The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.
A brief analysis by Mr. Rakesh Kapoor, Founder, The Modern School, Lucknow
The points below are from government of Indiaâs âThe Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009â Chapter V âCurriculum and completion of elementary educationâ:
- Conformity with the values enshrined in the constitution
- All round development of the child
- Building up childâs knowledge, potentialities and talent
- Development of physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent
- Learning through activities, discovery and exploration in a child friendly and child centered manner
- Medium of instruction shall, as far as practicable, be the mother tongue
- Making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety and helping the child to express views freely
- Comprehensive and continuous evaluation of childâs understanding of knowledge and his her ability to apply the sameâ
The school shall ensure ââ¦ good quality elementary education â¦â
FREEDOM TO LEARN, schoolâs role: facilitation (5)
Child centred processes of learning (e): The key idea is freedom to learn, for the child, according to his informed choice. Facilitating to learn what the child finds relevant or wills, through activities, discovery and exploration. Childâs sense of relevance and will are the central point of start of the process of learning. (e) School and teacherâs role is to facilitate the processes of discovery and exploration, and provide resources, support and guidance for activities.
FREEDOM TO LEARN, schoolâs role: removing constraints (6, 7)
This freedom to learn and express curiosity, must not be constrained by destructive relationships with teachers or school authorities. The constraints are: fear, trauma of the insurmountable challenge and anxiety for the future negative consequences (e.g. examination results). Learning entirely in English does not make children grasp concepts intuitively and creates divisions in society.
FREEDOM TO BE, schoolâs role: understanding of our rights in a democracy (1)
Our liberal democracy is conceived to be an open society, as good as any in the world in terms of its openness and idealism. It aims to secure for its citizens justice, equality, fraternity and dignity. The students must be made aware of the fact that eternal vigilance is the price of maintaining an open and decent society â they must study its functioning and take part in it to strengthen it ad protect it.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAXIMUM/ALL ROUND DEVELOPMENT, schoolâs role: providing opportunities and technology (2, 3, 4) for learning, experiencing and a friendly environment, so that self discovery of potentials and talents is realized. The three conditions required for creating a hospitable community are empathy, congruency and unconditional care. Providing teacher for learning physical fitness and challenges for complex cognitive development (HOTS).
CONTINUOUS EVALUATION (8), schoolâs role: holding school and educators accountable for causing intrinsic motivation to learn and its facilitation, discipline without fear in a free environment and high standards of learning. In the (1) to (7) above the ethos is to make the child an autonomous and self confidence learner and master life. But if there is a third party (teacher) looking over the childâs shoulder, then all that is aimed at in the curriculum â freedom from fear, joy of learning, sense of freedom and creativity, etc. are negated.


For birth to age 2
Complete 26 fun activities with your baby or toddler and receive a free board book and growth chart.
Stop by the library to sign up. Youâll receive an activity page that depicts characters from the book Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, written and illustrated by Jarrett Krosoczka. This sheet includes fun and loving activities for you to do with your baby or toddler that promote literacy development, including âMake animal noises together,â âPlay peek-a-boo,â and âAttend a library program.â Once youâve completed all of the activities with your child, stop by and pick out a new board book to take home, as well as an Eric Carle themed growth chart.
Did you know that literacy development begins at birth? Many people assume that a childâs literacy development begins when he or she learns to read and write. But there are crucial building blocks that take shape before a child ever even learns the alphabet. Learning to understand and speak language is the first step. Babies learn how to perceive the individual sounds of spoken language during the first eight to ten months of life. By eighteen months, they may know about fifty words, and after 24 months, they begin acquiring vocabulary at rate of up to ten new words a day!
How do babies learn vocabulary? First and foremost, from their parents and caregivers. Through talking, singing, playing, and reading to your baby or toddler every day, you are providing those crucial experiences that lay the foundation for later reading and writing success.
Want to know more? Follow these links for some great information and tips on strengthening your little oneâs early literacy development:
Literacy Milestones from Birth to age 6 from Reading is Fundamental
Early Language and Literacy Development from Zero to Three
A Child Becomes a Reader, printable booklet from the National Institute for Literacy
And here are some books in the library collection you might find useful (click on a book cover for more information, or to place a hold.)


Read to Your Baby Everyday by Rachel Williams
Embroidered by Chloe Giordano
Published by Murdoch Books|Francis Lincoln Childrenâs
Date: March 2019
At work we run a program which introduces new parents to the importance of reading to your baby everyday, it is the perfect introduction to early literacy. One questions that I often get asked in these sessions is how old does my child need to be to have a library card and I always respond with from the day there are born, so, when I saw this book, I couldnât pass sharing it with you.
There are many reasons why reading to your children every day is important, starting from when their babies. Not only are does it nurture a childâs love of reading and books but:
- The first three years of a childâs life a childâs brain is like a sponge, they take everything in and makes it the perfect time for to expose them to words and builds the blocks for future literacy development.
- Babies learn through all their senses â touching and yes putting books in their mouths, seeing colour and patterns, hearing sounds and arrangement of words.
- Singing and reading rhymes teach children how words work.
It may seem overwhelming to find the time with your child to sing and read to them but just a few rhymes out of the book each day is achievable. Here are just a few ideas of how you can do this:
- When youâre having a cuddle.
- During a nappy change or potty training.
- During a quiet time.
- At bath time.
- Make it part of bed time routine.
- Or, after feeding baby.
About the bookâ¦
This keepsake is a beautifully illustrated book of nursery rhymes with old favourites such as Hey Diddle Diddle, This Little Piggy, Twinkle Twinkle, and Iâm a Little Teapot. What I find stunning about this book is the embroidered illustrations by the talented Chloe Giordano. I can only imagine how beautiful it would have felt in its entirety before being processed digitally and onto paper.
For new parents that are not familiar with nursery rhymes, I believe this to be a great introduction to classic nursery rhymes that you can sing or read aloud. In my experience there are some cultures that donât use nursery rhymes that we have grown up with in countries such as Australia, USA and UK, but want to learn them now. I can not think of a better resource that could achieve this and would make a treasured gift for new parents.
What I discoveredâ¦
I discovered that Old Mother Hubbard has 15 verses, I thought it only had one! I think I would loose interest in this rhyme very quickly. I also noticed that some of the rhymes varied from what I know and love, for example what I would call Incy Wincy Spider, in this book itâs The Itsy Wincy Spider. The book was published in England so I imagine that versions of songs vary from country to country
Read to your baby every day and see them become little sponges of information and full of imagination and whimsy.
Thank you Murdoch Books/Allen and Unwin for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.


Neuropsychology refers to the study of brain and behavior. These evaluations allow for the assessment of how one's brain functions, yielding information about the functioning of various parts of the brain. It can provide detailed and useful information regarding presenting problems.
Psychological evaluations/testing utilize standardized instruments and procedures to assess an individual's cognitive, academic, social, emotional, personality, and behavioral functioning.
Individual, Couples, and Family Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy involves the use of various approaches aimed at helping individuals work through difficult experiences. Based on a clinician's individual assessment of the client's needs, suitable approach(es) are identified and implemented.
Group therapy is comprised of a small group of members with one or more therapists facilitating a discussion on a specified topic. There are different types of groups each with unique focuses and goals.
Occupational therapy helps people improve functioning in their areas of injury, illness, and/or disability. This can have positive implications for individuals' participation at school, work, social situations, community, family, and day-to-day tasks.
Our occupational therapist can help with conducting evaluations and therapy to better determine individuals' strengths and challenges. This might be inclusive of sensory-related issues, fine motor problems (poor handwriting), sensori-motor deficits, visual-spatial difficulties, among others. Our OTs may also incorporate mindful practices and other evidence-based techniques.
We provide specialized occupational therapy services that focus on improving foundational skills required for age-appropriate function and participation in daily life. We take a comprehensive approach to each child/adult we treat as we know all areas of development are connected. Our clients have a variety diagnoses (Autism, ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar, EBD, SPD, Trauma, Cognitive/Developmental delay, etc) and we strive to provide client centered care with education to both the client and family. Our team has additional training and education to provide the following specific sensory based programming: Therapeutic Listening, Pressure Brushing, Astronaut Training, Sensory Diets, Feeding/Picky Eating and Transition Planning. Additionally, our entire OT staff are certified in Interactive Metronome Program to target coordination, processing and executive function delays commonly observed in a variety of diagnoses.
Speech Therapy offers the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders. Services are provided by a Speech-Language Pathologist, who are often called speech therapists. Speech therapists use techniques to help improve a personâs overall communication skills. Speech therapy may be needed for speech or language disorders developed in childhood or throughout a personâs lifetime.


The Explorers publications for children includes a range of marine themed workbooks that can be used in the classroom. We have also included some of our favourite activity and colouring books that can enjoy at home.
MY CSI SQUID WORKBOOK
Its CSI time â thatâs Cephalopod Science Investigations! Check out the Explorers Squid books and short film, and put on your science hat. The Explorers My CSI Squid Workbook can be used to help you discover the wonders of the different squid species as well as the deep blue sea.
MY EXPLORERS SEASHORE GUIDE WORKBOOK
My Explorers Seashore Guide Workbook is available in English and Irish. It provides children the opportunity to record their observations, explorations and discoveries on the seashore. The book supports a range of subjects on the primary school curriculum including science, geography, art, English and ICT.
Children can start creating their own Seashore Guide before going to the shore. Other activities can be completed after the seashore safari, including documenting the sand type, seaweeds and animals found on the shore. Activities also include taking photos, being a citizen scientist with Explore Your Shore!
THE SHAPES OF FISH AROUND OUR IRISH COAST
EXPLORING OUR OCEAN COLOURING & ACTIVITY BOOK
The Exploring Our Ocean Colouring & Activity book provides lots of fun colouring pages filled with fun facts about how we use the ocean for recreation and fun, food, travel, as well as some of our favourite ocean animals. The book is by Cushla Dromgool-Regan and Dr NoÃrin Burke. The illustrations are by John Joyce.
EXPLORERS ACTIVITY BOOK
CAPTAIN COCKLE AND THE ROCK POOL COLOURING BOOK


Throughout history, music has been used as an instrument of sociality for cultures the world over. Its power has been touted as the great elixir of both physiological as well as emotional ills. Researchers have studied its effect on emotional/social development, physical development, and intelligence.
The role of music in the education of the young child is at the forefront of all other early learning since the childâs musical intelligence overlaps and intersects with all other intelligence defined by Gardner (Thurman, Chase, and Langness, 1987). Music is a precursor to the development of the other intelligence: linguistic, musical, bodily kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, spatial, and personal (Boyd, 1989).
Visualize the following scenario. Ten kindergarten children are singing the song Five Little Bunnies. Their musical intelligence is used as they sway left to right in rhythm with the music. Their logical-mathematical intelligence is piqued in the counting of bunnies. Their linguistic skills are developed when they create their own personal interpretation of the song. Their spatial and personal development is stimulated as they move around like a bunny.
Children love to sing. Singing generates emotional dimension and is extremely important in social/cultural development since it and culminating activities are invaluable to establishing group identity. Ritualized singing at the beginning and end of play periods develops a meaningful bridge between the childâs home life and school life. (Boyd, 1989).
Meaningful, well-constructed songs are easily memorized and will come to mind at any given moment providing the child singing it a comforting reminder of earlier activities or learning experiences.
Posted in Early childhood, early childhood learning songs, listening skills, Multiple Intelligences, music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, songs for learning
Tagged Curriculum, Early childhood, Motor skill, Music, Music education, optimal learning, Performing Arts
Click on the link below for an enlightening article on information we should inherently know. Parents, teachers, and community â join in and speak up for children. The arts â in particular music, play a critical role in high student achievement. The problem that presents itself in education is many non-musical people set the curriculum guidelines that all educators must follow. I once had a kindergarten teacher tell me she did not see the value of music to kindergarten students. My heart sank! How much time are your children or students allowed to take part in the arts at school? Headâs up! Thirty minutes a week is not enough.
Music Lessons Enhance Brain Function in Disadvantaged Kids â Pacific Standard: The Science of Society.
Infusing curriculum with music is one sure way to heighten targeted academic development. Children acquire skills easily in relationship to what they know. The songs and rhythms of early childhood spark enthusiasm for learning and build self-esteem. There are six elements to incorporating music into your daily teaching routine. How do we effectively incorporate them?
- Ensure a strong bond between music in the classroom and music at home.
- Incorporate music use with all elements of curriculum.
- Use music to facilitate effective transition times.
- Steer appropriate classroom behavior with background music.
- Develop a âMusic and Sound Spotâ.
- Allow time each day for movement with music.
Each of these areas will be presented in following posts to allow time for discussion of each separately. Be sure to look for future posts.
Also, this is a new blog and I would love to hear from you on the types of information you would like to see presented. Thanks!
Posted in music, music and curriculum, music and dramatic play, music and learning, music and self-esteem, music brain connection
Tagged Arts, Background music, Curriculum, Early childhood, Elementary school, Language acquisition, Music


This page is for anyone with an interest in this numeracy difficulty. I have many students who come to school with little English. Usually as a studentâs level of English improves so does achievement in mathematics. However, there are times when this lack of language does not mask a weakness or difficulty in mathematics. So, whatâs going on? What is it about numbers, sequences and other essential numeracy skills that is making tasks difficult?
January 2019. I have completed the Dyscalculia Training Centreâs Dyscalculia 1 to 1 Training course materials. This has been a really stimulating course with literally hundreds of ideas and sample materials. Just need to use some of the methods with a student now in an attempt to try and bring them on. Once Iâm confident with the strategies I can then have a go at the course final examination in order to gain the qualification.
Babtie, P and Emerson, J (2014) The Dyscalculia Solution, London: Bloomsbury Education
Babtie, P and Emerson, J (2015) Understanding Dyscalculia and Numeracy Difficulties, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Butterworth, B and Yeo, D (2004) Dyscalculia Guidance, London: GL Assessment
Bernard, Brett, (2016) Math Anxiety, USA: Gold Medal Staff Development
Hornigold, J (2015) Dyscalculia Pocketbook, Alresford: Teachersâ Pocketbooks
Following on Twitter:
@stevechinnUK an independent consultant, researcher and writer. As well as writing maths books, worksheets and tests, he has contributed chapters to many books, including, âDyslexia and Mathematicsâ (which was the first ever UK book on maths and dyslexia)
@DysMLD Twitter account of the National Conference of Dyscalculia and MLD
@dyscalculiahead Dyscalculia Headlines, a website bringing together relevant headlines from a multitude of sources
@dyscalculiaInfo Judy Hornigold, an educational consultant specialising in dyslexia and dyscalculia
@DyscalTrain Dr A M Schreuder, founder of the dyscalculiaservices.com (see below)
http://dyscalculiaheadlines.com/ a website linking to news headlines regarding dyscalculia
http://www.learning-works.org.uk/free-downloads/national-dyscalculia-and-mld-conference-presentations-and-free-resources has ALL the materials from the past 8 national conferences free for download. Brilliant.
http://dyscalculiaservices.com/ an American based website that has many resources available. Set up by Dr A M Schreuder, (@DyscalTrain) who has also authored a number of book on dyscalculia. One page also outlines a number of apps that they have found useful. Mostly they are for the younger age group â Iâm not promoting any of them as Iâve not tried any, just pointing to something that may be useful.


- STAAR Homework - Week 3 homework is all on paper. The reading passage/questions and the math worksheet were sent home today. Please, have your child complete and return by Friday.
- Economics Fair Products - Students should be working on their 35 - 40 products at home. Your child has 8 days to get the products made. All products will need to come to school on Wednesday, April 13 for the Economics Fair. Parents are allowed to help their child bring their products into the school (in the morning).
- Field Day Volunteers - Please complete the form if you'd like to come to Field Day to help out (lunch time, field day stations, Kona Ice). We only need 2 - 3 parents from our class. Please let me know if you have completed the form and are wanting to volunteer. I need to let the office know who is coming to help out our class. Field Day is April 14th.
- Student Registration for next year (2022 - 2023 school year) - A registration form will be sent in your child's Thursday folder this week. This form must be completed and returned back to school next week.
- Economics Fair (purchasing items) - The Economics Fair is next Wednesday, April 13. An envelope will be coming home in your child's Thursday folder this week. Please, read the blue information sheet on the front of the envelope. Place money for your child to buy products in the envelope. Complete the green form on the back of the envelope. Return the envelope this Friday, Monday (April 11) or Tuesday (April 12).
- Home Access - Check HAC to see how your child is doing on assignments and quizzes. If you see a "M" that means your child is missing that assignment and still needs to turn it in. Students completed an assignment on "perimeter" last week. Perimeter is a concept we covered in November. I was surprised to see that only 1 student did well on this assignment. This assignment was meant as a review and should not have been too challenging. With all of this said, I will be reteaching perimeter to the entire class tomorrow for our math lesson. Then, students will get the assignment returned to them to make corrections for 70%. Please, continue to go over math concepts with your child at home in preparation for STAAR in May. Thank you!
- Reading Unit - Our current unit: Biographies and other literary text. We continue to practice reading comprehension strategies (nonfiction text features, main/central idea, context clues, problem/solution, inferencing, summarizing, fact vs opinion, cause/effect, author's purpose, character traits, theme, sequencing events, point of view).
- Writing Unit - Our current unit: Nonfiction and Persuasive Writing. We will be writing informational pieces including our PBL project, script for our ecosystems project, and so much more!
- Science Unit - Our current unit is on Environments, Ecosystems and Food Chains. We have explored 5 different environments (forests, deserts, grasslands, wetlands, oceans/coral reefs, tundra). We will continue to dive deeper into ecosystems by learning more about the animals and plants that live in each ecosystem. Test scheduled for Wednesday, April 13.
- Math Unit - Our current math unit is on Place Value up to 100,000. This week we've spent time learning how to write a 4 digit number in many ways (word form, standard form, expanded form and using base ten blocks). We've also spent 2 days on rounding larger numbers (up to 10,000). Test scheduled for Thursday, April 14.
- Think Sheet - If a student continues to break or not follow our class's Social Contract or PAWS expectations, the student will need to complete a Think Sheet during recess time. This Think Sheet will go home for parents to discuss with their child, sign the sheet and return it the next day.
- Stay informed - Make sure you have the FREE Class Dojo app on your phone so you can see messages from me. Friendly Reminder messages are sent out a couple times a week! Plus, I usually post 1 - 2 pictures a week in our Class Story on Class Dojo showing some of the activities we do during our school day!
- Scholastic Book Order - If you are interested in getting new books for your child, consider ordering books from our Scholastic Book Club. Order online at: clubs.scholastic.com/ Our class code is: NP79X
3rd Grade Teacher


Progress and achievement at school and kura
The Ministry is working with the education sector, parents, students, whÄnau, iwi and communities to support a focus on progress and achievement across the national curriculum â New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa â following the removal of National Standards and NgÄ Whanaketanga Rumaki MÄori last year.
Why focus on progress across the curriculum?
We all progress at different rates and start from different places. Assessing and reporting on your childâs progress â not just their achievement â takes into account their starting point. It helps teachers and kaiako provide your child with the right learning opportunities and support.
It also helps you know what progress your child is making and how you can support their learning.
And while itâs important to know how well your child is doing in literacy and numeracy, te reo matatini and pÄngarau, itâs also important to understand the progress theyâre making across the curriculum, including in key capabilities for success in life, learning and work.
What information will I receive about my childâs progress in school in the meantime?
The National Administration Guidelines require schools and kura to report to you at least twice yearly in writing on your childâs progress across the curriculum, including the foundational skills of reading, writing and mathematics, te matatini and pÄngarau.
The reports you receive should help you understand how your child is progressing, what steps the school is taking if your child isnât progressing as well as they could, and what you can do to support your child's education at home.
You can talk with your school or kura if you want to know more about their approach to reporting. You can also talk to the school or kura about what you would like to be included in school reports, as they are for parents and should provide you with the information you need to understand how your child is doing and how you can help.
Having good information about your childâs progress is essential, so you can support your childâs learning. The Education Review Officeâs report, Building genuine learning partnerships with parents(external link) talks about the benefits of information sharing and genuine partnerships between schools, parents and whÄnau and the significantly positive impact it has on studentsâ progress.
The Ministry is supporting schools and kura to make this shift.
If you have any questions or concerns about the progress or achievement of your child, you should talk to your school or kura directly.
Student progress and achievement â have your say
The Curriculum, Progress and Achievement Ministerial Advisory Group has developed some ideas to help make sure that every child experiences rich and engaging learning that is relevant to them.
Theyâre looking at the best ways to support schools and kura to provide your child with the right support and learning opportunities.
The ideas have been developed with input from the education sector, students, parents, whÄnau, iwi and communities, through feedback gathered in June this year.
How can I have a say?
We want to know whether you think these ideas will make a difference for your child, or other children you know. Your feedback will help to refine the ideas before the Ministerial Advisory Group makes its recommendations to the Minister of Education at the end of the year.
Last reviewed: Has this been useful? Tell us what you think.


Helping students get themselves âunstuckâ
One of my biggest challenges as a fifth grade teacher was helping my students become more independent. With middle school just around the corner, I wanted my students to be able to navigate roadblocks when I wasnât immediately available to assist them. Luckily for educators, IXL has a series of features that empower students to take learning into their own handsâeven when theyâre stuck:
Learn with an example
If a student is assigned a skill for homework but canât quite remember how to tackle the concept, IXL can provide helpful direction. Students can click on the âLearn with an Exampleâ link located above the first question in any math or English language arts skill. Theyâll see a sample question and a step-by-step explanation for how to solve it.
Get step-by-step support with IXLâs explanations
When students answer a question in an IXL skill incorrectly, they get immediate feedback, including step-by-step instructions on how to find the correct answer and a reminder of key ideas for that skill. As a teacher, I made sure to model for my students how to use these explanations, so that they knew that resource was there to support them.
Self-remediate with in-skill recommendations
Empower your students to self-remediate with IXLâs in-skill recommendations. When theyâre practicing a math or language arts skill, students will see a list of building block skills at the bottom of the page. If a student gets stuck, advise them to choose one of those foundational skills to help them fill in gaps in understanding. Learners can click back as many levels as they need, and once theyâre feeling more confident, they can head back to the original skill.
Provide in-the-moment support with Live Message
As independent as we teach our students to be, there are still times where they may need a nudge in the right direction. Educators can provide that with Live Message, a new feature in IXLâs Live Classroom report. Whether in or out of the classroom, you can use Live Classroom to monitor studentsâ progress on IXL in real time. The report alerts you when students need your attention so you can provide help the moment they need it. And with Live Message, you can send a quick message to a student to help get them back on track. Learn more about Live Message here.
By Kristina Durkin, IXL Professional Learning Specialist


Music Program For Children Ages 5.5-8.5
The Yamaha Music Education Systemâs unique group class teaching method gives students the distinct advantage of learning to play music for and with others! Your child will gain valuable experience performing for and playing with their classmates, helping to boost their confidence and feel supported by their friends throughout their musical journey
Register for a Preview Class
Music has a positive influence on emotional growth and will give your child another way to express their thoughts and feelings! Discovering the expressive nature of music will allow your child to translate their emotions into sound and will allow them to explore and imaginatively voice their thoughts.
Balancing intellectual and emotional growth is very important as your child progresses through the early years of their life. Music has a positive influence on emotional growth, and will give your child another way to express the things they are thinking or feeling. Discovering the expressive nature of music will allow your child to translate their emotions into sound, and will allow them to explore and voice their thoughts in an imaginative way.
The joy of music is meant to be shared with friends and loved ones! Our Young Musician music classes allow your child to grow and develop friendships while learning to gain confidence in collaborating, sharing their talents and performing in front of others. In the final stage of the Yamaha music programs, we are confident that your young musician will feel excited and eager to spread their love of music with others and communicate confidently in different social settings.
Additional Course Information
Yamaha believes that everyone has the potential to develop musical ability and that everyone has the capacity to create, perform, and enjoy the music that they make. The three main characteristics of Yamahaâs unique music education system are:
- Timely Education â Childrenâs listening skills develop dramatically during their early years. Each course helps students to cultivate musical sense through guided listening, singing, and playing activities and uses a variety of music and musical styles to develop their musical ear.
- Group Lessons â Yamaha has adopted the format of group lessons because we believe it is vital for children to share the excitement and joy of music with their friends. Through group lessons, students inspire each other and work together to learn and play music. The spirit of cooperation and sociability is nurtured through this learning format.
- Comprehensive Musical Training â Yamaha Music Education programs offer balanced courses with lessons incorporating playing, listening, singing, reading, and creating. Through these activities, children develop well-rounded
The Yamaha Music Education System is a comprehensive teaching method that includes singing, ear training, music appreciation, and movement. Their method of teaching encourages students to become a part of the musical community through group classes, ensembles, parents, teachers, friends and concerts. In the beginning, the keyboard is used as a tool to develop a wide range of musical abilities.
Private lessons are an important part of Yamaha training; however, they are added later when the student is more mature and has developed their core musical skills.
For the first year of YMC, students will need access to a keyboard instrument with at least 61 full-sized touch-sensitive keys. For second year students and higher, a keyboard/piano with 88 fully-weighted keys is strongly recommended as it will help develop technical proficiency
If the student has access to a digital instrument (i.e. electronic keyboard), a variety of instrument sounds and rhythms is recommended. Other features, such as USB connection, MIDI compatibility, and automatic accompaniment are also a bonus. These features inspire creativity and make practice more fun!
If the instrument at home is an upright/grand piano, please make sure that it is tuned regularly.
- YEAR 1: Yamaha Grade Examination, Grade 11
- YEAR 2: Yamaha Grade Examination, Grade 10
- YEAR 3: Yamaha Grade Examination, Grade 9
*All assessments/examinations are optional.
- 37-week sessions
- In-class concerts
- 45-minute weekly class
- Parent participation is required
- Limited to 7 students per class


Den kulturella hjÃ¤rnans Fredrik UllÃ©n Ã¤r en sÃ¤llsynt kombination av neurobiolog och konsertpianist. FÃ¶r sajten BOLD (Blog on learning and development) berÃ¤ttar han om musikens betydelse fÃ¶r mÃ¤nniskan.
LÃ¤s intervjun hÃ¤r: Training is important, but it's not the whole story
"In terms of the evolutionary roots of music, one prominent theory suggests that music, dancing, and related behaviors may have evolved as a means to bond members of a tribe, decrease conflict, and make people more inclined to pursue the common interests of the group.
Transferring this to a school setting: These days, we see a lot of conflict among young people in a school environment, and making music together might help to lower the level of conflict and improve the environment. Although more research in this field would be important, existing studies indicate that music education may indeed have such positive effects on prosocial behavior."


In Norway, where 96,5 % of Norwegian children between age 6 and 16 attend public schooling, music is given by 1 weekly lesson throughout the 10-year compulsory school. In Norway, children of all abilities attend undivided classes during the 10 years of schooling.
In lower secondary school, though, pupils have to choose between a range of subjects, among which âProduction for stage and audienceâ is popular and adds to the weekly one hour of music for many pupils. In upper secondary, only the pupils choosing music have any musical education. Pupils who choose music though get an extensive music education with 8-10 weekly lessons over 3 years, comprising of e.g. main instrument, band/orchestra playing and choir as well as theoretical issues.
From 2020 there will be a brand-new curriculum in compulsory school. The main elements in music are:
- Play/sing music
- Create music
- Experience music
- Cultural understanding of music
The subject of music in Norwegian schools is founded on a premise that all aesthetic education has to take cultural dimensions into consideration, because aesthetic approaches vary according to cultural and historical context. Since music and pupilsâ identity are important issues in music, classroom music should make room for diversity and polyphony in dialogues. Music in class also aim at supporting pupils to become creative, engaged and explorative in music, and the aim is that pupils should get rich possibilities of realizing their ideas in sounding music.To achieve quality and to build musical identity, critical approaches and reflexive judgment regarding ideas and musics are emphasized in teaching and learning music in Norwegian schools.
Compulsory school has no fixed curriculum, only assemblies of goals that pupils should master after 2, 4, 7, and 10 years of schooling. E.g. after 2. grade, pupils (among else) should be able to use a repertoire of songs, dances and clapping games, while after 10. grade, one expects pupils to e.g. be able to Â«interprete musical utterances and discuss the meaning of freedom of speech and its ethical consequencesÂ».
Music and other aesthetic subjects and approaches have gone through difficult times lately, because of the authoritiesâ focus on testing of knowledge in the so called âcore subjectsâ. Music, as such, is one of the smallest subjects in Norwegian schools, and can be marginalized if not attended to. However, two white papers and the new curriculum point at issues that can be addressed by musical creativity and aesthetic ambiguity. These main themes are: Democracy and citizenship; Health and life mastering; Sustainable development.
Due to the Norwegian geography, many pupils do not have the opportunity to meet the arts, and there may also be cultural and economic issues hindering pupils getting artistic experiences. The Norwegian Department of Culture therefore runs a huge program of visiting artists in schools, The Cultural Rucksack, where schools are visited by professional musicians several times a year. This program also comprises a large number of professional concerts.
Music education and activities outside school
All municipalities in Norway are obliged to run a âCulture schoolâ where pupils can have lessons in various artistic subjects. Many of these schools run bands, orchestras and choirs. Even if the system is sponsored, there is a tuition fee, and parents must consent to letting their children participate. Approximately 16% of Norwegian pupils attend Culture school, and a large amount of them learn to play an instrument.
Locally, Norway has a large amount of wind bands, choirs, folk music groups and other musical activities which are democratically run by the participants, and many of these activities are for children, separately or as activities for all generations.


Compulsory education âhomogenizesâ population, can stave off democracy
History is replete with dictators from Adolf Hitler to Mao Zedong using state-controlled education and propaganda to mold young people into loyal patriots. But why do some leaders invest in mass education and others donât?
Research published in The Economic Journal â authored by Harvardâs Alberto Alesina, UCLA Andersonâs Paola Giuliano and Northwesternâs Bryony Reich â argues the answer lies in the type of ruler and how secure that ruler feels in office.
Authoritarian leaders threatened by protests or other forms of civil unrest use mass primary education as a tool to âhomogenizeâ their population around shared values and a national vision. They are more likely to view this investment in ânation buildingâ as money well-spent, the research shows, because it increases their likelihood of staying in power, even if democracy prevails.
Colonial rulers, on the other hand, donât see a value in investing in education because their goals are to extract wealth over the short or medium term rather than building for the future. They are more likely to implement âdivide and ruleâ policies that pit one ethnic group against another, according to the study, creating an alienated, uneducated populace that is less prepared to transition to self-governance.
The recent military coup in Guinea, a former French colony with one of the worldâs lowest literacy rates, is a reminder of the fragility of democracy in many former colonies.
Alesina, who died in 2020, Giuliano and Reich define nation building as a process that creates citizens who feel such a âsufficient amount of commonality of interests, goals and preferences that they do not wish to separate from each other.â In addition to education, other instruments used to foster unity include the establishment of a national language and religion or compulsory military service.
Nation building is differentiated from state building, which involves the creation of institutions that are necessary to keep a government going, such as tax collecting or providing garbage collection and water.
Why Rulers Choose to Educate Population
The authors rely on modeling and historical case studies to determine the costs and benefits to a ruler of investing in mass education. They identify two motives for a ruler to âhomogenizeâ: either to reduce the threat of democracy or to build a more like-minded population that reflects the rulerâs values so if democracy prevails, the people will opt for the status quo.
Their model predicts that âmass educationâ will occur before democratization and in response to the rise of a threat to power.
Itâs a difficult balancing act. If a leader implements homogenization policies, then the populace can communicate better and may also be better able to take collective action that could result in a revolution and government overthrow.
The challenge for such a ruler? âEnough education to homogenize, but not too much to create rebellious masses,â the authors explain.
Michele Coppino, the author of Italyâs 1877 compulsory education reform, wrote that the aim of elementary education should be to ensure the masses were âcontent to remain in the condition that nature assigned to themâ and to âcreate a population â¦ devoted to the fatherland and the king.â
To test their theory, the researchers collected per capita primary educational enrollment for 172 countries between 1925 and 2014. Data from a smaller set of countries was used to identify when educational reforms were introduced and when there were threats to the government in power, such as major crises or revolutions. The researchers also inputted data on leaders of 188 countries from 1875 to 2004, which allowed them to identify changes in government not apparent in other datasets.
Education Can Help a Ruler Hold On to Power
Their analysis confirmed that states implemented mass education primarily in the decades before democracy and these educational reforms tended to come in response to threats to the regime.
A 2017 study by Agustina Paglayan of UC San Diego produced comparable findings. She found that large investments in centralized bureaucracies and mass education were triggered by civil wars in countries like Argentina and Chile.
An extensive review of historical case studies by Alesina, Giuliano and Reich identified similar trends around the world. Regimes facing the risk of democratization during the 19th century, like France, Japan and Britain, instituted compulsory primary education relatively early, while those facing the threat later, like Turkey and Thailand, did so later.
Others have posited an alternative explanation for the move to mass education in Europe in the 19th century: The governments were responding to demands from the protestors. But that is unlikely, the authors assert, since state-run mandatory schooling was âoften unpopular and opposed by the peasantry for much of the 19th century.â


In my last post, I promised to cover different quiz question types that I have found useful in language teaching. I will start my walkthrough with the two âdrag and dropâ question types: âdrag and drop into textâ, and âdrag and drop onto imageâ.
âDrag and drop into textâ
Technically, the quiz question is easily set up â follow the instructions here.
This type of question makes students reflect upon text cohesion. You can choose a grammatical or a lexical focus for your quiz (focus on function words vs. content words).
Here are a few suggestions:
- Remove all the pronouns (he, she, him, ours, my, herselfâ¦) and let students use their knowledge of grammar to put the correct words back into place.
- Remove the prepositions (in, at, on, into, underâ¦). Prepositions are known to cause problems for most language students, also at later stages of language learning when struggling with idiomatic expressions (for instance phrasal verbs like to agree with/about/on/to). Very often, the correct prepositions cannot be guessed, so students have to learn the expressions as a whole. As a teacher, you can use âdrag and dropâ questions with prepositions to support this process.
- Remove content words, such as nouns, verbs, or adjectives, to train reading comprehension strategies. Students will have to use their global understanding of the text in order to determine which words fit where.
âDrag and drop onto imageâ
Follow these steps to set up a âdrag and drop onto imageâ quiz question correctly.
Using images adds a visual element and colourfulness to your Moodle quizzes and is a suitable tool to meet the needs of more visual learners. In a language learning context, I find this question type especially useful to support the acquisition of vocabulary.
Use websites (e.g. Pixabay, Pexels, or Unsplash) to find free stock images for your exercises. Personally, I am fond of arranging several images in a collage â there are plenty of free collage makers available on the internet, such as Fotor.
âDrag and drop onto imageâ questions make sense whenever there is a connection between words (vocabulary, terminology) and visual representations of learning content.
- Pick any lexical fields (e.g. body parts, emotions, colours, types of housing, animals, clothing, landscapes, weather phenomena, food â only fantasy is the limit!) and find suitable, free images on the internet. Let students drag and drop the correct terms onto the collage.
- Use images of maps and let students drag the correct names of countries, languages, capitols, or ethnicities onto the map.
- Images of stairs or ladders can be used to illustrate taxonomies, hierarchies, or steps in a work process (e.g. various steps of analysis).
- Use images or collages to illustrate technical or specialised terms. As a teacher of adult learners working in specialised areas, you may find that your own knowledge of the required technical language is limited. However, you can still scaffold the acquisition of technical terminology by drawing on your studentsâ knowledge and experience. Let your students provide the relevant images (and maybe even terms), and create collages and âdrag and dropâ exercises together.
Benefits of âdrag and dropâ questions
One of the big advantages of âdrag and dropâ questions is their intuitive use. âDrag and dropâ exercises are widely used in second language teaching, so most students will be familiar with this question type. This makes lengthy instructions unnecessary. âDrag and dropâ exercises also form part of the classical repertoire of language testing and are thus helpful tools to prepare students for tests and exams.
You can make your quizzes more difficult by adding extra words to confuse your students. The closer these words are in meaning, the more demanding the exercise becomes for your students. However, it must be possible to determine whether a word fits or not in a particular context.
Question types with images make your quizzes more colourful and illustrative. They are thus suitable for learners of different ages, levels of language proficiency, and educational background.
Stay tuned for a discussion of more Moodle question types in my upcoming posts!
- Student empowerment through progress monitoring tools in Moodle â 11th July 2019
- Poodll assignments in Moodle â a great tool for language learning â 11th February 2019
- The âCorrectionsâ plugin in Moodle â 28th January 2019


ChildCare Education InstituteÂ® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers LIT100: Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun! as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users October 1-31, 2020.
Storytelling and dramatic play are often overlooked in terms of their importance for building early literacy skills. In fact, storytelling is one of the most important tools available to early childhood educators for a variety of reasons. However, many educators shy away from storytelling or consider it a special treat, rather than an integral part of the curriculum. The Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun! course provides comprehensive guidance for incorporating storytelling into the early childhood environment. Participants will learn why storytelling is important for young children, as well as strategies for effective storytelling and rich follow-up activities such as group discussion and playacting. Through storytelling, educators can forge strong bonds with their students while promoting essential early literacy and communication skills.
Aside from fueling the imagination, there are concrete, practical reasons for sharing fairytales, folktales, and other stories with children. For instance, stories can help children understand other cultures, including values, beliefs, and customs. Classic tales, such as Aesopâs Fables or Grimmâs fairytales, provide an extra boost of relevance with regard to early literacy. Thatâs because, as readers, children will often encounter references to these classic tales in conversation and in other writings, whether they are reading a novel or a newspaper article. Stories build what educator E.D. Hirsch refers to as âcultural literacy,â which is essentially the background knowledge a person needs in order to be a fluent reader and a productive, active citizen. Many fairytales, folktales, myths, legends, fables, and other stories are deeply embedded in the English language and American culture. The ability to understand references to these stories is essential for becoming a fluent, fully literate reader.
Any highâquality early childhood program includes reading aloud in its curriculum. There is absolutely no question among researchers and educators that reading to children is essential for language and early literacy development. The only debate revolves around how much and what to read to children, and the general consensus is that we should read to children as much as possible from as wide a variety of appropriate highâquality texts as possible. Reading aloud to children is essential for building early literacy skills, but there is another activity of equal value for young children: storytelling. It is no secret that children enjoy storytellingâboth as givers and as receiversâbut it is often overlooked as a valuable component in an effective early childhood curriculum.
âStorytelling in the early childhood environment inspires purposeful talking, raises enthusiasm for reading, initiates writing, and improves listening skills among other important developmental factors,â says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI . âThis course helps educators learn how to incorporate language skills, cultural knowledge, and creativity into the daily curriculum.â
LIT100: Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun! is a two-hour, intermediate-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEU upon successful completion. Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.
For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday â Friday, 8 a.m. â 5 p.m. EST
ChildCare Education Institute, LLC
ChildCare Education InstituteÂ®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standardâ¢ training provider, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).


Students learn to identify God as the Creator, Jesus as Godâs son, and the Holy Spirit. They learn prayers and Mass responses. They participate in classroom worship and school worship through monthly prayer services or liturgies. The students also attend one morning Mass each week. They also listen to and retell familiar Bible stories.
We have adopted the California Common Core Standards. We focus on Language, Writing, Speaking, and Reading standards for literature, informational texts, and foundational skills. Students participate in group reading activities and retell familiar stories, main ideas and key details in texts. They also learn to follow words from left to right, top to bottom, that words are represented by specific sequences of letters, and that words are separated by spaces. They will recognize and name all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet, recognize and produce rhyming words, learn the vowels (short and long), and read, by sight, common high- frequency words. Using drawings, dictation, and writing, students will learn to write opinion, explanatory, and narrative texts. They will also participate in research and writing projects. One way the students do this is with the annual Young Authors Fair. Every week students participate in âSharingâ. They bring an item to share and learn to speak audibly and clearly in front of their peers. Learning to express ideas and following and understanding conversations is done every day with the morning âchat timeâ as well as during the various learning times in the day.
We use the California Common Core Standards which focus on Counting and Cardinality, Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Measurement and Data, Geometry, and Number and Operations in base 10. Students learn to count to 100 by ones and tens. They will solve addition and subtraction problems with a variety of manipulatives and fluently add and subtract within 5. Describing several attributes of a single object, such as length and weight, classifying objects, and counting the number of objects in each category is part of the Math curriculum. Students learn the names of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes and their attributes. They also create larger shapes and drawings using shapes. Students will compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into tens and ones.
The students develop a beginning understanding of physical science, life science, and earth science. They participate in investigations and experiments that are generated by the teacher. The Kindergarteners also have an opportunity to collaborate with junior high students to perform scientific experiments. The class also has an opportunity to participate in the annual school Science Fair.
The students demonstrate a beginning understanding of geography, citizenship and the influence of people and events now and long ago, such as Johnny Appleseed. The students also learn about American and Californian symbols and historical people who contributed to the progress of the United States.
The homeroom teacher generates projects. A variety of media including crayons, colored pencils, markers, and paint are used. Some projects are used to enrich the curriculum and others have holiday/seasonal themes. The projects encourage the students to practice fine motor skills, listening skills and following directions. There is a weekly music class taught by the school music teacher and two annual music concerts.
There are 2 weekly classes using iPads and laptops. Websites and Apps reinforcing curricula concepts are used. Laptops, iPads, and apps are also used by the teacher, across the curriculum to further studentsâ knowledge.


Due to unprecedented staffing challenges, Urgent Care is experiencing longer than usual wait times.
Reach Out And Read
Reading aloud is the single most important thing parents can do to foster and maintain their childâs love of books.
Physicians use their unique and supportive relationship with parents to stress the benefits of reading aloud to their children and to encourage the familyâs everyday interaction with books.
Reach Out and Read is a pediatric literacy program created in 1989 by a group of pediatricians and educators at Boston City Hospital to help curb illiteracy in Bostonâs poorest neighborhoods. As an early affiliated site, Lynn Community Health Center launched its program in 1996 and is now one of the most vibrant Reach Out and Read programs nationwide.
Reach Out and Read integrates parent education about literacy and literacy development into routine pediatric care. A free, age-appropriate book is given out to children six months to five years of age at every pediatric check-up so that books (and sharing them together with parents and siblings) may become a routine part of family life for our patients.
Creating a Literacy Rich Environment
You can help support family literacy by helping us create waiting spaces for families that involve books and reading. There are two ways to help:
Dedicate one or two hours a week to reading to children and giving away books in one of our many waiting rooms. You will not only be entertaining the children, but modeling interactive reading techniques for parents. After you finish the book, you can offer it to the child to take home for her own.
Volunteers Lynn Community Health Center give over 6,000 gently used books to children every year. We are in constant need of gently used books for our waiting rooms! Collect books from your neighbors, do a book drive a work or school, or ask a local service organization to collect books for the health center.
Make a Donation:
Your support will ensure that each child receives a brand new book at his or her well child visit from six months to five years of age.


Reading Series Three Foundational Skills Teacherâs Guides contain explicit, systematic, book-by-book instruction that supports teachers in the delivery of evidence-based foundational skills instruction with a focus on the vowel team syllable and reading and spelling words with its three variations (vowel digraph, variant vowel digraph, and diphthong), as well as reading and spelling words with vowel spellings that have unexpected pronunciations. As students become adept at recognizing types of vowel team syllables, they will be able to decode more words. This will increase the number of words they can read by sight and analogy. As students advance, they will read words by recognizing larger orthographic units (such as syllables and rimes). This developing ability allows students to read with greater efficiency than is possible when reading sound-by-sound. Our Reading Series Three foundational skills instruction also includes the analysis of morphemes, such as inflectional suffixes and derivational affixes. Once students have been taught these important skills, they can apply what they know to Reading Series Three books. Foundational Skills Teacher's Guides include book-by-book progress monitoring assessments and periodic formative assessments.
Includes: 2 binders containing Reading Series Three Foundational Skills Teacherâs Guides (one guide for each book in the series), progress monitoring assessments, formative assessments, blackline masters, and 1 Reading Series Three Foundational Skills Card Booklet
Samples of Reading Series Three materials can be accessed using the âSee Samplesâ links below.
Additional information about Flyleaf products can be found in the Resources drop-down menu; for more information about Reading Series Three Foundational Skills Teacherâs Guides, see the Reading Series Three sections of the Foundational Skills Scope & Sequence, Teacherâs Guide Overviews, and Model Lesson Videos.


By Carolyn Johnson, Chair of the Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group
âReading changed my life,â declared the twelve-year-old boy from the back row of the class. This reaction was in response to asking students what they thought about the books that Rotary club and district programs provided to their classrooms in rural Guatemala. In addition to quality childrenâs and adolescent literature, these programs provide professional development for teachers â training and support in strategies to inspire and engage their students as readers. These students and their teachers are learning that âreadingâ is not rote identification of words on a page, but an opportunity to get involved and be inspired by stories, learn about far-away places, and meet people who have changed the world. Education is the key to opening doors to the world, yet many cannot access that opportunity. Rotary members change lives by ensuring that students have access to books, to technology, and to well-trained, inspiring teachers.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month, a time for Rotary members to focus awareness on our involvement with literacy and education and recommit to finding solutions that meet needs of illiteracy and gaps in education in our own communities and internationally.
BELRAG, Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group, is committed to supporting Rotary members in their efforts to bring awareness to the severity of illiteracy throughout the world and its impact on the quality of life. We first encourage every Rotary and Rotaract club to look within their own community to identify opportunities to make a difference locally. Consider the variety of needs and projects where your club can make a difference:
- Early learning: projects to support literacy rich, hands-on activities where children can explore and experiment in their environment.
- Educating girls: partnerships to promote girlsâ re-entry to school: prior to COVID, 79 million girls did not attend school; an additional 20 million girls may never return to classes when schools reopen.
- Access for children with disabilities: identify and address the range of barriers and lack of professional expertise that prevent children with varied physical or intellectual abilities from attending school and fully participating in learning.
- Mentoring out of school or underperforming youth: school closures from COVID increased the number of children not meeting minimum reading levels by at least 15%. Consider partnerships to develop learning opportunities outside the traditional school day or classroom setting.
- Technology to enhance basic classroom instruction: take a pro-active approach to encourage and support the safe and responsible use of technology to improve the quality of education.
- Adult literacy: 781 million adults are illiterate: two thirds of them are women. Establish convenient, accessible programs to enable adult learners to acquire competency in reading and numeracy skills.
- Professional development: as in every profession, teachers must have the opportunity for continuous learning and upgraded skills. Identify on-going programs to support literacy or numeracy instruction, classroom management, use of technology, or strategies to promote hands-on learning.
- Access to libraries and other literacy resources: ensure that students have choices from a wide variety of quality reading materials in their native language. There is no better inspiration for readers than access to a rich resource of books â in the classroom or through libraries.
- Numeracy: develop programs to support students in acquiring basic math skills and concepts such as counting, solving number problems, estimating, measuring, sorting, and noticing patterns.
BELRAG can assist your club by providing information and support for your basic education and literacy projects. We offer informational programs to clubs and webinars to create better awareness of illiteracy and spotlight excellent projects where clubs can get involved or replicate. Our Professional Experts Teams can offer advice for project development, implementation, and monitoring.
Literacy Month Awards
Each year, BELRAG offers $500 awards for exemplary community-based projects. For example, last year, three Rotary clubs and one Rotaract club were selected to receive the award for their outstanding projects. You can read about the previous awardees and their projects here.
We are also pleased to announce that, through our partnership with Save the Children, Early Learning Grants are offered to clubs serving rural, high poverty communities in the US. Grants are available for up to $15,000. Projects should promote early learning, Kindergarten readiness, 3rd grade reading proficiency and/or 5th grade math proficiency.
As Nelson Mandela said âEducation is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the worldâ. When we engage with projects that promote quality education and literacy we can truly change lives, change the world. If, as Rotary members, we focus our attention on quality education for every community, we could prevent many of the other challenges as well such as lack of access to clean water, poor health, conflict, and environmental degradation. BELRAG is helping Rotary members meet this challenge. Wonât you join us?


UK prime minister Rishi Sunakâs latest agenda item is battling Britainâs low numeracy rates.
In the British education system, school kids can drop Mathematics and English after the age of 16. And thousands do. In his first speech of 2023, the UK leader proposed to make math compulsory for all pupils until the age of 18.
Part of the reason Sunak is pushing for a lasting math presence in the school curriculum is to equip all young people with the skills to take on advanced jobs once they enter the workforce. â[In] a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our childrenâs jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before,â he said.
Even for those who firmly believe they wonât use math in their future profession, thereâs a more basic reasoning for why they shouldnât give the subject up early in life. Knowledge of math will give them the âright skills to feel confident with finances in later life, including finding the best mortgage deal or savings rate,â Sunak says.
The UK requires students aged 14-16 to retake the math General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam if they donât secure at least a grade 4, but after that, theyâre free to forgo the subject. Several other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Finland, Japan, Norway and the US, ensure students take some type of math until they turn 18.
8 million: Adults in England who have the numeracy skills of primary school children.
Half: Share of 16-19-year-olds who study any math at all.
10 years: How long two parliament terms lastâalso the amount of time Sunak expects to take to fully implement his âmaths to 18â program
Sunakâs proposal sounds good on paper, but fails to consider several issues. Some critics argued the focus on older students is misguided. Sunak should instead pay closer attention to early school education, strengthening the subjectâs foundation.
In countries like China and Russia, children learn more advanced concepts like multiplication and algebra at a younger age, when their minds are malleable. Continuing to learn the subject until they turn 18 also gives them more hours and years to grasp the subject.
That perhaps explains why, by the time some 14-16-year-olds in the UK sit for their GCSE exams, their base isnât as solid.
âThe poor performance of GCSE resit students often reflects fundamental issues at earlier stages of mathematics teaching. Numeracy can be weak, and these students often need to go back to basics,â Sir Adrian Smith, a British statistician who is the chief executive of the Alan Turing Institute and president of the Royal Society, wrote in a 2017 report for the government.
Smith also noted that those issues affect students who score well too: âSimilarly, a lack of confidence among students with good GCSE grades to continue the subject reflects problems at earlier stages, including a âteaching to the testâ culture at GCSE, which can lead to over-emphasis of memorisation strategies and result in shallow understanding.â
For Sunakâs plan to work, schools need teachers. Thereâs already a chronic shortage of math teachers, and not enough are being recruited to the profession. This academic year, the government only filled 90% of the trainee math teacher target it set. Recruitment struggles can lead to poor teaching quality. A November report by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that many schools used non-specialist teachers to teach subjects like math, physics, and foreign languages due to staffing issues.
Lawmakers for the opposition parties were quick to point out the shortcomings in Sunakâs proposal. Labour MP and shadow secretary for education Bridget Phillipson cited missed recruitment targets and teachers leaving in droves. âThe PM needs to show us his working because his gimmicky pledges donât add up,â she tweeted.
Sunakâs blueprint remains vague. In his speech, he pointed to the additional annual Â£2 billion ($2.4 billion) the government will pump into schools for the next two years, but didnât expand on how theyâll be deployed.
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Munira Wilson said: âThe prime ministerâs words mean nothing without the extra funding and staff to make it happen.â While Wilson agrees the post-16 curriculum as it stands is âtoo narrow,â she has called for the government to show âa real teacher recruitment and retention planâ and outline an overall curriculum reform.


âEven in the beginning there was art at the forks of the Thamesâ¦drawn figures in charcoal and vermillion on the trunks of the treesâ¦of men with deer headsâ and in the spirit of this website, I would like to believe these drawings were created by indigenous women.
Artists, teachers and schools, galleries and exhibitions, and finally, collectors and supporters, might be considered the four pillars sustaining our website. Acknowledging that it always begins with the artist, we find our first woman artist to be Lady Alexander who sketched a view of a steeplechase in London in 1843. However, our website begins in 1867; by that time several professional artists had arrived in the young city but no women were recorded among them. These men were engaged by the recently established Art School.  One of these teachers is credited with developing china painting as a business and at one time there were nearly one hundred women employed painting china in a nationally recognized, thriving industry in London.
We were astonished and delighted to discover that, in the economic depression of the 1890s, it was women who came to the rescue of the Art School, which was struggling to survive. Five women from the Womenâs Art Club, organized the previous year, were invited to sit on the board of the School.
Another happy result of the art school, and private classes given by the professional art teachers in the community, was that talented young ladies were winning prizes at the annual art exhibition at the Western Fair. Several continued their art education abroad returning to sell and exhibit their work for the pleasure of the growing number of art enthusiasts and collectors in the community.
However, it is not until the twentieth century and the appearance of three people, Mackie Cryderman, Elsie Perrin Williams and Wilhelmina McIntosh that we can truly comprehend the powerful role women played.
Mackie Cryderman created Beal Art and made it one of the foremost art schools in Canada. She also made a major contribution as an advisor to the unique art programme begun later at Fanshawe College.
Elsie Perrin Williams loved art and was determined that London would have a public gallery. Despite the twists and turns of years of litigation concerning her Will, eventually concluding with an Act of the Provincial Legislature, she gave us the London Art Museum, known today as Museum London.
Wilhelmina McIntosh, an art lover and collector, on her death left $50,000 to the University to give us the McIntosh Gallery, the jewel in Westernâs crown.
How could we forget a fourth woman, Eleanor Somerville who, in 1955 at the request of the chief curator of the London Gallery, organized a womenâs committee similar to that enjoyed by the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario). Within a year she had, indeed, assembled âA Driving Forceâ that, for more than fifty years, raised funds not only for the purchase of important art for the London collection but also spearheaded the construction at the forks of the Thames, of the new Gallery, now Museum London.
These women, with the exception of Mackie Cryderman, were not artists, but their vision, energy and determination have created and sustained a thriving art community in London for nearly ninety years. They were, indeed, âA Driving Forceâ.
âItâs becoming almost a clichÃ© for museums and galleries to tout exhibitions of underappreciated female artists getting their due later in life, but the fact is that generations of women have indeed been neglected and left out of the mainstream narratives,â observed Lindsay Pollock in her Editorâs letter in the September 2016 edition of Art in America. So, in recognition of this, A Driving Force: Women of the London, Ontario Art Community 1867-2017 is a website created to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Canada and the seventy-fifth birthday of McIntosh Gallery at Western University. A coterie of people is compiling the names of women from the past and present whose stories may be found on this website which will continue as an important resource long into the future.
 Nancy Geddes Poole, The Art of London, (London: Blackpool Press 1984), p. 1.
 Poole, The Art of London, p.31.


The curriculum CHIZ! Teaching Finger Math to Students with Learning Challenges â The Ladybug Series Adding and Subtracting (Grades1-4) was written by Lissa Bourgeault, a former instructor of students with learning and cognitive disabilities, and is used to accomplish the objectives of proficiency in math calculations. Based on Chisanbop, a method of finger math that originated in Korea, Chiz! opens the world of math facts to children who otherwise have struggled to learn numerical operations in the classroom. The functional math skills that are taught can be applied to real world settings (e.g., buying items at a store). Lessons are comprised of a series of foundational activities in adding and subtracting using multi-sensory based lessons, poems, games, materials and activities to teach finger math to students with learning challenges. Homework is recommended to occur for 0.5 hours three times a week (at minimum) for skills to solidify and generalize across learning environments.
Each student will move through the curriculum at their own pace and at the end of each semester, decisions are made with parents whether the student requires ongoing support into the next semester. Ongoing consultation with a psychologist and regular progress reports are also included in the programming.
CHIZ! at Eckert Psychology & Education Centre:
- Is supported by Educational Psychologists with expertise in math learning challenges
- Is provided by skilled trainers with background education and specific training in math development
- Presents activities in an enjoyable manner that helps students remain motivated throughout the program
- Is fine-tuned in its delivery to meet your childâs unique learning needs as they come to light during training
- Improves foundational skills in addition and subtraction
- Teaches proficiency in math calculations through multi-sensory based lessons that are fun and engaging
- Opens the world of math facts to children who have struggled to learn numerical operations in the classroom
- Provides a functional basis for math facts to be utilized in real world settings


Understanding & Mastering Modes for the Cuatro
Expand your musical scales vocabulary by adding modes to your improvisations
The concept of modes can be a bit daunting for many beginners. The truth is that youâre already playing modes without realizing it. If you know how to play a major scale, youâre playing an Ionian scale. The first of seven modes weâll be discussing on this course. We'll also discuss how to incorporate these into your jam sessions.
At the end of the course, youâll be able to:
- Identify and play 7 modes on the instrument
- Execute modes in different position of the fretboard using three-notes-per-strings
- Create simple modal melodies and play-along to chord progressions
- Identify modal characteristics and tonal colors
This course is for anyone looking to learn the modes in an easy-to-understand manner--without all the technical jargon.
Samuel Ramos is a seasoned educator, instructional designer, and musician. He graduated from Antillean Adventist University with a Bachelor's in Music Education and from Full Sail University with a Master's in Educational Media Design and Technology, equipping him with the knowledge to excel in both academics and music.
Not only has Samuel served as a music teacher and Assistant professor of Guitar at the Inter-American University of San German, Puerto Rico, but he has also had the opportunity to become the Multimedia Designer for the Walt Disney Company, Digital Learning Designer for the University of St. Augustine at San Marcos, California campus, and Sr. Instructional Technologist for the University of San Diego. His skills have also extended to becoming LMS Administrator/Instructional Designer for Taylor Guitars in San Diego, California. He wrote several instructional books on playing various instruments including the Puerto Rican cuatro, guitar, and mandolin.
When he is not busy teaching or designing content, Samuel dedicates his time to 4jibaro.comâa website that serves as an online community aiming to increase awareness about Puerto Rican folklore music and its heritage. Through his work here Samuel attempts to bring hope and joy to persons through music by transforming the world â one note at a time!


In Salford, we run a project called âComputer Learning Programmeâ. The project is a computer learning programme for children currently between ages 7 to 14 years. The programme teaches the children life-skills set in different aspects of software, hardware, design planning, web development, e-safety, and much more. The students work through a structured programme at their own pace with support from their teachers and mutual encouragement from their peers. The children develop foundational skills to empower them for the future, gain confidence in their abilities and increase their feeling of self-worth.
The purpose of the Computer Learning Programme is to empower young people to boost their future employability. The programme nurtures creative thinking and problem solving, and helps children to recognise their potential and boost their confidence in what they can achieve. We have increased the age group to 16 to help children who are writing GCSE to excel.
The GCSE Computer Science Group will focus on the knowledge and skills needed to excel at GCSE. It will include support on how to approach examination questions and ensure vocabulary that may arise is understood. Students will be given individual support and content will be adapted to the different examination boards. This class will be delivered through a combination of online and face-to-face sessions.
As well as boosting their skill-set, the children also have loads of fun and build great friendships along the way, bridging the gap. We also teach life skills to our learners via additional mini-workshops, discussing socio â economic topics around daily issues which come up in the lives of the children. We keep the classes small, so we can work with the children, giving them the needed attention according to their individual learning pace and style, so they can understand and apply the concept of what they are learning.
We had to introduce this focus group in 2022 to our project. Since the inception of the Computer Learning Programme, the children attending have excelled in their various schools. However, we have realised that some of the children, working towards GCSE still have a lot to cover in terms of their academic performance, due to various ongoing issues with either rapid change of teachers and/or supply teachers in their schools. This, the children say affects their learning and consistency. As an introduction, we started focusing last year on some of the curriculum for the students who will write their GCSE, and they were happy and excelled in Computer Science.
The world is changing and there is new demand for IT and digital skills. There is also the need for industry specific leadership skills, and children â our future leaders must adapt to the required skill sets. Students must be prepared for the challenges ahead, and our vision is focused on enhancing the IT and digital skills of children, encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, helping them to develop a can-do attitude that will build and boost the childrenâs confidence.


Session Time: 55 minutes
Location: Garden City or Zoom
Private Pay: $120
With online learning, a Common Core Curriculum that has abandoned formal handwriting instruction, and large classrooms engaged in unguided tracing activities, many children are struggling with the basic foundational skills needed for pencil grasp and legible handwriting.
Occupational therapy referrals are currently on the rise. A large amount of these referrals are coming from concerned teachers observing students who are producing illegible work, unable to grip their pencil, and struggle to keep up with their peers. Some of these students may have an underlying delay or may need explicit handwriting instruction.
It is important children have the visual motor skills, fine motor skills and hand strength needed learn correct letter formation by the beginning of 1st grade due to engrained motor memory patterns and early formed habits. Children need the ability to form legible letters without conscious effort so they can think about what they want to write instead of straining with "how" to write the words. When letter formation is automatic, less working memory is needed and expression can flow freely.
Using the most recent research backed methods, I combine two of my favorite evidence-based handwriting curriculums - Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) and Size Matters Handwriting (SMH) for the most successful results. HWT teaches a specific order for letter formation, using a multi-sensory approach while SMH focuses on letter size identification.
"What the hand does, the mind remembers." ~ Maria Montessori


By: Tracy Walter
When you hear the word âliteracyâ, what do you think? Do you think of literacy for children, in adults or does it make you think of literacy throughout a community?
Building literacy in young children is important for brain and vocabulary development as they become readers. Good literacy starts at home, even before birth, but it doesnât stop there. Becoming readers help children as they grow to be active citizens in their community. Supporting children through literacy is not just the job of the parents or the school, but also the community at large.
As parents and caregivers, having good conversations and reading to a child in utero is important in brain development. As a child grows and may be enrolled in an early learning center and school, the role of the teachers and families become a partnership in raising the child into a lifelong reader. Even more than the family and teachers, the community plays an important part in the literacy development of children. The saying It takes a village to raise a child is true in the fact that literacy development in children is not just a job of the family, school or community separately, but a partnership of all providing support to one other as the child grows.
Families are the first teachers in the lives of children to help them learn the importance of literacy. Once a child begins in an early learning center and school, the caregivers can provide reinforcement of early literacy skills outside of school in support of their learning while in school. In the community, doctor office, dentist offices, even auto repair lobbies, laundry mats and so many more can be a support to the literacy development as well. They can provide support by having childrenâs books, bright signs, and posters in their offices and waiting rooms to help in the literacy development of children and reinforce the importance of reading.
There are many benefits of early literacy, family literacy, and the support system created within schools and communities. These benefits include:
- Reading aloud to children every day puts them almost a year ahead of children who donât receive daily read aloud time.
- Reading aloud to children have benefits on brain development and vocabulary acquisition.
- There is a direct link between literacy and positive self-image.
- Proficient literacy raises a community of active and empowered citizens.
- Reading leads to greater self-reliance and civic engagement.
A challenge for all who are reading this is to think about what you can do to help support literacy development in young children, older children, and adults within your home and community.
National Literacy Day is coming soon! You can be involved if you read to a child, donate to a local library, give books to local offices to have in their waiting rooms and lobbies, or just have a conversation with a young child to help with vocabulary development. Every little bit helps to increase literacy among individuals. Help celebrate National Literacy Day on September 8th by getting involved.
Proof of benefits of reading to children By John Elder (2013)
Yi-Chin Lan received her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin.
Using the Village to Raise a Reader
DONNA C. CELANO SUSAN B. NEUMAN


- A comprehensive curriculum of Reading, Language Arts, Spelling, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art/Humanities, and Physical Education is provided. Teachers access the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and Common Core, and plan differentiated lessons to fit students' needs.
- Students participate in the MCAS testing conducted annually.
- The Resource Teacher assesses all students in reading and math and consults with the classroom teacher to assure that lessons are tailored to students' needs.
- The Physical Education program is designed as a structured program emphasizing proper behavior, teamwork, sportsmanship, health, and wellness.
- Our specials, occurring twice weekly per class, include Art, Music, Physical Education and Life Skills; Arts and Humanities lessons interface with classroom activities and students are exposed to a wide variety of materials.
Student to staff ratio is 8:3 (one teacher, two teaching assistants per class).
Our therapeutic milieu integrates school-wide clinical and behavior supports to promote positive social skills and emotional regulation throughout each school day.
Phonics â Fundations (K-3) and Megawords (4-8)
Wilson Fundations makes learning to read fun while laying the groundwork for life-long literacy. Students in grades K-3 receive a systematic program in critical foundational skills, emphasizing:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics/ word study
- High frequency word study
- Reading fluency
- Comprehension strategies
Megawords â phonics program for students reading above a third-grade level. The skill based Megawords series presents word lists arranged by word structure and spelling pattern, teaching reading, spelling, and usage through instruction and progression of skills.
English Language Arts â Wit and Wisdom (all grades)
Wit & WisdomÂ® is a comprehensive Kâ8 curriculum that has transformed English language arts (ELA) instruction in classrooms across the nation. Great MindsÂ® believes that classrooms are places where students and teachers encounter wit, wisdom, wonder, rigor, and knowledge, and that literature, history, art, and science all have a place in ELA instruction. By providing a framework for inquiry, Wit & Wisdom helps students build rich layers of knowledge. It inspires teachers and students to experience complex texts and ideas on a deeper level by fostering the questioning spirit that will shape the next generation of great writers, thinkers, and leaders.
Math â Eureka Math (all grades)
Numbers should add up to more than a right answer. They should inspire aha moments and joyful connections. Eureka MathÂ® set a new standard for rigor, coherence, and focus in the classroom so students gain a deeper understanding of the why behind the numbers, all while making math more enjoyable to learn and teach.
Summers at the Pallotta School
The Pallotta School offers an extended school year to provide academic and clinical support to students year-round. During the Summer, students continue to work on our comprehensive curriculum, while enjoying Summer fun. Time to swim in our on-campus pool, play on slip 'n slides, field trips, among other activities are allotted for students during the Summer.


Amy Shapiro and I took a graduate course for professional development on teaching beginning readers. During the course, we studied The Framework for Literacy Instruction which presents three perspectives for effective teachingâthe interactive perspective, the critical perspective, and the response perspective. Across each perspective, the teacher must be cognizant of planning for the learners, the texts, and the instructional practices. It is critically important to address all three perspectives in literacy planning. If our goal is to develop critical thinkers, then focusing their attention on the content, the craft, and the big ideas is imperative. Through exposure to both fiction and non-fiction genres, students can develop a repertoire of comprehension strategies that can be applied appropriately depending on the reading task.
Learners: Affective and cognitive aspects of literacy learning.
Texts: Text structures, types, genres, and difficulty levels matched to literacy learners and literacy goals and objectives.
Instructional Practices: Developmentally appropriate research-based practices used with appropriate texts to facilitate affective and cognitive aspects of literacy development in all learners.
1. Interactive Perspective
- Reading and writing accurately, fluently, and with comprehension.
- Being strategic and metacognitive readers and writers.
- Use a variety of informal and formal assessments to determine areas of strength and need in literacy development.
- Determine texts of the appropriate types and levels of difficulty to meet literacy goals and objectives for students.
- Use instructional methods that address the cognitive and affective needs of students and the demands of the particular text.
- Promote studentsâ independent use of reading strategies and skills.
2. Critical Perspective
- Judging, evaluating, and thinking critically about text.
- Find out about ideas, issues, and problems that matter to students.
- Understand the learner as a unique individual.
- Select texts that provide opportunities for students to judge, evaluate, and think critically.
- Foster a critical stance by teaching students how to judge, evaluate, and think critically about texts.
3. Response Perspective
- Reading, reacting, and responding to text in a variety of meaningful ways.Find out about studentsâ interests and identities.
- Understand what matters to students and who they are as individuals.
- Select texts that connect to studentsâ identities and/or interests and that have the potential to evoke an emotional or personal response.
- Provide opportunities for students to read, react, and formulate a personal response to text.Â© Laureate Education, Inc.
Board Certified Educational Planner and Learning Specialist
My Learning Springboard, Inc.


Hear Reading & Play - Part 3 for Baritone / Euphonium
Hearing, reading & playing is the most complete method for blazers and has already appeared for thirteen different instruments in three parts that are suitable for both group and individual education. The method is composed according to the contemporary standards and requirements of music education and the corresponding exams. Each book contains hearing exercises, games, puzzles, tips and facts. The accompaniment CDs provide extra fun. In all three parts, dr. Checkup the guide that always guides the students with useful information and tips. Part 3 comes first, but new scales and intervals are also discussed, as well as Theodor Tonleiter's explanation of major and minor tone types. The students learn to improvise on a chord progression. Furthermore, part 3 contains rhythmic expansion to the most common and used combinations of nut values. Interesting facts about the construction of the instrument are discussed on a special page.


National Quality Standard
|QA1||Educational program and practice|
|QA5||Relationships with children|
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
|1||Know students and how they learn|
|2||Know the content and how to teach it|
|3||Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning|
|4||Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments|
Play offers children opportunities to engage with the world around them. Being intrinsically motivated and freely chosen, it allows children control over their actions and their learning. Play also helps children develop their self-regulation and problem-solving capacity, and it enriches their vocabulary and language skills.
Today, nearly 200 years after Froebel first argued for its importance in childrenâs lives, play remains an essential part of effective early childhood learning. This is reflected in the Early Years Learning Framework when it describes play as a âcontext for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representationsâ.
This course will examine:
- what play is and why it is important in early childhood
- how significant play is for childrenâs learning and development
- the role of educators in supporting effective play-based learning
- how educators can balance intentional teaching with play-based approaches in a variety of early childhood settings
- the characteristics of play as well as the many aspects of play to be considered and planned for
- how to develop an argument in support of play-based programs.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Completing The value of play will contribute 1 hour of PD addressing standard 3.2.2, 3.3.2 and 3.4.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.


Make the poems an important part of your readers lives by using the poems to help teach phonics which will help them to improve both their decoding and encoding skills. Phonological awareness interventions for struggling readers.
It provides the direct systematic intensive phonics instruction that a lot of older students never received in their early years in school.
How to teach phonics to an adult struggling reader. How to give struggling readers more practice time through volume reading. Often the words appear to move around or the space between words is unclear. How to teach a struggling reader if you need to know how to teach a struggling reader check out this article to get started on knowing how to teach reading skills to elementary students struggling readers of any age for reading.
How to teach reading skills to struggling readers help for desperate parents a list of reading strategies for struggling readers. That s because phonics is the basis of reading and writing. Despairing adults often talk to me about the tragic impact of not being able to read and write.
These teaching strategies may be implemented in a school a home or a homeschool setting. How to help struggling readers reading teaching strategies. Phonics interventions for struggling readers in k 2.
These misconceptions can be passed down from college professor to pre service teacher year after year decade after decade. Reading the words from left to right can be a difficult task for struggling readers. Sometimes a child is struggling for multiple reasons.
I teach adult literacy and have found in almost all cases that students have not been taught phonics adequately. S fountas i. It is an affordable complete program that enables you to.
Adult literacy learners and tutors love ultimate phonics. Phonics for adults is every bit as important as it is for children. It s simply the perfect program for teaching phonics skills to adults who need to improve their reading.
How to know if phonics knowledge is contributing to reading difficulty. I was so concerned about this that it prompted me to. We ve heard it many times over the years.
The following is a list of ways you can help your struggling reader. He is not the same reader he was five months ago. The best remedial reading phonics program for struggling readers.
I am actually reconsidering my assumption that he. Students will develop an understanding of phonics and other strategies to decode and spell unfamiliar words. Adult literacy phonics that learners and tutors love.
Decoding difficulties can be caused by many different factors. Even teachers who have been teaching long enough to teach their. And tutors love.
There are myriads of scientific research studies to support explicit phonics instruction for beginning and struggling readers. Adult learners love the design of our software because it directly teaches them to read in the clearest possible way. Mark seidenberg just a few weeks into starting to learn the secret stories at school and my son began thriving.
Ultimate phonics is a proven remedial reading program that dramatically improves reading ability for many struggling readers. Yet misconceptions sometimes prevent effective classroom implementation. How phonics can help struggling readers kids need to become fearless codebreakers not left in the dark to guess dr.
However it s beneficial to figure out whether or not a struggling reader would benefit from more phonics support.