The Chief Inspector of OFSTED, Amanda Spielman, has released this paper. It is refreshing to know that the focus of OFSTED is going to be the curriculum, as from my experience it has been thoroughly neglected in Music. Much of this is due to the vast majority of music educationalists being constructivists. If you have a philosophy that students construct their own learning, then you can end up without any sense of curriculum unless it is completely underpinned by skills. But in such a curriculum you could end up with students not studying anything before the Year 2000. According to OFSTED, there is an attitude prevalent in many schools that classical music is a no-go area for students. Point 18 of their report into the curriculum says “Classical music, as a serious component of the curriculum, was treated as a step too far in most of the primary and secondary schools surveyed, at least until Key Stage 4. It was felt by teachers and leaders to be too difficult or inaccessible for pupils.” This is one reason that we need to think very clearly about what is taught as well as what is learned. Most constructivists would be horrified that the curriculum could be narrowed by their philosophy. But I have certainly come across some of the attitudes mentioned in this report and we need to take it seriously that there are music teachers and school leaders that do not think content matters.
The National Curriculum for Music in England and Wales is incredibly short – primary takes up less than a page of A4. Some teachers like this as there is freedom to develop it any way they want. The problem is that many schools can take this to mean that music is not important and can be covered by assemblies, a nativity and a summer concert. To counter this we should be talking about curriculum content. If we specify at least some of the content then it is more likely that this will be taught. And we all know that what gets taught is what is assessed. So we should be making curriculum content that can be learned, memorized and tested. The “t” word is very unfashionable in music education and I am not looking for a Music SAT. But low stakes testing in Music could actually result in content being delivered and pupils knowing more about the wonderful world of music that we often take for granted.
One way to think about content is through the use of knowledge organizers. These are a one A4 page of content that we are studying this term. They need to be clear, concise and testable. I have written one for Year 2 and one for Year 3 and I will be publishing them soon. I have handed them out to the pupils this week and the class teachers have been given a copy. I will see how the pupils respond and whether it has made any difference around Christmastime when we finish the unit. However, the real test will be whether they can remember it before we leave for the summer holiday. Can they retain the information over time? Surely, that is one of the aims we should have for music education – that what they learn is stored robustly in each child’s long term memory. Do children know the difference between a clarinet and a bassoon? Do they know the names of at least two composers from the 18th century? Can they name some early Blues musicians?
Please don’t think that I am against musical skills, I certainly am not. But I am very skeptical about constructivism. I think teachers should be setting the curriculum – not the students. I don’t have any problems with the notion that the teacher is an authority and that some content is more valuable than others. And the person best placed to make these judgements is the teacher, not the child.


Preschool Learning at Magellan
Magellan International School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School which guides the curriculum and learning environment of all students, from PP3 through 8th grade. The primary years programme of the IB seeks to provide “stimulating, supportive interactions with their peers and teachers and the effective use of curricula” for our very young learners in PP3 and PP4, to best prepare them for kinder and continued academic rigor.
At MIS, our preschool students have opportunities to build their imagination, build vocabulary, and enhance their social skills. Dramatic play areas in their classrooms stimulate children’s creative thinking and problem solving.
Language and Dramatic Play
Play is the most effective way to promote language skills and build vocabulary in a fun and meaningful way. In a hospital scenario, children discover new words to use from one another (as well as the teacher) such as emergency, operation, surgeon, fever, stitches, and concussion. A youngster with a more advanced vocabulary and more real-world experiences teaches new words to other children in a natural and fun way through play. A child whose mother is a doctor becomes the expert in the hospital scenario. A youngster whose dad works in construction gets his turn to shine when the scenario involves a building site. Children also engage in parallel play—playing near one another but not with one another. They develop the fine art of conversation and learn how to take turns, negotiate, state their argument, and defend their point of view. They discover that words are powerful when working with others toward a shared goal.
Through Spanish Immersion as well as complimentary instruction in English, our students learn foundational skills in both languages in the classroom. Through listening and speaking, viewing and presenting, pre-reading and pre-writing activities, MIS students are developing as bilingual citizens of the world and preparing for Kindergarten. Learn more about Language Learning in Preschool at MIS
Math and Dramatic Play
Math at preschool is best learned through play. Concepts get introduced through materials such as puzzles, blocks, Geo-boards, beads, and LEGOS.Young children who play with puzzles have better spatial skills. They’re able to think about objects in three dimensions and draw conclusions about them with limited information. This is helpful when reading a map, interpreting diagrams and charts, and building structures with blocks and LEGOS. It’s an important ability in math, science, and technology. Playing with blocks on the rug at preschool is the ideal way for kids to learn about math in a fun and natural way. By building and talking, kids learn concepts such as shape and size, area, measurement, and geometry.
Youngsters learn math concepts best through dramatic play and hands-on activities. When children engage in dramatic play—running a grocery store, beauty salon, or restaurant—they learn about math. They discover how to use a cash register, recognize coins and bills, give change, and set prices. Children discuss valuable math concepts in a meaningful way during play. When children pretend to cook in the kitchen area, they talk about fractions (I need half a stick of butter), measurement (Pour in 2 cups of milk), counting (Beat in four eggs), and sequencing (First, stir the batter).
Personal, Social and Emotional Learning and Play
Preschoolers need lots of time to practice their social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and listening. These are all the people skills that will come in handy during their entire lives. Playing together is the best way for children to learn how to solve their own problems. Children need to develop empathy—the ability to see things from someone else’s viewpoint—before they can truly share. It’s inevitable that conflicts arise when children play at preschool. If they cannot resolve the problem on their own, it gives the teacher a wonderful opportunity to intervene. She can help the kids develop the necessary social and emotional skills to handle the dispute. A child’s social skills in the early years are a significant indicator of future school success.
- Across all disciplines, students work on projects and initiatives requiring teamwork and cooperation, presentation/communication skills, creative thinking and critical reasoning. The development of these skills is a hallmark of the International Baccalaureate program.


Can babies have scoliosis? Yes, it is possible for your baby to have scoliosis. Infantile or early- onset scoliosis can be diagnosed any time between birth and five years of age. It is an abnormal side to side curve of the spine, affecting more boys than girls.
What causes scoliosis in babies? There are many causes of infantile scoliosis. There are congenital neuromuscular conditions that can affect a baby’s spine. Some of these neuromuscular and other causes are:
- Myopathy, which is a muscular disease where the muscle fibers do not function, causing muscular weakness.
- Cerebral Palsy is actually a group of movement disorders that permanently affect the child’s physical, developmental abilities to roll over, sit, crawl, and delayed walking.
- Spina bifida is a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the backbone (spine) spinal cord or its coverings. The spinal cord and branching nerves may be damaged.
- Congenital chest wall deformities such as Pigeon chest which got its name from the similarity of child’s chest looking like a bird’s breast. This can be treated along with scoliosis, to improve breath and heart function, in more extensive cases.
These congenital conditions can cause the development of infantile or early-onset scoliosis. In most cases, the cause of scoliosis is unknown. This is called idiopathic scoliosis.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CONGENITAL (EARLY ONSET SCOLIOSIS), IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS?
Great question! In infants and toddlers, you will notice weak or lax muscles. There will be delays in large motor skill development such as sitting up, rolling from back to the front and vice versa. The ability to crawl and then walk will also be delayed. The infant’s head position will not be centered with the rest of the body.
HOW IS EARLY-ONSET SCOLIOSIS DIAGNOSED?
It is most important to be diagnosed early so that the best long-term results will occur in response to successful treatment, as well as ongoing evaluation by our team of experts.
Our team will review your child’s medical history. We may determine it is valuable to your child’s health to perform needed tests to see if there are any problems with the bones.
- We will measure the degree of curve in your child’s spine.
- X-rays are the primary test for early onset scoliosis. They are used to figure out the exact angles of the curve.
- Several other types of X-rays may be done to provide more information.
TREATMENT OF EARLY-ONSET SCOLIOSIS
Monitoring your child as he or she grows is key in determining the need for further treatment. Every child is unique, so many children with scoliosis will not notice any pain or discomfort and will live as if they do not have it.
If additional treatment is necessary, in the event curvature of the spine worsens, a brace will likely prevent any additional curvature.
Improvements in the past decade have improved treatment methods and outcomes. Some children treated early will likely improve after treatment and have no further problems. Others may continue to experience discomfort and continued spinal curvature. Some children may improve with minimally invasive spinal surgery. There will always be a few who may need treatment into adulthood.


