It is the goal of the GHR Intermediate School Art Program to provide students with an exceptional art education. I seek to nurture the artistry and creativity in all our students by providing experiences that are fun rewarding and challenging. The commitment is also to create within students a sense of pride and worth that allows them to be the best persons possible as well as the best young artists.
The GHR art curriculum is designed to offer each student the opportunity to study art thematically, incorporating the Connecticut and National Standards for Visual Art Education. Units of study focus on the application of the elements of art and principles of design to create various drawing, painting, ceramic, printmaking and sculpture projects. Many of the units also integrate language arts, science, math, or social studies. This allows students to develop an ability to transfer and apply knowledge from one discipline to another, resulting in authentic cross curricular learning.
The George Hersey Robertson Intermediate School Music Department is committed to maintaining a music program that provides students the opportunity to develop their musical talents according to their individual abilities. Students create, perform, and respond with understanding, regarding the music concepts of melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and tone color. In addition, students connect their understanding to social, cultural, and historical contexts when creating, performing, and responding to music. Students will be guided toward a lifelong love and appreciation for music by exploring various genres, such as program music, jazz, country, folk, opera, and ballet, as well as Classical, Romantic and Modern period styles.
Grade 3: Students sing and respond to a varied repertoire of songs and music, develop their music literacy skills, and demonstrate various music concepts. They are introduced to specific music notation, learning various symbols that are most commonly used in songs from music classes. Students learn to identify notes, rests, the treble clef, the music staff, line and space note names, and to interpret different rhythmic and tonal patterns using the various note symbols. There are a wide variety of songs, including some in various languages. They also learn to identify the four families and names of the instruments. At the conclusion of the school year, Grade 3 students perform a 30-minute End-of-Year Concert.
Grade 4: Students sing and respond to a varied repertoire of songs and music and some songs in two parts as an introduction to harmony. They develop their music literacy skills by reviewing the symbols and notation learned in Grade 3 to continue their learning of more challenging music notation. Students also demonstrate various music concepts including playing the recorder as a pre-band instrument. The study of recorder also reinforces all they learn about music notation and their interpretation of different rhythmic and tonal patterns using the various note symbols. They also learn about various meters and create their own songs and share their creations with their class. At the conclusion of the school year, Grade 4 students sing and play their recorders in a 30-minute End-of-Year Concert.
Grade 5: Students sing and respond to a varied repertoire of songs and music including songs in two or three parts to further develop their understanding of harmony. They further develop their music literacy skills by reviewing the symbols and notation learned in Grades 3 and 4 to continue their learning of more challenging music notation. Students also demonstrate various music concepts by studying various genres of music. All Grade 5 students attend a field trip to a music performance at various performing arts locations every year. Students study before the performance to make connections to their own performing, creating, and responding during music class. Toward the end of the school year students develop their understanding of playing the piano via a keyboard lab setup in the music room. Students participating in Grade 5 Chorus and Band perform in a Winter Informance Concert and at the conclusion of the school year Grade 5 Chorus and Band students perform a 45-minute Spring Concert.
The goal of the Physical Education program is for students to participate in physical activities that increase their fitness, knowledge of movement concepts and skill levels. Students will participate in a variety of activities that focus on the affective, psychomotor, and cognitive development of the child through individual and team sports, as well as lifetime activities., In addition, students will develop an understanding of wellness concepts to enhance levels of physical fitness and to encourage living a physically active, healthy lifestyle. Students fitness levels will be developed through activities based on flexibility, and cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance. Furthermore, students will develop and exhibit teamwork, cooperation, problem solving, and decision making through participation in a variety of games and activities.
Students will be expected to participate in all physical education activities while demonstrating effort and positive sportsmanship. Students will exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in a physical activity environment.
Students will be expected to come prepared for class with the appropriate footwear (sneakers). In the winter, students should always be prepared for the snowshoeing unit by having, snow boots or extra sneakers and socks, snow pants, and a winter jacket.


Culture: Roman Empire and Carr
Cultureer Greek| Roman| The Greeks possessed various types of governments. They had many governments because there were many citiesstates in ancient Greece. Individuals who lived in each city had their own governments. Each citystate had their own opinion on what a good government should consist of (Carr). | On the other hand, the people were in charge of the Roman government were called consuls. The consuls were always men. However, Greece and Romans were hard women. They did not give women the chance to reach their full potential.
The consuls controlled the army, war, taxes, and laws (Carr). | Greek law and courts consisted of someone being sentenced to death. If one knew someone who had done wrong he or she would take that person to the rich man and convince him to command that person to be beaten or killed (Carr). | In order to change laws within the Roman system, the two consuls would have to agree. If one did not agree then it would not be approved. Different from the Greek courts, the Romans had two people in charge instead of one (Carr). | | Architecture are alike, made from same materialOr elements. brick) Art and architecture were similar between the Greek and Romans. | The Greek philosophers basically introduced the study of philosophy to the Romans. The major philosophers in the Greece culture are Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Around 50BC the Romans began to follow the Greek studies of philosophy (Carr). | The Romans got into philosophy just as Greek philosophers were studying. Roman philosophers basically translated the ideas of the Greece philosophers. However, the Romans philosophy was written in Latin (Carr). The Greeks participated in many rituals, rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices, similar to the Roman religion. They practiced these activities in order to impress the Gods. Temples were built so that they can perform such activities in specific places (Carr). | Many Romans were looking for a way to get closer to the Gods. Some people believed in prayer. Others believed in using spells and secret knowledge to get closer to God, similar to the Greek religion (Carr). | References Dr. Karen Carr. History and Science for Kids. Kidepede. 12. Oct. 2012. http://www. historyforkids. org/learn/greeks/government/


Along with literacy, numeracy needs to be at the forefront of every pupils’ learning. The message sent around Kinver High School is a positive one, about being able to apply numeracy skills not only in their mathematics lessons but also across other subjects. We aim for other subject areas to be consistent and in line with methods derived within their mathematics lessons.
Our basic Numeracy aims are:
- Understand mental strategies and use them to successfully breakdown questions.
- Write legibly putting mental strategies onto paper.
- Have a growing mathematics vocabulary to aid with more wordy questions
- Ensuring all scales/graphs/charts are fully checked before starting the questions.
- Applying the skills of mental/written/graph work to other subjects.
- Develop in confidence and self-expression, do not be fearful of making mistakes.
In each mathematics lesson students will be expected to apply their numeracy to skills to their ‘Do Now’ task, which will also aim to re-inforce the knowledge they require for progression through their mathematics curriculum. We also believe that the input parents/carers can play in supporting this is vital, getting children to add up shopping bills, calculate times of arrival on journeys, average speeds, looking at charts and tables in articles/news items etc are all vital in developing skills and confidence in numeracy.
At Kinver High we have a calculations policy which is shared with the other Invictus Schools. This has been developed with primary schools to ensure we act on and follow the methods students have been taught previously, developing them where necessary.


Adobe instruments empower students to suppose creatively and communicate expressively, to allow them to turn their classroom ideas into college and profession alternatives. Michigan colleges say that need to break down the walls between common education and Special Education making a system in which college students will get extra assist once they need it, and that assist would not have to be in a separate special education classroom.
Establishing lecturers and students for failure is never a good idea. The intention of this scheme is to allow all college students with disabilities to pursue 4 years of secondary education in an inclusive and enabling surroundings, after completing eight years of elementary education.
From the second I entered school, I was desperate to explore the history of African and African-American historical past from a view point that did not make them seem sub-human and school affords college students that chance. A wide variety of versatile licensing options for school rooms, labs, departments and schools.
If students have to cope with textbooks that are outdated, lack of toiletries, and computer systems from the late Eighties, their opportunity to advance academically is dismal and their chances of dropping out of college doubtless. And applications to help academics study from one another, professional studying sources to construct skills and confidence with iPad and Mac, and initiatives to recognize pioneers in education.
American youngsters are suffering as a result of inadequacies of the individuals involved with the educational system. Even if there was only one laptop in every city for these countries for college youngsters, it might make a difference. Model colleges are set up in each state to develop good replicable practices in inclusive education.
Some individuals feel the federal government is doing so due to strain from “higher powers” to extend the educational well-being of students with out receiving any opposition to the modifications. Highschool students are invited to attend the Abilities and Thrills Careers Showcase, coming to Queensland for the primary time.
The school is dedicated to the education of children with reading difficulties. Once we put extreme conduct problems in regular education classes it is simply outright unfair to all the different kids in there. Coding is essential to help college students thrive in a future driven by expertise.


