Listening and Spoken Language: Foundations
|Course code EDUC6860||Units 10||Level 6000||Faculty of Education and ArtsSchool of Education|
This course provides the student with an introduction to the specialised methodology auditory-based spoken language (auditory-verbal therapy/education) for children who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH).
RIDBC Renwick Centre administers this course. Before enrolling in this course, review the RIDBC Renwick Centre Handbook at http://www.ridbc.org.au/renwick/courses/current.php.
Available in 2014
|Objectives||Upon completion of this course, students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge in the following area:|
1. History of auditory-verbal practice;
2. Principles of auditory-verbal practice;
3. Principles of ethical practice;
4. Principles of a family-centred approach;
5. An integrated understanding of the linguistic, auditory, cognitive, socio-emotional and speech development of children who are DHH.
|Content||Topics will include:|
1.History of auditory-verbal practice;
2.Principles of auditory-verbal practice;
3.Principles of ethical practice;
4.Principles of a family-centred approach;
5.Integration of linguistic, auditory, cognitive, socio-emotional and speech development of children who are DHH;
6.Listening and spoken language development evidence-based practice; and
7.Listening and spoken language pedagogical practices.
|Replacing Course(s)||Not Applicable|
|Assumed Knowledge||- Speech Science and Speech Development|
- Foundations of Language and Literacy Development
- Audiology for Special Educators
- Speech Language and Literacy Assessment and Remediation
- Inclusive and collaborative Practice in Sensory Disability
- Child Development: Family and Community Contexts
|Modes of Delivery||Distance Learning : IT Based|
|Teaching Methods||Integrated Learning|
Self Directed Learning
|Contact Hours||Problem Based Learning: for 1 hour(s) per Week for Full Term|
Email Discussion Group: for 1 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Self Directed Learning: for 8 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
|Timetables||2014 Course Timetables for EDUC6860|


Aerodynamics Teacher Resources
Find Aerodynamics educational ideas and activities
Showing 41 - 60 of 295 resources
Tap into the joy of bicycling with these suggestions to make a celebration of National Bike Month a blast.
Students create several given designs of paper airplanes and test how they fly. Then they design their own model and test its flying ability, as well. They compete to see who can build the best plane.
Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion (and possible journal writing) to highlight which paper material worked best.
Pupils, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the motion of an airplane.
Young scholars, after reading an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook, demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the motion of an airplane.
Students demonstrate an understanding of the text by applying it to the calculations involving the area of a wing. They use an online textbook to help them calculate the area of the surface of wing planforms.
Students, after studying various pages of a NASA Web-based textbook, use dimensional analysis to verify actual aeronautic equations.
Learners explore how the different parts of a bicycle relate to each other and identify the subsystems. They discover how bicycles work and investigate their history. In groups, students research each of the subsystems and present their findings to the class.
Students design and build their own cars. In this physics instructional activity, students test their car's speed and make changes when necessary. They graph data and analyze results.
Pupils read a NASA Web-based text, then demonstrate an understanding of the text by using it to complete an activity on the center of gravity of a commercial cargo airplane.
Students label and describe the functions of the parts of an airplane. They access a NASA Web-based textbook and read a series of lessons before labeling the parts of an airplane.
Students calculate the potential energy of a glider, the kinetic energy of a moving glider and the change in velocity when potential energy changes to kinetic energy.
Students investigate Bernoulli's principle of air pressure and how it relates to the lift of an airplane. Students identify various Aeronautical vocabulary terms. Students construct a paper glider and experiment with the control surfaces of the glider which affect its fl ight. Students make historical connections to the how the invention of the airplane has affected the history of the last century.
Learners research to find the location of the flight of Charles Lindbergh, and interpret its significance. They identify and analyze the changes in aeronautic technology since 1927. The lesson lists several discussion questions that can be used to provide interest or focus to the student research.
Learners calculate the length of a side of a triangle using a trigonometric function. They calculate the measure of an angle given two sides of a triangle with a trigonometric function.
Students demonstrate an understanding of the text by completing an activity on the advantages and disadvantages of inventing and using a human-powered airplane.
Students participate in a paper airplane design contest. They are shown how to construct a basic paper airplane. Students are asked to follow the teachers example. They work in small groups to compete against each other. The winners from the groups then compete against each other. Students discuss the differences in speed and direction of their planes.
Students demonstrate their understanding of the equation of state by computing the gas constant from air properties. They use online research tools and apply integrated math problem-solving strategies to solve problems outside the realm of mathematics.
Students demonstrate an understanding of aircraft launch airspeed requirements. They read a selection on relative velocities from a NASA Web-based textbook, then calculate airspeed launch requirement problems.
Students read an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook on lift and an explanation on the FoilSim software package given below. They use FoilSim to evaluate the relationship between wing area and lift.


Traditionally, the first stage of formal education, beginning at age 5–7 and ending at age 11–13. Often preceded by some form of preschool, it usually includes middle school, or junior high school (ages 11–13), though this is sometimes regarded as part of secondary education. Nearly all nations are committed to some form of elementary education, though in many developing countries many children are unable to continue full-time studies past the age of 10 or 11. The elementary curriculum usually emphasizes reading and writing, arithmetic, social studies, and science. A basic teaching strategy involves moving the student from the immediate and familiar to the distant and unfamiliar, an approach first formulated by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.
Variants of ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
elementary education or primary education
This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on elementary education, visit Britannica.com.
Seen & Heard
What made you look up elementary education? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.


| Quarterly Journal of Economics
Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India
This paper presents the results of two randomized experiments conducted in schools in urban India. A remedial education program hired young women to teach students lagging behind in basic literacy and numeracy skills. It increased average test scores of all children in treatment schools by 0.28 standard deviation, mostly due to large gains experienced by children at the bottom of the test-score distribution. A computer-assisted learning program focusing on math increased math scores by 0.47 standard deviation. One year after the programs were over initial gains remained significant for targeted children, but they faded to about 0.10 standard deviation.
Keywords: Literacy Characteristics;
Competency and Skills;


Science for Kids
Science for Kids offers 150 hands-on activities, puzzles, and games for students and teachers in grades 2-6. Activities cover chemical & physical change, states of matter, motion & energy, Earth, human body, art & toys, and interviews with chemists. Each heading includes a test your knowledge section. Every activity is in PDF format. Many activities are available in Spanish.
“Lose the Blues with CO2!” under chemical & physical changes describes how students can test for CO2 using an acid indictor made with cabbage leaves. The activity includes a follow up activity and safety tips.
With “Stretching to Make a Point” under motion & energy, students investigate how far a rubber band will stretch as more weight is added. The results are graphed to determine if accurate predictions can be made.
In “News Paper Collage” under art & toys, students make art when they use vinegar to transfer newspaper pictures onto white paper.
Interviews with 15 chemists are collected in “What Chemists Do.” Students can meet Abimael “Maelo” Cordova, a toy chemist in the Mattel chemistry lab where he creates new elastic and rubbery materials. He worked on the slime for the movie Flubber.
Articles for Kids is a collection of 50 articles on aspects of chemistry in PDF format for students in grades 4-6.
Puzzles for Kids is a collection of 22 games (matching, crosswords, word finds, mazes, and more) for students in grades 4-6.
Games are 6 interactive online nutrition, environmental, and chemistry games for students in grades 4-6. In Avogadro’s Element Hunt students have three minutes to explore three rooms and match elements to objects.


|HOME | PUBLICATIONS | PRESS RELEASES | CONTACT US|
National Study of the Effectiveness of Reading Comprehension Interventions
SPONSORED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,
American children often struggle with comprehending the more complex texts used in elementary school science and social studies classes. This is especially true of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act calls for closing the gap between high and low achievers through instructional approaches shown to be effective by scientifically based research. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of different approaches for teaching reading comprehension strategies, making it difficult for state and local educators to decide how to best use Title I funds to improve educational outcomes.
In response to this problem, the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences contracted with Mathematica Policy Research and its subcontractors to conduct a rigorous evaluation of reading comprehension curricula. This five-year, scientifically based study focuses on four reading comprehension curricula aimed at fifth graders. Mathematica’s subcontractors for the study include RMC Research Corporation, RG Research Group, the Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Utah. The research team collected data through classroom observations, teacher surveys, and school records abstraction, as well as by administering standardized tests to students. Data analyses address critical questions on the effectiveness of reading comprehension curricula. Ultimately, the study findings could substantially influence reading instruction policy and practice.
Select reading comprehension approaches
Conduct pilot study
Identify and recruit districts and schools
Conduct random assignment of schools
Implement reading comprehension approaches
Collect, analyze, and report data


