Spoiler Alert: Yes, Exercise Makes You Smarter!
You’ve heard why you should exercise: help control weight; strengthen your immune system; control stress and reduce anxiety; you’ll live longer. But can exercise make you smarter? Can exercise improve cognitive function? Can it improve your memory; your ability to solve problems; your ability to learn?
The answer is YES: whether young or old, exercise provides a cognitive boost! It’s the perfect example of the Mind-Body Connection.
Exercise in children improves cognitive function and motor skill development. Children who exercise perform better on tests and have better grades.
A study of high school students found that those who exercised before class doubled their reading scores, and boosted their math scores by 20 points!
As we age, exercise improves memory and slows the aging process of the brain. Studies have found that elderly adults who exercise regularly have better memory, are better at going from one mental task to another, and can concentrate better than those who are sedentary.
In other words, those who exercise have better cognitive function – they’re smarter!
Why It Works
So what’s going on? What is it about regular exercise that makes your brain work better?
Scientists speculate that the daily boost in circulation is one factor. They also speculate that exercise causes the release of neuro-transmitters, such as endorphins, that improve cognition and memory. Endorphins are known to improve our ability to concentrate.
- increase circulation to brain
- increase oxygen delivery to brain
- release of neuro-transmitters
Even a Little Helps a Lot
A little goes a looong way: Even a twenty-minute walk makes a big difference in your brain activity:
And It Lasts
Dr. John Ratey (at Harvard Med), author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, says that exercise for less than an hour gives your brain a boost that lasts for two to three hours. Dr. Ratey says that “Even ten minutes can change your brain.”
In the longer term, exercise has been found to delay the advance of Alzheimer’s.
Here is a great interview with Dr. Ratey on YouTube:
But Wait, There’s More
According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise helps reduce excess weight, strengthens the immune system, minimizes stress and anxiety, and helps you live longer. If those aren’t reasons enough, perhaps making you smarter will help keep you on the exercise path.
Because the answer to the question, is YES!
Exercise CAN make you smarter!
Maybe not Einstein-smart, but smarter.
And we could all use some of that 🙂
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- Image Credit: That awesome (!!) photoshopped image of Dr. Albert Einstein as a chiseled young man was originally produced for an advertisement by General Motors in 2009, with the tagline, “Ideas are sexy, too.” They were sued by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (holders of the Einstein estate publicity rights), who considered the image to be disrespectful (I hope someone disrespects me to make me look like that when I’m 76!). Here is the story, and how it turned out: http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2012/10/einstein-and-general-motors.html
- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/video/a-physical-education-in-naperville-ill/ This is the story of students at Naperville HS, where students who exercised before class boosted their learning.
- Keating, Castelli, Ayers (2013) Association of weekly strength exercise frequency and academic performance among students at a large university in the United States. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 27 (7) 1988-1993. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23096065
- Neurocognitive Kinesiology Laboratory of Dr. Charles Hillman, University of Illinois:http://kch.illinois.edu/Research/Labs/neurocognitive-kinesiology/
- Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by Dr. John Ratey – a great read! And please be sure to check out his website: http://www.johnratey.com/


As a piano teacher we see first-hand every day the many positive effects that music instruction has on our students… but how much do you know about the research behind the cognitive benefits of music education?
Today we’re talking with the perfect person to speak on this topic. Dr. Frances Rauscher is a Cognitive Scientist studying the effects of music on cognitive abilities. She has her Ph.D in Experimental research and was a professor at the University of Wisconsin. You may have instantly recognized her name, and that is because she was one of the researchers who created the 1993 study that resulted in the well-known term “The Mozart Effect”. However, Dr. Rauscher has done much more research than this one study, including researching the effects of piano instruction on the cognition of preschoolers.
What Piano Lessons Can Do For Your Brain
Listen as Dr. Rauscher shares her expertise on:
- What is the “Mozart Effect”?
- Music listening vs. Music instruction – which produces the brain benefits?
- How early childhood piano lessons can affect spacial temporal reasoning
- Why children should start piano lessons before the age of 6 or 7
- How piano teachers can maximize the cognitive benefits of piano lessons
- … and much, much more!
Cognitive Effects Direct From an Expert
Dr. Rauscher is one of the most well-known researchers in the field of music and cognition and we were so privileged to have the opportunity to talk with her on today’s podcast. Her research on the benefits of music instruction specific to preschoolers, and that precious “window of opportunity” to take advantage of these cognitive benefits for young children were one of the key things that inspired Trevor and I to develop a piano program that was specifically designed to meet the unique needs of preschool-aged children. Find out about WunderKeys Piano for Preschoolers here.
For more further reading on Dr. Rauscher’s research click here.
Listen In Now
Click the player below to listen or visit our iTunes page to download it to your iPod.


Music education has changed drastically over the past few years, and is a topic upon which instrumental teachers have often lamented. In the UK in particular we had a sudden shift to whole-class and group instrumental tuition 12 years ago, which has taken a long time to establish itself as anything more than a musical experience for children. Now that teachers are getting more accustomed to this setting and scenario, approaches to teaching beginner students are having to change with the focus particularly in the early weeks and months on having fun, rather than a technical grounding.
From my experience, I felt ill-equipped with suitable resources moving into group teaching (2005-2010), so found that I was primarily relying on writing and creating my own. I know that this is a similar story that I have heard from many other brass teachers too. In many respects this is a good thing as you do not become bound to a ‘method’ and any materials that you do use are purely as a resource rather than a learning guide. In this setting particularly, improvisation (both from students and teachers!), singing, general musicianship and listening become even more important tools.
As we have all adjusted to these changes, many of the available teaching materials and ‘tutor books’ have now changed as well. Here I have given a run-down of many of the methods and resources that can be useful for teaching beginning students in a group situation.
Trumpet Basics – John Miller (pub. Faber)
This is a great step-by-step method, with a nice mix of different styles too. The ensemble pieces included here are well-arranged and work really well. The layout is clear and is engaging for learners of all ages. The only negative aspect is that there are not many pieces that are suitable for a mixed ability group, and it does rely on everyone progressing at a pretty similar rate.
Standard of Excellence – Bruce Pearson (pub. Kjos)
The variety of exercises and tunes here is great, and the ensemble stuff, particularly mixing with the other brass instruments is well thought out and fun. The layout though could probably do with being updated as younger children particularly seem much more engaged by an open layout with pictures and diagrams as well as the notation. Some of the repertoire could also do with a facelift.
Team Brass – Richard Duckett (pub. Faber)
I really like the step-by-step nature of this method as each page introduces new elements while also consolidating the previous page. This alongside the nice ensemble arrangements makes this a good resource particularly for mixed instruments. The repertoire and the layout though are a little outdated now and perhaps is not as engaging for younger children as some of the other options available.
Essential Elements (pub. Hal Leonard)
This has good varied content and works well with combinations of all brass and woodwind. The ensembles work nicely, although involves some adaptation to work with mixed abilities. The online resources are also really well integrated, with apps available for phone and tablet.
The Boosey Brass Method (pub. Boosey & Hawkes)
This has a lovely, clear and engaging layout. It is full of great games and activities that are good for at home as well as in the lesson. A particular feature that I really like is visualising of notes as ‘building blocks’ to help encourage controlled air flow. This tutor book is however aimed more at individual or small group tuition with lots of nice mixed ability duets, but no arrangements ‘ready to go’ for larger ensembles.
ABRSM Music Medals (pub. ABRSM)
The Music Medals offer good targets and in-class assessment for children learning in a group, and there are a number of good resources too. The ensemble book has a nice selection, but it is very narrow in style. The ‘musicianship’ side of the syllabus seems a little dry and is also quite hard to teach to groups of younger children in an engaging manner.
Trinity College London – Small Group Tests, & First Access Tests for whole classes (pub. Trinity)
As with the Music Medals, this is a way of setting targets and offering individual assessment (and certificates) to children learning in groups. There is a nice variety of repertoire with many different styles represented. There is also a real emphasis on ear work and improvisation, and all of the tunes have lyrics to encourage aural development.
There are obviously a lot of other resources both in print, as audio, video and online that I have not covered here, and I am very interested to hear of teachers’ experiences with the materials above, or indeed any others that have been useful to readers.
You can see our full range of teaching materials and resources at http://www.alangregory.co.uk


C Font Sorts
In these alphabet worksheets, students will analyze the letter c. Students will use the letter cards to sort and decipher which letters belong together.
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Short Vowel “A”
Support your phonics instruction with this beginner reading book that focuses on the short vowel /a/. The book is divided into four chapters based on the word families at, ad, an, and am. Letters and words used are c, a, t, s, m, n, d,...
Pre-K - 2nd English Language Arts CCSS: Adaptable
Literacy Centers Using Nursery Rhymes
And in this corner we have Little Jack Horner. Engage your learners with phonemic awareness activities that encourage them to play with language. Eight different categories of phonemic awareness activities are detailed in the resource...
Pre-K - 1st English Language Arts
New Review Phonological Awareness: A Sound Beginning
Looking for ways to spice up your phonics instruction? Choose from a variety of phonological activities to complement a reading lesson. The guide goes through the basic components of good phonics instruction focusing on sound types,...
K - 2nd English Language Arts CCSS: Adaptable
Lug and the Giant Stork - Capital Letters
Capital letters are the star of the show in a wonderful language arts lesson plan. After a teacher-led demonstration and discussion on capital letters, groups of pupils get together and work on the computer to fix the flashing letters...
K - 1st English Language Arts


GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION LAW 2005-153
HOUSE BILL 371
AN ACT designating the university of north carolina at pembroke as North Carolina's historically american indian university.
Whereas, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke was originally established in 1887 as Croatan Normal School in response to a petition from the American Indian people in the Robeson County area; and
Whereas, the General Assembly changed the name in 1911 to the Indian Normal School of Robeson County and again in 1913 to the Cherokee Indian Normal School of Robeson County; and
Whereas, in 1926, the Board of Trustees added a two-year normal program beyond high school, and phased out elementary education; and
Whereas, the first 10 diplomas were awarded in 1928, when the State accredited the school as a "standard normal school", and additional college courses were later added with the first college degrees conferred in 1940; and
Whereas, in 1941, the General Assembly changed the name to Pembroke State College for Indians, and the school's curricula further expanded; and
Whereas, in 1945, enrollment was further expanded to include American Indians from other tribes, and in 1949 the name was shortened to Pembroke State College; and
Whereas, in the wake of the 1950s and 1960s civil rights and school desegregation laws, the General Assembly changed the name in 1969 to Pembroke State University and made the school a regional university; and
Whereas, three years later, in 1972, the General Assembly established the 16-campus University of North Carolina System, with Pembroke State University as one of its constituent institutions; and
Whereas, on July 1, 1996, Pembroke State University officially became the University of North Carolina at Pembroke; and
Whereas, The University of North Carolina System currently consists of 16 university campuses, five of which are designated as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but the University of North Carolina at Pembroke has never been officially acknowledged as a Historically American Indian University; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is officially designated as North Carolina's Historically American Indian University.
SECTION 2. G.S. 116-13.1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) Equity in University Improvements. - The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall continue to study and monitor any inequities in funding for capital improvements and facilities needs which may still exist on North Carolina's Public Historically Black Colleges and Universities and North Carolina's Historically American Indian University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, beyond the funding of the projects provided for in this act, and shall report annually to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations on any remaining inequities found, including recommendations as to how those inequities should be addressed."
SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 27th day of June, 2005.
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Approved 6:55 p.m. this 5th day of July, 2005


Special Issue 5 (2) 2013 – Article
Universal Design for Learning: Special Educators Integrating Orff Approach Into Their Teaching
Music and the arts are powerful tools for reaching children with severe disabilities. Most often music educators and therapists are the professionals responsible for working with students with disabilities through music. Special educators sometimes use music to complement their teaching if they are comfortable modelling for their students. This article describes two special educators in the Chicago, Illinois Public Schools and their process of learning to integrate music into their curriculum as part of a semester-long project. Students in the project came from two schools (one high school and one K-8 elementary school) in low-income neighbourhoods. Two teachers were introduced to the Orff approach by using rhythmic speech and un-pitched percussion. The Orff approach naturally uses principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The focus of UDL is providing a flexible means of presentation, expression and engagement (Rose & Meyer 2006) This article will highlight examples of UDL and how, through this process, I learned how to better implement UDL with students who have severe disabilities. Guidance and collaboration with special educators is essential for music educators and therapists to learn how to better sequence tasks for students with severe intellectual disabilities. Students with autism presented challenges with an inability to maintain focus to learn and some students had a lack of speech, which made it impossible for students to sing or to perform rhythmic chants in typical ways.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL); Orff-Schulwerk; special educators
Kimberly McCord is Professor of Music Education at Illinois State University. She is the past chair of the ISME Commission on Music in Special Education, Music Therapy and Music Medicine and the founder and past chair of the National Association for Music Education Special Research Interest Group on Children with Exceptionalities. She was a teaching artist at the Henry Viscardi School for Students with Physical Disabilities 2006-2008. She is on the Board of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). Her research focuses on music assistive technology, collaboration between music and special educators, jazz and improvisational thinking in children.


Master classes in traditional music ensemble were taught to various music students and enthusiasts on July 15 to 19, 2013 held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST)-Conservatory of Music. This is a project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) through the guidance of the Philippine Society for Music Education.
The music of Kalinga and Maguindao gongs and bamboo were brought in Manila and were particularly the key lessons during the five-day training. Alongside with it, lectures on Philippine traditional music ensemble were featured.
According to the organizers, the Philippines has a very rich musical heritage and is very diverse—just like its neighbor in Southeast Asia because of its geographic location and its history of Western colonization. They also added that in the present time, the Asiatic music traditions are still practiced in the highlands of the Cordilleras and Mindanao.
However, the influence of the West and the European music such as folk songs, kundiman, religious rituals, pop and symphonies, among others, are widely practiced in rural and urban areas of the country.
“There is an urgent need for performers of Philippine indigenous instrumental ensembles to be trained further by master musician-teachers. Because of the Western orientation of our educational system in music schools and conservatories, there are very few proficient players of traditional music instruments,” the organizers said.
The project director of this program is Professor Letty del Valle.


INTRODUCTION TO MLA GUIDELINES. By Angela Morales ENGLISH 120 ENGLISH 101. Doe 1. Jane Doe Prof. Morales English 101 24 February 2005. Do Not Fear: MLA Guidelines Made Simple. Have you ever been confused about how to format your essays? Many students don’t realize
By Angela Morales
24 February 2005
Do Not Fear: MLA Guidelines Made Simple
Have you ever been confused about how to
format your essays? Many students don’t realize
that MLA guidelines are fairly easy to follow.
Citing sources correctly involves two steps:
Don’t Do it!
all of your sources. This
includes quoted AND
paraphrased words and
Anzaldua, Gloria E. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”
Reading Context. Ed. Gail Stygall.
Boston: Thomson, 2005. 128-136.
Kirszner, Laurie and Stephen R. Mandell. The
Brief Handbook. New York: Penguin, 2005.
An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that his poems were too emotional ("Wordsworth: An Overrated Poet?" 100).
Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd.in Weisman 259).
Lightenor has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children ("Too Soon" 38), though he has acknowledged that early exposure to computer games does lead to better small motor skill development in a child's second and third year ("Hand-Eye Development" 17).
Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him
throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put it on the l anding of the stairs, hoping it would be gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber. Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house. (Brontë 78)
Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states: "some individuals [who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).
In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale [...] and in a short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999.
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.
Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993.
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34.
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too- Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.
Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team." Purdue Exponent 5 Dec. 2000: 20.
Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly 50.3 (1994): 127-53.
Author(s)."Article Title." Name of web site. Date of posting/revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with site. Date of access <electronic address>
Poland, Dave. "The Hot Button." Roughcut. 26 Oct. 1998. Turner Network Television. 28 Oct. 1998 <http://www.roughcut.com>.
Smith, Martin. "WorldDominationforDummies." Journal of Despotry Feb. 2000: 66-72. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group Databases. Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. 19 February 2003 <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>.
Conyers, Mira. Personal Interview. 1 Dec. 2000.
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995.
Online Citation Generator:


Today our focus was on the Pond. During our large group motor activity we did duck, duck, goose. For snack we ate frogs; which consisted of apples, grapes and marshmallow eyes...yummy! At small group learning, our high school teachers taught us about the frog life cycle. During circle time the question of the day was, "Have you ever seen a dragon fly". During art we made mallard ducks. We will miss the kids during the break and look forward to seeing them back on Tuesday, February 17th. Don't forget to work on your abc books :)
Today we welcomed a new preschool friend to our classroom. In the sensory table this week there were oorbez, which added texture to the water. We were able to use our motor skills to manipulate the fishing poles and pick up the ocean creatures. For art we created individual handprint ocean animals to add to our classroom sea scene. We worked together as a group to make the blue ocean with our handprints.
After a cold morning outside for recess, we came inside to do our large group activity...the much loved parachute!! Today we made ants on a log for snack. This snack provided preschoolers a chance to practice fine motor skills to spread their peanut butter onto the celery and utilize their numeracy skills to count the raisins they added as ants. During art we used the nature we collected last class (leaves, sticks, etc) to make trees. Kinectic sand in the sensory table was a hit again today!
During the last 2 weeks of fall preschool we will be learning about different environments. Today the focus was on the desert, with an emphasis on snakes. Our sensory table had 4 different colors of kinetic sand; which is a pretty fun product to work with. It looks like common beach sand, but you can pile it, shape it, squeeze it, or just let it drift in slow motion through your fingers. This futuristic material possesses a mushy texture and just enough malleability so it can hold the shape of simple sculptures. During our outside time we went on a walk to the wetlands and picked up materials that we will use in our art project on Thursday. Teacher Sydney and Sarah also educated our class about what kinds of animals and plants that we would find in the wetlands. Our snack today was a dirt cup (pudding, crushed graham crackers, and a worm (gummy of course). The art project was a snake...this was a great activity for preschoolers to practice their fine motor skills, using scissors to cut on the lines.


