Arts and Crafts
THE BENEFITS OF ART AND CRAFT FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Art and craft promotes mental and emotional growth through art making. It is conducted with the aim of building life skills, addressing deficits and problem behaviors, and promoting healthy self-expression. Children are encouraged to explore and express themselves using art materials; crafting attractive artworks. It is highly effective and recommended as a part of autism training. Following are the benefits of art and craft:
- Provides a firm foundation for learning through art and craft projects , children improve their pre linguistic skills like attention and concentration,eye contact , sitting tolerance , imitation which are vital pre requisites for learning to happened.
- Gives self-esteem boostcompleting the crafts successfully will give them a great sense of accomplishment and pride. As you and your child begin to explore more crafts, you can add in more and more challenges.
- Teaches self-regulationcrafts that want drying need waiting, this is a great experience for your child to showself-control and patience. The end result will become the reward for children for waiting.
- Promote bilateral coordinationcrafts such as coloring, drawing, cutting, pasting all require your child to use both of their hands together. This skill is important in other areas including writing, tying shoes, typing, etc...
- Promote bonding,teamworkand help with social skills
working on a craft project in a group can help improve their teamwork, communication and social skills, as they will have to learn to co-operate and communicate to complete their projects. Children with autism may struggle to comprehend other person’s perspectives, looking at another child’s art offers a concrete way to see another person’s point of view. So, cooperation, turn-taking, respecting differences and other social skills can all be practiced in an enjoyable, natural setting.
- A great platform for self-expressionArts and crafts are a great way to allow children to express themselves, as children tend to be very visual about the things that happen around them and in their heads. for children who are limited in communicating, this will give others some insight into what the child is feeling, thinking, or experiencing.Art offers a way for people who have trouble communicate their thoughts with words to express themselves directly, without words. People with autism are often highly visual thinkers. Expressing feelings and ideas through images is very natural for such people and can be a relief for them
- Can address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)One of the most common goals in art therapy is to increase tolerance for unpleasant stimuli, while channeling self-stimulating behavior into more creative activity. Because art is naturally enjoyable for almost all children, autistic or not, they are more likely to tolerate textures and smells they might otherwise avoid when they are part of a fun art process.a child might find it hard to handle a slimy glue covered paperas a part of an art project , but after getting exposed to it over a number of times ,child gets desensitized and finds slimy handwash more acceptable. Sensory fixations are another common feature of autism. Repetitively engaging in such self-stimulating behaviors (or “stimming”) can make people with autism stand out, prevent them from interacting with others. In art therapy, the goal is to channel non-functional or inappropriate stimming into socially acceptable, creative outlets.Example :Compulsive shredding of paper can be turned into beautiful collages. This type of art making can help turn a behavior that once caused social problems into a form of self expression and enjoyment.
- Improves fine motor skills
the activity of sticking, colouring, glueing, cutting and keeping within lines or patterns, can assist fine motor skill development, and improve hand eye co-ordination in kids. even simple tasks such as separating squares of tissue paper or sequences and sticking them in the right shape is great for developing their skills.cute paper art crafts like these help to improve fine motor skills • Teaches to follow directionsThough art therapy kids get the concept that if I follow the set of steps given in the correct order,the end result will be good or else what is going to happened. Children get this concept after going through number of trial and error. This will remain as a lesson for their future life.


The Superkids Reading Program lessons incorporate all aspects of reading and the language arts, integrating and overlapping skills from unit to unit and grade to grade.
Following a unique, systematic, and explicit instructional path, Superkids builds the essential foundation for efficient, fluent reading and effective comprehension that primary students need. Watch the short video to explore the path.
View Skills by Grade
Superkids makes every minute of your literacy block count. Because of the way instruction is integrated, no time is wasted teaching skills in isolation.
Comprehensive lesson plans incorporate skills throughout three consistent parts: Word Work, Reading, and Writing. Review the instructional time, setting, and materials for grades K–2 in the Daily Instructional Plan.
View Daily Instructional Plan
As students progress from kindergarten to second grade, instruction and practice within the Word Work, Reading, and Writing lesson parts grow in complexity and rigor. Students are expected to meet the following high-level goals in each grade.
|Kindergarten||First Grade||Second Grade|
|Students learn the letters of the alphabet, one sound for each letter, and then apply their new skills to blend letter-sounds to read and write words and sentences.||Students master more complex phonetic elements and learn to decode and encode structural patterns.||Students consolidate their understanding of all phonetic elements and apply it in fluent reading of grade-level text.|
|Reading focuses on developing strong blending, decoding, and fluency skills while also building comprehension. Read-alouds build background knowledge and listening comprehension.
|Students’ comprehension and fluency skills increase greatly as they read longer and more complex literary and informational texts. Read-alouds build vocabulary and prepare students to read more rigorous text.
|Students read authentic literary and informational texts that have not been controlled for decodability and apply comprehension skills to longer, more complex texts.
|Students learn basic mechanics and aspects of the writing process. Instruction progresses from drawing to writing in each major text type.||Students use the writing process to write narratives, informational texts, and opinion pieces.||Students use the writing process to write longer, more structured narratives, informational texts, and opinion pieces.|
In Superkids, ongoing assessment reveals students’ progress and informs teachers’ decisions about reteaching, challenging students, grouping students, and differentiating instruction.
The Superkids Reading Program features a robust Teacher Portal complete with lesson-planning tools, on-demand professional development videos, digital versions of print materials, and other helpful online resources for teaching and learning. Students can log in to access their content, including , at school and home.
View Online Resources Brochure
Superkids provides everything you need to be successful. Materials are designed to pack a bigger punch—precisely integrated and to the point, yet comprehensive.
The Superkids Phonemic Awareness curriculum complements Superkids with 180 daily lessons for building phonological and phonemic awareness.
Superkids is fully aligned to the Common Core and other state standards. The program teaches the critical foundational skills and presents students with rich informational and complex text at each grade level. To request the correlations to your state standards, contact Zaner-Bloser.


With the promotion of quality education, society has paid more and more attention to the teaching of music and art for young children. Young children have rich emotions. Their worldview, outlook on life and values, and coordinated development of the body are in the forming stage. The music art education model has a positive and necessary profound impact on shaping and promoting their physical and mental health, excellent quality, intellectual promotion, strengthening logical thinking ability and training physical coordination ability.
Learning music (playing an instrument or singing) can bring unique, lifelong benefits. Why? Because while playing or singing, children are also influencing themselves. On the one hand, children are using multiple cognitive skills: thinking, controlling, analyzing, and reading. In musical terms, this is in several beats and rhythms, reading the pitch, controlling body coordination and fine movements. Depending on the instrument, the player may need fine finger movements or precise breathing control, or unusual level of coordination. On the other hand, children are also using more instinctual and emotional abilities in imagination, feeling, creative understanding and musical connotation.
Music creation cultivates creativity and imagination, and gives people a way to turn original ideas into reality. Young children can take advantage of these experiences and tools throughout their next life, no matter what they do. The beauty of music is that she brings unique and lifetime benefits to our children, and it is especially valuable to establish such musical and artistic connections in children and adolescents when they grow up, receive education and develop their personality. No matter where they are going in the future, these benefits will accompany him for life.
The scientific and systematic way of music and art education has a positive impact on the cultivation of personal confidence. The following courses incorporate the most authoritative and practical systems and methods today and create a colorful and lively environment, allowing students to be in a happy, a gradual and sustainable way to learn and acquire valuable related skills-not only for children's music and art studies, but also for their lifetime. As students develop their music and comprehensive skills, they are also building skills in perception, personal perception, and emotional intelligence.


Grammar should be a supplement, not a requirement
While learning grammar can be useful, it should not take up a bulk of students' time because the time could be better spent on more important communication skills. Instead, grammar should be taught only when spare time is found, or even as an elective course.Education English Grammar Language
It can be useful and even fascinating to some to understand the inner workings of language, sentence structure, and grammar rules. Knowing grammar can help one to write more fluently and communicate more effectively. However, grammar is unnecessary to learning how to communicate because it is something which is innately learned as one learns reading, writing, and speaking skills. The only real reason to study grammar is as a supplement or a hobby. Not every student is going to be interested in learning grammar, and since it is nonessential to learning English, it should be given only as an elective course for those who are enthusiastic about language and grammar. If it makes it into the general classroom at all, it should only be when there is extra time to spare. Otherwise it is a waste to take time away from learning the essential skills of reading, writing, and speaking in order to study grammar.
Studying grammar should be a requirement because many people today lack the essential foundational skills to boost their proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking. Their communication skills are poor because they have not been required to study grammar to the same capacity as it has been taught in the past, with some students never having studied it at all. In fact, many teachers today seem to be struggling with grammar, and if they are struggling with basic communication skills, then how will our children fare? Forget supplemental; grammar study should be at the core of any English class, not sitting on the sidelines.
[P1] Learning grammar can be useful, but it is nonessential to communication. [P2] Grammar study should be a supplement, not a requirement.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Grammar is the foundation of reading, writing, and speaking skills. [Rejecting P2] Grammar study should be a requirement, not a supplement.


