Last week, I explained why disciplinary reading strategies are superior to the more general strategies taught in schools. That generated a lot of surprised responses.
Some readers thought I’d mis-worded my message. Let me reiterate it here: strategies like summarization, questioning (the readers asking questions), monitoring, and visualizing don’t help average or better readers. They do help poor readers and younger readers.
I didn’t explain better readers don’t benefit, so let me do that here.
Readers read strategically only when they have difficulty making sense of a text.
Recently, I was took a second shot at reading the novel, Gilead. I tried to read it a few months ago, but couldn’t follow the plot. I often read just before sleep and especially subtle or deep texts are not usually best read a few pages at a time like that.
In the meantime, Cyndie read it with great enjoyment, so now my self-image as a sophisticated reader was on the line. For my second reading, I carved out bigger chunks of time, and marked the text up quite a bit (even writing a summaries of the first several chapters). This time, I read with great understanding. Whew!
If the book had been easy for me, I never would have gone to that kind of trouble.
Let’s face it: school texts are not particularly hard for average readers and above. We teach strategies to them, but they don’t really need them—at least not with the texts we use to teach reading.
It may not even matter much if a student understands a text. Students can often hide out, letting the others answer the hard questions, and gaining sufficient info from the discussions and illustrations. No need for strategies under such circumstances.
The new emphasis on teaching students with more challenging texts—texts not as likely to be understood from reading alone—should increase the value of general reading strategies.
Of course, even good readers sometimes confront challenging texts at school (like ninth grade biology textbooks). Unfortunately, they often don’t use reading strategies even with such texts.
My guess as to what is going on is two-fold: students who usually get by on the basis of language proficiency alone, have no idea what to do when confronted with such demands. They go into default mode, not using the strategies at all—even though in this context such strategies would probably be helpful.
But let’s face it. Too often, meaning just doesn’t matter at school. Students can often get by with a superficial purchase on the content. I once got half credit on an astronomy exam question that asked how to measure the distance to the Northern Lights (my answer: use the same method that you’d use to measure the distance to the moon—a correct answer, and yet one that doesn’t require any grasp of the content).
Superficial understanding is often enough in school. Low readers may not be able to gain this successfully by applying their language skills alone, so strategies increase their chances. Good readers can, but when the stakes are raised they don’t necessarily adjust and start using the general reading strategies. But no matter how challenging the texts are, if “acceptable levels” of performance are low enough, strategies again won’t be necessary.
Yes, we should teach reading comprehension strategies, even to good readers. But we should do so in an environment that emphasizes the value of knowledge and understanding, and that requires students to confront genuine intellectual challenges. Those disciplinary literacy strategies touted in my last entry seem to have motivation built in: trying to connect the graphics and the prose in science to figure out how a process works; or judging the veracity of multiple documents in history; or determining which protagonist an author is most sympathetic to in literature tend to be more purposeful and intellectually engaging than turning headers into questions or summarizing the author’s message.


Creativity is central to everyday life, and art is central to creativity.
Art drives imagination, innovation and understanding of a bigger world.
The Columbia Museum of Art is the hub that inspires and connects people to their creativity by:
- Inviting families to look and learn—using educational activities to explore the world of art and talk about what it means to them
- Involving students in hands-on art programs that reach across core subjects in order to develop creative thinking skills, critical for success in the 21st century
- Connecting educators with the museum's collection and exhibitions that support South Carolina education standards
- Offering adults life-long learning opportunities for pleasure and personal growth
- Taking community art education programs into the city, county and state to provide greater access and exposure to art
- Collaborating with artists to offer learning and teaching experiences
Arts education is at the core of our mission. We welcome you to use art to spark your imagination and add to your enjoyment in life.
The Columbia Museum of Art's educational programs enrich the lives of thousands of students and educators each year with a wealth of opportunities. Programs for families and children make learning about art fun, and adults can choose from lectures, art classes and workshops that foster their creative spirit and desire for life long learning.
Many of the Museum's classes, lectures and teacher programs qualify for recertification units through the South Carolina State Department of Education.


This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
Make Science for Kids More Fun!
My Sawyer is all about animals right now. So we’ve been embracing that passion and are following his lead for homeschool science. We read The Magic School Bus Chapter Book, Food Chain Frenzy for bedtime over the last few weeks. They loved the book, but science for kids should be more hands-on, don’t ya think? So I put together a sort of Animal Geoboard for the kids to make their own food chains and food webs. Check it out…
DIY Food Web Geoboard Science for Kids
This activity was super-easy to set up and entertained the kids for nearly an hour.
The Hands-On Science for Kids Setup:
I just printed some free animal picture cards from The Swedish Teacher on Teachers Pay Teachers (all you need to do to download them is sign up for the free membership) and cut them out. Then presented the kids with the animal cards, some rubber bands, push pins, and a cork board. My clever Sawyer knew right away that it was perfect for making a food web!
First, they sorted through the animal cards. In retrospect, I would have given them far less. The amount of them was a little overwhelming. But sorting them was a great activity for the kids, too.
Then they got to work making their food web by using the pushpins to stick the animal cards onto the board and connecting them with the rubber bands. Sawyer quickly realized that there weren’t any plants in the cards. And one NEEDS plants in a food web! So he grabbed his colored pencils and made some plant cards. The kids did get a little frustrated at times when their web got so big that the rubber bands pulled the push pins out. So using string would be a good option, too. But I liked the fine motor practice that they got with the rubber bands.
They loved this Food Web Science for Kids Activity! And we’ll be saving the animal cards for more learning, too.
What fun science for kids have you been having lately? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
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Lynn Carahaly, founder of the Speech-EZ apps and Foundations Developmental House (FDH), is showing us the love today by gifting one lucky reader a copy of her Target Sound Identification app.
Jake will be joining us today to show you all how it works and how it has helped him become a master at identifying the first and last sounds in words.
If you are not familiar with the Speech-EZ Apraxia Program, their website states …
This app was created for individuals with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and severe phonological disorders. It is the very first app specifically created for the unique needs of the child with CAS.
We began the Speech-EZ Apraxia Program in the Fall of 2012 and in May of 2013, my family and I ventured to Arizona to do a week of intensive therapy with Lynn and her group. Hand cues were heavily emphasized during these sessions and by the end of the week, in addition to improved speech skills, Jake was easily sounding out words on his own.
Before leaving FDH, I purchased another app in the Speech-EZ family – Target Sound Identification – in order to continue strengthening Jake’s phonological awareness skills.
Here is Speech-EZ’s description of this particular app …
The Target Sound ID app develops phonological awareness, sound order sequencing skills, and auditory attention skills. This app increases the ability to break words down into smaller parts and recognize smaller parts in words. Being able to break words into smaller parts and recognize sounds in words is an important skill that is necessary for early reading and spelling skills. Target sound identification promotes literacy development as well as sound identification during speech production tasks. Memory also plays a small part in this task, as the child must internally hold onto the word in their mind while analyzing the sound in a specific position of the target word.
What do I like about the Target Sound Identification app?
- A child cannot memorize this app; they must learn the concept. Both the cards and sounds at the bottom automatically shuffle and are always in a different order.
- Over 350 big, colorful picture cards.
- Hand cues can easily be incorporated by the parent, which makes it a great extension of the main Speech-EZ Apraxia Picture Sound Cards.
- Allows progression of skills. Jake began this app by identifying the first sound, which was fairly easy for him because he already knew the hand cues with letter sounds so well. Then, he moved to identifying the last sound, which was more difficult for him. Once first and last letter sound recognition were mastered, we moved to random identification.
- Random order promotes listening skills. In the beginning, Jake really struggled with this part of the app. But, he came to understand that he had to listen carefully and each day this skill improved.
The article “Literacy and Children with Apraxia of Speech” by Sharon Gretz on the CASANA website states, “While there is no certainty that literacy problems will or will not develop, there is research that has shown that children with spoken language problems are at higher risk for literacy related problems.”
Before this app, Jake knew his sounds well, but after a few months of using Target Sound Identification to drill phonological awareness, Jake knew his sounds upside down and inside out.
Jake is now five years old and reading introduction is going very smoothly. I believe his success is due to the following:
- He has always had a natural love for books.
- Early intervention. He has been in speech therapy and learning the intrinsic details of sounds since he was 27 months old.
- Speech-EZ hand cues and apps.
Lynn Carahaly has graciously agreed to giveaway one copy of the Speech-EZ Target Identification app to one lucky reader.
To register, all of you have to do is leave a comment below or shoot me an email at email@example.com. If you post this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest please note that in your comments. Doing so will earn you bonus points. (i.e.- Leaving a comment and posting on 3 social media sites would earn you 4 tosses in the hat instead of 1). Registration will close at the end of the day on Friday, February 21st.
Disclaimer: I purchased the Speech-EZ apps for my son. Speech-EZ provided me with a free copy of the Target Sound Identification app to offer as a giveaway on this blog. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose and I did not receive compensation for my review. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.