Preschool in Covington
Discover the Possibilities for Your Child in Our Preschool Curriculum
Developed specifically for young learners, the curriculum used for our preschool program at Discovery Point Covington concentrates on promoting a hands-on approach to learning that allows children to follow their natural curiosity. We give preschoolers the support that they need to become independent thinkers by providing them with a nurturing environment full of adventure as well as intentional activities that allow them to build new skills. The result is that children are given the opportunity to make their own choices and take the initiative in the learning process so that they can follow their interests with an adventurous attitude.
The following are just a few of the exciting opportunities that parents can expect their children to experience as part of our preschool curriculum at Discovery Point Covington:
- Language development using engaging tools like music, active conversation, and dramatic puppet play.
- Cognitive development and a focus on critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as foundational ideas in subjects like science, math, and nutrition.
- Physical development, from fine motor skill activities to outdoor play and movement to music.
- Emotional development thanks to a nurturing environment that encourages children to build confidence and gain self-esteem.
- Social development and peer-to-peer play with plenty of opportunities for children to bond with each other as they hone in on their social skills.
- Literacy development through an approach to children’s literature and storytelling that enables young learners to experience the magic of the written word.
About Our Covington Preschool Rooms
Young learners are provided with access to an age-appropriate play area that is only available for preschoolers and pre-K students. In addition to safe playgrounds, we also offer specialized “interest areas” where children can explore new interests and ideas in a hands-on manner. These classrooms present an effective environment for learning by sparking inspiration in children as they discover important concepts in art, math, technology, and science.
Preschool Student Portfolios
From day to day, our teachers observe students’ progress and document their growth in individualized student portfolios. We use this data to assess how students are developing and introduce adapted learning techniques as needed. This appreciation of each child’s unique differences is designed to foster confidence in young learners, providing them with the support that they need as they learn and grow.


English as a Second Language
Avon Maitland’s English as a Second Language (ESL) and English Literacy Development (ELD) Programs support young English Language Learners (ELL) from both Canada and countries around the world. The goal of the program is to ensure that all ELL’s are able to become academically fluent in English and therefore capable of succeeding in school and becoming positive contributors to Canadian society.
English as a Second Language and English Literacy Development
The English as a Second Language and English Literacy Development program uses a Supported Immersion model for educating ELLs; this means that all students are immediately immersed in regular, age appropriate classrooms where their program is adapted to suit their individual linguistic and learning needs until they reach fluency in English. Classroom teachers working with ELLs are assisted by special ESL Educational Assistants who provide special tutoring for the least fluent students that helps them to accelerate their language learning.


Reading Plus is a web-based program that builds upon the foundational skills of phonics and phonemic awareness to develop silent reading fluency, comprehension (deeper understanding), and re-engaging reluctant readers in Reading for Pleasure.
Aimed at pupils in KS2 and above, Reading Plus has a readability range from Y2 to beyond GCSE. Using a unique Guided Window system,Reading Plus accelerates silent reading speed and increases pupil’s stamina.
Reading Plus consists of 3 areas: Reading, Vocabulary and Visual Skills. You can scroll down to read about each of these areas in finer detail.
This is the core element of Reading Plus for developing fluency and comprehension.
Pupils choose from a wide variety of age-appropriate texts (fiction, non-fiction and informational) that are matched to the individual’s reading level. Having read a text selection, pupils practice applying their knowledge and understanding by answering 10 comprehension questions. These questions target the pupil’s knowledge and skill of inference, referral and use of language. This forms a basis for critical thinking.
Reading Plus automatically tracks the time it takes to read text selections and establishes a pupil’s silent reading speed. Silent reading speed, or reading rate, together with vocabulary understanding will determine a pupil’s ability to comprehend text.
Reading Plus uses a patented Guided Window to help model silent reading fluency best practice. Matched to individual pupils’ reading speed, the Guided Window gradually gets faster once pupils have demonstrated understanding to develop proficient silent reading fluency.
Advances made in reading speed must coincide with an individual’s knowledge of vocabulary and how words fit in to a variety of sentence structures.
Working through Reading Plus, pupils will encounter up to 2,500 academic vocabulary words that are grouped into individual word lists, to be used for reading in context. This helps pupils to not only understand the meaning of the word, but how to adapt their vocabulary to different sentence structures, tenses, and situations.
Pupils’ who have been identified as having a low reading rate or poor reading stamina may need to practice visual perception and visual memory skills.
The Visual Skills element of Reading Plus consists of two separate activities that develop a more efficient reading technique through increasing reading speed and word recall.
The first activity is called ‘Scan’. Scan has been designed to improve left to right scanning which is an essential skill for efficient reading. Pupils scan a page of ‘text’, that consists of open and closed circles, rather than words, using a Guided Window. The Guided Window only allows the pupils to see a small section of text as it moves across the page to encourage efficient eye-tracking movement. Each time the pupil sees an open circle they hit the space bar on the keyboard or tap the touch screen. At the end of the exercise, they are given a score comparing correct responses against number of hits on the space bar. Once pupils develop proficiency, the speed of the Guided Window is then increased which helps develop stamina.
The second activity is called ‘Flash’. Flash supports the development of visual memory by identifying clusters of letters as components of other words. Within the Flash activity, groups containing three letters flash on the screen for a second before disappearing. Pupils then type the letters that they have just seen. These letters are not random but are letter groups that appear frequently in other words. This helps with word recall.


Purpose of Study
Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon. The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
Key Stage 1
Pupils should be taught to:
• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
Key Stage 2
Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
• use and understand staff and other musical notations.
• develop an understanding of the history of music.
Music at Deanesfield
Our music curriculum focuses on the three main areas identified from the national curriculum: Performing, Listening, Composing. We also teach a wider knowledge and understanding of the history of music throughout these 3 main areas.
The learning in each half term will focus on a different key composer from history. We will study their unique styles, the period of history they lived in, find out what the purposes and meanings were behind their music and also learn what they were like as people.
In Reception, the children will be working on finding their voice through singing and listening to each other.
In KS1, the children will learn about the many different elements that make up the music we listen to; they will listen to and perform a wide range of music and will learn how to listen with attention and identify different aspects of the music.
In KS2, the children will work on reading musical notation, for reading and performing well-known pieces of music and also for writing their own original compositions.
Throughout the academic year, we hold regular opportunities for children to demonstrate their musical talents by performing something they have been working on. These performances should be something the children have been working on for (at least) the past few weeks. If they have learnt any pieces on their instrument for a grade exam, or if there is a song they know every single word to, this would be a good example of something they might be ready to perform. There is always an audition process for children who wish to take part in these events to ensure that they are ready to perform in front of an audience (which is a very daunting experience). If children are ready to perform, I make every effort to include them in the event; the only restriction is the number of children performing. We are very privileged to have many talented young musicians here at Deanesfield but this does unfortunately mean that not every one of them can perform at every event.
Our main performance opportunities throughout the year are:


Middle School Programs
The Middle School curriculum at St. Joseph Academy continues to support our students as they build on the strong academic foundation established in Elementary School while preparing them for sustained success in high school and beyond. Our Middle School faculty recognizes the learning opportunities unique to late childhood and early adolescent intellectual and social development. Our courses are structured to strengthen organizational and independent study skills and designed to engage critical-thinking skills as students grapple with the ideas and understandings of the world that surrounds them.
The goal of the middle school years is for students to develop study and learning skills that will prepare them for high school, college, and beyond. The Middle School curriculum is designed to: provide courses appropriate to the developmental level of the students, meet individual needs of students by providing enriched or support programs where appropriate, help students develop strong study skills, develop students’ communication skills in all subject areas, give students increasing opportunities for independent learning and provide opportunities for creative expression.
CORE PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Our Literacy curriculum incorporates the foundational skills of reading, helping students not only improve upon their reading abilities, but also improve their ability to comprehend and understand the material in front of them. Children are naturally curious, therefore providing them with opportunities to practice literacy skills as they explore their world, encourages engagement, improves understanding, and enhances their ability to retain information.
Everyday Mathematics is a research-based and field-tested curriculum that focuses on developing children’s understandings and skills in ways that produce lifelong mathematical power. Each grade of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum is carefully designed to build and expand a student’s mathematical proficiency and understanding. Our goal: to build powerful mathematical thinkers.
In Language Arts, sixth graders study a variety of fiction and informational texts. These encompass a varied complexity band, with scaffolding as needed. The curriculum integrates reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills to develop critical thinking and effective communication. Students also explore important historical events through reading and writing along with grammar and vocabulary development.
A few of the math curriculum components students will learn throughout sixth grade are:
- Use expanded notation, number-and-word notation, exponential notation, and scientific notation to represent whole numbers and decimals
- Use mental arithmetic, paper-and-pencil algorithms and models, and calculators to solve problems involving the multiplication and division of fractions and mixed numbers
- Choose and use appropriate formulas to calculate the circumference of circles and to solve area, perimeter, and volume problems
Seventh grade literacy engages students in high level applications of skills in critical reading, expository writing, oral communication, and linguistic and vocabulary development. Students are offered differentiation of the reading and writing activities in terms of acceleration, depth, complexity, challenge, and creativity. Students will read in multiple genres and be expected to demonstrate a strong command of language at a highly motivated and independent level.
Eighth grade language arts studies a variety of fiction and informational texts. These encompass a varied complexity band, with scaffolding as needed. The curriculum integrates reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills to develop critical thinking and effective communication. Students also explore important historical events through reading and writing along with grammar and vocabulary development.
ADDITIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM INFORMATION
The Elementary Physical Education class focus is for all students to have the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully participate in movement activities and healthy practices now and in the future. It is also important that students develop appropriate sportsmanship and social skills necessary to successfully participate in small and large groups. When students learn to enjoy a variety of movement and healthy practices now they are more likely to continue these practices for their lifetime.
Art is a universal language, a powerful tool for communicating ideas, expressing feelings, and recording history. Our young students learn by: looking at art, thinking about art, responding to art, and creating art. Students work collaboratively, sharing ideas and experiences. They learn to respect the different ways others think, work, and express themselves.
Our fully stocked library gives our students the ability to read and explore during their time in the library and at home. Students are able to check out books to read when they are outside of school.
Technology is everywhere, and we believe it is critical that your child become comfortable and experienced using a variety of technology tools. Students will learn how to navigate and save on the computer desktop. They will also be developing keyboarding skills and utilizing numerous software and Internet based applications in word processing, research, curriculum enhancement and multimedia presentations.
St. Joseph Academy provides music classes for all age levels. Music activities include singing and performing, moving to music, playing classroom instruments, listening and analyzing music, learning music notation, experiencing music from other cultures, singing folk melodies, and creating/composing. All students, with their classes, perform in both a Winter and Spring concert.


