Vincent van Gogh | Star Bright, Starry Night
from the Lesson Zone Index
Students will be introduced to the art of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, by being introduced to his art, and then by creating their own masterpiece after his work. This free lesson plan is in fulfillment of Standard #4: K-4 and Standard #4: 5-8 of the National Standards for Art Education: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
Cardstock or Medium Weight Paper
Oil or Tempra Paints
Tell students, "We will be learning about Vincent van Gogh's unique painting style, and then each of you will recreate his Starry Night yourself. We will spend the next 3 or 4 art classes on this project, working on your painting in sections. Each time we meet we will talk about what you see, and then paint it."
Tell students, "Today will focus on the sky. Vincent van Gogh's approach to painting the sky is very unique and energetic."
Ask students, "Who can describe how Vincent van Gogh painted the sky?" Answers: swirls, short brush strokes, various shades of blue.
Tell students, "I will show you how to paint one of the swirls, and then you will spend the rest of the class period completing the sky." Paint example.
Tell students, "Now it's your turn. Begin by taking a piece of paper from the center of the table. With a pencil, draw the contour of the mountain range. This line will define the bottom edge of the sky. When you have completed this step you may begin painting."
Tell students, "This is our second day working on our Starry Night painting. Last time we observed that Vincent van Gogh painted his sky with large swirls, short brush strokes, various shades of blue. Today we will focus on completing the mountain range and the trees."
Ask students, "Who can describe how Vincent van Gogh painted the mountains?" Answers: contours outlined with long black strokes, short brush strokes fill mountains, various shades of blue.
Tell students, "Now it's your turn. Begin by painting the basic shape of the tree and the contour of the mountain range, and then fill in the details."
Tell students, "This is our third day working on our Starry Night painting. We have observed that Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night in a very painterly style, with short brush strokes and many variations on the same colors."
Tell students, "Today you will work to complete your painting. You should begin by sketching the township with your pencil, and then paint it. When you complete the township, you may spend the rest of the time with details that you may have missed in other sections of the painting."
As the students paint, you can quiz them with questions about Vincent van Gogh, or about his painting style and how they are applying what they know to their recreation of Starry Night.


Details about Themes and Foundations of Art, Student Edition:
Themes and Foundations of Art sets the standard for introductory Art education.A unique blend of artwork from around the world, classroom-tested activities, and thematic teaching units will motivate and inspire your students as they engage in aesthetic inquiry, art criticism activities, art history experiences, and studio production.The themes of Nature and Art, Cities and Art, and The Human Image and Art will help students see connections between different artists, styles, time periods, cultures, and art media and methods. In addition to these three broad themes, other themes are explored throughout the text and supplementary materials.
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Rent Themes and Foundations of Art, Student Edition 1st edition today. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by McGraw-Hill Education.


Dr. Irwin Braverman wants to teach medical students to be more like Sherlock Holmes.
"Doctors have this problem: They often reach conclusions based on very little information," said Braverman, a professor emeritus of dermatology at Yale Medical School. "And then, they tend to pick out the details that support the conclusion they have already come to and ignore the other details."
After noting that some students had trouble observing, Braverman took his students to look at art to practice their observation skills. Fourteen years and several studies later, Braverman and the Yale Center for British Art have successfully developed an arts and medical course that is now a requirement for first-year medical students.
Braverman will be in Chattanooga this week as part of a panel called "Healthy Partners: Why the Arts Matter to Medicine" - a discussion during the Arts Education Partnership's National Forum that will focus on how arts education can help train medical students to be better observers.
The goal of the programs, and the more than 20 others that have developed across the nation since Yale founded its program, is to jump-start the process of developing the skills needed to face unknown medical problems, Braverman said.
"When you go to medical school, you memorize almost everything, and then the next time you see it, you know what it is," he said. "What we [faculty] have done is always point out, 'If you see this, it means X,' or 'If you see this, it means Y.' But if they encounter Z and there's not a professor there telling them, they don't know what it means."
The panel will include Diana Beckmann-Mendez, assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, and Alexa Miller, co-creator of Harvard Medical School's Training the Eye Program, who will also moderate the discussion. Miller said the Harvard program was developed through Visual Thinking Strategies, a learning program that promotes critical thinking through art.
"Helping doctors learn how to look is something that is notoriously hard to teach in medical schools," Miller said. "Art is one place where these skills are easily developed."
Medical students are put through a 12-week intensive program that includes museum visits, a drawing course and clinical observations, she said. Over the course, students are challenged to look at all aspects of a work of art and a patient before trying to diagnose or define, which can be challenging for many students, especially in the medical field.
"It can be really hard to learn to look at something and describe it in a context where there's many different kinds of pressure to define it," Miller said.
Daniel Stetson, executive director of the Hunter Museum of American Art who will introduce the panel, said many times people discount the benefits arts education can have.
"Sometimes people don't perceive all that art can do for a community," he said. "Art museums are not the quiet, dusty places people think they are. They are living, breathing places."
In Chattanooga, arts have been incorporated into medicine in a variety of ways.
The Hunter Museum used to have a partnership with the University of Tennessee for a program that integrated arts education into medical education. The program was discontinued because of a lack of funding.
Adera Causey, curator of education at the Hunter Museum who helped found the program, said one of the crucial parts of the program was teaching the students to be more attentive to not only the way they observed patients, but also in the way they interacted with patients when delivering bad news.
"We all know what the difference is between a doctor who cares and a doctor who is knowledgeable but distant," Causey said. "It encouraged them to look harder and be more observant."
The program focused on visual literacy as well as kinetic observances, integrating visual arts and theater curricula into the medical field.
"It was beneficial to everyone, and the doctors and the students were totally on board," Causey said.
At Memorial Hospital, as a part of a holistic approach to healing, the hospital uses both visual art and music to provide comfort to patients.
"They can calm, they can actually calm and relax the body," said Patricia Partain, a registered dietitian and community outreach coordinator at Memorial. "All of that's important. Here at our hospital, we believe healing involves all parts of the mind, the body and the spirit."
Braverman said that art education was beneficial to doctors on many levels, but one of the most important was the transferable skills that were learned through it.
"These narrative paintings, they tell a story," he said. "Once you can see that, you can see it with anything. You know how to look for the details."


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


CBSE and CCE : Confusing everyone
In the past one year, we have seen a lot of excitement in the school education segment in India, with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announcing major changes. It started with simple things like doing away with board exams at the Class X (age 16) level and has now reached a stage where everyone’s confused about things like CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation)
The idea behind CCE was very simple – to create a system that does away with “Marks”. Most schools in India follow a 100% Mark system where students getting 92% were treated as less equal than those getting say 93%. While some parents and teachers still claim that this system gave a clear indication of where the student ranked, the pressure to achieve maximum marks pushed few students to commit suicide and many others to be constantly harassed by parents and teachers alike. With the forced implementation of CCE this year onwards, CBSE, in its view, hopes to reduce the burden on students.
The new CCE guidelines divide the entire evaluation process into 3 parts.
Part 1 deals with Academic Performance in Scholastic subjects like Science, Maths, English etc. where Grades are given based on year long achievements. The academic year is divided into two sessions, in each session there are Formative and Summative Assessments (FA, SA). The school has some freedom in deciding the number of FA’s and their weightage etc but the end result is that students get a Grade for each subject instead of a mark. So far, so good. What CBSE has also done is that instead of focusing only on the 5 primary subjects, it has increased the scope by adding 3 more subjects to the Scholastic part – Work Experience, Art Education and Physical Education. For these additional subjects, teachers can give grades and a descriptive indicator explaining the student’s performance.
Part 2 deals with Co-Scholastic areas such as Life Skills, Attitude and Values. For each of these, teachers are again required to give a Grade and a descriptive indicator. Schools can expand these, for example, Life Skills can include Thinking Skills, Social Skills and Emotional Skills. Attitude can be judged towards teachers, peers, environment etc. The idea behind this part of the CCE is to let students and parents know that its not just knowledge that’s important, there has to be overall development during the school years of a student.
Part 3 of the CCE deals with Co-Scholastic Activities. The idea behind this part is to give simple grades based on activities performed / participated in during the year. This part is divided into two sections a) Literary / Creative / Scientific / Aesthetic Skills, Performing Arts, Clubs etc b) Health & Physical Education. Teachers are expected to grade students on their involvement with these activities during the year.
The exhaustive evaluation of a student is why the word “Comprehensive” is used in CCE. The only way of making this evaluation is if teachers keep records of student’s performance throughout the year, therefore the work “Continuous”.
While many schools are struggling to create formats and systems for teachers to work on, and I have had the opportunity to look at a few, I was amazed at the simplicity brought about in the whole process by the teachers and Principal of The Air Force School, Subroto Park, New Delhi – http://tafssp.com/ . The have created processes and formats where it would be possible for teachers to quickly evaluate and provide relevant indicators. The design of their evaluation system is simple, at the same time; it meets or exceeds all parameters defined by CBSE. Their formats eliminate chances of errors and make the whole process such that automating the CCE system would now be possible. I hope they get great recognition for their hard work and dedication, which will ease the lives of many student, parents and teachers. CBSE should now standardize these formats and ask other schools to follow.
Posted via email from Anil Sharma