NAPLAN's unintended consequences mean children's learning is suffering
Nicky Dulfer, Suzanne Rice and John Polesel
The Whitlam Institute and the Melbourne Graduate School of Education have today released the results of a major research study into the impact of the National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) on school programs, student health and wellbeing, teaching approaches and curriculum. Over 8000 teachers and school leaders from all states and territories were surveyed for this research, the results of which raise significant questions about the impact NAPLAN is having within our schools.
Any large-scale testing regime like NAPLAN is likely to produce additional flow-on effects within schools, and the relative newness of NAPLAN means there has been little data on its impact available to date. This is the first national study to provide such data.
First, our research strongly suggests a major impact on curriculum and teaching – for example, 46 percent of our teachers reported they were running practice NAPLAN sessions with students at least once a week for several months before the actual tests take place. (Unsurprisingly, teachers also reported that many students became very bored with this.) It is no surprise then, that most teachers also believed NAPLAN preparation takes up significant time in an already crowded curriculum, and has led to some subjects being viewed as less important and therefore given less teaching time.
Over half of teachers surveyed also felt that NAPLAN affected the way and the content they teach. NAPLAN appears to be having strong and unwarranted distorting effects on the curriculum, narrowing its breadth, altering teaching practices and constraining children’s exposure to non-tested areas.
Second, our research indicates that teachers and school leaders believe that at a school level, weaker than expected NAPLAN results can have a strong negative impact on the school’s reputation in the local community and the media, making it harder to attract new students and staff and demoralising students.
Third, the results suggest a significant impact on student wellbeing. Almost ninety percent of teachers reported students talking of feeling stressed prior to NAPLAN, and over eighty percent reported some students as concerned that they were too ‘dumb’ to undertake the tests. Significant numbers reported students suffering symptoms of stress such as sickness, crying, or sleeplessness prior to NAPLAN.
The investments in time and resources to run the NAPLAN are substantial: every year, over one million students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit tests in numeracy, writing, grammar, punctuation and reading. Governments and systems seek a range of benefits in making this type of investment in national standardised testing – greater capacity to identify a school that could be struggling, a mechanism for targeting funding to need with greater accuracy, or a means of assessing the efficacy of reform initiatives.
While there is no doubt that NAPLAN can provide schools and systems with useful information, the results of our research raise the question as to whether, in the case of NAPLAN, the tail is wagging the dog.
It is time to open up the debate about national testing and our schools. Are there other ways this data can be collected without generating the negative impacts reported in our research? How can we ensure school accountability without pushing schools towards a narrow focus on test technique and a relegation of untested subjects to the fringes of the curriculum? Are the negative effects of the testing balanced by the benefits and if not, how might this be addressed?
Further, our study raises questions as to the use of the results – by parents, teachers, schools, and in particular, by systems and governments. The intense focus on the results and the ways in which this is shaping teaching and affecting student wellbeing suggests there is an unhealthy lack of community knowledge about the limitations and legitimate uses of such data. The subsequent effects are that invalid judgements may be made about the effectiveness or otherwise of a particular school or even a teacher.
Literacy and numeracy skills are at the core of a sound education, and it is right to ensure schools teach them well and thoroughly. There are ways in which this can be done creatively and engagingly, without marginalising our children’s experiences of the joys and benefits of music, languages or art.
Weekly test practices for months on end are not one of those ways – we must find something better, for schools’ sake, for teachers’ sake and most importantly, for children’s sake.


Perfect Picture Book Friday: Hot Air + Activity
Brrr…we’re in the middle of a cold spell here in the Northeast. But never fear, we’ll soon warm things up with our Perfect Picture Book selection for today. My next nonfiction picture book story is going to be about balloon flights, so I’ve been researching books that are already out there and came across this very funny one.
Written and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (2005)
Themes: Early balloon flight, animals, humor
“Thousands of people have come to watch an incredible experiment at the palace of Versailles in France.Ah, Versailles! 700 rooms! 67 staircases! 15 fountains! 2000 acres of manicured gardens! Too many chandeliers, paintings,and gold bathtubs to count!
But enough of that!”
From Booklist: Combining fact and fancy, Priceman tells the story of the successful 1783 liftoff of a hot-air balloon, invented by the Montgolfier brothers, a flight made even more special because of its passengers: a duck, a sheep, and a rooster. Priceman sets the scene in several picture-text spreads, then segues into a nearly wordless visual narrative of the animals’ comedic encounters with a clothesline, a boy with bow and arrow, a flock of birds, and more, capturing everything in buoyant artwork full of swirls and clever details (the balloon moves past animal-shaped clouds). The history, highlighted in an illustrated time line at the end of the book, takes a backseat to the humorous antics of the animals. As for the truth? Priceman claims she “heard this part of the story from a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago.”
Why I like this book:
- This book won a Caldecott Honor…the illustrations are quite a lot of fun.
- When I first heard about what had happened back in 1783, I immediately thought it would make a great picture book story…and then I discovered someone else had had the same idea, but way before me…it’s the type of story that can get a kid interested in science without even knowing it.
How a parent can use this book:
- The illustrations are so detailed…see what your child observes…check out the page where the balloon floats past clouds that are shaped just like the animals in the basket!
Photo courtesy: http://handsonaswegrow.com/
For details, please visit: http://handsonaswegrow.com/28-ways-to-play-with-balloons/
For more balloon fun and a hot air balloon project: http://bkids.typepad.com/intro/2011/05/craft-project-hot-air-balloon.html
For one of the most amazing hot air balloon festivals: https://youtu.be/I0NJHN1iiqw
For more Perfect Picture Book Friday fun, please hop over to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog where you will find lots of other picture book reviews and activities.
When you go to the library with your kids, are there some books they grab off the shelf? Are there some they aren’t interested in listening to, even though you think it’s a great book? I’m curious because my 7-year old grandson knows exactly what he does and doesn’t want to hear.
To watch one of the largest balloon festivals in the USA: https://youtu.be/JHzpK1JVwko
Have you ever been up in a hot air balloon? If you haven’t, would you want to? Please share in the comments…I’d love to hear.
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Posted on January 8, 2016, in Craft activities for kids, Uncategorized and tagged blogging101, Hot Air Balloons, parenting, Perfect Picture Book Friday, Science for kids. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.


Reading comprehension is important for college students, especially when you are new to the college experience, have advanced classes with complex material, and have a variety of types of classes, such as business, chemistry and Chinese. Effective reading comprehension strategies and study tips will help you ace your college tests. Here are some tips on how to study and utilize successful reading strategies.
When I got to college, it was often difficult to remember everything I read. Sometimes I would space out and have no idea what was in that paragraph I just finished reading. That’s why it’s important to pay close attention and check your understanding as you go along. Read more


This month Cumbria Music Service have launched a new web site with a whole range of free online KS1 & 2 resources to use in school. Cumbria Music Service first launched online resources in 2002 as Tuned-in – which quickly won a reputation for imaginative and eclectic ideas approaches to music making in and beyond the classroom. These have now been updated as a free set of online units for teachers and children, designed to stimulate the development of creative ideas – an area of concern for Ofsted (Wider Still and Wider: 2008-2011).
Units contain video, images, audio and ideas for class discussion. Strategies for framing tasks, and encouraging children to shape and structure their own creative responses are suggested in the teacher resources which can be downloaded as pdfs.
Cumbria Music Service has teamed up with the UKs leading online music resource, Charanga, to provide exciting curriculum-linked digital resources for primary and secondary teachers.
Your school can sign up for a 30-day free trial, and benefit from a subsidised rate when you register.
Developed in line with the 2014 National Curriculum, and the holistic teaching approach favoured by Ofsted, Musical School can be used as a week by week Scheme or more flexibly through the Freestyle mode. Musical School also includes Music World; a safe online environment created to encourage children who are learning to play instruments and can also be used for sharing homework with pupils. There is support for teachers such as how to handle instruments, how to rehearse to ensure accuracy and control, as well as how to assess performance. visit Charanga
Going from strength to strength since 2007, Sing Up Membership offers the complete singing solution for your school, with countless songs and resources to place singing at the heart of school life.
Membership gives access to the extensive online resource bank – over 600 songs from pop to curriculum-focused hits, specially arranged for children’s voices. There are hundreds of comprehensive lesson and assembly plans guiding you through the Song Bank, making planning easy and learning fun. visit Sing-up
Musical Futures is a movement to reshape music education driven by teachers for teachers.
Musical Futures has a rich collection of guides and resources that you can download for free. visit Musical Futures
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids
The DSO provides a fun guide to instruments, orchestras and composers. visit DSO Kids
Miss Ward Music
A fantastic independant source for KS3 with helpful summaries on genres, assessment and areas of study. visit Miss Ward Music
As part of an ongoing partnership between Music for Youth and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), we have commissioned a suite of resources that are aimed at non-specialist teachers and leaders teaching music to 6-11 year olds.
If you want to keep up to date with what's going on in music education right across the country this is an excellent place to start. There are listings for CPD training events and music summer schools alongside the latest news and helpful links.
The music examinations board ABRSM has just launched their new online resource for primary school Classical 100 in partnership with record label Decca and Classic FM.
Classical 100 is a free resource for all primary school teachers looking to engage and inspire their pupils with classical music. Complementing existing teaching resources, this easy-to-use web-based resource sets out to stimulate a child’s lifelong appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of music in all of its forms.
It offers 100 pieces of fantastic music – new and old – designed to whet the appetite and spark a child’s curiosity in music. Crucially, every piece featured has been carefully selected by primary school specialists for teachers to use and draw upon in a variety of settings, whether a school assembly or music lesson.