One particular research-based strategy, guided reading, is an important "best practice" associated with today's balanced literacy instruction. It has become one of the most important contemporary reading instructional practices in the U.S. (Fawson & Reutzel, 2000) and accepted as a particularly appropriate strategy for children who are moving toward fluency in the early years of literacy development (Mooney, 1990)
The Essential Elements
The goal of guided reading is to develop a self-extending system of reading that enables the reader to discover more about the process of reading while reading. As children develop these understandings they self-monitor, search for cues, discover new things about the text, check one source of information against another, confirm their reading, self-correct, and solve new words using multiple sources of information. Throughout this process, the central elements of accuracy, speed, and fluency increase and over time these systems become increasingly automatic. Therefore, the role of the teacher is essential to guided reading. Teachers must know how to prompt and guide students as they work to build this self-extending system.
Shared Reading is the reading teachers do along with students as they problem solve, think, and talk their way through a piece of text they are reading together. Shared reading provides social supports from the group and provides opportunities for children to participate and behave like a reader.
The role of the teacher in Shared Reading is to
When you model do the students always key in on your instructional focus? How do we ensure that they do? Tell them. Be explicit. Tell them again.
Kids enjoy classes like shop, gym, and band because there is a premium placed on doing the activity rather than talking about it. Writing workshop embraces that same premise. Lucy Caulkins, director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, has pointed out that the writing workshop is a "generative" time of the day, with kids actively involved in creating their own texts. This is important. Most kids experience school as a series of tasks, dittos, assignments, tests-things that are administered to them. Writing workshop turns the table and puts kids in charge. This requires us to engage in responsive teaching rather than relying on preset lesson plans.
If you observe a workshop you will watch a roomful of people struck by how much writing kids do. Teachers often begin by bringing students together for a short lesson, and often end the workshop with some kind of share time. But the core of a workshop-the heart-is kids putting words on paper. We need to create an environment where students of varying abilities can coexist side by side and learn from one another. Writing workshop does require a significant teaching shift. The writing workshop does not place the teacher on center stage. Rather, the teacher sets up the structure, allows students plenty of choice, and gets them writing. There are moments when the teacher intervenes to teach something, but the emphasis is more on what they are writing than on what you're teaching.
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Feb 07, 2020 2020-02-07
By Brandy Wales
Are you curious how you might integrate computer science in your upper elementary classroom, or are you looking for a unique way to have your students share their favorite books? With technology playing an increasingly important role in every profession, a foundational understanding of computer science is becoming an essential component of student learning. To authentically integrate computer science and literacy, I’m going to teach you how to support your students in using block-based coding to program book trailers.
Introduction to Block-Based Coding
Block-based coding is a type of programming that consists of dragging and dropping graphical blocks together to get a computer to behave how you want it to. Using a block-based language is as powerful for coding as using a text-based language, but it is easier for beginning coders to learn and understand. While computer scientists formerly studied only text-based languages, the introduction of block coding has grown in popularity for first-time programmers as it teaches users to focus on ideas and concepts rather than troubleshoot syntactic errors, like missing semicolons. This type of programming lends itself to a more positive experience for beginning coders by setting them up with greater opportunities for success and excitement rather than frustration.
One way to introduce block-based coding to your students is through free programs, such as CS First created by Google for Education. CS First is a free computer science curriculum comprised of step-by-step instructional video tutorials that students work through at their own pace. Through these tutorials, students learn about and apply new understandings of the block-based coding language Scratch. Scratch is a free programming language and online community created by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.
You might be wondering how coding will support literacy in your classroom. The CS First course titled “Storytelling” consists of eight 45–90 minute lessons that introduce students to the main elements of a story, while also providing coding challenges. For example, the first lesson introduces the dynamic use of dialogue in text, and students create a short story in which two characters hold a conversation. Students are taught about the computer science concept of sequencing, as they carefully adjust their characters’ dialogue using the “say” and “wait” coding blocks to alternate which character is speaking. Check out this short sample project.
The next seven lessons grow in complexity, equipping students with the skills needed to program their very own book trailers.
Integrating Writing Workshop
While students are learning the basics of coding, mini lessons can be designed to get students thinking about the writing elements that are unique to book trailers. To spark interest, consider launching this unit by providing your students with time to analyze high-quality book and movie trailers. Doing this as a class at first and then in partnerships will provide great insights and discussions. After students have analyzed a variety of trailers and determined the type of book trailer they wish to create, guide them through the process of storyboarding, either individually or in partnerships. Encourage students to share their storyboards and ideas with one another, making changes to improve their work. Using their storyboards and a computer program like Scratch, students will bring their book trailers to life with block-based coding. Check out this student example.
Brandy Wales is a Technology Integration Specialist for Chelsea School District in Michigan. She loves staying up-to-date on the latest technologies and sharing her momentum with others through her website http://educationaltechvideos.com/. Brandy has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Indiana University and a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. She has been working in education approaching 14 years. Follow her on Twitter @MrsWalesTales and @EdTechVideos, or learn more about her background as an educator by checking out her digital portfolio.


Click on an item in the set below to see more info.
1. Develop His Language Skills
Delayed language development is common for students with mild intellectual disabilities. These students often have difficulty with reading and speaking skills. Provide rich vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension strategies.
2. Make Math Manageable
Many students can learn basic math like arithmetic, time, and measurement. However, they may have difficulty learning advanced mathematical reasoning and problem solving. These students learn math best when they are taught with tangible examples and multiple-step problem solving strategies.
3. Increase His Attention Span
Youth with mild intellectual difficulties may have trouble attending to a task, knowing which parts of the task to focus on, and keeping attention for a given amount of time. Prompt students to important parts of the task. Remove distractions. Increase the difficulty of the task over time.
4. Make Up Memory Mechanisms
These children often have difficulty remembering information they recently encounter. Remembering new information can be even more difficult if they have trouble attending to it in the first place. Teach short-term memory strategies like repeating the information to oneself, remembering information in clusters, and mnemonic devices.
5. Show Him How to Adjust to New Scenarios
Children may have difficulty applying skills they learn in one area to a new situation. A student may learn a new word in English class but have trouble understanding the same word in a science textbook. Teach material in meaningful contexts. Remind students to apply information they learn in one situation to another.
6. Open Up Opportunities to Develop Social Skills
Some children with mild intellectual disabilities may have great social skills, and other kids may need social skills training. Students may have trouble understanding the content of interactions and expectations for friendships.