General Competencies for Licensure
Oklahoma General Competencies for Teacher Licensure and Certification
[Adopted May 23, 1996, by the State Board of Education as required by Legislative House Bill 1549 for creation of a competency-based teacher preparation program to be implemented July 1, 1998]
- The teacher understands the central concepts and methods of inquiry of the subject matter discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.
- The teacher understands how students learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and physical development at all grade levels including early childhood, elementary, middle level, and secondary.
- The teacher understands that students vary in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adaptable to individual differences of learners.
- The teacher understands curriculum integration processes and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills and effective use of technology.
- The teacher uses best practices related to motivation and behavior to create learning environments that encourage positive social interaction, self-motivation and active engagement learning, thus, providing opportunities for success.
- The teacher develops a knowledge of and uses communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
- The teacher plans instruction based upon curriculum goals, knowledge of the teaching/learning process, subject matter, students abilities and differences, and the community; and adapts instruction based upon assessment and reflection.
- The teacher understands and uses a variety of assessment strategies to evaluate and modify the teaching/learning process ensuring the continuous intellectual, social and physical development of the learner.
- The teacher evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (students, parent, and other professionals in the learning community), modifies those actions when needed, and actively seeks opportunities for continued professional growth.
- The teacher fosters positive interaction with school colleagues, parents/ families, and organizations in the community to actively engage them in support of student learning and well-being.
- The teacher shall have an understanding of the importance of assisting students with career awareness and the application of career concepts to the academic curriculum.
- The teacher understands the process of continuous lifelong learning, the concept of making learning enjoyable, and the need for a willingness to change when the change leads to greater student learning and development.
- The teacher understands the legal aspects of teaching including the rights of students and parents/families, as well as the legal rights and responsibilities of the teacher.
- The teacher understands, and is able to develop instructional strategies/plans based on the Oklahoma core curriculum.
- The teacher understands the State teacher evaluation process, "Oklahoma Criteria for Effective Teaching Performance," and how to incorporate these criteria in designing instructional strategies.
Primary Sources of Competencies:
Competencies 1-10 are based on "Model Standards for Beginning Teacher Licensing and Development: A Resource for State Dialogue," prepared by the Council for Chief State School Officers Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium.
Competencies 11-13 were developed as a result of input from Oklahoma educators.
Competencies 14 and 15 are based on Oklahoma law.
Representation of Development Committee:
Elementary teachers including Teacher of the Year finalists, elementary principals, and professors of teacher education.
Information from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Elementary Education Task Force
Oklahoma Core Curriculum Pursuant to 70 O.S.ﬂ 11-103.6(a)


Reading Frida Kahlo: How Does Her Art Speak? | Renee Sandell, Ph.D.
Enjoy a new way of understanding art as you unlock the unique ideas and feelings embedded in a painting by Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)--one of the most influential Mexican painters of the 20th century. This interactive presentation will help you develop essential observation skills in successfully reading the form, theme and context in Frida’s artwork. Together as a group, we will share discoveries and interpretations of Kahlo’s life and artwork, informed by judgments based on our direct visual experience.
VISUAL JOURNALING: Easy Access to Your Innate Creativity
Treat yourself to the playful experience of VISUAL JOURNALING to activate your innate creativity. By using our “forever available” childhood experience of making lines, shapes, dots, doodles, symbols and words, we will actually be practicing a form of art expression known as marking – something all of us have done and can do virtually at will. When we choose to organize our marks to visually share an experience or tell a story or capture a memory, we practice the art form of mapping. Through these accessible mark-making skills, plus some gentle yet expert instruction and the use of special art tools, you will create a beautiful artistic expression -- a map -- of your own ideas, thoughts, feelings, and actions enhanced by your unique experiences here at the Ranch. Your map will become a celebration of your insights at Rancho La Puerta and a special souvenir to take home – created by you with absolutely no previous art experience necessary. Come join in the fun and surprise yourself!
Renee Sandell’s artistic installations of ink and water-media markings explore the human condition in time, space, and place. See her video and click here for images from the opening by Renee Sandell Marking & Mapping: Finding Time, Space, and Place at the McLean Project for the Arts on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Believing in the power of art to facilitate human interaction, healing, and transformation, Renee uses Visual Journaling through Marking & Mapping™ in her Access Your Innate Creativity workshops to foster insight and vision for individuals within organizations, health spas, businesses, and museum-based learning programs such as SummerVision DC, which she developed and directs for the National Art Education Association. Awarded the 2013 National Art Educator of the Year by the National Art Education Association, Renee Sandell, Ph.D. is Professor of Art Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She has published widely and served as a consultant to various school systems, museums, and cultural institutions. She has received numerous awards for her leadership and scholarship on her Form+Theme+Context (FTC) balanced approach to creating and understand art


Ardley, Neil. 101 Great Science Experiments. Dorling Kindersley, 1993.
Bosak, Susan. Science is...: A Sourcebook of Fascinating Facts, Projects and Activities. Firefly Books. Reprint ed. 2000.
Browning, Marie. Natural Soapmaking. Sterling Publications, 1999.
Day, John A., Shafer, Vincent J., Peterson, Roger Tory. Peterson First Guide to Clouds and Weather. Houghton Mifflin Co. (Pap), 1998.
Graf, Rudolph F. and Sheets, William. Build Your Own Low-Power Transmitters: Projects for the Electronics Experimenter. Newnes, 2001.
Greene, Alan. Primitive Photography: A Guide to Making Cameras, Lenses and Calotypes. Butterworth-Heinemann (Trd), 2001.
Harris, James G. and Harris, Melinda Woolf. Plant Identification Terminology: an Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Pub., 2001.
Hauser, Jill Frankel and Braren, Loretta Trezzo. Kids' Crazy Concoctions. Williamson Publishing, 1998.
Hodgson, Michael. Basic Essentials: Weather Forecasting. 2nd ed. Globe Pequot Press, 1999.
Home Made Best Made: Hundreds of Ways to Make All Kinds of Useful Things. Reader's Digest General Books. Reader's Digest Adult, 1998.
Kerrod, Robin and Holgate, Sharon Ann. The Way Science Works. DK Publishing, 2002.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Earth, Moon, and Stars. Regents of the University of California, 1986.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Electricity. Regents of the University of California, 1983.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Height -O- Meters. Regents of the University of California, 1988.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Hot Water and Warm Homes From Sunlight. Regents of the University of California, 1986.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Of Cabbages and Chemistry. Regents of the University of California, 1989.
Lawrence Hall of Science. Secret Formulas. Regents of the University of California, 1996.
Levabre, Marcel. Aromatherapy Workbook. Inner Traditions International Ltd., 1997.
Liles, J.N. The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use. University of Tennessee Press, 1990.
Mayall, R. Newton and Mayall, Margaret W. Sundials: Their Construction and Use. Dover, 2000.
McGee, Harold. The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore. John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
Miller, Susan. The Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques, and Know How. Storey Books, 1997.
Monihan, Kevin and Douglass, Don. GPS Instant Navigation: From Basic Techniques to Electronic Charting. Fine Edge Productions, 2000.
Murray, Michael T. and Pizzorno, Joseph. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Prima Publishing, 1997.
Rogers, Kirsteen and Dowswell, Paul. The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope. EDC Publications, 1997.
Science Snackbook: Teacher Created Versions of Exploratorium Exhibits. Edited by Paul Doherty and Don Rathjen. The Exploratorium, 1991.
Trionfante, Jeffrey V. Sunclocks: Sundials to Make and Use. Jvt Pub., 1999.
Wood, Robert. Science For Kids: 39 Easy Meteorology Experiments. TAB Books.
Discover More main page


Ethan Guerra, 7, smeared his gluey fingertips onto his jeans after sticking green tissue paper around an egg holder cut from a foam carton.
"Art is pretty much the best part of school," Ethan said after his table mate, Gabriel Garcia, 8, realized his fingers also were turning green and squealed, "Oh my gosh!"
Constructing caterpillars from egg cartons was the art part of learning about life cycles the first week of March for some Wilson Elementary second-graders.
March is national Youth Art Month, which prompted librarian Julie Putnam to coordinate curriculum with the school's art teacher to foster artistic expression with academic lessons. Early childhood development experts say art helps children develop creativity they carry through life.
"We're morphing in our classrooms," Putnam said, describing the school's focus on animal metamorphosis. She drew excited gasps from third-graders as she held up a container holding a live caterpillar. Students are watching the larvae construct cocoons, then will release the Painted Lady butterflies that emerge on Thursday during Texas Public School Week.
"Art is about life," said Kathryn Thompson, the school's art teacher for 14 years. Integrating hands-on activity drives home the lesson, she said. "Making something tangible is long-lasting. Former students now in college tell me they still have Japanese tea cups we made in their grade-school class."
Youth Art Month is sponsored by the Council for Art Education Inc., a nonprofit organization established in the 1980s to increase support for art. Each year, a national student flag design program is held, and completed flags are flown during March in Washington, D.C. Area students' artwork is displayed this month at City Hall, the Nueces County Courthouse and Del Mar College.
Studies show that hands-on craft projects have an impact as an instructional method within the core curriculum. In 2001 an independent education research and consulting company found that 85 percent of the teachers studied agreed long-term hands-on projects give students a greater depth of understanding than more conventional methods, and 96 percent found students show greater curiosity about learning when hands-on projects are included.
Last week, Wilson's pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade students rotated through the library, where they assembled butterfly puzzles, perused butterfly books and played butterfly bingo. In their weekly art classes, they worked on craft projects related to the metamorphosis of animals they are studying.
"Today we're so focused on standardized testing that we easily forget about encouraging creativity," said Jana Sanders, associate professor of education at Texas A&M; University-Corpus Christi, who teaches early childhood education. "It's the thing that put airplanes in the air and cars on the roadway -- not filling in bubbles on a standardized test."
It's easy for parents to encourage and support creative learning at home, Sanders said.
"You don't need expensive art materials," she said. Crafts can be made from things at home -- crafting coffee filter hats, making paper bag masks, or cutting and pasting newspaper into papier-maché animals.
"The important thing is parents taking time with children to encourage and support their creativity," Sanders said.
Twelve pieces of Wilson students' artwork are displayed at City Hall. Mirrored cabinets along the school's library corridor show the rest of the art. Painted and kiln-fired red clay Japanese tea cups crafted by third-graders are next to the fourth grade's hand-formed folk art hand bells. Fifth-grade students decorated old shoes and boots with acrylic paints, glitter and bobbles -- many with psychedelic designs.
"My jaw dropped when I saw the shoes," said Principal Sheila Thomas. "It's like something you'd see in a museum.
"Fine arts enhance what we do in core curriculum," Thomas said. "Teachers working in collaboration develops critical thinking skills in our youngsters, and it's fun."
New student Ashlyn Redden, 8, was determined to finish her caterpillar body after brushes were collected to be washed.
"Hey, I need to get done," she said, dipping her finger in the glue glaze container and smearing the topside of her last piece. "New kids like caterpillars, too."
Contact Mike Baird at 886-3774 or firstname.lastname@example.org