The material culture of early childhood in the 21st century is characterized by an emphasis on biological age and related levels of cognitive and motor skill development. All types of objects, including diapers, toys, food products, and clothing, are divided into categories based on the age-appropriateness of a particular object. Descriptions of these categories commonly explain how each object functions to enable a child to attain a particular skill or reach a developmental milestone. Appeals to medical and developmental science are common. Foods are marketed along an age grade that progress a child through various stages of development (e.g., Newborn, Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, One Year etc.), with each stage requiring different nutritional needs to promote appropriate development. They also emphasize the physiological development of children in each stage and what an infant is capable of eating in these earliest periods of development. A secondary concern in products is their "naturalness" or an emphasis on not containing ingredients that might be harmful to proper development and health. It is far rarer to have food marketed for things that we as adults find valuable- taste and appeal for example- which tend to be highly individualized. Scholarship on childhood has shown that emphases on biological development are particular to contemporary western cultures and tends to reinforce ideas that childhood is a "natural" or "universal" experience regardless of time period or cultural context. Individual children, however, may experience their own developmental trajectories. Anthropological research with children from different cultures has shown that developmental sequences vary widely as different cultural settings place particular demands on the mental and physical development of young children.
"Gerber Organic," Gerber, http://www.gerber.com (accessed January 1, 2010). Annotated by Jane Eva Baxter.
How to Cite This Source
"Food [Objects]," in Children and Youth in History, Item #390, http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/390 (accessed March 31, 2015).


Reid, Gavin; Soler, Janet and Wearmouth, Janice
Meeting difficulties in literacy development: research, policy and practice.
Addressing the sensitive issue of difficulties in literacy development this practical book outlines what is meant by 'literacy' and the barriers to literacy development such as social class, ethnicity, culture and gender. It emphasises practical strategies and programmes to help reduce these barriers at school, family and community levels. Throughout, the highly qualified team of authors relate cognitive, psychological, and socio-cultural perspectives to current curriculum policies, controversies and ethical considerations.
This book enables practitioners to reflect critically upon the choices available to them in assessing and supporting students who experience difficulties in literacy development. Topics covered include a thorough consideration of dyslexia, bilingualism, the conceptualising of literacy, equity issues, and suggestions for assessment and planning for pupils.
This is essential reading for students on initial teacher training courses and teachers on CPD courses in the area of special needs, literacy and dyslexia. It is also a companion course guide for the Open University’s new Difficulties in Literacy Development course.
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Grand Junction, Colo (KKCO) --- When school gets out for the summer, teachers say their biggest concern is that their students will forget everything they have learned during the year.
This is often referred to as brain drain and now there is a way to prevent that from happening.
Educational toys are a great way to engage children and help them boost their reading, writing, math and science skills without making them work for it.
Math is one of the most difficult subjects to retain when it is not constantly being practiced, but according to the National Association for Music Education, math becomes easier to learn when incorporating music.
There toys can engage both of these aspects and also focus on hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, creativity and imagination.
Discovery Toys has built their business on offering products that are educational, yet fun for kids, so they learn without even realizing it.
KKCO firmly believes in freedom of speech for all and we are happy to provide this forum for the community to share opinions and facts. We ask that commenters keep it clean, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments left here do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of KKCO 11News.powered by Disqus


The Mayor’s Challenge is a major grant program provided by the Bloomberg Philanthropies which grants major urban centers monies for innovative projects. The urban districts are required to submit an idea, and winners are chosen based on which ideas could have the greatest impact on a broader scale.
This year’s main winner of the Mayor’s Challenge was the city of Providence, Rhode Island and the grant was crafted by its mayor, Angel Taveras. The innovative idea that was created centers on early literacy development and the use of technology to drive best practices in education. Other cities including Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Santa Monica also were winners of grant money this year.
For winning the ‘idea challenge’ part of the Mayor’s Challenge, the city of Providence will receive $5 million to implement a system to understand what works in verbal communication with children, tracking how many words a child is exposed to, and determining how the different quality of conversations impact literacy development.
This is a significant project, which could yield wide-ranging results applicable everywhere. The children will have voice recognition monitors (digital language processors) taping their conversations with adults. Each conversation will be made into an audio file, and tallied for the number of words per conversation and the number of shifts within the conversation.
The data collected will be analyzed to determine what number of words, and how many concepts are best introduced to young children learning to speak, read and write. The data will also be used to develop training sessions with parents to coach them on best practices in early literacy development. Certainly, the data’s use in widespread parent engagement type seminars will impact a geographical area wider than the location of the grant.
Other project’s that won the ‘idea challenge’ included a citywide recycling initiative, in Houston, that allows mixed recycling and encourages participation in the ‘greening’ movement. In Philadelphia, a project analyzing procurement of supplies across the urban district is being implemented. Its goal is to widen the bidding process and drive down costs of supplies using smarter technologies.
In Chicago, the grant money is being put towards developing technology systems to track crime trends. In Santa Monica, a Wellness Project is getting underway to track the different influences on the overall health and wellness of the community. Each of these projects will generate usable, relevant data. The winning project however, focuses on the needs of young children. It combines the ways that technology can enhance our understanding of effective teaching practices, and brings attention to how we speak to our children. Well worth it!
SchoolTutoring Academy is the premier educational services company for K-12 and college students. We offer tutoring programs for students in K-12, AP classes, and college. To learn more about how we help parents and students in Pensacola, FL visit: Tutoring in Pensacola, FL.


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Music Education - Every Voice Heard
Singers and musicians who have disabilities represent the same range of diversity as their mainstream peers. We may be raising children who have a love of opera, country, rock or hip-hop that will take us by surprise when they have the opportunity to make their preferences known.
Parents through the ages have sung to their children and carried them to community events where songs reflecting their culture and history create links between that past and our greatest hopes for their future.
Including children with disabilities in mainstream music and singing programs can create an atmosphere where their mainstream peers feel welcome and comfortable expressing themselves through music rather than behavior. Those who feel more kinship with their same-age peers may develop a taste for music that their parents may have shared in their younger years.
Music creates and reflects the culture our children will draw upon as they grow into adulthood. Our sons and daughters may find themes in popular music that help them understand their own place in the world. Singing along with songs that have special meaning to them and imagining that the songwriter shares exactly the same feelings can release them briefly from their own sense of isolation, lonliness or alienation.
Playing music, singing and dancing gives children a better sense of where their bodies are in space, can help with motor planning, creating muscle memory and better anticipation of what comes next in other contexts.
Children with special needs may have methods of communicating or ordering words that make more sense in musical forms than everyday speech. Sometimes we are better listeners when we are not hearing a spoken word. Being heard in song even with an audience of one gives a child a better chance to express what they might not have had time to say in any other way. An instrument, drum, or voice without words may be just what we have been listening for all along.
Browse at your local music store, public library, or online retailers for music and books for children and families like Making Music With the Young Child With Special Needs: A Guide to Parentsor Musical Activities for Children with Significant Learning Disabilities
The importance of keeping a beat: Researchers link ability to keep a beat to reading, language skills
Singin', Sweatin', and Storytime: Literature-based Movement and Music for the Young Child
Dr. Phil's show on The Power of Music
Arc Mercer music program help keep clients rock steady
An Actor's Life for Me by Ewan Marshall ~ Ouch! BBC Article February 2008
Down Syndrome and the Acting Gene
Art and Self Expression for Children with Special Needs
Universal Design for Learning - Access to General Education Curriculum
Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Benefits Classmates
To Sing or Not to Sing?
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This content was written by Pamela Wilson. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Pamela Wilson for details.
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Take curriculum control
Radical curriculum innovation is never easy. My only attempt as a teacher, in a bid to avoid post-national tests inertia, involved asking Year 6s to identify one new skill each would like to develop, and one weakness they would like to improve before secondary school. The most common weakness was fractions and the most popular skills were first-aid and self-defence. I then gave pupils the resources to focus on their choices, whilst worrying about what their choices told me about my classroom climate.
With literacy and numeracy standards perceived to have risen and the focus of government reforms switching to secondary education, now is the time for primary schools to take control of their destiny with some creative thinking about the curriculum. Rising standards mean that the primary sector has collectively earned its autonomy. However, earning autonomy, and having the will and skills to use it, are two different things. As the chief inspector of schools David Bell said in The TES recently, primary teachers "have to regain the initiative and not see themselves as helpless victims in the context of instructions from 'above' ".
The key challenge for primary schools is to ensure that the literacy and numeracy strategies, which have brought undoubted benefits, act as foundations for deeper learning, rather than barriers. As children who experienced literacy and numeracy hours from reception onwards begin to enter junior classes, the success of these strategies could create some genuine space for innovation.
For instance, could a group of primary schools use the power to innovate - granted in the new education Act - to slim down national curriculum requirements and do something more meaningful and motivating instead? A new project by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Royal Society of Arts aims to find this out. The primary baccalaureate would be a qualification children could work towards throughout their primary years, but might lead to them dedicating much of Years 5 and 6 towards it. Its main purpose would be to allow every pupil, armed with good literacy and numeracy skills, to discover and pursue a few learning passions in much greater detail. In aspiring to offer breadth and balance, the current curriculum spreads itself far too thinly, especially at key stage 2. The primary bac would aim to substitute some of the breadth to promote deeper, applied knowledge and skills around specific, but not necessarily subject-based areas.
We are not promoting a return to what David Bell called "woolly-headedness about vaguely defined project work". Far too often, the "let a thousand flowers bloom" approach amounted to "random acts of kindness", with insufficient evidence and informed judgment. A well-designed qualification, making full use of new technologies, other "expert adults" and places of learning outside the school, could give a rigour and robustness that the child-centred vision of a generation ago often lacked.
At the moment, our plans are deliberately half-baked. We are looking for a group of pilot schools with the confidence not only to be guinea pigs, but also to devise their own experiments. Learning from the RSA's work with secondary schools in their Opening Minds project, we aim to create a network so that best practice is shared, and lessons are learned and disseminated.
At the same time, some ground rules are already set. First, any additional qualification should never be made compulsory; too many good ideas have suffered death by prescription. Second, the creation of a bac must involve parents and pupils as well as practitioners. Third, the assessment for any qualification would be formative, focusing on "assessment for learning". And finally, any qualification should never be used as a basis for selection to secondary school.
National tests, targets and league tables are not going to disappear, and any form of innovation must work within these realities. Even confident primary schools, celebrated in the recent Office for Standards in Education report, feel squeezed for time. Yet the best way to counter the pressures of targets may be to develop some alternative success criteria, so that, when faced with local education authority advisers giving a suggested target for a school, a headteacher can assert a different set of priorities, and express them through a robust qualification framework.
A primary bac may seem like a distraction, but if schools do not take the chance to change the curriculum for themselves, within the next decade somebody, yet again, will do it for them.
Joe Hallgarten is an education researcher at the IPPR. The first project seminar takes place on November 18. For further information, contact firstname.lastname@example.org


