In September, we’re joining the celebration of a statewide program called Michigan Reads! Patrons can find information at the Circulation Desk and the Youth Librarian’s desk in our Kids Corner detailing scheduled book readings and other special activities.
We’re focusing on a children’s book about a free-spirited sheep, Woolbur, who defiantly dying his wool blue and runs with dogs.
Check in at the Kids Corner service desk as we get into September for information regarding our tradition of offering fun, engaging programming in our Community Room for kids that coincides with the annual DIY Street Fair (Saturday, September 14th).
The Library of Michigan 2013 Michigan Reads! book is Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski and illustrated by Lee Harper.
The Library of Michigan celebrates it’s 9th year of MICHIGAN READS, a literacy-propping program recognizing the role libraries serve in providing children and their families with quality books and the important foundation libraries provide in literacy development and children’s future reading and success in school.
The idea: “One Book, One Community” – The Library of Michigan aims to underline the powerful influence of sharing reading with children, from birth, through infancy, toddlers into preschoolers, thus edifying the literacy skills of children and preparing them for grade school and beyond.
For more information: www.michigan.gov/michiganreads
The 2013 Michigan Reads! book is Woolbur written Leslie Helakoski and illustrated by Lee Harper (Harper Collins Publishers, 2008). When Woolbur, a creative, young sheep, is asked to do things, he finds original ways to accomplish everyday tasks and shares his ideas with others.
Meanwhile, during the weekend-OF-the DIY STREET FAIR (Saturday Sept 14)
But, for now… FYI (Monday)
The library will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2 for
Have a safe and happy holiday!


Education students at Bishop’s University’s recently opened their hearts and minds to learning about the Indian Residential Schools. What you are about to see is Professor Lisa Taylor’s class fully engaging in visual design, art education, and the history of the Indian Residential Schools era. Ena Greyeyes, Plains Cree artist and Elder (an IRS survivor from the St. Michael’s Indian Residential School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan) spoke to them about the arduous but inspiring process of healing the intergenerational trauma that is part and parcel of the IRS legacy. Students in the course had already studied the impact of ongoing settler-colonial policies in Canada and personal family histories of implication.
Charlene Bearhead, Education Lead at the National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, launched the project in October by introducing Project of Heart to all levels of teacher-education candidates in the Bishop’s programme, and from the beginning, they were hooked.
Dr. Lisa Taylor’s students have put together an incredible slide-show that tells the story behind each decorated tile. You may even click on parts to hear students speaking. Several Aboriginal students joined the class and painted tiles in response to the Project. Click the link to see, hear, and feel!


The art education landscape, and indeed, the education landscape more broadly, finds itself navigating complex challenges inside and outside of our classrooms. Teachers grapple with navigating these challenges whilst seeking to maximise and leverage the benefits that digital technologies, space and mediums create for learning. How bodies, and perceptions and articulations of bodies, become implicated in this fast evolving space, is posing increasingly complex challenges for teachers and schools to negotiate. Drawn Together emerges from a space of pedagogical learning and practice that recognises and pays respect to the complex nature of bodies and our relationship with bodies, as situated within the historic artistic discipline of life drawing, which continues to hold as much relevance for learning in the visual arts today and it has done so for centuries. The Tasmanian Art Teachers Association recognises how these challenges can fuel anxiety for education administration, which in turn triggers reactive responses that can lead to constraint or avoidance. The paradox inherent to these challenges is the increasingly unprecedented opportunities for powerful and significant learning in and through visual art that emerge.


By: Sabrina Barekzai
As new technology continues to revolutionize the way children learn in schools, the power of one subject remains the same: music education. Music education in schools has proven to be an enriching and fundamental part of learning. Research has proven that music training helps the brain to process words in spoken conversation, meaning children with disabilities can improve their reading ability. And that’s just the beginning. Music education provides dozens of benefits for children.
Not only are we big music people at Salesforce, but we believe strongly in the power of music education in the classroom. Naturally, we’re taking that passion one step further. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Little Kids Rock for The Night Before; a spectacular concert at San Francisco’s AT&T Park on February 6th the night before the big game. Little Kids Rock promotes music education in the classroom and beyond. Join us in helping to power the next generation of rock stars by donating now!
Read some even more amazing facts about the amazing benefits of music education below and donate to support Little Kids Rock!
● Music education boosts test scores: Students in high-quality school music education programs score higher on standardized tests compared to students in schools with deficient music education programs. (Source)
● Music helps you learn: Music enhances the process of learning. The systems it nourishes, which include our integrated sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional and motor capacities, are shown to be the driving forces behind all other learning. (Source)
● Abstract learning through music: Research into the connection between music and intelligence concluded that music training is far greater than computer instruction in improving children’s abstract reasoning skills. (Source)
● Higher GPA: High school music students have been shown to hold higher grade point averages (GPA) than non-musicians in the same school.(Source)
● Languages: Mastery in arts and humanities is closely correlated to a greater understanding of language components. (Source)
● Improved school attendance: Schools that have music programs have an attendance rate of 93.3% compared to 84.9% in schools without music programs. (Source)
● Better classroom vibes: With music instruction in schools, teachers found that students were less aggressive. (Source)
● Helping underachievers: Students lagging behind in scholastic performance caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22% when given music instruction over seven months. (Source)
Why do you support music education? Use #Rock4Kids and tell us why music education is important to you!
Support music education, support Little Kids Rock! Donate now.


Primary school curriculum
St Joseph's primary campus students participate in nine (9) Key Learning Areas (subjects). These KLAs are Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Studies of Society and the Environment, Health and Physical Education, Science, Italian (our LOTE language), The Arts and Technology.
The aim of the KLA Religious Education is to develop the students' religious literacy in the light of the Catholic Tradition so that they may participate critically and effectively in the life of their faith communities and also the wider community.
Our school has implemented an Integrated approach to the education of our students in line with the syllabus documents developed by the Queensland Studies Authority. The students are also arranged in Stage groupings rather than traditional year level age groups. These stages see the students grouped in the following manner:
Early Stage One is made up of our Prep and Year One students. Late Stage One consists of our Years Two and Three students, Stage Two with Years Four and Five and Stage Three with our students from Years Six and Seven.
The flexibility offered by Integrating the Curriculum and arranging the students in Stage groups enables the school to match activities, techniques, contexts, concepts and content to the interests, needs and ability of each individual student. Another advantage to this model of class structure is the opportunity for students to develop friendship groups across year levels.
As with all that we do at St Joseph's, the needs of the individual student is of paramount importance. Through the mechanisms above (staging of classes and integration of curriculum) we are more effective in meeting the needs of each individual student in our school.
With the development of this stage based approach we have established teaching teams within each stage. Through this development we hope to achieve a more comprehensive curriculum that meets the needs of our students and also ease the stress of curriculum development on our teaching staff.
Integrated units of work in line with the syllabus documents developed by the Queensland Studies Authority. Our curriculum development reflects the change in emphasis towards Essential Learnings. To achieve these Essential Learnings in the most practicable and efficient manner, Integrated Units of work have been developed that include aspects of the KLAs Studies of Society and the Environment, Science, Health and Physical Education, Religious Education and English.
These units of work have been developed firstly from a whole school perspective and then further refined and developed within each stage level. The units are cyclic in nature and follow a two-year rotation. Although these units have been developed from a whole school perspective it is important to realize that the flexibility of the planning must be maintained by regular monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness and rigor of these units.
In late 2006 St. Joseph's was selected as one of fifty pilot schools for the Kidsmatter program being implemented nationally. Via this initiative we have focused on the development of social and emotional well being for our students and the development of continued support for our students and families in the area of mental health.
Our teaching staff is undertaking continued in-service and the development of curriculum with a focus on the support for the mental health and social and emotion al well-being of our students and their families. As such the school has purchased and implemented the 'You Can Do It!' program which is a forma-l approach to the teaching of social and emotional well-being intelligence and competency. These lessons are taught on a weekly basis in each class.
Parents are also supported in the development of these key competences (Resilience, Organisation, Confidence, Getting Along and Confidence) with information regarding parent workshops access to websites and physical resources to help their children with these skills.