The Visual and Performing Arts are central to the cultural identify of Los Angeles. Renowned as a hub for film and television, L.A. is also one of the most diverse cities in the world, and that diversity is celebrated in many ways, through the creative arts. In their paper , "A Vision for the Arts in Los Angeles”, Elizabeth Ondaatje and Kevin McCarthy explain that the art and cultural sector in L.A. "is poised on the threshold of an exciting new era”. The cultural medley and enthusiasm for creative expression found in the Los Angeles area has and continues to shape the arts throughout the world.
Not surprisingly, the arts play a significant role in the economy of the region – the creative economy. The creative economy includes industries, small or large, that employ workers in the entertainment sector; also, the visual and performing arts organizations and events, galleries, fashion, architecture, and digital media. The impact of the creative economy on the Los Angeles region (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) is powerful. According to the Otis Report one in seven jobs in the Los Angeles region is part of the creative economy. The direct labor income for workers directly employed by creative industries in 2013 was $33.5 Billion; indirect and direct combined reached $139.8 Billion and $5.7 Billion in tax revenue. (See the Otis Report for an in-depth report.) These numbers illustrate the crucial need for arts education throughout the region – and for advocacy.
An important part of arts advocacy is support for arts education in classrooms – not as a frill but as an essential element of instruction. TEAL is one approach that places arts education at the center of learning. The TEAL professional development for educators provides pre-service and in-service educators with tools and knowledge that enable them to offer art education and experiences to their students. Arts education is both a cultural and an economic necessity!
Arts Day LA
Held at City Hall, Arts Day LA is a festive event that brings together Angelenos, including elected officials, in support and celebration of the art and culture of Los Angeles.


Course No. ED430G, ED530G
Literacy Strategies for Grades 4 – 12 by Karen Tankersley is a great resource for teachers who need to help students improve understanding of textbooks and develop thinking skills critical to success in secondary education. It is rich in its ideas, and substantiates recommendations with excellent research. It deals both with skills and motivational needs of poor readers as they progress through the grades. There are many encouraging and interesting ideas to make the job of the secondary teacher more successful AND more lively.
This is the second book by Karen Tankersley, amplifying on her highly successful original book Threads of Reading: Strategies for Literacy Development, in which she explains that the teaching of reading is sequentially based, and continues to develop throughout school years. Her books are very readable, and her creative strategies make a teacher feel like getting started right away.
|We advise you to review and download the course syllabus before registering.
- Acquired engaging and practical ways to help students work in textbooks containing complex vocabulary.
- Rekindled motivation and encouragement of 4-12 grade teachers who may not have had sufficient instruction in reading strategies and yet are responsible for helping all students with reading assignments in their subject areas.
- Acquired some special suggestions including on-line resources for teachers whose students include English-Language Learners.
Text cost is approximately $12.50 used from Amazon.


|Statement||J. Douglas Staples.|
|LC Classifications||MT3.C35 S7|
|The Physical Object|
|Pagination||47 p. :|
|Number of Pages||47|
ISBN: OCLC Number: Description: xiii, pages: illustrations, music ; 24 cm: Contents: Prologue --Voices to sing --Feet to pat --Ears to hear --Eyes to see --Minds to create --Hands to play --Comprehensive teaching --Prologue: with a song in his heart --The dream of a nation --A nation is born () --A nation in turmoil: a family feud ( Elementary Method Books Click on a title to see all options and levels. Sort by Featured Best Selling Alphabetically, A-Z Alphabetically, Z-A Price, low to high Price, high . At My Music Journal, our elementary school music books & lesson plans are filled with many puzzles, pictures & more that help kids to understand music better Elementary Music Methods & Lesson Plans For Students - Elementary (K-5) School Music Curriculum Books | My Music Journal. Elementary Music and Beginning Band Methods Elementary educators of general music classes have implemented methodologies such as Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodaly as a primary step in the process of learning music (Rowher, ). Dalcroze, Kodaly, and Orff methods all promote multi-sensory musical experiences before conceptual understanding (Gault, ).
In all things I do, I tried to find meaning in the course as it related to music education. As I researched books for elementary music, I began purchasing every book I found. Within months, I had a substantial collection of children’s books for my classroom library. Over the years, the collection has taken on a life of its own. music and arts education programmes in school. Standard Guidelines for Music teaching / learning 1. Singing a varied repertoire individually and with others 2. Performing a varied repertoire on instruments individually and with others 3. Reading and notating music 4. Composing and arranging music with specific guidelines 5. This has tons of fingerplays, lullabies, and songs for children from before birth through elementary school age. I strongly recommend this book for parents and those who might teach early childhood or preschool music classes, but there are things I pull from it for K/1/2 still. Delivering music since JW Pepper ® is your sheet music store for band, orchestra and choral music, piano sheet music, worship songs, songbooks and more. Download and buy printable sheet music online at JW Pepper. ®.
Music Lessons Interactive Music Lessons for the General Music Classroom and Music and Movement classes. Back to School Back to School Elementary Music lessons with hello songs, classroom games, body percussion themes including; singing, playing instruments, creative movement, orff, kodaly, rhythm, pitch, melody, ostinato, improvisation. I bought this book for school, and spent $50 something instead of the $ my school bookstore wanted. Just as the description said, there were some underlined parts in the book but other than that it looks brand new. Very s: : Teaching Music Effectively in the Elementary School (): Choksy, Lois: Books. The sample consists of students from two music schools in Zagreb: the EBMS and a music school with a traditional1 teaching method. The research included a total of piano students, of whom 73 students attended the EBMS, while 63 students attended a music school with a traditional teaching method.


Bridge the Gap in Distance Learning
On July 30, 2020, Governor Tim Walz announced that the state of Minnesota will work with individual school districts to determine whether students go back in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid model for the 2020-21 school year.
For districts and schools that choose a distance learning or hybrid model, Sourcewell offers educators a variety of resources for solutions and skill-building.
Teaching Foundational Skills in a Distance Learning Environment
Aug. 17, 2020
Learn tips, tricks, and tools for helping young readers find success in a distance learning environment.
The First 20 Days: Launching Literacy Best Practices in a Distance Learning Environment
Aug. 18, 2020
Gain confidence launching literacy best practices in a distance learning environment.
The First 20 Days: Launching Mathematics Best Practices in a Distance Learning Environment
Aug. 18, 2020
Learn how to establish an engaging mathematics learning environment, no matter where the classroom may be.
Motivating and Engaging Readers in a Distance Learning Environment
Aug. 21, 2020
Learn fun and simple ways to get students reading in any environment.
Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
Minnesota Summit for Learning and Leading
Collaborative Teams and the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Process
New Teacher Academy


Music Matters is a partnership between CBS4, Mountain States Toyota and Swallow Hill Music to create awareness about the importance of music education. You can help enrich children’s lives with music by learning more about Swallow Hill Music – their Little Swallows program, concerts, and music classes.
● Music education sharpens student attentiveness, equips students to be creative and supports better study habits and self-esteem. (Arts Education Partnership, 2011)
● Research reveals strong connections between rhythm skills and pre-reading abilities in toddlers. Woodruff Carr K, W.-S.T., Tierney A, Strait D, Kraus N. , Beat synchronization and speech encoding in preschoolers: A neural synchrony framework for language development. (… in Association for Research in Otolaryngology Symposium. 2014: San Diego, CA).
● Researchers found that after two years, children who not only regularly attended music classes, but also actively participated in the class, showed larger improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers. Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, quoted in Melissa Locker, “This Is How Music Can Change Your Brain,” Time, December 16, 2014.
● Playing a musical instrument impacts multiple areas of the brain, especially enhancing our executive functions, and researchers note it is comparable to a full-body workout. “Intellectual nourishment and the brain,” by Dawn Davis, Illinois State University, Oct. 18, 2017