Voice of America
In Vichea, who recently received a PhD in critical literacy in elementary education, says elementary school is not too soon to start critical thinking skills. “Even though elementary school students cannot analyze political and socio-economic issues, they have the ability to know some issues in their class, such as group division as well as discrimination,” he told “New Voices,” a VOA Khmer radio call-in show. “They can also talk about social issues directly facing them every day.” In Vichea said these are small steps to prepare them to critique more complicated issues. In order for that to happen, he said, they need the ability to analyze a problem. And they need a sense of curiosity. In Vichea said teaching materials for Cambodian elementary schools are good, but teaching methodology needs to change, because teacher’s books introduce rote learning rather than encouraging students to think critically. “This kind of learning process goes along with the spirit of democracy,” he said. “Critical literacy goes beyond simply parrot learning, which focuses on memorization. Instead, it engages students in activities and encourages them to question the articles and critique the articles they read and the purpose of the articles and their impacts, etc.” “They need to learn about searching for information, searching for the truth,” In Vichea told VOA Khmer's Im Sothearith in a skype interview.


The Internet's influence on literacy instruction and literacy development in a middle-school language arts classroom
Abstract (Summary)This instrumental case study explored how one exemplary eighth-grade language arts teacher’s use of the Internet influenced literacy instruction and literacy development in her classroom. A transformative view of literacy and technology, suggesting a continual redefining of literacy as it converges with new technology, was the theoretical perspective that guided this investigation with 23 students and their teacher. The study attempted to capture the participants’ own words by collecting the data during a fourmonth period in six formats: (a) descriptive fieldnotes of classroom observations; (b) email with the teacher; (c) transcriptions of informal interviews; (d) print outs of students’ online discussions; (e) open-ended questionnaires; and, (f) samples of students’ projects for which they used the Internet. The findings of this study are reported as a set of five assertions: (1) The use of the Internet influenced the teacher’s literacy planning and instruction by facilitating the location of appropriate instruction material; (2) The use of the Internet facilitated a learning environment that encouraged student-centered, collaborative learning; (3) The use of the Internet positively affected aspects of students’ reading and writing, specifically their motivation to read, their critical reading skills, and their sense of audience and word choice; (4) The use of email influenced the learning context by expanding the teacher’s contact with students and parents beyond the classroom; and (5) The use of the Internet promoted new instructional outcomes and learning goals related to using digital materials, although the teacher did not abandon conventional goals. Innovations in technology are as ongoing as is the process of transformations in the use of technology in the classroom. This study’s close observation of how and why the teacher created new possibilities for literacy and learning with the Internet may inform other teachers as they continue to address the problems associated with using the resources of today’s technology such as the Internet in their classrooms to enhance literacy learning. Further examination is needed, however, to explore the Internet’s influence of students’ literacy development.
School:The University of Georgia
School Location:USA - Georgia
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Date of Publication:


Census Bureau Report Reveals Need to Increase Awareness on the Value of Reading to Infants and Toddlers
Washington, January 11, 2007—New figures on how often family members read to their children ages 1 to 5 underscore the importance of expanding early childhood literacy awareness among families and caregivers in lower income communities, said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit children and family literacy organization.
The U.S. Census Bureau report, A Child’s Day: 2003, reported that about 50 percent of children ages 1 to 5 were read to seven or more times in the previous week. However, among children living in families below the poverty line, only 41 percent of children ages 1 to 5 are read to that often. Additionally, some 16 percent of 1 to 2 year-olds and 11 percent of 3 to 5 year-old children living in poverty were not read to at all by family members during the previous week, about twice the rate of those children from higher income families. According to the Census Bureau, 3.4 million children under the age of five are living in poverty in the U.S.
"Research has demonstrated the importance of verbal interactions, such as reading, in the development of a child’s brain during the critical first three years of life," said Rasco. “We also know that when parents and caregivers are provided with literacy tools such as books, instruction and support, they are likely to read to their children more often. At RIF, we’re working to expand outreach to those children and families who most need access to books and literacy resources.”
RIF currently provides a number of literacy programs to support parents and caregivers of young children, particularly underserved children. Among these programs are:
Family of Readers—A program that provides training and motivational support to help parents or other family members become more active in their children’s literacy development.
Shared Beginnings—A program to give young parents the skills and self-confidence to nurture their children’s readiness to read. Parents and babies both receive books and participate in motivational activities.
Care to Read—A series of workshops RIF conducts to help train childcare staff to better support children’s emergent literacy.
Gateways to Early Literacy—A four-part video training series with print and web-based support materials that explores the critical ways family childcare providers can enrich and support children’s early language and literacy development.
RIF also provides a range of educational materials for children, parents and educators, both in English and Spanish, on its website: www.rif.org.
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF’s highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provides 4.6 million children with 15 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. For more information and to access reading resources, visit RIF’s website at www.rif.org.
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Volume 11, Issue 3 (1982)
Stephen N. Elliott, Wayne C. Piersel
Reading is a complex process involving many learning behaviors and cognitive skills. The acquisition and refinement of these skills is a primary focus of elementary education, yet many children experience difficulties and frustration when learning to read. Gibson and Levin (1975) estimated that as many as 25% of school children read below their grade placement. If these children’s reading skills are not improved, they have a greater chance of failure in other school tasks (Cawley, Goodstein, & Burrow, 1972; Gillespie & Johnson, 1974). A significant number of children are referred to school psychologists because reading problems have hindered academic achievement and may have resulted in disruptive classroom behaviors. Thus, it is important that psychologists who work in educational settings have knowledge of factors which influence reading, of various reading problems, and of techniques for assessing and remediating problems.
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So, you want to make your own tornado in a bottle? Then this article is for you. Have fun and enjoy!
1Take one plastic bottle and remove the cap and add 1/3 of the water .Ad
2Add one small drop of glitter (optional)
3Put a single drop of dish-washing soap in the water.
4Put the cap back on the bottle very, very tightly.
5Spin the bottle in a circular motion. You should now have a tornado.
6You may add food coloring to the water or "Monopoly" houses or be creative! These are optional.Monopoly house are the best for houses that could be floating with the tornado.
7You may experiment with more or less water, or change the amount of dish-washing soap, or the brand of dish-washing soap. This is optional. See if a particular brand works better than another or if more or less water or soap makes a difference.
8You may try spinning slower or faster. See if that makes a difference.
We could really use your help!
- Try adding different things to the mixture such as oil and food coloring. Experiment with different liquids.
- Add salt and anything you want!
- Hold the bottle tops so they don't break.
- Try sprinkles. You could also use feathers.
- Things could get messy. Try creating this over a sink.
Things You'll Need
- One, empty plastic bottle.
- Dish washing soap.
- Optional items:
- Food coloring
- Monopoly houses
Categories: Science for Kids
In other languages:
Español: hacer un tornado en una botella, Deutsch: EInen Tornado in einer Flasche erzeugen, Português: Fazer um Tornado Dentro de uma Garrafa, Italiano: Creare un Tornado in una Bottiglia, Русский: сделать торнадо в бутылке
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 259,106 times.


