Lithia Preschool Program: 3- 4 Year Olds
Preschool in Lithia
We believe that young children learn best by active learning, and that is why Children’s Academy is a child-centered program where children are encouraged to learn by playing and experiencing the world around them.
Our most important goal in the preschool program is to help children become enthusiastic learners.
We do this by encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts.
Our goal is to help children become independent self-confident and inquisitive learners.
Preschool Literacy Development
Your preschooler’s cognitive skills will be enriched through a variety of challenging math, science, social studies and literacy activities that will take place within our program’s predictable yet flexible daily schedule.
He will fine tune his social skills through dramatic play, group times and independent interactions with other children.
His proficiency in language arts will be increased through reading and being read to, storytelling, puppet play and ample opportunities for fine motor development.
Language Development For Your Preschooler
Your child is naturally curious about the world around him and ready to learn all that he can about it. Our program has been designed to specifically meet the diverse interests and needs of preschool children.
Your child can choose to play and work in seven different learning centers, each one equipped with developmentally appropriate materials designed to entice and challenge him.
He’ll be able to explore numbers, colors and shapes through a myriad of projects and activities.
He’ll solve problems and engage in many planned and spontaneous learning experiences. With our teachers there to guide and support him, he’ll make decisions about what materials to use and when to use them, helping to dramatically strengthen his decision-making skill and greatly increase his self-confidence.
Making Decisions, Fostering Confidence
Throughout your youngster’s preschool experience, we will provide a variety of opportunities and activities designed to increase his vocabulary and improve his listening skills. His teachers will engage him in rich and interesting conversations all through the day and ask thoughtful questions that will stimulate his thinking.
Ample opportunities for dramatic play experiences will help him further develop his speaking and listening skills which are the very foundations for learning to read and write.
Preschool Language Immersion
Our literacy enriched environments will provide your preschooler with many valuable language and print experiences, helping him to develop all of the skills he will need for a life-long love of reading and writing.
Stories and books will also be introduced as part of the art, math, cooking, science and gross motor skills components of your child’s curriculum. Incorporating stories that he already knows and loves will give him many opportunities for hands-on experiences based upon them.
Using Language To Build Future Success!
CALL US TODAY at (813) 689-6819 or Contact Us Online To Get Started!


Curious Twin/Sib Pairs and School Separation
Unusual twins and twins' school separation are important to know about!
Posted Jan 30, 2014
(I). Twin and Twin-like Sibships and (II). Separating Twins at School
I. Twins fascinate us, especially the varieties among both identical and fraternal twins. About 25% of identical twin pairs result when a single fertilized egg divides relatively late, somewhere after about the eighth post-conceptional day. (Identical twins occur when the fertilized egg divides between the first two weeks after conception—splitting after that time can produce conjoined twins.) Such twins may show various reversed features, such as hand preference, hair whorl and/or fingerprint patterns, to name a few.
There are actually more fraternal twin than identical twin varieties. Some fraternal twins have different fathers, an event that can happen when women have sexual relations with different partners fairly close in time. These twins (called superfecundated twins) are genetically equivalent to half-siblings because they share one parent (mother), but not the other (father). The frequency of such sets is unknown because some pairs are never discovered. Another curious fraternal pair can occur when the twins’ parents are from different ethnic groups. Such twins may appear quite different if each twin takes after a different parent. The life experiences of these twins may also be quite diverse.
Another intriguing kinship is composed of same-age unrelated children reared together since infancy—what I have termed “virtual twins.” These pairs replicate the twin situation, but without the genetic link. I am studying such pairs at this time because they tell us how much shared environments affect behavioral development. Comparing these children with twins adopted together and apart allows a unique disentangling of genetic and environmental influences on human developmental traits. Most of the adopted apart and adopted together twins I am studying are from China. New pairs are welcome to join these studies.
II. Whether or not to separate young twins at school is a vexing question faced by all parents with multiple birth children. Some schools maintain mandatory separation policies for twins, believing that they will fail to develop a sense of individuality if kept together. Unfortunately, this view often rests on the unsystematic observations by administrators of a few twin pairs, rather than on systematically gathered data from many sets. A new study has addressed this question via data from a specially designed survey.
The study, conducted by Dr. Lynn Gordon, Professor of Elementary Education at California State University, Northridge, provides some important guidelines for teachers and educators. She determined that 71% of 131 elementary school principals advocate separating twins attending kindergarten for the first time. In contrast, this view was held by 49% of teachers, 38% of parents and only 19% of young twins. In fact 100% of the young female identical twins wanted to remain together.
More revealing is that parents reported that 3% of the twins were “traumatized” and 17% were “somewhat traumatized” by early school separation. Most parents favored keeping young twins together, believing that school administrators should consider parents’ views in making their decisions. In fact, a number of states have passed, or are in the process of passing, legislation giving parents a meaningful voice in their twin children’s classroom placement. At the present time, twelve states have enacted laws, ten states have sponsored bills and two states have resolutions allowing parental input; see twinslaw.com.
One of the most important points to emerge from Dr. Gordon’s study is that the best policy is no policy! Teachers and administrators need to be flexible regarding twins’ school placement, taking each twins’ special circumstances into consideration. Schools do not follow the same set practices with regard to non-twins—twins deserve the same fair treatment.
Dr. Gordons’ study can be read in full in the journal Educational Policy: Gordon, L. M. (2014). Twins and kindergarten separation: Divergent beliefs of principals, teachers, parents, and twins. Educational Policy. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/0895904813510778.


Reading aloud helps children acquire early language skills.
- Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity leading to language development. Among other things, reading aloud builds word-sound awareness in children, a potent predictor of reading success.
- “Children who fall seriously behind in the growth of critical early reading skills have fewer opportunities to practice reading. Evidence suggests that these lost practice opportunities make it extremely difficult for children who remain poor readers during the first three years of elementary school to ever acquire average levels of reading fluency.” Torgeson, J. Avoiding the Devasting Downward Spiral, American Educator. (2004)
- Reading aloud to young children is not only one of the best activities to stimulate language and cognitive skills; it also builds motivation, curiosity, and memory. Bardige, B. Talk to Me, Baby!(2009), Paul H Brookes Pub Co.
- Reading aloud stimulates language development even before a child can talk. Bardige, B. Talk to Me, Baby!(2009), Paul H Brookes Pub Co.
- Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an 8-month-old infant, the greater the size of their child’s vocabulary at age 3. The landmark Hart-Risley study on language development documented that children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million fewer words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4. Hart, B. Risley, T. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children (1995), Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Reading aloud helps children develop positive associations with books and reading.
- The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.
- Reading aloud is a proven technique to help children cope during times of stress or tragedy.
Reading aloud helps children build a stronger foundation for school success.
- “What happens during the first months and years of life matters, a lot, not because this period of development provides an indelible blueprint for adult well-being, but because it sets either a sturdy or fragile stage for what follows.” J.S. Shonkoff & D. Phillips, Eds., From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000), Washington D.C.; National Research Council & The Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press.
- Once children start school, difficulty with reading contributes to school failure, which can increase the risk of absenteeism, leaving school, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy – all of which can perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency.
- Reading aloud in the early years exposes children to story and print knowledge as well as rare words and ideas not often found in day-to-day conversations or screen time.
- Reading aloud gives children the opportunity to practice listening – a crucial skill for kindergarten and beyond.
In 2008, some of Reach Out and Read’s Medical Champions published an article in the Archives of Disease in Childhood that provides an overview of key research on reading aloud to young children, and its influence on children’s language and literacy development. Read the article – called “Reading aloud to children: the evidence” here.


