Information for Parents
WHAT is Aistear? Aistear is a curriculum framework for children from birth to six years in Ireland. It gives information to help plan for and provide enjoyable and challenging learning experiences so that all children can grow and develop as competent and confident learners.
HOW does Aistear work? The Aistear framework is based on 12 broad principles – many of which are similar to the aims and objectives of the primary school curriculum.
Teachers will deliver the curriculum in an integrated / thematic way. Teachers will prioritise play in the classroom and school environment.
Below is a summary of the information given to parents on the ncca website –
WHY play? Play is often described as children’s ‘work’. Playing helps your child to
- Build relationships – by playing with others, sharing and taking turns; solving problems and negotiating etc.
- Be creative – when he/she has to create an outfit from old clothes, build a house out of junk material etc.
- Read and write – when he/she reads or retells a story
- Learn about numbers – when he/she pays for things in a pretend shop etc
- Think – when a plan has to be made, for example – deciding what materials to use to build a den.
- Use language – to explain the rules of the game, playing a role in pretend play etc.
- Use small and large muscles – when he/she builds with Lego, cuts with scissors, draws or writes etc.
- HOW can you help? You can help your child in a number of ways
- Give your child time to play every day
- Provide things for your child to play with – old boxes, clothes and household items are often more fun than bought toys and equipment.
- Join in the play.
- Make space for play
- When chatting, ask what your child was playing with that day. Show that you value play – whether it’s at home or in school.
- Let your child’s teacher know about the games, activities, books that your child enjoys


WRAP is an informal writing assessment and reading assessment tool that enables teachers in third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade and sixth grade to collect information on their students’ literacy development and behaviors. WRAP also helps determine areas of strength and need, as well as guided reading level and independent reading level placements.
This is an excellent companion tool for Hopscotch Sistema de la Intervención de Lectura (SIL), a Spanish reading intervention program.
WRAP Intermediate Spanish includes:
Response to Intervention (RTI)
English Language Learners (ELL)
Dual language and bilingual
Early Childhood programs
|Product Type||Complete Kit|
|Guided Reading Level||N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y|


This program is for children around 3 – 4 years old.
Our cumulative curriculum continues to expand in this class. We continue to target Math, Science, Art, Movement and Music, and Language Skills.
Children begin their first Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Curriculum called Big Day in this classroom.
Big Day by Harcourt is a proven-effective comprehensive early learning program that embraces children’s natural curiosity and encourages them to explore and connect to the world around them.
Big Day includes five BIG elements of success:
- Big Experiences: each day is organized around three big experiences—whole group, circle time and story time lessons—that provide an anchor for conversation, play and learning.
- Meaningful Conversations: oral language is at the heart of Big Day instruction and the program provides opportunities for children to hear language modeled and use language in rich and varied contexts.
- The Best Children’s Literature and Nonfiction texts: the program surrounds children with a diverse collection of authentic literature and nonfiction: big books, lap books, little books, eBooks, video storybooks, audiobooks, take-home books, and downloadable books.
- Innovative Technology: the program features a robust collection of online resources and tools that support teachers and extend early learning into the home and community.
- Relevant: The program offers integration of all curriculum areas to meet TX state educational standards.
Included in your tuition are the enrichment classes. Computers and Gym 2 X a week each and Music Education 1 X a week. These are separate instructors and age appropriate curriculum.
Class time will be structured with group time, individual time, as well as free play time.
Monthly changing dramatic play centers are incorporated to encourage fun and imagination.
Children will go outside for 30 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon, weather permitting.
Please contact us to learn more about our programs!


Calhoun Colored School
Backstory and Context
Around 1891 many African Americans were still working under the sharecropping system, and although the price of cotton continued to drop, Southern Agriculture was still dependent on it. This caused a lot of difficulties for economic progress in that region. Along with that, Southern white democrats made it extremely hard for blacks and poor whites to vote in the region by making the task so complicated. This led parents to desperately want their children to be educated. Booker T Washington spoke at Hampton Institute about the great desire of Calhoun students to learn, hoping to recruit teachers. He did persuade two white teachers from New England, Charlotte Thorn and Mabel Dillingham, they traveled to Calhoun alongside Washington to find a location for the school, build it, and begin operation. They used family, friends, and the Hampton Institute publication The Southern Workman, to raise funds and receive donations (Calhoun Colored School, 2015).
When student began school they would receive a basic elementary education and then as they got older they would receive an industrial education. This would prepare the students for work that was available in the rural setting that they lived in. The highest achieving students were encouraged to become teachers, so that they could help others continue their education. The students were not taught to challenge politics. They were only taught skills that could help them survive. Washington was afraid that if the students were taught to challenge racist politics that white citizens in the county might force them to close the school (Calhoun Colored School, 2015).
Following Mabel Dillingham’s death in 1985, Charlotte Thorn died in 1932. After her death Calhoun continued on as a private school for several years until the Great Depression. The Great Depression reduced the support that the school had, along with mechanization of agriculture. Rural labor was not in high need anymore and African Americans migrated to Midwestern industrial cities for jobs. In 1943 the State of Alabama acquired the school and built a new facility for a public high school. The county is still majority African American (Calhoun Colored School, 2015).


– alex gendler you can also frame bullet points in your resume to show off how you solved a problem. but there are other how to demonstrate problem solving skills necessary skills developers need to support their problem solving abilities, and examples of personal essays for scholarships those skills all take practice, too. developing your strategic thinking skills isn’t enough to get you promoted. employers rate problem-solving skills highly, so you need online grocery business plan to demonstrate that you have them problem-solving skills are skills that enable people to handle unexpected situations or difficult challenges how to demonstrate problem solving skills at work. the majority of children’s lessons focus on memorization, like colors , alphabet , or topics for an argument paper addition and subtraction why problem-solving how to demonstrate problem solving skills what is a thesis statement skills matter. every employer wants an employee who is able to not only math problem solving grade 5 fix problems, but notice problems that haven’t been spotted yet. when they’re little, they may need to solve simple problems like how to persuasive essay against death penalty put on clothes business continuity plan information technology and how to get the fork up to their mouth to eat how to demonstrate how to demonstrate problem solving skills your problem-solving how to write your references abilities problem-solving is one of the most (if not the most) valued professional skill in the job market, so it should be right there in your cv, along with your argumentative paper sample degrees and work experience. in fact, critical thinking and problem-solving go and. problem solving skills are absolutely essential and it is something that most kids do not duke essay start to learn until they are well into their education. a) literacy skills b) numeracy skills c) ict skills d) problem solving assisted suicide argumentative essay skills core skills critical thinking high school are essential to every kind of education and learning experience. use these ten creative tips to improve problem-solving skills, develop more strategic ways of thinking, how to demonstrate problem solving skills and train your brain to do more.