After folding rice paper into pie-shaped wedges, the children paint designs on one side, then turn the wedges over and paint the mirror image. When the paper is unfolded, intricate patterns are revealed. For ages 9 to 13. Plan 1 session.
What children know about art, grown artists are at pains to recapture. This is the joy of teaching art to children. It is also the great challenge. This website is for any adult — teachers, parents — looking for step-by-step guidance in how to instruct and develop, without overwhelming or dampening, the artist inside every child.
You will find art projects here that I have put together over a long career of teaching art to children from ages 3 to 13. Each lesson plan is self-contained with all the information needed to complete the project: the target age; the key concepts to be learned; the materials needed; helpful notes to avoid pitfalls; and some anticipated conversations you may have with your young artists as they are working. Before you begin, here are four foundational principles for any adult teaching art to children:
1) Instruct but do not do. Discuss a child's work. Demonstrate techniques. Share ideas. But do not touch the work itself.
2) Never start with a pre-cut shape. Never trace. Start from scratch. A child's circle will be more interesting than your own.
3) Quality materials and an organized, inviting workspaceare an essential backdrop for creative chaos. Invest in good supplies and take time to set up.
4) Look. Look at the greats; no child is too young for art history. Look at the world; learning to make art is learning to see and find pleasure in details.
Art education should begin young. Inhibition is the adversary, and it often creeps in by around seventh grade. Have fun with these projects and celebrate beautiful works with pride.
I have taught art for over twenty-five years in public, private, and Montessori schools, both in the United States and Hong Kong. I have a degree in art education and my teaching experience spans pre-school children through eighth-grade. Please feel free to contact me at JulieNVoigt [at] gmail.com.
All the artworks in the photographs were done by children from the Elementary Workshop Montessori School. Scroll over the pictures to see their titles and the ages of the artists. Click on the pictures to see a larger version. Credit for the photography goes to Madeline Polss, Leo Matkins, Bill Deering, and Carson Zullinger.
I owe a great deal of gratitude to Lillian Shah, a long time director of the Elementary Workshop, for helping to make this project come to be. During my years of teaching, she was a tireless collaborator and remains a passionate supporter of art for children.
I also thank my daughter Emily and my husband Henry for their encouragement, editing, and help in setting up my blog.


Business coalitions have persuaded governments around the world to turn schools into competing business enterprises where children are drilled and tested on a narrow range of skills. Despite their declining contribution to the costs of schooling, businesses are taking control of more and more aspects of schooling, not only to produce submissive employees with basic literacy and numeracy skills, but also to prevent the development of critical thinking skills. They are seeking to erode public schooling, as well as promote consumer values and business viewpoints and ideology.
Corporate leaders have assumed the unrivalled moral authority to define the purposes and methods of public schooling in response to the new technology-driven glohal economy. Hailed as victorious generals in the battle hetween capitalism and socialism, many espouse a millennial vision that links education to global free markets... corporate executives most want schools to emphasize "a basic understanding of math and science" and "sound work habits such as self-discipline, timeliness and dedication to work."... The corporate model of reform pays little heed to other expectations of public schools: building just and tolerant communities, reducing distrust of one another and our shared institutions, safeguarding democratic ethics and introducing children to the cultural wisdom of the world.
Education is no longer just about the 3 'R's, but the 5 'R's:
- Respect (for business values)
- Retail (consumerism)
The consequence of this corporate capture of childhood has been a generation of children who have been manipulated, shaped and exploited as never before in history. Not only have they lost the opportunity to play and develop at their own pace, their psyches have been damaged and their view of the world distorted. They are trained rather than educated and constantly tested to make sure they have absorbed the ‘correct’ information. They are supposed to seek happiness in possessions, treat relationships as a means to an end, and incessantly compete with each other. Children have never before been under such pressure to conform to business requirements. It is little wonder that so many children grow into youths who are unhappy, stressed, fat, delinquent, or self-destructive.


Book Summary of Education In India : Dynamics Of Development
There was a massive turn of events in education in the late 1990s, particularly with the emergence of right wing BJP into power. We decided to take a fresh look at the dynamics of development of Indian education, based on our experience in Indian Education: Development since Independence.
Several major institutions like CABE, ACC etc. were adapted to suit political agenda of cultural nationalism during the NDA regime. There was no qualitative shift in the regime that succeeded. It resurrected CABE, but stuffed with 'one dimensional' intellectuals. Political and bureaucratic obedience was preferred over academic excellence for the leadership position in higher education institutions. School curriculum shuttled between the 'left' and 'right', leaving students' interest in the back burner. Anti-reservation agitation by the bright students, India's future, met with water cannons, 'lathis' and gunshots when traders' agitation met with 'tears' across party lines. A dangerous trend of 'utter politicalization' of education was set in motion. This dynamics needs to be captured.
This book comprises 15 chapters; a chapter each on to elementary education, adult education, education of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, secondary education, higher education, technical education, women's education, inclusive education, educational technology, teacher education, media in education, open and distance education, and educational financing. These 13 chapters has been preceded by a chapter each on an overview of development of education since independence, and evolution of educational policies in India. Each chapter coming from distinguished specialist in the respective field adds additional value to the book. Table of Contents :
Indian Education since Independence: An Overview;Marmar Mukhopadhyay
Evolution of Policies in Education;Kailash Khanna
Universal Elementary Education of Satisfactory Quality: An Assesment of Our
Adult Education in India after Independence: A Critical Historical Account;H.S. Bhola
Women's Education in Post-independent India;Manju Narula Gauri Srivastava
Secondary Education: The Victim of Perennial Neglect;Marmar Mukhopadhyay
Higher Education Story of the Past and Reconstituting the New;Sudhanshu Bhushan
Technical Education: Poised at a New Crossroad;C.R. Mitra
Education of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;Sachchidananda
Education of Children with Disabilities in India;Sudesh Mukhopadhyay
Teacher Education;Madhu Parhar
Educational Technology;Marmar Mukhopadhyay
Media in Education;Madhu Parhar
Open and Distance Education ;Madhu Parhar and Marmar Mukhopadhyay
Financing of Education in India;J.L. Azad About author :
Professor Marmar Mukhopadhyay former Joint Director and Director (i/c) of NIEPA was involved in educational policy making planning implementing and evaluating at the highest level. He is an articulate author with several books to his credit including Total Quality Management Story of EDUSAT and Educational Technology: Knowledge Assessment. Dr. Madhu Parhar is Reader in Distance Education in STRIDE of Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi. An established researcher and author has contributed to several Indian and International Journals; her book Satellite in Education is the most comprehensive research treatise on the subject.


One of the features highlighted in the Blueprint is the short-term initiative (Wave 1 - 2013 to 2015) to tighten the alignment between the Written, Taught and Examined Curriculum (see Figure). Currently there is serious misalignment between the three 'types' of curriculum in schools. For example, in the primary school, subjects such as art education, physical & health education and music education is not given is not given its due importance as prescribed in the 'written curriculum'.
Why? Schools pay lip service to the three subjects and tend to use the time alloted (especially in Year 5 to 6) to focus on subjects that are examined in the UPSR. This certainly goes against the ideals of a 'holistic education' which is basis of the National Philosophy of Education (Falsafah Pendidikan Negara) - 'Insan seimbang'. What child does not like art, music or sports? The written curriculum for these subjects has been outlined in great detail by the Ministry with suggestions on how it should be taught but yet does not receive the attention it should in the classroom.
Written Curriculum: Knowledge, skills and values included in the curriculum
Taught Curriculum: Knowledge & skills taught and values inculcated in the by teachers in the classroom
Examined Curriculum: Knowledge, skills & values tested in examinations
The Blueprint calls for a 'tighter' alignment between the written, taught and examined curriculum in line with producing a holistic learners. In other words, the curriculum that is taught in the class and examined at the national level should match the intent of the written curriculum (pg. 103).
Primary Level: In 2011, the KSSR was introduced to replace the KBSR in Year 1 and by 2016, the KSSR will be in place in all primary schools.
Secondary Level: In 2017, the KSSM will be introduced to replace the KBSM in Form 1.
My guess is that the 21st Century Skills that will be emphasised in both the KSSR and KSSM is as follows:
A Word of Caution
Full potential of the KBSR and KBSM has not always been brought to life in the classroom for the following reasons:
Teachers tend to emphasise content that is frequently tested in the National Examinations
Some teachers are less effective at teaching higher-orfer thinking skills articulated in the curicullum (p: 104).
UNESCO Report: Teachers not well versed in realising the concepts and practices suggested in the written curriculum such as integrated learning, creativity and innovation (p: 104).


