In the past decade, Senegal has made strides in achieving universal access to education, increasing primary school enrollment rates from 69.8 percent in 2000 to 92.5 percent in 2009. Despite these accomplishments, more needs to be done to ensure all Senegalese children receive 10 years of quality basic education, especially girls and vulnerable children.
Education quality is severely constrained by a lack of trained teachers, a shortage of instructional resources and a challenging school environment. As a result, many Senegalese children have insufficient skills for their grade level, especially in important areas such as reading and mathematics.
Working with the government of Senegal, teachers, parents, students and private businesses, USAID has:
- Helped 500,000 children attend school, 300,000 of whom are girls
- Built or restored more than 100 middle schools
- Donated over 3 million textbooks
- Provided internet access for 20,000 students
We have worked with the Ministry of Education to establish higher-quality standards for education and a national curriculum that is sensitive to gender, ethnicity, and social standing. In line with USAID’s Education Strategy, we are scaling up our program with the Ministry of Education to improve reading and math learning outcomes of students in early primary grades nationwide. These skills are the foundation for future learning and essential for creating an effective, productive, and engaged population.
Youth and Workforce Development
Since 2008, we have supported Senegal’s efforts to provide out-of-school youth with basic education, vocational training, and life skills. We are now aiming to help an additional 50,000 street children attend school. Because these students need extra attention and support, we are establishing a new partnership with local government and grassroots organizations to increase inclusiveness and support networks.
Education in Conflict and Crises
USAID’s middle school programs target the conflict-affected Casamance region to increase school enrollment and retention in conflict environment. These programs help children attain basic literacy and numeracy skills and reduce the number of out-of-school youth potentially drawn to violent movements.
Last updated: March 11, 2015


added: 15 Feb 2012 // by: VVN Music
The city of St. Louis wants to go where no other city in the U.S. has. They want to open the National Blues Museum.
There are other museums in the country about blues, but many are dedicated to a single artist or a certain geographic area. The St. Louis project would look at the music as a whole and salute the greats from all over the country.
According to their Mission Statement:
The National Blues Museum explores and preserves the historic significance of the Blues as the foundation for American music, celebrates the genre's various styles, and recognizes the musicians who created, sustain and advance the art form.
Plans are for a 25,000 square foot programming area, a 100-seat theater and "technology and artifact-driven exhibits." Exhibits and programs will be aimed at blues lovers, vacationers and school groups of all ages in an effort to educate about the genre.
Once again, according to their site, education will include:
Equip area teachers with resources that connect students and the music of today with America's rich musical heritage.
Provide opportunities for youth and families to enrich their appreciation of music within an educational setting.
Inspire youth to pursue post-secondary education and professional careers in music and expose them to the many facets of the music and entertainment industries.
Increase access to music programs in underprivileged communities and provide additional resources for music education in schools.
Lead the movement to increase music education in schools and communities.
Explore American history through the various regional Blues music genres that were born in the 20th century.
Address issues like race, diversity, culture, and interdisciplinary studies through the Blues and highlight worldwide contributions made by African-Americans.
Provide avenues for the exploration of history, sociology and the various musical genres that sprang from the Blues.
Those who are interested can donate to the future museum in two ways, directly to the museum fund or through The Honeyboy Edwards Fund for the Blues whose purpose is to acknowledge the elders of the blues.
For more information, visit www.nationalbluesmuseum.org.


Hearing about campus violence that appears to be based on anger management failure, I would welcome a sharing on what can be done in art education to make our world a better place. What art lessons, projects, and art critique discussions on anger management, on how the world is often unfair, on how to respond, and on racial equality are being included in our elementary, middle school, and high school art classes. What are the mental health benefits you are seeing, and how do we facilitate and encourage these? If you have something to share, the rest of us could benefit from your ideas. A primary purpose of art is to reflect on life, express life, and inform life. What are the things we are doing that allow students to do this in their work or to rehearse and prepare to do this.


During his lifetime, the path-breaking and prolific lensman Raja Deen Dayal (1884–1905) was one of the most widely recognised photographers from the Indian subcontinent. Today he remains among the most celebrated figures from this earlier era. This book brings together for the first time extensive archival research with close analyses of the significant body of Dayal’s work preserved in the Alkazi Collection of Photography. Over the course of his remarkable career, Dayal opened studios in Indore, Secunderabad, and Bombay, employing over fifty staff photographers and assistants. Together, they produced more than 30,000 images of architecture, landscape, and people that have played a central role in how India’s past has been visualized. This volume explores varied topics, from Dayal’s public works, state visit, and hunting photographs to his images chronicling india’s elite and growing middle classes. In this way, lays the groundwork to rethink the history and practice of photography in India: as a commercial business, as an engagement with new technology, and as an aesthetic enterprise.
Trained as a draughtsman, Dayal rose quickly through the ranks as a Surveyor with the Public Works Department of the Central India Agency in Indore. He began photographing in the mid 1870s, becoming a master in the delicate art of developing glass plate negatives and albumen prints and producing what are still some of the most stunning views of the architecture and landscape of northern India. Ever the consummate businessman, Dayal soon counted the elite of British and Indian society amongst his clients. Eventually, he was appointed court photographer to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, and the studio became the first Indian firm to receive the Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria. Dayal’s career testifies to photography’s paramount role in the overlapping arenas of the Princely states, British Raj, and the emerging cosmopolitan centres of nineteenth-century India.
Published in association with The Alkazi Collection of Photography.
About the Authors
Deepali Dewan is a Senior Curator in the Department of World Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. Her research encompasses colonial art education, the history and theory of photography in India, and the visual dimensions of modernity as examined through a transnational lens. She is the author of Embellished Reality: Indian Painted Photographs and editor of Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Deborah Hutton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at The College of New Jersey. Her research is focused on examining the relationships between art, identity formation, and intercultural exchange at the princely courts that ruled over the Deccan region of India between the 16th and early 20th centuries. She is the author of The Art of the Court of Bijapur and co-editor of Asian Art and A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture.
NOTE: This title is shipped from India. Books will be available in other territories from late June 2013 onwards.


|Student Teaching: Elementary Education|
|CLASS CODE:||ELED 490||CREDITS: 12|
|DIVISION:||EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT|
|GENERAL EDUCATION:||This course does not fulfill a General Education requirement.|
|DESCRIPTION:||Student Teaching is the culminating experience, the capstone of the academic and professional training of a pre-service teacher. A sixteen week practicum is completed in the public school classroom in a primary (grades K-3) and an intermediate (grades 4-7) placement. Pre-service teachers demonstrate their skill as they apply all they have learned about the principles and art of teaching.|
|TAUGHT:||Fall, Winter, Summer|
|CONTENT AND TOPICS:||Teaching Methods:
|GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:||1. Plan meaningful learning experiences that promote student achievement and active engagement in learning.
2. Understand the subject matter to be taught and create learning experiences that make the subject matter meaningful to students.
3. Use a variety of instructional strategies to promote student achievement and active engagement in learning.
4. Use a variety of formal and informal assessments to evaluate learning and teaching.
5. Display beliefs, values, and behaviors that guide the ethical dimensions of professional practice.
6. Defend teaching practice.
Letters of recommendation from cooperating teacher and supervisor.
|EFFECTIVE DATE:||April 2002|


Activities / Lesson Plans
Lomax: The Hound of Music: Educational Philosophy
The award-winning creators of Between the Lions and renowned music educator John Feierabend, Ph.D., Director of Music Education at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, have joined forces to create a highly interactive television series, called Lomax: The Hound of Music that provides scientifically-based music education to children aged three to seven.
Interactive is the key word. Children on the show and at home are encouraged to take an active part in every aspect of the show, joining in with their voices, bodies, and brains.
The show is saturated with sound-with an emphasis on folk songs representing America's stunning diversity.
Developing Musical Intelligence
Using a research-based, highly successful curriculum developed by Dr. Feierabend, Lomax: The Hound of Music gives children (many of whom may have limited opportunities to explore music, in or out of school) a chance to develop musical intelligence at a time when they are neurologically primed for this kind of learning-pulling them into the experience with fun and fantasy.
By musical intelligence, we mean the kinds of skills that help children become more tuneful, beatful, and artful. That is, they become better able to hold tunes in their heads and repeat them; better able to feel and sustain a beat; and more receptive to the ideas and feelings expressed in music.
- Lomax: The Hound of Music engages children in songs and rhythmic games that let them explore all of the core musical elements-pitch, rhythm, and timbre-with their voices, bodies, and minds.
- It poses interesting problems, challenging children not only to repeat song fragments and refrains, but also to "think" and improvise their own songs.
- It makes full use of folk music's wonderful tactile component-the clapping, snapping, stamping, and moving that reinforce and deepen children's musical experience.
- It introduces appealing puppets and props to bring alive the narrative and poetic devices, such as metaphor and alliteration, that are woven so richly into the fabric of traditional music.
- Finally, it helps children develop greater sensitivity to the expressiveness in music as they listen to classic American folk songs.
Lomax: The Hound of Music rests on a solid research base that demonstrates how these activities contribute not only to children's musical intelligence, but to their overall cognitive and emotional development as well.
A New Generation of Music Makers & Sharers
As they watch and participate in the show, children hear songs from every corner of our diverse nation, performed by celebrities and non-celebrities, sometimes on location, as well as by the actors, kids, and puppets on the set. What's more, they learn to sing the songs themselves. They are transformed from passive listeners to makers and sharers of music.
Sharing the music is a crucial part of Lomax: The Hound of Music. For so many children today, music is something produced by the radio or TV-an audible backdrop for life's "more important" activities. Lomax restores music to its traditional place in American families and communities, as a living, moving force that gives voice to feelings and ideas, expresses our nation's rich diversity, and pulls people together in good times and bad.


