This is the first part in a series about teaching through the use of scrapbooking.
Literacy is a key to better jobs and stable home life for both adults and children. Teaching an adult or child how to write sometimes requires teachers willing to use creativity in the classroom. On possible learning tool is scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking.
Use of Scrapbooking in Elementary Education Classes
As teachers develop lesson plans for elementary education classes, scrapbooking can be a natural part of the activities. Scrapbooking is a tactile way of teaching many different subjects. As the child labels the pictures added to the scrapbook, he or she learns grammar and vocabulary. Teachers may provide the needed photos from a classroom camera or allow students to bring copies of digital photographs or digital media from home for use in the scrapbooking activities. In addition, teachers may supply magazines and other sources of pictures for scrapbooking or a bank of digital photographs for use with digital scrapbooking.
Use of Scrapbooking in Adult Education
With adults, the students are more likely to have access to their own photographs, however the instructor may still need to provide some stock photos for the adults to use. With both adults as well as children, it is good to provide access to a color copier or scanner in case the scrapbooking student is afraid of ruining the original object or wants to use it in a digital scrapbook.
The scrapbook may be used to tell a story.
Everyone has a story to tell. The story may be of a relative that persevered through hard times. The items that are added to the collection can be used to formulate and tell that story. As the story is told both with pictures and with words, students continue to work on their literacy skills for the class.
Preserving family heirlooms
Many two dimensional items may be kept in a scrapbook. These could include special objects such as birth certificates, baby photos, tickets to a special performance or a newspaper clipping. In addition to the items placed on the pages, teachers should encourage the student to use written words to tell why this item is important to the family.
A family tree gives students a sense of belonging. For elementary students, the family tree can begin with the student and have branches for parents, grandparents, as well as favorite aunts and uncles. A small bit can be written to describe why each person is important to the child. Adults may have a more complex tree that not only includes generation past but also includes offspring. Adults may use their family tree to describe relationships that are broken and find the exercise quite freeing as they also learn how to write and to express themselves.
The scrapbook can also be used to tell a family history. Many new immigrants may need to tell the story of how parents or grandparents left a home country and came to a new location with hopes and dreams for their family. The document might include some of the student's favorite things from their old country (or those of a parent or grandparent if the student was born in the new country). If students have lived in a number of places during their lifetime, the teacher may help them to locate photographs that are meaningful for their past life experiences give students the opportunity to write about these documents as a part of the lesson plan.
The opportunities for using scrapbooking in teaching both adults and children are endless. In addition to teaching the student how to read and write, these exercises can be used many other disciplines. Regardless of the subject being taught, teachers that use creative ideas such as scrapbooking to teach other how to read are the teachers that are remembered for a lifetime.
Are you a teacher using scrapbooking in the classroom? Are you homeschooling and using scrapbooking as a tool for teaching? Are you a student who used scrapbooking either in class or as school assignments? Share with us by posting a comment below.


In the early 1900s, public schooling for black children in Alabama ended with the eighth grade. After 2 years of private education at the State Normal School for Negroes in Montgomery, Julian was admitted to DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, as a subfreshman in 1916. Family members who saw him off on the northbound train included a grandfather who waved a hand that was missing 2 fingers, the punishment for learning to read, and a 99-year-old grandmother who had established a record by picking 350 pounds of cotton in 1 day. Julian lived in the attic of a fraternity house at DePauw and was able to earn enough as a waiter to cover his tuition. Later, the entire family followed him to Indiana. Percy was the eldest of 6 children, each of whom graduated from DePauw; his 2 younger brothers became physicians. Despite weaknesses in his elementary education, Julian was an excellent student. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, obtained his bachelor's degree in 1920, and was valedictorian of his class. During the next 2 years, he was an instructor in chemistry at Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. Then he was awarded a fellowship in biophysics and organic chemistry at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he obtained a master's degree in 1923. No faculty position was available for a black man at that institution at the time, nor could he obtain a doctoral degree in his field of interest. Instead, he joined the faculty of West Virginia State College in Institute, an all-black institution at the time, as a professor of chemistry. In 1929, he was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship, which he used to earn a doctoral degree from the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Professor Ernst Späth, his teacher there, said Julian was “an extraordinary student, his like I have not seen before in my career as a teacher.”5(p13) His doctoral thesis concerned a botanical alkaloid, and this work proved very useful for his later focus on physostigmine.


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The Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program aims to provide positive and memorable food experiences to primary school children by teaching them how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food.
The program is run in a variety of school settings across Australia, having now been implemented in over 600 schools nation wide. The program emphasises the flavours as well as the health benefits of fresh, seasonal food. Dishes cooked reflect the vegetables, herbs and fruits grown by the children in their organic gardens, with the importance of healthy balance and moderation being highlighted by instructors.
The program is designed to be fully integrated into the primary school curriculum as it offers possibilities to reinforce literacy, numeracy, science, cultural studies and all aspects of environmental sustainability.
Schools implementing the Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden program are supported through a range of varying national and state government funding opportunities. In addition to these part-funding opportunities, schools are expected to contribute the balance to run the Program from their own resources and community networks.
There are many Indigenous schools participating in the program; the first two were Rawa Community School at Punmu Aboriginal Community and Wiluna Remote Community School in remote Western Australia.
Abstract adapted from Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation
PO Box 104
Abbotsford VIC 3067
Ph: (03) 8415 1993
Fax: (03) 8625 0054


Reading Roots 4th Edition
Reading Roots 4th Edition is a ninety-minute comprehensive program that targets the needs of beginning readers. Reading Roots is a research-based beginning-reading program that provides a strong base for successful reading through systematic phonics instruction supported by decodable stories, along with instruction in fluency and comprehension. Reading Roots also fosters students’ love of reading by providing rich literature experiences, extensive oral-language development, and thematically focused writing instruction. These objectives are embedded in a fast-paced, engaging, and highly effective instructional process. Students are assessed and regrouped according to their reading level every quarter to ensure that they receive the most focused instruction.
How is Reading Roots 4th Edition structured?
Reading Roots is built around forty-eight lessons. Separated into four levels, it supports concept development in oral-language development, phonemic awareness, phonics, word skills, fluency, and writing. Second and third grade nonreaders can be regrouped into Reading Roots classes.
Reading Roots provides a strong base for successful reading due to its emphasis on systematic phonics instruction through FastTrack Phonics. This phonics instruction is supported by decodable stories, and instruction in fluency and comprehension. In addition to providing the necessary basis for strong reading, Reading Roots fosters students’ love of reading by providing rich literary experiences, extensive oral-language development, and thematically focused writing instruction. Click here to learn more about these components.
What teacher supports are provided?
Reading Roots 4th Edition includes all the elements needed to ensure success: teacher manuals, student materials, initial training for teachers, intensive onsite and telephone coaching, and tools to monitor students progress.
In addition, the following award-winning videos are included to help engage and motivate students:
The Animated Alphabet – Cartoons that teach letter-sound correspondence
The Sound and the Furry – Skits starring Alphie the Alligator and his puppet friends help your students hear and say sounds in words, blend words, spell, read fluently, and comprehend what they read.
Word Plays – Video skits that teach the vocabulary from the Success for All Shared Stories; they are particularly helpful for English language learners.
for a sample Reading Roots 4th Edition lesson.
Reading Roots 4th Edition–Interactive
In addition, Reading Roots 4th Edition–Interactive is available. It includes a CD with interactive lessons for use with a whiteboard*. Highlights of Reading Roots 4th Edition–Interactive include:
All media traditionally used with the Roots program (letter key cards, picture cards, word cards, animations, puppet skits, word plays, etc.) are tightly integrated into lessons so they can be managed and presented by the teacher simply by tapping and dragging on the whiteboard.
The ability to independently choose a lesson from the CD to reteach a reading lesson.
New computer activities such as Break-It-Down, Stretch and Read, and Quick Erase ensure student motivation and engagement.
Brief professional-development clips that model each lesson segment are provided.
for a sample Reading Roots 4th Edition–Interactive lesson.
Professional Development and Coaching
One key to Reading Roots success is the in-depth professional development
provided by the SFAF point coaches to support teachers' daily implementation.
The two-day initial training prepares teachers to implement Reading Roots. The training focuses on:
phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, word-recognition strategies, fluency, and comprehension;
elements of the lessons that provide engaging images, routines, and the practice needed to ensure success for each student;
tools for assessing students’ progress and adapting lessons based on assessments to meet individual and group needs;
cooperative-learning strategies that provide the practice and repetition beginning readers need;
support for administrators to monitor and improve program administration; and
a one-day training for school leaders in assessment tools and regrouping strategies. In addition, there is training in program monitoring and coaching.
Goal-Focused Achievement Planning
Goal-focused achievement planning sets the stage for success. School leaders and your SFAF coach develop specific goals and monitor student progress. every quarter, Reading Roots teachers, schools leaders, and your SFAF coach review student progress data. Goals and interventions for the following quarter are planned based on this data.
Ongoing Coaching and Support
As the year progresses, you will have a variety of ways to work with your SFAF coach to review your progress and refine your goals.
Scope and Sequence
Reading Roots 4th Edition is aligned to the Common Core State Standards
targets phonemic awareness, phonics, and oral language development beginning in first grade. Click here
to find out more about the Reading Roots scope and sequence.
* Reading Roots-Interactive will work with any interactive whiteboard systems.


