The AHES vision states "everyone is a learner, everyone is a teacher and everyone is a leader!" This includes our parents! Each month, AHES families receive a reading and writing newsletter that is full of fun ways to help children become better readers and writers. Home-school partnerships are essential to a child's academic achievement. There are many ways parents can become involved in our children's reading and writing life:Participation in Family Literacy Night at AHESFamily Literacy Night will be held in the fall and spring. Check our school calendar on this site.At-Home Reading, Writing and StorytellingAt AHES we teach reading within a to-with-by framework. We want our parents to read aloud to their children, read side-by-side with their children, and allow their children to read with them. At home, we want our kids to read different kinds of text such as jokes, riddles, signs, newspapers, magazines, signs, and labels. We want our parents to spend time imagining and making up stories with their children at home. Create books together! Come to our Back to School Open House where we will share ways to get children excited about reading and writing non-fiction text!Read Aloud Mornings at AHESWe have several partners who come in to read aloud to our students. We will continue to invite parents and community in during our literacy block to read aloud this year!Writing WorkshopsFor the first time, we will be inviting families in to write with us this year. Read the Parent Eagle to find out more!Raise A Reader ProgramThis program serves AHES pre-k children and families by helping parents practice and maintain home-based literacy routines critical for school success. For more info. go to:CHECK OUT THESE WEBSITES FOR FUN AND EFFECTIVE WAYS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN'S LITERACY DEVELOPMENT.


EDU70007 English in Primary School
Unit code: EDU70007
Duration: 1 Teaching Period
Contact hours: Recommended 12 hours of study per week
About this unit
In this unit students reflect on, discuss and produce educational resources focused on textual, aural, visual, digital and social literacies. Within a framework of Multi-literacies, students will reconceptualise literacy to encompass multimodal systems of symbolic representation.
- Analysis of criteria for selecting and determining quality in multi-modal texts for primary children based on a range of theories of literary criticism and literacy development
- Strategies that support children's appreciation and understanding of texts
- Multi-literacies, social futures and communities of practice
- Exploration of the evolution of convergent texts in media, children’s narrative, fiction and non-fiction
- Research and studies in the use of technologies in an integrated curriculum
- Putting sound and images together
- Enhanced books and multimedia narratives
- Use of 3D environments and emerging technologies in communication and learning
- Shaping and making effective teaching resources
This unit is found in Master of Teaching (Primary).


Drama on importance of education by Abhigyan volunteers. - Duration: 5:23. Swag Buster 13,624 views. 5:23. funny skit at uni of education lahore.
Importance of Drama in Pre-school Education - ScienceDirectWhat is the importance of drama? SAVE CANCEL. already exists. Would you. Eva has a Bachelors Degree in English and a Masters Degree in English Education.Arts Important To The Education Education Essay. together during a speech and drama. the importance of arts education as it develops the young.
Abstract This paper explores the use of drama in other areas of education. The overall message was to show how drama can be used as a tool to increase the learning.
What's the Use of Drama? | Be A Fun Mum
Drama Teacher: Education and Career Facts - Learn.org
Teacher in role - WikipediaHi everyone, I'm doing my dissertation on the importance of drama in secondary school education, a lot of books and websites say drama improves;.
Speech on Importance of Education for StudentsIDEA (International Drama/Theatre and Education Association). 2,923 likes · 50 talking about this. IDEA is a worldwide drama, theatre and education.
UNESCO – EOLSS SAMPLE CHAPTERS QUALITY OF HUMAN RESOURCES: EDUCATION – Vol. II - The Importance of Secondary Education - D. Eubanks, L.T. Eubanks.What Drama Education Can Teach Your Child What Drama Education Can Teach Your Child. Collect This Article. 3.7 based on 62 ratings.
Cataloging and Metadata Education: A Proposal forTO TEACH ENGLISH IN INFANT EDUCATION BY TEACHERS IN CATALONIA. a distinction between drama and theatre. It is important. that drama in education uses the same.Importance of drama in education. Scholarly Search Engine Find information about academic papers by weblogr.com. Importance of drama in education. Name Stars Updated.What’s the Use of Drama?. And what you’ve shown is it’s important for many areas of growth and. Maybe if we all write a letter to the education minister.Overview: I am a beginning teacher in the field of drama education. I realise that what I am about to say is rather radical, however please bear with me.
Importance Of Education Hindi Drama | Mp3Gratiss.com
Importance of drama in education | scholarly searchTherefore, it is important for teachers to create situations where students. One of the main characteristics of drama in education is how students.Educational Drama. What is Educational Theatre and Drama?. This was the stuff of real drama. Suitcase – a Theatre in Education programme for children aged 6-7.Drama is a subject that can also form the basis of a particularly powerful pedagogy in schools. However, drama as pedagogy relies on teachers having drama subject knowledge, skills and in order for them to give children the chance to learn both in drama (as a subject) and through drama (as pedagogy).When you consider drama clubs and classes for children,. The Benefits of Drama Classes for Children. The Importance of Music Education for Children. by Leah.
This is a discussion of the importance of drama, music education, and fine arts in education. We also take a look at the necessity of drama activities and art lessons.This publication has been written as Oscar Wilde’s 'The Importance of Being Earnest' has been chosen as the Irish set text for the SQA Higher Drama examination. The.THE IMPORTANCE OF DRAMA. Dramatic Arts education is an important means of. I thought I’d write a bit about why drama is so important and why I.Process Drama in Education General Considerations Gustave J. Weltsek-Medina. Central to the discussion was the importance of process to the learning experience.
Including drama in the curriculum is a great teaching strategy. There are many uses for drama activities in education; explore the reasons why drama teaching is important and how to teach drama to your students so as to get the most benefit.Articles for Teachers. What Role Does Drama Play in Education? By:. is of utmost importance if a project is to be successful.Using Drama as an Effective Method to Teach Elementary. Research on drama in education will inform future. in which attempts to explain the importance of.the prevailing orthodoxy was the Drama-In-Education theories of Heathcote which influenced drama teaching and assessment throughout the 1970s and 1980s.


A favorite art activity/science experiment for Wild Thing is what he and I call Magic Milk Painting. This simple activity involves putting milk in a dish (pie dish, baking dish or similar) and then adding a few drops of dish soap and of food coloring. The result is awesome - the color magically moves. The swirl happens on its own, no mixing or stirring is required.
The magic happens because the detergent lowers the surface tension allowing the food coloring to move through the milk. The detergent disrupts the protein and fat in the milk. Steve Spangler explains the scientific reaction quite well and shows the proper method (using a Q-Tip), but we never do it that way! We decided to see how the movement of the colors might change if we used different milks, since we happened to have almond milk and soy milk at home. (Many stores have a small box of soy or almond milk for $1 and many dollar stores now carry soy milk if you want to try this out and do not already have those milks on hand). Here are images of how the different milks reacted and differed - in general, we saw the most motion from the cow milk and the least from the almond milk. We used blue, yellow and green in order to evoke an image that, perhaps (we hoped) looked something like the Earth, and the cow milk one created in a pie plate eventually did.
|At the beginning, this is how it looked.|
|After a few minutes, this is what the three trays looked like.|
|Our most Earth like image from the day.|
|Wild Thing took this photo close up of the cow milk tray.|
|He enjoyed also blowing the liquid and encouraging even more motion.|
Sharing at: Montessori Monday, Tuesday Tots, Discover & Explore, Artsy Play Wednesday, Mom's Library, It's Playtime
You might also like:
|Summer Science for Kids - 10 Activities|
|Favorites from 2012|


Concepts of print include the basic skills of reading such as how to hold a book, recognizing that words on the page have meaning, directionality, return sweep, and being able to identify individual letters, words and punctuation. These are all skills that need to be taught by modeling, scaffolding and opportunities for independent practice, such as at literacy centers. One of the most important beginning reader skills is being able to identify the letters of the alphabet and their phoneme-grapheme associations. "Children who have been actively involved in reading and writing activities before entering first grade know the names of the letters, and they're more likely to begin reading quickly" (Tompkins, 2010). In Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, Tompkins (2010) lists routines to teach the letters of the alphabet, all of which can be incorporated straight into literacy centers.
The Unifed Transformative Early Education Model (UTEEM) students at George Mason University have compiled information for families of kindergarten through third-grade students about emergent literacy that can be found at http://mason.gmu.edu/~cwallac7/TAP/TEST/literacy/1.html. This is a great resource, as it explains concepts about print, as well as phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge, in a simple, comprehensible manner. In addition, the website offers lists of engaging activities to improve literacy. "Developing concepts about print in children at an early age is invaluable to their literacy development. Without a firm grasp on these concepts, children will have trouble learning to read and write" (Iantosca). Concepts about print can be developed at a young age by exposing children to print. Iantosca firmly statess that "the number one thing you can do for your children to help them learn concepts about print is to read to them everyday."
The best way to teach concepts about print is in an authentic, meaningful manner. For instance, a restaurant menu, arranged in short phrases, allows children to easily match one spoken word to each written word, and also relate concepts of print to real-life experiences. When modeling concepts about print, teachers and families should be mindful of the reading materials they are selecting. Print should include elaborate pictures and minimal text, and be of interest to the child. Interest is a motivating factor in learning to read and taking the time to learn what topics children are interested in can yield great benefits.
Iantaosca, E. Emergent literacy: Concepts about print. In Literacy at home and school.
Retrieved from http://mason.gmu.edu/~cwallac7/TAP/TEST/literacy/1.html
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education, Inc.