It’s fun! You get to be a mad scientist! We challenge kids and teens to take the Summer Reading Challenge to unlock levels and reveal prizes!
Parents and caregivers, there are studies that back up the importance of reading in the summer for your child’s brain development and success in school. The Summer Reading Challenge isn’t a tutoring program. Depending on the age of your child, this is a self-directed program or one that you and your child work on together. Library staff at all 8 branches, one right in your neighborhood, are here to celebrate and support the fun of reading.
“Students who participated in the public library summer reading program scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those students who did not participate and they gained in other ways as well” proves the Dominican University Study: Public Library Summer Reading Programs Close the Reading Gap.
Your child’s teacher will say that if your child doesn’t read much during the summer his reading level he obtained at the end of the school year will drop.
Reading for fun and regular trips to the library to get access to a variety of print materials improves “children’s reading performance… and produces improved attitudes toward reading and learning among children.”
Studies show that on average, by the time they are 3 years old, children in professional families have heard about 30 million more words than children from lower-income households. This early disadvantage affects IQ and school achievement. Words from a TV, computer, or radio don’t count when it comes to building a child’s vocabulary, and in fact too much screen time may hurt, researchers say.
What can you do to improve the number of words your child hears? Go to the library!!! You are the most important person in your child’s life and his first teacher. The Public Library Association (PLA) and Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) after studying research have reported that the most important tasks you can do for your child’s early literacy development, to prepare your child to get school ready, and continue to do well in school is: Reading, Talking, Writing, Playing, and Singing at an age appropriate level. These elements have been considered while developing the content for all our youth programming, including the Summer Reading Challenge. These elements are the building blocks of the Every Child Ready to Read @ Library methods used in our pre-reading classes. These methods are used when planning all children’s programs. Check out our “Let’s Play!” program . Take out some picture books are based on children’s songs and the book is intended to be sung not read. Talking can be done about any of your activities during the day. Take turns talking. When adult and child speak back and forth, this is incredibly important for language development. Reading encourages talking and ask questions of your child about what you are reading. Listen while they tell you what they have gotten out of the book and any retellings or “reading” of the story.
Why is access for the Summer Reading Challenge only online? This is to give youth another opportunity to become familiar with using the computer and develop digital literacy. They create an account and record the time they spend reading and the titles of the books. If you don’t have a computer at home, use our computers. In 1995 the Commerce Department published its first look at the “digital divide,” finding stark racial, economic and geographic gaps between those who could get online and those who could not. Now many lower income families have access to the internet. However one Pew study suggests, you can’t fill out a job application through a cell phone or update your resumé on a game console (another way that many lower income families report they access the Internet). The divide has shifted from an access issue to a kind of access divide. With jobs, politics and even health care moving online, millions are at risk of being left behind.
Coming to the library is great prevention for not letting your children and the children of Grand Rapids get behind!


NASA’s high-flying observatory enables astronomers to peer deep into the heart of the universe. And when the observation plane’s garage-door-sized panel opens at 45,000 feet this spring to put its infrared telescope into action, Wright State University alumnus Tom Jenkins will be on board.
“I expect the experience of a lifetime; it will be a chance to geek out with some super brilliant people,” Jenkins said. “I also expect to grow as a teacher.”
Jenkins, 39, teaches science at Indian Valley Middle School in Enon, Ohio. He will join Heidi Steinbrink of Oakwood High School in Dayton on the flight of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, beginning May 4. It is part of NASA’s flying-classroom-for-teachers program.
“One of the things about being a good teacher is trying to always be a constant learner and continue my education,” Jenkins said. “I am looking for creative and interesting experiences that help inspire me and try to share the new knowledge, inspiration and energy with my students.”
Jenkins earned his bachelor degree in elementary education with a science concentration from Wright State in 1997 and a master’s in science teaching in 1999.
He expects to go on at least one of the eight-to-10-hour night flights and possibly two. He plans to videoconference with his students during the flights and is already prepping them by having volunteers from the Air Force Research Laboratory talk to them about the electromagnetic spectrum and why infrared is important in astronomy.
Conventional telescopes allow scientists to use visible light to see the night sky, but they can’t see everything because of cloud cover or distances. Infrared telescopes enable scientists to see through things and see greater distances. And by flying at between 39,000 and 45,000 feet, the telescope is above the water vapor in the atmosphere and can see even farther.
The aircraft, a highly modified Boeing 747 outfitted with a telescope more than eight feet in diameter, will take off from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. Besides the pilots and technical crew, the plane will carry two teams of educators as well as scientists, engineers and astronomers from NASA and universities around the world—about two dozen people in all.
“SOFIA offers educator teams unprecedented access to infrared astronomers and the unique capabilities of an airborne observatory,” said John Gagosian, SOFIA program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center. Twelve two-person teams were selected for the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program, representing educators from 10 states. Jenkins will have a computer and a workstation on the flights.
“My experience in astronomy and astrophysics is very minor compared to people who dedicate their entire lives doing this,” Jenkins said. “The flight for the educators is more to be inspiring and show us real-life science at the highest level so we can share that experience with our kids.”
Jenkins said he really caught fire with the passion for teaching science when he was at Wright State learning from professor William Slattery, who turned him on to inquiry-based education.
In addition to teaching at the middle school, Jenkins has also worked at the Dayton Regional STEM Center and Air Camp, a hands-on, educational aviation and aeronautics program.
Jenkins believes the NASA experience will give him a better understanding of processes involved in true scientific research.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to pass those skills on to the kids,” he said. “Another thing is the enthusiasm, which is priceless. Science is wonderful, but too many times we extinguish that fire before we get it ignited and we lose the kids’ interest. The one thing I want students in my class to walk away with is the fact that they learn for a purpose.”


When students engage in reading on a daily basis, they are able to formulate reading strategies, practice strategies learned through shared and guided reading, and gain confidence as readers who are able to read independently. With daily practice and encouragement, students become more strategic and thoughtful readers who become more conscious about their reading strengths and limitations. During this time of reading development, teachers need to constantly assess their students’ progress and determine the instruction and resources needed to provide just the right amount of support. How do teachers determine which texts will challenge their readers without discouraging them? How can teachers measure reading progress? The answer is the running record. However, the running record does much more than provide a measurement. Sharon Taberski, the author of On Solid Ground: Strategies for Teaching Reading K-3, contends that “[running records] become more of a tool for teaching rather than an instrument to report on children’s status in class or stage of reading” (pg. 46). Running records inform instruction and serve assessment purposes: two qualities that lead to purposeful teaching. How to conduct, code and analyze a running record is beyond the scope of this post (Sharon Taberski’s book explains how to do these things much more eloquently, in my opinion); however, it is important to understand that assessment and instruction go together to meet the needs of today’s increasing diverse students.
The idea that an assessment is more of a tool for teaching than a form of measurement is key to understanding that children have reasons behind making the mistakes that they do. For example, reading, “My mom and I went shopping for food” instead of reading “My mom and I went shopping for groceries,” indicates that the student is reading for meaning and structure. Substituting the word food for groceries does not alter the meaning of the text and the structure of the English language is upheld. In this case, the student struggled with matching the visual features of the word with the sounds that those features represent. By analyzing this one miscue, we learned more about how to help this student than if we just counted the miscue as a mistake and moved on. Assuming that this student continually made similar miscues, we could direct the student’s attention to the visual features of the text and discuss what sounds those features represent. In other words, we could help this student develop strategies that deal with analyzing the visual features of text.
While browsing Youtube, I found a wonderful channel that provides early childhood educators advice about conducting running records, analyzing miscues and self-corrections, and activities that support children’s literacy development. The channel primarily targets younger children (i.e., kindergarten); however, those who teach older children will find some valuable information as well!
http://www.youtube.com/user/artfulreading (Seriously, take a look!)
For those of you still learning how to code and analyze running records, or just need to be reminded (I am still learning something new everyday!), below is a helpful video that explains how to analyze syntactical (structure), semantic (meaning), and graphophonic (visual) miscues.


