The webinar we held two weeks ago (back before the election consumed our collective attention…) had the highest turnout yet of any Curriculum Matters event. It’s a testament to the level of interest in a topic – the Science of Reading – whose flames were fanned by brilliant reporting, but whose embers were smoldering in districts across the country well before then.
Each of us work in districts for whom the journey to implement the Science of Reading has been underway for at least two years – for a couple of us, it has been over five years. The first thing we can say about putting this science into practice is, “it takes time.”
When we talk about the Science of Reading, we’re primarily referring to three things:
· The importance of daily, systematic phonics instruction
· The need to expose all students to grade level texts
· The role that background knowledge of the world, and the vocabulary used to describe it, plays in reading comprehension
Each of these pillars has such overwhelming academic research behind it that the statements really articulate settled science; nothing controversial or even revolutionary about it. And yet, the vast majority of teacher candidates are not exposed to this information in their preparation programs – and that’s a travesty. Our nation is paying the price in stagnant reading proficiency levels with only about 38% of fourth graders on grade level year after year after year (after year).
As we shared on the webinar, 40% is about the percentage of students that easily learn to read, according to research. The coincidence in these numbers is striking. If 38% is our national proficiency rate and it’s also (roughly) the percent of students who learn to read without much effort, we really have to ask ourselves, “What’s the impact of our effort?!”
In each of our districts, our journey to put the science of reading into practice began with examining our data (and confirming that our numbers pretty much tracked the nation; we were stuck around 35-40%.) It took real humility on the part of our educators to acknowledge that if we were only reaching the students who were going to learn to read despite our efforts, we had a lot to learn about how to reach the remaining 60%.
Between our three districts, we worked with over 10 different professional learning partners to support our growing knowledge about the science of reading. UnboundEd helped Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) teachers understand how a lack of background knowledge impacted the reading performance of students living in poverty. Teachers in all three of our districts received invaluable LETRS Training from Voyager Sopris Learning, perhaps the most highly-regarded training in reading fundamentals (including phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency) available. TNTP supported principals in both Putnam and Guilford (NC) Counties as they created school structures to support strong curriculum-based instruction and conducted classroom walkthroughs designed to help teachers hone their practice. Curriculum developers helped us to see how the science of reading was baked into the materials we were using.
Solid as the professional development we received was, a shift to focusing on the science of reading represented a big change for most of our teachers. Like us, what they had been taught in their pre-service was whole language or balanced literacy. When we feel unmoored – and that’s how many of our teachers initially felt, no exaggeration – we tend to cling to what we know. For many of us, that’s guided reading. Unlearning old habits doesn’t happen overnight. “Go slow to go fast” became one of our mottos.
The shift from lesson planning, which is necessary when you don’t have a core curriculum, to lesson preparation, also represented a big change. The high-quality ELA curricula used in each of our districts (CKLA, EL Education, and ARC Core) require study, a level of intellectual preparation that our former basals didn’t. Without a doubt, the quality of the instruction is higher, but that didn’t happen automatically just because we selected a high-quality curriculum.
Each of us is fortunate to work in a district where a significant commitment has been made to sustained, curriculum-based professional learning. Beyond learning about the research behind the science of reading, that means time devoted to professional collaboration, lots of coaching, deep engagement by leadership, and unit and lesson studies together with people really knowledgeable about the curriculum.
The lessons we learned from our journey to implement the science of reading may sound cliché, but they are so true. Trust the process.


Literacy and Numeracy
Good literacy and numeracy skills are essential to enable students to fully access all the curriculum, reach their full potential and be successful in life. Extending, developing and improving students' literacy and numeracy skills are key focus areas for the Academy.
For students who find literacy slightly more challenging, there are a range of different activities developed to help improve a student’s understanding and love of literacy. These include:
- Renaissance reading
- In-class support from a specialist LSA
- Small group intervention and differentiated learning within class
- Accessible resources for intervention
- Additional support with resources from outside agencies
All students in Years 7-9 follow the Renaissance Reading programme (Accelerated Reading), having one curriculum lesson per week following this scheme.
All students read regularly during the 20 minute Tutor session.
We also offer the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular reading clubs, literacy competitions and library activities which promote literacy.
All of these programmes of course support outstanding quality first teaching taking place in the classroom, which aims to ensure that all students progress in-line with and above their predicted targets.
Numeracy across the curriculum has three priorities:
- to improve accuracy, particularly in calculation, measurement and graphical work;
- to improve interpretation and presentation of graphs, charts and diagrams;
- to improve reasoning and problem solving
We use a variety of resources to help students achieve a high level of numeracy including: Maths Whiz, My Maths and Maths Watch.


Purpose: The present study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale that measures attitude towards using technology in music education and to investigate pre-school and primary school pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards using technology in music education concerning their demographic variables and musical experiences.
Research Methods: A total of 640 students studying in pre-school and primary education departments at a public university in Turkey participated in this research (N=640). Data were collected using a questionnaire for collecting the demographic information and the musical background of the respondents in addition to Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale, which was developed by the researchers in this study.
Findings: Analyses resulted in an 8-item Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale with a Cronbach’s α of 0.931. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a statistically significant model fit to the data with six indices indicating a good fit and three indicating a substantial fit. Attitude towards using technology in music education did not show any significant difference concerning gender and musical background. However, primary school pre-service teachers had a more positive attitude than those of pre-school pre-service teachers. Finally, age correlated with the attitude towards using technology in music education.
Implications forResearch and Practice: Attitude towards Using Technology in Music Education Scale is a valid and reliable research instrument. Having more experience in using technology or perceiving that the future profession and instructional program at the universities necessitate the use of technology improves attitude towards using technology. Positive attitudes of pre-service teachers, who feel themselves inadequate about using their voice and instruments, and have inadequate musical experience, maybe due to their belief that they will be able to compensate for these deficiencies in music with the opportunities offered by technology.
attitude towards educational technology, using technology in music education, pre-school education, primary education


From pandemic pods to parents teaching their kids at home from the first time, families across America are embracing unfamiliar educational formats this fall. But no matter what your child’s schooling plans are, music makes an amazing addition because it’s proven to help kids thrive educationally, socially, and creatively. If you’re bringing the music education experience of private lessons or classes home for the first time this fall, your child will need a dedicated environment to learn music in. Here are some tips for creating a suitable environment for music in your home learning space:
Stands, cases, and humidifiers: How to store instruments safely in your home
If your child is new to music or is storing their instrument at home for the first time, it’s important to realize just how fragile instruments are. When an instrument isn’t being played, it should be kept safely on a stand or in a case. A surefire way to damage an instrument is by leaning it against a wall or laying it on the floor. For wood-bodied instruments like acoustic guitars and orchestral string instruments, humidifiers are needed to keep the wood from cracking. To help your child store their instruments properly, designate a space in your home for instrument stands and cases to be stored. Music stands are also essential for your child’s home practice space.
Designate a space where your child can be as loud as they need to be
Whether your child is angling to be a clarinet savant or is just really into playing the drums, they’re going to make lots of noise in their home practice space. In light of this, we don’t recommend setting up their music area next to your home office or family room. Designate a space for them to explore music in where they’re free to be as loud as they like. And remember, what might sound like loud, unpleasant noise to you is often the sound of your child growing through music and mastering their craft, so be as patient as possible with your child as they learn music from home. Soundproofing you space professionally or DIY is recommended if your child plays a loud instrument like the electric guitar or drums.
Power, WIFI, and accessories
No matter what instrument your child plays, setting them up in a room with power outlets and WIFI is essential. As the technology surrounding music education continues to evolve, more students are learning with apps on their devices, and a strong internet connection is needed for online lessons.
Music accessories are crucial for giving your budding music student everything they need to learn from home. Every music student needs a metronome for their home practice space, and, depending on the instrument your child is learning, they might need strings, a tuner, resin, or drum heads. Learn which accessories your child needs and make sure their practice space is stocked with them.
Make their space special
One of the best ways to ensure your child will stick with music is by making their educational experience as fun and empowering as possible. Discover what about music inspires your child and let it inform how you decorate their space. Band posters, Christmas lights, and music memorabilia are things that can turn a plain room into a unique place that will make music education special for your child.
MUSIC LESSONS AT MUSIC & ARTS
Music & Arts is proud to be the nation’s leading provider of private music lessons. From fun in-person instruction to convenient and informational online lessons, it’s our mission to bring music education to people regardless of their age, experience, and musical interests. Learn more about lessons at Music & Arts today!
Check Out More Parent Tips!