As we go through life, there are many skills we may wish to acquire. How to cook, play guitar, ride a bike or even learn a complex language. Since the beginning of time, our ancestors have been learning, from the moment they entered the world to their last years on earth. Learning is a vital part of our development as humans.
But sometimes life can get in the way of us acquiring the skills that we may need the most. A recent analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) claims that five million adults in England lack basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, crucial to everyday life and being able to find secure work.
This means that they may struggle to carry out simple tasks, ranging from writing short messages and being able to understand price labels on food or pay household bills, to using a cashpoint to withdraw money.
As we grow older, finding the time to gain skills such as literacy and numeracy becomes harder. Many adults believe that in order to learn, they must attend night classes or courses that take chunks of time out of their schedule, but with e-learning, this is not the case.
Technology and online learning has the power to improve the skillset of adults across the UK. It can provide people with skills they did not previously have in a way that is both time and cost effective. Unlike one-time classroom sessions and courses, e-learning is available for anyone whenever they wish, boosting productivity.
The JRF report also found that a further 12.6 million adults in England lack basic digital skills, which is perhaps a reason as to why many have not sought e-learning.
However, the research also shows that the internet is considered crucial by the public in an era where access to public services and good deals for essentials are increasingly found online.
It highlighted the troubling picture of those not internet savvy being let down by the education system or left behind in the modern economy.
E-learning is the answer for many. To support this, JRF is calling for a drive to ensure all adults meet basic skills needs by 2030. Such a scheme would see more people utilising online training, undertaking the modules they need to develop literacy, numeracy, digital and/or English language skills, alongside health and financial capabilities.
The JRF believes the training should be grounded in the real world, related to everyday budgeting skills and financial planning.
Stephen Evans, deputy chief executive at Learning & Work Institute, commented on the study: "Everyone needs a set of basics for life and work in modern Britain. It’s shocking that so many people lack these core capabilities. This holds back people’s life chances, business's future success, and national prosperity.
“Our research for JRF should act as a clear call for a national mission to help everyone get these core skills. At Learning & Work Institute we’ve been trialling a new way to do this. The benefits of working with people and communities to tailor support and relate it to everyday life are clear: we’ve seen increased engagement in learning and community life, and savings to public services."
Virtual College is one of the leading providers of e-learning in the UK. From pre-school through to adult learning, Virtual College offers online learning resources and tools that help with training at each level.


Pre-K & Kindergarten
Marsha Comstock combined her love of art with her passion for conservation and partnered Homestead students with SaveNature.org. Marsha educated the students about the beauty and threats to the rainforest, and pioneered the Rainforest Project, a program in which the students create specific works of art to be sold. The proceeds of those pieces are used to buy acreage of rainforest to be preserved through SaveNature.org. Since the inception of the program, Homestead families have raised $129,320 toward the preservation of 1,192 acres of rainforest.
After decades of offering early childhood and lower elementary education, we fulfilled a long-time dream of offering grades four to six in 2005, building an extension on the tennis court building to house the program.
As the school grew to include upper grades and the curriculum began to address issues with global energy consumption and production, Homestead students became passionate about the institution of solar panels. The Upper Elementary class of 2012 designed reusable water bottles, T-shirts, and hoodies focused on green energy and raised $10,000 to begin the installation. By the end of the summer of 2012, solar panels were installed to cover all of Homestead’s electrical energy usage.
In 2016, the Homestead School received the Sullivan Renaissance Earth Award for our commitment to environmental stewardship through education and sustainable practices.
In 2017, Homestead began to develop a permaculture curriculum, beginning with planting fruit and nut trees, keeping honey bees, and developing a plan for a biodome.
In 2018, we constructed our 1,500 square foot tropical geodesic dome. Middle School students designed and planted the tropical food forest.
Currently Permaculture is a weekly class offered at the higher grade levels.
The Homestead School was founded in 1978 on a 200-year old, 85-acre homestead of the locally prominent McKenzie family. The first structure at the Homestead was built by Peter Comstock’s great-grandfather around 1870.
Peter and Marsha settled there permanently in 1975 to start the school. Not one summer passed without a major building expansion project — numerous additions, a big barn, stonewalls, and eventually four new educational structures.
Working within the concentric circles of class, school, local community, and global family, each class begins doing at least one service project annually. Projects range from reading buddies across classes to raising money for animal shelters, to food and money collection for local food pantries, to offering micro-loans to women in developing countries.
Ten years after opening our upper elementary, we opened our middle school (grades seven to eight) in 2015. Since then, we have successfully graduated several classes culminating in the Hero’s Journey and the Micro Business Project.
The Climate Lab was founded through the partnership of Catskill Mountainkeeper, The Center for Discovery, and Friends of the Homestead School in honor of the Homestead’s 40th anniversary and it’s many years of environmental education, advocacy, and fundraising. The generous 25,000 dollar grant is available to students and staff of the Homestead School to advance learning in the areas of environmental and climate education.


Numeracy Skills with 'Jetstream Riders'
MATHEMATICS SKILL COVERED
- Basic to intermediate numeracy skills – single digit addition and double digit up to 20
- Division 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and combined 2-9
- Times table 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10
HOW TO PLAY
Use your numeracy skills to pilot hot air balloons through a course. There are two versions of this game:
- Teacher assigned version - answer as many questions as possible within 60 seconds
- Competitive free-play version - time your answer perfectly to stay in the 'jetstream' to ensure maximum velocity and race to the end of the course. This version is multi-player. Fly your balloon, ride the jetstream and get to the Finish Line before the other ballonists. Earn medals by completing each level within the target time, so that you can progress to new more exciting levels and pass them too. Collect coins and customise your balloon in the Shop.
Use your arithmetic skills to make your balloon rise, and time your answers so that your balloon stays in the Jetstream, where the wind is strongest. It is by causing your balloon to rise and fall according to the path of the Jetstream that you will make progress faster. You will need to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to complete all 5 levels and become a master balloonist.
For the teacher assigned version, track progress towards a Bronze, Silver, Gold medals from within the game.
For competitive free-play version, complete the level and beat the target time to earn a medal (Bronze, Silver, Gold)
- Tennessee >>> Complete Tennessee + beat the target time >>> 02:00 minutes (B), 01:55 minutes (S), 01:47 minutes (G)
- Blue Sky / Stormride >>> Complete Blue Sky / Stormride + beat the target time >>> 02:00 minutes (B), 01:54 minutes (S), 01:49 minutes (G)
- Donut Joy >>> Complete Donut Joy + beat the target time >>> 02:03 minutes (B), 01:55 minutes (S), 01:45 minutes (G)
- Cosmos >>> Complete Cosmos + beat the target time >>> 02:15 minutes (B), 02:00 minutes (S), 01:48 minutes (G)
- Caverns >>> Complete Caverns + beat the target time >>> 02:15 minutes (B), 01:58 minutes (S), 01:45 minutes (G)


Summer Reading Research
Read more about planning a summer reading program and/or studies on the impact of summer reading programs:
- Celano, Donna and Susan B. Neuman. The Role of Public Libraries in Children’s Literacy Development: An Evaluation Report. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Library Association, 2001.
- Cole, Natalie, Virginia Walter, & Eva Mitnick. Outcomes + Outreach The California Summer Reading Outcomes Initiative. Public Libraries Magazine, Vol. 52: 2, March/April 2013.
- Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). "The effects of summer vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-analytic Review." Review of Educational Research, 66(3), 227-227.
- Fiore, Carole D. Fiore’s Summer Library Reading Program Handbook. New York: Neal-Schumann, 2005.
- Kan, Katharine L. Sizzling Summer Reading Programs for Young Adults, Second Edition. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.
- Cooc N, Kim JS. Peer influence on children’s reading skills: A social network analysis of elementary school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology [Internet]. 2017;109 (5) :727-740.
- Krashen, Stephen and Fay Shin. “Summer Reading and the Potential Contribution of the Public Library in Improving Reading for Children of Poverty,” Public Library Quarterly, Vol. 23: 3/4, 2004.
- Johnson, Wayne L. and Yvette C. Johnson. Summer Reading Program Fun: Ten Thrilling, Inspiring, Wacky Board Games for Kids. Chicago: American Library Association, 1999.
- McGill-Franzen, Anne and Richard Allington. “Bridging the Summer Reading Gap.” Instructor, Vol. 112: 8, May/June 2003.
- Mraz, M., & Rasinski, T. V. (2007). Summer Reading Loss. The Reading Teacher, 60(8), 784-789.
- Roman, Susan, Deborah T. Carran, and Carole D. Fiore. The Dominican Study: Public Library Summer Reading Programs Close the Reading Gap. River Forest, Ill.: Dominican University, 2010.
- Stuart, E. A., & Rubin, D. B. (2007). "Best Practices in Quasi-Experimental Designs: Matching Methods for Causal Inference." In J. Osborne (Ed.), Best Practices in Quantitative Social Science (Vol. 11, pp. 155-176). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Virginia Summer Reading Program Impact Study. The study began in 2013, and the final report in four parts is expected to be released in December 2015.
Report One examines how many books participants read and if they are reading at their age level. The report also provides information from a survey directed at the public libraries
Report Two describes site visits to five Virginia public libraries. Interviews were conducted with parents and library staff to document best practices for the summer reading program.
Report Three examines the results of merging the data with the Virginia Department of Education reading tests.
Report Four is an examination of reading scores of children and teens who participated in the summer reading program for more than one year