What is literacy?
Literacy is most commonly defined as the ability to read and write.
But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Reading and writing abilities vary across different cultures and contexts, and these too are constantly shifting.
Nowadays, ‘reading’ encompasses complex visual and digital media as well as printed material. An elderly person who can read the newspaper might struggle to get information from Google.
Similarly, different cultures will have different perceptions of literacy. The writing traditions of the English language make reading comprehension an essential part of literacy, but this might not be as important in cultures or groups that rarely read printed material.
Add to this the many people who move between cultures and languages and you have a world where ‘literacy’ is almost entirely relative.
These complex factors make it difficult to create a stable definition of literacy. But if asked ‘what is literacy’, one could use UNESCO’s more complete definition:
Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.
Why is literacy important?
Students need literacy in order to engage with the written word in everyday life.
Think of how often you use your own reading skills in everyday life. It’s not just articles like this one that require literacy, but signs, labels, and the messages on your phone, too.
The same goes for writing. Nowadays, even phone calls have given way to instant messaging and text-based communication, making the ability to read all the more important.
But beyond the functional level, literacy plays a vital role in transforming students into socially engaged citizens. Being able to read and write means being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues that are shaping our world.
Ways to support literacy development
Literacy development should be a combined effort between home and school. Here are a few things you can do to support early learners’ literacy skills:
Reading is the first pillar of literacy, so encourage young learners to immerse themselves in it frequently and deeply. This should involve exposure to a broad variety of different genres, such as newspapers, novels, comics, magazines, films, reference material, and websites.
Discuss texts together
Actively discussing what has been read encourages learners to make connections and think deeply about the ideas contained in texts. Follow up the reading or viewing of a text with a discussion of what it made learners think and feel.
Use games and activities that support literacy development
- Write a half-page story that makes use of a new and unusual word or phrase.
- Describe a person or object with as many adjectives as you can think of.
- Information scavenger hunt: scour the web to find facts on a given topic within a set time frame.
- Recap the plot of a novel or film in your own words (as learners progress they can try to do this in as few words as possible).
- Have a competition to see who can find as many rhyming words as possible, starting from a given word. Learners could also write poems or songs with rhyme.
Make use of the library
Immersing children in a huge range of texts encourages them to dive in and explore. There’s no better place to do this than the school or community library.
Need help teaching literacy?
We’ve got you covered — check out 5 ways you can bring literacy into any classroom or download our teacher-favorite classroom literacy resources below:
More from the blog…
Too often, our students only realize the importance of math in the real world after they’ve left school. Five years down the line, when they’re
Prepping to teach multiplication can leave you more confused than your students. But teaching multiplication doesn’t have to be difficult. It just requires you to
STEM projects show learners that math isn’t confined to paper. It’s part of a rich network of disciplines that help us understand the physical world.


The benefits of strong music programs take longer to manifest than the tenure of an upwardly mobile administrator or elected official. It is crucial to decode how decisions for your school are made and by whom. Decision-makers are anyone with authority over resources—funding, staffing, time. They can include counselors, assistant principals and those that build the master schedule, principals, central office staff, and school board members. What is happening in your community to advance the stature of music education in the eyes of the decision-maker?
Students are the most fundamental part of any scholastic music program. For many students, time spent around music is the most important part of the school day. While there are many factors that influence the size and make-up of school music programs, recruitment and retention plans can have an immense impact on the stability and longevity of a program. Programs that show achievement in this category demonstrate a commitment to building and sustaining a high-quality school music program.
The students who participate in a school music program are members of a larger community, and engaging with the local community can be incredibly beneficial to any scholastic organization. Community engagement efforts can be powerful tools for demonstrating the value of a quality music program and connecting people through music, and any form of community engagement can build support and influence. Achievement in this category demonstrates a commitment to establishing school music programs as integral parts of their communities.
For many scholastic music programs, advocating for your program often means advertising. Marketing and promotion of your program can help build attendance at events and expand your program’s presence in the community. The visibility of a school music program can benefit its advocacy efforts and help strengthen relationships with sponsors and community partners. Achievement in this category demonstrates a commitment to increasing the visibility of high-quality music programs.
Many scholastic music programs rely on strong parent and booster networks in order to function effectively. Programs of all shapes and sizes benefit from additional support, and parents and boosters can often assist music programs by supporting administrative efforts, volunteering at events, and in a variety of other ways. Achievement in this category demonstrates a commitment to developing an engaged and supportive network of volunteers for your organization.
In many schools across the country, music programs could not function without consistent fundraising. Various fundraisers and sponsorship programs have been used by many programs in order to improve the quality of the materials and the learning environments afforded to their students. Achievement in this category demonstrates the understanding that creative and active fundraising benefits both individual students and entire programs.


Would you like too see your colours bubble?
Well, then here we are with a new kitchen science activity.
Let us see how can we make it.
Things you need
- 4 table spoons of baking soda
- A cup of vinegar (white)
- Four different food colours of you’re choice
- A muffin tin
How to do it?
- Firstly it is suggested that you carry out this activity in your backyard or in a open space. It is because this experiment may spill over. keep things ready on a table.
- Fill muffin cups half with vinegar. Now, add the colours in those cups. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, and step behind. You can see that your colours will start too fizz.
Why does it happen?
- This happens due to acidic reactions. Vinegar has acetic acid which reacts with the sodium bicarbonate of the baking soda to form carbonic acid.
- Baking soda contains sodium bicarbonate
- Vinegar contains acetic acid.
- Carbonic acid becomes unstable and immediately splits into two components; Carbon dioxide and water.
- Vinegar + baking soda = Carbonic acid = Carbon dioxide + water.
- The carbon dioxide bubbles up but as it is heavier than air, it starts to flow like water over the edge of the muffin tin.
- Enjoy the bubbly colours coming out from the muffin caps!
For more such science experiments and articles, visit Science for Kids.


Long Term Athletic Development
There have been a few studies that wanted to find out how much pre-pubescent kids were going to gain in strength by going through a strength training program. They took a control group of 10-12 year old boys and girls and they didn't do anything. They put a similar group through a strength training protocol of so many days per week and so many weeks. At the beginning and at the end they did strength tests to find out where the kids started from and the improvement at the end of the program. What they found is that the control group that didn't do any exercise and the group that did actually ended in the same place. They had the same increase in strength regardless of whether they did strength training or not. So it shows you that before puberty hits and testosterone courses through girls and boys, that they're going to naturally increase in their strength as they grow.
The real purpose for strength training of pre-pubescent youth is establishing proper foundations of discipline, movement, technique, mindset, and focus. It is a lot easier to train teenagers and young adults who have had background experience than those starting for the first time. Those who have not had that experience at a younger age are so far behind just starting out than those who have the experience. The central nervous system is neurologically more adept for those that have had that early training. Their body physiologically knows what to expect compared to those that have not trained before, and mentally they are also more prepared.
As a result, they are also more receptive to the skill training in their sport. We have prepared them by trainings foundational skills such as speed, mobility, stability and other elements, often based on their individual growth rates. Canada, Korea and some European countries have been doing Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) for the past few decades. They start with children at a young age and chart their growth rate all the way through to adulthood and establish their type of training base on their growth velocity – when their spurts are, when they're slowing down. They know when to program in speed, when to program strength or skills or multi-directional movement (eye-hand coordination). When you look at the last winter Olympics the team that had the most medals was Canada. They always get a lot of winter Olympic medals, but have never led as they did in the last one. A lot of top professional golfers are coming out of Korea now.
Hockey is huge proponent of Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD). If you watch how the Canadian hockey world is developing their athletes you'll see that they are starting at young ages and determining when to train them at specific times based on when they're growing.


Author(s): Susan Schwake
"Susan Schwake's Art Lab for Kids is a well-thought-out guide, making it easy to introduce art into children's lives. Simple, clear explanations of technique, combined with inspiration from established artists, will enable children to feel successful and encouraged to explore art as a form of expression." - Rebecca Emberley, best-selling children's book author and illustrator
"Art Lab for Kids will make a valuable contribution to the literature of children's creative art experiences for teachers and others who believe in the value of art in the education of all children. The activities are adaptable to learners of all levels and are highly creative and challenging while balancing the artistic process with the potential for a meaningful product. This book will be an important addition to our program in art teacher education." - Bill Haust, Chairman, Department of Art Education, Plymouth State University
"Art Lab for Kids encourages all ages to be fearless in seeking and nurturing their creativity. With lessons, inspiration, and advice, Susan Schwake gives you the tools to find and explore your artistic side." - Kathreen Ricketson, found and editor of http: //www.whipup.net and http: //www.action-pack.com
A refreshing source of ideas for creating fine art with children, Art Lab for Kids encourages the artist's own voice, marks, and style. This fun and creative book features 52 fine art projects set into weekly lessons, beginning with drawing, moving through painting and printmaking, and then building to paper collage and mixed media. Each lesson features and relates to the work and style of a contemporary artist. Lisa Congdon, Megan Bogonovich, and Amy Rice are just a few of the artists included. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hand-on fine art experiences. The lessons in this book are open-ended to be explored over and over-with different results each time Colorful photos illustrate how different people using the same lesson will yield different results, exemplifying the way the lesson brings out each artist's personal style. Art Lab for Kids is the perfect book for creative families, friends, and community groups and works as lesson plans for both experienced and new art teachers. Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises.
"Written by a couple who run a successful combination art gallery and art school for children, this book presents the authors most popular art projects for youngsters, covering an ambitious range of materials and techniques. This guide offers a greater-than-average number of open-ended and inventive projects that can be taught to younger children and teens alike. Each project is paired with an example of a work by a modern master or living artist. Many photographs illustrate techniques and show children deeply engaged in creativity. VERDICT: Recommended particularly for teachers and parents." - Library Journal"I love Susan's Art Lab series and reference them in the Art Studio often. They're easy to follow, full of images, and directed at open-ended exploration - exactly the kind of reference I need for my own busy home." - Meghan Burch, Art Studio Educator, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA"
Susan Schwake has been an instructor in her own art school for 18 years. She has been a working artist since 1979. She opened a small private art school for children and adults. Since that time her vision has grown into artstreamstudios, which includes a contemporary gallery, an adjunct teaching staff of three and classes, workshops and retreats most every day of the year. Artstream houses its own full media design firm and has featured a number of high-profile artists.


