MCP "Plaid" Phonics Level A helps students become fluent readers. Activities help students develop spelling (encoding), recognize words in context, and use phonics in word-building and personal writing. It provides teachers with a direct model for integrating phonics and reading through reading activities.
Modern Curriculum Press “Plaid” Phonics set the standard of excellence in its 50-year history of helping more than 55 million children learn how to read. Make your child part of the tradition! Use MCP “Plaid” Phonics’ proven scope and sequence, along with abundance of practice, review, and application of skills, to ensure comprehensive coverage and the best practices in phonics instruction. This “stand out in a crowd” program will:
The Level A Homeschool Bundle includes: Color Student Edition Workbook, Teacher Resource Guide, and Parent Guide
Student Workbook: Flexible lessons divided into skill focus areas develops alphabetic and phonemic awareness.
Teacher Resource Guide: The spiral bound Teacher Resource Guide is your source for teaching the phonics lessons to your child. Each unit is divided by tabs with an overview at the beginning followed by detailed teaching plans for each of the unit’s lessons. Also includes, pre- and post-tests, numerous phonics games and activities, lesson planner, curriculum connections, and teaching methods for reaching different learning styles.
Parent Guide: This guide walks you through the program highlighting the main elements of the student and teacher materials and provides guidance on setting up your lesson plan, pacing, and adapting the curriculum to fit your family.
SHIPPING: Ships UPS to a physical address. Cannot ship to PO Boxes.


Both Hippolytus’s Apostolic Tradition 16.13 and Tertullian’s On Idolatry 10 also indicated that teaching grade school was not an acceptable livelihood for Christians, which brings to the fore three aspects in which second- and third-century conditions differ from today’s. The objection was that the curriculum for much primary and elementary education heavily emphasized myths about Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. Schoolteachers, noted Tertullian, must inculcate pagan knowledge into their pupils, and praise and commend some deities of the old religion. Like on Christian holidays in recent times, ancient schoolmasters were obliged to decorate schools on the occasion of the gods’ festivals, and to participate in and promote the events. In short, “If a believer teach literature, while he is teaching doubtless he commends, while he delivers he affirms, while he recalls he bears testimony to, the praises of idols interspersed therein.” (On Idolatry10)
Hippolytus’s tradition was more lenient, allowing new Christians to continue teaching school if they possessed no other abilities for earning a living.
If no allowance is made for changes over the centuries, schoolteachers are under a double condemnation. First, quite simply, they are teachers—a banned occupation. Secondly, most teachers since the nineteenth century have been paid by municipalities or provinces, and thus are government employees. Remember that the early Christians did not distinguish, as to sinfulness, between the offices of elected politicians and state functionaries who remain employed no matter which political party is in power. On the other hand, today there is no paganism in the curriculum, except for practice readings of myths in textbooks that teach the Latin language, and certainly no suggestion in our schools that these myths’ characters are still alive, let alone possess supernatural powers. Moreover, even the celebration or religious nature of Christmas and Easter are being phased out of public institutions of learning, and from public life in general.


Franz Cizek (12 June 1865 – 17 December 1946) was an Austrian genre and portrait painter, who was best known as a teacher and reformer of art education. He began the Child Art Movement in Vienna, opening the Juvenile Art Class in 1897.
In 1885, Cizek entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He was a student of the German painters Franz Rumpler, Josef Mathias von Trenkwald, and Siegmund l’Allemand. While a student, he lived with a family and the children visited him in his room, where he allowed them to use his art supplies and encouraged them to express themselves. He was impressed by their creativity, and showed the work to fellow artists at the university, who encouraged him to start an art school for children. The Juvenile Art Classes were free of charge to children of Vienna. The children were interviewed and selected by Cizek. His teaching method had limited structure, and imagination and free expression were encouraged.
In 1904, he was appointed director of the Department of Experimentation and Research at the Vienna School of Applied Arts. Some of his students became teaching assistants for the children's art classes. One assistant was Erika Giovanna Klien, who later emigrated to the United States and employed Cizek’s teaching methods at Stuyvesant High School and the Dalton School. Another artist, Emmy Lichtwitz Krasso, was an assistant from 1933 to 1935, and later went to India where she started a children's art movement in the Mumbai schools.
In November 1920, the children's art was exhibited at the British Institute for Industrial Art in Kingsbridge, England, and then toured the country. In 1921 Francesca Wilson, a Birmingham teacher, exhibited the child art in London. This exhibition and those for the Save the Children Fund raised interest in the Child Art Movement. They are also early examples of featuring art in raising funds and awareness for humanitarian causes.
Among those Cizek influenced was Johannes Itten, the Swiss painter and Bauhaus leader. Arthur Lismer, a Canadian artist, was also inspired by Cizek and John Dewey to found a Children's Art Centre at the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1933, and at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1946.
Franz Cizek was born František Čížek on June 12, 1865 in Litoměřice, Leitmeritz in German, in northern Bohemia now in the Czech Republic. He came to Vienna at the age of 19. He died there on December 17, 1946.
- Franz Cizek Short Biography
- Franz Cizek: Liberating the Child Artist
- Portrait of an Artist
- Inventing Child Art
- Franz Cizek Collection, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- About Bauhaus
- Kelly, Donna Darling. Uncovering the History of Children's Drawing and Art. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004:84.
- Franz Cizek, Austria Forum
- Stasny, Peter. "Cižek, Franz." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, (accessed February 4, 2012; subscription required).
- Viola, Wilhelm. Child Art and Franz Cizek (New York: Reynal and Hitchcock), 1936.
- The classes of Franz Cizek, article by Mary V. Gutteridge
- Artist Summary at artfact.com
- More of Dr. Franz Cizek's Students
- History of Art Education, Wikispaces
- Art Education Timeline 1912
- Entry for Franz Cižek on the Union List of Artist Names


For various reasons
not all the children of our state get opportunity to go to the primary schools or
many of them drop out after having registered there. The situation had to be rectified
in order to achieve the cherished goal of universalisation of primary education.
Demand for education also went up after Total Literacy Campaign was successfully
launched in the State in the early nineties. But the demand of the situation could
not be fully and effectively met with formal primary education systems. At the same
time, it was almost impossible to open primary schools at every nook and corner
of the State wherever there were some children not having access to the school.
Therefore, the Government
of West Bengal decided to introduce an alternative elementary education system in
West Bengal, which could reach any corner of the state, cater to the special needs
of the children, less costly, but qualitatively comparable with the formal education
system. In 1997-98 the Education department, Government of West Bengal, took up
such a programme and planned to set up about 1000 Child Education Centres, with
the help of Panchayati Raj bodies. Subsequently the programme was transferred to
the Department of Panchayats and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal.
The Panchayat and Rural
Development Department took up the programme as Shisu Shiksha Karmasuchi, and decided
to set up the Shishu Shiksha Kendras (ssk), wherever there were at least twenty
children not having access to any existing primary school or require some special
dispensation, which are not available in the formal primary schools. Other essential
features of the Karmasuchi are:
Shisu Shiksha Kendras are opened at the initiative of the community
and are owned and managed by them.
Funds are provided by the State Government and Panchayats act
as facilitators only.
It is a demand driven programme; Kendras can be opened in school-less
villages / village with schools which have inadequate infrastructures [in terms
of space and / or teachers etc.]
Curriculum and syllabus as prescribed by the West Bengal Board
of Primary Education Textbooks as prescribed for the formal primary schools.
Classroom transaction on the principles ofJoyful Learning.


A good nursery nurse is caring, patient, responsible, aware of child safety issues and good at working with children and their families according to the National Careers Service. She also demonstrates the ability to work in a team and contributes creative ideas for activities.
Nursery nurses, also known as nursery workers, work with babies and young children up to five years of age in childcare settings, states the National Careers Service. They work in local authority childcare settings, reception classes in primary schools and privately owned nurseries. They ensure that children learn in a safe and positive environment. Their work involves planning and supervising different activities, helping children learn numeracy skills, reading stories and providing activities that develop children's language skills and taking children on outings. They are also responsible for feeding and changing diapers of babies and making notes for reports. They always ensure the safety of children and report any concerns, such as signs of abuse, to their manager.
A nursery nurse sometimes acts as a key worker for one or more children, notes the National Career Service. They monitor the progress of children under their care and share the information with parents and/or carers. Experienced nursery workers specialize in working with children with physical or learning difficulties or mental health issues.