It started out with me wanting to make some dough for little Miss Gwen (13 months) to knead for fine motor skill development. Let's just say it escalated quickly and we ended up making a pizza.
Pizza Making Sensory Activity for Toddlers
And having done it, I think this is a must-try activity for all toddlers! Can you say no to quality time in the kitchen? If you're afraid of the mess (which I guarantee there will be, but remember no pain no gain), here are the benefits of dough and culinary play for young children.
Benefits of Pizza Making Sensory Activity for Toddlers
- Develops fine motor skills critical for later skills like writing. Manipulation of dough (such as rolling and kneading) builds strength in the muscles in fingers and hands
- Early culinary involvement builds a lifelong interest in cooking and nutrition
- Being part of the process of food preparation leads young children to take pride in meals and enjoy the food more
Easy Pizza Crust Recipe
It's as easy as it can get! Found this gem of a pizza crust recipe at All Recipes that doesn't require waiting time for the dough to rise (just 5 minutes of resting).
The outcome is a decently soft and chewy crust.
Ways to Involve Young Children in Pizza Making
- Demonstrate how dough can be kneaded and ask for help in flattening the dough into the pizza base either with fingers or a rolling pin. Gwen actually picked up how a rolling pin should be used through this activity and has been repeating the action in her play kitchen ever since!
- Give little one her own kid-friendly knife to slice toppings (I chose a dessert pizza so I had Gwen cut up bananas). Her experience with Melissa & Doug velcro fruit toys served her well in this
- Get little one to spread the pizza sauce on the flattened dough (My choice was Nutella to complement the bananas. Funnily Gwen didn't like the sticky feeling of Nutella so I had to help more with this)
- Get little one to watch the pizza as it bakes in the oven
This sensory activity isn't the tidiest (you can probably tell from the lack of photos) and I definitely had much better tasting pizza, but the experience and quality time with Gwen in the kitchen made the hard work worthwhile.
I hope you and your little one enjoy this culinary pursuit and the pizza of that labour! Tell me your experience via instagram at miraculove_sg and join my exclusive Facebook group to exchange more play ideas!
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Hi! I am Yunnie. I am the newly minted mama to a little baby girl and a mum friend to everyone on this special (and many times scary) journey of motherhood. Also a graduated bride with a penchant for weddings.


Our educational program fosters children’s physical, intellectual, spiritual and social growth and guides them to think critically and to live compassionately. Throughout the day, students learn about the values of collaboration, creativity, curiosity, and communication and experience learning that is rich with meaning and adventure. In collaboration with our student-support specialist and our school counselor, teachers work to accommodate multiple learning styles and the range of developmentally appropriate progress. Jewish values and traditions are a part of the rich learning and living that takes place every day at Akiva and our children graduate with a deep sense of self, an intermediate to advanced Hebrew proficiency level and some of the strongest analytical thinkers in Nashville due to the rigorous General and Judaic Studies curriculum.
The Akiva Advantage
As the only Jewish Day School within a 150 mile radius, we take it as our duty to ensure that our students are not only prepared academically and socially for the world, but also equipped and eager to make our world a better place. We are committed to expanding every child’s sense of wonder and deepening every child’s sense of self, and obligation to the community. This is the Akiva Advantage.
The S.T.E.A.M. program at Akiva is not just about the exploration and integration of science, technology, engineering, the Arts and mathematics. It is about the Habits of Mind we hope to cultivate in every child. These include: curiosity, creativity, collaboration, communication, and perseverance. Children are taught to reflect and grow from the failures and to value empathy in the engineering design process. Students learn to code beginning in kindergarten and learn how to use this “third” language in their research throughout their time at Akiva. Many schools can provide their children with opportunities to increase their technical abilities but not every school challenges and supports its children in their quest to bring greater meaning to this world. Our S.T.E.A.M. program. Akiva students become daring innovators with heart and their creativity and ingenuity positively impact the communities they learn to serve.
Hebrew & Judaic Studies
At Akiva, the goal of our Hebrew and Judaic Studies program is to develop children that are literate in the Hebrew language and equipped with the knowledge and skills to inspire informed Jewish living. Students in the classroom are surrounded in a stimulus rich environment. Knowledge is acquired through multiple modalities using the five senses, including stories, songs, music and dance. Our children develop their Hebrew and heritage literacy in a gradual, spiraled process each year that builds new ideas and concepts onto an expanding foundation of knowledge. Most students graduate with an intermediate to advanced level of Hebrew as well as a deep connection to their identities as Jewish leaders in this world.
Lower School (K-4)
Our lower school at Akiva is known for its ability to cultivate strong foundational skills and the ability to think deeply and reflectively about their choices.
Middle School (5-6)
Akiva students are known for their academic distinction, their critical thinking and their caring and compassionate character. Our students understand what it means to be a part of their Jewish community and take active roles in the global community whether they are helping to raise money for roofs in Puerto Rico, leading Shabbat services for our seniors or asking questions about policy at our Nation’s Capital.
Middle School is a time where children are encouraged, challenged, and supported in navigating their social landscape. In our Middle School (5th and 6th grade), we focus on helping our students continue to establish a deep sense of self and self-worth while understanding their responsibilities towards others, their community and themselves. Heads of Schools from the local private and public high schools share that Akiva students are confident and curious; they have a deep love of learning and they have a strong moral compass.
Jewish Middle School
JMS focuses on the unique academic, emotional and spiritual needs of children in the 6-8th grade years. Our specialized curriculum engages students in active, meaningful lessons and helps them develop the critical thinking skills needed for lifelong problem-solving. Our approach is truly individualized with an unparalleled faculty-to-student ratio. Our inclusive, student-centered setting nurtures self-confidence and solidifies the academic skills and concepts necessary for success in any traditional high-school setting, and our focus on values makes us an ideal partner in raising children in the 21st century. Visit the JMS Website


RSA NCS CAPS Grade R Life Skills Curriculum
In the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) the subject Life Skills in Foundation Phase (Grades R-3) has been organised into four study areas: Beginning Knowledge, Personal and Social Well-being, Creative Arts and Physical Education. Life Skills has been organised in this way in order to ensure that the foundational skills, values and concepts of early childhood development and of the subjects offered in Grades 4 - 12 are taught and developed in Grades R-3. Beginning Knowledge and Personal and Social Well-being are integrated in the topics.
Life Skills is a cross cutting subject that should support and strengthen the teaching of the other core Foundation Phase subjects namely Languages (Home and First Additional) and Mathematics.
Outline Of Course Material
Disclaimer: This site is not responsible for correctness and completeness of the curriculum content presented above. In case of any doubt, please refer to the information and/or document on the official website.


Manually Coded English is a term that encompasses a variety of visual communication methods expressed through the hands, which attempt to represent the English language. Signed English is one form of this.
In Signed English every word of a spoken sentence is signed. It uses English language grammar and not the grammar of deaf sign languages. It is comprised of a vocabulary of borrowed and made up signs and fingerspelling.
For example, in Australia, Signed English is comprised of signs borrowed from Auslan, some adapted and made up signs and Auslan fingerspelling. The order of the signs match spoken word order. To represent spoken grammar accurately, finger spelling and made up signs are used to represent grammatical markers & words that do not exist in native sign languages.
Signed English was developed by teachers of the deaf and other professionals to assist in the english literacy development of deaf (sign language using) children.