Cognitive Skills: Why The 8 Core Cognitive Capacities
ACTIVATE™ is based on the latest cognitive capacity research of the scientific community into the basic cognitive skills and functions that form the groundwork for all learning. Educators that are familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy will recognize the importance of foundational skills such as remembering and understanding for the ability of students to engage in higher-level skills such as analyzing and synthesizing. The scientific community is beginning to both understand the neurological basis for learning skills, and to develop new ways in which these skills can be strengthened through specially designed exercises. ACTIVATE™ is a product of this research, and designed to strengthen the following Core Cognitive Capacities.
Sustained Attention is the basic ability to look at, listen to and think about classroom tasks over a period of time. All teaching and learning depends on it. Without attention, new learning simply does not happen, and issues of understanding and memory are of no relevance.
Response Inhibition is the ability to inhibit one’s own response to distractions. Imagine two children paying close attention to a lesson, when there is a sudden noise in the hallway.The child who maintains attention has better response inhibition.
Speed of Information Processing
Speed of Information Processing refers to how quickly a learner can process incoming information. Some scientists consider speed of information processing a central aspect of IQ. Many children with attention problems often are unable to keep up with the lesson plan presented by the teacher.
Cognitive Flexibility and Control
Cognitive Flexibility is the ability to change what you are thinking about, how you are thinking about it and even what you think about it – in other words, the ability to change your mind. Cognitive flexibility is required in multiple ways throughout the school day.
Multiple Simultaneous Attention
Multiple Simultaneous Attention is the ability to multitask with success. It is the ability to move attention and effort back and forth between two or more activities when engaged in them at the same time. It makes demands on sustained attention, response inhibition and speed of information processing, and also requires planning and strategy.
Working Memory refers to the ability to remember instructions or keep information in the mind long enough to perform tasks. We use simple working memory when we look at a phone number and keep it in mind while we dial it. Working memory is the sketch pad of the mind where we put things to think about and manipulate.
Category Formation is the ability to organize information, concepts and skills into categories, and forms the cognitive basis for higher-level abilities like applying, analyzing, and evaluating those concepts and skills. Categories are the basis of language and organization of the world.
Pattern Recognition and Inductive Thinking is a special ability of the human brain to not only find patterns, but figure out in a logical way what those patterns suggest about what will happen next. In a broad sense, pattern recognition and inductive thinking form the basis for all scientific inquiry.


Using Visual Culture to Put a Contemporary "Fizz" on the Study of Pop Art
Taylor, Pamela G., Ballengee-Morris, Christine, Art Education
Intriguing too, is the controversial nature of Pop Art. Pop artists used imagery and techniques of consumerism and popular culture. In the process, they eliminated distinctions between "good" and "bad" taste and between fine art and commercial art techniques. Unlike the avant-garde, who "used art to dig the trench between art and life, pop did things the other way around ...it made a fetish of the new and ushered in a fascination with consumer goods as art and the gleeful appropriation of any image" (Jencks 1987 in Reiss & Feineman 2000, pp. 10-11). Artist Richard Hamilton's famous work, Just What Is It that Makes Today's Home so Different, so Appealing? is considered by many to be the first Pop piece. Among a number of popular culture references, Hamilton's collage features images of a body builder, Tootsie Roll Pop, movie poster, and console television-all cutting edge images of 1950s society. Hamilton's piece, as well as the work of Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Oldenburg, was meant as a commentary and critique on the consumeristic society of the post World War II era. Pop artists were, in essence, using images from visual culture to critique the values and beliefs of their viewers.
The study of contemporary visual culture takes this critique to an even more meaningful level by drawing attention to diversity, culture, and the effects of global capitalism on ideologies. In this article, we will discuss the ways that the inclusion of contemporary visual culture can put a contemporary "fizz" on the study of Pop Art in art education classrooms thereby making it more relevant and more exciting for our students of the 21st century.
Culture: Popular, Visual, Art, and Human
The term and idea of culture is often misunderstood and thought of as a static and esoteric entity that is outside of one's lived experience (Ballengee-Morris & Stuhr, 2001). On the contrary, culture is the heritage of the future that provides a dynamic blueprint of how we live our lives. It contains multiple aspects that define us. We have multiple cultures as individuals that include the personal(1) as well as those influenced by U.S. and global identities. U.S. culture is primarily political. It includes the place where cultural beliefs and values are formed, sanctioned, or penalized (Ballengee-Morris & Stuhr, 2001). Pop artists explored U.S. culture's effect on both personal and societal levels. Their art gave people opportunities to continue that exploration within larger settings as they explored consumerism and its effect on society, known today as global culture. Pop Art's history, social, and political contexts are embedded within this visual cultural ideology-everyday objects and images.
Visual culture deals with images from mass media such as television, movies, music videos, computer technology, advertisements, magazines, and newspapers. These images create meaning and a vision of life for today's students and for all of us. "Much of visual culture is the visual arts-all the visual arts" (Freedman & Stuhr, 2000). Visual culture education promotes cultural studies and critical theory (Barrett, 2000; Duncum, 2000; Freedman & Wood, 1999; Neperud, 1995; Trend, 1992). Visual culture is inclusive and challenges the ideology of hierarchal labels such as high and low art. Historically, the Pop Art style and artists intended to make statements about the artworld and the stratification between high and low. In the past, high art referred to primarily Western forms and images, while low art referred to forms and images of folk. Like the Pop artists of the 1960s, contemporary feminist and critical theorists, educators, and multiculturalists are on the forefront of challenging this master narrative.
In the 1960s, visual culture transformed into high art-challenging the viewer and artworld to explore what that means. What is high art transformed into visual culture? One illustration may include the ways that directors and producers of the movie Devil's Advocate appropriated the monumental Creation works (at the main entrance to Washington National Cathedral) of sculptor Frederick Hart. …


Developed by MIT graduates, MathScore provides math practice and assessment online, and is proven to raise math test scores through adaptive math practice.
MathScore is a research-based, practice-focused educational program for Kindergarten through Algebra I that provides fun without distractions. Emphasis is placed on foundational skills, helping students learn the skills that are the most important to succeeding in mathematics. MathScore provides over 200 different math topics, many of which require students to go beyond basic skills and apply them in the context of word problems and visual topics.
With assessments, progress tracking tools, and customized courses, teachers have the flexibility to differentiate instruction for every student on an individual basis.
MathScore provides a standard view of each course. However, by using the custom course and assessment features, teachers can define precisely which math skills they want their students to learn. It’s possible to create an assessment based on the customized course, supplemented with a suite of analysis tools.
MathScore is web-based, requires no installation, and can be used at home by students. Most web browsers are supported, and it works smoothly on an iPad and a variety of other mobile devices.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Featured: 1/9/2013 MathScore [Math]
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As an Elementary Music Specialist, I know many of my elementary-level colleagues don’t see NCDA as being relevant to the work they do. They don’t consider themselves choral directors. “We don’t teach children choral octavos,” they say. ” ‘They’ (secondary vocal music educators) primarily teach high school kids how to sing in 4-part harmony. As general music teachers, our jobs focus on SIX skills: singing, moving, reading/writing music, playing instruments, creating music, and listening to music. ”
I usually respond by agreeing that it is true, we don’t teach printed part music until the upper elementary grades at best. However, let’s look at the ways elementary and secondary music educators are the SAME:
-We are practicing musicians, and we take our own musicianship seriously. Most of us were known for our musicianship before we were known for our teaching skills. We’ve studied music theory and use its concepts continually in our classrooms. We are singers, instrumentalists, conductors, accompanists, adjudicators… Sometimes all at the same time.
-We are choral artists. Most of us sing regularly in community choirs, church choirs, professional choirs. We sing for a living in our classrooms, providing a good vocal model for our students.
-We are consumers of choral music. We attend choral concerts of all levels, we listen to recorded choral music, we purchase recordings just for pleasure.
-We know what constitutes “good” music. We are sensitive to the aesthetic beauty present or absent in a particular piece of music, regardless of the music’s complexity.
-We know repertoire. Most seasoned elementary music teachers know 1,000 or more songs, what musical concepts are extractable from each, and for what age and/or grade level each is appropriate.
-We plan carefully and are selective about the quality of musical material we put before our students. We believe that only the best is good enough for our students, whether they are three or 103.
-We teach kids how to sing in tune, how to read music so they can become musically literate and independent music makers, how to listen to music with a critical ear, how to create their own vocal music…
-We have an extended impact on our students, for three, four, five, even 13 years! We not only develop their musicianship but their character. (Thanks, Nate Helzer for the blog post reminding us!)
It is easy to see that elementary and secondary music educators are more alike than different. It is true that our approaches may be different. In our work with young children, we elementary teachers know that young children learn best by being active and participatory. Therefore, we may use different points of entry than secondary music teachers: simpler songs, more movement, more rote teaching initially, more chase games… But the work we do is in essence THE SAME, regardless of the age level we teach: We convey the message that singing in general and choral music in particular is a beautiful thing, and it makes one’s life better.
Unfortunately, we may have had less than pleasant experiences feeling welcome at past NCDA events. About 20 years ago, I attended an NCDA summer conference to get new ideas for my elementary classroom and my community children’s choir. A colleague from my school district who was a well-respected high school choral director saw me at the conference and said, “What are YOU doing here?” Ouch. Nice to see you too.
But I believe that attitude is long gone. The current leadership in this organization DOES value our work as Elementary Choral Directors, and DOES want to meet our needs. The elementary-focused SIng Around Nebraska festival is the largest event NCDA sponsors (sixteen hundred elementary choristers this year!) We will hold another Sing Around Nebraska Elementary Honor Choir this fall at Nebraska Wesleyan University. At this year’s summer conference there are several general interest sessions and reading sessions specifically geared towards Elementary Choral Directors. The work you do in the elementary general music classroom matters a great deal to NCDA!
See you at Doane, July 13-16, 2014!
I teach PreK-5 General Music for the Hastings Public Schools (Morton and Longfellow Elementary Schools) as well as adjunct music education courses for Hastings College. I also assist with the South Central Nebraska Children's Chorale, in residence at Hastings College, and direct the JuBELLation Bell Choir at First United Methodist Church in Hastings. Most importantly, I'm a husband to Amy and dad to Grace.


