to materials and programs that foster emergent literacy and appropriate development to help children enter school ready to learn. Research clearly shows that a child’s experiences during the first years of life are a powerful determinant of later success. “Reading to young children promotes language acquisition and correlates with literacy development and, later on, with achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school.” (American’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2000)
Storyville @ Rosedale, an interactive early learning and literacy center funded by the Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library, opened in 2008 at the Rosedale branch for children ages birth to five. Storyville offers activities that help children, through interactive play with their caregivers, gain the skills they need to enter school ready to learn. The 2,900 square-foot child-sized village includes developmentally appropriate books, materials and activities for children, ages birth to five, to use interactively with adults. The environments and activities in Storyville are designed for parents and caregivers to help their young children enter Kindergarten with the skills they need for school success.
In addition to providing information and literacy materials, we provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities for parents/caregivers as they play, read and learn with their children in a fun, interactive and literacy-rich environment. The activities in Storyville are designed to support the skills identified in the Maryland Model for School Readiness. By supporting this model we join other community agencies in providing a consistent, statewide approach to enhancing school readiness. And Storyville is a free service. A child's level of language and literacy skills is the single greatest indicator of later learning success, and the library has an important role in the community ensuring access to programs and services that support reading and learning for children.


Homemade Play-dough + 10 Educational Activity Ideas
Homemade Play-dough + 10 Educational Activity Ideas – Keep this recipe and list handy for the next snow day or any quiet afternoon!
As a former elementary education teacher, I can attest that, working with play-dough is a multi-faceted activity that can be used to teach, entertain, and create. With a lot of us still in the throes of winter, this is a great activity to pass the time – better yet, extend the activity by making your own!
Here is how I made mine…
Simple, easy, and always fun - this homemade play-doh recipe will produce hours of fun!
Yield: 5 mounds
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
1 cup flour (I used white in the first batch and wheat in the last)
1/2 cup salt
2 tablespoons oil - I used coconut oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup water
1. Mix flour, salt, oil, lemon juice, and water in a pot.
2. Place on medium heat and continue to stir until it forms into a stiff ball.
3. Remove from heat and place onto parchment paper to cool.
4. Once it is cool enough to touch, knead the dough for a few minutes.
5. Last, divide the play-doh, add food coloring, and knead until the color is consistent throughout.
This project takes about a half hour including the cooling time, making it the perfect project to accomplish with your kids.
Some of my very favorite activities to do with kids ages 2-5 include:
1. Using cookie cutters to make shapes.
2. Rolling into a snake.
3. Practicing cutting with a knife.
4. Poking shapes or letters into the play-doh with a straw or fork.
5. Talking about color names and making new colors by mixing.
6. Rolling pieces into balls to practice counting.
7. Sculpting imaginative characters/animals.
8. Story telling.
9. Pattern making.
10. Practicing simple addition and subtraction.
Enjoyed this kid-friendly craft? You’ll like these, too!


The Effectiveness of Reading Intervention Programs and RTI Reading Interventions
Reading Intervention is a way to provide proven help to struggling readers. The earlier the intervention takes place the better, but students of any age can benefit from effective reading intervention programs. A great deal of research has been conducted to find the most effective types of reading intervention. While there has been evidence that several different approaches can be effective, the clear conclusion was that when the issues were a deficiency in decoding strategies and phonemic awareness, the prescribed remediation was explicit, sequential, multi-sensory phonics instruction.
There are a few consistent characteristics of successful reading interventions:
- Research based methods are employed
- Students receive individualized instruction
- Students are given sufficient practice
- Students are given guided reading practice in controlled and expository text
- Teachers receive explicit and continued training
- Ongoing assessment directs instruction
- Instruction is fast paced and students experience success early on
Click on of the links above to see how Reading Horizons meets these qualifications. Click here to go to detailed Response to Intervention (RTI interventions) information and see how Reading Horizons works in all three tiers.
Reading Intervention Programs Articles:
Effectiveness of Phonics for an Intensive Remedial Program
Research results of Reading Horizons used as an intensive remediation for a six week summer program. Learn more >


Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
Some ssuggested reading on Multiculturalism and the Curriculum:
"Changing Multiculturalism" by Joe Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg
"Multicultural Approaches to Racial Inequality in the United States" by
"Multicultural Education" by Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant
"Education that is Multiculturalist and Social Reconstructionist"by
Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant
"A Revolution of Values: The Promise of Multicultural Change"by bell hooks
"Embracing Change: Teaching in a Multicultural World"by bell hooks
"Dysconscious Racism: Ideology, Identity, and the Miseducation of Teachers"
by Joyce E. King
Some suggested reading on Multiculturalism and the Art Education Curriculum:
"Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) and Cultural Literacy Art Education
(CLAE)" by Nancy Johnson
"The Reality Construction of Technocratic-Rationality Through DBAE" by
"Cultural Literacy as Social Empowerment" by Laurie Hicks
"DBAE and CLAE: Relevance for Minority and Multicultural Students" by
"Pluralism and the Content of the Art Curriculum"by Graeme Chalmers
"Designing and Implementing a Curriculum for Multicultural Art Education"
by Graeme Chalmers,
"Social Reconstructionist Multicultural Art Curriculum Design: Using the
Powwow as an Example" by Patricia L. Stuhr
"Teaching Students the Way They Learn" by Amalia Mesa-Bains
"The Texture of Memory: Historical Process and Contemporary Art" by Rayna Green
"American Identity" by Carmen Bardeguez and Zoya Kocur
Hope these help. Let me know if you need to reference the original source
of any of the above essays/articles.


Young English Language Learners
Resources to Support Teachers of Young English Language Learners
Colorín Colorado – a bilingual site for parents and teachers of English-language learners, produced by WETA, includes teaching strategies, instructional activities and additional online resources
English as a Second Language – includes information on standards and assessments, instruction, professional organizations and parent resources
Handbook for Educators of Students Who are English Language Learners with Suspected Disabilities (PDF) – developed by VDOE to provide additional support for educators of ELLs with suspected disabilities.
WIDA Early English Language Development (E-ELD) Standards – available for use by early childhood practitioners (working with children ages 2-1/2 to 5-1/2), such as child care, Head Start, preschool/prekindergarten educators and caregivers. Complements Virginia’s Foundation Blocks for Early Learning and aligns with WIDA's ELD Standards framework for K-12 and Head Start's Early Learning and Child Outcomes program
Reports and Studies
Dual Language Learners: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood – article, by Claude Goldenberg, Judy Hicks and Ira Lit that appeared in the American Federation of Teachers’ journal, summarizing research on effective early education for DLLs including the use of the children's primary language where possible, the adoption of effective practices for building English language skills and the involvement of families in supporting children's learning
Dual Language Learners: Research Informing Policy – report, from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Center for Early Care and Education Research-Dual Language Learners, providing foundational information about to children under the age of six who are DLLs, suggestions for how to better coordinate policies and practices to bridge support to K12 settings and research findings related to effective early childhood programs for those children.
Education for English Language Learners: Promoting School Readiness and Early School Success – report, from the Migration Policy Institute profiles the population of young DLLs, who represent nearly one-third of all U.S. children under age 6, outlines their school readiness and patterns of achievement. The report evaluates the research on early care and education approaches that have been shown to support higher levels of language and literacy development and achievement for this child population, most but not all of whom are children of immigrants.
Impact: Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities (PDF) – publication, from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and Research & Training Center on Community Living, includes articles on DLL and ESL students with disabilities
Multilingual Children: Beyond Myths and Toward Best Practices (PDF) – report, considers issues that range from the strengths of multilingual children (and the practices early childhood professionals can use to develop those strengths) to who is multilingual with thoughtful attention to supporting young children who may speak different dialects.
PreK-3rd: Challenging Common Myths About Young Dual Language Learners:An Update to the Seminal 2008 Report – brief, by Linda Espinosa from the Foundation for Child Development (FCD), discussing commonly held beliefs about the development and learning of young ESL children and provides recommendations to guide policies and practices
Same Different and Diverse: Understanding Children Who Are Dual Language Learners (PDF) – research article (prepared by the National Center on Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start) identifying important similarities between all children, key differences between DLLs and monolingual children and DLLs as a highly diverse group
Understanding Influences of Play on Second Language Learning – study, by Ruth Piker of California State University-Long Beach, analyzing how non-native English speakers develop skills in English through structured play with both native speakers and other dual-language learners.
Assessment & Standards Resources, State & Federal Resources
Title III: Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient & Immigrant Students includes Title III toolkit, teacher resources and Title III state data as well as information on assessing ELLs, equitable services to private school students, parental outreach and other education programs
US Department of Education English Language Learner Resources – resources and information on the civil rights of ELLs and tools for evaluating services to ELLs.
Virginia ELL Data – Virginia ELL enrollment and language data
Young ELs – website, from the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, with links to reports, data sources, webinars, technical assistance centers and more
Professional Groups and Organizations
ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)