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Shell Education Strategies For Effective Balanced Literacy, Grades K-8 Item # 204686
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Whether you're a seasoned teacher or preparing for your first time in the classroom, this in-depth resource book makes it easy to utilize a balanced literacy framework. Mini lessons, reproducibles and other teaching resources help strengthen student skills with a holistic approach.
- Helps teachers of all experience levels introduce a balanced literacy approach in the classroom. Simple strategies foster a holistic approach to literacy with an emphasis on written and oral instructions.
- In-depth sections provide insight on each literacy branch. Sections include Word Study (looking at phonics instruction, letter/sound correspondences, phonemic awareness, word analysis, spelling instruction and vocabulary), Guided Reading (exploring modeled and shared reading and independent reading) and Modeled and Shared Writing — Writer's Workshop.
- A wide range of classroom resources makes it easy to update your curriculum. Mini lessons, student reproducibles, reflection, discussion questions and other tools help keep the focus on the arms of literacy.
- Meets Common Core standards.
- Ideal for use in kindergarten through grade 8 classrooms. Grade-level bands tailor instruction to early education (K to 2), elementary (3 to 5) and middle school (6 to 8) environments.
|age recommendation||4 - 14 years|
|grade||kindergarten; 1st grade; 2nd grade; 3rd grade; 4th grade; 5th grade; 6th grade; 7th grade; 8th grade|
|number of pages||344|
|size||8 1/2" x 11"|
|subject||professional development; reading|


Human Excretory System Worksheet – Free Printable Easy Science Kids Hidden Words Worksheet
The Human Excretory System Worksheet – Download our educational and fun FREE printable easy science hidden words worksheet for kids. The worksheet all about the excretory system is enjoyable for kids in Primary school in First Grade to Fifth Grade as well as Kindergarten kids and kids in Pre-K. Kids will enjoy learning fun facts about the human excretory system by playing the fun hidden words game.
The human excretory system functions worksheet for kids includes a hidden word search game in addition to a find the missing words seek puzzle for kids. You are free to print and use our free easy science kids hidden words game as many times as you like.
Educators can use our fun facts about the human excretory system worksheet to interest your kids in learning about the human body and teach them about the excretory system functions.
Grammar school kids from Grade One to Grade Five can use this free easy science kids hidden words game as a reading comprehension worksheet.
Children will learn well and enhance their reading skills, as the children will probably have to read and re-read the facts about human excretory system to find all the missing words in the puzzle.
This exercise will not only improve kids skills to remember what they read but also enhance their reading comprehension skills.
Younger kids from Preschool till Kindergarten, who have not yet learned to read, can enjoy the free free printable human excretory system facts for kids worksheet as a fun and educational listening comprehension activity.
Parents or educators can read out loud the Excretory system fun facts and then ask the children to remember what the missing words are. After that, educators can help their kids recognize words and find the hidden words in the word search puzzle.
Parents can use this free printable easy science kids worksheet about the excretory system to get their kids interested in science and spend quality time educating them about organs in the excretory system.
The excretory system easy science hidden words game can be used for homeschooling science lessons with kids or early learning science games.
Teachers can use our free printable easy science worksheet all about the Excretory system for kids to gain kids attention during science lessons at school and interest kids in learning about the Excretory system.
Educators and tutors can use the free human excretory system worksheet for school enrichment science programs or after school science activities with kids.
Our fun science for children website offers many free printable easy science kids hidden words games and fun science worksheets for kids. Download and use our worksheets to interest your kids in learning science!
The excretory system removes unnecessary materials from the body. The organs in the excretory system prevent damage to the body. Some of the organs of the excretory system are the kidneys the bile and the liver. Learn more fun facts about the Excretory system by downloading our fun free easy science kids hidden words puzzle game!
Free Human Excretory System Worksheet for Kids
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I must confess, I love art. Art has been a passion of mine since I was in Junior High School. I love the smells, I love the messiness, but most of all I love making something beautiful. Because of this, I enjoy teaching art to my children. I do realize that not everyone shares this passion of mine, and for many art is one of the “if we have time” classes.
I can’t say that I really blame people for feeling that way, but I know that including fine arts education in our homeschool really makes a difference. I could list dozens of research studies that demonstrate the power that creative expression has on achievement… but I’ll spare you! I’m sure you are grateful! Anyway, one other statistic that did stand out to me was the fact that teens who were involved in fine arts were many many times less likely to battle depression and or suicidal tendencies. This tells me that art is important to our mental health.
So, with that in mind… teaching art in your homeschool can be done SIMPLY! Here are a few easy ways to establish a balanced art curriculum.
- Introduce your children to art appreciation. This should begin early with a simply appreciation of beauty… nature, people, plants, flowers, photography. As the child gets older this can become more formal by introducing them to art museums and galleries.
- Be sure to teach art history. Introduce your children to Monet, Degas, Picasso, and Van Gogh. Tell them the funny stories behind some of their famous paintings!
- Finally, be sure to experience art. Get your hands dirty and have fun! Many times I will use a theme and incorporate all three of these aspects of art education into my lessons. For example, I will show my kids famous art, then talk about the famous artists that did the work, and then try our hand at replicating something in that style. Although when we first begin to learn art, we usually use Mona Brookes book “Drawing with Children.” This is an awesome book to get kids to see lines and shapes and begin to draw.
I also use old art encyclopedias, art teaching books, and even online art curriculum. T4L has an art curriculum called Time4Art. It brings out all three of these aspects of art education, but you’ll have to make sure your child gets a chance to really make some art of his own!


I’ve recently been reading some older papers from around twenty years ago which discuss whether music improvisation is an acquired or a taught skill. Hall (1992), an ethnomusicologist, thought that improvisation couldn’t be taught and was only acquired and absorbed through culture and unconscious learning. He thought that musicians primarily learnt to improvise through being in a musical improvisational culture ( ie, jazz) and learning was through hearing and seeing others improvise.
I wonder if the question of whether improvisation can be taught was a contentious issue in the 1990’s? Since other educators and musicians at the time wrote very clearly about the teaching of improvisation and championed the introduction of courses into formal music education. One such American educator was Kraus (1991) who devised a seven step method (based on the Dalcroze style of music teaching, 2014) designed to help musicians develop improvisational skills, from first steps to the development of stylistic playing and individual style.
Indeed my own experience of formal music education in the 1990’s was very dismissive of improvisational skills, and several times at music college I was told that improvisation couldn’t be taught, and one tutor even stated that jazz musicians were only playing jazz because they couldn’t make it in the classical world! Thankfully, the world of music education has moved on, and now improvisation, especially jazz improvisation is part of the mainstream for music students studying at Higher Education level.
So, back to the question;
‘Is Improvisation an acquired or taught skill?’
In my opinion it’s probably both, children are natural improvisers and music improvisation is part of childhood play and development (Flohr, 1979). If any of you have ever read the wonderful book by Iona and Peter Opie (1985), ‘The Singing Game’ which is a rich collection of playground songs created and sung by children, its obvious that musical play is a natural and human inclination. So if we all have music play within us it must be possible to develop our natural inclination to play with sounds and learn how to harness the skill when we go to school or college. I expect that both types of learning continue into adulthood, and we continue to unconsciously absorb musical cultures and influences, but also learn from tutors, mentors, recordings, performances, workshops, lessons and lectures.
Right now, at the beginning of my research journey, I am interested in stories of how people have learnt to improvise and what your experience has been. Please feel free to share and contact me about any of your experiences of improvising, how you learnt to improvise, was it at home playing along to a recording, or was it with a teacher? Feel free to leave a comment below or e-mail me at email@example.com
Dalcroze (2014) Dalcroze. Available at: http://www.dalcrozeusa.org/. Accessed 24th August 2014.
Flohr, J. (1979) Musical Improvisation Behaviour of Young Children. PhD. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Hall, E. (1992) Improvisation as an Acquired, Multilevel Process. Ethnomusicology (online). Volume 36. (2.), pp. 223-235. [Accessed 21st August 2014].
Kratus, J. (1991) Growing with improvisation. Music Educators Journal. Volume 78. (4), [Accessed 21st August 2014].
Opie, I and Opie, P. (1985) The Singing Game. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.