Epidemic Worksheet – Free Science for Kids Words Game Printable Worksheet
The Epidemic Worksheet – Download our fun FREE Science for kids words game printable worksheet. This free printable science for kids worksheet has a word searches puzzle along with a find-the-missing words game for children. Our free Epidemic worksheet is free to print and use as many times as you need.
The Science for kids worksheet about Epidemics is a fun way to gain your child’s attention during science enrichment classes or homeschooling. This free printable science worksheet teaches fun facts all about Epidemics.
Our printable hidden words game is appropriate for kids in Pre-K through 5th Grade.
Kids in Primary school from first Grade to Fifth Grade can enjoy the fun facts about Epidemics worksheet as a reading comprehension tool. Your children shall learn well and enhance their reading comprehension skills because the kids will most likely have to re-read several times the Epidemic fun facts to find what the missing words are. This free science kids words game is a great fun method for kids to learn and remember facts about Epidemics, as well as developing better reading comprehension skills.
Younger kids in Pre-K and Kindergarten who do not read and write yet can use our free printable science for kids Epidemic worksheet as a listening comprehension fun activity.
Teachers and Educators can read out loud the Epidemic fun facts and then ask the children what the missing words were.
Kids will also enjoy playing the hidden words puzzle while practicing to find and recognize letters and words.
Parents doing early learning activities with their kids can use the Epidemic free science for kids worksheet to spend quality time educating their kids about Epidemics.
If your child is interested to learn about animals and the world, or is enrolled in some extra-curricular program, then this is a fun yet educational activity, with reading comprehension benefits for kids in first to fifth grade.
Teachers can utilize the free science for kids printable worksheet to supplement science classes and make learning about Epidemics interesting and fun for kids.
Educators and Tutors can utilize our Epidemic free words game for after school child enrichment programs or early learning activities.
EasyScienceforKids.com offers many fun free science for kids printable worksheets and free educational hidden words games. Download and use our free science worksheets to make learning science fun!
An epidemic is sometimes unpredictable and can happen to any community. Epidemics are very dangerous and kill many people. Epidemics are fatal germs and diseases that spread rapidly. What can we do to prevent Epidemics? The most important things are to have proper health care and maintain cleanliness in all areas. As they always say; prevention is better than cure!
Find out more fun facts about Epidemics by downloading the Epidemic worksheet!
Free Printable Science for Kids Epidemic Worksheet
Cite This Page
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It’s about that time of the year where projects are due. You want to create a fantastic looking poster to present your research in a neat editing software. Yet you’re having trouble choosing the correct colors. Or wait, is it just your computer that’s having trouble choosing the correct colors? What is this section under the “edit colors” tab that says “RGB values”? You just want to make the perfect shade of orange using red and yellow, but the computer only understands RGB. It turns out that when it comes to computer science, red, blue, and green are the primary colors.
Let’s break down this computational color system. The RGB (red, blue, and green) is known as an additive color system. The additive system was given its name because when wavelengths of light are added together, the color values approach white light. This system makes use of the physics of light to create the colorful (or colorless) pixels on your screen. To understand this further we have to break down the concept of light.
On a spectrum of radiation, known as the electromagnetic spectrum, light composes the visible part of the spectrum. Light has two natures, but for now, let’s just focus on its wavelike nature. Each range of wavelength corresponds to a different color, with around 700nm (nanometers) being red light, and 400nm being violet light.
The height of the wave from its center point, or it’s amplitude, determines how bright the light shines, or how close the value is to white. This means that the colors on your computer screen are not actually programmed into your computer as red, green, or blue. Rather, your computer makes colors by shining specific wavelengths of red, green, and blue lights with different amplitudes through the pixels, tricking your eyes into seeing specific mixes of colors. Neat, right?
The colors that you might have learned as primary in your childhood, red, blue, and yellow, follow the subtractive system. This means that as these colors are mixed they approach darker values going towards black. As paints they do not emit wavelengths of energy, like the pixels on your screen. These paints have pigments which reflect the color they show, and absorb all others. For example, a red apple reflects red light, but absorbs all other color wavelengths. Unlike paints, the pixels on your computer screen do not have pigments.
Now that you know some more about the physics of color on your computer, making that science fair poster should be a breeze! Knowing how to manipulate your red, green, and blue wavelengths of light could save you a ton of time and give you some fantastic looking results! Happy poster making!
Stroh, C. (Jul 1997). Basic color theory and color in computers. Art Education; Reston, 50(4).


Simple Kitchen Science for Kids
Science has always been one of my favorite things to introduce to young children. I especially love activities that require very few supplies and provide oodles of opportunity for hands on learning. Here are some of my favorites using materials that may already be in your kitchen. The best part of preschool science is there’s no such thing as a mistake, only a new way to experiment!
Baking Soda and Vinegar
Give a child some baking soda and vinegar and they’ll be entertained for a good long while! We go through these in bulk at preschool and have found Costco to be the least expensive for gallon size vinegar and Amazon to have the best prices for bulk baking soda. You can add clay or sand to make volcanos, put it in your jack-o-lantern to create a spooky Halloween surprise, use spoons, funnels, eye droppers, or bowls, and even try adding a bit off food coloring or dish soap. If you prefer a less messy approach, have your child do their experiment in an empty bathtub and then use the leftovers to clean when they are finished. In addition to a fun carbon dioxide reaction, baking soda and vinegar are great for cleaning!
Cornstarch and Water
Cornstarch and water make a fantastic sensory experience! My favorite way to use this mixture is to put the cornstarch on a cookie tray and then give the child a small cup or spray bottle filled with water. As they add water to the cornstarch and mix it with their fingers, it will turn into something new that is not quite liquid, and not quite solid. You can save this for a few days in a zip lock bag, but when you are ready to toss it, make sure it goes in the trash and not down the drain!
Pour a bit of milk onto a plate so the bottom is covered. Place a few drops of various food coloring in the middle of the milk so the colors are close together. Using a clean toothpick, touch the center of the milk. Does anything happen? Next dip a toothpick into some dish soap and touch the middle of the milk. Watch the colors run! The soap lowers the surface tension and reacts with the proteins in the milk, which sets them into motion.
Homemade playdough is simple to make and feels fantastic. To make a small batch, mix 3 cups of flour, 1.5 cups of salt, 3 cups of water, 5 tablespoons of oil, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar in a large pan over the stove. Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms. Take the dough out of the pan and knead well on the counter. When cooled, store in a sealed bag. Add spices, extracts, or oils for scented playdough.
Homemade Face Paint
I learned this recipe from one of our teachers and I have loved it ever since! (Thanks Viki!). Combine ¼ a cup of lotion, ¼ a cup of water, ¼ a cup of cornstarch, and a few drops of food coloring. Stir together, add brushes and a mirror, and paint away!
Like with all activities, children should be supervised, and parents should only use ingredients that they have determined are safe and appropriate for their family. Happy experimenting!
Sarah Bradford is the Director at Valley Parent Preschool in Danville, California. She may be reached at email@example.com.


The application of reading comprehension strategies in a primary classroom
The research question addressed in this project was, what are the recommended applications of reading comprehension strategies in the classroom? This study documents one teacher's application of three reading comprehension strategies in a primary classroom. It used the model of Gradual Release of Responsibility, based on Duke and Pearson's research into instructional methods of reading comprehension. The author documents the details of the lesson and uses related research literature to construct meaning and validate the study. She describes both successes and struggles in implementing the lessons and concludes that: 1) teachers need to be explicit in the instruction of reading comprehension strategies 2) teachers need to be selective in the strategies and materials selected to teach 3) teachers need to provide sufficient time for the application of strategies.
Scarpetta, Kristen Elizabeth, "The application of reading comprehension strategies in a primary classroom" (2008). School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 2069.


This module helps you to interact with clients in a courteous and efficient manner when dealing with grievances and customer complaints. The reading activity zooms in on the use of social media as a customer service platform. Practise reading comprehension strategies and skills and take a note of any words and expressions you are unfamiliar with. Three listening comprehension activities present different service industry contexts in which you may need to deal with an unsatisfied customer, whether in person or on the phone. As you practise your listening comprehension skills, take a note of any words and expressions that are pertinent to your field and observe how and when they are used by the speakers. The grammar component of this module reviews the form and use of the present perfect, and contrasts it with the use of the simple present and simple past. Mastering the meaning of these tenses will allow you to better understand the temporal aspect of a complaint by establishing whether it belongs to the past or continues into the present. Finally, you will review and practise words and expressions that express types of problems and mistakes, attitudes toward them and ways of apologizing for them.