When, following the expulsion of the Taliban, Nimruz became the first southwestern province of Afghanistan to grant women the right to work and attend school, Women without Borders (WwB) responded in 2003 by founding a Women’s Centre in the city of Zaranj. Beyond offering a wide range of educational training and leadership development classes, the Centre also functioned as a shelter that offered a safe space and counselling to women who had experienced domestic and sexual violence. After six successful years of supervising, monitoring, and growing this project, a dedicated team comprised of community leaders and former programme participants assumed the role of sustaining the Centre.
Afghan women living under Taliban rule were banned from partaking in public life and confined to their homes. For over a decade, they had been at the mercy of men, and a high number had experienced structural, domestic, and sexual violence. Since Afghan females were not afforded the right to attend school or go to work, a lack of education and high illiteracy rates were also common. When Nimruz became the first province in southwestern Afghanistan that once again permitted girls to enrol in school and women to enter the workforce, the Afghan Ministry for Women requested that Women without Borders (WwB) develop a project directed at building up female leadership.
Following this call for action, and with the support of the Austrian Ministry for Social Affairs, WwB established the Nimruz Women’s Centre and Shelter in the provincial capital Zaranj in order to tackle issues of violence against women (past and ongoing) and the lack of access to education and jobs. The Centre offered a wide array of programmes and services to women from across Nimruz Province. Many of the courses were designed to equip them with the skills that prospective employers expected. In doubling as a shelter, the Centre also created a safe space for women to connect with each other, build trust and support networks, share their stories and concerns, and gain a heightened awareness of female agency. While the Centre supported a daily average of two hundred women, services were also provided through house visits for women who lived further afield and had no means or the permission to visit the facility.
In due time, the Centre grew to include counselling and training through computer classes, English language instruction, legal and health advice, literacy development courses, and workshops that encouraged community-based action and fostered leadership qualities. The monthly monitoring process enabled WwB to regularly update and improve the quality of teaching material in order to account for changes on the ground, higher numbers, and personal development.
The growing community enthusiasm for the Centre’s programmes soon attracted the attention of influential leaders like the governor of Nimruz Province, who endorsed the project’s approach and offered his full support for its institutionalisation. Owing to the project’s positive reception, WwB could expand its popular computer classes after receiving the necessary support to purchase new computers. Rising demand, coupled with deeper community trust in the Centre’s programmes across the province, made it possible to adopt the literacy classes in highly affected places, including Haji Wakil and the Pashtun village of Abdul Rahim. By 2008, local grassroots leaders and women who had benefited from the project decided to take on the task of independently managing and sustaining the Centre.


- Subject index
Fifty research-based literacy strategies designed for busy K-8 classroom teachersOrganized around 10 key areas for teaching and learning literacy—phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, story comprehension, comprehension of informational text, questioning for understanding, discussion for understanding, narrative writing, and writing to learn-Promoting Literacy Development offers 50 clearly written, step-by-step strategies for developing proficient readers and writers. The authors also include suggestions for differentiating instruction for English language learners and for students with special needs.
Strategy 46: All-about Books
Speaking Briefly: An Overview of the Literacy Strategy
The All-About Books strategy provides children with the opportunity to publish books about a content-area topic they are learning. As students read and discuss topics across the curriculum, they focus on aspects of a topic that they are learning and have a special interest in and write and publish their own books on that topic. To present the ideas on their topic, students are encouraged to read to acquire a breadth of knowledge and select the appropriate information for their books. Students are connecting and integrating their reading with their writing as they use the publishing process to construct knowledge. Reutzel and Cooter (2008) state that “of the many ways to help readers succeed with ...


Today’s post is a guest post from Neve Spicer, Founder and Director of WeTheParents.org. I’m excited to have her here to talk about music education!
It’s always a wonderful time to celebrate the power of music, but on June 21, amateur and professional musicians alike take to streets and parks to celebrate World Music Day. The festival, which is celebrating its 38th anniversary, originated in Paris, France as the Fête de la Musique. The event, which has evolved into a global celebration, offers the perfect moment to pause and reflect on the benefits of music education.
Though music can act as a healing and inspirational force in all lives, it has particularly powerful developmental benefits for children and teenagers. While struggles with self-esteem are a common part of childhood, time spent in music instruction is linked to an improvement in self-esteem. This link is accompanied by a boost in empathy, making kids more able to understand the viewpoints and feelings of their peers.
The benefits extend into the classroom, as well. Spatial-temporal reasoning, which relates to memory and cognitive function, has been shown to increase after engagement in instrumental education. The same can be said for verbal recollection. Studying music has also been correlated with improvements in math, science, history, and English grades, as well as an improvement in standardized test scores and a boost in measured IQ.
Finally, there are also emotional benefits to studying, playing, and listening to music. Playing tunes of their own choosing has been shown to increase feelings of life satisfaction in teens. Learning to play a musical instrument is linked to more rapid maturation of cortical thickness, which helps children to more easily manage their emotions, including anxiety. Studying music has also been linked with a reduction in aggressive behavior in children with behavioral problems.
These are but a few of the ways music helps kids to grow, and each is endorsed by science. This helpful infographic details 17 of the ways that music education is developmentally beneficial, so read on.


Texas Reads One Book
Texas Reads One Book is a statewide version of the One District, One Book and One School, One Book programs — community reading experiences sponsored by Read to Them, a national family literacy group. TASA and AASA are pleased to partner with Read to Them in this effort to create a culture of reading and foster student and family engagement in schools and communities throughout Texas.
How the Program Works
Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett kicks off Texas Reads One Book each spring when his videotaped reading of the first chapter of the selected book is shown in participating elementary schools.
During the three weeks that follow, families take up where Coach Garrett leaves off, reading a chapter from the book each night. Because every family receives a copy of the book, even reluctant readers and parents who don’t normally participate in school activities get involved.
Daily trivia questions, discussions, and other activities in the schools ensure that reading takes center stage in the home, school, and community throughout the duration of the program.
Benefits of Participating
Models reading as a positive, fun, and meaningful activity for all students and their families
Promotes vocabulary and literacy development in the home and is especially effective with at-risk children
Builds relationships and turns family members into “Literacy Leaders”
Creates lasting systemic change, especially when multiple programs are conducted annually
Is flexible, fun, easy, and cost-effective and leads to a community of readers
“I believe in Texas Reads One Book. The value of having the coach read the first chapter is impressive. One year, we also had different high school students, coaches, and teachers read a chapter and share it out with our families. Our local folks reading personalizes it for our community. Getting young boys to read is always a challenge, but the way this program is set up, it helps us reach the average fourth or fifth grade boy with good stories that are interesting.”
- How to Do Texas Reads One Book in Ten Easy Steps
- Ten Reasons to Support Texas Reads One Book
- Books – one copy for each student, free copies for staff
- Trivia Bank – dozens of Questions and Answers
- Assembly Ideas – and assembly scripts
- Suggested Activities – for classrooms and your school entire
- Read to Them Newsletters – the latest happenings and inspirational testimonials
- Guidance from expert Read to Them personnel
- Access to the Read to Them community of readers
- Ten Tips for Reading Aloud*
- Simple Steps to Create a Reading Superstar*
- Letter Home to Parents*
- Reading Schedule
- Downloadable Audio Reading Tips
- *Indicates materials that are available in Spanish
Spring 2020 Texas Reads One Book Program
The 2020 Texas Reads One Book program kicks off February 10 (earlier than in previous years) and will feature the book, “The Lemonade Crime.” Download the 2020 program flier.
Learn More or Sign Up
If you would like to learn more about Texas Reads One Book, including how to get special pricing on a large order, or you’re interesting in signing up for the 2020 program, please inquire using this form:
2201 West Broad St., Ste. 206
Richmond, VA 23220