A Jazzy Day - Music Education Book for Kids is a free trial software application from the Kids subcategory, part of the Education category.
The app is currently available in English and it was last updated on 2012-01-13. The program can be installed on iOS.
Does your child know what a tenor saxophone looks like or what a big band sounds like? This top educational app offers your kids a brand new musical learning experience!
Apple's Best app for Ages 5 & Under Winner of a Gold Children s Technology Review Editor s Choice Award Academics' Choice Award Parents' Choice Award Horizon Award Best App Ever Award NYTimes apps to acknowledge
A JAZZY DAY SWINGING WITH THE BIG BAND is a fun and interactive story that will teach your child about music instruments. The book features original illustrations and music, as well as sounds from real acoustic instruments. Join the two cute kittens as they visit the Jazz Big Band and meet the animal musicians. Play and put your knowledge to the test.
CREATED BY PROFESSIONAL MUSIC EDUCATORS - DESIGNED FOR YOUNG KIDS
Easy to use interactive pages designed for little fingers.
Original Jazz Big Band music from professional musicians.
Read to Me - reads and plays the story automatically.
Read it Myself - allows you to read the story at your own pace.
Educational Games : "Find the instrument" and "Which instrument sounds like this".
Take a picture with the musical kittens and share your photo.
This app will teach and inspire your child to start playing a music instrument.
The music instruments featured in the book are:
Thanks to all of our supporters! We are honored by the fantastic reviews:
"This game will lay down the first foundations of musical education and be the first step towards your child wanting to play an instrument something I still regret never doing." - Wired/Geekmom
"A winning app. This highly user-friendly primer gives kids both a macro and micro lesson about jazz music." - Kirkus Reviews
"Superb blend of high quality animation, original music, great story-telling, interactivity, and game playing. BRAVO!" - iHeart This App
"This melody book is amazing! The kittens are adorable and the music is really great!" - Musicians With Apps
"A family that loves music, and feels music is important, will benefit from having A Jazzy Day. The story is cute and the games are excellent." - Apptudes
"A Jazzy Day is a great app that helps broaden children s knowledge of instruments and gives them a new appreciation for music." - The iPhone Mom
If you are having SOUND issues use this EASY FIX: http://themelodybook.com/faq-jazzy
You can always contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org
If you enjoy A Jazzy Day, please consider leaving us an App Store review or rating. They really help and are much appreciated. Thanks!
Check out our latest app - BIG CITY VEHICLES - Cars and Trucks for Kids
Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
A Jazzy Day - Music Education Book for Kids (version 2.0) has a file size of 127.93 MB and is available for download from our website.
Just click the green Download button above to start. Until now the program was downloaded 4 times.
We already checked that the download link to be safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded software with your antivirus.


The Common Core State Standards are a state-led and -driven education initiative written by teacher consultants from each state to help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning. They are “designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy” (www.corestandards.org).
The Common Core State Standards, now adopted by 45 states and three territories, are designed to help students reach success in postsecondary education and the workforce. Common standards open conversations between schools and states, encouraging the opportunity to share experiences and best practices to meet 21st Century student needs.
Although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initially addressed standards in English Language Arts and Math Practice, standards for Arts Education are currently being drafted and will go into effect in December, 2012. State testing will also become common among states, and even the SAT will be realigned to reflect standards set and achieved in the CCSS (www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/the_new_sat.php).
Rather than provide a specific program or curriculum, Common Core State Standards help teachers determine the knowledge and skills their students should have and assist teachers in building the best learning environments for their classrooms.
New standards in the arts have been developed by groups of arts education teachers working to develop common skills and performance standards for students of all ages and levels. The standards will extend from early childhood/pre-kindergarten through level 14. Its focus on big ideas and enduring understandings will help teachers focus their work while embedding 21st century skills into the performing arts classroom.
Standards assist teachers in scaffolding a common body of K-8 skills, assisting with grade-by-grade maps based on most current research and using student work as anchor benchmarks. Specifically, the standards will promote an aesthetic, non-verbal value of the arts, while promoting the mastery of skills with a solid knowledge base, and a framework for each grade level. The New Standards for Arts Education set arts education on equal footing with other content areas, intentionally teaching the arts as a composite of history and culture. They also address strategies for the cognitive, emotional and social needs of all learners.
Dr. Richard Baker of the Louisiana State Department of Education serves on the writing team for the National Standards for Arts Education. He comments that the standards are an “...effort to re-envision arts standards that will embrace 21st century technology to help classroom educators better implement and assess standard-based arts instruction.”
The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards considered several specific questions when designing the new standards:
Impacts on music education will affect both teachers and learners. The new standards will increase memorization and recitation skills, while ensuring students learn through using the latest technology options for arts education. The standards create opportunities for teacher support and collaboration, and intentionally incorporate the arts into core classes at every grade level.
Several sample activities are listed below. These excerpts from a variety of grade levels show the diversity and depth of skills and knowledge required by the Common Core State Standards in the arts:
Simply put, the Common Core State Standards require teachers to be intentional about student learning, identifying what students should know and be able to do at all grade levels. The standards combine knowledge with practical ability and will ask students to demonstrate knowledge with discussion, comparisons, and connections.
Students will be required to utilize technology and educational software to learn, research, and show proficiency at each level. As teachers, becoming familiar with simple recording equipment, digital instruments, and basic mixing software can help ease the transition into the application of the new standards.
As the new standards are finalized this summer and implementation begins in early 2013, Roland will continue to partner with educators, linking teachers to curriculum maps, lesson ideas, and roadmaps to navigate implementation of 21st Century Skills with current in-class curriculum.
For more reading, please consult:


The Common Core’s emphasis on higher learning standards is well intended but poorly executed and evaluated. Standards are expectations of student learning and skill development. Skills must be acquired by students rather than imparted by teachers or the standards.
We are mistakenly evaluating student learning and predicting future outcomes based on how well a child meets a particular standard of performance at a predetermined moment in time regardless of individual circumstance, ability, or disability.
Availability of funding, class size, academic support programs, wrap around services, along with numerous other “barriers to learning” that exist outside of school and beyond the reach of teachers, can also have an impact and diminish student performance.
Furthermore, cognitive skills emerge and develop differently in people depending on both genetic and environmental factors, and that is why K-12 education programs should focus on the acquisition and cultivation of individualized, customized, and transferable skills, rather than standardized ones.
Conversely, learning activities that foster the development of foundational social and emotional skills and cultivate student agency should be standard practice and a primary focus of all K-12 programs.
Students learn differently and school programs that emphasize a standardized curriculum and standardized testing will not by osmosis standardize student skills and abilities or synchronize student learning.
Students must actively participate in the learning process and care to do better if their performance is going to improve.
Learning is not done to you.
learning is something you choose to do.
Student agency and self-efficacy is an essential component of achievement and learning in school. The appropriate and effective application of hard skills is soft skills dependent.
Rather than a narrow focus on the acquisition of “college ready” numeracy and literacy skills measured by a standardized test, K-12 education programs should cultivate the development of diverse academic, social, and emotional skills that will prepare students for the real “tests” in life.
Common Core’s misguided emphasis on rigorous “college ready” math and ELA skills may be well intended, but in practice other critically important skills and vigorous learning experiences are crowded out and receive less attention in the classroom.
A broad-based and well balanced K-12 education program will help to assure that each child achieves his or her academic, social, and emotional potential as they acquire a comprehensive and customized set of life skills and “tools”.
A contractor may possess the literacy skills to understand building plans, permits, and blueprints along with the numeracy skills to construct a level, square, and properly angled structure but that is of little consequence if he or she lacks the self-confidence and courage to climb a ladder and the balance to work on a roof.
Every person is unique and cognitive ability will always differ among our students. K-12 education programs must include activities and diverse experiences or “pathways” that cultivate academic, social, emotional, and vocational skills that will enhance and support student learning and growth throughout life.
Passion-driven learning respects students as individual learners with unique interests, talents, and abilities while data-driven Common Core education programs seek to rate, sort, and compare students according to a narrow and standardized set of math and ELA skills.
Cognitively delayed and disabled students who are resourceful, creative, persistent, self-reliant, compassionate, generous, curious, confident, flexible, open-minded, courageous, resilient, and volunteer will succeed in college and careers.
Students who are academically and cognitively proficient but are selfish, lazy, hesitant, dishonest, unreliable, dispassionate, rigid, compelled, doubtful, indifferent, spiritless, unimaginative, and narrow minded will not be successful in college and work environments.
A more accurate and reliable indicator or predictor of “readiness” is not how well you perform on a standardized test at a particular moment in time, but whether you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue learning and striving towards a higher level of performance.
It is foolish to claim that all high school graduates must first acquire the same “college ready” Common Core math and ELA skills in order to attend and succeed in college, when they just need to be “ready to learn” and apply the numeracy and literacy skills they do have in more advanced and challenging ways.
What would have been the likelihood of Michael Jordan being “career ready” if his K-12 schooling was focused primarily on acquiring the same math and ELA skills as his classmates at the expense of time spent discovering his passion and developing his unique and special athletic skills and abilities?