A History of Westchester Community College Center for the Arts
In 1925, a woman named Chester Geppert Marsh was hired to be Westchester County’s first Director of Recreation. An accomplished craftsperson, she accepted the position with the understanding that she would be allowed to develop an arts program. In 1926, activities began in the Court Street School in White Plains, and quickly became the focal point for the Westchester arts community.
Mrs. Marsh became the first director of the Westchester Workshop at the County Center when the building opened in 1930. The Westchester Workshop was devoted to broadening the study of the arts and sciences. Courses were offered in a wide range of subjects, from the visual and performing arts to international relations and astronomy. At that time, Columbia and New York Universities offered academic credit for some of the Workshop’s classes.
In 1930, the demand for fellowship among Workshop artists was so great that students and instructors created the Westchester Arts and Crafts Guild. The Guild’s purpose was to promote and organize high-quality art educational opportunities, including exhibitions and lectures in the arts.
The1930s brought so much growth to the Westchester Workshop that programs were held at both the County Center and the Court Street School. In 1934, the Workshop became the center of the Westchester County WPA Federal Arts Project, and in 1939, works from more than fifty Workshop artists were accepted for exhibition in the World’s Fair in New York City.
During World War II, the US Navy appropriated the County Center building. Essential components of the Workshop program—such as the production of camouflage gear and art therapy for returning veterans—moved to the lower level of the County Office Building in White Plains.
The Workshop program resumed in 1946, after modernization of the County Center facilities. Once again, the program expanded so dramatically that it outgrew the building. Between 1950 and 1956, there were several proposals to move the Workshop to the John Hartford Estate in Valhalla (the present location of Westchester Community College).
Recognizing that the Workshop had become a school exclusively devoted to the visual arts and crafts in the postwar years, Westchester Workshop changed its name to Westchester Art Workshop in 1966. The Arts & Crafts Guild became its Student/ Faculty Association. The Art Workshop flourished throughout the sixties, becoming known for countywide art lectures and community service.
In the 1970s and 80s the institution became financially more autonomous supporting itself through professional fundraising efforts, including craft fairs, commercial graphic services offered to non-profit agencies in the county, a consignment gallery selling original works of hand-made arts and crafts, and student/faculty art shows.
In 1981, The Center took another leap, joining Westchester Community College, thereby gaining accreditation for its program. While maintaining a relationship with the Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, affiliating with the college made The Center eligible to receive support from the State University of New York.
In 1986, the Center celebrated a move from its original County Center Building location to the bright new east wing of the building, gaining modern headquarters from the sixteen million dollar building renovation. The renovation resulted in beautiful, large new studios that were among the best designed in the state. With a space expanded to 26,000 square feet, boasting large windows, high ceilings, color corrected lighting, individual exhaust, air conditioning and heating controls in every studio, and state-of-the-art equipment, the new facilities were highly conducive to art education.
In 2009, Westchester Art Workshop officially changed its name to Westchester Community College Center for the Arts. The name change was intended to reflect the increasingly ambitious and comprehensive scope of the Center’s programming, its affiliation with Westchester Community College, and its evolving role as THE CENTER for art education in Westchester County.
Today, the original Westchester Community College Center for the Arts in White Plains serves 4500 credit enrollments a year, more than 600 children a year in the pre-college and youth programs, and thousands more through its special educational events and exhibitions. These public programs continue to grow, including collaborations with other county agencies and with area public schools.
From a few borrowed rooms in a school house in 1926, to its own exclusively designed space with state-of-the-art studio facilities, Westchester Community College Center for the Arts has continued to evolve throughout the years. Over these eighty-plus years of history, the Center has always remained true to its core values and beliefs: creativity is essential to life, and accordingly, art education is an essential aspect of our culture, to be made available to as wide a community as possible.


In the Minneapolis public schools, we are supposed to have 15 minutes to eat, which would be bad enough. But realistically we get only 10 to 11 minutes (we have been timing it).Read the whole article. One of the comments on it: “Great and well-written article by these students! Sadly, the lesson they will ultimately learn is that school is not about them, it is about the adults.” Given our experience with the stingy lunch periods here in Iowa City, it’s hard to disagree.
. . .
Teachers always tell us to socialize at lunch and recess, not in the classroom. But we cannot do that if we are scarfing down our lunches in 11 minutes.
. . .
Connor Snowdon, also in our grade, agrees: “We should get a half-hour, and the behavior of other kids shouldn’t take away our time. If you wanted to eat your entire lunch, you wouldn’t have time to talk to your friends.”
Why is elementary education – even at a public Montessori school! – becoming a rat race? Is there any way to understand that trend other than as a direct result of the laws that make raising standardized test scores the sole goal of education?


Developing Better Reading is a concentrated phonics course of 30 lessons. Students who missed phonics instruction in the first two grades would benefit from this study taken slowly through the year. Poor readers in the upper grades or adult level could also benefit.
The first five lessons present five basic understandings—the alphabet, the consonants and their sounds, the vowels and their sounds, the meaning of a syllable, and the meaning of an accent. Syllables and accents are important because many pronunciation rules are based on syllabication and accents.
Included in this course are lists of words that are to be used as oral reading tests, thus permitting a teacher to check each pupil's progress.
Definitions and rules of pronunciation, spelling, and syllabication are simply and clearly stated and distributed throughout the book to provide for a systematic and logical learning process.
The teacher's manual includes answers and detailed instructions for class procedures, review, and testing mastery of the material. Use of the phonics flash cards (from the Bible Nurture and Reader Series) is woven into this course.
Table of Contents
- Instructions for the Teacher
- Exercises for Ear Training
- Flash Cards Introduced in Each Lesson
Daily Lesson Instructions
- 1. The Alphabet
- 2. Consonants
- 3. Vowels
- 4. Syllables
- 5. Accent
- 6. Short a
- 7. Short e
- 8. Short i
- 9. Short o
- 10. Short u
- 11. Words Ending With s
- 12. Adding Suffixes ed and ing
- 13. Two-Syllable Words Ending With y
- 14. Long and Short Vowel Sounds
- 15. Long Vowel Sounds
- 16. Vowel Digraphs
- 17. Consonant Digraphs
- 18. Initial Consonant Blends
- 19. Final Consonant Blends
- 20. Two-Syllable Words Ending in le
- 21. Other Vowel Sounds and Compound Words
- 22. Vowel Blends--Diphthongs
- 23. Vowel Sounds With Certain Consonants
- 24. How Some Letters Sound With Certain Other Letters
- 25. Irregular Vowel Sounds
- 26. Irregular Consonant Sounds and Silent Letters
- 27. Sounds That Letters and Letter Combinations May Have
- 28. Prefixes
- 29. Two-, Three-, Four-, Five-, and Six-Syllable Words
- 30. General Review
- Glossary of Phonetic Terms, Rules, and Sounds


The Wolf Marshall Guitar Method - Basics 3
Hal Leonard Guitar Method. Learn To Play. Instructional book and examples CD. With guitar tablature, standard notation, chord names, guitar chord diagrams, instructional text, instructional photos and introductory text. 78 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.697247).
Item Number: HL.697247
ISBN 0793520983. With guitar tablature, standard notation, chord names, guitar chord diagrams, instructional text, instructional photos and introductory text. Learn To Play. 9x12 inches.
Gives you a full exploration of expanded scale and riffs patterns. More in-depth essential guitar articulations revealed. A complete treatment of open chords and scales are covered. These are essential in every type of playing from pop to country. 44-minute audio accompaniment. Chapters Include: * Open G, A D E and E chord and scale forms essential to all styles of playing * Connecting chord and scale forms used to build all types of melodies and guit riffs.
About Hal Leonard Guitar Method
The world-famous Hal Leonard Guitar Method is preferred by teachers because it makes them more effective while making their job easier. Students enjoy its easy-to-follow format that gives them a solid music education while letting them play songs right away. The Hal Leonard Guitar Method provides a complete system to playing success which includes three levels of instruction and a myriad of play-along supplemental songbooks that let students play great songs while they're still learning to play.