Our Grades 2-3 Primary Years Program is a vital part of your child’s education. In order to help your child blossom and grow, Pear Tree is an independent elementary school that balances teaching new skills with strengthening the foundations established in our Early Years program.
Grades 2-3 Primary Years Program
Your child will develop student and life skills, including organization, effort, determination and resilience. By improving upon these social and emotional skills, Pear Tree Elementary is able to transition your child from small projects to more sophisticated ones which require increased collaborative work and commitment.
Beside this, we introduce our Outdoor Education program in which your child will experience learning in a new environment for a prolonged period of time with their classmates. We also begin our French language program. The Grades 2-3 Primary Program will continue using traditional learning methods, but will also experience an increased use of technology, including iPads.
Through Pear Tree’s Primary Program, your child will become increasingly aware of who they are, of the world around them, and of the connection between the two. As a result, it is an exciting time for students, teachers and parents alike!
Primary goals are to develop:
- Numeracy skills through problem solving and application
- Multiple literacies skills: written, visual, aural, and physical
- Public speaking and presentation skills
- Basic teamwork skills
- Age-appropriate leadership abilities
- Introductory French language skills
- Greater technological fluency using iPads
- Experiential learning through outdoor education
Math at Pear Tree
Math is a skills-based subject (in contrast to science and social studies, which are more knowledge-based). Math skills are to be used, not simply memorized. As such, at Pear Tree Elementary, math skills embedded within themes; they are tied to social studies (quantities, statistics), science (weights, speeds, measurements), and business (financial literacy).
As such, students at Pear Tree learn math in context. Math at our school is connected to real life and is truly meaningful. At the same time, working with real-life numbers means that it is challenging!
Consequently, math at Pear Tree is more engaging and more challenging than traditional math classes.
Literacy at Pear Tree
Like math, language arts is a skills-based subject. Traditional approaches to reading and writing involve practicing such skills with no real purpose beyond mastering those skills. Reading and writing are skills to be applied, and that’s exactly what we do at Pear Tree Elementary!
At Pear Tree, reading and writing skills are interwoven into every part of our themes. We don’t use textbooks. Instead, students constantly read both fiction and non-fiction books related to the themes. Each term, students study a novel connected to one of the themes. This repeated practice throughout the year enables Pear Tree’s students to develop stronger analytical skills.
Pear Tree students quickly develop truly amazing reading and writing skills for their ages from becoming familiar with these words over a semester and having constant opportunities to practice!
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by Yurino Kawamura
The digital divide is creating a huge loss of opportunities for those without Internet access. As we have learned in class, or in fact, as we have been currently enjoying benefits from our PCs and mobile phones, access to the Internet enables people to stay in touch with the latest information throughout the world. Exposure to cultures from other countries would affect peoples’ lives and ways of living.
As we have learned, Internet access tends to be available only for residents of affluent countries, or to limited rich people in developing countries. The average citizen would be located on “the lower side” of the digital divide, unable to reach for latest news or cultures. To ensure all citizens high-speed Internet access, countries must possess enough budgets for investment. However, data indicate that the countries with a high percentage of Internet popularity tend to be affluent.
Figure 1. Relationship between percentage of individuals using the Internet and Gross Domestic Product per capita
Figures 1 shows the relationship between the percentage of individuals using the Internet (ICT, 2009) and the gross domestic product per capita (World Bank, 2009) of 204 countries worldwide. As seen in the figure, the more residents have access to the Internet, the higher GDP per capita a country holds. The correlation factor between them, which shows the relationship between the two factors, was 70.8%. This means that there is a strong relationship between the Internet access and GDP per capita. It is said that same kind of link exists between the literacy rate and GDP per capita, but according to a calculation, its correlation factor is only 36.6%. This indicated that the effect of the digital divide is stronger than that of illiteracy.
Establishing high-speed Internet access throughout a country is not an easy task. Developed skills and much investment would be required, which would be a tough burden for developing countries. What I am concerned about is that would lead to an even larger gap between the affluent countries and poor countries. Difference in economic power of the countries would enlarge the digital divide, which would make rich countries even richer.
It is easy to predict that this relationship will lead to very unfair opportunity for people within developing countries. Supports to build high-speed Internet infrastructure and teaching Internet literacy would be very important. The data indicates that its importance is equal to or even higher than that of elementary education. Although relatively high cost will be required for technology investments, strong support is required to maintain equal opportunity for people on the other side of the digital divide.
ICT (2009). Free Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/
World Bank (2009). World Databank. Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=12&id=4&CNO=2


Google Code-in 2017 open source mentor organizations revealed, including Ubuntu!
Despite what some naysayers may proclaim, it is imperative that children not only learn to code, but how to work on various aspects of a coding project too. To take it a step further, it is also a good idea for them to understand the virtues of open source ideology. True, sometimes closed source is better from a business perspective, but still, it is important that kids understand both sides.
Google does a great job supporting the open source community, which is appropriate, as the company leverages the code too. The search giant gives back to the community through programs such as "Google Code-in." If you aren't familiar, it is an educational contest which teaches children about open source by having them working on an actual established project. Today, the Android-maker reveals the mentors that will be participating in Google Code-in 2017.
"We're thrilled to introduce 25 open source organizations that are participating in Google Code-in 2017. The contest, now in its eighth year, offers 13-17 year old pre-university students an opportunity to learn and practice their skills while contributing to open source projects," says Josh Simmons, Google Open Source.
Simmons further explains, "These mentor organizations are hard at work creating thousands of tasks for students to work on, including code, documentation, user interface, quality assurance, outreach, research and training tasks. The contest officially starts for students on Tuesday, November 28th at 9:00am PST."
Google shares the full list of organizations below, including both a brief description and link to their associated webpage. While not all of them are well known, I am sure many kids will recognize Ubuntu at least -- probably the most exciting project on which to work.
- Apertium: rule-based machine translation platform
- BRL-CAD: computer graphics, 2D and 3D geometry modeling and computer-aided design (CAD)
- Catrobat: visual programming for creating mobile games and animations
- CCExtractor: open source tools for subtitle generation
- CloudCV: building platforms for reproducible AI research
- coala: a unified interface for linting and fixing code, regardless of the programming languages used
- Drupal: content management platform
- FOSSASIA: developing communities across all ages and borders to form a better future with Open Technologies and ICT
- Haiku: operating system specifically targeting personal computing
- JBoss Community: a community of projects around JBoss Middleware
- LibreHealth: aiming to bring open source healthcare IT to all of humanity
- Liquid Galaxy: an interactive, panoramic and immersive visualization tool
- MetaBrainz: builds community maintained databases
- Mifos Initiative: transforming the delivery of financial services to the poor and the unbanked
- MovingBlocks: a Minecraft-inspired open source game
- OpenMRS: open source medical records system for the world
- OpenWISP: build and manage low cost networks such as public wifi
- OSGeo: building open source geospatial tools
- Sugar Labs: learning platform and activities for elementary education
- SCoRe: research lab seeking sustainable solutions for problems faced by developing countries
- Systers: community for women involved in technical aspects of computing
- Ubuntu: an open source operating system
- Wikimedia: non-profit foundation dedicated to bringing free content to the world, operating Wikipedia
- XWiki: a web platform for developing collaborative applications using the wiki paradigm
- Zulip: powerful, threaded open source group chat with apps for every major platform
If you or your teen child are interested in participating, you can learn more here. While it is technically a contest, and there are real prizes to be had, I would argue that the true reward will be the experience. Heck, not only will you gain major geek-credibility, but both winning and participating should look great on either a college or job application.
Will you or your kid be participating in Google Code-in 2017? Tell me about it in the comments below.


Please click here for the Sycamore Portal
Middle School is a time of great change for adolescents. Our Middle School Program is designed to provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences to help students be able to think, create, and contribute, preparing them for success in the 21st century.
Our courses in Middle School meet leading US curriculum standards, and all courses support the literacy development of the Common Core State Standards. Courses are delivered in a safe and engaging learning environment which allows for the development of the unique interests, abilities and aspirations of our students.
Each year, Middle School students study a core curriculum including English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, French, Physical Education and Arabic Studies. Additionally, students participate in an Exploratory Program which provides students with the choice of a wide variety of subjects including Art, ICT, Life and Study Skills, Drama, Entrepreneurship, Presentation Skills and Creative Writing. Our Exploratory Program also supports students who need additional skill development in Language Arts and Mathematics.
Lessons are taught using a variety of teaching and learning strategies which are research-based and proven to be effective with Middle School aged learners. Great care is taken to ensure students develop the confidence, knowledge, and the personal, critical thinking skills, and independent learning skills to be successful in High School.
Students are assessed using a variety of methods including projects, presentations, writing tasks, performances, tests and quizzes. Students and parents are able to keep track of performance and course resources using the online portal, Sycamore Education.


Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a public health problem in older subjects, being responsible for a significant morbidity, disability and mortality. Older subjects are more susceptible to develop ADRs mainly due to polypharmacy, multimorbidity and inappropriate prescribing. The prevention of these drug related negative events represents an important aim for physicians treating older patients. Several strategies could potentially be employed, including state of the art education of medical students and physicians concerning principles of geriatric medicine and appropriate prescription in older subjects, reduction of inappropriate drug use by means of computerized decision support systems, pharmacist involvement and comprehensive geriatric assessment, and finally the identification of at risk older patients. However, there is currently a lack of scientific evidence demonstrating that these strategies can achieve a reduction in ADRs and therefore future intervention studies should be performed to evaluate the best intervention to decrease the burden of drug related problems in the older population.
Keywords: Adverse drug reaction, comprehensive geriatric assessment, inappropriate prescription, multimorbidity, older subject, polypharmacy, prevention, prophylaxis, overdose, accentuation
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Our elementary interventionists, Mrs. Green and Mrs. Geishirt, and I have made short videos to help inform you about literacy practices in our elementary schools. Please watch the following videos to find tips about phonics and reading at home, as well as to learn more about the literacy program we use, Benchmark Advance. Please feel free to reach out to any of use with questions.
In our current reality, with online learning, one of the best things you can do to help your student is to encourage him to read. Your child should not only be reading what her teacher assigns, but should be reading independently.
Encourage your child to read fiction and nonfiction texts--books, magazines, newspapers. The more your child reads, the better reader he will become. The more your child reads, the more things she will learn. Being a better reader and having more knowledge will help your child succeed in all classes and will help your child do better on standarized tests.
Your student can check out books from the school libraries. Reach out to the library assistant at your child's building to learn how. Also, you can check out books from the public library. Contact the librarian at your local library to find out more about the process. Don't forget about ebooks as an option.
Another thing you should encourage your student to do is write. Writing daily, like reading daily, will help your child improve his skills. Provide your child with a journal or composition book and different kinds of writing tools to make writing more enjoyable for her. Stickers and pens or markers in a rainbow of colors can make writing fun. These are items you can find at the dollar store.
The best thing you can do for your student is to model reading and writing yourself. If your child sees you reading and writing, he is more likely to read and write, too. Reading and writing along with your child will show her these things are enjoyable, relaxing activities and will encourage your child to read and write independently.
My name is Kelly Kroon and I'm the district reading specialist. My job is to work with students who are struggling in reading and to oversee the literacy program in our district.
I earned my Reading Specialist and Reading Teacher certifications from Viterbo University. I have a Master's Degree in Education from UW-LaCrosse. My teaching degree is from UW-Superior, where I majored in elementary education and minored in early childhood education. I also have a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from UW-Madison.
I'm a proud WHHS grad and am happy to be working for the district that gave me such a good education.