ILTS Early Childhood Education 107
XAMonline’s ILTS Study Guide Gets You Certified
Are you ready to teach Early Childhood Education in Illinois? Use our high quality study guide to help you pass your teacher certification exam and advance your career. Our ILTS Early Childhood Education study guide offers total preparation for prospective Illinois teachers to get ready for the ILTS Early Childhood Education exam.
What You’ll Find In the ILTS Early Childhood Education Study Guide:
- Up-to-date content aligned specially to current ILTS standards
- In-depth review of core competencies and skills found on the ILTS Early Childhood Education exam
- Thorough review of all subareas, including:
- Language and Literacy Development
- Learning Across the Curriculum
- and Diversity, Collaboration, and Professionalism in the Early Childhood Program
- 125 practice test questions with detailed answer explanation
Become a Early Childhood Education Teacher with Confidence
Unlike other teacher certification test preparation material, our ILTS Early Childhood Education study guide drills all the way down to the focus statement level, providing detailed examples of the range, type, and level of content that appear on the test. Completely aligned with current ILTS exam, this book provides the support you need to study and pass the exam with confidence!
This study guide includes one practice test to help you test your knowledge, understand how the exam is weighted, and identify skills and competencies you need to focus on. Our detailed answer explanations reference related skills in the book, allowing you to identify your strengths and weaknesses and interact with the content effectively. Maximize your study by prioritizing domains and skills you need to focus on the most to pass the exam.
This study guide is perfect for college students, teachers, and career-changing professionals who want to teach Early Childhood Education in Illinois.


Sociology is the study of the society in which we live. It examines how we are influenced and shaped through being members of groups and organisation. Sociology is a challenging, academic subject and, as such, is highly regarded by universities and employers. In order to succeed, students will be required to read widely for this course. If you have an interest in news and current affairs then the chances are, you are already doing this.
The Sociology department currently deliver the AQA A-Level specification at key stage 5. This Sociology specification has been designed so that students will acquire the essential knowledge and understanding of central aspects of sociological thought and methods, together with a range of skills. The specification lays an appropriate foundation for further study of Sociology and related subjects in higher education. In addition, it provides a worthwhile course for students of various ages and from diverse backgrounds in terms of general education and lifelong learning. Equally, material studied would be useful for students intending to pursue careers in the field of Social Sciences. Sociology allows students to develop their literacy and numeracy skills via extended essay writing and statistical analysis. It also provides an opportunity to develop critical thinking and research skills.


Max Ernst (1909 to 1976)
Frottage, from the French verb frotter – to rub, is a technique that involves placing paper over a textured object (e.g. wood or brick) and rubbing with a medium such as pencil or crayon. Max Ernst and other Surrealist artists incorporated these rubbings into their paintings using collage.
‘Grattage’ a similar technique, used by Ernst and others, involves scraping oil paint across a textured object. Both techniques were popular with Surrealists because they introduced an element of chance into their work as the artist is not totally in control of the outcome.
Ernst used frottage to probe his subconscious mind and also as a way to get started when faced with a blank canvas. In Peter Schamoni’s 1991 film, Ernst talks of the impossibility of putting down the first mark and described this as a “virginity complex”. He claims he discovered the frottage method in 1925 while staring transfixed by the deep wooden grain of his floor boards. He dropped pieces of paper at random, then rubbed the surfaces with soft black lead.
Ernst went on to use all kinds of materials including lengths of twine, wire mesh, crumpled paper and crusts of bread. He further developed these rubbings, often transforming them into surreal objects, creatures and landscapes. These are some examples of his work:
- Ernst’s surprisingly contemporary looking Poire, one of his early frottage works, was created in 1925 using pencil and watercolour.
- L’évadé (The Fugitive) from Histoire Naturelle is one of Ernst’s series of 34 collotype images (a photographic printing process) using frottage created in 1926.
- Forest and Sun is a landscape created in 1931 using graphite frottage.
While Ernst studied philosophy and psychiatry at Bonn university until 1914, he received no formal art education. After serving in the first world war, in 1919 he and Johannes T Baargeld founded the Cologne Dadaist group. Dadaism was the precursor to the Surrealist movement which Ernst became actively involved with after moving to Paris in 1922.
Influenced by Sigmund Freud, Ernst’s work explores the borderlands between sanity and insanity. In a 1961 BBC Monitor film the interviewer probes Ernst about the apparently irrational nature of his work. Ernst replied that it is not the reasonable men but the mad men that made art history.
Ernst’s invention of the frottage process was significant because emphasis on the contact between materials, as well as transforming everyday materials to arrive at an image that signified some sort of collective consciousness, would become central to Surrealism’s ideal of automatism. This idea that the random and free interaction between artist and material produces an image of the artist’s subconscious proved vital to Abstract Expressionists. Jackson Pollock in particular was influenced by aspects of Ernst’s work.


Numeracy at EPCS has been gathering momentum for the past 2-3 years. There are several branches to this work including tutor time work, whole school initiatives and outreach work. More recently, the staffing body has been doing some work on cross curricular links in order to enable all teachers, of any subject, to see the common thread that numeracy can be in any specialisation across the school.
This, when put together, can give students a really explicit picture of how Maths and numeracy are a key life skill. More importantly, it gives staff and students a real chance to apply numeracy and Maths in the way it is meant to be applied; as a key tool to help us see and shape the world around us.
The aim for EPCS is for every teacher to make explicit links to numeracy in their subject area and for numeracy to be consistently facilitated, using a common language, so that our students can be fluent in its usage. The Maths department are also building a clear picture of where each subject delivered numeracy so that this si a two way process to benefit our learners.
As part of the whole school goals, numeracy is delivered during tutor time once a week where the resources provided are based on student data. Tutors keep a chart of this work and are enabled to facilitate self assessment and progression. The work supports the Maths content for each child so that it complements the work they do in lessons in a personalised way.
Aside from tutor time and in lessons, intervention sessions are planned for those students who need the extra support because they may have started secondary school behind in their chronological number age. Students who show academic excellence are also supported through program such as UK Maths challenge and other locally ran events where we compete against other schools.
Working with the local community, numeracy flies its flag through year 5 days where Maths is merged with cooking, for example. We also hold, very successfully, annual parent nights for year 7 students and their parents to learn numeracy and Maths together. This helps parents support their child with their home learning; building firmer foundations of the key numeracy skills.
Click here to view our whole school literacy and numeracy policy.


With a focus on the developing identity of each child, and continuous, collaborative development of practice amongst all adults engaged in the shared responsibility of raising successful children, the Alliance for Community Teachers and Schools (ACTS) offers urban schools opportunities to form genuine community around the collaborative enterprise of urban education.
Our work lies at the intersection of education reform and social justice. We facilitate the development of community teachers, community schools and communities of practice in a systemic response to the challenges of urban education.
A community teacher is an accomplished teacher who possesses and works to build on his/her contextualized knowledge of culture, community, and identity of children and families as the core of his/her teaching practice. Community teachers possess a “multicultural competence” that incorporates a deep and sophisticated understanding of race, racism and the contemporary contexts of schooling. They understand that, if they are to educate the “whole child,” they must commit to developing them socially, emotionally, cognitively, and culturally.
Community schools bring to life the cultural context for learning and development. They are places where families, school staff, young people, and community-based organizations work together to coordinate and integrate all of their programs. Community schools are centers of their neighborhoods, hubs of health, social, and learning resources for both children and adults, providing the foundation for healthy families and neighborhoods.
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
A community of practice is a committed, democratic group of collaborative learners that have come together in genuine engagement in a shared purpose or aim. It is unique in three ways, all of which must be cultivated.
1) It is a group that sustains itself with group practices that ensure mutual engagement, understanding, and respect for diversity.
2) It is a group that is focused on joint productive work that is clear, agreed upon, and structured for mutual accountability.
3) it is a group that develops and shares a repertoire of resources, practices and processes that make them better at what they are doing.
THREE INTEGRATED PROGRAM AREAS
The Alliance seeks to employ these core concepts to transform practice in urban education. Over the coming year, ACTS will focus on the development of three program areas, while remaining responsive to others who bring forward projects that can be furthered and enriched by this work.
Community-Immersion Teacher Development Program
The Community-Immersion Teacher Development Program is an opportunity for teachers to work alongside community members and providers, guided by teacher educators who will provide the theoretical grounding, as well as an ongoing opportunity for reflection and self-cultivation. Participants will examine at the deepest level what their purpose is as an educator; how they can improve their communications, relationships, and teaching practices once informed by enhanced familiarity with the social context; etc. While adding value in community-based organizations, they will be exposed to the networks of mutual support, traditions and practices that make this community work.
Resiliency Project/Peace Schools Project
Staying true to our mission of changing lives and improving the prospects for children and youth, the Resiliency Project/Peace Schools Project envisions building an extended network of school communities that commit to becoming the kinds of environments that support children’s growth and thriving. In the face of overwhelming numbers of children and families who have experienced personal and community violence and trauma, the Resiliency Project would help schools to become Peace Schools, community schools that are committed to proven social, psychological, cultural and instructional practices that heal wounds and build resilience.
Freedom for Literacy, Literacy for Freedom Project
By working intensively with a staff circle of practice, ACTS engenders new skills in collaborative learning, data analysis, planning and curriculum development. Literacy teams meet weekly within their schools, with on-site coaching from an ACTS literacy specialist. Each school’s Literacy Representative meets regularly with other Lit Reps in a circle of practice, facilitated by ACTS leaders, to explore issues of child/adolescent identity development, the dynamics of communities of practice, and new, data-informed and culturally-grounded practices for literacy development school-wide.
We hope you will join us!