Nutrition and Physical Activity
CCHCs support programs in ensuring access to nutritious food and mealtime practices and environments
that are safe and developmentally appropriate for children. A CCHC also:
- Demonstrates understanding of nutritional needs and safe feeding practices for healthy growth and
development in infants and children
- Helps programs with development and implementation of written nutrition plans and procedures to meet
- Observes programs for implementation of food safety and sanitation practices, including food selection,
storage, preparation, meal service, and clean up
- Helps programs encourage and support breastfeeding for young children in their care and ensure safe
handling and storage of breast milk
- Works with programs to maintain a safe and developmentally appropriate physical and emotional
environment at mealtimes that does not use food to bribe, reward, or punish
- Collaborates with programs, caregivers, and health care providers to develop individualized feeding
plans and dietary modifications for children with special health care needs, food allergies, or other health
- Connects programs, as appropriate, to community agencies, the state’s Child and Adult Care Food Program
(CACFP), nutritionists, or registered dietitians to provide nutrition services and consultation
- Helps programs identify resources to address families’ nutritional needs including food security and provide
CCHCs work together with programs to ensure staff are able to provide infants with sufficient opportunities
for physical activity throughout the day, and toddlers, preschool, and school-aged children have opportunities for
moderate to vigorous physical activity. . A CCHC also:
- Helps programs understand how physical activity contributes to maintenance of healthy weight and
development of gross motor, social and emotional, and cognitive skills
- Collaborates with programs to develop written policies for the promotion of active indoor and outdoor
- Works with programs to identify and remove potential barriers to indoor and outdoor physical activity (for
example, by ensuring children and staff have appropriate clothing and shoes)
- Helps programs integrate developmentally appropriate physical activity into children’s daily routine,
including outdoor play and indoor structured and free active play, and tummy time for infants
- Ensures staff receive training opportunities to learn about age-appropriate gross motor activities and games
that promote children’s physical activity and limit screen time and other digital media
Featured Initiatives and Resources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO) takes a public health approach to address the role of nutrition and physical activity in improving the public’s health and preventing and controlling obesity and chronic diseases.
- Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina
A statewide initiative that promotes increased opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating through policy and environmental change.
- Farm to Preschool Network (NC)
The Network connects, educates, develops and shares resources between community and state partners, farmers, early childhood educators and families to spark the local foods movement in early childhood education environments.
- Food and Nutrition Information Center
FNIC at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) provides a directory to credible, accurate, and practical resources for consumers, nutrition and health professionals, educators and government personnel.
- Head Start Nutrition
Resources for early care and education programs that promote healthy nutrition, from the Head Start, Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Early Childhood Health and Wellness.
- Healthy Kids, Healthy Future
Healthy Kids, Healthy Future encourages and supports child care and early education providers to make positive changes in their programs in order to work toward a healthier future for children.
- Healthy Meals Resource System
The Healthy Meals Resource System, as USDA’s Training and Technical Assistance Component, assists state and local school food service and child care programs in meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Training materials available for child care programs.
- Infant Nutrition and Feeding Guide
This handbook for staff who provide nutrition education and counseling to the parents and caregivers of at-risk infants who participate in the WIC Program
- North Carolina Nutrition Services Branch
The Nutrition Services Branch promotes sound nutrition habits among infants, children and women in their child-bearing years. Branch staff work with county, state and private agencies to improve health status.
Gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers, educators and health professionals


Gardening with Kids
Theresa Badurek, UF/IFAS Extension, Pinellas County
Children find gardening almost magical… and you can too, through their eyes. Remember the first time you planted a seed and watched it stretch fresh green stems and leaves to the light? If not, it’s time to do it again, and there’s no better way than to share it with a child. You can garden with your kids, grandkids, neighbors, nieces, nephews, or friends’ kids. Parents might even think about gardening activities as play-date ideas. However you endeavor to garden it is great exercise, a good way to get kids outside, and perfect for both fine and gross motor skill development. You can use the garden to teach literally any subject- or just to have some good old-fashioned, not-so-clean fun. Not only that, but if you grow edibles, then kids will learn where their food comes from and they are more likely to try new foods when they grow them. Not convinced yet? Well, gardening is also a great stress reliever, and we could all use some relaxation time.
To begin, let the child decide what kind of garden to create or what kinds of plants to grow. Giving kids the opportunity to plan and design the garden is a learning tool itself. Older kids can even start with a garden budget to stay within. (Who said gardening only taught kids about plants?) Allowing the child to make decisions gives them ownership, pride, control, and teaches them responsibility. Plants die if you don’t water them- caterpillars eat your tomatoes if you don’t pay attention- we’re learning a lot! Although you want the child to have responsibility, it’s still important for you to provide sun protection, insect protection (especially if the child has allergies), proper tools, etc. Don’t forget to keep lots of nice cool water on hand- it’s important for you and the kids to stay hydrated- not just the plants.
Once you are finished with the outside activities in the garden it’s a great idea to do reinforcing activities later. Read a garden book, keep a garden journal, ask the child to draw pictures of various things from the garden, etc. These activities help kids to retain their new knowledge and provide you with more opportunities to discuss the who, what, where, and why of your gardening fun.
Excited to dig in but not sure what kind of garden would be best for you and your garden prodigy? Here are some popular gardening ideas for kids:
- Pollinator gardens (butterflies and more)
- Sensory gardens- smells and textures can be highlighted in plant materials, not just colors and shapes
- Vegetable gardens with themes: pizza, salsa, soup, and salad are popular ideas; you simply grow the ingredients for each
- Cut flower gardens
- Fairy/dinosaur “miniature” gardens
- Terrariums (you can do this one inside)
- Bird gardens- grow native plants birds like to eat or nest in
- Alphabet gardens- grow something for each letter
Now, grab those kids (with mom and dad’s permission) and get gardening!


The LOCHI study is a population-based longitudinal study that prospectively evaluates the development of a group of Australian children with hearing loss as they grow up. This study is unique in its inclusion of children whose hearing loss was diagnosed through either Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS), or standard care; and all of whom access the same post-diagnostic services provided by the national audiological service provider, Australian Hearing. This means that their results can be fairly compared, whenever and wherever their hearing loss was discovered.
This study addresses the following research questions:
Does Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) and early intervention improve the outcomes of children with hearing loss at a population level?
What factors influence the outcomes of children with hearing loss?
Can early performance predict later outcomes of children with hearing loss?
This study is partly supported by the US National Institutes of Health and the HEARing CRC.
Approximately 460 children across QLD, VIC and NSW have been enrolled in the study. They are tested by our researchers at different times as they grow up. We collect information about the children’s speech and language skills, literacy and numeracy skills, academic achievement, psycho-social development, and cognition. At every test interval, we also collect demographic information about the child, the child’s family and the intervention that the child receives.
When LOCHI children were assessed at 5 years of age,
Children with hearing loss discovered via UNHS at birth and who received early intervention had better spoken language abilities than those whose hearing loss was discovered later than this. On average, children fitted with hearing aids before 6 months of age had higher language scores than those fitted later. For children with severe or profound hearing loss, those who received a cochlear implant before 12 months of age had significantly higher language scores than those who received a cochlear implant at an older age;
Many children had marked deficits in pre-reading skills compared to their normal-hearing peers.
We hope to continue following the development of the children as they grow up.


Video Q&A: Toys That Teach – Both Children and their Caregivers: Brazil-based PUPA is building a network to serve early childhood education at the BoP
Government, the private sector, and, increasingly, social enterprises, all are focused on improving education across the developing world. But their emphasis tends to be on middle or higher education when it comes to closing the achievement gap among developing and developed nations. Less attention is placed on early child education, despite its undeniable impact on people’s socio-economic, not to mention emotional, development over the course of their lives.
In Brazil, there are about 10 million low-income children under the age of six who do not attend preschool or daycare. For each one of them there is a parent or informal caregiver (such as grandparents or neighbors) who may not know exactly what the youngsters need to thrive. Those guardians are often without the age-appropriate books, toys, or the know-how for stimulating young minds, particularly those under the age of 4.
It’s at this “base of the base of the pyramid,” as Mary Anne Amorim puts it, that the São Paulo-based PUPA aims to make a difference. Amorim is the CEO of PUPA, (the full company name is PUPA Empreendimentos Educacionais e Representação LTDA), which was developed by ZOOM Editora – the exclusive distributor of LEGO Education products in Brazil. PUPA provides easy-to-follow educational play activities through colorful magazines, music CDs, LEGO toys, and other audio-visual aids. But just as important, its employees train the children’s caregivers on how to use the materials and instruct them on inventive ways to learn through play.
“We train the caregivers how to use the things they possess as toys and as playful activities,” Amorim told me in an interview over Skype. (You can see key excerpts from our discussion in the video below). “It’s very important that they use toys, but not only the ones that we are providing. We teach them how to build toys and to use whatever they have at home.”
This can be as simple as showing the caregiver how to fashion a supportive mat from a pair of jeans so the child can sit upright on the floor and reach out to interact, or how to construct a musical instrument from a discarded container so a toddler can play a tune.
PUPA’s line of products are sold to parents and other caregivers through a network of NGOs, partners and micro-franchisees – or self-employed women. These sales reps are vital to PUPA’s business on a number of last-mile delivery factors. They sign up customers, help them select the right PUPA materials given the age of their children, deliver the packets and conduct follow-up visits with mini-surveys to track social performance indicators.
“The operational model of PUPA is 95 percent (engaging) women who are coming from their own community to deliver the training, to deliver the products, to sell the products, to engage the families,” Amorim said. “So everybody involved in the operational mechanics of PUPA is coming from the community.”
PUPA has the benefit of building on the network established with ZOOM Editora, which has made inroads into more than 200 low-income Brazilian communities through after-school and other educational programs.
With a $3 million secured loan from the Inter-American Bank’s Opportunities for the Majority (OMJ) in 2012, PUPA is working to scale up. The company has set a goal of training 56,000 caregivers, and providing employment to more than 1,400 women micro-franchisees by 2019. Through its educational kits and services, PUPA hopes to improve the development and learning skills of 224,000 children across Brazil before the end of the decade.
Please see the video interview below for more details on PUPA and its business approach to early childhood learning, and click here to find out more about PUPA.