Modeling for Band DVD
Efficient Teaching and Authentic Learning
by Warren Haston
Warren Haston demonstrates effective and appropriate use of modeling in rehearsals with elementary, middle school, and high school bands. Research shows that modeling can be an extremely efficient way to introduce and review performance concepts. The modeling techniques presented here will enhance any method book or teaching resource and lead to music literacy.
On this DVD, Dr. Haston discusses modeling techniques—based on balanced relationships between ears, eyes, and fingers—and then effectively puts the techniques into practice in front of three public school bands: elementary, middle school, and high school. This DVD includes PDF files with full lesson plans for each rehearsal segment.
Warren Haston is Assistant Professor of Music Education at The Hartt School, University of Hartford. He has taught all levels of public school band in Texas and Fairfax, Virginia.
Thanks to James Hilbie and the Mystic Middle School Bands, Lisa Marino and the Simsbury High School Bands, and Dr. Donald G. Wilkinson of the University of Texas at El Paso. All video was captured and edited by Jim Warnke of Video Creations, Granby, Connecticut.
Instructions: To view the PDF files on this DVD (including lesson plans, modeling philosophy essay, modeling research review), insert disc into computer. Double-click the DVD icon (or Browse the DVD from the Start Menu). Open individual PDFs by double-clicking the icons. If your computer automatically opens a DVD player when the disc is inserted, you must exit the DVD player first.
Item #: DVD-847
Price : $24.95
Please share Modeling for Band DVD with your Facebook friends.


Swim Lessons for the Autistic Child: Swimming Can Improve an
Autistic Child’s Mental Development
A child with Autism can usually do anything a Neuro typical child can through proper guidance. Teaching a child with Autism to swim allows them to work the large muscles of the body, which produce chemicals that are sent to the brain that produce further chemicals that improve cognitive function. Multiple mental disorders and diseases can be improved through physical activity. This has been seen in both children and adults in a variety of studies performed to link the benefits of exercise and cognitive function.
Researchers have found that injured neurons in the brain can be stimulated through physical activity causing them to regenerate. New neurons are created while old neurons form dense interconnective webs that allow the brain to work faster and more effectively. For the parents of children with Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders this is a light of hope. Knowing that a child with a pervasive developmental disorder can begin to better communicate due to mental stimulation is priceless. Though the connection between exercise and mental growth is not fully understood scientists are pleased to see many positive relationships have been found.
With such knowledge many fitness experts are reaching out to their communities and offering physical fitness opportunities for children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders in order to provide the beneficial tools to improve the lives of both parents and children. Julie Gross and her fellow professional swim coaches of Swim With Mr. Blue have experienced the beneficial side effects of exercise first hand. They occur on a daily basis, which is why they have created the Super Swimmers Foundation. Not only will the program help to produce successful swimmers but it will also improve a child’s speech, muscular tone and overall well-being. They understand that a child with autism can learn to swim and understand water safety. Swimming stimulates a child in a balanced manner working with sensory processing, gross motor skill development and increasing cognitive processing skills.
Each child is unique and each swim lesson is approached in accordance with each child’s preferences and abilities in mind. Swim lessons are provided in small achievable steps that are broken down as needed, even beginning with the tolerance of putting feet in the water. Some children respond to the water with ease while others may require lessons to be broken down into extremely small steps for comfort. Swimming lessons for a child with autism or other concerns are adapted by taking a child’s response to water (fear or enthusiasm) into consideration along with their sensitivity to smell (chlorine), auditory processing and vestibular motion for a safe and comfortable learning environment. Julie Gross and her team have had countless success stories with their swimming lessons for the autistic child and continue to grow in these efforts through the Super Swimmers Foundation.
For more information about swim lessons for the autistic child, view our additional articles.


Family Creative Learning is a workshop series that engages children and their parents to learn together — as designers and inventors — through the use of creative technologies. We designed the workshops to strengthen the social support and expertise of families with limited access to resources and experiences around computing.
As they create together, families learn how to support one another in their learning from asking questions, giving feedback, and persevering through challenges.
Children and parents also connect with other families, by sharing meals from local restaurants, engaging in inter-family activities, and sharing their projects.
Technology pervades all aspects of our lives and young people are growing up playing, learning, and connecting with technology. However, parents, especially those with little to no background in technology, are often unsure what role they can play. These workshops leverage the learning dynamics that families already use in activities like literacy development and support families in using them in the context of computing, enabling parents and children to become more empowered learning partners.
Families participate in a series of five 2-hour workshops held in the evenings. In every workshop, we begin with dinner, followed by a collaborative design activity, using Scratch and MaKey MaKey. With Scratch, families program their own interactive stories, games, and animations. With MaKey MaKey, families create physical interfaces to computers, using everyday objects that conduct electricity (such as fruits or Play-Doh). With Scratch and MaKey MaKey, families learn to not only use new technologies, but also create their own technologies. The workshop series culminates in a showcase night for families to share their projects to the whole community.
Ricarose Roque, a PhD student with the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, collaboratively designs the workshops with educators and coordinators in schools and community organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs. They have implemented workshop series in the Boston, MA and in Santa Fe, NM. The workshop designs have significant contributions from Franklin Onuoha, Luisa Beck, Xiaodi Chen, Saskia Leggett, Karina Lin, and Richard Liuzzi with guidance from Mitchel Resnick and Natalie Rusk.


Selected Full-Text Documents
Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act: Program Year 2002-2003 (2004)
This report describes a grant program (under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act or AEFLA) that is designed to help adults without a high school diploma or other basic skills to "function effectively in society." It also includes a summary table comparing certain measurements for adult education.
Adult Literacy & the American Dream (2002)
This document from the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) gives a brief history of adult literacy and how it started.
A Half-Century of Learning: Historical Census Statistics on
Educational Attainment in the United States, 1940-2000 (April 2006)
This report describes the the educational attainment census data in a historical context. Throughout the years the questions asked by the U.S. Census Bureau has changed and this report explains the changes including the variations in data.
Expanding Access to Adult Literacy with Online Distance Education
This document looks at all aspects of online distance education (ODE) and how it can be beneficial to adult literacy.
Family Involvement in Early Multicultural Learning (March 1995)
This digest examines strategies that support children's multicultural learning within a context of family involvement including: parent education and support; school-family curriculum activities, and teacher-parent partnership efforts.
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)
Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy (2000)
This document describes some of the major issues related to purpose, rationale, and methodology that should be considered in designing and carrying out a longitudinal study of adult participants in ABE, ESL, and ASE programs.
Practitioner Toolkit: Working
with Adult English Language Learners (Dec 2004) http://www.cal.org/CAELA/tools/program_development/prac_toolkit.html
This toolkit is designed to support new adult ESL instructors. This document is the result of two surveys done in 2004 and address issues that practitioners face when teaching English as a second language to adults.
Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different? (2006)
This report provides evidence that high school graduates preparedness is similar when going to college or into the workforce. The knowledge and skills needed for either path are comparable and can be acquired through "rigorous" course during high school.
Research Agenda for Adult ESL (1998)
The NCSALL developed a comprehensive national research and development agenda for the improvement of ABE, ESL, and ASE programs. This report combines the literature review with a presentation of the priority issues needed to develop an agenda that will describe the critical questions that need to be answered to improve the effectiveness of these programs.
U.S. Census Bureau
Current Population Survey Educational Attainment Data
Educational attainment data are collected annually in the Current Population Survey (CPS). This page gives links to detailed information from recent surveys and historical trends in selected topics.
U.S. Department of Education
National Center for Education Statistics
- The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
- Adult Literacy and Education in America
- A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st Century http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006470
- Annual Earnings of Young Adults, by Educational Attainment
- Assessing Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency
- Demographic Changes and Literacy Development in a Decade
- Dropout Rates in the United States: 1998
- Highlights from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005117
- Key Concepts and Features of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006471
- Literacy in the Labor Force: Results from the National Adult Literacy Survey
- Literacy of Older Adults in America
- Participation in Adult Education in the United States: 1998-1999
- Programs at Higher Education Institutions for Disadvantaged Pre-college
- Remedial Education in Higher Education Institutions


