In Discoverers (0-2s) the youngest children will begin to learn about the world through their senses, cared for by staff who create a home from home feel and follow individual sleep and food routines. Staff will enable each little one to thrive and build firm foundations for the future. Each day is a new day of discovery when you are little and our safe and stimulating play spaces will encourage active learning, times of rest and emotional wellbeing. Sensory play including water, painting, music and songs will feature regularly.
In Explorers (2-3s) the children will be continue to explore the world around them, both inside and outdoors. Our staff will support each child’s growing independence and developing language skills by offering fun experiences that promote confidence and self-esteem. As children mature their social skills develop so opportunities to explore friendships with others and learn about sharing and turn taking will be an important feature in this room. Exploring snow and rain, jumping in puddles, singing action songs and playing with spaghetti all promote learning with their whole bodies and provide vital foundations for holistic learning.
In Adventurers (3-5s) the children will continue to investigate the wider world following their own path of discovery and using resources that invite experimentation. Friendships will develop, essential skills will be learnt and positive attitudes fostered, like perseverance, independence and motivation. By giving children space, time and quality resources, we know that childhood bodies and brains will be stimulated and learning will take place. Looking for worms, creating with sand, planting vegetables and building with blocks are essential elements of an exciting early childhood learning experience. Activities will support imagination and creativity, enable children to “do it by myself” and begin to encourage problem solving skills, giving each child the foundations for learning needed for their next adventure in school.


Life & Career
Neel was born in Merion Square, Pennsylvania and began her art education at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now known as Moore College of Art and Design), enrolled from 1921-25 Her early life was turbulent and her marriage to the artist Carlos Enriquez took her from Pennsylvania to Cuba to New York. With the death of a child and a disintegrating marriage, she suffered from anxiety and depression, which led to several suicide attempts. By 1932 she had returned to painting and to New York, where she participated in the First Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit that year. Like many artists living in New York during the 1930s, Neel joined the Public Works of Art Project (which would later become the Works Progress Administration, WPA), a government-funded program run under the Whitney Museum of American Art; she worked with the program on and off again until its termination in 1943.
While she was included in a number group shows and small exhibitions during the 1940s and 50s, Neel only began to see increased recognition in the 1960s. By 1974 the Whitney Museum of American Art was holding a retrospective of her work, which many considered to be ‘too little, too late’ although she considered it a triumph. In 1984, the year of her death, she appeared twice on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, offering to paint his portrait.
She participated in a demonstration against the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition, Harlem on My Mind, in 1969; she, Raphael Soyer, John Dobbs, and Mel Roman were the only white artists to attend the demonstration, organized by the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition. She also stood with the Black Emergency Cultural Coalition and Artists and Writers Protest Against the War in Vietnam opposing Governor Nelson rockefeller's handling of the Attica prison riot in 1971. Her portrait of Kate Millet appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1970 in an issue dedicated to the “Politics of Sex.” Between 1973 and 1975 she participated in at least eight exhibitions exclusively devoted to the work of women artists.
Alice Neel, Family, 1982, lithograph, ed. 68/175,
31-1/4 x 27 inches. The George Washington
University Permanent Collection. Gift of James
M. Kearns, 1993.
 National Museum of Women in the Arts, “Alice Neel, 1900-1984,” <http://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/alice-neel> Accessed 14 March, 2016.
 Sarah Powers, “Chronology,” in Alice Neel, exhibition catalog, June 29, 2000–December 30, 2001, Philadelphia Museum of Art and four other institutions, 159-176.
 Powers, 176.
 Powers, 169.
 Powers, 175.
 Powers, 174.


There are countless approaches to the delivery of school music, perhaps as many as there are music educators. There are a range of programs and organisations, each with their own ways of bringing more music into schools or give students new opportunities, and many of these are listed in our Australian Music Directory. There are also many approaches that teachers in schools can use in their regular music lessons and we’ve outlined a few popular and innovative approaches below.
The Kodály Approach
A philosophy developed by Hungarian composer, Zoltan Kodály, this is a sequential, cumulative and developmental program, based on an aural-vocal approach. According to Jennifer Samild from the Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia (NSW branch), “Kodaly believed that children should first learn their own musical mother tongue – the folk songs of their own cultural heritage. It is through this musical mother tongue that the skills and concepts necessary to achieve musical literacy can be taught. As these skills develop, children are given the opportunity to study and perform Art Music of all periods and styles.”
Developed in the 1920s and 1930s by the German composer and educator Carl Orff and his colleague Gunild Keetman, The Orff approach “This approach encourages the student to develop their own compositions from their thoughts and creativity. In a sequenced music education program, the Orff approach recognises the importance of rhythm in children’s early musical experiences. This is fostered through movement and dance as well as singing, speaking rhythmically and instrument playing.”
Musical Futures is an enquiry based approach to teaching and learning that aims to bring non-formal teaching and informal learning approaches into more formal contexts, in an attempt to provide engaging, sustainable and relevant music making activities for all young people. Musical Australia has partnered with Musical Futures Australia on our Songwriting Workshops for Teachers.


Response to Intervention Information
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a school-wide model of student support used to determine if a student is responding to classroom instruction and progressing as expected. The foundation of RTI in our schools is strong core instruction happening in all classrooms. We also use screening data to identify students who need additional instructional assistance, known as intervention. We then design specific plans for those students at-risk of not progressing as expected. This approach enables educators to focus on meeting the learning needs of all students, and monitor their progress systematically. All interventions used under RTI should be ‘research-based’: shown through rigorous research to be effective in school settings. This page includes a link to the RTI plan currently in place in the Bedford Central School District.
|Download the District RTI Plan|
Background- What is RTI? RtI is a multi-tiered, problem-solving approach that identifies general education students struggling in academic and behavioral areas early and provides them with systematically applied strategies and targeted instruction at varying levels of intervention. The core principles of RTI include:
RtI represents an important educational strategy to close achievement gaps for all students, including students at risk, students with disabilities and English language learners, by preventing smaller learning problems from becoming insurmountable gaps. It has also been shown to lead to more appropriate identification of and interventions with students with learning disabilities. Each day educators make important decisions about students' educational programs, including decisions as to whether a student who is struggling to meet the standards set for all children might need changes in the nature of early intervention and instruction or might have a learning disability. This decision as to whether a student has a learning disability must be based on extensive and accurate information that leads to the determination that the student's learning difficulties are not the result of the instructional program or approach. RtI is an effective and instructionally relevant process to inform these decisions.
- Student services are arranged in a multi-tier model
- Data are collected to assess student baseline levels and to make decisions about student progress (i.e., universal screening)
- Interventions are “evidence-based”
- The procedural integrity of interventions in measured
- RTI is implemented and developed at the school- and district-level to be scalable and sustainable over time
The NYS framework for RTI indicates the following:
- Appropriate instruction delivered to all students in the general education class by qualified personnel. Appropriate instruction in reading means scientific research-based reading programs that include explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency (including oral reading skills) and reading comprehension strategies.
- Screenings applied to all students in the class to identify those students who are not making academic progress at expected rates.
- Instruction matched to student need with increasingly intensive levels of targeted intervention and instruction for students who do not make satisfactory progress in their levels of performance and/or in their rate of learning to meet age or grade level standards.
- Repeated assessments of student achievement which should include curriculum based measures to determine if interventions are resulting in student progress toward age or grade level standards.
- The application of information about the student’s response to intervention to make educational decisions about changes in goals, instruction and/or services and the decision to make a referral for special education programs and/or services.
- Written notification to the parents when the student requires an intervention beyond that provided to all students in the general education classroom that provides information about the:
- amount and nature of student performance data that will be collected and the general education services that will be provided;
- strategies for increasing the student’s rate of learning; and
- parents’ right to request an evaluation for special education programs and/or services.
Important RTI Links and Sites
- Intervention Central- This site contains free tools and resources to help school staff and parents to promote positive classroom behaviors and foster effective learning for all children and youth. The site was created by Jim Wright.
- Progress Monitoring Web Resources- The National Center on Student Progress Monitoring (NCSPM) has exciting downloadable articles, PowerPoint presentations, FAQs, and additional resources about student progress monitoring, Curriculum-Based Measurement, applying decision making to IEPs and other researched based topics. All of our publications are designed to inform and assist audiences in implementing student progress monitoring at the classroom, building, local or state level.
- National Center on RTI- the one place to find all you need to know about Response to Intervention. Use the graphic on the homepage to navigate through and learn about the the Essential Components of RTI.


