EYFS Curriculum Statement
The educational experience of children in their Early Years provision is intrinsic to children’s later success and as such, at Thorpedene, we work hard to ensure that the Reception Year provides children with the opportunities to develop the skills that they need, the will to learn and the thrill of investigation and success.
The curriculum that we deliver is child centred and is based closely on the developmental needs of each individual and class group, so whilst a common approach is used across the year group, each child will be able to access the curriculum in a way that is appropriate to them whilst core learning is delivered in an interesting and inspiring way. We follow the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage Framework1 and accordingly, the “Characteristics of Learning”, the “Prime Areas” and “Specific Areas” are at the core of our assessment of child need and the planning for next steps for learning.
Characteristics of Learning
The Characteristics of Learning are key to knowing how best to move each individual child forward in their learning and so, our staff take the time to get to know each child and the ways in which they learn best. Teachers plan through working with the children and assessing their needs; they link their teaching to the current interests of the children. When the children’s interests change and develop, the teachers adapt their planning to reflect this and ensure that the environment is always interesting and challenging.
The Prime Areas
- Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
- Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
- Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
These areas are fundamental to children’s development and work together to support development in all other areas and for that reason, in the Reception Year at Thorpedene, all learning is underpinned by these three prime areas of learning.
The Specific Areas
- Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.
- Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
- Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
- Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
These areas of learning include many essential skills and knowledge for children to participate successfully in society. We ensure that all children receive their key learning for Phonics and Maths in groups that are appropriate to their development level; targeted individual interventions delivered through play ensure that all children are able to fulfil their potential.
Our main teaching programmes for teaching systematic synthetic phonics at Thorpedene are ‘Letters and Sounds’ and ‘Jolly Phonics’ which together have proved highly successful. Phonics is taught daily using a fun and practical approach in groups with children of a similar ability; this teaching is reinforced in activities throughout the day.
Progress and Achievement
Each child’s achievement in the curriculum is recorded by the teacher using the Early Years Outcomes2 and Development Matters Statements3. Work that shows particularly good progress for an individual child is displayed on the class Progress Wall display and then added to the child’s Learning Journey Record along with other observations of their learning and progress.


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Looking for clean science projects for kids? Do your kids think experiments are a gas? Introducing bath bomb science for kids! Set up a bath bomb lab and get the inside track on the chemistry secret responsible for all the fizzy fun! Kids concoct 2 of their own scented bath bombs; afterward they can pop one in the tub and relax. Who knew chemical reactions could be so rewarding?
• Kids make their own scented bath bombs • Fun, safe and non-toxic science experiments for kids • Develop an interest in chemistry • Includes supplies and a full-color instruction manual • Safety gloves are latex free


Official Website of
about the book
Art, Artists and Pedagogy has been brought together to generate new ideas and provoke discussion about what constitutes arts education in the twenty-first century, both within the institution and beyond. Art, Artists and Pedagogy is intended for educators who teach the arts from early childhood to tertiary level, artists working in the community, or those studying arts in education from undergraduate to Masters or PhD level.
From the outset, this book is not only about arts in practice but also about what distinguishes the ‘arts’ in education. Exploring two different philosophies of education, the book asks what the purpose of the arts is in education in the twenty-first century. With specific reference to the work of Gert Biesta, questions are asked as to the relation of the arts to the world and what kind of society we may wish to envisage. The second philosophical set of ideas comes from Deleuze and Guattari, looking in more depth at how we configure art, the artist and the role played by the state and global capital in deciding on what art education has become.
This book provides educators with new ways to engage with arts, focusing specifically on art, music, dance, drama and film studies. At a time when many teachers are looking for a means to re-assert the role of the arts in education this text provides many answers with reference to case studies and in-depth arguments from some of the world’s leading academics in the arts, philosophy and education.
"Reframing fundamental, enduring issues in arts education, this collection of papers on the arts, artists and pedagogy is fresh, timely, insightful, at times provocative, always compelling."
Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Professor in the College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, and the School of Art and Design


Kindergarten to Year 6 PDHPE sample units and assessments support delivery and assessment of physical education as part of PDHPE.
Year 7 to Year 10 PDHPE sample units and assessments support delivery and assessment of physical education as part of PDHPE.
Fundamental movement skills in action (DOCX 5.77MB) is designed to support K-6 teachers to explicitly teach the 12 fundamental movement skills. The easy to print teaching cards include a warm up activity, ideas on how to teach the skill components and activities to practise the skill.
Fundamental movement skills planning guide (PDF 36KB) outlines when each fundamental movement skill should be introduced, consolidated and mastered for students.
Playing for life resources include the activity cards containing a variety of games designed to develop the skills of a range of physical activities. Cards can be filtered and searched based on the Stage of learning, the movement skill in focus or the category of game.
NSW PDHPE Curriculum Pinterest boards are used to curate and relevant resources to support various aspects of physical education, including using game concepts approaches, primary PDHPE, secondary PDHPE, strategies for physically active schools and physical literacy development.
The checklist for effective PDHPE programming, teaching and evaluating (PDF 129KB) encourages you to reflect on your teaching beliefs and practices.
The Lesson observation tool (PDF 65KB) and Physical education teacher observation guide (PDF 65KB) can be used to observe and reflect on your own lessons or the lessons of colleagues to enhance practice. Use these tools to guide pre- and post-observation conversations as part of your Professional Development Plan or to collect evidence for your accreditation.
More resources can be found within the physical literacy section of the website.


At Beauchamp, we are excited about being able to teach students from the age of 11.
We believe this provides us with an exciting opportunity to shape the lives of younger learners from an earlier starting point where we can further drive up academic achievement. But it is about more than just getting the best grades; we also are excited about being able to enrich the lives of young people in order to help them grow into confident, well-rounded citizens who play an active part in school life and the wider community.
Regardless of a young person’s starting point, we believe every learner has the right to an outstanding education and can be successful regardless of their background. Throughout all our schools in our Trust we believe that a key way to enable this is through instilling our philosophy which is centred on our 4Rs; Resilience, Reciprocity, Resourcefulness and Reflectiveness. Through developing these 4Rs we want to develop active and independent learners who can take ownership of their educational journey as well as feel ready to one day enter the wider-world.
Our curriculum has been carefully designed so that it helps develop strong literacy and numeracy skills which are the passports for all learning. However, we have also made sure that there are plenty of opportunities for students to be creative and active; something which our outstanding facilities allow for. The subjects we offer in Year 7 are:
|subjects||Periods a week (50 minutes)|
|English (Language & Literature)||5|
|Humanities (Geography, History, RE)||5|
|Languages (A choice of French, German, Mandarin, Spanish)||3|
|Art & Design(Art, Food & Nutrition, Graphic Communication, Product Design & Textiles)||2|
|Performing Arts(Drama & Music)||2|
This curriculum focuses on the ensuring that students are prepared for studying Ebacc subjects at GCSE level, which is part of a government expectation, as well as offering a strong platform for learners to be able to study whatever course they choose to from the wide range of subjects we offer at GCSE. Whether they choose triple science, media studies, sociology, history, production arts, mandarin, drama, dance, graphics to name just a small few, our learners will be equipped to face those exciting challenges. We have been working closely with primary school partners and with other outstanding providers to design a curriculum which stretches learners and focuses on the skills needed for GCSE study. Our well-trained teaching staff are excited about teaching Year 7 and are busy designing engaging lessons, planning exciting educational trips and creating exciting learning spaces. We do not want these years to be wasted years, but rather full of opportunity to instil a love of learning and a confidence that success is possible.
Part of this success we also be because of excellent transition between primary and secondary school, thus meaning that we see it as vital that we work closely with our partner and feeder primary schools. Young learners will be able to visit Beauchamp Prep throughout this year and we will continue to engage with them in their primary schools to develop a partnership which will be stronger year after year after year. And any learners who may come from other High Schools or further afield can be assured that we will make sure that they be well-settled because of our excellent tutoring and mentoring packages.
We know that you are likely to have lots of questions and we urge you to come and visit us by joining us on our Open Day on in September. In the meantime, we will continue to add to this page. You are welcome to email us at firstname.lastname@example.org where we will gladly answer any of your questions.