Spelling, handwriting and dyslexia: overcoming barriers to learning
"The author of this book argues that spelling and writing need to be given more consideration in teaching and remedial settings especially if dyslexic pupils are to be helped back up to grade level, and other pupils are to make more effective, quicker progress. This book helps teachers and student teachers to understand the valuable contribution spelling and handwriting make to literacy development in primary and secondary schools, and shows them how to overcome existing barriers to learning." "This book will be of interest to teachers and teacher educators interested in literacy, dyslexia and dyspraxia/developmental coordination difficulties. Undergraduate and postgraduate students in education and inclusion will also find much here of interest."--BOOK JACKET.
Includes bibliographical references and index. Spelling -- Handwriting -- Dyslexia -- Overcoming dyslexia : specialist apsl programmes -- Overcoming barriers to learning : the alphabet, phonics and multisensory phonics -- Overcoming barriers to learning : strategic syllabic and cognitive linguistics.
- LCC: LB1574
- Dewey Decimal: 372.63
- Language: eng
- Physical Description: vii, 208 p. ; 25 cm.
- Edition Info: (e-book)
- English language -- Orthography and spelling -- Study and teaching
- Penmanship -- Study and teaching
- Learning disabled children -- Education
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When/Where: Monday, 10:00-10:25am in Ballroom E2.
Presenters: Joanne Falinski, Independent Consultant; Lizabeth Fogel, The Walt Disney Company. Presider: Faith Rogow
Objectives: This session describes how digital storytelling in a participatory culture builds multiliteracies – visual literacy, technological literacy and media literacy – as well as traditional literacies. Presenters share students’ multimedia compositions, discuss positive outcomes and challenges, and describe the process of supporting students in the creation of their digital stories.
Audience: PK-12 Schooling
What does it mean to be literate in our society? According to Jason Ohler (2008), children are growing up as creators of stories and media in a new storytelling era, not just as consumers of media. Given opportunities and support, each child has an ability to create rich stories in their own language using media. Digital storytelling, the blending of images, music, narrative and voice (Leslie Rule, Digital Storytelling Association), is an important pedagogical tool because it combines traditional literacies – reading, writing, speaking and listening – with new literacies – visual literacy, technological literacy and media literacy.
Our children live in a “participatory culture,” an environment which supports collaboration, artistic expression and civic engagement (Jenkins, 2006). Teachers need to create spaces for students to experience a participatory culture in classrooms while they use their increasingly sophisticated visual literacy skills to design digital stories (and other multimedia compositions) using simple and inexpensive technology. Authentic encounters with technology generate a high degree of student enthusiasm and motivation as well as unlimited possibilities for the learning of multiliteracies (Burn and Reed, 1999; Davis, 2004).
Unfortunately many classroom teachers do not know how to implement a digital storytelling model with elementary-aged children. This session will focus on a yearlong digital storytelling project implemented with fourth grade students enrolled in a dual language program. Presenters will discuss the project, and share examples of students’ multimedia compositions. Participants will learn about the positive benefits for all students, particularly English language learners, by hearing students talk about their literacy learning through digital storytelling. This session will show educators the importance of including digital storytelling into their language arts curriculum to support elementary students’ learning of 21st century standards.
Burn, A., & Reed, K. (1999). Digi-teens: Media literacies and digital technologies in the secondary classroom. English Education, 33(3), 5-20. doi:10.1111/j.1754-8845.1999.tb00720.x
Davis, A. (2004). Co-authoring identify: Digital storytelling in an urban middle school. THEN: Technology, Humanities, Education, & Narrative, 1 (1), 1. Available: http://thenjournal.org/feature/61
Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st
century. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from
Ohler, J. (2008). Digital storytelling in the classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning and creativity. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
We believe in active participation in our workshop sessions and attempt to model the creation of a participatory culture whereby we are all learners whose voices are respected and valued. We view ourselves as facilitators of a conversation about digital storytelling in the elementary school and are eager to hear of participants’ experiences, ideas and questions. Throughout the workshop, we will encourage reflection and response on the part of the participants, and invite questions and comments.
- Joanne Falinski, Independent Consultant: Joanne Falinski has been an elementary teacher, a supervisor of instruction, an elementary principal in suburban and urban school districts and a teacher educator at Pace University. Currently she works with New York charter schools as an independent consultant. Her area of expertise is literacy learning and language arts curriculum development, and her current research interest is writing and technology, specifically the use of digital storytelling with dual language students in elementary schools. Joanne completed her doctorate in educational administration at Syracuse University.
- Lizabeth Fogel, The Walt Disney Company: Lizabeth Fogel is responsible for insuring the educational validity and integrity of new products and services developed by The Walt Disney Company. She manages relationships across all of the internal business units, advising and guiding them in the use of learning content.Prior to joining Disney, Lizabeth taught at the elementary and university levels for over fifteen years. She holds master degrees in elementary education, developmental psychology and a doctorate in educational psychology-organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.


Best, Rachel M. and Rowe, Michael and Ozuru, Yasuhiro and McNamara, Danielle S. (2005) Deep-level comprehension of science texts: the role of the reader and the text. Topics in Language Disorders, 25 (1). pp. 62-80. ISSN 0271-8294Full text not available from this repository.
Many students from elementary school through college encounter difficulty understanding their science textbooks, regardless of whether they have language disorders. This article discusses some of the particular difficulties associated with science text comprehension and possible remedies for facilitating and enhancing comprehension of challenging expository text materials. Specifically, we focus on the difficulties associated with generating inferences needed to comprehend science texts. The successful generation of inferences is affected by factors such as students' prior knowledge and reading strategies, and the manner in which science texts are written. Many students lack the necessary prior knowledge and reading strategies to generate inferences and thus comprehend science texts only poorly. Further, science texts are typically "low-cohesion" texts, which means that they require readers to generate many inferences and fill in conceptual gaps. Remedies for overcoming comprehension difficulties include matching texts to students' knowledge level and providing explicit instruction aimed at teaching students to use reading comprehension strategies for comprehension monitoring, paraphrasing, and elaborations. The computer-supported tool iSTART (Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking) is introduced as a technological support to assist students and teachers in the teaching/learning enterprise.
|Journal or Publication Title:||Topics in Language Disorders|
|Subjects:||B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology|
|Departments:||Faculty of Science and Technology > Psychology|
|Deposited On:||31 Oct 2008 11:47|
|Last Modified:||26 Jul 2012 15:21|
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The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Bebel, Ferdinand August
|←Bebek||The Encyclopedia Americana
Bebel, Ferdinand August
|Edition of 1920. See also August Bebel on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.|
BEBEL, bā'bĕl, Ferdinand August, German Socialist leader: b. Deutz-Koeln 22 Feb. 1840; d. Passugg, Switzerland, 14 Aug. 1913. The son of a Prussian-Pole who was a noncommissioned officer in the Prussian infantry, Bebel was born in military barracks and apprenticed as a boy to a wood-turner. Like most German workmen at that time, he traveled extensively in search of work. At Salzburg, where he lived for some time, he joined a Roman Catholic workmen's club. When in Tyrol in 1859 he volunteered for service in the war against Italy, but was rejected; and in his own country he was rejected likewise as physically unfit for the army. In 1860 he settled in Leipzig as a master turner, making horn buttons, and speedily drifted into the political movements which were then beginning, but as a radical, not a socialist. He fell under the influence of Wilhelm Liebknecht (d. 1900), in 1864, and was converted to the doctrines of Marx (q.v.). In 1867 he was returned to the North German Parliament, and two years later helped to found the German Social Democratic party. In 1870 he spoke in Parliament against the continuance of the war with France and subsequently denounced the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine. He was arrested for high treason, but acquitted; in 1872, however, he was again prosecuted and sentenced to two years' confinement in a fortress, and this and other terms of imprisonment enabled him to make up for his lack of elementary education. He remained a member of the Reichstag from 1871 till his death, except during 1881-83. In 1874 he took a partner and founded a small button factory, for which he acted as drummer, but in 1889 he gave up his business to devote himself wholly to politics, and from the death of Liebknecht he had been the head of the party, succeeding him also in the editorial chair of Vorwaerts, the often-suppressed socialist organ. Bebel was not a pure pacifist; he admitted that military service was a civic duty. In later years his socialism became more modern. He was unlike the typical demagogue, being small, slight and nervous, but he had an admirable voice and was an exceptionally logical and incisive orator. Besides his autobiography he wrote ‘Our Aims’ (1874); ‘The German Peasant War’ (1876); ‘The Life and Theories of Charles Fourier’ (1888); ‘Women and Socialism: The Christian Point of View in the Woman Question’ (1893).