Contact: Science Press Package
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Evidence for unseen silver
Scientists studied a sediment core from Laguna Lobato in Bolivia to better understand the history of silver mining in the surrounding mountains.
Image courtesy of Mark Abbott.
Click here for a high resolution photograph.
After studying layers of sediment from the bottom of a lake in Bolivia, the authors of a new study think that people living in the Andes Mountains mined silver as early as 1,000 years ago. The report may help fill gaps in the archaeological record caused, in part, by the recycling and stealing of silver artifacts by later cultures. The researchers think that large-scale silver mining in this region began approximately 400 years before the documented Incan silver industry.
Mark Abbott from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and Alexander Wolfe from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada analyzed a sediment core from Laguna Lobato, a lake near the largest silver deposit in the Bolivian tin belt. From this core, they think they can identify the time that soot and dust produced during the silver separating process started falling into the lake. This research appears in the 26 September issue of the journal, Science published by AAAS, the science society.
Back to Science for kids
Science is published by AAAS, the science society.


Great – another article damning schools and the Department of Education for failing the youth of today. The Irish Times recently published an article by Brian O’Connell who claims that since he was in school in 1985, nothing has changed in Irish schools when it comes to “teaching computers.” He claims that his son receives about the same amount of computer teaching time as he did almost 30 years ago and then argues that “computers” should be a stand alone subject in the curriculum.
Technology in Schools in the Dark Ages?
Items that O’Connell believes should be in a computer curriculum would be typing, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Thankfully, he rescues his argument by proposing that programming also forms part of his curriculum and mentions the great work of CoderDojo who are plugging this hole.
As with almost all articles about technology in education today, O’Connell failed to pick up on the fantastic work being done in lots of schools around the country. This week alone saw Digital Art Week, a project that took place in over 100 schools around the country. Dozens of schools engaged in social media through a Twitter treasure hunt and there were hundreds of images uploaded to the National Children’s Gallery. A CESI Meet was held in Sligo last night where teachers from all over the country shared the fantastic work they are doing with ICT in schools from making apps to classroom management tools.
That was just this week. There are schools using technology to help children learn every day of the school year these days through blogging, digital storytelling, podcasting, video and much more.
Some schools are teaching computer programming and, yes, I admit, probably not enough but we’re far from being in the same situation as O’Connell was in 1985. We’re even getting beyond the Interactive Whiteboard as a teaching tool and using it in more innovative ways.
The concept of teaching computers as a separate subject in primary schools is flawed. Children don’t see computers as separate – they are just another way to learn things. The Primary School curriculum got a few things right and one of those was not to allow ICT be a separate subject. ICT is another methodology (or more accurately, a number of methodologies), and this is very important in its continued success.
Is technology in the dark ages now? I believe that lots of schools are emerging from the scenario that is outlined in this article. Sadly, another journalist has missed the opportunity to showcase the great work being done in schools today.


If you have to write an essay on music, you can focus on various subjects, such as the works of a certain composer, the historical development of music, ethnomusicology, or music theory. In case you are looking for great musical essay topics, you should read this article.
Music Essay Topics: Focusing on History and Culture
Students studying the history of music and its role in the cultural development of society can use the following questions and prompts as essay topics:
- Cultural origins of jazz and its development in the nineteenth century.
- What are the major musical innovations introduced during the Baroque period?
- The main stylistic peculiarities of Romantic music. Refer to the works of composers who worked during this period.
- Modern musicologists draw distinctions between “high culture” and “low culture”. How can these terms be applied to the music of the twenty-first century?
- What is the definition of popular music? When did this term emerge and how has its meaning changed in time?
- How can the term “folk music” be defined? Has the meaning of this concept changed in the course of the twentieth century?
- Can music be used as a means of propaganda? If yes, what are some examples of such usage?
Music Essay Topics: Evolution of Genres and Forms
The development of a musical genre or form can be a good subject of an academic paper. People needing great musical essay topics may choose one of these questions:
- What are the distinctive features of a fugue? What are the differences between fugues created by Baroque composers such as Bach, and fugues composed in the twentieth century? How has this musical form evolved in time?
- What are the origins of opera? How did this art form come into prominence?
- What are the key characteristics of space rock? Who helped to crystallize this genre?
- How does hip hop music of the seventies differ from modern-day hip-hop?
- Symphonic music and its evolution in the course of the nineteenth century.
- Sonata during Classical and Romantic periods.
- Richard Wagner’s revolution of opera.
- How did Niccolo Paganini change violin-playing techniques?
Music Essay Topics: Theory and Education
People looking for an excellent musical essay topic should pay attention to disciplines such as music theory. Moreover, music education can also be an interesting subject for your paper. Here are some examples that you may consider:
- What is harmony? What kind of harmonic structures emerged in the twentieth century?
- What is the use of set theory by musicologists? Does musical set theory resemble mathematical set theory?
- What is Schenkerian analysis? What are its major objectives?
- How can elementary group theory be used by musicologists?
- The importance of music theory for composers and performers.
- At what age should music education start?
- What is rote learning? How can this method be applied in music education?
- What are the therapeutic effects of music? How can educators use music in the classroom?
- What are the main principles of the Kodaly method? What are the main duties of a teacher who uses this approach?
How should a student prepare for the performance of a musical piece?
Hopefully, you will be able to use one of these topics for musical essay. Each of them can be really thought-provoking and interesting.


For each issue, TPS partners submit summaries of and links to online resources—articles, research reports, Web sites, and white papers—that provide research and current thinking relating to the theme. This issue's Research & Current Thinking focuses on helping teachers to use primary sources with elementary learners.
Achieving History Standards in Elementary Schools
This article summarizes research on children’s ability to learn history, examines the national standards and the purposes of history instruction in elementary schools, and describes teaching practices that develop historical knowledge, thinking skills, and interest.
Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
The author of this article suggests that KWL Guides — what do I know, what do I want to know, what have I learned — offer a straightforward way to engage elementary students in historical investigation and source analysis. She discusses how to prepare for using KWL guides, procedures for using them in the classroom, and common pitfalls of the strategy.
Back When God Was Around and Everything: Elementary Children’s Understanding of Historical Time
This study investigated elementary school students’ understanding of historical time. It concluded that even the youngest students made some basic distinctions in historical time and that those distinctions became increasingly differentiated with age. The study also found that dates had little meaning for students before third grade and only by fifth grade did students extensively connect particular dates with specific background knowledge.
Bringing History Home: A K-5 Curriculum Design
This article describes the curriculum and outcomes of Bringing History Home (BHH), an elementary history curriculum and professional development project, and explores how its design was informed and aligns with theory and research in history education. Visit Bringing History Home for additional information.
The Evidence Base for Social Studies: Social Studies in Elementary Education
This article provides a research literature review highlighting the role of social studies in elementary education and what social studies looks like in the elementary school classroom. The author lists questions teachers can ask themselves when constructing or using cross-curriculum lesson to teach social studies.
Playing with History
This article summarizes research conducted by faculty at a Fairfax, Virginia elementary school on the question: “How can I meet the SOL (Standards of Learning) and POS (Program of Studies) objectives and still keep play alive in my K-1 classroom?”
Powerful and Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary Social Studies
This position paper from the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) describes the purpose of elementary social studies and details the NCSS’s position that teaching and learning in the elementary classroom should be meaningful, integrative, value-based, challenging, and active. It also discusses recommendations for implementing powerful and purposeful elementary social studies.
Using Digital Primary Sources to Teach Historical Perspective to Preservice Teachers
This article focuses on the use of digital primary sources to teach historical perspective to preservice teachers. Discussed here are the experiences of 90 elementary education majors during their inquiry-based elementary social studies methods course. A variety of digital primary sources were used to teach historical perspective and to model teaching strategies for use in elementary classrooms.
Using Primary Sources in the Primary Grades
“What do a stamped Christmas postcard dated 1910, a Confederate one hundred dollar bill, soda pop bottles from Egypt, ice tongs, a rug beater, and a woven prayer rug from the Middle East with a picture of the Kaaba at Mecca all have in common? These and many other artifacts are primary sources, the very real "stuff" of the social studies that can so effectively engage the young learner in active learning. The use of primary sources in the classroom is a way for students to develop the intellectual curiosity that leads to further research and increased awareness of the world around them.”