Date of Award
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Dr. Barbara Hill
Dr. Trevor Turner
Dr. Sheila Gregory
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to research strategies of successful afterschool programs and their effectiveness in promoting student achievement and closing achievement gaps. Many afterschool programs have boasted of their ability to improve student achievement. Some students who participated in afterschool programs have shown an increase of improved academic performance. However, studies have indicated that students are still performing below grade level on national and state curriculum standards. Data have shown that fifth graders across the state ofGeorgiaare struggling in math, social studies, and science. Effective academic afterschool programs may have assisted struggling students in raising their Criterion Reference Competency Tests (CRCT) scores. Afterschool programs have the ability to help students socially, emotionally, culturally, behaviorally and academically. The variables addressed in the study are (a) program effectiveness, (b) student motivation, (c) parental involvement, (d) successful program structure, (e) student attendance, (f) student involvement/ socialization, (g) climate of the program, and (h) student expectations. Data were gathered using observations, face-to-face teacher interviews, document analysis, teacher questionnaires, and student questionnaires.
The sample was 24 (18 students from school A and 6 students from school B) fifth grade students in two select afterschool programs whose CRCT data were compared to students in the same school but do they did not attend the afterschool program. The comparison group was 18 fifth grade students from school A and 15 fifth grade students from school B. The CRCT test data revealed how well students may perform on standardized tests even if they do not attend the afterschool program. Although CRCT test data were used to help determine the effectiveness of the afterschool program in improving academic achievement in fifth grade students, there may be other factors that contributed to student success. The fifth grade students were selected because they are mandated to takeGeorgia’s standardized CRCT. In mostGeorgiacounties, if students do not pass all parts of the CRCT, they will not be able to move on to the next grade level.
The results revealed that students in the study enjoyed attending the afterschool programs. After review of the CRCT data, it was determined that most of the study participants and the non-study participants mostly met or exceeded in reading and math. School A had an adequate study group of 15 students. School B only had four students’ CRCT test scores. Two students in school B scored below grade level in math. The study also revealed that there may be other factors as to why students perform well on the CRCT.
Medlock, Robyn E., "The Effectiveness of Afterschool Programs in Improving Fifth Grade Academic Performance: A Case Study of Two Select Metro Atlanta Afterschool Programs" (2014). Electronic Theses & Dissertations Collection for Atlanta University & Clark Atlanta University. 9.
Educational Methods Commons, Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Other Education Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons


A fun emergent reader to practice beginning sounds in English. This is a 6 page booklet which includes 5 words and a cover page, PLUS 2 blank pages where students can add their own pictures and words (ex. a friend's name). These readers may be placed in a browsing box or sent home for practice.
This activity focuses on:
*the first letter/sound in words
*identifying and tracing upper and lower case letters
*picture/ word correspondence
*using picture cues to read words
*one-to-one correspondence while reading predictable sentences
Common Core Standards:
Reading: Foundational Skills
RF.K.1a-Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page
RF.K.1c Understand that words are separated by spaces in print
RF.K.1d Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet
RF.K.3a Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.
RF.K.4- Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding
Thank you for stopping by!
Please remember to leave some feedback to earn your TPT credits.
Lidia R. Barbosa


Hamilton Education sells hard copy teaching resources that support Hamilton plans at very low cost. Group Readers, phonics books, number lines and 'Five Minute Fillers' can help you teach literacy and numeracy skills in your classroom.
Upper Key Stage 2 English Plans (Set A)
Hamilton's Y5/6 English plans cover all of the statutory objectives of the National Curriculum for England for Upper Key Stage 2. The Coverage Chart lays out where these are met across a two-year rolling programme (Set A & Set B). Medium and Long Term Plans summarise books used and grammar taught. Individual plans include an outcomes table.
For Homework and for texts to use with children (Oral Stories and Rhymes), appropriate for this age range, see Year 5 and Year 6.
Through The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, investigate settings, character development, dialogue and narrative style. Writing includes: dramatisation, playing with point-of-view and writing a 'Lost Tale'. Grammar includes: complex sentences, relative clauses and elaboration.
Read and analyse a selection of short stories from Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. Explore the structure of short stories and the use of modal verbs and dialogue. Children write a drama based on one they have heard and then a new story in the Shaun Tan-style.
Times are a changin' as children explore how to win hearts and minds. Children analyse adverts and political speeches, adapt protest songs and manipulate with modal verbs. Children write persuasively and the unit ends in a political rally. Who will win: parents or children?
Use texts about iPads and iPhones to introduce features of non-chronological reports. Children create a new section for a BBC online activity about reports using BOS/ QuAD techniques. Then children research information about another electronic device and write reports.
Read The Debate of Tea and Coffee, a Gulf 'debate' poem about a fierce dispute between coffee and tea. Identify features of poems that tell a story. Children read and compare other poems about drinks. They create and perform a playscript for the dispute and then write a poem about a drink.
Using a range of sea poems (provided) and The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy, explore the use of imagery and description. Then discuss how to use language to evoke feelings and produce impressions. Children draft and write their own poem about the Titanic.


Yesterday's post focused on phonemes, the smallest unit of sound in spoken language. Today we focus on phonemic awareness, a related concept. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds – phonemes – in spoken words. This is a critical stage in a child’s literacy development.
Why is Phonemic Awareness Important?
Phonemic awareness is essential for learning to read. If you don’t have strong phonemic awareness skills you cannot decode words. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that a child’s phonemic awareness ability is a strong predictor of success in learning to read and spell. Children who are unable to identify and manipulate the sounds within spoken words typically have difficulty mapping sounds to print and therefore struggle with reading and spelling. The good news is that phonemic awareness can be explicitly taught. Directly teaching children how to hear, recognize, and manipulate the individual sounds in words typically has a positive effect on a child’s reading and spelling skills.
It is important for you to know that there is a developmental trajectory to phonemic awareness, which means that there are easy phonemic awareness tasks, and ones that are more difficult. Children will be able to complete the easier tasks before being successful with more advanced phonemic awareness activities. For example, identifying a word that matches a target phoneme (e.g., which word starts with /f/: fish or dish?) is much easier than asking a child to substitute the phonemes in a word (if you change the /f/ in fish to a /d/ sound, what word do you have?)


Children between the age group 14-18 in rural India are having a hard time doing the basic maths or reading text, according to a survey that spanned 26 rural districts. According to several estimates, India is projected to become a manufacturing powerhouse due to its huge demographic dividend. But, to really reap the benefits from our upcoming millennial generation, government would need to focus on their foundational education, without which this dividend could become a massive deterrent in the future.
What is it? The number of Indian children in the age group 14-18 years who could not do a division problem (3 digit by 1 digit) correctly.
Why is it important? This shortcoming in a key foundational skill is one of the many findings of the Annual Status of Education (ASER) Report 2017, released yesterday, and illustrates the deficiencies that plague the Indian educational system. According to the report, “even among youth in this age group who have completed eight years of schooling, a significant proportion still lack foundational skills like reading and arithmetic.”
Tell me more: This year’s survey focused on 14-18 year olds, and interviewed 28,323 youth in that age group in 26 rural districts across 24 states. Information was collected for four domains: activity, ability, awareness and aspirations.
What is it? The price drop in top cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple—during trading on Tuesday.
Why is it important? The latest fall came in the backdrop of news trickling in that more countries, led by South Korea and China, were looking to step in to regulate trading in cryptocurrencies, including taking drastic action like banning trading. Elsewhere, a research paper laid bare instances of, what it said were, price manipulation in Bitcoin on the Mt Gox Bitcoin currency exchange.
Tell me more: According to this paper, a single actor likely drove the USD/BTC exchange rate from $150 to $1,000 in 2 months in late-2013, volumes on all exchanges increased greatly on days with suspicious activity and unregulated cryptocurrency markets remain vulnerable to manipulation.
What is it? The number of e-commerce portals that Patanjali Ayurved tied up with yesterday to sell its wide range of products.
Why is it important? Offline, the Baba Ramdev company has made its presence felt in several FMCG spaces that were the strongholds of multinationals, and a presence on some of the most popular e-commerce portals could help it open another distribution flank against them. In the first year, the company is targeting Rs 1,000 crore sales from these online channels.
Tell me more: Patanjali’s revenues have rocketed from Rs 2,006 crore in 2014-15 to Rs
Rs 10,561 crore in 2016-17, which made it about one-third the size of Hindustan Unilever. On the sidelines of yesterday’s announcement, Baba Ramdev said he was looking to convert Patanjali, currently a company, to a “non-profit organisation”, which some experts saw as an objective to save tax.
What is it? The value of a 10-year outsourcing contract that technology major TCS yesterday said it had bagged from M&G Prudential, the European savings and investments business of Prudential.
Why is it important? This is the third big, multi-year contract that TCS has secured in the past month or so, following a $2.25 billion renewal—its largest ever by an Indian IT firm, spread over 10 years—from Nielsen and a $2 billion win from Transamerica. The Tata Group IT major needs these wins to lift up growth, which was underwhelming in the latest results announced earlier this week.
Tell me more: Earlier this week, TCS COO N Ganapathy Subramaniam said TCS would record double-digit growth in 2018-19, aided by the kicker provided by the new contracts. In the third quarter, it reported net addition of 1,667 employees.
What is it? The stake that Bajaj Finance is acquiring in MobiKwik, a mobile wallet firm, which is more than the 10.8% it had said it would when it invested Rs 225 crore in August.
Why is it important? Bajaj Finance told the Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday that the higher stake was the result of a change in price of the compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares. The lower conversion price suggests the valuation of MobiKwik has fallen in the intervening period, from $327 million to $279 million.
Tell me more: MobiKwik competes against the likes of Paytm and Freecharge. For 2016-17, it reported declining revenues and increasing losses. Its revenues stood at Rs 37.3 crore (against Rs 38 crore in 2015-16) and loss at Rs 131 crore (Rs 109 crore).