When Is The Best Age To Teach My Child To Write And Spell?
Answer: There is really no set age to say when is a good age to teach writing to a child. It is more about the readiness of the child to assimilate this as a skill that we should be looking out for before we embark on the skill acquisition process. At pre-school level, we define children as starting ‘to write’ when they are able to understand the direction of writing ( i.e. left to right), know that written words have spaces in between and is able to use or produce letter-like shapes, symbols to convey meaning.
Prior to that, expose them to pre-writing skills like patterning or fingerpaint. Such activities builds up the fine motor skills. My personal favourite is writing on sand with a short stick, holding my child’s hand to allow them to mimic the motion of writing. For older children, when they start to pick up their crayons/pencils and start doodling on the board or paper with the right pencil grip, that is a good time to think of actually sharing with them the wonders of what writing is all about.
Spelling works best when there is a context to understanding the meaning of the word spelt. Children as early as 3 years old can spell simple 3-letter words orally. Exposure to the tools of spelling, that is the alphabet through songs and reading to them early gives them the building blocks to understanding that letters make words.
LEAP Schoolhouse has an ‘Ask and Learn’ section every Thursday. If you have any questions regarding language or literacy development, feel free to drop your questions in the comment box below, or post them on LEAP SchoolHouse Facebook page.
In this Ask The Expert section, we asked Esther Lim, CEO and Founder of LEAP SchoolHouse, about language and literacy development in children. Born and educated in Singapore, she holds a Master Degree in Education (NTU/NIE), Bachelor Degree in Arts (NTU), Diploma in Marketing – Top student for the year 2000 (Chartered Institute of Marketing). Esther has more than 10 years of teaching experience and has taught widely in both Secondary and Primary schools. She was also involved in curriculum planning and development work for the primary unit at MOE for several years. Esther has also conducted workshops and talks for educators, locally and overseas. Besides all the above credentials, Esther is also a mother of three children.
For more info, visit leapschoolhouse.com.sg
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Graduate Catalog 2015-2016
Home | Graduate Catalog 2015-2016 | Graduate Programs, Disciplines, and Course Offerings | Graduate Programs in Education | Graduate Education Courses | EDE - Childhood Education (Elementary Education) Courses | EDE 674 Problem-Based Learning Strategies for The Elementary Social Studies
EDE 674 Problem-Based Learning Strategies for The Elementary Social Studies
3 Lecture Hours; 1 Conference Hour; 4 Credits
Teachers explore the theory and processes of Problem-Based Learning to support best teaching practices and guide children to develop effective and efficient problem solving, self-directed learning, and team skills. The course will identify and apply strategies through which teachers can plan to provide elementary students the opportunity to examine and provide solutions for concrete problems in context of the Social Studies curriculum.
Prerequisite: Matriculation in Sequence I of the Graduate Elementary Education Program or EDE 620
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Diabetes and its complications pose a major health-care burden worldwide and present major challenges to patients, health-care systems, and national economies. The World Health Organization estimates that between 2000 and 2030, the world population will increase by 37% and the number of people with diabetes will increase by 114% . Asia will be the major site of a rapidly emerging diabetes epidemic based on population growth, an increase in the elderly population (> 65 years of age), and the rate of urbanisation . India and China will remain the two countries with the highest numbers of people with diabetes (79·4 million and 42·3 million, respectively) by 2030 . In Malaysia, the prevalence of diabetes has escalated from 6.3% in 1986, to 8.3% in 1996, and to 14.9% in 2006 . One in six Malaysians above the age of 30 years old has diabetes . The dramatic increase in the prevalence of diabetes may be due primarily to the rise in obesity in Malaysia during the past decade, which has been found to be associated with rapid urbanization [2, 3].
Research has shown that the provision of diabetes education by healthcare professionals on medications, diet, exercise, home glucose monitoring, foot care, and treatment modifications have improved clinical outcomes and the quality of life of patients [4–6]. Although knowledge alone does not guarantee a change in behaviour or lead to effective self-management , the assessment of diabetes-related knowledge is an important step towards providing individualize diabetes education programs and to evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions .
A literature search revealed that several instruments for assessing diabetes knowledge have been developed: the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Tool (MDKT) , the Diabetic Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ) [10, 11], the Diabetes Knowledge Assessment (DKN) scale , the Revised Diabetes Knowledge Scale , the PedCarbQuiz (PCQ)  and the Diabetic Numeracy Test (DNT) . Most of these instruments were developed and validated in the United States [9–11, 14, 15], whilst others were developed and validated in Australia  and the United Kingdom . The earliest instrument, the MDKT was developed and validated in the 1970s . Most of these instruments were developed in the English Language [9–11, 14, 15]. However, several instruments have since been translated to other languages such as Spanish [10, 11], Portuguese  and Bahasa Malaysia [18, 19].
These instruments varied widely in their assessment objectives. The MDKT assessed knowledge on general issues and insulin use , the DKQ assessed general diabetes knowledge [10, 11], the PCQ assessed carbohydrate food recognition, carbohydrate food counting and the incorporation of carbohydrate counting in calculating insulin dose , whilst the DNT measured numeracy skills for diabetes (food label interpretation, calculation of insulin dose based on blood, glucose and carbohydrate corrections) .
The population in which these instruments were assessed varied between studies. Instruments were validated in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes [9, 15], in adults with type 2 diabetes only [10, 11], or in adolescents or children with type 1 diabetes [14, 15].
Patient's knowledge on diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia and its medications can be used as one of the outcome measures to assess the effectiveness of educational intervention. In Malaysia, two instruments: the Orang Asli-Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (OA-DKQ)  and the MDKT  have been translated into Bahasa Malaysia and validated. The OA-DKQ assesses diabetes-related knowledge whilst the MDKT assesses general diabetes knowledge and insulin use. However to date, no instrument that assesses knowledge on other cardiovascular metabolic risk factors such as hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, in addition to diabetes knowledge has been developed and validated in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a comprehensive questionnaire to assess patient's knowledge on diabetes, medications, and other cardiovascular metabolic risk factors which included hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, for use by Malaysians with type 2 diabetes mellitus.


Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework
The Oregon K-12 Literacy Framework is designed to support districts and schools as they work toward every student reading and writing at grade-level and earning an Oregon Diploma.
Lexiles in Oregon
The Lexile Framework for Reading® measures student reading ability and text on the same scale--enabling educators to match student reading ability with text difficulty.
Response to Intervention (RTI)
RTI is a process that utilizes high-quality instruction, intervention matched to student need, progress monitoring, and data for instructional decision-making.
Acceleration for Delayed Readers
Programs and strategies to accelerate reading acquisition for K-3, 4-12, and Adult Basic Learners.
Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) engages community volunteers to read one-on-one with K-3 children who need literacy support.
Oregon Literacy PlanThe Oregon Literacy Plan is designed to ensure that in their first 18 years, young Oregonians will develop strong literacy skills that will prepare them for school, college, and career.
Common Core State Standards On October 28, 2010 the State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts & Literacy.
The goal of the EBISS Project is to increase student outcomes by assisting school districts and early childhood programs to implement a continuum of effective and sustainable school-wide academic and behavioral support systems.
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
Standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development with online reports free to all Oregon K-3 classrooms.