Art and painting are fast becoming a tag of identity in Uganda's sorroundings, especially with the growth of branding as a corporate identifier.
Artists derive influence and themes from their distinctive and rapidly developing culture, surroundings and mix them with modern demands.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, contemporary art remains particularly influenced by the agglomeration of historical and political forces that have shaped the country in question.
In Europe, art patronage has been dominated by the tastes and demands of bourgeois collectors for centuries: the art market.
In 1990, a new breed of Ugandan artists experimenting in form and style, using new motifs, textures and colours.
If a period can, the 1990s represented “some kind of avant garde for Ugandan art”, says George Kyeyune, Ugandan artist, scholar and teacher, and former Dean of Makerere University School of Fine Art.
The country has few galleries and art exhibitions from where the artists and students of art can exhibit their works. Apart from painting, other forms of art include; Industrial art and design, sculpture and drawing.
With the introduction of the Skilling Uganda program, talented artists should be identified and motivated, to create a sustainable source of income.
The artists can be employed as fine art teachers in schools, curaters in museums, in print media and advertising agencies as designers, in addition to working as freelance painters.
With the exception of rock art, pictorial art was not well developed in Uganda before the arrival of Europeans. However, this art form has since become, perhaps, the most popular in Uganda because it requires relatively cheap materials and can be done in a relatively short period of time.
Formal art education in the country owes its origin to Christian missionaries and the work of Margaret Trowell, who established the Fine Art School in 1937 at Makerere University, now known as Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts.
Many of the new art genres can be traced to the introduction of western education in the country, growing commercialization of Ugandan art, growing exposure of Ugandan artists to art forms from other parts of the world, and the increasing availability of modern art materials and techniques in the world.
Contemporary Ugandan artists of all genres fall into two classes; those who are formally trained and those who use art for commercial gain. Formally trained artists view their work as a form of self-expression, produce relatively few signed artworks, and exhibit their works in galleries, museums and cultural centers.
Commercial artists work in informal settings and see themselves as artist-entrepreneurs mass-producing a commodity for the street or open market. Because of market forces, artist-entrepreneurs dominate the contemporary art scene.


Welcome to Full-Day Kindergarten in the BASD!
The Bethlehem Area School District is proud to offer universal full-day kindergarten in our 16 elementary schools. Kindergarten will be a wonderful time in your child's life, filled with opportunities to learn, play, discover, and grow. For many students, kindergarten is their first formal educational experience. We want this year to be filled with fun and exciting activities that will begin students on the path of successful learning experiences and personal development. Our kindergarten students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, which is what makes each of them unique and special. Although children go through similar stages in the learning process, we understand that children develop at different academic, social, and emotional rates. Our full-day kindergarten classrooms offer support based on each individual child's needs. Please take a moment to learn more about what our full-day kindergarten classrooms have to offer.
- Foundational Skills- Students will develop phonological awareness (sounds that make up words and syllables), phonics and word recognition (connecting sounds and letters), and oral language fluency (the ability to read accurately and fluently).
- Details of Text- With support, students will identify the main idea and key details of text. Students will make connections between texts and will learn new vocabulary words.
- Writing- Students will use the learned sound/letter correspondences to spell and write words and to express their ideas for different purposes.
- Numbers & Operations- Students will know and write numbers, count in sequence, and use place value.
- Algebraic Concepts- Students will explore the concepts of putting together and taking apart to learn basic addition and subtraction.
- Geometry- Students will identify, describe, analyze, compare, create, and compose 2- and 3- dimensional shapes.
- Measurement & Data- Students will describe and compare attributes of length, area, weight, and capacity.
- Students will explore and discover materials and motion, trees and weather, and animals through the use of three hands-on learning modules.
- Students will learn the value of working with others through play and other cooperative learning activities.
- Because we know children are naturally curious, learning will occur in a variety of contexts and settings.
- Purposeful play, which allows children regular opportunities to explore and investigate in a hands-on manner, is valued as an important method of learning.
- A safe and secure environment encourages risk-taking, expressing thoughts and feelings, and the development of self-esteem and worth.
- Our kindergarten teachers respect the role that parents play in the lives of their students.
- Our teachers recognize and value the diversity of their students and families.
- As children build upon prior knowledge, make meaning of the environment around them, and develop relationships, they will begin to engage in problem-solving experiences.


Pick up a guitar, leave the sheet music at home…
When you see a professional rock band onstage, do you see them with music stands? Nope. Do you see Angus Young – guitarist from ACDC – looking at a piece of paper with his scale shapes on it whilst he’s running around the stage entertaining the crowd? Probably not, (unless you’re thinking of a different Angus Young to me). Most modern guitar players will play most things from memory.
In my recent studies in music education, I’ve been reading about how most contemporary musicians, learn and perform music. This especially applies to guitarists, drummers and members of a typical pop/rock band.
As I tell my students, the best place for anything we’re learning to be isn’t on a sheet of paper, but in their head. Memorising music is essential if one wants to play in a contemporary setting other than a concert band, or a classical piano recital.
What’s good about having no music on stage?
- Having a clearer stage that’s not cluttered with music stands
- Being able to focus more on the performance itself rather than just playing the right notes
- Playing one’s own interpretation of a piece, rather than playing exactly as the original
- Improvising with more freedom and versatility
We already do it without thinking
We often don’t quite know how we’re memorising a piece. Rather it seems to be unconscious, something that just seems to happen as we’re learning and practicing a song. An understanding of music theory makes this happen much more quickly and easily, because we already understand the language of music. It’s kind of like learning to say a sentence in a language we already know how to speak, rather than learning a sentence in a language that is completely foreign to us.
The psychology of memorising music
As we learn a song, in actual fact we’re developing our own mental representation. At a semi-professional level, we start with a broad overview of the song in mind. Ie what it sounds like and a rough picture of how it generally flows between each section. This meta perception of the piece’s structure is composed of the phrases, melodies, chords or riffs themselves, which we then begin to learn to ‘fill in the gaps’ so to speak, of our initial perception of the song. We learn these by focusing upon the actual notes and expressive techniques of which each is made up.
Since our memory couldn’t possibly recall every single note of a piece at the same time, we learn (and consciously remember) the notes of each phrase, join them together to create phrases/motifs (which we can begin to play without focusing on every single note), join these together to construct whole coherent sections of the piece, and finally fit the sections together to create a whole song. As we do this, in terms of how we perform a piece, our memory begins to work at a higher and higher level, with less conscious recall, until the final result is achieved.
The final goal
If we are able to, as soon as possible we should try to play through the whole thing (even just roughly or with missed phrases), as doing this helps us to see the goal/bigger picture towards which we are working, and practice becomes more enjoyable.
The goal: Play the whole song from memory!
Although in some contemporary genres sheet music may still be appropriate Eg. A concert band, Jazz gig playing standards, many modern musicians want to play his or her favourite songs heard on the radio, Spotify, Youtube etc. and I can guarantee that the original artists of these bands do not use sheet music when performing live.
Getting rid of the sheet music, makes PLAYING music more fun!