Lowell Mason was born in Medfield, Mass. in 1792 and while he wrote neither the music nor the lyrics to Joy to the World, he is the main reason Americans have been singing the Christmas carol it for nearly 200 years.
Mason was musically gifted as a boy, but his first career was banking. He established himself in business in Savanah, Georgia. But he was always drawn to music (both parents were active in the church choir) and he continued to study music as an adult. Working with a German teacher perhaps explains his preference for European-style hymns over home-grown, American music.
He came out with his first collection of hymns in 1822, but the effort was not without its hurdles. A number of publishers rejected the 350-page volume. It was the Boston Handel and Haydn society that finally agreed to publish it as The Handel and Haydn Society’s Collection of Church Music. Mason’s name was not attached to the book, perhaps out of fear that it would hinder his banking career.
But the book immediately succeeded. The tunes were drawn from classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and Americans ate it up. Mason and others helped use the success of the collection to push for inclusion of music education in public schools, and Mason became a music teacher and founded his own music school.
By the 1830s, Mason had moved beyond being a simple banker with an interest in music. He had become a tastemaker and director of the Handel and Haydn Society – and his tastes were decidedly European. While America had produced its own musical styles, Mason looked to Europe for inspiration. And his Better Music Movement gradually pushed American composers and musical styles aside – a development mourned by many music historians.
Mason followed his first publishing success with a collection of hymns for children. And in 1839 he published The Modern Psalmist, and included Joy to the World in it. He probably discovered the song on his travels in Europe.
The lyrics to Joy to the World were written by English minister Isaac Watts. He based them on the 98th Psalm from the Bible. The origins of the tune, called Antioch, aren’t clear. Mason attributed the music to German composer George Frederic Handel. While Handel probably didn’t write the song in the form it is performed, it does lift passages from his music that were arranged into the tune we now know. But exactly who did the arranging is not clear.
Regardless, the song quickly become a classic I churches across America. The Dictionary of North American Hymnology reports that is far and away the most frequently published Christmas hymn, appearing in 1400 hymnals and you may feel like you’ve heard it that many times already this holiday season.
Mason would eventually move his base of operations to New York City and died in Orange, N.J. in 1872.


As a Pediatric Speech Pathologist, one of the number one questions I get is, “How many words should my toddler be saying?” While the number of words a child is using is important, another important factor is the types of words your toddler is using.
The Importance of Verbs
In a study by Hadley, Rispoli, and Hsu (2015). The researchers found that the number of verbs in children’s vocabularies were better predictors than the number of nouns. Moreover, there was a relationship between the types of verbs and the number of words children were putting together when measured three months later. The transitive verbs (verbs that have a direct object acting such as “The dog ran”) accounted for the strength in this relationship.
What this tells us is that when we are modeling good language for our kiddos, we want to make sure we are emphasizing verbs. It can be easy to find yourself only labeling pictures (ball, bear, etc.). Instead of only labeling items and pictures, try adding a verb . Here are some examples:
That’s a ball. It bounces!
Look at the car go!
That teddy bear is sleeping….Night teddy bear!
You kicked the ball!
When you are reading a book, you can incorporate verbs and actions by talking about the picture such as “That boy is running.”
Tip-try pairing verbs with gestures to make them stand out even more!
Think about it this way; around two years, toddlers are combining words. It’s hard to create word combinations with a vocabulary made primarily of nouns! The more verbs, adjectives, and pronouns your child has, the more “material” they have for making phrases. For more ideas, check out my post – Ten Things to Say to a Toddler Instead of, “What is that?”
Nursery rhymes and songs
Many children’s songs and nursery rhymes teach the importance of verbs (Jack and Jill went up the hill. Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, etc.). Nursery rhymes teach your little one rhythm and rhyme, which is great for language and literacy development! Additionally, they teach children how those words work.
Next time you are reading a book or chasing your toddler, remember to add action words! It may help their vocabulary growth more than you even know!
Brooke Andrews, M.A. CCC-SLP is owner of The Speech Dynamic and offers speech therapy in homes and schools across Houston. Brooke specializes in speech and language development to toddlers and preschoolers and provides in-home speech therapy to families in Houston.
Toddlers’ Verb Lexicon Diversity and Grammatical Outcomes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26803292


Summit K-12 provides a set of integrated products that address topics in life science, physical science, earth and space science, and environmental science. Products include: (1) “ConceptLinks” interactive eBooks, (2) “Concept Booster” mini-lessons, and (3) “Vocabulary Booster” digital flashcards.
- ConceptLinks interactive eBooks are a set of 64 readers that address 16 science topics (e.g., animals, cells, weather). For each topic, eBooks are presented at four Lexile-based reading levels: Blue (450L-560L), Green (540L-720L), Orange (660L-790L), and Purple (720L-850L). eBooks are not grade specific and may be used to support students across grades 2-8, depending upon their reading abilities.
- Concept Booster mini-lessons are grade specific and address the science and English language arts/reading TEKS for the given grade level. Mini-lessons are built around interactive e-Posters that present images which facilitate the discussion of new concepts and vocabulary.
- Vocabulary Booster interactive flashcards contain an image and sentence with a missing word on one side. For example, an image of a toad is paired with the sentence, “Dry and bumpy are two [blank] of this toad’s skin.”). The flip side of the card contains the correct term (e.g., “physical properties”), the term’s definition, and additional practice sentences for students to complete (e.g., “One physical property of a/an [blank] is its bright color.”).
About Summit K-12*Summit K-12’s vision is to provide teaching and learning solutions that enable all students to reach their full academic potential in Science, Reading, and Social Studies regardless of where they are on the learning continuum.
The authors of our ConceptLinks ® Literacy and Connect to Literacy programs have uniquely blended standards aligned Nonfiction Science and Social Studies content with Language and Literacy development skills and strategies.
- We Engage Digital Learners with State of the Art Interactive eBooks and Digital Curriculum
- We enable teachers to Differentiate instruction with each content area being leveled to four reading levels using the five major leveling scales – DRA, Reading Recovery, Guided Reading, Lexile, and TESOL
- Our Solutions are research-based and aligned to the Science, Social Studies, ELA, and ELL standards in all 50 states and to the NGSS Science Standards and Common Core ELA Standards.
- ConceptLinks ® enables students from all backgrounds and aptitudes to Achieve results
- Our Digital Solutions are device and browser agnostic and will run on all major platforms
- We offer each program 100% in Print and 100% in Digital and any combination in-between to meet your individual classroom needs
- Implementation Services and Professional Development are Paramount to delivering our solutions with Fidelity
- Our team works daily to improve our products, content alignment, ease of use, and program efficacy based on sound research and customer feedback.
*The content in this section is provided by or adapted from Summit K-12.
Subscribe to Learning List for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.


Second Grade English/Language Arts (ELA)Curriculum
Lake Shore has adopted the COMMON CORE CURRICULUM. Below are the three English/Language Arts (ELA) strands that we will be focusing on daily.
Listening and Learning Strand
Guided Reading and Accountable Independent Reading (GRAIR:30 minutes)
The Listening and Learning Strandconsists of a series of read‐alouds organized by topics (called domains), many of which are informational in nature. The goal of the Listening and Learning Strand is for students to acquire language competence through listening, specifically building a rich vocabulary, and broad knowledge in history and science by being exposed to carefully selected, sequenced, and coherent read‐alouds.
The Skills Strand teaches the mechanics of reading–students are taught systematic and explicit phonics instruction as their primary tool for decoding written English. By the end of the year, students have learned all of the sound‐spelling correspondences in the English language and are able to decode written material they encounter. In addition to phonics, students also are taught spelling, grammar, and writing during the Skills Strand.
GRAIR is additional literacy time within the school day where teachers can work with students in developmentally appropriate groupings to meet their individual needs. This is an opportunity for the favorite traditional read aloud, literacy based centers, and immersion in text, where teachers can facilitate student choice from existing leveled libraries based on interest, availability, and readability. The purpose of this time is to build independent, interested, and capable readers.


We’ve recently launched the latest version of our award-winning literacy support tool, Clicker. Clicker 8 combines the inclusive literacy support tools you known and love with a host of exciting new feature ideas from our Clicker fans:
Pictures are a valuable tool for supporting literacy development, whether they’re used for visual stimulation, talking points, or to aid understanding. The new ‘Picturize’ button in Clicker 8 instantly adds images to any text in a document or Clicker Grid – including Sentence Sets, Connect Sets and Word Banks.
This may be especially useful for children who may require a picture to be shown above each word as it is typed (or for it to be in the word predictor and spell checker) to aid understanding and recognition.
Seeing the pride in children’s faces when they hand in a completed piece of work is fantastic, but it’s usually difficult to see the steps they took to achieve it or whether they’re getting the right level of support.
This is where Clicker Analytics comes in, one of the most exciting additions to Clicker 8. Clicker Analytics provides you with rich data, giving you a unique insight into each learner’s writing journey. You’ll be able to see at a glance how your pupils are using the accommodations you’ve put into place for them with Clicker – so whether they’ve used a Clicker Grid, the spell-checker or predictor, and you will be able to tell whether your pupils are ready to progress to new activities and challenges.
You can also add Teacher Notes to highlight key points or next steps, and because the analytics data is embedded within the document, you’ll always have a record of it.
‘Fill in the blank’ activities are many teachers go-to for quickly assessing their pupils’ topic knowledge, as well as their ability to use semantic and contextual clues.
Clicker Cloze enables you to create Cloze activities on any topics quickly and easily.
Children can hear the suggestions read aloud (in one of Clicker 8’s brand new children’s voices!) and teachers can quickly find out at a glance how pupils have done by viewing the Analytics tab.
More curriculum resources
We’ve rebuilt our LearningGrids portal to make it faster for you to find activities, topic, keyword and age-range.
New for Clicker 8, LearningGrids will now also include hundreds of new activities taken from our professionally-made ‘Powered by Clicker’ add-on titles. This will include the award-winning Find Out & Write About non-fiction series; the Planet Wobble talking books; Clicker Tales traditional story sets for Early Years; and New to English language-learning resources for EAL pupils.
In addition to Clicker 8, we’ve also released a brand-new app for iPad and Chromebook devices – Clicker Writer.
Watch your pupils confidently tackle writing tasks with help from Clicker Writer’s realistic speech feedback, audio note recorder and intelligent word prediction. The app includes access to a growing bank of topic-specific sentence building activities, word banks and writing frames, and it’s incredibly easy to create your own.
Many schools have a combination of devices to support their learners. Our new Clicker universal licensing enables you to mix-and-match your Clicker 8 licenses for your Windows/Mac machines with Clicker Writer licenses for your iPads and Chromebooks. So for example, if you have ‘10 Clicker licenses’, you could have 10 of Clicker 8, 10 of Clicker Writer, or five of each – whichever works best for your school set-up.
If you want to find out more about the latest version of Clicker, please don’t hesitate to email firstname.lastname@example.org or call 01604 671691. You can also sign up for our ‘What’s new?’ webinars on our website.