The OECD Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets Study aims to help member countries assess where they stand now and to identify the areas where additional effort is required in order to achieve the goals. It also sets out the statistical agenda – showing how much we do not yet know, and how this might impact both the achievement of the SDGs, and decisions about what to prioritise across this vast agenda. The methodology underlying the Study also provides a way for OECD countries to understand their SDG achievements and challenges in a comparative context.
This Study goes further than the previous (2017) edition in exploring how OECD countries have been doing over time by showing, indicator by indicator, whether they are moving in the right direction. It also highlights how much of the 2030 Agenda is transboundary in nature, thus requiring countries to consider their impacts beyond their own borders, as well as whether they are meeting the SDG targets domestically.
The results of the Study indicate that OECD countries are, on average, closest to achieving targets such as access to basic amenities (e.g. energy, information and communication technologies, and modern education facilities); maternal, infant and neonatal mortality rates; statistical capacity; public access to information; and conservation of coastal areas. They are furthest away from several targets related to inequalities (e.g. relative income poverty, disparities in education, women’s participation and leadership); healthy behaviours (tobacco use and malnutrition); certain educational and employment outcomes (secondary education; adult numeracy skills; share of youth not education, employment or training); and violence and safety (e.g. violence against women; feelings of safety).
When aggregated at the Goal level, the Study finds that OECD countries are on average closest to achieving goals on Energy, Cities and Climate (goals 7, 11 and 13) and goals relating to Planet (Water, 6; Sustainable Production, 12; Climate, 13; Oceans, 14; and Biodiversity, 15). They are furthest from reaching goals related to inclusiveness, such as Gender Equality and Reducing Inequality (goals 5 and 10), with Food and Institutions (goals 2 and 16) also areas of weaker performance.
The full report is available ONLINE


Closing the Gap, the Prime Minister’s 2016 report on Indigenous disadvantage, is being handed down in Federal Parliament this week. Among its key points are that improving literacy requires a twofold approach: “addressing early childhood education, and accelerating learning for students currently at school”. (Closing the Gap report)
The report emphasises that a young child’s literacy and numeracy skills make an enormous difference for both their later schooling and their success at moving into employment.
“A child’s ability to acquire good literacy and numeracy is associated with a positive start to life.” (Closing the Gap report)
The report also recognises the importance of early learning — and that parents, families and communities are a child’s first teachers.
Our Foundation supports the government initiative to ensure that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have the opportunity to participate in early childhood education, particularly in the year immediately before they start school.
We know that Indigenous children living in remote communities who are “school ready” will have a more positive experience transitioning to school.
In many remote communities there are few or no kids’ books, essential tools in developing and accelerating literacy — and that’s where our Book Buzz and Book Supply programs are making a real difference.
The Book Buzz early literacy program delivers books for babies and infants, and the Book Supply program supports books for older children.
“Having books in the home, and in the community too, means that parents can read to their babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers on a daily basis. Not only is this empowering for the parents, but also it helps build critical literacy skills and school readiness for the young children.” Tina Raye, ILF Program Manager.
We also support those initiatives already in place, such as Families as First Teachers –Indigenous Parenting Support Services Program, which are aimed at making sure that their parents receive the support and recognition they need as their children’s first teachers.
Already our Foundation is working with remote communities across Australia to close the gap on disadvantage. We work closely with community elders, carers, educators, health professionals, parenting and playgroup services, and women’s centres to make books available to babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers who may otherwise have no access to literacy materials.
We know just how important it is that all young children in Australia have opportunities to learn and develop literacy skills in the years before they head off to school.
“Ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have a positive start to life will strengthen their opportunities later in life.” (Closing the Gap report)


Modernism and the Development of Visual arts Essay Sample Art essay sample on topic Modernism and the Development of Visual arts. Modernism and Visual arts and its impact. Expressionism, Fauvism, German Expressionism, Cubism. Order Modernism and the Development of Visual arts essay sample How do you know a visual arts major? Whether you are studying art history or painting, there are always telltale signs you belong to a special group of people, too complex to understand at once. Discuss Essay, Visual Arts and Film Studies - Essay Writers Hub Your research question (or your prompt for this essay) is the question that closes the research guide assignment you have already completed.
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When school budgets are tight, art programs often find themselves on the chopping block. Today’s definition of arts education has evolved considerably from what it once was. Today’s art programs encompass a wide array of disciplines – from fine arts to digital media, from music to landscape architecture – and are encouraging creative thinking, problem solving, and healthy emotional development among other things. In fact, studies show that students who have strong exposure to the arts do better academically and are more satisfied in school, making arteducation a vital component in any well-rounded curriculum.
Why The Arts Matter looks at various art programs across the state and the positive impact they have on thousands of public school students each year. From elementary-age kids learning to ballroom dance, to slam poetry competitions and creative music education, see how children benefit when schools make the arts matter.


Education should be the right of all children, no matter who they are or where they are from. Yet millions of children around the world are being denied the basic education that would give them a fair start in life.
We’re committed to leaving no child behind. That’s why our projects focus on ensuring that those children who are most at risk of missing out – including girls, those with disabilities, refugees, and those living in disaster- or conflict-affected areas – are able to benefit from a quality education.
We focus on early childhood education (ECE) and basic literacy and numeracy skills, laying the foundations for children to have a brighter future. By investing in children at this crucial time in their development, our programmes build resilience for later in life.


Fanny McIan was born in Bath, England, and is best known for her depictions of Scottish landscapes, and her promotion of women's art education. She eloped to London at the age of 17 with Scottish actor and artist Robert McIan. Making a name for themselves in the Scottish community in London, Fanny painted historical Scottish scenes and created popular prints of the Scottish highlands. In 1842 Fanny was appointed the first Superintendent of London's Female School of Design. During her time at the school she encouraged fine art practise alongside design, which went against the school's mission leading to her termination in 1857. Her work was widely exhibited across the UK including at the Royal Society of British Artists and the British Institution. In 1854 she was the second woman to ever be elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy.


Former Minister of State for Schools encourages schools to take part in major classroom technology study
Lord Knight, former Minister of State for Schools is calling for primary schools to participate in major new research commissioned by maths resource provider Learning Clip. The study expects to reveal compelling evidence of the benefits of increased feedback by using student response handsets in classrooms.
The research, designed and monitored by the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) at the University of York, follows two earlier studies conducted in 2011/2012. Both demonstrated significant improvements in engagement and achievement in pupils who were taught maths and literacy using the handsets.
“This is an exciting project for schools to participate in. In addition to helping school children improve their numeracy skills, it could pioneer a wider breakthrough in maths learning. Student response technology has been around for some time, but the true potential of these systems is only just coming to be understood,” said Lord Knight.
“In terms of engagement, every pupil participates with every question, but the real impact is in the instant feedback provided to both pupil and teacher. Each knows within seconds when an answer is wrong, allowing the teacher to intervene at the moment when it is most meaningful to the pupil.”
Andrew Foster, Education Consultant at Learning Clip added, “With the initial studies showing pupil attainment levels increasing by 30% and more, we’re extending the research to definitively prove how much impact student response handsets can really have.”
The organisers are appealing to Year 4 teachers in larger primary schools in London to take part. In return, schools will receive a set of Promethean Activexpression student response handsets and a subscription to cloud delivered interactive learning resources from Learning Clip.
For more information or to find out more about getting your school involved in the study contact email@example.com.
11 October 2012
For media enquiries contact firstname.lastname@example.org or call 0161 850 5555
For more information about Learning Clip visit www.learningclip.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Learning with Student Response Handsets
Questions are delivered to pupils on the screen of their handset; their answer can be submitted as text, numeric or multiple-choice and are sent back to the teacher’s computer.
As soon as a pupil has answered, the next question will appear on their screen. Children who are more confident or able can work at a quicker pace, while those who need more time to answer will feel less pressured to keep up and are able to respond discretely.
No marking is required and teachers save preparation time by simply logging on to the Learning Clip website and choosing from a bank of prepared activities and questions. The Learning Clip system collects and marks the answers providing instant feedback to pupils, and a detailed snapshot of the class’s performance for the teacher.
About the IEE
The Institute for Effective Education (IEE), based at the University of York, is working to establish what works in learning and teaching – and why.
It conducts rigorous evaluations of education programmes and practice. Its work is mainly focused on literacy, numeracy, and science in the UK and overseas, but also includes Early Childhood Education, parenting, widening participation, and the effective use of technology.
The IEE works closely with schools, policy makers, and other researchers to share knowledge and build support for evidence-based education in policy and practice.
About Learning Clip
Learning Clip is a privately-owned limited company established in 2007 to produce online resources for teaching primary maths.
The company aims to provide a single source for quality interactive material covering the whole spectrum of mathematics from age four to 11. It is entirely committed to an ongoing cycle of improvement and development.
This press release was distributed by ResponseSource Press Release Wire on behalf of Workshop Marketing Agency Limited in the following categories: Children & Teenagers, Business & Finance, Education & Human Resources, for more information visit https://pressreleasewire.responsesource.com/about.


