Evan-Moor® Daily Phonics Practice Grade 1 Item # 551774
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Provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction and practice in just 15 to 20 minutes a day!
- Help your students become confident, proficient readers
- Ideal for first-graders or students learning English.
- Students will gain phonemic awareness, learn decoding, and build word-study skills.
- Simple, clear activity formats and supporting illustrations make learning easy.
- The 208-page book includes 32 weekly units.
|subject||reading & writing|
|educational content||reading; planning; language; grammar|
|grade||kindergarten; 1st grade; 2nd grade; 3rd grade|
|size||8 1/2" x 11"|
|manufacturer||Evan-Moor Educational Publishers|
|number of pages||208|


Institute for Education Sciences
The National Center for Education Statistics just released the Nation's Arts Report Card, previously covered by Fordham's D.C. team here and here. The report details the state of the nation's art education after testing 8,000 eighth-grade students in visual arts and music. The findings, as noted by Fordham, were overwhelmingly average with student scores ranging from 105 and 194, out of a possible 300 for the visual arts section. Other significant findings included achievement gaps between white/Asian students and black/Hispanic students and between male and female. The report indicates students have not shown much improvement in the arts, which may be caused by the increased emphasis on reading and math skills.
It is unclear what these results mean for discussions of national standards and assessments. Arts education and students' knowledge of visual art and music appear to be on shaky footing. Regardless, the Arts Report Card is a timely reminder that we cannot put content standards in danger by focusing too much on so-called 21st century skills (see Fordham President Chester E. Finn, Jr. on the subject here). Finn and Diane Ravitch co-edited a book, Beyond the Basics: Achieving a Liberal Education for All Children, that describes why education should be a liberal education, and in a chapter on the arts, Dana Gioia, a former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, stated, "The real purpose of arts education is to awaken us to the full potential of our humanity both as individuals and citizens in society."
In Ohio, the biennial budget has just been finalized. Between the larger provisions on school funding and choice are provisions on academic standards that are just as significant. But the arts receive very little mention except for a promise that they will be revised in some as yet unknown way. Whatever that revision may be, we cannot forget that the arts are important, and Ohio students deserve standards that recognize that importance within the development of a truly comprehensive content-rich curriculum.
Read the Arts Report Card here, and read Beyond the Basics here.


Language and communication
Do you speak more than one language? Do you want to help others communicate better? Then studies in language and communication, is the perfect place for you to begin.
In the global world there is a growing need for people to communicate socially and in business. A career as a translator or interpreter is a great way to help others do just that. You could find yourself working in courts, business meetings, schools or government departments.
You'll start a career that could take you around the world to live among new people and cultures. Wherever you are, you'll be helping individuals and groups to communicate across boundaries.
Sometimes those boundaries exist here at home. As a teacher of English as a second language (ESL) you can work with people starting a new life in Australia. You may teach in classrooms or one to one environments. TAFE NSW courses can also help if you yourself need to improve your English . Our courses can help you learn how to apply for a job, better use technology and get involved in your community.
If you know you've got those skills but need a qualification to prove you've studied to Year 12 or to get into university or the armed forces, TAFE NSW also has a variety of HSC (Higher School Certificate) and TPC (Tertiary Preparation Certificate) courses to help you do just that.
Interpreters and translators on average earn $1353 a week, teachers of English as a second language earn $1150.
Address adult language, literacy and numeracy skills
This course introduces trainers and assessors to core language, literacy and numeracy issues in training and assessment practice. The course provides you with the…
- Wollongong Online


W80 Curricular Materials for K-8 Mathematics. This course examines and evaluates K-8 mathematics curricula in the context of the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Although the emphasis this year will be on grades 6-8, curricula at all grade levels will be examined. Some of the curricula to be discussed are Everyday Mathematics, Investigations, Math TrailBlazers, Connected Mathematics, MathScape, MathThematics , Mathematics in Context, and Singapore Math. Familiarity with a variety of K-8 mathematics curricula, with state and national mathematics grade level standards, and with state and national K-8 mathematics testing instruments is important for prospective teachers. Practice in designing exemplary mathematics lessons, making mathematics/literature connections, and solving mathematics problems are valuable skills for classroom mathematics teachers. Students are expected to complete assigned readings, to participate in and lead sample activities and lessons, and to contribute to small-group and whole-class discussions of the materials under consideration. Evaluation is based on in-class participation, presentation of grade-level lessons, several written quizzes, and written projects. Optional K-8 classroom observations can be arranged for the morning hours. Students should arrange their schedules so that they can spend additional hours in the Curriculum Center. This course may replace Mathematics 110 in the elementary education mathematics minor for students who have completed four years of high school mathematics and who have received permission from their mathematics advisor. Prerequisite: Mathematics 222. J. Koop. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W81 Algebra & Geometry of Polynomials. Since Descartes founded analytic geometry in the 17th century, the study of the algebra of polynomials in several variables has proven to be an important approach to the study of geometry. Since the late 19th century, this study has been effectively organized through the algebraic concept of ideal and the geometric concept of variety. The objective of this course is to give an introduction to the study of the geometry of varieties through the algebra of ideals of polynomials via the guiding principles founded in the work of David Hilbert. Along the way, computational methods, such as Grobner bases, will be explored. We will also look at applications in mechanics, such as robotic arm motions. Student performances will be evaluated based on assignments and a final project. This course fulfills the interim requirement for a mathematics major. Some exposure to multivariable functions would also be desirable. Prerequisite: Math 231 or 256. J. Turner. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W82/IDIS W66 Mathematical/Scientific Programming . This course offers students an opportunity to hone their programming skills in the context of interesting mathematical and scientific problems using the python and sage programming languages. Lectures and laboratory exercises introduce students to important aspects of programming in these contexts including accuracy of numerical calculations, visualization tools, object-oriented design and programming, Monte Carlo simulation, methods of numerical integration and differentiation, and using mathematical structures in sage. Student evaluation is based on laboratory exercises, programming projects, program documentation, and final presentations. Projects may be done individually or in groups. This course satisfies the interim course requirement for Mathematics
majors. Prerequisites: CS 106 or 108, Math 171 or 132, and Math 256 (Math students only). R. Pruim. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
170 Elementary Functions and Calculus. This course is a continuation of Mathematics 159. Topics include applications of derivatives, integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus, and applications of integrals. Grades are based on problem sets, tests, and a final exam. Prerequisite: Mathematics 159. 8:30 a.m. to noon and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.


More than 10,000 worksheets in Math & English Language Arts for 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
With more than 10,000 exercises, iTooch Middle School is, by far, the largest collection of educational activities based on the US National Common Core Standards on the App Store. It covers Math, Language Arts for 6th Grade, 7th Grade and 8th Grade and Health for 6th Grade only.
The application contains:
Loaded with thousands of questions, apps cover official educational curricula & comply with Common Core State Standards.
This app creates great game dynamics and incentives, so that the user always wants to progress further in the application.
Apps embed a blackboard and a calculator for students to write and calculate directly on the screen without having to leave the app.
A lesson summary is attached to each chapter, to underline the core concepts students should know to answer questions.
Move instantly from one screen to the next. Stop waiting for information to load from a server: bandwidth is no longer an issue.
Apps automatically sync in the background in order to load new activities whenever an Internet connection is available.
Ryan Miller, has a BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and a MA in Elementary Education from Claremont University. He served 5 years as math tutor. 6th Grade Math, 7th Grade Math.
Nina Berler, has taught middle-school English and math and worked one-on-one with numerous middle and high school students. 6th Grade ELA, 6th Grade Math, 7th Grade ELA, 8th Grade Math, 8th Grade ELA.
Nikita Ganatra received her BA in Liberal Studies and MS in Education from California State University Fullerton. She holds a Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential in English for California. 6th Grade ELA, 7th Grade ELA, 8th Grade ELA.
Millicent B. Fauntleroy, earned a B.S.J. and a M.S.J. at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is also an alumna of Duke University, where she earned a master of arts degree in liberal studies. 7th Grade ELA.
William Scott Stone, has a BS in computer science from Franciscan University of Steubenville and also has a bachelor’s degree in teacher education from Stockton College of Ponoma. 8th Grade Math.
Kymberli Barney, is an 8th grade English/Language Arts teacher in Georgia. With more than 12 years of experience, she has gained considerable experience in the areas of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction. 8th Grade ELA.
Naomi Hall, has a B.S. in composite science education and an M.Ed. in math and technology education. She has taught a variety of science, math, and technology courses over the past nine years. 7th Grade Math.
Eileen Heyes, has a BA in journalism from California State University, Long Beach. She wrote at newspapers for 30 years. She is the author of three nonfiction books for teens. 6th Grade ELA, 8th Grade Math, 8th Grade ELA.
iTooch Middle School is not eligible for the Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) since it only embeds in-app titles. However since our products are intended for schools and districts, you can take advantage of this program by buying one of the pre-paid apps below. All these apps have the same content as iTooch Middle School. We will offer you special pricing for purchases of 20 apps or more:


3rd Grade: Need for Teacher Assistance Beyond That Typically Provided in General Education 3rd Grade Classrooms for Language and Literacy Development by Former Preschool Special Education Services
The more integrated the preschool special education service, the less extra assistance was required from general education teachers on 3rd grade language and literacy tasks.
Students not classified until school age have needs for assistance very much like those of students formerly served in preschool special class programs.
|Related Services Only||SEIT Services Only||Related Services and SEIT||Special Class in Integrated Setting||Special Class Program||No Preschool Services|
|No Extra Assistance Required||0.49||0.38||0.17||0.31||0.25||0.25|
|Requires Periodic Assistance||0.29||0.38||0.49||0.31||0.24||0.26|
|Requires Frequent Assistance||0.11||0.23||0.29||0.27||0.34||0.29|
|Requires Continuous Assistance||0.12||0||0.06||0.11||0.17||0.2|
Preliminary summary of findings
Source: independent research by MGT of America, Inc.
NYSED VESID, DVJ
Oct. 3, 2007


Each year, David Riley, an associate professor in Penn State's Architectural Engineering Department, takes a group of students, alumni and other interested parties to Montana. There, Riley leads the group in building homes and other community buildings for the Northern Cheyenne Indian tribe.
While it may sound similar to Habitat for Humanity, there’s something decidedly unique about the structures Riley’s crew builds: They’re made out of straw. Despite the experience of the first little pig whose house was blown down, these buildings are sturdy. And an added eco-bonus is that straw is a sustainable building material.
“People need houses,” Riley says, “and they need to be durable and affordable.”
Riley started the American Indian Housing Initiative (AIHI) in 1998. He used straw from the beginning for economic reasons. These days, straw remains the base building material, but Riley is aiming to make the houses even more sustainable. AIHI’s newest project will add renewable energy in the mix as the group continues to help address the housing crisis many Native Americans face.
More than 40 percent of the homes on reservations are overcrowded or in serious disrepair, and the Native American Indian Housing Council estimates there is an immediate need for more than 200,000 housing units. Adding to the problem is the high number of Native Americans living in poverty.
Straw, which is used to make strawbale houses, is “an abundant and low-cost material with over 140 million tons produced in North America annually,” says Jude Simpson, an employee at Penn State University’s Center for Sustainability, who has accompanied Riley to Montana. “Since it is a secondary agricultural waste product from grain production, its embodied energy is low.”
Other factors that make straw desirable are the material’s high insulation properties, its availability in Montana, and the organic feel of a strawbale home on the landscape. In addition, says Riley, the simplicity of the process allows people with little building experience to play a vital role in the construction process.
“It’s a housing concept that combines a holistic solution,” says Riley. “It’s appropriate for the region.”
AIHI’s initial aim was to build only houses. But Riley recognized that it was important to focus on the good of the entire Northern Cheyenne reservation, so he started with the first of five community-based projects, which include an Early Childhood Learning Center. The building was the most ambitious project to date, consisting of a strawbale shell and an energy-efficient design that allows maximum daylight lighting, floor radiant heating, and evaporative cooling. The learning center adheres to the guidelines of a LEED Gold certification.
Currently, AIHI is focusing more sharply on sustainability and renewable resources. Riley is now constructing two prototype homes in conjunction with Penn State’s Solar Decathlon Team. One of the homes will be used as a renewable energy laboratory. The other will be a demonstration solar home on the campus of Montana’s Chief Dull Knife College, which Riley sees as the future of his strawbale construction.
Riley also sees his work constructing homes and public buildings as just the first step in helping the Northern Cheyenne tribe develop a viable and sustainable community. Already the tribe has constructed a factory on the reservation to manufacture sections of the building, particularly the part of the home that houses the HVAC and similar units. Most of the house is built from local products. “It’s a house that also creates jobs,” Riley says. “And the money used to build and buy the homes stays as close to the community as possible.”
“This type of building process adds value of engaging members of the tribe with the building process to help dispel apprehension about this relatively new and different building technique,” says Simpson. “I believe the Northern Cheyenne will embrace these housing solutions as a viable option to the present government housing programs.”
Story by Sue Marquette Poremba. This article originally appeared in Plenty in August 2007.
Copyright Environ Press 2007
Related on MNN:


Teachers and students can freely use Creative Commons licenced material and can apply Creative Commons licences by using the licence tool to material they create. This allows sharing of resources with other educators and schools. The main focus is on what you CAN do with the material rather than what you cannot do.
Creative Commons for Education fact sheets
The National Copyright Unit and Creative Commons Australia have jointly developed an information pack for teachers and students on Creative Commons (CC). The pack explains what CC is, how to find CC material and the best way to attribute CC material. These are great resources not just for students and educators, but for anyone looking for more information on how to use CC material.
- What is Creative Commons?
Why Open Education matters
An educational video explaining how to share digital content legally using Creative Commons licences.
This video explains in practical terms how creators expose, share, and remix their works using our free public licenses.
Case studies and examples
The IMERSD (Intermedia, Music Education & Research Design) project established at Griffith University in 2004 uses Creative Commons licences in the production and publication of their key works. The project emphasises the importance of immersion and engagement across various art forms and facilitates sharing of creative works through the use of Creative Commons licences.
- ReMixing One Minute with CC – This worksheet provides a basic lesson plan for teachers wanting to run a multimedia remix class utilising CC materials. Developed for the Apple University Consortium’s Create World Conference 2008.
- Creative Commons, Education and Research – Case studies pertaining to the use of Creative Commons material in Education.
- You can find a video of former CCau staffer Jessica Coates guest lecturing to students in QUT’s undergraduate Education course (broken into 10 segments) on Youtube starting here. All the segments are available on QUT lecturer Michael Dezuanni’s video channel here. You can find the associated slides here.
- Sharing Creative: an illustrative primer – produced by Alex Roberts, Rebecca Rojer, & Jon Phillips.
- Bound by Law: Tales from the Public Domain – produced by Duke Centre for the Study of the Public Domain. Provides a good explanation of copyright and the public domain for older students.
- The ResourceLink Guide To Copyright – created by Kay Oddone @KayC28. An infographic for educators and students about copyright and Creative Commons licences.
- Presentation: Creative Commons for Primary Students
- Presentation: Creative Commons in the Classroom
- Presentation: Creative Commons For Educators
Recent news and blog posts
[catlist name=”education” date=yes date_class=”newslist_date” dateformat=”(d M y) ” excerpt=yes class=”newslist_list” morelink=”Read more”]


With legislative Decree of May the 15th 1946, the Isle of Sicily with the Eòlie islands, Egadi, Pantelleria, Pelàgie and Ustica
have constituted into an autonomous region, furnished of juridical personality, within the political unity of the Italian State.
The city of Palermo is the chief town of the Region. The Region has legislative power in the following subjects:
Agriculture and Forests; Reclamation, Civical uses; Industry and Commerce; Increase of the agricultural and industrial production; Urbanism; Public jobs of interest for the Region; Mines, Cave, Salt pans; Public waters; Fishing and Hunting; Public charity and good deeds; Tourism; Guardianship of the landscape; Maintenance of the antiquities and of the artistic work; regime of the local
corporate body; arrangement of the offices and of the corporate regional body; Juridical and economic state of the employees and officials of the Region; Elementary education; Museums, Libraries; Espropriation for public utility. Organs of the Region are:
The Meeting,the Junta and the regional President.
The Regional meeting has constituted from 90 chosen deputies in the Region to universal suffrage and hard incumbent 4 years.
The meeting elects in his inside President, two Vices Presidents, the Secretaries of the Meeting and the Errands Permanent. It practice the legislative functions attributes to the Region.
The regional President and the Junta constitute the Government of the Region. The President is Head of the Regional Government and it represents the Region; it also represents in the Region the Government of the State. The components of the Junta (Aldermen) are chosen from the Meeting and provosts from the President to the individuals branches of the Administration:
The Aldermans offices are: Local corporate body; Finances; Public jobs; Hygiene and Healthiness; Public education; Agriculture and forests; Industry and Commerce; Job,Foresight and welfare; Tourism and Show.
|La Regione Siciliana|


W80 Infinite Series. The theory of infinite series is a fascinating area of mathematics due to its wealth of surprising results. At a basic level, the theory provides a logical basis for extending finite addition to “infinite addition.” The course will begin with the basic definitions, and with the various elementary tests for convergence, some of which are discussed in Calculus 2. We will then look at more sophisticated tests for convergence, such as those of Kummer and Raabe. Finally we will study the harmonic and alternating harmonic series, and closely related series. There will be daily assignments and a final project. The course meets the Interim course requirement for mathematics majors. Prerequisites: Math 162, and either Math 256 or a 300-level mathematics course in which proof is emphasized. J. Ferdinands. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W81 Polyhedra. The study and properties of polyhedra have fascinated scholars for millennia. In particular, there are many areas of contemporary mathematics whose seeds can be found in the study of properties of polyhedra. Specifically, abstract algebra, geometry, and topology all have methods and currently active areas of research that can be traced back to the mathematics born out of the early of polyhedra. Furthermore, the study of polyhedra provides an opportunity to see algebra and geometry interact. Some of the topics we will explore in the course will include construction and classification of platonic and Archimedean polyhedral, Euler characteristic, group theory and the symmetries of polyhedral, higher dimensional polyhedral, tessellations of the euclidean and hyperbolic plane and the beginnings of combinatorial topology. Along the way, a Christian perspective of mathematics will be explored by looking at the historical and philosophical perspectives that have arisen from the study of polyhedra. Evaluation will be based on performance on written assignments, group projects, and an exam. This course satisfies the Interim course requirement for mathematics majors. Prerequisites: Mathematics 301 or Mathematics 351. J. Turner. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
W82 Curricular Materials for K-8 Mathematics. This course examines and evaluates K-8 mathematics curricula in the context of the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Although the emphasis this year will be on grades K-5, curricula at all grade levels will be examined. Some of the curricula to be discussed are Everyday Mathematics, Investigations, Math TrailBlazers, Connected Mathematics, MathScape, MathThematics and Mathematics in Context. Students are expected to complete assigned readings, to participate in and lead sample activities and lessons, and to contribute to small-group and whole-class discussions of the materials under consideration. Evaluation is based on in-class participation, presentation of grade-level lessons, several written quizzes, and written projects. Optional K-8 classroom observations can be arranged for the morning hours. Students should arrange their schedules so that they can spend some additional hours in the Curriculum Center. This course may replace Mathematics 110 in the elementary education mathematics minor for students who have completed four years of high school mathematics and who have received permission from their mathematics advisor. Prerequisite: Mathematics 222. J. Koops. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
160 Elemenary Functions and Calculus. This course is a continuation of Mathematics 159. Topics include applications of derivatives, integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus, and applications of integrals. Grades are based on problem sets, tests, and a final exam. Prerequisite: Mathematics 159. M. Bolt. 8:30 a.m. to noon and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.