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What is Forest School?
Luke, aged 7
Forest School works on the understanding that every child is equal, unique and valuable and should be able to explore and discover for themselves in the natural environment. Originating in Scandinavia, mostly in Kindergartens, the Forest School approach has gained popularity around the world with a variety of age groups and settings.
Longworth Forest, New Zealand, seeks to provide children with safe and semi structured opportunities to experience risk and challenge, to problem solve and enterprise, all at the child’s own pace. It is a child led approach which gives children the power to initiate and drive their own learning, to make meaningful choices and to discover and develop their interests. Through regular outdoor play, children learn to develop positive relationships with themselves and others as well as a bond with nature and an understanding of their place in the natural world.
Longworth Forest was initially established as an opportunity for 5 year old children to transition from an Early Childhood setting into a more formal school environment. Early literacy and numeracy skills were to be taught in a holistic way alongside the self- directed learning. Longworth Forest’s philosophy is that children learn best when they are moving and engaged in meaningful hands on activities. Each day spent in the Forest involves plenty of physical exploration of the natural environment, such as climbing trees, building huts and dams. The children use the natural resources for their creative dramatic play. Real tools are available for use and part of learning is to know how to handle appropriate risks. The adult acts as facilitator, ensuring safety, modelling positive attitude and behaviour and picking up cues from children to extend learning in areas they show interest in.
During the day, each child individually reads with the adult. During a break in play at morning tea, some form of writing occurs. This self- directed writing can take many different forms. Building and making signs for the Forest, writing letters, making lists of ingredients are some favourite literacy activities. At lunch time, numeracy skills become the focus. Numeracy games take part while children are gathered to eat together. All other mathematics – geometry, measurement, statistics are developed during their play without the children even realising. There is no pre-planning, there are many opportunities for the adult to impart knowledge and trigger discussion based on the curiosity of the children, and the natural environment provides endless opportunities for spontaneous science, technology and social science to occur.
To be beneficial, Forest School should happen regularly over a period of time and at the same site. Longworth Forest prepares children for formal education by encouraging them to be self -sufficient, resilient and curious students with a love of learning. Most of the 5 year old children who began at Longworth Forest have gone on to be homeschooled.
Longworth Forest is also open to visits from local city schools. Being able to play freely in a natural environment can be particularly useful for children who experience behavioural issues or have special needs, as they have the freedom to express themselves and to direct their learning in whatever way suits them. The natural environment can also have a calming effect for students with ADHD or autism.
Longworth Education encourages local schools to open up their classroom doors and provide opportunities for outdoor play. Many Teachers visit Longworth Forest in order to gain ideas for developing the outdoor play areas at their school. Longworth Education provides consultation and specialist support throughout New Zealand on Play Based Learning.
Forest Schools are turning the tide on over regulated education systems by putting children into a natural environment where discovery, curiosity and play are paramount.Impact
The impact of the environment and the approach of forest school can have implications for the key competencies and could improve resilience, thinking skills, problem solving and relationships with other children. The children at Longworth Forest have a deep understanding of ecological sustainability because they are immersed in the natural environment every day. There are multiple research papers and reviews that show the evidence of benefits of children’s experience in natural environments including health through increased physical activity; wellbeing through enhancing social and intrapersonal qualities and educational attainment through developing ‘characters’ of resilience and confidence as precursors to successful learning.Scalability
The concept of Forest School originates in Scandinavia and is now a global movement. Longworth Forest is the only one of its kind in New Zealand. There is a growing interest in using the outdoor environment for learning through play, although the focus is often on young learners. More natural environments like Longworth Forest would help to promote learning through play for children of all ages.


A guide for teachers on how to implement HRE in the classroom.
The Human Rights Education Curriculum Integration Guide provides model lessons to help social studies and other educators implement human rights education in their daily practice.
This project was developed by a team of New Jersey educators and is tied specifically to their state’s social studies standards. However, the guide can be used as a model for any educator seeking to integrate human rights into their curriculum.
Each lesson is tied to Common Core curriculum standards and contains suggested modifications for ESL populations and classified students, as well as suggestions regarding how each lesson supports literacy development.
Table of Contents
- Identify the Issue
- Research & Investigate
- Take Action
- Ideas for Assessment
Elementary (Pre-K – 4)


We provide training curses and programs for those who wish to become Early Childhood STEM Education Teachers (ages 2-9).
They are professional training programs designed to prepare educators and teachers to guide children as they encounter science, technology, engineering, and math early in their everyday lives, and to help them develop their potential. These courses will demystify the teaching of STEM activities. Based on the Awesome Science curriculums and programs, the training will offer theoretical and practical classes over six months.
The courses are a complete approach to early childhood STEM education, which prepare teachers to not only be confident but familiar with the theoretical bases of science, technology, engineering and math as well as all practical aspects of classroom teaching. The teacher training deals with the principles and methodologies of our founder–director with complete focus on the ways of teaching as an Awesome Science teacher, who plays many roles as she directs, assists and guides her students to develop foundational skills.


According to Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) assessment data, skill levels of U.S. adults are well below international averages and vary substantially by education background. These low skills are a danger sign – particularly for adults who face economic challenges.
Even so, adults do not necessarily stop learning (OECD, 2013). The first aim of the 2014 paper is to examine PIAAC data by asking: do adults continue to learn purposefully – that is, either formally or non-formally – after leaving secondary settings? Addressing this question will identify the circumstances in which adults do or do not learn – and insights into learning gaps with major economic implications. The paper also investigates barriers to learning that adults face and their motivators for learning. Implications for adult educators are discussed.
Read the 2016 paper for adult education practitioners:
What do the literacy and numeracy skills of incarcerated adults with less than a high school (LHS) education look like? Our 2018 PIAAC report, Incarcerated Adults with Low Skills: Findings from the 2014 PIAAC Prison Study, addresses this question. Findings for LHS incarcerated adults are compared by gender and with the general LHS adult population. Click on the link below to access this new report.


Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.-Harry S. Truman
Powerful teaching happens when teachers take information gained from observations and assessments of children’s literacy development into consideration when planning instruction. Since observations can be subjective, it is important to include data from more formal observations as well.
We use running records as assessment tools to assess students literacy progress. A running record is a tool for coding, scoring and analyzing a child’s precise reading behaviors. (Fountas and Pinnell). Up until recently, I was using forms from the Fountas and Pinnell kit for running records. While a great way to take a running record, it requires a lot of copies and paper.
I have found an app called Record of Reading. It is a great app…not just because it was created by my alma mater, Clemson University…but because it is an electronic means of assessing reading behaviors. You don’t need a calculator as it has embedded formulas for accuracy and self corrections. The app even records the child reading while the teacher simultaneously takes the record. When replaying the record, the oral reading and the record are synced. The record can be saved or emailed. There is also a user manual if needed. You are able to type or write directly in the app and it doesn’t have to be opened in a PDF annotator. Best of all, it is FREE!.
Running records inform our instruction through capturing progress, assessing text difficulty, matching texts appropriately to students, and seeing and hearing reading behaviors directly. They also help us group students with similar instructional needs as well as provide individualized instruction where needed. They give explicit feedback to the student and to parents if needed.
Watching my students grow as readers is rewarding. I love watching them go from non-readers to readers over the course of the school year. Creating successful readers requires knowing your students…knowing their strengths and where they struggle. It also requires that we know our students’ interests so that we can have texts available to stimulate reading. By keeping track of our students’ reading behaviors through running records, we can inform our instruction to best meet their needs.
Today, we will do exciting new things. Let’s get to it!