Welcome to Group 1-A of EDTF 200 section 3!! Our group chose the topic of Healthy Living because Brad Peterson, CJ Bond, and Sierra Shaheen are Health and Physical Education majors while Jordan McGregor is a Elementary Education Major. To encompass all of our majors with this group project, we decided to have our target population of students as Kindergarten through Fifth grade. This allowed all of us to have an equal interest in this project and something to gain from completing it.
What we completed for this class?
We, as a group, completed a concept map for our topic which allowed us to see exactly where our project was heading. Next we then completed our movie on Hygiene and the importance of making sure you keep you body free of germs and other bacteria. Then we we divided up who would complete the Booklet, Newsletter, Poster, and Power Point. We also used the concept map to make sure we touched on the four key aspects of Healthy Living; Hygiene, Stress Management, Nutrition, and Staying Fit. We then also, designed a lesson plan which allowed us to incorporate the booklet, newsletter, poster, and power point into the classroom setting.
Why is this an important topic?
The topic of Healthy Living is an extremely important topic for many reasons. First of all, it addresses ways that you can keep your body safe from harmful bacteria and germs as wells proper ways to clean your body. Secondly, it addresses how to eat properly. Obesity is a major concern in our society today and having the knowledge of what foods are harmful to your body as well as knowing what foods you should be eating is a key step in fighting this growing problem. Thirdly, staying fit, and keeping your body active will allow to continue the fight against obesity. We address techniques of how to exercise and efficient ways to stay active and have a healthy body. Finally, we address one of the most underrated aspects of a healthy life, stress management. Managing your stress is a huge part of your emotional health and your physical health. We go on to talk about the different ways you can manage your stress and steps to achieve a stress free life.


Teaching Art to Your Child Made Simple – Madcap Logic Introduces ‘The Art Factory’ Integrated Lesson Plans for Hands-On Projects with Creativity Express OnlineSeptember 7th, 2014
Perfect for Homeschool and Distance learning families, ‘The Art Factory’ ‘Integrated Lesson Plans for Creativity Express Online make it easy and fun to include art education in any child’s curriculum. No prior experience necessary!
Parents know that Art Education is important for their children, but what exactly is art? Very few adults were fortunate enough to have top-level art instruction in school. Those who did will point out that learning to paint or draw is secondary – there’s much more involved. Art education is so much more than the study of a single subject – it is a gateway to history, science, geography, math, culture, and a world of ideas. It is also one of the best ways to help children develop their critical thinking skills, and explore their own creativity.
The Creativity Express Online curriculum includes 16 lessons with interactive learning activities. Each cross-curricular lesson offers engaging lessons with animated characters, followed by interactive activities to strengthen understanding of the ideas presented. Children explore art and visual literacy through the three progressive components of Creativity Express : sayART, seeART, and doART.
Children are introduced to fundamental art principles and ideas in sayART, discover meaning and interpretation in seeART and explore self-expression in doART. “Creativity Builders’ provide the basis for hands-on activities.
In addition to the existing ‘Creativity Builders’ hands-on art projects, Creativity Express now includes a second comprehensive set of teacher/student lesson plans.
Designed with younger children in mind, each lesson set of ‘The Art Factory’ includes detailed step-by-step Teacher guides and ‘On My Own’ Children’s activities.The combination of the Creativity Express Online content and integrated lesson plans allows homeschool and distance learning families to give their children a comprehensive art curriculum without additional support.
For each of the 16 Creativity Express Online lessons, the integrated Art Factory Plans provide:
1) Group Activity Summary: an overview of lesson content, its educational purpose, and the sequence of hands-on projects.
2) Teacher Lesson Plans: 4-5 plans for each lesson module, these detailed guides move step-by-step
- Objective (Students should be able to…)
- Class time needed
- Additional print-out template files as needed
3) ‘On My Own’ Activities: 2-3 projects for each lesson. Playful character introductions and easy to follow graphics promote creativity and independence
‘The Art Factory’ lesson plans utilize both traditional and digital art techniques. They are downloadable from the Teacher Account Center for Creativity Express Online subscribers.


Review by: G. Reid Lyon, Distinguished Professor, Southern Methodist University
"An extraordinarily valuable resource that fills a critical void in our ability to successfully address reading difficulties and dysgraphia . . . a must read for researchers and practitioners!"
Review by: Sally E. Shaywitz, The Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development, Co-Director, Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity; Author, Overcoming Dyslexia
"A gift to both teachers and the children they teach. Berninger brings the latest scientific information on dyslexia and dysgraphia right into the classroom."
Review by: Malt Joshi, Editor, Reading and Writing; Professor, Texas A & M University
"An invaluable resource . . . required reading for anyone interested in making students in elementary schools lifelong learners."
Review by: Louisa Moats, Sopris West Educational Services
"Written as a dialogue between a gifted teacher and an accomplished researcher, this book juxtaposes two perspectives that enrich one another. It offers an unusually detailed rationale and description of multimodal language instruction within an intellectually engaging curriculum."
Review by: Jeffrey L. Black, Medical Director, Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
"Scholarly and practical . . . I intend to make the book required reading for our staff of teachers, psychologists and researchers."
Review by: Diane J. Sawyer, Murfree Professor of Dyslexic Studies, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
"Destined to become a standard for the field. A must read for all teacher educators and teachers in practice."
Review by: Marcia K. Henry, Past President, International Dyslexia Association; Professor Emerita, San Jose State University
"Finally, a comprehensive book for researchers and teachers of students with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia! Berninger and Wolf contribute essential information, strategies and activities for oral and written language development based on state of the art research."
Review by: Karen R. Harris, Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
"A powerful look at what we know about the biological basis of dyslexia and dysgraphia, and how schools and teachers can provide effective instruction for students challenged by these disorders. An incredible resource."
Review by: Emerson Dickman, Immediate Past President, International Dyslexia Association
"Sets the table for literacy development from soup to nuts. As a teacher of reading, if you have room for only one book, Berninger and Wolf have made the choice a 'no brainer.'"
Review by: Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Special Education, Vanderbilt University
"Wow - this book not only took my breath away, it knocked it right out of me! A powerful road map for working with children with dyslexia and dysgraphia."
Review: The Midwest Book Review
"A top pick."
Review: Educational Leadership
"Gives readers the best of both worlds: critical insights from scientific studies and lessons learned from teaching…Excellent reference."


Note to Reader…
This collection of reading lessons focuses on grades 1 and 2 and privileges the explicitteaching of reading comprehension strategies through a reading workshop format.The comprehension strategies listed below are privileged:
Reading Comprehension Strategies
between texts, the world, and students' lives(sometimes called text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self connections). Readersbring their background knowledge and experiences of life to a text.2.
Creating mental images
. These "mind pictures" help readers enter the text visually intheir mind's eye.3.
. Readers who use this strategy actively ask questions of the text asthey read.4.
. This strategy describes a reader's conscious and ongoingdetermination of what is important in a text.5.
. When readers infer, they create new meaning on the basis of their lifeexperiences and clues from the book.6.
. Although this strategy is sometimes considered a retell, synthesizing isa way of spiraling deeper into the book. Readers might explore the text through theperspective of different characters to come to new understandings about thecharacter's life and world.


Instruction For Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing
who are deaf experience special challenges in learning
to read and write.
to read and write is part of the language acquisition process,
and many of the difficulties deaf students experience are related
to their lack of a strong language base (either English or ASL).
students may lack some of the background knowledge that hearing
students bring to reading.
students' lack of exposure to spoken language makes teaching
traditional sound-letter correspondence difficult, if not impossible.
those deaf students whose first language is signing, learning
to read and write in English constitutes learning a second language
with a different grammar, lexicon, and syntax.
need special methods to teach literacy to students who
should provide students with background knowledge regarding
culture and content, as well as language aspects such as grammar,
use of idioms and vocabulary development.
spite of the difficulties mentioned above, there has been some
success for the use of cued speech to teach traditional phonemic
(sound-letter correspondence) methods of reading to this population,
and this is not necessarily dependent on usable hearing.
should address basic fluency, development of advanced writing
skills and reading comprehension.
fluency is acquired within social contexts in which students
are motivated to communicate and relate to others.
provides students who are deaf with opportunities to enter the
world of literature and enjoy videos, TV with captioning, and
other forms of entertainment with their hearing peers. It allows
them to access information through all types of media. In addition,
strong literacy skills allow Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults
to compete in the job market.
to a wide range of written materials in "print-rich physical
of written, finger-spelled, and signed language, and the relationship
between the three.
to experiment with reading and writing in a risk-free and supportive
Methods for teaching literacy to students who are deaf include:
TV and video at home help expose children to lots of written
English, supporting natural literacy development.
the classroom, captioning allows the teacher to focus on broad
textual concepts in a more directed instructional environment.
video, multimedia, and on-screen captioning are all being used
increasingly to teach students who are deaf.
of these methods include:
ability to individualize lessons to the needs and preferences
of diverse students
combination of text and video is highly motivational and reinforces
the context for literacy learning
technology makes literacy more accessible and more comfortable
signing in the videos and computer applications is of excellent


Chris Shively, assistant professor of elementary education, will share his research “Taking the Next Step: What Should Happen after My Students Collect Science Data."
Shively has examined the narratives associated with science lessons taught by seven pre-service science teachers (PSTs). His talk uses sociocultural theory to explain why seven pre-service science teachers did not design and teach science lessons that enabled their kids to communicate with each other about the data they collected during the science lessons. Shively explains how grades and high stakes exams contributed to this phenomenon. For more information about Shively, visit his website: http://btcactus.wikispaces.com/


PRIMARY ROADSHOW - free
25 Feb 2013
Activities and ideas shared will aim to enhance literacy and numeracy skills, develop transferable foreign language skills, and provide a fun yet challenging aspect to foreign language learning which will both enrich the primary curriculum and assist transition into KS3.
Themes will include cross-curricular links, International linking, ESDGC and using simple resources such as songs, storytelling and games.
To experience a range of innovative and practical ideas to enrich the primary curriculum (which can subsequently be developed in KS3);
To share good practice in primary foreign languages / transition (making explicit the skills involved in language learning of any kind);
To familiarise teachers with the KS2 non-statutory framework for MFL (which contains similar skills/range as for Welsh and English).
To make teachers aware of the support available (resources, support & training, networks)
PR03 25th February (Mon) Imperial Hotel, Llandudno
PR04 8th March (Fri) Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells
Advisory support will be available from a CILT Cymru Adviser post-course.
Register here on-line or download the registration form (pdf file 423kb) with all the details.