Impact of Alternative & Innovative Education Programmes: A Study of Bridge Course Centres in Bardhaman District
Education is the basic requirement and the ‘Fundamental Right’ of the citizens of a nation. Elementary Education system also serves as the base over which the super-structure of the whole knowledge system is built up. This calls for bringing all children under coverage of Elementary Education, which sadly has not been possible yet in India. Policy makers have responded through various programs – two latest examples of which are the Sarva Shikhsa Mission and the Right to Education Bill. The former have been hailed as a successful instrument to remove all ills plaguing the elementary education system in India through some of its alternative, innovative, and flexible programs. In this paper we examine the performance of one of the Flagship programme under SSA – the Bridge Course Centres – in selected areas of West Bengal to evaluate its performance, identify the shortcomings, and suggest some steps for improving them. This is extremely important as the SSA is now being extended to Madhyamik Shikhsa Mission and mistakes of the former should not be repeated in the latter.
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Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist. He is best known for his abstract bronze sculptures which are located in various prominent public places. He became the most influential and famous sculptor of his generation.
Henry Moore Short Biography
Now I really make the little idea from clay, and I hold it in my hand. I can turn it, look at it from underneath, see it from one view, hold it against the sky, imagine it any size I like, and really be in control, almost like God creating something.
– Henry Moore
Henry Moore was born on 30 July, 1898, in Castleford, Yorkshire. He was the seventh child in a family of 8 children. His father worked in a colliery in Castleford but wanted his children to avoid working down the mines, so as much as possible given the family’s poverty, the children were educated at a local school.
It was in his teenage years that he developed an interest and talent in art. This helped him to get a scholarship to Castleford Secondary school. Aged 18 he was called up to the army and in 1917 was injured during a gas attack at the Battle of Cambrai. After his injury, he spent the remainder of the war behind the line training new recruits. Moore later said the war was for him not a traumatic experience – unlike that of many of his contemporaries.
After the war, he continued his education and in 1921 won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art. He didn’t regret his late opportunity to attend art school.
I’m very grateful that I was too poor to get to art school until I was 21… I was old enough when I got there to know how to get something out of it.
– Henry Moore
Henry Moore was a talented student, but already he was experimenting with new styles and this often conflicted with his teachers who were trying to teach the classic style – of perfection in form and composition. Moore was attracted to a more spontaneous art form with imperfections evident in the sculpting. In 1924, he spent time travelling in Italy and later Paris. Here he could view the great Masters such as Michelangelo and Giovanni Pisano. But, Moore was also influenced by his studies of primitive art, and at the Louvre he was particularly influenced by the Toltec-Maya sculptural form, the Chac Mool.
A sculptor is a person who is interested in the shape of things, a poet in words, a musician by sounds.
On his return to London, he took up a teaching post at the Royal College of art. This part time post enabled him to work on his own art, leading to his first commissions such as the West Wind – 1928-29.
In the 1930s, Moore became an active member of the informal modern art movement, centred around the ideas and innovation of people like Pablo Picasso and Jean Arp. He also briefly flirted with the surrealist movement.
The Second World War led to more traditional commissions and Moore worked as a war artist producing memorable pictures such as images of civilians fleeing the Blitz in the London underground.
This helped Moore’s reputation and after the war led to numerous awards and opportunities in America. In 1948 he was awarded the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale. Significant commissions included.
- A reclining figure for UNESCO building in Paris 1956
- A Nuclear energy sculpture at the University of Chicago. (to commemorate 25th anniversary of nuclear reaction)
- Knife Edge – Two Piece in 1962 for College Green, London around Houses of parliament.
“The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.”
– Henry Moore
In 1972, Henry Moore established his Henry Moore Foundation – a charitable trust to promote art education and the support of young artists. He was a man of modest means. Despite his wealth and fame he lived frugally remembering his Yorkshire roots.
Art is not to do with the practical side of making a living. It’s to live a fuller human life.
– Henry Moore
He even turned down a knighthood in 1951 because he didn’t want to be seen as an establishment figure. Yet, during his lifetime he became one of the most influential sculptors of his generation.
Henry Moore art


For years there have been a number of not-for-profit organizations committed to saving music education in schools nationwide. A new study conducted at the Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology, demonstrates why music is necessity to life.
Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, Ph.D, lead study author and clinical neuropsychologist, discovered that those who have had instrumental musical training for more than 10 years remained cognitively sharp.
Results demonstrated musicians between the ages of 60-80 years' old experienced cognitive benefits including a variety of verbal and nonverbal functions. Researchers assessed musical engagement to determine whether there is key connection in the period of musical training for optimal cognitive advantages in advanced age. Though it was displayed that having years of musical instrumental experience can lead to the best cognition in advanced age, there are time periods over the span of one’s life where music aids in cognitive development.
For instance, before the age of nine, predicted verbal working memory functions such as remembering and reorganizing digits in your head, consistent with early sensitive periods in brain development. Continued musical activity in advanced age suggests other non-verbal abilities such as being able to determine visual representations and their spatial relationships. While for those who have low educational levels, instrumental musical training can help cushion out the lack of a higher education.
Furthermore, for musicians who played for more than 10 years, the benefits do not rely on sustained activity.
"This is an exciting finding in light of recent evidence suggesting that high educational levels are likely to yield cognitive reserve that may potentially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms or cognitive decline," Hanna-Pladdy said. "This also highlights the promising role of musical activity as a form of cognitive enrichment across the lifespan, and it raises the question of whether musical training should eventually be considered an alternative form of educational training."
Hanna-Pladdy suggest to achieve the most results out of instrumental musical training one should begin before the age of nine and play for at least 10 years. She also reaffirms that it is "never too late so keep at it."
This study was published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.


2011 CREATE ConferenceEducating Middle School English Language Learners for College and Career Readiness
|2011 Conference Materials
|Conference Agenda||Materials by Presenter||Recommended Readings|
The 2011 CREATE capstone conference, held in Austin, Texas on November 3-4, 2011, highlighted current research on methods for building literacy skills and oral language development for English language learners across the content areas. CREATE researchers described their work on a school-wide intervention targeting 7th grade English language learners in science, social studies, English language arts, and math. Other top scholars discussed the implications of their research on supporting English language learners' language and literacy development across the curriculum.
This conference was attended by leaders in state and regional agencies, school districts, schools, and colleges of education. The conference supported participants’ learning with essential readings on the central themes of the conference, keynote presentations, question-and-answer sessions with presenters, and small group interactions with colleagues.
PowerPoint presentations and handouts from the conference are now available.
Explore the materials using the navigation bar above. Browse by type (handout or PowerPoint presentation), by the order of presentation at the conference, or by presenter name.
Note about permission
These materials were provided by the authors for the convenience of our web visitors. If you would like permission to use any of this material, CREATE will be glad to help you contact the author.


1 Kindness has an amazing ability to increase happiness, self esteem and optimism, improve mental and physical wellbeing, lower stress and anxiety levels, create better social and academic outcomes, and reduce bullying in schools and the community.
Sounds good, doesn’t it!
That’s because kindness is a natural remedy for a multitude of ailments!
Our primary school curriculum has gained International attention as a positive
alternative to traditional anti-bullying programs. We aim to inspire generational change with lessons and activities for the classroom, home and community
to take kindness outside the school gate.
A need for change within school communities is evident, so it’s time to rethink our approach and stop the negative talk about bullying. Blaming and shaming isn’t the answer and asking children to be kind to their peers isn’t enough to stop anti-social behaviour. Students need to be shown how to be a good friend and kindness taught on an on-going basis so that it becomes a natural and instinctive part of life.
Our school curriculum is a positive step towards changing cultures in schools by promoting a healthy outlook at an early age and building an armour of goodness that encourages happy, positive, well rounded individual who care for others.
“There is substantial empirical evidence that systematic, on-going, and fully infused emotional learning programs are essential to nurture mental health and reduce bullying in a sustainable way. There must be a long-term commitment to teaching emotional literacy as a priority in every classroom. The research is clear that teaching kindness, and other emotional content, has significant positive effect on mental health, academic accomplishment, and overall well-being.” – Patty O’Grady, PhD, Professor at the University of Tampa
Our community project motivates people to make changes in their lives to enable growth through positivity, an awareness of self, compassion for others and the addictive feel good emotions that being kind generates.