ECPAC strives to increase access to information for families and caregivers to support children’s healthy development and caregiver well-being. ECPAC works with partners and families to develop informational materials that are culturally relevant to the families in our community.
ECPAC strongly recommends that partners attend a training or watch the online training before using these materials as knowing the research, content, and ways to best support families and start important conversations through the materials is critical:
Children’s early literacy development begins at birth. Building a strong vocabulary through talking, singing, and play, and having access to books has been shown to increase children’s readiness for school. Literacy and reading are critical for life long school success:
Everyone has mental health – even babies. Just as we nurture our children’s physical health, it is important to nurture their mental health through strong social emotional development! Materials are available by age group:
The Colorado Early Learning and Development Guidelines describe the path of children’s learning and development from birth to eight years old. They’re designed so that everyone who cares for young children can play an important part in giving Colorado’s kids a healthy start.
Pregnancy-Related Depression and Anxiety are the most common complications of childbirth and can make life and parenting even more difficult. Below you will find information about signs, symptoms, and ways to receive support.


Big Sneeze Grades K-2
"Students participate in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Big Sneeze" by Ruth Brown."
Breath In, Breath Out Grades Elementary
"Students will be able to identify the parts of the respiratory system. Students will be able to describe the functions of each part of the respiratory system."
Breathing Is Essential to Life Grades Elementary
Students will: recognize that breathing is a necessary, automatic life process, observe and record data on
respiration rate, demonstrate how air enters and leaves the lungs, observe how respiratory rate changes with different activities, and use counting as a means of gathering data.
The Breathing Machine Grades 1-3
Students learn about the functions of the lungs.
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Grades Intermediate & Up
Students approximate a measurement of lung capacity; To compare lung capacities of males and females, active and inactive.
How Air Moves In and Out of the Lung Grades Intermediate
This lesson will: develop an understanding of the respiratory system, demonstrate how air enters and leaves the lungs, and demonstrate the relationship between the breathing rate and exercise.
How to Make a Model of the Human Respiratory System Grades 5-6
Students will label and explain the various parts of the respiratory system.
The Human Body's Respiratory System Theme Page Grades Various
Collections of useful Internet educational resources within a narrow curricular topic and contain links to two types of information. Students and teachers will find curricular resources to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are links to lesson plans which will help teachers provide instruction.
Lung Capacity Grades Intermediate
A great experiment to help students understand how much air their lungs can hold.
Respitory & Circulatory System Grades Intermediate
A core knoweldge webquest.
Respiratory System Grades 4-6
This lesson was designed to show that the general functions of the respiratory system are to deliver oxygen to the tissues, the importance of cellular respiration, the processes of inhalation/exhalation, determine the volume of air exhaled and to eliminate carbon dioxide formed in the body.
Best Human Respiratory System Video for Kids
A great video from Easy Science for Kids.
Breathing and the Respiratory System
Biology for Kids by Ducksters.
How to Keep Your Lungs Healthy
Great tips for everyone.
Human Anatomy Online
A great reference for students and teachers.
The Human Respiratory System
Brought to you by the American Lung Association.
The Respiratory System
A collection of great student and teacher resources.
Your Lungs & Respiratory System
A great article for students.
Your Respiratory System
An article in Discovery Kids.
The Teacher's Corner has hand selected a bunch of books for our Respiraatory System Unit that you can find at great prices on Amazon.com


Brain training does not improve early number skills, say researchers
Psychologists at the University of Sheffield have identified that core thinking skills are crucial in developing early number skills, and why children might differ widely in their early maths ability. Research from the University of Sheffield, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, investigated why children differ so much in their early maths skills, to try and identify how they can be best supported. The study concluded that using brain training exercises to improve core thinking skills does not in turn boost maths ability. Instead, the researchers found that core thinking skills, including memory and attention, are key skills that support early maths learning.
The research is some of the first to identify what is causing an attainment gap in early maths skills by studying a sample of four-year-olds from socially diverse backgrounds on their core thinking skills and early maths skills. The findings showed that on average, the children from disadvantaged backgrounds had lower maths skills than their more advantaged peers. The study showed one way to support children who may be struggling with early maths is to support these core thinking skills. The researchers tried an intervention technique to improve the children’s cognitive skills directly to see if this had a knock-on effect on their maths ability.
The intervention involved simple brain training challenges which the children completed once a week. Although the children improved their performance on the brain training tasks, there was no improvement in their maths skills. It is hoped the findings will inform new research to test different types of interventions in order to narrow the differences in early numeracy skills and help disadvantaged children who might be at risk of falling behind in maths. Interventions could include promoting teaching strategies which are less demanding on children’s attention.
The full paper, The role of executive functions in socioeconomic attainment Gaps: results from a randomized controlled trial, is available online: https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.13358
(Content Courtesy: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/brain-training-maths-attainment-gap-study-psychology-1.880803)


Supporting Caregivers as Reading Partners: Best Practices for Reading to and with Emergent Readers
Library staff are frequently called upon to answer questions from anxious parents about their child’s reading ability and how they can best support their child’s literacy development. This presentation will discuss the mechanics of how children learn to read, how research-based early literacy practices support specific components of literacy acquisition, how benchmarking/lexile levels work and what those levels look like in print. Learning how to read involves more than “just sound it out”—making meaning from print requires cognitive and environmental factors that work in concert to facilitate literacy acquisition. Understanding the reading process will broaden your knowledge base for targeted readers’ advisory and enable you to confidently advise parents on the most effective reading strategies that foster the development of life-long readers
If you're unable to attend the live webinar, we encourage you to go ahead and register to receive the recording after the event.
Rhonda Cunha is the Early Literacy Children’s Librarian at Stevens Memorial Library in North Andover, MA. She holds an MS in Literacy Education from Dowling College and has experience as an elementary classroom teacher and Reading Specialist. She also holds an MFA in Fibers from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She is an advocate for literacy education and play-based arts-integrated programming that fosters creative expression in young children.
- Friday, March 20, 2020
- 1:00pm - 2:00pm


Children are fascinated by music, tones, rhythm, dance, and sounds. In group settings children learn especially well, they make friends and have lots of fun. Here's why you might want to consider group music lessons for your child:
We are experts in early childhood musical education, with certifications and experience in introducing children to the power of sound, and cultivating their musical talents. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies.
― Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Course teacher: Korina Kalliga
Course duration: 60 minutes per lesson (weekly), 38 lessons per year
The course is set for 2 years. The minimum participation is 1 year.
Group Size: 6 - 10 Participant
Price: Fr. 350.00 total payment per quarter (3 months) or monthly instalments of Fr. 127.00
Starter set 1st semester Fr. 140.-
Per additional semester Fr. 85.-
New courses begin:
Wednesday, 29. January 2020, 14:00-15:00, JMC 1A
Saturday, 1 February 2020, 11:15 - 12:15, JMC 1B
Wednesday, 11 December 2019, 14:00-14:45
Saturday, 11 January 2020, 11:15:12:00
Registration "JMC Trial Lesson"
The age between 4 and 6 years is the time when children's hearing develops rapidly and their ability to recognize sounds and tones grows. This is the ideal time to develop absolute hearing, a sense of harmony and an idea of musical phrases and sounds. [read more]
Course Instructor: Yasuko Hamabe
Duration: 50 minutes per week
Price: Fr. 113 - 3 times monthly or Fr. 310 - total payment
Course start: Admission possible at any time
The course "Music Wonderland" prepares the children for the Junior Music Course, the musical elementary education for children from the age of 4 years.
Who can participate?
Children from 3 to 4 years of age
Wednesday, 10:30-11:20 a.m.
Friday, 14:40 - 15:30 (There are still places available)
Songbook and workbook, CD and sticker set: Fr. 65.- one-off
Register up today for a free trial lesson!
Course Instructor: Korina Kalliga
Duration: 60 minutes per week
Price: Fr. 133.- 3 times monthly or Fr. 370.- total payment
Course start: Saturday, 1 February, 12:30-13:30
Music Adventure is a Yamaha Music Education System course specifically designed for children from 6 to 8 years of age with a special emphasis on the age-specific development of children.
Start of new semester: Saturday, 1 February, 12:30-13:30
(The course will be held with at least 6 participants)
Register today for a free trial lesson!


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SDC (Particular Day Class): a student with this designation spends greater than half the day in special education lessons. Usually, SDC courses are given in fundamental areas resembling English, Math, Science or Social Studies. Right here, they might have their courses modified to mirror their levels of potential in the subject area. The Centre for Global Education is a charity registered by the Charity Fee, Registration Quantity: NIC104991.