Countless studies have touted the benefits of music education. Hands-on learning of a musical instrument has been found to:
- Foster teamwork
- Build self-esteem
- Motivate students to come to school
- Enhance creativity and problem solving skills
- Engage parents
- Improve test scores
The benefits fostered by music education can be grouped in four categories:
- Success in society
- Success in school
- Success in developing intelligence
- Success in life
Success in society
- Students involved in the arts demonstrate increased academic performance, reduced absenteeism, and better skill-building.
- Among at-risk youth, the segment of society most likely to suffer from limited lifetime productivity, the arts contribute to lower rates of relapse into criminal behavior and increased self-esteem.
- Arts assist in the development of much needed creative thinking, problem solving and communication skills.
Success in school
- The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college.
- Schools with music programs have significantly higher graduation and attendance rates than do those without programs.
- Music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. In fact, nearly 100% of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments.
Success in developing intelligence
- Children with music training have significantly better verbal memory than those without such training, and the longer the training, the better the verbal memory.
- Musically trained children perform better in memory tests that are correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, mathematics and IQ.
- Playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem’s sensitivity to speech sounds.
Success in life
- Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, and helps students learn to become sustained, self-directed learners.
- Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others.
- Music helps young people connect to themselves and others, thus it is an effective way to introduce children to diversity.
Building upon the maxim that great people make great organizations, Microsoft, without a doubt one of the great success stories of the technology center, created a “Competency Wheel” that defines 37 workplace skills that the corporation values. Interestingly, only three of these competencies are related to technology, illustrating in dramatic fashion that math and science skills alone are not enough to thrive in such powerhouses as Microsoft.
Students must also learn teamwork, time management, group problem solving, organization and leadership. Experts have long said that a great way to build this competency is participation in collaborative fine arts such as band, drama, chorus, and orchestra.
In fact, despite the endless research that’s proven the connection between music and intelligence, and shown that music helps young people do better in school and life, music is often seen as an added bonus, not a necessity. Art has become an expendable luxury, and millions of students and our society are paying the price. Far too often a child’s access to arts education is largely a function of his or her parents’ income.
Part of the reason for this is the mistaken belief that the sole purpose of music education is to produce more artists. In reality, the purpose of arts education is to create whole human beings capable of leading productive lives in American society. The fact that 30% of American kids do not graduate from high school is proof enough that we have to rethink our education system, and that includes rethinking the role of music education.
A Florida Dept of Education study of at-risk students found that 75% said their participation in the arts influenced their decision to graduate from high school. This is just one of numerous studies that have noted that the arts reach students not ordinarily reached, in ways not normally used, thus keeping tardiness, truancies and, eventually, dropouts down.
As we look to develop the world’s leading education system, it’s time we start listening to experts who say that to compete successfully, this country needs continued creativity, ingenuity and innovation. Investing in our young people is the sure way to get there.
VH1 Save the Music
The National Association for Music Education
National Association of Music Merchants
American For the Arts


Think about your favorite teacher and what qualities he or she has that make you appreciate them. Your answers will tell you what makes a good teacher. Those qualities include the ability to communicate, inspire trust and confidence, and motivate. A teacher must be knowledgeable about a subject and be able to recognize and respond to individual differences in students. A teacher should be dependable, patient and creative. Technology skills are also important.
The number of teachers retiring in the next 10 years will make job opportunities promising. The job market varies by school location, subject specialty, geographic location, and enrollments. Employment also depends on state and local expenditures for education and legislation that increases the quality of education. Teacher assistants are projected to have the tenth largest job growth among all occupations over the next 10 years.
What/Where the jobs are
Elementary schools, secondary schools, preschools, private schools, post-secondary schools, libraries, counseling, corporate training.
Associate in Arts (AA)
Click below for education curriculum information:
- Elementary Education
- Secondary Education
- Special Education
- Industrial Technology Education
- Business Education
Ed Geitz, Edward.Geitz@iavalley.edu
Our Admissions Office staff can be reached by calling 641-648-4611 or 1-800-322-9235 or emailing firstname.lastname@example.org. We look forward to visiting with you!


Prentice Hall Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 makes it easy to teach by providing the teacher with a wealth of resources to meet the needs of a diverse classroom. From extra practice, to performance tasks, to activities, games, and puzzles, Pearson is your one-stop shop for all teaching resources. Teaching resources are available in print, online, and on a DVD. Our digital resources open in a Word document and are completely editable.
Our Online Lesson Planner is powerful tool and a time saver for all teachers! Just drag and drop the lesson into the calendar and each lesson plan is already created.
All the lesson content is completely editable. The teaching resources are also linked to the plan, and teachers have the option to include their own.
Easy access to all textbook answers and solutions.
The most powerful test generator available—with the most comprehensive test banks correlated to state standards.
online assessment system provides instant analysis of student performance. Success Tracker™ includes built-in chapter level assessments.
Success Tracker™ diagnoses student success, prescribes automatic remediation, and reports on student and class progress. The remediation provided is in multiple formats: video, tutorial, activity, worksheet, games, and audio.
Our fully digital programs and ebooks provide cutting-edge online instruction with a seamless transition from the textbook, allowing students to complete assignments, access videos and activities, and take online tests and remediation.
With Pearson’s interactive whiteboard-ready resources, students become more active and collaborative classroom learners and teachers are able to deliver memorable lessons, engage all types of learners, and reduce class preparation time.
Language-acquisition expert, Dr. Jim Cummins, has worked exclusively with Pearson to embed powerful teaching approaches into Pearson programs, ensuring that English language learners receive the same high quality education as their peers. Dr. Cummins’ expertise in literacy development in multilingual school contexts, as well as the role of technology in promoting language and literacy development, have made Pearson programs the most effective resources for today’s ELLs.
RTI is an ongoing instructional process of using assessments to inform instruction that leads to improved student performance. Pearson's Response to Intervention solution provides a continuum of accelerated intervention strategies that assess, instruct, and monitor at every level for the best possible outcome. Unlike other modular solutions, Pearson's combination of continual progress monitoring and instruction ensure long-term, sustained results.
Your opinion is important! Do you want more or less ability to customize your Pearson instructional materials; and, should they be more or less digital?


As I discussed in my blog post about drawing cartoons, drawing anime and manga draws on a variety of traditional drawing skills although those techniques are tweaked and exaggerated in cartoons, anime, and manga artwork. But it’s an extremely popular topic in art and drawing.
Take facial proportions. Drawing anime and manga faces is a huge interest to many artists. While you can learn a few very specific guidelines for one particular angle and one particular type of face, that’s going to limit you to that angle and that type of face. You want to learn how to SEE like an artist so no matter what angle, what face shape, what gender, you’ll be able to draw from your solid drawing foundation.
Take the anime facial proportions diagram below, from http://discover-how-to-draw.com.
You can see a variety of different face shapes and genders, which is terrific. You can also see the guidelines for the proportions of each face (meaning the distances between various features). That’s good if you just want to draw these particular faces.
However, what many developing artists find is that (1) they don’t understand what the lines really mean and therefore don’t know how to place them where they need to be for individual faces, each of which is unique and requires just a bit of tweaking, and (2) how to apply these lines when faces are turned at different angles. After all, watch any anime cartoon, strip, or graphic novel, and you’ll see faces turned in all kinds of angles. How do those artists maintain the specific features and likenesses so that as the faces turn, you still know which character you’re looking at?
A great way to master these skills and establish a strong drawing foundation with facial proportions is finding a good lesson on the subject. My blog entry on guidelines for choosing quality online drawing instruction can prove useful to you at this point in your journey. An example of a solid lesson on this subject would be the seventh lesson of my “Drawing Secrets Revealed” series, Lesson 7 – Facial Proportions. In this lesson, I teach not only the basic guidelines for facial proportions (similar to the ones shown above but more thorough), but also how to apply them to faces tilted at different angles (see below). The practice activities for this lesson help you lock in those concept into your muscle memory.
My lesson on facial proportions is certainly not the only one out there on the Internet, nor is my 12-lesson drawing series the only drawing program you’ll find. However, it is chock-full of solid instruction. Make sure when you are investigating the quality of the drawing instruction out there, you consider factors such as:
how they’re teaching (video is extremely helpful, which I feel is the most valuable way to teach drawing online)
what concepts they’re covering (are they teaching you how to draw one particular thing or are they showing you how to apply what they’re teaching to many different subjects?)
how their instruction is structured (is the concept they’re teaching taught with no context or foundational skills so it might be far beyond your current skill set, or is it organized so each lesson builds on the previous ones?)
how much money and time you’re willing to invest to hone your art
Whichever method you choose, I wish you luck and encourage you to keep drawing!


Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Eisleben in Thuringia. He was
baptized the following day in the church of Saints Peter and Paul. His
parents were Hans (ca. 1460-1530) and Margarethe Ziegler Luther
(1460-1530). He was the second of three sons, James (1481) and Jacob
(1490). He may also have had four sisters, Christine (1485), Barbara
(1490), Dorthea (1495) and Elizabeth (1517). Soon after Luther was
born the family moved from Eisleben to Mansfeld where Hans first
worked in the copper mines, and then rented a forge and began his own
Margarethe Luther by Lucas
Cranach the Elder, 1527
Martin's father had improved his social and economic position and he
had plans for his son. He received a good elementary education in
Mansfeld and then in Erfurt.
In 1501 he entered the
University of Erfurt where he received his Bachelor's degree in 1502
and his Master's in 1505. He then entered the law school, but he
withdrew almost immediately and entered the Black Monastery of the
Augustinian Hermits in Erfurt. This caused a deep rift between Martin
and his father which was not completely healed until Martin left the
order and married.
In 1506 he was ordained into the priesthood and began
the study of theology at the University of Erfurt. In 1507 he was
ordained as a priest. In 1511 he was transferred to Wittenberg. He
lived in the newly constructed Black Cloister, and was assigned to
study theology at the University of Wittenberg which had been founded
by Frederick the Wise in 1502.. In 1512 he received his Doctorate and
was admitted to the faculty of the University. He was also the priest
at the city church in Wittenberg.
Martin Luther as Doctor of
Theology by Cranach, 1521
the next three years he lectured on the Psalms, Romans and Galatians.
He was appointed the Augustinian vicar for Meissen and Thuringia, with
responsibility for eleven Augustinian monasteries.
The Black Cloister in Wittenberg


(505) 880-8249 ext. 345
Math Recovery Can Prevent Early Learning Failure
Early Learning success in mathematics is possible for most of our at-risk students. Results show that 75% of all Math Recovery Students exit at grade level and one third of those students, roughly 25% of the total exit above grade level peers.
A teacher with a Math Recovery Intervention Specialist (MRIS) designation has the qualifications to provide an advanced level of math intervention and support for math instruction at the elementary level.
"The sequential nature of mathematics curriculum makes it mandatory that children accomplish every standard in the early numeracy continuum at the conceptual, procedural and application levels. When a deficit in a child’s development is found, immediate intervention must be made to ensure the child continues to make progress. Once a child has experienced early learning failure, setting the child on the road to success becomes a much more difficult task."
--Joyce McCleod “Building Early Numeracy Skills, Preventing Early Failure, edited by Bob Sornson, ASCD 2001
Math Recovery Intervention Specialists
Math Recovery Intervention Specialists (MRIS) go through comprehensive training that prepares them to provide math intervention to K-5 students. The Math Recovery Intervention Specialists at the participating elementary schools:
- Provide early intervention for at-risk students, serving up to 3 students at a time one-on-one and providing Tier 2 small group intervention
- Provide instruction at students’ current level and advances students’ knowledge, skill and conceptual understanding
- Use diagnostic assessments and a structured framework that generate a detailed profile of a student’s current understanding and subsequent progress resulting from intervention
- Attend collegial meetings throughout the year to continually update teaching practice
- Provide short-term intervention (10 to 12 weeks) as a supplement to a good classroom program
- Provide ongoing support and PD for teachers trained in Add+Vantage Math (more about Add+Vantage Math)
Training for Math Recovery Intervention Specialists
Teachers must have a designated intervention position in order to participate in the Math Recovery training. An MRIS course includes: 10 days of coursework, 100 hours of tutoring with first grade students, and 2 professional development projects.
To enroll in Math Recovery Intervention training, contact Megan Kidwell at (505) 880-8249 ext. 345.
Support for Math Recovery Intervention Specialists
New MRISs receive 5 coaching visits during their training year. Continuing MRISs can request coaching and planning support as needed. Collegial meetings for all MRISs are held monthly.


There are many assumptions made when it comes to early literacy and childhood education. Not all of them are accurate. Provided here are a list of resources on Montessori education, early childhood reading, and related topics. We will continue to build this resource list and add additional information.
From ZeroToThree.org: Early Literacy
“Early language and literacy (reading and writing) development begins in the first three years of life and is closely linked to a child’s earliest experiences with books and stories. The interactions that young children have with such literacy materials as books, paper, and crayons, and with the adults in their lives are the building blocks for language, reading and writing development. This relatively new understanding of early literacy development complements the current research supporting the critical role of early experiences in shaping brain development.”
From EarlyMoments.com: 10 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Kids
“What’s the most important trait you’d like to develop in your child? If you’re like most parents, intelligence is probably at the top of your list. We all want bright, smart children, which is why we spend so much time choosing the right schools and making sure teachers are exceeding expectations. But remember: as a parent, you have the power to boost your children’s learning potential simply by making books an integral part of their lives.”
From PBS Parents: Toddler Reading Milestones
“…your toddler learns about reading through everyday experiences with books. Simply through reading with adults, your toddler learns that books contain lots of interesting pictures and words and that stories show her worlds to explore.”
Montessori Classroom Comparison
From Parents.com: What Your Kid Will Learn in Preschool
Find out the key learning milestones of the preschool years and how you can help your child achieve them outside of pre-Kindergarten.
Evaluating Montessori Education – AAAS/Science 313, 1893 (2006); by Angeline Lillard, et al.
This analysis of students’ academic and social scores compares a Montessori school with other elementary school education programs.
Articles by University of Virginia professor Angeline S. Lillard
Department of Psychology.
See page 17 particularly
An Answer to the Crisis in Education – great overview of Montessori in contrast to the factory system of public education.


Franklin Academy, Watkins Woolen Mill State Park, circa 1857
Image copyright © and courtesy of the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
America ’s schooling system was established as early as the 17th century. Its goal was orthodox faith for attending children. Established, influential Puritan clergymen led schools, and they were assisted by colonial settlements and towns in the Thirteen Colonies. This system was supported and accepted until approximately 1830, but the system had deviated from its purpose. Many factors contributed to its decline, including the diminishing power of the clergy, the separation of church and state, the issue of transportation and the population dissemination from concentrated areas. With the population moving westward, families were concerned with “making it”, and likened book learning to aristocratic activity, ruling out advanced schooling for most, and any schooling for some. All of these issues led to funding problems for the small public schools that were in operation.
Dissatisfied with the state of public schools, well to do families enrolled their children in private academies, as public schools carried the stigma of “poor man’s education”. While some families were grateful for the education, with whatever stigma attached, many families eschewed public education, fearing that it would make children unfit for work and manual labor, the life that their parents had known. Educators, realizing the status of public schools in the nation, began reforms.
Simultaneously occurring with many other reforms (e.g. temperance, abolition, world peace, women’s rights, and humane treatment for humans with disabilities), educational reformers touted education reform as a key to achieving other reformations. The common school reformation was led by men who were unhappy with the quality and opportunities for education in their respective areas. They found that elementary education was inadequately fulfilling the two aims of education: 1) to ready children to reap benefits of opportunities, and 2) to prepare children to meet the responsibilities inherent with citizenship of a country striving to be a model of enlightened democratic state, economic well-being, and Christian morality. The town leaders thought that an integrated, common school would foster social order and mutual respect among all children who attended school.


Here at the Maine Aquarium we value the fun in
education! While our exhibits offer an unbeatable way for
students to learn about aquatic underwater worlds, we believe
students can take even more away from the experience if they
begin their education in the classroom. Below are several Sample Worksheets and links to related Curriculum Resources and that
will help you prepare your students to get the most out of their
visit. Also visit our Calendar
of Events for a listing of special
educational programs being held at the aquarium and our Information Center to find out about valuable field trip discounts. We
look forward to seeing you!
Welcome Teachers and Students
to our Worksheets on life underwater....
Feel free to copy any of the worksheets here!
Caribbean Coral Reef:
- Magical Mystery
Tour-name these animals
- day world mini
- Unscramble the
- night world
The Prize of Maine:
- Maine Lobster
- University of Maine Lobster Quiz
Back to Kids Center
Other Excellent Curriculum Resources
- The Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institutions K-12 Resources--Unsurpassable Resources on
oceanography and marine topics
- Sea Turtle Tracking Education
wonderful interactive program allowing students to track
migrating sea turtles.
- Surf Your Watershed The U.S. EPA's online
educational program allowing students to locate their
local watershed and learn more about it.
- Whales A thematic web unit, encouraging
critical thinking, project galleries, and
multidisciplinary units. Lots of links to other teacher
guides, including the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
for Math and Science Education.
- International Whaling Coalition Lots of current issues and
information on whales and other marine mammals.
- Wet Net Water Resources Education - a
list of links relating to the environment, educators,
- 4-star award winning
website on endangered species .
- National Wildlife Federation curriculum guide on endangered
- Animal Tracks a collection of environmental
education lessons ready for use in the classroom.
- Give Water a Hand an action guide for helping
water resources in your area.
- Links Reviews, summaries and
information about 100 curriculum guides focusing on
- The Jason Project Complete with teacher guides and
- Marine Mammals An internet-based learning
adventure designed to help students study the migrations
of various species including right whales, manatees, gray
whales and humpback whales.
- World Resource Institute's
Teacher Guides Guides
on topics such as Oceans and Coasts, Biodiversity, and
- Science Learning Network
Math/Science Center Server A Must See! Endless resources.
...teacher guides, maps, water quality testing guides,
grants. You name it. Don't miss this site.
- Teacher Guides from SeaWorld
- Marine and nature videos for sale through the National
- Eisenhower National Clearing
Mathematics and Science Education.
- The Globe Program An international environmental
science and educational program that allows schools to
participate in taking measurements and sharing their
- Web Sites and Resources for
hundreds of on-line curriculum links and activities
collected from Professors of Elementary Education at
California State University, Northridge.
- The Kids On the Web hundreds of links to general
- Ocean Planet A Smithsonian Institution
Traveling Interactive Exhibit on oceans. Also teacher
Other Educational Links...