Copyright For Musicians, Music Educators And Students
[tag]Copyright[/tag] can be confusing, especially for well meaning [tag]musicians[/tag] and [tag]music[/tag] [tag]educators[/tag]. It is unbelievable how quickly [tag]intellectual[/tag] [tag]property[/tag] went from being something fairly hard to duplicate and reproduce to something that can be done virtually instantaneous, at almost no cost and distributable to literally millions with little effort at all. 25 years ago the cost of doing something like this would be staggering indeed!
When you stop to think about it, a person can “rip” a form of media (video, print, audio) into a perfect duplicate in seconds. Take the duplicate and replicate it (as many times as imaginable) and send it out to millions- all from the comfort of their favorite chair, at home! The cost of doing something like this 25 years ago would be staggering! Now, it costs literally 10ths of a cent, Euro, Ruble or whatever!
Fortunately, there are many [tag]free[/tag] [tag]resources[/tag] available online to help with the understanding of copyright as it pertains to those involved with music. Below is a list of great resources and help about this topic:
MENC’s Copyright Center- A great resource specifically for music educators:
Music Publishers’ Association- A copyright resource center with many links and articles:
Artists House Music- What Music Educators Should Know About Copyright, A video featuring Danny Rocks (VP at Alfred Publishing):
The Music Education Madness Site- A short primer by Paul Jennings (Plank Road Publishing):
Bands of America- A concise article for musicians, by Ted Piechocinski, J.D., about the “Copyright Monster”:
Harry Fox Agency- The foremost mechanical licensing agency for the US (get your rights here!):
Copyright Clearance Center- Another distribution company for licensing and information:
United States Copyright Office- The “horse’s mouth” for US copyright information:
Downhill Battle- An interesting site with a somewhat different point of view about copyright and fair-use:
James Frankel on “Copyright or Copywrong”:
http://jamesfrankel.musiced.net/2007/01/19/copyright-or-copywrong/ and http://jamesfrankel.musiced.net/2007/02/02/copyright-or-copywrong-part-2/
International Copyright Information= World Intellectual Property Organization:
Comments, Suggestions and Additions are Welcome!


Researchers from the UK’s Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and University of Birmingham and the University of Münster in Germany say they have discovered a way of analysing how musicians in a string quartet stay in time.
Musicians in a conductorless group continuously make millisecond timing corrections to stay together. The team of scientists found that by examining how each musician made these adjustments, conclusions could be drawn as to whether or not a group was autocratic, where the musicians followed a single leader, or democratic, where corrections were made equally across the group.
In the study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, two unidentified established string quartets were invited in turn to play 48 beats (bars 12–24) of the fourth movement of Haydn’s String Quartet op.74 no.1. Spot microphones were attached to each instrument under the strings close to the bridge to pick up the sound from each player. Time series analysis software allowed the researchers to examine variations in the players’ timing to one thousandth of a second, and note how each player corrected their timing to the rest of the group.
‘On a given note we looked at the asynchrony between a given pair of players, then looked at what happened on the next note,’ said co-author Adrian Bradbury of the RAM. ‘If a player had tried to correct the asynchrony, by catching up or by waiting, we gave them a high correction strength – they were more of a follower. If a player allowed the others to adjust to them, their correction strength was deemed low – they were more of a leader.’
The team found that the quartets employed different strategies to achieve synchrony. ‘In one quartet the players all had similar correction strengths – synchrony was maintained through democracy. But in the other the first violin had a low correction strength, with the other players having to follow her,’ said Bradbury. ‘These different strategies would project different characters – I’m sure longer excerpts would show that the hierarchy was fluid, used as an interpretative tool to highlight the shifting drama in a musical score.’
Lead author, professor Alan Wing from the University of Birmingham, said the hierarchy in the autocratic quartet could be explained by the fact that in the excerpt the first violin carries the melody. He also pointed out other factors that could have affected the findings: ‘The fact that one quartet has been together longer, that they’re from different countries, how well they knew the music, whether they were playing the excerpt in or out of context – all these factors come into play.’
Wing said that while it would be difficult to draw conclusions from two case-studies, the project represents a methodological step forward: ‘So far we have looked at expert players, but it would be interesting now to take this research into the field of music education, to see how a newly-formed student quartet develops their timing over the course of a year.’
The authors now want to examine the way audiences react to hierarchies within a group, whether it affects their enjoyment of a performance, and how musicians playing music of other genres approach timing.
To view the musical excerpt and a diagram showing the timing adjustments within each string quartet, click on the PDF below.
Photo Rita Taylor


A chronology of teaching
This is a short chronology of teaching and education from the ancient world until modern times.
468 (circ.) Birth of Socrates.
440 Birth of Xenophon.
429 (circ.) Birth of Plato.
384 Birth of Aristotle.
342 Aristotle, tutor to Alexander the Great.
300 (circ.) Zeno founded the School of Stoics.
46 (circ.) Birth of Plutarch.
121 Birth of Marcus Aurelius.
480 Birth of St. Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism.
641 Sack of Alexandria.
1135 Hospital of St. John the Evangelist established at Cambridge.
1218 First European university established in Salamanca, Spain.
1231 Charter constituting Cambridge a university granted.
1248 Charter constituting Oxford a university granted by Henry III.
1264 Birth of Dante.
1448 Glasgow University founded.
1441 Eton School founded.
1484 Birth of Ignatius Loyola.
1456 Birth of Erasmus of Rotterdam.
1473 Birth of Martin Luther.
1567 Publication of Ascham's “The Schoolmaster”.
1595 Birth of Descartes.
1624 Birth of John Locke, founder of the English School of Psychology.
1632 Publication of “The Discourse of Method” by Descartes.
1637 The Jansenists or Port-Royalists founded the "petites ecoles" in France.
1643 Publication of Milton's Tractate on Education.
1657 Royal Society incorporated.
1663 Charity Schools first founded in England.
1698 Birth of Jean Jacques Rousseau.
1712 Birth of Diderot.
1748 Publication of the first volume of the French Encylopaedia, under the direction of Diderot and D'Alembert.
1770 Birth of Johann Friedrich Herbart, the German educationalist.
1802 Publication of Herbart's “General Pedagogy”.
1832 First British Government Grant made in aid of elementary education.
1836 First Kindergarten School opened in Germany by Froebel.
1875 Elementary Education Act (United Kingdom).
A short history of teaching


"I want my students to learn from different people, formulate their own value system, and make something of it with their own style. With a concept like pedal tone, for example, I might start by playing a Duke Ellington piece, but then I'll bring in something by Stravinsky that uses the same technique. The next week I'll do a little bit of George Gershwin, then we'll listen to an Allman Brothers piece. Then students begin to hear it and learn ways that they can play it as a performer and apply it to their writing."
"In my writing classes my students have to not only write tunes, but also write their own arrangements for them. Even students who have never written a tune before, I'll tell them, 'Well, you've got to start at some point, so were going to start now.' So we start out simple, but by the end they write an arrangement, record it, and perform it in class."
"In my methods course it's important for my students to know they can get in front of a group and teach something, whether or not they have electronics in front of them. So one of my exercises is to pull the plug and ask students to teach me something anyway. Technology may be able to make the material more visual and more interesting, or you can gather information quicker—all of that is true—but the basic bottom line is, even without technology, you still have to be able to tell me something about music that I can come away with."
"When my methods students go into their proficiency exams in front of a panel and present a unit lesson plan, if I see that they can communicate, feel comfortable, and look like teachers, then I feel I've been successful. I often hear from them much later when they write, 'At the time I didn't understand it, but I get it now—thank you Mr. C.' Feedback like that is proof, I think, that we're doing something positive."
- B.M., Berklee College of Music
- M.A.T., Connecticut College
- Performances on radio and television and live with Herb Pomeroy and Charlie Mariano
- Arranger and director of musicals for Eugene O'Neill Theater
- Author of Teaching Guide for General Music: Grades 7-12 and articles in music education publications
- Composer/arranger, Duxbury Jazz Band
- Music director, South Shore Bay Band, Massachusetts
- Treasurer, Faculty Federation of Teachers


When students are able to choose which images best represent the content of the lessons, they are instantly more engaged and they become far more active. Students can tailor the themes to their particular interests, or the general interests of their classmates, far better than a teacher can select relevant photography and illustrations. This bottom up learning style is particularly useful in encouraging visual students and passive students. It has the further benefit of allowing them ownership of opinions and sparks creativity.
This approach also benefits the teacher in several ways from my experience. The teacher is able to quickly learn about the concepts presented from the students’ perspective as they are the ones doing the selecting. The teacher is also able to bypass the learning materials they believe to be inadequate or out-dated. The number of relevant discussions and questions that come from this activity are numerous. Students learn concepts in less time and study more. Think about this logically from a student’s perspective. Are you more likely to study flashcards and workbooks that were created for you, by professional educators that you have never interacted with? Or, are you more likely to study lesson materials that you created with your classmates and with your teacher based on the framework of those same professional materials?
- Open image search results with the computer facing away from the students so you can scan image results for inappropriate pictures before the students see the search results.
- Be conscious of time and allow the students to make reasonable selections in a timely fashion. If their search goes on too long, they will ruin the team dynamic and disengage other students.
Students have a stronger attachment to the materials and the concepts that they have assisted in creating. When their parents ask them, “What did you in English class today?” they can smile and tell them that they found a picture of a dog in a cup, and perhaps even show them the picture/slide/ worksheet or flashcard they designed and made for the class. Review is also less time consuming and more productive if students can instantly identify with aspects of the lesson that they helped design. Of course, as a teacher you will be required to set achievable goals for the lesson and guide the students through this creative process, so that you can properly harness their creative insight and energy.
Additional ideas for this type of image selection and content creation teaching style:
- If you have access to a digital camera, you can use students to pose for pictures and even allow other students to try their hand at photography. Then you can incorporate the photos of the posed students to illustrate concepts.
- You can use a stronger class to design materials for a weaker class. This will allow the stronger class to gain confidence in their skills while assisting the weaker class in their development with age and interest appropriate materials.
Note: I am currently using a tablet computer with a built in camera for this type of lesson. I am using common presentation software. I am teaching small groups between the ages of 6-13. A standard laptop or a desktop would suffice and the concepts could be adapted for larger groups with a projector.
I have been teaching ESL for three years in Japan. I am currently working in Osaka, both developing and teaching extensive children’s programs. I am most interested in Bilingual studies, Immersion programs and Literacy development in young learners.
- Remembering - March 11, 2015
- Teaching less, recycling more - May 5, 2014
- Why I love Teachers 2014 - February 16, 2014
- Help! I just got another new student! - January 18, 2014
- When kids don’t want to be there - June 10, 2013
- A very bad, horrible, no good class - May 28, 2013
- International conferences, for free - April 10, 2013
- More than five ways to use milk carton cubes - April 6, 2013
- It’s all about reading - March 16, 2013
- Boisterous Boys and Bored Girls - February 19, 2013