Animals have appeared in art throughout history. Ancient cave paintings illustrate various animals including dinosaurs and deer. Some ancient Egyptian symbols include animals as well as ancient pottery. This page includes information on how animals have influenced art and humans throughout history.
(Christian and other religions)
A Bestiary is a collection of short descriptions about all sorts of animals, real and imaginary, birds and even rocks, accompanied by a moralizing explanation. Additional Christian symbols of interest.
Aberdeen Bestiary - The recorded history of the manuscript begins in 1542 when it was listed as No.518 Liber de Bestiarum Natura in the inventory of the Old Royal Library, at Westminster Palace.
Book:An Egyptian Bestiary - A professor of Egyptology at the University of Geneva has created An Egyptian Bestiary, highlighting, in 280 lavish color illustrations, the Egyptian perception of animals as representations of divine creativity, from the secular and mundane world of craftsmen to the sacred realm of priests, pharaohs and gods.
Celtic Animals in Celtic and Welsh mythology are tied in with fertility and vitality, because they are living, moving, and growing. Each animal is associated with a different characteristic
Ancient Egypt - Symbology must be studied in order to understand the culture -- for each nation had its own peculiar methods of expression. See Animals and the Gods of Ancient Egypt for a list of the god and goddesses and their animal spirits. Chart gives the hieroglyphics for the animals and a brief description. Also see Egyptian Animals from Cleveland Museum of Art.
Book:Dictionary of Symbolic And Mythological Animals - This dictionary offers an enlightening account of the role that animals real and fantastical have played in shaping the myths, religion and customs of the world, from primordial times to present day.
Book:Animal Symbolism of the Chinese Zodiac - The signs of the Chinese zodiac are designated by well-known animals rather than constellations, and the twelve animals reflect various characteristics of human behavior.
Pre-Columbian Art: Animals played an important role in the art of ancient Columbia. Animals could be represented realistically or in fantastic guise, in whole or in part, and with or without human characteristics. Works representing animals are called "zoomorphic". Explanation of animals spirits in many cultures from book written by Sir James Frazer. (Pre-Columbian link was broken - a suitable replacement will be found)
Honoring the Animal Spirits (Archive) - In the Native American tradition, man communicated with the Creator through interaction with nature; the birds, the forest, the animals.... Many chose or were given symbolic "power animals" whose strength or character reflected the human character traits of the individuals claiming the "power" of that specific animal. That "tradition" carries on today in our society. Individual Stories included.
Native American – Totem Poles ThinkQuest site created by students. In Native American Culture, each animal represents a different quality or way of life. This site a partial list of those animals and that qualities that they represent.
Werness, Hope B. (Out of print) - The Continuum Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in World Art / Hope B. Werness; line drawings by Joanne H. Benedict and Hope B. Werness ; additional drawings by Tiffany Ramsay-Lozano and Scott Thomas. New York.
Animals in Art - Engaging images of animals painted by master artists give this collection of excellent reproductions from London's National Gallery its universal appeal.
Middle School Unit Plan: Our Relationship with Animals - created by Dr. Craig Roland's art education students at University of Florida. It is a work in progress. Students in his class used Wiki Spaces to collaborate on the unit. They designed this after studying "Backwards Design" model made popular by Wiggins & McTighe. Use the side navigation to view resources, suggested artists and more.
Things - Animals Role in Art From Amarillo Museum of Art. Examples of animals alone, animals with other animals and animals with people. See suggested activities with each section.
Online Activities: Animals in Art
Egyptomania (Archive) - learn all about Egyptian animals. Cleveland Museum of Art


The Learning Games Network — the MIT Educational Arcade spinoff that recently jointed forces with University of Wisconsin-Madison — recently announced the release of Quandary, a learning game designed to teach ethics:
The Learning Games Network, a non-profit spin-off of the MIT Education Arcade and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Games+Learning+Society Program, today launched Quandary, a unique game that encourages players to think ethically as they lead a human colony struggling for survival on fictional planet Braxos. The game’s goal is to provide an engaging experience for players aged 8-14 to strengthen foundational skills that help them recognize ethical issues and deal with ethical situations in their own lives.
The press release goes on to mention that while ethics and perspective-taking is often a component of gameplay, it is typically more often the side dish, and not the main course. Is it OK to, for instance, repeatedly kill your teammate in an online game? Should you mislead game neophytes to improve your own standing or status? Quandary attempts to gamify ethical decision-making.
The game is new, so there’s no feedback to share yet. It will be interesting to compare this to off the shelf games such as The Sims or Civilization, in which ethical decision-making is critical but still the side dish. In all imaginary universes, what constitutes a good decision depends on the design of the game.
It would be very interesting if someone designed a game where the goal was to uncover the off-kilter moral universe of another land. Imagine if, on Quandary’s Planet Braxos, getting killed meant a rebirth with more power, players were smothered by piles of money, and helping others never ended well. I suspect that might even offend the producers of Grand Theft Auto.


The Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey: Age and Literacy
This report is the fourth in a series of four that investigate the initial results of the ALL survey. It presents an overview of New Zealanders’ skills in relation to age, and any changes since 1996.
Author(s): Paul Satherley and Elliot Lawes, Research Division, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: August 2008
This report is available as a download (please refer to the 'Downloads/Links' inset box, top right).
Please consider the environment before printing the contents of this report.
Age Cohorts continued This section examines these questions:
- Do the differences in the distributions of literacy skill between men and women change with age?
- Are the relationships between skill-level, age and gender the same for different skills?
Prose literacy, age and gender
The distributions of prose literacy skill by age group and gender are shown in Figure 12.
|On average, women have higher prose literacy skills than men over all age groups.|
Figure 12: Prose literacy, age and gender, ALL only
Figure 12 shows that for all age groups (except 55−65-year-olds), women had higher overall prose literacy skills than men (and for 16−24-year-olds and 35−44-year-olds these skills were substantially higher). Among 55−65-year-olds, women and men had approximately the same overall prose literacy skills.
Figure 12 also shows that the differences in overall prose literacy skill between men and women result from, in most age groups, women having larger percentages at level 3 than men, and smaller percentages at level 1.
Document literacy, age and gender
The distributions of document literacy skill by age group and gender are shown in Figure 13.
|On average, men and women have similar document literacy over all ages, with 16−24-year-old women performing slightly better than men, and 45−65-year-old men performing slightly better than women. |
Figure 13: Document literacy, age and gender, ALL only
Figure 13 shows that among 16−24-year-olds, women had substantially higher overall document literacy skills than men; among 25−34 and 35−44-year-olds women and men had approximately the same document literacy skills; and among 45−54 and 55−65 year-olds men had substantially higher document literacy skills than women.
Numeracy, age and gender
The distributions of numeracy skill by age group and gender are shown in Figure 14.
|On average, men perform better than women in numeracy skills over all age groups.|
Figure 14: Numeracy, age and gender, ALL only
Figure 14 shows that for all age groups men had substantially higher overall numeracy skills than women. Across all age groups, this results from men having substantially higher percentages at level 4 or 5, and for 25−65-year-olds lower percentages at level 1. For all age groups (except 55−65-year-olds), men and women had roughly the same percentages at level 3; among 55−65-year-olds the percentage of men at level 3 was substantially higher than that of women.
Problem-solving, age and gender
The distributions of problem-solving skill by age group and gender are shown in Figure 15.
|On average, the performance of men and women is very similar in problem-solving skills over all ages. |
Figure 15: Problem-solving, age and gender, ALL only
Figure 15 shows that in contrast with the other skill domains, only among 55−65-year-olds was there a difference in overall problem-solving skill between the genders (where men had higher skills than women).
Downloads / Links
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Information for Families
Family involvement has been shown to be one of the biggest predictors of school success. High-quality, one-on-one interactions for as little five minutes a day can make a huge difference in your child's school readiness and success. But where to begin? How to create these high-quality interactions? HighReach Learning curriculum provides simple solutions to not only keep you informed, but involved and engaged with your child as well.
Get involved and engaged with our Family Connection Sets!
|Predictor of School Success
||How HighReach Helps
Developing Knowledge & Concepts
Drawing conclusions and making predictions based on current knowledge; expanding upon what child already knows. Comprehending new information about people, places, things, and processes develops language and cognitive skills.
|Expand upon your child's interests and curiosities with our Discoveries-to-Go and Family Poster. Each provide opportunities to begin complex conversations and ways for children to discuss what they know, building language and new understanding. Ask your child to tell you about the Family Poster and wait. You'll be amazed at what you hear!
Book, Alphabet, & Print Awareness
Reading storybooks fosters vocabulary, sound structure, print awareness, story and language structure, attention, and a love for reading.
|A Children's Storybook is included in all Family Connection Sets and is sent home to encourage shared reading. Each storybook also extends learning and builds language, vocabulary, and comprehension with the suggestions and discussion questions included on the back cover of each book. Our Family Newsletter also includes a book list related to the current classroom topic.
Social/Emotional & Vocabulary Development
Creating complex conversations with explanation, storytelling, and more. Talk with your child in a back-and-forth conversation and help express needs, wants, and thoughts using verbal or nonverbal communication.
|Quality conversations at mealtimes lead to stronger expressive language skills, comprehension, and literacy development. We offer a simple solution to make mealtimes and daily routines high-quality interaction times! Our Cuddle & Connect/Reflect & Connect include conversation starters and ideas for On the Go, At Mealtime, In the Bath, and Out and About.
Tips for Shared Reading Time!
- Read with energy and enthusiasm!
- Ask your child to name items/objects on each page.
- Pose who, what, why, when, where, and how questions throughout the story.
- Ask open-ended questions about stories (What do you think will happen next? What would you do if you
were . . .?, etc.)
- Encourage your child to tell or retell a story in his/her own way.
Click below to view samples of interactive reading in action!
Interactive Reading Video 1
Interactive Reading Video 2
Interactive Reading Video 3


Practise your numeracy skills with the animated number-crunching heroes as they solve some mathematical problems.
The Numberjacks are superheroes - animated numbers who solve mathematical problems in the real world with input from real children. The series is aimed at 4-5 year olds and will help them develop early maths skills, knowledge and understanding.
The Numberjacks' base is inside a sofa. Each episode focuses on one mathematical concept or idea to encourage learning with numbers.
In each episode, the Numberjacks get a call from an agent (a child) telling them about a problem. After comedy and thrills, the problem is solved and the Numberjacks return to base. The episode ends with a question for the children watching at home. This will encourage children to look for, and discover, shapes and numbers around the home.
The educational value of the show
Numberjacks helps children to:
- Develop early numeracy skills, such as number recognition.
- Search and find shapes and numbers around the home.
Read about the characters
The central characters - 3, 4, 5 and 6
The central characters are Numberjacks 3, 4, 5 and 6.
3 is a bit young to go out on missions, but keen to - full of confidence, energy and noise.
4 has more self doubts but keeps plugging away.
5 is quite cool and assured and a graceful jumper.
6 is very self confident and a great jumper.
The younger Numberjacks - 0, 1 and 2
The problems are sometimes caused by the younger Numberjacks escaping from the sofa and inadvertently making things go wrong. More often though, the source of trouble is one of the five Baddies.
The Baddies tend to be the cause of different sorts of problems!
The Problem Blob is a great lump whose blobs of slime make things go wrong.
The Shape Japer delights in changing the shape of things, doesn't talk much, but laughs a lot.
Spooky Spoon loves stirring things up and mixing things.
The Puzzler is a third rate DJ who loves to set weird puzzles for the Numberjacks to solve.
The Numbertaker is a silent grabber of numbers and uses his various attachments, like the number grabber and the number sucker-upper.