How Much Screen Time Should Your Child Have?
It’s the question on every parent’s lips – how much screen time should your child have? Some people take a relaxed approach, hoping their child will ‘self-regulate’ their screen usage. Others avoid screens altogether, saying they do nothing but harm. Overall, most people take the approach that screen time is OK as long as it is balanced with other activities.
Screen time for children, particularly in the younger years, is pushed as educational, with a saturation of education-based apps in the market. While a lot of those games can help children learn literacy and numeracy skills, they will never allow them to learn essential skills that are needed for literacy and numeracy such as holding a pencil, rolling a dice, turning the pages of a book and so much more. Too much screen time can also be detrimental to your child’s behaviour and social skills. Taking a relaxed approach might seem like a good (and easy) option but you might find yourself with a child who is addicted to a screen and has great difficulty integrating into the ‘real world’
So, in answer to the ‘big’ question, how much screen time should your child have? The Raising Children Network recommends the following:
0-18 Months Old
0-18-month-old babies should avoid all screen time other than video chatting with family and friends.
18 Months – 2 Years Old
Children aged 18 months to 2 years old are able to have limited screen time as long as they are watching high-quality programs or apps and have adults interacting with them while they are engaging in screen time.
2-5 Years Old
Children between 2 and 5 years should have one hour of supervised screen time in which an adult is interacting with the child.
6 Years or Older
Children aged 6 years and older should have limits according to what you decide and these limits should remain consistent.
Screen Time and Children – Why Worry?
Too much screen time can result in children missing out on developing a wide range of interests. Without these interests, children will miss out on the chance to interact with many other people. Instead of interacting with children who share their hobbies, screen-addicted youngsters may lose confidence in their ability to form relationships and become less socially active.
Strategies for Limiting Your Child’s Screen Time
If you’re looking for ways to regulate you child’s time in front of televisions, computers and mobile apps, consider the following:
- Limit your own screen time as a well of modelling healthy behaviour
- Create areas where screens are never used like the bedroom and dining room
- Use parental controls and know your child’s passwords as a condition of having a personal device
- Set daily or weekly limits to encourage children to be mindful and self-regulate their screen time
- Take part in new family activities that substitute for screen time
At Mindarie Keys Early Learning School, our child care educators pride themselves on allowing children to explore through play and social experiences. For more information about our natural environments and play-based learning or to discuss enrolment, contact Mindarie Keys Early Learning School today.


Dear Musicians, Families, and Friends,
Congratulations! You are attending school in one of the few districts in California that provides a full time music teacher at each elementary school. SBUSD offers general music for TK through 2nd grade, recorders in 3rd, and instrumental instruction for band and orchestra in 4th through 6th grades. Santa Barbara was recently recognized as a NAMM 2015 Best Communities for Music Education.
Here are just 4 of many ways in which music develops the mind and benefits students all around:
1. Music strengthens your memory. Scientists have proven that students who learn to play an instrument or who sing are able to remember facts and events better than students who do not take music lessons.
2. Music makes you smarter in school. Students who have regular music lessons tend to score higher on tests and perform better in school.
3. Music teaches teamwork and social skills. Bands, orchestras, and choirs need other people to make music. A clarinetist depends on the trumpets, who depend on the flutes, who depend on the saxophones, and so on. If there is a disagreement, musicians have to work it out for the sake of the music.
4. Music teaches individual responsibility and hard work. Playing an instrument or becoming a good singer is difficult. Students have to practice at home, apply corrections, and decide what they personally need to work on for the sake of the ensemble.
Given the unique opportunity that Santa Barbara schools have provided and the many benefits of taking music lessons, we need your help to make the most of it!
• Students need to practice during the week! At minimum, students should play their instrument for 20-30 minutes four days per week. You can help by asking them to play or sing what they learned in class for you.
• Upper grades need to practice reading notes on a staff. Just like learning how to read a book, music has its own language when reading music. Students can make flashcards, write in letters underneath the notes on the music, or download a note reading game.
• Get involved! Music teachers could always use volunteers, supplies, and instrument donations. And please attend our concerts! Every school has at least two concerts per year.
• Join an extra ensemble! There are many free after-school programs designed for elementary music students including BRAVO and iCAN. All schools also participate in the district's honor choir and honor band performances. Ask your music teacher for more information.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know and understand our music program a little better! We look forward to meeting you and to seeing your student in our music classes this year!


INFANTS with hearing loss
Be aware: it is important to be an involved, informed and assertive parent.
Infants as young as one month can be fitted with hearing aids.
How Is Newborn Hearing Screening Testing done?
Today many babies will have their hearing tested before they leave the hospital. The tests are simple and painless and take only a few minutes. Find more information about testing methods.
The FDA approved the cochlear implant for children in 1995 and for 12-month-old babies in 2000. Please see our section on cochlear implants for more information on this procedure.
Children with Hearing Loss
If you need to talk with other parents who have children with hearing loss, we can help put you in touch with each other — Just send us an e-mail with your contact information. You can also attend our monthly chapter meetings to learn more about hearing loss and the resources available to help you and your child. View a list of local chapters and contact information.
Otitis Media – Common Cause Of Hearing Loss In Children
Commonly called middle ear infection, otitis media is one of the most common medical problems of childhood and the chief cause of hearing loss in children. Fortunately, the hearing loss is neither severe, nor is it usually permanent; but such hearing loss may cause delays in development of the child’s language and intellectual skills. Surgical treatment, when necessary, alleviates hearing loss and reduces both the number and the severity of recurrent ear infections. Otitis media may be acute (an episodic infection treated with antibiotics) or it can develop into a chronic type where fluid fills the middle ear and requires surgical therapy.
Common signs of acute otitis media are pain and fever, though older children often have chronic otitis media without these symptoms. Many children develop otitis media with effusion (fluid in the middle ear) after acute otitis media and others have recurrent acute otitis media. The ears clear between episodes. A daily, low-dose antibiotic taken for several months may prevent recurrent episodes. However, the emergence of resistant organisms make this option less desirable. For more complete information on otitis media, click here to visit the website of the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center at the University of Washington.
Other Online Resources For Parents
Auditory Verbal Training – Website advertising training and consultation for children with hearing loss by Ellen Rhoades.
Deaf Education Options Guide offers links for parents considering different educational options.
HSDC in Seattle offers comprehensive services, including: Early Childhood Learning, Community ASL Classes, Audiology Services, Speech Therapy, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy Services, American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting, and an Assistive Technology Store.
Listen & Talk in Seattle is a private, not for profit early intervention program devoted to working with parents who want to teach their children with hearing loss to listen and speak.
Listen up! & Talk it up! has home therapy tips to make every day a learning experience.
Seattle Children’s Hospital – The following Medical/Rehabilitation services at Seattle Children’s Hospital for for children who have been diagnosed as Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind include:
- Hearing Loss Clinic – multidisciplinary team to evaluate children who are deaf or hard of hearing
- DHH program in Department of Psychiatry
- Cochlear Implant Program
- Aural Habilitation
- Diagnostic evaluations
- Amplification/FM systems with loaner program for assistive technology
Washington State Hands and Voices – dedicated to supporting families with children who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing, without a bias towards communication modes. It is a parent-driven, non-profit organization, providing families with resources, networks, and information needed to improve communication and educational outcomes for their children.