RSU #38 K-5 Literacy Components
The RSU 38 elementary level literacy curriculum adopted by the RSU #38 School Board addresses the breadth of Common Core Standards for English Language Arts including foundational skills of reading (phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency), reading comprehension, vocabulary, speaking and listening, and writing, including language, spelling and handwriting.
In order to provide strong literacy instruction for all of our students we believe it is important to be intentional and consistent in the instructional programs that we are using district-wide. The K-5 literacy curriculum includes units of reading and writing instruction developed by teachers, within a workshop model of instruction. This means that whole class instruction is typically limited to standards-based mini-lessons, with time for students to be receiving small group guided instruction, working independently on authentic reading and writing tasks, and participating in individual conferences with feedback provided by the teacher.
Writing Instruction in RSU #38 addresses the Common Core Standards for Writing. The new standards emphasize
- The writing process including drafting, editing, and revising
- Different types of writing: Narrative, Informational, Persuasive
Specific instructional programs are:
a. Daily 5 for workshop structure
b. CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expanding Vocabulary) for teaching strategies, one at a time, and adding them to the CAFE board as they are taught and as students are held accountable for them. In addition to the CAFE strategies, teachers may add strategies that help students reach ELA standards which may not be a part of our reading units.
c. Fountas/Pinnell Phonics in Grades K, 1 and 2. These are specific lessons to be taught as large and small group mini-lessons.
d. Words Their Way teaches students how to study word patterns by comparing and contrasting words with particular patterns 8-10 times a week. Other activities include listing the words in a word study notebook, playing games with the sort words and using them in sentences. Student placement in groups is dependent upon the Primary or Elementary Spelling Inventory completed in September and January and progress monitoring during the school year.
e. Handwriting Without Tears in PreK to Grade 3, is the handwriting curriculum selected by a committee of RSU #38 teachers and adopted by the RSU #38 School Board. It is a developmentally appropriate and multi- sensory approach to handwriting.
f. Guided Reading instruction is targeted to the reading level and skills needed by a small group of students.
Watch a short video explaining guided reading
Explanation of guided reading levels
g. The Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study comprises the writing curriculum for our district in Grades K-8. Students are provided instruction in narrative, informational and persuasive/argument writing each school year. Common assessments for each unit of study are scored and student progress is monitored.
Finally, outside of the above, there are many ELA standards in vocabulary, language, speaking and listening that are addressed through intentional instruction and integrated into other areas of instruction.


Since universalisation of elementary education has become a Constitutional mandate, it is absolutely essential to push this vision forward to move towards universalisation of secondary education, which has already been achieved in a large number of developed countries and several developing countries.
Paras 5.13 – 5.15 of the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 (as modified in 1992) deal with Secondary Education. Para 5.13 of the NPE, inter- alia, stated that, “Access to Secondary Education will be widened with emphasis on enrolment of girls, SCs and STs, particularly in science, commerce and vocational streams……..”.
Keeping this vision in mind, we may achieve the following targets: Education provided in a Model school should be holistic and integral touching upon physical, emotional and aesthetic development in addition to academics. New schools may be established or existing schools may be converted in to Model schools.
Adequate infrastructure should be provided in each such school for satisfying teaching needs, also for sports and co-curricular activities. The curriculum should cast the local culture and environment Learning should be activity based. These schools should have adequate ICT infrastructure, Internet connectivity and full time computer teachers.
The Teacher Pupil Ratio should not exceed 1:25 and the classrooms will be spacious enough to accommodate at least 30 students. Classroom Students Ratio will not exceed 1:40. Schools will provide Arts and Music Teachers besides subject specific teachers as per the usual norms. These schools will also create facility for activities emphasizing Indian heritage and art & craft. Special emphasis may be given on teaching of Science, Maths and English.
If required, bridge-courses may be introduced for weak students. The school curricula should include the material / items that inculcate leadership qualities, team spirit, participation abilities, development of soft skills and ability to deal with real life situations. Health Education and health check up will be introduced. A good library with books and magazines for students and teachers will be provided. Field trips and Educational tours will be an integral part of the curriculum.
Medium of instruction will be left to State Governments. However, special emphasis will be given on English teaching & spoken English. Affiliation of these schools to a particular examination board will be left to State Governments. Selection of students will be though independent selections test.
An independent process to be developed in consultation with State Governments for selection of Principals and Teachers will also be through.
To cater the need of Universalization of Secondary Education (USE), the paradigm shift in the conceptual design of Secondary Education will become necessary. These may be the guiding principles in this regard - Universal Access, Equality, Social Justice Relevance and Development Curricular and Structural Aspects Move towards equity .
These values are to be established in the system with participation of all types of schools (including unaided private schools) having contribution towards Universalization of Secondary Education (USE) by ensuring adequate enrollment for the children from under privileged society and the children Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
In this goal achieving exercise following will be the main objectives :
To ensure that all Secondary Schools have physical facilities, staffs and supplies according to the prescribed standards through financial support from appropriate regulatory mechanism.
To improve access to Secondary Schooling to all young persons according to norms – through proximate location (say, Secondary Schools within 5 kms, and Higher Secondary Schools within 7-10 kms) Efficient and safe transport arrangements/residential facilities, depending on local circumstances including open schooling. In hilly and difficult areas, these norms can be relaxed. Preferably residential schools may be set up in such areas.
To ensure that no child is deprived of Secondary Education of satisfactory quality due to gender, socio-economic, disability and other barriers.
To improve quality of Secondary Education resulting in enhanced intellectual, social and cultural learning.
To ensure that all students pursuing Secondary Education receive education of good quality.


According to children researchers there are some components that are essential to a child’s literacy development. They are listening, speaking, phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development, comprehension, understanding concepts of book and print and phonological awareness.
The State of Texas has recognized the important of music to a child’s literacy development and has made the inclusion of musical instrument / equipment an essential requirement for Texas child care, daycare and child development centers.
Experts believe that music enhances the brain’s ability to absorb critical information.Music may alter children’s brain waves to make them more receptive to learning. According to Texas Minimum Standard for Child Care Centers guide, “It appears that music’s rhythm and harmony might stimulate vital patterns in brain growth and neurological development. Because music evokes emotion, it can heighten emotional involvement in learning. Recorded music is great, but so is impromptu singing and music-making by children and adults alike. There should be simple musical instruments in the child care setting for toddlers to create their own music.”
Playground Musical Instruments that Meets Texas child care center standards
At Playtime Playground equipment we manufacturer two musical playground equipment (xylophone and musical chime) designed to increase verbal communication. These sounding toys creates soothing music that stimulates the sensory of the brain and bring fun and excitement to any playground.


Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Our educational programs support school readiness through play based learning, offering children experiences that incorporate a focus on:
science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) skills.
Our children have access to touch screen computers that support programs to enhance numeracy, literacy, shape and colour recognition. Educators use iPads to source ideas for research projects and download various educational videos that scaffold children's curiosity.
Children's interests are further developed through experiences in the expressive arts - use of natural materials in paints sculptures and collage, properties of materials and mixing, symmetry and pattern, Cooking -source of ingredients, machines for the process, measuring, chemical changes to ingredients, Sensory play - Sand/water play, properties of materials, displacement, simple machines - funnels, sand wheels, categorising grouping and pattern, Construction - design of structures using blocks, engineering for stability, inclines and simple machines, geometry, measurement via direct comparison and Music - vibration and sound waves, loud and soft, measurement, counting.
Language, Literacy and Numeracy Skills
These skills are developed through story telling, access to story books, lending library, and iPads. Letters and sounds (using jolly phonics which supports schools in the area), number recognition, sorting and counting experiences all of which promote school readiness.
Activities to support daily living
Our children lean to clean personal spaces, open/close backpacks/lunchboxes, independent toileting skills, personal hygiene skills, dressing skills (zippers, buttons, laces, socks and shoes) etiquette around nose wiping and coughing.
Our play based programs have a prominent focus on numbers, shapes, patterns sorting and matching.
Social and Emotional
Children are encouraged to work in small groups collaboratively with their peers to develop the following skills: Understanding feelings, sharing and turn taking techniques, independence, emotional maturity, social and conflict resolution skills.
Children's core strength, endurance and gross motor skills are supported through engagement in our purpose built outdoor environments.
Fine motor skills are supported through many experiences in our indoor and outdoor environments through engagement in painting, writing, cutting, threading, using tweezers and play dough.
Art Design and Music
Children have access to musical instruments, role play, painting, dress up, model making, movement/dance and puppets.


CLEAR SPRING, Md. (WDVM) — Teachers participated in an outdoor educational experience that will allow them to better teach their students to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.
Wednesday’s activities brought teachers together with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to focus on bringing students and teachers out to the resource that connects to the bay, in order to help save it.
Norah Carlos with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said they hope this effort to teach beyond a textbook will help the curriculum stick with students so they can act as stewards of the Chesapeake Bay.
“We believe that bringing students and teachers out to the resource that connects to the bay are going to help save it,” Carlos added.
This was made possible through grant opportunities that have taken a few years to process.
It was a collaborative effort between the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Washington County Public Schools, Fletcher Foundation, and North Bay Facility and Chesapeake Bay Trust.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust provided a $120,000 grant for 3 years which was matched by the Fletcher Foundation.
This experience is important because a major impact on the Chesapeake Bay comes from Washington County.
“Right here in Washington County, we have the Antietam Creek, the Cococheague. All of these creeks end up in the Potomac River, all of the river water ends up in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Courtney Leard, English language arts and social studies elementary content specialist for Washington County Public Schools.
This is the first time the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has partnered with Washington County Public Schools.