- Elementary Education
- Energy Hands-On Video Lab
Energy Hands-On Video Lab
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The principles in action are shown at a local park - an environment all students recognize. High repetition of vocabulary in different settings helps cement new terminology and solid understanding. Energy is defined, potential vs. kinetic energy is discussed, as well as the seven forms of energy. Hands-on involves testing a hypothesis, measurement, and highlights potential and kinetic energy. Kit includes 16 each of: marbles, paper ramps, 16-oz. cups, 6-oz. foam cups, 3-oz. foam cups, paper rulers, 12" cotton string, and straws; one pendulum ball; 64 washers (1/2"); 32 paper clips; 55-minute DVD; teacher’s guide; and master copies of test, vocabulary, and activities. For 32 students.


Dallas, TX (PRWEB) August 03, 2014
Science for kids is fun. Amazing science activities and things every teacher needs have been released on Kids Activities Blog. Discover and explore the wonderful world of science together with the kids at home.
Kids like to explore and experiment. Over 150 science experiments have been published for kids of all ages. The amazing experiments include making mud magnetic, using cabbage to teach about the pH value, and teaching about the science of food.
Teaching kids safely about fire and creating naked eggs will amaze and teach the kids life long lessons. Surface tension can be explored with a water drop, life cycles can be studied with a pumpkin, and density can be taught with a variety of colorful liquids that can be found in the kitchen.
Let older kids dissect a bean to study nature and let younger kids learn with a fun dancing raisin project. Prism projects and all kinds of colorful activities will teach about light and color. The list is endless.
Back to school is just around the corner. Things every teacher needs include a whole lot of dry erase markers, a dull tone hand bell, an oversized tote bag, and a cart organizer.
Get the kids attention with fun hand pointers and with answer buzzers. The buzzers can add a bit of fun competition to an otherwise monotonous review. Other items include a giant chart ring set and cart tote on wheels.
For detailed instructions and to get additional fun ideas, check out Kids Activities Blog this week. Come get inspired to have a blast exploring science this month.
About Kids Activities Blog
Kids Activities Blog is a website created by two moms (who collectively have 9 children), Holly Homer and Rachel Miller. Their new book was published this spring by Page Street, 101 Kids Activities That Are the Bestest, Funnest Ever! Kids Activities Blog is an interactive website that publishes fun things to do with kids twice a day. It is an amazing resource for moms, dads, grandparents, caregivers and teachers to find kid-friendly activities that create memories and sneak learning into the fun.


Tracing back the visual language of comics
UCSD Psychologist and comics enthusiast Neil Cohn believes cartoons have a sophisticated language all their own and a heritage that goes back to cave art.
The drive to tell stories with pictures certainly has deep roots. Stone age paintings in places such as the Chauvet cave in France seem to show scenes of galloping horses and pouncing lions, using techniques that would be familiar to graphic artists today. More advanced picture narratives appeared in works such as the Bayeux tapestry and Paupers’ Bibles. In some indigenous Australian cultures, sand drawings are used as a regular part of discourse; in fact, drawing is so entwined with speech in the language of these cultures that you can’t be considered fluent if you don’t know the appropriate pictures.
Cohn carefully dismantles the language of comics in his new book The Visual Language of Comics. He is passionate about the way his ideas about visual language could influence art education. He points out that children naturally absorb language through imitation and mimicry. But that’s not how we are taught art, where individuality is championed. “Our culture is suppressing the biological desires for imitation.” The result is that we never learn a fluent visual vocabulary, except a few simple symbols, such as stick men.
A better approach, he says, would be to tap into children’s innate language instinct by actively encouraging them to mimic others’ drawing. He speaks from experience: from the age of eight, he obsessively copied figures from Disney until he was fluent in every aspect of Mickey Mouse’s world. “I was obsessed,” he says. “By third grade I was teaching my class to draw them.”
How the visual language of comics could have its roots in the ice age →


Programs of Study - Education
It is the mission of the Birth-Kindergarten Education Program to prepare prospective educators with the knowledge, skills, and disposition to work with typical and atypical children, ages birth through five years, in a variety of settings, such as public schools, developmental centers, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, day-care agencies, infant, and nursery schools, and other agencies serving children and families. Consistent with the guidelines from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and NCATE, the program is designed to prepare professionals committed to working in collaboration with families and other partners serving children and families.
The Elementary Education Program links faculty and students directly to schools through field experiences, student teaching, consultations, and research. The skills of teaching, curriculum development, leadership, and supervision are developed in these various settings. Practical and theoretical views of educational programs and resources allow the program to maintain a close working relationship with other programs, departments, and divisions at Winston-Salem State University.
Teaching with Concentrations in
Middle Grades Education
The mission of the Middle Grades Education concentration is the preparation of highly qualified grades 6-9 classroom teachers who demonstrate leadership, know their content/subject areas, facilitate learning for all students, reflect on their practice, establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, promote equity among all learners, and address challenges of 21st century teaching and learning with creativity and respect for human differences.
Secondary Mathematics Education
The Secondary Mathematics Education concentration prepares candidates to teach 9-12 high school mathematics. Candidates who successfully complete the program will be recommended to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for an initial teaching license. There is a great demand in the state, and throughout the nation, for mathematics teachers. With a renewed focus on mathematics and science in our nation, highly qualified candidates of this program will play a vital role in shaping tomorrow’s education. As our school communities become increasingly diverse, mathematics teachers will play a significant role in addressing the needs of underserved and exceptional students.
Secondary English Education
The Secondary English Education (grades 9-12) degree concentration prepares teacher candidates who the right knowledge, skills and dispositions to effectively teach English in secondary schools. The program gives more emphasis to the professional education core and pedagogy and is designed to provide a study of language, including acquisition of language, dialect, levels of usage, semantics, grammatical analysis, and the nature and development of language.
The mission of the Special Education concentration is to produce graduates who have a profound knowledge of teaching students with disabilities. Candidates enrolled in the program will be prepared to provide research-validated instruction and behavior supports to assist students who are enrolled in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Curriculum. The goals of the Special Education program are to offer a program designed to help candidates (1) provide intensive and explicit individual and small group instruction for students who are performing below grade level; (2) plan and maintain positive behavior supports for students with disabilities; (3)collaborate with general education teachers to help maintain students with disabilities at grade level in the standard curriculum;(4) provide leadership in implementing special education procedures and policies; and special education consultation with general education teachers, parents and other professionals.
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is a 39-credit graduate program that consists of two phases and is designed primarily for individuals with a non-teaching bachelor’s degree, who are interested in obtaining a teacher’s license in Middle Grades Education (English/language arts, science, or mathematics) or in Special Education (General Curriculum).
The MA in the Teaching of English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics (TESL/AL) is a comprehensive graduate program, consisting of 39 credit hours. Program completers will have the specialized knowledge and skills to facilitate ESL global instruction. Master of Arts in TESL/AL candidates who hold a teaching license are eligible to apply to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for an advanced teaching license in TESL upon completion of the program.


In one of his letters Anselm Feuerbach wrote, ‘Thank God! I have a pair of bright eyes in the head, leading directly to the heart, and so my impressions are as armed men directed by my heart…’. The leading classicist painter of 19th century Germany could not have been more honest. Feuerbach was born on September 12, 1829 in Speyer, one of the significant centres of culture and history on the Upper Rhine. He was the grandson of Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach, a renowned legal scholar and reformer of penal code system in Bavaria, son of classical scholar, philosopher and archaeologist Joseph Anselm Feuerbach and nephew of noted mathematician Karl Wilhelm Feuerbach. Feuerbach lost his mother before his first birthday and was brought up by his sister Emily and step–mother Henriette Feuerbach. Henriette Feuerbach was a talented musician and perhaps more importantly a lifelong promoter of Anselm Feuerbach’s work. Through her, Feuerbach came in close contact with Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
Feuerbach had the privilege of receiving art education from such artists as Wilhelm von Schadow, Carl Friedrich Lessing and Thomas Couture. His fondness of historical and mythical paintings also grew with his trips to Venice and Rome. Between 1860 and 1874, Feuerbach dedicated himself in painting several portraits following a classical style. The series titled Nanna, dedicated to his muse Anna Risi, was completed during this time.
The artist split last few years of his life between Venice, Nuremberg and Vienna. He became critically ill after contacting pneumonia. This and a general lack of understanding of his contemplative paintings with grey undertones made him miserable. Sometime before his death on January 4, 1880 in Venice he wrote in a despondent tone, ‘I have become wiser and can see through a lot of illusions I had before. Neither can I convince the world in this short lifetime, nor can I be subservient to it.’ Brahms composed Nänie, a piece dedicated to Feuerbach’s memory. Henriette Feuerbach’s efforts, particularly, her book based on his letters and autobiographical notes made sure his legacy remain intact in people’s memory.