As searching and research day by day I surprise to find something which is really new and interesting. Todays I just found out this Learning Website from MS for new babies and very useful to get hands on for any programming language who are very new towards development world
Following is snap to grab attention for you or your new Lerner friend,Kid or anyone !!!
So, to get started, visit the Small Basic site.
Here are my few more links:
– Download Small Basic
– Read the Getting Started Guide in PDF, Word, or online, or use the online Small Basic Curriculum, which provides separate lessons, just like a classroom. They are pretty similar, so if you like learning by reading a book, use the Getting Started Guide. If you like learning via lessons, use the online Small Basic Curriculum
– If you need help, there is a forum to post questions or read answers to questions others have posted
– The Reference Documentation describes the syntax of all the commands
– When you write a program that you want to share, you can easily upload your code to the Internet. Others can then view your code and run your program (either within Small Basic or on the Small Basic website – see example). See the lesson on how to do this
– Check out these “recipes“, which are free lessons to learn more about Small Basic. Developed by Teach Kids Programming
– On YouTube there are many tutorials
– You can find greatly expanded tutorials for purchase as Computer Science For Kids
– Free Small Basic E-Books: The Developer’s Reference Guide to Small Basic, Beginning Microsoft Small Basic, Basic Computer Games Small Basic Edition
– There is a facebook page and a blog
Hope this helps !!
If you wan daily link and analysis or interesting link go to following website which will give @ your inbox please subscribe our following link resource blog
Where todays links are :


Consultation on Primary school curriculum reform: IET comments to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
The proposals for the new primary national curriculum are broadly welcomed, particularly as they include efforts to reduce prescription and increase cross-curricular activities. The inclusion of numeracy as part of the essentials for learning and life will help ensure all children have the chance to develop mathematical understanding and skills, which are required at a higher level in engineering. The curriculum for the ‘scientific and technological understanding’ area of learning should refer explicitly to engineering, and make clear how this area of learning will ensure that pupils begin to develop an understanding of engineering and the role it plays in their lives. It is important that the new curriculum makes clear that design and technology can be taught both in unison and discretely. There needs to be clarity between numeracy as part of the essentials for learning and life and the ‘mathematical understanding’ area of learning.
Submission Details Submitted on 17 July 2009 to Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)


Close reading questions for each chapter of this nonfiction Civil War book plus two related primary source readings. Helps students understand what life was like for both sides during the Civil War. Aligned with Common Core Standards for reading informational text. Perfect for a whole class study, partners or small groups, centers, extra credit, or gifted enrichment. Would be an excellent expository text for an integrated Language Arts and Social Studies cross-curricular unit.
A variety of questions and activities for each chapter motivate interest and cover many CCSS standards for reading informational text. Charts are specific to the text and not generic organizers. Skills (with explanations included within some questions) include:
--right there/think and search
--point of view and bias
--note taking and more
There are several short creative writing responses. Two primary source handouts with questions related to the text are "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and a letter about a young man seeking to buy a substitute. This product is designed to make the text accessible and scaffold critical thinking. See the thumbnails for the visually-appealing format and the Preview for sample content.
A detailed ANSWER KEY and list of Common Core Standards that are covered are provided.
More historical nonfiction you will love!
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution
George vs George: American Revolution Non-fiction
4 Info Text Readings/Questions on Ancient Egypt
And historical fiction:
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz: Westward Movement Novel
See my products for reading informational text and fiction in my Store. For example:
Reading Comprehension Strategies and Student Self-Assessment
Find out about new products and sales. Click the star next to my photo logo in the upper right corner of this page. Thanks!


- Developmental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
Dr. Blevins-Knabe is currently involved in the study of early number strategies that preschoolers use, and parental ideas and influence on early childhood learning of mathematical concepts.
Austin, A., Blevins-Knabe, B., Ota, C., Rowe, T., & Lindauer, S. (2010). Mediators of preschoolersâ€™ early mathematics concepts. Early Child Development and Care, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2010.520711
Blevins-Knabe, B., (2008, June 25). Fostering early numeracy at home. In Encyclopedia of language and literacy development.Â Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca
Blevins-Knabe, B., Whiteside-Mansell, L., & Selig, J. (Summer 2007)
Parenting and Mathematical Development, Academic Exchange Quarterly, 11 (2), 76-80.
Austin, A. Blevins-Knabe, B., Nielsen de Aquino, Urbieta de Burro, E., Park, K., Bayley, B., Christensen, M., Leavitt, S., Merrill, J., Taylor, D., & George, A. (2006). Parent socialization, family economic well-being, and toddlerâ€™s cognitive development in rural Paraguay. Journal for Research in Childhood Education, 20, 255-274.
Â Blevins-Knabe, B., Austin, A., Musun, L., Eddy, A., & Jones, R. (2000). Family home care providersâ€™ and parentsâ€™ beliefs and practices concerning mathematics with young children.Â Early Child Development and Care, 165, 41-58.
Blevins-Knabe, B., Austin, A., Musun, L., Eddy, A., & Jones, R. (2000). Family home care. Blevins-Knabe, B., (1999). Mathematics. In C. Smith (ed.) The encyclopedia of parenting theory and research. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Musun-Miller, L, & Blevins-Knabe, B. (1999).
Families and mathematics: Why might U.S. children be behind? In R. Roth (Ed.) Psychologists facing the challenge of a global culture with the human rights and mental health. Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science Publishers.
Musun-Miller, L, & Blevins-Knabe, B. (1998). Adult’s belief about children and mathematics: How important is it and how do children learn about it? Early Development and Parenting, 7, 191-202.
Blevins-Knabe, B., & Musun-Miller, L., (1996). Number use at home by children and their parents and its relationship to early mathematical performance. Early Development and Parenting, 5(1), 35-45.


It is important to study history so one may learn about past human behavior that is relevant to the intellectual growth and development of an individual. Studying the events of the past give us an understanding of how the world came to be, not only in your world but around the world including all cultures of people as well as nature. By learning about the causes and effects of events in history, people can learn better ways to deal with conflict among nations and individuals. Studying the history of environmental changes can enhance a healthier lifestyle for mankind, as well as prevent the extinction of plants and animals, which could disturb our ecosystems. Although human behavior is unpredictable at times, a better understanding through the study of history, can provide valuable insight for our future generations.
Setting standards for history in the schools requires a clear vision of the place and importance of history in the general education of all students. The widespread and growing support for more and better history in the schools, beginning in the early grades of elementary education, is one of the more encouraging signs of the decade. The reasons are many, but none are more important to a democratic society than this: knowledge of history is the precondition of political intelligence. Without history, a society shares no common memory of where it has been, what its core values are, or what decisions of the past account for present circumstances. Without history, we cannot undertake any sensible inquiry into the political, social, or moral issues in society. And without historical knowledge and inquiry, we cannot achieve the informed, discriminating citizenship essential to effective participation in the democratic processes of governance and the fulfillment for all our citizens of the nation’s democratic ideals.


Covers Birth to Age Eight. This new text provides a balance of theory and application to help novices and practicing early childhood professionals understand why and how to set up, arrange, and make changes to early childhood learning environments. Organized largely by chapters on learning centers (literacy, manipulative and sensory, science, mathematics, etc.), the text also covers foundational information such as the emotionally supportive and equitable environment, the role of the teacher, the importance of the environment, design principles, and health and safety. Coverage woven through every chapter includes material for all age groups in early childhood (infants and toddlers through 3rd grade), assessing the environment, meeting the needs of ALL learners, the teacher's role in facilitating learning in the various environments, and ways to address each curricular area outdoors. It is designed for college courses taught at two and four year institutions that focus on quality early childhood learning environments and curriculum.