Numeracy skills unit 2 is designed at the VCAL Intermediate and Senior certificate levels. The unit contains four learning outcomes. This unit is for a general credit only.
VCAL qualification and strand requirements
Refer to the following resources for information on VCAL qualification and strand requirements.
VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook
VCAL Literacy and Numeracy Skills Strand Curriculum Planning Guide (docx - 161.2kb)
The curriculum for Numeracy skills unit 2 is designed to enable students to develop, refine, extend and apply numeracy knowledge and skills through an investigation in a familiar (Intermediate level) or unfamiliar (Senior level) industry area linked to the VET units in their VCAL program or employment. The numeracy focuses on number, measurement, financial numeracy, and probability and statistics.
Assessment in the VCAL is designed to assess a student’s achievement of a learning outcome by collecting evidence about their performance, and making a judgment about whether they have met the requirements of that learning outcome. These requirements are clearly outlined in the elements of each learning outcome.
Students must be observed to demonstrate achievement on more than one occasion and in different contexts to make sure the assessment is consistent, reliable, fair and equitable.
Teachers should use a variety of learning activities and assessment tasks that provide a range of opportunities for students to demonstrate each learning outcome.
A range of evidence can be used to demonstrate that a student has achieved the learning outcomes. This includes, but is not limited to, direct observation, written work, oral presentations, object production and project implementation.
Suitable tasks for assessment can be found in the corresponding advice for teachers.
An assessment task used to demonstrate achievement of one or multiple learning outcomes in one VCAL unit cannot be used to demonstrate achievement in any other VCAL unit, VET unit of competency or VCE study.
To be credited with a Numeracy skills unit 2, students must demonstrate achievement in all four learning outcomes. Not all elements need to be met in the one assessment task. Elements for one learning outcome can be met in an assessment task individually or by being integrated with learning outcomes in other strands.
Accreditation expires on 31 December 2022.
VCAL Literacy and Numeracy Skills Strand Curriculum Planning Guide
Curriculum Planning Guide-Numeracy Skills Units Only
VCAL Numeracy Skills Units Advice for Teachers
Numeracy Teacher Interviews


An essential foundation for learning music skills and ideas is audiation. You may know the word inner hearing. The word audiation (inner hearing of music or quietly hearing music) was created by music education investigator Edwin E. Gordon.
Audiation is Gordon’s term for hearing music within the mind with understanding. It’s the procedure for thinking music and comprehending music within the mind. Gordon describes audiation because the first step toward musicianship.
Audiation is the procedure of psychologically hearing and comprehending music, even if no physical seem exists. It’s a cognitive process through which the mind gives intending to musical sounds. Essentially, audiation of music is similar to thinking inside a language, as stated by Edwin E. Gordon.
Mary Ellen Pinzino claims that audiation is a means of knowing in tune and rhythm. It’s a unique human capacity outdoors the world of words. To audiate would be to “think” music, however in tune and rhythm instead of words. Audiation is a way of knowing. Audiation may be the musical imagination. It’s the man-made music from the mind. It’s the seem fantasy that gives the framework for comprehending the music we pay attention to, the background music we perform, and also the music we read.
Audiation is really a process. It’s the construction of meaning in music. It’s the procedure for making musical feeling of the background music we hear, perform, read, and write. Just like thinking is important to speaking, listening, studying, and writing language, audiation is important to tuneful and rhythmic performance, music listening, studying, and writing. Audiation may be the entire music literacy, as stated by Mary Ellen Pinzino.
Audiation or inner hearing happens whenever we “quietly hear” and provide intending to music with no seem, i.e., thinking a tune, clapping a rhythm pattern from the song while thinking the tune. The introduction of audiation is fundamental and invaluable in building all musical skills. We must always make an effort to cultivate the audiation of rhythm and tonal patterns, melodic lines, and phrases. Audiation should be the initial step in a person’s music experience just before presenting notation, along with other facets of music theory.
Do this exercise to see audiation or inner hearing. Quietly think the tune of “Mary Were built with a Little Lamb.” Have you think one note at any given time? Or have you think categories of notes. Have you internally hear the notes like a pattern?
We all do exactly the same factor whenever we quietly hear language. We hear words, not letters individually. The greater words we’ve within our vocabularies, the greater we hear and know the concept of what we should are hearing. Just like we give intending to language, we have to give intending to music through relevant patterns of tones and rhythms. Likewise, the greater tonal and rhythm patterns we’ve within our music vocabularies, the greater we’ll hear and know the concept of the background music. To assist your son or daughter or student develop music listening and speaking vocabularies, possess the child listen and proceed to a number of tunes. Invite these to sing a variety of tunes.
It is crucial to build up audiation or inner hearing and listening skills in early many years of children’s existence. Exactly what a effective gift and music foundation to provide a young child.


Speech and Language Support for 0-3s course outline
Session 1: What is Communication?
- Identify the processes involved in communication.
Session 2: Adult-child interaction and non-verbal communication
- Examine the effect of adult-child interaction on the development of communication skills.
- Explore the importance of non-verbal communication behaviours.
Session 3: Play for Language
- Explore the link between play & language development and the development of social play.
- Develop skills to promote play & support language development at key developmental stages.
Session 4: Listening, attention and understanding spoken language
- Develop strategies to promote listening and attention and link these to the EYFS Development Matters statements.
- Develop strategies to encourage the understanding of language including additional languages.
Session 5: The Language Journey
- Explore typical development of language learning.
- Learn strategies to help children to develop a wide and varied vocabulary.
- Consider how to meet the needs of the different EYFS age groups.
Session 6: The Blank Language Scheme
- Facilitate development of supporting verbal reasoning.
- Practise modifying the adult’s language according to individual needs.
Session 7: Encouraging the development of spoken language and clear speech
- Develop strategies to encourage the use of early phrases and sentences.
- Explore how we articulate sounds and their typical development.
- Discuss strategies to support young children with unclear speech.
Session 8: Sharing books, using rhymes and exploring the link to early literacy
- Consider the link between speech, language and early literacy development.
- Explore how to use songs, rhymes and books to support communication.
Session 9: Working with parents and carers to support communication development
- Discuss effective ways of supporting parents to develop their child’s early communication skills.
- Discuss how knowledge gain from the course links with the two year review process.
Session 10: Linking it all together
- Present evidence of applying knowledge gained across the course during everyday activities.


Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan Teacher Resource
Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan continues the High’s series of picture-book art exhibitions. Author and illustrator Ashley Bryan incorporates a wide variety of influences, from African folktales to jazz and poetry. Use this teacher resource to connect themes from the exhibition to your curriculum.
This teacher resource was created in collaboration with students enrolled in Georgia State University’s Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education program in the College of Education and Human Development.
Professor: Dr. Thomas Crisp, Assistant Professor of Literacy, Early Childhood, and Elementary Education
Students: Maria Ambrosini, Andrew Bamford, Sarah Bergh, Mary Helen Bowen, Megan Burroughs, Amy Chong, Taylor Deese, Jenna Elliott, Italia Fulmer, Emily Holder, Charissa Hurst, Micaela Knott, Kelly McKenzie, Katee McNeill, Lauren Miles, Lucie Nguyen, Josiah Patrick, Keturah Reid, Casey Reyes, Melissa Richards, Sarah Roberts, Ana Romero, Marissa Twitchell, Julianna Westray
Downloadable Teacher Resources
- Ashley Bryan Pre-Tour PowerPoint Resource (PPT)
- Ashley Bryan Teacher Resource (PDF)
- Disciplinary Literacy, Deep Conversations about Hard Topics, and Lessons Learned (PDF) - resource by Kim Moore, Education Specialist, Atlanta


Online learning can be a challenge, but for young children it can be especially difficult to navigate the different platforms, find your way through applications and tools when still developing literacy skills, demanding to maintain focus, and mentally exhausting in unexpected ways as our visual system struggles with screens and virtual communication. After a particularly hard day, I invited our children to sit on the floor and create turtles with me. Inspired by turtles in many traditions and stories as symbols of wisdom, patience and perseverance, we made these pieces to display in our work spaces.
Turtles can be a remarkably simple or complex animal to draw. We started by drawing a large circular shape on the page. We added 4 feet or fins, a tail and head poking out from the circular shell. We then divided the shell in segments and used lines, shapes and colors to give our turtles their unique markings and personalities. From an art education perspective, the turtle shell provides an excellent space for experimenting with line quality and shape. From an art therapy perspective, creating your own simple shapes to fill in can offer a sense of soothing and mastery as completing each element of the design can be satisfying without requiring complicated decision making. Each maker was able to reach a unique endpoint from the same simple invitation.
While everyone is doing their best, we all need reminders to be patient and generous with each other, with technology and with ourselves as we figure out how to do this together. Thank you to all the teachers and so many others who are going above and beyond to support children and parents in this unprecedented time. I wish you turtle energy and hope you will make your own reminder to persevere!