Here are some great "coloring" and art books to go along with the crayons in the previous post:
Art for the Very Young
Young children have the ability to create, view, interpret, and appreciate art. Art for the Very Young offers over 50 art activities for children to create art and learn about basic art concepts and techniques, such as line, shape, color, space,texture, form, and value. Watch how your young learners acquire an appreciation and understanding of the featured artists and techniques they use!
Art and coloring books by MaryAnn F. Kohl
MaryAnn Faubion Kohl, a former elementary education teacher, launched Bright Ring Publishing, Inc. in 1985 with her first book, "Scribble Cookies" (now available as "Scribble ART"). Bright Ring has published seven books by MaryAnn about art for children, their parents, teachers, and care providers, as well as twelve titles for Gryphon House, Inc. (with international rights in over ten languages). MaryAnn presents internationally on the topics of art for children and self-publishing for writers, writes for Parenting and Family Fun magazines, has been a prop designer for a Jim Henson Company's TV program, and consults for numerous educational groups, Kaplan Early Learning, Discount School Supply, and Fisher-Price. She enjoys writing short essays on inspirational and memorable experiences. MaryAnn and her husband, Michael, reside in Bellingham, Washington at the foot of a steaming volcano.
Anti Coloring book series by Susan Striker
Susan Striker is the author of the best-selling Anti-Coloring Book® series with over one million books in print all over the world. Designed to stimulate creativity and encourage problem solving and critical thinking, the books help children draw their own pictures as well as their own conclusions about life. She also wrote Please Touch® (Simon & Schuster) which teaches
parents and educators how to stimulate creativity through movement, music, art and play. Young at Art® (Henry Holt) is a comprehensive text about the value and significance of early childhood art. That book clearly demonstrates the important link between early scribbles and later literacy. In 2008 Susan received the highly competitive 2008 Connecticut Art Education Association Award, Outstanding Elementary Art Educator, for
significant contributions to the field of art education.
The author teaches elementary school art in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she won the Distinguished Teacher Award. She has had a long, successful career teaching art to young children, has taught art education methodology to university students and developed art curricula. She shares her innovative teaching ideas in workshops for parents and teachers in schools and universities all over the country. Ms. Striker's work
has been the subject of numerous local, national and international
television shows,. Susan's Young at Art® curriculum for preschool and kindergarten art was awarded Connecticut's Celebration of Excellence for Creativity in the Classroom and was presented with Hofstra University's George M. Estabrook Award.


Current Early Literacy Research:
Early Warning Confirmed, Annie E. Casey Foundation, June 2013. Building on another AECF publication, “Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters,” this 2013 research report provides additional support for the link between reading deficiencies and broader social consequences, and includes recommendations for interventions.
The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, “The 30 Million Word Gap: The Role of Parent-Child Verbal Interaction in Language and Literacy Development.” The enormous gap in the amount of words and language heard by lower income children compared to their wealthier peers from birth until age three leads to delays in academic and literacy development. This paper summarizes the importance of parent-child verbal interaction in the development of children’s vocabulary and emergent literary skills.
“Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation.” Annie E. Casey Foundation, April 2011. This study shows that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers, and breaks down the influence of poverty, minority status, and reading proficiency on graduation rates.
Alignment with Common Core Standards, English Language Arts Standards. In June 2010, 45 states adopted standards for English and math. Those standards are being implemented in California schools beginning with the 2013-2014 school year. Super Stars Literacy instructors provide lessons that are aligned to the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards.


Access to education is not only a basic human right, but also a key factor in reducing poverty and child labour. Basic education gives people greater economic opportunities and empowers them to lead healthier, more productive lives. One of the most effective ways of improving livelihoods is by increasing access to quality education.
“Do not wish to be like anyone except in two cases. A person, upon whom God has bestowed wealth and he spends it righteously; the one whom God had given wisdom and he acts according to it and teaches it to others.” (Bukhari)
By donating to SteppingStones Charity education programme, your funds will be allocated in order to:
- Offer tutorial programmes through class based approaches and technology during and after school
- Assisting teacher’s inn improving overall achievement of pupils.
- Supporting adults improve their literacy and numeracy skills.
- Aiding people in supporting their own livelihood.
- Providing educational equipment such as books, bags and stationary.
- Publishing and distributing educational materials.


Using manikins in clinical simulations allows health care practitioners and students to “practice on plastic” first. These life-like manikins simulate heart tones and other vital cues that, when connected to monitors, provide real-time information to learners. By practicing clinical skills in a safe and regulated environment, health care providers sharpen their assessment and treatment abilities.
Our center is equipped with a large array of simulators, ranging from low-fidelity task trainers to high-fidelity computerized manikins, some of which are described below.
Task Trainers are used for teaching and practicing skills, competencies, and procedures. These include torsos for learning Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, arms designed with normal blood vessels for learning placement and care of intravenous lines, models with surgical wounds for learning suturing and wound care, back and spinal trainers for learning lumbar punctures.
Our high-fidelity manikins are usually used for immersion of learners in a scenario or patient-care simulation that closely resembles reality. These manikins, similar to real patients, interact with the learners, and their conditions improve or worsen according to the care or interventions performed by the learners. Examples of these manikins available at the center are Newborn Tory®, Pedi HAL®, and iStan®.
With iStan®, learners gain skills in managing more complex conditions such as convulsions, insulin shock, and anaphylactic reactions. The CSC set-up including furnishings and biomedical equipment (e.g. cardiac monitors, ventilators, etc.) make the experiences even more realistic and help ensure that learners are able to safely use, monitor, and troubleshoot the high-tech equipment usually used in health care.
Low-fidelity to medium-fidelity simulators are full-sized manikins used for training on foundational skills. Those simulators include Mega Code Kelly™, Code Blue III®, Nursing Kelly®, Resuci Anne®, Nursing Kid®, and Nursing Baby® on which adult and pediatric in-hospital and out-patient care skills can be learned including resuscitation, auscultation of lung, heart, and abdominal sounds… Noelle®, the birthing mother, simulates normal and complicated births. Neonatal management is also learned with its baby simulator. Also available in the center is Harvey®, the cardio-pulmonary simulator that enables individuals and groups to learn complex differentiation of cardiac anomalies as well as lung abnormalities.


KS3 Curriculum at Caedmon College Whitby
As many parents are aware the KS3 curriculum has been changing over the last six months. Probably the most important thing to note is there is no longer a requirement by teachers to assess or report using national curriculum levels which have disappeared. The College is at the forefront of making significant changes to how we assess the students and instead of using national curriculum levels, we will be focusing on those key skills, knowledge and understanding which we feel students need to have as part of their learning process. Students will be assessed by teachers in such a way that the teachers know what to do next and so will the students. Our internal monitoring systems will link these skills, knowledge and understanding to GCSE criteria. These are also changing so the curriculum at the College will no doubt change year on year over the next three to five years as the new KS3 and KS4 curriculum structure becomes embedded in schools across the country.
The College operates a 30 period week where most lessons are 50 minute singles but some are taught in one hour forty minute blocks. This is particularly useful for practical subjects and in doing this this year it allows us to have a one week rather than a two week timetable.
The typical structure in KS3 this year is:
|MFL (Y7 Fr)||3||Set (year 7), banded in Year 8 & 9|
|Art||1||MA (tutor group)|
|Music||1||MA (tutor group)|
|Enrichment||2||MA (Tutor groups in Year 7 & 8)|
Organisation of Students
Students are put in the most appropriate grouping that we feel will allow each individual to make the most rapid progress. This means that rather than having a single system students could find themselves in sets, in banded groups of students of a similar ability or in totally mixed ability groups. In Year 7 the breakdown currently is 60% sets, 20% bands and 20% mixed ability.
One of the great advantages of our new College is that staff are shared across KS3, KS4 and KS5. There are somewhere in the region of 30 staff working across all key stages in the College now so that students will see familiar faces from Year 7 right through to Year 13.
Features of the KS3 Curriculum
The teachers are working weekly on developing the most appropriate scheme of work for your sons and daughters. Although the long term plans have been in place since before the start of term, the medium and short term planning is something which is much more fluid as we get to grips what is best for our learners.
Teachers use a system called ‘planning for progress’. A key feature of this is that teachers are looking at all groups of learners in their class and making sure that the work is appropriate for all of them. One of the biggest issues we all face within the KS3 curriculum is developing literacy skills of reading and writing and numeracy skills which apply not just in maths lessons but of course across a wide range of subjects. Parents can support us very effectively if they can also see opportunities to encourage their son or daughter to focus in those skills, particularly reading as being a good reader usually means students are good writers too.
If parents wish to know more about the actual detailed planning, please refer to the individual subject pages, or talk to your son or daughters class teacher who will be only too pleased to describe learning in their curriculum area to you.
Please click on a link below for more information about the following curriculum areas:


Isaac the Teacher: Pedagogy and Literacy in Florence, ca. 1488
Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Twenty-five years ago, the late Howard Mayer Brown wrote about “emulation, competition, and homage” in Renaissance music. I was surprised to recently rediscover that his opening pages were essentially about pedagogy; surprised, because I had remembered the article to be about compositional process and theories of imitation. But Brown’s first example of “emulation” in fact illustrated a basic principle of pedagogy in that era: it centered on an inexperienced composer’s attempt, sometime during the second decade of the sixteenth century, to write a three-part chanson based on a model. This, I think, is a familiar experience to those of us who work in historical periods that predate the rise of formal pedagogical materials: we must turn to the music itself as the best evidence for how the craft of composition was taught and learned. Yet by the time we have moved beyond the scant surviving examples of student work and are looking at, for example, Isaac’s parody of Martini’s Martinella, we are looking at how mature composers practiced their craft, and not at how young ones learned it.
Wilson, Blake. "Isaac the Teacher: Pedagogy and Literacy in Florence, ca. 1488." In Music Education in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, edited by Russell E. Murray, Jr., Susan Forscher Weiss, and Cynthia J. Cyrus, 287-302. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2010.