[flickr id=”8166866120″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”medium_640″ group=”” align=”none”]
If there’s one thing I like about my program (there’s definitely more than one thing, but this is the biggest), it’s that the professors really try to make you think of everything. I think a great example of this is the classroom management plan I just completed for my Tuesday night Student Teaching Internship course. As a student in Columbia’s Art Education MAT program, you will have to complete this plan in the fall semester of your second year. Allow me to walk you through it!Theories and Beliefs Statement
This is the first part of the classroom management plan. By your second year in the program, you will have developed a sense of what your personal teaching style is and how you want to incorporate various teaching philosophies such as Discipline Based Art Education (DBAE) or Constructivism, etc. While you may have a sense of how you want to teach, sometimes it’s difficult to put it all together in a paper. Writing it all out, however, really helps you practice how you would explain it in a job interview (hint hint)!
Classroom Map and Rationale
This is the fun part! I’m a nerd and love to play around with designing floor plans, so this was my favorite chunk of this project. This is where you design your ideal art classroom and explain what educational theories you used to support your floor plan and why you chose them.
Routines, Expectations, and Consequences
Ask yourself a few questions:
• If you were teaching now, how would you want to start and end your class everyday?
• Are there certain safety procedures you want to drill into your students’ heads?
• What kind of rules and expectations would you implement in your classroom, and how would you address the issue of a student not following those rules and expectations?
Throughout the course of the program, you will be learning different methods of managing your own classroom. This is the part where you explain which methods you intend to adopt as your own.
Family and Community Building
As an art teacher, building a support system of parents, other teachers, and hopefully your administrators is extremely important to establishing yourself in a school. How do you want to get parents involved in your art program? How will you get your greater school and neighborhood community involved in your art class?
My cooperating teacher for my elementary student teaching internship is amazing and has a rotation of parent volunteers who help her with displaying artwork around her school. They also help her prepare materials for the lessons she’s going to teach. She’s definitely got a strong base of parent supporters, and it was one of the reasons I asked to be placed with her for student teaching. I want to learn how to build that sort of community for myself!
Feel free to comment or email me at firstname.lastname@example.org with questions!
[flickr id=”8166866120″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”medium_640″ group=”” align=”none”] If there’s one thing I like about my program (there’s definitely more than one thing, but this is the biggest), it’s that the …


Purposes of Gospel Choirs and Ensembles in State Supported Colleges and Universities
Young, Sharon, The Western Journal of Black Studies
The utilization of music for religious purposes continues to be one of its most significant principles. There are many genres of sacred music; Hymns, Motets, Spirituals, Masses, Southern Gospel, Christian Inspirational and Black Gospel are only a few. Gospel music came into existence during the late 19th century and was a customary part of church services. The name "gospel" or good news was derived from the New Testament (Courlander, 1963).
Southern black people brought their spirituals with them from the south during the great migration to northern cities. It was in these urban cities that black gospel took on the many characteristics of "urban blues", improvisatory piano, guitar and instrumental accompaniment. (Cleveland, 1981). Gospel music continued to thrive and evolve from the Historic gospel songs of Thomas Dorsey and Kenneth Morris to the Modern gospel songs of the Soul Stirrers featuring Sam Cooke, the Caravans featuring Shirley Caesar, the Dixie Humming Birds, and Mahailia Jackson. (Walker, 1979).
Contemporary Gospel music was born during the "black pride" movement of the 1970s and the release of Walter Hawkin's arrangement of the hymn "O Happy Day." The highly charged emotionalism inherent in this style of gospel music resulted in a new interest and popularity among younger generations, which continues today. Many predominately white and historically black colleges and universities have gospel choirs.
The context in which gospel music was created was one of acknowledgement and worship of a Divine being. Gospel music is a part of the black experience (Curtis, 1986), and thus a part of American history and culture. Can gospel music, however be studied and performed devoid of its original context?
The historic Supreme Court decisions of the early sixties concerning religion and public schools promoted a philosophy of neutrality. The first amendment seems to suggest that a government nonpartisan in religious matters better serves religious interests of all its citizenry. The purpose of the first amendment as defined by Justice Rutledge in the 1947 case of Everson vs. Board of Education was to "create a complete religious realm and government by prohibiting every form of public aid or support for religion" (Fisher, 1996; Mients, 1965; Scamm, 1967).
The official stance of the National Association for Music Education, formally the Music Educators' National Conference (MENC, 1996) concerning the performance of religious music in public schools states: "The study and performance of religious music within an educational context is a vital role and appropriate part of a comprehensive music education. Omitting sacred music from the school curriculum would result in an incomplete educational experience" (MENC, 1996 p.2).
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger affirmed that the following questions should be asked of groups and institutional activities that involve religious content. 1. What is the purpose of the activity? 2. What is the primary effect of the activity? 3. Does the activity involve entanglement with a religion or religious group, or between schools and religious organizations?
Although students join university Gospel Choirs for many reasons, a basic question concerns the purpose of schools of music or music departments in state supported colleges and universities, for the establishing and offering Gospel Choir as part of the curriculum. The intent of this study was to investigate the perceived purposes of gospel choir in predominately white and historically black, state supported schools.
A survey instrument was created to determine the purpose of gospel choirs at colleges and universities. The survey instrument consisted of eight questions concerning the presence of a Gospel Choir, the number of members enrolled in gospel choir, whether or not the choir was affiliated with the school music department, the main purpose of the gospel choir, the percentage of music majors enrolled in gospel choir, the racial/ethnic make-up of the ensemble, and the style of music performed most (traditional, contemporary) by the choir. …


Children in England are getting a 'deficient' primary education, according to a report released today by the Cambridge Primary Review.
According to the report, primary schoolchildren are having far too much of their time and attention focused on 'unimportant' matters such as reading, writing and mathematics, and that as a result too many children are leaving primary school with excessive literacy and numeracy skills.
Professor Sandy Wetwipe, of the Cambridge Primary Review, said, "our argument is that children's educations, and subsequently their lives, are impoverished by receiving an education that is so fundamentally deficient".
Professor Wetwipe has recommended a radical reshape of the primary education system, including:
- Reduction of writing tutoring to 1 hour per week;
- Reading list to be reduced to 'Heat Magazine' and 'MySpace';
- Introduction of 'citizenship training', including education on the best way to handle the PR demands of a pre-teen pregnancy;
- Instruction on the benefits system, and mathematics tutoring to focus on calculating entitlement;
- Diversity training, including the best way to wear and detonate a suicide belt;
- History lessons covering the innovations and marvels of New Labour since 1997.


It's slightly morbid, but it's science. Since 1993, students have been learning about animals, their habitats, and science through the RoadKill site. Students record sightings of roadkill and upload their recordings. The result is an interesting students-as-scientists database. Activities are also included to help teachers lead students through the analysis of the roadkill data. Take a look.
With Cosmic Blobs, students can create 3-D characters and objects.It's easy to use and available in quantities with an academic discount.
New York Philharmonic KidZone
The New York Philharmonic KidZone is an outstanding music education site. Kids can learn about the oboe, the clarinet, and famous composers, But what makes this site unique is the activities in the Game Room. Try the "Minuet Mixer"with it's Garage Band-like tools or "Orchestration Station" to learn how the pieces of music sound with different instruments. A great and worthwhile tool.


Doug Clements argues that language arts and mathematics are not mutually exclusive skills.
There’s something fundamental about the thinking that kids do in a good early math program that helps multiple areas.
Doug Clements is a Kennedy Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Learning, a professor, and the Executive Director of the Marsico Institute of Early Learning and Literacy at the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education. He also helped coauthor the report of President Bush’s National Math Council and the new Curriculum Focal Points for early childhood produced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
The Early Math Collaborative, supported by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, held international symposia in 2009 and 2010. The two events brought experts from around the world to share approaches to early mathematics education with teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and other education professionals. The goal was to generate globally-informed ideas and recommendations for improving math instruction in the early childhood classroom. In breakout discussions and plenary sessions, participants brainstormed ideas, identified issues, and recommended actions.


Adventures in Early Childhood: Tools for supporting literacy development
From Erin Carlson
We have all heard about the importance of reading in the development of children. How serious are we taking it, though? How can we support language and literacy development in this fast-paced digital world we live in? Print is all around us, and we can use various types of print to support literacy development in children.
There are many ways that we as teachers, families and caregivers can support language and literacy development in the young lives we impact. Take dramatic play, for example. If you observe young children during play, you will notice that pretend play comprises a large portion of their play time. Children enjoy using their rapidly developing imaginations during play concepts such as playing house, doctor, store, veterinarian, restaurant, post office, and so on. Any experience or interaction a child has in his or her everyday life potentially plays a role in the learning process of how our big world turns. Children can use dramatic play as an outlet in understanding how things work, and we can support them by giving them the materials and guidance they need.
We, as the adults in their lives, can use many tools to support learning and development during play. Not only can we use open-ended questions to encourage thinking and language, but there are many physical props we can introduce into children’s play scenarios that can aide language and literacy development. Children’s play areas should always contain writing materials for children to explore and use while they play. Paper and crayons can be used to create signs of all kinds. Other printed materials such as mailing supplies, restaurant order slips, take-out menus, maps, catalogs, newspapers, coupon books, cookbooks, or other such materials that could encourage print-supported dramatic play in children, should be available. Introduce new materials often to encourage children to use different kinds of materials during play. Allow children to write and create their own printed props. Even illegible scribbles are a positive part of developing writing skills and literacy. It’s all part of the active learning process!
I increasingly worry about losing our letter-writing abilities. Email and texting have taken over our world of personal communication and this generation of children is growing up oblivious to “old fashioned” letter- writing. Our preschool classes recently wrote letters to children in another class as part of a literacy project. It was fun to share stories with others and it was such a thrill to receive a real letter from someone! Maybe your child can send a letter to a friend or loved one this weekend.
We should read often to our children and let them explore a variety of books. Children who are read to regularly gain an early love and appreciation for books that is likely to stay with them into adolescence and adulthood. Bring your children to the library and allow them to browse the selection of children’s books. Read to your children every day and have conversations with them about the stories you read. We are constant models to our children, so allow your children to see you read as well. If our children see us love and appreciate books, chances are they will, too.
Erin Carlson is a licensed early childhood educator at Silver Creek Early Learning Center, a nature-based preschool program on Hwy. 61 outside of Two Harbors.