This assessment task is the second component of your Folio for this unit. In this second Folio submission, the focus is on your capacity to apply what you have learned in regard to teaching English in the primary classroom. Across a range of components of the task, you will demonstrate your attainment of the unit’s learning outcomes, and your capacity to generate plans and resources for your future practice as a teacher of English.
Related learning objectives:
This assessment will help you achieve the following learning outcomes:
demonstrate and communicate an understanding of teaching English, including language acquisition and literacy development
analyse pedagogical approaches in teaching and learning of English in the Primary classroom
generate plans of lessons/units of work that reflect relevant and current curriculum documentation and contemporary pedagogical approaches including the use of ICT
analyse a range of assessment strategies and record keeping instruments within English in terms of their purpose, benefits, limitations and implementation constraints.
There are a number of interrelated components for this Folio submission. Central to all components is the development of a unit of work in English. You will then supplement this unit plan with additional statements, articulating specific aspects of the design of the unit. Your folio must comprise all of the following:
1. Unit plan [1,250 words equivalent]. Write a plan for a unit of work in English. The length of the unit should be four weeks, with four lessons per week. In determining a focus for your unit, you should choose one strand from the Australian Curriculum: English, and a year level (from year 3-6). Select one or more Content Descriptions from this strand and year level, as the key area(s) of focus for your unit. Use the words in bold as sub-headings to present your plan, which must include:
The year level and strand (e.g. Year 6: Literature)
A statement of intended learning outcome(s) (what do you want students to know, understand and be able to do at the end of the unit?). Each outcome should be presented as a dot point.
A brief overview of the unit as a whole – the key aims of the unit, and the focus of each week
(no more than 100 words).
An overview of each lesson within the unit (this can be presented in table format, and/or incorporate bullet points) – aim for no more than 50 words per lesson. Include in this table, or list, the key activities for each lesson. (This will make up the bulk of your plan.)
A list of resources you intend to use to support students’ learning within the unit (including
texts, tools, ICT). Be aware that your list must be specific. For instance, rather than listing ‘a picture book’ you must name the specific picture book you intend to use.
An overview of the methods of assessment (formative and summative) that will be used to
monitor and evaluate students’ learning, along with any record-keeping instruments that will be used.


Our goal is to ensure that all students learn to the best of their abilities. To meet the educational needs of each child, we offer a comprehensive, integrated curriculum focused on the knowledge and processes students need for success in school and life beyond high school.
Elementary Education (K - 5) — An overview of elementary education including curriculum summaries, visual art, music, PE, and library media programs.
Elementary Math Adoption Committee
Middle School Education (6 - 8) — An overview of middle school education including core and elective courses, visual and performing arts, intramural sports, and school course catalogs.
High School Education (9 - 12) — An overview of high school education including courses, athletics, graduation requirements, and subject entrance requirements for the California university systems.
Common Core State Standards
Laning, Tracking, & Ability Grouping
Secondary Math Placement (SB 359) — A systems view of math paths through PAUSD from grade 6 through 12 in order to understand the choices and opportunities among the course offerings.


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Category Archives: FNMI
Since the date of September 30, 2018 falls on a Sunday, our board will recognize Orange
Shirt Day on Friday September 28, 2018 in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for the
The Orange Shirt Day movement started in 2013 to highlight the pain and suffering of thousands of Indigenous children who were sent to residential school throughout the last century. The colour of the shirt is connected to the experience of Phyllis Webstad who was sent to Cariboo Residential School near Williams Lake, BC, in 1973.
Six -years old at the time, Phyllis went to her first day of school wearing a new bright orange shirt. New clothes were a rare thing for the young girl, who was being raised by her grandmother. However, upon arriving at the school, the nuns stripped her of the shirt, forcing her to wear the school’s institutional uniform.
Webstad has felt the impact of that event long after it occurred, “that feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my first day at the mission, affected the way I lived my life for many years. Even now, when I know nothing could be further than the truth, I still sometimes feel that I don’t matter.”
The shirt has since gone on to become a symbol of a national movement that recognizes the suffering of Indigenous children at residential schools across the country and to show a renewed commitment to ensure that every child matters.
We encourage YRDSB staff and students to wear an orange shirt on September 28, 2018
to recognize the resiliency and bravery of Residential School Survivors.
A copy of this letter will be sent home with students this week, but we have also posted it here for your convenience.
This fall, our school joined other schools throughout the board in the Early Years and First Nation, Métis and Inuit Collaborative Inquiry project. This work aligns with our board’s implementation of it’s FMNI policy framework. As an Early Years’ focus school, this project was a great fit with our work. This week, seven of our staff met to develop a question that our team will explore this year. This week’s session was co-led by two staff facilitators through a collaborative inquiry approach which is a professional learning that we have started to explore as a school team this year.
This year long, job-embedded learning for teachers allows teams to investigate the use of resources that support early literacy development with contemporary and authentic First Nation, Métis and Inuit cultures and worldviews. Our school does have students who have self identified with aboriginal ancestry however, we also know that everyone will benefit by increasing knowledge and understanding of students and staff regarding First Nation, Métis and Inuit histories, cultures and perspectives.
As is always the case when I join professional learning with our staff as a co-learner, the discussion was rich. I look forward to sharing our journey throughout this year in this important work.


Halloween in Ireland Quiz – Fun FREE Online Geography Kids Quizzes
Enjoy this Easy Science for Kids Halloween in Ireland Quiz – you’ll get your quiz score after completing these free Geography kids quizzes. You need to answer all the questions to be able to get your score. You can do this fun Halloween in Ireland quiz 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 Halloween in Ireland.
About the Halloween in Ireland Quiz & FREE Online Quizzes
Our easy online Geography quizzes are a free online kids quizzes resource for teachers and educators of kids in elementary school, grammar school and preschool. This fun Halloween in Ireland Geography quiz helps your kids learn fun facts about Halloween in Ireland while enjoying this FREE and fun kids quiz.
If your child is enjoying home-schooling, or is interested in learning about the world we live in, then this is a fun yet educational activity, with reading comprehension benefits for grade one to grade five kids. Kids will enjoy competing against their classmates and friends, to see who scores highest, doing this fun Geography quiz for kids on Halloween in Ireland.
As a reading comprehension training for your kids, you can set a timer to encourage kids to do the reading comprehension activity faster, or you can limit the number of times your kid can read about the Halloween in Ireland quiz topic, before they do the actual online Geography kids quiz.
Younger kids who cannot yet read or write, such as Pre-K kids, Kindergarten kids or Preschool kids, will benefit from doing this Halloween in Ireland quiz about Halloween in Ireland and our other fun kids quizzes, as a listening comprehension activity; you read out to them about the topic and then read the kids quiz questions and answers. You will select the Halloween in Ireland quiz answer they think is correct, and at the end you get the quiz score. Your child can try many times, till gets the perfect score faster, as he or she learns to listen more carefully and develop a better memory and attention span!
Enjoyed doing this free online quiz about Halloween in Ireland? Check out all our other fun General Quiz Questions for Kids and other Fun Geography facts for kids. Visit our Free Geography Kids Online all about Halloween in Ireland page. Get lengthy info here.
Cite This Page
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Halloween in Ireland Quiz – Fun FREE Online Geography Kids Quizzes - ." Easy Science for Kids, Sep 2020. Web. 29 Sep 2020. < https://easyscienceforkids.com/halloween-in-ireland-quiz-fun-free-online-geography-kids-quizzes/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2020). Halloween in Ireland Quiz – Fun FREE Online Geography Kids Quizzes -. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from https://easyscienceforkids.com/halloween-in-ireland-quiz-fun-free-online-geography-kids-quizzes/
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Sentence Strips, Cards & Cover Cards for Backpack Bear's Predecodable Books
For use in pocket charts or games or as part of our Kindergarten ELA Curriculum, these cards are indispensable in building literacy! The themed stories explore places and actions we take in our communities. Provide explicit and systematic phonemic awareness and phonics instruction with these hands-on sentence-building strips.
Sentence Strips, Cards & Cover Cards for Backpack Bear's Predecodable Books correspond to the predecodable books in Level-K Cut-Up/Take-Home Books.
- Introduce one of the books, then read its corresponding sentence strips, prompting children to predict words
- Invite students to place sentence word cards in the appropriate place on the sentence strip
- Offer a scrambled batch of words for children to arrange properly on the sentence strip
- Encourage students to create new sentences using individual word cards
- Play "Name the Missing Word" to complete the sentence
- Use Backpack Bear's Cut-Up/Take Home Books as guides to arrange sentence strips
©2014 Starfall Education
Dimensions: 6" X 13" X 1.5"


Happy National Numeracy Day!
If you haven’t seen this website raising the profile of numeracy across the country it is well worth a look.
It shares some worrying statistics such as “half of the population have the numeracy skills of a Primary school child”. There is also a numeracy quiz to take which is actually more challenging that I assumed it would be but also fairly lengthy!
There are so many amazing Maths websites out there it can sometimes be a challenge not to forget one. This web page has links to lots of them (excluding BluecoatMaths though unfortunately..) – it is well worth bookmarking.
More Revision Resources
Thank you Alex for creating these Paper 1 warm up questions (with solutions) for both tiers of entry.
My Year 11 class at NES were fantastic working with Circle Theorems last week but needed lots of support with the basic angle facts so I created this with a set of angle chase puzzles I found.
I printed out the appropriate slides nice and big and they worked in pairs working out as many angles as the could – essentially goal free angle problems to encourage students to not just focus on getting the answer but working out anything that they can. It worked really well, feel free to use.
Hope all the Y11/12/13 revision is going well!