Keep Calm and Carry On Poster: Free Lesson Plan Download
Level: 6-8 Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Color and Space
Art Skills: Using Design Software
Art History: Keep Calm and Carry On Poster
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
Keep Calm and Carry On parodies are all around us. It seems as though everywhere I go I see the catchy saying reproduced. My students have seen the image on the internet, specifically on facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. This project is an excellent introduction to parodies and appeals to both boys and girls.
If you don’t have access to computers, students can create Keep Calm and Carry On posters using paper with markers, colored pencils, and magazines. The possibilities are endless!


New White Paper Explores How To Fix Our National Writing Crisis
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Writing is no longer a strong suit for our younger population, according to one of the nation's senior writing researchers. According to Steve Graham, Ed.D., a professor at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University, a focus on teaching reading and math has left little time for teachers and students to devote to writing instruction and practice.
Published by Saperstein Associates, Dr. Graham's newly released white paper—It All Starts Here: Fixing Our National Writing Crisis From the Foundation—argues that writing must be made a priority early in a child's education. "We barely teach composition and we spend little time on teaching writing strategies and skills," said Dr. Graham. "We have to make it a priority."
According to the College Board, while participation in college admission exams is at an all time high, only 43 percent of the class of 2012 who took the SAT are ready for college-level work.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tells a similar story: In 2011, only 27 percent of 8th and 12th grade students scored at or above proficient on the writing portion of the NAEP. In the same assessment, 20 percent of 8th graders and 21 percent of 12th graders scored "below basic," meaning they were unable to perform at even the minimum standard for their grade level.
According to Dr. Graham, these statistics point to a national writing crisis. "Writing is one of the primary ways we persuade and inform both socially and professionally. We interact through tweets, texts, blogs, emails, presentations, and other forms of formal and informal writing."
Dr. Graham suggests writing instruction is critical for the following reasons:
- Students face new standards and assessments
- Writing increases academic success
- The 21st century workplace demands writing competence
According to a growing body of research, foundational skills such as handwriting, spelling, and vocabulary development help set the stage for writing achievement in higher grades. Dr. Graham recommends fixing the foundation at the earliest grades with the following suggestions:
- Provide ample time for writing
- Use frequent assessment to inform instruction
- Explicitly teach writing skills and strategies
- Write across the curriculum
- Integrate appropriate technology
- Establish a positive environment for writing
"If we want to set our students up for success on the new assessments and the Common Core State Standards, not to mention for success beyond the classroom, we can't afford to skimp on writing instruction. Students need to have ample time and explicit instruction in writing across all grade levels," says Dr. Graham.
The research for this white paper was funded by Zaner-Bloser and the full document can be viewed at www.sapersteinassociates.com
About the Author
Steve Graham, Ed.D., is the Mary Emily Warner Professor in the Division of Leadership and Innovation in Teachers College at Arizona State University. Dr. Graham is the former editor of Exceptional Children and Contemporary Educational Psychology as well as the current editor of Journal of Writing Research. He is the author of numerous articles and coauthor of several books, including Handbook of Writing Research, Handbook of Learning Disabilities, Writing Better, and Making the Writing Process Work.
About Saperstein Associates
Saperstein Associates is a research firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Using time-honored and innovative research methodologies, its veteran staff transforms data into information, and information into intelligence. Saperstein Associates provides clients with a valuable tool for making data-driven decisions. To learn more, visit sapersteinassociates.com.


'From Swastika To Jim Crow'
Improving Black-Jewish Relations
Background on the film From Swastika to Jim Crow
Introduction to The Film
Based on a book by the late Gabrielle Simon Edgcomb, the film From Swastika to Jim Crow tells the little-known story of two different cultures that share elements of a common
burden of oppression. Jewish refugee scholars who fled Nazi Germany and arrived in the United States were often excluded from mainstream American universities due to anti-Semitism and anti-foreigner sentiment. Some found employment in an unusual place - Black colleges in the segregated South.
Through interviews and anecdotes, viewers learn how two very different peoples adapted and even flourished in difficult and harsh circumstances. While it specifically focuses on Black-Jewish relations, From Swastika to Jim Crow provides an opportunity for dialogue for all people who seek ways of fighting injustice and securing dignity for all. This discussion guide was designed with that goal in mind. It is our hope that this film will be used as a springboard for dialogue in communities where racial tensions have existed, in places where people are unaware of this unique chapter of American history and in communities that work to maintain communication and dialogue among their diverse members.
In January of 1933, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party legally and democratically rose to power in Germany. Almost immediately, Hitler began a systematic campaign of oppression and terror against Jews, who up until that point had been an integral part of German culture, commerce, and education. Jewish businesses were boycotted on April 1, 1933, but following an international outcry that boycott was limited to one day. Soon after, Hitler placed economic sanctions on Jews and limited their right to practice their trades. On April 25, 1933, the Law for Preventing Overcrowding in German Schools and Schools of Higher Education took effect. This law restricted enrollment of Jews and soon thereafter Jewish professors began to be dismissed from universities. While few, if any, could imagine that by 1941 the Germans would begin the systematic slaughter of Jews - a slaughter that over the next four years would take the lives of close to six million souls - many of these scholars realized in the early 1930s that Jews had no future in Germany and fled to the United States. Most of the 1,200 refugee scholars who arrived in this country could not find work in their fields. A small number, however, would end up in the historically Black colleges of the American South.
In many ways, these scholars discovered that the American South was not unlike Germany in the mid 1 930s before mass murder became the policy of the German state. Southern Blacks lived under the oppression of the Jim Crow laws, which legislated the strict segregation of Blacks from Whites. Forbidden from attending the same schools, eating in the same restaurants, playing in the same parks, Blacks were considered second-class citizens.
The historically Black private colleges represented a rare opportunity for educational advancement and were havens for aspiring young Blacks. Exempt from local segregation laws, they were one of the few places where Blacks could freely associate with Whites without being arrested under the myriad of ordinances enforcing segregation. Many of these colleges needed qualified teachers and saw in these refugees prominent scholars to attract to their campuses, and who, having fled oppression themselves, might have special sensitivity to the experience of the Black students they would teach. For the scholars, employment at the Black colleges offered an invaluable opportunity to continue their professional work at a time when work in their fields was scarce.
Fifty-one refugee scholars would end up taking positions in 19 different institutions. Shunned by the White community for being both Jewish and foreign, unable to fully integrate with the Black community due to segregation laws, the experience of the refugee scholars would prove to be very difficult but, in many cases, very rewarding.
As Gabrielle Edgcomb writes in her book, From Swastika to Jim Crow, “The significance of this historical episode lies in the encounter between two diverse groups of people, both victims of extreme manifestations of racist oppression and persecution, albeit under vastly different historical conditions. The Europeans came out of a middle class intellectual environment. African Americans at the time were two and three generations removed from slavery, under which even learning to read had been generally forbidden.”
This film is the story of that historic encounter.
The following scholars are highlighted in the film:
Professor of German, Latin and Philosophy
North Carolina Central University (previously known as North Carolina College for
Durham, North Carolina
1939 - 1973
Elementary Education instructor
1949 - 1955
Professor of Political Science
1941 - 1943, 1948 - 1952
Professor of Art
1939 - 1946
Professor of German and Economics
1944 - 1952
Professor of Sociology, German and Russian
1947 - 1983


Venus (page 2)
For Further Investigation
Sometimes Venus is seen above the western horizon in the evening and is called the "evening star." Do Venus's phases wane (decrease in size) when it moves from superior to inferior conjunction? A project question might be, What are the phases of Venus during one orbit?
Clues for Your Investigation
- Repeat the investigation, moving the ball in a complete counterclockwise circle around the light.
- Make note of the visible lighted side of the ball as it moves around the light. Diagram the different phases as Venus moves from inferior to superior conjunction, and then from superior to inferior conjunction.
References and Project Books
Asimov, Isaac. A Stargazer's Guide. Milwaukee: Gareth Stevens, 1995.
Becklake, Sue. Space. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1998.
Lafferty, Peter. Science Facts: Space. New York: Crescent Books, 1992.
Levy, David H. Stars and Planets. New York: Time-Life Books, 1998.
Mitton, Jacqueline. Discovering the Planets. New York: Troll, 1991.
Mitton, Simon, and Jacqueline Mitton. The Young Oxford Book of Astronomy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Moeschl, Richard. Exploring the Sky. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1993.
Nicolson, Cynthia Pratt. The Planets. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1998.
VanCleave, Janice. Janice VanCleave's A+ Projects in Astronomy. New York: Wiley, 2001.
_____.Janice VanCleave's Astronomy for Every Kid. New York: Wiley, 1991.
_____.Janice VanCleave's Solar System. New York: Wiley, 2000.
Wood, Robert W. Science for Kids: 39 Easy Astronomy Experiments. Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: Tab Books, 1991.
Warning is hereby given that not all Project Ideas are appropriate for all individuals or in all circumstances. Implementation of any Science Project Idea should be undertaken only in appropriate settings and with appropriate parental or other supervision. Reading and following the safety precautions of all materials used in a project is the sole responsibility of each individual. For further information, consult your state’s handbook of Science Safety.