A day that celebrates moms is a perfect reason to cuddle up with your child and a good story.
“Books are a great way to remind toddlers and early preschoolers how much their mothers care about them,” says Anna Hall, an associate professor of early childhood education at Clemson University. “I have many warm memories of reading to my own children.”
From stories about shared nighttime routines and gained independence to a spotlight on different cultures and languages, a wide variety of titles celebrate the maternal bond.
Hall, who taught early elementary education for a decade, shared 10 of her favorite books — and why they’re fitting for Mother’s Day:
“A Chair for My Mother” by Vera B. Williams
A family with three generations living under one roof has a fire. The mom, child and grandmother work together to save coins in a jar to buy a comfortable chair. It’s a great lesson about working toward goals together.
“Floating on Mama’s Song” by Laura Lacamara
Every time a little girl’s mother sings, she has this magic power with her voice; things start to float. Her grandma orders her daughter to stop singing, but she changes her mind after the little girl discovers the family secret. The book is written in English and Spanish, and it shows generational love.
“Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney
Here, the Little Nutbrown Hare asks Big Nutbrown Hare: “Guess how much I love you.” They use different metaphors to compare how much they love each other — with the parent and child each using larger measures to symbolize their affection.
“The Hello, Goodbye Window” by Norton Juster
A child makes trips to her grandparents’ house and, from her point of view, explains how they would wave to her as she arrived — and left — through the same window. The little girl says how she hopes to have a window just like that in her own house when she’s an adult.
“The Kissing Hand” by Audrey Penn
The story helps children cope with separation anxiety as they head for school. Here, the mother raccoon tells her child that if she kisses the child’s hand, he can hold his paw around the “kiss.” And then the little racoon goes on his way. It illustrates that a mother’s love is always with you.
“Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch
I’ve always loved this one. It’s about a child growing up and becoming an adult. But the message is: No matter how old you get, I’ll still be your mom. As the story goes along, she comes to the son’s house and rocks him as an adult. It’s a beautiful story — and a tearjerker.
“Mama, Do You Love Me?” by Barbara M. Joosse
A young child in an Inuit family tests the limits of a mother’s love (“What if I put salmon in your parka … and lemmings in your mukluks?”). Even though the child has tested the limits, the bounds of her mother’s love — “more than the whale loves his spout” — are unshaken.
“On the Night You Were Born” by Nancy Tillman
The writing is super poetic with a lot of metaphors (the moon stayed up till morning, the geese flew home to celebrate, polar bears danced). It’s really celebrating how a mother’s love begins right at birth, how special the day is and how that love continues.
“The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown
A little bunny tells his mom that he’s going to different places; the mother bunny’s response is always the same. If he goes to the mountains, for instance, she will become a mountain climber. No matter what, she would go to the ends of the earth to be with him.
“What Moms Can’t Do” by Douglas Wood
Illustrated with dinosaurs, the book explains that moms can help you do things like get ready in the morning. But what moms can’t do is end the day without tucking you in, telling you how much they love you and sharing other special moments. It’s humorous and really cute.
It’s never too early to foster a love of books. Learn why reading to your baby is beneficial.
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When the weather has made taking your kids to the park impossible — or at least, miserable — it’s helpful to have a few creative educational activities handy to keep preschoolers busy and entertained indoors. Because these winter days are soooo long. Even if they’re short.
These simple educational activities for preschoolers don’t require hours of prep with hot glue gun or $50 worth of supplies only available from international mail order. Plus, your kids will actually enjoy them! And that will help make the time on those days stuck indoors more fun for both of you.
For learning letters
If your child is just starting to learn letters, this cute free alphabet tree printable from Mom Inspired Life is a great way give them practice matching those symbols. My kids would love to do this on their own and have me “check” their work, just like a teacher would. But for younger kids who are still learning, sit right with them and practice the names and sounds the letters make.
For learning sight words
For kids who are just starting to learn sight words like my youngest, have them match Scrabble pieces to words you write out for them on paper. Of course, it’s always more exciting when you customize it with words that are familiar to them, like their name, your pet’s name, a relative, a favorite TV character, or a special toy.
For learning colors
This color wheel craft at Craftionary takes a bit more prep work than some (though I’d use a paper plate instead of cutting out foam board), but once you make it you’ll have it to use for a while.
I love the versatility of this educational activity — you can ask your child to match the clothespin to the color on the wheel, or you can ask them to clip the two primary colors that make purple, green or orange. Or, your preschooler is learning their letters, have them “clip to the colors that start with B,” and so on.
For sorting and color matching
Learning to sort colors is an important fundamental for preschoolers to master, and this cute rainbow color-sorting printable (PDF) at Engaging Toddler Activities is an easy way to let young kids practice. To match the colors, grab whatever you have in a craft drawer — fluffy pom-poms, dot stickers, markers, toys or even blocks.
Though my kids’ pick would definitely be M&Ms.
For counting practice
The Imagination Tree has so many wonderful Montessori-esque educational activities for preschoolers, and I love this beans and flower pots counting activity if your kids are just starting to grasp math basics. She has great tips for how to use it, from simple matching numbers on the pots (or use paper cups) to the beans you put inside, to sorting, sequencing, and starting kids on the concepts of addition and subtraction.
For fine motor skill development
I’m working on some fine motor skill development with my 3-year-old, and this simple Feed the Turkey fine motor skill preschool activity over at The Busy Toddler has been a big hit with her! Check out the post to see all the educational benefits of letting kids do this activity alone. But of course, you can also sit with your child and guide them to choose the big puffs or the small puffs, choose puffs by color, and so on.
And, of course, you can just use plain cups and bowls — or one a kid decorates themselves with stickers or scribbles — instead of a jar decked like a turkey. That turkey is cute. But I promise, kids will find this educational activity fun no matter what.


Many curricular expectations in New Brunswick You and Your World courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpts from You and Your World K-2 (2005) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:
The You and Your World Curriculum represents an integrative approach to teaching and learning in grades K-2 and supports the emphasis being given to literacy at the primary level. It incorporates outcomes from health, personal development and career planning, science and social studies and replaces the curriculum guides in these areas… Within the strategies are suggestions to support the development of literacy and numeracy skills and authentic links to physical education and the arts. The You and Your World Curriculum builds and expands on cross-curricular skills of communication, inquiry, life-long learning, decision-making, participation, teamwork, and personal management.
On the left menu you will find outcome charts containing media-related learning outcomes from the You and Your World curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site. As many of our lessons can be adapted to suit different grade levels, specific lessons may be listed for more than one grade. Teachers should also note that individual lessons often satisfy a number of learning outcomes.