Texture Pumpkins: Free Lesson Plan Download
Level: K-2 Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Texture
Art Skills: Clay Techniques, Using Texture Tools, Painting
Making Connections: Fall, Literacy
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
This lesson was one of my kindergartners’ favorites last year. They loved manipulating the clay and using the texture tools to add all sorts of fun textures to their pumpkins. To make this lesson a success, there’s no need to buy expensive texture stamps. Sticks, shells, buttons or marker caps could all create wonderful textures. To take this lesson a step further for older students, you could have them observe real pumpkins first, or challenge them to divide their pumpkins and create specific, different textures in each section. This lesson could also adapt well to different seasons as you could create textured leaves, snowflakes or flowers.


Scale Your Way to Music Assessment
The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Quality Music Program
by Paul Kimpton / Delwyn Harnisch
Scale Your Way to Music Assessment is a hands-on, step-by-step action plan for using assessment to improve your teaching and your students’ performances.
This book and CD-ROM describe in detail how to teach students to become not only accurate and consistent assessors of musical performance, but how to meaningfully self- and peer-assess and set goals for practicing and improving the performance of a group. Authors Paul Kimpton and Del Harnisch show you how to:
- Generate a list of musical skills
- Define goals
- Build an assessment inventory
- Formulate assessments
- Collect data
...and more, all with the goal of empowering learners and educators with assessment. The extensive range of topics covered includes:
- Tips on developing performance assessments
- Music department goals and how they align with district goals
- How to develop written assessments
- Tips on test writing
- Writing course goals
- Sample written questions
- Helping a program realize its vision
- Test-making programs
- Developing performance assessments
- Test assessment software
- Writing course objectives
- State and national standards
- How to develop listening assessments
- School and district goals
- How to involve students in taking responsibility for improving skill
Also included are six extensive appendixes with actual written and listening tests, outlines of a four-year testing program for band, choir, and orchestra, a listing of websites and email addresses, a glossary of terms, and more. The accompanying CD-ROM includes sample data, tests, music examples, and reference material.
Everything you need to begin developing a quality music assessment program is right here.
A music educator for over 33 years, Paul Kimpton recently retired from his position as Director of Bands and Department Chairman at Hinsdale South High School (Darien, Illinois).
Delwyn Harnisch is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Item #: G-7068
Price : $39.95
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|Art Curriculum and Methods|
|ART CUR & METH|
|CLASS CODE:||ELED 350||CREDITS: 3||FEE: $10.00|
|DIVISION:||EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT|
|GENERAL EDUCATION:||This course does not fulfill a General Education requirement.|
|CATALOG DESCRIPTION:||This course provides pre-service preparation for K-12 classroom teachers in the visual arts content area with emphasis on the development of classroom materials and instructional strategies.|
|DESCRIPTION:||The urge to create is a characteristic common to all mankind. The progress of civilization is dependent on man's ability to create. A truly developed civilization expresses itself in highly developed divergent thinking and the development of visual perception. This course helps pre-service teachers understand the process of art education in the elementary school.|
|OBJECTIVES:||The students will:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of how to develop creative thinking, orginality, inventiveness, imagination, and self-confidence in children.
2. Know how to create an aesthetic environment in which children can use art as a means of self-expression, self-discovery, and self discipline.
3. Demonstrate a knowledge of art, art forms, basic concepts, and materials appropriate to the development of the child.
4. Demonstrate the ability to develop appropriate art and enrichment materials to enhance teaching the required art core curriculum in the elementary school.
5. Be able to discuss ways to evaluate children's art.
|REQUIREMENTS:||Attendance and participation weigh heavy on your grade. In class activities can not be made up. Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments, turned in after the beginning of class, will receive a 50% grade cut. Time will be given in class to work on projects, but some outside work will be required also.
Tests: A midterm and a final will be given in class. They will probably be oral tests over information in your notes. They will not be open note tests. Advance notice will be given in class and a review will take place in class.
Daily Art Projects: Several art projects will be required in this class. When you turn them in, they need to be "finished" around the edges, framed or matted unless directed differently by the instructor. A project planning form will be attached to each project explaining what materials are needed and the directions for your future reference. Projects will be graded at the beginning of class. Each project will be graded according to the scoring rubric included. No exceptions. Each project is worth 10 points. A later project can only earn a maximum of 5 points.
Team Presentations: You and your team will be presenting different parts of the curriculum in different forms. Directions will be given as to the format and scoring as the assignments are given.
Artist Book: With a partner, you will research an artist. (Style, form, era, samples of work, lifestyle etc.) You will prepare and present a short presentation to the class on the outlined topics, plus some of your own personal samples of this artist's work. Then, after all of the presentations, you will assemble a book about each of the artist's presented, and your personal sample of their technique and style. A scoring rubric will be given out when the assignment is made.
Art Files: One class period will be given to work on art files (consisting of 10 files) which you will compile from a list given on the first day of class. Each of you will teach one of your file lessons to the class and in an assigned elementary school. (Most of the files will need to be completed at home).
|OTHER:||All materials needed for the projects will be supplied for you. You will pay a $10.00 supply fee at the time of registration.|
|EFFECTIVE DATE:||August 2001|


Maury classroom and special-subject teachers are responsible for designing and implementing learning activities to reinforce and challenge students of varying abilities through small and whole group instruction. They nurture critical thinking, promote the value of personal and civic responsibility, and foster positive social interaction. The curriculum itself offers opportunities to develop positive self-esteem, responsible personal conduct, cooperative citizenship, and an appreciation of the rich heritage of our multicultural society.
Science/Think Tank—Ms. Vanessa Ford
Maury offers students a weekly science and exploratory learning special. A goal of science education is to teach students the fundamental concepts of the earth, space, life, and physical sciences and the connections across these domains. Our newest addition, the Inquiry Learning Lab (Think Tank), will further propel our students’ depth in understanding through the execution and completion of problem-based projects.
Art—Ms. Lauren Bomba
Maury is committed to seeing that our students receive a holistic art education. Through arts integrated lessons in the classroom, to weekly visits to Maury’s authentic art studio–equipped with a kiln for firing ceramics, diverse art materials, and large tables with stools to replicate the environment of many working artists–art at Maury is a creative, challenging, and reflective experience for students. Children’s artwork is exhibited throughout the school regularly. Our 4th and 5th graders participate in Art Around the Corner, a unique partnership with the National Gallery of Art. Field trips to local art studios and museums, live, in-house displays by visual and performing artists, as well as the opportunity to participate in city-wide art initiatives enhance the art experience for our young students.
Library/Media Center—Mr. Adam Roach
Every student in Preschool to fifth grade has a scheduled Library/Media Center period. Students select appropriate books from a well-stocked library. Students may also use computers to search for information on the Internet. All students and their families may check out books both in class and during out of school times that the librarian makes available.
Music—Mr. Nathaniel Rogers
All Maury students have the opportunity to participate in music once a week. The music program at Maury is dedicated to providing students with an opportunity to experience both vocal and instrumental music, while teaching students how to listen, analyze, and evaluate music. Students will begin studies in music theory and music history, and will have the opportunity to learn about the connections between music and other subjects, cultures, and performing arts.
Band is available to 4th and 5th grade students in a small group lesson format. Chorus is offered to all Maury students in grades Kindergarten through five.
Physical Education—Ms. Lindsay Raymond
All Maury students are engaged in weekly health and physical education instruction. Students are also encouraged to engage in rigorous organized physical activities in and out of the classroom during the school day through our classes, intramural activities and aftercare. Maury features a large multi-purpose room, an outdoor blacktop, a basketball court, and two age-differentiated playground structures. Balls, ropes, and other equipment are made available to foster physical activity and play.
All classrooms at Maury have computers which teachers systematically integrate into many aspects of instruction across disciplines. All kindergarten through 5th grade students have an account with First in Math. The librarian will also teach a technology class in grades 1-5.
Maury also offers a range of extra-curricular opportunities. Extracurricular enrichment offerings include chess, band, choir, theater, cub scouts, girl scouts, arts clubs, book clubs. Athletics and wellness programs include basketball, soccer, tennis, Tae Kwon Do, Ski Club. Many of these offerings differ by grade level. Some are offered during school hours as part of the regular school day (e.g. chess, art/book clubs) but most are offered after school (see Aftercare tab).