Kerry Hempenstall summarises key aspects of the controversy around whole language versus phonics methods in beginning reading instruction. He argues for the evidence of scientific research to be given greater emphasis.
The development of research in support of effective systematic phonics teaching is outlined. To demonstrate the breadth of the research base, there is a useful link to a detailed bibliography compiled by the SRA team at McGraw-Hill.
This short paper form 1996 outlines the problem of falling standards and attributes it largely to a ‘mixed methods’ or ‘balanced’ approach, combining phonetic methods with context clues and guessing. The challenge for teacher training is clearly set out. It is interesting to reflect on how much (or little) progress has been made since the time of publication.
Tom Burkard sets out the appalling statistics for continuing literacy failure after the Literacy Hour was introduced in 1998, showing how the National Literacy Strategy was itself a component in this failure due to its roots in whole language concepts of reading (not to mention some suspicious tinkering with statistics).
A news report from 2005 contrasting the success of synthetic phonics in Clackmannanshire with the lack of progress under the Literacy Hour. A key question is how much the classroom has changed since.
Why Are Our Best Readers in School Failing the Government's New Phonics Screener? (Dodah C A 2013) The Huffington Post Students
A good example of how mixed messages come from confused ideas about phonics teaching. Exactly when students should be taught more varied and complex aspects of the alphabetic code, some practitioners eagerly want them to begin to use ‘visual memory’ and look for ‘context clues’. Muddling up phonics instruction with other (failed) methods is the likely explanation for poor scores on the phonics screen (which assesses the teaching, not students).
Explains the principal differences between these two sometimes confused approaches, and why synthetic phonics is superior as an approach to early reading instruction.
This study compares the effects of synthetic vs analytic phonics on students’ word reading, spelling and reading comprehension.
John Walker explains how high frequency words can be taught using phonic principles, despite the oft-asserted claim that frequent but irregular words should be learned ‘by sight’.
John Walker explains how high frequency words can be taught using phonic principles, despite the oft-asserted claim that frequent but irregular words should be learned ‘by sight.
A short, clear overview of the necessity of phonics and the utility of a systematic phonics component to reading instruction.
This study re-analysed the meta-analysis of the National Reading Panel. While the authors agree that there is evidence for the efficacy of systematic phonics instruction, they also argue that there is similar evidence to support systematic language activities and individual tutoring. They assert that these effects are additive, and that combining the three approaches could triple the impact of reading instruction.
The authors contend that literacy is much more complex than just learning to read, that the government’s policies on literacy are too narrow, and its treatment of professionals too heavy-handed. The weight of material cited is firmly on the ‘socially constructed’ approach to reading that is associated with whole language and constructivism.


By Teachers, For Teachers
Mastering multiplication is not easy. It takes a lot of dedication and practice, which as teachers, we all know can be hard for our students. Not all students are able to learn their multiplication tables by rote memorization. It’s especially hard when they know they have to memorize the entire multiplication table.
Research actually shows that rote memorization doesn’t help students learn the rules of multiplication or any connections between numbers. Luckily, there are a few tips, tricks, and classroom activities that we can teach students to make it much easier for them to remember their multiplication facts. Here are a few ideas.
Using items like marbles, chips, and coins can help your students see that multiplication is an easier way for them to add more than one number to a group. To begin, ask students to use their manipulatives to show you 3 x 2. They will have created three groups with two of their manipulatives in each group. This is an easy way to show students that all they are doing is putting together three groups of two. Once they master this question, they will be able to master any question.
In order for students to really grasp the concept that when you multiple a number by zero the answer is zero, you will have to physically show them. Start by showing them a group of something. Then, take it away and say, “How much is zero groups?” They will begin to see that the answer is nothing, and the other number disappeared.
Once students know how to count by twos and are able to multiple by twos, then they will love the magic of multiplying by fours. Have students fold their paper in half lengthwise and write their twos tables on the lefthand column, and their fours tables on the righthand column. Then, ask them if they notice any pattern. They should be able to see that the answer is the answers are the doubles, doubled. For instance, 3x2=6, 3x4=12, 3x6=18, 3x8=24. As you can see, the answer in bold is doubled.
Give students a number grid. Have them look at the numbers to see if they can see the patterns. For example, have them look at 6x8 and 8x6=48 for the numbers that correspond with the facts. Have students practice fast adding, which all multiplication really is. Once they know all of their numbers and can add are able to count by threes, fours, fives, etc. then they will be able to multiply!
This is by far the best multiplication trick out of them all. All students need for this trick is their hands. Have students place both of their hands out in front of them palms side down. Tell students that the fingers on their left hand represent the numbers 1-5 and the fingers on their right hand represent the numbers 6-10. To begin, ask students to hold down their ring finger (the number two finger on their left hand). Then remind them that 9x2=18. Have them look at their fingers and say to the left of your bent finger is one, and the right are eight remaining fingers. The magic about this trick is that when multiplying any number by 9, the left of the bent finger will be the tens place and the right will be the ones place.
Here is a quick chart that you can keep up in your classroom for students to refer to.
Unfortunately, not all numbers fit into a pattern, or have a simple trick. These numbers will have to be memorized. The good news is that there are only about 10 of them, so all of the rest of the numbers will be quite easy for students to understand and remember using the tips and tricks from above.
Do you have any multiplication tips or tricks that you teach your students? Please share them with us in the comment section below, we would love to heat your ideas.
Janelle Cox is an education writer who uses her experience and knowledge to provide creative and original writing in the field of education. Janelle holds a Master's of Science in Education from the State University of New York College at Buffalo. She is also the Elementary Education Expert for About.com, as well as a contributing writer to TeachHUB.com and TeachHUB Magazine. You can follow her at Twitter @Empoweringk6ed, or on Facebook at Empowering K6 Educators.


Our Reading Intervention program is comprised of twice weekly, 45-minute sessions (during the school day) with a low 4:1 (or lower) student to interventionist ratio. Students are leveled and grouped according to a comprehensive pre-assessment. The program is based upon the 5 components of reading as determined by the National Reading Panel:
- Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic Awareness and Phonics:
Skills taught include rhyming, recognizing and identifying sounds in words as well as segmenting and blending sounds into words. Students are also taught that letters represent phonemes, that, when blended together, form written words.
Reading interventionists model reading to students and build fluency through repeated reading of familiar books. Vocabulary is developed through the introduction and exploration of new books. Comprehension skills are built through discussion of books that promote understanding.
Alphabet Knowledge & Concepts of Print:
Naming, recognition, and writing of upper and lowercase letters, as well as sorting vowels and consonants. Concepts of Print instruction includes components of a book, directionality of print, correlation of pictures to print, distinction between letters, words and sentences, as well as punctuation.
A pre-assessment provides a baseline from which to measure progress and build lessons. Mid-year results, in conjunction with ongoing monitoring of student progress, are used to drive lesson planning and develop instructional strategies. Post testing in April measures students’ progress and program success.
The primary goal is to close the gap between students’ reading grade levels and their actual grade levels. Secondarily, each reading interventionist strives to build meaningful relationships with their students and become an adult whom they can trust.
- 70% of Kindergarten students will score 90% or higher on the Foundational Skills assessment.
- 90% of 1st grade students will score 90% or higher on the Foundational Skills assessment.
- 95% of 2nd grade students will score 90% or higher on the Foundational Skills assessment.
- 80% of Kindergarten students will increase one or more Development Reading Assessment level.
- 75% of 1st grade students will increase two or more Development Reading Assessment levels.
- 80% of 2nd grade students will increase three or more Development Reading Assessment levels.
What sets our Reading Intervention program apart from other tutoring programs?
- Tailored to meet the needs of each student: Ongoing evaluation is used to create lessons for individualized learning, as well as to strategically group students in order to accelerate progress. Meetings are held with teachers and school administration to discuss progress and identify additional assistance that may be needed for specific students.
- Low student to tutor ratio: We always maintain a very low 4:1 student (or lower) to intervention ratio. This low ratio provides the students with individualized intervention and also allows the tutors to develop a meaningful relationship with each child.
- Cost effective: We work very hard to keep our costs reasonable for schools. The portion that a school pays towards the program depends upon the needs and funds available at each school campus, as well as the number of students to be served and the length of the program. Our typical program consists of 23 weeks of instruction and serves 36 students at a direct cost of approximately $700/student.
- More than a vendor: We go beyond the classroom by supporting literacy development at home through our Parent Partnership programs. Monthly newsletters encourage literacy activities at home. Students choose age appropriate books throughout the program to help build their home libraries, and also receive books and materials at the end of the program to help reduce the Summer Slide. Two workshops are held where parents meet with interventionists and receive materials, support and additional skills to foster their child’s literacy development and expand learning at home.