Closely related to achievement gap and opportunity gap, a learning gap is the difference between what a student has learned—i.e., the academic progress he or she has made—and what the student was expected to learn at a certain point in his or her education, such as a particular age or grade level. A learning gap can be relatively minor—the failure to acquire a specific skill or meet a particular learning standard, for example—or it can be significant and educationally consequential, as in the case of students who have missed large amounts of schooling (for a more detailed discussion, see learning loss).
Generally speaking, learning gap refers to the relative performance of individual students—i.e., the disparity between what a student has actually learned and what he or she was expected to learn at a particular age or grade level. Achievement gap refers to outputs—the unequal or inequitable distribution of educational results and benefits—while opportunity gap refers to inputs—the unequal or inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities.
One of the more consequential features of learning gaps is their tendency, if left unaddressed, to compound over time and become more severe and pronounced, which can increase the chances that a student will struggle academically and socially or drop out of school. In addition, if foundational academic skills—such as reading, writing, and math, as well as social and interpersonal skills—are not acquired by students early on in their education, it may be more difficult for them to learn these foundational skills later on. As students progress through their education, remediating learning gaps tends can become more difficult because students may have fallen well behind their peers, or because middle school or high school teachers may not have specialized training or expertise in teaching foundational academic skills. For these and other reasons, many educators, school reformers, researchers, and policy makers have called for greater investments in early childhood education, including universal access to prekindergarten programs.
The Glossary of Education Reform by Great Schools Partnership is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


In the School of Engineering, we believe the best teachers bring the passions and perspectives of the scientist and the engineer to the classroom. Our aspiring teachers learn STEM by asking questions, conducting research, and sharing knowledge—in the lab and in the field.
Our curriculum is designed around hands-on engagement, with STEM considered a quest for the unknown rather than a course in the known. It’s an outlook that our graduates can then pass on to their own students, in their own classrooms.
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Integrative STEM Education
This STEM-based program focuses on the impact that technology and engineering have on individuals, civilization and environment, thus shaping the quest for solutions. Society needs teachers, especially at the K-6 level, who can help young learners understand STEM principles, technological forces, and design. There are five K-6 education majors: Deaf & Hard of Hearing; Early Childhood; Elementary Education; Special Education; and Urban Education.
Bachelor of Science (BS) in Technology /Pre-Engineering Education
We live in an age of rapidly evolving technology. This STEM-based program explores on the roles of technology and engineering in today’s society and in the thirst for new solutions. Our students graduate as educators and professionals who understand technological forces and design, and strive to help their own students comprehend, appreciate, and apply those principles.
Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Integrative-STEM
This program offers an intellectually stimulating course of graduate study which provides in-service teachers with a command of current, integrative, design-centric teaching and learning methods applicable across PK-12 grade levels.


Do you want to help build your child’s language during read alouds? Try the Think Aloud strategy!
As a speech language pathologist and parent, I am always searching for any new evidence based strategies that can help a child improve language and literacy skills during read alouds. I recently read a fascinating article titled Reading with Training Wheels by Molly Ness in the magazine Literacy Today in their January/February 2018 issue.
What is thinking aloud? The Think aloud strategy is a powerful metacognitive strategy that is simple and easy to implement both at home and in the classroom. The author, Molly Ness describes think alouds as the reader’s strategy of sharing their thoughts out loud during certain stopping points in the book. Instead of asking “wh” questions throughout the story, the reader uses “I” language with phrases such as “I wonder why _____”, “I think that ______”, etc. What can this do for students? This can help students “internalize reading comprehension strategies that will help them during independent reading.” Although this strategy is easy to use and implement, it does require planning ahead on the educator’s part. What type of planning does that entail? Dr. Molly Ness lists and describes the process of identifying points in the story that may be confusing or difficult for a child to understand, determining when and where to think aloud, writing the think aloud scripts on sticky notes and then finally using language that builds understanding. The author also advises educators to not overwhelm the students by having too many stopping points. After reading this article, I was very interested in this strategy and wanted to learn more. I decided to contact Dr. Ness via email to ask her some additional questions.
Dr. Molly Ness is an associate professor at Fordham University Graduate School of Education in New York. She recently wrote a book titled Think Big with Think Alouds. Do want to learn more about Dr. Molly Ness? Check out her website here.
Watch videos of how to read aloud on Molly’s website here.
1. How do you train teachers to use this strategy of think aloud?
I use a three-step approach to train teachers – first I teach them to put sticky notes all over a text to identify potential stopping points. Next, I have them examine each sticky point to evaluate its usefulness – the goal here is to winnow down to about 10 stopping points total. In step three, I have them write out a transcript for their think aloud. To train teachers about this approach, I model it, we watch and evaluate videos of think alouds, and we collaboratively design think alouds until they are ready to try it themselves.
2. I can visualize the think aloud strategy being very effective during speech and language therapy and at home. How can a parent best use think alouds at home?
On my webpage www.drmollyness.com I have a parents’ guide to thinking aloud – I’ve also attached it here. On my website under resources, there are also videos to watch of me thinking aloud.
3. At what age is optimal to begin this strategy of think alouds?
The younger the better, I’d start with very simple think alouds at age 3.
4. Can you use think alouds with picture books or is it used exclusively with articles and chapter books?
Absolutely all types of text – science text books, chapter books, poetry, etc.
5. Can think alouds be used to motivate students to get excited about the text they are reading? If so, how?
Absolutely – we know from research that kids are more engaged when they get a model of how to be successful – that’s what a think aloud does. It’s the equivalent of cracking open our head to show readers exactly what we are thinking.
Interested in purchasing Think Big with Think Alouds?
affiliate link in post
Ness, Molly. (2018). Reading With Training Wheels. Modeling metacognitive process using think aloud. : Literacy Today.


Little kids spend their early childhood learning about colors, shapes, letters, and numbers, but do they know what everyday objects are made of? Bring a whole new dimension of learning to your child’s fingertips with this what is it made of worksheet!
This worksheet is great for:
• Increasing your child’s knowledge of the world and everyday objects
• Extending their learning
Use this worksheet to build a basis for basic understanding of different materials, and extend their knowledge. For example, from here your child can go on to learn about building materials, textures, weight, density, and much more!


Different people would have different ways to define the term CodeHS.In this piece, I take on one of the most simplistic approaches. CodeHS refers to an elaborate and dynamic platform enabling schools to train or teach learners the fundamentals of computer science.
A close focus
The web-based curriculum is one of the most outstanding attributes of the CodeHS.The teaching tools and resources are the other important things that are found on the platform. Are you looking forward to giving a major boost to your professional development? Remember that nothing comes easy and thus you must get to learn as much as possible about CodeHS.
Answers for CodeHS
It is a fast-changing world that requires us to move with the times. There is an addition to the basic skills of reading and writing and I’m precisely talking about coding. There is no doubt about it that the world is currently at a point where coding has become one of the foundational skills for all. You can find more details on codehs answers on the site http://answeraddicts.com/codehs/.
Making it in CodeHS requires that you have the necessary resources. Passing with a distinction will, for instance, require that you be equipped with the right Answers for CodeHS.I’m talking about the exposure to an elaborate and trusted curriculum as well as teachers to offer proper guidance. I guess you want to fit in and thus you must get to learn a lot about coding. I say that because CodeHS empowers learners a huge deal in terms of serving them with limitless creative opportunities.
CodeHS has been playing a significant role in terms of promoting learners from around the globe. Most of them are happy about gaining access to outstanding learning opportunities. The CodeHS is about helping you unlock your full potential in what has become a pretty competitive world.
You must utilize everything that you learn from CodeHS appropriately.I’m talking about using that in the development of a positive social impact in your work. Take for instance the development of something that would benefit learners educationally in a more direct way.


On this day in 1870, the British government announced its plan to make education compulsory. The Elementary Education Act of 1870 required that education be provided to children up to age 10. The act was also commonly known as the Forster’s Education Act, named for William Edward Forster, a member of the House of Commons who crusaded for universal education and who drew up the act.
One nation that adopted compulsory education before Britain was Prussia. A decree by Frederick the Great in 1763 provided an education for all girls and boys until age 13. Under this plan, teachers were paid by the citizens of the municipalities in which they taught; however, the teachers — many of whom were former soldiers — were asked to supplement their income by cultivating silkworms.
In the United States, Mississippi became the last state to pass a compulsory education law in 1918.
In 2012, best-selling young adult fiction author John Green published a YouTube post on compulsory education entitled “An Open Letter to Students Returning to School.” In his letter, Green challenged students to not take their education for granted and to see “compulsory” schooling as an opportunity to contribute something to society (2).
Today’s Challenge: A Compulsion for Education
If you were the Secretary of Education, what class would you make mandatory for all students? Why? Imagine that you have been appointed to design a specific class that will be required by all students before they graduate high school. What would you call your class, and what would be the make-up of the class’s curriculum? In addition to describing the class, provide a rationale for why the content of the class is essential for students. (Common Core Writing 2 – Expository)
1-Elementary Education Act of 1870. https://archive.org/details/elementaryeducat00greauoft.
2-Green, John. An Open Letter to Students Returning to School. YouTube 7 Aug. 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x78PnPd-V-A.