All over the world, compulsory education is divided into three stages. The first stage is pre-school education. Pre-school education is followed by primary or elementary education. Secondary education or middle school is meant function as preparation for high school. Most of the countries around the world have compulsory primary education but there are some regions where they have granted permission to the parents to provide primary education to their children. The age at which a child transfers from primary to secondary or high school education is different in different places but mostly around age 11 or 12.
Southern New Hampshire University
What is Elementary Physical Education?
The main aim of primary education is to provide children with the basic knowledge of literature, mathematics and lay the foundation of other social sciences like geography and history etc. Usually children receive their primary education in elementary or primary schools, where they consistently advance in classes and finally reach high school. Children are usually placed with one teacher who is responsible for their education for the whole year. That teacher is assisted sometimes by other teachers for the subject areas that don't come under the expertise of that teacher.
In the USA, primary school is more commonly known as grade school or grammar school. Primary education is comprised of either 6 or 8 grades and sometimes includes kindergarten as well. In elementary schools, teachers usually imply a looping strategy, in which the same teacher teaches the same group of students for two years. For example, if a teacher teaches grade 2 the whole year, then the teacher would go on and teach those students in grade 3 as well. And after that the teacher would revert back to grade 2 and repeat the whole process again.
Keeping the body active is important for the health of growing children; this may be done by offering recreational or sporting activities which may include jump rope or team sports like football, baseball or basketball etc. According to NASPE's recommendations school-age kids should avoid a sedentary lifestyle and should engage in physical activities lasting up to 60 minutes per day.
According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), every child in USA has a right to have quality physical education and physical activity. Physical education is by far the best way to teach them the techniques and skills required for a healthy and active lifestyle by providing them physical activity. Teachers for Physical education assess different knowledge of the student and also their social and motor skills, and provide them the physical education accordingly. According to NASPE's recommendation, elementary school children should be provided with at least 150 minutes physical education per week, and as for middle and high school students the duration should be 225 minutes per week.
Compulsory Elementary Physical Education is the best way to ensure that school age children are getting the recommended daily exercise.


As a speech and language therapist I'm heavily immersed in the stories of children with speech, language and communication difficulties. So, it’s really encouraging to see the value being placed on speaking and listening skills in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum.
After all, storytelling is a two way process – a tale needs a 'teller' and a 'listener'. It’s accepted among Early Years professionals that age appropriate speaking and listening skills lie at the heart of a child’s success in the classroom.
For this reason it’s completely mystifying to me why Michael Gove last year announced his plans to axe the oral component of the GCSE English exam.
This was an aspect of the course which had long been fought for; teachers felt strongly that students should be able to achieve a certain standard in the oral form of language as well as the written form.
In this way, achievements with the spoken word were officially recognised within the curriculum towards the end of a pupil’s school career just as they were recognised at the start.
This decision defies all we know about communication development. Oracy precedes literacy: to be a good reader and writer a child needs to be a good speaker and listener first. To many this decision is completely baffling.
The oral tradition of telling stories is the oldest way we have of passing on human history to each other and making sense of our lives, for example every age and culture tells its own creation story.
As Michael Rosen so brilliantly described in the ‘What Makes us Human?’ series on Radio 2 last week, it is history, or more precisely the telling of that history, that makes us human.
A job interview is the story of our skills, a chat with the cashier is the story of our day and a child at play tells the story of their imagination.
The great news is that there are many people who do still value the oral skills involved in 'spinning a yarn'. Next week is the 14th Annual National Storytelling Week (1-8 February 2014). The event, which is run by the Society for Storytelling, aims to increase public awareness of the 'art, practice and value of oral storytelling'.
The society encourages the whole community to partake in storytelling and supports places such as schools, libraries, art centres and museums to do so.
Narrative skills in children, the ability to sequence ideas together correctly to tell a story, are essential for academic success. For some children this is difficult and can affect their literacy development and ability to socialise with others as they are unable to share their experiences with their peers in a cohesive way. Parents and teachers can support a child’s narrative skills by:
• Embracing family literacy as a part of everyday routines. Regular exposure to stories and books helps a child understand the features of narrative structures and the more formal style of language used in storytelling.
• Making specific features of narrative structures tangible and easy to understand. Concepts such as ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’ or ‘first, ‘next’, ‘last’ are vital to a child’s grasp of how stories work. Knowledge of words like ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ are also essential. Using pictures or objects to support understanding of these words is always helpful.
• Schools often use writing frames to help children scaffold stories. Parents can give an extra-curricular boost by using the same frames at home to help their child keep a diary of exciting events or by writing their own scripts based on favourite films.
• Freestyling every once in a while. At bedtime try making up your own stories or retelling familiar ones to your child from memory. See if they can have a go themselves, or create a story together taking it in turns to add unexpected twists to the plot.
In today’s digital age we’re constantly bombarded with stories both remarkable and unremarkable from the four corners of the globe.
Every story will shape us in some way, whether we like it or not. Parents and teachers can be the heroic protagonists in the tale of each child’s education by continuing to champion the spoken word despite Gove’s latest moves, so that they thrive, achieve and – apologies in advance- live happily ever after.
Fiona Barry is a speech therapist and runs Talking Tips for Kids
More information: sfs.org.uk/national-storytelling-week


Hale Woodruff was an African-American artist and one of the first college professors of studio art in Georgia. Woodruff moved to Paris in the 1920’s, where he joined the “Negro Colony” of artists like poet Claude McKay, sculptor Augusta Savage, philosopher Alain Locke and international performer, Josephine Baker. Woodruff returned to the U.S. four years later to teach students at Atlanta University. He taught classes at surrounding Spelman and Morehouse Colleges and brought major exhibits from around the country to the Atlanta University Center.
Woodruff’s major inspiration was Mexican painter Diego Rivera, a muralist, whom he met while spending time in Mexico.
Woodruff was born in 1900 in Cairo, Illinois. His mother was an impressive artist, inspiring Woodruff to occupy his time with drawing as a child. He furthered his art education at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and the Fogg Museum at Harvard University.
Woodruff and friend Palmer Hayden won the Harmon award from the Harmon Foundation in 1936. The two received national acclaim. Edward Jackson, who was the governor of Indiana and a leading member of the state’s Ku Klux Klan, made a special trip to place the pin on Woodruff for his prestigious honor. The people of Franklin, Indiana (mostly white), held a fundraiser for Woodruff and raised $200 for his studies in Europe.
Some of Woodruff’s famous murals were: The Amistad Mutiny, The Negro in California History and the Art of the Negro. His paintings from the Talledega collection are now on display at the State Fair of Texas. The full exhibit, Rising Up: Hale Woodruff’s Murals From Talladega College, will live at the African-American Museum in Dallas until February. The Texas museum is the only independent African-American museum to host this show in the country. Woodruff’s work was first viewed in Texas in 1936 at the “Hall of Negro Life” during the states’ centennial celebration.
Hale Woodruff died in September 1980.


I recently read the 1980s science fiction classic Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable story despite the author’s personal view point on the subject of same sex marriage, which admittedly colored my reading and interpretations of some of the finer points of the story. Regardless of Mr. Card’s personal politics, I found many parallels or at least reasonable shadows of my professional world in many of the plot points and trappings of the book. What is interesting about the world of the story is the high stakes conditions in which some of the children in the world are reared and groomed, with little-to-no objection by the parents, by the military and the government. The eponymous character of Ender Wiggins has been earmarked from birth to be the leader of Earth’s Interstellar Army against the ubiquitous threat of the deadly “Bugger” race. Ender happens to be the smartest and most tactical person alive in his generation, and even so the level of stress that he is under through imposed social isolation and a series of engineered toughening experiences, the head honchos of the military are concerned that he is going to end up cracking like his brother Peter, who became a maniacal and murderous sociopath (whom parents and adults seem to adore).
As I read through the text, which incidentally is suggested reading for the Marine Corps., I couldn’t help but think of my own students in my elementary school classroom. The world is thrust upon the shoulders of young Ender at the age of six, and by nine years old he is the leader of a squad of students at Battle School. My students are about eight and nine years old and the thought of them leading each other into null gravity mock battle situations and studying trigonometry in their barracks is confounding. Understandably, Ender’s experience is a work of fiction—and science fiction—at that so I have to frame my thought with the qualification that the this fictional student, exceptional as he may be, does not in any way relate to the students of third and fourth grade age in the real world. My students are currently in the process of taking high stakes standardized examinations in Math and English Language Arts and they can’t handle the pressure of paper and pencils. The schism has me unnerved as the world that we live in doesn’t have a “Bugger” extraterrestrial threat, however our students are being afflicted with higher and higher educational standards that could only reasonably be developed to discover which students will crack, and which students will rise to the occasion. Of course, without the benefit of genetic culling, and advanced (nee fictional) technology to ascertain which parental matches and developing zygotes will become abnormally super-intelligent and capable, what I find is that my students are all too real, all too fragile, and all too crushed under the weight of expectations that have not been properly supported from foundational skills acquisition.