If you are experiencing problems downloading PDF or HTML fulltext, our helpdesk recommend clearing your browser cache and trying again. If you need help in clearing your cache, please click here . Still need help? Email firstname.lastname@example.org
Visual Culture in the Art Class: Case Studies, Paul Duncum (ed.), (2006) Urbana, IL: National Art Education Association, 194 pp., ISBN 1890160334 (pbk), US25 Issues in Arts Education in Latin America, Rachel Mason and Larry O'Farrell (eds), (2004) Kingston,
Ontario: Queen's University, 101 pp., ISBN 1553390814
University of the Arts, London. 2:
Universidade de Brasilia Brazil.
Publication date: March 7, 2007
More about this publication?
The International Journal of Education through Art is an English language journal that promotes relationships between art and education. The term 'art education' should be taken to include art, craft and design education. Each issue, published three times a year within a single volume, consists of peer-reviewed articles mainly in the form of research reports and critical essays, but may also include exhibition reviews and image-text features.


Here is a place to start to get students to find and put meaning into their
art. Start with their name. What does their name mean?
See if you can come up with a project for each grade level where they all do
something with their name. Maybe save ALL of them - just in case you have
that one child who gets nothing saved back for the art show. You will have
that child's name design to put in the show. Some of you do self portraits
and save all of them - that is a good one too. I know it is a LOT of work -
but every child must have their work in an art show sometime during their
elementary years. I had far too many who didn't coming to me. I had far too
many who never had their work displayed coming to me (At my middle school -
I made it a REQUIREMENT for them to have at least one project displayed - Of
course I displayed more than one of some kids' works. I had six bulletin
boards in the hallways - Two nice show cases in the commons - and two trophy
cases in the hallways to use). When I was in elementary, I kept track of
what project went on display - and could easily see who I still needed to
get up. Then when that child was working on the project I would tell them,
"I want this project from you for display so I want you to be sure it is
your very best"....and If a child showed special interest in the MESSAGES I
was trying to get across I would tell that child "I want this project from
you for the Art Show - so do our very best". That one year, I had every
child displayed at least twice. I only had two bulletin boards assigned to
me so I would glue the work to roll paper and mount that up in their hallway
at times. Occasionally, the fifth grade teachers would let me use the
bulletin board in their hallway. Let me tell you what a joy it was to have
my elementary kids when they came to the middle school. They all behaved for
me. I envy those of you who get to see the students year after year.
I know some of you middle school teachers do portfolios for the student
work - See Bunki's - making their name an interesting part of the design.
Find ways to make their name important and to be proud of their name.
Remember when we had fun talking about names on the Getty list a while back?
There are other ones out there - but I don't have time to evaluate them.
There is one name design project on the Sub Plans ...it is a common one.
Write name on folded 9 x 12 paper - cut out and turn into some kind of inset
or creature...Well, well, well. I just told a fib. I couldn't find it on the
Sub plans page - so it just must be an idea I saved. I will look for
it...Eureka- I found it! From Tami (Tammy? - she didn't sign her work ---
Here's an easy lesson which can fit into the substitute lesson plans
category as well as
elements/principles category (line/shape and balance/symmetry)...
For 3rd grade and above... Fold your paper in half the hot dog way.
Write your first name in cursive along the fold. Keep folded and cut
out. Open and turn it over so you don't see your pencil marks. Look
at the shape you created. Think of how you can turn it into a
creature. Use markers (or colored pencils) and glue to a sheet of
I am not an authority on art education ....and I know that....but maybe I
would have liked myself a whole lot better growing up if I liked my name
(smile). I hated Judith.
I post based on how I learned and what helped me learn.... I post based on
what I tried in the classroom and what worked and didn't work.... I post
based on what I did with my own child - and what worked.... I post based on
what I learned by talking with my students.....I don't read "the
research" -- I read enough of that when I was doing my masters research
project - I read research on all sorts of topics because I couldn't find any
research on what I really wanted to do.... I settled on combining motivation
of students with hypermedia (I used the web).
My maiden name was Richer.....my mother's maiden name was Webb....I am so
much Richer now for what I have learned from using the Web -- so I will
continue to use it (smile folks).


As the needs of global labor change and college readiness standards increase, American boys have been slower to adapt than girls, according to a report set to be released this morning.
Thomas Mortenson, a senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, in Washington, has been arguing since the mid-1990s that American men are treading water economically as women gain ground. His latest report, Economic Change Effects on Men, presented at the Washington-based Boys Initiative meeting this morning, expands his workforce and higher education data to K-12 education.
Mortenson argues that teaching styles and discipline policies cause boys to disengage sooner than girls and drop out at higher rates. Among his findings:
• In 2010, 72.8 percent of children lived with a father, down from 88.8 percent in 1960, when these data were first reported.
• In 2010, 62.8 percent of young men who graduated from high school enrolled in college, up 7.6 percentage points from 1970, but far below the continuation rate for young women—74 percent in 2010, up 25.5 percentage points from 1970. "Each spring, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out its spring study on recent high school graduates, and I've been compiling that data since 1959," Mortenson told me. "The gap between males and females is now greater than 10 percentage points, and it's never been that wide before" favoring girls during his years of analysis.
• Boys ages 6 to 14 are more than twice as likely as girls to have a developmental disability and three times as likely to be diagnosed with mental retardation.
Mortenson told me he thinks school format is partly to blame, with greater focus on writing and test preparation and fewer opportunities for active projects. As he puts it: "Boys have to be doing something: Things have to be blowing up or being built or going really fast. If you ask them to sit down and write and read, more physically passive activities will turn off boys before they turn off girls."
That requires a bit of a gut-check, I think, because active, engaging instruction (including the occasional explosion where appropriate) has been shown to be better for students of either gender, not just boys. For a few examples, take a look at my blog yesterday, or other perspectives here .
Yet I find it interesting that Mortenson also argues that educators and parents have not encouraged boys as much as girls to branch out from traditional gender stereotypes in careers. He recalled the experience of his own daughter, who favored reading and writing in elementary school, but who had a high school math teacher who refused to accept that she "wasn't good at math." She is now studying advanced statistics and quantitative analysis in college.
"My perception over the last 40 years is we've provided a lot of support and encouragement for girls to try and take on new things," he said, "but I've also seen no special effort to encourage boys to take on different subjects."
"A growing percentage of boys are not getting the education they need for the industries that are growing, like health and service sectors," he added. "I've tried to say to boys, 'If you want a good job, think about becoming a nurse' ... but nobody ever introduces boys to entering these traditionally female occupations, and someone needs to do that."
What do you think, readers? I know there are big pushes from high-profile organizations like the American Association for the Advancement of Science to encourage girls to enter math and science fields, but I admit I can't bring to mind many programs specifically trying to get boys interested in careers where there are a dearth of men, like elementary education. Can anyone offer some suggestions?


Queen Elizabeth II is the queen of 54 Commonwealth countries. 16 of these countries are called Commonwealth Realm countries and Canada is one of them.
When Elizabeth steps down or dies, her son, Prince Charles will become King. If he steps down or dies, his first-born son, Prince William will become King–even though Princess Anne is the Queen’s only daughter and is next in age to Prince Charles.
In other words, because she is female, the crown wouldn’t go to Princess Anne.
Since the beginning of the British monarchy, men have been chosen first to become the next ruler.
A woman can only be chosen when there are no men in the monarch’s direct line, (like a brother or a brother’s sons).
That is how Elizabeth became queen. Her father, King George VI, had two daughters and no sons.
Last October, Commonwealth countries agreed that this centuries-old tradition was old-fashioned and should change.
Last week, at the opening of British Parliament in London, the Queen proposed a law to allow women to become Queen if that woman is next in line.
The Queen proposed other changes, as well.
She proposed that monarchs in Britain should be able to marry Roman Catholics.
This has been forbidden since the time of Henry VIII, who wanted to get a divorce (which was not allowed by the Catholic Church).
Henry VIII split the church into two parts — the Church of England (Anglican) and the Roman Catholic church. Since then no King or Queen of England has been allowed to marry a Catholic.
Stephen Harper has said Canada’s government approves of these changes but doesn’t consider them a priority for Canada.
He said he doesn’t believe there should be much time in Parliament spent debating them when there are other issues that are more important.
By Kathleen Tilly
What is your opinion on this issue? Do you think that girls and women should have the right to the crown if they are the first born? Why or why not?
Do agree with Stephen Harper? Is this issue less important than others? If so, which issues would be more important and why?
Reading Prompt: Comprehension Strategies
Read the title of the article and make predictions about what the text might be about.
How do your predictions change when you notice the picture of Queen Elizabeth II? Now what do you think the article might be about?
When you finished reading the article, discuss whether your initial prediction was correct or if it needed to be changed.
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (OME, Reading: 1.3).
Grammar Feature: Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that joins two words or phrases (groups of words) together. Some conjunctions include: and, but, or, nor, for, and yet.
Read the article and identify which sentences use conjunctions. In each sentence, identify which words/phrases are joined together by a conjunction.