Fun Frilled Lizards Quiz – Online Interactive FREE Quiz for Kids on Frilled Lizards
Enjoy this Easy Science for Kids Frilled Lizards Quiz – you’ll get your quiz score after completing this FREE online interactive quiz on Frilled Lizards. You need to answer all the questions to be able to get your score. You can do this fun quiz about Frilled Lizards again, till you get the perfect score and become a quiz champion!
Tip: To get it right the first time, read the page with fun facts about Frilled Lizards.
The Frilled Lizards Quiz & FREE Online Quizzes
Our general knowledge quiz for kids are a free online quiz resource for teachers and educators of kids in elementary school, grammar school and preschool. This fun Frilled Lizards quiz helps your kids learn fun facts about Frilled Lizards while enjoying this FREE online quiz game.
If your kid is home-schooled by you, or is in a special education program, then this is a fun activity, with reading comprehension benefits for kids in grade 1-5. Kids will enjoy competing against their classmates and friends, to see who gets the best score, doing this free and fun interactive science quiz on Frilled Lizards.
As a reading comprehension training activity for kids, you can set a timer to encourage kids to do the reading comprehension faster and better, or you can limit the number of times they can read about the quiz topic, before they do the actual quiz games we offer on our easy science for kids website.
Younger kids who cannot yet read or write, such as Pre-K kids, Kindergarten kids or Preschool kids, will benefit from doing this and our other fun online quizzes, as a listening comprehension activity; you read out to them about the topic and then read the quiz question and answers. You will select the Frilled Lizards quiz answer they think is correct, and at the end you get the quiz score. Your child can try many times doing the Frilled Lizards quiz, till gets the perfect score faster, as your kids learn to listen more carefully and develop a better memory and attention span!
Cite This Page
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MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Fun Frilled Lizards Quiz – Online Interactive FREE Quiz for Kids on Frilled Lizards - ." Easy Science for Kids, Nov 2020. Web. 24 Nov 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/fun-frilled-lizards-quiz-online-interactive-free-quiz-for-kids-on-frilled-lizards/ >.
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A Practitioner’s Guide to Responding to COVID-19 Series: Predicting the Impact of COVID-19 on Out-of-School Learning Loss
A Practitioner’s Guide to Responding to COVID-19 Series: Guides and Tools for State and Local School Administrators
A Practitioner’s Guide to Responding to COVID-19 Series: Successful Initiatives that Offset Out-of-School Learning Loss
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Structured Literacy and Typical Literacy Practices: Understanding Differences to Create Instructional Opportunities
This report provides basic information on reading, including an overview of critical literacy skills such as decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Its focus is to support middle and high school teachers, as well as administrators and parents, in building adolescents’ skills in reading and writing. Topics are divided into user-friendly categories such as: What challenges face adolescent readers? How can instruction help the adolescent reader? What do we still need to know? It also includes summaries of current research and recommendations for classroom instruction and addresses student motivation and the role of assessments (formative, summative and diagnostic) in supporting literacy development. The appendices include additional instructional tools and resources such as graphic and semantic organizers, summarization and comprehension strategies, and think-alouds.
U.S. Department of Education


Is Your Child Struggling With Reading?
We Can Help!
For your child to succeed in school, reading and writing skills are necessary. Proper vision development and visual processing skills are critical. It is a well-established fact that poor vision can affect learning in a number of ways. Vision issues will make it hard for your child to focus on school work; poor vision can mean poor hand-eye coordination; reading comprehension and vision go hand in hand; and poor vision can affect your child’s confidence.
Is your child struggling with reading? If so, it can be due to a vision problem. It’s important for you to address this to help your child and set him/her on the path to succeed at school and in life.
What Does The Screening Result Say?
It is believed that at least 1 in every 10 school children has vision problems that can undermine their academic performance. In most schools, the solution to assess vision is to provide vision screenings. However, these screenings often miss critical visual skills that cause parents and teachers to overlook the underlying cause of the problem.
The traditional “20/20” vision screening administered to children at school and pediatrician’s offices only assesses how well your child sees at a distance. More than 50% of the serious vision problems that affect children are not diagnosed by a standard vision screening. Even if your child has 20/20 vision, he/she may still have difficulty reading due to other visual issues that are not detected through a vision screening.
Reading Requires Several Visual Skills
Reading is a complex task that requires 7 of the 17 vital visual skills. Here is a highlight of what we do when we are reading:
- When we aim two eyes at the same point simultaneously and accurately, we use: Skill #1 Eye Movement Control, Skill #8 Simultaneous Alignment at Near and Skill #9 Sustaining Alignment at Near.
- When we focus both eyes to make the reading material clear, we use: Skill #4 Simultaneous Focus at Near and Skill #10 Central Vision (Visual Acuity).
- When we continue to sustain clear focus, we use: Skill #5 Sustaining Focus at Near.
- When we move two eyes continually as a coordinated team across the line of print, we use: Skill #1 Eye Movement Control, Skill #9 Sustaining Alignment at Near and Skill #15 Fine Visual-Motor.
As you can see, even if a vision screening shows that your child has 20/20 vision, there are so many other reasons he or she may have difficulty reading. Any problem that interferes with any of the vision skills mentioned above can make it difficult for your child to read.
Have Your Child's Vision Evaluated, Today!
Vision-related learning problems can cause your child tremendous difficulty at school. This will in turn affect the child’s ability to develop important foundational skills. The earlier a visual processing issue is detected, the easier it is to treat and the sooner your child will have the skills needed to continue on a path of success.
Schedule a developmental eye exam for your child today at EYEcenter Optometric. Our developmental eye exam remains the most viable way to detect any problem that can affect reading and ensure that your child’s vision will enable him or her to succeed.
Our qualified and experienced optometrists are available to speak with you and discuss your options. We use state-of-the-art equipment and assessments to examine your child’s vision and eyes and if an issue is detected, we will recommend the best possible treatment available. We serve patients all over Sacramento.
Don’t delay in getting your child the help they need! Schedule your developmental eye exam today!


Mathematics and Computing Science
The Mathematics and Computing Science department is one of the STEM subject departments at Breadalbane Academy and offers five fully equipped teaching rooms and a Computing Science room with access to PCs. We offer a wide array of courses at National level and through the Broad General Education.
In S1 and S2, pupils have 4 maths lessons per week, covering experiences and outcomes in Numeracy and Mathematics.
In S3, all pupils continue with 4 maths lessons per week, and we start to prepare for the National 4 and National 5 courses they will follow in S4. S3 pupils can also opt to study a core class in Computing Science, where they will begin to develop skills in coding, web design and building and using databases. This course is strongly recommended if they wish to study National 4 or National 5 Computing Science in S4.
In S4, all pupils follow either the National 5 Mathematics course (with possible presentation at National 4) or the National 4 Applications of Mathematics course. Computing Science can be chosen in S4, with presentation at National 4 or National 5 level.
In S5 & S6, pupils can choose to continue their studies in Mathematics at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level, in which uptake is exceptionally high. They can also choose to follow the National 5 Applications of Mathematics course. Computing Science can be studied at all levels, up to and including Advanced Higher.
The department has long established links with several partners in order to develop the young work force and to encourage progression to further or higher education, or employment. We actively encourage participation in national Maths and Computer Science competitions and STEM related activities. We work closely with the other departments to support learning and the development of numeracy skills in context.
Regular homework plays a vital role in the development and consolidation of mathematical knowledge and skills, which is issued regularly. The department values working closely with parents to support effective study outside of the classroom. The department offers study support a few lunchtimes in the week to all pupils. Continuous formative and summative assessments are used to track and monitor pupil progress.
The Mathematics & Computing Science department at Breadalbane Academy, in addition to Science and Technology, are proud to be part of a trial STEM Nation accreditation programme in 2019/20 run by the STEM team from Education Scotland.