Theory into Practice: Using Drama to Enhance Literacy Development
Hertzberg, Margery, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy
This article explains the relationship between theory and practice through an examination of drama activities written for a literature-based reading program. The unit of work demonstrates how drama can enhance children's understanding of dramatic art and at the same time develop skills in the reading and writing of narrative texts.
At a time when some politicians and senior educational policy makers are suggesting that the Arts are a `soft' option it is more important than ever for teachers to articulate the educational reason for the Arts remaining in teaching programs.
The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between the theory and practice of educational drama in order to clarify its status as a rigorous learning medium in cross-curricular programs -- in this case English, and in particular literary and literacy development (Parsons et al., 1984; Taylor, 1994; Wagner, 1995). An action research project is reported that analyses a drama program in practice. The aim of the drama program is to enhance children's understanding of literary texts and in so doing to give them practice in literacy skills such as skimming and scanning for information (reading) and the writing of narrative texts while at the same time developing skills in the art form of drama. The unit was trialled with early childhood/primary children and their class teachers and with trainee teachers at a university. The action research had three purposes:
* to trial the unit with children in order to verify its suitability as a teaching/ learning experience for enhancing both drama and English skills;
* to help teachers develop their professional skills by observing and participating in actual classroom applications of drama strategies;
* to use the data for discussion with trainee teachers as part of their theoretical studies.
The first-year trainee teachers at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur were enrolled in a 13-week second semester subject entitled English and the Creative Arts. In this subject students examine some of the theoretical underpinnings of both English and Creative Arts pedagogy separately, and then explore the practical implications within an integrated learning framework. As trainee teachers (quite rightly) frequently question whether activities designed for university workshops `really work' with children, the data collected from the schools were then analysed.
The data came from trials with several early childhood and primary classes in contrasting socio-economic areas of Sydney. The year groups included two Year 2 classes (seven- and eight-year-olds), one Year 3 class (eight- and nine-year-olds) and one Year 5/6 class (eleven- and twelve-year-olds).
This article reports on the project at one of these schools. It was a large, outer western Sydney school in a low socio-economic area and had approximately four classes per grade. The year groups taught were one Year 2 class, one Year 3 class and one Year 5/6 IM (mildly intellectually impaired) class. All teachers were released from classes and observed me as I taught the program with children in one of these classes. The teachers and I then met for four one-hour meetings after school. In these meetings the nexus between the theory that supports the practice of this drama program was analysed through the process of `reflection on action' (Orton, 1994: p. 93).
When trialling the program with children, the method of data collection included children's work samples, anecdotal notes and informal discussion of critical moments recorded at the time and later written up in the researcher's reflective journal. When trialling the program with class teachers, informal talk that occurred during the meetings was also recorded in the researcher's reflective journal and all teachers completed a questionnaire which asked them to rate both the method of professional development and the value of the drama program as a cross-curricular learning medium. …


Fun Facts About the Sun Video
Watch this easy science for kids fun facts about the Sun video:
This fun facts about the Sun for kids video tells us about how even though it’s brighter than 85% of everything else in the Milky Way, the brightest thing on record is Las Vegas’ skybeam. You will also learn about sunspots, how all the energy used by man since the dawn of civilization is roughly equal to 30 days of the sun’s energy and many more interesting funny facts about sun for kids in an easy to understand way, so children enjoy learning all about sun. In this video you can discover more sun facts for kids and read here all about the sun to get easy fun facts about sun for kids. To learn about other planets and how they are formed and about our planet Earth click the links.
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- Find the hidden words activity sheet about the sun
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be reckoned liberal which train and educate the faculties of man as man.
Now, the only conception of a liberal education that will satisfy these new conditions, the only conception of an education capable of becoming national and universal, at the same time that it is liberal, is that of a training of the national mind through the mother-tongue as the chief, and other tongues as the subordinate instruments, in the elements of all those branches of knowledge which, used in their rudiments as elements of general training, will develop, in their higher stages, into the objects of professional pursuits. Is there any other distinction than this between general and professional? In the infancy of knowledge, all callings, trades, and professions, are mysteries, whose secrets are carefully guarded from the uninitiated. Every mechanic belongs to his trade-guild, and has his trade-secrets. When Philip of Burgundy destroyed the little town of Dinant, in the Low Countries, the art of making copper vessels became, for the time being, a lost art. With the progress of general intelligence mystery falls away from simpler occupations, but still attaches to
- Nothing seems to me more thoroughly unrepublican and illiberal than the ground taken, by some who profess to be preeminently the advocates of liberal learning, against the promotion of higher education by grants from the state. Let the state promote the advancement of elementary education, they say, but for higher institutions to handle government moneys is only to touch pitch, and therewith be defiled. The distinction represents a remnant of aristocratic feeling, and springs from the idea that it is the duty of the educated, as a higher class, to take a paternal care for the masses; not the duty of the people, as a self-governing community, to give itself a liberal education. One cannot well see a higher function to be performed by the people, acting as a body, than to promote, by public action, its own higher education. If a line is to be drawn, beyond which its action should not reach, where shall it be drawn? Shall the people be allowed to promote the teaching of the three R's, and the four rules of arithmetic, but be forbidden to meddle with any thing beyond them? And in whose hands is the higher education to remain, in a country which has no established church? Is its progress forever to remain at the fitful mercy of an unenlightened and unsystematic private charity? The question as to the right means and methods of governmental action is undoubtedly a grave one, but no educational waste of state or national resources is ever likely to equal the waste arising from the capricious absurdity of private endowments. We have, indeed, of late, been startled by revelations of government corruption, but they have but a poor notion of the capacities of republicanism who are scared by them into that meanest of all political theories, the doctrine that the sole function of a government is merely to enact the part of head constable. A far juster view is that propounded by one of the best of England's teachers. "As the condition of social, and, to some extent, political independence," says the Rev. Mark Pattison, "is necessary to prevent material interests from stifling and absorbing studies, so the condition of sympathy with the general mind is necessary both to sustain the required activity and to make the university a proper seminary for the education of the national youth. The nation does not hire a number of learned men to teach its children: it itself educates them, through an organ into which its own best intellect, its scientific genius, is regularly drafted. This education is, in short, nothing but the free action of life and society, localized, economized, and brought to bear."—("Oxford Essays for 1855," p. 259.)


Come on Down!
We're having fun at the library today! We have a Lego Storytime, and it's also "Take your child to the Library Day".
Lego storytime is at 11am. We'll share the book My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman (it's a silly book that will appeal to the Captain Underpants crowd!) and then all the junior engineers can use their imaginations to create a Lego masterpiece inspired by the story.
“What’s the connection between Legos and books, you ask? Promoting play contributes to early literacy development by increasing attention span, memory, creativity, and language and vocabulary skills. It also lays the foundation for logical mathematical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving—things they’ll carry with them throughout their school years", says “Play = Learning,” a recent study by Dorothy Singer, a senior research scientist at Yale University’s Department of Psychology and Child Study Center.
We're also celebrating "Take your Child to the Library Day". From noon to 4:30, you can drop by to make a five piece star from cardboard, using an oversized version of "quilling". Quilling (or paper filigree) is an artform that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. It can be very ornate, but for today, we'll just keep it simple.
And of course, we'll be happy to help you find some great books while you're here. Today's a great day to come to the library- It may be January, but you don't have to drive through ice and snow to get here!