Posted in reaction to: "Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book" (NY Times blog). Article is in favor of self-selected reading over the summer, but as usual, neglects to mention libraries.
This article confirms that providing children greater access to interesting reading material results in more literacy development.
The article also points out that children from low-income families are particularly unlikely to read over the summer. That’s because children of poverty have little access to books at home, at school and in their communities. Public libraries in high-poverty areas are not well-funded, and have fewer materials and are open fewer hours than those in low-poverty areas.
As the Times notes, programs that give books to children are part of the solution. But the most important and obvious step is better funding of public libraries, especially in high-poverty areas, and more support for librarians who know what children really like to read.
— Stephen Krashen


Computers have revolutionized the composition, production and recording of music. However, they have not yet revolutionized music education. While a great deal of educational software exists, it mostly follows traditional teaching paradigms, offering ear training, flash cards and the like. Meanwhile, nearly all popular music is produced in part or in whole with software, yet electronic music producers typically have little to no formal training with their tools. Somewhere between the ad-hoc learning methods of pop and dance producers and traditional music pedagogy lies a rich untapped vein of potential.
This paper will explore the problem of how software can best be designed to help novice musicians access their own musical imagination with a minimum of frustration. I will examine a variety of design paradigms and case studies. I will hope to discover software interface designs that present music in a visually intuitive way, that are discoverable, and that promote flow.
There is a popular game, sometimes called Pong, which simulates on a television screen a perfectly elastic ball bouncing between two surfaces. Each player is given a dial that permits him to intercept the ball with a movable “racket”. Points are scored if the motion of the ball is not intercepted by the racket. The game is very interesting. There is a clear learning experience involved which depends exclusively on Newton’s second law for linear motion. As a result of Pong, the player can gain a deep intuitive understanding of the simplest Newtonian physics – a better understanding even than that provided by billiards, where the collisions are far from perfectly elastic and where the spinning of the pool balls interposes more complicated physics.
Computers can only do a few very simple operations consisting of flipping electrical switches on and off. You can represent numbers in patterns of the on-off states of sequences of switches. By flipping switches on and off in particular patterns, you can perform simple mathematical operations on the numbers. You can do more complex mathematical operations by stringing simpler operations together.
The vast majority of music that I hear is recorded, and if you’re reading this the same is probably true of you. Most people don’t have a clear idea what the recording process is like, especially using computers. Here are my adventures in recording.
I grew up in the eighties. Cassette recorders were just starting to be ordinary household gear. My sister and I made a bunch of random tapes as kids, not knowing what we were doing or why, just that it was fun. We also taped songs we liked off the radio. We waited until the song we wanted came on, and then held up the tape recorder to the radio speaker. Go ahead and laugh, millenials, but this was such a widespread practice among my generation that there’s a whole Facebook group devoted to it.
Lil Wayne and I have some differences of style and taste: about facial tattoos, about drinking cough syrup recreationally, about jewelry on one’s teeth. But we agree about music. He brags constantly that he’s the best rapper alive. I think he makes a pretty good case.
There was no caption or any other context. So I posted it on my Flickr with a note asking if anyone could identify the computer Herbie is sitting in front of. A couple of days later my friend Mike responded with this video of Herbie and Quincy Jones demonstrating Herbie’s Fairlight CMI in 1983. Continue reading →
Like this sentence, computer programs and songs can refer to themselves. Many computer programs and songs are made of loops within loops within loops. Self-reference gives computers their extreme versatility. It also makes for richer, more interesting music.
Writing a song is a lot like writing a computer program. They both require clever management of loops and control flow.
The simplest sheet music reads as a straightforward top-to-bottom list of instructions. You start on measure one and read through to the end sequentially. That’s fine unless the music is very repetitive, which most popular music is. The loop is the basic compositional unit of nearly every song you could dance to. The problem is that writing loops out sequentially is very tedious.
Rather than writing the same passage over and over, you can save yourself a lot of laborious writing by using repeat markers. They’re like the GOTO instruction in BASIC. Here are the first four bars of “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. This four-bar phrase repeats hundreds of times over the course of the song. You wouldn’t want to write them all out. With repeat markers, you don’t have to.Continue reading →


Preschoolers may not be able to calculate the circumference of a circle or ponder the delights of pi, but they’re more than ready to enjoy a standing play date with patterns, shapes and numbers.
In fact, says Professor Douglas Clements of the Morgridge College of Education and the Marsico Institute for Early Learning & Literacy, young children have “surprising capabilities to learn incredible amounts of surprisingly deep mathematical ideas — they’re not sitting there writing formulas on paper, but they’re learning in a way that’s appropriate to their developmental level.”
Clements should know. Along with his wife, Professor Julie Sarama, also of the Morgridge College, he’s one of the country’s foremost experts on teaching math to young children. The two hold the University’s James C. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning and the James C. Kennedy Chair of Innovative Learning Technologies, respectively.
When Clements and Sarama share their research findings, policymakers and educators take notice. In May, for example, Clements was on Capitol Hill, testifying at a Congressional briefing about the importance of early childhood mathematics intervention.
Together, the two have published more than 125 research studies, as well as 20 books and 70 chapters in scholarly tomes. Their nationally recognized Building Blocks mathematics program, designed for prekindergarteners, is celebrated for developing the cognitive foundations for quantitative and spatial reasoning.
The husband-and-wife team has guided more than 25 research projects and more than $25 million in grants from, among others, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Studies. Today, they are working on five of those projects. They are joined on these high-impact projects by co-investigators at universities across the country and by DU graduate students interested in qualitative and quantitative research.
One of their projects explores innovative ways to help children learn science, math and technology content. Another creates and tests assessments that allow teachers to understand exactly what children understand. Still another project follows the progress of more than 1,000 students participating in an effort known as TRIAD (Technology-enhanced, Research-based, Instruction Assessment and professional Development). To date, TRIAD students have a better grasp of mathematics concepts than their counterparts in a control group. Continued study will show whether that advantage persists through later years.
Clements and Sarama hope their work will remind decision makers — everyone from school superintendents and politicians to parents and teachers — that the best educational solutions are rooted in cognitive science.
As much as they’ve accomplished, Clements and Sarama still have a robust agenda focused on providing the science to support effective education. Clements sums it up this way: “It shouldn’t surprise me, but it continually surprises me how many things you have to get right to do education well.”


Nikolopoulos, D.S.; (1999) Cognitive and linguistic predictors of literacy skills in the Greek language: the manifestation of reading and spelling difficulties in a regular orthography. Doctoral thesis, University of London.
|PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader|
The aim of this thesis was three-fold: firstly, to examine the development of reading and spelling abilities in the Greek language; secondly, to identify the cognitive predictors of reading and spelling skills; and finally, to establish how developmental dyslexia is manifested in the regular Greek orthography. An extensive battery of cognitive, linguistic, and literacy tasks was administered to 132 children: 66 Grade-2 and 66 Grade-4 Greek-speaking children attending four different schools in Athens, Greece. The battery included: tests of reading, spelling, and mathematical attainment; a nonword reading task, various phonological awareness & other phonological processing tests; a non-verbal intelligence test and various syntactic awareness tasks. Evidence on the manifestation of developmental dyslexia in Greek was based on a chronological-age and a reading-level matched-pairs comparison between poor and average readers. Despite a large number of difficult polysyllabic word stimuli, reading accuracy was at ceiling for most subjects. Reading speed proved a more effective measure of individual differences. A high degree of accuracy was also observed on many phonological awareness tests. Rapid naming, phonological awareness and speech rate proved the most important predictors of reading ability in the regular Greek language. The predictive value of many variables/tests, however, appeared to differ between English and Greek. Phonological awareness - the most powerful and stable predictor in English - appeared to be a reliable predictor of reading ability only at the initial stages of literacy development (Grade-2). The most significant predictor at Grade-4 was rapid naming. Speech rate consistently predicted reading skill in all our analyses. Syntactic awareness proved not a reliable predictor. Its contribution was significant only for spelling ability at Grade-4. The matched-pair comparisons supported the above results. Results are discussed in relation to the existing differences in the orthographic structure of the English and Greek languages. It is suggested that the examination of linguistic differences is important, both, from a theoretical and clinical point of view.
|Title:||Cognitive and linguistic predictors of literacy skills in the Greek language: the manifestation of reading and spelling difficulties in a regular orthography|
|Open access status:||An open access version is available from UCL Discovery|
|Additional information:||Thesis digitised by British Library EThOS|
|UCL classification:||UCL > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Psychology and Language Sciences (Division of)|
View download statistics for this item
Activity - last month
Activity - last 12 months
Archive Staff Only: edit this record