Popular ideas, such as the “Mozart effect” – the idea that listening to classical music improves intelligence – has encouraged the belief that “music makes you smarter”.
This interest in the relationship between musical aptitude on ability and intelligence has been around for some time. But despite these beliefs being pretty widespread, there is still no conclusive evidence to actually prove that listening to certain types of music really can improve your intelligence.
In 1974, music researchers Desmond Sergeant and Gillian Thatcher said that:
All highly intelligent people are not necessarily musical, but all highly musical people are apparently highly intelligent.
And “apparently” is the key word here, because the evidence regarding musical listening in itself is mixed. Research has shown that listening to music shows an improvement in certain kinds of mental tasks. But these are specifically short-term improvements involving “spatial-temporal reasoning” skills – puzzle solving type tasks.
Listening vs playing
But while listening to music is all well and good, what about actually playing it? Research that focuses on how or if playing a musical instrument can impact on intelligence, often looks at how learning in one area can lead to improvements in other areas – an idea known as “transfer effects”.
This is the idea that learning to play the violin, or the drums, could help children to do better in their spellings or a science project. And this is in part the reason why some parents naturally encourage their children to learn an instrument – because of a belief that it will in some way make them more intelligent.
While some studies have shown how musical training can shape brain development. And that improvements in small motor skills and general intelligence have been linked to musical training. A recent review suggests that actual evidence supporting this idea of “transfer effects” is limited at present.
But despite these finds, there is still a wealth of evidence suggesting musical learning is beneficial. And with this in mind, drawing from my experience as a professional musician (drummer), music teacher and performing artist, I decided to investigate the effects of individual musical instrument learning on aspects of cognitive and behavioural development.
I also looked at the impact on “socio-emotional” development, which includes the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions, as well as the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others.
All the children who took part in the study had typical school group music lessons, but half of them had also chosen to learn an instrument individually for the first time that year.
The results showed that children who had started individual music lessons developed a better awareness of their “aim” and “force” in relation to their own motor skills as well as improving their “fluid intelligence” – which is the ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns.
This suggests that musical instrument learning encourages the development of a physical sense of self in relation to the how we use objects in the world around us, as well as developing a specific kind of intelligence that is used in problem solving.
Music and social development
As part of my research, I also wanted to understand whether parents and teachers noticed any changes over the year in terms of the children’s socio-emotional well-being. The results showed that the children who had chosen to learn an instrument were considered by both their parents and teachers to be less anxious than those who had received only group lessons.
These children were also thought to internalise their problems less compared to the children who had only received the group sessions.
This is also reflected in my research looking at adult musicians, who explained that the “social structures” surrounding musical learning are the bits that they most appreciate, and have had the biggest impact on their lives.
This includes the opportunities to travel, the exchanges of culture among friends around the world, and their ongoing ability to be foster creativity in their lives through music.
It is clear then that music can have a big role to play when it comes to children’s learning. Not necessarily just in terms of intelligence, but also in term of their physical development and social well-being.
Research also shows how musical learning can help children to apply themselves, as well supporting the processes involved in teamwork and appreciation of working towards shared goals.
Valuing music education includes nurturing the development of these abilities, and these skills and mindsets. Which is why developing a culture of creativity and musical learning in our schools should be a key part of children’s lives.


As students across the nation return for Term Two, schools will be now able to access Australia’s first dedicated mindfulness curriculum thanks to a collaboration between leading educators, psychologists and mindfulness experts.
Led by the team behind Australian wellbeing and mindfulness meditation app Smiling Mind, the Mindfulness Curriculum has been designed to provide a framework and practical resource for the way teachers embed mindfulness in schools.
With up to 20 percent of Australian students currently disengaged at school, research shows that mindfulness can help young people develop the emotional, behavioural and attention regulation skills that set the crucial foundation for learning and train students to be better equipped for the pressures of adult life.
Smiling Mind CEO and one of the developers of the Curriculum, Dr Addie Wootten, said it was created in response to changing societal pressures on students and the subsequent impact on their wellbeing and learning.
“Research shows that one in five students are disengaged at school, and disengaged students are on average one to two years behind their peers,” Dr Wootten said.
“What’s more, our students are facing serious mental health issues, with one in seven primary aged students reporting mental health problems.”
Practising mindfulness has been shown to strengthen areas of the brain that control executive function and can lead to strong improvements in attention, reduced stress, anxiety and depression, and better academic skills, social skills and self-esteem.
A recent meta-analysis over 70 studies comparing more than 6,000 school-aged young people shows those who practised mindfulness showed greater performance in the following areas:
- Better emotion and behaviour regulation than 62 percent of non-practising students
- Better academic performance than 66 percent of non-practising students
- Lower depression and anxiety scores than 66 percent of non-practising students
- Better social skills than 64 percent of non-practising students
This meta-analysis also revealed mindfulness practice is associated with a 16 percent increase in academic performance and mental health for practising students relative to peers.
“We can’t underestimate how fundamental the skills that mindfulness can develop are in the learning process,” Dr Wootten said.
“Mindfulness helps students develop the very skills that promote better mental health and school engagement, as well as foundational skills of attention and concentration. Not only are these skills
essential for learning but they prepare our children to better manage with work-life challenges in the future.”
The Curriculum has been mapped to the Australian National Curriculum’s mandated personal and social capabilities for Years 1-6 and can be integrated into any social and emotional learning program. Many Australian schools are already taking an active role to address mental health issues in students through wellbeing programs, primarily composed of social and emotional learning curriculum. The
Smiling Mind Evidence-Based Mindfulness Curriculum provides a framework for teachers that is easy-to-use.
The curriculum includes practical resources that teachers can implement during lessons, along with classroom and take-home activities to be used in conjunction with the free Smiling Mind app.
Educators who are interested in implementing the Mindfulness Curriculum at their school can get additional information at www.smilingmind.com.au/the-mindfulness-curriculum
About Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a 100% not-for-profit organisation that works to make mindfulness accessible to all. Mindfulness is a tool which people can use to enhance wellbeing. Our vision is to help every mind thrive, and our mission is to provide accessible life-long tools to support healthy minds. We want to live in a world where everyone has the skills and ability to manage life’s challenges and live to their full potential.
This starts with a healthy mind because this underpins our ability to live, learn and work in an increasingly complex, digitally connected and fast-paced world. As of today, we’re proudly in the pockets of more than 2.9 million people and trusted by over 40,000 educators who use our programs in their classroom.
**This article was provided through a newswire and does not express the views or opinions of 61-Bit.
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Posted by Helen Long on Nov 11, 2015
How many more times do we have to hear from NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) that 30 to 40 percent of middle and high school students are struggling and/or can’t read?
It’s a catch-22. Because reading is difficult for them, older struggling readers don’t like to read, and therefore they don’t read. As a result and over time, vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension, and academic language become less familiar, and these students begin to fall further and further behind.
In Carver, Massachusetts, 11th grader Noah Pina explained to a group of educators, including myself, how an intervention program changed his life. Noah started the curriculum last year reading at approximately a fifth grade level and is now reading at a 10th grade level!
The curriculum is called LANGUAGE!® Live, a unique intervention for older struggling readers that offers explicit, systematic instruction through a blended learning approach of technology and teacher-led instruction.
The big “aha” during Noah’s transformation was that he had never mastered the foundational skills of reading:
LANGUAGE! Live results have shown that students who work simultaneously on both the foundational skills of reading (through personalized technology) and text comprehension (through classroom instruction) make more than twice the rate of progress as students who work on only one aspect of reading.
So how does this happen in a classroom with students reading at all different levels? It’s called a blended learning approach. Through the technology part, Noah is able to begin learning the foundational skills at just the right level of instruction. Each day for about 30 minutes he simply signs on and moves through the different levels of engaging expert- and peer-led videos and activities. In a private, respectful online environment, Noah learns at the pace that’s right for him, mastering each skill before moving on in the curriculum.
Noah can log on through a laptop, desktop, or mobile device anytime and anywhere he has an Internet connection. And he can use his own social media platform to communicate with classmates and receive messages posted by his teacher. Nothing elementary about this program; it’s totally designed for adolescent students!
While Noah is working on phonology, orthography, and semantics, his teacher is working with another group on text comprehension with really cool anthologies that are relevant to the students’ lives and interests. The reading and writing strategies are a teacher’s dream, as each strategy is broken down into step-by-step directions that support best practices in teaching struggling readers. Noah receives this teacher-led instruction in turn through the blended learning approach.
I could keep going on and on, but instead why not let Noah tell his own story? Take a moment (2 minutes) to watch the video and see how LANGUAGE! Live has forever changed Noah’s life. As author Dr. Louisa Moats says, it’s never too late!
To learn more about ways to help struggling adolescent readers, view a webinar by Helen Long that explores the science behind “training” the brain and offers proven techniques that support middle and high school students who struggle with reading.
Do you have questions about motivating adolescent students who are reading below grade level—or tips to share with other educators? Please share your thoughts in the comment field below.