Eagle’s Nest Academy has adopt an early childhood learning curriculum that emphasizes an “active learning” approach. Active learning means students have direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events and ideas.
1. Interaction with materials, people, and/or ideas,
2. Student choice and shared control,
3. Students communicate their thinking,
4. Adult support for optimal student learning,
5. Early exposure to intense reading, math, science, and social development skills.
ENA Learning Model
Eagle’s Nest Academy is proud to become an Expeditionary Learning school, following the EL Education learning model which is cultivated by ten design principles:
1. THE PRIMACY OF SELF-DISCOVERY
Learning happens best with emotion, challenge, and the requisite support.
2. THE HAVING OF WONDERFUL IDEAS
Teaching in Expeditionary Learning schools fosters curiosity about the world.
3. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEARNING
Learning is both a personal process of discovery and a social activity.
4. EMPATHY AND CARING
Learning is fostered best in communities where students’ and teachers’ ideas are respected and where there is mutual trust.
5. SUCCESS AND FAILURE
All students need to be successful if they are to build the confidence and capacity to take risks and meet increasingly difficult challenges.
6. COLLABORATION AND COMPETITION
Individual development and group development are integrated so that the value of friendship, trust, and group action is clear.
7. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Both diversity and inclusion increase the richness of ideas, creative power, problem-solving ability, and respect for others.
8. THE NATURAL WORLD
A direct and respectful relationship with the natural world refreshes the human spirit and teaches the important ideas of recurring cycles and cause and effect.
9. SOLITUDE AND REFLECTION
Students and teachers need time alone to explore their own thoughts, make their own connections, and create their own ideas.
10. SERVICE AND COMPASSION
Students and teachers are strengthened by acts of consequential service to others.
Why Choose Eagles Nest Academy?
• Over a third of African-American and Hispanic males are “right-brain” learners, but 90% percent of the lesson plans are oriented toward left-brain learners.
• A right-brain learner understands concepts through pictures and oral descriptions along with hands-on experiences. While left-brain learners learn best with examining printed materials.
• Since the learning style of boys and girls are different, our families will have the option to enroll their children in single gender classrooms in the future.
•Another unique feature of our school is year-round learning. Expanded time in school will produce greater academic outcomes.
• We strive for Excellence in Academics & Athletics. Start Your “Sports Star” Early!


Create successful practice, explore a composer's historical lifestyle, learn about modern composers, experience local performances - Musical Notes will enhance your music education and capture your imagination. Be Inspired!
Condoleeza Rice--the former Secretary of State--had ambitions of becoming a world-class pianist. By the age of 15 she had already performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Although her musical ambitions never came to complete fruition, her musical background has helped her to accomplish some pretty impressive objectives. In fact, there are a number of great Americans who have utilized their musical background. So what is it about music that prepares individuals for life? There is a lot of debate whether it is the discipline of practice or the mental acuteness developed through playing notes in rhythm. In reality, it is probably a number of factors. Music is a great means to developing young minds!
To this day, Ms. Rice regularly meets with a band of friends to practice and perform classical music.
Jessica's Piano Studio
Teacher at Jessica's Piano Studio to many talented students! Here's some helpful tips and interesting information to create a wonderfully educational musical experience!


Stepping Into Handwriting: For Students Studying Elementary Education introduces future elementary school teachers to the methods of successful handwriting instruction. The program touches on key aspects of handwriting, giving pre-service teachers sufficient preparation with both handwriting strategies and challenges faced in the elementary classroom. This program provides opportunities for hands-on practice, so that tomorrow's teachers can feel comfortable teaching handwriting with any handwriting program in their future classrooms.
This course includes:
- A 72-page student book
- Hands-on letter building kit
- Wood Pieces, Slate, Little Chalk Bit, Little Sponge Cube, Mat for Wood Pieces
- Online assessments, videos, and other resources
- An online certificate upon successful completion of this course


By Teachers, For Teachers
For many students, self-confidence is a natural personality trait: You either have it or you don’t.
Confident learners tend to speak more and know how to get their point across. For those students who aren’t so confident, learning new material can feel like swimming upstream. These students are always questioning their abilities and tend to shy away from answering questions.
Confidence can also be taught via some creative teaching strategies. We as teachers have a powerful influence on our students, and we can help them feel confident and proud of themselves and their accomplishments. We can help them feel secure enough that they are willing and able to learn new material.
Here are a few teaching strategies to do just that.
1. Offer praise and acknowledge students’ accomplishments, both in private and in front of their classmates. Always start with a positive statement, and then you can add on by referring to what they need to work on.
2. Try not to correct every single thing the student says wrong. Do not interrupt the student when they are talking to correct them -- this will harm their confidence, not boost it.
3. Set attainable goals from the start of the year. This is a surefire way for students to see how much they have grown.
4. Give students the opportunity to choose what they learn -- this will help them build their self-worth. Try a learning menu or choice board where students get to choose which activities they want to learn about.
5. Be sure to always express a positive attitude to all of your students. This will show them that you are on their side, and that they are worth your attention.
6. Create opportunities for students to succeed by building on their strengths. If a student knows a lot of information about something, ask them to tell you about it. “I am unfamiliar with how the new gaming system works, can you please explain it to me?” Asking students for their help is a great confidence boost to their ego.
7. Encourage students to do better than they did before. For example, if Brady got a B on his science test, encourage him to get an A this time. It’s important for students to compete against themselves not their classmates.
8. Keep a log of how well all students are doing, and what they are good at and what they need to work on. This careful monitoring will help you catch problems as they arise.
To help students recognize and appreciate their growth try a few of these activities.
While biological traits may play a role in self-confidence, we can see from the tips and activities above that it is possible for teachers to give the not-so-confident students a little boost.
Do you have tips to help build your students’ self-confidence? Try a few of the activities above and let us know how they worked in the comment section below. We would love to hear your ideas.
Janelle Cox is an education writer who uses her experience and knowledge to provide creative and original writing in the field of education. Janelle holds a Master's of Science in Education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She is also the Elementary Education Expert for About.com, as well as a contributing writer to TeachHUB.com and TeachHUB Magazine. You can follow her at Twitter @Empoweringk6ed, or on Facebook at Empowering K6 Educators.


Abilitations walk-on domes help children learn balance and coordination skills. The set has six air-filled domes that flatten when stepped or pushed on, and recover shape when a hand or foot is lifted. Each dome makes an audible sound when air is released for sensory feedback. The domes are in assorted colors--red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and violet--and are numbered 1 to 6 for implementing cognitive activities, such as sequencing challenges, math exercises, or safely crossing a make-believe river. The domes are roto-molded in one piece for durability, and measure 5-1/4â€/13.3cm in diameter, and 2-5/8â€/6.7cm in thickness. The set includes an activity guide with suggestions for use, and may be suitable for early childhood learning environments and elementary grade level. The product is latex free for individuals with latex allergies.
Special needs products are designed to help improve sensory processing, positioning and mobility, fine motor, and language and communication skills for students with learning challenges. Language and communication products can help individuals improve articulation, vocalization, augmentative, vocabulary, reading, and social skills.
School Specialty provides instructional materials and supplies under dozens of brands, among them Abilitations, Think Math, Delta Education, Frey Scientific, Neo/SCI, Childcraft, School Smart, Sportime, and Speech Bin. The company, founded in 1959, is headquartered in Greenville, WI.
Whatâ€™s in the Box?


He was more interested in literature than music as a child and did not begin to compose until he was fifteen, when he started to teach himself music. In late February or early March 1902 he fathered a child with Marie Scheuchl, a servant girl in the Berg family household. His daughter, Albine, was born on December 4, 1902.
Berg had little formal music education before he became a student of Arnold Schoenberg in October 1904. With Schoenberg he studied counterpoint, music theory, and harmony. By 1906, he was studying music full-time; by 1907, he began composition lessons. His student compositions included five drafts for piano sonatas. He also wrote songs, including his Seven Early Songs (Sieben Frühe Lieder), three of which were Berg's first publicly performed work in a concert that featured the music of Schoenberg's pupils in Vienna that year. The early sonata sketches eventually culminated in Berg's Piano Sonata, Op. 1 (1907–1908); it is one of the most formidable "first" works ever written.
Berg studied with Schoenberg for six years until 1911. Berg admired him as a composer and mentor, and they remained close lifelong friends. Among Schoenberg's teaching was the idea that the unity of a musical composition depends upon all its aspects being derived from a single basic idea; this idea was later known as developing variation. Berg passed this on to his students, one of whom, Theodor Adorno, stated: "The main principle he conveyed was that of variation: everything was supposed to develop out of something else and yet be intrinsically different". The Piano Sonata is an example—the whole composition is derived from the work's opening quartal gesture and its opening phrase.