DIET means District Institute of Education and Training. National Policy on Education has suggested an overhaul of teacher education as the first step towards national organisation. It has suggested Strengthening of teacher training institutions at the district level and giving them the role of identifying and responding to the teacher training requirements of the area of their coverage.
The DIETs have been opened at district level in all States. The functions of these institutes may be described as under:
(i) To organise pre-service courses for elementary school teachers. They are trained to teach primary and middle classes.
(ii) To organise in-service training for elementary teachers. There are short-term training programmes such as workshops, refresher courses, seminars etc. for elementary teachers.
(iii) To review curriculum and learning materials. One of the wings of the DIET deals with curriculum and learning materials for elementary teachers
(iv) To train teachers in non-formal centres. Non-formal centres have been opened to educate drop-outs in the age group 6- 14 years; the teachers are educated to do their job well.
(v) To look after the material equipment in the elementary schools, Most of the elementary schools are short of needed learning materials.
(vi)To promote literacy programmes. DIETs adopt certain blocks in a district and undertake programmes for adult literacy.
(vii) To organise research programmes to improve the quality of education in elementary schools. (viii) To develop competency in the universalization of elementary education (UEE).
(ix) To work for early childhood care and education (ECCE).
(x) To pay special attention to girls' education in the age group 6-14.
(xi) To improve evaluation procedures for elementary education.


|Undergraduate Course Details|
|Title||Language and Literacy Development|
This introductory course focuses on language and literacy development for children from preschool through elementary school. Emergent literacy skill, including oral language, phonemic awareness and concepts of print, will be explored. The processes involved in the reading and writing development of a first or second language learner, including vocabulary knowledge, word analysis, fluency and reading comprehension, will be emphasized. In addition, students will learn to use children?s literature, technology, and other materials in support of children?s reading and writing development. Three lecture hours per week. Required for all Education majors with Early Childhood and Elementary concentrations. Prerequisite: EDU 100 or EDU 105.


Otto Piene opens up new horizons in both art and art education. His book is a plea for more scope, more space for art—for making public property artful and making art public property—for freeing the arts from the tight economic bonds that give the curators and collectors a monopoly. He writes, "The artist-planner is needed. He can make a playground out of a heap of bent cans, he can make a park out of a desert, he can make a paradise out of a wasteland, if he accepts the challenge . . . . In order to enable artists of the future to take on planning and shaping tasks on a large scale, art education has to change completely. "
The first part of More Sky covers "things to do" arranged alphabetically A-M—including city planning, clothing, collaboration, electronic music, engineering, government, graffiti, graphics, and green toad jelly. (Piene will take up N-Z some other time.)
The last part of the book, "Wind Manual," gives a practical demonstration of things to do in one area—the whole sky, making use of the wind. This section consists almost entirely of illustrations of some of the things the artist can do to purify the skies polluted by man—including flags, banners, ribbons, wind socks, wind sculptures, riggings, and kites.
About the Author
Otto Piene, project director for "Centerbeam" and director of MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies, continues to explore the many interfaces of art, technology, and the environment.


Anne M Reece
Investigation of the multiple natures of literacy development. Students study the impact of culture and family on literacy development by reading and discussing a variety of texts while also experiencing the development of their own learning through literature study, the writing process, and oral presentations. Prerequisite: elementary TEP student.
TEP 531 is the first of the three-course sequence in literacy. It will focus on the building blocks of literacy learning and instruction as well as different contexts in which literacy is enacted and learned. We will explore literacy in the lives of children and develop understandings about the literacy process including comprehension, word identification, vocabulary, fluency, writing process, reading/writing connections, and reader response. From there, we will focus on preparing to teach reading and assessing studentsí reading abilities. Next quarter, when you are placed in schools, we will continue our focus on reading instruction and add writing instruction. Our overall goal is provide high-quality instruction to meet the needs of students of all abilities and backgrounds so they become competent, engaged, and thoughtful readers and writers.
To become an effective literacy teacher you must develop: an understanding and appreciation of literacy learners/users in and out of school; a developmental perspective on literacy learning and curriculum; deep subject matter knowledge about reading and writing processes; a variety of pedagogical strategies for teaching reading and writing; and the ability to assess studentsí literacy strengths and needs.
Student learning goals
Develop an understanding and appreciation of literacy learners/users both in and out of school
Acquire a deep understanding of the strategies and skills students apply when they are efficient, effective, and engaged readers, with a special focus this quarter on emergent reading, word identification, fluency, and comprehension
Learn to assess studentsí reading strategies and skills so you can provide appropriate instruction
General method of instruction
Whole class and small group work.
Purchase and preread text books to familiarize yourself with the course content. Read chapters 1 and 2 of Cooper in preparation for our first class. The class website will be opened soon - you will receive an email with the link.
Class assignments and grading
Assignments will be discussed in class.


There is No One Best Way to Teach Children to Read and Write
Because reading and writing are complex and children and teachers are different, there can be no one best way to teach reading and writing. The complexity and variability found in every classroom mean there is not, and can never be, one best way to foster and develop reading and writing in all children.
Reading instruction began in the United States with an alphabetic approach. Children learned the letters and learned to spell and sound out the letters of words. This alphabetic method came to be called a phonics approach and has gone in and out of fashion but has always had advocates who insisted it was the only sensible approach to beginning reading instruction. A variety of instructional materials provide phonics activities for beginning readers, but those materials often do not reflect much of what we know about teaching decoding (Adams, 1990; Cunningham & Cunningham, 2000).
A second but common approach has been the basal reader approach. All basals include instruction in phonics of some kind. Some basals, offer heavier doses of phonics instruction. Most basal programs begin with sight words from predictable stories and place an emphasis on comprehension—although all basals include a phonics strand. Although basals differ in their emphasis, they all offer stories of gradually increasing difficulty and an emphasis on teacher-guided reading of generally shorter selections. Basals also provide workbooks and skill sheets, though of questionable value.
Throughout the years, many reading experts have advocated a trade-book approach for teaching reading. In the 1960s, Jeanette Veatch (1959) popularized what she called an "individualized reading" approach. This approach emphasizes children selecting books they want to read and teachers conferencing with them to provide individual help when needed. But teachers using this trade-book approach must be familiar with a broad range of children's books and must also be quite expert in the teaching of reading and writing.
A fourth approach, which has been more widely used in England, Australia, and other countries, has also returned to many U.S. classrooms. This language experience/writing approach is based on the premise that the easiest material for children to read is their own writing and that of their classmates. In this approach, then, the stories that children themselves compose, orally or in writing, provide the primary reading materials.
Throughout the years, these four major approaches—phonics, basal, trade book, language experience/writing—have been in and out of favor. Generally, once one approach has dominated long enough for educators to recognize its shortcomings, a different approach with different shortcomings replaces it. The question of which method is best cannot be answered because it is the wrong question. Each method has undeniable strengths.
Phonics instruction is clearly important because one big task of beginning readers is figuring out how our alphabetic language works. The National Reading Panel (2000) reviewed decades of research on beginning reading instruction and concluded that many children can decipher the letter–sound system with little direct instruction, but directly teaching this system seems to speed initial literacy acquisition for these children. The need for some explicit decoding strategies instruction was particularly clear for some children, especially those who have had limited exposure to reading and writing and have had fewer opportunities to figure out how our alphabetic system works.
© ______ 2007, Allyn & Bacon, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The reproduction, duplication, or distribution of this material by any means including but not limited to email and blogs is strictly prohibited without the explicit permission of the publisher.


Famous Painters and How to Paint Like the Masters Kerrie Allred-Pirkle November 8, 2010
Expand your Painting Knowledge Study the work of a famous painter Choose a work that you are interested in duplicating Study the methods, palette and technique of the chosen artist
Painting in the style of the Masters There are two classic styles associated with the Masters, sfumato and chiaroscuro. Find out what the difference is and use them in your paintings.
Sfumato refers to the subtle use of tone used to obscure sharp edges and to create a synergy between lights and shadows in painting. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is probably the best known example of sfumato.
Chiaroscuro literally, “light-dark” a technique used to create dramatic contrasts. The focus of the painting is illuminated, as if in spotlight, while the surrounding area is dark and somber Rembrandt was the master of chiaroscuro as seen in “St. Peter in Prison”.
An example of painting like a master. Monet Painting: Step by Step
Objectives Critical analysis Technique Greater Understanding of color Problem solving
The practice of copying masterpieces has been a foundation of art education for a long time.
Select realistic expectations… Mastery is not achieved overnight!