One of our main goals in preschool is to have our students fall in love with books and reading. Studies demonstrate an increase in understanding and love of reading when students listen to and are engaged in daily read-alouds. Hence, we are committed to reading to our students multiple times a day. Read-alouds give children an opportunity to learn about different aspects of books. Starting with the realization that all books have a title, an author, and an illustrator. In addition, books are rich with language and through read-alouds children develop listening comprehension skills.
We can all agree that reading is extremely beneficial for the literacy development of our students. Therefore, we designed a project, “Reading for Ice Cream”, that began on January 15, 2018. This initiative’s goal is to encourage parents to establish a daily reading routine with your child. Once a week, students will record in a reading log (with your help) the stories that you have read together. For every four books recorded in the log, the teacher will place the child’s name on an ice-cream cone outside the classroom. The goal is that each child has 12 or more books recorded in their log by February 2, 2018. When the group reaches their goal, they will have an Ice-cream Party!
We are really grateful for our parents’ usual support regarding this exciting task. We were able to celebrate that, in total, our preschoolers read more than 400 books. Together we are transmitting our love of reading to our children. This was an amazing opportunity for parents to spend more quality time with their children and create rewarding memories.
Check out the pictures of their Ice Cream Party!


Pre-Prep in indigenous communities
Going to pre-Prep the year before starting school means little ones have a better go in the classroom. Pre-Prep is a kindy program available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in certain communities in Queensland.
Little ones living in a community where pre-Prep is available can go to their local early childhood learning centre or school for about 15 hours during the week in the year they turn four (by June 30).
At pre-Prep, children will have the opportunity to learn, play and make friends, under the guidance and supervision of a qualified early childhood teacher. Each day, they might be involved in playing games, learning outdoors, cooking, singing and telling stories, or doing art and craft activities. They also have lunch and rest time.
Early childhood educators work hard to make sure all kids are included and feel a sense of belonging. They also work with community members and families to include a respect for culture and language.
Sending your little ones to kindy at pre-Prep helps them to make the transition into school. The kindy year gives kids an opportunity to build upon basic skills learnt at home, like language, social skills, counting and learning about nature.
With a year to learn alongside other kids, under the guidance of a qualified early childhood educator, your child can have a better start to school.
For more information, visit Information for Parents, Families and Care Givers on the Queensland Government Indigenous Portal.


One in three adults struggle with everyday maths, study finds
Adults in England and Northern Ireland are more likely to have difficulty with simple numeracy tasks than those in many other nations.
One in three adults struggle with basic maths tasks such as working out change on a shopping trip, according to a new study.
It suggests that adults in England and Northern Ireland perform worse on simple everyday numeracy tasks than those in many other countries.
Researchers from University College London and Cambridge University analysed data from an international OECD survey, which asked 16 to 65-year-olds in 31 nations to answer a series of numeracy-related questions.
The study concluded that between 63% and 68% of those in England and Northern Ireland combined could answer a question on how much change they would get if they were given a set amount of money and asked to buy certain goods.
Between 57% and 62% overall could answer a question on how much they could expect to pay for a given quantity of a product – for example, a third – if they were given the cost of the whole item.
It means that for each of these two questions, around a third, or just over a third, struggled to find a correct answer.
Higher proportions were unable to answer a question related to line graphs and another about discounts on a product.
The study said that “a handful of nations perform comparatively well” across all four questions, including Estonia, Finland and Japan, while at the other end of the scale, adults in Turkey, Chile, Israel, Italy, Spain, England and Northern Ireland “have among the weakest financial skills” across the 31 countries.
We all need to be able to conduct basic financial calculations in order to make rational well-informed decisions Prof John Jerrim
Study author Professor John Jerrim, of the UCL Institute of Education, said the research highlights how the nation “is facing a crisis in terms of adults’ financial literacy skills”.
“We all need to be able to conduct basic financial calculations in order to make rational well-informed decisions,” he said.
“This includes how much we should save into our pensions, understanding the financial implications of borrowing money from payday loan sites, through to whether we can really afford to buy a particular house.”
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said: “We do need to improve adult numeracy skills, but it’s of note that even in the best performing countries the test is still failed by one in four people.
“Almost half of working-age adults in the country currently have the numeracy levels we expect of primary school children. Numbers are part of everyday life – we use them when cooking, shopping, planning journeys, planning meals and budgeting.
“All adults can sign up to take free maths qualifications to learn the skills they need to get on in life.
“They range from entry level all the way up to GCSE, and will include financial calculations and real life scenarios. Last year half a million adults enrolled on a course.”


In March, 2018, art educators from the North Vancouver School District attended the National Art Educators Association (NAEA) Conference in Seattle, Washington. With the theme: Art + Design = STEAM, the conference focused on expanding art throughout the learning continuum.
"It was a great opportunity for the gallery team and district art specialist to attend a conference dealing specifically with art and gallery education," says Yolande Martinello, Director of Artists for Kids.
The educators attended multiple sessions, including the keynote address by artist and educator Nick Cave. With its perspective of leadership and advocacy for the arts, the conference was invaluable when considering how to extend professional development by inspiring generalist teachers to engage in the arts.
For example, Sally Bensusen, a NASA staff illustrator, gave a presentation on The Leonardo Principle: Introducing Drawing and Observing Skills to the Science Classroom. Her presentation explored practical, art-related exercises that help science teachers understand and use art in the classroom. She spoke about the pre-industrial style of documenting that is still in practice today. Using observational skills, such as a leaf comparison, students are able to enhance their understanding.
"Seeing how she brings her documenting skills to science classes is a great way to understand how to extend visual arts in other fields, from math to languages," says Yolande. Guiding non-art teachers to art-based thinking allows them to incorporate visual skills throughout their teaching.
Suzanne Chow, a Gallery Educator, attended a variety of sessions. Some offered lesson and project ideas, others were more theory based, discussing visual culture art education.
"I was interested in the discussions about how to teach students to think creatively and develop creative habits of the mind rather than replication of art," Suzanne says. These are the skills that endure, and that students carry with them throughout their lives.
Attending the conference in Seattle was vital for the teachers. It provided an opportunity to hear new theories and practices, discover lesson ideas and exchange best practices with other teachers at the conference. The annual gathering is usually a prohibitive distance, so having it just a three-hour drive from North Vancouver made it accessible.
We are grateful to the North Vancouver School District for the funding and support to attend the conference. The three days spent in Seattle broadened our thinking around sharing more visual-arts based education opportunities with students and teachers of other disciplines, for a more comprehensive learning experience for all our students.


The King’s Ridge Fourth Grade program continues to develop reading, writing, math and additional subjects using already established foundational skills.
In the reading program, students read core novels as a class with multiple novels within a unit allowing them to control the pace at which they read and the topics they choose as they become independent readers. Students are encouraged to create individual reading goals within multiple genres of literature, supported through one-on-one conferences with the teacher. Comprehension skills are further developed with oral communication.
The writing program incorporates parts of speech, usage and mechanics to create varied sentence patterns. Students learn about analogies, synonyms, antonyms and contextual clues to assist in their comprehension. Writing assignments include descriptive writing using vivid verbs, multi-paragraph essays and a research paper, incorporating the five step writing process.
In fourth grade, math talk and daily-guided practice continue as students work toward proficiency in mental computation, written work and fluency with math facts. In addition, students are taught to communicate mathematically, analyze multi-step problems and apply mathematical ideas to real-life situations.
Students engage in the learning process through the use of hands-on materials, games and cooperative learning activities. The science curriculum expands to satisfy each student’s growing ability to think critically about science and apply it in the real world. Students practice the scientific process while acquiring an overview of life, earth and physical sciences. Social Studies begin with the study of the exploration era and continue with the European influence on the colonial settlements, and the Revolutionary War. Education technology is used to reinforce and enrich the learning process.
At King’s Ridge, we acknowledge and tailor curriculum to each student’s individual level of comprehension. Students who need a challenge are offered accelerated activities in reading, writing and math. Reading specialists provide small group instruction and extra reading activities for students needing remediation.
Creativity is fostered in multiple centers and art activities through hands-on methods of instruction. Exploration of God’s handiwork sparks curiosity in students to discover His presence in nature and the world in which we live. King’s Ridge uses technology to reinforce and enrich the learning process even during the fourth grade age.
Class size: 20 students with teacher and half-time assistant
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 7:50 AM – 2:50 PM
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- After School Program available until 6:00 PM


The arts are essential to the academic success of Alphonsus Academy & Center for the Arts' students. By integrating the arts into our core curriculum, AACA students learn through critical inquiry and problem solving skills with inventive, creative and expansive work. Arts integration enables students to understand the human condition as well as the social, political and cultural framework of our world. The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.
According to the National Art Education Association, the arts:
teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions have more than one answer.
celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.
make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.
teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.
help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.
enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.
SOURCE: Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications. NAEA grants reprint permission for this excerpt from Ten Lessons with proper acknowledgment of its source and NAEA.