The basic idea is to let the app and the paper actually see each other and the rest will happen automatically.
Make sure the four corner markers are visible in the display – hold still for a moment – let the app capture your note – and save or share your note in a way you like. The concept is patented and yet very simple: Since markings from pens are dark they interfere with the traditional dark lines of ordinary paper.
We have a nice variety including 3 different sized lines in portrait and landscape layouts.
We have some with spots for kids to draw pictures and then write about it.
General handwriting writing paper for general handwriting practice.
The next few steps will allow you to choose a theme for the top and bottom borders of your paper as well as choose a custom image to dress it up.Dotted Lined: a line divided into 2 (tall, short letters) with space between each new line of writing; Handwriting printables with drawing box - available soon.This lined paper is ideal for writing narrations and adding a drawing on to the page. in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood. This paper has tracer lines so that early printers can easily write a short note to grandparents or friends.See the Handwriting Practice Sheets I have available for 3 styles - Manuscript, D'Nealian and Cursive and for different ages.They are free to download and they are A-Z practice sheets with dotted letters and lines to copy the different letter shapes.On Whitelines there is no visual interference between the lines and the pen color.Whitelines makes your writing and drawings stand out.This paper is ideal for practicing individual alphabet letters, numerals, and punctuation characters.Each letter, number or character is written within a character spacer line.


It takes a unique type of talent to specialize in educating today’s youngest students, and that talent can be used to make a difference in the numerous types of jobs available with an elementary education degree, according to the US News and World Report. While commonly thought of as a degree for pre-school or kindergarten teachers, the truth is that elementary education professional are found in all kinds of positions that actually extend beyond early childhood programs or traditional elementary schools. Those students who are looking into programs in this field might be surprised to learn of the various places where their talents will make a real difference for students and parents.
Pre-School Programs are a Great Fit
Though many people in pre-school programs seek early education degrees instead of elementary education, an increasing number of state-funded pre-school programs actually prefer candidates to have an educational background in elementary teaching skills. That’s because they’re often employed by elementary schools and many of these teachers full multiple roles at differing grade levels throughout the typical workday. For this reason, those who wish to be more versatile and marketable to pre-school and early childhood education employers should opt for a four-year degree in elementary teaching.
Elementary School Education Positions
Of course, the most common position sought by those with a degree in elementary education is simply a full-time teaching position in an elementary school. These schools often serve kindergarten students and those in first through fifth grade, and teachers are responsible for teaching the full range of academic subjects required of each district. Teachers in this role must be great at handling the personalities of young students, and they must have well-defined classroom management practices that keep behavior in line even on more exciting days. Teachers will be responsible for guiding their students toward state standard compliance in this role, with many states requiring standards testing as early as third or fourth grade in order to set a baseline for future exams.
Middle School Positions are Also Available to Graduates
While middle school might seem like an odd place for a teacher with an elementary education degree, it’s worth noting that most states break down their education licenses as being either for K-6 or grades 7-12. This means many elementary school education graduates can fill positions teaching a specific middle school subject area, as long as they have the skills necessary for basic math, English, language, or other skills. Middle school positions, like their elementary counterparts, do require state standards testing and will see teachers working with students on more content-specific standard achievement throughout the year.
Elementary School Substitute Teachers
For those teachers who wish to seek part-time work in the field, or those who are gaining valuable work experience in advance of seeking a full-time teaching position, work as a substitute teacher can be very rewarding. These positions give teachers time to harness and focus their skills in classroom management, direct teaching, learning activities, and more. They’ll also be able to determine which grade level most aligns with their set of skills and the classes required of their degree program.
Related Resource: Maintaining Teacher Certification
Elementary Education is Versatile and Rewarding for Today’s Teachers
Elementary education professionals are vital in a world where formative experiences can determine long-term student success. The types of jobs available with an elementary education degree reflect this, giving teachers the ability to guide students through pre-school, elementary school, and even the first half of middle school.


The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life from our souls
Art encourages self-expression whilst developing not only visual communication skills but a range of disciplines that will serve them throughout their school careers; such as research skills, persistence, self-evaluation, imagination and working with others.
We teach students to appreciate the diversity of the world around us and encourage them to understand the variety of opportunities art can offer when taken in further education.
In Year 7, students are taught the key art skills while exploring a variety of artists and art movements. They will enjoy exploring the possibilities of various 2D and 3D materials and be encouraged to take creative risks to develop their ideas and skills.
Students study ten important artists, past and present, to give them a background knowledge of their work and influences. Some of the artists studied are Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Seurat, Norman Rockwell, Pollock, and Mantegna. Students learn to build a sketchbook throughout the year responding to each of these artists using a different media discipline, such as painting, photography, collage, printing, drawing skills, pastels, 3D and clay work.
In this year we study arts and crafts from different countries and their influence on Western Art and culture. We encourage them to explore more technical processes, printing in more depth and mixed media.
They study African Art and its influence on Picasso, this project incorporates both drawing skills, design skills and finally reduction lino prints. They then move onto Aboriginal Art, focusing strongly on understanding visual language, symbolism and story-telling. They then work collaboratively to create a large scale mixed media piece of work.
This year is a GCSE foundation year, where students are given a taster of what is involved if they wish to continue with their art education into Years 10 and 11. Students are encouraged to explore a range of media through more open project work. They study aspects of landscape through print, mixed media, textiles and graphic drawing. They then move on to Pop Art where they can explore stencil cutting, colour and print.
Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)
Students work towards a Level 2 qualification in Creative Studies: Art and Design. This is a complementary technical awards and the vocational equivalent of a GCSE qualification. At the core of this course, students will learn:
- To develop skills and express feelings and meanings by working with materials, tools and techniques, and the visual language of art, craft and design
- To observe and record, to develop ideas by working from direct experience, memory and imagination
- To understand and change ideas to achieve set aims
- To visualise ideas, by collecting and using a wide range of reference materials
- To respond practically and imaginatively to the work of artists, craft workers and designers
- To explore art, craft and design in a wide range of historical and cultural contexts
Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and 13)
This A Level course will allow you to develop your practical and theoretical knowledge and understanding of fine art. It combines both theory and practical skills. The aim of the course is to develop your creative, conceptual and practical skills in fine art.
This Fine Art course will demonstrate the use of formal elements and creative skills and give visual form to individual thoughts, feelings, observations and ideas. Students will try to extend their own and others’ ways of seeing the world, using the language of the subject sensitively and thoughtfully to support their intentions. They will work in one or more of the following disciplines: painting and drawing; printmaking; sculpture; alternative media.
In addition to lesson time you will be expected to invest a considerable amount of your free time in independent study. This will usually involve research or practical work following key lessons. Visits to museums and galleries will be fundamental to your success in this course. These visits and those to or from local artists will help to reinforce your understanding of the issues and current practices in art and design as well as giving you an insight into further study or related career choices.