"Without a huge time commitment, these cards are a worthwhile investment for any family that is pursuing music." -- TOSâ„¢ Magazine
Our older children are piano students, with a faithful teacher that we adore. The parents in our home, however, are not music students. It is a tricky thing to teach musical notation without knowing it oneself! So we have found Quick Notes by Learning Lore to be a helpful tool. This set of 36 flashcards does an excellent job of providing drill on musical notation. These are large (8.5 x 11), laminated for durability, and easy to read. If you lose things as easily as I do, I recommend storing them in a binder for safekeeping.
The recommended schedule is to start with three cards and then add one to three cards a day. While sitting at the piano, the flashcard is presented, the key pressed to show the location on the keyboard, and the key named. The student repeats the information, and then new cards are added. They also have suggested games to reinforce the information. Recommended for ages four through adult, I may finally learn musical notation too! For ordering, contact Learning Lore at 1-800-250-7603, or see their website at www.LearningLore.com.
The early days of music education set the stage for whether music will be a pleasure or drudgery. Sight-reading ability helps reduce the frustration in those first days of learning. "Using Quick Notes on a daily basis will improve a student's sight-reading ability and build confidence in their playing." Without a huge time commitment, these cards are a worthwhile investment for any family that is pursuing music.


Effective reading strategies can range from questioning and visualizing to pre-reading and decoding. Reading strategies are used to help students become effective readers. To see improvement in a student’s reading ability these skills need to be mastered. Decoding is one of the most important foundational skills. Many times if there is a comprehension problem, at the root of that difficulty is a decoding problem. Teaching students proven decoding strategies provides them with a strong foundation to ensure reading success.
What is decoding?
Decoding is the process of translating print into speech by rapidly matching a letter or combination of letters (graphemes) to their sounds (phonemes) and recognizing the patterns that make syllables and words. There is an area in the brain that deals with language processing and does this process automatically. Statistically speaking, about 30 percent of students do not access this part of their brain automatically and therefore must be taught decoding strategies very explicitly and systematically. This means that we start with the simplest sound/letter concept and build to the more complex. This method of phonics instruction has been proven to be the most effective in helping students gain decoding skills.
Why are decoding strategies important?
Decoding is important because it is the foundation on which all other reading instruction builds. If students cannot decode words their reading will lack fluency, their vocabulary will be limited and their reading comprehension will suffer. Teaching higher-level reading strategies to students stuck at the word level is ineffective and frustrating.
How can I teach decoding?
Explicit, systematic and multi-sensory phonics instruction produces effective decoding skills. Phonics can be taught both implicitly or explicitly. Implicit phonics begins with a whole word and then looks at beginning sounds, ending sounds and context clues. Explicit phonics does the reverse by building from a single letter to a word. Because of poor results with implicit phonics, phonics instruction has been given a negative connotation—phonics is not really effective unless it is taught explicitly and systematically. Phonics taught any other way could be compared to an alphabet soup of sounds. The way it is taught is what determines the level of success, particularly for those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
Presenting phonics and instructing it in a logical sequence, in which one concept builds upon the next, is another essential component of teaching phonics and decoding. This systematic approach helps students to master skills quickly and move to the next concept seamlessly. Teaching phonics using a multi-sensory approach reaches all learning styles in a classroom and gives those struggling readers the visual and hands-on instruction they need. When phonics is taught according to these guidelines, students will be able to find decoding success and it will quickly become an automatic process for them.
Automatic recognition of individual words leads to fluent reading of strings of words, which in turn leads to full comprehension—the goal of reading instruction. When this process is automatic and efficient then additional reading strategies can be taught to help the students understand more from what they read and have a successful and fulfilling experience with text. As a teacher or parent what more could you want?


A collaborative approach to English language learners' literacy and language development
The purpose of this study was to identify the role of the collaborative approach to language and literacy development (CALLD) of the reading comprehension and language development of third- and fourth-grade English language learners (ELLs). The Second purpose was to describe the roles of two mainstream teachers and one ESL teacher in facilitating instruction to meet the academic and language demands of these English language learners. ^ The participants were from an intact sample consisted of 8 English Language Learners (ELLs). They were part of a third and fourth grade mainstream class in which all the instruction was conducted in English. Three elementary school teachers participated in this study. Two of the three teachers were mainstream classroom teachers and one was an ESL specialist. The study was conducted in an elementary school in Rockland County, New York during a six-week period. Data was collected through, the Qualitative Reading Inventory-II (QRI-II), the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), open-ended questionnaires, teacher interviews, teachers and students' reflections, observations and audio/video recordings. The study sought to identify: (a) English reading comprehension and oral language development, (b) the types of strategies that occurred during interactions between ELLs and English proficient students while they worked in collaborative reading groups and the role they played in collaborative groups, (c) the ELLs' perceptions of the benefits of using the CALLD strategy, (d) the roles of the two mainstream teachers and one ESL teacher using the CALLD strategy model, and (e) the main characteristic of the CALLD strategy. ^ The analysis of the findings of this study indicated that: (a) participating ELL students made progress in reading comprehension and oral language, (b) demonstrated frequent use of effective reading comprehension and language strategies, (c) participating ELLs made improvement in listening and speaking and in cognitive and analytical proficiencies, (d) participants gained confidence in the completion of collaborative reading activities, (e) group discussions increased participating ELLs' reading comprehension and (f) participating teachers had multiple opportunities to mediate and scaffold student learning. ^ The findings suggest that CALLD was effective in the development and improvement of 8 ELLs' reading comprehension. ^
Education, Bilingual and Multicultural|Language, Linguistics|Education, Elementary
"A collaborative approach to English language learners' literacy and language development"
(January 1, 2007).
ETD Collection for Fordham University.


Orchestra of Exiles
"It is my duty to fight for the cause of artists persecuted by Nazis," said Toscanini.
Famous figures from the classical music world talk about what drove Bronislaw Huberman.
Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman and others speak about the importance of music education.
Bronislaw Huberman was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.
Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman and others speak about the importance of music to community.
It took 50 years to recover the violin that was stolen from Carnegie Hall in 1936.
Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, discuss why Jews stayed in Europe prior to WWII.
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Burgess, Hilary; Southworth, Geoff and Webb, Rosemary
(1994). Whole school planning in the primary school.
In: Pollard, Andrew ed.
Look Before You Leap? Research Evidence for the Curriculum at Key Stage Two.
UK: Tufnell Press, pp. 37–49.
[About the book]:
'Commonsense' suggests that one should 'look before you leap'. When people do not, they cannot be quite sure where they will land.
The educational reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s would have benefited from such precautions. As it was, education policy moved forward with a bold, but almost blind, decisiveness throughout the education system. Any problems which arose were also likely to affect the 25,000 schools of England and Wales and the experiences of all of their seven million school-age children.
The papers in this book arise from the work of a task group of fourteen researchers which met in 1992/3 to review the practicalities and consequences of attempting to implement the National Curriculum in primary schools. The authors are all experts in their fields and this collection is the most comprehensive and up-to-date review of research evidence currently available on primary education.
The task group set out to go 'back to basics' interpreted as clarifying the findings and issues suggested by educational research which might contribute to future deliberations of the Government and other groups engaged in policy formation for the primary school curriculum.
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What is the study of Geography?
Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the Earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment. Geography links the social sciences and natural sciences together, studying the relationships between human activity and natural systems.
As a geographer, you can make a difference — from teaching to planning, from working for sustainable development to working with geospatial technologies, and more. Graduates of this major have assumed positions in State and National Parks, the Forest Service, college and universities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. If you are interested in teaching Geography in public schools, see the B.A. Geography/Social Studies or B.A.Ed. Geography/Elementary Education information sheet. Western also offers a Masters in Science in Geography.
Prospective Geography majors are strongly advised to take additional preparatory course work that provides a strong background in several of: chemistry, biology, geology, physics, mathematics, statistics, political science, anthropology, and/or history. The preparatory courses listed for the major, where approved as GUR courses in the catalog, may be used to fulfill both Huxley College and GUR requirements. Students wishing to complete the Geography major in four years should complete all GUR requirements in the first two years. A minor in Geographic Information Systems, Geology or an additional language are commonly completed by Geography students. All preparatory courses required for admission should be completed on a lettered or numeric grading scale, not P/NP, and must be completed with a grade of C- or better
Why Should I Consider this Major?
Are you curious about the world, and its physical and human dimensions? Do you love maps? Are you comfortable with spatial problem solving? If so, then Geography is the major for you.
- Resource Manager
- GIS Database Manager
- Water Resource Manager
- Park Ranger
- Forest Service Employee
- College or University Instructor


ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.
Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.
Teacher Resources by Grade
|1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th|
|5th - 6th||7th - 8th|
|9th - 10th||11th - 12th|
Comparing Electronic and Print Texts About the Civil War Soldier
|Grades||6 – 8|
|Lesson Plan Type||Standard Lesson|
|Estimated Time||Four 45-minute sessions|
Arlington Heights, Illinois
With the growing popularity of online research, many students may think that doing research in printed texts is a thing of the past. Is there a difference between looking for information in print and online texts? This lesson has students explore the answer to this question by responding to statements about a Civil War soldier’s daily life, searching a website to confirm or refute these statements, and comparing the site’s organization with that of a print text. Students then read a print article and compare the information it contains with that found on the website. Finally, they develop a chart of content and text structure similarities and differences between electronic and print texts. Although this lesson uses a Civil War soldier as an example, it can be adapted for use with any research or content area topic.
Dymock, S. (2005). Teaching expository text structure awareness. The Reading Teacher, 59(2), 177–181.
- Teachers who provide explicit and systematic instruction assist students to develop reading comprehension strategies including expository text structure awareness.
- Children with a good understanding of expository text structure have fewer problems with comprehension.
Kymes, A. (2005). Teaching online comprehension strategies using think-alouds. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(6), 492–500.
- Students should be taught to comprehend the process of information selection, evaluate the quality of the content presented, and think metacognitively about their seeking strategy.
- When explicit instruction in comprehension strategies for online texts occurs, students realize that these are steps that good searchers and good online readers use.
Sutherland-Smith, W. (2002). Weaving the literacy Web: Changes in reading from page to screen. The Reading Teacher, 55(7), 662–669.
- Web literacy demands an incorporation of key reading or navigation skills.
- Successful online reading requires evaluation of text and nontext (graphics, multimedia, and images) as students must differentiate between important visual images and mere beautification of sites.
- The Internet provides opportunities to extend thinking skills beyond the hierarchical, linear-sequential model that serves so well in the world of print text; the Web's multimedia elements add to the visual literacy skills that students require.


- Contact your elected officials to show them your support for the arts in education. This page (http://artsusa.org/get_involved/advocate.asp) has all the information you need for contacts on the Federal, State, and local levels.
- Get involved in your kids' schools - go to school board meetings, join the PTA (www.pta.org), and let them know that you believe arts and music education is necessary and a fundamental right of all kids in public school.
- Ask questions. If you're unsure of policy, reasons for lack of arts education, or what to do about it, contact any of the arts advocacy organizations listed on our links page.
- Write an op-ed and / or letters to the editor to local and national media.
- Speak to your kids' teachers - tell them you wish there were more arts classes offered at school. While they probably can't directly change the curriculum, they can join the local / national discussions.
- Support the local arts - if there are performances, art shows, or theater productions in your children's schools, make sure you attend to clearly demonstrate support for the programs.
- encourage local businesses to support the arts in your town - you can ask for donations or discounts from art supply stores, music stores & record shops, hardware stores, and stationary stores for all teachers, students, and parents at your local school.
- Contact local arts groups in your area to see if there is any way you can volunteer at a local school, perhaps for an after-school arts program, or directly at the organization.
If you have any other suggestions, please email us


The second edition of this book is a comprehensive resource for preservice and in service teachers. The book will help you recognize and assess reading and writing problems and provide effective interventions to help every child succeed. It focuses on the major areas of literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, word identification, comprehension of both narrative and expository text, vocabulary, fluency, and writing, including spelling. The author thoroughly explores each area, providing an overview of pertinent research, suggested methods and tools for diagnosis and assessment, intervention strategies and activities, and technology applications. The new edition offers increased focus on understanding the stages of literacy development of all English learners and helping them to become literate in English. Detailed information on designing checklists and rubrics based on state standards is included, sample checklists are provided throughout the relevant chapters, and Appendix C includes more than 50 additional assessment tools. Many of intervention activities are designed to be used with children s literature. Tools and visuals for creating and implementing many of the book s more than 150 intervention strategies and activities are included in Appendix D, and two additional appendices provide helpful resources, book lists, pronunciation guides, common word families, and frequently used suffixes and prefixes.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Book Description Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers, 2007. Book Condition: New. Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition. A+ Customer Service!. Bookseller Inventory # ABE_book_new_1890871826
Book Description Paperback. Book Condition: BRAND NEW. NEW Book in Mint Condition -- Great DEAL !! Fast Shipping -- Friendly Customer Service -- Buy with Confidence!. Bookseller Inventory # RP1890871826BN
Book Description Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Bookseller Inventory # P111890871826


Writers, Readers, and Reputations : Literary Life in Britain 1870-1918: Literary Life in Britain 1870-1918
Writers, Readers, and Reputations explores the literary world in which the modern best-seller first emerged. Writers were promoted as stars and celebrities, advertising both products and themselves. Philip Waller's detailed and entertaining study is a collective biography of literary figures, some forgotten, some enduring, over half a century. - ;Charles Dickens died in 1870, the same year in which universal elementary education was introduced. During the following generation a mass reading public emerged, and the term 'best-seller' was coined. In new and cheap editions Dickens's stories sold hugely, but these were progressively outstripped in quantity by the likes of Hall Caine and Marie Corelli, Charles Garvice and Nat Gould. Who has now heard of these writers? Yet Hall Caine, for one, boasted of having made more money from his pen than any previous author. This book presents a panoramic view of literary life in Britain over half a century from 1870 to 1914, teasing out authors' relations with the reading public and tracing how reputations were made and unmade. It surveys readers' habits, the book trade, popular literary magazines and the role of reviewers, and examines the construction of a classical canon by critics concerned about the supposed corruption of popular taste. Certain writers were elevated as national heroes, yet Britain drew its writers from abroad as well as from home. Authors became stars and celebrities, and a literary tourism grew around their haunts. They advertised products from cigarettes to toothpaste; they were fashion-conscious and promoted themselves via profiles, interviews, and carefully posed photographs; they went on lecture tours to America; and their names were pushed by a new professional breed: the literary agent. Some angled for knighthoods, even peerages, and cut a figure in high society and London clubland. The debated public issues of the day and campaigned on all manner of things from questions of faith and women's rights to censorship and conscription. During the Great War they penned propaganda. Meanwhile the cinema was developing to challenge the supremacy of the written word over the imagination. Authors took to that too, as an opportunity for new adventure. Writers, Readers, and Reputations is richly entertaining and informative, amounting to a collective biography of a generation of writers and their world. - ;the remarkable thing about this extraordinary book is that throughout its thousand pages it remains consistently readable, enjoyable, and informative... Waller's style is addictive and discursive...and the reader will gain greatly the more that she or he reads - William Whyte, EHR, cxxi 494;The richness of Waller's study is beyond question. This is an extraordinary mine of fact, detail, quotation, anecdote and reminiscence. Every reader, no matter how familiar with the literature of the period, will learn from the range of its excavations. - Dinah Birch, TLS;[A] serious achievement...It will prove an invaluable resource to scholars seeking a reference tool on a huge range of topics, not only because of its coverage, but because Waller produces the kind of scholarship on which one can rely. - The Cambridge Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 1;...a magnificent study, one that will be recognised as a defining literary history of the period. - The Review of English Studies, Vol58, No. 233
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Purpose: Combines fun activities with a reliable and valid procedure that gives meaningful results in identifying children with gross motor problems
Ages: 3-0 years through 10-11 years
Administration Time: 15 to 20 minutes
The TGMD-2, a major revision of The Test of Gross Motor Development, is a norm-referenced measure of common gross motor skills that can be used by kinesiologists, general and special educators, psychologists, and physical therapists. The TGMD-2 assists in identifying children 3-0 through 10-11 who are significantly behind their peers in gross motor skill development and who should be eligible for special education services in physical education.
The TGMD-2 is made up of 12 skills (six for each subtest):
- Locomotor: run, gallop, hop, leap, horizontal jump, slide
- Object Control: striking a stationary ball, stationary dribble, kick, catch, overhand throw, and underhand roll.
Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the gross motor skills and a simplified scoring system allow you to administer the TGMD-2 quickly and easily in 15 to 20 minutes. The TGMD-2 combines fun activities with a reliable and valid procedure that gives meaningful results in identifying children with gross motor problems. You can use the results of this assessment to develop instructional programs, monitor progress, evaluate treatment, and conduct further research in gross motor development.
Evidence related to content sampling and test-retest time sampling reliability is provided. Reliability coefficients for the Locomotor subtest average .85, the Object Control subtest average .88, and the Gross Motor composite average .91. Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) is 1 at every age interval for both subtests and 4 or 5 for the composite score at each age interval. Coefficient alpha for selected subgroups are all above .90 for the subtest and the composite. Time sampling reliability coefficients range from .84 to .96. Content-description, criterion-prediction, and construct-identification validity that further support the use of the TGMD-2 in identifying children who are significantly behind their peers in gross motor development are also provided.
Using the TGMD-2. you will obtain standard scores, percentile scores and age equivalents. The test also provides a Gross Motor Quotient if both subtests are completed.
Complete TGMD-2 Kit includes: Examiner's Manual and 50 Profile/Examiner Record Booklets in a sturdy storage box.


Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
> You might try creating a brief explanation of the project to display along
> with the work. A catchy headline, examples of artist's work emphasizing
> the same principle, a simple summary of the objectives, etc. can all be
> helpful. It's a way of reinforcing the lesson with the students and
> educating everybody else.
> I put up the work and was so proud and then, so frustrated when there
> was no one in the building who recognized what an achievement the student's
> had made. I used to tell the students that they were learning stuff that
> many of their teachers and parents didn't know.
> It is an uphill battle, but you are making a difference. Keep the faith.
I also find it frustrating when I and the students put so much into a lesson
where they have learned about principles, designing, art history, and more ,
but the staff and parents do not get it. That is why I feel we should
somewhat educate everyone in the school and communicate with parents. Most
parents and some teachers don't get it because their art education was
minimal. Jasmine's suggestion was excellent. When putting up displays put
information that tells what was learned in the lesson. For parents , send
home notes telling about your program or what the happenings are in the art
room. My students on the first day of art class take home a paper that tells
what the class expectations are and what are the requirements for art class.
This paper must be returned with a parent signature. That way I know the
parent saw it. The student keeps this paper in their sketchbook. Attached to
this paper is a letter explaining what the student will learn in our art
program. It's my attempt to be in contact with all the parents at least once
during the year.Displays can be lots of work, but they are important for many
reasons. They can help educate all the students (and adults). Ditto on keep


in the collection
Predictions of DIBELS Benchmark Stability: Other IndicatorsMany moles over a childâ��s body indicate that she will be labeled at Low Risk for Letter
Another item in the ongoing series of news you will read nowhere else.
The University of Oregon, in close cooperation with and financial featherbedding from the U. S. Department of Education, is pleased to announce a groundbreaking new Technical Report, DIBELS Signs, Omens, and Predictors by reading scientists and trainers at DMG, Dynamic Measurement Group, an educational company that is dedicated to supporting success for children and schools. DMG was founded by Roland H. Good, III, and Ruth Kaminski, authors of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELSÂ®).
In her preface to the Technical Report, Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling states, "In their ongoing effort to assess student development of phonological awareness, alphabetic understanding, and automaticity and fluency with the code, scholars committed to the science of reading are constantly looking for convenient and easy assessment devices. I speak for the entire nation when I express my gratitude to these scientists who have come up with valuable indicators for reading success in the Global Economy."
Each new measure of DIBELS Benchmark Stability has been thoroughly researched and demonstrated to be a reliable and valid indicator of early literacy development and predictive of later reading proficiency to aid in the early identification of students who are not progressing as expected.
SIX Hallmarks of DIBELS Performance
A birthmark in the middle of the back indicates Established Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
To be born during an eclipse portends a Deficiency in Nonsense Word Fluency
When a child throws a lump of sugar into a cup of coffee or tea, the number of bubbles that rise are an indication of his Oral Reading Fluency
Lots of hair on a kindergartner's arms and fingers is a sign of Established Initial Sound Fluency
The child who sneezes three times before breakfast will need remediation in Nonsense Word Fluency.
University of Oregon and U. S. Department of Education
INDEX OF THE EGGPLANT


Small children often amaze their parents when they first say, “one, two, three...” And as it turns out, this is a pretty good indication of what's to come.
Preschoolers who both know how to recite the numbers and demonstrate ability to count objects will fare better in math as they grow older, according to new research from the University of Missouri.
“Obviously, memorizing number words is the first step,” Louis Manfra, an assistant professor in MU’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, tells TakePart. “Memorizing their chronological order is the next step. Associating these numbers with objects one-to-one is the next step. And, understanding that the last number stated in a set is the amount of the set (the cardinality principle) is the next step.”
“It seems easy to adults, but like learning language skills and grammar, it takes a long time,” he continues. “Children who know the number words at younger ages and learn the chronology at younger ages—that is, reciting—are in a position where they can learn one-to-one correspondence between number words and objects and the cardinality principle much easier.”
Curious about the correlation between small children’s grasp of numbers and their later math prowess, Dr. Manfra studied data from over 3,000 low-income children in Florida. He looked at their number counting and recitation abilities in preschool and then compared it to their math scores in first grade. The children who, as preschoolers, could recite and count to 20 had higher scores later.
“Counting gives children stronger foundations when they start school,” Manfra said in an MU press release about the study. “The skills children have when they start kindergarten affect their trajectories through early elementary school; therefore, it’s important that children start with as many skills as possible.”
What is troubling, though, is that less than 10 percent of the 3,000 children Dr. Manfra studied had this counting skill in preschool. “The problem we saw was that these children were just starting to learn everything in a very short period of time prior to kindergarten,” he tells TakePart. “The other problem we saw was that some teachers did not seem to appreciate the importance of learning to count objects and simply recited the number words in chronological order with the children. This is not sufficient for children to learn to count objects.”
He also believes this low percentage is because low-income parents tend to leave teaching to teachers, and the teachers assume these skills have been taught at home. Therefore, sometimes an essential skill like counting gets left behind.
“These low-income children aren’t learning math skills anywhere because parents think the children are learning them at school, and teachers think they’re learning them at home,” Dr. Manfra explained in the release. “This is a problem because it gives parents and teachers the idea that it’s not their responsibility to educate the children, when it’s everyone’s responsibility. This is problematic because, when the children enter kindergarten and are at lower math levels, they don’t have the foundational skills needed to set them on paths for future success.”
Of course, studies have shown that a quality preschool in disadvantaged communities greatly improve children’s lives. A study published in 2006 showed that children who attended quality preschools not only did better in school later on; they also tended to avoid crime and drugs and fare better socioeconomically as adults.
If preschool teachers and parents could increase their counting instruction in daily activities—by encouraging children to count pictures they see in books or the rocks they find out on a walk—they could further bump up the quality of a low-income child’s education by giving them the foundation for vital math skills.
“It is up to every adult in children’s daily lives to provide children with these and other skills,” Dr. Manfra tells TakePart. “If parents don’t do it and the preschools don’t do it, who will? We will have far too many children who lack basic early math skills entering kindergarten and falling behind their peers quickly. And this is what we saw in this study. Children from low-income backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to these patterns.”
“Many advocates believe the quality of preschool is the area that we can make the largest impact because it is easier to change preschool curricula and quality then it is to change the way parents choose to parent,” he says. “Unfortunately, it seems that changing preschools can only do so much; home learning environments are highly important for the acquisition of skills.”


In my last post “Literacies and Fallacies,” I introduced Deborah Brandt’s conceptual approach of sponsors of literacy that connects individual literacy development to the economic development of literacy. I also shared a rationale for why libraries should use this critical interpretive lens and offered an initial list of questions as focal points of inquiry to consider.
By exploring “who or what underwrites occasions of literacy learning and use” (Brandt, The Sponsors of Literacy 2), librarians are much better positioned to better understand and contextualize these three key issues identified by Brandt (6):
1. How the access, organization, and privileging of literacy opportunities are impacted by issues related to race, class, and gender.
2. How literacy sponsors contribute to what Brandt defines as the literacy crisis: the perceived gap between rising standards for achievement and people’s ability to meet them.
3. How might sponsors of literacy interpret their ability to provide resources and opportunities that help people transform their uses of literacy that facilitate identity development, agency and social mobility?