One of the big concerns Waldorf educators hear from prospective parents is about the school’s lack of testing. How will we know our children are being well educated? What if they can’t keep up with their hard-driven peers after graduation?
The underlying question is, “How do we know this theory of education works?”
Nov/Dec 2011 Harvard Education Letter reports that: “Waldorf students tend to score considerably below district peers in the early years of elementary education and equal to, or… considerably above, district peers by eighth grade.”
When it comes to alternative education with positive results, The Waldorf school system is not the only educational microcosm to study. Finnish school’s have been a popular news topic lately as U.S. educators try to tease out how their system, like Waldorf, which lacks testing and rigorous early academics, can outperform the U.S. on the very tests it seem to shun.
Findland’s average scores on 2009 PISA tests – ranks them #3 in the world. The U.S. average scores equal rank #17.
The New York Times, in a December article, discussed highlights of a lecture given at a NYC private school by Dr. Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation in Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture.
In summary, he discussed the Finnish philosophy which, according to the Times reporter Jenny Anderson, “scorns almost all standardized testing before age 16 and discourages homework, and it is seen as a violation of children’s rights for them to start school any sooner than 7.”
To Waldorf parents, these values will ring true, as will the values underpinned in Sahlberg’s quote about why tactics from the Finnish education system will not work if bolted onto U.S. public school policy.
“You know, one big difference in thinking about education and the whole discourse is that in the U.S. it’s based on a belief in competition,” Sahlberg said. “In my country, we are in education because we believe in cooperation and sharing. Cooperation is a core starting point for growth.”
This quote, from an NPR article covering the lecture at Minshift.kqed.org, is followed by an analysis of the key factors to Finland’s education success. The culture in Waldorf education mirrors these values:
Teachers are in charge: At Waldorf schools, teachers run the school. The same is true in Finland. “We have very carefully kept the business of education in the hands of educators,” says Sahlberg.
No tests in early grades: Children in elementary school are rarely tested in Waldorf. Sahlberg says, “Finns don’t believe you can reliably measure the essence of learning.”
Teaching is a valued profession: Waldorf schools could not exist without long-term committed teachers and the Waldorf system focuses on raising money to give staff free continuing education opportunities. Henna Virkkunen, Finland’s Minister of Education says, “In Finland, we think that teachers are key for the future and it’s a very important profession—and that’s why all of the young, talented people want to become teachers.”
Teachers are trusted to teach: Like in Waldorf schools, “Teachers in Finland can choose their own teaching methods and materials. They are experts of their own work, and they test their own pupils,” Virkkunen said.
So when parents ask if education systems like these can work, the answer is yes. But don’t take our word for it – go forth and read the research!


The human being grows based on experiences in his or her environment. Brain development and learning are based on an individual’s interaction with sensory information.
Even in utero, our brains react, change and grow according to stimuli.
Human beings are born to connect positively to the people and objects in their immediate surroundings. We naturally connect with our mothers and fathers, the toys in our crib, the blankets that cover us, the music and sounds that soothe us.
Conversely, newborns are preconditioned to protect themselves from loud noises, changes in temperature, physical harm, as well as a lack of food or attention.
Many opportunities to aid our children’s optimum development are diminished or lost because of parents’ and society’s ignorance of the importance of the first six years of life as the foundational platform on which each child builds an adult. “The child is the father to the man.” It is the child’s blood, sweat and tears that build an adult human being.
Movement, language, social relationships, a sense of order and refinement of sensory perception are critical or sensitive periods of development from birth through age 6.
Our being aware of these periods assists a child’s growth.
Movement and brain development are intricately interrelated in the young child and movement continues to be important to learning for all of our lives. Opportunities to explore, orient and repeat self-selected activities create optimum conditions for the neural pathways of the young brain to become substantial and diverse.
Language development in the young child is fully formed by the age of 30 months and relies on subtle and almost constant interaction of the child with the people in his or her environment. A place rich in language affords the child a wealth of spoken and receptive language that leads to the acquisition of written language. This period of learning language will never be as effortless as in this first six years of life.
Foundational social skills and personal relationships are established during a child’s first six years. Compared to a ten-year old, it’s relatively easy for a three-year-old to learn how to say “please and thank you.” Trust and other foundational skills for human relationships are established during this first six years. Childhood issues of distrust and abandonment leave holes and scars that deeply affect future adult relationship building.
The developing sense of order in the young child creates foundational learning as experiences in the child’s environment define the essential structure—who, what, when where, why and how—of day-to-day living.
The child’s continued interactions with people and objects refine sensory perception. Tastes, sounds, touching, smells, and vision become fine tuned as input is graduated from dichotomies of good/bad, yes/no, like/dislike.
Learning success has its roots in these first six years of life. From birth our children’s minds are absorbing and coordinating foundational information as children experience their immediate world. When a child’s early environment is not rich in experiences with people, objects, concepts and nature, many, if not most, learning difficulties take root in these deficiencies.
Children under the age of six learn very differently than any other time in our lives. The work of the child under the age of six requires adequate societal support and understanding.
From birth our children must become the focus in our new system of education. Our society and our systems must back the work of our families, for it is our families who nurture the emerging individual and nourish vital foundational learning.
Kids Talk TM deals with childhood development issues. Maren Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She has over twenty-five years experience working with children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is author of Building Cathedrals Not Walls: Essays for Parents and Teachers. Contact her at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit www.MarenSchmidt.com. Copyright 2010.


In Rwanda, more than 85 percent of the population’s livelihood depends on small-scale agriculture. And the majority of primary school students—roughly 60 percent— will return to rural areas to make their living in ways, instead of going on to secondary or vocational schooling or university.
With that in mind, in 2007, the organization CARE designed the Farmers of the Future Initiative (FOFI) , a three year project that integrates modern and environmentally sustainable agriculture training into primary school curriculum in Rwanda—making traditional schooling more relevant to the average Rwandan student.
The project started with 27 pilot schools in nine districts: Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru Districts in the Southern Province, Gatsibo and Nyagatare Districts in the Eastern Province, and Karongi, Rutsiro, Rubavu, Nyabihu and Ngororero Districts in the Western Province. Each pilot school received funding from CARE to invest in a school garden or farm. After one year, profits from the garden went back into the school’s agriculture program while the other half was used to help another school, called a satellite school, start its own garden. By the end of the project there were 28 satellite schools, each with its own garden started with the help of another school.
While maintaining the school gardens, students experimented and were trained in farming techniques that emphasize the preservation of natural resources as much as they do crop production, such as agroforestry, intercropping, mulching and compost, and non-chemical methods of pest and disease control.
According to Josephine Tuyishimire, a FOFI project coordinator, the school gardens also benefit students’ parents and their local community. As parents learn new farming techniques from their children, their neighbors also learned from them. “The population surrounding FOFI schools copied [the farming techniques] and replicated them at home.”
One boy, an orphan from Cyanika primary school in Nyamagabe District, who is living on his own, used irrigation and intercropping techniques he learned at school to start his own small garden. With the help of a teacher at the school he gained access to a local market to sell his vegetables and eventually earned enough money to purchase his own land. With the additional security that comes with land ownership, he continues to generate more income by selling his produce.
Helping students to be self-sufficient is especially beneficial for young women who are often kept out of school, but who can be “empowered in this project,” said Tuyishimire. “In the future they become self-reliant and less dependent on their male counterparts as breadwinners.” And women share their knowledge with their children, “passing these skills to future generations” to create future farmers who are educated in a way that allows them to self-sufficient and well-fed.
To read more about integrating agriculture into primary school education see: School Feeding Programs Improve Livelihoods, Diets, and Local Economies, and How to Keep Kids Down on the Farm.
- Innovation of the Week: School Feeding Programs Improve Livelihoods, Diets, and Local Economies
- Innovation of the Week: Reducing the Things They Carry
- Innovation of the Week: Homegrown Solutions to Alleviating Hunger and Poverty
- Innovation of the Week: Access to Water Improves Quality of Life for Women and Children
- Innovation of the Week: Reducing Wastewater Contamination Starts with a Conversation
- Innovation of the Week: Agriculture Education in School
- Innovation of the Week: Using Small Businesses to Create Local Markets
- Innovation of the Week: Providing an Agricultural Answer to Nature’s Call


Currently on View in H200
After an academic art education and an introduction to Neo-Impressionist color theory with Paul Signac, Matisse became one of the painters called "fauves," or "wild beasts," due to their bold colors and brushwork. Later, in the early 1920s, he abandoned the exuberant palette and distorted spaces of Fauvism to produce more traditional paintings.
Matisse painted this woman, probably a professional model, while living in Nice. The cool, greyed colors, restrained composition and serene mood are typical of his canvases from this time. Only the bright red lipstick and green hair ribbon recall the bold palette of his earlier years, to which he soon returned.


Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
In mathematics education, number sense can refer to "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Many other definitions exist, but are similar to the one given. Some definitions emphasize an ability to work outside of the traditionally taught algorithms, e.g., "a well organised conceptual framework of number information that enables a person to understand numbers and number relationships and to solve mathematical problems that are not bound by traditional algorithms".
There are also some differences in how number sense is defined in the field of mathematical cognition. For example, Gersten and Chard say number sense "refers to a child's fluidity and flexibility with numbers, the sense of what numbers mean and an ability to perform mental mathematics and to look at the world and make comparisons."
Researchers consider number sense to be of prime importance for children in early elementary education, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has made number sense a focus area of pre-K through 2nd grade mathematics education.
An active area of research is to create and test teaching strategies to develop children's number sense.
Number Sense also refers to the contest hosted by the University Interscholastic League. This contest is a ten-minute test where contestants solve math problems mentally—no calculators, scratch-work, or mark-outs are allowed.
Concepts involved in number senseEdit
- estimating with large numbers to provide reasonable approximations;
- judging the degree of accuracy appropriate to a situation;
- solving real-life problems involving percents and decimal portions;
- rounding (understanding reasons for rounding large numbers and limitations in comparisons);
- choosing measurement units to make sense for a given situation;
- comparing physical measurements within and between the U.S. and metric systems; and
- comparing degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius in real-life situations.
Those concepts are taught in elementary-level education.
- Numerosity adaptation effect
- Order of magnitude
- Rounding error
- Numeracy, innumeracy
- Numerosity perception
- Approximate number system
- Pirahã people
- ↑ number sense.
- ↑ What is number sense?.
- ↑ Number Sense: Rethinking Arithmetic Instruction for Students with Mathematical Disabilities.
- ↑ Making Sense of Number Sense: Implications for Children With Mathematical Disabilities.
- ↑ Stages in Development of Number Sense - Harvard Education Letter.
- ↑ Understanding a Child's Development of Number Sense.
- ↑ UIL Number Sense.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Unit 1: Number and Number Sense" (20-day lesson), STPSB.org, St. Tammany Parish School Board, Covington, LA (USA), 2009, overview webpage: ST-MathGrade7Unit-topics.
- Number Worlds - a site with number sense development materials
- Number Sense iPhone App - A new app for kids between ages 4 to 8 years to develop their basic math skills
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|


is a great math center to use in your classroom during the spring! Students match number pairs that equal 10. This product includes brightly colored, fun flowers with the number 10 on them and green leaves with different numbers printed on them. Students can use two leaves that add up to 10 and pair them together. When set up, each flower should resemble a number bond. Keep students accountable for their work by adding the included worksheet to your lesson.
Centro de mesa con velas y espejo
Succulent gardens in hollowed out logs and also in timber rounds available from the Succulent Guy at the Byron Bay Beachside Market - Easter Saturday 26th March. by thesucculentguy
Centros de mesa DIY
Invitation To Create: Flower Garden. Open ended creative spring paper craft for kids. Great for fine motor development. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
DECORACION DE BODA: CENTROS DE MESA CON ESPEJO Y VELA
Flower Shop dramatic play--here's a learning/play center I've never seen in any classroom--brilliant!
Centros de mesa para bodas - Paperblog
Hang your tool kit just like in dad's garage. All you need is a standard peg board and hangers and they'll fit toy tools just as well as real ones
Unas mesas redondas, otras cuadradas y otras rectangulares. Centros de mesa muy simples con botellas con pocas flores en bonches. Nada muy estructurado. Aceitunas y queso sobre la mesa sobre tablas. Y velas blancas. Las flores mas que nada son rosas como silvestres.
Learn what vase to pair with your roses.
imagenes de centros de mesa para boda en la playa - Buscar con Google
Science for Kids: Sprouting Sweet Potatoes. A foolproof science experiment your preschool or kindergarten kids will love! Support observation and data collection skills when you sprout sweet potatoes in your science center!
centro de mesa con jaula
centros de mesa de peonias
Rustic Woodland themed cake by Incredible Edibles. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1072676466129302&id=577303332333287
Centro de mesa para bodas!! De alcatraces.
Flower pot alphabet match for letter recognition and review as well as fine motor development.
Centro de mesa con hortensias


External Web sites
- British Broadcasting Corporation - Viruses and Cellular Defence
- Kidipede Science for Kids - Virus
- MedicineNet.com - Virus
- University of California Museum of Paleontology - Introduction to the Viruses Educational reference material for students on viruses.
Britannica Web sites
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- virus - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Viruses are tiny particles that cause disease in people, other animals, and plants. Different viruses cause the common cold, influenza (flu), chicken pox, measles, AIDS, and many other diseases.
- virus - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
The composition of a virus is relatively simple, and its size is extremely small. It cannot even properly be called an organism because it is unable to carry on life processes outside a living cell of an animal, plant, or bacteria. Yet its method of entering and "enslaving" a living cell is so ingenious that the virus is humankind’s deadliest enemy and resists the most advanced efforts of modern science to eliminate it.


How best to help students learn phonics? Now that’s a question that can get a lot of teachers going.
I personally can’t imagine teaching or learning phonics in the mind-numbing way I’ve sometimes seen it used in classrooms. I believe some explicit phonics instruction is useful, though I’ve only done so inductively. I’ve described how I do that in some detail in my book, English Language Learners: Teaching Strategies That Work.
Today, however, I thought I’d bring together a few limited resources, and hope that readers will make additional suggestions (I know that there are many articles out there). I’ve divided this list into two parts — the first section shares links to some useful articles for teachers to read, while the second section contains links to websites where students can practice phonics in an engaging way for a short time as practice.
Here are my choices for The Best Articles & Sites For Teachers & Students To Learn About Phonics:
Scott Thornbury has recently written a short post giving an overview of some of the issues involved in phonics instruction. In addition, if you scroll down in the comments section, Stephen Krashen provides what I consider to be exceptional commentary and includes some important links.
Professor Brian Cambourne has a good article in the Sydney Morning Herald headlined The sound and the fury about making sense of written words.
Professor Cambourne has also written another article titled See hear.
I really like Sounds Easy: Phonics, Spelling and Pronunciation Practice by Sharron Bassano. As the title suggests, it’s more than just phonics instruction. Also, even though it’s not included in the book, it’s easy to convert the exercises into more higher-order categorization activities, too. This is the resource I have adapted for teaching phonics inductively. It’s on The Best Books For Teaching & Learning ESL/EFL list.
I have an extensive list of interactive phonics sites on my student website.
I’m especially impressed with ABC Fast Phonics.
Reading Bear is a new free interactive site for teaching beginning readers through the use of phonics in a relatively engaging way. It doesn’t appear that registration is necessary, and they say it will remain free. It’s from Watch Know Learn, the well-respected and well-known educational video site.
Phonics: The Sounds Of English is a very impressive interactive from The BBC.
Of course, you’ll want to check out one of my most popular “The Best…” lists, The Best Websites To Help Beginning Readers.
Again, I know there are plenty of other resources out there — please leave suggestions in the comments section.
If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.
You might also want to explore the over 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.


Music Training May Lead to Faster Speech Processing, Study Says
Elementary students who participated in a music enrichment program for two years showed improvement in their ability to process speech sounds, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The study adds to the body of research suggesting that playing music helps students' cognitive development.
Forty-four students, ages 6 to 9, who attended music training through the Harmony Project, a nonprofit music education program serving low-income students in Los Angeles, participated in the study. At the beginning of the after-school program, students received two hours per week of instruction on pitch, rhythm, notation, and other fundamental music skills. Several months into the program, or more, depending on the availability of instruments, students began receiving at least four hours per week of instruction and learned to play music.
The researchers, led by Nina Kraus, a principal investigator at the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, used a neural probe to test the speed of students' auditory processing when hearing two consonant-vowel pairs: \ba\ and \ga\. "What we want to know is, how does the brain automatically respond to speech sounds?" Kraus said in an interview. "We're able to capture neural timing on the order of microseconds. It's very precise." Students were tested before the program began, and at the end of one and two years.
After two years of participation in the program, students "showed a marked improvement in the neural differentiation of the syllables," according to the published study. Researchers also found that students with more hours of instrumental training showed larger improvements. "Certainly, it is the act of making music that is important for these changes," said Kraus. "Just listening to music, you won't see these kinds of changes in people."
Those students who only participated in the program for one yearand therefore got less instrumental trainingdid not demonstrate similar neural changes.
Another recent study of primary students in Germany found that faster auditory processing was associated with better spelling and reading skills, my colleague Sarah Sparks wrote in December.
The new study "has shown us it is possible to see some fundamental biological changes that are tracking with music experiences that were delivered in a group and community-based environment," said Kraus.
Below is a segment PBS NewsHour posted in January about the Harmony Project and Kraus' preliminary research.


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The Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program aims to provide positive and memorable food experiences to primary school children by teaching them how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food.
The program is run in a variety of school settings across Australia, having now been implemented in over 600 schools nation wide. The program emphasises the flavours as well as the health benefits of fresh, seasonal food. Dishes cooked reflect the vegetables, herbs and fruits grown by the children in their organic gardens, with the importance of healthy balance and moderation being highlighted by instructors.
The program is designed to be fully integrated into the primary school curriculum as it offers possibilities to reinforce literacy, numeracy, science, cultural studies and all aspects of environmental sustainability.
Schools implementing the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program are supported through a range of varying national and state government funding opportunities. In addition to these part-funding opportunities, schools are expected to contribute the balance to run the Program from their own resources and community networks.
There are many Indigenous schools participating in the program; the first two were Rawa Community School at Punmu Aboriginal Community and Wiluna Remote Community School in remote Western Australia.
Abstract adapted from Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
PO Box 104
Abbotsford VIC 3067
Ph: (03) 8415 1993
Fax: (03) 8625 0054