My name is Dianna Wolf. I went to Western Kentucky University for my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. I graduated in 2010 with my Master’s from WKU in LME with an Educational Technology focus and an English as a Second Language Endorsement. I am currently working on my Rank I at WKU for LME with a Library Media focus. I have taught two years of elementary education in self-contained classrooms. I taught for four years in an elementary school as an ESL teacher. I am on my fourth year teaching Computer Technology in a middle school. I am excited to learn about new technology tools to use them with my students and share with my colleagues.
There are a few ways that teachers can use blogs with their students in order for the students to part of the interaction.
Teachers can use blogs with students to discuss homework questions students may have. The teacher can address any questions the students may have once they begin working on the homework. If the homework is a project, students can share ideas amongst themselves. If the students are working in groups, they may collaborate through the blog in their group. This allows the teacher to provide help for the student, but also allows the students to help one another.
Teachers can use blogs in order for students and teachers interact with other students and teachers from other classes in the school or schools around the world. The interaction allows for students to share and get feedback from teachers and students about various topics. This technique provides different perspectives and collaboration among a group of students and teachers. Because the interaction is online, the content, communication, and interaction can provide information and ideas the teacher and students would not get if only in the classroom.
Teachers can use blogs in order to present information with others or ask for insight from others about the content the students have researched. The students can present the information, provide feedback for other presentations, and share the information with others outside of the school. Students may contact experts to read the blog and respond to provide more insight on the topic. This aspect of blogging can also be a way for students to not be apprehensive about presenting information.
There are many ways to use blogs in your classroom. You can develop your own ideas, and ask your students for ideas. They will probably have some great ideas you never thought about!


Perspectives on Teaching and Learning Chinese Literacy in China
This is one of two volumes by the same editors that explore historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives on literacy in China. This volume focuses on Chinese literacy, while the other volume is on English literacy. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has witnessed a dramatic increase in its literacy rate, but not without challenges. The essays in this volume provide a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in Chinese literacy education from ancient times to the modern day. Together, the essays address a wide array of topics, including early Chinese literacy development, children’s literature, foreign translated literature, and uses of information technology to teach Chinese. This authoritative text brings clarity and precision to the field and serves as a vital core resource for those who want to expand their understanding of Chinese literacy education. Its scope is unmatched even in academic literature in the Chinese language.
Offers the most comprehensive treatment of the topic available Provides a complete overview of Chinese literacy education in China, from a historical review to the most up-to-date information on current practices and literature Examines Chinese literacy teaching and learning from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives


Musical Bridges is an initiative to help schools improve children’s experience of transition to senior school. It uses the subject of music as its focus, but its approach is relevant right across the curriculum, and the benefits can extend well beyond the curriculum.
Over 200 schools in more than 20 local authority areas have participated in the Musical Bridges pilots. Now our professional development programme, tools and resources are freely available to schools across the country.
Primary and secondary schools already using Musical Bridges approaches and resources tell us that it has benefited them:
- By creating happier, more settled pupils, who are ready to learn and achieve in music and other subjects too
- By improving the way transition is managed across their school
- By developing teachers’ pedagogy and their skills to support transition
- By building strong links between schools in their locality
Music is the ideal subject to put at the heart of a transition initiative because it’s a subject that offers a wide variety of opportunities for academic, personal and social development.
Musical Bridges helps schools to improve transition by providing practical guidance and resources to help schools strengthen their practice in the following areas – the ‘Five Bridges’ of transition:
- Sharing pedagogies – improving continuity in teaching and classroom practice
- Joining up the curriculum – improving continuity between years 6 and 7
- Supporting personal and social needs – ensuring effective induction into secondary school and secure pastoral support
- Engaging pupils as agents – recognising pupils as active participants in the transition process and in their own learning
- Managing pupil information – ensuring effective and robust administrative arrangements to support transition
Read more on the Five Bridges here. Our Transition Tracker helps schools to identify areas of strength and areas where improvement can be made, across the Five Bridges. The tool offers solutions to challenges and suggests practical ideas for improvement.
Hear why the role of headteachers is key to successful transition:
The Musical Bridges CPD Programme
One of the best ways to benefit from Musical Bridges is to enable your staff to participate in our CPD Programme. This is designed for all teachers with responsibility for music and/or transition in primary and secondary schools, but also impacts on many additional areas of school life.
The Programme is made up of four modules, most commonly delivered through four practical 90 minute sessions. All the resources are FREE and you can run the Programme in-house for your staff or in partnership with other schools in your areas.
The impact of the CPD Programme is much greater when clusters of primary and secondary schools collaborate with each other. To get started, all you need is an appetite to make transition and transfer the best experience for pupils in your school, and a commitment from at least one other local school to take part with you. All you need to set up and run the programme is available here.
Many local Music Education Hubs/Music Services also offer the Musical Bridges CPD Programme for groups of schools and will welcome you approaching them to do so.
Listen to Max Bullough, Head teacher of Hayling College and Alison Whitney, Head teacher of Newlyn Primary School describing the benefits of Musical Bridges for their schools:


Music Education + Standardized Tests =
Best Results for Students
A UCLA analysis of a U.S. Department of Education database tracking more than 25,000 students over
ten years showed that students involved in music generally tested higher in reading proficiency exams and standardized tests than those who had no musical involvement.
The study noted higher scores for musicians in all socioeconomic groups.
Source: Edward B. Fiske. “Involvement in the Arts and Human Development.” Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts
on Learning. President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and AEP, 1999


Physics for Kids
What is physics?
Physics is a branch of science that studies matter and its motion as well as how it interacts with energy and forces. Physics is a huge subject. There are many branches of physics including electricity, astronomy, motion, waves, sound, and light. Physics studies the smallest elementary particles and atoms as well as the largest stars and the universe.
Scientists who are experts in physics are called physicists. Physicists use the scientific method to test hypotheses and develop scientific laws. Some of the most famous scientists in history are considered physicists such as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.
Physics explains how the world around us works. Many of our modern technologies are based off of scientific discoveries made in the science of physics. Engineers use physics to help design airplanes, cars, buildings, and electronics such as computers and cell phones.
Important Discoveries in Physics
- Nicholas Copernicus - discovered that the Earth rotates around the Sun.
- Galileo - demonstrated that heavy objects do not fall faster than lighter ones in his famous Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment.
- Isaac Newton - published the three laws of motion and explained how gravity works.
- John Dalton - described the atom and the atomic theory of matter.
- Albert Einstein - published the theory of relativity.
- Max Planck - described quantum theory.
Physics Crossword Puzzle
Physics Word Search
Science for Kids


Sendes vanligvis innen 5-15 dager
The use of technology within the lifelong learning sector brings many benefits to learners, teachers and managers. Aimed at trainee and practising teachers, this book contains clear, practical guidance on how to use technology and e-learning effectively to enhance all aspects of teaching and learning in the post-compulsory sector. Alan Clarke explains the technologies that are available and how to use them from whiteboards and virtual learning environments to digital photographs, podcasts and e-portfolios. Each chapter is fully aligned with the new LLUK standards and includes teaching strategies, practical examples and case studies to show how these work in practice. Chapters include guidance on: using e-portfolios, blogs and wikis to present and share information with colleagues and encourage reflection motivating students and promoting collaboration using mobile devices, discussion groups and forums how to use ICT to develop literacy and numeracy skills ways to keep up to date with new and emerging technologies using technology safely and securely. Including a wide range of activities, questions for reflective practice and links to further sources of information, this essential textbook will help trainee and practising teachers in post-compulsory education to understand the major ILT tools and use them confidently and effectively in their teaching.
|Antall sider||160||Dimensjoner||17,4cm x 24,6cm x 1,4cm|
|Vekt||308 gram||Leverandør||Bertram Trading Ltd|
|Emner og form||Higher & further education, tertiary education, Educational equipment & technology, computer-aided learning (CAL)|
Andre produkter med samme artist(er)/medvirkende