The publication of the results of the International Adult Literacy Survey (1997) provided Ireland with its first profile of literacy skills of Irish adults aged 16-64 years. The focus in quantitative literacy was on the knowledge and skills needed to apply arithmetic operations. As well as the processing of printed information, the difficulty of such tasks was influenced by the following factors:
- the particular arithmetic operations required to complete the task;
- the number of operations needed to perform the task;
- the extent to which the numbers are embedded in printed materials; and
- the extent to which inferences must be made in order to identify the particular kind of arithmetic operation to be performed (IALS, 1997:p36)
The IALS findings showed that only 25% of the population performed at the lowest end of literacy and numeracy skills and had scored at level 1. Scoring at level 1 of the IALS indicated the person had profound literacy and numeracy difficulties. It requires performing a single relatively simple operation, usually addition. The IALS data also showed that people with the most profound literacy and numeracy difficulties were the least likely to be involved in education or training.
The publication of the IALS 1997 led to Government recognition of the importance of improving adult literacy levels in Ireland. The Green Paper on Adult Education (1998) outlined the need for the development of the adult literacy service as a whole. The White Paper Learning for Life (DES, 2000) set out a holistic approach to the development of a national programme for adult education and established the National Adult Literacy Programme.
The White Paper on Adult Education featured the important role of literacy and numeracy in lifelong learning policy and practice. The overall aim was to increase the number of adult learners into the adult literacy service, prioritise those with the lowest literacy levels and implement a quality framework to monitor the effectiveness of the service. In order to help achieve this aim, the White Paper documented the need for highly trained adult educators to strengthen the Adult Education sector.
In an effort to put a focus on numeracy as distinct from literacy the national Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) published a Numeracy Strategy (Meeting the Numeracy Challenge) in 2004. NALA defines numeracy as follows:
Numeracy is a life skill that involves the competent use of mathematical language, knowledge and skills. Numerate adults have the confidence to manage the mathematical demands of real life situations such as everyday living, work related settings and in further education, so that effective choices are made in our evolving technology and knowledge based society’’ (NALA,2004).
NALA’s strategy identified the following key elements in relation to numeracy.
- a need to develop tutor training;
- greater independent focus on numeracy;
- development of specific training programmes;
- delivery of accredited programmes; and
- requirement to facilitate tutor CPD (NALA, 2004).
NALA in partnership with Institute of technology Tallaght completed a survey of the professional development needs of Irish numeracy tutors, Doing the maths: the training needs of numeracy tutors, 2013 and beyond. The report highlights the growing need for additional professional development as tutors work with new adult mathematics accredited frameworks and new technologies.
Adult numeracy in the main is delivered through Vocational Education Committees currently being amalgamated into a small number of Training and Education Boards.
The Further Education and Training (SOLAS) Bill 2013 provides for the establishment of an education and training authority (SOLAS) which will co-ordinate and fund Further Education and Training (FET) in Ireland. It is not certain what impact these changes will have on services and provision in Ireland into the future.
Publications and Links
The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy Among Young People 2011-2020
Doing the maths: the training needs of numeracy tutors, 2013 and beyond
Literacy and numeracy difficulties in the Irish workplace: Impact on earnings and training expenditures
Various Publications on Literacy and Numeracy
National Adult Literacy Agency
National Centre for Excellence in Teaching mathematics and Science
Developing Maths Eyes


Unused coffee filters create the base for many recycled craft ideas for kids. Pick up an extra pack of inexpensive paper filters and let the kids turn them into creative pieces of art. If you already have extra filters and a store of crafty odds and ends, most projects are practically free. The crafts fit into many different themes making them ideal for classrooms or at home as a rainy-day activity.
The bottom of a coffee filter is a circle shape making it perfect for a small replica of the Earth. Make sure you cover the working surface with newspaper or a plastic sheet. Drops of green and blue liquid food coloring are placed on the bottom of the coffee filter. The food color will spread out across the filter to create an Earth-like appearance. Lightly spray the surface with water if the colors don't cover the filter on their own.
Once dry, cut out the circle. The Earth replicas works well on a bulletin board or suspended from the ceiling. Use different colors for other planets.
Flowers are a simple craft to make from coffee filters. When using a basket-style coffee filter, the kids decorate them with markers or watercolor paints. The center of the coffee filter is bunched up so the top portion forms a flower-like structure. You can also stack two or three coffee filters together for a fuller flower. A green pipe cleaner wrapped around the gathered center, holds the piece together and creates a stem for the flower.
Use a coffee filter to create the body of a jellyfish. Cover a small paper cup with the coffee filter. The cup gives the body structure while the soft, flared edges of the coffee filter make it resemble a jellyfish. Cut long pieces of streamers to create the tentacles of the jellyfish. You can tape them inside the cup and let them dangle down. The kids can paint or otherwise decorate the coffee filter to add color to the jellyfish. Punch a hole in the bottom of the cup and up through the filter and hang the jellyfish with a piece of yarn or string.
Coffee filter snowflakes make a beautiful addition to any room during the winter months. Fold the coffee filters in half several times to create a triangular shape much like normal paper snowflakes. The kids then cut out little designs along the edge of the filter to create the design. When unfolded, the coffee filters resemble snowflakes. Spray them with water tinted with a few drops of food coloring if you want some color. Another option is to apply some glitter spray for a sparkly effect.
Based in the Midwest, Shelley Frost has been writing parenting and education articles since 2007. Her experience comes from teaching, tutoring and managing educational after school programs. Frost worked in insurance and software testing before becoming a writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education with a reading endorsement.


Getting a degree online is different from studying at your own pace via a Massive Online Open Course or MOOC. You may have found many different types of classes offered for free online through video lectures or other open delivery systems, and wondered “What is the difference between a MOOC and an online degree program?”
According to MOOC.org, massive, open online courses offer the opportunity to affordably learn new skills, pursue lifelong interests, and have a quality educational experience at a large scale. Thousands of people may be taking a MOOC course in a popular subject at one time. In contrast, degree programs offered online pursue a less-open and more structured form of education that confers a specific degree from the associate’s to Ph.D. level, in an accredited process.
How do MOOC Courses Work?
Some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including Harvard, Oxford, McGill and the University of Edinburgh, participate in EdX, the largest online portal for MOOCs. Over 10 million people were enrolled in EdX courses as of 2017. EdX courses are offered in 1,300 different subjects, including math, computer science, current affairs, and the humanities. Courses are frequently offered as self-paced modules. Harvard University’s law school offers an introductory course in contract law, for example. This course covers limits to contracts, contractual performance, and how to read contracts. You can choose to take the course for your own educational benefit, or pay for a certificate verifying that you have taken the course and learned the concepts.
Related resource: Top 25 Most Affordable Online Business Graduate Degrees
Online Degree Programs Offered
While there are tens of millions of people enrolled in MOOC’s online, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that about 2.8 million students were enrolled in an online college program as of 2014. The students were all enrolled in a degree-granting college or university that was accredited to award an associate’s or higher degree. Nearly every discipline or area of study has an associated degree program, from accounting to veterinary science. College degree programs are broken down broadly into arts or science-related degrees. Another important distinction is an applied degree as opposed to a theoretical or research degree. Applied degrees include nursing, medicine, law and the applied arts, such as painting, dance or music. Theoretical or research-related degrees include many of the traditional liberal arts degrees, such as history, literature, and philosophy. Some fields, like dance, do not currently have online degrees. Related programs like art education, do offer the ability to get a degree online.
What is the difference between a MOOC and an online degree program? The primary differences are in educational delivery, instructor contact, and formalized systems of education. MOOC’s inform students in specific fields of study, typically through video lectures and follow-up tests that determine whether or not students have understood the concepts that are covered. Instructor contact may not be offered at all, or assistants may work with MOOC students. Some massive online courses such as Code Academy provide free computer coding courses with automated lessons. Degrees offered online use technology to deliver an organized program of education that is divided into classroom hours and educational segments, such as quarters and semesters. Online degrees are awarded based on an established system of learning and skill development determined by each field of study and accreditation body.
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Over one million children are out of school, and many who are attending school do not receive the kind of education that empowers and ignites their passion. Despite extensive initiatives by civil society, and the government initiating the ambitious Right to Education program, there is much groundwork to be made. This will require not only stronger community engagement and dialogue, but also identifying and implementing newer pathways of enabling learning across educational centres. These are designed to be comprehensive, and address every aspect of the student-teacher-community equation.
1. Creating inclusive schools
Leading child rights NGO has initiated a training module to bring about inclusive schools, after workshops and consultations education officials, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), and NGO staff. Based on UNESCO’s ILFE (Inclusive Learner’s Friendly Environment) toolkit, the modules were made available through teacher and community capacity building to make quality elementary education for all children in a non-discriminatory, inclusive manner through:
i. Understanding the causes of exclusion, and the need for inclusion in schools
Ii. Facilitating workshops, and identifying the traits of an effective facilitator
iii. Identifying and understanding resource materials and ideas on Inclusion promotion in schools and classrooms.
The NGO has especially focused on creating gender-sensitive classrooms to bring girls to the classroom, aligned to the government’s girl child education and empowerment programme ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’.
2.Use of ICT for imparting learning
To bring about ICT-enabled teaching, teachers are taught to create localised digital content to explain difficult concepts into exciting classroom videos. In an initiative supported by Ricoh India, Save the Children is contributing to Information-Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled education in 80 government schools across India. The NGO is working to provide effective enabling learning environment at government schools, to support retention rate of students. The NGO has also received appreciation for contributing to ICT-enabled education in the state’s government schools, located in remote and conflict-ridden regions.
3. Disaster Risk Reduction in schools
Education is often and irreversibly disrupted amid natural disaster. Save the Children has worked with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to initiate task forces to map and identify responses to everyday potential hazards, such as earthquakes, floods exposed electrical wiring, and even slippery stairs. The work focusses on building children’s resilience, via mock drills, Disaster Resource Rooms with the latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources, and a detailed understanding of potential dangers within the school premises and in the vicinity.
4. Supporting education through relevant infrastructure
Retaining children in schools involves giving them relevant infrastructure, such as age-appropriate books and reading material, and an adequate teacher-student ratio. Teachers must also be given regular training on teaching and learning materials (TLMs), to improve their methodologies, such as storytelling and the use of creative expression to instill interest. Other necessities for an engaged classroom include library books, sports materials, musical instruments, outdoor teaching, organizing exposure visits of children, project-based learning, and computer labs. Education must be supported through a dialogue with parents and siblings to actively involve them in children’s education.
Aligned to its commitment to its ‘Every Last Child’ campaign, Save the Children channelises funding from those donate to NGO to operate in rural and tribal areas, and urban slums of metros to give children access to quality education. Out-of-school children are mapped and brought back to school through conducting enrolment drives with a special focus on girl children. The NGO executes these campaigns in association with government schools and Aanganwadi, and community members. Donate to charity to join this campaign of pan-India education. The NGO organises community events to sensitise families and communities about girl child education.