Heroes in the Classroom: Comic Books in Art Education
Berkowitz, Jay, Packer, Todd, Art Education
How would you like to put some "POW!" into your arts instruction? A lesson in comic books-history, design, story, and production --can make your classes come alive! In the following article, we present some background, guidelines, and a lesson plan to help you use comics and cartoons in developing these artistic skills of students. So, as they say, "Up, up and away!"
Comics and cartoons provide a wealth of pedagogical opportunities. By placing comics in historical, aesthetic, educational, and empowering contexts,we present a new approach to using these materials to build artistic skills and involve students in art appreciation. After a brief history and critical analysis of comic books and cartooning, we provide a lesson plan and guidelines for using these materials in teaching children and adults.
Many art teachers have met students who state that they hate drawing or that they can't draw-yet often these students get reprimanded by other teachers for drawing in class instead of paying attention. These students may even have a notebook full of drawings that were produced every place except in an art class. Why?
As an art teacher, Berkowitz has noticed how many students interested in comic books and cartoons did not perform well in art class. Students who could not stay focused in a 40-minute art class would spend hours drawing comic book characters. They also were interested in comic book history.
Comic books and cartooning can be valuable for art teachers, but little has been written about these in the
literature of art education. Brent and Marjorie Wilson (1976,1977,1980) suggest that children should be permit ted to copy comics. Other educators have written of using comics to educate children (Smith, 1985; Marston, 1944). Scott McCloud's (1993, 2000) sophisticated analyses of comics, presented in comic book format, provide ample resources for links between comics and art history. His definition of "comics" as "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer" (p. 9) provides a frame to link traditional art history to the medium of comics. Will Eisner (1995), a renowned comics artist, places comics in the history of art, literature, and storytelling with analysis of graphic narrative; he defines "comics" as "The printed arrangement of art and balloons in sequence, particularly as in comic books" (p. 6).
Comic books are a big business and a major presence in the lives of children and adults. According to Caputo (1997), "In recent years, comic book sales have exceeded $4 billion worldwide." Many adults, including teachers, grew up reading comic books, and they form a background for many cultural and visual references.
Students can learn traditional art concepts through the history and design of comic books. For example, children who like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' will also be interested in learning about the artists after whom they were named (Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo). Batman fans would be interested to learn that his costume was originally based on a drawing by Leonardo Da Vinci. The students could even be introduced to fine artists such as Roy Lichtenstein or Roger Shimomura, who use comics as a source of inspiration in their work.
As a motivational and educational tool, comic books can be used with adults and children in a variety of teaching and training settings. Teachers can focus on line drawing technique, history, aesthetics, empowerment
(i.e., student as super-hero) or creative writing. Comic books present a lowcost, accessible, familiar, and highly engaging medium to guide, entertain, and inspire students in many areas.
Berkowitz (1996) designed an informal study wherein student pictures were shown to three judges. The judges evaluated how eight pictures from two groups of cartooning art students demonstrated a "good grasp" of the following art principles: figure drawing, drawing the face, movement/action, color, and humor. …


Music Count Us In
Welcome to Music Count Us In - 2011
Music Count Us In gives principals, teachers, parents and students an opportunity to collectively celebrate music education. Music Count Us In involves whole school communities and culminates with the National Song Day on 1st September when students and teachers from across the nation sing one song together. Last year, this national initiative involved more than 500,000 students, teachers and parents from 1600 schools - double the number that had participated previously.
HOW TO REGISTER
Schools can register for one of our professional learning video conferences to support teachers with teaching the song in their classroom. Both courses are FREE.
View our promotional PDF to learn more about each of the professional learning courses.
We are encouraging schools to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the whole school staff to attend the 1-hour video conference as part of your weekly staff meeting.
DOWNLOAD the EOI to register your school.
Once you have submitted an EOI for your school, each teacher is required to visit MyPL@DET to register for the appropriate Staters or Continuers course. Both of these courses are registered with the NSW Institute of Teachers as 3-hour courses. Please note, each course includes pre and post video conference activities.
Teachers can use the following links to register on MyPL@DET:
PLEASE NOTE ALL VIDEO CONFERENCE SESSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. IF YOU ARE A TEACHER FROM A SCHOOL WHO HAS ALREADY BOOKED THE WHOLE STAFF FOR A VIDEO CONFERENCE VIA AN EXPERSSION OF INTEREST, PLEASE CONTINUE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR THE DATE YOUR SCHOOL HAS BOOKED.
REGISTER ON THE OFFICIAL MUSIC COUNT US IN SITE:
Teachers who have enrolled in one of our 2011 video conferences, are also encouraged to register on the Music Count Us In site in order to receive updates and gain access to further resources to support the National Song Day on 1 September.
Other Music Count Us In resources
The following movie clips and PDFs were created to support teachers participating in the Music Count Us In (MCUI) 2009 program.
The movie clips demonstrate a process and provide strategies that teachers can use for teaching a new song to their students. In the clips, Margie Moore - one of our MCUI presenters, is recorded as she teaches the 2009 song The Music is Everything to a group of teachers in NSW during one of our first video conferences for the program in 2009.
The PDFs include support materials such as lyric sheets that can be used to support strategies suggested in the movie clips.
Click on each of the following links to view the movie clip. You may need to download QuickTime to view the clips.
Teaching the CHORUS
Looking at the STRUCTURE of the song
Teaching the PRE-CHORUS
Teaching the VERSES
The song so far
Teaching the BRIDGE
Approaches to teaching a new song
The Music is Everything Classroom activity kit


Detecting Reading Problems in Preschoolers
Ability to process consonants in noisy environment may reflect literacy potentialJuly 14, 2015 | by Julie Deardorff
A young volunteer takes a test in the Auditory Neuroscience Lab
The study, published in the July issue of PLOS Biology, centers on the child’s ability to decipher speech -- specifically consonants -- in a chaotic, noisy environment. Preliterate children whose brains inefficiently process speech against a background of noise are more likely than their peers to have trouble with reading and language development when they reach school age, the researchers found.
This newfound link between the brain’s ability to process spoken language in noise and reading skill in pre-readers “provides a biological looking glass into a child’s future literacy,” said study senior author Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.
“There are excellent interventions we can give to struggling readers during crucial pre-school years, but the earlier the better,” said Kraus, a professor of communication sciences, neurobiology and physiology in the School of Communication. “The challenge has been to identify which children are candidates for these interventions, and now we have discovered a way.”
Noisy environments, such as homes with blaring televisions and wailing children, loud classrooms or urban streetscapes, can disrupt brain mechanisms associated with literacy development in school-age children.
The Northwestern study, which directly measured the brain’s response to sound using electroencephelography (EEG), is one of the first to find the deleterious effect in preliterate children. This suggests that the brain’s ability to process the sounds of consonants in noise is fundamental for language and reading development.
Speech and communication often occur in noisy places, an environment that taxes the brain. Noise particularly affects the brain’s ability to hear consonants, rather than vowels, because consonants are said very quickly and vowels are acoustically simpler, Kraus said.
“If the brain’s response to sound isn’t optimal, it can’t keep up with the fast, difficult computations required to process in noise,” Kraus said. “Sound is a powerful, invisible force that is central to human communication. Everyday listening experiences bootstrap language development by cluing children in on which sounds are meaningful. If a child can’t make meaning of these sounds through the background noise, he won’t develop the linguistic resources needed when reading instruction begins.”
In the study, EEG wires were placed on children’s scalps; this allowed the researchers to assess how the brain reacted to the sound of the consonants. In the right ear, the young study participants heard the sound ‘da’ superimposed over the babble of six talkers. In the left ear, they heard the soundtrack of the movie of their choice, which was shown to keep them still.
“Every time the brain responds to sound it gives off electricity, so we can capture how the brain pulls speech out of the noise,” Kraus said. “We can see with extreme granularity how well the brain extracts each meaningful detail in speech.”
The researchers captured three different aspects of the brain’s response to sound: the stability with which the circuits were responding; the speed with which the circuits were firing; and the quality with which the circuits represented the timbre of the sound.
Using these three pieces of information, they developed a statistical model to predict children’s performance on key early literacy tests.
In a series of experiments with 112 kids between the ages of 3 and 14, Kraus’ team found that their 30-minute neurophysiological assessment predicts with a very high accuracy how a 3-year-old child will perform on multiple pre-reading tests and how, a year later at age 4 he or she will perform across multiple language skills important for reading. The model proved its breadth by also accurately predicting reading acumen in school-aged children, in addition to whether they’d been diagnosed with a learning disability.
“The importance of our biological approach is that we can see how the brain makes sense of sound and its impact for literacy, in any child,” Kraus said. “It’s unprecedented to have a uniform biological metric we can apply across ages.”
Other Northwestern co-authors include Travis White-Schwoch, Kali Woodruff Carr, Elaine C. Thompson, Samira Anderson, Trent Nicol, Ann R. Bradlow, and Steven G. Zecker, all of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory and department of communication sciences at Northwestern.
The team will continue to follow these children in its “Biotots” project as they progress through school.