Cappadocia Worksheet – Free Worksheet for Earth Science
The Cappadocia Worksheet – Get our fun FREE printable worksheet for earth science. Our free earth science worksheet has a fun search a word puzzle in addition to a find-the-missing words game for children. Kids will enjoy to learn fun facts about Cappadocia by playing the fun hidden words game.
You are allowed to download and print the Cappadocia underground city worksheet for free to use at school or at home.
Our Cappadocia fun facts worksheet is appropriate for Elementary school kids in Grades One to Five as well as Kindergarten kids and kids in Pre-K.
This free printable earth science worksheet about Cappadocia is a great way to get your kid’s attention and interest during early learning earth science activities or homeschooling activities.
Grammar school kids from Grade One up to Grade Five can enjoy the Cappadocia hidden city worksheet for kids as a reading comprehension tool.
Your kids will learn well about the hidden Cappadocia underground city, since kids will have to re-read several times the fun facts about Cappadocia, to find what the missing words are. This is a fun way for children to train themselves to better remember science facts they read about Cappadocia, along with enhancing their reading comprehension skills.
Pre-K and Kindergarten kids who did not yet learn to read can use the free fun facts about Cappadocia city worksheet for kids as a fun and educational listening comprehension activity. Teachers and Educators can read to the kids the fun facts about Cappadocia and then ask the children to recall what the missing words are. Parents can play the hidden words puzzle with their kids and help them recognize and find the words.
Parents can use this fun facts about Cappadocia city underground worksheet to develop their kids interest in science and spend fun quality time educating their kids about Cappadocia. Our Cappadocia activity sheet for kids can be used during homeschooling Geography classes or to supplement a distant learning education program for kids. You can also use our free earth science worksheet for fun early learning Geography games with kids.
Teachers can use the Cappadocia worksheet for kids to make earth science classes interesting and fun for kids.
Teachers and private tutors are welcome to use our FREE Cappadocia worksheet to add to the regular science classes at school and interest children in learning all about Cappadocia. Most beneficial is for you to make use of our free science worksheet for children on Cappadocia together with the free interactive online quiz with score on Cappadocia.
Our Best Science for Kids Website offers hundreds and hundreds of FREE printable fun science worksheets for kids and hidden-missing-word search games. Download and use our fun science word puzzles to make learning science fun for your children!
What do you know about Cappadocia? What is the history of Cappadocia city? Who inhabited this city for survival? For what purpose are the underground cities built?
Learn more easy science facts about Cappadocia by downloading our free Cappadocia worksheet for children!
FREE All About Cappadocia Worksheet
[sociallocker]Download the FREE Cappadocia word game puzzle for kids.[/sociallocker]
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Speed was once seen as largely a genetic trait greatly unaffected by training, but the world of sports today recognises that a well-structured and scientifically sound training programme can, in fact, improve speed.
According to the US National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Ian Jeffreys, coaches and athletes alike must develop a fundamental knowledge of the factors that contribute to speed in order to maximise the benefits of training.
In Developing Speed, Jeffreys details how speed relies on both motor skill development and the development of physical capabilities to produce effective ground-reaction forces.
He believes any speed development programme should include three key elements:
Three key elements of speed
1. Development of physical capacities
Jeffreys says that an effective speed development programme must develop an athlete’s force production capacity in the musculature involved in sprinting. Maximal force capacity, rate of force development and stretch-shortening cycle ability all likely play important roles in determining running speed.
2. Technical development
“Development of sound running technique helps ensure that athletes can use their physical capacities to enhance their speed,” explains Jeffreys. “Technical training targets areas of deficiency in the running action.” This form of training starts with an analysis of performance and then addresses areas of deficiency such as arm action and leg action.
3. Application of speed
Unless running speed is enhanced in a sport-specific context, the development of technique and the development of physical capacities are of no benefit. “The critical question is how to effectively transfer them to enhance game speed,” Jeffreys stresses. “This transfer requires an athlete to perform high-quality, sport-specific bursts of speed. While this may seem obvious, much field sport training neglects frequent high-speed running.” It’s for this reason that a speed improvement programme must involve speed application and address all of the elements that affect performance in a particular sport, such as initial acceleration, transition acceleration and maximum speed.
Jeffreys warns that the omission of any of these elements will produce less than optimal results. “These elements also should be tailored to the individual athlete’s characteristics,” he says. “Some athletes use great technique but lack the physical capacities to maximise this technique.
Others may possess excellent physical capacities but lack the required technique to optimise them. Therefore, the focus of specific elements is different for each athlete.”
Since no speed development programme will be universally optimal, coaches need to adjust programmes in response to these differences. “Undoubtedly, the more knowledge a coach or athlete has regarding the scientific principles of programme design, the more effectively they will be able to adapt programmes to their specific needs,” Jeffreys concludes.
Written by eight of the NSCA’s top experts and edited by Jeffreys, Developing Speed is the definitive resource for developing speed training programmes that optimise athletic performance.
Offering assessments and the application of speed training to eight specific sports, this authoritative guide is the latest entry in the NSCA’s Sport Performance Series and provides all the tools needed for maximising speed.


In the early twentieth century, a curriculum known as nature study flourished in major city school systems, streetcar suburbs, small towns, and even rural one-room schools. This object-based approach to learning about the natural world marked the first systematic attempt to introduce science into elementary education, and it came at a time when institutions such as zoos, botanical gardens, natural history museums, and national parks were promoting the idea that direct knowledge of nature would benefit an increasingly urban and industrial nation. The comprehensive history of this once pervasive nature study movement, "Teaching Children Science" emphasizes the scientific, pedagogical, and social incentives that encouraged primarily women teachers to explore nature in and beyond their classrooms. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt brings to vivid life the instructors and reformers who advanced nature study through on-campus schools, summer programs, textbooks, and public speaking. Within a generation, this highly successful hands-on approach migrated beyond public schools into summer camps, afterschool activities, and the scouting movement.
Although the rich diversity of nature study classes eventually lost ground to increasingly standardized curricula, Kohlstedt locates its legacy in the living plants and animals in classrooms and environmental field trips that remain central parts of science education today.


Hunter Education Commission 1882-83
Hunter Education Commission was a landmark commission appointed by Viceroy Lord Ripon with objectives to look into the complaints of the non-implementation of the Wood’s Despatch of 1854; the contemporary status of elementary education in the British territories; and suggest means by which this can be extended and improved. This commission, headed by Sir William Wilson Hunter, had submitted its report in 1882.
About Sir William Wilson Hunter
William Wilson Hunter was a statistician, a compiler and a member of the Indian Civil Service. He was appointed as a Magistrate in the Bengal Presidency in 1862, and from there only he started compiling the local traditions and records. He published “The Annals of Rural Bengal” and “A Comparative Dictionary of the Non-Aryan Languages of India” but his best known work is “The Imperial Gazetteer of India“ on which he started working in 1869. This work, delegated to him by Lord Mayo, appeared in 9 volumes in 1881. He later also became Vice President of Royal Asiatic Society.
In 1882 as a member of the Governor General in Council he was appointed he chairman of the Commission on Education. In 1886, he was also elected as Vice Chancellor of the Calcutta University.
Recommendations of Hunter Commission
The Hunter Commission brought out the neglect to the primary and secondary education in the country and recommended that the responsibility for the Primary Education must be given to the Local Boards and Municipal Boards. Its important recommendations were as follows:
Encouragement to Primary Education
The commission found that primary education in the British Indian territories is lagging behind and some part of the provincial revenues must be reserved for financing the development of primary education in British Indian territories. The elementary schools should be handed over to the management of municipal councils and district boards and other bodies subject to inspection and supervision by government.
The Hunter Commission reported that the secondary education was making commendable progress, particularly in Bengal, where the system of Grants-in-aid worked well. At that time, there were two private schools for every one government school. The commission recommended that the secondary schools should be progressively handed over to the private enterprises, which should be encouraged in the form of grants-in-aid. However, standard of the education should not be permitted to decline.
Grant-in-aid for Indigenous Schools
The commission recommended grants-in-aid for the indigenous schools on the basis of “Payments by Results”. The aided schools would charge lower rates of fees than those charged by similar government aimed institutions and these schools should be allowed to employ more Indian graduates trained in European Universities.
Emphasis on Moral nd Physical Education
The commission emphasized that although there has to be exclusion of the religious education, there should be some sort of arrangement to give sense of right and wrong to students and for this purpose, the text books on moral education should be prepared. In the government aided schools, the principal or the professor should deliver a series of lectures on duties of man and citizen. The commission also gave due weightage to physical education in its recommendations.
- There should be literary and vocational training in secondary education.
- The commission brought out inadequate facilities available for the female education in the country.
- Special attention should be paid towards development of education among Muslims.
Significance of Hunter Commission
The Hunter Commission report is considered to be an important stage in history of education in India. Most of its recommendations were accepted by the British Government which resulted in the devolution of elementary education. This significantly reduced the British element in elementary education. In 1882, the Punjab University was established which lessened the burden over Calcutta University. Between 1882 to 1901, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools increases substantially.


ERIC Number: ED253412
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1984
Reference Count: N/A
Learning with Otis. A Conservation Education Activities Book, Grade 3.
Haley-Oliphant, Ann; Behrens, Larry
The Learning with Otis program is designed to provide elementary school teachers with practical conservation education activities which should be infused into the existing curriculum on a regular basis. Although many of these activities are science-oriented, the program is not, and should not be considered a science curriculum exclusively. This activity book is the basic component of the program. It consists of lesson plans and student materials organized into eight topic areas: ecology; geology; soil relationships; land use; conservation ethics; wildlife; plants; and water and aquatic life. Each lesson plan includes: (1) the number(s) of Basic Essential Skills Test (BEST) objectives and conservation concepts fostered in the lesson; (2) specific lesson objectives; (3) a list of materials needed; (4) a glossary (called teacher resource words); (5) instructional strategies; (6) suggested student activities; and (7) when applicable, answers to student materials. Numbered lists of conservation education concepts and BEST objectives (for reading/language arts, mathematics, and government/economics) are included. The text for a conservation chart used with the first lesson on land use is included. (JN)
Descriptors: Conservation Education, Conservation (Environment), Ecology, Elementary Education, Elementary School Science, Geology, Land Use, Learning Activities, Science Activities, Science Education, Soil Science, Wildlife
Education Section, Missouri Dept. of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Authoring Institution: Missouri State Dept. of Conservation, Jefferson City. Conservation Education Unit.
Identifiers - Location: Missouri


ANTHONY AMBROSINI AND LYNN ENQUIST
A couple of months ago I came across the article “The Art of Science”, written by Chris Palmer, which discusses Princeton’s 6th annual Art of Science Exhibition. The exhibition includes forty-four “scientifically derived works of art.” Many of these works were discovered while in the process of research or experiments conducted by Princeton scientists and engineers.
This article proved that there are many beautiful elements in scientific research. The images posted along with this article are what originally attracted me to reading it. With Art Education being my major, I am always interested in finding different ways of integrating other subjects with Art. I think it would be great to show these images to students for a lesson in aesthetics. It is a great example of how something not normally thought of as beautiful, such as the worms, can actually be aesthetically pleasing.
I thought it was interesting how many of the scientists got very excited when they discovered their exhibition pieces as they worked. I do not think any of them planned out the images, they were simply stumbled upon. Many of them remind me of abstract paintings I have seen. I find that interesting because now I believe that some of these abstract paintings, surely not intentional, are actually portraying something very realistic.
Not only are these images impressive pieces of art, but I think the Art of Science Exhibition gives people another perspective of science. These images can peak an interest in a topic one is not familiar with. They also can help the viewer understand a complex process more easily by providing a visual aid. I think it is a great way to introduce people to a side of science that they do not generally see. I have posted a link to the article below.