Someone once said to me “you can’t really hear what’s beautiful, since everyone’s perception of beauty is so personal”. I think that could certainly be true, but I also think that the average person would say that a donkey bray is not as “pretty” as the sound of a songbird. I think that people know when something is abrasive or harsh it isn’t as nice to hear as when it is soothing and smooth. If you make the criteria too intellectual or abstract, you can get quite confused. If you keep it simple, then it isn’t rocket science.
Human beings react to emotion. We like what feels good. We don’t like what feels bad. There are more emotions that are unpleasant (fear, anger, sadness) than pleasant (happiness, peace). The stronger the emotion being expressed, the more likely it is to get an emotional response from someone else. Could be the same feeling (rapport) could be the opposite (discord). Sounds that are happy, joyful, contented, loving, sweet, grateful, satisfied, or peaceful, connected to lyrics that express those sentiments, would be expected to be more or less pleasant in vocal quality. We all know that a lullaby sounds soothing and we all know that it sounds different than the barking calls of an Army drill sargeant. Sounds that are angry, sorrowful, fearful, hopeless, painful, distressed or agitated, when also connected to lyrics of the same intention, are probably not going to sound pleasant, and could actually sound very unpleasant. They could, however, also be very communicative, on either side of the argument.
So one of the primary ingredients of “real” singing is that it is always connected to authentic emotional expression. It is not machine-like. Of course, people can choose to sing in a mechanical manner, imitating a computer, but it would be unlikely that such singing would appeal to a mass audience. To an educated elite audience, maybe, but to the average person, probably not. That’s one of the reasons the 20th Century classical music did not find a large and new audience. People can only relate to it if they have music education and sometimes not even then.
The other driver is that the sound is freely produced, which means that the emotional expression is unlabored. Even the “unhappy” emotions are delivered without a struggle. Feeling what you feel as you feel it, while you are singing, and sounding unlabored while you sing, will resonate with others as long as the musical ingredients are also there. They would include singing with pitch accuracy and good intonation, singing the words clearly, singing with control over volume, and in many cases, singing with vibrato, but not always.
Real singing is very direct. It hits you somewhere that you cannot forget. It can be small and sweet, as in a child or an untrained adult, or it can be big, powerful and highly trained, as in an operatic vocalist, or it could be anything in between. One absolute is that it is unique, memorable, and distinctive. Real singing allows the uniqueness of the individual voice, the intention of the lyrics as emotion and communication, and the musical components of melody, rhythm, tempo, key and accompaniment to meld into one cohesive whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Singing loudly may be impressive but that’s all it is. Singing something that sounds ugly, without having a reason for it to sound ugly, is just plain stupid and sad.


This report describes the findings from the first three years of the ACER longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study (LLANS). The longitudinal study was established in 1999 in a context in which there was significant national interest in improving achievement in literacy and numeracy for all Australian children, and a particular interest in the development of foundational skills in the early years of school. A nation wide sample of 100 schools was selected in proportion to the population of each state and territory and ten students were randomly selected from each of these schools. This provided a cohort for LLANS of 1000 children who commenced school in 1999. The longitudinal study continued beyond the first three years of school until 2005 when the students in the sample were in year 6.
Meiers, Marion; Khoo, Siek Toon; Rowe, Ken; Stephanou, Andrew; Anderson, Prue; and Nolan, Kathy, "Growth in Literacy and Numeracy in the First Three Years of School." (2006).
Copyright Australian Council for Educational Research 2006
Place of Publication
Australian Council for Educational Research


Using formative assessments to guide reading comprehension instruction
This qualitative study explores the use of formative assessments and how they can guide reading comprehension instruction, specifically for the inferring and summarizing strategies. State standards, reading comprehension strategies, various formative assessments, data organization, student involvement, and analyzing data to guide instruction are all examined. The action research portion of the study takes place in a third grade classroom. Data is collected over a three-week time period, and is in the form of a reflection log and teacher interviews. Results found through the study are analyzed, and formative assessments are categorized and labeled as tangible and non-tangible formative assessments. Teacher interviews explore formative assessments used, benefits and drawbacks, biggest struggles, and student involvement in the classrooms. The study concludes with limitations to the study, reflection of the findings, and a plan for using the results.
Frischmon, Tamara M., "Using formative assessments to guide reading comprehension instruction" (2011). School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 2373.
This document is currently not available here.


Just the Facts
Just the Facts asks one to two students to summarize quickly the reading that will be used in the day's discussion. We follow a simple protocol of "Who + What"--citing which characters from the text did what significant actions in order to move the plot forward. When the initial student is finished sharing key facts from the reading, another student might be asked to fill in any other details. If there are plot details that are incorrect, it is an opportunity for other students to correct the errors. These "police report" type of summaries can be audio or video recorded, quickly edited, and then posted on to the class website as a more engaging way for students to review significant plot points from our class texts. Although there is an ideal reading pace at which I want students to move, some will be ahead of the reading calendar and some will be behind. Also, many students are anxious or reluctant to share out loud when it comes to analysis of the reading. Given that the Just the Facts reports the text's plot and simply the facts, more students are enthusiastic about sharing because the strategy allows different students to be the experts in relaying facts.
One of the most essential steps for a successful Socratic seminar is the preparation of evidence that each student will bring into these discussions. One of the ways we prepare is through Pair Posters followed by a Gallery Walk. To give context, the seminars are whole class and entirely student-facilitated. Given all of the personality dynamics at play during the actual seminar, coupled with the ever-present video camera recording their thoughtful conversation that will later be scripted, it is fundamental that the students ground their opinions and questions in the text in order for the seminar to be a positive learning experience. One method of preparation that helps them do this, and that also generates enthusiasm for this high-stakes discussion, is dividing the class into pairs to create quote posters. After each pair is assigned a literary device, they then use their Annotation Logs to select text evidence shows how the literary device functions. This involves conversation and negotiation between the pair who then have to use the device analysis to connect back to one of the themes we have been studying as a class and incorporate an image that illuminates that connection. The public nature of the gallery walk that ensues after the posters are completed ensures that student pairs also spend time polishing the final product. Their peers will then take pictures of all the posters and decide which ones they might want to use as part of their individual evidence preparation for the Socratic seminar.
Peer to Peer Scoring is a feedback strategy I use regularly to ensure that my students become comfortable with and skillful at giving and receiving feedback about their academic work. In most cases, I develop rubrics to assess a particular skill and I ask the students to use the rubrics to score their peers' work on a given assignment. This strategy creates a common understanding of high-quality academic performance and the standards we use to assess that quality. Peer to Peer Scoring affords my students multiple opportunities to explain clearly their reasons for coming to a particular assessment of their peers' work, thereby helping each student to internalize what rigorous intellectual work consists of. Peer to Peer Scoring is also an effective scaffolding strategy to prepare my students for their Senior Research Projects, a rigorous graduation requirement at our school that culminates in seniors getting feedback from community members.
As with the Warm-up activity that gets the brain going at the beginning of class, my students end class with an activity that lets them feel closure with the lesson and their work for that day. The activity is almost always an online reflective journal or survey, and the purpose is to have an impact on and inform my planning for the next class. Sometimes we end the period with a whole-class conversation instead, especially after a Socratic Seminar day, because we use the conversation to debrief and think metacognitively about our discussion process as a whole group. Students should develop metacognition skills as a way of understanding how they learn. The debrief looks at the learning process for the day and is that opportunity for me to point out how different students learned well because they have certain strategies they used effectively. In this way, more students can benefit from that reflection. Literacy development requires so many strategies that operate differently given the text. When my students can benefit from understanding how they each learn, a strong sense of community and collaboration develops.


Under the leadership of the Office of the Governor and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington State policymakers and those most interested in the success of young children—their parents, caregivers, teachers and administrators in early childhood and elementary settings, and others—have come together to create a description and framework of the skills, knowledge, and approaches to learning that contribute to children's success when they go to kindergarten.
The Benchmarks describe the characteristic knowledge and skills necessary for a young child to succeed in school. The Benchmarks cover all domains of early childhood development: physical well-being, health and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches toward learning; cognition and general knowledge; and, language and literacy, and communications. They include examples of indicators that demonstrate that the goal has been achieved as well as strategies to support learning for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The Benchmarks create a continuum of learning that links early development to later success in school and life.
The development of the Benchmarks is a partnership between the Office of the Governor and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and is sponsored by the Head Start-State Collaboration Office, OSPI, Department of Social and Health Service (DSHS) and the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED).
Purposes and uses of the Benchmarks
The Benchmarks are intended to:
- Create a continuum of learning that links early development to later success in school and life by aligning the Benchmarks with Washington State's Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and K-3 Grade Level Expectations (GLEs);
- Promote reasonable expectations and practical strategies for parents and those who care for and teach young children to support their learning and development; and
- Contribute to a unified vision for the early care and education system in Washington State.
Nature of the Early Learning and Development Benchmarks.
The Benchmarks are the foundation document for development of materials for the diverse audiences that care for young children. For example, a benchmark in the area of reading will suggest that children need to understand the meaning of what is read to them. Infants who can focus attention on simple picture books, toddlers who can make up or finish a story, and preschoolers who can "read" a picture book by making up a story to go with the pictures are demonstrating pre-literacy skills. The Benchmarks will help adults support children in gaining these important skills, knowledge, and approaches to learning. The benchmarks link to related EALRs and the K-3 GLEs, thus supporting children as they move from their homes and early care and education settings into the elementary school.
Process for developing the Benchmarks. The process has:
- Built on existing documents and research—using significant work already completed by Washington early care and education professionals, lessons learned from other states, and findings of research;
- Involved key stakeholders—by drawing upon the expertise of those who will use the Benchmarks in their work with children and families and families themselves;
- Been guided by a Core Team-comprised of representatives of the Office of the Governor, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Division of Child Care and Early Learning, the Head Start-State Collaboration Office, and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program; and
- Been led by a renowned expert in early childhood learning—Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan and a team from the National Center for Children and Families at Columbia University.
Key dissemination strategies.
Dissemination and implementation are critical to assure that the Benchmarks reach intended audiences and can be incorporated into the everyday practice of early care and education professionals. Dissemination and implementation will be viewed as a professional development opportunity for the early care and education, and be applicable to the range of users. Well-designed dissemination is essential to effective implementation. Key strategies will be to:
- Develop publications in a variety of formats;
- Distribute to a variety of stakeholders via multiple means;
- Develop informational materials and technical assistance tools targeted to specific audiences; and
- Develop strategies for redistribution to assure that high turnover in early care and education settings is not a factor in limiting use of the Benchmarks.
Evaluation of the project. The initial dissemination and implementation activities are expected to take approximately a year from the time the Benchmarks are initially completed. During this time data will be collected to assess how useful the Benchmarks have been to parents, how many early care and education professionals have been reached and their responses to the Benchmarks, initial effects on program practice, and initial responses of kindergarten teachers and elementary administrators and specialists.