ERIC Number: EJ663385
Record Type: CIJE
Publication Date: 2002
Reference Count: 0
"Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition," by Ellen Bialystok. Book Review.
Bilingual Research Journal, v26 n3 p729-35 Fall 2002
This book assembles a wide range of research on children's language development, interprets it with analyses of how bilingualism affects that development, and, above all, breaks the myths surrounding bilingualism and bilingual education. The urgency about introducing language minority children to English immediately in schools, and about mainstreaming them as early as possible has no basis in fact. (TD)
Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Book Reviews, Child Development, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Processes, Cultural Influences, Elementary Education, Metalinguistics, Preschool Education, Second Language Learning, Social Influences, Young Children
For full text: http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol26 no3/abstracts.html.
Publication Type: Book/Product Reviews; Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Critical Period (Language Learning)


- Language Arts
- Physical Education
- Social Studies
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Teacher-created site that offers lesson plans, tips, forums, worksheets and other resources. Organized by subject.
Funded by the Technology Literacy Grant Consortium and consolidates resources to help teachers integrate technology into Language Arts and Mathematics.
A good source for lessons, activities, and tips. Browse lessons by grade level. (extends from Preschool to Undergraduate)
Visit “Teachers” section as a guide to multiple resources.
How to Implement Standards, Curriculum and Assessment
Lesson Plan Central
Free lesson plans, worksheets, clipart and additional student links. Browse lessons by subject or extras like “Fun & Games.”
Lesson Plans Page
Over 2,500 free lesson plans, organized by subject. Site also includes tips and teacher forums.
Site lists lesson plan ideas grouped by subject and also includes additional resources for games, family involvement, songs, and poems.
Integrating curriculum, professional development and community resources
Standard-Based lesson plan template
Provides an outline for creating a lesson plan that address Hawaii state standards. Simply substitute you state’s standards in the appropriate place.
The University of Phoenix’s site for teacher’s to post and share lesson plans for all subjects.
Web Sites and Resources for Teachers
Archived, annotated collection of sites and curriculum resources organized in nine categories, include lesson plans, instructional materials, online activities and projects, and virtual trips to museums and countries around the world.
Preschool art activities and crafts
A site dedicated to art education, lists activities, lesson plans, and additional resources.
A list of a few art/craft ideas.
Graphic organizer templates for different organizers like spider maps, fish maps, compare/contrast matrix, and network trees
Teachnet: Language Arts
Lesson plans in the categories of: general, reading, writing, spelling, speaking, terminology, ESL, and poetry.
Questions on Books
Review questions for books commonly taught all grades K-12
A combination site specifically created for science and mathematics. Includes lesson plan activities for geometry and mathematical patterns
The Math Forum at Drexel “Teachers’s Place”
Lesson plans grouped by elementary, middle, or high school levels.
Math Forum: High School Teacher’s Place
Math Problem Solving Activities
Math Projects and Activities: Global Connection
Lesson plans created for middle school math.
Lesson plans for math grouped into: general, maps and graphs, terminology, geometry, and real world.
Lesson plans for music teachers grouped currently in only one category: general.
This Day in Music History
Daily music facts
PE Preschool Lesson Plans
A long list of PE activities
Teachnet: Health and Physical Education
Lesson plans in the categories of: general, nutrition, fitness, and cooking.
Clifford's Interactive Storybook
A phonics game for young readers
Short stories and plays for young readers
Beatrix Potter stories and pictures
How to form reading/writing centers for kindergarten
A method of getting students to read through use of oral script reading
Science activities for select topics like “light” and “space.” .
Kid’s Do-It-Yourself Science
Links to great science projects
Kid’s Science Projects
Projects listed by level of difficulty
Middle School Science
A site geared specifically towards Middle School Science Curriculums. Lesson plan subjects range from Chemistry, Physics, Earth, and Life Sciences
Science Preschool Activities and Crafts
Solar System Simulator
A list of science lesson plans and activities in the categories of: general, biology, earth, physics, technology, dinosaurs, scientific method, space and time, weather, and animals.
Lesson Plans and Resources
A site specifically created for social studies teachers. Includes lesson plan outlines, and additional social studies resources
Teachnet: Social Studies
Lesson plans grouped into: history, personal growth, countries, government, economics, society, and geography.
Back to School Technology Activities
Includes a step-by-step outline on how to create a technology based lesson plan
ABC’s of the Writing Process
A list of links of graphic organizers
Handwriting Worksheets and Printables
How to Start a Writer’s Workshop


The results of Sistema-based social programmes are almost impossible to quantify – but as Jonathan Govias argues, the potential of ‘the system' is boundless
With the British government investing millions of pounds into the development of a national El Sistema network while simultaneously enforcing a policy of austerity, the new question emerging about El Sistema in England has become: ‘Is it worth it?’ But precisely like the past big question about El Sistema – whether it should be adopted or adapted – this inquiry also ignores the fact that there’s no conclusive answer yet to what precisely ‘it’ is. José Antonio Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, has resolutely resisted attempts to define its practice, with the result that when the question ‘What is Sistema?’ is asked, at least three possible responses can come to mind.
The first and simplest answer is the organisation, the Venezuelan national network of youth orchestras from which the name ‘The System’ is derived. This is the Sistema made famous by the 2007 BBC Proms performances, and the Sistema of exuberant young orchestras captivating audiences across the globe.
The second El Sistema is the concoction of its international mythologisers. This Sistema is defined not by its extremely diverse practices, but by the rhetoric of its evangelists. Good intentions have yielded extravagant promises: this is the Sistema that will eliminate crime, lift millions out of poverty, or close the class divide. While these programmes have delivered much good, if largely conventional music education, their advocates have at times set the bar perilously high for all music educators.
Then there’s the third Sistema, which is nothing more – and nothing less – than the idea that music can transform people cognitively, emotionally, even spiritually, just as much as it can socially. This idea, this promise, so logical and plausible in theory, remains largely uncharted territory in practice.
The puzzle presented by Abreu’s reticence in describing El Sistema is reminiscent of another historical enigma. In the margins of his notebook, the mathematician Pierre de Fermat wrote of his discovery of a proof for a pivotal mathematical thought, yet failed to disclose the proof itself. Until it was solved, 358 years later, that unproved theorem provoked more inquiry, exploration and advancement than a bald, or potentially erroneous proof ever could have.
By refusing to issue an authoritative statement on what constitutes El Sistema, Abreu has granted music educators the liberty to explore this idea unfettered by preconception or tradition. Some have interpreted this space as a vacuum and therefore cling to mirroring superficialities of practice, such as cardboard violins (see The Strad, March 2011). Others view it as carte blanche to describe all forms of music education as producing pro-social outcomes. Between these extremes of copying and chaotic opportunism lies the pursuit of the proof, the search for the mechanics of practice that, regardless of geographic location, target population, musical genre, or instrumental or choral modes, will deliver on Abreu’s conjecture.
Like Fermat, Abreu has offered us a hint. Social action through music demands completely new modes of education: it demands social learning. The most provocative work in this field hasn’t been done by music educators, but by a computer scientist named Sugata Mitra, on faculty at the University of Newcastle. Mitra has devoted almost two decades to the study of the extraordinary motivation and accomplishment of students who learn through social interaction, rather than teacher intervention. At its heart, his work revolves around the massive divide between teaching and learning, and the boundless potential that emerges when the focus is placed squarely on the latter. If Sistema is to deliver on its promise, this is where it must start.
The British government’s funding of Sistema programming through the In Harmony initiative may have raised questions in some quarters, but internationally it represents a comparatively rare example of prudent government investment. There has been no political attempt to dictate day-to-day practice beyond a broad framework, no move to define a single mandatory outcome, and the existing infrastructure has been relatively safeguarded. Crucially, the government has given its target programmes the space and the resources to explore Abreu’s idea to its fullest. There is a time limit, and there remains the accountability concomitant with all public monies, but if the programmes focus their resources on asking the right questions, there may well prove to be no limits to the system.


Editor's note: This is the first post in a five-part series which takes a look at five big ideas for implementation of the Common Core State Standards, authored by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins
In our travels around the country since the Common Core Standards were released, we sometimes hear comments such as, “Oh, here we go again;” “Same old wine in a new bottle;” or “We already do all of this.” Such reactions are not surprising given the fact that we have been here before. A focus on standards is not new. However, it a misconception to assume that these standards merely require minor tweaks to our curriculum and instructional practices. In fact, the authors of the Mathematics Standards anticipated this reaction and caution against it: “These Standards are not intended to be new names for old ways of doing business.” (p 5) Merely trying to retrofit the standards to typical teaching and testing practices will undermine the effort.
A related misconception in working with the Common Core is evident when teachers turn immediately to the grade-level standards listed for their grade or course to plan their teaching. Such an action is reasonable; after all, isn’t that what they are supposed to teach? While understandable, we advise against zeroing in on the grade-level standards before a careful examination of the goals and structure of the overall documents.
To invoke a construction analogy: Think of the grade-level standards as building materials. As a construction supervisor, we wouldn’t simply drop off materials and tools at a worksite and have the workers “go at it.” Instead, we would begin with a blueprint -- an overall vision of the desired building to guide its construction. Without an overall end in mind, teachers can create wonderful individual rooms that won’t necessarily fit together within and across floors or achieve the intended results.
The Common Core Standards have been developed with long-term outcomes in mind (e.g., College and Career Anchor Standards in English Language Arts), and their components are intended to work together (e.g., Content and Practice Standards in mathematics). This point is highlighted in a recently released publication, Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (July 2012):
“‘The Standards’ refers to all elements of the design -- the wording of domain headings, cluster headings, and individual statements; the text of the grade level introductions and high school category descriptions; the placement of the standards for mathematical practice at each grade level. The pieces are designed to fit together, and the standards document fits them together, presenting a coherent whole where the connections within grades and the flows of ideas across grades ....”
It is imperative that educators understand the intent and structure of the Standards in order to work with them most effectively. Accordingly, we recommend that schools set the expectation and schedule the time for staff to read and discuss the standards, beginning with the “front matter,” not the grade-level standards. We also recommend that staff reading and discussion be guided by an essential question: What are the new distinctions in these Standards and what do they mean for our practice? Since the standards are complex texts and demand a “close” reading, we recommend that staff carefully examine the table of contents and the organizational structure; the headers (e.g., Design Considerations; What is Not Covered, etc.), the components (e.g., Anchor Standards and Foundational Skills for ELA; Standards for Mathematical Practice), and the Appendices (ELA).
Following a thorough reading of these introductory sections, discuss the changing instructional emphases called for by the Standards and their implications. For example, the ELA Standards demand a greater balance between reading informational and literary texts, and stress the use of text-based evidence to support argumentation in writing and speaking. The Mathematics Standards accentuate the focus on a smaller set of conceptually larger ideas that spiral across the grades (as opposed to simply “covering” numerous skills) with an emphasis on meaningful application using the Practices.
We cannot overemphasize the value of taking the time to collaboratively examine the Standards in this way. Failure to understand the Standards and adjust practices accordingly will likely result in “same old, same old” teaching with only superficial connections to the grade-level standards. In that case, their promise to enhance student performance will not be realized.