ERIC Number: EJ773335
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Aug
Reference Count: 0
Developing Literacy through Music
McIntire, Jean M.
Teaching Music, v15 n1 p44 Aug 2007
Music teachers are trained to teach music, but the truth is that they teach children. They must consider the whole child in their teaching. To be successful in school and in life, children need literacy skills. Literacy is naturally developed through music. Within a safe, inviting environment with opportunities for play, children learn when they engage in playful musical activities. Rhythm and rhyme seem to magically increase learning, and singing frequently provides an emotional hook that can engage students in learning routine facts. To create a stimulating environment for learning, fill the classroom with attractive and eye-catching posters, decorations, and learning centers. To integrate literacy into music class, have students express their reactions to musical selections in various ways, such as writing, drawing, and interpretive movement. In addition to enhancing learning through musical play and creating emotional involvement through the use of music, learning musical skills can be linked to learning literacy skills. By capitalizing on similarities between musical and literacy skills, music teachers can strengthen both. In this article, the author lists several skills that these two areas share, provides some suggestions for incorporating literacy activities into their music lessons with the skills they help develop, and discusses some of her favorite books and how she integrates them into her lessons. Books for rhythmic chanting or composing are also included.
Descriptors: Play, Music, Music Teachers, Literacy, Music Education, Singing, Teaching Methods, Books, Skill Development
MENC: The National Association for Music Education. P.O. Box 1584, Birmingham, AL 35201. Tel: 800-336-3768; Web site: http://www.menc.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A


Research at MICA is intended to explain how art and design have significant and measurable impact on society, policy, commerce, art education, and science.
The first art college to establish a vice provost position responsible for research, MICA develops arts and design-based solutions to complex problems using scientific discovery practices and methodical and documented art-making processes. MICA continues to support research that investigates pedagogy and questions that arise out of the intersection of studio and classroom practice.
MICA works with partners to develop longer-term negotiated contracts led by faculty, or shorter-term "sponsored studios" in which students work with faculty as part of coursework. Research is coordinated through the College's three research centers: Design Practice, Design Thinking, Race and Culture. Art Education research is an integral part of all art education masters degrees and a strong focus of the MA in Art Education. Other initiatives, such as the Community Arts Convening and Research Project, have similar national impact.
- Health- communication design, spatial and urban design, healthy lifestyles, prevention
- Community/Urban Engagement- community empowerment, urban revitalization, community planning, historic preservation, affordable and green housing, smart growth
- Intersections of Art, Design, and Technology- information visualization, usability/interface design, serious games, fabrication technologies/methods, smart materials/textiles
- Sustainability, Environment, and Energy- design, communication, education, food issues (urban farming and food systems)
- Intersections of Art, Design, and Science- integrated informal education for STEM (STEAM), scientific visualization and neuroesthetics/neuroeducation.
- Art Education - testing various strategies for teaching for their potential to deepen the engagement of students and other questions
projects and partners:
- w/ MD Energy Administration- project to reduce state-wide energy consumption
- w/ Museum of Arts and Design (New York)-the Global Africa Project
- w/ Baltimore City Heath Department- projects to prevent HIV/AIDS and youth violence
- w/ Real Food Farms- project to improve access to healthy food in inner-city
- w/ Downtown Partnership- design ideas for the 1812 Bicentennial
- Greener Groceries project explores using vacant lots and big box stores as local farms, and other ways to reexamine packaging and delivery of food
- w/ National Art Education Association- Think Tank conference in 2010 to pursue new approaches to diversity in art education
Engages students in problem-solving research, experimentation, and collaboration to develop design-based solutions to societal challenges.
Publishes original research on graphic design. Its flagship graphic design textbook The New Basics has become a must-have text for designers and educators around the world, integrating formal design thinking with digital technology and contemporary media theory.
Brings artists and designers from all over the world together to explore how diverse artists and experiences impact the broader world of art and design. This year's Global Africa Project has garnered international acclaim.
Studies conduced by graduate students in classroom or instructional settings are submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Click here to find links to published articles and a list of investigations by theme. Nearly all students have presented their research at national conferences.
MICA-led national collaboration between community-based artists, students, scholars, civic leaders, and youth to share best practices, models, and ideas through conferences, research, and communication


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Intro to DNA
Everything you ever wanted to know about:
and welcome to the DNA portion of the MicroB
iologyGuide website. This is an informative website dedicated to providing you, the user, with an in depth look at the characteristics (chemical and behavioural) of the DNA molecule. Listed below is a list of sections within the 'Introduction to DNA'. This menu section is intended to provide a brief synopsis of what DNA is made of, and what it really does. For more advanced functions, please see 'Chemical Structure' and 'Biological Function' listed in the menu above. For even more advanced theory, please see the 'Advanced Theory' section above. Thank you for visiting this site.
What is DNA and what does it do?
What are the main roles of this particular molecule?
What exactly (chemically speaking) is DNA made of?
How does DNA carry out its main roles?
Introduction to DNA - Books on Sale and More
Description : The work of geneticists who have labored for years to map human DNA is the subject of this offbeat yet highly informative documentary from the PBS series Nova. Host Robert Krulwich, a correspondent for ABC Nightline, visits with scientists who explain, in terms understandable to laymen, the enormous challenges faced and overcome by scientists working on the Human Genome Project.
Keywords : Cracking The Code Of Life (2001) - Dna Dvd, Nova, Robert Krulwich
Read Cracking the Code of Life (2001) - DNA DVD reviews.
Price : $14.99 USD
Description : What makes DNA different from hordes of competitors purporting to help readers understand genetics is that it is written by none other than James Watson, of Watson and Crick fame. He and his co-author Andrew Berry have produced a clear and easygoing history of genetics, from Mendel through genome sequencing. Watson offers readers a sense of immediacy, a behind-the scenes familiarity with some of the most exciting developments in modern science.
Keywords : Dna (paperback), James Watson, Dna Book, Learn Dna Reading, Read, Library, Study, Research, Resources
Read DNA (Paperback) reviews.
Price : $15.9 USD
Description : DNA ScienceWiz Science Kit teaches kids about the uniqueness of DNA and molecular biology in a fun way. Kids will learn about the basic building blocks of life, extract DNA from fruits, play the gene construction game, probe and spool real DNA, build a double helix, and more.
Keywords : Science Wiz Dna Kit, Dna Science For Kids, Kids Dna Science Kit
Read Science Wiz DNA Kit reviews.
Price : $19.99 USD
Description : Computational Studies of RNA and DNA includes, in an integrated way, modern computational studies of nucleic acids, ranging from advanced electronic structure quantum chemical calculations through explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations up to mesoscopic modelling, with the main focus given to the MD field.
Keywords : Computational Studies Of Rna And Dna, Jiri Sponer And Filip Lankas, Advanced Electronic Structure
Read Computational studies of RNA and DNA reviews.
Price : $259 USD
Paternity Mouse Dna Protein Biology Forensic Dna Gels Dna Techniques Pcr Mrna Paternity Testing Rna Polymerase Dna Protein Synthesis Rnase Dna Sds Page Membrane Genetic Agarose Forensic Science Dna Laboratory Molecular Weight Agarose Gel Purification Dna Mechanism Genes Forensics


The constitution Indiana’s forefathers drafted in 1816 established a precedent in its commitment to public education. The state’s charter mandated a system of free schooling extending from township schools all the way up to a state university.
State-funded elementary education, however, remained largely theoretical in Indiana for most of the nineteenth century.
The reality of pioneer life was not conducive to the development of free public schools. The economic privations most early settlers faced limited their income, and subsequently the tax base required to fund the schools. Additionally, many settlers took a dim view of compulsory education because it would rob them of much-needed hands on the homestead.
A state-authorized school system was spelled out in Indiana’s new constitution, adopted in 1851. A state superintendent of education was appointed the following year, along with of a state board of education.
Nonetheless, various factions continued to object to the idea of compulsory, tax-supported education on the grounds that it was anti-democratic. Additional distrust of secular schooling existed among religious communities, many of which had their own schools and colleges.
During the second half of the 19th century, Indiana lagged behind Ohio and Michigan in developing a public school system.
Significant strides were made once the legislature passed the first comprehensive compulsory education law in 1897, and authorized direct state funding of schools in 1905.
The quality of schools, however, was inconsistent in the largely rural state. Despite efforts toward centralizing the educational system, there were, in 1890, 10,000 separate townships, cities and other entities charged with financing the state’s schools, only 600 of which were larger than one-room schoolhouses.
By 1920, when larger municipalities such as Gary and Indianapolis were receiving acclaim for their educational advances, there were still 6,000 one-room schoolhouses in Indiana.
For further reading:
Robert Osgood, “Education in the Name of ‘Improvement’: The Influence of Eugenic Thought and Practice in Indiana’s Public Schools, 1900-1930. Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 106, No. 3. (September 2010), 272-299.