Modern life is full of distractions; though perhaps a self-evident truth, it needs noting. Hyper-connected, overly packed lifestyles leave less time for sharing books with our children, especially with iPads, Super Why! and pressing work emails to divert our attention. If given a choice between exploring the infinite possibilities of imagination through a good book, and playing with Mom’s iPhone, we all know what most children would choose.
As we approach the end of National Family Literacy Month, it is important to recognize those who, like Raising A Reader MA, have taken steps to advocate for family literacy. One example is Citizens Academy, a Cleveland charter school who has credited its students’ stunningly high test scores to its own Parent Engagement Program. At Citizens, engaged parents emphatically reinforce what teachers do in the classroom at home, supporting their children in achieving their personalized academic goals. Also in Cleveland – Esperanza Inc., a non-profit that supports Hispanic youth’ academic development. Just like Raising A Reader MA, Esperanza organizes bilingual workshops to address involvement of Hispanic parents in their children’s education.
Elianne Ramos, journalist for the Huffington Post’s “LatinoVoices,” couldn’t have stated it any better when she wrote that “life opens up, and dreams become possible when you learn to read, and read well.” In her recent article, Ramos observed how North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools and the National Center for Family Literacy have been collaborating to showcase the importance of family literacy programs. One activity is the Three Million Books Challenge, a campaign that incentivizes students to read. The NCFL also sponsors the Litera-Seeds mini-grants program, designed to help fund classroom projects that encourage parent engagement.
While there are examples, here in Boston and throughout the country, of work being done to address family literacy and parent involvement in education, we have a long road ahead of us. And while studies show that, at every socioeconomic level, children with involved parents perform better in school, there are a million reasons hindering parents from reading daily to children at home and being more involved in school life, from language barriers to extracurricular activities. At Raising A Reader MA, we believe that parents are respected partners in their children’s education. In the end, you are your child’s most important teacher, and it is your choices that most greatly influence the level of your child’s interest in learning. It’s time to unplug. I suggest rebooting with a really good book and the child you love.
Susannah Kate Matthews is the Somerville Liaison and Special Projects Assistant. As an English major at Connecticut College, she was able to steer her love of books into critical theory as well as poetry. She moved to Portland, OR after graduation for a year in AmeriCorps – she worked for the Washington Reading Corps, supporting literacy development in Head Start classrooms and advocating for family literacy through a small non-profit. She has been with Raising A Reader since February of 2012, and has loved every moment of it. She is hoping to pursue a Masters of Education starting next fall. She can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org


Education and health are two responsibilities governments across the world strive to fulfill, as these are imperative for social progress. Four points are important, when looking at look at the education system and competitiveness in India.
· First, in India’s case the government has been unable to provide education, and this is where the private sector has lent a helping hand. However, the support provided remains broadly inadequate because of the immensity of the challenge. At the school level, private tuitions remain rampant, as teachers are not paid well. It results in India’s education system being riddled with bad learning outcomes at this level. The recent ASER report points to this inadequacy. Approximately half of the children enrolled at Standard 5, cannot read at a Standard 2 level. With respect to arithmetic, close to half of children who finish eight years of schooling do not have basic skills in arithmetic. How do we expect these students to gain skills of employability when basic foundational skills are missing?
· Second, the ‘ends’ have become all important replacing the role ‘means’ play for attaining ‘ends’. The ‘ends’ seem to be justifying the ‘means’. A recent case in point that has shocked people not only in India but across the world is the relatives and friends of students in Bihar that were photographed aiding students inside a classroom for cheating. It shows that attaining an end, in this case, passing an examination is more important than education one receives. On a broader level, the value attached to a degree/diploma is more important than the education that one receives. It is problematic, as it focuses on the fruits of the action rather than the action itself. An ‘open book’ examination system can help in bettering this.
· Third, quite a number of ills that ail our society can be traced back to the moral degradation that we have suffered. In spite of the transparency and moral codes, a number of corruption scandals had rocked the previous government. Under the present government while the wholesale corruption (scams, scandals, etc. by ministers and bureaucracy) is low the corruption at the retail level (paying bribes for evading challans, asking for more money than, is due) broadly remain the same. It has not got to do with the government but us as a people and a society. It calls for a moral scrutiny of us as individuals and as a collective society.
· Fourth, there is a distinct link between what ails us today as a society and the future productive ability and competitiveness of our nation. We cannot become a manufacturing powerhouse or industrial powerhouse with morally corrupt people sitting at the top and running factories. With this broken education system, India will find it extremely difficult to produce managers and leaders of tomorrow. Change has to begin at a family level and to be upright in one’s dealings. Children mirror what parents do.
In the long run, countries that have done well have had a strong value system (of hard work, meritocracy) in addition to other requirements that have made them raise their standards of living. It will be imperative for India, in the long run to focus on means as well as ends for becoming globally competitive. Thus, education and not just degrees should form the basis of what we do.
Published with Business Insider on April 3, 2015.


This course is designed to be a tutoring supplement to your high school or college Algebra II course. There is more than enough information included for anyone to be successful with this course, so it can also be useful for home-school students or anyone else interested in learning about quadratic functions in algebra. You will find 6 video lectures focusing on specific ways of using and solving quadratic functions. This course can be completed in approximately 1.5-2 hours including time to work on the quizzes, however you are encouraged to review the videos and use them as a resource as you encounter similar problems in your Algebra II class.
Students will learn how to find the vertex, axis of symmetry, and y-intercept of any quadratic function by using the standard form of the function. These skills will be integral to graphing quadratic functions in the next lesson.
Students will learn to graph any quadratic function on the coordinate plane.
Students will review the skills necessary to graph quadratic functions.
Students will apply factoring algorithms to find the solutions to certain quadratic functions.
Students will learn the Quadratic Equation algorithm and use it to find the solutions to certain quadratic functions.
Students will learn to use the square root to easily solve certain quadratic functions.
Students will use the "Completing the Square" method to solve a wider variety of quadratic functions by combining with the skills learned in the previous lesson.
Students will review the skills necessary to find the solutions of quadratic functions.
I am a sixth grade math/science/social studies teacher in Connecticut. I studied Chemical Engineering for three years before earning a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. I then went on to earn my Master's Degree and CT State Certification in Elementary Education.
I have also been a private math/science/SAT tutor for 5 years. I was also a martial arts instructor for 8 years.
I have been involved in education in the public schools since 2009. During this time I have learned to integrate many strategies into my teaching across all subject levels. Over the past few years I have been able to focus on teaching my favorite subjects, math, science and social studies. My classroom involves a mix of hands on learning, small group work, independent studies, and teacher directed learning. Each of these methods serves an important purpose and I would like to share these ideas with a new group of students through Udemy.
In the private tutoring field, I have had a very successful career with more than 50 different students over the past 5 years. Through one-on-one and small group sessions I have been able to help all of these students achieve their individual academic goals, whether these goals have been to raise their grade in Algebra, Chemistry, Calculus, or Physics or to achieve the necessary score on the math portion of the SAT to get into the schools they would like to apply to. I plan on utilizing these tutoring skills in my Udemy courses to ensure that all students are able to reach and understand the material and are successful with each course.


CPB/PBS Release Summary Research Report
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS have released a report entitled "Findings from Ready to Learn 2005-2010" that summarizes the results of independent research conducted under grant funding from the Ready to Learn Television program. The results demonstrate that using combinations of well-designed educational media, including television, websites, and other digital platforms, can be effective in improving literacy skills among low income children, ages 2-8. To access the report, please visit: http://www.cpb.org/rtl/FindingsFromReadyToLearn2005-2010.pdf. Disclaimer
List of Highly Rated Applications to the 2010 competition. The attached Excel spreadsheet identifies the scores of the highest rated applications that were submitted to the Ready to Learn Television competition in June 2010: (see attached Excel file MS Excel). The competition used a two-tier review process in which the applications that scored the highest against the program’s general review criteria (100 points possible) were advanced to a second tier in which their responses to the program’s competitive preference priority on research was scored (20 points possible) by experts in research/evaluation. The final ranking was determined by adding these two scores (120 points possible). Of the 38 eligible applications submitted to the competition, 15 advanced to tier two (all of which are shown in the spreadsheet), and the top 3 of these applications eventually received funding.
CFDA Number: 84.295
Program Type: Cooperative Agreements, Discretionary/Competitive Grants
Also Known As: Ready-to-Learn TV
Ready to Learn Television supports the development of educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach, and research on educational effectiveness.
Types of Projects
In FY 2010, this program featured three new emphases: 1) applicants were invited to submit proposals for the development of innovative transmedia programming – that is, the use of television and other media such as the internet, mobile devices, games, and print in interconnected ways; 2) applicants were invited to develop programming in reading and/or mathematics that would be designed to increase the literacy and/or numeracy skills of low-income children ages two to eight years old; and 3) support for programming and outreach, which had been split into separate competitions in 2005, was merged so that grantees would be creating outreach activities in support of their own programming efforts.