What happens when you bring classrooms into living rooms – and homework into classrooms?
In a “flipped” classroom, teachers reverse the traditional teaching process, sending students home with video classroom lectures online, on thumb drives, on DVD – wherever students can get them. The students watch these lectures at home, then come to class prepared to practice what they learned with their teacher.
Lodge McCammon, a former civics and AP economics teacher, is now a curriculum and media specialist with the Friday Institute at North Carolina State University. He’s developed his own system, called “FIZZ,” to help teachers make the flip. And McCammon says there’s more than one way to turn a classroom upside down.
“There’s sort of two camps of flipping the classroom, and we’re trying to champion one of them,” he says.
McCammon says the camps are divided. In popular Kahn Academy videos, for example, teachers use those ready-made lessons in their own classrooms. McCammon says the difference is that in FIZZ, teachers make their own videos for instruction and add student video production during class time. McCammon says he thinks the filming and editing process helps teachers with self-assessment.
“You’re gonna own it, and you’re gonna watch it back, and you’re gonna reflect on what you just watched. That makes people better human beings. And it makes teachers very powerful,” he says.
McCammon says he thinks the FIZZ classroom method also brings teachers and parents together.
“For a long time, school has been this thing you drop your kids off to and they come home and you say, ‘hey, what did you do in school today?’ And they say, ‘i don’t know, nothing, whatever.’ And then when it comes time to do their homework, the parents are like, ‘I don’t remember algebra, so you’re kind of on your own,’” he says.
“These ten minute videos are published, they’re out there,” McCammon says. “No longer am I like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on in my son’s class, he says the teacher’s not teaching, I’m not sure’ … it tightens that up.”
McCammon was in East Tennessee to teach a flipped classroom training at Maryville College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1999.
“Lodge has a very creative approach that is low-cost and easy to master,” says Dr. Rebecca Lucas, associate professor of elementary education at Maryville College.
“The strategy is one that all teachers can implement with very little tech expertise or financial investment,” she says.
The Maryville College Division of Education invited McCammon to train teachers earlier this year. Program coordinators estimate around 130 area teachers attended.
Watch the presentation here:


Literacy is the combination of the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills we all need to fulfil our potential. Sandbach School accepts the fundamental principle that literacy is the key to improving learning and raising standards; it enables students to gain access to the subjects studied in schools, to read for information and pleasure and to communicate effectively in both written and spoken contexts.
Poor levels of literacy impact negatively on student learning and self-perception. Good levels of literacy directly correlate with academic success, future employment prospects and quality of life.
Literacy development is a core value for Sandbach School and all staff share responsibility for the teaching of Literacy across the curriculum.
Word of the week: every week during the school year we have a different set of words for our Word of the Week. The words are shared with the school by including them on desktop background every time a student logs in, plus we also share them on social media.
Literacy Marking Policy (to follow shortly)
Recommended Reading Lists (to follow shortly)
Literacy Marking Policy CPS
All teachers use agreed guidelines to mark for literacy by high-lighting the following errors:
- C – for capital letter errors.
- P – for punctuation errors (correct use of . , “ “ ‘)
- S – for words spelt incorrectly (e.g. there and their; too, to and two)
- Teachers will also insist on the appropriate use of sentences and paragraph demarcation where appropriate – use a / to denote a new sentence and // for a new paragraph.
- Teachers will encourage and support all students in correcting CPS mistakes when identified.
Improve Spelling – Look – Cover- Write – Check
Students are encouraged to regularly record and learn corrected spellings using the Look – Cover – Write – Check method.
This will be recorded on sheets attached to exercise books.


FTCE Elementary Education K-6
This brand-new study guide comes with a comprehensive review of the content area, information about the Florida state standards, practice tests, answer keys, and a detailed description for every answer to the multiple-choice questions. Written by two highly qualified instructors, this guide also includes effective teaching strategies and applicable tips for your future classroom.
Specific topics include:
• Reading and language arts
• Social sciences
• Media literacy
• Best practices in the elementary classroom
• Effective instructional practices
• Research-based teaching approaches
With sample tests that direct you back to sections that might require a second review and over 300 pages of content, this guide will give you all the practice necessary to pass the FTCE Elementary Education exam.


Want To Know The Secret To Be Able To Pass The Education Of Young Children 5021 State Teaching Exam?
Praxis II Education Of Young Children 5021 Examination Overview
To those individuals who are dedicated and interested to teach young children, you must first pass one of the praxis II exams. The PRAXIS II Education of Young Children 5021 exam is intended to teachers who have the potential to teach young children – from birth to eight years old. The exam is based on a teaching approach that emphasizes the active involvement of these young children in a variety of play and child-centered activities that provide them with opportunities to decide, discover and make choices.
The PRAXIS II Education of Young Children 5021 exam is composed of two parts: Part A for the 90 multiple choice; and Part B which is composed of 3 short constructed-response or the essay part. The first part is about 80% of the overall score while Part B is the remaining 20%. Examinees will be given 2 hours to finish the entire examination. This will cost the examinees 90%.
The test assesses the examinee’s knowledge about pedagogy and content, the relationship of theory to practice, and how theory can be applied in the educational setting. This also includes multicultural influences, diversity, variations in development, and how these affect children’s development and learning.
Part A of the praxis II exam revolves around 5 content categories such as the early childhood development, teaching and supporting diverse children, creating a developmentally appropriate learning environment, teaching and learning, and professionalism, family and community.
Part B of the PRAXIS II Education of Young Children 5021 exam will focus on one of the following areas: Family; Professionalism; Teaching and Supporting Diverse Children; the Learning Environment; and Assessment, Curriculum, or Instruction.
The test aligns with the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation (2009). The test may contain questions that will not count toward your score.
Praxis II Education Of Young Children Key Points
Early Childhood Development
To answer the Early Childhood Development category of the praxis II exam, examinees should understand the typical progression in each developmental domain of children, understand external factors that influence physical, cognitive and emotional development, theories of family and community, the major theories of learning, individual characteristics of a child, factors that influence language and literacy development, recognize how brain development influences the child’s development, and they should also know the warning signs of common medical conditions and basic first aid procedures to children. This is 14% of the entire part A exam.
Teaching and Supporting Diverse Children
Teaching and Supporting Diverse Children category is approximately 12% of the entire part A. Examinees are then asked to recognize areas of exceptionality and its potential impact on a child’s learning, know the implications of current federal legislation relating to these children, know a variety of approaches for accommodating these children, and know how to integrate a multicultural and an anti-bias curriculum into the early childhood environment.
Creating a Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environment
In this category, examinees will be asked some questions regarding critical health and safety information and procedures, literacy-rich environment, the importance of health and safety, how multi-sensory indoor and outdoor spatial environments impact children’s development and learning, how to arrange the environment to provide purposeful opportunities for children to play and discover, strategies for transitions, and others. This is 15% of the entire part A exam.
Teaching and Learning
This category deals with the standards and frameworks in instructional planning, scope and sequence that affect instructional planning, resources and materials for planning, instructional methods, techniques to support children’s learning, methods for promoting children’s development, and uses of different grouping techniques and strategies. Furthermore, it also deals with formal and informal assessment, variety of assessments, and use of assessment results that influence planning. This has the biggest percentage of Part A which is 20%.
Professionalism, Family, and Community
Examinees must understand skills needed for effective communication, guidelines for the ethical and safe use of technology, major policies related to the rights and responsibilities of teachers and children, varieties of methods for partnering with families, variety of ways to partner with the community in the educational process and how to advocate for children. This constitutes the remaining 19% of the total questions in part A.
You must seek for the best sources of PRAXIS II Education of Young Children 5021 examination overview materials to be able to pass and ace the Education of Young Children 5021 exam. To help you with your test preparation, you have to avail our materials such as Education of Young Children 5021 exam secrets, Education of Young Children 5021 flash cards and our Education of Young Children 5021 study guides.