3 Ways to Teach Children Phonics
One of the most common difficulties a child will encounter when learning to read is the failure to understand phonics, that is, how written spellings represent the sounds of spoken words. To help teach your children phonics skills, try engaging them in activities at home that incorporate the following:
Playing with your child is actually enormously significant to their language development. As you play with them, in whatever activity, whether it’s building Lego, block towers, train tracks, playing with dolls in their dollhouse, or drawing, be intentional about using language. This can feel stilted and unnatural at first, but it becomes easier with time. There are few different types of ‘talk’ you can use—this helps you have a means of discussing things if you’re struggling:
Parallel Talk – This focuses on what the child is doing. You simply report back to the child what they are doing. For example, ‘You are pushing the blue train along the train track’, or ‘you are building a high block tower’. In this way you link language to what they are doing, thereby making direct links between words and things in the mind of the child.
Descriptive Talk – This focuses on the object. You provide words and descriptors for the things your child is playing with. For example, you might say, ‘the red play dough is squishy’, or ‘the blocks tumble down to the ground’.
Self Talk – Using this kind of talk, you focus on what you are doing. ‘I’m drawing a purple butterfly with green polka dots’, or ‘I’m rebuilding the block tower now’. This type of talk may seem unnecessary, but it actually helps kids develop their own language skills, and the more words they have in their memory banks, the better readers that they will be.
Singing is often overlooked as a valid means of developing the language ability of children. But it shouldn’t be. Nursery rhymes were de rigueur once upon a time, and for very good reason. Anytime that you mix words, meter, and music together, you actually end up with an incredibly powerful learning tool. Words alone are powerful, but add rhythm, meter, and melody, and you have something that can burrow further into the mind than a burr under the saddle of a Palomino.
So sing to your child. Sing with your child. Teach them your favorite songs, and learn the ones that they enjoy. Here are a few to jog your memory to help you get started:
- The Eensy Weensy Spider
- Twinkle Twinkle little Star
- Mary had a Little Lamb
- It’s Raining it’s Pouring
And, of course, we cannot neglect the fine art of reading. In concentrating on phonics games that help develop a child’s understanding of phonics, it must never be done at the expense of actually sitting down and reading books to and with children. Reading to your child teaches them that books are enjoyable things to engage with. It also models book-handling skills, as well as the fluent reading of a text. They pick up a lot about how to read, just by listening to a parent or caregiver read to them.
The understanding of phonics for kids is very important to their reading ability. While emphasis on phonics can, at times, overshadow that of reading, the goal for any phonics game is to get kids reading real books.
Reading Eggs uses a synthetic approach to phonics with lessons that help kids map each letter or letter combination with the appropriate sound. Each letter of the alphabet is introduced in its own lesson, allowing kids to focus on the correspondence between a particular letter and its appropriate sounds, thus reinforcing the alphabetic principle. All the lessons in Reading Eggs build one upon the next so that by Lesson 9, kids read their first book. All activities in the program, including the phonics games, have as their focus the reading of real books.
From Lesson 9 on, kids read an e-book in each lesson. All of the books dovetail seamlessly with the content of their respective lessons; therefore, all phonics instruction that kids receive and engage with in a lesson is put to immediate use reading real texts. The lessons are engaging and highly engaging, and reward kids for every lesson they complete. This keeps kids immersed in the learning environment, and motivated to continue reading.


Art appreciation and art history are the most inter-disciplinary modes of learning, as they link not only to the art work and the artist but to the science, language, politics and society at that particular point in time. Art appreciation is not just about recognising a Picasso or a Matisse. It is introducing children to a new way of seeing. Art appreciation is also not about spewing facts and figures about an artwork. Rather it is helping our children become more sensitive to others’ point of view, and to visual expression and imagery around them.
Knowing about art history can have immense benefits for a child’s development. It teaches them that art is an integral part of our lives, and that it is all around us. It also fosters a love of art and culture from an early age.
Here are the 5 main ways that art education and appreciation is beneficial for a child’s development:
1. Observation: Looking at artwork helps child’s observation skills. By focussing on an inquiry-based learning rather than skills-based learning, we can encourage children to look more closely and observe visual cues and symbols. It also creates a more mindful approach to life from a young age, where children take time to look around them. When children learn to visualise through careful observation, and imagine, this can extend into other areas of their learning. For instance, this helps with their reading skills, as children who can visualise what they are reading are much stronger readers.
2. Reflective Questioning: By asking open-ended questions, children can be encouraged to reflect on their own emotional response to the artwork. This motivates deeper thought and consideration of different points of view, as well as encouraging confidence in their own likes and dislikes. Art is a very useful way of nurturing reflection in children, as it is directly linked to emotions, and there is not always a right or a wrong answer. It can also be used to prompt discussions about why people make art, and why art is useful.
3. Analytical Ability: Looking at artwork, and artist’s motivations and context helps children understand how visual images are shaped by the context that they are set in. This will help them understand and respond to the images around them in print and on social media. Thinking about colour, composition, and scale can prompt discussions not only about the artwork, but also perspective, science, history, society and so on.
4. Communication: By encouraging children to talk about art, they learn vocabulary around art, and gain fluency in expressing themselves more articulately. By describing a piece of art, children expand their word power and it translates to everything around them, including the ability to be able to talk about their emotions and feelings. By prompting the child to be more specific, and asking them open questions, such as ‘Tell me why you feel this?’, helps children make better connection between words.
5. Discussion: Talking about art is a good way to teach children important negotiation and discussion skills. Listening to others’ point of view, and contributing our own is a difficult skill to learn. It also provides an opportunity for valuable family time, as parents and children discuss the art in front of them. It provides an opportunity for children to learn to work collaboratively, and use language effectively to express clearly to others what they see, how they feel, and why.
Learning about art enables children to create their own versions of the past, and present, and visualise what they want their future to be.
This kind of learning is most effective when parents engage actively with children through discussion and analysis. Observing, reflecting and questioning art works helps children discard preconceptions. Most importantly, it helps reinforce the message that there is not just one way to be artistic and to make art, and that inner emotions, feelings and desires can be expressed in so many different ways. Tools and techniques that enable us to introduce art in an easy, accessible and fun way to children can help remove the perception that art is ‘highbrow’ or only for a few sections of the society.
We are so bombarded with technology around us. Children, as young as two, are using tablets. Everything in technology is instant at the click of a button. It does not allow the opportunity for children to take their time and observe slowly. This is why it is so important that we engage our children in activities that develop not only their motor skills, but also social, emotional and cognitive skills. Art appreciation can do this.


November 2nd - 12th, 2015
Social Sciences Atrium
The Diaspora Dictionary: Bahia, Brazil exhibit is called a ‘dictionary’ because the photographs and artifacts are categorized alphabetically within different aspects of culture. Diaspora Dictionary uses literacy to show the similarities and differences of Black, African people throughout the Diaspora; it is not specific to one country, but it extends itself to encompass all the many countries and cultures that make up the African Diaspora. Diaspora Dictionary: Bahia, Brazil gives access to Brazil through one of its richest cultural states. This exhibit was made possible through Morehouse in Bahia (Fulbright-Hays Project Abroad) in Atlanta, Georgia and the Steve Biko Cultural Institute in Bahia, Brazil.
Nneka A. Bennett is an elementary educator and freelance photographer. As an educator, Nneka is interested in the integration of art in the STEM subjects also known as S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). Nneka is currently obtaining her Master’s degree in Elementary Education. As a freelance photographer she is committed to capturing the beauty in the world to use as a tool to inspire her students and others. Nneka currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information about the exhibit or to purchase prints contact Nneka Bennett at email@example.com