Spring is salamander season in our Eastern Pennsylvania region! Keep reading to learn how to make the most of this special springtime tradition with your class or students at home!
If you’re new to SuperSprouts lessons, here’s the basics:
SuperSprouts lessons are designed to engage students in literacy practices directly in nature. There are many resources available online if you wish to supplement this lesson with paper-based materials.
SuperSprouts goals and objectives are designed to guide lessons for a range of grade levels and knowledge sets. All lessons are available for customization to a specific grade level or knowledge set.
- Tap into children’s innate curiosity about the natural world.
- Support literacy development.
- Are easily adapted to meet the needs of all learners.
- Contain specific objectives linked to broader learning goals.
- Align with the Pennsylvania State Standards.
- Are available for customized learning by request: contact India here.
If you would like a more detailed and customized lesson plan, please contact me here!
*Goal: Students discover salamanders’ natural habitat while exploring a narrative story structure.
*Objective 1: Following the lesson experience, students will be able to evaluate what ecological conditions make a good home for salamanders.
*Objective 2: Following the lesson experience, students will be able to create their own “Salamander Room” story using question and answer expanded story structure.
Setting: Salamanders are found in moist, woodsy places. You may want to scout out locations before you take your class outside. Decomposing logs and rocks in moist areas are good bets. If you plan to do the reading and writing portion outside, be sure to bring your other materials with you.
- Magnifying glass
- Writing paper
- The Salamander Room, by Anne Mazer
Set the Stage
Read the book, the Salamander Room, by Anne Mazer. Take your time and pause at key moments to draw students attention to the setting and how it reflects the salamander’s needs. After reading, take a look-back with your students and point out specific elements of the author’s craft. Specifically, you are examining the author’s use of “question and answer” to flush out the story.
If you’re not already outside reading, now is the time to go out and search for salamanders. Ask students to think about the story setting and suggest where salamanders might be found. Let students explore, but check in for understanding and observations. Reinforce astute observations about salamander habitat. For specific content about salamanders and their habitats, see additional resources below. Invite students to create their own salamander rooms out of found items in nature.
Gather students together in a circle. Briefly review the text and literacy focus: Author’s Craft – Question and Answer. Students may choose to choose to write and illustrate their own Question and Answer story. For this exercise the focus is on the discovery process of the Question and Answer style of story telling, not the finished product. However, you may wish to include this writing exercise in your Writer’s Workshop.
You Tube Read-Aloud of the Salamander Room, by Anne Mazer
Eastern Salamanders and their Habitats:
For Teacher Reflection:
I recommend this site for teachers who wish to consider deeper environmental questions prior to teaching the lesson. But a word of caution: Some of these questions may not be appropriate for young children who are still very much directly connected with the natural world and who are not yet developmentally ready to grapple with questions about environmental ethics.


We’re kicking off a new series on IEPs!
The IEP is a legal document and every component of special education (beginning with the fact that it exists at all) comes through litigation and advocacy. We are accountable for the things we agree to and despite the fact that oversight and accountability is severely lacking, we, as professionals, must enter into IEPs with integrity and good faith.
IEPs are specific to the child. The tendency is to write goals (more on goal writing later) that are specific to the person responsible for the goal. So we have a “speech goal,” two “OT goals,” and two “academic goals.” We get it . . . BUT is that functional? Does speech operate in isolation from academics? Does OT matter if it isn’t applied to a skill of independence or context? The objective would be for us to build collaborative, functional, shared goals supporting the child’s access to the general curriculum.
Remember, an IEP is not a curriculum. It’s a plan for the services and supports the child needs to be success accessing the general curriculum. Yes, we offer adapted curriculum to some kids but an IEP in and of itself is not an adapted curriculum.
It’s also not a behavior plan.
When I teach IEPs, I have the students work through writing one on themselves. On their present levels, current needs, what supports and services would help them be successful. It helps to personalize the language we use, to focus on strengths, to shut down the deficit framing, because when it’s time to write one on a child, we need to see ourselves and the IEP as a support, not a fixer.
What questions do you have about IEPs?
We can’t get into goal writing without working on our PLAAFP/PLOP/PLP writing. All good goals start as clearly written PLAAFPs.
The words “functional performance” are important here. Working together as a team (WITH families) to ensure we’re addressing functional needs rather than isolated skills is truly the heart of the IEP.
I get lots of messages about how, yes, that’s ideal but not practical or what happens in practice. And I know. However, when we know better, we can do better and advocate for best practices. Here’s to the ones shaking it up out there!!
Lots of requests for goal writing strategies so we are working on some resources for that but in the meantime, what are IEP goals? Are they written for specific academic skills based on assessment data and deficits? Or are they written for providing the missing foundational skills the individual child needs to gain access to the curriculum? This is exactly why general ed teachers need to know about goals, IEP specific data collection, and accommodations and modifications. Supporting learners is all of our work!
This gives the IDEA charge for goals. The words here are important.
IDEA has four purposes. 1) equality of opportunity 2) full participation 3) independent living, 4) economic self sufficiency
It helps to keep the big picture in mind when writing goals.
More on this to come but for now, what have you found helpful in writing meaningful goals?


Music education in Australian schools: An essential place for all students
Authorde Bruin, L
Source TitleProfessional Voice
PublisherAustralian Education Union
University of Melbourne Author/sde Bruin, Leon
AffiliationMelbourne Conservatorium of Music
Document TypeScholarly Contribution
Citationsde Bruin, L. (2021). Music education in Australian schools: An essential place for all students
Access StatusOpen Access
The role of music education in the school curriculum reflects the evolving and contested nature of music’s place within state and national curricula. Instigated in Victorian government secondary schools in the 1960’s, instrumental music in Australia has become an intriguing aspect of the creative /performing arts subjects. For many years designated as a specific standalone subject, it now resides within the arts ‘collection’ of subjects (ACARA, 2015). The ‘arts’ curriculum today is designed to induct students through practitioner lenses of inquiry that allow learning, teaching, and assessment to be authentic, dynamic and creative. A unique aspect of instrumental music is that students can access this subject via solo, ensemble or special investigation streams. Despite this well-conceived arrangement, music remains an underfunded aspect of educational opportunity able to be accessed by far too few students in Australia.
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".
- Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


Twenty-First Century learning environments must be designed to grow potential in every student. Everyone with whom students interact in a public school setting must help students develop their identities as positive and productive assets, constantly open to new learning. Intelligence is not set at birth, but grows and develops over time. Helping each student develop into a resilient, intelligent, resourceful, ethical, and compassionate human being is a more important goal than raising test scores or standardizing curriculum content.
- Providing programs and services to students when they need them and not waiting until they are in crisis or labeled failures is an essential responsibility of public education. Early childhood learning opportunities and high-quality, timely interventions by qualified individuals are essential in raising up all learners so they can succeed.
- Student learning experiences promote and encourage persistence, curiosity, creativity, exploration, and intellectual risk taking through hands-on, real world applications.
- Educational psychology research has established the concept of “zone of proximal development” where a student can be both challenged and moved forward by what is to be learned. This is a powerful process that should be used to accelerate learning for all students. Personalized learning should target this “zone,” connect with the student’s current level of understanding, and help him or her work through the challenge of acquiring and consolidating the next level of understanding. Well-designed instruction incorporates direct teaching, exploratory activities, and peer interactions into this process.
- Teachers must capitalize on the human brain’s own reward systems and make learning compelling by designing to each student’s strengths and interests.
- Time, an invaluable resource in the teaching/learning process, should be used equitably to ensure that all students learn successfully.
- Alternatives to grouping by chronological age and ability must be incorporated into the organizational structure of schools at all levels.


The aim of education has not changed since the ancient time. It has never been merely the acquisition of knowledge. It has always been preparation for life and liberation of the self. We can’t ignore what our predecessors believed. Education is based on four pillars, says an UNESCO report. The first pillar acquires knowledge and the ways of learning. So as to benefit from the opportunities education provides throughout life. The second pillar acquires, not only an occupational skill, but also the competence to deal with many situations and various challenges of working life. The third pillar teaches us to live together and appreciate the spirit of interdependence. The forth pillar helps us to develop our own personality and our ability of autonomy.
We expect our students to develop ‘foundational skills’ of literacy and numeracy, ‘higher-order’ cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving skills, social and emotional skills. All education systems do not have all the pillars. More the pillar an education system has, better it serves the purpose. For the development of good education system the primary requirement is the availability of good teachers. Multidisciplinary training is required for the teachers. Multidisciplinary training, not only in imparting education, but also in school administration is necessary. In short, in the spirit of multidiscipline lies the essence of education. Another important aspect of the policy document is the need for the sharing of the resources. “An attitudinal change needs to be brought in so that the implementation effort is carefully nurtured, and best practices and processes developed at successful school complexes can be replicated at many places.”
With the rapid multiplication of education system, corruption(not only financial but also moral) has crept in the education system in a big way. Some educational institutional have completely lost sight of the purpose of education. Therefore, most of all, our education systems require effective leadership and resolve. Transformers are required to transform an enterprise called education.