NIOS Board, India
National Institute of Open Schooling
NIOS is an autonomous organization, established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), government of India in the year 1989; based on the National Education Policy. The organization was accomplished with a main objective of fostering educational standards in the distance education and open school schemes in India.
The planned, systematic functioning of this system has enabled more than 1 million students to experience education from 2004 to 2009 at secondary and senior secondary levels. This system has rendered its hand in helping the students, who are undergoing education through home schooling; it helps the students to prove their credibility via its accredited, quality examinations, which are certified equally to the 10th and 12th board examinations. It is not a system, which is found under haste; it comprises of well planned departments and courses with standard curriculum and examination schemes. Through its schemes of programs, it provides the elementary education to school drop-outs; out of school learners and neo literates. It has got various departments/units to aid its operations, successfully; such as, academic; vocational; student support services; administration; evaluation… The detailed portrayal of its various education schemes are listed as follows:
This course is equivalent to the 10th standard in its quality of education. The students would be allowed to choose the subjects, as in the normal board education system; however basic five subjects would be mandatory.
Senior Secondary Course
This course would be equivalent to the 12th standard. This allows the students, who have passed 10th from any recognized board to continue education to the senior secondary level, which is equivalent to the 12th standard certification.
Open Basic Education (OBE)
It offers preliminary education, which is equivalent to the formal school educational system and it offers education at three levels: Level A, equivalent to class.3; Level B, equivalent to class.5; Level C, equivalent to class.8.
Under this scheme, certificate and diploma courses are offered in open schooling education to any individual, who is 21 years of age and above; anyhow, a minimum, prior open schooling experience would be required to appear to this program. It comprises three levels of certifications, such as, Certificate in Open Schooling (COS); Advance Certificate in Open Schooling (ACOS); and Diploma in Open Schooling (DOS). This program is offered to anybody; not only within the country, but also at the international level, provided the individual has obtained a graduate degree. This scheme covers more than 83 courses in various areas in a broad way, which includes agriculture; engineering and technology; home science and hospitality management, etc.
Life Enrichment Courses
Under this, the NIOS conducts some enhancement programs, such as, ‘Women Empowerment’; ‘Yoga’; ‘Hindustani Music’, etc. No examinations are conducted for such programs; however certificate courses are available, as a means of knowledge credibility.
The NIOS is also collaborating with the international organizations like, UNESCO and Commonwealth of Learning (COL) for its mission of education promotional activities in the country. The great efforts taken by the Indian government in constituting institutions like NIOS, which is distinct in its mission of making education possible to almost, all the citizens, who would rather be denied of the normal school education for many reasons in the country, is really commendable! I would definitely take my hat off to NIOS for fulfilling the dreams of longing desires on education!
- NIOS Board
- NIOS Form
- NIOS Sample Papers
- NIOS Syllabus
- NIOS Study Material
- NIOS On-Demand Exam


What Is Liberal Studies (Elementary Education)?
LMU's Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) major prepares students for successful careers as elementary educators, specifically in grades K-5. The major enables students to earn a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies together with a California preliminary multiple subjects teaching credential within four years. The Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts (BCLA) works closely with LMU’s School of Education to offer students a program that meets both LMU degree requirements and the credential requirements established by the state of California, while promoting the LMU mission of the encouragement of learning, the education of men and women for others, the service of faith, and the promotion of justice. The program is approved by and meets all the standards of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
What Do Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) Majors Do?
Majors learn to synthesize subject content in the liberal arts, apply professional content to classroom teaching, and review and analyze educational policies. They learn to apply reading, writing, and research skills, develop pedagogical skills, analyze academic theories, and apply theory to practice. Students also learn to understand and reflect on the complex, rich, and diverse needs of students. Liberal Studies majors develop dispositions for sustained success in teaching and learning across diverse contexts.
Is This Major Right For You?
You might be a Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) major if you:
- Want to be an elementary grades educator
- Are passionate about help children learn
- Want to play a vital role in shaping society
- Have diverse intellectual interests
About Our Faculty & Staff
Liberal Studies students take courses across various disciplines and colleges within the university including Education, Math, Science, English, History, Psychology and the Arts. All courses are taught by accomplished faculty who are experts in their fields. Students are encouraged, when planning their program of study, to meet with their advisor in the Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation (CUTP) who helps them navigate through the Liberal Studies program requirements.
About Our Students and Graduates
Our students are encouraged, when planning their curriculum to meet with the academic coordinator at the Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation (CUTP). The academic coordinator helps students navigate through the Liberal Studies program requirements. Nearly all students successfully test while still in school for their preferred teaching credential. Other students elect to seek a master’s degree at another institution and take their credential test later.
Liberal Studies students take specific courses to fulfill requirements for their core curriculum, their major, their teaching credential and their area of concentration. Majors take advanced courses in a variety of academic disciplines to prepare them for teaching multiple subjects to their elementary grade students.
Courses include but are not limited to:
- Creative Dance for Children
- Children's Literature
- Developmental Psychology
- History of California
- Mathematics for Elementary Teachers
- Experimenting in Science
- Social-cultural Analysis of Education
- Educational Psychology for the Childhood and Adolescent Years
- Elementary Curriculum and Methods
- Second Language Acquisition
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student with Exceptional Needs
- Elementary Directed Teaching (student teaching)
More Resources (Links)


Declare Your Readers’ Rights! Often school literacy programs fall short of properly supporting preadolescents' and adolescents' literacy development. In A Declaration of Readers' Rights, this dynamic author team presents a research-based "rights" framework that addresses ten key rights for improving literacy development among adolescents. Reviewers Can’t Put This Book Down! “I think this text is one that should be in the library of every reading specialist.” —Heidi Davey, Hoffman Estates High School, IL “I think the topics in this book are timely and provide a wake up call for all reading teachers. We must remember that not all students arrive in school ready to pick up and run with the reading instruction we provide. Good reading instruction coupled with quality reading experiences must be seen as a right and not just a privilege.” —Molly Williams, Still Middle School, IL Why This Book Will Change the Way You Teach Reading! Discusses the ten readers' rights that all children and adolescents have the right to in the classroom. Challenges teachers to strive to reprioritize their teaching to focus on the students. Provides guidance for how to develop a successful student-teacher relationship to promote a positive classroom environment and student engagement, learning, and achievement in literacy education. Outlines very specific recommendations and implementation strategies for middle and secondary teachers that go far beyond where other books stop. Walks teachers through identifying problems, makes suggestions for preventing reading difficulties, and offers advice for helping students get back on track. Presents voices of students in grades 5-12, as well as the stories, experiences, and challenges of their teachers and parents throughout the book.
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Rent A Declaration of Readers' Rights 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Victoria J. Risko. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Allyn & Bacon.


Art Students League, independent art school founded in New York City in 1875 and run by and for artists.
The Art Students League was formed almost entirely by students—many of them women—from the National Academy of Design, which was the only other art school in the city at the time and was considered the best art education in the country. The League’s founders were acting in response to a rumour that financial problems might cause the academy to close its doors, but they also were dissatisfied with the academy’s conservative and traditional bent and wanted to create a school that allowed more freedom of expression.
The League opened in Manhattan at 108 Fifth Avenue, on the corner of 5th Avenue and 16th Street, and held its first classes in half a room on the building’s top floor. Within its first year, however, it expanded to a whole floor.
The school, which offered life drawing classes every day of the week, was membership-based. There were no grades, no set courses, and no degrees offered. Instead, the League was run like a French atelier (workshop), which promised small classes and granted the instructor a studio and the freedom to teach whatever he deemed appropriate. Its first president was American painter Lemuel Wilmarth, who had studied under the French sculptor and painter Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts. Wilmarth had been the director of the National Academy of Design beginning in 1870. He took a two-year hiatus to head the Art Students League (1875–77) before returning to the academy, where he remained until 1889.
When the League incorporated in 1878, it established a Board of Control that included three enrolled students, ensuring that the student body would continue to have a say in the school’s operation. In 1882, having outgrown their quarters on Fifth Avenue with almost 500 students, the school moved to 38 West 14th Street, where they leased the building’s top three floors. In the 1880s the instructors included William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, and Thomas Eakins. In 1892, then with about 900 students and 10 teachers, the League moved into a new, permanent facility designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh at 215 West 57th Street. By the turn of the 20th century, a number of noteworthy artists, including Daniel Chester French, John Henry Twachtman, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Childe Hassam, and many others, had taught or were teaching at the League. As part of the democratic nature of the education offered there, students invited instructors to teach, and students could choose with whom they wanted to study. In 1916 John French Sloan—painter of American realism and member of the The Eight group of New York artists—began teaching at the League. During the 1920s his students included Alexander Calder, Barnett Newman, Adolph Gottlieb, and, briefly, Jackson Pollock, who had been studying with Thomas Hart Benton before Benton left.
During the Great Depression, when almost no one was unscathed by the economic downturn, enrollment at the League dropped, and the image of the school shifted, as mostly women supported by well-off husbands could afford to take art classes. The school remained afloat by generous donations from members throughout the 1930s. Despite financial difficulties, some of the best-known artists of the League’s history taught and studied there during that period: Stuart Davis taught Mark Rothko and Jack Tworkov; George Grosz instructed Romare Bearden and Louise Nevelson; Reginald Marsh taught Roy Lichtenstein; and painter and printmaker Will Barnet mentored Louise Bourgeois and James Rosenquist. Because the large number of the League’s students serving in World War II caused its funding to shrink, there was again a fear that the school would have to close. But the end of the war brought a crush of students who were able to attend classes on the G.I. Bill, which, among other things, provided grants to veterans for tuition. In order to qualify as an institution of formal education, however, the League was required to make some administrative changes, such as taking attendance.
For the remainder of the 20th century and into the 21st, the League continued in its mission to be run for and by artists. It maintained a reputation for serious art education and continued to be a draw for a variety of noted artists, among them Lee Bontecou, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Helen Frankenthaler.