At Black Forest Primary School we believe that early childhood is a vital period in children’s learning and development. We believe that children’s learning is dynamic, complex and holistic. Physical, social, emotional, personal, spiritual, creative, cognitive and linguistic aspects of learning are all intricately interwoven and interrelated. Our approach to Early Childhood learning provides a context that:
- allows for the expression of personality and uniqueness
- enhances dispositions such as curiosity and creativity
- enables children to make connections between prior experiences and new learning
- assists children to develop relationships and concepts
- supports a sense of wellbeing.


Essay: Art education-Mathematics skills
According to Hamblen (1993), states that some types of music instruction help students develop the capacity for spatial temporal reasoning “ability to understand the relationship of ideas and objects in space and time” this is integral to the acquisition of important Mathematics skills. It has been established that high school students who take music are likely to score high on standardized mathematics tests such as the SAT because scholars assert that music training in rhythm emphasizes proportion, ratios and patterns expressed as mathematical relations (John, Catterall and Richard, 2004).
Learning Arts is Basic
The evidence based research indicate that arts learning experiences contribute to the development of student’s thinking, motivational and social skills which are considered basic for success in life, work and school. The skills acquisition is rooted in the connectivity between arts learning with their influence on the general capacities of the mind, social relationships and self-perceptions.
Cognitive skills or thinking skills as operation of various thought processes such as creativity, reasoning ability, problem solving, intuition, imagination, perception and inventiveness are some of the thought processes associated which a student can acquire through studying arts (Minton, p. 62). Participation of arts form enhances development of thinking skills and transfer of those skills to other subjects that improves performance.


Quotes by Kodály:
“Those who cannot see
what they hear and
cannot hear what they see,
are not musicians”
“Brilliant pianists could not
write down a single melody…
after hearing it 15 to 20 times! They are not musicians but
“No other subject can serve the
child’s welfare - physical and
spiritual - as well as music”
“We must look forward to the
time when all people in all
lands are brought together
through singing, and when
there is a universal harmony”
Zoltán Kodály: Up Close and Personal
~ A Student’s Account
April 11, 2015 | National Association for Music Education
(Eastern Division Conference)
My first class
His life - milestones
Kodály as the educator
- Is his work a method?
Kodály as the composer
- Listening to excerpts of Kodály’s symphonic works
- Psalmus Hungaricus brings international fame
History and Development of solfège:
- Creation of solfège syllables -listening to the Hymn where it started
- Tonic Sol-Fa - hand signals
- The Two Systems: Fixed Do vs. Movable Do
Other Great Contributors of the 19th and 20th Centuries
Kodály Music Education in action:
- Audience Participation
Hand-signals, Sight-singing (multiple parts), dictation of rhythm and melody, assigning proper
solfège syllables and more
- A movie clip by Steven Spielberg
February 13, 2015 | Community MusicWorks
Comments from Presentation:
1. What new or compelling ideas did you gain from today’s discussion?
The importance of singing!
Teaching music in a natural progression, bringing people together through singing
That Kodaly’s philosophy was about the value of music for children and society, not just methodology.
That teaching solfege can start not with 7-note scale, but pentatonic.
The idea of using pairs more between students is interesting to me, although I am not sure how to adapt it for very beginning students who have difficulty hearing the basic intervals to begin with.
Fascinating workshop! I found out so many things I didn’t know- about Kodaly, singing history, and teaching. Jorge is a fascinating man! Thank you for your stories, information, and ideas!
Compelling ideas for use in pedagogy.
Information on Kodaly mainly and others (such as Arezzo, Boethius).
2. How might these ideas impact your own practice going forward?
I would love to find more folk songs to integrate into my teaching practice. I also realize my
solfege is a little rusty! Even though I sing with my students often, I can see the value of
using solfege more often.
I will work on pentatonic singing with my violin students.-Knowing how the system was created
using a piece that uses the different pitches inprominent locations gives me some ideas for
how to familiarize students with the pitches andsyllables.
Using more solfege and body motions when teaching music would be something I would
like try more.
I am very interested in discovering more about Kodaly and this solfege method.
I learned fixed do in college, and while singing has always been comfortable for me, I find it challenging to swtich to moveable do very quickly.
We will see! Definitely will use things I learned today.
3. Any other comments or suggestions?
This was helpful and inspiring. Thank you!
I enjoyed your presentation – the variety of history, anecdote, and examples of solfege.
It’s difficult for me to get a sense of how to apply these exercise for beginners based on doing
it with experienced musicians who have already studied ear training. I would love to try
something unfamiliar or go through step by step how to introduce them.
Maybe more information on how to teach this method.
It was amazing! Really, really enjoyed the seminar.


Author: Angela Russ-Ayon
Chalk It Up! 180+
Outdoor Chalk Activities
for Early Childhood and Beyond
STEM: Over 180 early math, science, and literacy activities.
Whether a line is drawn or a maze designed, young children discover their capabilities and the joy of creative expression through chalk activities. Turn fun-filled outdoor play into bodybuilding and brain connecting experiences. Enhance problem-solving, language, math, simple science, and literacy skills. Included within are a compilation of over 180 constructive ideas and alternative activities with step-by-step instructions, helpful diagrams, proposed open-ended questions, journal pages to record ideas, and in some cases, fun facts.
135 Pages [102 pages + 33 Journal pages]
Educational components are introduced and suggestions are presented for different ages and stages to challenge children at different levels. Use one activity for young children to practice their ABCs, with the understanding that older children can use a variation of the same activity to review more challenging concepts. Active participation is encouraged to foster social interaction. Chalk play stimulates the senses, develops fine and gross motor skills, improves hand-eye coordination, and promotes hands-on learning. It remains an inexpensive means of entertainment that offers a messy world of possibilities without electricity or having to recharge.
For toddlers, preschoolers, children in primary grade, and beyond!
For toddlers, preschoolers, children in primary grades, and beyond!
Motor skill development
Simple science concepts
Creative arts and movement
Focus on early childhood
Variations for school-age children
Bulk Orders: This title is available in bulk for early childhood and nutrition programs, conferences, non-profit initiatives, licensing, or grants that promote healthy eating, fruits and vegetables, gardening, farm to table, STEM initiatives, and anti-obesity. Contact the publisher (AbridgeClub.com | Russ InVision Co.) directly for quotes, orders, and discounted pricing.
$16.99 B/W Paperback
Black & White Interior
Paperback Resource Book
ISBN 13: 978-0-9799612-9-8
ISBN 10: 0979961297


Reach for the stars! Anything you dream is possible! These are great messages for our kids, but often we forget to equip students with the tools that they need to carry out their dreams. Setting goals is also a powerful skill that we can teach our children.
Often goal setting is done with older students, but even our youngest students have the capacity to self-reflect and work towards their individual objectives. Pre-K4 students write their goals as a family. The August Family Project asks both the student and parents to set three goals for the school year. These are collected and buried in a “Hopes and Dreams Time Capsule” in their garden. The class will open their time capsule at their art show in the spring to reflect on how much progress was made towards their goals.
Teaching students to set goals and reflect on and revisit their goals builds a foundation of problem-solving and confidence in our lower schoolers.
As students mature developmentally, their goal setting may look a little different. First grade explores what makes each classmate important and then sets “hope goals” for the year, which are then written down and displayed on a self- portrait in the front of the classroom.
Fourth grade students take things a step further. Once they set their goals, they reflect on the steps they need to take in order to achieve their Hopes and Dreams. Students with shared goals work in groups to come up with four strategies that will help them to be successful in achieving their goals. Each learner writes a paragraph, individually explaining their Hopes and Dreams for the year. These are displayed in the room so that students can revisit them throughout the school year.
Fifth grade takes a more abstract approach to displaying their Hopes and Dreams. As an extension of their first novel, Roald Dahl’s “The BFG,” students make Hopes and Dreams bottles which resemble the jars of dreams that the Big Friendly Giant collected in the book. They used recycled water bottles and filled them with colorful tissue paper, pom poms and tinsel. Students wrote their dreams for the year on slips of paper and inserted them into the bottles. The goals were shared with their classmates and displayed as a visual reminder of what students are working towards in fifth grade.
As we start the fourth quarter and the end of the school year quickly approaches, students will be revisiting the goals that they set for themselves in August. What progress has been made towards achieving their goals? What further steps need to be taken in order to reach their milestones? Some students may be ready to generate a new dream, while others may need to revise or contemplate new ways to achieve their goals by the year’s end.
Teaching students to set goals and reflect on and revisit their goals builds a foundation of problem-solving and confidence in our lower schoolers. Each new quarter brings a renewed determination to reach their goals. Students are reminded that, even in the face of struggle, they can achieve their goals with hard work and smart strategies. As the saying goes, “When the world says ‘Give Up,” hope whispers “Try it one more time.”
Julie Pace A 2001 graduate of Episcopal High School, Julie returned to her alma mater in 2012. She received both her undergraduate degree and MEd in Elementary Education at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. After teaching 2nd grade in a Dual Language program in Texas public schools for three years, Julie moved abroad to teach 1st grade at a bilingual school in Gracias, Lempira Honduras. After her adventure was over, Julie accepted a position to teach Pre-K4 at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, teaching alongside some of her former teachers. She has enjoyed seeing what life is like on the other side of the desk