Project “Let Them Eat Cake! / Neka jedu kolače!” presented a video celebrating International Literacy Day, which takes place on September 8th. With this video, the art organisation ARKTIK – Institute for the Future wants to raise awareness about the problem of illiteracy of the population and the importance of investment in literacy development, regardless of age group.
Project is being created through a public calls aimed at the general public, enthusiasts and multidisciplinary artists to create video performans aimed at raising the awareness of the topics of the international days covered with this project. The content of the project presents a combination of cooking and nutrition as a general interest, and art and activist topics that society and the media should always deal with more.
In order to further raise awareness and educate as many people as possible about this problem, we bring list of films, books and scientific articles dealing with the problem of illiteracy, which can serve for further independent research on this topic.
- The First Grader (2010)
The film tells the story of an 84-year-old Kenyan farmer and former veteran who fights for his right to an education he could never afford before.
- Butterfly Dreams (2013)
The film follows a nine-year-old girl in rural India, exploited by child labor, who must find a way to make her dream come true – to read and to write. She is given one last chance when an educated man comes to town.
- Las Analfabetas (2013)
The film presents a bitter woman in her fifties who is reluctant to accept the biggest challenge of her life – learning to read.
Books and articles:
- Gholdy Muhammad, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy
In this book, Dr. Gholdy E. Muhammad presents a four-layered framework of equity – one that is grounded in history and linked to education and literacy. This framework, which she calls, Historically Responsible Literacy, is derived from a study of the development of literacy in 19th-century black literacy societies. The framework is important and universal for all students, especially young people of different races, who are traditionally marginalized in learning standards, school policies and classrooms.
- Natalie Wexler, The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System – and How to Fix It
Wexler brings together historical facts, research, and compelling figures to present the flaws of the American education system — ones which are long overlooked by reformers, journalists, and politicians that the general public, including many parents, is still unaware of.
Combining the experiences of researchers, politicians and practitioners working in more than a dozen countries, this edited article presents alternative views on gender, development and literacy through detailed first-hand reports. Instead of seeing literacy as a set of technical skills taught in classrooms, these writers give new meaning to key concepts such as “barriers”, “culture”, “empowerment” and “motivation”.
In today’s society, it would be difficult for a person to function without developed literacy skills, and it is for this reason that the emphasis in the classroom is on literacy. On the other hand, music is perceived as an extracurricular activity or a place where students can have fun. However, music has great value and can teach students many of the skills needed for well-rounded development.
This paper analyzes data on literacy skills of young adults from 19 countries in an international adult literacy survey from 1994 to 1998 and reveals that in all countries, people with a higher level of education have higher literacy skills. Using two-tier hierarchical linear models, the paper reveals that interstate differences in the literacy gap between more and less educated individuals are systematically related to the degree of inequality in school resources (teaching materials, class size, teachers experience and certification).


A panel of educators met March 15 at the Graduate School of Education (HGSE) to discuss the 40-year history of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The panel members agreed on the act’s beneficial impact on public education, but they could find little good to say about its most recent version, the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind.
“The original act was all about educational equity, between black and white, girls and boys, rich and poor,” said HGSE Dean Ellen Lagemann, who moderated the discussion.
Lagemann spoke about the history of the act and about the man most responsible for drafting it and pushing it through Congress, Francis Keppel, former dean of HGSE and U.S. commissioner of education under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Appointed commissioner of education in 1962, Keppel managed to make legislative progress that had eluded his predecessors.
“There were many earlier proposals for federal funding of public schools, but all of them were blocked in the Congress. ESEA broke the logjam,” Lagemann said.
Robert Schwartz, lecturer on education at HGSE, continued the story with an explanation of how the logjam was finally broken.
Federal funding to education had been stalled primarily because its advocates had found it impossible to design a program that would be acceptable to private and parochial schools and to the segregated school systems of the South, Schwartz explained. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forced Southern schools to integrate, thus eliminating one obstacle. It remained to Keppel to overcome the other.
“He was a pivotal actor at a crucial time,” Schwartz said. “He used his negotiating skills and powers of persuasion to bridge the gap between church and state.”
Keppel dealt with the concerns of private schools by shifting the focus of the program from funding for schools to aid that followed individual students, Schwartz said.
Catherine Snow, the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education and an expert on language and literacy development in children, brought the discussion up to the present with an analysis of what she sees as some of the inadequacies of No Child Left Behind, signed into law by George W. Bush in 2001.
The new law places imperatives on state education departments to come up with new tests in math, reading, and language proficiency, requiring the administration of new tests every year for grades one through eight.
“Some people have called it ‘the test developer full employment act,'” Snow said.
In certain areas, she said, the federal law requires states to administer tests that do not yet exist in a satisfactory form.
“Most shockingly, it asks for a proficiency test for second language speakers of English to be administered every year. There is no decent test for this. Every state is going to have to come up with one,” Snow said.
The new law places a great deal of emphasis on research results, but Snow said that when it comes to reading, much of its reliance on research is misguided. The federal reading panel reviewed experimental research in reading and ignored other sources of knowledge. As a result, federal funding may be used only to support interventions based on this research.
“For example, many studies have shown that kids who read more, read better. That should be pretty obvious. But because the experimental evidence the panel looked at doesn’t show this connection, curricula that include more opportunities for reading are not endorsed. Clearly, the research base is inadequate.”
Another inadequacy of the law, Snow claims, is that it endorses the theory that higher expectations produce better results, but doesn’t take into account that students come to school with different levels of preparation. Moreover, the law minimizes the role of early childhood education, something that might help to correct these inequalities.
“In the absence of a level playing field, higher expectations are simply fantasy,” Snow said.
Dorinda Carter, a math teacher who is currently a student in the HGSE’s Ph.D. program, said that No Child Left Behind fails to address the crisis in teacher training. While there have been modest gains in math and reading since the law went into effect, the ambitious goals that have been set cannot possibly be reached unless the supply of good teachers is increased.
“We are so focused on testing and accountability that we are not focused on the most important aspect of education, the need for highly qualified teachers,” Carter said.
Nor is it enough for these teachers to simply teach their subject. Having teachers who reflect the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of their students is also important, asserted Carter, adding that while 40 percent of students are children of color, 90 percent of teachers are white.
“We can’t continue to have a racially homogenous teaching force to teach racially diverse students,” she said.


This event is SOLD OUT.
Please call 857-444-1500 x1 to be added to the waiting list.
This webinar will use Zoom.
In recent years, researchers have been able to show that mathematical difficulties can be analyzed in similar ways as reading difficulties. Key early predictors of later reading success, such as phonological awareness and phonics, have been identified and these key building blocks of the reading brain have been translated into screeners for children at risk as well as evidence-based interventions for struggling readers. Similarly, key foundational skills have been identified in math for better understanding individual differences in early numeracy development and ways to use these key building blocks for evidence-based interventions. This webinar will explain what researchers have discovered about the "Mathematical Brain" and the key building blocks for early math learning. Dr. Ansari will show how children learn the meaning of numerical symbols (i.e. number words and Arabic numerals) and how differences between children in their processing of symbols map onto their learning of arithmetic. He will discuss the implications of this work for screening and remediation of mathematical learning difficulties. Furthermore, you will explore the overlap between reading and mathematical difficulties and discuss what we know about mathematic anxiety and gender differences in math skills.
Participants will gain knowledge about:
This webinar is applicable K-8 teachers, school administrators, special education teachers, school psychologists..
Daniel Ansari, PhD, received his PhD from University College London in 2003. Presently, Daniel Ansari is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychology and the Brain and Mind Institute at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, where he heads the Numerical Cognition Laboratory (www.numericalcognition.org). Ansari and his team explore the developmental trajectory underlying both the typical and atypical development of numerical and mathematical skills, using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods.)


Henry Bacon Biography, Life, Interesting Facts
Died On :
Birth Place :
Childhood and Early Life
Celebrated American architect Henry Bacon was born on November 28, 1866, in Watseka, Illinois, United States of America. He is one of the seven children of Henry Bacon Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Bacon. Henry Bacon Sr. was an engineer by profession. He worked for the developmental projects at the Illinois Central Railroad. He later moved to the Wilmington office of the U.S. Engineering Department. Bacon Jr. grew up in Southport (then Smithville) situated near the site of his father’s work from 1876 and 1880. They later moved to Wilmington when in 1880, his father decided to stay near his office.
While in his pre-teen and teenage years, Bacon Jr. grew up watching his father working in different engineering projects. He saw his father work on the construction of a barrier dam over New Inlet near the river mouth of Cape Fear. His future interest in architecture and engineering seems to have stemmed from his early experiences of watching his father’s work. His exploits later in his professional life, solving difficult problems related to architectural design and engineering got ingrained in him during his growing up years.
Henry Bacon had his elementary education while staying at Southport. In 1881, he traveled to Boston to study at Chauncey Hall School there. He later returned to Wilmington to attend the Tileston High School from where he earned his graduation in 1884. Immediately upon his graduation, he entered the University of Illinois. However, he discontinued his studies after one year. Thereafter, in 1885, Bacon began his architectural career by joining the architectural firm of Chamberlain and Whidden in Boston as a draftsman.
CAREER AS AN ACCOMPLISHED ARCHITECT
Henry Bacon had a short-lived career with Chamberlain and Whidden. He moved to New York City in 1885 itself and joined McKim, Mead and White, the most renowned architectural firm of that time known for introducing new, novel ideas. He immediately swung into action and proved his architectural brilliance by working in the late Greek Revival and Beaux-Arts architectures.
His other important works in association with the firm include the New York Herald Building, 1889 Paris World Expo, the Harvard Club of New York, the Boston Public Library, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University, and the Pennsylvania Station in New York City.
Henry Bacon excelled in his work with experience and created some more elegant structures including the Danforth Memorial Library in Paterson, New Jersey (1908), Court of the Four Seasons at Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco (1915), the train station in Naugatuck, Connecticut, World War I Memorial at Yale University, the Confederate Memorial in Wilmington, and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. He showed his understanding and expertise in solving the problem of anchoring the Lincoln Memorial on filled land reclaimed from the Potomac River.
In 1889 Henry Bacon won the Rotch Travelling Scholarship which entailed him to travel and study in Europe for two years. He utilized the period for learning the intricate details of Greek and Roman architecture. Upon his return to the U.S., he began working on projects such as the Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island, along with his mentor Charles Mckim.
During the Paris World’s Expo in 1889, he worked as the personal representative of Mckim. He served in the same capacity when in 1893; MMW was entrusted with the design work of several buildings during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
In 1897, Henry Bacon left MMW and joined the architectural firm of Brite and Bacon Architects as a partner along with James Brite, a junior architect of MMW. He became the in-charge of the architectural design and construction in the new firm. In 1903, the firm ceased to exist, and all the partners of the firm started their independent practice.
In 1911, he got the charge of drawing the architectural design of his last and most famous work, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The work of the memorial started in 1913 and was completed in the year 1922. The inauguration of the memorial took place on May 30, 1922. It was a tribute to the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Bacon won the highest honor of the American Institute of Architects for the magnificent engineering and architectural work of the Lincoln Memorial.
While traveling on Rotch Travelling Scholarship, Henry Bacon went to Assos, Turkey. He met Laura Calvert, daughter of the British consul at the Dardanelles, near Assos. They tied the nuptial knot thereafter. He was admitted to a hospital in New York City on February 1924 for an intestinal cancer operation. He breathed his last there on February 16, 1924.