Section 5
the republican? representative system? in Each province shall enact its own constitution under declarations? and guarantees of the National Constitution? ?accordance with the principles administration of justice? municipal regime? and elementary education. Under ensuring its exercise of its these conditions? the Federal Government shall guarantee each province the full institutions.
 Section 6
of the provinces in order to guarantee The Federal Government may intervene in the territory repel foreign invasions; and at the request of their the republican form of government or to it may intervene to support or reestablish them? should they have been ?constituted authorities by sedition or invasion from another province deposed.
 Section 7
province are worthy of full faith in the others; The public acts and judicial proceedings of one laws? prescribe the manner in which such acts and proceedings and Congress may? by general and the legal effects thereof shall be proved.
 Section 8
all rights? privileges? and immunities inherent The citizens of each province shall be entitled to the other provinces. The extradition of criminals is a reciprocal in the condition of citizen in among all the provinces obligation.
 Section 9
no other Customs than the national ones? Throughout the territory of the Nation there shall be Congress shall be in force in which the tariffs enacted by.
 Section 10
manufacture is free from duties throughout The circulation of goods of national production or circulation of articles and merchandise of all kinds cleared in the the Republic? as well as the Customs national.


Immigrant and refugee families improve their English language skills and maintain their first language when parents and kids learn together, according to University of British Columbia researchers.
The researchers studied outcomes of a bilingual family literacy program with 500 immigrant and refugee families of three to five-year-old preschool children in Metro Vancouver. The program, Parents as Literacy Supporters in Immigrant Communities (PALS), emphasized a learning-through-play philosophy, employed translators and cultural workers, and had parents participate alongside their children in the activities.
“Our findings lend support to intergenerational literacy learning,” said researcher Jim Anderson, a language and literacy education professor in UBC’s faculty of education. “The program’s bilingual materials helped the families alternate between their first language and English, especially when parents read to their children. Families indicated that this feature helped both parents and kids improve their English together.”
The participating families, most of whom were South Asian or Chinese, reported a greater understanding of language and literacy development in both language and of Western pedagogy. They also said the program helped confirm the value of maintaining their first language while simultaneously learning English.
“Research shows some immigrant and refugee families assume their first language will hinder their children’s ability to learn English,” said Anderson. “Our program helps dispel this myth.”
Anderson said bilingual language programs have only recently been a subject of scholarly inquiry. “Our multi-year, large scale study complements earlier work and enhances academic understanding of bilingual family literacy programs,” he said.
NOTE: A cultural worker involved in the program is also available for interviews. Please contact Corey Allen (firstname.lastname@example.org) to connect.
The research appears in “‘You Guys Should Offer the Program more Often!’: Some Perspectives from Working Alongside Immigrant and Refugee Families in a Bilingual Family Literacy Program” in the book Literacy in the Early Years: Reflections on International Research and Practice (2017).


Jolly NotesThis preschool music program is a fun, group class for children between ages 3 and 4 designed to introduce children to music. Through musical games and active interaction with a teacher and each other, kids learn basic musical concepts such as: rhythm, melody, percussion instruments, and singing. “Jolly Notes” helps children develop general learning skills that they can use beyond musical studies: focus and concentration, cognitive abilities, motor skills, social skills and hand-eye coordination. The children are asked to bring their favorite short story books that can be set to music. At the end of the session the students will have a short musical presentation to perform informally for their parents. The gaol of the class is to instill a love of music so that the children could start music lessons next year. This course consists of 12 45 minutes weekly classes and is conducted by the Orff certified instructor. For more information about this program please read Jolly Notes Brochure. Register for Jolly Notes Program.
Jolly Keys"Jolly Keys" program is created as a comprehensive introduction to piano and gives children between ages 4 and 5 and their parents a taste what music can bring into their lives and prepares children for private music lessons. Children learn to understand musical "vocabulary", develop imagination as well as their own relationship with the music. The classes involve: singing, elementary note reading, introduction to the basics of the keyboard, music history and rhythm development. The course also focuses on general coordination and refining motor skills necessary for playing any instrument. The classes are 45 minutes long and are held once a week. For more information about this program please read Jolly Keys Brochure. Register for Jolly Keys Program.
"Pre-Twinklers" Suzuki ViolinThis is a group lesson course for children between ages 4 and 5 , who are not ready for private lessons. Students of this age, parents with a violin teacher known as the "Suzuki Triangle," learn to play the violin through the use of games, listening to music and visuals. At the end of the session, the students will have an informal recital. The students are known as "Pre-Twinklers", because they are learning musical concepts to be able to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." It is the hope that this introduction to violin playing will become a life-long adventure to the study of the violin. Parents are encouraged to read "Nurtured By Love" by Suzuki to find out more about the violin method. Register for Suzuki Program. Register for Preschool Music Programs online or contact us if you have any questions.
Benefits of Early Music Education
It’s sure to be music to parents’ ears: After nine months of weekly training in piano or voice, new research shows young students’ IQs rose nearly three points more than their untrained peers – Forbes Magazine
Our experience supports these findings published in Forbes Magazine. Additionally, we strongly believe and emphasize that how you teach music is even more important for students’ brain development. Scientific research encourages starting the study of music from a young age. Young children benefit the most from music lessons as they are the most receptive and impressionable.
If a child is not ready yet for private lessons he/she can still greatly benefit from group music programs.


ICYMI: Inuit Art Education Through Technology
On every floor of the WAG, you can experience a wide range of Inuit art. Carvings, drawings, wall hangings, and multimedia projects created recently, and years ago, allow you to come face-to-face with the power and beauty of Inuit art. You can explore the exhibitions on your own, or enjoy a guided experience of the art.
When schools come through, they are welcomed by trained facilitators who help students recognize the parallels between the art and their own lives, including their families, their games and pastimes, and their relationships to the land. On tours, students can touch and handle samples of stone, bone, and antler as well as miniature works such as a sled or doll to connect the art with the materials and with the lives of artists who create the works.
This experiential learning inspires connection — a greater understanding of the importance of traditional Inuit knowledge and also an awareness of the current challenges of living in the North.
The WAG Inuit Art Centre will build on programs the WAG currently offers to make art education even more accessible — both onsite and online.
At the heart of the WAG Inuit Art Centre building is a three-storey Visible Glass Vault that will bring to light thousands of stone carvings. In addition to being able to see them, you’ll be able to explore them more deeply using technology.
Supported by donors like you and the Canada Council for the Arts, the digital platform that goes with the vault will feature in-depth art stories, interactive maps, photographs, and audio and video recordings. This interactive content will tie into school curricula and enhance the education experience. In fact, it will boost every visitor’s experience.
You’ll be able to zoom in up-close to a work of art, to see an intriguing detail or markings, and learn how it’s been made. Or, you can travel to an artist’s home community to see where they create.
The digital platform will also allow you to take a closer look at artworks that are sensitive to light and cannot be exhibited long-term in the glass vault, such as prints, drawings, textiles, pottery, and dolls, and key pieces from the Centre’s exhibitions. This way, you’ll experience works from across Inuit Nunangat.
Add your support to the Inuit Art Centre by purchasing one of the 492 shelves in the Visible Vault


Research has shown that simple personality traits such as extroversion or introversion do not make a great teacher, however, the best teachers possess a specialized body of knowledge and often do the following things:
1)?? ANALYZE STUDENT ERRORS: Great teachers analyze why students are arriving at the wrong answers so they can target problem areas and design useful mini lessons, especially in math. S
2)?? POSITIVE REDIRECTION: The best teachers respond to misbehavior by encouraging the specific desired behavior. For example instead of saying ?Please be quiet or no talking,? good teachers would say, ?We are following along in our books.?
3)?? ENCOURAGE DEEPER THINKING: Great teachers use a variety of questioning techniques. They might say ?Why is the area 17? instead of ?Find the area.?
4)?? COLD CALL: Great teachers call on all students rather than just those that raise their hand and use ?wait time? to give students time to think and respond before calling on another student.
5)?? MODELING: Great teachers model and do not expect their students to be mind readers. They model reading comprehension strategies so students can actually see and hear the thinking involved.