Quality early childhood learning opportunities are critical to children’s future success. From childcare to enrichment activities, these opportunities build the foundational skills and mindset to learn and thrive in life and career. However, access to these opportunities is a pervasive problem. While 4 million children enter kindergarten each year in the United States, only 48 percent of children from low-income families and 75 percent of children from high-income families are prepared. When students start their formal schooling behind others, chances are they will stay behind, unable to reach their full potential.
A solution may lie in one of today’s most promising tech trends: the steady increase in mobile penetration. Improvements in functionality and decreases in cost mean that more people than ever are able to afford relatively sophisticated mobile phones and tablets. For education, this trend is inspiring new ways to support children’s learning and development through quality digital learning that can complement other offerings.
This is why Omidyar Network recently invested in an exciting new initiative of Khan Academy, one of the leading global digital learning platforms with the mission to provide a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy has acquired Duck Duck Moose, an early childhood app company beloved by children, parents, and teachers. Duck Duck Moose’s suite of 21 early learning apps has been downloaded more than 10 million times — and will now be free, like all Khan Academy offerings.
This is a bold expansion by Khan Academy to build on its existing strong offering in K-12 and higher-ed and expand into early learning through a mobile-first high quality preschool offering. Omidyar Network is providing Khan Academy an initial $3 million grant to launch this important initiative.
The partnership between Khan Academy and Duck Duck Moose is a natural one. Both education organizations are built around the idea of personalized learning and addressing students’ unique needs. For Duck Duck Moose, a company founded by three parents, even technical aspects such as UX design were built around the specific needs of young children to ensure that the apps were both engaging and educational. As WIRED once wrote about the company, “They have what I’d call the ‘Sesame Street Sensibility’ — a real respect and understanding of what will work for young children.”
Take its app Moose Math. Through a series of leveled, playful activities, the app helps children learn about numbers, counting, addition, subtraction, geometry, and measurement — lessons that were created in consultation with an early learning and core curriculum specialist from Stanford University. The app also recognizes young children’s desire to know and be a part of the world around them, so activities are built with real-life situations in mind: Visit The Moose Juice and you can create smoothies while practicing counting, or play the Lost & Found activity to practice sorting shapes and colors.
Another app — The Wizard School app — inspires curiosity and creative thinking. Children can explore fascinating topics — science, design, languages, animals, geography, sports, and more. They can create with stickers, videos, photos, and drawing tools, such as designing a treehouse, writing in hieroglyphics, making a talking president, or designing a gratitude card for a teacher or beloved one.
It is this combination of form, function, and fun that has led to Duck Duck Moose’s 21 Parents’ Choice Awards and 18 Editor’s Choice Awards, among other accolades and top ratings. Additionally, in a pilot research study, Duck Duck Moose’s apps have shown to have a positive impact on math, phonology, and pre-literacy outcomes and some positive influence on parental engagement.
To be sure, free apps are but one way to help solve the challenges too many young children and their families face — the lack of access to quality early childhood learning opportunities. There are many factors at play when we look at trying to better prepare students for kindergarten and beyond. However, we are confident that Khan Academy, in partnership with Duck Duck Moose, is uniquely positioned to help serve millions of children and their families with a free world-class quality early learning offering.


At Lalor Secondary College we believe that the opportunity should exist for every student to achieve their full potential. Beginning in 2012, Lalor Secondary College introduced a High Potential Learning Program for students identified with high learning potential. The Program runs from Years 7 to 10.
Every student beginning Year 7 at Lalor Secondary College is tested during Term Four of their Grade 6 year. Students are tested on their Literacy and Numeracy skills and are given an Abstract Reasoning Test designed to identify academic potential regardless of educational background. This test was specifically chosen to complement the cultural diversity of our school.
Students who are selected for the Lalor Secondary College High Potential Learning Program undertake an extended curriculum in English, Humanities, and Science, and are placed in ability-appropriate Mathematics classes. The curriculum designed for these students allows for extension on a class and individual level, and is invaluable in expanding the school curriculum to allow student extension, where appropriate, across all classes. Curricula is structured to link English, Humanities and Science to the common theme of ‘Our World’, allowing students to explore and question the world they live in, expanding upon this each year.


After School Support
The main languages taught in secondary schools now are French and Spanish. At this level young adults are often self-conscious about their pronunciation, accents and style of speech. Parents who wish to support their children with language learning could greatly benefit from additional time with conversational classes. We can schedule a flexible time to give pupils the opportunity to practice oral language skills.
Young students will have a chance to build their confidence in a stress-free environment where they can practice the language at their own pace. These oral language skills will lay a foundation for literacy development and help support your child’s academic achievement for the future. Being able to speak another language will enhance your child’s future job and career prospects in today’s global community.


Shape the Future of Music
The Bachelor of Music (B.M.) in Music Education is for those students who have chosen a career in music education. This degree meets the requirements of the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Professional Educator Licensure, which qualifies you to teach and supervise music in grades K-12. Students complete one of two tracks: General/instrumental or General/vocal.
The track that a student is placed in depends on the applied area (voice or an instrument) that the student chooses to study privately. Students whose applied area is the vocal track are required to take two diction courses along with courses that emphasize choral literature and conducting. Students whose applied area is the instrumental track are required to take instrumental method classes along with courses that emphasize instrumental literature and conducting.
No matter which track you decide on, you will be certified to teach both band and chorus, along with general music and basic theory classes.
All music majors and minors study and pass basic piano proficiency. Those with piano experience have a definite advantage, though several beginning and intermediate piano classes are available to help those with little or no piano background.
Music students perform in student recitals each semester. Applied professors help select those pieces appropriate for performance, and coach the student. Those students who choose to major in music perform a senior recital. Music Education students also present a thirty-minute recital on their applied instrument during their senior year.
Before the student teaching experience, students complete between 100 and 130 hours of field experiences, in the classroom, and under observation of skilled musicians and teachers.
Our National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is an organization to help students do additional “educational service” activities each academic year. NAfME empowers future music educators to invest in the lives of the next generation. Through professional and social activities, students bond with other music education students, faculty, and educators who are already working in their chosen careers.
Each student teaching assignment gives added experience in taking on more responsibilities for directing the learning activities of a group of students in a “real-world” classroom. The minimum time is 60 full official school days supervised by a classroom teacher, the principal of the school, and the University supervisor who will observe each candidate on site.