I originally wrote this piece for the Scandinavian auction house Lauritz.com‘s blog, and wanted to share it with CulturePeel.com readers interested in modern design.
For most Americans, encounters with Apple’s iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad don’t immediately conjure up thoughts of Germany. And yet the mastermind behind Apple’s iconic designs, British-born industrial designer Jonathan Ive, is quite open about the profound influence German industrial designer Dieter Rams has had on his work.
Place the iPod next to one of Rams’ 50s and 60s product designs for Braun, and it’s easy to see why. Rams’ 10 principles for good design, which include innovation, the ability to help us understand a product, and the key “good design is as little design is possible” permeate Apple products to the core.
And Apple is just one example. German designers’ focus on simplicity, intelligence and innovation has held great appeal for Modernism-loving Americans for decades.
It started with Bauhaus. Founded in Germany by architect Walter Grotius in 1919, the hugely influential school sought to bring all art forms together, reconciling unique craftsmanship with mass production.
Under Nazi pressure, the school closed in 1933. It was a tragedy for the creative minds associated with the school – but for the United States, it meant the arrival of a wave of Bauhaus teachers and students who would influence American art and architecture, as well as its graphic, interior and industrial design.
Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Bauhaus school’s last architect-director, were among the émigrés. Rohe, whose work the Nazis had rejected as not being German enough, quickly made a name for himself in the US. He became head of the Department of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and introduced the influential Second Chicago School, with a new way of designing skyscrapers like his IBM Plaza in Chicago. Rohe’s famous Barcelona chair, created for the German Pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona Exposition, also became a favorite in America.
A few more items from Bauhaus’ American portfolio: Rohe’s 1951 Farnsworth House outside Chicago and Gropius’ 1938 Boston-area home impacted the work of such leading American architects as Philip Johnson, who designed the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. Hungarian-born Bauhaus student and teacher Marcel Breuer, designed the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Artist Josef Albers greatly influenced art education.
And today? True, German design does not get the instant look of recognition enjoyed by its Scandinavian or Italian counterparts (the German Design Council attributes this to Germany’s marketing mechanism). But contemporary German designers’ passion for reinventing everyday items resonates across the Atlantic.
In 2010, Konstantin Grcic’s work was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago; his MYTO chair got The New York Times’ attention for its inventive, ultra-eco-friendly design. Both Grcic’s and fellow German designer Werner Aisslinger’s work is now part of the prestigious MoMA collection (as are Dieter Rams’ Braun designs).
German-born multi-disciplinary artist Timothy Schreiber, winner of three red dot design awards, is represented by the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia. And Elisa Strozyk, (who won the 2010 German Design Award for Newcomers for her hybrid parquet floor/fabric designs) is attracting attention with her experimental work.


This course has theoretical and practical components that participants must successfully complete.
On completion of this course, participants should be able to:
- Assess a confined space for entry
- Use safety equipment and clothing (PPE)
- Control confined space entry
- Define and identify a confined space within a workplace
- Identify hazards associated with confined space entry and perform a risk assessment
- Work within a permit system and state the requirements for this
- Use a gas monitor to test the atmosphere
Students who attend and successfully meet all assessment requirements of the course will receive a nationally recognised statement of attainment with the following unit of competency: MSMPER200 Work in accordance with an issued permit, MSMPER205 Enter confined space and MSMWHS217 Gas test atmospheres.
There is a maximum number of 10 participants per program.
To meet the course requirements, students must:
- Have sufficient English language, literacy and numeracy skills to read instructions and write assessments
- Provide their USI on enrolment
- Provide proof of identity, e.g. drivers licence
- Wear or bring long sleeve, long pants and closed in shoes
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Students are required to be able to complete the following tasks:
- communicate with others clearly and concisely, verbally and in writing
- find and use relevant information
- read and comply with work instructions and specifications
- read and record measurements
- record and report information neatly and legibly


When your child needs Phonological Awareness Therapy
Your child may need Phonological Awareness Therapy if they are struggling with early foundational skills they need, to be successful in reading and spelling.
During kindergarten (or even before) kids start learning about things such as rhyming, syllables, the beginning sounds in words, knowing how to break up words and blend them back together and so on. These are some of the important foundational skills that help them with their spelling and reading when they start school.
Signs that your child is struggling with foundational literacy skills
If you find your child is having difficulties with their reading and/or spelling skills at school, or they don’t know how to rhyme words or break them up into sounds or syllables, then you may need to get the team at Kids Chatter to teach them these pre-literacy skills.
Why it’s important to seek help now
Without these skills, your child will find learning to read and spell difficult. Literacy is all about knowing how words work, and that they’re made up of multiple sounds that we represent by letters and literacy is fundamental to your child’s education and daily life when they reach adulthood.
How we help your child develop foundational literacy skills
Here at Kids Chatter we’ll see if your child knows how to rhyme, identify and create syllables, what sound a word starts or ends with and how these skills go together to help your child learn to read and spell. We’ll also give them word puzzles—“If I changed the first sound of ‘bat’ to ‘h’, what would the new word be?” They’ll learn not just what the letters and sounds are, but also how we use them to create the written words we see in books or street signs that tell us something.
We’ll also teach them how to sound out words and blend sounds together which are crucial skills needed to read or spell words.
By learning these pre-literacy skills, your child will find reading and spelling correctly a lot easier. This, in turn, will improve their literacy skills, and help with their education, not just at school, but throughout their life.
If your child is having difficulty with foundational literacy skills, please call us today to arrange an assessment on 0432 735 044.


Source:Amsterdam University of the Arts, Amsterdam (2018)
Music education has only scarcely embraced blended modes of learning. Moreover, existing applications often involve classical ways of online learning. In this project, we present the concept and a demonstrator of Singewing Space, a web-based interactive educational technology that introduces a novel approach to blended learning in music education, based on an ‘embodied’ and collaborative approach to music learning. The concept of Singewing Space not only exemplifies how face-to-face learning can be connected to online learning (blended) but also how the use of various sensors can be applied in online learning (augmented). It shows how playing, singing, and moving to music, alone or jointly with peers, can be integrated by using motion capturing in combination with sound recording. In this way, this application aims to stimulate the collaborative creation of a visualisation of music or movement in a virtual learning environment.
Learners are invited to respond to each other’s creations through meaningful musical and physical actions. The online activities are always representative of classroom activities. The demonstrator illuminates a specific part of the Singewing concept: how learners can create rhythms through movement, how these rhythms can be visualised, and how learners can respond rhythmically to each other in a virtual learning environment.