ERIC Number: EJ512722
Record Type: CIJE
Publication Date: 1995
Reference Count: N/A
Drawing Creativity out of Your Students.
Nolan, Evonne, Comp.
Teaching Music, v2 n5 p28-29 Apr 1995
Maintains that, to improvise successfully in music, students must have an understanding of the creative process. Presents teaching suggestions for encouraging creativity in music classes. Maintains that improvisation is an excellent method for students to explore and practice creativity. (CFR)
Descriptors: Classroom Techniques, Concept Formation, Creative Thinking, Creativity, Educational Strategies, Elementary Secondary Education, Improvisation, Music Education, Music Teachers, Music Techniques, Musical Composition, Self Expression, Student Interests, Teacher Behavior, Teaching Methods, Thinking Skills
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: Theme issue topic: "Focus on Improvisation." Journal availability: Music Educators Natl. Conference, 1806 Robert Fulton Dr., Reston, VA 22091-4348.


17 Jul Everything I Know, I Really Did Learn in Kindergarten
by Andrew Kurtz, Music Director, Gulf Coast Symphony
In Kindergarten, I was handed a violin.
I began learning to play the instrument and still do to this day. It was this delicately crafted wooden “music box” that ultimately led me to a career in the arts. Little did I know that the benefits of learning to play an instrument would have on my cognitive abilities, my memory, and other higher executive functions.
In fact, only recently have brain studies shown just how powerful music making can be in a one’s ability to make decisions, to increase impulse control, and improve creativity.
In 1975 Venezuelan educator, musician and activist José Antonio Abreu launched El Sistema — a publicly financed, music education program in Venezuela, with a goal of helping children escape poverty.
In Venezuela, children begin attending their local El Sistema center, called a “nucleo,” as early as age 2 or 3, with the vast majority continuing well into their teens; attending up to six days a week, three to four hours a day, plus retreats and intensive workshops. Participation is free for all students. The country now has over 700,000 students participating annually.
Today, El Sistema is a tested model of how a music program can both create great musicians and dramatically change the life trajectory of hundreds of thousands of a nation’s neediest kids. Among its graduates, El Sistema Venezuela has nurtured international musicians such as Gustavo Dudamel and the world-renowned Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra.
This year the Gulf Coast Symphony launches MusicWorks!, an El-Sistema inspired afterschool orchestra program at the Harlem Heights Center. Our partner, the Heights Foundation, believes that the solution to poverty is education and opportunity. We believe that by strengthening a child’s spirit and creativity through learning to play an instrument, it can help them succeed in life.
MusicWorks! will provide instrumental instruction 1.5 hours each day, Monday through Thursday after school this fall at the Heights Center. Participating children will be in grades K-2 and choose from violin, viola, cello, or bass. They will benefit from individual, small group, and large ensemble instruction. Chorus and basic musical knowledge will also be part of the intensive curriculum. The instruments and program are provided free of charge. Three professional music instructors, including a full-time Program Director, who also teaches, ensures that children get necessary individualized attention. Additionally, members of the Gulf Coast Symphony assist in program instruction.
The program encourages family and community participation at regular events, helping to build a stronger community, and a deeper connection to MusicWorks! Further, participating students will be brought to concerts at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, and will perform there before a Gulf Coast Symphony performance.
While this program will certainly teach children to play string instruments, the Gulf Coast Symphony’s long-term goal is to help these children achieve their fullest potential and escape the cycle of poverty. Through discipline, practice and encouragement these children will learn to work as a team and to understand the importance of what one person’s contributions can be to an entire community.
We believe that every child can learn to experience and express music and art deeply, can receive its many benefits, and can make different critical life choices as a result of this learning.
Overcoming poverty and adversity is best done by strengthening the spirit, creating, as Dr. Abreu, puts it, “an affluence of the spirit,” and investing that affluence as a valued asset in a community endeavor to create excellence and beauty in music.
This summer, as the SWFL Community Foundation gears up for the next competitive grant cycle, we have asked our 2015 grantees to send us their stories. Here this week we learn from Maestro Andrew Kurtz, music director of the Gulf Coast Symphony about how our grant provided the funding to start a music program for underserved children. The Foundation is pleased to partner with these change makers. If you have ideas and hope for the future, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected] or @SWFLCFnd on Twitter.


Music Smarts: Learning the Language of Music
“Music is the universal language of mankind.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki studied music in Germany, he struggled to learn the German language. By the same token, he noted that German adults found the Japanese language difficult. And yet, he observed, all Japanese children learned to speak Japanese very naturally and German children learned German with ease. How could this be?
Dr. Suzuki had discovered what would become the basis for his renowned Suzuki Method of teaching young children, which is also known as the mother-tongue approach. This approach takes the natural process of language immersion and applies it to music education. Surround children with music, Dr. Suzuki thought, and learning music will be as natural as learning the native language.
In other words, children who follow the Suzuki Method start developing their auditory-musical intelligence early on.
What are Music Smarts?
Auditory-Musical intelligence, or “music smarts,” refers to the ability to use rhythm and melody. It’s just one of the abilities included in the Theory of Multiple Intelligences developed by psychologist Howard Gardner. In this theory, intelligence is defined in a variety of ways. Each child may have strengths in certain areas, from nature smarts to people smarts to logic smarts.
People with strong music smarts thrive in surroundings full of music. They also notice sounds and rhythms in their everyday lives. The clickety-clack of trains on tracks, the sweet conversations between songbirds, the chiming of doorbells, and more influence the music-smart person as much as formal music does. Students with music smarts and word smarts can even find music in the rhythmic rise and fall of syllables in a Dr. Seuss poem.
Start a Journey of Musical Exploration
It’s no coincidence that Dr. Suzuki decided to teach music to young children in the same manner in which they learn to speak their native tongues. Listening and exploring are at the heart of music. Besides pursuing music education, students with strong music smarts can benefit from:
- Listening to music through headphones while reading.
- Having their own workspace, allowing them to hum or whistle while they work.
- Reading aloud, putting expression into narration and dialogue.
- Experimenting with musical water glasses.
It’s also important to experience music beyond the home or virtual classroom. My hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin hosts a music festival every year in late August. The organizers call it Mile of Music, as most events take place along a one-mile stretch of our quaint and thriving downtown. This year, I enjoyed several indie bands while I shopped at the Farmers’ Market, and then my entire family attended a sing-along led by local music teachers and headliners from the festival. I felt like the world was full of music. What a wonderful atmosphere!
Families living in places without local festivals can still find music venues almost anywhere. Churches, coffeehouses, farmers’ markets and fairs are prime locations to find musicians performing. You might even come across buskers, or street musicians, who find public places to play or sing and leave their instrument cases open to collect tips.
Music smarts are found in each child, not just the virtuoso. Integrating music into your children’s lives can help their learning skills and make their days brighter. How do you integrate music into your family’s life? Let’s host a festival of ideas in the comments.


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Encyclopedic collection of essays, biographies and articles. Mission, philosophy, online museum, posters, articles, and scholarship competition.
|ArtLex Art Dictionary|
Reference material in art, art history, art criticism, aesthetics and art education.
Access to images related to the history of art and architecture. Presented by the Australian National University.
|Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|
Overview of the history of art as illustrated and represented in the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Browse by geography, time period, or theme.
|History of Art|
Presents a comprehensive compilation of the art history from Paleolithic Age to contemporary art, including photography, design and classical music with audio samples.
A collection of items not on display at the National Museum of American History. Pictures and information are provided for each object.
Examples of decorative art and design objects from the European and American Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Wiener Werkstätte, De Stijl, Bauhaus, and Art Deco movements with a timeline (1880 to 1940).
|Art History Resources on the Web|
Links to information about art history from prehistoric to the present.
Database of entries arranged by artist or timeline. Also features glossary, links and fantasy, Tolkien and sci-fi art sections.
|Art Without Artifice: The Truth About Famous Paintings|
Finally, the questions which the people who wrote your art-history course didn't even dare ask.
Information about artists, civilizations, and historical eras. Includes links to journals, images, and related sites.
|Dictionary of Art Historians|
Dictionary of art historians, museum directors and art scholars. Keyword or phrase search options include name, methodology, country of origin, year or death and birthplace.
|Exploration of Self|
Explores the practice of self-portraiture by artists from the past to modern art.
Modern American portraits from the 1880s to the 1980s that look the viewer in the eye.
|Famous Artists 125|
Biographies and art history are discussed including the people and movements that shaped our cultures.
Learn about famous symbols â€“ meaning and history. A quick guide to the most famous symbols.
|Resources in Art History for Graduate Students|
Newsletter listing grants, fellowships, internships and study abroad opportunities for graduate students in art history and closely related areas. Also art history conferences and publication opportunities.