All the countries in the world have inequalities, India however has a unique blend of lethal schisms and disparities prevalent at the societal, family, community, regional, religious, caste and economic basis. Caste has a peculiar role in India that makes it stand apart from the rest of the world. Despite several legislations enacted and implemented it has crept into the modern routine and has manifested itself as a neo-culture. Caste stratification leads to class inequality, providing it a resilience that seems hard to defeat.
Gender inequality which is in a sense a democratic demographic inequality is another kind which is exceptionally high. This inequality is among the social disparities that keep large numbers of people on the margin of the 'New India'- not only women but also the men and children who would benefit from an active, informed and equal participation of women in public life. Gender inequality has reincarnated itself time and again in different forms ranging from deprivation of Right to Life to the fairer sex to educational disparity, political under-representation, inadequate workforce presence to rape, violence.
The newer faces of inequalities that India is witnessing are: occupational and educational inequalities. The new educational system gives credentials to make an entry into the Newly formed Middle class, this class which is particularly instrumental in carrying forward Backward Bharat to Inclusive India.
The Indian democracy finds itself in odds with the kind of inequalities we inherited from the past and many we created recently.
For a democratic institution, the real growth and development of the nation would embrace multifarious faces ranging from social, political, gender, educational, occupational & economic equalities. All these sum up to form the popular Democratic Equality.
Growth of the nation demands that the elementary education, primary health care and other things of importance and needs essential for building up the capacity of the disadvantaged sections of people are readily available to them and within their reach. The Food security act aims to feed nearly 70 % of the population and India has 50 % of its people which fall in the backward class(socially) implies that the nation has not achieved its aim of holistic equality and empowerment what was 65 years ago Nehru dreamed off.
The advancement of the country in various fields be it economic, social, environmental warrants the necessity to carry forward those neglected for centuries. This is not to say that everyone would come at par to each other or all could show the same results provided equality of resources and equity in distribution, but it would certainly reduce the gap between different sections of the society and would harness the potential of nearly 50% of the neglected demographic dividend.
One notion that prevails and is infact a sentimental hypothesis of the majority that Economic development would precipitate its benefits on all and All would rise up the ladder. However contrary to it, as Andre Beteille points out that its the grass root upliftment of the downtrodden lots that would empower the top of the economy. Today when India aims to reach the apex of the developmental growth it is subsequently being dragged backward by the inherent inequalities and deprivation present in the society. It is a fact that India spends substantial amount of its national budget on these deprived and socio-politico-economically disadvantaged people.
For instance, the dream of leading the world in all spheres makes no sense when the sovereign government is unable to empower and enforce the equality among its people. Converting an Indian city into a world class destination would perhaps be a moral sin when huge number of slums are not addressed in the cities.
The need of the hour and the demand of the democracy has zero tolerance for prevalent inequalities which in the long run ruin the prospects of the Nation. Sans doubt India has done commendable job in restricting the multifaceted deprivation among its population, however the task has not yet been accomplished and it is perhaps and should be a continual process in any democratic system.
There shall be a mechanism to constantly measure the progress in eliminating the wide gap of disparities and accordingly frame and target the policies. NREGA has been a wide success and there is a need to empower the youth and the seniors alike in various semi skilled jobs. Teaching to fish is better than providing a fish. The aim of the governance now has to be more on boosting the capabilities from the bottom so that the huge population that India boasts of should be self dependent and self sustaining, only then we as a nation would be able to achieve the aim of inclusive growth and holistic development marching ahead to becoming the power to reckon with for the whole world.
Indebted to following scholastic works:
A. Beteille: Ideology and Social Science.
A. Sen: India: An uncertain glory.


Understanding the origins of poor literacy and numeracy skills in adulthood and how to improve them is of major importance when society places a high premium on proficiency in these basic skills. This edited collection brings together the results of recent longitudinal studies that greatly extend our knowledge of what works in raising skill levels, as well as the social and economic returns to improvement.
Many fundamental research questions in adult education involve change over time: how adults learn, how program participation influences their acquisition of skills and knowledge, and how their educational development interacts with their social and economic performance. Although a growing number of longitudinal studies in adult basic education have recently been completed, this book is the first systematic compilation of findings and methods.
Triangulating findings from different methodological perspectives and research designs, and across countries, this text produces convergence on key conclusions about the role of basic skills in the modern life course and the most effective ways of enhancing them.
Introduction: The Need for Longitudinal Studies in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education Stephen Reder and John Bynner Part I: Literacy and Numeracy Development 1. Insights into Basic Skills from a UK Longitudinal Study John Bynner and Samantha Parsons 2. The Development of Literacy and Numeracy in Adult Life Stephen Reder 3. Longitudinal Research Related to Adult Literacy and Education T. Scott Murray Part II: Student, Teacher and Classroom Studies 4. Developing Learners’ Reading Skills in Adult Basic Education Programs Judith Alamprese 5. "What Works" for Adult Students of English as a Second Language Larry Condelli, Heide Spruck Wrigley and Kwang S. Yoon 6. Student Persistence in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Programs John Comings 7. Teacher Attitudes Towards the "Skills for Life" National Strategy for Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills Olga Cara and Jennifer H. Litster 8. The Impact of the "Skills for Life" Learning Infrastructure on Learners: A Summary of Methods and Findings John Vorhaus, Ursula Howard, Greg Brooks, Ann Marie Bathmaker and Yvon Appleby Part III: The Impact of Policy and Programs 9. Outcomes for Basic Skills Learners: A Four-year Longitudinal Study Hillary Metcalf & Pamela Meadows 10. Enhancing "Skills for Life": Workplace Learning and Adult Basic Skills Karen Evans, Edmond Waite and Lul Admasachew 11. Improving the Literacy and Numeracy of Young Offenders Jane Hurry, Laura Brazier and Anita Wilson Part IV: Social and Economic Outcomes in Context 12. Using a Longitudinal Approach with State Administrative Records to Evaluate Adult Education Programs in the United States Stephen Rose 13. The Tennessee Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Program Participants Mary Beth Bingman 14. Outcomes of Literacy Improvement: A Longitudinal View Barbara McDonald and Patricia Scollay 15. ‘The more you learn the better you feel': Research into Literacies, Learning and Identity in Scotland Kathy Maclachlan, Lyn Tett, and Stuart Hall 16. Adults’ Lives and Learning in Different Contexts: A View Over Time Yvon Appleby and David Barton


Philosophy of Music Education
I believe that the music educator has the very serious responsibility to teaching art to their students. Through music students learn things they cannot learn in the same way through other disciplines and that is why music must be a vital and necessary part of their education. It is vital for students to receive education in music because of the impact their sensitivity will have in the world when they are out and about in society.
Through learning to read music and play with good technique and participating in ensembles, students learn to adapt to their environment, discover their potential to achieve, and what it means to be an active member of a team. A music educator must help students understand the power and strength of music and importance of how cultural values are conveyed. A music educator must help students think for themselves and make them aware of the resources available to them by sparking creativity and interest through music. A music educator should bring vitality to the classroom by providing students with the opportunity to gain awareness about professional groups and performers in the world. A teacher must be available for extra help and to address the individual concerns of their students outside and inside the classroom.
All students possess the ability to learn and an education in music can help bring out countless different aspects of interest in that student and open new doors for them and offer them the chance to discover their ability to create, think critically and apply knowledge to other parts of their lives. I believe one of the most important things students will learn through participating in music is the sense that they can achieve anything they put their mind to with a little hard work.
A music educator must be dedicated to serving the community and do everything they can to ensure that students are successfully learning and receiving enrichment through the arts that will nourish them and be of use to them for the rest of their lives.


We have designed and developed a curriculum which reflects the values of our school, develops the wellbeing of the whole child, provides challenge and raises aspirations, and promotes high levels of academic and intellectual achievement and progress.
We send letters home to parents and carers with information about the curriculum in each year group every term. Click here to find out more.
Values are things we believe in, that help us to make decisions about how to behave. They are the principles that guide our lives. The curriculum at Fairholme nurtures and promotes many values including respect, honesty, responsibility, kindness, self-belief and aspiration. Through these values, our curriculum develops each child's uniqueness, ambition and self-worth as an individual.
The Fairholme Primary School curriculum consists of:
Click here for an overview of the curriculum topics in each year group.


After Governor Christie enacted devastating budget cuts to New Jersey’s public schools, many of the first programs eliminated were music-related.
From chorus to band to elementary music classes, music has been systematically stripped from many schools because it is not one of the subjects that is evaluated on standardized tests. Even in those districts that believe strongly in music education, they simply cannot afford to fund those programs in the face of these drastic cuts.
The truth is music helps students of all ages and skill levels learn more and lead healthier, less stressful lives. It even improves student achievement in tested areas such as math, reading, and science. According to research, students develop critical skills such as reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall, and concentration through musical performance. Acquiring such skills improves student achievement in math, reading, and science. In fact, students who had access to music education out-performed non-music students on achievement tests in reading and math.
Students who have access to music education are also less likely to drop out of school and are twice as likely as the average student to go on to college.
Music also helps students appreciate and understand other cultures, a critical element of learning in the 21st Century.
From a social perspective, studying music benefits children by making them feel part of a community. In music classes, students work collaboratively to create and analyze music. They must learn to perform together in order to succeed.
Research also shows that students who receive music education are also less likely to be involved in gangs, drugs or alcohol abuse, and have better attendance in school.
There are many more examples of how music education benefits students but unfortunately, only the wealthiest students will enjoy those benefits. As funding is stripped from public schools and districts cut music programs and teaching staff, students from more educated and affluent homes will still receive music instruction. Their parents will ensure that they continue to have that opportunity. But those students whose parents cannot afford music instruction will go without and an achievement gap that New Jersey has been so successful in reducing will gape even wider.