The curriculum includes Practical Life (activities such as preparing food, woodworking, polishing silver or shoes, sewing, and instruction in character education and manners), Geometry, Math, Science, Language Arts and Phonics, Foreign Language, Cultural and Social Sciences (such as History and Geography), Physical Education, Art and Music Education. For specific units of study taught at MeadowLark Montessori School, please refer to the "Preschool", "Kindergarten" and "Elementary" pages.
Environmental awareness is emphasized. Students learn about the importance of ecosystems and habitat by observing and caring for a variety of classroom pets (mammals, amphibians, birds). They also plant and harvest their own gardens. The school promotes earth-friendly practices such as recycling, composting and conservation of resources.
Each child establishes his or her own sense of belonging within the school community by recognizing and valuing one’s own abilities and contributions as well as that of others. Children explore different perspectives, exchange ideas and learn respect for individual and cultural differences. In our classroom environment, children develop confidence based on a positive sense of self and seek cooperative approaches to planning and problem solving.
We hope you can visit us soon.
Our address is: 15161 Shadow Wood Street Brighton, CO 80603 MapQuest Map
Our phone number is: 303-637-7556


(NaturalNews) It's in your cookware, your clothing, furniture, carpets, popcorn bags and even in your food! It's perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and it remains indefinitely in the environment and even gets stuck in your body. PFOA is a toxicant and known carcinogen that has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the US population. Exposure to this chemical has been associated with increased cholesterol, uric acid levels, preeclampsia, heart disease, liver damage, thyroid trouble, neurological disorders, chronic kidney disease and kidney cancer.
High levels of exposure to the Teflon (a DuPont registered trademark) chemical PFOA causes the risk of testicular cancer to skyrocket by 170 percent.
DuPont's plant on the Ohio River has used PFOA since the 1950s to make chemicals used in the production of nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging like hamburger wrappers, and stain-resistant textiles. PFOA is pretty much in anything wrinkle-free, heat-proof, stain-resistant, and more.
Children downstream from a DuPont chemical plant on the Ohio River carry PFOA in their blood prompting one of the first studies of its effects on kids. Out of more than 10,000 kids ages 1 to 17, those with the highest levels were more likely to have thyroid disease. Of course, these results only support previous findings from studies with adults.
Thyroid hormones play critical roles in metabolism, growth and brain development. These hormones are especially important during fetal development and early childhood with small changes in thyroid hormone levels during these developmental periods affecting IQ and motor skill development in children.
DuPont fined for Teflon cover-up
In June 2005 there was a $5 billion class-action lawsuit filed against Dupont for failing to alert the public about over 20 years of known health problems associated with PFOAs. The Environmental Protection Agency later announced it would slap the $25 billion Teflon maker with a mere $16.5 million for two decades' worth of covering up studies that showed it was polluting drinking water and harming newborn babies with an indestructible chemical. The fine was the largest administrative fine the EPA had ever levied under a flimsy toxic chemical law and the fine was less than half of one percent of DuPont's profits from Teflon at the time and a mere fraction of the $313 million the agency could have imposed.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG.org), said the penalty highlighted the federal government's weak hand in dealing with industrial polluters. "What's the appropriate fine for a $25 billion company that for decades hid vital health information about a toxic chemical that now contaminates every man, woman and child in the United States?" Group president and co-founder Ken Cook said. "We're pretty sure it's not $16 million, even if that is a record amount under a federal law that everyone acknowledges is extremely weak."
Of course DuPont acknowledges no liability for failure to report its 1981 discovery that a compound used to make Teflon had contaminated the placenta and bloodstream of a West Virginia worker's unborn child. Other complaints allege that DuPont withheld information for years about unexpected contamination in the blood of workers, and pollution releases that eventually contaminated water supplies serving thousands in West Virginia and Ohio. DuPont's official position is that they believe there are no human health effects associated with their Teflon product.
Cash is king
DuPont is one of the largest chemical companies in the world. Between 2008 and 2010, it reported over $2 billion in profits, paid no federal income taxes, increased its executive compensations by a whopping 188% and spent almost $14 million on lobbying for more corporate friendly laws. DuPont is the nation's only manufacturer of PFOA. So why is it so difficult to stop this madness? Because Americans still buy their products and cash is king.
About the author: Craig Stellpflug is a Cancer Nutrition Specialist, Lifestyle Coach and Neuro Development Consultant at Healing Pathways Medical Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. http://www.healingpathwayscancerclinic.com/ With 17 years of clinical experience working with both brain disorders and cancer, Craig has seen first-hand the devastating effects of vaccines and pharmaceuticals on the human body and has come to the conclusion that a natural lifestyle and natural remedies are the true answers to health and vibrant living. You can find his daily health blog at www.blog.realhealthtalk.com and his articles and radio show archives at www.realhealthtalk.com


Elementary School Teacher
Elementary school teachers instruct one class of children in several subjects. In some schools, two or more teachers work as a team and are jointly responsible for a group of students in at least one subject. In other schools, a teacher may teach one special subject—usually music, art, reading, science, arithmetic, or physical education—to a number of classes. A small but growing number of teachers instruct multilevel classrooms, with students at several different learning levels.
Median Annual Salary
All 50 States and the District of Columbia require public school teachers to be licensed. Licensure is not required for teachers in private schools in most States. Usually licensure is granted by the State Board of Education or a licensure advisory committee. Teachers may be licensed to teach the early childhood grades (usually preschool through grade 3); the elementary grades (grades 1 through 6 or 8); the middle grades (grades 5 through 8); a secondary-education subject area (usually grades 7 through 12); or a special subject, such as reading or music (usually grades kindergarten through 12).
Requirements for regular licenses to teach kindergarten through grade 12 vary by State. For specific state requirements, read 50 States Certification Reciprocity. For more information about becoming a teacher, read our helpful guide, 5 Steps to Becoming a Teacher.
Find a Job
Search our job listings to find Elementary Education teaching positions
From the Editor
Are you a first year teacher looking for support? Or would you like to read about classroom management? Check out these great resources!


Book reports are a classroom staple; they represent a valuable exercise in literacy development. That doesn't mean they have to be the boring exercises we remember as students, though. Creative teachers have added many twists to the old book report formats -- twists that engage and motivate students as they read and report.
Learn More About Book Reports
Education World compiled 50 ideas for book report formats that will engage students and motivate them to read more. Click the links below to learn about teacher-tested book report ideas that will spice up boring book reports.
Better Book Reports -- 25 Ideas!
Do your students grumble every time you mention the words book report? Spice up those old book reports with some new ideas. Education World presents 25 ideas you can use or adapt. Included: Ideas for cyber book reports!
Better Book Reports: 25 More Ideas! Education World presents a sequel to its popular "Better Book Reports -- 25 Ideas!" Are you ready for 25 more practical book report ideas?
Book Report Makeovers
Forty fabulous ideas for putting fun into book reports.
Don't miss Education World's special Reading Fun! Web page.


Industrial Instrumentation Technology is the installation, maintenance and calibration of devices used in the automation of industrial processes. These devices measure and control the pressure, temperature, level and flow of processes used in automated manufacturing and production. This technology utilizes piping, process, chemical, pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, electronic, computer and networking technologies.
This program prepares completers for entry-level positions as construction and maintenance Instrument Technicians, Instrument and Electrical Technicians, Process Technicians, Contract Technicians as well as Sales and Service Representatives. Instrumentation technicians find interesting and challenging employment in most industries and expect a large starting salary. Technicians may be employed in environmental quality and emission monitoring, nuclear and conventional power plants, metal refining, mining, pulp and paper production, instrument manufacturing, petrochemical plants, petroleum refining, automobile manufacturing, plant construction, offshore services, aerospace & defense technology, engineering and design services, building and amusement park automation, food and beverage processing plants, water and sewage treatment plants. With the demand for automated processes growing and expectations for technical performance increasing, employment opportunities in this field will continue.
What Skills Are Required?
Good foundational skills for this technology are mechanical aptitude, physical agility, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, physics, reading, and writing. Lettering, drafting, CAD, electronics and computer technology are helpful. Requirements for employment may require lifting and climbing. Beyond mechanical and academic skills, Instrumentation technology places a high value on expertise, troubleshooting, critical thinking, self-sufficiency, self-direction, problem solving, good interpersonal relations, and the ability to work as a team member. Graduates may find employment with small to large American, Middle Eastern, European, or Far Eastern research, production, and processing industries.


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.
<<Whatever happened to
school as a means of conveying legitimate social standards, such as respect
for others, politeness, appropriate ways to seek positive attention..?>>
Good question... but I wonder if you can define 'legitimate social standards'?
The 'social standards' I grew up with were those of a dominantly white,
European-based society which--clearly--did not and does not include
"everybody." In fact, I imagine that many of the students who are
"misbehaving" in your classrooms may be reacting to the very marginalization
of their identities and voices. Maybe if their individual cultural
perspectives were respected and included--and not just during their special
month--they would feel more apt to participate in "appropriate ways".
I appreciate that classes are overcrowded and time is limited. However, I
agree with earlier comments suggesting that educators' possible reactions
toward "inappropriate" behavior lead to the belittling and even demonization
of art education.
Elizabeth B. Reese
Pennsylvania State University


Out of the 24 countries which saw their international literacy and numeracy test results examined, England came 21st for numeracy and 22nd for literacy. Perhaps even more shockingly, England was the only developed country surveyed where the population is becoming worse educated instead of better, with young people failing to do better in the tests than those in the 55-65 age group. According to the study, 8.5 million adults in England and Northern Ireland have the numeracy skills of a ten year old.
Despite the failings of our school system, the UK still has some of the greatest universities in the world, and indisputably punches above its weight in the realm of higher education. But if British children continue to fall behind their peers in other developed countries, the long-term viability of our leading status in this area could be called into question. More generally, having a poorly educated population is going to have negative externalities in terms of Britain’s economic productivity, employment rates and ability to compete in the global race.
But what can be done about this problem? Surely there aren’t enough hours on the school timetable to devote to more Maths and English? Well, in British Secondary Schools a significant proportion of the curriculum is devoted to learning foreign languages. The languages taught are in the vast majority of cases, European ones, particularly French, German or Spanish, which is understandable given that most of Britain’s trade is with other EU states. However, 51% of EU citizens can speak English, and this is particularly the case amongst the better educated and younger Europeans – the very people Britons are most likely to encounter during their future careers.
Instead of spending time learning to speak languages which they are most likely never going to use, this valuable time in the curriculum could instead be used to improve not only the numerical and literacy skills of young Britons, but also their skills in the fields of science and technology. Our fluency in English, the world’s language, gives us a massive advantage, and so since it is not necessary for us to devote a large amount of school hours to learning foreign languages, we have a great opportunity to gain a similar advantage in the skills which will drive our economy forward in the 21st century. Of course the value of other languages cannot be denied but if it is at the expense of basic literary and numeracy skills surely something is wrong.
In 1997 Tony Blair promised that education would be the top priority of his Labour administration. However, the fact that 16-24 year olds, the very people who spent most of their time at school while Labour was in power, are so intellectually backward, shows that Blair’s promise was not fulfilled and that Labour’s education policies were ultimately a failure. Whatever you may think of Michael Gove’s education reforms, he should be given credit for at least attempting to fix a system which is quite clearly in desperate need of repair.