Our Alberta curriculum consists of learner outcomes that are specific to each grade level. Go to https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mychildslearning for more information about the curricular outcomes that your child will be learning this year. At GSS we have a focus on helping our students develop strong literacy and numeracy skills. In grades 1 through 4 all students participate in our guided reading program where they receive instruction at their own level in a small group setting. Students in grades 5 - 8 complete a variety of assignments and projects that apply their literacy skills across the subject areas. A variety of strategies and resources are used to increase numeracy skills.
Assessing and Reporting Student Progress
Reporting students’ progress will be done formally, informally and as the need arises during the school year. Teachers shall discuss assessment with students, in an age appropriate manner, at the beginning of instruction. Where feasible, students shall be involved in decisions about methods of assessment and scoring scales. Teachers will endeavor to provide students with rubrics/study guides/criteria/exemplars for summative assignments before an assessment is administered. A variety of assessment tools are used to monitor and assess student growth and achievement. These include: teacher observations, oral and written exercises and assignments, student projects, and teacher-developed and standardized tests. It is our aim to gear your child’s program to his/her ability and progress. If your child is functioning below the grade at which he/she is enrolled, this will be indicated on the progress report. We encourage parents to contact your child’s teacher whenever there are questions or concerns.
RTI (Response to Intervention) is a process to ensure that students are receiving strategic and planned intervention to meet their learning needs. All students receive Tier 1 interventions in their classroom setting with regular curriculum outcomes. Tier 1 interventions include a variety of learning experiences, extra time, group work, partner work, review and reteaching within the classroom setting to help students meet the learner outcomes. If students are experiencing difficulty they may receive Tier 2 interventions such as small group instruction, reteaching or review of a concept, extra time to complete or redo assignments, or adapted assignments to meet their learning needs. Tier 2 interventions may occur in the classroom setting or in an alternate learning space. Students who are working below grade level may require Tier 3 interventions to help them develop strong basic literacy and numeracy skills to increase their ability to meet learner outcomes at their level. Tier 3 interventions will occur in an alternate learning space.
At GSS we implement a daily Tutorial block in our schedule. During that 40 minute block teachers work with students who require Tier 2 or 3 interventions. Students who are not working with their teacher will be completing assignments, reading or using technology for literacy and numeracy skill development.
The Learning Commons is located in our library at GSS. It is an alternate learning environment for all students. Mrs. Barron, Mrs. Becker, Mrs. Coleman, and Ms. Saunders all spend some of their time in the Learning Commons to support student learning. Mrs. Becker and Mrs. Barron share the Learning Support Teacher role at GSS. They work closely with Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Cardinal (FSLW) as a learning team to review, monitor, assess and implement effective supports to meet students’ academic, social/emotional and behavioural needs. The learning team meets regularly with teachers.
Options and Field Trips
Students in grades 7 and 8 participate in Options as part of their weekly schedule. Options may include Foods, Woodworking, music, drama, art, sports, science, active living and leadership opportunities. Students will have 2 option classes / term. A fee of $20 will be charged to cover the cost of Foods and Woodworking. Please submit these fees in the term your child is registered in the class.
Student learning happens in and out of the classroom. At GSS teachers plan a variety of field trips and events which enhance student learning. Field trip forms including information, cost, and a parent consent form will be sent home if your child’s class is participating in an in-school or out of school field trip. If the field trip is part of the curriculum, fees will be charged for the cost of admission but bussing costs are covered by the school.
We have a great extra-curricular program for students of all ages. The program may include after school activities for younger students (provided by school staff and/or outside agencies), drama, clubs, and sports to suit students’ interests. Fees for school sports teams will include the cost of the participating in the league and bussing. Parents may access Jumpstart funds to help cover the cost of their child’s extra-curricular fees. Contact Mrs. Cardinal for more information.


Synopsis: Making Sight Words
Making Sight Words focuses on the key task for beginners: learning to read words. Most texts on teaching children to read lean heavily on philosophical speculation rather than on reading research, and they recycle failed practices from the past along with many empty fads of contemporary practice.
This book tells the exciting story emerging from reading research of how beginners can learn to read words effortlessly and automatically, not by memorization, but by understanding their alphabetic mappings. Teachers learn to guide beginners in their journey from phoneme awareness to accurate, reliable decoding, and from there to the effortless word recognition of fluent reading, which supports reading comprehension. Making Sight Words translates research into practical strategies to help children recognize new words thoroughly, efficiently, and permanently.
Making Sight Words features an unusual organization into expository chapters and practical chapters. The twelve expository chapters deal with broad questions about what to teach and why. The book introduces the unique discovery, promise, and problems of alphabetic writing and explains a powerful theory for understanding how children develop the ability to read words. After describing the expertise of adult readers, it follows the course of reading development to develop familiarity with the milestones of phoneme awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension strategies.
The nine practical chapters show students how to carry out the work of effective reading teachers. They show how to motivate reading and support word learning as children read aloud. Readers learn to teach phonics through an engaging, hands-on technique developed at Auburn, the letterbox lesson. They learn how to guide the development of reading fluency and how to teach spelling as wordmapping, another homegrown Auburn technique. In addition, these chapters include simple assessments to monitor children’s progress in learning to read.
Murray, B. A. (2020). Making Sight Words: Teaching Word Recognition from Phoneme Awareness to Fluency (2nd edition). Ronkonkoma NYY: Linus.
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Last modified: January 8, 2020


Warragul Regional College places a strong focus on reading as the core of a young person’s literacy development. Through structured studies of a wide range of texts including novels, song lyrics, poems, plays and graphic novels, we aim to help students to identify their own reading preferences, and use these preferences to deepen their reading skills.
This reading focus is closely connected to learning in the areas of writing, viewing, speaking and listening, in line with the Victorian Curriculum. Throughout our years 7-10 English program students will learn to consider issues in the world around them from different perspectives, forming and expressing their own opinions. They will experiment with a variety of writing styles to ensure that they are able to communicate for a wide range of audiences and purposes.
All students study English at years 7-10. At year 8 they may choose to study creative writing as an additional elective. At years 9 and 10 they may choose to study literature and/or journalism as additional electives.
In order to complete VCE, all students must complete an English subject (English or Literature) at years 11 and 12. Most VCE students study English, but those who are strong readers and writers in English should consider Literature as an alternative or an addition to English.’


Sports Science Book - Fun with science for kids
• Sports enthusiasts will find it entertaining, and science teachers could use examples to spice up their presentations.
• The format for each experiment is consistent, beginning with a heading that notes the specific sport involved and the estimated amount of time needed to complete the project.
• Worth the purchase just to learn the most effective angle to skip a stone across a water surface.
Each chapter covers a key introductory area, so by the end of the book, you'll have a clear understanding of the essential principles of sports science. Starting with key points in anatomy and physiology, it covers sports psychology, biomechanics and also introduces sports nutrition, as well as how to plan research in sport. It is structured to mirror the way sports science is taught on many first-year undergraduate and foundation degree courses. By the end, you'll have a clear understanding of the essential principles of sports science.
Recommended Age: Suitable for 8 years old or above.


There is a trend to cut arts education programs in schools. This is going to affect the ability of Americans to be innovative leaders and, thus, the health of the American economy. As leaders and champions of continual improvement, quality professionals need to be arts advocates.
School districts across the nation face reductions in funding. Many school districts have responded by cutting arts programs that include music, drama and visual arts classes. They have taken a "back to the basics" approach to improve test scores. This could be counterproductive, and it will affect our economy in the years ahead.
American jobs are going overseas to countries like China and India where labor costs are a small fraction of those in the United States. Not only are manufacturing jobs moving overseas, but professional jobs have started to head in that direction. The United States can't and won't compete on its labor costs. In the current economy, the United States competes on its unique ability to creatively innovate. Richard Florida states in his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, that "Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource. The ability to come up with new ideas and better ways of doing things is ultimately what raises productivity and thus living standards."
Scientific and technology breakthroughs are a major driver of our economy. In its simplest form, the scientific process is a structured process to prove or disprove a creative hypothesis created by "free-form" thinking scientists. Creating a hypothesis is often more difficult than applying the scientific method used to support or discredit it.
One of the most important roles that quality professionals play in an organization is the role of change agent and continual improver. There are two levels of continual improvement, refinement and overhaul. Process refinement is well understood by quality professionals: measure the process, find the problems and create fixes that show steady improvement. Process overhaul is more difficult to accomplish. It usually requires eliminating nearly all the existing manufacturing and inspection processes and dramatically remaking them to achieve improvements.
Process overhauls that yield huge, rapid gains in productivity rely on creative ability-something systematically being de-emphasized in U.S. educational systems.
Budget cuts are often the main reason arts classes are reduced or eliminated in many school systems, especially in lower-income school districts. Studies such as Edward Fiske's report, Champions of Change, have found that arts programs enhance the effectiveness of educational systems, with the largest improvements found in lower-income schools.
The need to spend more time working on the basics, to pass standardized testing requirements, has also played a role in squeezing time previously allotted to arts programs. Standardized testing allows management of what can be measured, and closely managing reading, writing and math skills is a good idea. However, schools should not abandon educational programs where results are often more difficult to quantifiably measure. Skills like creativity, leadership, self-confidence, visualization and free-form thinking are hard to measure, but are absolutely critical to the ability to innovate.
Dr. Howard Gardner proposed the concept of "multiple intelligences" in 1883. His theory states that current methods of measuring education leave out many of the critical skills related to creativity. Arts programs foster and develop many of the skills that are vital to the creative side of overhauling a process with the goal of achieving dramatic improvements. If the educational programs in these areas are diminished, so too will be the ability to innovate and the economy will be at risk.
It is not all bad news. Many school districts have come to realize how arts programs enhance learning and foster skills development in critical areas that are hard to measure. Many are re-instituting arts programs that were previously eliminated.
Because quality has at the core of its objective the continual improvement of the manufacturing process, it's important that the U.S. educational system not be penny wise and pound foolish. Quality professionals need to be strong advocates, supporters and participants in school arts programs and programs that foster creativity skills in children. These skills are critical to the United States' ability to grow its economy through innovation. Participating and supporting art education allows adults and children to see problems and challenges in a different light, and such insight could be the spark that leads to the most constructive things done in years.
What do you think? Are arts programs in our schools a waste of time and money, or are they vital to the health of our country?