First, as a manager, I view early messages as vital to story time. While story times are edutainment, they serve a purpose in young children's literacy development. Also, as we plan our departmental goals, early literacy factors big into the discussion as we talk about 0-5 year olds. When I meet with the library's management team, I push our early literacy initiatives.
As for the how, I started off in a low-key way by dropping into our baby play times. This gave me a chance to meet the kiddos and talk to the parents. I was able to quiz them as to what they liked about our services and promote new ideas. Think of it like a focus group! In this setting I was able to grow my confidence in my messages and get immediate verbal and visual feedback from parents, rather than the wall of faces that you see at story time. Here are some sample messages and when I used the:
- Have you seen this new toy? This is why we chose it. I really like how it does ______.
- Let's try building a wall while playing with blocks. Then we'll play we'll play the Three Little Pigs. Who wants to be the Big, Bad Wolf and say "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your wall down?" Then we'll knock down the wall. I love to play this game over and over as we are retelling the story while playing. You can see here all of the fun words we are using, such as huff and puff, as we play. This all builds language development.
- While playing with letter magnets, look for the letters in your child's name. This helps them to learn that letters have meaning. Another fun thing to try is to identify names of people you know that start with different letters. For example, if you found a "G", you could talk about Grandpa.
- As we sing our bubble song today, let's listen for all of the "b" sounds in the song. When we sing songs, it slows down the words so we can hear individual sounds.
- With our scarves today, let's wave them in the shape of an "A". What letter does your name start with? Can you make that shape? By writing our letters in the air with scarves, we are learning our letter shapes. This will help us get ready to write.
- Today we're going to read the book Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann. You'll notice as we read the book that there are no words written on the page. We are going to tell the story using only the pictures! The next time you sit down to read a favorite picture book, try having your child "read" the pictures to tell you the story.
- It's time for our next rhyme and we are going to use our fingers to show the actions. Activities like this that use our fingers are like exercise, which helps to strengthen our fingers to get ready to write.


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Small Eyes Looking at a Big World
What children of today see is no doubt completely different from that which existed in ancient times. Because of the different resources, and with modern scientific and technological breakthroughs expanding the visual, drawings by children of the twenty-first century vary greatly from what people of the previous generation imagine in their minds.
Jun Yin Lin (9 years old)
500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci dissected 35 human bodies and painted human wombs, fetuses, and vascular organs in order to study and understand blood vessels in human organs. This was not the first such creation or discovery of the era; da Vinci even thought of inventing aircraft and magnifying glasses, but ultimately failed to complete these ambitions. Today, X-Rays not only penetrate the organs of the body, but also analyze the genes of species through electron microscopy and computer-aided precision statistics.
Now that human beings go to space, they bring with them cameras, magnifying glass, and microscopes; using this high technology equipment, you can grasp the fleeting images of a moment in time and take extensive pictures from different angles. Using wide angle, we can capture the topography of the Earth's mountains and rivers, and with the Hubble Telescope, even the initial state of the Big Bang of the universe billions of years ago.
Yi Min Lan (10 years old)
Children of today have a strong background in science and technology, and the visual system has gone beyond the limitations of what people of the past could see. They can see what the Ancients could not see. Children can see both more subtly and wider in the world, because of these different visual conditions. Of course, then, children’s drawings today are very different from drawings of centuries ago. Absolutely their drawings differ from ours. So parents must remember this, and understand the big gap and differences between then and now.
In visual education, we must keep pace with the scientific and technological times. We cannot continue describing the scene of a painting or using traditional methods to narrate the story. Children must go beyond the old style of “looking”, using both higher altitude to see the "macro" of the universe and a closeup view to see the finest of the microscopic world.
Therefore, in the new era, we need to develop the vision of the new generation of children. The direction of visual education should go beyond the traditional description, and transcend it, possibly reaching higher and further. The magical visual field of macro and microscopic mysteries is a natural resource, an advantage for this generation’s children.
Art education certainly cannot sit idly on this huge asset. Even more so, parents should not be stuck in their old ways and cannot remain ignorant of the differences of the times and between generations.
The aesthetic symbols of nature are omnipresent from aerial view: clouds, mountains, currents, animal patterns, and plant varieties. Shapes and colors exist silently on this Earth, just waiting for us to discover them. Untrained eyes will take a quick glance and will be unable to see the profound and subtle, but through the observation of Fine arts, will fully develop the ability to see. Through such development, we can see all points, lines, and planes of the earth; and even small children would be able to interpret such a rich and profound form of enlightenment.
Examples use the scene of Earth as reference, so that children can draw a simplified version from the complex image. We can tell they interpreted the image for themselves and replicated it. They can even master very high-level compositions, with each picture in itself wonderful.


What are the Benefits of using Wooden Education Toys with Kids?
Toys are the first tools you can use to teach your kids valuable lessons. Young children learn through play and, as such, you need to stock up on the right playthings. These should include construction, open-ended, sound-generating, moving, and educational toys such as wooden number puzzles and blocks.
Benefits of Wooden Toys
With the wide variety of toys you can choose from today, it can be difficult to decide on the best ones to buy. After all, you want your kids to love playing with these toys, but at the same time, you want to be sure that what they use is safe and educational
Fortunately, you can narrow down your choices by setting a preference to wooden toys.
Toys made of wood offer a variety of benefits to your kids. They also come with advantages that make them a good buy for parents.
Reasons why you should give your kids more wooden toys
They are safer to play with
Toys are some of the most common choking hazards for kids. This is because cheap plastic playthings break and chip easily, which puts children at greater risk of accidentally swallowing small parts. They could get cuts from broken cheap toys as well.
Wooden toys are made of high quality materials and are thus more durable and less likely to be damaged easily.
You can give these playthings to your kids without worrying that they will swallow a broken piece or get hurt because of a sharp edge caused by a chip or crack.
They are also safer for kids since they do not contain phthalates, PVC and other hazardous chemicals and toxins. Since they are made of natural, eco-friendly materials, you won’t be exposing your kids to harmful substances that are often found in cheap plastic playthings.
They are inherently educational
Wooden blocks, puzzles and other construction toys are designed to help kids learn something new or build certain skills while playing.
They have been proven effective in helping kids and develop these important skills and traits:
● Fine and gross motor skills
● Hand-eye coordination
● Creativity and imagination
● Cognitive, problem and puzzle solving skills
● Color and shape recognition
● Numeracy skills
● Pattern recreation
● Spatial awareness
These are skills and qualities that are important for the healthy growth and development of children. They are also important precursors for learning and mastering other skills and concepts they need as they grow older.
They promote socialization and interaction
Most of these toys do not come with detailed instructions for use or play. Because of this, your kids will ask you to demonstrate how to play with the toy.
Open-ended wooden playthings also encourage kids to talk and brainstorm with their playmates to come up with different ways to play with this toy.
This is something that you will easily observe when you give your kids fun assorted wooden puzzles. UAE child development specialists say that these exciting toys will encourage children to talk to each other and cooperate so that they can complete the puzzle.
They are eco-friendly
High-quality wooden toys are made of sustainable wood. This means that no living trees were cut down to create these products.
In addition, wood is biodegradable and can be recycled. As such, when you finally throw old wooden playthings away, they can be recycled. Even if they don’t end up being recycled, the toys won’t remain in the landfill since they will decompose over time
Finally, since toys made of wood do not require batteries, you’re also helping reduce environmental waste. Batteries are one of the leading ecological pollutants around and by not using them, you are doing something helpful to the environment.
They are long-lasting, cost-effective investments
In general, toys made of wood are not expensive. And even if you choose ones that cost more than the others, you will still get more value for your money since your kids can play with them for a long time.
Because they are durable and long-lasting, your kids and even the grandkids you will have in the future can play with them. They are excellent as mementoes you can keep from your kids’ childhood which can also be passed on to the future generation.
As your children’s first teacher, make sure you have the right tools and materials you can use to teach them new skills and concepts. Having an assortment of wooden toys is a good start in helping your kids learn and develop continuously as they grow.
Browse through our safe early learning toys and see just how fun playtime can be with your little one.