Call us : (02) 9938 5419
Professor Louise Baur, Director of Weight Management Services at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, says that the over-use of strollers can affect kids’ health.“I know we need to move kids around efficiently, but the downside is that it’s encouraging them to be passive and programming them to sit from an early age,” she said.
“When a lot of time is spent in a stroller there’s less time for preschoolers to spend moving around, and the movements children do in the early years – like toddling, walking and getting up and down steps – are important for a whole range of skills like balance, co-ordination and developing motor skills.”
The benefits of getting your child out of the stroller and moving;
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Better developed movement and coordination skills
- Healthy weight
- Improved bone health
- Better supported learning of appropriate social skills
Why walking more often is good for your toddler
Children’s cardiovascular endurance and motor skill development are particularly important when they are young. If you really want your child to grow up to be healthy and confident, daily exercise through play and exploration of the environment is essential. It helps support your child’s muscle strength, control, social engagement, and fine and gross motor skills… all things kids need to be successful in life.
How much active walking and play should toddlers enjoy each day?
Per day, it is recommended that children who can walk independently should be engaged in three hours of physical movement. It doesn’t matter whether this movement happens indoors or outdoors, but it is important that it happens consistently, especially for children under the age of five.
This is because the bone mass your child attains during childhood and adolescence helps determine their lifelong skeletal health.
Just like bones, muscle strength builds over time…. the more activity your child enjoys, the more muscle strength and the greater stability your child’s young body has.
If you provide activity for your child now, he or she has a better chance of entering adulthood (and even old age) with a healthier body that will stand (pardon the pun!) the test of time
Which activities are best?
Weight bearing activities are usually the best ones for kids to get involved in. So find out what your children enjoy and get them walking,running and jumping. As they get older, individual and team sports like netball, soccer and dancing are all great options.
We know…toddlers are slow!!
Although, walking to and from places with children can be slow (toddlers want to stop and look at everything in their path!) experts tell us that patiently supporting your child’s active participation in their surroundings will help them to explore the environment and develop other important skills like language and problem-solving.
Remember, the activity and fun doesn’t begin once you arrive at your destination, it starts from the moment you leave your home.
What might not be interesting for you as an adult can be a fantastic learning opportunity for your child. So encourage your child to smell the flowers, touch and feel different ground coverings, including bark, concrete and sand, identify the colours in traffic lights and count the people boarding buses.
When you take the extra time to get your child out of their stroller and actively engaging them in walking and talking, you are helping them to be healthy.
Simple ideas for getting more active walking into your toddler’s day;
Today, more than ever before, our kids need to be taught how to spend more time moving and less time sitting still. So allow some extra time in your day and walk with your child as you complete your daily jobs.
- Park a few blocks away from preschool and walk together
- Alternate walking with having a piggy back, or scooter ride
- Encourage them to push the stroller instead of riding in it
- Allow your children to practice climbing the stairs (rather than always carrying them up)
When you allow this activity to become a regular routine, you will give your kids a life-long live for physical activity.
In this way, your active, strong and curious toddler has a much better chance of developing into a healthy, active and energetic child and adult!!
More resources for parents
Brochure: Move and play everyday
Paediatric Occupational Therapist
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ERIC Number: ED448162
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2000
Reference Count: N/A
Drinking Water. The Food Guide Pyramid.
This booklet for young children is part of a series that supports national science standards related to physical health and nutrition, describing and illustrating the importance of drinking water. Colorful photographs support early readers in understanding the text. The repetition of words and phrases helps early readers learn new words. The book also introduces early readers to subject-specific vocabulary words, which are defined in a section on words to know. The seven sections include: "Water and Your Body,""Needing More Water,""Servings,""Words to Know,""Read More,""Internet Sites," and "Index/Word List." (SM)
Descriptors: Child Health, Comprehensive School Health Education, Drinking Water, Eating Habits, Elementary Education, Elementary School Students, Health Promotion, Nutrition Instruction
Pebble Books, Capstone Press, 151 Good Counsel Drive, P.O. Box 669, Mankato, MN 56002 ($9.95). Tel: 800-747-4992 (Toll Free); Web site: http://www.capstone- press.com.
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A


Mathematics is one of the most important subjects. Learning basic Math is essential for children in their early childhood learning. Mathematics is everywhere and introducing math to kids can make them learn quickly. It is important for kids to have a strong foundation in Math as a preparation for their studies in the future. The children who have good foundation in Math become interested in challenging areas of the subject. They are able to analyse and solve different kinds of problems analytically.
Some of the basic Math lessons that are taught to the kids in school.
- Counting – Counting and number sense are the basic things in math that a child must learn. The educators teach the children to count by holding the objects and count with them. Fingers are also used as the model for counting. While learning how to count, they are also introduced to numbers.
- The four operations (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division) – the four operations are important in solving most of the mathematical problems. These four basic operations are very much applicable to all the topics in math as well as applicable in daily life events. Teaching math operations to the children will prepare them to advanced Math topics and also prepares them for their future. These are one of the most important topics to be taught in school next to counting.
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages – Fractions, decimals and percentages are introduced to children in simpler way during their earlier years in school. It is basically explained to them that the decimal number 0.5 is equivalent to ½ in fraction and is 50% in percentage. Figures are shown to them to make it easier to understand.
- Data and Graphs – Gathering data and making graphs can develop the reasoning skills. Learning them can make kids learn how to organise and draw conclusions. Graphs can develop kids’ ability to analyse the representation.
- Sets and Set Theory – Kids will be able to learn how to visualize a diagram. Sets and Set theory teach the kids how to unite and organise the elements. They will also learn to identify the differences of the elements between the sets.
- Perimeter and Area of Different Shapes – Kids will be introduced to different shapes and teach them how to calculate the perimeter as well as the area of a certain shape. In this topic, children can identify how small or big the object is. They will also learn the different units used for measuring.
- Probability and Statistics – These topics are introduced to kids by teaching them how likely it is that something will happen. By allowing them to think of those possible and impossible things to happen is a simpler way of introducing the probability.


Dorothea Lange, Vitreous Painting on Glass, 8 x 10"
I remember the first time that I saw the photographic images on Dorothea Lange's work. I was a graduate student, in art education with a studio major in glass at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. Known then before the merger with the performing arts school as the Philadelphia College of Art. The year I think was 1981, and the University Gallery brought in an exhibition of her work. As a young artist, I recall how strong her images struck me, as they do for most people. Her documentary archive of migrant workers, the poverty stricken, the Japanese Internment camps trace a part of American history that most of her generation turned their backs on. What a courageous woman and artist she was!
Dorothea Lange is the 6th vitreous painting on glass within
my forming archive installation of my Uomini Famosi.
You can view my forming archive at:
“This is what we did. How did it happen? How could we?”
Dorothea Lange was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She studied photography at Columbia University and worked at a New York portrait studio until 1918 when she began to travel. Stranded in San Francisco, she continued studio work during the 1920’s. With her husband, the painter Maynard Dixon, she traveled the southwest, photographing Native Americans. She believed that the camera could teach people ”how to see without a camera.”
The social upheaval brought on by the Great Depression led Lange to take her camera into the streets where she documented the sufferings of the dispossessed, in breadlines and labor strikes, in the wrenching drama of endless waiting. In 1935 with her second husband, Paul Schuster Taylor, a labor economist, Lange was employed by the California and Federal Resettlement Administration (Later the Farm Security Administration) to record the Dust Bowl exodus when drought and hard times forced thousands of farm families to move west in search of work. Her most familiar image, “Migrant Mother, Nipoma, California, 1936,” now in the Library of Congress collection, derives from this assignment. Of her work during this era Lange said: “The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects. So that no one would say, ’how did you do it, where did you find it, ‘ but they would say that such things could be.”
During World War II Dorothea Lange documented the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps and then turned her lens on women and members of minority groups at work side by side in California shipyards. Following the war, she covered the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco. The first woman to be awarded a Guggenheim fellowship (which she was unable to complete because of illness), Lange traveled widely during the 1950’s and 1960’s. She visited Vietnam, Ireland, Pakistan and India, doing many photographic essays for Life magazine.
Dorothea Lange’s work reflects insight, compassion and profound empathy for her subjects. Her photographs are reproduced in books and housed in museum collections, most numerously in the Oakland Museum of California. Although she did not consider herself to be an artist, she said of her work: “To live a visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable…But I have only touched it, just touched it.”
For more on Dorothea Lange and her images visit: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/fsa/lang.html


Arithmetic Teaching Apparatus
In the early years of the Republic, arithmetic was generally taught to teenaged boys planning careers in commerce, often by private tutors. With the advent of free common or elementary schools established in Northeastern states from the 1820s onward, arithmetic teaching became part of the educational experience of American girls and boys. Such schools gradually spread across the country.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, students studied mathematics not only because of its practical utility but because educators believed that it promoted general mental discipline. Toward the end of the century, a new breed of university-educated psychologists challenged this view. They found no evidence that study of arithmetic and geometry promoted achievement in other areas. In part as a result, early twentieth century textbooks placed new emphasis on those aspects of arithmetic thought to be of greatest general use. Some topics— such as finding cube roots— which had long been a part of arithmetic teaching disappeared from the curriculum. Some routine drills were also eliminated. Newly introduced standardized tests came to be widely used to diagnosis student difficulties and predict future achievement, encouraging efficient use of school time.
Professional research mathematicians took relatively little interest in elementary education during this period. In the years following World War II, the expansion in the school–aged population, the need to replace mathematicians who had emigrated to the U.S., and fear of the Soviet Union combined to encourage new, more sophisticated mathematical curricula. Advocates of the “New Math,” as this movement was called, encouraged more abstract studies of arithmetic. At the same time, funds from the federal government and private foundations encouraged a variety of experimental approaches to teaching arithmetic and other topics.
The first machines that could perform arithmetic date from the seventeenth century, and commercially successful adding and calculating machines from the nineteenth century. These were far too expensive for general use in the home or the school. However, in the early 1970s, with the advent of the microchip, inexpensive handheld calculators became commonplace. Some manufacturers built new teaching devices using the technology. More generally, the electronic calculator challenged longstanding assumptions about the place of arithmetic in American education.