Tyra LaVerne, Early Literacy Specialist, has been with BCPL for two years. Tyra taught preschool in California for 10 years prior to moving to Kentucky with her family.
Kindergarten readiness begins at birth. It means entering kindergarten ready to learn. Visit http://kidsnow.ky.gov/School%20Readiness/Pages/default.aspx for more information on the Kentucky standards of kindergarten readiness from the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood. Here you can find a School Readiness brochure as well as a Parent Guide.
Parents and caregivers are their child’s first and most important teacher. If you engage in five simple practices every day, your child will be developing the skills needed for school success. The five practices come from the learning initiative Every Child Ready to Read*. http://everychildreadytoread.org/
The Five Practices are: Talk, Sing, Read, Write and Play.
Children learn about language by listening to their parents and family members TALK and by joining in the conversation. Talking and telling stories are ways children learn new information, new vocabulary, and other early literacy skills.
SINGing songs is a natural way to learn about language. Singing develops listening skills and slows down language so children can hear the different sounds in words. Make up songs about what you are doing. Sing about folding laundry, making dinner, anything. Make it fun and include the whole family.
READing develops vocabulary and comprehension and nurtures a love for reading. Keeping reading fun motivates children to want to learn to read. The single most important practice for Kindergarten readiness is READING to your child daily.
BCPL has books, books on CD, magazines,music CDs, and e-books available for checkout. In addition, BCPL offers storytimes multiple times a week including evenings and weekends at all BCPL locations. http://host7.evanced.info/boonecounty/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?lib=ALL&et=storytime
Allow your child to WRITE. Practice with crayons, markers, scissors and Playdoh. As children scribble and draw, they practice eye-hand coordination and exercise the muscles in their fingers and hands. This helps develop the fine motor control they need to hold a pencil to write letters and words.
PLAY is one of the best ways for children to learn language and literacy skills. “Play is Children’s work”. Enter into their world each day. The library provides spaces to play with your child.
Boone County Community Early Childhood Council is offering Parent Cafes in October to help families of children, ages three to five, to learn strategies on how to prepare children to enter school. For more information, or to register for these cafes, please call Boone County Success By 6 at 859-534-5810.
Engaging in these five simple practices will help your child develop the skills needed to be ready to enter Kindergarten. Visit http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/blog/how-museums-and-libraries-support-early-learning/ for more information about how high quality experiences for your child are available at little to no cost to you.
Your library is a vital resource in your journey to helping your child become ready for school. The library offers programming, materials, parenting workshops and screening tools to help ensure your child will be ready. As Rachel G. Payne, Coordinator of Early Childhood Services, Brooklyn Public Library said, “Library programs connect the dots between learning and play, modeling simple activities that stimulate literacy development. Learning happens for everyone at its own pace – one book, one word, and one song at a time.”
* Every Child Ready to Read was created by ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) and PLA (Public Library Association) as a direct response to research studies that found a significant percentage of children were entering Kindergarten without the necessary skills needed to be ready to learn.


March is full of mayhem and madness, but did you (the royal you, not YOU personally) know that it is also a time of reading? I mean, besides sounding out schools you’ve never heard of on your tournament bracket. It happens.
March is National Reading Month and even though I am late to the game that doesn’t mean we’re at the end of regulation. We gotta read till the buzzer sounds, people!
Okay, I’ll stop.
The Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) has teamed with LEGO DUPLO and libraries across the nation to feature reading-focused play through the end of March. I know, it’s close, but it’s not over! (See, basketball ramblings above.)
How can you get involved? Call your local library to see when they are hosting an event and go to it. It’s that easy. You can also download the Librarian Toolkit from ReadBuildPlay.com which helps you host your own reading and play event at home (or wherever you want, after all this is America or someplace else with Internet).
You can also build with LEGO Read & Build sets with DUPLO bricks (Let’s Go! Vroom!; Grow Caterpillar Grow!; Busy Farm). Each set includes an original story that doubles as building instructions so kids can build the characters from the story in real time as the story is read. Interactive!
Basically, the kids can read (or listen to) a story about the very thing(s) they are creating—and the crowd goes wild! Cool, right?
Please note, the LEGO DUPLO Read & Build sets and the ideas featured in the Librarian Toolkit don’t turn into pumpkins on April 1 (Cinderella story?), so even when the calendar flips to April and whatever month is after that you can still use the sets and ideas to Read! Build! Play!
And that’s not all! Do you like the official studies? The ALSC has them, and they suggest that introducing play to story time helps develop and reinforce early literacy development, which is nice. Possible side effects include improvement of a child’s self-esteem, listening skills, and encouragement of imagination and creativity, so use liberally and often.
This isn’t a sponsored post, and I didn’t receive anything for review—I’m writing this because I strongly believe in the benefits of early literacy development and a healthy imagination (I didn’t even need the official studies for that).
March is full of mayhem, madness, reading, building, and playing. Basketball tournaments are just a bonus.
Read more from Whit Honea at his site Honea Express and the popular group blog DadCentric. You can follow Whit on the Twitter or Pinterest (his opinions are his own and do not reflect those of Babble or most rational people).


(PRWEB) March 19, 2014
Songs To Educate, a leading provider in Arts Integrated Education frameworks, helps teachers incorporate music and movement in the classroom every day.
March is "Music In Our Schools Month", an annual promotion launched by the National Association for Music Education and a time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. To honor and celebrate this annual event, Songs To Educate is holding an innovative Facebook contest.
The contest is simple. Songs to Educate wants to hear the ideas of teachers and parents for songs needed in the classroom and at home. By commenting on the contest post with an idea for a children’s song and liking the Songs To Educate page on Facebook, a person is automatically entered to win a $50 voucher for any Songs To Educate products AND a $25 Amazon gift card. A random winner will be drawn on March 25th.
Songs To Educate takes the lid off the idea of "music in our schools". Singing and dancing, poetry and theater lend themselves beautifully to teaching. Here are some of the many benefits of incorporating music and movement into education:
This leading edge resource offers the most innovative and practical pathways for incorporating music in the classroom throughout the day. Educators can adopt a more versatile approach to music education using songs and movement as a vital teaching tool to complement the curriculum. Any teacher can do it!
Here are some more ways teachers and parents can use Songs To Educate:
To enter to win the $50 voucher for any Songs To Educate products and a $25 Amazon gift card, “like” the Songs To Educate Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SongsToEducateTHTF and comment on the contest post with an idea for a new Songs To Educate song. Contest ends March 25.
About Song To Educate:
The founders Paul and Melanie Zeir have been working directly with thousands of children since 1997 to inspire and educate through music and movement. Interactive songs with dances and lesson plans are now available online at http://www.SongsToEducate.com.
Songs To Educate provides a full supplemental library of curriculum based songs with movement accompaniment for children ages 2-12.
Songs To Educate is about loving learning and satisfying the curriculum requirements.
Services include curriculum-based performing arts programs, conference presentations, professional development, and tech support for public, independent and homeschooling environments.
Any teacher can integrate music and movement into the classroom…Songs To Educate is here to help!


Getting a music education can benefit you whether you decide to pursue a career within this field or elsewhere. This is especially true for children, as they have an increased aptitude for learning how to read, play and sing music. Music education also helps cultivate healthy attitude towards competition with one’s self and others, making the challenge of mastering new skills a positive, enjoyable way to build confidence.
1. Motor Skills:
The physical component of learning and practicing any instrument will help improve fine motor skills in addition to gaining new ones. The hand-eye coordination honed with properly handling and playing an instrument will also be an exceptional benefit to any person who pursues a tactile-based career later in life.
Regardless of the type of music education (instrumental, vocal, percussive), the dedication necessary to learn and improve upon their skills help these student develop a healthy sense of discipline. This discipline often transcends excellence in the music field; students of music regularly score higher on standardized tests, including the SAT and ACT.
3. Future Careers:
Students who have a particularly fulfilling experience with their music education often choose to pursue their given talents as a career. Even seemingly non-related fields such as the military, hospitality, marketing and media offer career paths with strong musical components.
4. Awards and Scholarships:
Participating in music education programs can help secure scholarships for college-level studies. These awards are offered by a variety of sources, including individual school departments, private organizations and music-oriented non-profits. Many music students often receive full scholarships based on their talents and dedication (see Resources).
5. Cultural Incentives:
Music education fosters an appreciation for the history of all forms of music, regardless of their origin. Many music education programs offer local field trips to concerts, museums and other related activities that expose students to a broad range of ways their education can be utilized for higher learning, performance and pleasure.