Jeju Island is the largest island of South Korea with an area of 1849 sq km. It is also one of the nine provinces of the country and the smallest of all of them. It was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. Jeju City is the capital of Jeju Island. Halla Mountain is the key landmark of this island.
It is also the tallest mountain in South Korea with a height of 6,400 feet. This island has a temperate climate and it rarely falls below the freezing point, not even in winters. It is home to almost 950 different insect species, 198 bird species, 17 mammal, and 8 reptile species.
Fast Facts: –
- This Island is one the new seven natural wonders of the world.
- Jeju Island has the finest lava tube system of caves in the entire world.
- The peak of the Halla Mountain looks like a giant crater. It is actually a dormant volcano.
- There is a lake inside the crater. The lake is named as Baengnokdam.
- This island is formed from the outpouring of lava. This is the reason why 90% of its surface is basalt (volcanic rock).
- The island is also known as ‘Hawaii of Korea’.
- There are stone statues on the island known as ‘dolharubang’ that means ‘stone grandfather’.
- These life-size stone statues are of helmet-wearing men. Total 45 of them are in existence.
- There is a cave named as Manjang cave which is formed by cooling lava. This dark, cold and slippery cave is more than 8 kilometers long.
- This island is also famous for its different museums like Museum of Miniature, Chocolate Museum etc.
- The Jeju Island was used by many refugees as a place to stay during the Korean War.
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Delmare Yasmine July 14, 2020 worksheets
Shirley Slick, ”The Slick Tips Lady,” is a retired high school math teacher and tutor with degrees in Mathematics and Psychology and additional training in brain-based learning/teaching. Her goals: (1) to help parents help their children with math, (2) to help eliminate the horrendous Algebra failure rate, and (3) to inform the general public about problematic issues related to the field of education. For your free copy of ”10 Slick Tips for Improving Your Child’s Study Habits
If you home school your children, you will quickly realize how important printable homeschool worksheets can be. If you are trying to develop a curriculum for your home-schooled child, you may be able to save a lot of time and money by using free online home school worksheets. However, while they can be a helpful tool and seem like an attractive alternative to a homeschool, they do have a number of limitations.
Another thing to look out for is what the pupil will need to solve the worksheets? Does the worksheet require the use of crayons? Does it require other things like a pair of scissors, glue and so on?Before you buy worksheets, make sure to check if they have been created to suit the geographical location that you reside in. The language and usage of words differs from country to country. It is no point buying a worksheet which is designed for children in the US for children residing in India. Also see if the worksheets involve just one way of teaching or multiple ways. Do the worksheets involve short assessments? Does it have some activity built in; does it involve elements from the child’s surroundings?
Students can certainly benefit from practicing new skills and concepts on paper. From letters and numbers to report summary formats, worksheets can provide students with a framework for practice – an avenue for synthesizing new information in their brains. Well designed worksheets can also give students a platform for expressing creative ideas and reaching towards higher levels of thinking.
If you are looking for printable worksheets for your preschool child, the array of choices can be a little intimidating. You may just be looking for a few pages to keep your child occupied with something more constructive than yet another half hour in front of the TV, or you may feel it’s time you started helping your child learn the basic skills she or he will need for school.
In 1986, mimeograph machines were (for the most part) replaced by digital copiers in elementary schools. Those of us teachers who experienced using mimeograph machines will forever remember the distinct smell of the still-damp, purple-ink worksheets that we handed out to our students – by the ream full. (If you’re like me, you can remember that smell right now!)
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Appraising the Extent of Digital Divide between Music Teachers and Students in Anambra State Secondary Schools, Nigeria (Published)
The study investigated the extent of existence of digital divide between music teachers and students in selected secondary schools in Anambra State. Two objectives and two research questions guided the study using descriptive survey design. Threeeducation zones consisting of nine public secondary schools, 18 music teachers and 270 music students formed the sample for the study. Structured questionnaires and oral interview were developed for teachers and students, and were used for collecting data from the field. The data gathered were presented quantitatively and qualitatively. The reliability indexes were calculated to be 0.71 and 0.70 for teachers and students respectively. Mean and standard deviation were the statistical tools used in the analyses of the work. The findings revealed high extent of digital divide based on the responses of both music teachers and students on the place of ICT in operative curriculum.There was low extent of digital disparity in ICT knowledge on the teachers part and high extent of digital disparity in ICT knowledge on the students part. The recommendations were that; the present music curriculum should be restructured to integrate ICT in order to meet the needs of 21st century music education and music teachers should be trained to have the wherewithal in ICT applications for bridging the digital disparities. The study has fully established the need for paradigm shift from traditional method of teaching to technologically-based teaching by music teachers in Anambra State secondary schools.
Staff Attitudes as an Indicator of Change Readiness: A Case of a Higher Education Institution Adopting ICT in Students’ Record Management (Published)
This paper is a product of research that sought to evaluate the attitudes portrayed by staff in higher education administration in an effort to adopt ICT for students’ record keeping. With an endeavour to bring an understanding of change management in the context of an institution of higher learning, knowledge of the level of staff readiness for the change is important. Staff attitudes were evaluated in this paper because they are considered an important indicator of change readiness. The change under focus is adoption of a Student Information System (SIS) at an Institution of higher learning, Africa International University (AIU) and the results could relate to other institutions. The study involved university staff members who were in either management of course registration, grades information or both for the academic year 2011/2012. Mixed methods were used involving qualitative data, collected through pre-study interviews and quantitative data in the actual study. Data were collected in three phases, first was by face-to-face semi-structured interviews in a preliminary study with 2 members of the University’s Management Committee, and second was pre-study with 6 representatives of local best practices in records management (USIU and Strathmore University). Descriptive data for the actual study with AIU staff members were collected using a questionnaire which mainly collected quantitative data but also had room for open-ended questions. Evaluative Research design was adopted for the study, where descriptive data from AIU staff were placed in comparison with the pre-set criteria from the best practice institutions. Judgment was then made to determine the level of change readiness among the staff members at AIU based on prevailing attitudes to adopt a SIS in management of students’ academic records. The threshold for readiness was set at 67%. The entire study evaluated 5 indicators of change readiness, and only one, (staff attitudes) which is the focus of this paper met the set threshold to indicate change readiness towards the use of a SIS in records management.
The purpose of this paper is to examine lease accounting methods and x-ray how they influence a choice of lease arrangements. Requirements of International Accounting Standards (IAS) 17 were considered including theoretical framework on the various dimensions of leasing. From archival data, preference is given to operating leases as an off-statement of financial position financing. It also possesses few bottlenecks than finance leases in terms of compliance with accounting requirements. Consequently, it is essential to take cognisance of the complexities inherent in the respective lease options before deciding on which one to undertake. Moreover, the need to be computer literate as a result of growing trends in information and communication technology (ICT) is vital because most leasing arrangements presently, are perfected using sophisticated software.