One of the fundamental skills that we encourage our children to develop early is their Fine Motor Skills. Getting ready to gear up for Back to School is on everyone’s mind, and this is one of the primary skills we hope to build with our child. Here’s a fun way to sneak a little bit of Literacy into your Fine Motor Skill Development.
We love using our Wooden Lacing Beads for several activities. They can help to build hand eye coordination, cognitive and visual perception skills too. Using Wooden Beads can be a fun and playful way to begin to build all of these skills. The process of putting the string through the small hole in a bead requires a child to focus and use muscles, to help to make them stronger. It’s these same skills that we will later ask them to use with handwriting and even more complex tasks like tying shoes or building with small Legos as they get older.
Finding ways to use toys in a variety of ways is a lot of fun and a space saver at home or in a classroom. We used our wooden beads to practicing lacing by colors, counting, by patterns and even by shapes. Many kids will enjoy doing this over and over again as they build up their Fine Motor Skills.
There will be times though that you want to change things up and use wooden beads in a fun new way. Here’s a favorite that your child will love, which requires some budget friendly supplies. Make your own Alphabet Beads Game! To play the Alphabet Bead Game first you need some big letters! We have a foam letter mat that has made its way through a few kids and Kindergarten class at our house. You can find them just about anywhere. You can also easily make your own letters by using scrapbook paper and tracing out the letters, and then using Contact Paper to put a protective layer on them for play. Also using items like Magnetic Wooden Letters, an alphabet puzzle, or even the Undersea Alphabet Soup Game Pool Toy will work with some smaller sized bead sets.
Once you’ve found your letters encourage your child to place the beads one by one onto the letter shape. It’s a fun way to build fine motor skills and also letter recognition at the same time. You can also encourage your child to place the beads onto the string and then form letters with them. As they are placing the string onto the outlines or each letter discuss how letter formations are straight, curved and slanted. All of these tasks will help to create visual clues and form the foundation for how your child will begin to recognize each letter. It will also help them understand how to begin writing each letter. Talk about the names of the letters, and the sounds they make too.
Working on fine motor skills and literacy skills using wooden beads and letter outlines is a fun way to kick of the school year with your child!
* * * * *
Kim Vij is an early childhood educator and mom of three. She shares her “Educator’s Spin” on parenting issues and how to make everyday moments into learning opportunities at The Educators’ Spin On It and award winning Pinterest Boards.


A passerby drops money into a donations jar in July as Sophie Nylen, 8, plays her violin to raise money for home fire victims in Juneau, Alaska. Sophie raised $1,787.24 in six days and gave it to relatives of a family whose home had burned. / Michael Penn AP
Learning to play a musical instrument produces such profound changes in children's brains that kids actually can hear and process sounds they couldn't hear otherwise, according to researchers using high-tech sensors.
The findings, published Tuesday, could provide a boost to music education programs that invite kids to play instruments rather than simply listen to music.
The study, by researchers at Northwestern University, examined a community music program serving low-income children in Los Angeles. They attached special electrodes to children's scalps and measured how their brains responded to sounds. The children's average age was about 8.
Researchers found that those who played an instrument for two years showed a stronger "neurophysiological distinction" between certain sounds than children who didn't get the instrumental training. For instance, the music-makers more easily could tell the difference between the words "bill" and "pill," a key skill in learning to read.
The Los Angeles program already has shown improved academic results for kids, and the new research may offer an explanation, or at least part of one. The study found that the more hours kids played, the greater the neurological benefit.
"We're really able to measure what the nervous system has become, based on the experience that these children have had with sound," said Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist at Northwestern who led the research.
The new findings, she said, shouldn't be confused with those reported years earlier on the cognitive benefits of listening to certain types of music. The so-called "Mozart Effect" involved listening, not playing a musical instrument. "It turns out that playing a musical instrument is important," Kraus said. "We don't see these kinds of biological changes in people who are just listening to music, who are not playing an instrument. I like to give the analogy that you're not going to become physically fit just by watching sports."
She isn't sure why the difference is so pronounced but noted that playing music involves "not just the information that comes through our ears." Musicians experience the music through their fingers and throughout their bodies. And the work required to learn to play an instrument engages the brain's cognitive, sensory and reward circuits. The new research, she said, "is the tip of the iceberg."
The findings appear in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Read the original story: This is your brain on a musical instrument


Why St. Kate's
Clinical cluster site model
St. Kate’s has long-standing partnerships with many schools both suburban and urban to provide valuable fieldwork and student-teaching experiences to our students.
You’ll be in the classroom long before your formal student-teaching experience during your final year of the program, collaborating with professional educators and learning techniques to teach literacy and science.
Emphasis on STEM competency
St. Kate’s, through its National Center for STEM Elementary Education, is helping to shape the national conversation about STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — education, and our teacher candidates are benefiting. Among the first in the nation, our STEM certificate course of study and extensive STEM fieldwork in the EcoSTARS program will help you become confident, competent and comfortable teaching STEM subjects to elementary school children.
Building your skills in STEM fields makes you more marketable — having this background is going to get you hired. And when you do, you will be able to inspire a new generation of kids to consider science and STEM careers.
A focus on literacy
The state of Minnesota is making literacy a priority, introducing reading standards into schools — and our teachers come out well prepared to meet those standards.
Our faculty boasts several noted literacy researchers and experts. St. Kate’s has a dedicated literacy lab, which partners with our professional development schools to give our students a very deep and rich experience in literacy.
Teaching with technology
Every course in the program models and integrates technology into the classroom, preparing you to enter the ever-evolving teaching profession well versed in high-tech teaching methods.


The Collaborative Center for Literacy Development (CCLD) provides high quality professional development for educators in grades K-5. The focus of this professional development is comprehensive literacy instruction that reflects research-based best practices. Collaborating with the eight public universities and the National Center for Family Learning, CCLD’s goal is to improve student achievement in literacy. CCLD also conducts research to determine the effectiveness of the professional development and the impact it has on student achievement.
Kentucky Reading Project is a professional development initiative for Kentucky public school elementary (P-5) teachers. It is designed to improve student achievement and emphasize family engagement in literacy.
Reading Recovery, researched and developed by Dr. Marie Clay, provides a supplementary model of instruction for children who are at-risk in their second year of primary (first grade).


Found Object Sculptures: Free Lesson Plan Download
Level: K-2 Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Shape and Form
Art Skills: Planning, Sorting, Gluing
Art History: Louise Nevelson
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
This lesson is fantastic to help your younger students develop their fine motor skills. Students love the idea of turning trash to treasure! To make this lesson even more engaging, you could have students go on a “treasure” hunt around the school, picking up small odds and ends (broken pencils, paper clips, twigs, etc…) to use in their sculptures. The lesson would also be a great tie-in to recycling or Earth Day.


Copublished with the International Reading Association (IRA)
“Summer Reading shows us how to make voluntary reading programs work, especially for low-achievers. This could be the foundation of a reform movement that stands a chance of closing the achievement gap between rich and poor that haunts American schools.”
—P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley
“Few interventions hold such promise for narrowing the growing reading achievement gap between low- and high-socioeconomic-status students. This book draws attention to this worthy topic and offers ways to channel that attention into concrete policies and practices. As a scholar focused on issues of equity in literacy education, I will definitely have a copy of this book on my shelf.”
—Nell K. Duke, University of Michigan
“The solution to the problem of the achievement gap in literacy development is right here: Simple, obvious, and supported by massive evidence.”
—Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus, The University of Southern California
“Give a copy of this book to every parent, teacher, school administrator, and policymaker you can find and urge them to read it.”
—Peter Johnston, The University at Albany, State University of New York
Summer reading loss accounts for roughly 80% of the rich/poor reading achievement gap. Yet far too little attention is given to this pressing problem. This timely volume now offers not only a comprehensive review of what is known about summer reading loss but also provides reliable interventions and guidance.
Written by acknowledged experts and researchers on reading, remedial reading, and special education, this collection describes multiple models of innovative summer reading and book distribution initiatives. It also provides research-based guidelines for planning a successful summer reading program, including tips on book selection, distribution methods, and direction for crucial follow-up. Most important, the authors clearly show how schools and communities can see greater academic gains for students from low-income families using the methods described in this book than from much more costly interventions.
1. Summer Reading Loss
2. Interventions That Increase Children’s Access to Print Material and Improve Their Reading Proficiencies
3. What Have We Learned About Addressing Summer Reading Loss?
4. The Importance of Book Selections: Enticing Struggling Readers to Say, “I Want to Read That One!”
5. Taking to the Streets! One Principal’s Path to Stemming Summer Reading Loss for Primary Grade Students from Low-Income Communities
6. Making Summer Reading Personal and Local: One District’s Response
7. Where Do We Go from Here?
Appendix A. Evidence Summary for Annual Book Fairs in High-Poverty Elementary Schools
Contributors: Richard L Allington, Lynn Bigelman, James J. Lindsay, Anne McGill-Franzen, Geraldine Melosh, Lunetta Williams
Richard L. Allington is a professor of literacy studies at the University of Tennessee and past president of the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association. His books include No Quick Fix, The RTI Edition. Anne McGill-Franzen is professor and director of the Reading Center at the University of Tennessee. Both authors are recipients of the International Reading Association Albert J. Harris Award for research on reading and learning disabilities.