- Bachelor’s Degree Program
- Post-baccalaureate Certification-only Program
- Alternate Route to Teacher Certification
- WKU's Regional Campuses
Become a Teacher
If you want to teach Children who are about age 5 to 10 years old, check out our program in Elementary Education. Elementary teachers in Kentucky teach children in primary grades (including kindergarten) through fifth grade (P-5 certification). The degree you will earn is the BS in Elementary Education.
You might also want to check out our programs in several content areas where the certification is for teaching the Primary grades through Grade 12 (P-12): Art, French, German, Music, Physical Education, and Spanish. Though you will be certified to teach these subjects at all the indicated grade levels, you may choose to teach only at a particular school level, such as elementary. To become certified to teach in these content areas, you will need to major in the chosen content area. Click here for more information about P-12 (secondary) certification.
For more information about completing a program leading to certification in Elementary Education, Grades P-5, click here.
To talk with an advisor, contact one of the following:
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Grades 6 through 8 (Middle School)
With sixth grade the content and quantity of subjects expand significantly to meet the needs of the preadolescent. In addition to deepening work with previously encountered material, many new subjects are introduced; all with the goal of helping the student maintain a healthy interest in the world around them. The Waldorf curriculum encourages preadolescents to direct their gaze enthusiastically and sympathetically out into the world and through this come to a deeper understanding of themselves.
The preadolescent period brings dramatic inner changes that are set in motion. Biographies of men and women who struggled with the challenges of their times provide the perspective from which history is viewed. Over the course of sixth, seventh and eighth grades, the history of European and American civilization are surveyed from ancient to modern times. In seventh grade, the students are able to see a reflection of their struggle for individual identity in Renaissance studies, from Italian artists capturing new visions to scientists and religious reformers grappling with the constriction of long held beliefs, to bold explorers venturing out into the unknown.
A new capacity for exact observation is cultivated through the physics lessons, in which students move from the mystery of phenomena to its exact measurement. Inorganic chemistry is a highlight of seventh grade as is the chemistry of foods in eighth.
The physical changes at this age lead naturally to a study of the human physiology, which is taught from the hygienic perspective of responsibility for the integrity and health of our bodies. Earth science supports the ever- expanding geographic study of Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the planet as a whole.
Business arithmetic, algebra and geometry become formal disciplines and are studied over the course of all middle school grades. The language arts curriculum expands into the interweaving branches of literature, grammar and composition and along with mathematics, occupies both main lesson and ongoing period classes.
Sixth grade is the gateway to preadolescence and idealism. In their studies of Rome the students are grounded so that through their physical awareness they can begin to discover what “I” means for them. In the Middle Ages they begin to venture out toward the unknown to find what, in the world, they are asked to address. The stories of the Grail offer an introduction to their quest in life. In summary, this year is both an ending and a beginning.
As seventh grade students enter into puberty, they are also adventuring across a basic threshold experience on their way to selfhood. Can they enter this dark unknown territory carrying a flaming torch to allow discovery as they wander and probe? Can they spend their time productively bearing in mind others behind them also need their light? If their spirit of inquiry and creativity in a social context can be fostered in puberty, they will surely find it sweet to enter adulthood. If it isn’t fostered, they may stumble endlessly in the darkness, burdened by excess baggage of self-centeredness, criticism and chaotic emotions. To help them cross this threshold, Waldorf presents a rich curriculum designed to take them out to civilizations and people who share their mood of soul, as well as lead them to a closer look at each one’s own environment and inner being.
The task of Waldorf elementary education is to give students an understanding of humanity and the world they live in, to offer them knowledge so rich and meaningful as to engage their hearts and wills as well as their minds. Such and understanding is the basis of all real learning in later years. With the completion of the eighth grade the students should have a well-rounded, general picture of human life and the universe. This last year of elementary school should not only bring all previous experiences to a new peak, but also enable the students to enter fully and potently into the life of their own time and ready for the next phase of their journey into high school and life.


The ensuing studies by Linda Crowe, an assistant professor in the communication sciences and disorders program at K-State, and Sherry Haar, an assistant professor of apparel, textiles and interior design, have shown that preschoolers do recall a book better if costumes are part of their interaction with the story. They have completed one study on the topic and presently are working on a second.
"We are interested in trying to find ways to enhance children's abilities to retell stories and develop literate language use," Crowe said. "Early reading experiences and storytelling are precursors for reading and writing."
Their first study was comprised of two parts. In one, Crowe and Haar read a story to a child and had he or she retell it. In the other, the child retold the story using a costume. The two researchers compared these retellings in terms of how well the children could recall characters and the sequence of the story. Their findings?
"The costumes made a huge difference," Crowe said; the children could recall the stories with costumes present much better than without. For the second study, going on now, a couple of aspects have changed. First, the setting is more like a typical classroom - a teacher reads two stories to a preschool class, and for one, costumes are put in the dress-up area. The retelling is more delayed - the children had three days of exposure to the story and were asked to retell it on the fourth - and the children also draw pictures to illustrate their comprehension of the stories.
Their preliminary data has shown that the presence of costumes still aids the retelling of the story, Crowe said, although not as dramatically as in the first study. The children's drawings were much better when costumes were present, however.
"They were taking information from the story and elaborating and adding on to it," Crowe said. "We definitely saw benefits from the exploration time in the dress-up area."
The costumes consist of, for example, a blanket, coat, vest, tie, handkerchief and button for the story "Something from Nothing," in which a grandfather makes a blanket for his infant grandson, and subsequently recreates it into other items as the child grows.
Next up, researchers at Florida State University will begin an identical study and their data will be combined with that of Crowe and Haar. In all, they hope to involve 80 to 100 children in the study.
Crowe said this research evolved from a conversation the two had about combining their interests: Crowe's in literacy and reading, and Haar's in costumes. They began looking at other research, which combined reading with props and pictures, but found no one had thought to give children a costume with which to interact.
"Costume has been anecdotally noted as enhancing a child's fantasy play as the costume aids the child in becoming a new role," Haar said. "Props have been used to aid literacy development and since costume is used as a prop in the preschool setting, we want to see how costume as a prop can enhance play and literacy."
Crowe said many were very interested in their findings at a conference she attended recently; they also have presented the results of the first study at the International Textile and Apparel Association conference, where other experts were similarly enthralled. At this time, Crowe and Haar have one article in submission and are almost ready to submit another. A number of students also have aided in the research project, helping construct the costumes and working with the results, for example.
In the future, Crowe said they hope to see how preschoolers interact with costumes involving fantasy stories; right now, they have only used true-to-life books. Also on their radar screen: using costumes to introduce books in therapeutic settings; until now, the preschoolers studied have not been at risk for language and learning problems. Haar's previous research in developing and testing therapeutic costumes has shown the role of a costume contributed to the child's success in meeting therapy goals.
Crowe said she hopes their research findings can help early-childhood classrooms be more thematic by using books, dress-up and art projects that all go together - "building upon a theme and a topic." Haar said they want to give childcare providers evidence of how costume can be used for play and beyond play as a means to enhance literacy.
Crowe has research interests in communicative reading strategies, helping parents use books interactively with their children and using books as intervention for kids with autism. Haar's interests include developing therapeutic costumes for children with sensory dysfunctions and creating wearable art.
Additional contact: Linda Crowe, 785-532-6879, email@example.com.


DeBord visits Sweden's early childhood learning centers
t was a golden opportunity — a chance to travel to Sweden with other child development professionals to get a firsthand look at the country’s early childhood programs. Dr. Karen DeBord, Cooperative Extension child development specialist, felt the trip would give her a chance to see how Sweden utilizes outdoor spaces to educate young children.
With the help of a $5,000 scholarship through North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Charles M. Brickhouse Development Award, DeBord was able to make the trip. The N.C. Center for International Understanding and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute organized the trip that drew 20 professionals.
DeBord is working with a team of professionals specializing in early childhood education and outdoor environments to develop an instrument for evaluating outdoor play environments for early childhood education centers. A wealth of playground regulations in North Carolina and the United States has turned many outdoor spaces at childcare centers and preschools into less-than-creative environments with anchored play equipment, but no spaces for creative play.
In September, DeBord and the group visited a number of Sweden’s early childhood learning centers in Gothenburg and Stockholm. They also talked with faculty at several universities to better understand the country’s approach to early childhood education.
DeBord said spending time outdoors is an important value in the Swedish culture. “It is an accepted thing for a child to spend 80 percent of his or her day outdoors,” she said. Sweden is not burdened with the overwhelming safety regulations of the U.S. that may inhibit learning, she said.
DeBord used the experience to help test and adjust the assessment instrument for outdoor spaces, which she and her colleagues have been working on for more then two years. She will use photos she took in Sweden to help American educators and parents understand the value of outdoor play.
“How do you communicate to parents the value of outdoor play?” DeBord said. “In Sweden, they just know.”
Sweden recently adopted a state curriculum plan for preschool education, which is similar to developmentally appropriate practices used by many U.S. early childhood centers. Group members were anxious to see how the curriculum, which is a framework for educating young children, compared to U.S. practices and whether it could help improve early childhood education in this country.