Summer School WIDE STEM Challenge (Calling all rising Pre-K'ers through 5th grade!!!)
Summer School Wide STEM Challenge 2017 (Due: Sept. 1st, 2017)
STEM links for ENGINEERING anytime!
Ms. Osterhoff's Website: http://detectiveosterhoff.weebly.com
Interactive Websites on STEM: http://stem-works.com/activities
BBC Clips (Literacy, Math, and Science): http://www.bbc.co.uk/education
Engineering Grand Challenges: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/
STEM Most Powerful Words
STEM Universal Words for York
Teacher Interactive Science and STEM lessons
Science for Kids
Dream Big: Engineering Our World
Everything you need to know about Bridges
- NASA Kids’ Club – This website has interactive games for students involving different science topics and levels.
- PBS Kids Go Design Squad – Design Squad Nation offers activities, animations, videos, and episodes for teachers and students.
- Strange Matter – Strange Matter is a great place for students to learn while having fun. The activities pertain to materials science or the “study of stuff”.
- Engineering Interact – This website provides fully interactive, engaging game environments with information about real world applications to introduce students to the exciting world of engineering.
- Science Kids – On this website, students can find experiments, games, videos, and lessons to help them better understand science and technology subjects.
- The Kids Science Challenge -Visit the games and video section of this website to help them conceptualize information in an engaging way.


The Star Attraction at the Galleria dell’Accademia is Michelangelo’s David:
For most visitors to Florence, the star attraction of the Galleria dell’Accademia is Michelangelo’s David, a representation of the Biblical hero who took on Goliath and killed the fearsome giant with his sling. The Galleria dell’Accademia is a part of the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze, or Academy of Fine Art of Florence, whose history can be traced back to the first drawing school to be established in Europe under the Medici patronage.
Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze
Florence has a long artistic history and the earliest professional organization of art can be traced back to medieval times when artists and sculptors belonged to guilds. In 1562, under the patronage of Cosimo I de’Medici, the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Academy of the Arts of Drawing) was established. This was the first academy of drawing in Europe and its members included the most eminent artists and art academics of the time. Amongst its tasks were the protection of the cultural heritage of Tuscany as well as the teaching of the arts and sciences.
In 1784 Pietro Leopoldo, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, decreed that all the art schools in Florence should be combined under one roof and he created the Accademia di Belle Arti to provide art education and free public art. To assist in the teaching, an art gallery was set up within the Accademia which included a collection statues and original plaster casts such as Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women. Today, some 1,200 students from all over the world study at the Accademia di Belle Arti, whose tutors include eminent art professors from all over the world.
Galleria dell’AccademiaAlthough the Accademia di Belle Arti is a distinguished art academy, for most visitors, it is the many art galleries that attract attention. There is an extensive painting collection, with mostly religious paintings ranging from the 13th through the 16th centuries. Not least are the 24 panels by Taddeo Gaddi depicting scenes from the life of Jesus. The Gallery also offers works by Uccello, Ghirlandaio, del Sarto and Botticelli. The Cassone Adimari, painted in the 1440s by Lo Scheggia, continues to attract a wide audience. Many of the paintings were collected for the specific purpose of providing the students with old masters to emulate and there are several here that serve that purpose well.
But, unquestionably, the works on display that attract the largest crowds are the busts and sculptures, and in particular Michelangelo’s David. Off the end of the left wing is a 19th century hall with one wall that is lined with plaster casts, busts and sculpture, which provide students with many examples to follow. Along the main hallway are several unfinished works of the great master, Michelangelo. The Four Prisoners (or Slaves) provide a glimpse into the working technique of one of the greatest artists in history.
At the end, on a specially constructed platform called the tribune, stands the main attraction: Michelangelo’s David. The sculpture was moved from the Piazza del Signoria in 1873 to preserve it after four centuries in the sun and air. Unfortunately, being indoors didn’t protect David from damage. In 1991, a deranged man attacked David with a hammer and managed to damage several toes before being stopped. That’s why David now stands behind a Plexiglas barrier. But as the 5.17 metre high sculpture is set atop a high pedestal, the more than life-sized statue with all its muscles and veins can be viewed easily as you jostle your way through the crowd.
Michelangelo was not yet 30 years old when he finished the sculpture in 1504 and it is easily the most famous piece of sculpture in the world. We’ve visited the Galleria dell’Accademia a few times over the past years and never tire of admiring this masterpiece. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed these days but we have some old photos from previous visits. We didn’t get a plausible reason from our tour guide as to why photography is now not permitted.
If you’re visiting the Accademia on your own and during the peak summer season, consider booking your Accademia Florence ticket in advance as the ticket queue is usually quite long.
Via Ricasoli 60,


The differential recognition of children’s cultural practices in middle primary literacy classrooms
This paper argues that teachers’ recognition of children’s cultural practices is an important positive step in helping socio-economically disadvantaged children engage with school literacies. Based on twenty-one longitudinal case studies of children’s literacy development over a three-year period, the authors demonstrate that when children’s knowledges and practices assembled in home and community spheres are treated as valuable material for school learning, children are more likely to invest in the work of acquiring school literacies. However they show also that whilst some children benefit greatly from being allowed to draw on their knowledge of popular culture, sports and the outdoors, other children’s interests may be ignored or excluded. Some differences in teachers’ valuing of home and community cultures appeared to relate to gender dimensions.
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:||Literacy, Social justice, Middle primary years|
|ISSN:||1741-4369 (online) 1741-4350 (print)|
|Subjects:||Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification > EDUCATION (130000) > CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY (130200) > English and Literacy Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. LOTE ESL and TESOL) (130204)|
|Divisions:||Current > Research Centres > Office of Education Research|
Current > QUT Faculties and Divisions > Faculty of Education
Past > Schools > School of Cultural & Language Studies in Education
|Copyright Owner:||Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing|
|Deposited On:||06 Sep 2011 08:23|
|Last Modified:||01 Mar 2012 11:41|
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The Harefield Academy Numeracy Strategy
- To focus on learning and how numeracy is used as a tool for teaching and progression in every lesson and across the curriculum
- To create opportunities to develop and enhance numeracy and its use within all curriculum areas
- To support all teachers to develop their own deeper understanding of how to enhance the numeracy skills of students, assess with confidence and develop learning opportunities as a result of improved numeracy skills
- To review assessment policy and practice for the whole school, across year groups and for individual subject areas or departments where formative assessment of numeracy are integral to learning
- To ensure teachers embed numeracy effectively across the curriculum, equipping all students with the necessary skills to make progress within the relevant subject area that may involve numeracy.
We adhere to the following principles:
- Numeracy skills supports learning and progress in many subject areas
- Numeracy is a skill that all students require for an effective working life
- Numeracy should be supported by all teachers.
We are striving to ensure students can:
- Effectively link their numerical skills to multiple curriculum areas
- Adapt their methods to suit the topic at hand
- Become confident to use their numeracy skills.
- Model high standards of numeracy in their own teaching area when required
- Explore and embed common numeracy skills that students have and develop this to a proficient level
- Ensure that students engage in cross curricular use of numeracy
- Teach students how to link numeracy skills within their subject area
- Plan lessons which make good use of opportunities to develop students’ numeracy skills.
- Numeracy Focus group which will coordinate numeracy across different subject areas
- Numeracy student champions – highlighted students who are confident and able with numeracy skills and are willing to support other students within different subject areas
- Numeracy Day – potentially during the last half term in the summer – highlighting the importance and use of numeracy
- Numeracy support for curriculum areas – how to deliver common themes across different lessons
- Accelerated Numeracy workshops – possible Sixth Form involvement to develop basic numeracy skills amongst Year 7.


This website has newspaper articles about current events at different reading levels, organized by grade level and topics, and students have the option of commenting and reading other students’ comments to the different articles.
This website has many short articles about a variety of topics at different reading levels, organized by grade level, skill and topic. There are also reading comprehension questions available for each article.
This online resource provides differentiated mini-lesson videos as well as standard-based reading passages that can be assigned to students for individualized close reading, writing and critical thinking skills across subjects for grades 4-12.
This online tool lets anyone make visual stories in seconds. Artwork from illustrators and animators around the world inspire writers of any age to turn these images into fresh stories. These stories are then posted online for others to read and make comments in a safe environment.
This free online resource of reading passages provides access to over 1,000 interactive reading comprehension exercises that adapt to individual ability levels. This program teaches students to think critically, draw inferences, understand scope and global concepts, find or recall details, and infer the meanings of useful vocabulary words.
This website provides informational text passages that allow the readers to complete the text by selecting the words that best fit the context of the passage. Then the reader can press the 'Check My Answers!' button to get immediate feedback for accuracy.
Common Lit provides a collection of high quality, free instructional materials to support literacy development for students in grades five through twelve. You will find this site filled with leveled fiction and nonfiction articles that are flexible, research based, and aligned to standards. The resources are created for teachers, by teachers.
This online reading comprehension tool provides a variety of reading passages at various reading levels with comprehension questions included. It is all interactive with onscreen questions to help build stamina for students to read text on computers. It even keeps track of correct answers with points.
This online reading comprehension tool provides a relevant news article everyday that is in kid-friendly language and is appropriate for students in grades 2-8. The articles provide discussion and written prompts, as well as curriculum and grammar questions. The articles are archived and organized by topics for easy selection.
This online tool is a quick and easy way to share and compare YouTube videos on one page and poll students about those videos. Teachers can ask any question they would like and students answer by viewing the videos and selecting the video that best answers the teacher's question, such as identifying bias, propaganda, rhetorical devices, and more.
Illinois Reading Council an affiliate of the International Literacy Association


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Educational Online Game
Transcript of Educational Online Game
ED-271-03 (SPRING 2013)
Professor Taylor Fractions are Fun! Jes Alvarez Double Majoring in Secondary Education
and Biology Gianna Mesa Undeclared, but interested in Secondary
Education in Reading Maria Luisa Paulino Double Majoring in Secondary Education
and Math Pedro Salas Secondary Education with emphasis in
Chamorro Language and Culture with
a minor in Fine Arts, Music. Stephanie Singenes Elementary Education What are fractions? A fraction is a way of representing a division of a 'whole'
in to parts.
It is in the form of numerator/denominator.
Numerator- the number of parts chosen
Denominator- the total number of parts
Examples: 1/3, 1/2, 2/5, etc.
An equivalent fraction is a fraction that names
same amount . Fresh Baked Fractions www.funbrain.com/fract/index.html Easy Mode (Example) Answer: In the end... Goal of the game:
Help Fraction Jackson get his pies. Our Game Rubrics: CONS: -Game could become boring after playing for some time. (Doesn't change)
-Only teaches students about one part of fractions.
-Problems are repititive. PROS: -The game has different levels (Easy, Medium, Hard, Super Brain)
-Concept of the game is interesting. (The more answers you get right the more pies you get.)
-Easy way for students to understand equivalent fractions. QUESTIONS??? THE END. THANK YOU :) Participation-Please go to the website: www.funbrain.com/fract/index.html


Culminating Project Title
Date of Award
Culminating Project Type
Special Education: M.S.
School of Education
Mary Beth Noll
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Comprehension Strategies, Elementary students, Learning Disabilities, Reading strategies
In order to help struggling readers become competent readers, teachers need to learn appropriate reading comprehension strategies for each student. The purpose of this starred paper was to review the literature to determine which intervention strategies improve reading comprehension skills for elementary students with reading disorders.
Heo, Jinkyoung, "Comprehension Strategies for Elementary Students with Reading Disabilities" (2016). Culminating Projects in Special Education. 11.


Public School Students Can Sing Religious Songs, Iowa Board Rules
Should public school students be singing about Jesus?
According to Iowa's State Board of Education, it's not a problem, as long as the song is chosen for its educational value rather than to promote Christianity, the Associated Press reports.
This month's ruling by the Iowa board came after parents of a student in the 1,400-student New Hampton Community School District raised concerns about students performing Christian-themed songs while holding hands and "encircling" audience members. The state board's ruling upheld the New Hampton school board's decision that the performance was appropriate.
Three of the state board's eight members voted against the ruling. But a judge ruled that the songs had not been selected in order to advance Christianity. The choir also performed songs that were not Christian-themed and songs from countries around the world, according to the AP. Students had the option of sitting the religious song out.
The role of religion, a perpetual issue in public schools, is particularly perplexing for music educators. Sacred music makes up a substantial part of the classic repertoire.
The National Association for Music Education's public position is that learning about and performing sacred music is a necessary and appropriate part of music education, and that its inclusion does not violate the First Amendment, which calls for the separation of church and state. But it says that educators' purpose should be secular in nature; that the effect of the activity must not celebrate or inhibit religion; and that it must not involve entanglement with religious groups or organizations. The association draws a comparison between students learning pieces of a Bach mass and architecture students studying Renaissance cathedrals.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a list of questions that concerned community members or parents can ask to help determine whether sacred music is being used appropriately, including the age of the students involved and whether performances are tied explicitly to religious holidays or held in religious venues.
But the lines aren't always clear. In 2009, a court ruled that a school district in Washington was within its rights in deciding that a wind ensemble could not perform a version of "Ave Maria," a setting of a Roman Catholic prayer, at a high school graduation. That case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to review the case in 2010.
One of the songs in question in the Iowa case was "In This Very Room." Sample lyrics, via the Des Moines Register: "For Jesus, Lord Jesus, in this very room..." But New Hampton is not the only high school choir that's performed the song. Here's a version being performed by an Arkansas all-state high school choir.


On weekends, we do science experiments!
Ideally, we should be doing science experiments on Fridays since it was what I wrote in our original homeschool schedule. However, I kinda feel bad for letting Yuri do school work on a Friday especially when all the other kids in the village are already playing in the playground.
(Note: Our homeschool session begins at 4 pm after my work ends.)
So on Fridays, I just let Yuri play or, in the case of the past 2 weeks, let him come with his iya (lola) to the mall to do some grocery shopping. Then on weekends, when we have afternoons free, we spend some time doing simple science experiments AKA magic!
Our most recent experiment? The Oobleck! It’s a kind of slime (named after a Dr Seuss character) that is not quite liquid and not quite solid. It is liquid in its relaxed state but, when you apply pressure unto it, it turns solid. My junior high school sister had performed this experiment at school in the past and was really eager to recreate it at home with me and Yuri. Cool beans!
- Corn Starch
- Container (we used a heart-shaped pan for the cuteness factor but you can use anything at all)
- Food Colouring (optional)
I didn’t follow specific measurements because we were only “feeling” the mixture. However, you can easily Google “Oobleck” for measurements. What we did was pour some water into the container (not too much) and then gradually add corn starch while my sister squeezed and pinched the mixture. When it finally felt “tough” enough, she said the Oobleck was done.
Then we added food colouring.
And it was time to play!
And it was a really cool slime to play with. It was liquid when left alone in the container but when you push it, squish it, roll it — whatever — it turns into solid.
(We still played with the Oobleck the next day. My mess-conscious child used chop sticks instead of his fingers but still had fun haha.)
Depending on the pressure applied, the texture can range from play dough-ish to crumbly chalk-ish. From liquid, it turns to solid, and from solid, it goes back to liquid! I know it sounds a bit confusing — I was also confused when I was first reading about it, so maybe watching this video of my stubby fingers will help.
What You Will Learn:
For adults and older kids, the concept of non-newtonian fluid. Watch this for a reinforcement lesson!
For preschoolers and younger kids (and, okay, older kids and adults!), this is a great sensory experience and can be used for fine motor skill development. It can also be a good way to introduce these topics: texture, phases of matter, or viscosity. And it’s a fun way to spend the afternoon!


Create an ocean themed sensory writing tray as a fun way to learn how to write letters and sounds, children’s own names and even sight words too! A multi-sensory, kinaesthetic way to do literacy learning, with a fun seaside theme.
We adore making and using these themed, sensory writing trays as they’re so good at captivating the children’s interests and making them want to learn. Playful learning is the best way!
After our most recent dinosaur writing tray (that one was such ooey, gooey and fun) we put together a little ocean themed tray for a fresh, seaside theme! It has proved a big hit with the girls, and they’ve declared it their favourite one ever (even more fun than the fairy dust tray apparently.)
To make this tray you need a shallow tray, either like ours which was the base for a wooden puzzle set (Melissa and Doug packaging is often brilliant like this for doubling up as play containers afterwards) or a simple dip tray like the one we used in the sparkly snow activity.
Take about 1 cup of fine salt and mix it with a small amount of gel food colouring in a sealed zip loc bag, shaking it and mixing the colour through with your fingers (through the plastic) until it has completely covered it. Do not add any water. Then tip it out into the tray and it should dry very fast and be ready to use within an hour.
As soon as it’s dry it is ready to use. There are a few different ways to play depending on your child’s stage of literacy development.
For the very youngest preschoolers I suggest simply using the sensory tray to make marks, letter-like shapes and patterns in. These early mark-making skills are crucial to later literacy development and shouldn’t be skipped. Let your child tell you what her marks mean to encourage her that print carries meaning.
For older preschoolers or young school aged children, the tray is perfect for practising letter formation as it’s much easier to use your finger than to hold a pen or pencil. Go BIG and emphasise the correct way to form the letters so that they remember for later on.
You can then call out a letter sound and ask them to write it, or say “write the first sound in cat”, “the last sound in dad”, “the two sounds that make the digraph CH” etc.
For those who have already mastered their phonemes and digraphs, you could try moving on to sight words and high frequency words. Sight words are those common words which don’t follow the normal phonetic rules, and therefore need to be learnt by sight, such as “the.” High frequency words are those that are found most often in simple text which are great to learn by sight too.
I made a simple set of shell-shaped cards for writing the letters and words onto, for the girls to copy. We talked about going from left to right across the tray and after each word they shook the tray to clear it and start again.
Another way of learning the sight words is to use some shells with letters of the alphabet written on using permanent marker. You can see what else we did with our alphabet shells in our original post about them too.
I will share the fun maths activities they had with this same tray in a post next week!
What they are learning as they play:
literacy: recognising graphemes, hearing and matching phonemes to graphemes, letter formation, making letter-like shapes, attributing meaning to marks, reading CVC words, reading and writing sight words
physical: sensory play, fine motor skills, finger control
See our whole collection of SENSORY WRITING TRAYS!
And all of our PLAYFUL LITERACY ideas too!
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Teaching indigenous education will be one of your requirements here at Sandy Plains, as seen in Standard 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. At a graduate level, you will need to demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. (AISTL, 2014)
It has been well documented that Indigenous students continue to be the most educationally disadvantaged student group in Australia, exhibiting consistently lower levels of academic achievement and higher rates of absenteeism than non-Indigenous students. High absenteeism among Indigenous students is particularly concerning given that school attendance is considered to be essential for educational success (Collins, 1999; Rothman, 2001).
Education has long been considered a critical factor to closing the gap in Indigenous disadvantage. Closing the gap is a strategy that aims to reduce Indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievement, and employment outcomes (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2015).
As approximately 35% of the students at Sandy Plains identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage, this is a significant area of need for our school. As a teacher at our school there is a lot you can do to support these students in their education by exhibiting a positive school culture. A school culture and leadership that acknowledges and supports Indigenous students and families is most important. This includes the provision of professional development to staff to raise awareness of Indigenous culture, involvement of the Indigenous community in education planning and provision, and increasing respect in the broader school community for Indigenous languages and culture. Strategies for the whole school, such as providing a broad curriculum, attendance programs and quality careers education, help maintain student engagement, improve learning outcomes and lift school completion rates. These strategies also enable schools to identify students at risk. Finally, student-focused strategies, such as mentoring, engagement programs, targeted skill development, intensive case management and welfare support, target the needs of individual students at risk of low achievement or early leaving.
One of the biggest priority areas that have been proven to have a positive effect on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is getting children to school to provide the best chance of enjoying success in school and later in life. You as their teacher play an important role in maintaining children’s engagement, participation, attendance and belonging in a supportive classroom environment. To create a more engaging learning environment, schools need to adopt a curriculum and teaching approach that is relevant to Indigenous students’ prior knowledge, experiences, interests and aspirations. It must also be relevant to their local environment, culture and language (Bourke et al. 2000). The learning content, therefore, needs to be meaningful, important and culturally responsible (MCEETYA AESOC 2006)
An effective strategy to use in the classroom to include indigenous students is by incorporating the 8 Ways framework. 8 ways is an Aboriginal pedagogical framework which is
“expressed as eight interconnected pedagogies involving narrative-driven learning, visualised learning processes, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelled/scaffolded genre mastery, and connectedness to community” (NSW Department of Education and Communities, 2015).
More information on the 8 Ways Framework can be found at – https://intranet.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/510073/8-Aboriginal-ways-of-learning-factsheet.pdf
Including Indigenous perspectives across the curriculum has been identified as a key component to engaging Indigenous students in learning, and it has been associated with better results (SCRGSP 2011)
Engagement in learning is critical to academic achievement
There is a lot of work being done around the country on improving Indigenous literacy rates. For example, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation run a range of community literacy projects and supply thousands of books to kids in remote communities. By including some indigenous stories in your literacy time with the students may help to make a big difference in their engagement. The mission of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation is to make a positive difference in the lives of Australian Indigenous children by focusing on ways to improve their literacy levels.
Visit http://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/what-is-indigenous-literacy.html for more information
Early literacy development in a child’s life is an important time for enjoying the world of story-telling and instilling a lifelong love of books


How do children become successful readers and writers? What do teachers need to understand and do in order to best support emergent literacy? What role does child development play?
Just as the child who learns to skip must first progress through stages that start with learning to stand and to walk, the child who is a successful reader and writer has developed a rich oral language.
Early literacy development is hugely important. It is the basis for future learning and sets the tone for how children feel about themselves as readers and writers. In order to assure that all children enter school with the skills and attitudes they need to be successful, it is critical to address emergent literacy development.
As educators, we also know that children have a tremendous capacity for learning and that this learning must be consistent with their development. As teachers of young children, we must understand the role of development as it relates to a child’s present set of behaviors, and also as it relates to what is coming next, so that we can know that we are truly preparing him for success.
This website features a series of educational videos based on the work of David Matteson. These videos examine the “big ideas” behind emergent literacy development and provide classroom examples of instructional approaches and assessment strategies that are grounded in developmentally appropriate practice. David was filmed while doing what he does best, which is working directly with children and teachers. You will see his engaging presentations, classroom demonstrations and meetings with teachers as they reflect on how his approaches work within their own classrooms.
The contents of this website are secure. You must be a member of a participating cohort to access the Foundations of Early Literacy video content. To register, you must have a secure code given to you by the Program Manager. If you do not have a secure code, and wish to participate, please contact the Program Manager.


Key concepts in early childhood education and care
What People Are Saying
From Our Follett Early Learning Experts
Provides an overview of thirty-five key issues and ideas related to early childhood education and care, discussing attachment, early intervention studies, inclusion, persona dolls, play, sexualities, special education needs, children's rights, and other related topics.
From the Publisher
Key Concepts in Early Childhood Education and Care, Cathy Nutbrown's second edition, explains the key ideas and issues in Early Childhood clearly and concisely, keeping students up-to-date with the latest developments in the field.
New entries include:
- Babies' learning and development
- Children's Centers
- Digital Technologies
- Early Years Foundation Stage
- Early Years Professional Status
The rest of the book has also been thoroughly updated and revised, and includes coverage of heuristic play, Early Literacy Development and Parental Involvement.
- Publisher: SAGE
- Pub. Date: February 7, 2011
Format: Hardcover xii, 176 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
- Age Range: Higher Education (18 yrs. and up)
- ISBN-10: 1-84920-400-4
- ISBN-13: 978-1-84920-400-2
- Follett Number: 0080TPX
- Language: English


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Building Mathematical Comprehension: Using Literacy Strategies to Make Meaning
Written by Laney Sammons, author of Guided Math, Building Mathematical Comprehension provides a solid foundation for incorporating familiar reading comprehension strategies and relevant research in mathematics instruction to help build students' mathematical comprehension. This stand-alone book demonstrates how to facilitate student learning to build scheme and make connections among concepts. Teachers will learn how to help students ask good questions, visualize mathematics, and synthesize their understanding of mathematical concepts. This exceptional resource also provides clear strategies to help teachers integrate children's literature effectively and develop students' ability to comprehend mathematical vocabulary. 176pp.


Learning about art history is an important part of art education. Sometimes, however, it feels like there aren’t enough minutes in the school year to cover a broad range of historical artworks. Most of us stick to the few artists on which we base projects.
Visual journals are places to record thinking in both writing and images. They are often done using mixed media combining writing, drawing, painting, and even collage. Historically, great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci and Charles Darwin kept notebooks similar to visual journals. Today, many artists keep visual journals as part of their planning process, but they also work extremely well as an art class version of note taking.
Visual journaling is perfect for teaching art history because images of the artwork being studied can be combined with supporting text to record both facts and personal responses. Drawing to take notes is much more engaging than listening to a lecture. Plus, pages can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, or even by early finishers.
To include art history visual journals in your classroom, start by gathering the following supplies:
To introduce the concept of visual journaling, share examples with students and give a quick demonstration about how to combine images with text. If you decide to use an old book as a journal, instruct students to cover pages with a layer of paint to create an open area for journaling. To use the journals in class, ask students to record information, observations, and opinions in their journals. Encourage them to draw symbols that illustrate concepts. For example, an image of praying hands could symbolize the importance of religion in Van Gogh’s life, or a French flag could show the location of the Lascaux caves.
Visual journaling is flexible and can be incorporated into your program in multiple ways. One method is incorporating art history weekly or even monthly at the start of class. Journal entries can be created for each work or artist discussed, then added to over the course of the year. They will become a record of learning to reference for inspiration or when something related is introduced. Another option is to have students make journal entries about artists discussed in the course of other lessons or projects. This can work the same way by having kids make a quick entry they add to over time.
In my own classroom, I use visual journaling in the art history course I teach in place of notes. I require students to record an image of the work, information about when and where it was made and the cultural significance. However you use it, visual journaling is a great method for studying art history.
Do you use visual journaling in your classroom?
What other methods do you use to help students retain art history knowledge?


I love all different kinds of birds… I love that they are different shapes and some walk and some fly… they are all different. I got inspired to do this project by my mom, from the TV, from many places… – Kindergarten Student
Project work that reflects the interests of students allows children to investigate topics of interest to them and reach deeper levels of understanding. In this case, a young student, who demonstrated an ongoing interest in many types of birds, showed her understanding using a variety of mediums: written expressions, sharing orally, artful creations, etc. Student-initiated projects create a context for uncovering curriculum expectations, as well as deepening important foundational skills in researching, critical thinking, and communicating.