March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
"What would a squid's skin feel like?" asked Kidzone teacher Nicole Gadd.
Several hands shoot up, anxious to answer.
Students from the after school program, Kidzone, came to Campbell University to dissect squid on March 13, 2009.
Gadd is an elementary education student at Campbell and has been given the opportunity by the director of Kidzone Jackie Dixon to be 4-H lead teacher. She contacted Dr. John Bartlett, assistant professor of biology, and inquired about using Campbell resources for dissection. Dr. Bartlett invited Kidzone to use the labs on campus.
"We want to open our facilities to the public," said Dr. Bartlett. "These squids are leftovers and would be thrown away. It's a great opportunity for these kids to get a hands-on approach to science. This is Campbell being a good neighbor."
Several senior biology students volunteered to help in the lab with the Kidzone children.
"I love helping teach kids something they would otherwise not know," said Courtney Richardson. "Maybe I'll spark an interest in them that they will carry out through college and a career."
For more information about lab usage contact John Bartlett at 910-893-1731.
Photo Copy: Students from the after school program, Kidzone, came to Campbell University to dissect squid on March 13, 2009. Nicole Gadd, head 4-H lead teacher, and Madeline Metz, kindergartener from Buies Creek Elementary, work together on the dissection.
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Defining Art Appreciation
Seabolt, Betty Oliver, Art Education
Students are introduced to the study of art in a course called Art Appreciation, but there is little agreement on what "art appreciation" is or what the goals of a such a course should be. Is it a chronological study of masterpieces or the ability to know the difference between good and bad art? Is it a skill or a state of mind? Is it cognitive knowledge or affective involvement or both? Is the goal to produce student connoisseurs of great works of art or to teach cultured conversational skills? There is much confusion of art appreciation with art history, art aesthetics, and art criticism, but each of these areas is distinctly different, and each has different goals. This article attempts to clarify the differences and explore the changing definition of art appreciation.
The National Committee for Standards in the Arts (1994) defines aesthetics as "a branch of philosophy that focuses on the nature of beauty, the nature and value of art, and the inquiry processes and human responses associated with those topics" (p. 82). Lankford (1992) describes aesthetics as "concepts and methods in the philosophy of art, including inquiry aimed at describing and comprehending aesthetic experience as it is related to artistic processes and products" (p.5). More simply, aesthetics is a general body of knowledge and inquiry about the nature of art. Art history, as defined by the National Committee for Standards in the Arts (1994), is "a record of the visual arts, incorporating information, interpretations, and judgments about art objects, artists, and conceptual influences on developments in the visual arts" (p. 28). According to Ralph Smith (1993), art history is the study of the continuity and changes of art from caves to present. like studio art, art criticism is a skill that can be learned and must be practiced, states Tom Anderson (1991). An observer enters into a direct personal encounter with a work of art to seek its meaning, resulting in an interpretation and possibly an evaluation and judgment of the work (Anderson). Feldman's (1994) definition is "spoken or written 'talk' about art" (p. 1). In short, aesthetics is defined as a body of knowledge and inquiry about the nature of art.
Art history is a body of knowledge and study of specific works of arts and their relationship to other works and to the chronological period and cultural milieu in which they were created. Art criticism is the activity of talking about art. On the other hand, appreciation of art is both an act and a state of understanding and enjoying art, according to Harold Osborne (1970), who borrows the definition from Thomas Munro. Art appreciation, both affective and cognitive, engages emotions and feelings about art while knowing and understanding develop. Appreciation, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (1989), is "perception; recognition; intelligent notice... perception of delicate impressions or distinctions" (p. 581). Johnson (1989) cites several other definitions: Clive Bell's (1913) definition as "sensitive and emotionally-tinged percipience," John Dewey's (1934) definition as "aesthetic perception," and Thomas Munro's (1941) as "understanding and enjoying" (Johnson, p. 24). This simple and direct description of Munro seems most appropriate for defining the activity of appreciation.
Historically, art appreciation has not always been defined as understanding and enjoying art and consequently has not been taught with those goals in mind. Michael (1991) describes the history of art in public school education as alternating between a student-centered nature approach, emphasizing the student's participation in creative experiences, and a subject-centered nurture approach, emphasizing the teacher's role in imparting certain information. These nature and nurture categories offer a useful means of comparing and contrasting early methods of teaching art appreciation with current methodology while exploring the changing roles of teacher and student. …


UMD's Jean Stevenson Researches
the Life and Work of Arnold Lobel
Jean Stevenson digs for treasure in the specially designed underground caverns of the Elmer L. Anderson Library. Stevenson conducts research for the Anderson Library's Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. It is one of the world's great children's literature research collections and it includes books, original manuscripts, original illustrations, and related materials.
This summer, in celebration of the UMD play, A Year with Frog and Toad, directed by Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin, Stevenson did some research on the children’s book author, Arnold Lobel.
“I was sitting alone in the Kerlan, with all my stuff around me,” said Stevenson. “I pulled out a folder, and inside was a manuscript written by Arnold Lobel." This is what she read:
One day in summer
“I burst out laughing,” said Stevenson. “It is such wonderful writing — so simple and childlike. In a way, I felt like I was sitting next to Arnold Lobel as he was writing it. You can hear that he wrote in breath spaces, so it sounds right when it is read aloud.”
The manuscript was only one of the incredible treasures of Lobel’s in the Kerlan Collection. Stevenson brought copies back to UMD and they can be viewed in a display case in the hall near the UMD Library. Stevenson found a facsimile of a black and white Lobel drawing that depicts Toad in his bathing suit and animals laughing at him. It’s from the chapter, “A Swim” in the book Frog and Toad are Friends. "You can see that the publishers added color and made two illustrations out of one," Stevenson said.
She also found a holograph, which is the handwritten text of the manuscript. The holograph is from the chapter “Spring,” the first chapter of the same book. “It was like I could see Lobel writing and revising the work,” said Stevenson. "He wrote with a sure hand. They are hardly any corrections.We know that Lobel wrote and drew every day and it is evident in the holograph."
Another of Stevenson’s finds was a corrected typescript of the same chapter. This one had corrections in another person’s handwriting, possibly the publisher’s.
Research of this kind is familiar territory for Stevenson. She prepares portfolios, which are resources for teachers, to bring to grade-school classrooms. The portfolios contain facsimile copies of original manuscripts and illustrations by well-known children’s book authors. "I show kids what came first,” said Stevenson. “I often have a manuscript. Then I show them what came second. Most often that is materials from the publisher. Then I show them the published books.” When Stevenson can show the students an illustration, it makes the session a special event.
Stevenson’s life work is the study of children’s literature. Her doctoral dissertation, “The Writing Processes of Theodore Taylor and Jane Yolen,” is influencing her current projects. She is preparing a Kerlan portfolio on Theodore Taylor, author of The Cay. She is also preparing a Kerlan portfolio on Myra Cohn Livingston, children's poet, anthologist, and author of many books including I Like You If You Like Me and Celebration.
This spring, Stevenson was asked to make the presentation as the renowned artist and children’s book illustrator Louis Slobodkin was posthumously awarded The Kerlan Award in Children's Literature.
Stevenson teaches Language and Literacy and Children's Literature & Integrating Arts in the Education Department at UMD. She is an assistant professor and the elementary education program coordinator. This spring, she received an Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award.
"I teach the college students to bring reading and writing into the classroom," she said. Stevenson tells her UMD students about one experience she had in a third grade classroom. The third graders wrote every morning as part of a daily writing workshop. "The kids would come in, grab their folders and and write. They had actually started writing as they walked to school or as they rode the bus," she said. "You learn to write by reading. You learn cadence and how to convey ideas. There is a connection."
Stevenson teaches the UMD students something else through her example. She teaches them to be passionionate about reading, writing, and literature.
— written by Cheryl Reitan
UMD Homepage 2007
Did you find what you were looking for? YES NO


Mary Jo writes…
Language is critical for literacy development and storytelling creates an interactive bridge. Music, repeated phrases, and actions provide connections and invite participation by children when they become part of the storytelling event.
Working in schools demands that the storyteller is tuned into the state literacy standards. Storytelling connects many types of standards but I am only concentrating on the literacy connection. A good story challenges a child’s auditory, visual, and kinesthetic skills along with a phonemic awareness.
Performing in schools as a storyteller gives a teller the opportunity to address some reading readiness components such as repetition, retelling, rhyming and sequencing. When teachers are aware of what the stories have to offer they are amazed at the children’s reaction. Children develop their oral language skills by learning to tell and retell stories. They learn about their world, other cultures, visual imagery, moral and social issues and they increase listening skills.
Literacy standards connections to look for when telling stories for children:
- Phonological Awareness
- Understanding Stories
- Book Awareness
- Word Awareness
- Story Enjoyment
Mountains of information are available for review and it can be mind boggling. Check out these organizations for documentation of literacy standards and review for connections to your type of storytelling.
- International Reading Association
- National Council of Teachers of English
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
Play with the sounds of language using songs, rhymes, chants and stories. Get excited about what you do. This life of mine is a passion and I work at it everyday in one way or another. Over the years I have been successful because I spent 35 years in the trenches with young children and also attended numerous conferences and developed a love for my life. I rely on my experiences to connect my storytelling to the world I live in and to share my experiences with anyone who will listen!
More about Mary Jo
I have 35 years as an Early Childhood Educator and 20 years as a storyteller. I believe in my heart that children who listen to stories develop a great vocabulary and understanding of their world. I used storytelling in the classroom and began visiting schools, libraries and doing workshops for teachers and librarians. In this period of time I have been in all but 7 states and visited with thousands of children and adults. Children need excitement, music, props and I like puppets with my storytelling. I am not a puppeteer I just play with puppets and I play with story.
Today I work as an author, storyteller, consultant, teaching artist and granny-on-the-go! I am a good traveler and my fluff goes with me wherever I go to tell stories. Children are hungry to hear a good told story and they connect especially when there is a little rhythm and rhyme. I have 7 books published and working on a couple at this moment along with 3 CDs and my favorite a new DVD called “Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Storytellin’ Fun!.