Solaine Méline April 14, 2021 Coloring
Good Parenting at preschool stage of toddlers, A good parenting must consider the understanding about the preschool period of child. According to studies, preschool period of child’s life cycle is vital to convey awareness. In every country, children often start school when they are just three years old and spend two years in the preschool or kindergarten section of the school before they start Year 1 – first grade – at the age of five or six. When it comes to learning, parents can help with number awareness – being able to recite from one to 10 is not the same as understanding the value and place of numbers. Talk to your child about quantities, for example, five is bigger than two. Concentrate on counting; playing dominoes and simple board games, such as Snakes and Ladders, will teach children how to count while making it fun.
In the initial ages of a child, Parents do every possible effort to make the child bloom in real manner. Coloring pages is a commonly used practice by parents at home or teachers at school to impart knowledge of the alphabets, animal, monuments, fruits, vegetables, numbers etc. Kids love coloring activities and they can even learn a lot through color & fun activities. Colors are fascinating and attract kids easily, that is why the environment of play schools or preschool sessions includes multi colors to make the kids or toddlers happy and cherish. Research shows that the child in early age learns faster than ever, so the knowledge should be impeccable that has to be imparted to kids.
Rapid Knowledge of things, Like already said picture lessons are easily retained by children more than any other thing. When they have pictures to color (say an animal), they take notice of the lines, shape, form and names. This will help them recognize such picture next time they see it. Easy recognition of things helps build their overall knowledge with time.
Surely, early education is vital, but in different situations toddlers just don’t like studies because it can be monotonous. However using computer games features in learning completely resolves that very common problem for children as well as their moms and dads.
Fun activity-how to draw activity, Draw images of alphabets, animals, cartoons, numbers, leaves, etc. is another way to impart understanding within a kid of various living or non living things on the earth. It invokes the imagination within a kid; make use of paper and vibrant colors to start such drawing activities with your kids and make sure you occupy an outdoor location such as gardens, roofs, or terrace etc.
When one colors, all negative emotions should wear off. Once you empty your brain and heart of those negative feelings that make you stressed out, there should be more room for positivity. Since you are positive and filled with good energy after coloring, there must be no difficulty in continuing your job with full productivity. In the end, coloring is soothing. There are so many proofs and studies on that. When something soothes you, it cannot be harmful. So, this must be a good reason to seize this as an opportunity to make your crew at the company both positive, cheerful and stress-free or encouraged to cope with their work.
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K-1 classrooms are spacious with areas for large and small group work. Students sit at community tables and practice sharing materials. Students may be on the area rug listening to a teacher for a mini-lesson or sprawled on the floor reading. The day consists of many smaller blocks of learning and movement breaks.
Learning by Doing
Classroom instruction is organized around hands-on experiences using concrete materials rather than worksheets and workbooks. Materials are arranged in learning centers that children can access independently to build agency. Student may work in individually or in small groups at various points through out the day. Literacy is the primary focus in any primary classroom, and it is the largest block of the day at two hours. Math concepts are introduced through the use of manipulatives such as blocks, geo boards, tangrams, pattern and attribute blocks, dice, and counters and cubes which can be counted, measured and subtracted or compared.
Balanced Literacy Program
Campbell uses a workshop model to deliver reading instruction. In both reading and writing, students have some choice to read or write about topics that inspire them. Teachers also provide readers with guided reading instruction and phonics instruction to build new skills that can then be applied to a variety of books.
The K/1 curriculum can be found in the APS Program of Studies.


“One of the most consistent findings in all of education research is that children become better readers when they get explicit and systematic phonics instruction.” We know from both research and what we see every day with our students, that foundational skills allow students to “crack the code” of written language and are the keys to accessing a college- and career-ready education across subjects. But for a variety of reasons, many students aren’t getting this critical foundation. Is high-quality foundational skills instruction happening in your classroom, school, or system? How can you tell? In this webinar, we’ll use an updated version of the Foundational Skills Observation Tool to practice identifying the research-based elements of an excellent and equitable foundational skills experience for all students. Participants will watch and debrief classroom video and consider how the Foundational Skills Observation Tool can support continued teaching and learning around foundational skills.
This webinar offers a certificate verifying professional learning time on the topic. To receive this certificate, select the “Access On-Demand” option and complete the webinar as a registered participant.
This learning experience will be most powerful if used as part of a comprehensive, ongoing program of content-specific professional learning. To learn more, see the Professional Learning Principles.


At-Home Learning Resources During the COVID-19 PandemicAt-Home Learning Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic
To support students, teachers and parents in navigating the new learning landscape, KQED is offering free at-home learning resources for all children and youth in California and beyond. These resources include television programming on KQED World and PBS KIDS 24/7 in the Bay Area as well as free, online learning media and activities for use outside the classroom. These At-Home Learning educational resources are made possible through an unprecedented collaboration between KQED in Northern California and PBS SoCal/KCET in Southern California.
Digital Learning Resources for PreK-12 Educators
School looks quite different this year. Whether your school is doing distance, in-person or hybrid learning, we have free resources to help. Here are a few great places to get started:
- Youth Media Challenges: Election 2020, Engineering for Good and more
- Webinars & Training: Media Making & Media Literacy for all Educators
- KQED Media Academy for Educators
- PBS LearningMedia
- California Public Media Education Service
For Parents and Caregivers
Here are some ways to keep students engaged at home.
- See KQED World and PBS KIDS 24/7 TV schedules and get tune-in information for KQED TV.
- These hands-on-activities, apps and videos for PreK-2 support literacy development and allow families to explore science in their everyday lives. Activities are available in English and Spanish (from PBS KIDS).
- Sign up for the PBS KIDS for Parents newsletter for tips, tools and support while children are home this summer
- Blog series with video playlists and activity ideas for older children
Explore the Nature Around You
Explore Dance, Place and Culture
Family Summer Reading List
Explore Youth Voices
Educational Programming on KQED Public Television
This Fall, KQED public television will offer broadcast schedules tied to educational resources in order to help bridge the digital divide in learning.
- The PBS KIDS 24/7 channel offers children ages 2-8 educational programming across a spectrum of learning domains including literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and social emotional learning. Educational resources are linked to the PBS KIDS 24/7 broadcast schedule and aligned to different educational themes each week. These include printable weekly activity packets for children PreK-K and Gr. 1-2, a Learn at Home destination on PBS KIDS for Parents, and a Learning Resources for New School Routines Collection on PBS LearningMedia for educators.
- KQED WORLD offers a schedule airing weekdays 9am-2pm designed to supplement learning for middle and high-school students. Episodes within the WORLD At-Home Learning Service are tied to PBS LearningMedia resources, and are part of a comprehensive set of resources for educators and students engaged in a variety of learning scenarios.


Migrant Education Program
The Migrant Education Program helps migrant students and youth in our state meet high academic challenges by overcoming obstacles created by frequent moves, educational disruption, cultural and language differences, and health-related problems.
Services to migrant children and their families may include:
Supplemental academic programs to assist in the achievement of state academic standards
Preschool programs (readiness, transitioning to elementary education)
Family home visiting and academic counseling services
Migrant student data and collection
Student leadership opportunities
Summer schools programs
Secondary credit accrual and exchange
Grants for supplemental secondary services, dropout prevention and retrieval, and alternative education programs; and
Dissemination of information
Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP)
The state Transitional Bilingual Education Program (TBIP) and federal Title III address the unique needs of eligible students, who come from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Both programs share the same goal: develop language proficiency that enables meaningful access to grade level curricula and instruction.
TBIP promotes a two-language system of instruction.
Students learn language concepts and knowledge in their primary language at the same time they receive instruction in English.
Teachers build on growing language skills through the interplay of two languages.
Students take tests in English.


Art and Design
Head of Department: Miss N. Mayers
At Laureate Academy, we place great value on the study and practice of the creative arts. The creation of visual art is often linked to the very nature of what makes us human, and has been a part of human culture since the prehistoric period. Our team of expert art teachers help to guide their students in developing multiple skills and processes, in exploring themes, in expressing themselves through visual media, and overall in developing a passion and enthusiasm for art that will last them a lifetime.
We begin art education at Laureate through an exploration of materials and techniques, intended to give our students the competence and confidence to create art, in its many forms. We hope these skills, embedded at Key Stage 3, will prepare students for future study at GCSE and A-Level. We endeavour to nurture our students’ curiosity and, above all, to make the study and practice of art exciting, challenging and surprising. Our art teachers are experienced, well-informed and from varied backgrounds and specialisms. We encourage our students to challenge themselves, take risks, to be creative and experimental in their work and comfortable discussing and showing their outcomes.
At GCSE, our students follow the Edexcel Art and Design course. Studying art at GCSE level is highly rewarding, as students develop technical skills, work with a variety of different artistic media, engage both in the critique-process and creation-process of artistic works, and develop confidence and risk-taking strategies. Students will study works of art from across the centuries and create their own portfolios. They will also be assessed in the Externally Set Assignment, a 10 hour examination period where students have the opportunity to create a piece in response to a set theme.
The study of art helps to nurture creativity, resilience and perseverance in students. It is also a foundation of human culture and achievement. At Laureate Academy, we encourage students to choose this creative option to further their appreciation of this ancient practice and to develop the skills of creative expression. In the Sixth Form, we offer the Edexcel A-Level in Fine Art. Art at A-Level is a rigorous course that builds upon the key skills learnt at Key Stages 3 and 4. Crucially, we believe, it develops the following:
- Independent thought
- The development, refinement, and communication of ideas
- The ability to analyse own work, and also use the work of others to seek inspiration and inform own ideas
- The capability and resilience for experimentation and risk-taking in order to solve problems
- The satisfaction of producing personal and creative outcomes