To foster a balanced growth in calculation skills and conceptual understanding for overall math problem-solving abilities.
To promote problem-solving skills through the development of independent, divergent, and creative thinking.
To encourage an active self-learning attitude through Personalized System of Learning.
To strengthen self-confidence by continuously challenging the new and the unknown.
Most importantly, to revive the enjoyment of learning math.
MPM has been promoting its math program since 1989 when it established. MPM has more than one hundred thousand students all over the world. MPM is a well-sequenced math program designed around the concepts of Multi-Process and Multi-Model mathematics for K to 6 grade students. It helps students to develop their skills in problem solving and independent logical thinking.
MPM Math is a self learning system personalized for each student. Through Personalized System of Learning approach, MPM students optimize their learning independently, with minimal guidance from the instructor.
It optimizes each student's learning ability with minimal guidance from the instructor. Students work with Multi-Process Model to solve problems in Algebra, Geometry, Coordinate Plane, and various areas of math. By using the specially designed manipulative tools, students learn math with fun and they understand the concept without pressure. Furthermore, they will know how to apply what they learn in their real life.


Importance of research in education
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Importance of research in education
The Importance of Education to National Development – A Case Study of Nigeria. Introduction The Importance of Education to National Development – Education is. Did You Know? IRIS Is Trustworthy. According to research published in Exceptional Children, IRIS was among only a handful of sites to receive top ratings for both. Guideline Synthesis. Screening for Lung Cancer ; Guideline Summaries. New/Updated American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Guidelines on. Find A+ essays, research papers, book notes, course notes and writing tips. Millions of students use StudyMode to jumpstart their assignments. Teachers who foster positive relationships with their students create classroom environments more conducive to learning and meet students' developmental.
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Stanford’s President, Dean of the School of Medicine and Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences emphasize the importance of compassion at Stanford and. The Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (originally approved in 2000) were rescinded by the ACRL Board of Directors on June 25, 2016. Education and parenting articles offer expert tips and information on raising kids. Read educational articles, parenting articles, & more. Exhibition at the Getty Center The Art of Alchemy | Through February 12, 2017. Image: Alchemists revealing secrets from the Book of Seven Seals, detail from the.
The College of Nursing is an integral part of the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and the University of Utah. We are committed to working together to serve. It is obvious that the point if the article is not to focus solely on the scientific evidence of benefit that music education has on the brain, though that makes a. An independent, not-for-profit corporation which performs basic and applied research, provides technical support, and conducts analyses in the behavioral and social. For information on purchasing Educational Research Service (ERS) publications, please contact: Editorial Projects in Education 6935 Arlington Road.
- This article explains the four major foundations of curriculum and their importance in education. Examples are provided to stress the importance of curriculum in the.
- A private, four-year research institution in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling. Discovery Education transforms classrooms and inspires teachers with engaging interactive content and services that measure and improve student achievement. How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working. PSA! DoSomething.org Has a TON of Scholarship Opportunities Right Now. SPOILER: college is crazy-expensive. Sorry. Did we spoil it? There are.


Schools need to have systems and structures in place that provide structured literacy instruction for all students, screen children for the development of essential literacy skills and, when needed, assess them at a more in-depth level to identify the presence of a disability, including SLD/Dyslexia. This 6.5-hour self-paced online course illustrates these systems and structures at an early elementary level. The course uses a case-study comprehensive approach to understanding reading difficulties, supporting literacy development via tiers of general education support, and appropriately identifying students with SLD/Dyslexia by applying Connecticut’s 2010 Guidelines for Identifying Children with Learning Disabilities.
Participants completing this online professional learning opportunity will: analyze literacy data, determining the type(s) and intensity of intervention needed, and monitor student progress; implement Connecticut’s 2010 Guidelines for Identifying Children with Learning Disabilities and apply Connecticut's working definition of SLD/Dyslexia to practice; and examine policies, practices, and procedures for providing academic support to students.
Audience: K-Grade 12: General and Special Education Teachers, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches, Student Support Services Professionals, Directors/Supervisors of Special Education, and Principals


Dear Educators, A child's long educational journey often begins with a simple tune — "A-B-C-D-E-F-G . . . Now I know my ABC's. What do you think of me?" Since English is an alphabetic language, it makes sense to start children at a young age learning this series of squiggles and lines that, when combined, create something spectacular — printed words. Teaching the most common sound-spelling correspondences helps children understand the alphabetic principle. For some children, this is a tremendous "aha." Reading becomes like a puzzle in which they map a sound onto a letter or letter cluster, and blend the sounds together to read words. For other children, the process requires more practice and time. These children need additional opportunities to hear the sounds, play with sounds and letters, write letters and words, and practice reading simple words using the sound-spellings learned. As children progress through the grades, the teaching of sound-spellings will become even more complex as they encounter longer and more difficult words. Yet, the teaching never stops — from the ABCs to learning the six syllable types in the intermediate grades, it's all important. This site is designed to help you along this important educational journey. Classroom resources, research documents, model lessons, and games are included. Watch and listen as my colleagues and I demonstrate and discuss key aspects of phonics instruction, including how to best teach your students the skills they will need to achieve reading success. As you teach your students phonics, remember to share your excitement and interest in our sometimes complex, yet always fascinating, written language. Introducing your students to the joys of reading is one of the most important things you can do! Your Colleague, Wiley Blevins Wiley Blevins has taught elementary school both in the United States and South America. He completed his undergraduate work in Elementary Education at Bowling Green State University and his graduate work in Education at Harvard University. Currently Editorial Specialist for Early Reading at Scholastic, Inc., Blevins is the author of several books on phonics instruction, including Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success, Quick-and-Easy Learning Games: Phonics, and Phonics from A to Z: A Practical Guide.


What is the Orff Music Program?
The Orff music program was developed by Austrian composer Carl Orff, who incorporated rhythm and movement with music. In Orff classes, rather than “learn” rhythm, children “experience” it through movement, dance and song. Eventually, the method teaches children to read music.
Peggy Wise, director of a Chicago school for young musicians and a national advisor on Orff programs, says: Orff prepares children for note reading just as preschool gives them readiness skills for math and reading. They use all parts of their body to explore music. They stand for high notes, sit for low ones, and when the music picks up they run about faster, clapping their hands or stomping their feet to the beat. They also sing songs with easy to follow rhythms, keeping pace on xylophones, tambourines, maracas, or other handheld instruments. If they can sing a melody, they can learn to play it on the xylophone. They learn that to make certain rhythms they have to skip over notes and then come back to those same notes.
When they can sing and feel the music, they can transfer it to the staff. They learn that the staff is really a road map or a picture of where the notes are going. They can sing it. They can play it. Now they see and are ready to read it.
Increased physical coordination, concentration, listening skills and memory span are also an outgrowth of the Orff program, which combines imaginative play and creative expression with a music experience that affirms the individual’s self esteem by acknowledging the dignity and beauty of each child’s unique inner spirit.
The Conservatory’s Orff program begins with four year olds and progresses through to third graders. Early rudimentary rhythm exercises evolve into solid music theory skills and the introduction of private lessons on a specific instrument.
Leta Bontrager has her Orff Schulwerk certification, Levels I III, from the University of Denver and is certified to teach Music Education in Colorado for grades K 12. She is a graduate in music education with a piano major from Goshen College, Goshen, IN. Ms. Bontrager has a strong piano background and has instructed privately for more than 30 years. She has taught music and led Orff workshops in Jefferson County, Littleton, and Denver Public School Districts.
Ms. Bontrager’s Orff and piano skills reinforce the Conservatory’s philosophy of assuring solid music theory within the framework of experiential music opportunities which are age appropriate.