Education in Russia — Образование в России 1
In Russia children begin going to school at the age of seven. First they study at the elementary school. It lasts three or four years. At the elementary school children get the elementary education, they learn to read, write and count. From the fifth form the secondary education begins. Children begin learning different subjects, such as Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Computing, Foreign Languages and soon. The nine-year secondary education is compulsory in our country, but after completing the nine-year schooling pupils face the first serious decision in their lives. They have to decide either to continue their studies in the tenth and eleventh forms at a general secondary school, or to transfer to specialised colleges, that is to say, choose a particular career. Colleges give young people a secondary education plus trade training. This means that after finishing a college they are both educated and financially independent, able to go straight to a job. Except general secondary schools there are a lot of specialised schools, where more attention is paid to a particular subject, mostly to a foreign language. Besides, the-re are many private schools now, where the education is not free of charge. After finishing school or college young people may enter institute or university to get the higher education. After finishing the fourth course they get the bachelor’s degree and after graduating from the higher educational establishment — the master’s degree. To study is not an easy thing, of course, but nowadays it is quite necessary to be highly skilled and educated specialist.


© 2009 – Routledge
Teaching Music in American Society is a comprehensive textbook designed for students who seek to be certified in music education to teach K-12 music in American public and private schools. It covers the issues facing music education, including the functional role of music within school environments and community settings, the role and function of a music teacher within the music profession and the general education profession, the role of music within the overall school curriculum, and the school music program and local, state, and national issues/policies.
Chapter One: A Sociological Perspective Educations Relationship to Music Education Sociological Basics Socialization and Education Teaching Through A Sociological Perspective Theoretical Approaches Chapter Two: The Purposes of Education Defining "Education" The Purposes of Education in the United States Music Educations Role in the Purposes of American Education Education and Schooling Instructional Concept Models Music Education’s Relation to Schooling and Education Chapter Three: The Teaching Profession The Teaching Profession Teacher Certification Issues Teacher Accountability Teacher Salaries Tenure and Extended Contracts Working Conditions Common Legal Issues Teacher Unions The Rewards of Teaching Chapter Four: Music Education’s Role in Society A Brief Overview of the Foundations between Music and Our Society Music’s Role in Contemporary Society Why Do We Need Music? Music Education’s Role in Society Meeting Challenges to Re-Defining Music Education Chapter Five: Equality of Education An Overview of Educational Models of Equality Groups Affected by Inequalities Teacher Influence on the Equality of Opportunity Inequality Among Schools Equality of Opportunity in Music Education Music Education Among Different Types of Schools Chapter Six: Social Components of Effective Teaching Learning Theories Intelligence and Music Ability Student Characteristics Motivating Students to Learn Characteristics of Effective Music Teachers Developing Effective Teacher Characteristics Classroom Characteristics Chapter Seven: Future Trends toward Teaching Music Historical Trends Trends in Education and School Reform Curricular and Instructional Trends
Political Trends Trends in the Music Teaching Profession


Clark the caterpillar is our guide through music and emotion in this Class Notes video, our standards-based series of fun, short movies about music education.
Watch Clark as he navigates Minneapolis, Minn. to the tunes of Bernard Hermann, Claude Debussy, Frederic Chopin and Gustav Holst, evoking joy, sadness, fear, and calm along the way. Then download the curriculum for this video to extend your learning in the classroom.
This video offers four vivid examples of classical music that will induce highly recognizable emotions in most listeners. The examples were chosen to illustrate Minnesota elementary academic standard 220.127.116.11.2 Describe how music communicates meaning.
We hope you enjoy the video, both in, and outside of, the classroom, and watch the Music for Learning page at ClassicalMPR.org/education for more videos in the coming weeks.


Teaching Children to Read and Write
For children in the developing world (and anywhere else, for that matter), learning to read is a critical first step on the path out of poverty. In Guatemala, children who are able to read and think critically—the two most important outcomes of our program—have far greater capacity to find living-wage jobs as adults. They are more likely to continue with school and are better equipped to start businesses of their own. Readers are also more likely to become seekers and imagine a life beyond abject poverty. And with the ability to read they will have the skills they need to begin to realize that life.
When it comes to learning to read, children in Guatemala face tremendous challenges. Books are rare, illiteracy is common among adults, and few children are read to in the home. Many have never even put their hands on a book by the time they start school. In addition, with 21 officially recognized Mayan languages, many of the children begin school unable to speak Spanish. Because of this, children in Guatemala begin their education without the fundamental pre-literacy skills we take for granted in the developed world. Once children begin school, their challenges are compounded by an under funded educational system and classrooms that are nearly empty of books. These hurdles are made even higher by the fact that teachers in Guatemala need only a high school diploma to teach, often read at the 7th grade level, and have yet to develop the habit of reading themselves.
High-Impact Literacy Activities
Through our Reading for Life program, each year we train hundreds of teachers, who in turn engage thousands of children in classroom and library-based literacy activities. These activities are year-round and culturally appropriate for the village settings where we work. In classrooms the activities include literacy development techniques based on best practices. In libraries and during school vacations, there are book lending and school-break reading programs. Compelling to teachers, librarians and children, our Reading for Life activities jump-start literacy skills and encourage a love and habit of reading.


There was much interest in last week’s article about the art strategies that can be used to enhance science communication, so I thought we’d take a few moments looking at the strategies that were used by Buczynski et al. (2012). The strategies they used came from Julia Marshall’s paper, Five Ways to Integrate: Using Strategies from Contemporary Art.
In her article, Marshall (2010) cites studies explaining how integrating art with other disciplines is worthwhile. She also provides teachers with specific ideas on how to integrate art into all subject areas.
The strategies defined by Marshall (2010) have one thing in common — they are strategies artists use “to manipulate ideas and imagery to make meaning” (Marshall 2010). Through the manipulation of ideas, artists re-frame information in direct or creative ways. Here is a quick look at these strategies and how they enhance learning.
A straightforward approach that involves drawing or creating from observation. Scientific illustration and botanical illustration fall into this category. According to Marshall (2010), this strategy is appropriate to use with all ages (preschool to adult) and aids in learning because it requires a learner to observe a subject, reproduce a subject and reflect upon the subject’s construction.
This strategy calls upon artists to make predictions — to reflect on how a situation will change or to reflect on what might be possible. The implementation of this strategy aids learning because it requires learners of all ages to study an idea before they can think about how it could change (Marshall, 2010).
This strategy requires learners to see things in a new context. Doing so is beneficial to learning because seeing a subject or a concept in a different way results in a new understanding of the subject or concept (Marshall, 2010). This strategy can be used in middle school and high school classrooms (Marshall, 2010).
Mimicking the methods of others is simply doing what others do. Mimicking is beneficial because it provides an opportunity for experiential learning; this strategy can be implemented in grades K-12 (Marshall, 2010).
The creation of metaphors requires identifying differences between similar entities. Creating metaphors aids learning because it requires analytical thinking and provides a way to identify connections between disciplines (Marshall, 2010). Marshall states this strategy is best used with high school students.
To learn more about each of these strategies, read suggestions about how they can be used in the classroom, and to view examples of art created through the use of these strategies, download a copy of Marshall (2010). A link to her paper is available on the website of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at the University of Northern Colorado.
Marshall, Julie. 2010. Five ways to integrate: Using strategies from contemporary art. Art Education. 63(3): 13-19. Web.
[accessed 19 July 2012]
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Key Stage 2
Our KS2 workshops are a great way of supporting your class as they delve deeper in history. Our workshops cover most of the major periods in British history from the Romans onwards, and the workshops are packed full of hands-on activities such as dressing up, object investigation and crafts, and encompass literacy and numeracy skills.
We can support your class’s post-1066 study through our Tudor, Victorian, WW2 and C20th Life workshops and many of our workshops, especially Victorian Mill and Cultural Diversity, are ideally suited to a local study topic. We have recently added a number of WW1 resources and can offer WW1 workshops focusing on how the Home Front in Trowbridge.
Key Stage 2 Workshops: Some examples of our existing KS2 workshops are listed below – contact us on 01225 751339 or email firstname.lastname@example.org if you are interested in a specific topic, or would like something with a local history focus.