Resources › For Educators Understanding Text Features in Non-Fiction How the Features of Informational Text Supports Comprehension Share Flipboard Email Print Eli Francis elifrancis / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 1.0 For Educators Special Education Reading & Writing Applied Behavior Analysis Behavior Management Lesson Plans Math Strategies Social Skills Inclusion Strategies Individual Education Plans Becoming A Teacher Assessments & Tests Elementary Education Secondary Education Teaching Homeschooling By Jerry Webster Special Education Expert M.Ed., Special Education, West Chester University B.A., Elementary Education, University of Pittsburgh Jerry Webster, M.Ed., has over twenty years of experience teaching in special education classrooms. He holds a post-baccalaureate certificate from Penn State's Educating Individuals with Autism program. our editorial process Jerry Webster Updated November 19, 2019 Important tools to help students to understand and access information in informational texts are "text features." The text features are both ways in which the authors and editors make the information easier to understand and access, as well as explicit means of supporting the content of the text through illustrations, photographs, charts, and graphs. Using text features is an important element of developmental reading, which teaches students to use these parts to understand and comprehend the content of the text. Text features are also part of most states' high-stakes tests. Students in fourth grade and above are usually expected to be able to identify the text features common to most non-fiction and informational texts. At the same time, they help struggling readers find and identify the information they are expected to know in content area classes, such as social studies, history, civics, and science. Text Features as Part of the Text Titles, subtitles, headings, and sub-headings are all part of the actual text, used to make the organization of the information in a text explicit. Most textbook publishers, as well as informational text publishers, use these features to make the content easier to understand. Titles The chapter titles in informational texts usually prepare the student to understand the text. Subtitles Subtitles usually immediately follow the title and organize the information into sections. Titles and subtitles often provide the structure for an outline. Headings Headings usually begin a subsection after a subtitle. There are multiple headings for each section. They usually lay out the major points made by the author in each section. Subheading Subheadings also help us understand the organization of the thoughts contained in the section and the relationships of the parts. Title, subtitle, headings, and subheadings could be used to create guided notes, as they are pivotal parts of the author's organization of the text. Table of Contents Works of fiction seldom have tables of content, whereas works of nonfiction almost always do. At the beginning of the book, they include the titles of chapters as well as subtitles and page numbers. Glossary Found at the back of the book, the glossary provides definitions of special words within the text. Publishers often place words to be found in the back in boldface. Sometimes the definitions are found adjacent to the text, but always in the glossary. Index Also in the back of the book, the index identifies where topics can be found, in alphabetical order. Features That Support the Content The internet has given us a rich and easily accessible source of images, but they are still incredibly important in understanding the content of information non-fiction texts. While not actually "text" it would be foolish to assume that our students understand the relationship between the content and the picture on the same page. Illustrations Illustrations are the product of an illustrator or artist and create an image that helps us better understand the content of the text. Photographs A hundred years ago, photographs were difficult to produce in print. Now, digital media makes it easy to create and recreate photographs in print. Now they are common in informational texts. Captions Captions are printed below the illustrations and photographs and explain what we are seeing. Charts and Diagrams Unlike illustrations, charts and diagrams are created to represent amount, distance, or other information shared in the text. Often they are in the form of graphs, including bar, line, and plot and whisker graphs, as well as pie charts and maps.


I often hear the concern that our focus on Literacy and Numeracy in the province of Ontario is too narrow and that it hinders our students’ creativity or their ability to develop critical thinking skills. I have never understood this concern and the dichotomy that is sometimes created between literacy, numeracy and creativity or literacy, numeracy and critical thinking.
Dr. Michael Fullan’s recent paper regarding education in Ontario challenges us to think beyond narrow definitions of literacy and numeracy. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/fullan.html
All would agree that our students need strong literacy and numeracy skills. These skills are foundational and include reading, writing, and math, the skills that everyone thinks about when they hear the words literacy and numeracy. Literacy and numeracy also include the ability to communicate, to problem-solve, to analyze and critique and to create.
Our focus on literacy and numeracy is only too narrow when we do not invite our students to think critically and deeply and to create possibilities, ideas and expressions. When we examine the tasks we ask our students to complete and when we assess the culture of our learning environments, do our students have the opportunity to think? Are they able to build on their interests and strengths to fulfill curriculum expectations? Do we invite our students to ask complex questions that together with fellow students they can explore? Do our students have options in the classroom? These questions are important, guiding us to personalize the learning for our students each day.
Standardized assessments in literacy and numeracy are sometimes blamed for making the curriculum too narrow. I have never understood this connection. It is my experience that when students develop literacy and numeracy skills in the broadest sense of the term as described above, they perform effectively on these assessments.
The expectations outlined in the Ontario curriculum state what students need to learn by the end of each year. These expectations do not suggest that students in a classroom are always learning the same thing at the same time, or that they are all completing the same task. These expectations do not tell teachers to ask all of the questions and to design how students will answer these questions. These expectations do not demand that teachers test students to memorize facts and ignore the processes they use to solve problems, create ideas, explore uncharted territory and to communicate their thinking.
We can create engaging learning environments that offer students opportunities to achieve because their interests converge with the curriculum expectations. In these learning environments, our students are thinking and writing, collaborating and exploring, developing and creating, presenting and evaluating.
We want our students to read and write effectively and to excel in math. We also want our students to think and create. Our focus on literacy and numeracy need not be considered in a narrow fashion, and this focus does not need to exclude creativity and critical thinking.
Literacy and numeracy, creativity and critical thinking are not mutually exclusive terms!


Look to Learn is a software package with 40 activities designed for adults and children starting out with eye gaze technology. These activities have been specially created to provide a fun way to improve access and choice making skills.
Each activity develops a different skill, ranging from early cause and effect through to accurate eye gaze control. Most of all, Look to Learn is designed to be motivating and fun!
Try it Now!
The Look to Learn from Sensory Software can be downloaded from here. Once downloaded, you will be able to access three of the activities for free; to access all 40 activities you will need to purchase the software.
Five Areas of Learning
The 40 Look to Learn activities have been split into five key areas of learning and development:
Look to Learn, Sensory
Sensory – Teaches cause and effect
Explore – Encourages engagement with the whole screen
Target – Helps improve accuracy of eye gaze access
Choose – Develops choice making skills
Control – Improve eye control
Look to Learn provides a progression from early cause and effect activities right through to choice making and game playing. This process develops the eye gaze skills required for alternative communication, literacy development and computer access.
Customised for You!
Many of the activities can be customized to include favorite images or videos. Get creative and have some fun!
Look to Learn has been created in conjunction with teachers and therapists from across the UK to provide the tools needed for assessment:
Eye tracking – where on the screen are you looking? Are you engaged with the content?
Targeting – learning to find targets and fix your gaze on it.
Choice making – introducing early choice making in preparation for AAC.
The built-in analysis tool creates a heat map to show where you have looked on the screen during an activity. Heat maps can be saved, printed and used to measure progress and record successes.


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.


Every teacher has their own favorite age. Some teachers love teaching 4th graders, others enjoy the challenge of teaching high school calculus or teaching Kindergartners to read. Only you can know what age group is a good match for you. If you think becoming an elementary school teacher might be a good fit for you, here are some things to know.
Flexibility in Ages
Elementary school calls for a lot of flexibility. Kindergarten is much different than 4th grade, but you’ll likely be certified for both (see “Certification” below for more). That means that, though it’s rare, you could be asked to teach a grade that’s pretty different than what you had in mind. Many teachers will teach a few different similar grades in the course of their career. For some teachers, this is a benefit. For others, it’s a deal breaker.
Flexibility in Subjects
Unlike a high school teacher that specializes in one subject, an elementary school teacher (with the exception of “specials,” like art or music) teaches all subjects. During the course of your week or day, you’ll cover reading, writing, math, social studies, science, and social emotional skills. This can be a great advantage for keeping yourself on your toes and helping your class to be well-rounded. On the other hand, it can be a tricky balancing act.
Elementary School Teacher Pay
In general, high school teachers make the most money and early childhood teachers make the least. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual income for elementary school teachers in 2017 was $56,900. There is, of course, a lot of variability in this amount based on your state and amount of experience you have. As a first year teacher, you likely won’t make this much, but you’ll earn more as time progresses. This is especially true if you choose to earn a Master’s degree in your field. While teachers generally don’t go into the field for the money, it’s worth considering if you can support yourself on the elementary school teacher salary you will be earning.
There are more elementary school teachers in the U.S. than high school teachers or middle school teachers (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). That means you have a bit better of a chance of being hired at a school as an elementary school teacher. That said, this shouldn’t be your main consideration. Given all the work it takes to get certified, it makes more sense to make sure you really love the grade level you’re pursuing.
Certification as an Elementary School Teacher
Most states require a Bachelor’s degree to teach elementary school. In addition, you need a state certification or licensure. There are two main certification options: Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education. If you know you want to teach younger elementary or Pre-K, an early childhood certification will allow you to teach children from birth through grade 2 in most states. Otherwise, an elementary school teaching certification will allow you to teach (in most states) kindergarten through at least grade 4. The certifications do overlap for Kindergarten through 2nd grade in most states. Think about what age group (younger or older than Kindergarten) you’d be mostly likely to want to teach when you are making your decision.
Being an elementary school teacher can be so rewarding! Try it out during student teaching, get a good feel for your ideal age group. If developing a relationship with one class sounds especially good to you and you’d enjoy the challenge of teaching all the subjects, becoming an elementary school teacher might be a good match for you.