Some good news for music education in the United States: the U.S. Senate named music as a "core subject" in its Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization proposal, the Every Child Achieves Act (S. 1177), which passed Thursday with strong support on all sides, with a final vote of 81 to 17.
"By naming music and arts as core subjects in the Every Child Achieves Act, the Senate has acknowledged and begun to address the national problem of the narrowing of the curriculum that has taken place under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for more than a decade now," said the National Association for Music Education.
This did not happen without a major effort. Earlier in 2015, music advocates sent more than 14,000 letters to legislators, asking that "music" be specifically recognized and named in the legislation as a core academic subject.
Now the legislation goes to a conference committee to be reconciled with the House of Representatives's version, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), which passed by a much narrower 218-213. (Here's more about it from the National Education Association>)
According to this article, this is the difference:
No Child Left Behind's list of core academic subjects: "English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography."
The Senate's proposal includes a broader range of academic subjects:
Every Child Achieves Act's list of core academic subjects: "English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, and physical education, and any other subject as determined by the state or local educational agency."
Why does this matter? Because it helps us move toward including music education as an essential discipline in children's lives: a discipline worthy class time, worthy of a thoughtful and rigorous curriculum, and worthy of adequate funding and resources. Music does not have the same kind of educational effect when it is relegated to the "extracurricular," when it is taught by part-timers with inadequate materials, when it is funded in a piecemeal and unreliable way. Let's hope this is a step in the direction of rebuilding our system of support for music education in the United States.
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Foundation children follow the Early Years Curriculum and the teachers are skilled at providing appropriate learning and play facilities for our youngest children.
Our school is using the CORNERSTONES EARLY YEARS CURRICULUM for planning activities and lessons in Nursery and Reception. To view the themes we use across the year in Foundation Stage CLICK HERE
Key Stage One and Key Stage Two teachers plan lessons based on the English National Curriculum and units of work created by CORNERSTONES CURRICULUM. This curriculum emphasises key skills and provides opportunities for cross-curricular themes to be explored. To find out more about the themes we use follow the links to each year group topic.
The development of good literacy and numeracy skills are very important so children frequently have lessons linked to the teaching of phonics, reading, writing and mathematics. We use Read, Write Inc to support the teaching of phonics. Children are assessed regularly and a level is given to their progress based on the NC levels. Children are normally expected to reach level 2 at the age of 7 and level 4 at age 11. Reports to parents clearly show if your child is working at the expected standard, below the expected standard or above the expected standard for their age.
We use Abacus Evolve to teach mathematics. This new scheme has lots of resources and practical ways of teaching mathematical concepts. To view our mathematics policy and calculations policy CLICK HERE.
What if my child needs extra help? Teachers and teaching assistants are skilled at planning lessons to meet the needs of different learners. Some children need additional help because they are new to English; some children have a learning difficulty (SEN) and some need a little more time to settle to routines. If your child has a disability and requires specialist help we will discuss this with you; our school is disability friendly. For further details follow this link.
My child seems very bright… Across the school we will have some very able children who learn quickly and seem to make very quick progress. If your child is very able they will be closely monitored to ensure they receive an extended curriculum to suit them.
Is my child always taught in the same class? We allocate children to a class teacher and they are the main point of contact with you. It is helpful, however, to group the children differently for subjects like phonics and reading using Read,Write Inc. Occasionally children may be withdrawn from the main class for additional support and group work in the core subjects.
What foreign languages will my child learn? From Y3 we teach French each week with occasional taster lessons in other European languages. . French is taught during the year by the class teacher.
Do you have specialist music teachers? Music is a regular part of the school week and teachers are responsible for teaching music across the infants site. We have a specialist music teacher in the juniors and lessons are taught in our specialist music room.
Who teaches Physical Education? PE is taught by every class teacher, but we also have our own specialist PE teacher for KS2 who runs clubs and teams and encourages healthy participation in PE and sport.


ERIC Number: ED308982
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989-Mar
Reference Count: N/A
Understanding and Critical Thinking in Elementary Art and Music. Elementary Subjects Center Series No. 8.
May, Wanda T.
This paper discusses the content, theoretical context, and goals of elementary art and music education. The paper focuses on statements about teaching for understanding, higher order thinking, and problem solving. Part 1 addresses the historical and theoretical context of goals and practices in art and music education. Four currents of curriculum thought in general education are examined; these currents are: (1) subject matter or academic rationalism; (2) students or developmentalism; (3) social efficiency or social adaptation; and (4) social meliorism, reconstruction, or transformation. The first part also covers the ways in which these curricular currents are and have been manifested in art and music education, and the relationship of theoretical and curriculum orientations. Part 2 addresses student understanding and critical thinking in art and music; creative thinking; the parameters of art and music as subjects of study; research findings related to human development in arts learning; and the implications of such findings for development of student understanding and critical thinking in the arts. Approximately 150 references are cited. (RH)
Descriptors: Art Education, Cognitive Ability, Comprehension, Concept Formation, Critical Thinking, Educational Objectives, Educational Practices, Elementary Education, Elementary School Curriculum, Elementary School Students, Guidelines, Individual Development, Music Education
Institute for Research on Teaching, College of Education, Michigan State University, 252 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824 ($11.00).
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Center for the Learning and Teaching of Elementary Subjects, East Lansing, MI.


Making Music Cooperatively: Using Cooperative Learning in Your Active Music-Making Classroom
While it is often a normal occurrence for the content of a book to diverge from its title, this is definitely not the case when it comes to Making Music Cooperatively: Using Cooperative Learning in Your Active Music-Making Classroom, written by Carol Huffman. Huffman, an experienced music educator whose expertise has taken her to the Jacob School of Music at Indiana University, offers her rich, varied and skilled musical background, as well as her strong devotion to the Orff-Schulwerk process of teaching, to the world of cooperative learning in the music classroom.
Published in 2012 by GIA Publications, a major and reputable publishing house for music education resources and materials, Making Music Cooperatively, is logically compiled. It starts with how best to prepare students and teachers for success with cooperative learning, diving deeply into developing a safe and healthy learning environment. Sequencing straightforwardly, Huffman gives tools with which the progression of cooperative learning can unfold. She then presents a host of cooperative learning activities that can be used in a multitude of ways, all the time maintaining the conviction that when students become their own teachers, knowledge is more readily acquired and more profoundly retained.
Ms. Huffman’s style of writing leads the reader into an effortless communication with her, yet still remains articulate and professional, as though one is in attendance at a rousing workshop. Since she is so descriptive about cooperative learning from beginning to end, any questions that arise while reading are eventually answered, leaving the reader ready to tackle any situation that may arise while embarking upon this teaching and learning process. The topic is also approached practically, considering honest and candid classroom situations. Realities of the music room, including time restraints, skill levels of children, age, behavior concerns, and family and colleague apprehensions are not shied away from. This authenticity allows the reader to imagine themselves engaging in cooperative music learning rather than becoming defensive, believing that these pursuits could never happen in their classroom.
How many music educators find themselves questioning if children today seem different somehow. They are needier. They lack social skills and a respectful manner. This struggle that we face each and every day with our students is taken on boldly by Ms. Huffman. She challenges teachers to commit to teaching children beyond the subject matter of music. While she believes that we are “teachers first and music teachers second”, she never abandons her strong conviction that students remain in active music-making, the literal act of being engaged in music making. Through cooperative learning, not to be mistaken as group learning or group work, schoolchildren can grow both as sensitive musicians and thoughtful human beings. If you believe that you have a duty and responsibility to teach our children in this manner, this book is definitely for you.
The most impressive feature of this book, besides the fact that is both strongly based in research and powerfully grounded in the heart, is that no matter your philosophical beliefs about music education, how many years you have taught, or where you are in your teaching at any given moment, the ideas employed in this book can be taken, adapted and made your own. The reader is encouraged to use as much or as little as both teacher and children can manage. Huffman embraces all music educators, supports their situations and perceptions, and believes that all can move forward in this beautiful adventure.
Making Music Cooperatively: Using Cooperative Learning in Your Active Music-Making Classroom, by Carol Huffman, is available through most booksellers as well as music specialty merchants such as GIA Publications or Music Is Elementary for $17.95. This book may also be purchased through Amazon for $29.99 for the spiral bound version or $16.99 for the digital version.


place and school
Commemorated on 1 plaque
Agincourt School School Section #14 was formed in January 1913 to serve the rapidly growing community of Agincourt. Mr. W.H. Paterson donated 1.2 hectares of land and the following year a four room brick building was erected at a cost of $12,000. Initially, only two rooms were needed so the trustees decided to offer secondary education, which had previously been available only in Markham. In 1915, Form I (Grade 9) began and Form II was added the following year. Thus Agincourt Continuation School was begun, and offered three years of secondary education by 1920. Agincourt students still travelled to Markham for their junior Matriculation until a new high school was built in 1930 on the east side of Midland Avenue. Since then, the original schoolhouse has continued to offer elementary education.
29 Lockie Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada where it sited (1913)