- Computer Science for Kids presents:
- Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic First Semester
- Self –Study Beginner Programming Tutorial
- Written by Philip Conrod and Lou Tylee
- Published by BIBLEBYTE BOOKS
- $34.95 -- Single User License, Digital E-book download
- Designed for Middle School approximately grades 6-8
Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic is a self-paced tutorial course. It is designed to help teach students programming concepts using Microsoft Small Basic. There are 13 chapters within this tutorial. The first ten are exactly the same as the first ten chapters of Beginning Microsoft Small Basic. The last three chapters deal with writing code for classic Computer Bible Games that students can program and play in Microsoft Small Basic.
This tutorial will teach students about program design, text window applications, graphics window applications and many other elements of Small Basic language. There are many visual examples included throughout the tutorial so the student knows exactly what to look for while writing their code.
We used this program exclusively with Benjamin, who is 11. He was very, very, excited to be able to take a programming class. I think he was most excited that he got to work exclusively with Dad for this program.
So this review is my observations of watching my husband work with my son, using the Microsoft Small Basic program and the Computer Bible Games Tutorial.
They worked exclusively on my HP laptop computer while using on this program. My husband, Matt, started out by printing out the lessons and putting them in three ring binder. Then he and Ben sat down and started the first lesson. Because Ben is 11, Matt broke each lesson into two sessions a week, each about an hour and a half to two hours long. The first lesson consists of a short history behind computers and computer programming language. Matt and Ben had a great time discussing the history. Matt was able to bring his childhood into the lesson as he could tell Ben about using this computer or that one while growing up and helping his dad at the family store. The second day of lesson 1 involved downloading and installing Small Basic.
Each lesson went in about the same manner as the first. Matt and Ben would sit down at the table with the computer, open the binder with the printed tutorial, and start following the lesson. The lesson begins with an overview, then the meat of the lesson and finally a summary.
Matt and Ben were able to work through lesson 5 during the review period. Here are some thoughts from Matt about the tutorial.
“This program was very well laid out and easy to implement. While I sat with Ben for each lesson, he was able to read and understand the lessons on his own. Being able to see on paper, exactly what Ben would see on the computer was the main reason Ben could be successful using the program.”
I, Mom, was impressed at how much Ben learned and used during this review. He must have been hungry for computer knowledge, because he talked about it during the week and even went back to the programs he wrote and used them again and again.
One of the programs he wrote was a savings calculator. I laugh every time I see Ben go to the computer, open up that program and then come tell me how much money he will have in 6 months if he saves x number of dollars each month.
I would recommend this program to anyone. I think it is a great program for both kids who know a little about computer programming and kids who do not even realize computers need a specific language to work (like my daughter). We will be continuing with this course until the end of the book as Ben was really enjoying himself and looking forward to learning more.
Many of my Schoolhouse Review Crew Mates also reviewed this program as well as Beginning Microsoft Small Basic. Visit the Crew Blog to read their reviews.


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A component of literacy development and reading instruction for young children involves the ability to break words into smaller units. This skill falls under the umbrella of phonological awareness which is a broad term encompassing phonemes, rhymes, words, syllables and onsets and rimes.
An onset is the the initial consonant(s) sound of a syllable (the onset in the word cat is c-; of string, str-). A rime is the part of a syllable from the first vowel onwards (the rime of cat is -at; of string, -ing).
In my first grade class I created a game for my students to deepen their understanding of onsets and rimes while having a bit of fun.
I made cards for each of the 49 common onsets and 37 common rimes, and gathered an hourglass timer, a spinner and some paper. Students, working in teams or individually, spin to see if they will pick an onset card or a rime card. Once a card is chosen, the timer is set and students write down as many words as they can that start with the selected onset (ch-, d-, etc.) or end with the rime shown on the card (-at, -ake, etc.).
It can also be adjusted depending on students age and ability. In kindergarten I generally include only onsets with one letter and simple rimes such as -at, -an, -it. In first grade onsets include digraphs and blends while rimes include vowel teams and silent /e/ syllable types.
I have included a sample student sheet (click to embiggen) but it works just as well for students to use a blank piece of paper once they understand the task.


Art Education in Japan:
When many Americans hear this story they are not as familiar with the different artists referred to, with the exception of Picasso. In Japan, art education is a compulsory part of education. As a result the names of the artists are not exotic or unfamiliar as they might be to a western audience. Instead, these names might resonate more with the elementary aged group because of their proximity to art education. As a result, this story is often performed in front of an elementary aged audience.
Pay special attention to the language used in this Rakugo performance. There is a distinct difference in language used by the two characters. One, the museum attendant is in a subordinate position to the customer who is present at the museum. The characterization of the attendant can be acknowledged through the use of honorific speech. The humor comes about as the attendant is brutally honest, yet distinctly polite in the speech.
When listening carefully there are several speech characteristics that differentiate the lady from the museum attendant. When the lady is speaking, feminine speech is used. Although this type of speech is not seen in everyday language, it is used in dramas, movies, and animation as a way to mark the language pattern of the character and embed an impressionable identity. Interestingly, recent research shows a diminishing use of female speech in television dramas over the last few decades.


In recent years, there has been an increase in the diagnosis of autism among today’s youth population. As a result, music teachers have seen an increase in the number of autistic students in their classrooms.
Autism is a spectrum of disorders with characteristics that range from high-functioning Asperger’s to classic autism, in which children have significant communication and learning disabilities, In general, autistic children have difficulties with subtle forms of communication (visual cues) and with developing social skills.
What Does This Mean for the Music Teacher?
It means that you may have students in your class who are intellectually able, but lack social skills needed in a group performance situation. You may have students who have learning and physical disabilities, and who need the services of an assigned teacher assistant while in your music class, along with various therapies throughout the school day.
How Can You Accommodate This Student and Provide a Meaningful Experience?
Many famous and successful people have had autism, including Albert Einstein. A few well-known musicians with autism include Glenn Gould, Bela Bartok, Susan Boyle (of American Idol fame) and maybe even Michael Jackson, the King of Pop! These people are known for their outstanding musical abilities. So it is possible for kids with autism to do well in your music class. However, these people are also known for their idiosyncrasies and “behaviors” outside the norm, seemingly attributable to having autism.
What Are Some “Behaviors” You May See in Your Students?
- Obsessive tendencies related to performance skill development
- Obsessive need for routine (including classroom procedural routine)
- Social skill challenges (no filter; no emotional nuance with peers; lack of empathy)
- Motor skill development issues related to development of certain performance skills
- Clumsy movements, with an instrument in hand (DANGER!)
- Issues w/ eye contact
- Stiffness of playing/motor skill development issues
- Attention span issues
- Repetitive behaviors
- Sensitivity to loud noises
What Strategies Can Be Used to Best Serve All Students?
While my experience is as a strings teacher/orchestra director, I believe that the strategies that I have used and researched will work in most music classes. Here are a few:
- Talk with the parent(s). Parents deal with their kid’s autism every day. Agree to work as a team to help the student be successful!
- Get to know each student’s special education teachers/related staff. They know his/her Individual Education Program (IEP). Get familiar with that student’s IEP and accommodations. This helps you design appropriate lessons for him/her. Plus- IT’S THE LAW!
- Find out how your student learns. (Are they an aural learner? Visual? Tactile/kinesthetic?) Find ways to adjust your teaching style to his/her learning style (maybe the student needs a daily or weekly list of learning activities/music class procedures to establish a “routine”).
- Re-write music parts. Consider simplifying parts to match the student’s level of motor skill development or intellectual ability. You might also have students play on fewer concert selections. (Concerts are not the norm and may create anxiety for the autistic student; doing less, but still making a contribution, may make for a better experience for him/her.)
- Use peer teaching. Assign a “buddy” in class (buddy helps the student with counting; helps the autistic student keep pace with the rest of the class/at a concert).
- Use mnemonics/color coding. Color coding is a visual aid that helps with recognition and association of notes. Mnemonics are patterns of letters, ideas, or associations that assist the brain in remembering.
- Leverage recordings. Find recordings/audio clips of music being rehearsed/prepared for performances and download them to playing devices for students to use during solo practice.
Mnemonic Example, Set to Music:
F is on the first space,
F is on the first space.
Simplifying Instruction Example:
Boom Chicks (alternating quarter notes in 4/4 time): “They play on the “Booms; you play on the “Chicks.”
You can do it! I have personal experience with autistic students who have had rocky starts in music classes, but have gone on to great success throughout their public school experience. I’ve seen these students graduate with college music degrees! Yes, we have to do more to help these students be successful, but we music teachers always “go the extra mile,” don’t we?