John Milton Cage, Jr. was an American avant-garde composer whose inventive compositions and unorthodox ideas have had a lasting influence on modern music and contemporary art.
Lauded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century John Cage was also a leading writer, music theorist, philosopher and artist.
Cage is probably most famous for 4’33” a silent composition performed by musicians doing nothing aside from being present for the length of the composition. It highlights the fact that true silence cannot exist and encourages the listener to experience the sounds of the environment during the performance.
In 1949 Cage won an award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters for the invention of the prepared piano, and a Guggenheim grant.
Along with his partner Merce Cunningham he was instrumental in the development of modern dance.
John Cage regarded all kinds of sounds as potentially musical, and encouraged audiences to take note of all sounds, rather than just those written by a composer.
He pioneered the use of indeterminacy or chance operations in music and non-standard use of musical instruments, such as the prepared piano – a piano with its sound altered by objects placed between or on its strings or hammers. He also experimented with tape recorders, record players, and radios in his effort to step outside the bounds of conventional Western music and its concepts of meaningful sound.
The influences for his philosophical methods of composition, such as chance-controlled music, come from his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddism in the late 1940’s. The I Ching, an ancient Chinese text on changing events became his standard compositional tool for most of his life. He used a number of other devices to ensure randomness including unspecified instruments and numbers of performers, freedom of duration of sounds and inexact notation.
Cage described music as “a purposeless play” which is “an affirmation of life – not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we’re living”.
John Cage was an avid mycologist (an expert on mushrooms and fungi). In 1959, Cage won five million lire on an Italian TV quiz show with mushrooms as his specialty subject.
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Black Musical Histories
“It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live.” – Nina Simone, singer, musician and civil rights activist. Black…
Back to School: Music for Change
“If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change.” – Miles Davis, jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer After many…
Discover a treasure trove of music education resources created by the experts at Minute of Listening.


This is an article that is worth taking the time to find and read. It is interesting and there are more than a few smiles related….
Article: Exploring Special Places: Connecting Secondary Art Students to Their Island Community
Author: Mark A. Graham
Source: Art Education, Vol. 60, No. 3 (May, 2007), pp. 12-18.
Published by: National Art Education Association.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27696211
My copy was downloaded on October 1, 2014.
Expanding personal and sacred place to include community, through art, can break down barriers and lead to the type of experiences and understanding that brings about responsibility and social change.
My Precis Expanded (a summary of the original article):
Research suggests that art education must have a compelling personal and cultural context if it is to succeed in creating new ways of thinking, knowing and representing. Artmaking in the classroom provides an opportunity to give form to the transformation and reshaping of ideas, experiences and materials into meaningful representations. This article describes the efforts that one group of students made to understand their community and history through art. Our lives are often led within a fractured world that has become a place to be taken for granted, owned, used up, and discarded. Place-based education aims to bring together nature and communities by breaking down isolation and emphasizing responsibility.
Life is about possibilities and art connects life through associations. Transcendent art can be filled with sacred images or images that the artist held sacred, thereby attaching meaning and revealing aspects of nature and reverence without religion. By making ecology of place the focus of their work, many contemporary artists are attempting to connect community and the preservation of the natural environment. The aim of exploring and learning about the ocean, animals and trees that we share in our communities is to cultivate a thoughtful awareness and a sense of reverence towards our homes.
In a museum, detailed images are constructed and places depicted in order to build a vocabulary to further help us in the exploration of another’s place. To define sacred place through experience and memory, students were asked to share details of personal spaces that they considered sacred. In the area surrounding the school there is an 18th century graveyard as well as abandoned excavation sites, parkland and shoreline. Armed with sketchbooks and cameras to record nature’s resistance to America’s consumer culture, the students appeared in the classroom each Monday with a collection of images and questions. These questions facilitated discussions about home and homelessness and about our place in this world and our responsibility to others.
The students began a collage with photographs they had taken. The photographs were soon joined together into paintings as images of rocks, ocean, trees and street formed various personal meanings within the larger images. Borders that both connected and displaced became a theme and, as confidence grew, one student added family to her paintings and eliminated some of the isolation of displacement. A photographic collage of Main Street not only contained the sophistication of adolescent conversation caught up in music, fashion and identity, it was a reminder to us that a street is a panorama of architecture, trees and water connecting a small area (community) to the greater community of city, state and country. Bridges joined communities and in a collage, a bridge can also work to manipulate time by joining together the past and present.
The conversations and images came together in the final exhibition. Each student prepared and displayed a written commentary about their work. Each piece was mounted and hung in a sequence that included preliminary plans, sketches, studies, and final paintings. The exhibition introduced other members of the community to our newly discovered sense of place and it was a success because it connected the artists (the students) with their environment (their home) on a level that brought awareness not only to them but to the community.
In order to understand our history we must learn it. Personal history can be found in our communities and in special places that help or have helped to shape our identities. Sharing, or teaching, is often referred to as the best way to learn and in this instance, visual art precipitated the sharing of personal interaction with sacred place.
I found the original article through a journal search using JSTOR. This one was a bit tricky to find. My copy came from here: http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.kwantlen.ca:2080/stable/10.2307/3981182?origin=api
JSTOR is in the process of ‘freeing up’ some of their journals so that we can borrow the older articles to read. I am hoping that this might soon be one of those journals….. If you have any trouble locating the article please contact me or, call your local college or university library for assistance.


The Lower School Writing Program provides students with the foundational skills necessary to communicate in writing. In addition to learning how to use technology to write, handwriting remains a critical skill to be developed as well. For children to become successful readers, writers, and ultimately, communicators—they need a strong foundation. The Handwriting Without Tears curriculum and additional writing activities provide students with handwriting practice across various genres of writing. Neatness and form are stressed while teaching students strategies to write with speed and ease in all subjects to the best of their ability. We use fun, engaging, and developmentally appropriate methods to master handwriting and keyboarding as an automatic and comfortable skill.


When it comes to education in the United Kingdom, there are many people who struggle to understand what they are taking part in. There are two main types of education in the UK, namely formal and informal. In both cases, you will have to spend some time learning about the methods and techniques that are being used. It is not always an easy task, as the majority of people take part in formal education only and those who do not generally end up withdrawing from it within their teens. If you would like to have a grasp of the concepts involved in education in the UK, then you can also look to get some free information online.
Basically, the two kinds of education in the UK are local and state level. In fact, there are two kinds of schools – private and public. The different levels of education are; primary, secondary, junior, and senior secondary education. In the US, if you study in a specific high school for elementary education, you are entitled to university or college education. However, in the UK, there are many different regulations that govern the type of education that is being provided in the United Kingdom. You will have to learn how to read the different regulations that are applicable in your area of study.
We are able to suggest a family gift.
In the United Kingdom, there are many different programs that are available for children of all ages. You will have to ensure that you have enrolled in the correct type of education program when it comes to education in the UK. While a great number of people have this kind of issue, those who lack education in the UK are generally shunned by their peers. However, there are many other ways in which you can get education in the UK if you do not want to go through the embarrassment of being excluded from the rest of the society.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay


English for Speakers of Other Languages
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is an English language development program for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students whose home/native/primary language is a language other than English. The program focuses on developing their proficiency in processing and producing academic English language.
The ESOL curriculum aligns English language instruction with content standards. Students develop their language and literacy skills in the context of the content curriculum. ESOL teachers analyze the academic language demands involved in grade-level teaching and learning to identify the English language needed for functional use in discipline specific topics.
Aligning English language instruction with content instruction ensures that language functions are differentiated for student’s English proficiency while maintaining the cognitive function of grade-level instruction.
English language learners are a dynamic group of students. They possess diverse experiences, skills, and knowledge that enhances their education and enriches school communities. The regular and active participation of English learners in classrooms promotes language development while providing all students with opportunities to understand other perspectives and cultures.
The HCPSS ESOL Office promotes the development of students’ proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading, and writing as they engage in continued study of academic content including language arts, math, science, and social studies.
ESOL teachers recognize and lift up the strengths of students as individuals and as valued members of our school communities. They apply knowledge of every student’s unique cultural background, English language proficiency profile, and academic strengths in order to promote inclusive and rigorous instruction for all students.
Across all grades, ESOL instruction is aligned with World Class Instructional Design (WIDA) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In partnerships with content teachers, ESOL teachers assess and monitor students’ English language development, analyze the language demands of classroom tasks, and apply Universal Design Learning principles to ensure that all students are engaged in learning.
K-12 ESOL Programs
Literacy development is a primary focus of ESOL instruction in K-12. In elementary and middle schools, ESOL teachers use a variety of instructional models to provide language instruction to English learners. ESOL teachers may use pull-out, push-in or co-teaching to deliver English language instruction. The ESOL teacher consults regularly with the students’ content teachers in order to align English language instruction with content instruction.
In high schools, ESOL teachers use co-teaching as well as sheltered instruction to teach the English language development curriculum and the ESOL English language arts curriculum which is aligned with the Maryland College and Career Readiness Standards for English.