Bad ideas in education are like horror movie monsters. You think you’ve killed them, but they refuse to stay dead.
A generation ago, the infamous “reading wars” pitted phonics-based instruction in the early grades against “whole language,” which emphasized reading for meaning instead of spelling, grammar, and sounding words out.
In 1997, the National Reading Panel was tasked to settle the fight once and for all. Phonics won. That should have been the end of it, but whole language never really died. It morphed, grew a new head called “balanced literacy,” and lived on. In New York City, it grew even stronger.
Finally, last year, there was hope: Balanced literacy was left for dead yet when the city Education Department recommended two reading programs for elementary schools as they prepare to meet the rigorous new Common Core State Standards in English: New York State’s Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum and Pearson’s ReadyGen.
The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project—the balanced-literacy program developed by Prof. Lucy Calkins, which had dominated city classrooms for more than a decade—notably failed to make the cut.
Why? Under the shift to Common Core standards, reading programs are explicitly expected to teach strong foundational skills, including phonics in the early grades, while building background knowledge and vocabulary, which are especially important for low-income children most at risk of reading failure.
To match the Common Core, reading programs must also encourage students to grapple with challenging texts that are worth reading.
None of these is emphasized in...


West Philadelphia middle-school students learn about careers in STEM through hands-on activities, field trips and mentors at Drexel's Summer STEM Camp
Nearly 25 local rising fifth graders interested in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) built a bridge, blew up a watermelon and made ice cream, as part of a Summer STEM Camp from July 28 – August 1, the third and final week of the camp this year.
The camp is hosted by Drexel University's School of Education and funded by a grant from PECO.
“Summer STEM Camp allows children to experience a variety of STEM careers and career pathways,” said Hope Yursa, PhD, camp director and an assistant clinical professor in the School of Education. “Each day the children participated in a variety of hands on activities, but then they actually got to go into the field to experience real-life applications.”
For example, decked out in hard hats, lab coats and goggles, the students were actively engaged in building different types of bridges from limited materials, before visiting the Ben Franklin Bridge to learn from bridge engineers about what their job entails and how they entered the field.
While on a trip to learn about hydroelectric power, the campers took advantage of what they learned about bridges to find and identity the many bridges that cross the Chesapeake River Basin.
The campers took home the bridge-building kits to continue their learning. The camp also provided each camper with a fiction book and informational book about the various STEM fields and the people involved in them.
During a unit that provided an introduction to thermodynamics and heat transfer, teams of campers developed plans to save penguins.
They then traveled to the Philadelphia Zoo to learn more about what is endangering penguins and polar bears, and saw a variety of people engaged in careers that involved educating the public about loss of habitat due to global warming.
The students, who attend nearby schools, including Morton McMichael Elementary School, Martha Washington Elementary School and Samuel Powel Elementary School also toured the Boeing Co., the Franklin Institute and Lancaster Science Factory as part of the camp.
The Summer STEM camp was developed to introduce children in West Philadelphia to careers in the STEM areas of construction, transportation, energy and communication. The camp engages students with hands-on workshops and activities.
The camp is free for students, and includes breakfast and lunch each day.
In 2012, PECO awarded Drexel a $1 million grant to help create a collaborative education program that invests in the local community. About $150,000-$200,000 of the grant was dedicated to the STEM camp, which is now in its third and final year.
The camp began as a one-week initiative focused on rising fifth-graders. The second year, Drexel increased it to two weeks, for fifth- and sixth-graders, respectively. This year, the camp is three weeks, and catered to fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders.
The camp’s staff is made up primarily of faculty and students from the School of Education. The lead counselor was Mike Franklin, a graduate of the School of Education, who currently teaches at Arthur Elementary School in Philadelphia.
Other counselors included Jileesa McFadden, a 2013 graduate of the School of Education, who has a secondary certification in biology and is currently teaching biology at a Mastery Charter High School; Lindsay McArdle, a 2014 graduate, who received her bachelor's degree in elementary education; Sarah Anderson, who is finishing a combined bachelor’s and master’s program this year; and Cynthia Casebere, who is currently pursuing her master’s degree in education.
Counselor Shane Miller, who is not a student in the School of Education, is interested in educational research and is currently working with Drexel to develop an application for mobile devices called the Adolescent Comprehension Evaluation (ACE) to measure reading comprehension for sixth to 12th grade students.
Also integral to the program was Obinna Otti, Drexel’s RAD Lab manager, who took photos and videos, and Joel Rodriguez, videography instructor and associate director of innovation, who teaches part-time in the teacher education program.
The principle investigators on the grant, Yursa and William Lynch, PhD, dean of the School of Education, are looking into funding sources to keep the camp going after this year.


posted by Thom Holwerda on Tue 17th Oct 2006 22:00 UTC, submitted by anonymous
"When it comes to computers, the average person usually believes that 'newer is better'. After all, you can get more memory, a faster processor, and a larger hard disk, merely by waiting a few months. Old hardware is usually shunned as being of little value. In contrast, the elementary education sector has consistently found traditional educational methods to be superior to the newest, latest, and greatest methods. Some of the most knowledgeable and capable children are produced by the schools that use seemingly antiquated techniques. So what happens when the world of technology collides with the world of education? Why, the Commodore 64 makes a comeback!"


Modern jazz bands come in many different sizes and styles. Each variation is dependent on several factors, the most important being the type of music being played and the venue in which the performance takes place. Smaller jazz bands called combos are more common in night clubs, jazz clubs, and other similarly confined spaces. Larger full size jazz bands are more common in larger venues and in traditional dance hall style gatherings. Again, the question of what defines a jazz band depends largely on where and what the group is playing.
The smaller jazz band combo groups are often made up of 3 to 4 musicians. An acoustic bass player is almost always present in such a group, but the remaining members can be in almost any combination. A bass, sax, and piano trio might work well with some small jazz bands. In others, the bass, a trumpet, and a drum set player may be used. The beauty of such small jazz band ensembles is that the musicians tend to do almost all of their music from memory, improvising their rhythms and melodies on the spot. When the musicians of a jazz combo work well together and are sufficiently talented they can perform an entire evening's show and have it never be exactly the same on any 2 nights. Other musicians may often "sit in" on the performance, adding their improvised melodies to the music, creating even more variations to the size and makeup of the jazz band combo.
Although there are other variations on the jazz band combo instrumentation the more widely recognized jazz band ensemble is the full big band style jazz band. Made up of a much larger contingent of musicians, the traditional big band is made up of up to 5 saxophones (2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes, and a baritone sax), 4 or 5 trombones (one of which is often a bass trombone), and 4 or 5 trumpets. Complimenting the brass and woodwinds is a rhythm section consisting of a drum set player, pianist, acoustic or electric bass player, and an acoustic or electric guitar player. As with the jazz combo, the instrumentation of a full-size jazz band may vary based on the music. Many of the early jazz bands employed clarinetists instead of the full contingent of saxes.
The many different variations of jazz band styles and instrumentations is one of the many things that makes jazz band music so exciting and fun to listen to. No other mainstream music form is so dependent on improvisation and personal interpretation. That simple distinction is what has helped make jazz band music become an integrated part of music education programs in all 50 states and around the world.