The library motivates readers by…
- Connecting individual students to ‘just the right’ book or other reading material
- Providing opportunities for learners to see themselves reflected in what they read
- Meeting a wide range of interests
- Honouring students’ choices in what they read
The library supports readers by providing…
- Equitable access to a rich and diverse collection
- A trusting environment that respects the privacy of individuals as they explore diverse ideas
- An atmosphere that fosters intellectual freedom and a culture of curiosity
The goals of the elementary library program are to foster:
- Engagement in reading and literacy development
- A culture of inquiry and critical thinking skills for research
- Personal, social and cultural growth
- Information literacy, and learning through technology
When students are encouraged to pursue their own interests and passions and are free to choose from a rich collection within an inviting environment, they are motivated to read and their reading and depth of understanding improve.
The Learning Commons can nurture good reading habits among students.


Education is always changing. Methods and technology has definitely changed since I have graduated from high school. As a teacher in the current educational system, we have to get our students to pass standardized tests in hopes of making AYP for our school. We are faced with “Do we, as educators, teach to the test or do we teach in hopes our students will get a full understanding of the content?” Now lets look at writing. There is an emphasis on reading rather than writing or literacy on standardized tests also associated with the No Child Left Behind Act. This pushes teachers into teaching formulaic writing.
Blogging presents a new approach for teachers to teach writing. The article The Influence of Classroom Blogging on Elementary Student Writing, a study was conducted in a fifth grade elementary classroom. Students that participated were of Hispanic, White, and Black. One was an English language learner and two were in the gifted program. The study was conducted over one academic school year. Most of the students were on grade level according to their teacher.
The purpose of the study was developed to address the question: “What happens when 5th graders blog and converse about literacies in class and beyond?” (Davis & McGrail, 2011) The researchers wanted to examine the influence of blogging in supporting writing and literacy development. “Young writers learn to write by writing, that young writers need to understand their own writing, and that writing development occurs over time.” (Davis & McGrail, 2011)
There were different people who served as the audience for the bloggers. A university professor provided informal feedback and conducted students interviews. Graduate students from the professor’s courses served as commenters and mentors. Other commenters were retired teachers.
“Prior to the project, the class curriculum focused on a review of 4th grade basics in sentence structure, nouns, and verbs, as well as fictional story writing” (Davis & McGrail, 2011) A total of 32 blogging sessions were conducted over the school year. To introduce the project, the teacher developed a webquest activity. She then created a wiki to familiarize different aspects of blogging: questioning, thinking, writing, collaborating, commenting, linking, and proof reading. The teacher also provided safety tips and guidelines.
In the beginning, the students wrote to their teacher. In a sense they wrote in the style a student would in a traditional writing assignment. Not really focusing that they are now writing to an audience. Over the coarse of the year, they became aware of their audience. The students developed a relationship with their readers. Their audience were real people, with whom they shared real interests. The students became empowered and motivated learners. They were willing to share with their readers with the help of confidence they started to gain. Some also made plans to improve their writing styles. In this study, blogging represented a new kind of space for learning.
The study suggests that the students grew as writers. They became aware of their audience and that it went beyond just their classroom teacher. I see this as a positive thing. This is another example of how technology and new methods both help the teacher and student. This is another way “hands-on” activities are not only engaging students but they are enjoying the learning process. They gained confidence within themselves during this study.
Davis, A. & McGrail, E. (2011). The Influence of Classroom Blogging on Elementary Student Writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. Issue 25, pg. 415-437.


Offering good, satisfying literacy activities provide young opportunities to children to gain the information, awareness, abilities, and love of learning which they have to later learn how to read alone. Listed below are 8 ways you can offer those experiences:
CHOOSE THE BEST BOOKS
Choose books that have large colorful pictures or photos; a few words on a page; rich language; and relate with principles, people, or things in children's lives. With this particular coverage, small children understand that reading and books explain the planet they live in and ultimately help them better understand themselves. Appear to be a tall order to get a child?
Not necessarily if you think about perennial favorites like the Hungry Caterpillar. This book doesn't include many words but shows counting and science concepts. For one more standpoint, consider peeping at: source.
READ OUT LOUD
Read to young ones often and usually. Pick a standard reading time, but in addition watch for opportunities to see books, signs, words, or other print spontaneously. The ability of like a normal, every day incident reading helps young ones gain confidence that they'll learn to read themselves.
Experiences influence kids' learning for-life. Some research implies that the more stories children hear before entering school, the more likely they will be successful academically. Hearing books benefits their knowledge and vocabulary.
Paying only 15 minutes a day with this useful task could reap great benefits!
MAKE STUDYING FUN
Work with a variety of expressions, colors, and sounds to create a book a lot more fun.
Let a kid to listen at her own pace. If a child fusses or even a toddler wanders absent, don't worry. Set the book away and take to again later. An infant may only listen for a moment or two at the same time. Toddlers may choose to wander around as you read, or pay attention to a few pages, proceed to something else, and then return for-a few more pages.
Encourage a kid to join in on repeating phrases or rhymes, and honor requests to see the same book over and over.
MAKE BOOKS AVAILABLE
Make books available to babies and toddlers each day. To explore more, please consider checking out: children songs. Children don't separate books from other toys and might move, chuck, or chew books. That tactile, real exploration of books and how they work is vital to literacy development.
Show how books work. To get alternative viewpoints, we recommend you check out: nursery rhymes. Mention the cover, show which is the top and bottom, front and back of the book, and talk about how words are read from left to right on the page. Use your finger to point to the corresponding picture and a word on the page.
CONFER WITH YOUR CHILD
Remember literacy is about a lot more than reading the printed word, it's about understanding and communication.
According to the National Research Council in Getting Started Right: Helpful Tips to Promoting Reading Success, 'Talk is vital - the more substantial and substantive the better.' Babies and toddlers find out about the sounds, definitions, and ideas in language when people talk with them. Preschoolers increase their language and learn syntax.
Discussions together with your children about what they're studying are essential to children's learning. Discussing books helps them understand how language works, and how stories work. When reading, stop and speak about the pictures and words on the site.
LISTEN TO YOUR SON or daughter
Up to children, toddlers, and pre-schoolers need to hear language, they also need to apply and imitate sounds and words with interested listeners. React to your child's talk and repeat their words back for them. Ask questions to show you are listening and that encourage a kid to talk. Listen watchfully and accept responses. This provocative partner sites use with has a few salient tips for how to engage in this viewpoint. Tune in to youngsters' questions and take care to answer.


Skill: Children will identify and read the First 100 Fry Words.
Common Core Aligned Activity/Center
Reading Foundational Skills/Phonics & Word Recognition
Grade Level: First Grade through Second Grade, Special Education, ESL
You will receive a 62 page ebook which includes
2 Storage Labels, Directions, 100 Color Word Cards programmed with the First 100 Fry Words, 100 Blackline Word Cards programmed with the First 100 Fry Words, 8 Stop Cards (4 Color and 4 Blackline), 8 Frankenswine Cards (4 Color and 4 Blackline), 2 I Can Statements for First Grade and Second Grade, 2 Graphics Credit Pages, and a Thank You Note. Children will have fun learning the sight words while playing Frankenswine. (version of the popular sight word game called "Pig")
Blacklines of the Word Cards, Stop Cards, and Frankenswine Cards are provided to help you save ink if you do not want run all the cards in color.
Great for a Literacy Center or Partner Activity.
All products feature a cute Frankenstein Theme
Original Artwork: See Graphics Credit Pages inside ebook for clickable links to the 2 Graphic Artists.
Personal/Classroom Use Only (1 classroom only)
Multiple Licenses are now available through TpT at one half the selling price.
No Commercial Use or Sharing of this Product through Internet Groups/Blogs, Offline Groups, School District Websites/Servers, or School Websites/Servers
If you download this product please take some time to rate it and provide me with some feedback. As well, please consider becoming a follower of my TPT store so that you will receive notification when I post more games and centers to the TPT site.
Frankenswine Sight Word Game First 100 Fry Words by Shelia Hickman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License


When your kid join our highly popular weekly science program (1 hour each week).
We engage both their left and right brain simultaneously through our highly interactive and engaging science programs. Our curriculum is recognised worldwide as the standard for early science for kids.
In fact, they will even be learning advance science knowledge that is taught in our Singapore's MOE primary 6 standard. But the difference is that, we break them down seemingly difficult concepts into FUN and Interactive Science for kids to absorb easily. Our Kids just LOVE SCIENCE at High Touch High Tech!
In every lesson, we'll conduct fun and engaging hands-on experiments for the kids so that they'll get INVOLVED and actually see, hear, feel and experience the science behind it.
They no longer just know the theory behind the science modules BUT they actually EXPERIENCE it. Just like Albert Einstein.
In our class, our kids become actual young scientists!
They will put on their lab coats and conduct experiments just like a PROFESSIONAL. We will throw them a problem, and ask them to solve it in as many ways as they can think of. This invokes their creativity and problem solving skills along the way!