Much has been written about Finland’s exemplary education system (See:https://literacyteaching.net/2014/10/14/an-infographic-of-finlands-education-system/) They are often at the top of PISA rankings in both literacy and numeracy skills. Further, they boast small teacher to student ratios which allow for more individualized instruction. The teaching profession is also highly regarded; teachers are highly esteemed professionals like their peers doctors and lawyers. Now, Finland is reforming the way their classrooms run and everyone is talking about it. Teaching by topic (or phenomenon teaching) will replace teaching by subject throughout the country’s classrooms. This approach intends to highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the “real world” and encourage collaboration among students. The Independent, a UK based blog, provides some examples of how this would be done.
“a teenager studying a vocational course might take “cafeteria services” lessons, which would include elements of maths, languages (to help serve foreign customers), writing skills and communication skills.”
“…pupils would be taught cross-subject topics such as the European Union – which would merge elements of economics, history (of the countries involved), languages and geography.”
I like this approach because it allows students to experience subjects in a contextualized way. Phenomenon teaching makes school relevant again. I suspect much of the world, myself included, will be closely observing how this unique approach to teaching fares in Finland.
To read more from the Independent:


Virgin Islands Common Core Standards
VI.CC.L.5. Language Standards
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
L.5.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
L.5.5(a) Interpret figurative language, including similes and metaphors, in context.
VI.CC.RF.5. Reading Standards: Foundational Skills
RF.5.4. Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
RF.5.4(b) Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
VI.CC.RL.5. Reading Standards for Literature
Craft and Structure
RL.5.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
Key Ideas and Details
RL.5.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
RL.5.10. By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.


Asian Tigers South Korea Taiwan Hong Kong and Singapore
The growth of the ‘ Asian Tigers’ in the 1960s In the 1960s, the Asian tigers were very poor thus labor was cheap, and in abundance. They then made educational reforms and coupled this with the cheap labor to establish productive workforces. In order to improve productivity, they focused on improving education at all levels with more emphasis on elementary education and compulsory high school education. College and university system was also improved by setting aside some money for the same. For economic development, they pursued an export-driven model whereby they focused on the manufacture of goods for export to nations that are highly industrialized. They discouraged domestic consumption through government policies such as high tariffs. The economic growth of the Asian Tigers has been termed as the East Asian Miracle because of the supernatural increase of four economics. East Asia which comprises Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong has been the fastest growing area in the world. They have been termed as the models for achievement for other rising economies. There have been several factors that led to the success of the East Asian countries. These include the macroeconomic discipline, their outward orientation, high investment and saving rates and public policies which were good. Although these may vary from region to region, the experience of East Asia, supported by recent research on growth, has convinced many observers that an onlooking development strategy, particularly a dynamic export sector, is a conducive growth. The other factor that boosts their trade was greater openness which is conducive to growth and thus they embrace the policies that promote openness. They also used non-tariff and high tariff barriers to promote industrialization. Between 1965 and 1993, the real gap in the East Asian economies grew at an annual average rate of nearly 9 percent more than twice as first as their Latin American counterparts. They all had common characteristics which include focusing on exporting to rich and industriali0sed nations. They also maintained a double increment for years.


SPECIAL AREAS PHILOSOPHIES
All students at Crabapple Crossing Elementary have music class once a week for 45 minutes. Music classes are designed to meet both the Georgia Performance Standards and the National Standards for Music Education. Typical music class activities include singing, playing, listening to, moving to and creating music. Concerts for each grade level are presented throughout the year to give all students the opportunity to share what they have learned with family and friends. In addition, 4th and 5th grade students may join the CCES Chorus or one of the instrumental Music Clubs offered after school.
Our physical education program strives to build knowledgeable and healthy students who will stay active for a lifetime. We use a variety of activities, games, and skill instructions to keep our students interested and motivated, thus ensuring that they are getting maximum benefits of a quality physical education.
We believe the study of art provides major opportunities to nourish high level thinking. When well taught, skills associated with artistic thinking include the ability to see clearly, analyze, reflect, make judgments, forge connections among ideas and information, and generate new ideas from diverse sources.


Mindful Montessori Academy is the result of our vision in the importance and responsibility of educating a child. Through the 14 years of experience with Kinderland Montessori and careful research, we learned that Montessori is the only education program that has a special interest in the child’s self-esteem and emotional development.
Through personal experience we have learned that in the end, it is not only the Academic education and preparedness that is important for a person’s success, but the person’s emotional stability and foundation that plays the most important role in a person’s life.
Elementary years are very important in a child’s life, especially in the emotional side.
With this in mind, we have studied and researched for important and specific classes that must be present during these years in a child’s life.
With this in mind we have carefully selected to include in our Academic Curriculum: Mindfulness, Art, Gardening, Yoga, Music and Languages.
The elementary classroom is a multi-age classroom setting for ages 6-12. The lessons are personalized and given at each student’s pace. While independent work is encouraged, students also work in groups so they may learn to work cooperatively and develop strong social skills.
In the Montessori program, our students acquire the foundational skills they need for success in school.
The Montessori elementary curriculum is divided into 6 subject areas: Math, Language, History, Geography, Biology and Geometry in a bilingual (English/Spanish) environment. The curriculum also enriches other studies learned with the 5 Great Lessons.
Off campus learning is a major component of the Montessori approach to education. Children enrich their academic lessons through multi-sensorial learning experiences off campus, including field trips and other interactive activities.
Our Academic curriculum exceeds by far even the most ambitious standards set by any public school.