Older adults who took music lessons during childhood are faster at responding to speech.
Older adults who took music lessons as children but haven’t actively played an instrument in decades have a faster brain response to a speech sound than individuals who never played an instrument, according to a study appearing November 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The finding suggests early musical training has a lasting, positive effect on how the brain processes sound.
As people grow older, they often experience changes in the brain that compromise hearing. For instance, the brains of older adults show a slower response to fast-changing sounds, which is important for interpreting speech. However, previous studies show such age-related declines are not inevitable: recent studies of musicians suggest lifelong musical training may offset these and other cognitive declines.
In the current study, Nina Kraus, PhD, and others at Northwestern University explored whether limited musical training early in life is associated with changes in the way the brain responds to sound decades later. They found that the more years study participants spent playing instruments as youth, the faster their brains responded to a speech sound.
“This study suggests the importance of music education for children today and for healthy aging decades from now,” Kraus said. “The fact that musical training in childhood affected the timing of the response to speech in older adults in our study is especially telling because neural timing is the first to go in the aging adult,” she added.
For the study, 44 healthy adults, ages 55-76, listened to a synthesized speech syllable (“da”) while researchers measured electrical activity in the auditory brainstem. This region of the brain processes sound and is a hub for cognitive, sensory, and reward information. The researchers discovered that, despite none of the study participants having played an instrument in nearly 40 years, the participants who completed 4-14 years of music training early in life had the fastest response to the speech sound (on the order of a millisecond faster than those without music training).
“Being a millisecond faster may not seem like much, but the brain is very sensitive to timing and a millisecond compounded over millions of neurons can make a real difference in the lives of older adults,” explained Michael Kilgard, PhD, who studies how the brain processes sound at the University of Texas at Dallas and was not involved in this study. “These findings confirm that the investments that we make in our brains early in life continue to pay dividends years later,” he added.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Hugh Knowles Center, and Northwestern University.
Contact: Kat Snodgrass – SFN Source:SFN press release Image Source: This NeuroscienceNews image is adapted from an NIH image. Original Research: The research will appear in the Journal of Neuroscience on November 6 2013. We will provide a link to the research when available.


ABSTRACT: Dramaturgy, a specialization of microsociology (the study of face-to-face interactions) describes the social action of the Self impression presented to a public. The ‘teacherly’ Self, is engaged, in “social actions” with different “publics,” each of which calls for a somewhat different “role” governing relevant impressions given. Students in schools are the main public, but so are the professional impressions gained by their parents, colleagues, and administrators. Surveyed here are a range of generalized teacherly roles music teachers “script” (or accept) for their teaching praxis: for example, recipe and delivery teaching of “what works” and “best practices,” Pied Pipers, lead and push teachers, teachers as coaches (not maestros), praxicalists, and more. This application of dramaturgy to music education critiques some common ‘scripts’ as neither in the best interest of students nor of music in the lives of graduates and describes easily understood models for pre- and in-service teachers.
Author: Thomas A. Regelski
Click here to read the article


The Elementary Learning Department is committed to supporting schools in providing rigorous, high-quality instruction to ALL students focused on deliberate and relevant teaching, learning, and student engagement, resulting in high impact teaching and globally competitive students. The Department houses the English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies content areas. We assist teachers with the following:
- Providing and facilitating high quality teaching and learning experiences based on standards, including WIDA and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards
- Building professional expertise and capacity to plan and implement high quality instruction
- Using data to inform instruction, including the selection of appropriate and relevant instructional materials
In order to provide ALL students with high-quality, differentiated instruction that targets their unique needs, the Elementary Learning Department focuses on the following services to support teachers in personalizing their instruction for students:
- Environmental Considerations and Changes
- Grade Level Florida Standards Implementation
- Deliberate Planning of Curriculum and Instruction
- Using Data to Drive Deliberate Practices and Instruction
- Professional Learning in Language Arts (reading, writing, speaking & listening, language, and foundational skills), Social Studies, Math, and Science
- Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science Content
- Student and Teacher Resources for Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science
- Instructional Materials and Resources in both print and digital formats.
- Focused units of study and resources aligned to appropriate Depths of Knowledge (DOK) based on grade level and content area.
- School-based Professional Development opportunities to support teaching and learning.
- Florida Standards content knowledge
- Florida Standards-aligned Performance Tasks
- Research-based instructional strategies and best practices to effectively deliver Florida Standards
Parents of Elementary School Students (Grades PK-5) should access the Supporting Young Learners website at http://bit.ly/SupportingYoungLearners. You will find guidance and resources related to English Language Arts/Literacy, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Social-Emotional Learning to help ensure your child continues to be successful in school.
Click below to access the grade level Roadmap to Success:
Kindergarten Roadmap Grades 1 - 5 Coming Soon!
The Elementary Learning Department plays an integral role in the development of curriculum and related professional learning for the state's required/mandated instructional topics. The BCPS District Report can be accessed HERE.
English Language Arts
Core instructional materials are one of the most important resources educators use in the classroom to enhance student learning. It is crucial that they fully align to state standards—what students are expected to learn and be able to do at the end of each grade level—and are high-quality to ensure meaningful instructional support. The comprehensive core curriculum Broward Schools uses requires that students gain knowledge and skills systematically through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking. Our core curriculum aligns with the established body of research on the Science of Reading and integrates high-impact teaching and learning practices throughout. The adopted instructional materials are part of the District's Elementary Curriculum.
Broward County Public Schools utilizes STEMscopes as the core instructional resource for Science. This core resource aligns to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standard for Science while also following the 5E model of instruction. It also provides students with classroom experiences that are connected to real-world phenomena and also provides opportunities to engage in authentic science practices. Our elementary students learn science through the 5E model of instruction which is a student-led inquiry-based learning method. By learning through the 5E instructional model, the teacher acts as the facilitator by guiding students through their questions and investigation, thus allowing for the students to arrive at an in-depth understanding of fundamental scientific concepts.
Broward County Public Schools mathematics instructional materials provide opportunities to build students’ conceptual understanding, develop procedural fluencies, advance recall with automaticity, and promote higher-order thinking skills through meaningful problem-solving investigations. Strategically designed and delivered benchmarks-based math lessons develop in three stages: exploration, procedural reliability, and procedural fluency. The expectation is to build student understanding by utilizing the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (C-R-A) Instructional Sequence. Focused instruction requires coherence of concepts within the grade and across grades. This focus helps students gain strong foundations, including a solid understanding of concepts, a high degree of procedural skill and fluency, and the ability to apply the math they know to solve problems inside and outside the classroom.
Broward County Public Schools utilizes instructional materials that are aligned to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies. The Elementary Social Studies curriculum incorporates the required state statutes that focus on knowledge of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights along with Florida’s Constitution, our country’s early history, Patriotism and Flag Education, the History of Florida, and age-appropriate lessons on the history of the Holocaust.


The Transition to Grade Four
The transition to Grade Four is well-known to be difficult for many children and, for those with gaps in their foundation skills or with specific learning difficulties, it can be the time when things really fall apart.
How it works
This talk will consider the reasons why some children struggle with the transition into Grade Four, focusing specifically on cognitive, emotional and literacy development of children at this stage as well as the academic demands made on them. Practical ideas of how to support these children will be discussed from a psychologist, parent, teacher, and remedial therapist’s point of view.
HPCSA Awards 3 CEUs
This talk will be available 30 days from registration.
Debbie Catto is both a supervising and assessing psychologist for Bellavista S.E.E.K. She is also an Educational Psychologist in private practice with experience in assessment, play therapy and literacy support to children identified as having dyslexia.
Annelize Clark is an Occupational Therapist and Foundation Phase Teacher with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Intervention. Her passion lies with inclusion and teaching foundational skills to those with barriers to learning. She is the online co-ordinator and moderator for the Award in Literacy and Dyslexia at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E.