Students at a primary school in Madhya Pradesh introduced to the concept of Activity Based Learning (ABL), an initiative of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan supported by UNICEF.
BHOPAL, Madhya Pradesh, 12 January 2010 – Shivraj Singh (10) and his seven-year -old brother Akal Singh live with their farmer parents in Sileptibarwal village, 16 kilometres from the nearest town, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
They study in the same village primary school – Shivraj in class five and Akal in class two.
But while Shivraj carries a heavy bag of books on his back, Akal walks into his classroom every morning carrying nothing. Not even a book of alphabets.
“When I was in class II, we had to take books to school and study from them. We had text books for Hindi, English and Mathematics plus the exercise books for writing and practice lessons on every subject.” recalls Shivraj.
“But Akal has no books. And yet, knows all his lessons. He can read, write and do sums which I could only learn in class four. He doesn’t have to learn-by-heart and then remember the lessons. School is fun and games for him.”
“My brother just sits with a group of classmates and studies from pictures printed on colourful cards,” he quips.
Like every student in his classroom, Akal every day enters the classroom and heads straight for the students attendance record chart pasted on the wall. His fingers run down the list till he finds his name and then without any help locates the dates marking his own attendance. Thereafter he heads for another chart where he works out progress in English lessons.
Akal is one of the thousands of children in Madhya Pradesh who has been introduced to the concept of Activity Based Learning (ABL), an initiative of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan supported by UNICEF.
The initiative launched in 4000 primary schools for classes one and two across 50 districts in the state allows children to study according to their own pace in a child-friendly teaching and learning environment.
The curriculum is divided into about 20 milestones in each of the subject areas – Languages, Environmental Studies, Mathematics and English. Each milestone represents a collection of activities which develops learning competencies that a child should acquire.
This includes identifying the pictures of birds and animals, learning the alphabets, reading Hindi and English texts, counting the numbers as well as drawing and solving mathematical problems.
On a common chart, the milestones are arranged in the form of a ladder and the child knows exactly which milestone he completed in the last lesson. This is a child-friendly way to evaluate and reinforce learning.
“In the conventional method, teaching was always teacher centric. Learning depended solely on the pace of the teacher. If the student remained absent for two days, s/he missed lessons which were never taught again,” explains P S Umasree Education and Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF-Madhya Pradesh.
“In the ABL system, the child learns at his own pace. If a student has missed two days, s/he can come back and start from where they had left. Peers can work on a different milestone according to their abilities. The teacher is only a facilitator,” adds Umasree.
From the milestone chart, Akal works out that he has crossed the 11th milestone. He heads for the trays that contain the cards for learning and selects learning material for the next milestone which contains simple words of the English language.
He sits in the corner of the classroom and is soon joined by peers who are at the same milestone. They put their heads together and read word by word. Where they find the lesson to be difficult, the teacher steps in to help.
This method helps children learn from each other and break down social barriers which may exist in the classrooms when the children are placed in rows with little peer interaction.
“These young children are learning the practical way. They sit with peers and figure out that 4+5 = 9. They read words taking one alphabet at a time,” explains Kailash Taylor, teacher at the ABL primary school in Morcha Khedi in the adjoining village.
“Previously, we told them what the word was and they learnt it by-heart and recalled the same when asked. Most of the time, the student taught in the conventional method forgot his previous lesson. These children don’t because they work on each lesson and solve them practically. The results are extremely encouraging,” adds Taylor.
These kinds of innovations are key in helping India reach its commitments under the landmark Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 to ‘ensure good quality elementary education’ for all children.


For Immediate Release
Friday, May 22, 2009
Illinois State Board of Education Urges Families to Read During Summer Vacation
Studies show summer reading maintains student improvement
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois State Board of Education is encouraging families to read together during the summer months in order to maintain their children’s reading gains. Studies show children who read through the summer months maintain more of their academic skills and are better prepared when school doors open in the fall.
“Learning and reading shouldn’t stop just because school is out. Summer time reading helps children maintain the gains they’ve made during the school year,’’ said State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch. “We know that summer time reading can help reduce the achievement gap between children from low and high socioeconomic families and inspire new lifelong learning habits.’’
Studies show that children can sustain their reading gains and improve reading through the summer months. One review of the impact of summer reading found that children can lose up to 60 percent of their skills over a two-month vacation.
Research indicates that struggling learners score significantly higher on standardized tests taken at the beginning of the summer than they do on the same test taken at summer’s end. The loss is particularly evident in reading, and most pronounced among students from low socioeconomic families who may not have access to books.
One resource for many children across the state is the iREAD program, a summer reading program offered for 29 years through the Illinois Library Association (ILA). The program provides libraries with resources developed by Illinois librarians and is one way to ensure that children continue reading through the summer months.
Tens of thousands of children participated in last year’s iREAD program in more than 560 libraries in Illinois as well as several other states. The U.S. Navy and the country of Australia have also adopted Illinois’ iREAD program. This year’s iREAD theme is “Read on the Wild Side.’’
"For nearly thirty years, the Illinois library community has realized the correlation between summer reading and student achievements and responded by providing high quality, low cost resources, program ideas, bibliographies, and incentive products that enable local library staff to motivate children to read," said ILA Executive Director Robert P. Doyle. "This year's theme 'Read on the Wild Side' is an adaptable fun program for people of all ages and is already being well received across the state."
Local libraries are ready to help young readers with programs and resources to assist children find books that meet their specific literacy tastes and interests. Studies also show that library programs encourage parents to play greater roles in their children’s literacy development – another factor that leads to reading achievement.
Parents, teachers and students can learn more about the iREAD program at www.ila.org/pub/iread/htm.
Some other good reading resources can be found at the following Web sites:


Field experience hours: 30 clock hours in a public or private school setting. The course has three main goals: identifying the meta-cognitive skills inherent in an arts curriculum; investigating models of arts integration; and researching potential texts, art making activities, and classroom activities that support higher order thinking in the arts. Objectives include comparing and contrasting the common elements of written, spoken, and visual language. Journaling serves as a main strategy. By the conclusion of this course, students understand the many correlations between visual arts and literacy development, and have developed lesson plans that illustrate learning that is unique to the arts classroom. They demonstrate an understanding of visual literacy through the development of strategies for teaching and the creation of lesson plans that incorporate critical thinking skills in arts-based curricula.


English Language Arts Common Core Standards: Reading Comprehension
The Common Core Standards for reading range from kindergarten through Grade 12 and are used with any genres students encounter in English and reading classes. These standards are designed to guide students over time to a place of reading proficiency and a state of reading preparedness (experience with a wide variety of text types) that is fitting for college or career.
It is of vital importance to keep up with your child’s progress in mastering the reading standards as he moves from one grade to the next. The easiest way to do this is to keep a copy of the standards close at hand and to make a note when your child finds a particular standard to be challenging.
If, even with your support, he can’t master a particular standard, take the opportunity to reach out to the teacher for assistance.
The reading standards are divided into three separate categories:
Literature: These standards emphasize the central skills and details that are vital to your child’s success in reading fictional literature in kindergarten through Grade 12, such as analyzing characters, determining the meaning or message of a piece of literature, and analyzing an author’s purpose.
Informational text: Standards in this category highlight essential components of successful and meaningful reading experiences with informational, nonfiction texts in kindergarten through Grade 12. Citing evidence to support ideas, using vocabulary correctly, and analyzing the structure and purpose of an author’s writings are all important components of the informational-text standards.
Foundational skills: In kindergarten through Grade 5, the foundational skills standards are designed to bolster students’ reading abilities. Basic skills and concepts related to topics such as syllables, phonics, and reading fluency and comprehension are outlined in the standards.
The Common Core Standards call for an appropriate balance between reading fiction and nonfiction as students move from grade to grade. The standards are designed to support instruction that consists of a 50/50 balance between nonfiction and fiction by Grade 4, with the emphasis shifting to 70 percent nonfiction in high school.
Note that these percentages account for the entire slate of reading materials that a student encounters during the school year. It’s safe to assume that a significant majority of time spent reading in English classes will include fictional literature. On the other hand, a majority of reading materials in science and social studies classes will most likely be nonfiction, resulting in the appropriate balance between fiction and nonfiction.