It can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to studying for an upcoming teaching interview. Every school will ask different questions, and every school board has a different focus. The truth is, interviews are stressful! However, everyone goes through them at some point in their lives. If you happen to be a new teacher trying to find a full time position in a time where student enrolment is down and teachers are a dime a dozen, perhaps you may go through more than your fair share. The best advice; keep you chin up, be confident, and BE PREPARED! This page will hopefully help you with the last bit. Lucky for you, the rest just comes naturally, doesn't it?
BEFORE YOU GO...
Visit the website of the school board for the following information. Know it well.
1 Mission Statement
2 Special Initiatives
3 Boundaries/size of board (Many are far-reaching in distance)
TYPICAL QUESTION TOPICS
In an teaching interview, you can generally expect to get at least one question from most, if not all, of the following categories.
1 Communication: Written/Verbal (with students, home, office…)
2 Classroom Management: What are your strategies?
3 Discipline: What would you do when...
4 Curriculum: Especially Literacy and Numeracy.
5 Organization: Techniques and Experience.
6 Leadership: Examples and Experience.
7 “What can you tell us about yourself…”
8 “Do you have any questions…?”
POTENTIAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Here are some typical questions that are asked in teaching interviews.
* How do you teach to different learning styles?
* How has your experience prepared you for teaching?
* What would you do to create a safe, nurturing learning environment for your students?
* What are your strengths and weaknesses?
* What are some methods of communication in your classroom between students, parents and colleagues?
* What is your teaching philosophy?
* What are you reasons for teaching and your long term goals with respect to elementary education?
* What are your strategies for conflict management?
* What is one experience that you can think of that demonstrates what an excellent teacher you are?
* Describe a time when you feel you truly made a difference in a students life.
* Name a teacher that has had a positive influence on you?
* Reflect on a frustrating teaching moment?
* Describe a best/worst lesson plan and what was good/bad about them
* What is your plan for Balanced Literacy in a classroom?
* How will you prepare your students for grade 3/grade 6 testing?
* Describe your experience working with special education students and differentiated instruction.
* Describe your experience developing and implementing Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
MORE QUESTIONS, ANSWERS AND TIPS!
These links are also accessible from the "Links" portion of this website.


Benefits of a Liberal Arts Degree
Liberal arts colleges carry on a tradition that is more than two thousand years old dating back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle. The liberal arts are the arts that free us from superstition and opinion, helping the liberal arts student begins the climb to knowledge. In particular, the liberal arts seek to help the student gain an understanding of the natural or physical world around us and of those things that beautify and ennoble life, including literature and the creative arts. Above all, the liberal arts assist the student in his or her pursuit of knowledge of the most important human questions, including what is the best way of life and what is a just society.
The goal of the liberal arts is to educate human beings who are thoughtful in speech and deed. Providing a well rounded education, the liberal arts prepare students for graduate work in many fields and for careers including business, diplomacy, medicine and teaching. The study of the liberal arts adds the human dimension to all areas of specialization, laying the foundation for global citizenship and preparing the student for effective dialogue with people from around the world and from many different cultures.
At the heart of the liberal arts is an ongoing conversation between teacher and student, elevating both to learners in the exploration of all things about which human beings can attain knowledge. Classes at Soka University of America are small, creating an environment where students are encouraged to interact with their faculty and where the faculty view the education of students as their priority. This is only fitting as the liberal arts were founded in an environment of dialogue and exchange between student and teacher, an inspiration that forms and informs a Soka education.
Every undergraduate at SUA graduates with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, which has qualified our students for graduate school in such diverse fields as law, education, economics, statistics, urban planning, psychology, diplomacy, environmental studies, mathematical finance, international development studies, international education policy, international studies, conflict analysis and resolution, Japanese language and literature, Latin American politics and human rights, environmental legal studies, history, peace studies, East Asia regional studies, public affairs, sociology, anthropology, entertainment industry management, second and foreign language education (TESOL), creative writing, screenwriting, literature, global affairs, art education and medicine (with extra science classes.)
SUA is proud of the fact that over 80% of our undergraduate students graduate in four years (compared to a national average of 61% at private colleges), and that over 30% of our graduates have been accepted to graduate schools at many prestigious universities, including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Stanford, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCI, Georgetown, Columbia Teacher's College, University of Hawaii Law, Cornell, Duke, Boston, NYU, Cambridge and London School of Economics.
Where can a Liberal Arts degree from Soka University take you? Many places!


Making Math as Easy as 1,2,3
Basic calculation skills are essential in today’s world. In fact, research suggests that numerical skills are an even stronger predictor of school success than reading abilities.
About five per cent of the population suffers from developmental dyscalculia—a specific difficulty to acquire even the most basic arithmetic skills, such as the ability to add 5 + 4 quickly. Studies have shown that people with below average numerical and mathematical skills are more likely to commit crimes and suffer illness.
Despite the clear importance of mathematical abilities and the substantial societal cost incurred by low numeracy skills, little research has been conducted on the development of mathematical skills and the origins of math disabilities. That is in clear contrast to the huge number of studies that have been conducted on reading disabilities.
Dr. Daniel Ansari, Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, aims to fill this glaring knowledge gap by studying how children develop basic number skills from an early age. Ansari is using both behavioural and neuroimaging methods to study the predictors of successful math learning. His research is linking basic number processing with the learning of arithmetic. He is also uncovering the roles played by the brain during this process.
Ansari’s research will lead to better understanding of the root causes of math difficulties and develop tools to accurately diagnose and treat math problems in children.


Literacy at your Library
Jasper County Public Library is committed to helping every member of our community gain the tools and skills needed to become successful in their every day lives.
The mission of the JCPL Literacy Committee focuses on pre-reading, technology and foreign language. Other forms of literacy may also be considered as need becomes apparent.
In response to patron requests, we have added items in business and social development, music education, interviewing skills and study skills, to name a few.
As always, we are driven by our patrons’ wants and needs. Your suggestions make a difference. Please stop in, or call, or Suggest an Item for Purchase online.
For Developing Readers
- Hooked on Phonics
- Leap Pad 2 and Leapster
- AWE Computer Station (DeMotte)
- Computers at each branch with developmental games
- Graphic novels for children, teens and adults.
- Playaway Views video books.
- Electronic read-along (Tumblebooks) books for young children and digital ebooks and audiobooks (OverDrive) for children and teens.
- Computer tutorial software for various school skills
Career and Life Skills Planning
- Career Planning and Development Guides
- Study guides for TASC, SAT, Praxis, etc.
- Great Courses (Advanced Level Classes on CD and DVD)
- High Interest / Low Skill books for developing basic reading skills
- Social skills books and videos for children and teens (Rensselaer, Wheatfield)
- Electronic resources for resumes and job searching (Learning Express Library)
Spanish & ESL
- Spanish materials available at each branch
- Hooked on Phonics
- Inglés Sin Barreras (English without Barriers) ESL course
- High Interest / Low Skill books
- Bilingual AWE Computer Station (DeMotte)
- Gates Computers at each branch with multi-lingual settings
Recent Literacy Purchases:
- Books on interviewing techniques, job searching and resume writing
- Sign language DVDs
- Study skills for math, reading and writing
- Books on customer service and problem solving
- Kaplan’s ACT Comprehensive program
- Kaplan’s Praxis and McGraw-Hill’s Praxis I & II
- Various TASC help study guides
- Princeton Review for SAT & PSAT
- Teaching courses on : Origins of Great Civilizations, History of European Art, American Ideals
- Saxon Phonics Intervention for older students (middle-high school)
- Spanish language bilingual books for all ages
- Rosetta Stone Spanish and French language courses
- Leap Pad 2 and Leapster interactive learning systems for preschool and early-middle school


ERIC Number: ED293112
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1987
Reference Count: N/A
Todos Nuestros Ninos Pueden Aprender a Leer: Guia para la Accion de Padres y Residentes (All Our Kids Can Learn To Read: Guide to Parent and Citizen Action), Chicago SCHOOLWATCH.
Designs for Change, Chicago, IL.
Intended for parents and all citizens concerned about improving Chicago's 592 public schools, this handbook, a Spanish language version of "All Our Kids Can Learn To Read" (1985), explains how important reading is to a decent education and future employment. Chapter one describes the school improvement campaign called "Schoolwatch," the problems in the Chicago public schools, and the components of effective schools. Chapter two analyzes what it means to know how to read; it explains how reading is tested and evaluated in the Chicago public schools and what the scores mean. It also shows how to look at reading scores for the school system as a whole, for one's own school, and for a child. Chapter three describes in depth the ten ingredients that researchers have identified as crucial for an effective school. For each one, a "report card" gives parents specific things to look for to help them decide whether their school measures up and where there is room for improvement. Ingredient ten, where bilingual education is discussed, has been expanded to reflect recent research and opinions on the subject. Chapter four describes how decisions made "downtown" affect the way that children learn (or do not learn) to read in Chicago, and tells what changes are needed so that the school system's bureaucracy serves the local school. Finally, chapter five tells exactly how parents and community members can work together in Chicago's "Schoolwatch" program to improve the schools. (ARH)
Descriptors: Community Involvement, Educational Improvement, Elementary Education, Evaluation Criteria, Foreign Language Books, Hispanic Americans, Parent Participation, Public Schools, Reading Achievement, Reading Improvement, Reading Instruction, Reading Skills, School Community Programs, School Organization, Spanish, Spanish Speaking, Test Interpretation
Designs for Change, 220 S. State Street, Suite 1900, Chicago, IL 60604 ($5.50).
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: Designs for Change, Chicago, IL.
Identifiers: Illinois (Chicago); Schoolwatch IL
Note: For the English version,. see ED 265 521.