It’s True! Babies Learn Language While In Utero
For years and years, soon-to-be parents have asked themselves the same question, “Can baby hear us?” and for just as long the question has gone unanswered. Now, however, researchers have finally come to a conclusion and it’s sure to be one that mom and dads-to-be are over the moon about!
Newborns are much more attuned the the sound of the native languagethan we ever thought, linguists say. Newborns can pick up on distinctive sounds of their mother tongue while in utero.
The unbelievable research was led by Christine Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University. “We have known for over 30 years that we begin learning prenatally about voices by listening to the sound of our mother talking,” Moon said. “This is the first study that shows we learn about the particular speech sounds of our mother’s language before we are born.”
Prior to the study, it was widely believed that infants learned small parts of speech after they had left the womb. This study states the opposite. “This study moves the measurable result of experience with individual speech sounds from six months of age to before birth,” she said.
Seriously — how incredible? All the time the proud parents have spent singing and talking to their little babe are worth every moment (not like we’d suggest you stop doing it otherwise – it’s important to have a connect to your child pre-birth).
For her study, Moon tested newborn infants shortly after birth while still in the hospital in two different locations: Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and in the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. Infants heard either Swedish or English vowels and linguists could control how many times they heard the vowels by sucking on a pacifier connected to a computer.
In both countries, the babies listening to the foreign vowels sucked more, than those listening to their native tongue regardless of how much postnatal experience they had. This indicated to researchers that they were learning the vowel sounds in utero.
“These little ones had been listening to their mother’s voice in the womb, and particularly her vowels for ten weeks. The mother has first dibs on influencing the child’s brain,” said Patricia Kuhl, Endowed Chair for the Bezos Family Foundation for Early Childhood Learning and Co-Director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences. “At birth, they are apparently ready for something novel.”
But we’re not the only ones amazed by what the research showed, “This is a stunning finding,” said Kuhl. “We thought infants were ‘born learning’ but now we know they learn even earlier. They are not phonetically naïve at birth.”
Prior to the kinds of studies like this one, it was assumed that newborns were “blank slates” and now, we know that is not the case.
So, as if you needed any more incentive to hum, drum or even chat with baby on the side, here’s fool-proof scientific reinforcement that it’s good for baby!
Would the findings of this study have mattered to you one way or the other?
Plus, more from The Bump:


If someone were to give you a maths textbook, what would your reaction be? What about if you were faced with a set of sums to do? Or told you cannot graduate until you have taken a certain number of maths classes?
If these scenarios make you feel nauseous, you are probably an HMA – someone with a high level of maths anxiety. For some people, the threat of a maths test is equivalent to the prospect of walking down a dark alley in an unfamiliar city. People with extremely high levels of mathematics anxiety even experience physical pain.
We know this thanks to a study published, appropriately enough, on Hallowe’en. The research involved recruiting volunteers who rated high and low in maths anxiety. They were put into a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and given a range of tasks to do. Some involved maths quizzes; some tested verbal skills.
In the most illuminating part of the study, the volunteers were told whether it was maths or language tests coming up. The prospect of having their verbal skills tested provoked nothing remarkable in the brain scans. For those who were highly maths-anxious, the signal that a maths test was coming up created a surge of activity in the bilateral dorso-posterior insula. This is a region of the brain associated with the presence of physical pain and the reaction is the same as to a physical threat – you experience the urge to get the hell out of there.
Though many papers reported the research as justification for a fear of maths, it goes far deeper than that. The most important finding from the study is that when the volunteers started to do maths, all that anxiety and pain went away. The prospect of maths scares and sometimes pains us; doing maths is strangely enjoyable. Proper maths, that is – not the endless repetition of learned techniques such as multiplying fractions or ploughing through long division.
The way we teach mathematics is leaving many people mentally scarred. Allow students to develop a feel for numbers by letting them solve puzzles, and everything changes. The message from the Computer-Based Math™ Education summit held at the Royal Institution in London this month goes even further. Allow children to learn maths by using computers to solve problems and not only does the subject get easier, but they leave education ready to work in a world increasingly dominated by digital technology.
This idea is anathema to traditionalists, but something has to change. Just under half of the adult population can’t complete even primary-school maths problems. Adults with poor numeracy skills are twice as likely to be unable to find work; it’s no wonder they are also twice as likely to suffer from depression. Innumeracy leads to poor money management and problems with debt. On 7 November, the charity National Numeracy launched a partnership with the Nationwide Building Society to help people develop numeracy skills to manage their finances.
Innumeracy will affect Britain’s ability to compete in a global economy, too. At the beginning of October, the Royal Academy of Engineering announced that the UK can maintain its industrial output only if British universities produce 10,000 more science, technology, engineering and maths graduates every year.
It’s not clear where they are going to come from, because each one will need to leave school with decent maths skills.
If things carry on as they are, we can abandon hope of a role on the world economic stage in the future, all because we’re inflicting pain in maths class. As a doctor might say, if it hurts that much, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Michael Brooks’s “The Secret Anarchy of Science” is published by Profile Books (£8.99)


But I did not propose this morning to talk to you about science as a part of our educational curriculum, but rather about the scientific spirit and the scientific method as effective instruments for the solution of our own peculiar educational problems. I have tried to give you reasons for believing that an adoption of this policy does not necessarily commit us to materialism or to a narrowly economic point of view. I have attempted to show that the scientific method may be applied to the solution of our problems while we still retain our faith in ideals; and that, unless we do retain that faith, our investigations will be without point or meaning.
This problem of vocational education to which I have just referred is one that is likely to remain unsolved until we have made a searching investigation of its factors in the light of scientific method. Some people profess not to be worried by the difficulty of finding time in our elementary and secondary schools for the introduction of the newer subjects making for increased vocational efficiency. They would cut the Gordian knot with one single operation by eliminating enough of the older subjects to make room for the new. I confess that this solution does not appeal to me. Fundamentally the core of the elementary curriculum must, I believe, always be the arts that are essential to every one who lives the social life. In other words, the language arts and the number arts are, and always must be, the fundamentals of elementary education. I do not believe that specialized vocational education should ever be introduced at the expense of thorough training in the subjects that already hold their place in the curriculum. And yet we are confronted by the economic necessity of solving in some way this vocational problem. How are we to do it?
It is here that the scientific method may perhaps come to our aid. The obvious avenue of attack upon this problem is to determine whether we cannot save time and energy, not by the drastic operation of eliminating old subjects, but rather by improving our technique of teaching, so that the waste may be reduced, and the time thus saved given to these new subjects that are so vociferously demanding admission. In Cleveland, for example, the method of teaching spelling has been subjected to a rigid scientific treatment, and, as a result, spelling is being taught to-day vastly better than ever before and with a much smaller expenditure of time and energy. It has been due, very largely, to the application of a few well-known principles which the science of psychology has furnished.
Now that is vastly better than saying that spelling is a subject that takes too much time in our schools and consequently ought forthwith to be eliminated. In all of our school work enough time is undoubtedly wasted to provide ample opportunity for training the child thoroughly in some vocation if we wish to vocationalize him, and I do not think that this would hurt him, even if he does not follow the vocation in later life.


We recently stumbled across this great article about parents roles in their children’s development: how parents keying in to their progress in school during this crucial time is “a determining factor in [the child’s] success as an adult.” They stress the importance of actively aiding a child’s progress:
“Parents … should also take the time to learn what’s being covered under the lesson plan and what’s up next on the curricular agenda. Make a point of working on those skills at home, too … Remember, education and learning don’t stop the minute your child walks out the door of her preschool or child development center.”
Keep your kids’ brains active with playful learning games and toys with foundational skills. Melissa and Doug offers great supplements for providing educational fun in the home.
Block play is a great foundational skill for stacking, counting, and sorting.
Plugging in shapes is great for hand-eye-coordination skills.
Whether they are building predetermined patterns or exploring with shapes, they will learn about space


Focus on Education
A documentary looks at global education
|The second installment in the multi-year documentary project follows children in seven countries to update their progress in school. Pictured: Joab from Kenya. (Photo: Frederick Rendina/Thirteen/WNET New York)|
May 22, 2007
Each year, millions of children around the world are unable to go to school. To draw attention to this widespread problem, the United Nations (UN) is putting education first.
Recently, the UN screened a documentary film called Back to School. The film is the second in a series of documentaries for the project Time for School, in partnership with Wide Angle—a program from the Public Broadcasting System.
These films follow seven children from seven different countries. This 12-year project began in 2003, when the children first started school.
“This is something we could do to help the education crisis in the world,” said producer and writer Judy Katz. “Documentary filmmakers can get deeply involved in a problem and do something about it.”
More than 100 million children will never set foot in a school. Sixty percent of those children are girls. Cheryl Faye, a panelist at the screening event, is head of the UN Girls Education Initiative. She spoke about the many factors that prevent girls from getting an education.
|Joab Onyando, a 10-year-old who lives outside of Nairobi, Kenya, considers himself lucky to crowd into a 70-student first grade classroom without desks or chairs. (Photo: Frederick Rendina/Thirteen/WNET New York)|
One problem is the long distance many children must travel to get to school. Also, girls in many cultures are traditionally expected to marry early and work to help their families.
”We need to make a special effort for girls,” Faye said.
As part of the UN’s Millennium goals, the organization wants every single child to get at least an elementary education by 2015. They hope the documentary will draw attention to this problem and raise awareness of the need for global education.
Students from Lawrence Middle School in New York were inspired to take action when they saw the film. The seventh-grade class is raising money to help build a library on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, where Joab—a child in the documentary—lives.
The class teacher, Karen Weiner, and the class are known in their school as the “Kenya crew.” All the kids were really happy to support Joab and said they felt great about their fund-raising efforts.
Joab is 10 years old. When his mother died, he dropped out of school to help out at home. Fortunately, his principal was able to find him and get him back on track with his education.
But even in class, Joab has to learn with 70 other students and only one teacher! His first-grade classroom does not have desks or chairs.
But like the seventh-graders at Lawrence Middle School, kids can work together to make a difference in places like Nairobi. By raising money for education, kids can help children on the other side of the world have a chance at a better, happier life.
To learn more about how you can get involved, visit this Web site.
Critical Thinking Question
Read today's news story, and then answer the following question.
Samantha Group is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.