The mission of this website is to provide an alternative source to music education, specifically focusing on ideas and methods to improve the technique, understanding of theory and application of ideas as it relates to the guitar. There is not much here now, but I hope to add frequently and share some of my experience … Continue reading Welcome to Forget About Anchors!
Every scale possesses its own harmonic structure. This structure is what gives each scale a sound that is so unique. Below is a chart describing the qualities of chords that can be found in each scale presented. Notice first, that each scale is listed above, and running along the margin of the left hand side is … Continue reading A Brief Comparative Analysis of Scale Functions Against The Major Scale: Part 1
There are a number of different ways to get from ii7-V7 on guitar and it is imperative that we learn to use them in order to become better at comping. The way I like to learn things like this is to use a single key and spell out the chords to find new paths through … Continue reading ii7-V7 Movement (Part 1)
Western harmony focuses on using different intervals to construct different types of chords. I am going to go ahead and forego an article on intervals and assume that you understand an amount of theory that will allow you to get through this article. The four basic chord types are Major, Minor, Augmented, and Diminished. They … Continue reading Chord Building: Part 1
As a continuation of our analysis of these six scales here is a chart on how one should think about and "spell" each mode as it relates to the seven more typically used modes of the Major Scale. Major Harmonic Major Double Harmonic Major Minor Melodic Minor Harmonic Minor 1 Ionian Ionian b6 Ionian b2b6 … Continue reading A Brief Comparative Analysis of Scale Functions Against The Major Scale: Part 3
The first post we demonstrated the qualities of chords as they relate to one another, now we will take a bit more in-depth look at how alterations in each scale degree present different extensions on the basic chord types. This is one interpretation of how you might use assign each mode to specific chord types. … Continue reading A Brief Comparative Analysis of Scale Functions Against The Major Scale: Part 2


The Reading/Literature Curriculum in 4th and 5th grade shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Students read both stories and novels and investigate the 10 important elements of a story; setting, character, character attitude, major events, problem, 3 main events, solution, and conclusion. Students read both fiction and non-fiction text. In order to interpret informational text students will employ the use of active reading strategies such as Annotation of Text, Double Entry Journals, Outlining, Graphic Organizers and T Charts. Discussion is key to comprehension and in order to facilitate this skill students engage in Flexible Cooperative Learning Groups and the Socratic Discussion Process.
Students are encouraged to read independently for 20 minutes a day and maintain a log of this reading. This reading log is maintained in their Reader/Writer Folders.
Teacher Bio: Marcia Carone
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree, with a dual certification in Early Childhood and
Elementary Education from Edinburg University. Currently holds an Instructional II, Permanent Certification with the State of Pennsylvania.
Ms. Carone has continued to grow professionally, participating in graduate studies at both Gannon University and Edinboro University. Ms. Carone has served on both the Language Arts and Science Curriculum Committees for the Diocese of Erie. She is a past recipient of the Erie Reading Council Grant. Ms Carone developed a Language Arts Thematic Unit on Baseball for her students with this grant. Ms. Carone has facilitated workshops in the Meadville and Erie areas, as well as in Harrisburg, at the University of Pittsburgh, and at George Washington University in Washington DC. Ms. Carone was a Field Test Teacher in the development of the BirdSleuth Curriculum through Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology and has continued working with the Lab of Ornithology to maintain and revise this curriculum. Ms. Carone has been a teacher in the Diocese of Erie for the last 28 years.
Ms. Carone is an avid birder and enjoys photographing the birds she studies, while roaming the trails at Presque Isle State Park. Her main focus of study is the Great Blue Heron. Ms Carone also enjoys spending time with her family and three cats.


A research project August 2013
Information for Parents and Carers
My name is Silvia Roncoli and I am a PhD student at the Institute of Education, University of London.
This page tells you about my research. I hope the page will be useful and I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Please would you explain the research to your child and talk over whether they want to participate. I will also ask the children during sessions if they are happy to take part and I will propose all the activities as a series of games.
Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance has been obtained.
Why is this research being done?
The research is part of an on-going large scale research looking into the development of children’s ability to give the names of the items they are shown in pictures. Data collected in very young children will inform researchers on which factors affect literacy development over the schoolage.
Who will be in the project?
In the project monolingual children (i.e., those who have English as their main and first language) aged 8 to 9 years old will participate.
What will happen during the research?
Children will be assessed individually on tasks that will be presented in the form of games.
Your child will see some pictures of simple objects (e.g. a cat, an anchor) on the screen of a computer.
S/He will be asked if they know what the name of each object is and if so to say the name out loud, and to answer some questions about the object. The answers will be recorded.
Your child will also take part in a task where they are asked to blend sounds to make up words, and also a simple reading test of single words and a task with a story where I will ask some questions about what happened in the story.
The tasks will be divided between 4 sessions lasting about 30 minutes each.
Will my child be scored, or told their answers are wrong?
I will not be looking for right or wrong answers, only for what everyone really knows.
Could there be problems for your child if he/she takes part?
I hope your child will enjoy participating in the tasks. I will only carry out the testing with your child if s/he indicates that s/he is happy to take part at the outset of each testing session.
Some children may get tired by some activities. If they want to stop, we will stop.
If you have any problems with the project, please tell me (firstname.lastname@example.org).
Will doing the research help you?
I hope your child will enjoy helping me. The research will mainly help to find new ideas to help children with naming and reading problems, in future.
Who will know that you have been in the research?
All information about children will be confidential and anonymous. Information will be stored securely and your child’s name and school will not appear in any of our reports. All records and audio-recordings will be labeled only with the number we allocate to your child.
Do you have to take part?
You decide whether you want to take part – and even if you say ‘yes’, your child can drop out at any time or say that s/he doesn’t want to answer some questions.
You can tell me that your child will take part by signing the consent form.
Will you know about the research results?
I will send you a short report as soon as the study is completed.
Who is funding the research?
The researcher is supported by a Bloomsbury Colleges studentship.
The project has been reviewed by the Research Ethics Committee at the Institute of Education and ethical approval has also been obtained from the Department of Psychology and Human Development.
Thank you for reading this.
Silvia Roncoli - Professor Jackie Masterson
Department of Psychology and Human Development
Institute of Education
25, Woburn Square
or 0785 8905 809
email@example.com or 020 7612 6903


Calculators are to be banned in primary school maths exams as part of a Government drive to boost standards of mental arithmetic, it was announced today.
Pupils will be required to complete sums using pen and paper amid fears under-11s in England are already more reliant on electronic devices than peers in most other countries.
The change – being introduced from 2014 – coincides with the publication of a draft primary school curriculum that recommends delaying the use of calculators as part of maths lessons.
Currently, children are expected to use them at the age of seven, but this is likely to be put back to nine or 10 under the Coalition’s reforms.
Elizabeth Truss, the Education Minister, said that an over-reliance on calculators meant pupils were failed to get the
rigorous grounding in mental and written arithmetic that they needed to progress onto secondary education.
Pupils should not use the devices until they know their times tables off by heart and understand the methods used to add, subtract, multiply and divide, she said.
Read full article