Teachers' literacy, numeracy skills down, research shows
The skill levels of Australia's teachers have dropped significantly over the past 20 years, says a provocative new study from the Australian National University.
Researchers who studied the results of literacy and numeracy tests taken by students who later became teachers found that their average test results dropped from 74 per cent in 1983 to 61 per cent in 2003.
And they have warned that: "It's hard to see how you can become a smart country without smart teachers."
Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan blamed two factors for the drop in teacher quality they identified in research they carried out for the federal Education Department.
They said the average teacher's pay had dropped by 10 per cent over that period when compared with other professions requiring a degree.
And while teachers' pay was set to a scale negotiated by their unions, individuals with high ability could earn more in other occupations. To these individuals, teaching looked much less attractive than it did in the early 1980s, Dr Leigh said.
The research was based on six comprehensive surveys over two decades in which the literacy and numeracy of students was measured when they were about 14.
The surveys then followed the students into their mid and late 20s and noted their career choices. Dr Leigh and Dr Ryan picked out those who became teachers over that time and checked their childhood test results.
"The literacy and numeracy standards of those entering teacher education courses are significantly lower today than in the early 1980s," the two concluded.
"We've been worrying a lot about the literacy and numeracy of children and the best way to ensure they are literate and numerate is to ensure that we have highly literate and numerate people at the front to the classroom," Dr Leigh said last night.
"One way to improve productivity is to work smarter.
"It seems reasonable to think that if we can improve literacy and numeracy, that could potentially flow on to higher living standards."
In their paper the two said international research suggested that differences in teacher performance could explain variations in students' achievements but little was known about how the quality of Australia's teaching profession had changed over time. "We find the aptitude of new teachers has fallen considerably."
International research had found that having a talented teacher was likely to significantly improve a student's results.
The study also indicated that, even with the decline, the average Australian teacher was more academically adept than his or her American counterpart.
Australian Education Union president Pat Byrne said that over the period covered by the research, teachers' pay had declined significantly.
But Ms Byrne said Australian teachers were very dedicated and worked very hard. "You have to be careful in making the jump to student outcomes."
She said that in countries such as Finland, teachers were well paid and highly qualified. "There they acknowledge the significance and importance of teaching. That is not the case in Australia."


Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics
Baldwin City Campus
As a major in mathematics, you will use logical reasoning, problem solving and complex situational analysis as you develop the skills to succeed in a variety of fields. Mathematics provides tools used by scientists to explore the universe, used by engineers to design devices that shape our society and used by scientists and engineers to describe their results and designs.
To understand our society and help shape its future, one must understand the influence of science and technology. This requires understanding mathematics and its uses.
A fundamental component of a liberal arts education, mathematics is an important ingredient of many careers in science, engineering and technology. You can also work closely with advisers from the Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics and the Department of Education to pass on this necessary skill to future generations. Baker offers teacher licensure in math at the middle and secondary levels, and math composes a portion of the elementary education degree.


Ciência & Saúde Coletiva
Print version ISSN 1413-8123
LEVY, Renata Bertazzi et al. Food consumption and eating behavior among Brazilian adolescents: National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE), 2009. Ciênc. saúde coletiva [online]. 2010, vol.15, suppl.2, pp. 3085-3097. ISSN 1413-8123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232010000800013.
The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of food consumption and eating behavior of adolescents and its association with socio-demographic factors. In 2009, a random sample of students in 9th grade of elementary education at public and private schools from 26 Brazilian state capitals and Federal District was studied. It was applied a self-administered questionnaire with socio-demographic attributes, food consumption and eating behavior, among others. Estimates of the constructed indicators were presented for the total population and by sex. The association of each indicator with socio-demographic variables was examined by logistic regression. The results showed that over half of adolescents presented frequent consumption of beans (62.6%), milk (53.6%) and sweets (50.9%), and held at least lunch or dinner with the mother or responsible (62.6%) and watching television or studying (50.9%). In general, girls were more exposed to undesirable eating habits and higher socioeconomic status was associated with a higher prevalence of the indicators studied. The results revealed regular consumption of unhealthy diet markers and consumption of less than the recommended for a healthy diet, pointing the need for strengthening health promotion activities targeting young people.
Keywords : Adolescent; School; Food consumption; Eating behavior.


Y Hole Langwidg Seams
Scholars who have analyzed the best methods
for teaching young children to read all say that the skills that come from
systematic, intensive, explicit phonics instruction are much better than the
sight-reading techniques of whole language.
keys off the sound-symbol relationships of the alphabetic letters and the
sounds they make, alone and in combination with other letters. Children are
taught the 44 phonograms, or written symbols for sounds in English, in a
particular order. Quickly, they internalize pronunciations of the phonograms so
that when they read text, their brains silently "pronounce" them. It becomes
lightning fast in just a few months. They also are taught the rules of
spelling, proper handwriting, and do a lot of listening and speaking aloud
under the direct instruction of the teacher.
language is a more holistic, implicit approach. In it, the teacher reads aloud
to children, and they are exposed to text in mini-books that come with
illustrations. They are taught several cues for deciding what the words are and
what they mean. But rather than directly decoding each word, they are to absorb
the whole sentence and try to come up with the meaning as a whole. They scan
the words, look at the pictures, check out what the first letter is and the
last letter as clues to what they might be, and think about the context the
word has in the sentence.
who already know how to read do exactly that. Adults never take time to think
about how to pronounce the individual words; they just scan along at a very
fast clip and their brains take care of the "breaking down" of the phonograms
automatically and accurately. However, that's adults who learned to read with
phonics. Adults who rely only on sight-reading techniques rarely gain much
function, and boy, does that show in our society today, with relatively low
levels of literacy compared to generations past. Children today, who don't have
phonics instruction, are basically guessing at what words mean, and it shows in
everything from standardized test scores to literacy deficiencies in the
it's easy to see how educators and educational psychologists came to believe
that whole language was an effective reading method. It's how "able" readers
already read. So they figured it's how we could make children into "able"
readers. But they were wrong.
adult who reads well can scan the following passage and know what it means,
because the brain is already set up to scan and analyze text and discern meaning.
But a child who's still learning to read, or without phonics skills, will
flounder. But, without phonics training, this is what a lot of kids see when
they read today:
I cduolnt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uendsatnrd waht I was rgdnieg. The phaonmneal
pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't
mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is
taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl
mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn
mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh.
sad is that teachers' colleges and many educators don't realize that this
"miraculous" ability to make order out of chaos, and read a completely mixed-up
passage like that, only comes with proper instruction . . . and too many kids
aren't getting it today.


Elementary School Students' Understandings of Technology Concepts
Elementary school teachers and teacher educators have expressed concerns about what students learn as they engage in design and technology activities. This study was designed to identify students' understandings of selected technology concepts, and changes in those understandings across a range of age levels corresponding to grades 2, 4 and 6 at elementary school. Following an extensive interview program and subsequent data analysis, it is argued that commonalities and variations in understandings exist within and across age levels. The identification of these commonalities and variations is examined for their implications for classroom teachers, the development of more appropriate design and technology programs, and preservice and inservice teacher education.
Impact and interest:
Citation countsare sourced monthly fromand citation databases.
These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.
Citations counts from theindexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.
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|Item Type:||Journal Article|
|Keywords:||Technology education, Understanding, Primary school students, Elementary education, Curriculum design|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > EDUCATION SYSTEMS (130100) > Primary Education (excl. Maori) (130105)|
|Divisions:||Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education|
|Copyright Owner:||Copyright 2002 (please consult author)|
|Copyright Statement:||The contents of this journal can be freely accessed online via the journal’s web page (see hypertext link).|
|Deposited On:||04 Nov 2005|
|Last Modified:||14 Feb 2011 09:35|
Repository Staff Only: item control page


WHAT DO CAKE DECORATORS DO?
Do you have an eye for art and a stomach for sweets? Then you might be ready for a job as a cake decorator. Cake decorators work in large and small bakeries to apply icing, chocolate and other confectionary delights to cakes. There are many different tools that cake decorators can use depending on the size, shape and type of cake, such as dipping vats, airbrushes, carving tools and more. Cake decorators are artists and craftsmen who work to make cakes that are visually appealing as well as delicious. Their attention to detail and steady hand all works to sell cakes to customers. These could be wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes or commercially available cakes sold to stores.
HOW MUCH DO CAKE DECORATORS MAKE?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the 2010 median income for cake decorators was $24,400, or $11.73 an hour.
WHAT ARE THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS?
Cake decorators usually have a high school diploma or equivalent, and those making more intricate decorations may have some art education or background. Many are trained on the job.
JOB SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- Math: Cake decorators may have to use fractions mixing icing or use math to create elaborate cake decorations.
- Attention to Detail: Cake decorators need to keep a close eye on what they are doing when creating decorations, to make sure the design is uniform. Intricate designs require keen eyes.
- Artistic Ability: Thinking up and executing elaborate designs requires an artistic eye.
- Stamina: Cake decorators are often on their feet for long periods of time.
- Color Vision: Being able to see different colors and hues when mixing icings and creating designs is critical.
- Mechanical Skills: Some cake decorators will need to use specific tools, like airbrush guns, modeling tools and mixers.


posted on December 04, 2012 16:23
| Katie Ribstein, an art education major from Sioux Falls, observes the artwork of her fellow students. Ribstein developed a lesson for her class that used crushed aluminum cans.
Black Hills State University
art students in Desy Shoenewies’s classes took an interdisciplinary and environmental approach to their latest art project.
The students, elementary education and art education majors, included garbage items in their art as they developed and presented their lesson plans to their fellow classmates. The two art projects, now displayed on the third floor of Woodburn, both use recycled materials and teach a lesson beyond art.
“It is definitely important to teach the possibility of making something out of garbage – you don’t need a lot of expensive supplies to create art,” according to Katie Ribstein, an art education major from Sioux Falls.
Using famed artist Didier Triglia as an inspiration, Ribstein had her classmates create paintings out of crushed aluminum cans. Ribstein chose Didier because of his unique, colorful and chaotic designs as well as his use of recycled materials to create the art. Ribstein looks forward to incorporating sustainability into her lessons as a classroom teacher.
There are many ways to use recycled items through classroom instruction, she said noting the use of thrift store glass plates as paint palettes.
| Pictured from left to right, Sara Frasier, elementary education major from Spearfish, Valerie Samuelson, elementary education major from St. Onge, and Amanda Vottero, elementary education major from Rapid City, and Desy Shoenewies, assistant professor of art. Frasier, Samuelson and Vottero used recycled materials to teach a lesson on jellyfish.
Another classroom art lesson incorporated old plastic dome-shaped coffee lids, fishing line and plastic bags. Amanda Vottero, elementary education major from Rapid City, Valerie Samuelson, elementary education major from St. Onge, and Sara Frasier, elementary education major from Spearfish, used their art lesson to teach classmates about one of the ocean’s most fascinating creatures,the jellyfish, and make a project using some of materials that threaten their habitat.
Frasier said it was a way to integrate sustainability and science with an art lesson. Aimed at the fifth-grade level, Vottero said it is a great age to start teaching about recycling.