Employers were alarmed by research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that ranked English teenagers amongst the worst in the developed world for literacy and numeracy. Seamus Nevin, Head of Employment and Skills Policy at the Institute of Directors, said:
“These findings from the OECD are very worrying. As the report shows, England has nine million people of working age with low literacy or numeracy skills. This comes in the same week that the UKCES Employer Skills Survey found that 23% of UK vacancies are hard to fill because of skills shortages, with demand for skills up 130% on five years ago.
“Employers need the right talent and skills to continue to grow. The OECD report, which is based on 2012 data, does conclude that many of the recent reforms brought in by Government – tougher GCSEs, rules that teenagers must now stay in education or training until they are 18, and the abolition of dozens of less relevant vocational qualifications – will likely have a positive affect and improve standards. But Government must also look at increasing the retention rates and recruitment of teachers, especially in the vital shortage areas like science and maths.”


READ More In May!
This May, Scholastic are encouraging children to read more in May as part of National Family Reading Month. They encourage families to read for at least 10 minutes each day during this month.
We know that reading role models and shared reading time are critical to a child’s learning and literacy development. In fact, research shows that family reading time is one of the best ways to grow a child’s interest in the wonderful world of books. Kids who read, succeed!
If your family is interested in completing the Read More In May Challenge, please follow the link to the scholastic website. There you can access more information to enter your family and download the Reading Log.
For any further questions please contact Mrs. Kate Pritchard in the Library.


September 3, 2017
Majestic. Powerful. Awe-inspiring. Intelligent. These are just a few of the words that may come to mind when you think of a fully grown African or Asian elephant. But for farmers who are trying to make a living in places where elephants also roam, these iconic mammals can be more like giant pests.
Global elephant populations have taken a huge hit in the past century due to poaching. With the help of multiple conservation strategies, including a CITES ban on the ivory trade, African elephants in particular have begun to recover. However, according to Save the Elephants, a research and conservation organization, African elephant herds are returning to a different world—one that is densely settled by people.
As a result, human-elephant conflicts have become a problem. For instance, in some cases, elephants are exploring old migratory routes and finding themselves blocked by human developments. In other cases, elephants come across farms and, since they’re opportunistic grazers, they break in and raid the farm, eating crops and trampling the land.
Elephant crop raids can devastate a farmer’s livelihood. To minimize damage, farmers may try to save their crops and properties by confronting elephants, using various scare tactics that can lead to elephant aggression. As a result of these conflicts, both humans and elephants have died.
What can be done?
Lucy King, head of the Human-Elephant Co-Existence Program for Save the Elephants, is also the project leader for a unique research program called Elephants and Bees. King says: “Elephants are often seen as pests, especially in human-elephant conflict hotspots. Elephants will raid just as the crops are ripening and the farmers are preparing to harvest. A single elephant raid can leave a farm totally devastated and the farmer left with no produce to survive off.”
King and team began looking for non-violent ways for humans and elephants to co-exist. Almost by accident, the team discovered elephants are afraid of bees and will run away from hives when they hear that tell-tale buzz. The researchers used what they’d learned to envision, test, and install Beehive Fences along the borders of farmlands.
Beehive Fences are made using locally sourced materials. Every 10 meters, bee hives or dummy bee hives are hung along interconnecting wire. If an elephant attempts to break through, the beehives swing and release the bees, deterring elephants with an 80% success rate.
King says farmers are eager to participate in the program, which is currently being tested and/or used by communities in 14 countries across Africa and Asia. “Many of our farmers were unable to successfully harvest their crops for many years prior to their Beehive Fence and were having to find a source of income from other means,” she says. “Since the project began in our area, we have seen a dramatic positive change in the farmers’ attitudes towards elephants.”
As if an 80% success rate at deterring elephants from crop raiding weren’t enough, Beehive Fences also provide an additional source of income for farmers through the harvesting and selling of Elephant-Friendly Honey. While testing and implementing the fences is the program’s main focus, King says her team is also learning how to make lip balms, candles, and body creams from bees wax in order to continue to make Elephant-Friendly Honey products profitable for farmers.
Elephants and Bees also works closely with local schools, engaging children in conservation lessons that teach about the ecological and economic significance of elephants. “I hope that children will start to see wild animals and the natural environment as part of the health of their future planet,” King says.
While it can certainly be overwhelming to try and make a difference in a world filled with conservation challenges, King says one strategy is to simply pick one and get started. “(I)f everyone just picked one challenge or one species to protect, however small or close to home, we could all make a difference,” she says.
If everyone just picked one challenge or one species to protect, however small or close to home, we could all make a difference.
If you and your family are interested in contributing to the Elephants and Bees program, please click here for more information.
Bethanie Hestermann is a freelance writer and co-author of Zoology for Kids and Marine Science for Kids.


Early Childhood Music Education at Decker Music Studio
Pre-School and Kindergarten Students
Children exhibit early music aptitude by singing during playtime, physically responding to the beat of instrumental or sung music, and playing the family piano. The goal with this age group is to augment exploration and enjoyment of music with age appropriate materials while encouraging music play as a family endeavor.
In July 2013 Anne Decker-Beck completed her Music Together Teacher Training Workshop developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey. For more information on Music Together, visit: https://www.musictogether.com/parents
In a nurturing environment supported by parents and primary care givers, children develop basic musical competence, usually by the age of 5. At this point, more formal music instruction can commence.
Elementary School Age Students
Young piano students, even those who are not yet reading, learn with the Faber Piano Adventures Series including the outstanding "My First Piano Adventure" along with supplemental music.
Elementary school age students will progress to the Faber Piano Adventures Series, Primer and Levels IA through Level IV. Supplemental materials are introduced according to the student's individual interests. Development of practice competency is a regular feature during this stage the child's music education.


One balloon is blown up inside of another when you use a magnifying glass to focus light onto their surfaces. You expect the balloons to pop, but only the balloon on the inside bursts. What's going on here? The Mystery Balloon Pop is a tremendous lesson in the power of the sun's rays and the absorption of light and heat. Did we mention you're popping balloons for science? Get started!
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
© 2014 Steve Spangler Science all rights reserved
Tagged under: Fun Science Experiments,Amazing Science,Science,Science For Kids,Sunlight,At Home Science,Incredible Science,school,Science Magic,Balloon,DIY Science,Mystery Balloon Pop,Cool Science Experiments,Cool Science,Cool Science Projects,At Home Experiments,Spangler Science,SteveSpanglerScience,SteveSpangler,Science Tricks,Insane Science,Classroom Science,Do Yourself Science,Sick Science!,Steve Spangler Science,Sick Science,Steve Spangler
Add multiple choice quizzes, questions and browse hundreds of approved, video lesson ideas for Clip
Make YouTube one of your teaching aids - Works perfectly with lesson micro-teaching plans
1. Students enter a simple code
2. You play the video
3. The students comment
4. You review and reflect
* Whiteboard required for teacher-paced activities
Carry out a quickfire formative assessment to see what the whole class is thinking
Create interactive presentations to spark creativity in class
Student teams can create and share collaborative presentations from linked devices
Turn any public video into a live chat with questions and quizzes


The two best sessions for me at Edubloggercon today at ISTE2010 ended up talking about Networks and teaching how to use networks with students. For lack of a better term we called it “Networked Literacy”
Based on that reading I created this diagram that looks at today’s literacy development.
Networked literacy is what the web is about. It’s about understanding how people and communication networks work. It’s the understanding of how to find information and how to be found. It’s about how to read hyperlinked text articles, and understand the connections that are made when you become “friends” or “follow” someone on a network. It’s the understanding of how to stay safe and how to use the networked knowledge that is the World Wide Web. Networked Literacy is about understanding connections.
After today’s conversation I think it’s pretty close to what we were all thinking. It’s the idea of teaching students that they have networks in Facebook and through other web connections. We need to teach them how to use those networks to spread their message. Today many of us ed tech people do the networking for students via our twitter accounts, our own blogs, and the whole of our PLNs. Students today have networks, the issue is most of them are blocked in schools. We do not think of them as idea spreading networks but instead as social-networks that students must be kept from during school hours.
Learning networks are Social networks.
There is not one of us here at ISTE that does not use Twitter strictly for learning. We share our days, our lives. We share jokes, stay in touch and communicate on things that are personal to us. If we are allowed to use our learning-networks for social connections why can’t students use their social-networks for learning connections?
Of course Facebook is just a popular example. There are many other networks that we should be teaching students to use, networks to help them spread their message.
There’s another part of Networked Literacy that we touched on today. The idea of using social-connections to curate information. It’s asking your Twitter network for resources instead of Google, or asking your Facebook friends dinner ideas rather than looking up a restaurant yourself. Learning when to ask these networks for help and why you would you them rather than Google is a type of Networked Literacy we need to be teaching.
The conversations we had today are just the beginning. I’m looking forward to discussion this idea in the Blogger’s Cafe in the coming days as I think we’re starting to define a new powerful literacy that I hope we will be able to teach our students how to use.