ERIC Number: ED377465
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995
Reference Count: 0
Parents and Teachers: Helping Children Learn To Read and Write.
Rasinski, Timothy V., Ed.
Intended to provide practical amd proven ideas to help children develop as literate persons, this book presents 24 essays on diverse topics to help teachers and parents realize the potential they have for improving children's literacy development. The ideas presented in the book are based on sound research, theory, and actual practice. After an introduction ("Teacher-Parent Partnerships" by Timothy Rasinski), chapters in the book are: (1) "Seven Steps to Creating a Literate Home Environment" (Mary Steele Mastain); (2) "About Play, Literacy, and Growing Up" (Kathy Roskos); (3) "Storytelling Connections: Ways to Catch Children's Imaginations and Excite Them about Learning" (Olga Nelson); (4) "Children Never Outgrow 'Read Me another...'" (Karla Hawkins Wendelin); (5) "It's Not Just What You Do but How You Do It That Counts" (David F. Lancy); (6) "Hundreds of Books, Thousands of Books...Finding Good Books for Eager Readers" (Barbara Peterson); (7) "Linking Children to the Past through Historical Fiction" (Susan S. Lehr); (8) "Paired Reading: A Positive Approach to Parent-Child Reading Time" (Louisa Kozey); (9) "Reading Aloud to Older, Independent Readers" (Daniel Woolsey); (10) "Becoming Readers and Writers Together" (JoBeth Allen); (11) "Demystify the Written Word and Make Writing a Lifelong Adventure" (Sally Hudson-Ross); (12) "The Role of Lists in Family Literacy" (Nancy Padak and Timothy Rasinski); (13) "Helping Develop Competent Spellers: Parents and Children Working Together" (Jerry Zutell); (14) "Using Computers to Promote Literacy" (Linda DeGroff); (15)"Television and Literacy" (David Reinking and Douglas Pardon); (16) "Understanding Changes in Beginning Reading (and Writing) Instruction" (Susan Carey Biggam); (17) "Nurturing Children's Literacy Development through Parent-Teacher Conferences" (Anthony D. Fredericks); (18) "Literacy Is for All Languages: Building Literacy in Nonnative English-Speaking Homes" (Sally Nathenson-Mejia); (19) "Reading, Writing, and Giftedness" (Beverly Shaklee); (20) "Parent Volunteers: Partners in Literacy" (Elizabeth Gibbons Pryor); (21) "The Problems and Promises of Dealing with Principals" (Fredrick R. Burton); (22) "Reading Instruction in the Intermediate Grades: Preferred Practices" (Karen D. Wood and Robert J. Rickelman); (23) "Parental Roles in Reading and Writing Evaluation" (Jan Turbill and JoBeth Allen); and (24) "Parents and Schools Assessing Literacy Growth Together" (J. Michael Ritty). (RS)
Descriptors: Beginning Reading, Elementary Education, Family Environment, Family Literacy, Gifted, Parent Child Relationship, Parent Participation, Parent Teacher Conferences, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Reading Aloud to Others, Reading Habits, Reading Instruction, Story Telling, Student Evaluation, Television Viewing, Writing Instruction
Harcourt Brace and Co., 6277 Sea Harbor Dr., Orlando, FL 32887-6777 ($24).
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher; Collected Works - General; Books
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Parents; Practitioners; Teachers
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Historical Fiction


Art Twice a Week for 40 Minutes
The art curriculum focuses on cultivating drawing and painting skills. Students learn basic concepts of drawing and painting – line, shape, texture, color, value and space. Throughout the year, lessons build upon each other to develop these powerful skills.
Art lessons include guided instruction while encouraging individual creativity and self-expression. Lessons provide a rich integration of art and other subjects, including literature, science, music and even math.
Teaching children to “see” by looking closely at the world, whether it is an insect or a country, is a powerful tool. Throughout the year, student artists also use the artwork of famous artists, (and not so famous), for inspiration to create their own “masterpieces.”
In addition to drawing and painting, student artists also create 3-dimensional art. This might be a papier mache project, air-dried clay, or collage. This year each grade will also make a class project using found and recycled objects.
Our goal for each student artist is to create meaningful art, and develop a love of art, self-confidence and independence. Kid’s with confidence can accomplish so much. I love seeing the enthusiasm and confidence that students develop during the year.
Student artwork is displayed throughout the School – look for it on bulletin boards, walls and displays!
Students have art twice a week in 40 minute classes.
Teaching the Joy of Music at St. Elizabeth’s
St. Elizabeth’s School offers music classes for all grade levels three times each week. The classes primarily follow the Kodaly educational philosophy of music education, the tenets of which are that true musical literacy is the right of every child, singing is the foundation of all music education as it is the child’s primary instrument, and that the folk songs of our own culture provide the best vehicle for instruction. Music classes include a wide variety of activities – tuneful singing, purposeful movement, musical games, memory training, inner hearing, reading and writing music, and playing instruments.
Our kindergarteners spend 30 minutes in music class on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Each week our songs and activities follow a theme, such as horses, transportation, or farm animals. Our lessons include pitch exploration, simple songs, echo or call and response songs, movement exploration, fingerplays, circle games, and playing simple instruments. We also focus on basic musical concepts, such as fast and slow, loud and soft, and high and low as well as tuneful singing. By the time kindergartners reach first grade, they will be well prepared for the introduction of formal musical terms and concepts.
Our first- through fourth-graders spend 45 minutes in music class and have lessons that combine the practice of learned concepts with the preparation and presentation of new skills and musical terms. We begin with the basic concepts of rhythm and beat and then move on to the more specific musical notation of various notes and rests. Students also learn the basic notion of high and low pitches and will grow in their knowledge of specific pitches, such as do, mi, and so, as well as notes on the Staff. They also learn about various other musical concepts such as dynamics, verse, and refrain. In addition, students have many opportunities to learn to play basic instruments in ensembles throughout the year.
Finally, there is a musical unit offered that is specific to each grade level. Our first-graders learn about the instruments of the orchestra. Second-graders focus on Camille Saint-Saens and his symphony “The Carnival of the Animals.” Our third-graders have an opportunity to learn about many of our great composers, while students in the fourth grade continue to learn to play the recorder.
As you can see, our students enjoy a rich, diverse musical education experience at St. Elizabeth’s School.


Sections / Articles
Art Education Is Fundamental, Not Ornamental, Says Daniel Pink
By Anthony Moyer
In his workshop at the 2013 NAESP Conference, author Daniel Pink shared information about the importance of arts in education. Hearing him speak in this intimate setting was an exciting and valuable experience.
Pink began his presentation by emphasizing his belief in the STEM movement in schools. But he also believes that the arts play an important role in schools, and that the STEM acronym should really be STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Although politicians and education policymakers endorse the STEM movement, said Pink, many do not believe that arts in education are essential, and, unfortunately, often advocate for the removal or minimization of art programs.
But arts and the sciences go hand in hand. Some medical schools are requiring students to learn more about art. Medical students travel to art museums for diagnostic training, for instance, where they learn to ask the right questions and make critical observations. Asking the right questions has become more important than providing the right answers, since technology is now capable of providing us with accurate information at our fingertips. Doctors who are literate in the arts are able to reason both analytically and algorithmically. Pink emphasized that arts education has traditionally been viewed as ornamental, but he encouraged us to view it as fundamental.
He encouraged school leaders to advise our teachers to require less “commissioned” work of students. Commissioned work is regimented; non-commissioned activities have few constraints, allow individuals to be self-directed, encourage free-thinking, and are fun and engaging. Pink shared that students and staff members perform more effectively when assignments and tasks are non-commissioned. He advocated for activities such as “genius hours,” during which staff and students have the opportunity to engage in non-commissioned work, and answer questions such as, “Name one thing that would make our school more effective.” Pink reminded us to focus on staff members who are “first movers,” since they serve as catalysts for new and innovative ideas and tasks. He also warned us about setting unrealistic “big, audacious goals” that are difficult to achieve. Instead, he directed us to set goals to earn “small wins” that are realistic and attainable.
I left Pink’s pre-conference session with the strong belief that art is not ornamental, but fundamental. Next school year, I plan to focus on “small wins,” provide time for “genius hours” for my staff and students, and encourage teachers to provide more non-commissioned work throughout the school day. Art teaches rigor and self-direction, two characteristics that employers seek in their employees, Pink pointed out. If we hope to prepare our students for the 21st century, arts education is fundamental.
Anthony Moyer is principal of Willow Lane Elementary School in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy of Lifetouch.
Copyright © 2013 National Association of Elementary School Principals. No part of the articles in NAESP magazines, newsletters, or website may be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. For more information, view NAESP's reprint policy.


The people of Catholic Europe were in majority poor and illiterate. Though in France and Catholic Germany elementary education made progress, in southern Italy and rural Spain and Portugal, even in the eighteenth century, many of those who could read and write were clergymen, even if only in minor orders. In such conditions priests were intellectual as well as moral leaders, seminaries were chief places of education. In remote parts priests still stumbled over the Latin of the mass, ignorant of its meaning, or fumbled over ceremonies because the rubrics could not be followed. But the Counter-Reformation educated the clergy. An illiterate priest was a scandal, even to his people. The priest might be mocked for worldliness, or resented for vice. But he was outwardly regarded. Even if Italians mocked behind his back, or boys shouted as he passed in the street, the people liked to greet him by stooping to kiss his hand.
The difficulty of the whole Church lay in the widening gap between the mental habits of educated and illiterate. In southern Italy fauns hid in the woods, and an occasional clergyman of the deep country reminded his bishop more of a satyr than of a priest. Bishops were educated men and sharply distinguished between rites of the Church and superstitious affections of their people. They would not concede that in illiterate, passionate, and earthy society credulity was a gate towards creed.
The rites of the Church were at times entangled with folk-lore about fertility. The strangest arts of magic might be observed in remote southern-Italian villages in moments of childbirth. And remedies which less eminent priests used to cure superstition were almost as strange.
A southern-German priest, Hermenegild Adam, wrote a book of devotion entitled: An Easy and Sure Way to Heaven, which by 1771 had ten editions. If magic is suspected, Adam recommends that a priest bless the place, and then it be sprinkled with 'Ignatius-water' or 'Three Kings' water' (that is, water blessed at St. Ignatius' Day or Epiphany) or St. John's wine—or 'what is still more powerful, a mixture of all three'. Then should


Learn to count with Eggy Numbers 1 to 10!
Your child can take their first steps into the wonderful world of maths with Eggy Numbers 1 to 10 – the interactive app for the iPad and iPhone that teaches children aged 3+ how to identify, write and count numbers 1 to 10!
Featuring 7 highly motivational games, Eggy Numbers 1 to 10 makes learning to write and count numbers a fun hands-on experience for young learners. Using the ‘tap’ and ‘touch and drag’ interactivity of the iPad and iPhone, three games focus on teaching children how to write each number – first by tracing over a dot-to-dot and number shaped visuals, then by drawing the number from memory. Four more games develop a conceptual understanding of numbers and their value, where children need to count items and match numerical values to pictures.
Your child will love discovering this new world of numbers with ‘Buddy the Acorn’ as their helpful guide. The engaging visuals, catchy music and fun sound effects will make their learning experience highly enjoyable and rewarding!
Eggy Numbers includes 7 fun numeracy games including Dot-to-Dot, Copy the Number, Draw the Number, Number or Not, Count with Buddy, Number Ring and Number Dominoes. There are also 138 golden acorns and 18 critters for children to earn by completing activities.
- For the iPad and iPhone.
- Suitable for children aged 3+.
- Learn to identify, write and count numbers 1 to 10.
- 7 highly interactive games.
- 3 difficulties to choose from.
- Highly instructive handwriting games commit numbers to memory.
- Counting activities develop the basic numeracy skills essential for future maths development.
- Fun rewards to earn including 138 golden acorns and 18 critters to hatch and collect.
- Choose between 3 accents – Australian, UK and US.
- Eggy Numbers is brought to you by the makers of ABC Reading Eggs – a team of educators with more than 25 years of experience in early childhood education.
What a clever little app! The graphics are fantastic. My 4 year old loves counting the sea creatures under the water. He's really enjoying it. Another great app from Reading Eggs, love it! - iTunes User Review
If you have any questions about Eggy Numbers, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


Principles to practice approach for EL success
Spanish Literacy: Fostering Spanish Language and Literacy Development
Taller de lectura y escritura en español -- Cómo fomentar el desarrollo de la lectoescritura en español
Learn research-based strategies to provide effective academic literacy instruction in Spanish in developmental and transitional bilingual, dual language and immersion education programs.
Aprenda estrategias efectivas basadas en investigaciones científicas para la enseñanza de la lectoescritura académica en programas de español bilingües (de desarrollo y transición), duales y de inmersión.
This workshop is designed to provide participants with an awareness of Spanish linguistic features to effectively teach academic language and literacy in Spanish to students at all levels of proficiency, framed by an understanding of Spanish language arts standards.
The Spanish Literacy workshop is designed for teachers, specialists, and coordinators who provide support or instruction in the Spanish language in developmental and transitional bilingual, heritage language, language immersion, or dual language settings.
These workshops can be tailored to meet the needs of your grade level, school, and program type and may take place in Spanish or English.
The following provides an overview of the topics covered each day. Practical classroom-based instructional strategies are embedded throughout the presentation.
The Context for Spanish Language and Literacy Instruction
Introducción a la enseñanza de la lectoescritura en español
- Participant introductions, backgrounds, and instructional models
- Demographic information about Spanish learners and their diverse educational settings
- Principles of effective instruction for language learners
- Teaching Spanish Language Arts with today’s standards
Developing Awareness of Similarities and Differences between Spanish and English
Cómo desarrollar conciencia de las similitudes y las diferencias entre el inglés y el español
- Fostering the development of academic language
- Building metalinguistic awareness to promote
- Examining similarities and differences between the languages as it relates to:
- Phonology (sound-letter correspondences)
- Morphology (word formation)
- Lexicon (cognates and false cognates)
- Grammar (sentence structure)
- Pragmatics (language use)
Developing Literacy in Spanish
Desarrollo de la lectoescritura en español
- Applying the principles of effective instruction for language learners to develop vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension in Spanish
- Targeting vocabulary instruction and oral language development using interactive teacher
read-alouds, songs, and poems
- Promoting Spanish language and literacy development in the content areas
- Providing opportunities for meaningful language use through student interaction
- Identifying strategies to promote students’ use of Spanish
- Using guided reading lessons to teach students strategies for using meaning, structure and visual information when they read
- Instructing writing and reading comprehension strategies in Spanish
CAL can work with you to tailor this professional development workshop to meet your needs and budget.


PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Maryann "Mar" Harman grooves all over the globe.
"Music is such a wonderful way to pass on love," she said.
Harman started out simply singing at playgroups.
"They wanted to buy the songs, which I was making up off the top of my head," she explained.
That was 20 years ago, and now she's taken the show on the road.
"People would google and they'd call me, or email me, and say ‘would you come to Mumbai? Will you come to Beijing? Will you come to the Cayman Islands?' And I'm like ‘okay,'" Harman said.
Her passion points to brain research that shows music really does help children and adults succeed. A Brown University study showed students with music education scored 37 percent higher than other students on IQ tests.
"If you dance once a week, you reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by 79 percent," she said.
Some more findings: infants who were actively trained in music were less frustrated, showed less anxiety about new experiences, smiled and laughed more, and were easier to soothe.
"They're finding more and more that the brain, instead of being left [or] right brain, that we are more holistic of the brain and that music is what ties the pieces together," Harman explained.
That's music to mother Maricela Duart's ears.
"The music helps them learn more language," Duart said..
"All parents care about is if [their] child is getting the tools he or she needs to be successful," Harman said.
She thinks it's a smart move to get the little ones in tune with their inner rhythm.
The Music with Mar program is being used in China. Harman told us it's being incorporated into the baby spectrum program. The Chinese are creating indoor facilities where parents can come with preschoolers to paint, sing, and dance. She also recently trained Chinese teachers.
Using music as a healing tool dates back to ancient times. It is obvious in historical writings of ancient civilizations such as China, India, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It is also evident in biblical scriptures. In the United States, the profession of music therapy began during World War I and World War II. Music was used to help relieve pain perception in veterans with traumatic war injuries. Music had a positive effect on veterans' psychological, physiological, cognitive, and emotional state. (Source: http://www.musicasmedicine.com/about/history.cfm).
Colleges and universities then started to develop programs that trained musicians on how to use music for therapeutic purposes. Today music is used to also help the mentally challenged, hearing/visually impaired, and people with other mental disorders. Music therapy can also help children with behavioral problems. It is also known to have helped children with motivation, attention, and communication. (Source: http://www.musictherapy.org/about/history/).
• One out of 150 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. That means there is one new diagnosis every 20 minutes, and that number continues to increase.
• In a study of 41 children, administered by Universiti Sains Malaysia, hour-long music sessions were used to monitor behaviors of two groups: children two to ten and children eleven to twenty two. For behaviors including noisiness, aggression, restlessness, and tantrums, more than 50 percent of each group showed improvement by one or two points.
• Although some children showed no changes, the overall research indicated that music therapy had positive effects on children's behaviors, especially those with inattentive behavior.
(Source: See, C. M. The Use of Music and Movement Therapy to Modify Behaviour of Children with Autism. Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum., 20 (4): 1103 – 1116).
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