ERIC Number: ED416120
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1995
Reference Count: N/A
Build It! Festival. Teacher's Guide. Grades K-6.
Gonsalves, Philip; Kopp, Jaine
The activities presented in this guide are designed for elementary age students, and intended to provide hands-on, integrated learning experiences. A learning station format is indicated for open ended activities which include a "Preliminary Activity: Free Exploration First!", an "Introductory Activity: Architect/Builder", and eight activities: (1) "Create-A-Shape"; (2) "Dowel Designs"; (3) "Polyhedra"; (4) "Fill-A-Shape"; (5) "Symmetry"; (6) "What Comes Next?"; (7) "Tessellations"; and (8) "Tangrams." Each activity incorporates a key mathematical concept and other curricula skills which encourage students to develop spatial awareness and become sensitive to patterns and designs. For each activity, the guide provides: (1) an overview, (2) a list of needed materials, (3) information about materials and station preparation, (4) tips on how best to implement the learning station, (5) an explanation of how to present the activity, (6) suggestions for extending the activity, and (7) additional teacher information. Instructions for "Making 'Build It! Festival' A School-Wide Event!", a "Geometric Glossary", a "Resource Books" list, suggested "Literature Connections", and "Sources for Materials" conclude the guide. (MM)
Descriptors: Architecture, Art Activities, Elementary Education, Experiential Learning, Geometric Concepts, Geometric Constructions, Interdisciplinary Approach, Learning Centers (Classroom), Mathematical Concepts, Patternmaking, Science Activities, Symmetry, Tessellations
Creative Publications, 1300 Villa Street, Mountain View, CA 94041.
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Teachers
Authoring Institution: California Univ., Berkeley. Lawrence Hall of Science.


This week in enrichment we spent our time in the RES community garden reinforcing these observational skills. Students had ten plant pictures and had to match them to the correct plant. Once students agreed as a group that they had a match, they took a picture to prove they had found the correct plant. I heard great conversations as students debated about leaf shape and size, and discussed how they could be sure they found the right plant. This was also a great opportunity for us to visit and explore the garden. I look forward to watching these great foundational skills lead to amazing scientific drawings as we continue our plant studies throughout the year! A special thanks to Mrs. Woodruff who went on our garden visits and helped students identify some tricky plants!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Garden Visit and Plant Observation
Students in first grade enrichment will be actively studying plants throughout the year. We will use a variety of activities to enrich our learning. One of the objectives of this science study is to become observant, and then to use these observations to create scientific drawings that include details and labels. I have teamed with. Mrs. Elliott, art teacher, to emphasize the closely connected skills of art and science, and first grade students have been practicing their observational drawings in art class. You can read about this work here:


Bankfields Primary School Curriculum Statement
At Bankfields Primary School, the aim of our curriculum is foster a climate of curiosity and passion in our children about the world around them, helping them to develop an understanding of and be open-minded about wider national and global issues. We aim to immerse them in first hand experiences, which they may not have access to otherwise, and allow them to explore their own interests as well as building on their strengths in different curriculum areas. At Bankfields Primary School, we want to raise the aspirations of our pupils so that they can be happy, successful and proud of what they achieve and have belief in themselves as individuals. This will in turn improve their life chances and equip them with the skills and knowledge that they need to support them on their journey through life.
What is the Cornerstones Curriculum?
The Cornerstones Curriculum is a creative and thematic approach to learning that is mapped to the Primary National Curriculum to ensure comprehensive coverage of national expectations. Our curriculum is delivered through Imaginative Learning Projects (ILPs) which provide a rich menu of exciting and motivating learning activities that make creative links between all aspects of our children’s learning.
We believe children learn better when they are encouraged to use their imagination, be creative and apply their learning to engaging contexts. Our curriculum provides lots of learning challenges throughout the academic year that require children to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding effectively across the curriculum.
Cornerstones also provide a rigorous essential skills framework that outlines the end of year expectations in all subjects. These essential skills are tied to activities and are age related so that staff can track children’s progress and identify their individual learning needs.
Please click on the links below to see further details of the exciting topics that our children will be covering throughout the year.
Whole School Curriculum Planning
If you require any additional information about our curriculum content, please contact the school office who will refer you to the appropriate member of staff.
SMSC, Citizenship, PSHE and British Values
To view our whole school long term plan for SMSC, Citizenship, PSHE and British Values, please click on the link below. In addition to these planned themes, we teach a variety of other SMSC, Citizenship and PSHE topics which are relevant to our pupils and their needs. This includes a number of themed days and weeks throughout the year such as Anti-bullying week.


While most college students focus their studies on one major area of study, a prospective grade-school teacher typically takes a wide variety of general studies courses designed to help her teach her young students. Some states require elementary education majors to select a core area for specialization, so a prospective teacher should be familiar with her state’s requirements for an elementary education teaching certificate before she starts taking education courses.
Liberal Arts Core Classes
As the prospective grade school teacher begins her college career, she typically enrolls in liberal arts classes required of all freshmen and sophomores at the university she is attending. This includes classes in language arts, science, social sciences, history, mathematics, fine arts and literature. Foreign languages are also typically part of this core curriculum, as well as computer literacy classes.
Admission to the College of Education
Many colleges require a minimum grade point average, or GPA, for these core classes for students applying to the university’s college of education. Students must also meet other criteria for admission. For example, Florida Atlantic University requires that college of education applicants have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for these lower-level classes. Applicants must also successfully complete an interview and pass a general knowledge test.
Elementary education majors often have several methods classes they must take to help them prepare for the grade school classroom. They also take classes designed to help prepare them to teach the core elements of reading development and language arts. Elementary education classes also include classes in the other core areas of the curriculum, such as science, math and social studies. Physical education, music and fine arts classes are also part of the teacher preparation program. Some colleges encourage elementary education majors to take a second major in one of the core subject areas. This gives them an advantage when applying for a job in a school that departmentalizes the upper-level grades.
In addition to elementary education courses, the prospective grade-school teacher takes a number of education courses that are required for all education majors. These include teaching methods, education psychology, testing and evaluation, psychology of exceptional children and applied educational technology. The education course sequence is complete when the student completes a semester of student teaching or an internship under the guidance of an experienced teacher in a real classroom. During that time, the student teacher prepares and teaches lessons, organizes learning centers, grades papers, communicates with parents and participates in professional development activities.
- Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images


Teacher STEM Perception and Preparation: Inquiry-Based STEM Professional Development for Elementary Teachers
Student foundational knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is formed in their elementary education. Paradoxically, many elementary teachers have constrained background knowledge, confidence, and efficacy for teaching STEM that may hamper student STEM learning. The association between teacher preparation to teach STEM and student achievement in STEM motivated the authors' professional development program. The authors created and implemented a professional development program to address K–5 teacher confidence for, attitudes toward, knowledge of, and efficacy for teaching inquiry-based STEM. Using data from 2 independent cohorts the authors found significant and consistent increases in pre- to postinstitute assessments of teacher confidence, efficacy, and perceptions of STEM. Further, they found increased participant attention toward linking STEM curriculum and instruction to learning standards. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Nadelson, Louis S.; Callahan, Janet; Pyke, Patricia; Hay, Anne; Dance, Matthew; and Pfiester, Joshua. (2013). "Teacher STEM Perception and Preparation: Inquiry-Based STEM Professional Development for Elementary Teachers". The Journal of Educational Research, 106(2), 157-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2012.667014