Rachel from Minds in Bloom blog is having a Link-Up for everyone to share reading comprehension strategies.
You can check it out for yourself at http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2012/02/reading-strategies-link-up.html
I made a document of all the comprehension strategies to date that I've practiced with my students. This document includes 14 organizers for practicing reading strategies. Strategies include: Ask Questions; Make Connections; Synthesize; Create Images; Determine Importance; Fix-Up Strategies; Infer: Fact/Opinion; Summarize. Below is a an example of one of the pages.
I give my students a copy of the organizer once we've practiced it in class. Twice a week, students copy the organizer into their reading journals and apply it to their nightly reading.
You can pick up a free copy at my TpT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Strategies-Organizers


This innovative website offers a variety of fun songs to teach basic Mathematical concepts. The songs are easy to sing along to with colourful graphics.
This site offers a comprehensive list of Mathematics and Language skills to choose from. Each skill has an online interactive game to build the skill with. I focus on Gr1-3 and can vouch for those games being really useful. It would be great if someone “in the know” could offer feedback on the older grades?
The Costume Designers research what pirates used to wear. The Galley Cooks research what pirates used to eat. The Translators research how pirates used to speak. The Weapons Expert research what weapons pirates used.
Then only did we find how hard it is to find kiddie friendly pirate websites with a decent amount of information. So I used a few websites to create my own! The books are easy to read and would make great resources for a wide variety of activities:
GCompris software offers a variety of educational games that is suitable for Technoboffins from Grade 1 to 3. The games practise mouse and keyboard skills, as well as Literacy and Numeracy skills. It offers more games in a Linux download, but the Windows download still has plenty to go around.
Just one of the many sites where one could download GCompris:
Ten Amazing Fruits is a game that allows littlies to practises mouse control and dragging. The pictures also print out big and colourful for great displays in class or for book covers.
Visit this site to download http://www.fruitfrolic.com/
IColorToo is a simple game that teaches Technoboffins as young as 5 or 6 basic mouse control.
This game is free to download off the internet. It even has extra pictures available on various sites. For a basic download visit http://windows.download.hn/i-color-too-animals-1.html


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Q: When should kids start helping out in the kitchen?
A: As soon as they are able!
Innovative educator Maria Montessori9 A Famous Philosopher), who developed a unique philosophy of education that more than a century later still bears her name, believed that the teacher’s primary job was to provide opportunities for children to learn and flourish by way of their natural curiosity and intuition.
Parents who provide “practical life activities” for their children—the everyday activities of living—are acting as their kids’ first and best teachers. And what life skill is more practical than food preparation, an activity parents can expose their kids to every day? This I realised when I saw my toddy more in kitchen than near toys.
As I have always been listening to the complaints of mingling of more than necessary time in the gadgets and TV, I always insisted my child to get engaged in toys; especially which shelled motor skill development in it.
Then one day I noticed him doing something with bread in the fridge. His interest in bread seem to be key to my lock.Here comes the Idea!!! Why not to let him enter the kitchen stuff? The cost will be only a little untidiness and kitchen cleaning would take a lot time.
Is having kids in the kitchen a messy proposition? Undoubtedly. But who hasn’t made a mess or two in the interests of learning?! Make sure your child knows it’s okay to make a mess, and you’re ready to go.
Invite your kids into your kitchen. Who knows where it might lead?!
Having toddlers help with meal preparation is an especially good strategy with picky eaters. Food that children have helped prepare is more interesting and more appetizing than food that merely shows up on their plates. Meal prep also teaches kids the value of food, helps them develop fine motor skills, and gives them scheduled, focused time to talk with you, which increases language development—as well as emotional bonds. Now, that’s quality time!
First, make your kitchen safe and accessible to your toddler. Assign a low drawer to hold utensils that will be solely for his use. Have a special, easily reached place in the fridge for food and drink designated just for her. Provide a stool that gives him access to the kitchen counter. Hang an apron somewhere she can get it down herself. Teach him good food preparation hygiene by washing your hands and making sure he washes his as well.
10 Simple Food Prep Activities That Even a Toddler Can Do
1. Spread butter or jam on a piece of toast.
Place the toast on a plate to help contain the mess. Place just a small amount of butter or jam in a small bowl and provide a small spreader or a butter knife your child can manage.
2. Slice apples.
Purchase an apple corer. Cut the apple crosswise in half, place it flat side down on a cutting board, and let your child push down on the corer, offering minimal assistance. Use small tongs to remove the apple slices from the corer.
3. Peel and slice a hard-boiled egg.
This is a great activity for concentration and for refining kids’ fine motor skills. After the eggs have cooled, crack the eggshells gently and peel a piece or two to start the process, then allow your child a turn. Once the egg is peeled, have your child cut the egg using an egg slicer. Use tongs to remove the egg from the slicer.
4. Peel an orange.
Have your child practice her fine motor skills and build hand strength with this activity that will also fill your kitchen with a heavenly smell! For very young children, make sure you bring home easy peeling fruit.
5. Scoop out melon with a melon baller.
This is a messy activity—a great one for a hot day outside. It takes coordination to make balls, and just scooping a melon out is an accomplishment for toddlers! Most kids find this activity great fun.
6. Slice cheese.
Pre-cut several long rectangles of cheese. Provide plastic knives and invite your child to slice the larger pieces into bite-sized pieces to snack on. Plastic knives will go through most cheese easily and safely, and your child will feel a sense of independence and responsibility.
Tune in my blog newviewbyshweta.blogspot.com for ten more fun food activities to get your junior chefs comfortable in the kitchen. Maybe someday they’ll be cooking entire meals for you—
One can always dream!


This course will help you gain the numeracy skills needed to succeed in both employers’ numeracy tests and the workplace. It is designed to build your confidence.
In addition to refreshing your understanding of specific numeracy skills (such as percentages, ratios, averages and currency conversions), you will develop essential skills for interpreting numerical data and understanding statistics.
The course will develop your skills through a carefully paced, step-by-step introduction to relevant topics with opportunities to check your understanding through quizzes. There will be feedback at every stage.
'Numeracy Skills for Employability and the Workplace' was designed for FutureLearn and has been implemented on the LEARN (Moodle) environment.
Watch the FutureLearn course trailer here.
Recreation of the FutureLearn 'Getting a grip on mathematical symbolism' MOOC within the Learn (Moodle) environment.


Through the generous support of the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), Astronomy for Literacy (AFL) is working to enhance literacy, numeracy and other foundational skills among struggling junior secondary school students in Sierra Leone.
The AFL project has developed detailed, highly structured lesson plans that enable relatively low-skilled teachers with limited subject knowledge to still deliver high quality learning opportunities. To date, AFL has developed and taught a science unit on the universe that teaches students about the structure of the universe, our sun and moon, and our planet. A unit test has also been developed to assess student understanding of these concepts. AFL has also developed and taught a social studies unit on “Views of the Universe”, which teaches students about early understandings of the universe across different cultures, scientific understanding of the universe and the development of certain key technologies. Our maths unit and literacy lessons are currently being developed, and will be ready for the coming academic year.
Alongside this, AFL has invested in finding appropriate supplementary digital resources, including videos, presentations and other offline content, and has purchased 20 low-cost tablet devices that will allow groups of students to access this content.
AFL’s lesson plans and supporting resources will soon be reaching close to 1500 struggling junior secondary students when the new academic year starts this September. Early results from our external evaluation indicate that our students are improving in their reading and math skills, and that that they are improving more than students in other schools nearby. It is still early days but AFL is excited by the potential impact of the lessons being developed through this funding provided by the OAD, and the added value of encouraging students’ interest in reading and numeracy through more engaging, astronomy-focused curriculum.


For the second week in my Month of Series, I am going to share tips and tricks for early literacy development that you can do at home. I'll be sharing my favorite ideas and links to additional resources. I'm not an expert by any means, but I know what works for my kids might also work for yours. Of course, it might not. All of these ideas can be tweaked to meet your child's individual needs.
So, day one: JUST READ. Yeah, okay, you probably already knew that. Every child should be read to (or read, if they can) for 20 minutes a day. You can do it here and there throughout the day, or all in one sitting if your child likes to have downtime right before bed. The important thing is the cumulative amount of time you spend reading together. The more exposure our kids have to language and text, the more likely they are to be fluent readers. We talk to our kids every day, but time spent with a book is time teaching them that our spoken language is made up of a written language. Letters make words, words make sentences, and sentences tell us a story. There is no wrong way to read a book to your kids, but here are some suggestions to get even more out of your story time:
1) Look at the pictures and talk about them. Don't worry about the text, just take a "picture walk" through the book. If your child is old enough to discuss the pictures with you, ask them to tell you what is going on in the pictures. You can make predictions of what the story is going to be about and then check them by reading the text. Some books only have pictures specifically so that you and your child can make up the words to go with the text.
2) Alphabet hunt - If your kiddo knows his or her letters, ask them to find and identify letters on each page. You can also do this with familiar words or sight words, if your child knows any.
3) Trail your finger along the text as you read. This draws attention to the fact that it is the words that tell the story. As your kiddo learns words, you will be able to share in the reading of books. I always pause when I get to a word RJ knows and he reads it for me. It draws out the reading a bit, but it really gets him involved.
4) Have fun! Use character voices - a high squeaky voice for a mouse, a deep voice for a lion, etc. It adds to the "give and take" of the dialogue, and your child will love it!
Share your ideas on how you read to your kids below in the comments! Do you have a favorite book?