Metro Manila · Emilio Aguinaldo (* 22 March 1869, † 6 February 1964)
Philippine General Emilio Aguinaldo served as the first president of the islands at the age of 28 when the country gained a short-lived independence in 1898.
Born in Kawit, Cavite known then as Cavite Viejo to a mestizo couple, the little Emilio had seven siblings with him being the seventh. The Aguinaldo family lived a comfortable life since Emilio’s father Carlos served as Cavite Viejo’s municipal governor. At the age of 17, Emilio followed his father’s footsteps and served as the chief of Binakayan –a barrio in his hometown.
It was in 1894 when the 20-something Emilio joined Andres Bonifacio’s Katipunan two years after Rizal was deported to the southern part of the country. In honor of Mary Magdalene, the religious young man’s nom de guerre was Magdalo –an assumed name he shared with his cousin Baldomero.
When the revolt started in August of 1896 in the town of San Juan del Monte, Emilio and other men from Cavite refused to fight. Emilio Aguinaldo reasoned that they did not have enough arms. Their absence caused Bonifacio’s defeat.
Amidst the controversies of him being in power, Emilio Aguinaldo’s presidency started with an education initiative. Elementary education, Emilio Aguinaldo believed, is a right. This basic foundation was made compulsory by the Aguinaldo administration.


1.6Million school-aged children estimated to be living with an undetected vision problem
More than one and a half Million (1.6Million) school–aged children in England could be living with an undiagnosed vision problem that impacts on their educational and social development according to new figures released by National Eye Health Week and Boots Opticians.
With up to eighty to eighty-five per cent of our perception, learning, cognition and activities facilitated through vision it’s clear that the quality of a child’s eyesight plays a vital role in his or her development, especially in their early years.
A recent study by a team of UK academics published in the British Medical Journal found a clear link between visual ability in young children and reading and writing levels. Children with reduced visual acuity – a measure of how well we view detail – had significantly lower literacy development even when other factors – such as demographic, socio-economic and cognitive skills – were taken into account.
Poor vision in younger children is often due to the presence of Amblyopia (lazy eye) – a developmental disorder that leads to reduced vision. The human eye continues to develop until we reach about eight years of age giving just a small window of time where good vision can be restored through early detection and treatment. Unfortunately, there are few signs and symptoms to observe so detection is very difficult for parents, carers and teachers.
David Cartwright Chairman National Eye Health Week continued: “As a child’s eyesight is usually fully developed by the age of eight, regular sight tests, every two years unless advised otherwise by your optometrist, are crucial. Sight tests for all children in the UK are free and funded by the NHS – the only investment parents have to make is time.
Conditions such as squint or amblyopia can lead to lifelong problems so it really is a case of ‘After Eight is too Late’. If detected early amblyopia and squint can often be corrected and other visual problems such as childhood myopia can be managed effectively, yet, fifty per cent of parents with children aged eight and under have never taken their child for a sight test.”
Levels of Myopia (short-sight), which typically occurs in childhood between the ages of six and 13, have more than doubled over the last 50 years and currently affect around a fifth of all teenagers in the UK.
It's often difficult to tell if your child is having problems with their eyes but some tell-tale signs that there could be something wrong include struggling to recognise colours and shapes; frequently bumping into things; not showing any interest in learning to read; not progressing or being disengaged at school; complaining about headaches and sitting very close to the TV.
You may also recognise some physical signs, including:
Rubbing eyes frequently
Squinting, head-tilting or closing one eye when trying to focus
One eye turning in or out
Blinking a lot
Red, sore or encrusted eye lids
With a wealth of clinical evidence emerging to suggest that lifestyle factors can play a role in keeping children’s eyes healthy, including the importance of outdoor play in preventing the onset of myopia, National Eye Health Week recommends a trip to your local opticians.
Contact The Big Optician 0191 2244555
(Article taken from NATIONAL EYE HEALTH WEEK www.visionmatters.org.uk)


We have selected the WEE Learn Curriculum for God’s Kids Preschool.
The Wee Learn Curriculum helps children develop foundational skills that are appropriate to, but also challenging to their age group. In addition to this curriculum we incorporate a variety of age appropriate experiences to meet or exceed the Indiana Early Learning Standards. For more information on Indiana Early Learning Standards go to: http://www.doe.in.gov/earlylearning You may also come to the pre-school office for a list of the Early Learning Standards and to look at a copy the “Indiana Standards Guideline” Book.
The Wee Learn curriculum provides systematic learning opportunities in language and early literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, physical development, and personal and social development. The curriculum is relevant to children’s everyday experiences and highlights the importance of the family’s role in linking a child’s early experiences to the world around them.
WEE Learn’s Philosophy
Framed by theory and philosophy of life. Led by faith and grounded in evidence-based practices, preschools using the WEE Learn philosophy and curriculum work to support children and families. Children’s individual differences and learning styles are considered as they learn through play and interactions with supportive early childhood teachers to maximize each child’s learning potential. This thoughtful and planned curriculum has a multiple theoretical basis. By blending what is known from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, Piaget’s theory of development, Erikson’s stages of development and Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, God’s Kids early childhood teachers prepare developmentally appropriate learning experiences for our young students.
The early years are an important period of development. During these early years, children learn best through active, engaged, meaningful experiences. Through these experiences, young children construct their own knowledge by interacting with their environments and others. Researchers and educators agree that quality early care and education provides an invaluable foundation for later school and work success.
School readiness is a multidimensional concept which includes cognitive accomplishments such as knowledge of numbers and alphabet, social-emotional abilities, approaches to learning (i.e., curiosity), and communication skills, as well as motor development and physical health. Ongoing research continues to confirm the need to think about children’s readiness for school as multi-faceted.
Program Director: Terri Schuetter


ADAT Participates in a Week of Code
Week of Code is an international event during which educators pledge to teach coding to their students for one hour during the week of December 2nd.
Coding is a skill that is in line with many of our values – problem solving, creativity, and turning ideas into something real. Moreover, coding prepares students for the future.
Students who graduate college and are fluent in a coding language earn 40% more than the average college graduate.
There are currently 500,000 job openings in computer science and that number grows every year.
In the following interview with our technology teacher, Daniel Shiriwastaw, Daniel explains how Adat Ari El Day School will be participating in this exciting event!
What does “coding” mean and why is it important for students to know how to code?
“Coding” is the language a person can use to tell a computer what to do and when to do it. This is important for students to know because it builds problem solving skills, critical and logical thinking skills, and it is becoming increasingly important in today’s society. I would even go as far as to say that coding literacy is its own class of what it may mean to be literate in the near future.
What does the coding education look like at Adat Ari El Day School?
At Adat, we use MIT’s coding programs Scratch and Scratch Jr., as well as Kodable and Sketch Nation. Scratch and Scratch Jr. use block coding. Block coding is a scaffolded type of coding in which students drag and drop puzzle pieces that provide instructions for the computer. In these programs, our students customize their own animation or interactive videos by telling the computer how they want the characters within the program to move. Block coding lays the groundwork for students to understand how to communicate with and direct machines. We also use Ozobots and the Lightbot App with our younger grades in order to build foundational skills and concepts that will prepare them to use more advanced programs.
Why is it important for Adat Ari El to participate in “Week of Code” if there is already an ongoing coding program on campus?
Coding is a new and emerging means of communication. As such, it is important for our students to know that other schools and organizations value coding and for them to connect coding to something larger than our school community.
What will “Week of Code” look like at ADAT?
Each class will have a different coding experience during their designated technology class time. I will introduce this experience with an explanation of “Week of Code,” I will share the image above and this video with the students before we begin. This way, they will understand their place on the international stage of coding.
How does coding relate to ADAT’s mission statement:
Coding allows students to “know themselves” by providing a new language in which to express themselves and helps them to communicate their thoughts in a new way. It allows students to “serve others” by facilitating their ability to invent or create new solutions to problems. Coding also empowers our students to “act to improve the world” by not only using new technologies and innovations but by creating them.