Clever Kiwi Reading Workbook
This book has been designed in conjunction with Sheena Cameron who is well known throughout New Zealand for her work in literacy. The book includes the following useful tools to assist children with their reading:
- WHAT DO GOOD READERS DO?
MY READING STRATEGY TOOLBOX
USEFUL GRAPHIC ORGANISERS
Sheena Cameron is an experienced classroom teacher who has taught in New Zealand, England and the United States, teaching at primary, intermediate and tertiary levels. Currently facilitates workshops for Auckland and Otago Universities. She co-ordinates and facilitates the Beginning Teacher Programme at Kohia Education Centre. Sheena is the author of ‘The Reading Activity Handbook’ (2004), ‘The Display and Publishing Handbook’ (2006) and ‘Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies’ (2009).
By buying this NZ made product you are supporting the growth and use of farmed trees.
Features & Benefits
- 64 Pages of top quality white 80gsm paper
- Laminated cover - does not need to be covered, thus saving time and money.
- Big book size: 240mm x 340mm.
- Lined content pages (8mm)
- Made up of general work pages
- The inside cover and the back cover of this book has lots of handy information too!
- Support NZ Made and Eco Friendly
- Designed in conjunction with Sheena Cameron - author and literacy expert


According to the article “Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Who’s Doing it Best”, art education is important because it reaches us on so many levels. The article mentions such things as, “academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement and equitable opportunity.” The article goes on to mention that the arts can help in all subjects including but not limited to; “math, reading cognitive abilities (critical thinking) and verbal skills”.
So some people may see the importance of the arts, but why is it so important that we still implicate them in school? One reason is that where many people are lucky enough to have parents that are interested in the arts and can afford to put there children in an art activity outside of school, or at least expose their children to it, not all students are so lucky. Some students may be in dance, or after school art programs. Some students may have parents or grandparents that take them to art museums etc. Yet other students may not have the funds to be in programs or to go to museums. Having these in our school gives those other students the chance they need to be exposed to the arts, and to help them “bloom” as an individual.
Unfortunately the No Child Left Behind had put a dent in people’s idea that we need arts in the schools. People believe that more time should be spent in the class room learning basic math and language skills to pass the state tests, than to be spent in an art class room. “Arts are lovely but not essential”, is the way the paper states it.
The article also gives light that some schools are realizing that arts can be used IN the classroom to help teach the basics. For example music notes and sheet music help in math content areas. As well as readers theater help in understanding historical events, or it might also help with fluency in reading. The article does state that these trials in the classrooms are still in the early stages but they are showing great results as to how we are trying to prove that art helps an individual as a whole. Tom Horne (Arizona’s state superintendent of public instruction) even states with these results that, “If they’re worried about their test scores and want a way to get them higher, they need to give kids more art’s, not less. There’s lots of evidence that kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests.”
Where some schools are keeping the arts in their curriculum they are cutting down drastically on the time that is spent in these class rooms. Just because we have the program does not mean anything, you have to utilize it too! Not only is the time spent in these classrooms being cut but also the educators in the building that teach the subjects too.
Another scary thought is that now that the arts are being pulled so far from curriculum that it will take large investments and time to implement them back. Yet we do have cities making the arts implements their goal. In Dallas they are getting students out into the art community in their own neighborhoods. Even in the elementary school level they are in the arts for 45 minutes a week! They realized –“that students flourish when creativity drives learning.” Another state is Arizona with the help of a Mr. Tom Horne, who has raised 4 million dollars, and re-implemented arts into schools that have not seen programs in decades. He states that we are teaching children three things: How to prepare for jobs, how to be citizens and how to enjoy the deeper forms of beauty. “The third is as important as the other two,” states Horne.
I personally feel a strong connection to the arts and a sadness that they are not in schools


Would you love to teach music at home, but you don't know where to begin? Let me help you!
First Steps - Music at Home is a previously recorded live session. You receive the mp4, a pdf of my notes for the class, and the sheet music for the song I teach in the session.
Here is what I cover:
- A brief comparison between traditional music education and Waldorf music education. What makes a Waldorf approach unique? What did Steiner say about teaching music? Which approach is best?
- How to choose instruments.
- The three steps in teaching music literacy, no matter what approach you choose.
- Ideas for your first month of lessons.
No musical background is required. I have nearly 25 years experience teaching music to children, teens, adults, and even other music educators from various backgrounds and skill levels. Let me help you bring music to the children in your life simply, effectively, and joyfully.
1 mp4 for download; 2 pdfs - one of my notes for the class and one of the sheet music for the song I use in the class.


The role of tachnology in music education: a survey of computer usage in secondary schools in Nairobi province, Kenya
Achola, Malachi D.
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Today's use of computer pervades all areas of our lives, including activities in institutions of learning. Beyond the very facility of computation, data management, word processing etc, computers have become essential in providing instructional effectiveness, planning, and generally challenging the learning environment. The application of computer technology in the field of education is rapidly gaining ground world over. The common modern technological tools available to music educators are computers and electronic keyboards among others. Computer technology is now an integral tool in all aspects of the musician's work be it composing, concert performing, teaching, recording, browsing the internet, researching, or managing a concert series. This study sought to find out the role of computer technology usage for music education in Kenyan secondary schools. The study aimed at surveying the use of computer technology for music education, and specifically sought: to determine the status of technology usage in music education in schools; to explore and outline the instructional prospects for computer usage in music education and to establish the role of computer technology in the teaching of music. The study employed descriptive survey research method. It targeted music teachers and students as respondents. A total of 14 schools (53%), 11 teachers (55%) and 155 students (62%) from the schools in Nairobi Province offering music participated in the study. Data was collected from the respondents using questionnaires, interviews, and observation. The numerical data from questionnaires was subsequently coded and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The major findings of the study revealed that computers and ICT are present and accessible to Kenyan schools but their use is not adequate for music education. Lack of competence among some music teachers and incoherent ICT policy hindered proper application of computer technology in the field of music education. In light of these findings, recommendations for application of computer technology in the field of education for improvement and further course action by appropriate authorities were made.
- MST-Music
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
Andang'o, Elizabeth J. A. (Min - Ad : Israel Studies in Musicology Online, 2012)The article presents information on the integration of music education in early childhood education in Kenya. It is stated that considerable progress has been made in the nationalization of early childhood music education; ...
Synchronising pedagogy and musical experiences in early childhood: addressing challenges in preschool music education in Kenya Andang'o, Elizabeth J. A. (Taylor & Francis, 2009-08)This paper examines pedagogy in early childhood music education and the resultant learning experiences in music for children in Kenyan preschools. Two important principles proposed for the synchronisation of teaching and ...
Students’ Self Concept and Academic Achievement in Relation to Music Education and Music Performance: A Case of Nairobi Secondary Schools, Kenya Matiti, Redemta Mary (2013-07-19)This Study aimed at investigating the relationships between Music Education, Music Performance and secondary school students‘ Self Concept and Academic Achievement. Researchers believe that music helps in enhanced brain ...


The authorization of a new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act ushered in a new era regarding the role of the federal government in administering education in the United States. The new law, entitled the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), replaces 2001’s No Child Left Behind Act. Fundamentally, the intent of this new iteration of ESEA (first signed into law in 1965) remains the same: to provide supplemental funds and programs for low-income students and to enable State and Local Education Agencies (LEAs or school districts) to improve the access and quality of elementary and secondary education. ESSA has the same goals, but significantly curtails the federal government’s role in education and instead allows states to set their own standards and accountability systems.
ESSA includes thirteen arts-friendly provisions that help improve the opportunity for theatre and other arts education for all students. Most importantly, the law asserts that arts education should be part of the well-rounded education of all students. The “well rounded” language, replacing NCLB’s core subject area definition of academic areas, is key to understanding where and how in the law theatre education can access federal funds to ensure equal access to our discipline. In every instance where the term “well rounded” or “music and the arts” appears in the law, there is potential funding that can tapped for theatre education. We’ve put together the ESSA Guide to Theatre Education Opportunities to help EdTA members and their state leaders understand the law and how theatre can be part of its implementation in the coming years.
The guide details how theatre educators can ensure that students receive a well-rounded education—as defined by ESSA—no matter their circumstances, addressing specific sections of the law and articulating opportunities and strategies that can be applied. Among other things, attention is given to:
- Availability of Title I programs to provide supplemental funds for a well-rounded education.
- Titles I, II and IV to support professional development for theatre educators.
- Flexible Accountability Systems that require states to include multiple progress measures in assessing school performance, such as student engagement, parental engagement and school culture/climate.
- Protection from “pull out” practices in which students are withdrawn from the classroom, including theatre and arts, for remedial instruction.
The guide is divided into two parts: Opportunities for Theatre Educators explains areas of ESSA and its associated Title areas in which theatre educators can access funding or advocate on behalf of their program on a school or district level; and Opportunities for State Theatre Education Associations articulates state-wide funding options, and areas of the law that state leaders need to be aware of, such state report cards, committee opportunities, and evaluation, all of which can be a factor in how theatre education is regarded and delivered by EdTA members in individual states.
This guide was adapted from the National Association for Music Education document, ESSA Implementation and Music Education: Opportunities Abound.