The teaching offered at our lycée carries through both cycles of middle school, from sixième (6ème) or 6th grade to troisième (3ème) or 9th grade , which are defined as follows :
- Cycle 3 : the reinforcement cycle groups together CM1 (4th grade) , CM2 (5th grade ) and 6ème (6th grade)
Cycle 4 : the in-depth learning cycle is composed of 5ème (7th grade), 4ème (8th grade) and 3ème (9th grade)
- The two cycles of middle school , just like those of primary school, follow the academic programme established by the French Ministry of National Education.
In cycle 3 , students complete the base of knowledge and competencies gained in cycle 2, the previous cycle of primary school. They are also introduced to experimental sciences and technology, history and geography, and history of art. The 6ème class – the first year of middle school and last year of cycle 3 – aims at helping students adapt to the organization and environment of middle school while ensuring continuity of learning between CM1 and CM2 – the last two years of primary school – and middle school.
Starting in 6ème class, the last year of cycle 3, the following subjects are taught : art, music education, physical education (PE), biology and earth sciences, physics-chemistry (taught together), technology, French, Bulgarian, English, mathematics, history-geography (taught together) and moral and civic education. Each subject is taught on a one teacher-one subject basis. In addition to these core subjects, new specific teaching set-ups will be implemented under the 2016 middle school reform such as Personalized Learning Support (Accompagnement Personnalisé or AP) to support the child’s ability to learn and progress while developing his or her autonomy and several other horizontal competencies.
Cycle 4 , dedicated to in-depth learning, is made up of 5éme (7th grade), 4ème (8th grade) and 3ème (9th grade) . In this cycle, students will develop their knowledge and competencies in the different subjects taught at middle school while preparing themselves to further pursue their training and to take an active part in in the evolution of society. Practical Interdisciplinary Lessons ( Enseignements Pratiques Interdisciplinaires or EPI) are introduced in cycle 4 to help students build , deepen and broaden their knowledge and competencies through a project-based approach leading to a practical production which can be either individual or collective.
In 5ème class (1st grade) , the second year of cycle 4, the students must choose a second foreign language between German or Spanish. A pathway for familiarization with the world of work and training is offered to all 3ème class pupils. This one-week work experience allows them to become acquainted with this world and to observe it. They will later be asked to account for their experience both in oral and written forms.
Dedicated rooms allow for better learning conditions and processes in certain subjects such as biology and earth sciences, physics-chemistry and information technology.
Our students also have access to information and documentary research thanks to the Centre for Knowledge and Culture (Centre de Connaissances et de Culture : 3C or CCC)


Building the Foundation for College and Career Literacy
Accelerate students towards mastery of foundational reading skills with Smarty Ants®
Differentiating the First Steps to Literacy Success
The first step towards college and career literacy is foundational reading skills. With Smarty Ants, you can ensure every student is on track for success from day one. Smarty Ants is an effective, research-driven solution that differentiates instruction in foundational reading skills and accelerates student achievement – all in an engaging, interactive, online learning environment. The program continuously evaluates each student’s exact skill level, learning temperament, and learning pace. Based on this information, the adaptive content system automatically delivers the right level of skill instruction and practice to keep learners in the zone of proximal development. No two students will approach the content or process in the same manner, but they all will reach the same critical milestones for primary-grade literacy success and emerge as confident, capable readers ready for the challenges of second grade and beyond. A teacher’s dashboard makes it easy for teachers to track and monitor student movement through lessons and growth toward fluency and comprehension.
Achieving True Mastery of Reading Skills
Students learn more than surface-level phonemic awareness and phonics – they dive deep and master these foundational reading skills through Smarty Ant’s complete scope and sequence. From letter identification and the alphabetic principle to structural analysis and comprehension skills, Smarty Ants transforms emergent readers into independent readers.
Foundational skills instruction, independent practice, and embedded assessment are combined in a single program
Students master progressively more complex phonics skills as they learn to decode and encode phonemes, words, and stories
Through skill-building games and activities, students learn approximately 1,500 vocabulary words, plus essential sight words
A personal ant “coach” gives every student explicit instruction and kind feedback
Using Actionable Data to Achieve Better Results
Smarty Ants includes a detailed and complete dashboard stocked with real-time student data. Teachers, principals, and district leaders can easily access student responses and recordings, comprehensive progress reports, information about areas that require intervention, and ample resources to reteach or reinforce skills. Reports are available at the group level for quick overviews of student achievement, or educators can zoom in at the individual level to pinpoint specific opportunities for improvement or enrichment.
Easy tracking toward yearly and weekly requirements
Progress monitoring for acquisition of key literacy skills for a given level
At-point-of-use access to student recordings to assess fluency improvement over the course of the year
Reporting on mastery of State or Common Core State Standards
Motivating Early Readers to Accelerate Success
With thousands of rewards to unlock, dozens of mini-games to play, challenges tailored to player’s behavior, and a unique, customizable avatar for every child, it’s easy to keep students motivated! Plus, students can play Smarty Ants at school or at home, on desktops or on mobile devices. Since their progress is saved to the cloud, they can always pick up exactly where they left off!
Over 2,500 virtual awards for students to collect
Ant of the Week Awards for accomplishments such as most time spent, most words built, and more
Students can pick their own reward activities – from game shows to dance studios
Every success is celebrated in the Daily Woof Newspaper, emailed to parents and guardians
Learn More About Achieve3000
Want to learn how to accelerate literacy gains? Would you like to experience our online differentiated instruction solutions firsthand? We'd love to hear from you.
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Early Education for Dual Language Learners: Promoting School Readiness and Early School Success. Migration Policy Institute. Linda M. Espinosa. November 2013.
The report profiles the population of young Dual Language Learners (DLLs), who represent nearly one-third of all U.S. children under age 6, outlining their school readiness and patterns of achievement. It evaluates the research on early care and education approaches that have been shown to support higher levels of language and literacy development and achievement for this child population, most but not all of whom are children of immigrants. Assessing the features of high-quality programs that have been shown to improve school readiness among the DLL population, the author finds there are a number of readily implementable practices that can be put into effect. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
[PDF format, 33 pages, 2.79 MB].


Depending on where you live, you’ve probably seen white-tailed deer in the wild. In fact, in some parts of North America, deer can be found in suburban neighborhoods. They might even jump a fence to visit your backyard! Deer are herbivores and they’re constantly looking for snacks.
Native Americans hunted deer for their meat, skins and sinews. When settlers came, they hunted the deer so much that they were almost extinct. Today, there are many deer in the U.S. In the summer, deer live in woodlands or fields. In the winter, they move to forests for protection from the cold. If people cut down forests to build houses, deer have no place to go. They are more likely to move into parks or backyards.
Fun Facts about Deer for Kids
- Male deer are called bucks. Females are called does.
- Male deer grow antlers every year. The antlers fall off in the winter.
- Does have one or two babies in the spring or early summer. The babies are brown with white spots.
- Bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions prey on deer. Deer can run up to 30 miles per hour to escape. They can also jump 30 feet.
- Males sometimes fight over females.
- Sinews: rope-like cords
- Antlers: horn like growths
- Prey: hunt
- Herbivore: eats plants
Learn More All About Deer
Watch this cute video of a baby deer:
A footage of the first few minutes of a new born baby deer.
Question: What do deer eat?
Answer: Deer eat almost any plant. They graze on grasses, but they’ll also eat the bark of young trees. They especially love berries or vegetables from your garden.
Question: Are deer dangerous?
Answer: Deer are usually shy and timid. If you feed them, though, they might lose their fear of people. They are sometimes hit by cars when they cross roads. It’s best to watch deer from a distance.
Cite This Page
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MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Fun Deer Facts for Kids ." Easy Science for Kids, Aug 2017. Web. 23 Aug 2017. < http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-deer/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2017). Fun Deer Facts for Kids. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-deer/
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