LA 2.6 Exploring MetaGoals and MetaStrategies for Standards for Effective Pedagogy--Center 3
|Learning Outcome||Pedagogical Intent||Student Position|
Employ a variety of strategies, materials and resources in standards-based ESL and content instruction.
Assessment: 25 pts.
TA: 10 Minutes
Teachers will be able to design, create, and enact activity centers for their students.
Students have participated in MSDLA centers in other courses in the endorsement and have read about designing activity centers. These centers wil deepen their knowledge.
- The MetaGoals and MetaStrategies Chart presents a matrix where two of the Standards for Effective Pedagogy, Lanaguage and Literacy Development and Challenging Activities, are presented as Meta Goals and the other three standards are presented as strategies for reaching these goals.
- As you fill in the matrix identify how the MetaGoal overlaps with the MetaStrategy in that cell of the chart.
- Discuss whether this is an accurate representation of the inter-relationships among these standards. Consider how viewing the standards in this way impact your own teaching ELs.
- Now review the glossary and accompanying SPC-T which is a tool used to evaluate teaching using the Standards for Effective Pedagogy. Consider individually how you might improve. Discuss how thinking of the five standards as MetaGoals and MetaStrategies might increase your use of them in your teaching.
- Consider the content, topic, standard you have selected in terms of this formulations of the five standards. How can thinking of these in this way support you as you design your MSDLAs?


At first glance, a field trip described as both “virtual” and “hands-on” seems to be a bit contradictory. But for 13 Chaminade education students, their recent “field trip” with the United States Naval Academy was exactly that—a virtual, hands-on experience made possible by Chaminade’s partnership with the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
The students participated in a two-day virtual workshop to explore scientific phenomena related to waves, sound, reception, refraction, chemistry, circuits and more. For these aspiring teachers, the experience provided valuable tools for thinking about how to conduct their future classrooms and communicate complex scientific concepts.
“Zoom sessions and virtual fields trips are looking like the new norm for us, and as a future teacher, I need to start thinking of ways to still make school fun and interactive for students,” says Daysha Kau, a fourth-year Elementary Education major who participated in the workshop. “Many of the experiments we were shown and led through required easy-access materials that can be provided to students to continue hands-on learning, even if they aren’t physically in school.”
The workshops were provided by the United States Naval Academy STEM Center and were assisted by Engineers on Deck, a nonprofit that specializes in STEM teacher workshops. The students logged into the digital meeting platform, and followed instructions to conduct their own experiments from home.
“The United States Naval Academy made sure to clearly show us what to do with the experiments,” says Kau. “I was surprised at how simple everything was, and it was great to still be able to do hands-on experiments through virtual learning.”
The virtual field trip was a new type of experience for Kau. She particularly enjoyed playing with the hydrophobic sand, or sand that repels water.
“This sand, also called magic sand, has hydrophobic properties, so it repels water,” says Kau. “It was so cool to see the sand, when submerged in water, clumped together; however, when lifted out of the water with a spoon, the sand turned back into regular sand grains.”
But perhaps her biggest takeaway was seeing how the United States Naval Academy was able to demonstrate complex scientific concepts into easy-to-understand visualizations that even younger kids could comprehend—and in a virtual environment, no less.
For example, to demonstrate how sound waves travel, they used a metal slinky and shook it up and down at various paces. For younger children, they showed the education students how to demonstrate the concept using construction paper.
“They showed us how to make loops with paper strips, and then tape them onto a bigger piece of paper,” explains Kau. “When we tapped on the paper loops, they bounced. This also exemplified sound waves and the movement of sound.”
Kau sees this as an activity she can implement in her future classroom one day. “It not only gave me a better understanding of the concept, but it can also be used in a future elementary school classroom and help students interact with the concept.”
Kau, who is graduating in Spring of 2021, hopes to become a first- or second-grade teacher. She’s grateful for the opportunity to learn from the United States Naval Academy STEM Center, and she knows the skills she learned will prove valuable to her in the future.
“I believe this experience with the naval academy gave me more ideas on how to conduct hands-on science experiments and break down scientific concepts for students in those grade levels,” says Kau. “It really brought the concepts to life.”


The school is considered the second home and it serves a number of purposes in a child's life. From boosting their confidence to making them learn the importance of team work, problem solving and critical thinking, a school does it all. Away from home, schools become the place for children to spend their maximum time. The school infrastructure plays an important role in creating a favourable environment for the child's growth. KHSG is equipped with interesting and well designed spaces that not only assures active learning, but also pays special attention to the emotional and physical well-being of the students.
Technology plays a major role in the life of a 21st century learner. We at KHSG believe in integrating technology into the curriculum and providing access to technology to all the students, such as for projects, research, problem solving and other computing activities. Our lab is equipped with computers, LCD projectors, visualizers and tabs. We have partnered with CS Pathsahala to bring modern computing curriculum to Indian school (https://cspathshala.org). The computer lab is supported with 3 well equipped audio visual rooms to help integrate technology in the curriculum.
My library is a hub of communal activity for the school and is a storehouse of more than 13,000 books, journals, and magazines. The books are issued according to the pace of reading of the student. We encourage our students to suggest titles/genres of books both fiction and nonfiction to add to the vast collection of books. In the library, the books are classified class-wise in the open shelves and the students can also access information and reading material online in the media corner of the library.
Today our understanding of literacy encompasses the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various forms of communication including spoken language, printed text, and digital content. Numeracy encompasses the ability to use mathematical understanding and skills to solve problems and meet the demands of day-to-day living. These labs train the students to use interesting and engaging strategies to develop literacy and numeracy skills.
The physics and chemistry labs provide firsthand experience to the students to perform experiments, develop observation skill and learn to record data.
All students of grade 5-10 learn elements of both Indian classical and Western Music. They are encouraged to participate in Intra and Interschool events. KHSG provides a one of its kind platform to the students in Pune to showcase their talent in Indian classical music and dance genres through the flagship program titled Bal Sangeet and Nritya Mahotsav.
Art education encourages the students to think imaginatively and bring fresh ideas. It also helps the students to express themselves and think outside the box.
We aim to provide your child with support to resolve emotional, social and behavioural problems as well as gain a sense of direction. For this purpose, our school counsellors provide counselling programs in three different domains.
To cater to children at both ends of a spectrumFor those with Learning difficulties, our counsellors provide appropriate care and guidance to cope with their special needs and to adjust sociallyFor Gifted or Talented Children with exceptional abilities we provide Activity based workshops with the objective of developing leadership skills and creative thinking.
Through intelligence testing, personality assessment and career guidance, our counsellors will guide you and your child to choose the right career.
Our ‘Life Skills’ programme gives your child communication and interpersonal skills, decision making and critical thinking skills, coping and self management skills. Our gender sensitization, mother-daughter hygiene programme and parenting workshops will help your child to smoothly transit from childhood to teenage & adulthood.
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The Importance of STEM Education for Early Elementary Learners
There’s a buzz around Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in elementary education these days. Teachers on all levels, administrators and principals, education standards writers, and government agencies know that our country needs to produce students skilled in the STEM fields to fill jobs and continue our country’s tradition of innovation. In fact, in 2010, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology stated,
“We must ensure a STEM-capable citizenry. All U.S. citizens should have an understanding of scientific and technological knowledge, engineering principles, and quantitative methods sufficient to succeed in public life and in their careers, and to make informed decisions about issues facing our Nation and our planet.”
But understanding that STEM-proficient citizens are needed and growing said citizens are very different matters.
Colleges and universities have made recent news with their successes in recruiting more women and minorities to STEM fields. Middle school and high school teachers are working to try innovative new models and include more STEM education in their classrooms. Older elementary school students are participating in science fairs and maker fairs, such as the one held at the White House on June 17, 2014. But what about our early elementary school learners?
Traditionally, elementary school teachers have focused classroom time on literacy and mathematics. The push toward standardized test scores like the PARCC, Stanford and other knowledge-based assessments has encouraged this laser focus, but it means that in many kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade classrooms science and social sciences get short shrift. Innovative teachers have managed to find the time and justification for STEM-related activities, but many U.S. students reach fourth grade with few science and technology skills. It’s no wonder. Teachers must justify a certain amount of hours each week of literacy and mathematics instruction, and their planning time, too, is often dedicated to those subjects.
Lack of planning time and classroom time account for one reason that STEM skills, aside from math, have traditionally been developed primarily in secondary school and at the university level but not in elementary schools. But evidence is coming to light that STEM skills built from early learning will help students to develop the knowledge and habits that will engender a lifetime of STEM understanding and proficiency.
One reason that it’s so important to encourage STEM learning early in elementary school is that the process of inquiry that is integral to STEM is the way young children naturally learn. Young children explore, ask questions, and discuss their findings. In her article on Early STEM Education, Erin MacPherson describes first grade learners gathered around a sand table:
“Students become engrossed with the sand, some marbles, and rulers, and soon, with the help of a few guiding questions, they are learning principles of physical science.”
Our kindergarten, 1st grade and second grade students have the gift for exploration and experimentation already. When those natural impulses are matched with fundamental science concepts and instruction in inquiry methods such as controls, communication, and record keeping, students gain a solid foundation in science that can help them move ahead and excel in STEM fields.
So how can K-2 teachers and teams manage to integrate STEM learning into their busy schedules and packed curriculum? Some recently developed educational products can help teachers build STEM proficiency in the primary grades while providing the supports teachers need to fit hands-on and interactive science instruction into their busy classroom schedules.
Science4Us is one such program. Innovative online-interactive activities and hands-on offline activities guide students’ exploration to build a solid foundation in STEM skills. Through online games and videos, students learn concepts and vocabulary that will support their learning in higher elementary grades. They participate in both online, virtual investigations and offline, hands-on investigations to slake their thirst for and build skills in scientific inquiry, investigation and engineering. Activities are interdisciplinary, too, often including literacy skills, math skills, historical and biographical information, a connection to the arts and even literature that relates to science.
Studies show that as students enter middle school, many of them, especially girls and minorities, lose confidence in their abilities to learn Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When we provide a STEM education that meets classroom budget and time challenges and also gets kindergarten, 1st grade and second grade students excited about science, we’re building foundation of knowledge and a love of STEM that can be fostered and built upon for all students through years of education. That foundation will help every student, without concern of gender or background, remain confident in their STEM learning. It’s changes like these that can change the face of STEM education in early elementary classrooms.