View all series for LIDA LEE TALL LEARNING RESOURCES CENTER
The Lida Lee Tall Learning Resource Center originated in 1886 as a model school for students of the newly established State Normal School in Baltimore (Chapter 160, Acts of 1865). Prospective teachers at the normal school used the model elementary school as a training center where they could observe and practice effective teaching methods. The model school continued its function as the State Normal School became the Maryland State Teachers College in 1935 (Chapter 554, Acts of 1935), and Towson State University in 1976. The Lida Lee Tall Learning Resources Center, as successor to the model school, continues to serve as a laboratory environment for training students from public institutions of higher education to be teachers in elementary and secondary schools. It provides opportunities for early field experience, to observe and demonstrate effective teaching practices, and to conduct research activities. The center also identifies and addresses appropriate early childhood and elementary education research needs and priorities, and offers staff development opportunities for faculty from teacher education programs, prospective principals, and experienced teachers in elementary schools. The center is governed by an eleven member board of trustees appointed by the governor to a three year term. The board establishes policy and appoints a school principal and professional staff (Chapter 641, Acts of 1984).


Yahaya Bin Jusoh, and Azhar Bin Muhammad, (2010) Kesepaduan falsafah sains AL-Qur’an dalam kurikulum sekolah rendah sebagai asas pembentukan masyarakat hadhari di Malaysia. Jurnal Hadhari, 2 (1). pp. 23-41. ISSN 1985-6830
The civilizational (hadhari) community could be shaped in the Malaysian community through a formal education system. The approach which uses Qur’anic science philosophy combines social science and natural science with theological knowledge in the primary school curriculum could also realize and establish this community. It is undeniable with the emergence of modern science in the era of globalization causes the principle thinking of Qur’anic science philosophy to be isolated. The teachings of social science and natural science started to be separated from theological knowledge of which is more to the direction of materialistic elements compared to spiritual elements. Through reforming the national curriculum, primary school students, as the new generation, will form the foundation of thought in Qur’anic science philosophy which focuses on the existence of a civilizational community. This paper work will present the importance of this philosophy in the national education system exclusively in the Integrated Curriculum for Primary Schools (KBSR) which is the foundation to create the civilizational community.
|Keywords:||civilizational (hadhari) community; Qur’anic science philosophy; education system; national curriculum.|
|Deposited By:||Mr Fazli Nafiah -|
|Deposited On:||09 Dec 2010 14:26|
|Last Modified:||20 May 2011 09:01|
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Music Writing Resources
Ambrose, J. (1987). Music journals. In T. Fulwiler (Ed.), The journal book (pp. 261- 268). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Brittin, Ruth V. and Jaynem M. Standley (1997). Researches in Music Education/Therapy: Analysis of Publications, Citations, and Retrievability of Work. Journal of Research in Music Education 45 (1): 145-160.
Hamann, Donald L. and Keitha V. Lucas (1998). Establishing Journal Eminance in Music Education Research. Journal of Research in Music Education 46 (3): 405-413.
Irvine, Demar (1956). Writing About Music. 2nd ed. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.
Larson, C. M., & Merrion, M. (1987). Documenting the aesthetic experience: The music journal. In T. Fulwiler (Ed.), The journal book (pp. 254- 260). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
LeBlanc, Albert and Jan McCrary (1991). Acquiring Criteria of Excellence for Scholarly Journals in Music. Journal of Research in Music 39 (3): 206-215.
Popoff, L. A. (1986). In-class writing to facilitate learning in music theory courses. In K. O'Down & E. Nolan (Eds.), Learning to write, writing to learn (pp. 27- 31). Livonia, MI: Madonna College Humanities Writing Program.
Redmon, J. (1986). If music be the food of thought, write on: Writing in the general music class. In K. O'Dowd & E. Nolan (Eds.), Learning to write, writing to learn (pp. 72- 74). Livonia, MI: Madonna College Humanities Writing Program.
Rodriguez, Carlos Xavier (1998). Childrens' Perception, Production, and Description of Musical Expression. Journal of Research in Music Education 46 (1): 48-61.
Wingell, R. J. (1990). Writing about music: An introductory guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.


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Jazz Education as it relates to Life Skills
Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2012
As jazz educators we all strive to teach our students the techniques behind their instrument, to build their capacity to be able to perform in front of an audience, and to present them with methods of playing an ever-changing style of music, among many, many other skills – all of this in an effort to better themselves as student-musicians. But are we enabling our students with the ability to transfer these skills to a “real world” situation, much less a profession outside music?
In a recent All About Jazz essay NEA Jazz Master David Liebman discusses how the “values” our students learn though the study of music assist them once they enter the professional world, regardless of the career path they choose.
What are your thoughts?
Steve Holley, posted Sept 27, 2012 © National Association for Music Education


Hallam, S. and Burnard, P. and Robertson, A. and Saleh, C. and Davies, V. and Rogers, L. and Kokotsaki, D. (2009) 'Trainee primary school teachers' perceptions of their effectiveness in teaching music.', Music education research., 11 (2). pp. 221-240.
In England, there have been concerns that some primary teachers lack the necessary skills to teach the National Curriculum. The aim of this research was to ascertain the level of confidence of students completing a one-year primary teacher-training programme in relation to teaching in general and teaching music in particular. 341 students from four higher education institutions in England completed a short questionnaire. While almost all teachers had confidence in their ability to teach, only about half were confident about teaching music. There were statistically significant differences in response depending on whether the students played one or more musical instruments. Instrumentalists were more confident, those playing more than one instrument exhibiting the highest levels. Most students believed that more time should be spent on training, although they praised its quality. The implications of the findings are discussed and alternative ways of addressing the problem are considered.
|Keywords:||Music, Primary teachers, Training, Confidence.|
|Full text:||PDF - Accepted Version (382Kb)|
|Publisher Web site:||http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613800902924508|
|Record Created:||29 Jul 2010 10:20|
|Last Modified:||04 Jan 2011 14:57|
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At Bridge International Academies we use the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Math Assessment (EGMA) to evaluate our pupils’ performance. These exams test reading and math comprehension on both a concrete and conceptual level. These foundational skills are extraordinarily important as they are critical to the learning potential of every child.
We use the same firm as USAID to administer these exams. The exams are conducted across a sample of 5,000 pupils from Bridge International Academies, government schools, and other neighborhood schools. The assessment begins by placing all of the pupils into equal bands based on their incoming performance level. This means that the pupils who perform lower at Bridge will be paired against pupils who perform lower at competitive schools, as will the average and higher performers. After one year, we retest these same bands to assess the academic progression in their foundational skills. By tracking pupils based on their starting performance levels, we can ensure that we’re measuring the impact of a child’s actual experience in his or her classroom.
On this page, you will find the improved academic results for our Class 2 pupils based on EGRA and EGMA assessments completed in 2012 (showing our improvement since 2011). In the future, we will add other international exams into our evaluation portfolio as the assessment needs of our pupils change with their age.


The history of education in Cuba
Hartford Web Publishing is not the author of the
documents in World History Archives and
does not presume to validate their accuracy or authenticity nor to
release their copyright.
The culture history of Cuba
- The children of Jose Marti
- By Tim Wheeler, in People's Weekly World, 25 January
1997. The state of elementary education in Cuba.
- Retaining Priority Despite Economic Crisis
- By Dalia Acosta, IPS, 1 September 1998. Cuba's free and universal
education policy stands up to the economic crisis wracking the
nation for the last eight years. Since 1990, Cubans have been
suffering power cuts, reduced urban transport services, food
shortages and devaluation of the peso, but the classrooms have
remained open, even when there have been no books.
- Boarding-School System Increasingly
- By Dalia Acosta, IPS, 4 November 1998.Controversy over a system
obliging high-school students in Cuba to go to boarding schools
in rural areas has reached unprecedented levels. The government
has reaffirmed its commitment to the policy but parents want
better conditions in the schools and studies on the system's
repercussions on the family.
- Don't Let Politics Cloud Cuba Offer
- By DeWayne Wickham, USA Today, 30 January 2001.
In the two years since opening its Latin American School
of Medical Sciences, Cuba has filled its classrooms with
more than 3,400 students from 23 countries. Most of them
come from Central and South America. A few of the students
are from nations in sub-Saharan Africa.