Earth Science—Elementary, BAEd
What is the study of Earth Science—Elementary?
A geoscientist is someone who studies the Earth’s physical makeup and history. Geology is the science that provides the key to finding new sources of useful Earth materials and to understanding Earth processes that affect our lives. Geoscientists provide basic information to society for solving problems and establishing policy for resource management, environmental protection, public health, safety and welfare.
Geoscientists are curious about the Earth. How was it formed? How is it changing? What effects will shrinking glaciers have on the oceans and climate? How do islands form? What makes a continent move? Why did the dinosaurs become extinct? What makes a mountain?
Geoscientists are concerned about the Earth. Is there a global warming trend? How and where should we dispose industrial wastes? How can we fill society’s growing demands for energy and conserve natural resources for future generations.
This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in Elementary Education offered through Woodring College of Education.
Why Should I Consider this Major?
Do you like to know why and how things work? Do you enjoy the outdoors? Are you concerned about the environment? Are you interested in travel? Do you like to analyze things? Are science and nature among your favorite subjects? Have you ever wondered why the Earth appears as it does? If you answer “yes” to most of these questions the geosciences may be the career for you.
- Elementary Teacher


About the Data
Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs®), a comprehensive and standards-driven system designed to improve the teaching and learning of English language learners (ELLs) for K–12 students.
One purpose of ACCESS for ELLs® is to monitor student progress in English Language Proficiency (ELP) on a yearly basis and to serve as a criterion to aid in determining when ELLs have attained language proficiency. Another purpose is to meet the requirements of the NCLB accountability. The test is carefully crafted to be representative of the social and academic language demands within a school setting as exemplified in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English Language Proficiency/Development Standards (2004, 2007. 2012).
Access for ELLs® test results are available in WISEdash beginning with the 2006-07 school year. The results are submitted directly to the DPI by Metritech Spring of each school year Limited English Proficiency/ELL. For students that have not taken the exam (reported empty booklets), DPI still receives the result and reports as “Not Tested” on the Dashboard.
Exam results are included for students that cannot be positively identified from the record. These records are included in aggregate charts with unknown student demographics.
Students normally take four language domain tests Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Based on the combination of language domain tests actually taken, they will receive up to four different composite scores (Oral Language, Literacy, Comprehension, and Overall Score). If all four of the language domain tests are not taken then the student will not receive Overall Composite scale score, but can receive up to three other composite scores.
For example if a student took listening and speaking only, then he will receive only the Oral Language Composite score. The other three composite scores require reading and/or writing, which were not taken.
- Oral Language: The Oral Language composite score combines equally weighted scale scores from Listening (50%) and Speaking (50%).
- Literacy: The Literacy composite score combines equally weighted scale scores from Reading (50%) and Writing (50%).
- Comprehension: The Comprehension composite score combines the scale scores for Listening (30%) and Reading (70%).
- Overall (Composite) Scale Score: The Overall Scale Score reflects a weighted score based on the scales scores for Listening (15%) , Speaking (15%), Reading (35%), and Writing (35%). The weighting of the scores reflects the differential contributions of each language domain required for academic success, with heavier emphasis placed on literacy development.
Composite scores should be used with caution after careful consideration of their compensatory nature. The same Overall Scale Score for two students can reflect two very different profiles. For example, one student may be very strong in Listening and Reading, but weaker in Speaking and Writing, while another student with the same Overall Scale Score is strong in Reading and Writing, but weaker in Listening and Speaking.
Proficiency Level Scores: The proficiency level scores are interpretive scores. That is, they are an interpretation of the scale scores. They describe student performance in terms of the six WIDA language proficiency levels (1-Entering, 2-Beginning, 3-Developing, 4-Expanding, 5-Bridging, and 6-Reaching).
Scale Scores: Scale scores allow raw scores across grades to be compared on a single vertical scale from Kindergarten to Grade 12. With the vertical scale, scale scores across grades can be compared to one another within (not across) a language domain (Listening, Speaking, Reading, or Writing). There is a separate scale for each domain and are reflected in a scale from 100-600.
Raw scores: Raw scores indicate the actual number of items or tasks to which the student responded correctly out of the total number of items or Tasks. Raw scores should be used with caution and are not appropriate to track students’ progress between school years or compare different students on different grade levels of ACCESS for ELLs.


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2013; 340 pp; hardcover
List Price: US$49.95
Member Price: US$39.96
Order Code: XYZ/1
This book is a comprehensive compilation of all the problems and solutions from the 2003 to 2012 Purple Comet! Math Meet contests for middle and high school students. The problems featured not only employ an extensive range of mathematical concepts from algebra, geometry, number theory, and combinatorics but also encourage team collaboration.
Any student interested in mathematics--whether looking to prepare for contests or, even more importantly, to sharpen math problem-solving skills--would cherish and enjoy this unique and pertinent collection of meaningful problems and solutions.
A publication of XYZ Press. Distributed in North America by the American Mathematical Society.
Middle and high school students interested in mathematics competition preparation.
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© Copyright 2014, American Mathematical Society


Use consistent in a sentence
- I shall try to go through the rest of my description of our boarders with as little of digression as is consistent with my nature.
- Yet, I have neither adopted nor proposed any measure which is not consistent with even your view, provided you are for the Union.
- He will have it that they cannot be consistent else.
- And there are dreams that are rational, simple, consistent, and unfantastic?
This page helps answer: how do I use the word consistent in a sentence? How do you use consistent in a sentence? Can you give me a sentence for the word consistent? It may also be related to read, learn English exam, preschools, course, school district worksheet, school uniforms, elementary education, school, and teaching resource.
Example sentences with the word consistent, a sentence example for consistent, and consistent in sample sentence.


A comprehensive new report out Monday outlines the benefits and limits of arts education by digging into the data and outlining what research has been established in the field.
Among the findings: Learning music can boost students' IQ scores and visual arts likely help students' understanding of geometrical reasoning. But the report also notes that there's no evidence theater and dance help with overall academic skills.
The report, called "Art for Art's Sake: The Impact of Arts Education," is from the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation based in Paris at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The authors reviewed research databases in a variety of languages including Dutch, English, German, Italian, French and Korean.
Here are a few of the findings from the executive summary:
- Music education strengthens IQ (intelligence quotient), academic performance, word decoding and phonological skills and there is preliminary evidence that music education might facilitate foreign language learning. While there are a number of studies showing a positive impact of music education on visual-spatial reasoning, the sole longitudinal study on this question detected no persistent influence after three years of music, which suggests the need for caution. There is also no evidence that music education has any causal impact on mathematics scores, even though mathematicians may be attracted to music.
- Strong evidence shows that theatre education in the form of enacting stories in the classroom (classroom drama) strengthens verbal skills, but there is no evidence for a link between theatre training and overall academic skills.
- While there is no evidence that training in visual arts improves overall academic skills or verbal skills (literacy), two new correlational studies reveal that students who study the visual arts are stronger in geometrical reasoning than students who do not study the visual arts. However, causality has yet to be established. And one experimental study found that learning to look closely at works of visual art improves skills in observing scientific images – a typical instance of close skills transfer.
The 270 page report calls for additional study on arts education.
"There is far too little research on the impact of arts education on student outcomes of creativity, critical thinking, persistence, motivation and self concept and this prevents us from making strong conclusions about the outcomes," wrote Barbara Ischinger, director for education and skills, in the report's foreword. "The arts can be taught in a way that enhances these outcomes, or they can be taught poorly."
You can also listen to a podcast covering the report with coauthor Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin.


Now more than ever, today's teachers are grappling with the question of how to reach struggling readers. While there are no quick fixes, thousands of teachers are combining the principles of differentiated instruction and guided reading with unparalleled success. Mixed in the right proportion, these popular strategies will help you build a balanced literary framework that gets results with even the most challenged learners.
Differentiated instruction tactics will help you understand how your students learn so you can teach in a way that makes sense to them. When you apply those tactics within the guided reading framework, which helps you lead students through new ways of approaching text, great things start to happen. The result is a classroom full of students who are able to negotiate increasingly challenging texts with unprecedented fluency.
This course is critical for today's educators, who often have to teach on the run with limited resources and unlimited demands on their time. Get ready to reach your readers with ease in no time flat!
About The Instructor
A veteran educator who has taught every grade but third, Marsha Spears has spent 35 years teaching students and training teachers. Spears earned a bachelor's and master's degree in educational administration with a specialty in curriculum and literacy development, training that would prepare her to take on the toughest of classrooms. And tough classrooms are where she made her mark, helping a wide variety of at-risk learners read with renewed confidence. Over the years, thousands of students and teachers have learned how easily they can incorporate Spears' reading techniques and activities into their daily routines.