Child and Youth Studies: Language and Literacy
Share your love of reading and writing and make an impact in the lives of children and youth by pursuing the Language and Literacy specialization. Educational inequality too often creates a literacy achievement gap that is a roadblock as children work to reach their full potential. The Language and Literacy specialization prepares you to support learners in their literacy development: creating and implementing literacy activities, involving family and community, and understanding the connection between literacy and social justice.
Literacy proficiency drives academic success, but oftentimes children and youth need support in addition to traditional school instruction to learn and grow as readers and writers. In the Language and Literacy specialization, you will:
Build a foundation for understanding how emergent readers and writers become fluent over time.
Read, assess and select high quality children’s literature with an emphasis on essential elements of evaluating and selecting multicultural literature.
Explore literacy in its sociocultural context.
Experience the excitement of arts-based integrated teaching and learning.
When you choose the Language and Literacy specialization, your coursework will be determined by the age range of learners with whom you wish to work in your career. You may choose an emphasis on early learners, birth to age five, in coursework such as Children’s Literature and Literacy, and, New Media and Creative Pedagogies. Or you may choose an emphasis on older children and youth in coursework such as Adolescent Literature and Foundations of Middle Childhood Teaching and Learning.
Culminating Internship and Capstone Project
In your culminating year, you will engage in a year-long internship, learning hands-on about teaching and learning opportunities in a community organization. Placements are made based on your specialization, learning trajectory, and career goals. The internship provides the space to apply what you have learned, reflect on your practices, and challenge yourself to grow in new directions.
During your internship, you will select a Capstone Project, using all you have learned and experienced to impact children, families, the community, and the organization. You will use critical reflection, problem-solving skills, and action research to identify community problems and propose solutions to create lasting change. The Capstone Project allows you to share your knowledge and skills while also learning something meaningful to you and your organization.
- Adolescent Literature
- Arts-Based Integrated Learning
- Children’s Literature
- Equity and Diversity in Education
- Literacy, New Media, and Creative Pedagogies
- Reading Multicultural Literature across the Curriculum
- Understanding Phonics
Students who successfully complete the Child and Youth Studies Language and Literacy Specialization have a variety of interesting career options, including:
- Education Director, Family Literacy Coordinator – Community Action Organizations
- Education Specialist – Youth Development Organizations and Arts Organizations
- Literacy Specialist, Program Coordinator – Library Academic Support Programs
- Program Manager – Non-profit Organizations
- Teacher, Home Visitor – Community-Based Early Care and Education Programs
- Teacher – Community-based Literacy Programs
- Tutor, Program Manager – Tutoring and School Support Programs
- Youth Advocate – Advocacy Organizations
Request more information
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This study investigates the implementation, assessment, and instructional needs of elementary music educators of the First District of the Kentucky Music Educators Association in teaching for musical understanding through the artistic processes of creating, performing, and responding of the Core Music Standards. The overarching goals of music education are to teach students to become musically literate and independent makers of music. The researcher conducted an online survey and interviews of members to determine their current instructional and assessment practices and their challenges so that an action plan could be created to assist elementary music educators. Through this study, the researcher determined that the members of the First District are diverse in their educational backgrounds and classroom situations, but the main needs of these educators were professional development specific to the core music standards and collaboration opportunities. Additionally, the research revealed the positive influence of the Orff-Schulwerk method on implementing the artistic processes in the elementary classroom. Professional development or certification in this method could provide elementary music educators pedagogy training and the opportunity to network with fellow elementary music educators so that they could build a strong network and support system in their efforts to obtain their goals of music education through teaching for understanding.
Year manuscript completed
Year degree awarded
Core Music Standards, artistic processes, Orff-Schulwerk
Dissertation Committee Chair
Ijames, Amanda Lynn, "Teaching for Musical Understanding Through the Core Music Standards: Creating, Performing, and Responding in the Elementary Music Classroom" (2020). Murray State Theses and Dissertations. 170.


Reading comprehension requires a child to understand two broad skills according to The Simple View of Reading, proposed in 1986.** Those skills include recognizing words (usually through organized phonics instruction) and understanding the content of language. In our last blog we talked about word recognition. Today let us discuss language comprehension.
Understanding content depends on four elements:
- Understanding vocabulary,
- Having a wide and somewhat sophisticated knowledge base,
- Understanding sentence structures, and
- Understanding figurative language.
In kindergarten, first and second grades, children focus on building phonics skills so they can code and decode words. In third grade, children’s focus shifts to understanding the content of written language. This is the time when children recognize as sight words many of the words they have worked for two or three years to code and decode. With less thought going into deciphering letter sounds and combining them into words, children have more energy to focus on understanding what those words, phrases and sentences mean.
By third and fourth grade, children have mastered the basics of phonics, including words of many syllables. They recognize letter patterns quickly if the reading is grade appropriate, though they still struggle with technical language, subject specific vocabulary, and words of foreign derivation. They rely on their understanding of prefixes, root words, and suffixes as well as context to figure out the meaning of new words. They might reread a passage when they realize they don’t understand it. They might look up words in dictionaries. They might predict, summarize and conclude. They might scan headlines, subheadings, captions and graphics to gain understanding.
Until third and fourth grade, most students’ oral language skills—using precise words, speaking in complicated sentences and using irony, for example—outstrip their reading skills. But in third and fourth grades that gap narrows. A child’s comprehension depends far less on decoding skills and more on understanding a wide vocabulary, having a sophisticated understanding of the environment and understanding how sentences, paragraphs and various genres of writing are constructed.
Sometime in late middle school, children’s oral language converges with their reading comprehension.* Students gain new vocabulary and understanding of their environment more from reading than from conversation. At this time of life, it is important for students to read widely and often to increase their vocabulary and knowledge base, to understand how ideas are structured and to appreciate how figurative language enriches comprehension.
This understanding of reading skills—a combination of word deciphering skills and comprehension skills—was proposed in 1986 by Gough and Tunmer.** They called this understanding The Simple View of Reading (SVR).
*Biemiller, A. (1999). Language and reading success. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
**Gough PB, Tunmer PB. Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education. 1986;7:6–10. doi: 10.1177/074193258600700104.