Learning Cultural Identity through Sculpture
An artwork is the manifestation of artists utilizing a variety of approaches which are closely related to the idea of an artist, media and technique. The manipulation of an artwork is based on the relationship of the creator, idea, media through formalistic approaches and the surrounding community. Understanding of sculpture is related to other fine art disciplines such as painting, printing and drawing and new media because of the nature of its context based on the physical form and space.
The aim of the present research is to generate knowledge on learning of cultural identity through sculpture appreciation. The research explores the form and the symbolic meaning based on influence of local community and social system. This study employs cultural concept as a system to create an understanding framework to the process of creating artwork. The qualitative approach is used as the methodology framework, which is deemed as suitable to the problem in investigating the meaning of sculpture in cultural context.
The findings uncover that Malaysian sculpture synergizes harmoniously the value system with modern expression through belief, surroundings, needs and social requirement. These findings contribute to the knowledge of art generally that can be used in other field of art in the process of making and appreciation.
Keywords: Art Education, Cultural Identity, Sculpture
Dr. Abdul Halim Husain
Lecturer, Art Department


For students to become fluent readers, they must first recognize phonemes in spoken words. This lesson will help students better understand the correspondences between "ch" and ch = /ch/.
primary writing paper, a chart with "Chuck changes his challenge to climb a chimney", the book Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., a word list including the words chalk, chance, charge, chop, chip, lunch, crunch, match, and bunch.
1. I will begin the lesson by explaining how we blend several letters together to create language. I may start by using Charlie Brown's name as an example. "Have you ever looked at the words in your name? All those letters are blended together to make the sounds you hear. Take Charlie Brown's name for example, Charlie Brown. C….hhh…aaarrr….llll….iiieee… okay that says 'Charlie.' Now lets try Brown. B….rrrrr….ooowww….nnn, okay that says 'Brown.' All those letters are blended together to make a spoken word." Then I will introduce the correspondences ch = /ch/. "Today we will be working with only two letters. 'c' and 'h'. When we put these two letters next to one another, they say c= /c/ and h = /h/. Good, now lets say them together, ch = /ch/. It sounds like a train going by…. choo choo. Do you hear the ch = /ch/?"
2. "I want you to look at this chart. I am going to read it to you, and then we will read it together. 'Chuck changes his challenge to climb the chimney.' Can you say it with me? Chuck changes his challenge to climb the chimney. Good! Now, lets say the ch = /ch/ and really drag it out so we can hear it. Ch…uck ch…anges his ch…allenge to climb the ch…imney. Very good!"
3. "We are going to practice writing "ch" on our paper so we can write words like chop and chance. We are going to start by writing 'c.' Remember to start below the fence line, then some up to the fence, and then bring it back down like a half circle to the sidewalk (model this). Now we are going to make the 'h.' The 'h' starts way up at the sky and goes straight down to the sidewalk. But wait! Before you pick up pencil, bring your line back up to the fence line and curve it back down to the sidewalk (model this). Good job. Now I want you to write 5 more 'ch' just like the one you have. As you finish writing each one, say ch."
4. "Lets practice what we have learned. Do you hear /ch/ in chalk or pencil? Good, chalk. What about paper or chart? Good, chart. What about try or chance? Very good, chance. What about cash or charge? That was tricky, but you got it! Charge. What about chop or peel? That's right, chop."
5. "Now, lets read Chica Chica Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr." After reading the book, ask the students what words they heard that had the /ch/ sound. Go back through the book and ask "Do you hear /ch/ in this word __________?" Go through the book to give the students practice.
6. For assessment, have pictures of things like chalk, cheese, chopping, and chips for the students to match the words to. The pictures should be on one side and the words on the other. The students will draw a lone from the word to the corresponding picture.
Eldredge, J. Lloyd. "Types of phonics instruction to Provide for Children". Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1995. page 48.
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Assistant Professor John Mark Froiland and doctoral graduate assistant Emily Oros.
Self-motivation, perceived competence and classroom engagement in fifth grade significantly predict reading achievement in eighth grade, according to UNC researchers.
The study by University of Northern Colorado Assistant Professor John Mark Froiland and doctoral graduate assistant Emily Oros was recently published in Educational Psychology.
Leveraging a nationally representative sample of U.S. students, Froiland and Oros examined the effects of motivation to learn and teacher rated classroom engagement on the development of reading achievement from 5th to 8th grade.
They found that reading development over the course of middle school/junior high was predicted by intrinsic motivation, perceived competence and classroom engagement, as well as the value that students placed on getting good grades.
"It is hoped that these results, combined with a plethora of previous studies on the value of intrinsic motivation in the academic realm, help educators, policy-makers and psychologists to realize that promoting reading motivation and classroom engagement can contribute to literacy development," the authors write in the study.
"These findings provide additional corroboration for self-determination theory applied to academics, because intrinsic motivation and related positive engagement in the classroom predict the development of reading achievement across a nation."
For more information, visit http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01443410.2013.822964
In a previous study, Froiland offers advice to parents to support their children's academic success, http://www.unco.edu/news/releases.aspx?id=4165


BABY BUILDERS STIMULATES MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
“Developmental psychologist have long recognized that perceptual-motor development in infancy [is] the foundation of all mental life.”1
BABY BUILDERS BUILDS STRENGTH,BALANCE AND COORDINATION
“. . .The processes by which infants learned to control and coordinate their bodies. . . set the stage for all further development.”2
BABY BUILDERS STIMULATES COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
BABY BUILDERSWORKS TO PREVENT DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS
“Early care and nurture have a decisive and long-lasting impact on how people develop, their ability to learn, and their capacity to regulate their emotions.”4
BABY BUILDERS POSITIVELY IMPACTS CHILDREN PSYCHOSOCIALLY
“Parents who have a broader understanding of their infant’s development and his capacities, improve their ability to cope and interact with their infant.”5
Campbell FA, Pungello EP, Miller-Johnson S, Burchinal M,, Ramey CT. “The development of cognitive and academic abilities: growth curves from an early childhood educational experiment.”, Dev Psychol 2001 Mar;37(2): 231-42.
Elkind, D. “Authority of the brain.” J Dev Behav Pediatr, 1999, 6, 432-3.
Palmer, et al. “The Effects of Physical Therapy on Cerebral Palsy.” New England Journal of Medicine, 1988, 318, 803-8.
Copyright 2003 – 2014 Leadership Vision, LLC. All rights reserved


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Integrating musical activities in the elementary school classroom can assist in effectively teaching and engaging students in Language Arts, Science, Math, and Social Studies, while also boosting mental, emotional and social development. However, many elementary education majors fear they lack the needed musical skills to use music successfully. Future elementary school teachers need usable, practical musical strategies to easily infuse into their curriculum. Written for both current and future teachers with little or no previous experience in music, Using Music to Enhance Student Learningoffers strategies that are not heavily dependent on musical skills. While most textbooks are devoted to teaching music theory skills, this textbook is dedicated to the pedagogical aspect of music. The ultimate goal is for elementary school children to leave the classroom with an introductory appreciation of music in a joyful, creative environment, and perhaps wanting to broaden their understanding. SPECIAL FEATURES Listening Maps help listeners focus on music selections through a clear visual representation of sound. Group Activities reinforce the social aspects of music-making, as well as the benefits of collaborative teaching and learning. Thorough integration of music establishes that music is essential in a child "s development, and that the integration of music will significantly enhance all other subjects/activities in the classroom. Learning Aids including Tantalizing Tidbits of Research, Teaching Tips, Thinking It Through activities, Suggestions for Further Study, and a list of Recommended Student Books provide useful resources at the end of each chapter. THE USING MUSIC PACKAGE There are several special resources for both students and teachers: An Audio CD with listening selections from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary Periods. Get America Singing Again! Volume 1 contains 43 songs that represent America "s varied music heritage of folksongs, traditional songs and patriotic songs. The Appendices: A songbook with an emphasis on Hispanic folksongs A recorder music songbook Samples of key assignments and lists of music-related books for children and for teachers The Companion Web site Links to education resources Instructors " resources, including sample syllabi, quizzes, student handouts, and assignment rubrics


Comprehending Math: Adapting Reading Strategies to Teach Mathematics, K-6
Ellin Oliver Keene, author of Mosaic of Thought
No matter the content area, students need to develop clear ways of thinking about and understanding what they learn. But this kind of conceptual thinking seems more difficult in math than in language arts and social studies. Fortunately we now know how to help kids understand more about mathematics than ever before, and in Comprehending Math you'll find out that much of math's conceptual difficulty can be alleviated by adapting what we have learned from research on language and cognition.
In Comprehending Math Arthur Hyde (coauthor of the popular Best Practice) shows you how to adapt some of your favorite and most effective reading comprehension strategies to help your students with important mathematical concepts. Emphasizing problem solving, Hyde and his colleagues demonstrate how to build into your practice math-based variations of:
He then presents a practical way to "braid" together reading comprehension, math problemsolving, and thinking to improve math teaching and learning. Elaborating on this braided model of approach to problem solving, he shows how it can support planning as well as instruction.
Comprehending Math is based on current cognitive research and features more than three dozen examples that range from traditional story problems to open-ended or extended-response problems and mathematical tasks. It gives you step-by-step ideas for instruction and smart, specific advice on planning strategy-based teaching.
Help students do math and get it at the same time. Read Comprehending Math, use its adaptations of familiar language arts strategies, and discover how deeply students can understand math concepts and how well they can use that knowledge to solve problems.
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Review: Comprehending Math: Adapting Reading Strategies to Teach Mathematics, K-6User Review - Ren - Goodreads
This man has thought a TON about teaching math and many components of his "KWC" approach are directly applicable. This is a great companion to Mosaic of Thought because he really applies the same ... Read full review
Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving
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William Gedney Bunce (1840 – 1916)
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, William Gedney Bunce served in the Civil War, 1st Connecticut Cavalry. He was discharged after two years due to a leg wound, which resulted in a limp the rest of his life.
Bunce began his art education under Julius T. Busch, a German-born artist residing in Hartford. After the Civil War, he moved to New York City where he studied under William Hart.
By 1867 he had moved abroad. He spent more than a decade studying in various European cities. He sojourned in London, Paris and Rome. World renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens met Bunce soon after he had arrived in Rome. St. Gaudens had been informed of a fine studio that was being occupied by a young dying man. St. Gaudens met the supposedly fatally ill young man who turned out to be Bunce. Saint-Gaudens later commented: “We became fast friends. This was thirty-six years ago and still he is alive, as sound as a drum, as lively as a cricket, and likely to outlive those of us who expected to attend his funeral and occupy his studio in Rome.”
While in Rome in 1871, Bunce’s first paintings were sent back to the United States for exhibition, but it was not until his 1879 return to New York City that he received critical acclaim. His paintings were unique in that he composed them with a palette knife rather than a paintbrush. In 1880 his evocative Venetian canal scenes were praised, but a year later there were already warnings from the press of mannerism and unmotivated repetition. Nevertheless, he was recognized for his sense of color and apparent simplistic design.
Until World War I, Bunce divided his time between Venice and the United States, but he was more associated with Venice. Over the years he became something of an institution there. Acquaintances like Robert Blum and William Merritt Chase joked about his proud and cantankerous nature, which in 1881 had caused Venetian gondoliers to refuse him their services. But he also had loyal promoters and patrons, such as the dealer Daniel Cottier, the architect Stanford White, and Queen Victoria of England who had ordered one of his Venetian landscapes.
Bunce kept a New York studio on Washington Square for many years but ultimately moved back to Hartford, where he built a new studio and continued to paint until 1916. Bunce died on November 5, 1916 when he was hit by a car while crossing the street – one of the first victims of an automobile accident in Hartford.


About Clarence Ward
Who was Clarence Ward and why do we celebrate his birthday?
Clarence Ward was the major force behind art education at Oberlin College during the first half of the 20th century. We are reviving the tradition of celebrating his birthday, which was an annual event when he was at Oberlin. He had so many roles at Oberlin that it's hard to say enough about his influence on the College and the town.
Clarence Ward was born in 1884 in Brooklyn, New York, but spent most of his childhood in New England. He received his A.B., A.M. and Ph.D. all from Princeton, the latter in 1914. He was hired by Oberlin College in 1916 (actually arriving on campus in 1917) and taught there until his retirement in 1947.
Teacher Clarence Ward is best remembered for his teaching, and he clearly believed this was his most important role. He was an inspiring teacher, opening the eyes of his students to see art, architecture and the world in a new way. In the early years he was the only degreed Art Historian at Oberlin, so the majority of Art History courses fell on his shoulders (he taught seven courses in 1916-17). By necessity he could teach any period of art, but his passion was Medieval and American
Founder of the Art Library One of the first things Clarence Ward did when he arrived at Oberlin College in 1917 was to found an Art Library. He then used his considerable energy to build the collection, creatively allocating funds and cleverly timing his purchases. By mid-century the library had grown to almost 25,000 volumes and was one of the largest
Chair of the Art Department As Chair, Clarence Ward oversaw the arrival of some of the brightest stars in Art History (e.g., Wolfgang Stechow, Ellen Johnson, etc.), creating a national reputation for the
Director of the Museum When Clarence Ward arrived in 1917, the Allen Memorial Art Museum was just being completed. For many years there was little growth in the collection due to lack of funds. His energy and enthusiasm soon proved contagious, and gifts of art and money turned the situation around. When he retired in 1947 the museum
Architect Clarence Ward's love of architecture was not a mere intellectual exercise; he was also a practicing architect. The Oberlin College President's House (the Samuel R. Williams house on Forest Street), the 1937 wing to the Museum and the East Oberlin Community Church are a few of his more notable projects.
Pastor Founding member and pastor of East Oberlin Community Church, Clarence Ward was beloved by generations of parishioners and especially appreciated for his children's sermons. Years after his retirement he was frequently asked to perform weddings and other ceremonies by
Barbara Q. Prior
Head, Clarence Ward Art Library


The Creative Curriculum® is a developmentally appropriate, comprehensive curriculum that promotes positive outcomes for children.
With both the Common Core State Standards and the curriculum’s 38 objectives, identifying age-appropriate expectations for development and learning helps educators and parents know what they need to do to help children get where they need to be.
Covering all important areas of children’s development and learning—social–emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, math, science and technology, social studies, and the arts, as well as English-language acquisition— The Creative Curriculum’s objectives include predictors of school success and are based on school readiness standards. So throughout the early childhood learning experience, children are being prepared in all the ways that matter for later success in school.
advanced learners, and children with disabilities.
Supplies and equipment from all the following categories are always available for use at CDC: Art supplies; Blocks; Transportation toys; Language arts and auditory equipment and materials; Pretend or dramatic play materials; Gross motor equipment; Manipulative materials and equipment; Music equipment; Science and nature materials; Sensory motor equipment.


Waldmuller Paintings Reproduction and Biography
Ferdinand George Waldmuller was born January 15th 1793 in Vienna, was one of the leading Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period. Waldmuller studied at the Vienna Academy.
He lived in Bratislava, then worked as a teacher of art in the house of Count Gyulay. After his return to Vienna, Waldmuller copied paintings of old masters, and painted portraits, genre subjects, and still-life paintings, but is perhaps best known for his landscape paintings, which in their loving attention to detail illustrate Waldmuller's belief that the close study of nature should be the basis of painting.
Waldmuller became the most significant representative of Biedermeier: he was second to none in depicting nature in delicate colours. Waldmuller later became interested in nature and thus started painting landscape paintings (genre painting). Waldmuller's most notable oil paintings lie in the depiction of nature, where his sense for colours and large knowledge of nature helped him to achieve masterly skills.
Waldmuller was professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna,. However, his views were in opposition to the official doctrines of ideal art promulgated by the Vienna Academy, and after he had published his works on art education, he was forced to retire in 1857. Waldmuller was rehabilitated in 1863.
Waldmuller died in August 23rd 1865 in Hinterbrühl, Austria.


Paul's Case: A Study in Temperament Theme of Art and Culture
Someone hand him a green carnation and call him an aesthete, because Paul is all about Art for Art's Sake. He's got a job as an usher at Carnegie (Music) Hall, he spends his free time studying art, and he hangs out at the local theater. Great, right? As far as after-school activities go, art is pretty mild. Only problem is, the more time Paul spends at the theater, the worse he feels about his grungy home—and the more worried his teachers and his dad become. Turns out, they're right to worry. In "Paul's Case," art and music are just as likely to lead you down the wrong path as any other teenage rebellion.
Questions About Art and Culture
- Paul isn't an artist, but loves to experience art and to be around artists. Does the story give any suggestions about why he is not drawn to be an artist?
- Does the text offer any judgment on whether or not Paul's father was right to take him away from the theater?
- What role, overall, do art and music appear to play in Paul's life? What does he see as the role of art?
Chew on This
"Paul's Case" makes a case for the importance of art and music education in schools.
Cather would agree that music and art are fundamentally problematic when used as escapes from our problems.