STEAM: The Importance of Arts Education
When we think of school and learning, the first things that may come to mind are subjects such as math, science and reading, without an emphasis on art or music class. While the components of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning are vitally important, studies show that adding the “A” for Art (STEAM learning) enhances and strengthens learning across the curriculum. From drawing to performing arts to music, arts education builds children’s language and communication skills, fine motor coordination, behavioral development and problem-solving skills. Here’s how arts education…
- Enhances Decision-Making: According to the Americans for Arts Organization, art in school strengthens a child’s ability to make choices and facilitates better decision-making. Empowering children with creative choices in art can help them become more creative in problem-solving with peers and adults. These creative decision-making skills can be useful in other school subjects, enhancing students’ critical thinking.
- Builds Language: Art and music improve children’s language and cognitive skills, as well. According to the National Association for Music Education, music helps develop and train the left side of the brain, which is responsible for language and reasoning. Musical activities for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — and beyond — enhance listening skills, aid in the recognition of patterns and contribute to language development. Working on art projects and exploring colors, shapes, textures and patterns can introduce vocabulary through experiential learning. Through art and music, children build confidence and develop a stronger understanding of their own creativity and power to express themselves creatively.
- Develops Motor Skills: If you have ever let a toddler bang on a pot with a spoon or scribble lines on an old paper bag with a pen, you are helping that child develop coordination and build gross and fine motor skills that help with handwriting and other skills. As children practice clapping along to music, playing simple instruments, using a piece of chalk or paintbrush, molding clay, dancing or trying any other arts activity, they are strengthening hand-eye and gross motor coordination.
- Offers Stress Relief: Studies show that creating art reduces stress and helps both children and adults feel calmer. Becoming involved in an art, music or dance project can help children become more mindful, and actually reduces the amount of cortisol, a stress hormone in the body.
- Aids Self-Discipline: Art provides real proof that practice makes perfect. Being able to do something well — from writing a letter to singing a song — is a function of doing it repeatedly. Not only is the creative expression of making art fun for children, it can teach the satisfaction of sticking with something in order to get better at it. Becoming disciplined when working on something artistic can carry over into other school subjects and positively affect the way children approach their work.


Subtracting Unlike Fractions Worksheets
Our printable subtracting unlike fractions worksheets give children the clarity, dynamism, and diversity they need while subtracting fractions with unlike or different denominators. With this collection of free pdfs, kids no longer need to get in a sweat about this key aspect in their number sense learning. To subtract two unlike fractions, find the least common multiple (LCM) of their denominators, convert them to equivalent fractions with like denominators, and then proceed with the operation.
These pdf worksheets are most recommended for students in grade 4 and grade 5.
This free pdf makes building the conceptual knowledge and foundational skills in subtracting proper fractions a cinch for 4th grade students. Find the least common multiple of unlike denominators; make equivalent fractions with the common denominator; and subtract the numerators and simplify if necessary.
Put this free printable subtracting unlike fractions worksheet high on your list of choicest exercises while subtracting proper fractions with different denominators. Determine the LCM of the denominators, rewrite the fractions, and subtract the numerators to arrive at the answer.
Presenting improper fractions with unlike denominators, this is an unmissable resource for children to excel in subtracting improper fractions.
Want your 5th grade students to boast phenomenal success at subtracting improper fractions with different denominators? Get instant access to this pdf and rest assured.
Who said you must make do with pedestrian skills in subtracting fractions with different denominators? Providing a mix of proper and improper fractions, this free subtracting unlike fractions pdf helps students in 5th grade more than achieve distinction in this tricky topic.


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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840 - November 6, 1893) (Anglicised as Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky) was a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, operas, ballets, and chamber music. Some of these rate amongst the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire.
Despite his musical precocity, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant, as there was scant opportunity for someone to pursue a musical career in Russia at that time, nor any system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, however, he entered the then-nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from where he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented training he received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five, with whom his professional relationship was mixed.


Our curriculum is designed to instill a love of learning with a focus on stimulating intellectual curiosity and helping learners to develop a sense of awe and wonder through discovery and exploration.
We use the National Curriculum requirements for England as the strong foundation to develop our own skills based curriculum which meets the needs of our pupils. We are continuously searching for ways to enrich and diversify opportunities for learning, and involve parents and carers in contributing to what and how their kids learn in school.
The core curriculum has been carefully constructed to emphasis the development of Numeracy skills and Language whilst also offering opportunities to develop ICT, Science, humanities, Sports and Arts . We place importance on offering opportunities for pupils to learn at first hand from the local environment. We vary our teaching styles to support education and to develop independence, co-leadership skills and operative teamwork.
The curriculum delivered is tailored to the individual child’s development, abilities, skills and strengths. Our four core subjects are Mathematics, Information, English, Communication Technology and Science. In addition our children also study Art, Music, Design Technology, Geography, History, Religious Education, Citizenship, Physical Education and time is also given to develop Health, Personal and Social Education. Our goal is to develop an extensive range of extra-curricular clubs that pupils can choose to participate in beyond the school day.


Art at Potowmack Elementary
The art program at Potowmack is a powerful tool for teaching children the value and impact of personal choice. Many challenges children face in the art room have multiple solutions from which to choose from, lacking the traditional "right" and "wrong". This is the joy of art! This room is a special space to celebrate multiple perspectives, nurture inventive thinking, and foster growth.Through the art education program here at Potowmack, students learn about art production, art history, and many ways of critically looking at and valuing artwork. The theme in art this year will be "art around the world". Together we will learn and discover more about different painting, weaving, printmaking, and sculptural techniques from many different cultures worldwide.Art Class is held once a week in 50-minute sessions for grades first through fifth. In the art room we follow the Virginia Standards of Learning for Visual Arts Education.
Last Modified on September 27, 2013


Today, we did a mini lesson about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is a topic that is very abstract to our young children. Which is a good thing! They couldn't believe how unfair it would be to not treat everyone the same. We are so lucky to live in these times and to have our children not even notice the color differences among them.
Then, we finished our morning with taking the NWEA reading assessment. There were 44 questions they needed to complete. Most of the children completed them in about 35 minutes. Some children finished a little faster and others needed a little more time. I do allow for bathroom breaks, drinks of water, and a stand and stretch break. I'm really proud of their determination this morning. I will have results in about a week.
We will be taking the math NWEA next week Tuesday.
This afternoon, we worked in our classroom math journal. We added some vocabulary and worked on examples of understanding the words. We discussed addition, subtraction, sum, difference, regrouping, and double digits. We will continue in subtraction and using a variety of strategies to get to the answer.
They loved having Star Lab for another week in media center. We are lucky to have it here for so long.
I'd like to introduce Miss. Sarah Newton. She will be observing and helping in our classroom Tuesday and Friday mornings. She is a student at Rochester College studying elementary education. This is her first experience in a classroom in this role. She is excited to get to know your children. They were so respectful and kind to her today and welcomed her.
Enjoy the evening!


Morphological development is analyzed by computing a child’s Mean Length of Utterance (MLU). A 3 year old child should be able to… Introduction ... assume that children know the adult semantic definition of ‘the’, but children do not use ‘the’ in the adult way. On the one hand, it might mean that building a grammar based on meaningful relations is a universal first step for language learning. A sound understanding of developmental milestones will support you to effectively assess children's play and learning. Semantic Development Milestones – Ages 3 to 6. By the time children begin school, they are able to use language in many different ways to convey a variety of messages. When we talk about human capabilities for learning, it’s easy to understand how (A semantic development definition that I like refers to it as a “gradual process of acquiring the meanings associated with words”). Mark + or - Ages 7,8, and 9. and any. Usually, a sample of 50 to 100 utterances is analyzed to draw conclusions about the child’s overall production. comments Syntax. Suggestions for Eliciting Targets _____sentences in conversation should average 7.0-9.0 words Ask about favorite movies, friends, _____uses complete sentences siblings, how to do a book report, Intentional teaching, planning and evaluation should be based on sound professional knowledge. Semantic and Pragmatic Language Development: Children Know ‘That’ Better 1 Nadya Modyanova and Ken Wexler Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1. Age 0 – 12 months – Expressive Language and Semantics Milestones Birth – 3 months – Intentional communication. Bill’s first intentional communication will be to vocalise for needs and wants, this is generally to express hunger and anger through crying. Mar 17, 2018 - Semantic Development Milestones - Ages 3 to 6 | Promoting Literacy Development developed quality products for the classroom. Semantic development definition: How humans learn. By this time they have learnt when words combine with other words, they for sentences. Development of Semantics Referal to an SLP Semantic Milestones 0-3 months 3-6 months 6-9 months 9-12 months 18 months 18-24 months 2-2½ years 2½-3 years 3-3½ years 3½-4 years 4-4½ years 4½-5 years 5-6 years 6-7 years Finding a SLP, Treatment, & Facilities First words at about 12 Later semantic development sees much interplay between lexical and syntactic factors. Language Milestones – Normal Language Development. even when a child starts producing a word or structure, it might not be used in the same way as an adult would use it. LinguiSystems Guide to Communication Milestones contains developmental milestones for the following areas: We learned a great deal and were reminded of so much helpful information while developing this resource. This process also served as a nice validation that we really are doing things in the right order! -It is a slow but a gradual process in which a child, perhaps, learns a couple of words a week. We look forward to having A fact sheet outlining age related milestones for semantic development in children aged 3 to 6 years. -Some social words like bye-bye, hello, etc., object words, and command words are initially learnt. Quite often contextual cues are strong enough for the child to get the gist of an utterance without perhaps being able to understand the details. Syntactic And Semantic Development Syntactic Development. Semantic development: gradual acqusition of words and the meanings they carry -First words are usually produced at around the first year of birth. Debate has raged over how significant this finding of universal semantic relations is for the study of grammatical development. Early Morphological Development Morphology is the aspect of language concerned with the rules governing change in word meaning. A foldable A4 guide explaining the semantic development milestones your children should be achieving. ... Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI.
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