By Kate Flynn, Ready for School
“What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.” Lao Tzu
Watch a group of very young children engaged in studying insects. What are they learning?
Fundamental concepts about the natural and social world, and discovering those answers by observing habitats, journaling and researching alongside their peers. They’re practicing social skills while laying the groundwork for deeper learning, critical thinking skills, and problem solving.
To sustain growth of a vibrant economic future, seeds of community and a love of learning must be planted early. Ready for School’s Start School Ready is a perfect example.
Last summer I watched my own son, Will, thrive during Start School Ready, a program designed to ease soon-to-be kindergartners and their families into the transition to school. Success lies in creating an environment that supports early learning by building relationships: Relationship to routine, to academics, and to people (teachers, fellow students and staff).
In the Bumblebee room, his teachers combined the routines of a typical school day with outdoor exploration to build math, literacy and social-emotional skills, translating experiences into increased school readiness. Insects like roly poly pill bugs made learning real in the summer and relevant into kindergarten.
A week into kindergarten, Will declared his desire to “pass” on school. Even with the positive experience of Start School Ready, he was struggling. “Will, keep trying and trust me on this, it will get better.” With mom credibility on the line, it had to get better.
A month into the school year, I shared with him a memory: “When I was in kindergarten, there were two boys in my class who didn’t know how to tie their shoelaces. I practiced with them every morning.” He was listening. “Will, what if a classmate is counting on you to show up? What if you go to school to teach and learn?” His big, thoughtful brown eyes locked in on me. A heartbeat later, Will responded, “Like Alaina at Start School Ready! When she was sad I found her a roly poly bug, and it made her happy again.”
Suddenly there it was, a breakthrough that has carried us both through a critical year of kindergarten. Will is now rolling into first grade even more confident and loving learning and school every day.
School readiness is about routine, academic, and relationship readiness. The return on investment is shared moments of discovery and the pleasure of teaching and learning something relevant and interesting.
My son lives in a community that elevates early childhood learning, and it has made all the difference. We have to co-create environments for our children to thrive. How? By ensuring opportunities for relevance in learning all year round.
And by increasing access to early learning opportunities and experiences like Start School Ready, our youngest citizens reach kindergarten better prepared for success in kindergarten, year-round and in life.
Do you know a soon-to-be kindergartener? Learn more and apply to attend this summer at startschoolready.org!
As chief development officer at Ready for School, Kate Flynn is lead storyteller of ways our community is elevating early learning and investing in the potential of all children.
This Week’s Sustainability Framework Theme
Community Knowledge: The collective knowledge and energy of the community is an incredible resource that must be channeled to where it is needed.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Living Sustainably is a collection of community voices sharing updates about local sustainability initiatives. It is presented by the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute, a joint project of Hope College, the City of Holland and Holland Board of Public Works. Go to www.hope.edu/sustainability-institute for more information.


Singapore Worksheet – Download our entertaining FREE Kids Science Word Search Games.
Our FREE worksheet for kids on Singapore offers you a word searches puzzle along with a missing-and-hidden word search game.
This fun printable science worksheet all about Singapore is FREE to print out free of charge and you are free to use the fun science for kids worksheet as many times as you desire for your classroom kids or for your kids at home!
Our word search worksheet on Singapore is an easy way to keep kids interested and actively engaged while taking part in a science enrichment class, homeschooling, distant learning lessons, regular school science classes or while your kid is participating in early learning activities.
The FREE Singapore worksheet is suitable for kids in Junior school who are in Grades 1 to 5. However, younger kids in Kindergarten or even Pre-K kids will also easily learn from this Singapore word search worksheet.
Your child can have fun learning fun facts all about Singapore through this kids science worksheet while playing the word search puzzle.
Your children will enjoy to learn fun facts all about Singapore while playing the word games for kids.
Kids in Grade school from first Grade to Fifth Grade can use our Singapore worksheet as a reading comprehension activity.
Kids will learn well and enhance their reading skills since the kids will end up needing to read more than once the Singapore fun facts to uncover all the missing words. This free Singapore worksheet isn’t merely a good way to increase kids science knowledge, but also increases the brain’s memory and also enhances their reading skills.
Younger kids in Pre-K and Kindergarten who cannot yet read can benefit from the free fun facts Singapore worksheet as a fun listening comprehension tool.
Parents and Educators can read the fun facts about Singapore. Next, they help the children to remember what they reckon are the missing words. Additionally, the kid learns to recognize words and find them in the Singapore free science worksheet for kids.
Parents doing early learning activities with their kids can use our Singapore worksheet to awaken their kids in interest in science.
Teachers and private tutors are free to use our FREE Singapore worksheet to add to the regular science classes at school and interest children in learning all about Singapore. Most beneficial is to utilize our free science worksheet for children on Singapore combined with the free interactive online quiz with score on Singapore.
Our free easy science website offers a wide selection of additional FREE printable fun Geography worksheets for kids and word searches for kids. Download and use our fun science word puzzles to make learning science fun for your children!
What do you know about Singapore? What is life like in Singapore? Where is Singapore located? What kind of climate does Singapore have? Who bought the island of Singapore in 1819? What are the people like in Singapore?
Learn more easy science facts about Singapore by downloading our free fun facts about the Singapore worksheet for children!
FREE All About Singapore Worksheet for Kids


This week our plant science lessons are taking a bit of a detour and going on a long trip. In fact, is honor of World Space Week we're investigating growing plants in space.
You may have heard some of the buzz about the book or new movie The Martian starring Matt Damon (see info and trailer). The premise is that an astronaut is accidentally left on Mars and has to figure out how to fend for himself, which involves growing plants for food under extreme conditions. Although it is not appropriate for children, the movie's popularity makes it a perfect time to get kids excited not only about science in general, but also plant science (botany) in particular.
There are many reasons to grow plants in space. The most prominent, of course, is to provide food for long journeys or for colonies on other planets like Mars. Growing plants also remove carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, which can be important for long term survival. Plants may also produce and help regulate humidity in confined areas, can be used to purify water, and/or serve to detect certain environmental toxins.
Microgravity- When in space, people and objects seem to be weightless. The term microgravity reminds us that even in the conditions of space, gravity is still acting.
Tropism - Plants can exhibit directional growth in response to certain stimuli. Examples of tropisms include hydrotropism (growth in response to moisture levels), phototropism (growth in response to light), thigomotropism (growth in response to touch or contact), and gravitropism (growth in response to gravity). NASA has a short video about tropisms.
Resources and Lessons:
There are a number of plant science in space resources and lessons available from sources online. Let's take a look at a few of them.
1. The University of Florida Space Plants Lab is using our old friend Arabidopsis to study plant growth under microgravity conditions. This video from Science Friday explains some of their goals and findings.
Keep up with their research at the Exploring Space Blog.
2. Wisconsin Fast Plants and Space
Wisconsin Fast Plants® are cultivars of Brassica rapa that have been selected to complete their live cycles extremely rapidly (in about one month). Their fast growth makes them ideal for experiments in space.
Wisconsin Fast Plants® are available online from sources such as Amazon (contains affiliate links)
In the fall of 2011, a group of agencies* banded together for the Plants in Space experiments on the International Space Station. Resources for the project are archived at BioEd Online, and include a 21-page teacher's guide to download for free. These experiments used Fast Plants®, but could be performed using other fast-growing alternatives (for example, Rapid Radishes from Ward Scientific).
Although the experiments on the International Space Station have been completed, there are still many ways to use the project as a jumping off point for further studies. Watch the introductory video (also available on the website) for many ideas for designing plant science experiments.
*The agencies included Center for Educational Outreach, Baylor College of Medicine, in collaboration with BioServe Space Technologies of the University of Colorado, and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Funding was also provided by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
4. Tumbling Plants: Gravitropism Experments
a. In the above video from Plants in Space, the narrator suggests investigating the effect of gravity on plant growth by designing a device that rotates the plants every thirty seconds, thus removing the directional aspect. Although it is not completely clear, apparently Dr. Vogt uses a Lego Mindstorms Nxt to program the rotation of the plant.
5. NASA's Plants in Space lesson plans
NASA also has some Plants in Space lesson plans. These contain a range of related activities, not just plant science.
Investigating how plants grow in outer space expands our horizons, but it will also help us better understand how plants grow here on Earth. Hopefully the links will inspire you to try some plant science experiments with your children/students.
Do you have any questions or more plants in space activities to suggest? Feel free to leave us a comment.
To see our complete plant science lessons, either visit the plant science category (newest posts to oldest posts) or the plant science section of our experiment archive page (links to posts in order).
For more activities, try our Gardening/Plant Science for Kids Pinterest board.