CONCEPT-BASEDCURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION H. Lynn Erikson
Lynn Erikson • Independent consultant assisting schools and districts with curriculum design. • Elementary principal. • Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction, and Advanced School Administration . • Curriculum coordinator. • Reading specialist. • Teacher for 1st, 2nd 4th, and 5th grades. • Elementary Education, 1968.Author of:• «Stiring the head, Heart and soul. Redefining Curriculum and instruction».• Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom.• Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond the Facts • And several presentations
Goal Integrating thinking- seeing the patterns and connections of knowledge at a conceptual and transferable level of understanding”.So… Greater retention of information. Deeper levels of understanding. Increased motivation.
Knowing vs understanding KNOW = Factual Knowledge which is locked in time, place or situation. UNDERSTAND = Conceptual Understanding which transfers through time, across cultures, and across situations.
Concepts A concept is an organizing idea; a mental construct... Timeless Universal Abstract (to different degrees) Represented by 1 or 2 words Share common attributes
Examples of Subject Area Concepts Science Social Literature Mathematics Music Visual arts studiesOrder Change/ Motivation Number Rhythm Line continuityOrganism Culture Perceptions Proportion Melody ColorPopulation Civilization Change Probability Tone TextureChange Migration/ Conflict/ Pattern Pattern Form immigration cooperation
Concept-based units Focus: conceptual ideas. Integration of concepts Integrated thinking within and across disciplines. Understanding bigger conceptual ideas. Critical content: disciplinary concepts and conceptual ideas. Teacher training.
Conceptual lens Focus concept. Integration of thinking. Higher cognitive level. Challenge students to see beyond the facts. Systems approach. Idea-centered curriculum.
«Assigning a verb to a topicdoes not ensure that teacherswill lead students beyond thefacts to the essential conceptualunderstandings».
References:Erikson, L. (2002). Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction: Teaching Beyond the Facts.Corwin Press.Erikson, L. (2007). Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom.Corwin Press. San Francisco, CA.Erikson, L. (2007). Concept-based Curriculum & Instruction For the Thinking Classroom.Presentation: Summer Institute on Academic Diversity. University of Virginia, Curry School ofEducation. July 12.Erikson, L. (2008). Stiring the head, Heart and soul. Redefining Curriculum and instruction.Corwin Press.Fayad, C. CONCEPT-BASED UNIT DESIGN According to Dr. Lynn Erickson. From:http://www.slideserve.com/andrew/concept-based-unit-design-according-to-dr-lynn-ericksonImages:http://carrotsareorange.com/7-tips-motivate-children-summer/http://www.lynnerickson.net/http://www.corwin.com/authors/503028http://www.clker.com/clipart-magnify-lens.htmlhttp://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/11/1115_in_short/source/3.htm


Minspeak is an easy way to code vocabulary.Minspeak is a way to code vocabulary that uses multi-meaning icons in short sequences with rule-driven patterns.
In 1980 Bruce Baker had his first contact with individuals who could not use speech or hand signs successfully with unfamiliar communication partners.
He saw the communication aids and visual languages (VL's) used at that time and sensed that they did not really meet the needs of those people.
Minspeak is a simple and effective way to code vocabulary.
Minspeak uses pictures – called icons.
A Minspeak icon is just a picture – a simple, easily recognized picture. Icons are chosen for a Minspeak system because they are culturally relevant and communicate a wide range of common ideas and topics. Pictures are used before, during and after a person learns to spell or read.
Minspeak systematically uses multi-meaning icons.
Pictures and icons naturally evoke multiple ideas. For example, the word bed can be used to express the idea of a bed, whereas the picture or icon of a bed can express not only the word bed, but also the idea of sleeping, living, being tired, furniture, saying goodnight, underneath, and maybe even the little word but (like in “get your butt out of bed”). Minspeak systematically uses the multiple meanings associated with a single picture.
Icons are combined into short sequences to code vocabulary.
Minspeak icons are combined in 2 or 3 part sequences in order to say all the different ideas that the picture codes. Say drink by sequencing JUICE with VERB. Say thirsty by sequencing JUICE with ADJECTIVE. This is the way Minspeak makes systematic use of multi-meaning icons.
Minspeak vocabulary codes follow rules and patterns.
Minspeak systems are developed with rules and patterns for organizing and coding vocabulary. The person using a Minspeak system learns a small set of pictures – usually less than 100 – then learns the rules for combining those icons into short sequences. As the person learns the rules and patterns, a Minspeak system becomes easier and easier to use.
- Benefits of Minspeak
- Using multi-meaning icons
- The power of motor automaticity
- Use of Minspeak
- Minspeak systems with different disabilities
- Minspeak and cultural-linguistic diversity
- The Power of Minspeak
- Minspeak, language and literacy development
- Using Minspeak in the classroom
- Support of Minspeak
- Strategies to support use of Minspeak
- Minspeak teaching materials


Recently, there has been a great debate around the creation and implementation of an online platform that allows high school students to take classes and obtain their degrees. Advocating for children to stay in their own four walls and study the necessary subjects one would need to obtain a degree – a degree that is clearly not holistic and cannot equate to being in a high school atmosphere. One example of this system in our society is, Memphis, Tennessee. They require its students to take an online course to graduate. It is understandable why policy makers, teachers and parents are promoting this system – the educational atmosphere is no longer a safe environment and the ever-increasing budget cuts. Online classes still may not be the best solution to the problem and seems like a cop out resolution. I am not dismissing the great strides and efforts to reduce bullying and gun violence don’t think they should go unnoticed but it does leave many with questions like: Are those the sole reasons for an online high school degree? Are those reasons sufficient? How are educators and parents going to ensure the “typical high school experience”? Are online courses comparatively cheaper? All great questions to consider, however not the questions that I want to focus on in this post; the question that I will be discussing is how does obtaining a high school degree from the internet effect the arts and how/if a child receives art education.
The transition from a conventional high school education to online classes can be extremely problematic. It removes half of a child’s education, the humanistic aspects and simply reduces it to reading, writing and arithmetic. The arts & crafts component of school has been eliminated. Are children going to have an online application for painting, sculpture and pottery? I don’t believe that is possible and would not be hands-on and interactive. I often here my father and his friends talking about their “home ec” classes, learning to cook apple pie or fix a flat tire but all skills transferable to the real world – real life competency. These home ec courses taught high school students how to care for a life-like baby doll, manage money, reading an apartment lease and attain car insurance. Contrary to practical, hands-on examples, there are also disciplines that focus on the human condition and foster critical, innovative thinking. Fine arts, performing arts, literature, philosophy, religion and history are examples of humanistic study, subjects that require students to use core skills (reading, writing and arithmetic) as a tool and foundation that enables innovation. An educator can teach a student that 1+1=2 but if that student doesn’t know what 2 means or the different components that went into creating that 2, how can anyone expect that student to effectively and efficient use that 2? In other words, learning that 1+1=2 is a success but how can an individual take that 2 and make it a significance?


Take curriculum control
Radical curriculum innovation is never easy. My only attempt as a teacher, in a bid to avoid post-national tests inertia, involved asking Year 6s to identify one new skill each would like to develop, and one weakness they would like to improve before secondary school. The most common weakness was fractions and the most popular skills were first-aid and self-defence. I then gave pupils the resources to focus on their choices, whilst worrying about what their choices told me about my classroom climate.
With literacy and numeracy standards perceived to have risen and the focus of government reforms switching to secondary education, now is the time for primary schools to take control of their destiny with some creative thinking about the curriculum. Rising standards mean that the primary sector has collectively earned its autonomy. However, earning autonomy, and having the will and skills to use it, are two different things. As the chief inspector of schools David Bell said in The TES recently, primary teachers "have to regain the initiative and not see themselves as helpless victims in the context of instructions from 'above' ".
The key challenge for primary schools is to ensure that the literacy and numeracy strategies, which have brought undoubted benefits, act as foundations for deeper learning, rather than barriers. As children who experienced literacy and numeracy hours from reception onwards begin to enter junior classes, the success of these strategies could create some genuine space for innovation.
For instance, could a group of primary schools use the power to innovate - granted in the new education Act - to slim down national curriculum requirements and do something more meaningful and motivating instead? A new project by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Royal Society of Arts aims to find this out. The primary baccalaureate would be a qualification children could work towards throughout their primary years, but might lead to them dedicating much of Years 5 and 6 towards it. Its main purpose would be to allow every pupil, armed with good literacy and numeracy skills, to discover and pursue a few learning passions in much greater detail. In aspiring to offer breadth and balance, the current curriculum spreads itself far too thinly, especially at key stage 2. The primary bac would aim to substitute some of the breadth to promote deeper, applied knowledge and skills around specific, but not necessarily subject-based areas.
We are not promoting a return to what David Bell called "woolly-headedness about vaguely defined project work". Far too often, the "let a thousand flowers bloom" approach amounted to "random acts of kindness", with insufficient evidence and informed judgment. A well-designed qualification, making full use of new technologies, other "expert adults" and places of learning outside the school, could give a rigour and robustness that the child-centred vision of a generation ago often lacked.
At the moment, our plans are deliberately half-baked. We are looking for a group of pilot schools with the confidence not only to be guinea pigs, but also to devise their own experiments. Learning from the RSA's work with secondary schools in their Opening Minds project, we aim to create a network so that best practice is shared, and lessons are learned and disseminated.
At the same time, some ground rules are already set. First, any additional qualification should never be made compulsory; too many good ideas have suffered death by prescription. Second, the creation of a bac must involve parents and pupils as well as practitioners. Third, the assessment for any qualification would be formative, focusing on "assessment for learning". And finally, any qualification should never be used as a basis for selection to secondary school.
National tests, targets and league tables are not going to disappear, and any form of innovation must work within these realities. Even confident primary schools, celebrated in the recent Office for Standards in Education report, feel squeezed for time. Yet the best way to counter the pressures of targets may be to develop some alternative success criteria, so that, when faced with local education authority advisers giving a suggested target for a school, a headteacher can assert a different set of priorities, and express them through a robust qualification framework.
A primary bac may seem like a distraction, but if schools do not take the chance to change the curriculum for themselves, within the next decade somebody, yet again, will do it for them.
Joe Hallgarten is an education researcher at the IPPR. The first project seminar takes place on November 18. For further information, contact firstname.lastname@example.org