Doane Students Educate Students, Teachers in Panama
After attending culturally diverse elementary schools and traveling to Thailand last year for an education interterm, it was no surprise that Doane College junior Kara Maize and senior Audrey Andrews jumped at the opportunity to teach English to elementary students in Panama last summer.
But when the two elementary education and Spanish majors heard they were invited to return to Panama to demonstrate their innovative teaching methods to professionals in Panamanian Education, they were a little shocked.
The women, who are both receiving endorsements in English Language Learners (ELL), traveled to Panama City, Panama last June and July, a trip that more than satisfied the student teaching requirement for their majors. Most ELL education students complete their student teaching in the United States, where they are more familiar with the cultural norms and education styles, said Linda Kalbach, assistant professor of education and coordinator of service Learning at Doane.
So when the time came to teach English to 7-year-olds in a completely different culture, Andrews and Maize hit a few snags.
While they are both Spanish majors, neither is completely fluent in the language yet, and a different country's dialect and culture is best learned after months of immersion-a luxury Andrews and Maize didn't have.
"We can get by," Andrews said of the language barrier. "It might be the long way around."
But it was through these barriers that the two discovered dynamic teaching techniques that would be more effective for their audience.
They quickly realized that the English assignments from a textbook alone wouldn't be the best way for them to teach the young Panamanian pupils. Through trial and error, they discovered the recipe for effective education between language teachers and young students was more interaction through games, song and dance.
"A lot of the stuff we made up as we went," Andrews said. "Some of the songs I made up were quite ridiculous."
Ridiculous maybe, but it worked. They were able to reach children without fully understanding their language or culture. And their methods, supplemented with the textbooks, seemed to be even more effective than those of teachers native to the culture.
And, it landed them an opportunity as undergrad students to speak to professionals at an international conference Saturday in Panama City.
The audience ranged from early childhood teachers to college professors. The presentation encouraged more interaction with students at all levels of education. Andrews and Maize used audience participation to demonstrate their teaching methods in a sort of simulated classroom.
"It will be intimidating because we're not professionals, but we are telling professionals how to teach," Andrews said before the presentation.
But the professors in Doane's education department aren't worried.
"There's no question that Audrey and Kara were ready to teach, and that doesn't just happen," Kalbach said.
Kalbach accompanied the women on the trip, which was subsidized by several departments at Doane, including Academic Affairs and the President's Office.
"An experience that culminates with a formal presentation is the perfect educational opportunity," Doane College President Jonathan Brand said. "How could we not find a way to get them back to Panama for this presentation?"
The presentation underscored the education department's commitment to cultural awareness, said Lyn Forester, chairwoman of the Education Division.
"This will make them very marketable because they have experienced a similar cultural immersion as the ESL students they will serve," Forester said.
The women agreed that the experience allowed them to better understand the needs of their students so they can develop more effective teaching methods.
"You come back and you know where the kids are coming from," Maize said. "After being in a school in Latin America, you're more familiar with the cultural differences."
The women are the first Doane students to present abroad at an international conference.


The effects of Chinese painting appreciation education on the artistic achievement of junior high school students in Taiwan
For the Chinese, fine art is one of the most important items in human life. The goals of fine arts education enhance the student so that s/he can make reasonable judgments about work, gain knowledge of color and understand the process of designing environmental layouts. Related technique and creativity training are offered students in accordance with individual differences and social expectations.^ Traditionally, Taiwan's junior high school fine art program teaches mainly painting technique. The Ministry of Education in Taiwan determines the curriculum of junior high school fine art education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teaching Chinese painting appreciation on the artistic achievements of junior high school students in Taiwan. The subjects were seventh grade students who had never learned Chinese painting before. Two classes were randomly chosen from each target school and were designated as the experimental or control group. Instruction in all groups was delivered by the researcher himself. At the end of the study, data about subjects' related knowledge, creative technique, and feeling toward Chinese painting were systematically collected and analyzed.^ The result of the study was that students in the experimental group were more motivated to learn Chinese painting than were the students in the control group. Students in the experimental group made better progress in the development of creative skill, had better critical ability, and demonstrated better performance in Chinese painting form, set up, stroke and color of related knowledge than did students in the control group. It was therefore concluded that Chinese painting appreciation education can promote better artistic achievement and that this approach should be used in other areas of art education. ^
Education, Art|Education, Curriculum and Instruction
"The effects of Chinese painting appreciation education on the artistic achievement of junior high school students in Taiwan"
(January 1, 1996).
ProQuest ETD Collection for FIU.


With many of the nation’s education leaders focused on the importance of STEM education, the movement to add music to the equation is getting more attention. Recently, a panel of experts gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to discuss ways to elevate music education– and the arts in general – and turn STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) into STEAM.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) sponsored the event, called “Music Education Powers STEAM: The Broader Minded Role of Music in Preparing a 21st Century Workforce.” The panel included Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, NAfME President Glenn E. Nierman, David Dik, National Executive Director of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, and Dru Davison, Arts Administrator for Shelby County Schools in Memphis. The panel was moderated by Matt Wallaert, a behavioral psychologist with Microsoft/Bing.
The participants all agreed that successful music education advocacy depended on highlighting how music develops key skills in students, including self-reflection, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.
“The goal of our teachers is not to make music majors, but lifelong persons who appreciate the arts and there are number of 21st century skills like communication and collaboration that happen almost every day in the music classroom,” explained NAfME President Nierman.
“Everything can be connected. Instead of saying ‘now we are studying science and then we are studying art,’ it can be integrated curriculum that can be really engaging to students…because we all know students learn in multiple ways,” said Rep. Bonamici, who also reported that the bipartisan Congressional STEAM Caucus has grown to include 63 members of Congress.
Nierman added that music offers students the chance to interact intellectually, kinetically, and emotionally, allowing them to take ownership of their world through creation and expression.
“One of the things that the arts and music do uniquely is to help that child discover who they are as a person and their relationship to their fellow human beings,” explained Nierman. “I have often talked to school boards about the fact had we had more students to come in contact with arts education and the integration of art, maybe we would not have had Columbine, the awful things we see happening in schools.”
Dru Davison urged all stakeholders to recognize the role music teachers play in helping close achievement gaps. Davidson pointed out that too much of the dialogue about science and technology education and career readiness tends to focus on very high-achieving students. A strong music education program, he argued, can help struggling students – which Davison was when he was in school – become more engaged in their studies and steer them toward a career and college readiness path.
“What are doing to prescribe solutions those students who are not at that high end?” Davison asked. “The music teacher specifically has a unique role and I think we’re the prescription in many cases.”
Watch the NAfME STEAM Panel Discussion
Rep. Bonamici also emphasized that music and arts education can help close the gender gap by getting girls involved with STEM.
“Girls begin to realize that there are parallels between music and math or science and art, “Bonamici explained. “So we can start to get that confidence back and begin to close the gender gap.”
“Every child deserves arts education,” Bonamici continued. “It shouldn’t be an extra class or done in the basement or up in the attic of the school. It should be for everyone. We have to move STEAM forward and translate it into policy that will benefit not only to our students and our schools, but also to our business community and to the country – to make sure we are globally competitive and our students become innovative thinkers.”
The day after the briefing, more than 150 music education leaders and supporters visited Capitol Hill for NAfME Hill Day 2014 and shared with elected officials the urgent need to ensure the continued preservation of school-based music programs across America.
By Richard Naithram
Kristen Rencher Nuss, Social Media and Online Community Engagement Coordinator. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)


General Music - Grade 6 Curriculum - Will This Idea Work?
Date: August 4, 2014
I just found out that I will be teaching a general music class for Grade 6 along with directing the 7th and 8th grade choirs. They 6th graders will roatate in every 9 weekly. I'm assuming that for many of these kids this will be the last time they ever take a general music class, ever. I want them to understand that music goes accross the curriculum and be able to defend music education if the chance ever arises in their lifetime. Here is what I am thinking about doing each 9 week rotation.
Week 1 - Introduction of the Course/Getting to know the students/Ice Breakers
Week 2 - Science - Teaching that the Voice is an Instrument - Emphasis on Singing
Week 3 and 4 - Math - Teaching Rhythm - Incorporate Bucket Drumming/Singing/Boomwhackers
Week 5 and 6 - Social Studies - Discussing Music in History/Different Musical Periods/Etc. - Incorporate Singing
Week 7 - English - Discuss Poems/Lyrics and Melody Writing (If possible) - Incorpoarate Singing/Boomwhackers
Week 8 - View "Music of the Heart" video and bring everything that has been taught/discussed during the 8 weeks back in.
Week 9 - Assessment - Tests/Games/Recordings of the Students/One Page Paper on the Importance of Music Education in our schools. (Could the paper be to difficult for 6th graders to complete?)
What do you all think about this idea? What other ideas could I use for the 9 week grading period? I am open to suggestions!! I would love to be able to use this class to help build my choral program the next school year. Thanks for your help with this!