The World Bank, in a 2017 report, warned of a learning crisis across the world. In India, the report said, half the children in grade 5 could not read a text meant for Grade 2 children. The report, among other things, highlighted that teachers lacked necessary skills and motivation. Adding to the World Bank report was the 2018 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which said that as a consequence, the gross enrolment ratio drops from 95 per cent for Grades 1-5 to 79 per cent for Grades 9-10.
The New Education Policy (NEP) 2019 too stresses on the vital role played by a teacher in the education process of children and calls for improved training institutions, proper facilities to teachers and appropriate student teacher ratio in the classrooms. The policy notes that, “In addition to access, a major quality related deficiency in the existing early childhood learning programme in the country is the lack of trained and qualified teachers.”
It is clear that the quality of education does not just span curriculum and infrastructure but depends highly upon the quality of teachers as well.
One of the most brilliant minds of the 21st century and a beloved teacher, our former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has said that “…there is no other profession in the world that is more important to society than that of a teacher”. Teachers are the first contact point for children in the formal education process and their importance in the cognitive, mental and physical development of a child cannot be undermined. Besides delivering lessons and imparting knowledge to the children, teachers play a multi-faceted role by setting the tone of their classrooms, building a warm environment, mentoring and nurturing students, becoming role models, and listening and looking for signs of trouble.
Integration of technology into teaching-learning, which has been highly accelerated due to the ongoing pandemic, is also a great way of enabling the teachers to transform the classroom into a dynamic and engaging space for the children. Rather than seeing digital education, or learning from the internet, as a replacement of the teacher student relationship, technology should be used to build upon that bond and add value to the traditional pedagogical system. At the same time, technology can help in automating some of the routine processes for the efficient management of the classes so that teachers can focus only on teaching.
Another issue is shortage of trained and passionate teachers. According to government data, the country lacks teachers to the extent of 10 lakh vacancies in government-run schools. Rural area schools suffer the most from the lack of teachers with many schools running with only one teacher teaching all grades. There is a pressing need to address the issue of teacher shortage by recruiting a cadre of qualified teachers.
Education holds the key to skilling, employability, and, in turn, contribution to realisation of faster growth of GDP, but without the right kind of teacher training, India’s learning levels cannot improve. Teacher’s training has by far been one of the most neglected components in education. But the next step after achieving accessibility of education is to achieve quality – and that is not possible without enabling and empowering our teachers.
To know more about Smile Foundation’s education programme visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/education.html


Paper Topics on VerdiIf you're looking for paper topics on Verdi, you've come to the right place. Most high school and college students take part in paper topics on Verdi every year, which is a great way to start a music education or composition class. I have used this method with some great results. Let's go over what to expect.
For starters, here are some basic ideas about the subject of Verdi that will help you better understand the topic. While the content is open to interpretation, you'll be well prepared if you learn the following.
The title of La Traviata is translated as 'The Temptation,' but this is also an apt description of the story about the Virgin Mary that is told in the opera. Mary is a virgin, who has been chosen by God to become a part of the Divine Plan for creation. She is immediately faced with the temptation to choose which sinful man will live with her and which one will not. When she does choose the first man, he dies. She has lived with his death throughout the opera.
Of course, there is no denying that many singers, including those who are famous today, have adapted Verdi's famous song for their own music. And there are even some who have taken it as the basis for a unique musical style of their own. There are also many parts of the opera that can be interpreted into music by musicians today. So these are examples of subjects that can include any number of musical genres.
The parts of the opera that are most often covered in classes on Verdi include the Dance of the Three Fishes, in which Mary faces the death of the first man who marries her, as well as the Dance of the Seven Veils, in which Mary sees seven different men die in her life. While these are two of the most popular parts of the opera, others can include different aspects of the story. In other words, these topics include aspects of Mary's life that are not simply negative or sad.
Another favorite part of the opera is the scene where the scoundrel Cardinal Richelieu (played by Barret Oliver) asks Mary to marry him. While this is technically the moment when Mary decides to leave the Christian faith, it's really more about her leaving behind her grief and anger for the first time. So that's what you'll be discussing in your paper topics on Verdi.
There are a lot of great topics for your paper topics on Verdi, and you'll find that it really depends on your particular goals for that particular course. As long as you can keep the basic themes in mind, you'll be able to successfully follow the paper topics with success.


If we want to convince or persuade others, our writing must be strong and clear.
Words or sentences that are typically appropriate in everyday language often weaken academic ideas if not properly used.
Below is a list of word forms that should be avoided.
There are / there is
When we use there are/is too much, we are using words that often weaken our sentences and ideas.
For example, look at the two sentences below and ask which one is stronger.
- There are many people who believe global warming is a critical issue.
- Many people believe global warming is a critical issue.
Number 2 is stronger because it comes straight to the point. Simply by removing There are….who… our sentence is clearer and stronger.
If we use words such as always or never, we set ourselves up for criticism because, obviously, our claim cannot be supported. Instead of using these words, we should use words like tend to, or likely, or most likely.
Look at the following examples.
Weak: Factories always contribute to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. (You cannot prove “factories always…)
Strong: Factories tend to contribute to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Weak: Politicians never listen to the concerns of the people.
Strong: Politicians tend not to listen to the concerns of the people.
Other words that should be avoided are all, really, very, and a lot of for the same reasons.
Instead of using verb forms like make a reservation, or conduct an investigation, that tend to be wordy, replace the noun forms with the verb form.
“The officers investigated the cases.” This sentence is stronger than, “The officers conducted an investigation into the case.”
“After much research, the team concluded that obesity is primarily caused by fatty foods.” This sentence is again stronger than, “After much research, the team came to the conclusion that obesity is primarily caused by fatty foods.”
Other wordy forms that should be avoided are make an objection (object), provide assistance (assist), and make a contribution (contribute).
Strong academic language requires words to be clear and concise. Contractions should be avoided not only because they are used in informal language, but because they can also lead to misunderstandings.
Use the full forms instead of contractions.
do not instead of don’t
does not instead of doesn’t
is not instead of isn’t
cannot instead of can’t
he has had instead of he’s had
would have instead of would’ve
and so on
Personal Pronouns: I, me, my, you, your, we, us, our
In academic writing the use of personal pronouns, such as I, me, my, you, your, we, us, our, are generally avoided. The reason is we do not want to refer to what we think or believe, but to solid evidence.
Instead of using pronouns, use direct language.
- Instead of: In my opinion, global warming is causing damage to crops. (This focuses the attention on “my opinion”)
- Write: Global warming is causing damage to crops. (The focuses is on the evidence)
- Instead of: I think art education needs to be incorporated into mainstream studies.
- Write: Art education needs to be incorporated into mainstream studies.
- Instead of: Before taking the final test of the course,you should study and be familiar with your notes.
- Write: Before taking the final test of the course, students should study and be familiar with their notes.
Breaking the Rules
Sometimes you will want to use a personal experience in your essay. This is where you can break the rules. Use pronouns to establish the subject, but use them sparely — just enough to make your point.


The most updated ICT in education policies in Hong Kong music curriculum are the music curriculum guide and the music curriculum and assessment guide implemented in 2006 and 2009 for primary and secondary school. Both curriculum guides emphasis the importance of the role of technology in the music curriculum. This paper focuses on the music software design from the perspective of Hong Kong music teachers’ pedagogical considerations. Most music software used by teachers today in their teaching is originally designed for professional or commercial usage, and little pedagogical considerations have been taken. While technology is gradually and increasingly integrated into music education, the absence of pedagogical considerations in the software design is an emerging problem. In order to understand the music teachers’ needs and expectations from music software, the purpose of this study was to investigate the most useful and desired features of commonly used music software from the perspective of music teachers’ pedagogical concerns. A simple questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were conducted with 15 purposefully chosen primary or secondary school music teachers in Hong Kong. Those teachers were chosen to included both primary and secondary schools, and both mainstream local curriculum and international baccalaureate (IB) program. Teachers recently graduated were particularly chosen as they have experienced the most recent pre-service music teacher training which incorporated the considerations of ICT in education. Results show that music notation software is the most popular software used for music teaching, followed by audio editing software and mobile apps. Choice of particular music software brand is up to the availability and personal preference from the music teachers. The main use of music software by teachers is for preparing teaching materials. Software mostly used during the music classes is mobile apps for the purpose of demonstration. Some of the desired features of music software from their pedagogical perspective are already available, yet either those features are still immature to be used for teaching purpose or teachers do not aware of those software packages. Other desired features can be easily developed and implemented but are unavailable in those currently available software. While the unavailability of music software features from music teachers caused by teachers’ absence of knowledge and immature technology should be addressed by other means, pedagogical considerations should be taken in the software design to redeem those unavailable features which could easily be developed and implemented.
|Publication status||Published - Jul 2012|