Early childhood advisory council to the massachusetts board of education preschool learning experiences guidelines for may sound sophisticated for preschool children, teachers should be able to articulate to formulate questions with teacher support to begin to learn the difference between. I'm transitioning from the prek-8th format to high school this fall i have been trying to prepare mentally for the changes that will need to occur this was reassuring to read i would love to hear/read more about how you adjusted to the amount of class time from 45-50 mins a class to 90 mins for block melissa. Summary christian education differs from public school education in purpose christian education is primarily for the benefit of god, while public education is primarily for the benefit of the state public schools differ from christian schools in the content of their curriculum public schools must leave out the word of god. Summary: this paper focus on the preschool in three cultures studies published in 1989 and 2009 we describe the unique method videocued was to make clear that japanese, chinese, and us preschools, circa 1984, were very different and that much of the difference could be attributed to culture. 6) workload undefined primary: homework was mainly spelling and times tables secondary: essays and projects for each of your classes – and having to organise them all. Preschool children generally eat less for their weight than before--and need less --but the prevalence of obesity has increased tooth decay has decreased since the 1970s but remains a problem among disadvantaged children guidepost 2: what sleep patterns and problems tend to develop during early childhood.
Examples of non-living things are table,chair ,bags,books etc in this video children can learn key characteristics of living are nonliving and how these 5 differences separate them from non-living things this science education video is suitable for grades of ks1 ,ks2, ks3 as well as for preschoolers and kindergarten kids. The difference in salaries between ece and elementary education career paths is likely due to the additional experience and licensure required to be an elementary teacher, along with the lack of national standardization in preschools however, if the push for universal pre-k becomes a reality, the outlook. False booth and kelly, two authors from the above nichd study, followed 156 young children with or at risk for developmental disabilities, to determine if child care made a difference to their development  when they compared children with developmental disabilities who attended daycare and children who were cared. If a large opinion survey were conducted on the difference between schools and childcare, school-based programs would be described as more educationally focused, while childcare programs would be seen as more custodial, writes ellen galinsky, president of the families and work institute in new york, in her book.
Family child care versus day care center: which type of day care is the right option for your family when parents are trying to decide what type of child care to use, there are many factors to consider two popular options are family child care (a day care in someone's. Does respect equal obedience and vice versa we ask our children to be respectful when we really mean that we want them to be obedient dr justin coulson explains why these two qualities are easily confused. Education is an important part of raising children and preparing them to live successful lives for many families, finding the right school environment isn't as easy as just enrolling at the local public school with the information we have today about learning differences and 21st century skills, not all schools.
Learn about the most prevalent preschool philosophies to help you choose a school that meets your child's needs the major difference between the waldorf method and other methods is that all types of art--- from drawing, painting , sculpting, puppetry, fabric artistry (knitting, crocheting, dying, spinning, weaving, felt. When learning the english language, you may find yourself confused about the differing between pragmatic meaning versus semantic meaning this article describes the difference between the two terms and the ways they can be applied in the english language.
People searching for 10 ways teachers make a difference found the following related articles and links useful vocational education teachers, postsecondary self-enrichment education teachers education teachers, postsecondary preschool teachers, except special education source: bureau of labor.


Growing financialization and complexity demands financial literacy to be an integral part of the research agenda and policy design globally. It applies particularly to developed countries, since research findings suggest that financial literacy becomes more important with higher levels of economic development.
Financial literacy is financial education, such as basic economics, statistics and numeracy skills combined with the ability to employ these skills in making financial decisions. Research has shown that as people become more financially literate, they make better saving and borrowing decisions, are more likely to plan for retirement and hold more diverse assets in their balance sheet. As more and more households are asked to make their own decisions about such issues, financial illiteracy can become a serious threat to their life-time welfare.
European Union contains in itself world’s best performers (Sweden, Denmark) as well as those that score below global average (Romania, Portugal) in financial literacy rankings. The findings for the EU echo those that are also applicable to other developed economies, namely that low-income individuals, women, young people and less educated people tend to consistently underperform in literacy tests.
Financial literacy matters for the EU for three reasons: 1) in the face of rapidly ageing population, the pressure on the pension system could be mitigated through shifting towards more occupational and personal insurance systems. This shifts more and more responsibilities to the individual who can greatly enhance their decision-making with higher levels of financial literacy. 2) mortgage-debt makes up an overwhelming share of total debt of euro-area households. Understanding the implications of indebtedness and how financial literacy can help is especially important for young households, first-time homeowners and those at the lower end of the income distribution. 3) financial literacy is negatively associated with the main elements of inclusive growth in the EU, namely poverty, inequality, social exclusion and social immobility. Financial literacy can therefore help access the benefits of economic growth and contribute to the inclusive growth agenda in the EU.
In light of these findings, the policy recommendations entail starting financial literacy programs from the young age; promoting programs that are tailored to the specific needs of communities, especially young people, women and low-income groups; providing targeted financial education for people on the verge of major financial decisions, such as the first mortgage, student loan, retirement investment. However, at the same time it is important to resist information overload, support more research into financial literacy, especially behavioural aspects of financial decision-making and increase private sector involvement since they are at the forefront of financial education and service provision.


E-learning is a very broad time period. Rather than passing down organized bodies of data to new learners, Pragmatists consider that learners ought to apply their information to actual situations through experimental inquiry. The module is designed to be each multi- and inter-disciplinary, exposing all college students to approaches to research from across the inspiration disciplines of history, philosophy and sociology.
Character improvement emphasizes individual duty for choices. Broudy also studied issues on society’s calls for on college. Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist lecture rooms needs to be a matter of private choice. These will probably be thought-about in relation to differing conceptions of ethics, and the divergent concepts of human being (the self and its relation to society) that these generate.
Point 3 about studying being a physiological activity makes numerous sense. Since individuals are human, one ought to teach first about humans, not machines or methods. You may schedule a one-on-one appointment for assist in making ready your Teaching Philosophy Statement.
PESA adopts an inclusive approach to philosophical work in education, and welcome contributions to the life of the Society from a wide range of totally different theoretical traditions and perspectives. Whereas elementary education made the soul aware of the environment, increased training helped the soul to search for fact which illuminated it. Both girls and boys obtain the same kind of training.
Leaping to factors 6 and seven, I agree that college students need data and instruments and resources, but I consider they solely want these to a certain extent. A teacher ought to know learn how to embrace all college students in studying at their own level, and a trainer should be able to encourage the scholars to push themselves to the following degree.


Title I and CategoricalWelcome!
The office of Elementary Education and Categorical Programs oversees the compliance of State and Federal money that comes into the district. The money is distributed to the school sites to supplement the core educational practices already in place. Its purpose is to increase student achievement.
California provides a “per pupil” amount of money to fund comprehensive education of all students, ages 5-17. For many reasons, some learners have difficulty mastering academic state and local content standards and may be at risk for not meeting graduation requirements. To help school districts meet the identified needs of students, state and federal governments have provided additional supplemental educational dollars. These funds, known as categorical program funds, may be used to buy additional personnel time, staff development opportunities, student materials, and other specialized items or services to augment the core instructional program and increase academic success for all students.
State and Federal supplementary funds for public education are governed by numerous rules and regulations. Their common goal is to provide access to mastery of district and state standards for ALL learners, including the special needs of English learners, educationally disadvantaged pupils, gifted and talented pupils, and pupils with exceptional needs.
A quality educational program is based on an improvement process that results in a Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) in which all members of the school community contribute, including the principal, teachers, support staff, parents, and students (at secondary level). The mechanism by which the school fulfills its responsibility for developing and coordinating programs is the School Site Council (SSC). The SSC is delegated the responsibility for developing a comprehensive SPSA based on assessments and self study.
To ensure that all of the resources available to the school, including the base programs and the supplemental resources, are coordinated and focused on providing a high-quality education program in which students of all ranges of ability and background can learn and succeed, a careful analysis of student assessment and performance data is conducted. Principals routinely conduct classroom walk-throughs to further identify student and staff strengths and needs. Using this information, the site’s staff then identifies the areas of need in reading/language arts and math in relation to significant, disaggregated groups, total school population, and grade level groups. The administration, school staff, School Site Council, and Leadership Team, write action plans in reading/language arts and math. Staff development materials, resources (including personnel), curricular instructional strategies, and monitoring and evaluation components complete the action plan elements. These action plans become part of the site’s SPSA.
The categorical budgets must support the implementation of these action plans. The staff and SSC review the assessment data and SPSA each year, update the plan, and align the new budget expenditures to these revisions. The SPSA and budgets must have School Site Council approval.
For more information contact me at (760) 244-4411 x7235 or by email at email@example.com.
Parent programs/support – Encourage and support parent involvement; provide opportunities for continued learning at the district Family Resource and Parent Center.