How Important Are School Readiness Programs?
- Parents Only
Starting school can be a mixed bag of emotions – for both parents and children. And as the pressure rises to find the right school, to know what age to send your child, to be confident that they will make friends and everything else in between (who knew lunch boxes were serious business?!), now there is the issue of whether we should be enrolling our kids into school readiness programs.
What Is ‘School Readiness’?
According to education experts, there are 5 major factors that determine whether your child is ‘school ready’: self-regulation and social-emotional readiness, physical health and motor readiness, language and communication readiness, cognitive readiness, and approaches to learning. These domains will give your child the best chance at succeeding and thriving at school. In the past, school readiness has focused on academic skills such as counting and letter recognition, however these days emotional and cognitive maturity can be the key to your child’s long-term academic and behavioural success.
Whether you enrol your child in certified school readiness classes or you simply work on these areas with your child at home is up to you, but many parents who already have so much on their plates are probably thinking… how necessary is this?
What Are The Risks Of Not Being School Ready?
Studies have shown that children who haven’t developed the vital readiness skills when starting school have been identified as ‘at risk’ for their future academic, social and occupational success. By not addressing these difficulties before they start school you could be setting your child up to struggle with the curriculum from the get-go and have issues catching up. They might suffer socially and find it difficult to make friends. They also might receive poor academic results because they shut down when faced with learning tasks. Not only can your child become stressed about school, but you the parents may take on this anxiety too.
Will I Know If My Child Is Ready?
Sometimes it’s obvious but often the signs aren’t clear to parents as we usually think the world of our children just the way they are!
However, in general, children who are ready for school should be capable of these things:
- They are co-operative with adults and with other children. They show self control in most situations, follow the rules of their home and preschool, and are able to play independently at home. They are happy to share their toys – and can negotiate or compromise with their friends when needed.
- Socially, these children show concern and affection for others, and comfort others who are upset.
- They are confident and able to adapt in social situations, and relate well to their peers and other adults.
- They have well developed language skills, using words rather than body language to express a feeling or a need, communicate well with their peers, and speak clearly enough to be understood by others. Their vocabulary is well developed, and they use language creatively to describe what they are doing.
What Will My Child Get Out Of A School Readiness Program?
Typically, a pre-kindergarten school readiness class will teach your child these key lessons:
- Social skills such as turn taking, cooperating and sharing with other children
- Communication skills which encourage listening and talking
- Learning behaviours like following instructions, transitioning between activities and completing tasks
- Fine motor skills and correct pencil grip
- Pre-literacy skills including recognising and using phonics, sounds, letters and words
- Pre-numeracy skills developing understanding of problem solving and maths concepts
They are generally held during a 6 to 12 month period before your child goes to “big school.”
More School News
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A comprehensive theory-to-practice guidebook, Supporting Literacies for Children of Color argues for a new strength-based view of teaching to support the literacy talents and abilities of preschool-aged children of Color.
The early childhood field is at a critical juncture in preschool literacy education as educators confront an ever-changing array of curricular approaches and assessment measures while still trying to meet the social, cultural, language, and literacy needs of individual children. By integrating parent and teacher literacy perspectives, as well as calling on the author’s own decades of teaching, this book offers practical tools and strategies for culturally responsive pedagogy and demonstrates effective methods for using oral language and multilingualism to celebrate and deepen the literacy capabilities of children of Color.
Featuring examples of children’s literacy processes and products both at home and in preschools to illustrate effective instructional strategies, as well as boxes noting important ideas and strategies in each major section, this text will guide students and educators toward creating a supportive learning environment for children of Color.
Table of Contents
1. A Strength-Based Approach to Preschool Literacy Education
2. Family Perspectives on Literacy Learning
3. Teacher Perspectives on Literacy Education
4. Culturally Responsive Approaches to Children’s Literature and Read-Alouds
5. The Power of Aesthetics in Literacy and Art
6. Transforming Literacy Education Through Teacher Inquiry and Reflection
7. Next Steps for Changing Literacy Instruction
Daniel R. Meier is Professor of Elementary Education at San Francisco State University, USA, and works as a literacy instructor in local preschools. He is the co-author of Documentation and Inquiry in the Early Childhood Classroom (Routledge, 2017) and co-editor of Narrative Inquiry in Early Childhood and Elementary School (Routledge, 2016), Educational Change in International Early Childhood Contexts (Routledge, 2014), and Nature Education with Young Children (Routledge, 2013).
"Daniel Meier’s work centers on the child’s right to a strengths-based approach to literacy where cultural and linguistic strengths are recognized and supported. Using the perspectives of families and educators, Meier creates a holistic view of children as strong, agentic literacy users and producers that learn through play, natural curiosity, and discovery. Situated within various preschool contexts, he illustrates successful pedagogical practices that elevate the visibility and the literacy talents of children of Color within culturally responsive learning environments. Throughout the book, Meier weaves the theoretical frameworks and tools for educators to reflect on their own assumptions and biases regarding children of Color through critical inquiry, dialogue, and reflection as they develop their transformative literacy teaching. The combination of conceptual understanding and instructional strategies makes the book valuable for educators and scholars alike."
Iliana Alanis, Ph.D., Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, The University of Texas at San Antonio


Art Education For The 21st Century
The resources at these sites are grounded solidly in the best cognitive and creative approaches to art education.
The Getty Museum turns traditional art education upside down. Rather than introducing themes and ideas through art history and then applying those concepts to art-making activities, the curriculum elicits these building blocks as students are engaged in activities. The activities culminate in the construction of a portfolio.
The premier art educators, like Eliot Eisner, in this field have contributed to the curriculum-in-formation. The site contains lessons within a unit, gateways to other sites, opportunities for program development and garnering support, and a nice browsing feature.
ArtsEdge is the Kennedy Center's free digital resource for teaching and learning, in through and about the arts. Their collection of free digital resources -- including lesson plans, audio stories, video clips, and interactive online modules -- has been streamlined for easier browsing and upgraded to leverage best practices in educational media and multimedia-supported instruction.
Kinetic Wave Sculptures
In this video from MAKE: television, Reuben Margolin, a Bay Area visionary and longtime maker, creates totally singular techno-kinetic wave sculptures. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens creates sculptures ranging from tiny to looming, motorized to hand-cranked. Focusing on natural elements, his work is elegant and hypnotic.
- YouTube URL
Pintura is designed as a mystery site at which students learn techniques, such as brushstrokes, by comparing an old painting-artist unknown-discovered in an attic with masterworks to determine the name of the artist. Alternate pathways are followed until the right solution to the mystery is found.
Pretty cool. A simple assessment tool is included.
Inside Art complements Pintura -- only at this site students actually find themselves inside a painting and solve a mystery to exit.
Forced Perspective Game
A team of students from Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center developed this First Person Puzzle game built around Forced Perspective. This is a demo of the technology at work. A great jumping off point for a talk on Forced Perspective.
- YouTube URL
Art Junction offers activities as well as art history.
The Seattle Art Museum has mounted an exhibit of Mexican modern paintings such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC illustrates major achievements in painting, sculpture, decorative arts and works on paper from the Middle Ages to the present.
A glimpse into the world of Impressionistic painters combines art history and composition in painting.
Red Studio at the NYC Museum of Modern Art was developed both by teens and curators.
and includes updates of current exhibitions.
Actually, it is interesting for most adults; for instance, differently colored overlays on Matisse's art offers new perspectives.
American Art at the Smithsonian offers am impressive collection of teacher guides, resources and videos. The guides are identified with corresponding standards and grade levels, and most are in PDF format. Student worksheets and other printable resources are also provided.
All teachers -- don't skip this area regardless of your specialty.


Written by practising artists, our Art Techniques online course is perfect if you want to build and develop your existing art skills. Previous students of this popular course often pursue their art studies long after course completion, with some eventually progressing to degree level.
From still life and the human figure, to getting to know your materials and the use of themes, this course explores the key techniques you need to draw and paint successfully. You’ll study and practise a range of core concepts such as line, tone, shape, perceptive and colour, as well as gaining an understanding of leading artists, both past and present.
Critically, our Art Techniques online course will encourage you to draw, whenever and wherever you can! This will improve your practical skills at a fast pace, whilst also enabling you to move in new, fresh creative directions!
If you enjoy drawing and painting, relish creative thinking and have an interest in learning more about famous artists, our Art Techniques online course is the perfect choice!
Whether you’re a doodler, have dabbled with water colours, oil paints or pastels – this practical course invites to expand your current skills across a range of media. Working at your own pace, using fully-illustrated, accessible course materials, with the support of an expert tutor, you’ll expand your technical knowledge and experience.
Our Art Techniques online course is ideal if you:
Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Still life
Section 3: The human figure
Section 4: Themes
Study Art Techniques with us and benefit from:
Choose when and where you access your course, using learn@nec our 24/7 learning platform.
This easy-to-use learning platform includes interactive checkpoints, quizzes and activities to help you evaluate your progress.
You’ll have access to support from a personal tutor. All NEC tutors are subject experts, with experience of supporting online learners.
Meet Jane who is just one of our first-class art tutors:
“I’ve been involved in distance education for many years, and have been a practising artist all my adult life. In my own creative practice, my main interests are in drawing, illustration, printmaking, animation and painting, and also digital art. Learning to draw is the platform for a satisfying creative adventure with art: looking intensively at the work of other artists is essential to developing your own work. My knowledge of art history means I can pinpoint examples of artists to help you develop your own practice. I have a first degree in Fine Art and English and a PGCE in Art Education.”
You will need acrylic paints in the following colours:
We recommend buying medium-size tubes for every colour except white, as these will contain around 38ml (depending on the manufacturer). The exception is white as you will require more of this colour, so we recommend a 120ml size tube. The above is a basic list to start you off; if you have particular preferences of your own, add them in.
Our course fees are 100% transparent to help you plan for any additional costs.
Your course fee includes:
Your course fee does not cover:
It’s your choice: you can pay in full at the point of enrolment, or you can spread the cost over monthly instalments with our finance offer. We offer a choice of six or 12 month repayment plans, with 0% APR as standard.
To pay in instalments you will need to enrol by telephone.
Course fee: £395
Amount of credit: £355.50
Monthly payment: £59.25
Duration of agreement: 6 months
Total repayable: £395.00
Rate of interest: 0% (fixed)
0% APR representative.
The National Extension College (NEC) work with finance company Deko. For more information on our relationship with Deko and repayment plans click here.
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