Since this blog's inception I've received a couple of emails regarding reading skills: Which reading skills are most important? How do you teach skills that students will actually recall and use independently? Where can I access a list or description of reading skills?
Although I use several sources (which I'll discuss in future posts), one of the best online resources for teachers and students alike is Into the Book. (This links not to the main page, but to a page which shows all reading skills at a glance).
From the site:
From the site:
Into the Book is a reading comprehension resource for K-4 students and
teachers. We focus on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge,
Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating
and Synthesizing. Watch our engaging 15-minute videos and try the online
I love the site because all eight skills are not only defined in word, but also by video example. A teacher area gives teachers and parents all the information they need to begin using this framework, and the student area provides fun, interactive practice with each of the skills, using both video and online self-checking lessons. (The student area allows students to create a "key" for use upon return to this site; this way, no registration or release of personal information is ever required).
Teachers can benefit from additional resources including a discussion forum, a section on classroom design for literacy development (featuring a panoramic classroom tour as well as individual design tips), and dozens of downloadable songs, posters, and teaching guides, all relating to the eight specific reading skills.
If you're a teacher into picture books, these are the skills you need to make them extraordinary teaching tools, and this is the site to find them.


The class of fiction held in this collection is distinctive both in content and appearance. It was produced from about 1860 to around the end of the First World War. It consists of stories and tales sometimes explicitly juvenile, but often advertised as both for the juvenile and adult reader, usually tending to moral improvement, frequently illustrated with woodcuts or engravings, and typically bound in bright decorated or pictorial cloth covers. It coincided with the movement towards popular education and mass literacy, which in England and America was stirring from the 1830s and 40s and in England culminated in compulsory, state-funded elementary education under Forster's Education Act of 1870.
This sort of literature has its origins in the chapbook stories and poems printed from the 1780s onwards by people like Hannah More, and was connected with the Sunday School and Charity School Movement and the movement for popular education in general, particularly the education of the children of the poor of the rapidly expanding industrial towns and cities. These books were cheap, attractive, and often subsidized by their publishers; they were also accessible and easy to read. They were aimed largely at the young, semi-literate, and newly literate classes of late Victorian England, for use in the cottage, servant's quarters, school rooms, nurseries, orphanages, and Sunday schools.


UNICEF urges access to early learning for the most disadvantaged children
NEW YORK, 25 April 2012 - As the world celebrates Global Action Week for Education, UNICEF calls for attention and investment to provide early learning opportunities to all children, especially the poor and marginalized.
Latest data indicates that more than 200 million children from low- and middle-income countries under the age of five are failing to attain their developmental potential because of poverty, poor heath and limited opportunities to learn.
This year’s theme for Global Action Week focuses on early learning under the slogan “Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Education Now!” Today, more than half of the world’s children remain excluded from pre-primary education.
Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to eight years old. A time of remarkable brain growth, it lays the foundation for future learning and development. In fact, 85 per cent of a child’s brain develops by age five, even before a child enters school.
“Quality early childhood programmes, designed for the most vulnerable and combined with parenting support, have a significant impact on linguistic, cognitive and social skills necessary for lifelong learning,” said Susan Durston, UNICEF’s Global Chief of Education.
“Opening the doors for early learning, also presents a unique opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage for many millions of children, including breaking down gender stereotypes through positive early gender socialization.”
By helping children prepare for school, early learning initiatives also lessen the effects of household deprivation, halt the transfer of educational disadvantage from parents to children and strengthen prospects for economic growth for families and communities.
However, many barriers stand in the way of early childhood learning. Barriers such as the lack of importance and resource allocation given to pre-primary education, lack of annual statistical data, cost of enrolment, limited availability of nearby early childhood facilities and a dearth of skilled educators and teachers persist in excluding children from pre-primary education.
By providing appropriate options for early learning, countries can then decide depending on the situation which strategy and option to implement for maximum result in getting children the opportunity for early learning.
For example, the Getting Ready for School: A Child to Child approach initiative provides a cost-effective supplemental model countries with resource constraints can use, which has shown significant gains in children’s readiness for school as well as get them into school at the right age.
Supporting countries in the development of national policies that support universal school readiness and translating them into action also helps provide this service to young children, especially the most marginalized.
For further information, please contact:
Shimali Senanayake, UNICEF Media, New York, Tel + 1 917 265 4516, firstname.lastname@example.org


Stimulating Creativity through Fine Arts
Our students are surrounded with a wide range of opportunities when it comes to the Fine Arts. Full programs are offered in the way of dance, drama/theatre, music and visual arts.
At each grade level, students are introduced to another level of awareness in the subjects of visual arts, theatre and music. Our programs are designed to create intellectual, personal, physical and emotional responses to help students learn and understand the historical perspective and cultural contribution of the arts to civilization.
The UCS Fine Arts departments provide key lessons so students learn to value imagination and creative expression. Above all, our students learn the importance of lifelong learning.
Instrumental in Education – Secondary Instrumental Program
Our Instrumental Music Program is performance-based and strives to enrich lives. Instrumental music challenges students to develop and establish individual abilities in music.
Dedication, teamwork, communication, leadership, responsibility, creativity, problem-solving, emotional expression and discipline are required to contribute to musical performances. We strive to foster an individual sense of belonging to create a personal character that instills music appreciation through performance, artistic expression and aesthetic well-being.
Broadening Perspectives through Theatre Arts
In Utica Community Schools, we strive to ensure that each student has the opportunity to experience all that Theatre Arts has to offer. The Theatre Arts Department is dedicated to broadening the students’ perspective of the world while increasing their life-long appreciation of Theatre.
Inspiring Young Minds
Students participating in our Visual Arts classes have choices that span from elementary school to senior high school. Our students can begin with basic-level concepts and move on each year to gradually more difficult crafts and high-level art skills.
Elementary Art Department Mission
It is our mission to present a program that meets the needs of every student, while encouraging diversity within our school district and adhering to the uniformity of our basic philosophy. Our art teachers adhere to the benchmarks and guidelines set forth by the district, state, and national levels. Our art program guidelines allow sufficient flexibility for freedom of interpretation by individual art teachers while strengthening our curriculum through the process of sharing creative ideas.
At the elementary school level, our students learn:
- the value of originality
- how one problem can have many solutions
- to celebrate our uniqueness
- how creative thought can provide balance
- that learning is everlasting
Secondary Art Department Vision
Our comprehensive art program was designed to inspire young minds, ignite self-confidence and nourish the human spirit. It is designed to cultivate a passion for personal vision and expression and allows for creation of quality art works. At the secondary level, students receive training in problem-solving, craftsmanship and learn skills using traditional and progressive methods. Areas of study include folk arts, drawing and painting, sculpture, design, architecture, film and video.
At the secondary school level, our students:
- Grow more sophisticated in their employment of the visual arts
- Mature in their thinking, working, communicating, reasoning, and investigating skills
- Gain greater artistic competence in visual, oral, and written communications
- Understand the multifaceted interplay of different media, styles, forms, techniques, and processes in the creation of their work.
A Universal Language
We provide diverse exposure to the many avenues of vocal music through our Vocal Music program. At both elementary and secondary levels, students learn teamwork, self-expression, creativity and the joy and balance that music brings to the spirit.
Elementary Vocal Music Department
The mission of the Elementary Vocal Music Department is to provide educational opportunities for every child to develop fundamental musical abilities and skills consistent with his/her abilities. These skills and abilities are intended to form a foundation for the child’s future musical development, as well as help develop positive attitudes about music in general. These attitudes will foster a love for many styles of music, the desire to develop musical skills and to actively participate in musical activities, thus enriching life.
From kindergarten through sixth grade, our students continue their vocal music education with lessons that incorporate eight vocal music standards, or goals. These standards, taught in varying levels of complexity according to grade level, include singing a variety of songs and chants independently and with others, exposure to diverse styles of music and composers throughout music history and the use of various musical instruments.
Secondary Music Department
At the Secondary Vocal Music level, we strive to ignite a passion for lifelong music appreciation. We strive to inspire performers and audiences of the future by challenging students physically, mentally and emotionally. Classes are exposed to music history, diverse musical styles, music theory and technology, sight-reading, and vocal techniques to promote music literacy.
Students participating at the secondary vocal music level are provided the opportunity for expression through public performance. It encourages teamwork, self-expression, creativity, and independence.