This page uses content from Wikipedia and is licensed under CC BY-SA.
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A primary school (or elementary school in American English and often in Canadian English) is a school in which children receive primary or elementary education from the age of about five to twelve, coming after preschool and before secondary school. (In some countries there is an intermediate stage of middle school between primary and secondary education.)
In most parts of the world, primary education is the first stage of compulsory education, and is normally available without charge, but may be offered in a fee-paying independent school. The term grade school is sometimes used in the US, although this term may refer to both primary education and secondary education.
The term primary school is derived from the French école primaire, which was first used in 1802.
In the United States, "primary school" may refer to a school with grades Kindergarten through second grade or third grade. (K-2 or 3). In these municipalities, the "elementary school" includes grade three through five or grades four to six.
In some places, primary schooling has historically further been divided between lower primary schools (LP schools), which were the elementary schools, and higher primary schools (HP schools), which were established to provide a more practical instruction to poorer classes than what was provided in the secondary schools.
A Shōgakkō or Elementary school class in Japan


This article originally appeared on the Bachelors Degree website.
Nearly everyone enjoys music, whether by listening to it, singing, or playing an instrument. But despite this almost universal interest, many schools are having to do away with their music education programs. This is a mistake, with schools losing not only an enjoyable subject, but a subject that can enrich students’ lives and education. Read on to learn why music education is so important, and how it offers benefits even beyond itself.
1. Musical training helps develop language and reasoning: Students who have early musical training will develop the areas of the brain related to language and reasoning. The left side of the brain is better developed with music, and songs can help imprint information on young minds.
2. A mastery of memorization: Even when performing with sheet music, student musicians are constantly using their memory to perform. The skill of memorization can serve students well in education and beyond.
3. Students learn to improve their work: Learning music promotes craftsmanship, and students learn to want to create good work instead of mediocre work. This desire can be applied to all subjects of study.
4. Increased coordination: Students who practice with musical instruments can improve their hand-eye coordination. Just like playing sports, children can develop motor skills when playing music.
5. A sense of achievement: Learning to play pieces of music on a new instrument can be a challenging, but achievable goal. Students who master even the smallest goal in music will be able to feel proud of their achievement.
6. Kids stay engaged in school: An enjoyable subject like music can keep kids interested and engaged in school. Student musicians are likely to stay in school to achieve in other subjects.
7. Success in society: Music is the fabric of our society, and music can shape abilities and character. Students in band or orchestra are less likely to abuse substances over their lifetime. Musical education can greatly contribute to children’s intellectual development as well.
8. Emotional development: Students of music can be more emotionally developed, with empathy towards other cultures They also tend to have higher self esteem and are better at coping with anxiety.
9. Students learn pattern recognition: Children can develop their math and pattern-recognition skills with the help of musical education. Playing music offers repetition in a fun format.
10. Better SAT scores: Students who have experience with music performance or appreciation score higher on the SAT. One report indicates 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math for students in music appreciation courses.
11. Fine-tuned auditory skills: Musicians can better detect meaningful, information-bearing elements in sounds, like the emotional meaning in a baby’s cry. Students who practice music can have better auditory attention, and pick out predictable patterns from surrounding noise.
12. Music builds imagination and intellectual curiosity: Introducing music in the early childhood years can help foster a positive attitude toward learning and curiosity. Artistic education develops the whole brain and develops a child’s imagination.
13. Music can be relaxing: Students can fight stress by learning to play music. Soothing music is especially helpful in helping kids relax.
14. Musical instruments can teach discipline: Kids who learn to play an instrument can learn a valuable lesson in discipline. They will have to set time aside to practice and rise to the challenge of learning with discipline to master playing their instrument.
15. Preparation for the creative economy: Investing in creative education can prepare students for the 21st century workforce. The new economy has created more artistic careers, and these jobs may grow faster than others in the future.
16. Development in creative thinking: Kids who study the arts can learn to think creatively. This kind of education can help them solve problems by thinking outside the box and realizing that there may be more than one right answer.
17. Music can develop spatial intelligence: Students who study music can improve the development of spatial intelligence, which allows them to perceive the world accurately and form mental pictures. Spatial intelligence is helpful for advanced mathematics and more.
18. Kids can learn teamwork: Many musical education programs require teamwork as part of a band or orchestra. In these groups, students will learn how to work together and build camaraderie.
19. Responsible risk-taking: Performing a musical piece can bring fear and anxiety. Doing so teaches kids how to take risks and deal with fear, which will help them become successful and reach their potential.
20. Better self-confidence: With encouragement from teachers and parents, students playing a musical instrument can build pride and confidence. Musical education is also likely to develop better communication for students.
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The ParentIn this phase your role remains to teach, guide and assist your child in their educational, physical, emotional and social development. You should also still work with the teacher so that your child progresses confidently through school. It is advised to continue checking homework and assisting when necessary. If your child is battling with concepts, you should work with them until they understand the concepts, independently.
Intermediate phase (Grades 4-6)This phase is about using foundational concepts to build their knowledge and learn new concepts. A child with strong foundational skills is more likely to succeed in this phase, and to develop a sense of independent learning. Your role as a parent in this phase is to guide and instruct your child and for them to attempt the work individually without your continuous involvement. This does not mean your child is expected to work unassisted, but that they are required to work for periods independently, knowing that you are available should they get stuck.
This phase teaches them how to use their previous knowledge to learn new concepts. Your child is now at a stage where they are learning to work independently and develop their skills, but they are still reliant on the teacher and yourself to teach, instruct, and help them.


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Welcome to the Voyager Sopris Learning Resource Center. Use the filters above to find complimentary webinars, white papers, efficacy reports, and much more.
We will examine key questions to help educators implement the best instructional practices to meet the demands of rigorous standards,: What should influence our choice of content?; How can we ensure learning transfers?; and more!
See how to implement the What Works Clearinghouse recommendations for increasing students’ understanding of whole numbers, fractions and problem solving.
Learn practical instructional strategies—based on a foundation of language acquisition principles—that can easily be incorporated into any lesson to develop a mastery of academic language and, subsequently, independent learners.
Exploring the latest in free technology to facilitate communication and creative expression between students, teachers, administration, and parents.
We will explore the development of number sense in young children—specifically the meaning of a number (including counting, writing, and naming numbers), as well as how numbers compare and how values are related. Leave with multiple strategies to use as classroom routines or within lessons.
A sense of rhythm is a component of phonological processing and an important building block of language acquisition and subsequent literacy development. We will discuss the research describing rhythm and its impact on early literacy learning.
Create a structure that facilitates frequent, purposeful academic discourse between students, promoting the oral language base necessary for reading comprehension and coherent writing. Learn how Permanent Partners provide English Learners opportunities for speaking practice, offsetting the negative impact of limited oral language usage in an era of increasing technology-based instruction.
Learn strategies that focus on devoting approximately 10 minutes a day to building fluent retrieval of basic facts at elementary, middle, and high school. Identification of "basic" facts will also be explored for grades 5–8.
The CCSS identify learning behaviors and qualities that authors hope to encourage, such as perseverance in solving problems. These habits are critical for all students, across tiers and populations. This session discusses the importance of building collective practice in order to teach the Capacities of Literate Individuals and Math Practices standard across all tiers of service.


Center-Based-Learning creates clear-cut areas for learning. Each center has a different educational focus, such as motor skill or cognitive development, that inspires hands-on learning in an organized way. Centers are coordinated based on content or activity areas, such as dramatic play, reading, art, science, manip
ulatives, and blocks.
Including centers in the classroom encourages young children to explore materials on their own and gives children the chance to choose what they want to try. One child may choose to use a microscope in the science center, while another independently explores plastic bugs with a magnifying glass. This exploration develops self-confidence, prepares the children for the similar choice-times they will make in Kindergarten, and breeds creativity as most often centers include raw materials.
The materials in each learning center encourage hands-on exploration. And even though centers encourage play, they help children learn. Just because a child is playing with blocks or finger painting doesn't mean that she isn't learning as well. For example, playing in the block area can help children learn basic math ideas such as shapes and patterns. Finger painting is a tool for early hand-writing.
Our centers are well-structured and completely accessible to the children in the classroom. The materials, storage units, tables and chairs are all on the child's level. While center-based learning doesn't mean everything is kept out all of the time, it does mean that children have easy access to tools during Center Time so that they can decide with what they want to experiment, tinker, or create a brilliant masterpiece.
All of our Center Times end with a Class Circle Time, an opportunity to practice listening, repeating, and body control. At this time, the lesson of the day is discussed, at least one story is read, and the children participate in a group discussion.
Our teachers work in early childhood education because they love what they do. They embrace their role and look at it as one that should inspire children on a daily basis to embrace the world around them. They look at each child as an individual and foster the growth of each student in a special way, indicative to that child’s needs and interests.
All teachers are trained to participate as partners in children's activities rather than relate to children as supervisors. Training emphasizes positive interaction strategies which include forming authentic relationships with children, sharing control with children, focusing on children's strengths, supporting children's play ideas, and adopting a problem-solving approach to disagreements.
Lead preschool teachers hold degrees in elementary education, early learning development and education, or have the equivalent education and experience. Teachers are required to continue their education based on state guidelines for mandatory training hours. All teachers are trained in CPR and first aid. All personnel undergo a thorough police background check.