Ceramic Artists’ Books About Desire: Teens’ Art Communicates Their Culture of Desire
This action research thesis aims for students to articulate how their desires relate to their culture as well as to critique how material desires construct the culture of their everyday lives. The lesson plans developed for this project asked teen students to share their personal desires in order to inform a more meaningful and contemporary approach to their art making. Over a seven week time period, meeting once a week for an hour, a class of seventh grade students at Bell Elementary school in Chicago created “Ceramic Artists’ Books” symbolizing a personal topic of desire.
The unit began with a discussion in which the students defined and redefined their definitions of “books” and “artists’ books.” They were informed by the video “Book Arts in the USA,” from the Center for Book Arts in New York, which showed students a wide variety of artists’ books of many different media and contexts. With a final questionnaire students were asked if they considered their finished piece an “artists’ book.”
Students’ written responses to Spiral Workshop’s “Objects of Desire” worksheet were used to initiate class discussion about what and why they desire certain things. The main question asked students to list ten things that they “want.” Answers varied from materialistic desires of the latest technological consumer products, such as the i-Pod or a PSP (Play Station Portable), to desires that show a more humanistic interpretation of what they want, such as the need for world peace and less greed in the world. Students rationalized their desires, giving reasons why the things that they thought would make their lives more fulfilling. During a discussion, students defined the term culture, in their own words, and connected how their desires are parallel to it.
The culmination of this project was the creation of artwork that is symbolic of students’ personal desires. My interest in creating art lessons that address the desires of teens stems from my research in the realms of material culture studies and multi-literacies. Both avenues allow for students to be engaged in revealing what they already think and know about themselves, and their world, while creating art. The process of creating art that symbolizes something so central to their lives as desire
allows the time for students to access what it means for them to want things for themselves, and how their desires relate to and reflect their culture and their world.
Molly Flanagan received her BA in Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University in 2000. She taught for three years in Los Angeles while pursuing her California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. She came to SAIC to follow her interest in art education, writing about the topics of material culture and multiliteracies.
Thesis Advisor: Therese Quinn, Assistant Professor, Art Education; Associate Director, Center for Youth and Society, University of Illinois-Chicago
Kevin Tavin, Assistant Professor, Art Education; Director, MAT Program


Youth and adult literacy programs support young people preparing to enter the labour force, through to adults who have retired and want to maintain their skills. Literacy skills enable people to participate fully in their families, communities, and workplaces. In each situation, they need different forms of literacy, and different skills.
Youth and adults’ interests, needs and learning styles are different from those of children. As a result, we need to use different approaches to teaching and learning. The work we do in youth and adult literacy is community-based.
Youth literacy and adult education programs are vitally important in the NWT to support literacy development among people who may not have the skills they need for today’s world.
To support youth and adult literacy development, we:
- Develop a wide-range of learning materials for instructors and learners. (See our resources section.)
- Develop and deliver a range of workshops and training for youth and adult literacy development. These include: literacy and essential skills; youth literacy; financial literacy; digital literacy; health literacy; workplace literacy.
- Promote the value of literacy.
- Monitor government policy and funding for adult literacy.
Conduct research in the adult literacy field.
The NWT Literacy Council can help community-based organizations, including adult educators, to offer youth and adult literacy programs in their community, through our workshops, training and free resources.


Peruse the bookshelves in a child's room and you will most likely come across the title "My Big Book of Baby Animals", or something of the sort, as diminutives are one of the earliest lessons we learn and animals are a favourite topic for children. Teaching them about animals is imperative and it is of the utmost importance to retain this interest, as we strive to protect various species – a mantle of responsibility which our younger generation most likely will have to wear in the future. In a time when almost every animal species is vulnerable or endangered, the birth of a baby animal is both a blessing and a relief.
At Inverdoorn you will often catch a glimpse of a baby eland, giraffe or zebra and several guests were lucky enough to bear witness to a wildebeest birth recently. If you reach back to the recesses of your mind, where your elementary education still lies intact, you may recall that antelopes and giraffes give birth to calves and zebras to foals. These animals give birth to one calf or foal at a time, but mating pairs are not monogamous. Calf is a typical name for a lot of baby animals and is also prescribed to little elephants and rhinos. We are familiar with the latter, as Inverdoorn is home to Bundu and Livinia – the big, baby rhinos.
Many may already know their story. Rescued and relocated to Inverdoorn after their mothers were killed by poachers, they now live safe and sound in the new rhino orphanage in front of the Ambassador Suite and Luxury Chalets. Their story points to a key matter when it comes to baby animals – the relationship with their mother. Rhino calves stay with their mothers until they are about three years old. Bundu and Livinia were barely six months old when they were orphaned, leaving them lost and bemused in a seemingly cruel world. The team at Inverdoorn have taken it upon themselves to look after these babies with the utmost care and attention, as the rhinos would normally still be with their mothers. Another pair of orphans – although somewhat older and much bigger – are the elephants Bully and Nduna. Bully was taken from his parents at a young age to join the film industry and Nduna lost his parents to hunters.
A lot of animals in the wild have a heart-warming relationship with their young. Besides rhino calves sticking close to their mothers' sides, you will also notice a close attachment amongst giraffe and their calves. Female elephants live in herds and all will contribute to the nurture and protection of the young. Buffalos work together to protect the little one, because when danger threatens they will shield calves by pushing them into the middle of the herd.
So what of the animals that give birth to more than one animal? These are typically called a litter – whether it be a litter of cheetah cubs or bat-eared pups. Although female cheetahs are solitary, they will take care of their young, protecting them from danger and teaching them to hunt. Bat-eared foxes are quite distinctive in that pairs are generally monogamous and the male tends to look after the young.
Baby animals are often unique in aspect. Besides the obvious fact that they are a lot smaller, there are other interesting details such as a zebra foal's brown and white stripes, a cheetah cub's fluffy white Mohawk or the buffalo calf's tiny horns, which all change as they age. As we grow older, we also change and learn. We are often reminded of the variety that exists in nature, not only in name, but in myriad other ways, helping us understand exactly what we are conserving.


This book outlines and critiques international strategies and programmes designed to address difficulties in literacy development. The high-profile team of contributors consider teaching programmes which operate at family, school, pupil and teacher levels. They argue that school is not the only legitimate location for literacy education, and show how difficulties in literacy can be addressed sequentially, both in and out of the school context.
Issues addressed include:
*the dilemmas facing practitioners in choosing between multiple approaches to practice
*the factors which must be addressed in strategies which operate at the level of the family and the community
*how to ensure the school can support programmes designed to improve literacy learning
*how to put theory into practice in programmes designed for use with individual students
*the teacher as 'reflective practitioner' - developing professional practice which effectively raises literacy achievement.
This book will be of interest to postgraduate students, teachers, researchers, educational professionals and policymakers who are looking for practical strategies to address difficulties in literacy development.
This reader forms the basis of the Open University's Difficulties in Literacy Development course, and is ideal for similar courses nationally and internationally.
'A wealth of informative and practical material from some of the finest contributors to research and practice in the area of literacy difficulties.' - Support for Learning


Early Literacy Instruction for Children at-Risk: Research-based Solutions
On March 24, 2001, CIERA hosted an invitational colloquium at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The conference represented an important collaboration among organizations including CIERA, the International Reading Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Council for Learning Disabilities, and the National Institute for Child Health and Development. In an exceptional show of cross-disciplinary solidarity, researchers from the fields of developmental psychology, special education, early literacy and early childhood came together to examine successful strategies and interventions for preventing reading difficulties.
The participants were unified by a common concern that many children are not receiving the quality of instruction they need in order to meet rigorous standards. In an era of increased emphasis on accountability, these experts sought to move away from unproven strategies of retention, social promotion, and transition classes, in favor of efforts to meet standards through:
-Quality early literacy experiences that provide children with the skills necessary for success in the school literacy curriculum;
-Ongoing instructional support, in and out of the classroom;
-Timely and powerful interventions for children who have fallen behind.
The colloquium included a wide variety of research papers, each focusing on an important and successful intervention. In a departure from the traditional academic conference format, practitioners from school- or community-based programs were invited to serve as discussants, describing local adaptations in school districts and other settings. This innovative approach helped theorists and practitioners to collectively envision the practical implications of new research, thus promoting the value of research-based solutions for improving classroom practice.
The topics covered in the conference included:
-Skills in early literacy
-Environments that support literacy development
-Parents and Caregivers
After the conference, participants remarked that they were "exhausted but exhilarated" by the energetic and productive meetings. Plans were made to continue the work begun in the colloquium through several avenues: a planned web site will provide a forum for further discussion and conversation hosted by each paper's author (s), and an upcoming edited volumeincluding revised papers, discussions and excerpts from audience commentarywill help researchers and practitioners to identify critical issues in this area and find common ground across the disciplines.