The human brain is the most complex organ in the body. Composed of 50 to 100 billion neurons, the human brain remains one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries. Here we will take a closer look at the four lobes of the brain to discover more about the location and function of each lobe.
Brain Lobes and their Functions
The brain is divided into four sections, known as lobes (as shown in the image above). The frontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, and temporal lobe have different locations and functions that support the responses and actions of the human body. Let's start by identifying where each lobe is positioned in the brain.
Position of the Lobes
The frontal lobe is the emotional control center of the brain responsible for forming our personality and influencing out decisions. The frontal lobe is located at the front of the central sulcus where it receives information signals from other lobes of the brain.
The parietal lobe processes sensory information for cognitive purposes and helps coordinate spatial relations so we can make sense of the world around us. The parietal lobe resides in the middle section of the brain behind the central sulcus, above the occipital lobe.
The temporal lobe is located on the bottom of the brain below the lateral fissure. This lobe is also the location of the primary auditory cortex, which is important for interpreting the sounds and the language we hear.
The occipital lobe is located at the back portion of the brain behind the parietal and temporal lobes. The occipital lobe is primarily responsible for processing auditory information.
Functions of the Lobes
The frontal lobe has many functions most of which center on regulating social behavior. Here are some of the important functions of the frontal lobe:
- Cognition, problem solving and reasoning
- Motor skill development
- Parts of speech
- Impulse control
- Regulating emotions
- Regulating sexual urges
It is more common to injure the frontal lobe than the other lobes of the brain because the lobe is located at the front of the skull. The effects of damage to the frontal lobe often result in personality changes, difficulty controlling sexual urges, and other impulsive and risk-taking behaviors.
The parietal lobe has several functions including sensation, perception, and spatial reasoning. This lobe is responsible for processing sensory information from various parts of the body. Here are some of the functions of the parietal lobe:
- Sensing pain, pressure, and touch
- Regulating and processing the body's five senses
- Movement and visual orientation
- Visual perception and recognition
- Cognition and information processing
Damage to the parietal lobe can result in problems with spatial reasoning, reading, writing, understanding symbols and language. Right-sided damage to the parietal area can affect a person's ability to dress or groom his or herself. While left-sided damage can result in language disorders and disorders with perception.
The temporal lobe. There are two temporal lobes located on both sides of the brain that are in close proximity to the ears. The primary function of the temporal lobes is to processing auditory sounds. Other functions of the temporal lobe include:
- Since the hippocampus, or part of the brain responsible for transferring short-term memories into long-term memories, is located in the temporal lobe, the temporal lobe helps to form long-term memories and process new information.
- The formation of visual and verbal memories.
- The interpretation of smells and sounds.
The type of impairment that results from damage to the temporal lobe depends on where the damage occurred in the lobe. Temporal lobe damage can lead to difficulty processing auditory sensations and visual perceptions, problems concentrating on visual and/or auditory stimuli, long-term memory problems, changes in personality, and changes in sexual behavior.
The occipital lobe, the smallest of the four lobes, is located near the posterior region of the cerebral cortex, near the back of the skull. The occipital lobe is the primary visual processing center of the brain. Here are some other functions of the occipital lobe:
- Visual-spatial processing
- Movement and color recognition
Since the skull protects the occipital lobe, injury is less likely to occur. However, severe damage to the occipital lobe can result in a variety of visual problems including the loss of color recognition, visual hallucinations or illusions, problems recognizing objects, and difficulty understanding language.


The Certificate of School Based Assessment on Continuous Comprehensive Assessment will be available from the CBSE and the end of Class X. This will be filled up in the school and sent to the concerned RO in CBSE for countersignature. All regular students who have undergone a course of study at the X class of an affiliated school of CBSE shall be issued this certificate with effect from the year 2011.
The assessment for Scholastic and Co-Scholastic areas shall be objective and should indicate the performance of the student in a manner as desired below. The assessment will be recorded at the end of Class X in CCE card. This card has been divided into three parts. Now with effort for October 2009, CCE is being implemented in its strengthened form in class IX in all CBSE affiliated schools. In the session 2010-11, this will be implemented in both classes IX and X.
As far as Certificate of School Based Evaluation in Classes IX & X is concerned, the THREE parts are given below:
Part 1 consists of the evaluation of Scholastic Attainments which will be reflected both for classes IX & X in this card in the form of Grades and Percentile Rank.
1. There will be two terms in both classes IX & X, the first term will be from April – September and the second term from October to March of the subsequent year.
2. Each term will have two Formative and one Summative Assessment.
3. Assessment will be indicated in Grades and Percentile rank.
4. The grading Scale for the Scholastic Domain is a nine point grading Scale given at the back of the card.
PART 1 (B):
1. This will assess students for Work-Experience, Art Education and Physical and Health Education
2. It will be assessed on a five point grading scale
3. Descriptive Indicators are statements used to describe each learner
4. Overall Grade will be given at the end of class IX and class X
Part 2 consists of Co-Scholastic Areas where participants are assessed in two parts; 2(A) Life Skills and Attitudes and Values (2B).
1. Life Skills: This consists of Thinking Skills, Social Skills and Emotional Skills which will be assessed on a five point grading Scale (given at the back of the card).
1. This consists of attitude towards Teachers, Schoolmates, School Programmes and Environment and will be assessed on a three point grading Scale.
2. Value Systems refers to the framework which must be developed right through primary to secondary level. These will be assessed on a three point grading Scale.
Part 3 consists of Co-Scholastic areas where in choice in participation and assessment thereof is available. This part consists of two sub parts.
1. Literary & Creative skills, scientific skills, Aesthetic Skills and Performing Art and Clubs (Eco, Health and Wellness clubs etc.).
Eight different kinds of activities have been provided.
1. Sports/ Indigenous sports (Kho-Kho etc.)
2. NCC / NSS
3. Scouting and Guiding
7. First Aid
The learner needs to be assessed on any two from the first subpart (3A) and any two from second subpart (3B).
Except Life Skills each of these Co-scholastic areas will be assessed on a three point grading Scale.
Assessment of Scholastic attainments 1(A) will be reported once in class IX and once in class X.
Assessment of Scholastic attainments 1(B) will be reported once in class IX and once in class X.
Assessment of Co-Scholastic 2(A) and 2(B) will be reported once in class IX and once in class X.
Assessment of Co-Scholastic 3(A) and 3(B) will be reported once in class IX and once in class X.
The nine point grading scale for measuring Scholastic achievements is reproduced below:
For marks 91-100 grade is A1
For marks 81-90 grade is A2
For marks 71-80 grade is B1
For marks 61-70 grade is B2
For marks 51-60 grade is C1
For marks 41-50 grade is C2
For marks 33-40 grade is D
For marks 21-32 grade is E1
For marks 00-20 grade is E2
Note: All assessment with regard to the academic status of the students shall be done in marks and overall assessment will be given in grades.
The Assessment of Performance in the areas like Work Experience, Art Education and Health & Physical Education will to be done on 5-point scale given at the back of the card. It is A+, A, B+, B and C.


Mission Statement: The Hamilton School Garden creates an environment where our families and our community grow and learn.
Vision: Through hands on education we can teach healthy living while making practical connections to the core curriculum.
Theme: Grow and Learn!
Hamilton Elementary in the School District of Lancaster is a mid-sized urban elementary school with approximately 500 students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade. Approximately 75% of our families qualify for free or reduced lunch. Hamilton prides itself on the great diversity of our students and families. Hamilton students are fortunate to attend an urban school that has 13 acres of land. With such a unique setting for an urban school, it is exciting to use the grounds as an instructional environment.
About 4 years ago, Hamilton staff and families built 31 raised bed gardens. These gardens are intended for use by the school students and staff to create a better understanding of food sources, nutrition and healthy living. The goal is to educate students and families and to outreach to the community through gardening and outdoor education. There are many studies that suggest that school gardens and outdoor classrooms enhance student achievement, especially in elementary education.There is a strong link to improved performance in math, science, writing, social studies and attitudes toward learning. Students can make academic connections through working together in a garden setting. In addition, as we know, there has been a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. Children and families need a good knowledge base about nutrition and healthy lifestyles choices. School gardens provide experiences for students and families to improve their attitudes toward cooking and eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Our unique setting allows us to have enough vegetables and herbs to maintain a garden that will produce fruits and vegetables from spring through fall seasons. This produce can be used for nutrition and healthy eating lessons during the school day and for family events.
During the summer of 2013 we created a family co-op garden. The families agree to have their children attend a garden club 3 days per week after school and they also agree, as a family, to work a minimum of 6 hours per month in the garden during the summer. With those criteria met, they are able to share in the harvest of vegetables such as peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon and many more!
We have the ability to influence the healthy choices of children and families in our community. We are excited to have received the Fresh Fruit and Veggie Grant through the PA Department of Education and Smart Partners. This grant has provided tasting samples of fresh fruits and veggies to all of our students 3 times per week for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years! In addition, we are registered with Bill Scepansky as a partner in the Chefs Move to Schools program developed by First Lady Michele Obama. We have worked with such strong community partners such as Lancaster General Health, Lighten Up Lancaster, Community Action Program and Compass Mark. In addition, we have received generous monetary and material support from local and national companies such as Pennsy Supply, Landis Wood Works, Whole Foods, Inc. and ALCOA.
Through this initiative, we are setting the stage for healthy lifestyle choices!