Developing student writing skills
How important is spelling, grammar and punctuation when it comes to primary students’ achievement in writing composition?
A considerable chunk of lessons in the primary and secondary years involve some form of writing. It’s a key component of literacy development and a crucial skill for life beyond the classroom. Developing students’ writing skills is therefore a focus for many schools.
Academics from two Australian universities have explored the importance of three language conventions – spelling, grammar and punctuation – in relation to primary students’ achievement in writing composition. Tessa Daffern, from the University of Canberra, and Charles Sturt University’s Noella Mackenzie and Brian Hemmings, discuss the findings in the Australian Journal of Education.
Their research focused on first-draft compositional writing in the primary school years. They analysed written compositions from 819 primary school students, using 2013 data from the NAPLAN Writing Test and Language Conventions Test.
‘Across the four cohorts [Years 3, 4, 5 and 6], spelling, grammar and punctuation were found to jointly influence written composition,’ the academics report. ‘Overall … between approximately 24 per cent and 43 per cent of the variance in written composition was explained by the three language convention measures and that spelling was the main predictor of written composition for each cohort. … Across the four cohorts, spelling was a significant contributor of written composition for both males and females, with the exception of the Year 6 males.’
Breaking down the results by year level cohort, they found that about 35 per cent of the variance in written composition was accounted for by spelling, grammar and punctuation in Year 3. The figure was 42 per cent in Year 4, 39 per cent in Year 5, and 27 per cent in Year 6.
They suggest other contributing factors may include ‘vocabulary knowledge, handwriting fluency, prior general knowledge and memory functioning, along with possible behavioural factors such as motivation and self-efficacy with writing,’ and say further research is needed.
In the NAPLAN test, students need to identify and edit spelling errors and identify and label grammatical and punctuation conventions. ‘Students who were able to accurately identify and edit spelling errors were also more likely to craft a quality persuasive written text, as measured using the NAPLAN Writing Test criteria.’
They add that while punctuation is important, for some students spelling may be a more important skill to learn but stress that teachers need to find a balance between instruction in spelling, grammar and punctuation and other aspects of writing composition – such as text structure, vocabulary and handwriting.
Daffern, T., Mackenzie, N. M., & Hemmings, B. (2017). Predictors of writing success: How important are spelling, grammar and punctuation? Australian Journal of Education, 61(1), 75-87.
This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in Teacher magazine and has been reproduced with the permission of Australian Council for Educational Research. To read the full article and to read more articles like this visit www.teachermagazine.com.au


Star students demonstrate excellent reading comprehension skills. Guess what? Star job applicants do, too.
You don’t have to be born with great reading comprehension skills. It’s something you can pick up and practice, and there are specific strategies for developing this skill. Here are 3 reading comprehension strategies that you can apply to your job hunt.
Applying background knowledge
Readers who connect new concepts to their existing knowledge (known as their schema) grasp new concepts faster. We often draw examples from books, TV shows, and memories to understand an idea or explain it to someone else.
Background knowledge is helpful during the job hunt, but you’ll have to take some time to specialize your schema. Before completing your application and hitting “submit”, tailor your resume and response to the company.
How do you do this? You build up your store of background knowledge by researching the company. Learn what the company’s brand values, mission statement, and strategic goals are to understand what kind of candidate they want and then weave these components into your cover letter and resume.
During the job interview, you’ll be quick on your feet answering questions if you have a specialized schema you can draw from.
Information is easier to retain once it’s broken down to its main points. A middle school student learning about the cell cycle doesn’t need a graduate-school level understanding of mitosis.
On a test with a four-point question asking to describe the phases of mitosis, all he or she needs to do is summarize the process by listing the four phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. It’s a complex process, but the context (a middle school test) doesn’t call for a complex answer.
The same goes for your job application. Details about your prior experience are valuable, but they may not be relevant for a particular job. Worse, they may distract the person reviewing your resume from the points that are relevant. Someone who can effectively summarize would:
- Review the job posting
- Read over their existing resume
- Summarize the sections from their resume relevant to the job while writing their cover letter and updating their resume
- Eliminate unnecessary details
Effective summarizing is even more important during the actual interview. Someone who rambles appears disorganized and unfocused. A good summarizer can intelligently answer questions by touching on the main points without losing the interviewer’s attention.
People with good reading comprehension skills ask questions while they read. Their goal is to understand the text, not just finish it. If there’s a word they don’t understand, they look it up or write it down to look up later. If they don’t fully understand something, they ask someone else or conduct additional research until the concept is clear.
Job postings look more intimidating than they are. In fact, some candidates rule themselves out with the assumption that they aren’t qualified. Others carefully read postings and look up terms they’re unfamiliar with.
Consider, for example, a marketing job post that asks someone to be familiar with “SaaS marketing”. The acronym looks more intimidating than it is. A candidate who asks, “Well, what is SaaS?” instead of eliminating themselves from the running would find that “SaaS” simply stands for “Service as a Software”.
They’d then find numerous articles and resources for how exactly SaaS marketing works. Someone with a communications degree and experience in product marketing is more than capable of applying their existing knowledge to understand this concept.
They might ask questions like:
- What are the similarities and differences between product marketing and SaaS marketing?
- How can I leverage my past experience to demonstrate my ability to run a successful SaaS marketing campaign even though I have no experience in this area?
During the interview, the ability to ask questions is important for obvious reasons. Listening carefully to the interviewer and posing smart questions demonstrates your engagement and conscientiousness.
Visit www.talaera.com to find out more and start your language journey today.


Dissonance in Space Audiation
by Edwin E. Gordon
Edwin E. Gordon is widely considered one of the most influential music educators of the past 100 years. He devoted his life to studying how we learn when we learn music, as well as how we should sequence instruction, immerse young children in music from birth, and define facets of music aptitude. The implications of "audiation" (a word coined by Gordon)-our ability to give meaning to music for which the sound isn't physically present-continues to reverberate throughout the music education community.
Our community experienced an enormous loss when Dr. Gordon passed away in 2015 at the age of 89. He left behind writings that we will continue to unpack for decades to come. GIA Publications, Inc., has been honored to publish Dr. Gordon's work since the 1970s.
Dissonance in Space Audiation is Edwin Gordon's last published monograph. This book shares with the reader the final "layer" of the audiation of rhythm as how one perceives oneself moving through space. Dr. Gordon discusses how the audiation of how we move to music and kinesthetically "feel" and perceive that movement is one of our most important audiational skills. The states that rhythm perception is not necessarily the audiation of rhythm patterns per se, but rather the audiation of how sound moves forward, which is the foundation of musical phrasing. Included in this monograph are 18 short tunes Dr. Gordon composed to illustrate the types of dissonance.
GIA is proud to offer this monograph as a free download
PDF download instructions: Windows users right click on the "DOWNLOAD" button. Mac users hold down the Control key as you click the button. Then select either "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As..." and choose the location you would like to save the file on your computer.


Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Program
The Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) Program is an upgrading program that helps adults improve their reading/writing, math and computer skills, while seeking to develop Essential Skills that adults require for work, further school/training and life.
Focus: The LBS Program focuses on developing foundational skills that prepare learners to transition to next steps related to their individual goals. The program prepares learners to move on to employment, apprenticeship, secondary school credit, postsecondary education, or independence. Learners also work with the program on creating individualized learner plans. Learning is organized around the following six competencies: Find and use information; communicate ideas and information; understand and use numbers; use digital technology; manage learning; engage with others.
The LBS Program encompasses four cultural streams: Native/First Nations; Francophone; Deaf/Deaf Blind and Anglophone. Program emphasis is often on learners who are on social assistance, unemployed, between the ages of 45-65, who have been out of training or education for 6 years or more, who have a history of interrupted education and who fit in one of the four cultural streams.Eligibility:
- Who are at least 19 years old
- Who are Ontario residents
- Whose literacy skills fall upon Levels 1 and 2 of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS); Academic Upgrading falls upon IALS Level 3
- Who, if English is not their mother tongue, have a facility in speaking and listening (a CLB Level 6 is recommended), but require help developing their reading, writing, math, computer and Essential Skills
- School boards
- Colleges – Academic Upgrading offered at the colleges includes LBS and Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) programming. [Please consult the Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) Program information sheet for more details]. Some community-based agencies also deliver ACE curriculum in partnership with local colleges.
- Community-based organizations
- Small group
- Blended learning (classroom and computer)
- 1-1 tutoring
To find an LBS class in Toronto and York Region, visit the Literacy Access Network (LAN) program map or call the LAN hotline at (416) 961-5557.
The LBS Program is funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (TCU) and falls under the Employment Ontario training umbrella.
Fees: FREELBS PROGRAM - ONLINE/DISTANCE LEARNING
The LearningHUB offers online Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) upgrading through flexible learning options. Registered learners across Ontario have the following options for online study:
- Independent Study
- Live Classes (offered through a program called Centra)
- Short Courses
The LearningHUB is available to adult learners who prefer to learn using technology in a supported classroom environment and designed for those unable to attend face to face upgrading due to personal barriers, such as scheduling, transportation, childcare or personal preference.Those wishing to register must have:
- Access to a computer and the Internet
- A personal email account
- A good command of the English language
- Time set aside for online studies
- A headset or microphone and speakers on their computer (for the Live Classes)