The Right to Education Act is the foundation for bringing changes in the educational systems in India. Consequent on the plan of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the task of achieving universal primary education was violently followed and a noteworthy effect in the staff strength has been observed. Though the enrolment is appreciable for the past years, the assessment of the educational levels is not encouraging. It is virtually the same ‘Volume versus quality’ trade-off has played its role in this text also, like any other.
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) conveys this liner approach has not gained the desired benefits. The education levels of the students are causing a much concern and the results of the survey also confirms the same. Now it is pertinent for the State administrations to improve infrastructure and resources should be equal to the education level of students. At this juncture, the necessity arises for amount of efficiency to judge education systems in their skill to convert educational inputs to outputs. This will enable us to get feedback on their education process in states and bestowing the skill merely on their inputs, or outputs.
The main object is to initiate a system to measure the efficiency of the education delivery process and provide insights on what states can learn from peer-to-peer exchanges. The conventional notion of efficiency defined as the ratio of output to input would not work, due to existence of multiple in/outputs. The field of Operations Research provides an approach in the form of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), used in numerous investigations and researches across countries and sectors for analysis of efficiency. DEA compares each entity with its peers in the set and gives relative efficiency to it. For states marked efficient, it means that there is no other state performing than the given one but can’t be construed that there is no room for improvement among inefficient states.
DEA in assessing efficiency finds related inputs and outputs for the educational process, as the first stage. The reading levels in local language, basic arithmetic ability and learning levels in English, are the outputs reported by ASER in the learning outcomes. The inputs are the incomes and infra structure provided by the state authorities to facilitate education. Certain minimum requirements have been conveyed by the RTE and the percentage of school adhering to those norms serve as input values in this method.
The seven factors, as mandated by RTE, considered in this analysis are: pupil-teacher ratio, classroom-teacher ratio, availability of drinking water, usable toilets, buildings and playgrounds, library with books and mid-day meals service. The socioeconomic background of students and local village infra structure are the two additional inputs used. These account for the specific conditions within a state and the data is from ASER reports. The findings here are from the research conducted by IIT team, Delhi and a detailed research paper is also under consideration for publication. The insights about the standing of various states with respect to each other emerge from the analysis.
Since DEA compares each state to all others while computing efficiency, some states act as the superior efficient nobles, whose better efficiency results in inefficiency of others. Himachal Pradesh and Manipur are two states that have consistently been the efficient among the most number of inefficient states. For each of the inefficient states, it is also possible to highlight the output attribute that needs particular attention, improvement which may ultimately pave way for rise in maximum efficiency.
Hence, in order to not trade off quality against volume, as recently emphasised by the Prime Minister, a careful inclusion of inputs as well as outputs is desirable in valuation of the status quo and data- driven insights need to be sketched to identify the right focus areas for improvement. DEA fulfils all such requirements and can aid in the policy making process in other sectors too. A sound elementary education system is essential for our country to tap the potential of its vast human resource, and the status of data driven policy in this situation can never be over stressed.


ERIC Number: ED431818
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999
Reference Count: N/A
A Collection of Performance Tasks and Rubrics: Primary School Mathematics.
Danielson, Charlotte; Hansen, Pia
This book provides an overview of the rationale for and strengths and limitations of the use of performance tasks to assess student progress in mathematics. It also offers a field-tested process for developing performance tasks and rubrics, along with practical advice for evaluating student work and 20 sample tasks. The chapters are: (1) "Classroom Use of Performance Assessment"; (2) "Why Performance Assessment?"; (3) "Making an Evaluation Plan"; (4) "Evaluating Complex Performance"; (5) "Creating a Performance Task"; (6) "Creating a Rubric"; (7) "Adapting Existing Performance Tasks and Rubrics"; and (8) "Primary School Mathematics Performance Tasks." An appendix contains student handouts. (SLD)
Descriptors: Elementary Education, Elementary School Teachers, Mathematics Achievement, Mathematics Education, Performance Based Assessment, Scoring Rubrics, Student Evaluation, Test Construction
Eye on Education, 6 Depot Way West, Suite 106, Larchmont, NY 10538; Tel: 914-833-0551; Fax: 914-833-0761.
Publication Type: Books; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Teachers
Authoring Institution: N/A


When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.*
The Water Discovery Center will be an interactive exhibit and state-of-the-art education center.
It will be an innovative teaching institution that will provide exciting indoor and outdoor educational programs year-round for children and adults alike.
A living classroom featuring 34 acres of wetlands habitat, bordering the East Branch of the Delaware River, will provide a dynamic learning laboratory for the exploration of the intricacies of water management and ways to protect our water resources.
A planned Water Institute will support the WDC's extensive educational programs, serving as
The Water Institute will provide an invaluable service to researchers by assisting in translating recent scientific studies. These findings will be summarized in language understandable to he general public and publicized in the popular media.
* Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, 1746
Water Discovery Center P.O. Box 8, Arkville, NY 12406


How elementary teachers in different countries describe music education and its effects on their students
Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair
Secondary Advisor/Reader One
The research in this project addressed how elementary teachers in different countries describe music education in their schools and how they describe the effects music education has on their students. A main influence for the author in this capstone was her dissatisfaction with current music programs in American schools. Nine teachers were interviewed in this study using a twelve-question survey created by the author. The subjects, from six countries, had varying levels of teaching experience and represented various types of schools. The teachers interviewed indicated their strong belief that music is essential to the successful, appropriate and comprehensive education of elementary students. The benefits of music experiences in elementary school, beliefs about the importance of music’s inclusion in a school curriculum, and connections that teachers have witnessed between music education and academic success are three of the key findings in this study.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Music, Teachers/ Teaching
Seashore, Marilynn Cheryl, "How elementary teachers in different countries describe music education and its effects on their students" (2015). School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 227.


A brilliant first counting jigsaw puzzle
This wonderful Match and Count puzzle from Orchard Toys makes numbers and maths fun.
With 20 different two-piece jigsaws in the set, children will have fun matching the numbers to the correct illustrations.
And because each piece will only fit with one other, children will know if they’ve got their numbers right.
As well as enjoying the puzzles and fun illustrations, this set provides a host of other ways in which adults can help kids with their maths and numeracy skills.
Perhaps begin by simply identifying the numerals and counting the items in each picture, then progress to simple maths problems such as how many ladybirds will be left if ten fly away?
This set is recommended for ages 3 and over and the puzzles are printed on strong, thick board.
Each individual puzzle measures 8cms x 15cms.
40 piece puzzle ( 20 pictures pieces and 20 number pieces to pair up together).
Box Size 19 x 14 x 9cmRead More
- Fabulous illustrations
- Helps kids with numeracy and maths skill
- 20 different 2 piece jigsaws in the set


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Ottawa – Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) launched Canada’s 4th annual Media Literacy Week today by emphasizing the increasing need for digital literacy in the lives of today’s connected youth.
The week promotes the importance of media and digital literacy in the education of Canadian children and youth. The theme this year – Media Literacy in the Digital Age – draws special attention to the kinds of skills and knowledge that youth require to move beyond technological proficiency towards becoming creative, reflective, evaluative and empowered e-citizens.
“Teachers have a crucial role to play in helping young people to sort through the wealth of media and digital literacy that’s available to them,” explains CTF President Mary-Lou Donnelly. “Media and digital literacy are life skills that should be included in the curriculum along with traditional literacy and numeracy skills. Students are not simply users but creators of media. As teachers, we must nurture this creativity while helping them to be engaged and responsible
MNet, CTF and Encounters with Canada, a program of the Historica-Dominion Institute, launched the week’s activities in Ottawa with a panel discussion exploring how digital media are changing the face of journalism and news gathering in the 21st century. Discussion ranged from the impact of digital media on local news to the use of platforms such as YouTube for citizen journalism. Students from Encounters with Canada’s youth forum participated in the discussion.
”Digital media present opportunities and challenges for all Canadians,” said Jane Tallim, Co-Executive Director of MNet. “But it’s especially true of Canada’s youth, who represent our next generation of users, creators and innovators. It is imperative that all of us work together to ensure that young people are equipped to participate fully in, and maximize the potential of, our digital world.”
Media Literacy Week collaborators across the country are holding activities throughout the week in their communities, including film screenings, workshops and panel discussions. Canadians looking for events in their region can visit the Media Literacy Week Web site’s events calendar.
YouTube is a Gold Sponsor of the week. Bell and Entertainment Software Association of Canada are Silver Sponsors.
Media Awareness Network (MNet) is a Canadian not-for-profit centre of expertise in media and digital literacy. Its vision is to ensure children and youth possess the necessary critical thinking skills and tools to understand and actively engage with media. MNet's programs are funded by its public and private sector sponsors and partners, who include: CTVglobemedia • Canwest • TELUS • Bell • Canadian Internet Registration Authority • CTV • National Film Board of Canada • Government of Canada.
Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) represents nearly 200,000 Canadian teachers across the country. For nearly 90 years, CTF has advanced the cause of children, defended the rights of teachers and promoted a strong public education system. Further, they have championed the increase and strengthening of the practice of media education in Canadian classrooms.
Ann Marie Paquet, Communications Officer, Media Awareness Network,
613-224-7721, ext. 231, email@example.com
Francine Filion, Director of Communications, Canadian Teachers' Federation,
613-688-4314, or 613-899-4247 (cell.), firstname.lastname@example.org
Media Literacy Week 2009 sponsors: