Assessment & Instruction of Reading and Writing Difficulties: Focusing on reading and writing ability/disability from an interactive perspective, this text emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing learner’s difficulties in relation to the instructional context. Extensive, in-depth treatment of current research and best practices make this text a 'must-have' addition to any current or future teacher's library. Section I (Chs. 1-3) provides readers with a strong, comprehensive knowledge of reading/writing research and an introduction to an assessment-instruction process that is described in-depth in the second, third, and fourth sections of the text. Section two considers the foundations of literacy with a strong emphasis on language development along with detailed information on evaluating the instructional context. Section three focuses on procedures for evaluating the learner, including both classroom-based and standardized assessments. Section four stands alone as an important chapter examining the relationship between the instructional context and learner’s strengths and weaknesses by means of diagnostic teaching. Section five is devoted to instructional practices designed to improve reading and writing instruction for struggling students. Chapters on word recognition, vocabulary, comprehension-composition, and “high-utility strategies” address the major components of literacy development. In the final section (Ch. 16), issues related to professional standards and written reports are addressed.


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In the English language, imagination implies a visual mode. Since there was no word similar to imagination for the auditory mode, music education researcher Edwin Gordon coined the word audiation in 1975. Audiation is to sound in the same way that imagination is to images. For example, audiation may involve mentally hearing and comprehending music, even when no physical sound is present. It is a cognitive process by which the brain gives meaning to musical sounds. In essence, audiation of music is analogous to thinking in a language. The term audiation should not be confused with audition, the mere perception of sound. Audiation is also more than just a musical form of auditory imagery. Developed audiation includes the necessary understanding of music to enable the conscious prediction of patterns in unfamiliar music and sound.
According to Gordon:
Although music is not a language, the process is the same for audiating and giving meaning to music as for thinking and giving meaning to speech. When you are listening to speech, you are giving meaning to what was just said by recalling and making connections with what you have heard on earlier occasions. At the same time, you are anticipating or predicting what you will be hearing next, based on your experience and understanding. Similarly, when you are listening to music, you are giving meaning to what you just heard by recalling what you have heard on earlier occasions. At the same time, you are anticipating or predicting what you are hearing next, based on your musical achievement. In other words, when you are audiating as you are listening to music, you are summarizing and generalizing from the specific music patterns you have just heard as a way to anticipate or predict what will follow. Every action becomes an interaction. What you are audiating depends on what you have already audiated. As audiation develops, the broader and deeper it becomes and thus the more it is able to reflect on itself. Members of an audience who are not audiating usually do not know when a piece of unfamiliar, or even familiar, music is nearing its end. They may applaud at any time, or not at all, unless they receive clues from others in the audience who are audiating. Through the process of audiation, we sing and move in our minds, without ever having to sing and move physically. (Gordon, 1997, pp. 5-6)
Audiation is an essential element of Music Learning Theory, a research-based explanation of how humans learn music when they learn music. Although the term audiation has so far not entered into common music parlance, it has been gaining acceptance among music educators. Gordon criticizes traditional-minded educators for not directly teaching audiation, which he views as the foundation of musicianship.
In the Kodály method, the term "inner hearing" is regarded by some to be the same process as audiation. The Kodály method suggests the following simple practice technique to develop inner hearing: sing or play a piece of music alternating measures between singing out loud and performing only with inner hearing. For example, a student could sing all the odd numbered measures out loud but all the even numbered measures with inner hearing.
Despite certain similarities between inner hearing within the Kodály Method and audiation, Gordon argues that the two things are not the same. He states: "Although serving as the first step towards developing audiation, imitation should not be confused with audiation itself. Imitation, sometimes called inner hearing, is a product, whereas audiation is a process." (Gordon, 2001, p. 4)
Gordon believes that "most students and probably most musicians memorize a piece of music without being able to audiate it contextually." (2001, p. 5) He suggests that in order to audiate while musicians perform music through imitation, they must be able to do the following: sing what they have played; play a variation of the original melody; play the melody in a different key, tonality, or with alternate fingerings; or demonstrate with body movements the phrases of the melody. According to Gordon, failure to do these things means that "they are not audiating what they have performed." (Gordon, 2001, p. 5) To teach audiation is therefore more than to simply teach imitation or what as also known as "inner hearing".
Types of audiation
- listening to music (think, write)
- reading music (think, write, perform)
- writing music in dictation
- recalling music from a performance (think, write, perform)
- writing music from recall
- creating or improvising music (think, write, perform)
- writing music as it is created or improvised
- Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns (1997) by Edwin E. Gordon (ISBN 1579990045)
- Preparatory audiation, audiation, and music learning theory: a handbook of a comprehensive music learning sequence (2001) by Edwin E. Gordon (ISBN 1579991335)


All About Old Faithful – Geyser in Yellowstone National Park
In Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, you’ll find impressive geysers that shoot hot water and steam high into the air. The most reliable of these is Old Faithful. Old Faithful plays – or shoots water—every 60 to 90 minutes and goes off about 17 times every day. Old Faithful isn’t the largest geyser in the park, but it’s the one that you’re most likely to see because park rangers can predict when it will go off next.
Old Faithful was first named in 1870 by the Washburn Expedition. This group of explorers and scientists were amazed by Old Faithful’s height and regularity. The geyser has slowed down just a bit since two earthquakes – the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake and the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake.
Fun Facts about Old Faithful for Kids
- The water in the geyser is 204 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam has been measured above 350 degrees. That’s as hot as your mom’s oven!
- If you go to look at Old Faithful, you’ll sit on the boardwalk, about 300 feet from the geyser.
- Right before the geyser erupts, you’ll see little jets and squirts of water. Then the geyser will begin to play. It shoots water up to 185 feet in the air. Most two-story houses are between 20 and 30 feet tall. Old Faithful is a lot taller than your house.
- If you visit Yellowstone, you’ll have plenty to do. Besides seeing the geysers, you can go hiking and fishing. You might see moose, bears or even wolves.
Old Faithful Vocabulary
- Impressive: awesome, inspiring
- Reliable: predictable
- Ranger: person who works in national parks or with wildlife
- Regularity: regular, routine, dependable
- Boardwalk: an area with paths and benches
Learn More All About Old Faithful, Geyser in Yellowstone National Park
Check out this cool video all about Old Faithful:
A video of the geyser shooting water up close.
Old Faithful Q&A
Question: How many geysers are in Yellowstone?
Answer: Yellowstone National Park has over half the hydrothermal features in the whole world. There are 300 geysers in the park. The park also has places where hot water bubbles from the earth or forms hot springs.
Question: Is Yellowstone a fun vacation place?
Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Old Faithful info? Take the FREE & fun all about Old Faithful quiz and download FREE Old Faithful worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.


Today’s guest blog post is from Sheila Frye (teachingliteracy). Sheila has been in education for over thirteen years serving as a Special Educator, Gifted and Talented Teacher, Reading Teacher, Reading Specialist, and Adjunct Professor of graduate education. A lifelong lover of reading, Sheila is currently a doctorate candidate studying the relationship between literacy learning and technology.
Some may think they are merely printed words inked onto pieces of white paper.
But to a child, they can be so much more.
Research shows that children who grow up in print-rich environments and have access to high-quality books fair better academically in school. They are more self-confident learners and believe in the power of exploration and imagination.
Unfortunately, many families in low-income areas often lack money to buy books, and all families, including those in high-income ones, typically do not frequent their local libraries. The result? Stunted literacy development and a missed opportunity to be a lifelong reader.
Organizations like First Book are “putting books in the hands of children who need them the most.” First Book works tirelessly to make books available in homes, classrooms, and programs in North America and end illiteracy once and for all.
Interested in learning more about this valuable organization? Just click here.


Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence places responsibility for promoting the development of numeracy skills on all classroom teachers, rather than leaving such nefarious wizardry solely to the maths department. This is an admirable aim but at first glance causes mild panic for us artsy fartsy teachers of English.
I've heard some say that numeracy skills can be boosted in the English classroom simply by directing pupils towards a particular page number in a novel, but I can't say I agree. Certainly, there seem to be fewer opportunities to build numeracy skills in English than in, say, science or computing classes. Nevertheless we can surely go beyond the basic task of finding a page number.
One answer lies in the French literary movement known as Oulipo (its full title is ouvroir de littérature potentielle, which translates roughly as 'workshop of potential literature'). Founded in France in the 1960s, it seeks to unite poetry with maths to create constrained pieces of writing defined by set structures and patterns. Most famous examples of the form are the lipogram, a piece of writing entirely devoid of a particular letter, normally a vowel and palindrome stories, both of which present testing challenges for experienced writers.
There are a few exercises which can be used successfully in schools, however. Pupils tend to be intrigued and challenged by Oulipo activities when they learn about its history. It creates a sense of purpose in lessons. Capable pupils find the challenge stimulating and usually respond with creativity and imagination, while less able pupils seem to find the restraints and patterns imposed on them beneficial, they no longer have to worry about crafting a whole story with a beginning, middle and end, a character who overcomes an obstacle, realistic dialogue, and all the rest of it. Instead, they can concentrate solely on achieving the next sequence, and the one after that.
A good exercise to introduce pupils to Oulipo is the prose snowball. Starting with a one word sentence, the story builds up sequentially with each sentence containing one word more than the last. Clear explanation and ample modelling is required when for Oulipo, and I always give this simple example, which I wrote myself:
My breath freezes.
Can't feel my toes.
I have sent for help.
Please God, when will it come?
I have done nothing to deserve this.
Stuck out here in the wind and snow.
Once pupils crack the first sentence or two, they will build up impressive snowballs, and learn to play with the rhythms created by the ever-lengthening sentences. This task also lends itself well to the more competitive pupils. You can set a competition to see who can write the biggest snowball in the room and offer a Kit-Kat, or something, as a prize.
Another Oulipo exercise, which has the potential to produce particularly exciting pieces of work, is the sestina. Traditionally a poetic form, sestinas can be written as prose to create striking, patterned pieces of writing. Pupils start by choosing six words for themselves (or for a partner, as this task is well suited to paired work). The words they choose should preferably have a number of different meanings, words like 'hand' or 'trip' or 'crack'. These words are then labelled from A – F and must appear in a story in the following order:
• ECA or ACE
The goal is for pupils to write stories of seven paragraphs with their chosen words appearing in these given sequences. Again, pupils will benefit from seeing an exemplar of this in action, and there is a particularly striking one available to read by Kirsty Logan on wigleaf.com. Pupils can read this story as a class and try to figure out which words Logan started out with, to see if they can spot the pattern in her story. Pupils' sestinas often seem to turn out slightly surreal and highly original, with the repeated words forming a kind of beat to the narrative.
The purpose of Oulipo exercises is not to produce classical, traditional short stories. The combination of maths and writing forces pupils to think about the craft in different ways, to abandon their comfort zones and embrace new and experimental techniques. Even if the completed stories are entirely unusual or unorthodox, there will often be a section, or a character, even a sentence, of quality material which could be extracted from the original and developed separately on its own.
Embedding numeracy in the English classroom is not an obviously natural fit, but by combining creative writing with mathematical sequences we can bring a little of that French imagination to our pupils' work.
Download Alan's Oulipo resource here.


Critical Reasoning (1 of the 8 books in Manhattan GMAT's Preparation Guide series) provides a highly organized and structured approach to the variety of questions in this verbal content area. The guide simplifies arguments by illustrating innovative diagramming techniques designed to increase comprehension and improve accuracy, and also details the major and minor critical reasoning question types that appear on the GMAT. The book offers a unique balance between two competing emphases: test-taking strategies and in-depth content understanding. Practice problem sets build specific foundational skills in each topic and include the most advanced content that many other prep books ignore. As the average GMAT score required to gain admission to top b-schools continues to rise, this guide provides test takers with the depth and volume of advanced material essential for succeeding on the GMAT's computer adaptive format. Book also includes online access to 6 full-length Simulated Practice GMAT Exams at Manhattan GMAT's website.
Reference, Test-Preparation, Graduate-School, GMAT,


It can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to studying for an upcoming teaching interview. Every school will ask different questions, and every school board has a different focus. The truth is, interviews are stressful! However, everyone goes through them at some point in their lives. If you happen to be a new teacher trying to find a full time position in a time where student enrolment is down and teachers are a dime a dozen, perhaps you may go through more than your fair share. The best advice; keep you chin up, be confident, and BE PREPARED! This page will hopefully help you with the last bit. Lucky for you, the rest just comes naturally, doesn't it?
BEFORE YOU GO...
Visit the website of the school board for the following information. Know it well.
1 Mission Statement
2 Special Initiatives
3 Boundaries/size of board (Many are far-reaching in distance)
TYPICAL QUESTION TOPICS
In an teaching interview, you can generally expect to get at least one question from most, if not all, of the following categories.
1 Communication: Written/Verbal (with students, home, office…)
2 Classroom Management: What are your strategies?
3 Discipline: What would you do when...
4 Curriculum: Especially Literacy and Numeracy.
5 Organization: Techniques and Experience.
6 Leadership: Examples and Experience.
7 “What can you tell us about yourself…”
8 “Do you have any questions…?”
POTENTIAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Here are some typical questions that are asked in teaching interviews.
* How do you teach to different learning styles?
* How has your experience prepared you for teaching?
* What would you do to create a safe, nurturing learning environment for your students?
* What are your strengths and weaknesses?
* What are some methods of communication in your classroom between students, parents and colleagues?
* What is your teaching philosophy?
* What are you reasons for teaching and your long term goals with respect to elementary education?
* What are your strategies for conflict management?
* What is one experience that you can think of that demonstrates what an excellent teacher you are?
* Describe a time when you feel you truly made a difference in a students life.
* Name a teacher that has had a positive influence on you?
* Reflect on a frustrating teaching moment?
* Describe a best/worst lesson plan and what was good/bad about them
* What is your plan for Balanced Literacy in a classroom?
* How will you prepare your students for grade 3/grade 6 testing?
* Describe your experience working with special education students and differentiated instruction.
* Describe your experience developing and implementing Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
MORE QUESTIONS, ANSWERS AND TIPS!
These links are also accessible from the "Links" portion of this website.


“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” Madeleine l’Engle, Swiftly Tilting Planet
I don’t think I can count the many times have I stood in front of a children’s choir and said, “Listen! Not to your own voice, but to the voices around you!”
When we think of children and musical education we are often first distracted by the idea of lessons, classes and practicing. We ponder the different methods of learning how to read notes and keep a beat. We think about recitals, nerves and performance etiquette. We might pause for a second to consider the concept of listening, as a topic on its own, but rarely do we give it much importance.
I have always thought that we should give just a bit more attention to this seemingly simple skill. Listening is fundamental for any sort of musicality, and it is a skill we can introduce and nurture in our children long before they begin any form of music education.
The French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) wrote a series of compositions that included notated birdsong. He sat outside for hours, listening to birds sing, then went away and included these sweet little motifs in his music. I have always loved this story; this is listening in its finest form! Children can learn to listen in this way with a bit of direction and it will contribute to a lifetime of sensitive creativity.
The first step to learning how to be a good listener is learning how to be silent. This is not always easy especially for children, but it is a valuable tool. Start by speaking softly and encouraging children to speak softly.
There are always good times for hollering and whooping about but these moments can be balanced by softly spoken instructions and reminders to speak gently. Look for moments throughout the day where you can take a silent pause. Before a meal, before story time, before you drive off in the car or right before you exit the car to go inside! There are lots of opportunities to pause quietly.
A Listening Game
Our lives are hectic and highly stimulated. We are bombarded with noise. Even when we think things are quiet we are still living with the hum of our appliances, the subliminal buzz of our electric lights, and the rush of distant traffic noise. Beeps, screeches, whistles, and variations of hums accompany us throughout our days and while we sleep.
Cleverly, we have learned to tune most of it out but we can start to ‘practice listening’ by tuning back in. Sit quietly in your home with your child and play a listening game.
“Do not make a sound. What do you hear?”
“No, listen again, there is always something!”
As you begin to hear these noises describe them. Try to find each source and notice how the sounds change as you move about the house.
When we take this game outside our imaginations really come alive. Nature gives us such a broader symphony of sounds than we find in our electrically charged homes.
Stepping through leaves.
Wind through grass.
The songs of the birds.
The creaking of a branch.
Wild sounds inspire imagination and creativity in all of us. Time spent outside is one of the loveliest ways to practice listening.
Music is not just notes played on an instrument. Music is all around us and we connect with it and are inspired by it when we take time to listen.
|Starr Meneely is the author of the children’s picture book “What a Lovely Sound!” (Illustrated by Susan Merrick; Published by Starflower Press). She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Alaska, where she studied under Dr. Timothy Smith. She owned the Littlerose School of Music in Anchorage and taught at the Alaska Fine Arts Academy. Starr writes children’s books in a little village in Surrey, UK, where she lives with her husband and four children. She loves to hear from readers both big and small. Follow Starr on Facebook and Twitter.|


Grow a love for fruits and vegetables in young children with this activity book. It's packed full of nutrition education information and education-rich activities, featuring all 35 different fruit and vegetable Garden Heroes®. The book includes:
- Nutrition Bites: Information on the fruit or vegetable including Spanish name, where it grows, what it looks like, and how to eat it.
- Heroic Facts: Fun and surprising trivia about the fruit or vegetable
- Taste Adventure: A kid-friendly recipe for classroom or home
- Superhero Activity: An activity in math, literacy, art, movement, science, or dramatic play relating to fruits and vegetables.
The Garden Heroes® Activities Book targets younger children, preschool, Pre-K, kindergarten and elementary education. It’s often found in classrooms, childcare centers and any place kids congregate to learn about healthy lifestyles.
Interested in some adorable bean-bag plush fruits and veggies to go with it? Check out our entire Garden Heroes® collection here!
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Seeds of Empathy
Seeds of Empathy is a program for children aged 3 – 5 years that is delivered in child care centres or pre-school settings. Seeds of Empathy is the ‘younger sibling’ of the Roots of Empathy program which is directed at elementary school-aged children.
The goals of the SOE program are to:
- Foster the development of empathy in children aged 3 - 5 years;
- Support the acquisition of early literacy/numeracy skills and attitudes in children aged 3 - 5 years;
- Prevent aggression in children aged 3 - 5 years; and
- Support and train early childhood educators in creating and maintaining empathic and inclusive learning communities.
The core components of the SOE program are the family visits and literacy circles. Family visits bring a parent and baby from the community into the child care setting where a family guide encourages the children to observe the baby’s development, label the baby’s feelings, and talk about their own feelings and those of others. Literacy circles are designed around a set of children’s literature, with a literacy coach reading to the children and using stories to help the children explore their own feelings as well as the perspective of others.
Supported by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Seeds of Empathy has been implemented in 14 Aboriginal sites, both on and off reserve, across BC.


States have the major role in putting MDG programmes in place
India’s achievement in poverty reduction is one of the leading factors in the global action against poverty. The Millennium Project Report states that “with more than 2.3 billion people in these two countries (China and India) alone, their major advances in poverty reduction drive developing world averages.”
India’s Tenth Five-Year Plan (2003-2007) included targets of human development that can be monitored, consistent with, but more ambitious than the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2008-2012) proposes state-specific targets. The Government has launched several large programmes with regard to the MDGs. The areas that require redoubled efforts include literacy, nutrition, maternal mortality and child mortality. The responsibility of implementing most of the social sector programmes relating to the Goals lies with the provincial governments.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, with an annual allocation of $2.5 billion, guarantees 100 days of work to every household. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has allocated $7 billion over a seven-year period to provide basic services to the urban poor in 63 major cities. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Campaign), launched in the year 2000, is a national programme to make elementary education accessible to all. The National Rural Health Mission is focused on basic health-care delivery systems through a synergistic approach focusing on sanitation, water, nutrition, and health care.
A major task for India is the improvement of service delivery and capacity development, at district and local levels, in order to implement and monitor very large programmes. Social, economic, and political inclusion, decreasing the incidence of violence (gender/caste-based) and reduction of regional disparities require concerted efforts to promote greater access of vulnerable groups (such as women, dalits, tribal groups, and religious minorities) to basic services, including credit and social security, opportunities for decent work, and participation in decision-making. The Eleventh Plan addresses these challenges through a mix of resource allocation, incentives for institutional reform of the delivery system, and public-private partnerships.
Critical policy and plan documents of State Governments, such as Annual Economic Surveys and the Eleventh Five Year Plan, now have human development reporting integrated into them. At the state level, Madhya Pradesh has had a series of Missions on health and education, including iodine deficiency, since the mid-1990s. Since 2006, the government of Maharashtra has focused the Maharashtra Human Development Mission around the MDGs. Its objective is to meet the eight Goals in 12 districts ranking low on the Human Development Index. Additionally, the concept of human development is being increasingly integrated into district planning through district-specific Human Development Reports (HDRs).
The Government of India has identified 250 such districts for which a Backward Regions Grant Fund provides financial support for district planning and programme implementation. At the city level, the Delhi HDR has specified Delhi Development Goals, customizing the MDGs to a purely urban context. At the national level, a concerted effort is being made to implement the Eleventh Five-Year Plan in collaboration with civil society organizations across the country.
Last updated 25 August 2008
Click to learn more about organizations, projects and individuals on the ground from Scientists Without Borders.


Fundamentals of String Playing is a document that has been in progress for a number of months. The goal of this paper is to present the fundamentals in such a way that a student can understand it. At this point, section one deals with development of technique and section two deals with the teacher-student relationships that are essential to learning.
The String Pedagogy Notebook is a resource that has been put together by Michael Hopkins at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has compiled Pofessor Robert Culver's string pedagogy class notes along with pictures to illustrate the principles.
A personal library of pedagogy resources is important for any string teacher. The following bibliography is in no way complete, but it does give a good beginning for any teacher or would be teacher. It represents multiple and deverse opinions on the subject. Heterogeneous Teaching
Do you have an interest in string music from other cultures? The Middle Eastern Violin page will provide information about the Arabic style of violin playing as well as links to other non-western string instruments and musical styles.
The Internet Cello Society is in the process of being put together by John Michel at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. You will find great information here for cellists of all levels from beginners to teachers, and amateurs to professionals. Be sure to become a member of the ICS and receive your monthly newsletter by e-mail. Bass
Here is an extensive list of articles on vibrato from journals and professional publications dating from the late 1950's.
Search carefully in this list of music medicine articles and you will find some that pertain to the subject of vibrato.
The Suzuki method is more than a method of teaching the violin. It is also a philosophy of education and when followed is a life style. Here is a compilation of articles from the MERB database.
The Violin, Bow and other Bowed Stringed Instrument makers pages will lead you to information about those who make and repair instruments and bows.
The J.W. Pepper company has gone online. You can search for music here for you string program.
Methods & Pedagogical Materials
There is no lack of teaching materials for the string teacher. Beginning with Samuel Applebaum in 1960 there has been at least two new methods in each of the decades from then until now. Each new method reflected in some way the the prevailing educational philosophy and psychology of the day. Included here are the primary string methods, developed for class teaching, many of which are still in use today.
There are an increasing number of web pages that should be of interest to string teachers and their students. Most of them have graphics and pictures. Some of them even have sound clips giving you the opportunity to listen to their performances.
Here is a list of Symphony Orchestra home pages from not only the United States but from Europe, and New Zeland as well.
There are two home pages for the Kronos String Quartet. The "unofficial" Kronos Quartet page is put together by some devoted fans while the "Official" Kronos Quartet home page is put together by their recording company.
The Florestan Trio is a piano trio from Portland, Oregon with a recently released album. Follow so of their leads to other exciting music pages.
Yo-Yo Ma's home page has sound clips from two of his most recent recordings. Enjoy the sound
Mstislav Rostropovich's home page will give you his basic biographical information.
Here are several sources for computer technology as it relates to music education and string education.
Music Instruction Software is a page that links you to ftp sites where you can download music software.
Technology In Music Education (TIME) is a database of reviews of software for all areas of music education. If you are aware of software for string teaching that is not included in the database there is a section for you to submit a review.
Here is a gopher menu of string educaiton software.
There are times when some string humor will do a world of good. Here you'll find not only the infamous viola jokes but also violin, cello, and bass jokes.


What to Know
Do you know why music education in schools is so important?
While many people, especially NAfME members, already respect the importance of maintaining music education in today’s schools, there are thousands of others who don’t understand why it’s necessary.
Today’s educational culture places a high value on quantifying academic achievement. Clearly, gauging student progress and learning is important. At the same time, we must recognize that our true mission as educators lies in shaping the students behind the scores.
To be an advocate for music education in schools, it helps to first understand WHY these types of programs are so important.
Studies have demonstrated positive links between music education and outcomes such as test scores and graduation rates. These outcomes help affirm the value of music programs; however, NAfME believes that music study does something even more important for students.
- Music education shapes the way our students understand themselves and the world around them;
- Studying music allows for deeper engagement with learning; and
- Music education programs essentially nurture the assets and skills that pave the way for a student’s future success, such as curiosity, creativity, collaboration, self-discipline, and motivation.
Broader Minded is NAfME’s platform for articulating that argument and stressing the importance of music education for each and every child.
Go here to learn how you can become an advocate for music education programs in schools, and share the message of Broader Minded with legislators, decision-makers, administrators, media, teachers, and parents everywhere.


(Elementary education got…)
Elementary education got some attention for the first time in the history of independent India during the last 10 years of UPA rule. But despite the intent to move forward, the end result is suboptimal to say the least.
Fund allocation to elementary education was directly linked to revenue generated in the economy by imposing a 2% cess on each category of tax: corporate, income, excise, customs and service tax. It was a unique exercise to generate revenue for public expenditure on education: Rs5,010 crore toRs30,841 crore between 2004-05 and 2012-13. This money finances the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the midday meal scheme. Budgetary allocation also increased in this period.
The expenditure on elementary education, from the central pool, has increased from Rs7,689 crore in 2004-05 toRs37,150 crore proposed in the 2013-14 Budget. Total expenditure on elementary education (including states and UTs) between 2004-05 and 2012-13 increased almost four times fromRs41,900 crore to Rs1,47,000 crore. The expenditure from the central pool on elementary education is planned while it is the states' responsibility to maintain and run schools.
Did this increase in allocation reflect achange in the elementary education landscape of rural India? The Annual Status of Education Report (Aser), released in January, says that while enrolment and infrastructure have improved, learning outcomes have been stagnant or worsening. The report finds that enrolment in rural private schools has increased from around 17% in 2005 to 29% in 2013.
Does increase in enrolment in private rural schools bode well for the future of elementary education in India?
Studies over the years to compare the efficiency of private and government schools in rural India have found that after accounting for socioeconomic status (educated vs illiterate parents), there is little difference in learning outcomes of students in these schools.
These studies on private vs government schools are also clear that private schools are more cost-effective. A World Bank study in 2009 in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh found that private school teachers get seven to eight times lower pay than government school teachers. Another study, done by the Azim Premji Foundation in Andhra Pradesh, found that average expenditure per student in private schools was only one-third. This study also found private schools were more productive and efficient. But the study also concluded that there is no significant difference in learning outcomes in private and government schools.
Can cost-effectiveness be an important reason for going private in the elementary education space in the future if it does not result in achieving the objective of improvement in learning outcomes? The current status of private and government schools in rural India is unlikely to change the outcome.
Primary education for the poor, whether in rural or urban India, was never given its due for far too long to get things back on track in a hurry. The emphasis of the central government in the last 10 years has been on creating infrastructure. But the lack of emphasis on learning outcomes has led to a massive waste of resources.
Karthik Muralidharan, professor at the University of California, San Diego, a noted expert on primary education in India, writes in Ideas for India that "private schools may have a pedagogy problem but public schools have both a pedagogy and governance problem".
The governance problem is widespread. Besides inefficiency in administration, there is also the issue of corruption. All these lead to an inflated per-student cost on the system.
So, there is clearly no "either/or" solution for primary education in rural India. Rather, there is a need to change focus. If, say, half the students in Class Vare unable to read, write and do simple numerical calculations, what is the point in finishing the syllabus for ahigher class — also, given that, generally, there are two classrooms to accommodate five classes and just 1-2 teachers! Instead, the focus should be on developing skills among students.
While there has been increased allocation for elementary education in the last decade, the lack of efficiency in use of funds and lack of focus on learning outcomes make the impact less than desirable. And, like in other areas, inefficiency in governance lets the whole system down.
The writer works for an NGO


Concerns, conflicts, and cohesions : universalization of elementary education in India
- New Delhi : Institute for Human Development : Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Physical description
- xxii, 350 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.
LA1152 .C66 2009
- Unknown LA1152 .C66 2009
- Includes bibliographical references.
- FOREWORD, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, MAPS, GRAPHS AND FLOW CHARTS. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS---- INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW: -- TOWARDS UNIVERSALIZING ELEMENTARY EDUCATION -- EMERGING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES-- -- DISPARITIES AND INEQUITIES -- UNIVERSALIZING ELEMENTARY EDUCATION -- A REVIEW OF PROGRESS, POLICIES AND PROBLEMS-- -- MEASURING EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND DISPARITIES -- INEQUITIES IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION -- SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO EQUITY IN EDUCATION -- THE CHALLENGE OF QUALITY IN EDUCATION -- THE CHALLENGE OF QUALITY-- CHANGING MINDSETS ABOUT QUALITY -- ISSUES CONCERNING CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY AND LEARNING -- THE OPEN CLASSROOM AND ITS CRITICS -- WOMEN'S EDUCATION OR 'SCHOOLING' WOMEN- CONTESTED TERRAIN -- ENHANCING CHILD LEARNING IN ANDHRA PRADESH -- TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES -- OVER-AGE CHILDREN -- OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN -- OUT-OF-SCHOOL AND WORKING CHILDREN.
- (source: Nielsen Book Data)
- Publisher's Summary
- The volume addresses vital concerns and conflicts that need urgent attention in advancing India's quest for universalizing elementary education. The dialogue among experts, researchers and practitioners offers theoretical perspectives, identifies systemic constraints and points to institutional rigidities that hamper the spread of good quality basic education. The volume undertakes in-depth analyses, helps understand issues based on the insights of scholars and practitioners, and identifies areas of action for ensuring social cohesion and relevance. It also addresses specific concerns, especially of girls and the socially marginalized groups. The papers draw attention to faulty assumptions, persistent disparities and inadequate commitment to inclusive education, resulting in the neglect of a) pre-school, out- b) of-school, c) over-age, and d) working children. Detailed case studies draw attention to systemic deficiencies in school management and administration of the education system.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)
- Supplemental links
Contributor biographical information
Table of contents only
- Publication date
- edited by Preet Rustagi.
- Title Variation
- Universalization of elementary education
- Includes index.


Last week I attended the fall meeting of the board members of the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI), hosted by the government of Spain. Present were senior representatives of bilateral aid agencies, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and high-level government officials from Burkina Faso, Mongolia, and Rwanda. In the wake of the recent Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit in New York City, the discussions among the members about the future direction of the EFA- FTI partnership—which coalesces critical financial and technical support around country-owned education plans—illustrated that in these times the need for sustained support to education remains greater than ever. Commitment to the principles of education for all is needed from all stakeholders.
Today far fewer children in developing countries are out of school than two decades ago. Average primary education enrollment rates have surged above 80 percent while primary completion has risen above 60 percent. However, a number of low-income countries are far from meeting the education-related MDGs of primary education completion and gender parity in education. And, in nearly all countries, educational progress lags for groups disadvantaged due to poverty, gender, disability, or ethnolinguistic background. Moreover, learning indicators have not kept up with the improvements in enrollment numbers. Judging by the disappointing results of various learning assessments, for too many students, more schooling has not resulted in more learning, resulting in lost opportunities for many youth and in wasted resources from educations systems.
When children learn, nations prosper. The global education agenda must emphasize a commitment to get all children in school as well as to ensure that they are acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to lead better lives. To support these goals, the World Bank announced a pledge to increase IDA resources for basic education by an additional $750 million, with a focus on those countries furthest from reaching the goals of universal primary completion and gender parity in education by 2015. Going by the education data that are available from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, 36 countries are predicted to be seriously off-track with respect to primary completion rates and an additional seven countries are off-track with respect to the gender parity goal. Another 20 low-income countries do not have sufficient data for the projections and many of them are quite likely to be far from meeting the goals as well.
What will the world look like in 2020? Today we are preparing children for future challenges of an increasingly global nature that we cannot yet foresee. Foundational skills of literacy and numeracy will be a must, then as they are now. At the same time, researchers who have attempted to predict the world of work in the future argue that skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and communication skills that allow for collaboration will be in higher demand because future jobs will require more non-routine and analytical skills (Murnane and Levy). New frontiers will require us to look both inside and beyond the classroom to achieve these capabilities.
Does the global education agenda in the developing world require the commitment of more resources to learning opportunities? Yes, it does. The youth population (ages 0-14) in the developing countries will be growing to 1.7 billion by 2020. But it’s important also to recognize that financial resources and the school inputs they buy will not be enough. Know-how in designing an education plan, capacity to implement it, and the political commitment to achieve these goals are essential elements for educational progress. The focus on helping countries understand what makes an entire education system run effectively, and how to drive results, is a key component of the World Bank’s emerging Education Strategy 2020. This new strategy is turning its focus to strengthening education systems that can deliver more learning.
The draft Education Strategy is now available for review and feedback online, after extensive feedback from stakeholders during our global consultations. You can share your thoughts during this final phase of consultations through our online comment form until November 30, 2010.
Please join us as we chart our direction in education for the next ten years.
Photo credit: This image produced by NASA comes from Wikipedia Commons.


Koasati is an endangered language with fewer than 300 fluent speakers among the Tribe's 800 plus members. An initial three-year $450,000 grant was received from the NSF's Documenting Endangered Languages program for documenting and revitalizing the spoken language among the Coushatta tribal members, while the second grant will focus on the first phonetic study of Koasati.
Serving as co-principal investigators for the grants are the husband-wife team of Bertney Langley, director of the Coushatta Tribe's Heritage Department, and Dr. Linda Langley, McNeese research professor of anthropology.
Much has been accomplished with the first grant, according to Linda, including the creation of a 1,200 word topical dictionary with an audio CD of sounds and word pronunciation and the publication of children's picture book.
"In addition, Koasati Language Project leaders and volunteers continue to work to transcribe and translate almost 100 hours of recorded interviews and conversations with tribal members," she said. These materials will provide additional content for a new website, new books and teaching materials, as well as the Coushatta Heritage Center that will house a theater, interactive digital exhibits and video displays, genealogical materials and a Koasati language library.
Bertney said the major thrust of the first three years was "the documentation of the language, which has been tremendously successful and well received among the tribal members."
A couple of McNeese students, who are also Coushatta tribal members, assisted with the documentation process. Heather Williams, an elementary education major, compiled the children's picture dictionary and phrase book, while Crystal Williams, a government major, conducted historical research on topics such as the traditional stomp dances.
Heather's interest in her culture began while watching her mother and grandmother create baskets from pine needles and raffia and listening to their conversations in a language she didn't fully understand.
"I was concerned that the language was dying. Working with the Langleys while in high school, I was able to research and document the language and to develop a children's picture dictionary and phrase book," said Heather.
Crystal's focus was on researching traditional tribal dance. "Years ago, Christian missionaries visited Indian communities and brought their own teachings and beliefs. That influence resulted in the banning of our traditional dances, such as the Stomp Dance. Being involved in this project, I've learned that it is possible to restore culture and value, as long as the community is dedicated to the future (our children). Our elders say 'Knowing your language is knowing your culture,' and in order to keep it alive within our community, we have to keep practicing it," said Crystal.
The Langleys are now working with two linguists - Jack Martin, a professor at the College of William and Mary, and Matthew Gordon, a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara - on the phonetic study. "Jack is an expert in the Muskogean language family, while Matthew's area of expertise is phonetic analysis," said Linda. "The data gathered over the next two years will consist of analyses of scripted surveys of fluent speakers and conversational data."
The driving force for this project comes from the Koasati Language Committee, a group of tribal members fluent in Koasati who volunteer their time and efforts to work with the linguistic consultants, according to Linda.
"Our studies suggest important differences between Koasati and both Creek and Chickasaw. These findings will contribute to knowledge of sound patterns in Koasati, Muskogean languages, North American languages and language in general," she said.
"This collaborative project of keeping the Koasati language alive is providing a solid foundation to build on for the Coushatta Tribe-we're all doing this for our children," added Bertney.


With today’s technology, educators have more resources and connections at their disposal than ever before. Online collaboration with colleagues, now embraced by K-12 educators all over the world, can be a very effective way to prepare lessons for your students. Not only can it make life easier, it can help to improve the quality […]
Hats off to everyone for making the 2010/2011 school year a great one! Now lets help our kids retain what they have learned! Here is something you may have not known: “Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the […]
Previously, every state has worked from its own set of academic standards, meaning public education students in each state are learning to different levels. The Common Core standards have been designed so that all students are prepared to compete with not only their American peers in the next state, but also with students globally. Change is not easy and many teachers are lamenting yet another shift in the standards movement. But in many ways the Common Core State Standards are perfect for the 21st Century educator.
Is teacher value-added a good measure of teacher quality? In investigating the long-term impacts of “effective teachers”, researchers found that elementary- and middle-school teachers who help raise their students’ standardized test scores have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect on those students’ lives even beyond academics.
There is significant research to substantiate a connection between music and the learning of math. The National Association for Music Education provides a wealth of resources that explore this connection. Many other studies that have been conducted and brain researchers have explored the impact of music on learning in general. According the the NAMM Foundation, there are scientific […]
Instructional Strategies Used to Implement Differentiated Instruction One size does not fit all when it comes to educating our children. Fair does not mean equal in the classroom. For years, teachers planned the lesson and delivered it to all the students. After extensive studies about multiple intelligences and learning styles, brain based research (and some […]
Filed under: Differentiated Instruction, Lesson Plans- Language Arts, Lesson Plans- Math, Lesson Plans- Science, Lesson Plans- Social Studies, Teacher Resources on September 15th, 2011 | No Comments »
Last week in a nationally-televised speech to members of Congress and the American people, President Obama shared his plan for $447 billion in tax cuts and government spending to boost the nation’s lagging economic recovery. He called on lawmakers to put politics aside and work together to solve the jobs crisis, with specific programs that […]
Does the thought of running around a supply store with your back to school lists in hand give you a headache? Want to make Back-to-School shopping a little less confusing? A little less expensive? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, we have something just for you! Chicago School Supply and SchooDoodle.com […]
The Obama Administration recently published proposed competition criteria for the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge. The proposal outlines draft requirements, priorities, selection criteria, and definitions in accordance with the program’s purpose—to improve the quality of early childhood programs and close the kindergarten readiness gap for high-need children. Proposed criteria ask applicants to build successful […]


The Drawing Teacher Brochure (Partial Transcript)
The Drawing Teacher
A Little Folder of Teaching Projects for the Art Teacher
Harry W. Jacobs, Editor
Director, Art Education, Buffalo, N.Y.
Binney and Smith Co., New York
Each month we shall offer to the drawing teachers a complete lesson plan of an art project that has proved successful. These projects will place in the hands of each art teacher the method presenting art problems.
INTIMATE COMMENTS IN THE FIELD OF ART
In the development of design, plant form was the last to suggest motifs to the worker. The early designs were derived from animals and symbols related to their activities of home and life. To conventionalize nature is to adapt a nature-derived motif to the structural demands of the problem, keeping in mind the material, the tools and the processes involved in executing the problem. It is necessary that the pupil know some of the elementary laws of design before an attempt is made to adapt nature in a conventional form to various projects. In order to acquaint pupils with the many beautiful shapes found in nature, one must learn to express nature forms thru the mediums of crayon and water color.
LESSON PLAN, NO. 63, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1. PROJECT: Nature Drawing
2. AIM: To draw in pencil, crayon, and watercolor, plant and flower forms. In the primary grades draw in silhouette and color, emphasizing growth and arrangement. In the intermediate grades, draw in line and local color nature forms to illustrate growth and proportion of parts. In the junior grades drawing in the line and color emphasizing the decorative quality of nature and an appreciation of the beauty of form, line, and color in nature growth.
3. PREPARATION: Teacher: Ability to draw before the class to illustrate aim of lesson, examples of pupil's work. Working material: Pencil, perma or crayola crayons, artista water-color, manila or toned paper.


The aims and importance of learning provision for numeracy development.
The curriculum provides pupils a solid foundation in all aspects of numeracy and a Key feature of developing skills in numeracy is for pupils to understand its purpose and be able to not only learn but also apply it to real life situation which is why it is important to establish mathematical skills at a early stage.
In reception classes Teachers follow through a Foundation Stage Curriculum which includes problem solving, reasoning and Numeracy for pupils 40-60+ months old. In Key stage 1, numeracy skills are developed practically in shape, pattern, counting, sorting and measuring. Teachers plan activities in order to help the pupils develop mathematical skills through exploring, playing games.
THE AREAS FOR FOUNDATION STAGE ARE:
* Numbers as labels and counting -
* Shape, space and measures.
Expectations for The End of The Foundation Stage:
* Say and use number names in order in familiar contexts
* Recognise and reliably count up to 20 everyday objects
* Being able to solve the problem i.e doubling, halving and sharing
* In practical activities as well as in discussion, begin to use the vocabulary involved in adding and subtracting
* Use language such as ‘more’ or ‘less’ to compare two numbers
* Find one more or one less than a number from 1 to 10
* Begin to relate addition to combining 2 groups of objects and subtraction to ‘taking away.
* Shape, space and measures
* Use language such as ‘greater, ‘smaller’, ‘heavier’ or ‘lighter’ to compare quantities
* Talk about, recognise and recreate simple patterns
* Use language such as ‘circle’ or‘ bigger’ to describe the shape and size of solids and flat shapes
* Use everyday words to describe position
* Use developing mathematical ideas and methods to solve practical problems
* Pupils will estimate, measure, weigh and compare by...


Listen to Dr. David Sherman of Brandeis University interview Changing Lives Through Literature co-founder Dr. Robert Waxler. They talk about the relationship between literature and jail in this “Convicted Reading” Literature Lab podcast.
Brooke Joseph is a graduate student in education at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. She has a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Social Sciences with a concentration in Sociology and Elementary Education.
In a recent interview with Professor Robert P. Waxler, co-founder of the Changing Lives through Literature (CLTL) program, I focused on finding out how CLTL changes lives. Three themes emerged from this interview: Putting Yourself in the Story, Becoming Friends with Characters, and Breaking Down Stereotypes.
Putting Yourself in the Story
Reading and writing can change people’s lives by helping individuals to focus and increase their awareness through self-reflection. Waxler explained that when you are reading a good piece of literature, you often put yourself in the story and empathize with characters. Even though during the CLTL sessions everyone is reading the same story, each individual will read the story in a different manner. Therefore, when the story is discussed, the characters are seen from opposing angles and people “begin to understand that stories, like our lives, are richly textured possibilities.”
Although stories do not offer definitive solutions to people, they do “raise profound questions about our lives. And as long as we continue to ask important questions, we are doing something worthwhile with our lives.” Waxler says reading the right stories helps us to “pursue our identity as if we are on a journey through life;” by “expanding our perceptions, offering new experiences and deepening our thinking, stories move us and they make us self-reflective. They offer us questions, and then the stories give us the opportunity to pursue answers to those questions.”
Becoming Friends with Characters
Dr. Waxler also gave an example of how a particular character can change people’s lives. When people are reading they allow the characters to become a part of their lives; characters in the stories “become our friends. Their voices are embedded in our hearts.” For example, take Santiago from Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea novel. Even though Santiago does not catch a fish for weeks, he continues to wake up every morning to “fight the good fight; his endurance is admirable.”


The normal schools and the training schools and the teachers’ colleges must be the nurseries of craft ideals and standards. The instruction that they offer must be upon a plane that will command respect. The intolerable pedantry and the hypocritical goody-goodyism must be banished forever. The crass sentimentalism by which we attempt to cover our paucity of craft ideals must also be eliminated. Those who are most strongly imbued with ideals are not those who cheapen the value of ideals by constant verbal reiteration. Ideals do not often come through explicitly imparted precepts. They come through more impalpable and hidden channels,—now through stately buildings with vine-covered towers from which the past speaks in the silence of great halls and cloistered retreats; now through the unwritten and scarcely spoken traditions that are expressed in the very bearing and attitude of those to whom youth looks for inspiration and guidance; now through a dominant and powerful personality, sometimes rough and crude, sometimes warm-hearted and lovable, but always sincere. Traditions and ideals are the most priceless part of a school’s equipment, and the school that can give these things to its students in richest measure will have the greatest influence on the succeeding generations.
[Footnote 6: A paper read before the Normal and Training Teachers’ Conference of the New York State Teachers’ Association, December 27, 1907.]
[Footnote 7: See Educative Process, New York, 1910, Chapter XX.]
[Footnote 8: Rowe’s Habit Formation (New York, 1909), Briggs and Coffman’s Reading in Public Schools (Chicago, 1908), Foght’s The American Rural School, Adams’s Exposition and Illustration in Class Teaching (New York, 1910), and Perry’s Problems of Elementary Education (New York, 1910) should certainly be added to this list.]
[Footnote 9: “It seems to me one of the most pressing problems in pedagogy to-day is that of method.... It is the subject in which teachers of pedagogy in Colleges and Universities are weakest to-day. Of what practical value is all our study of educational psychology or the history of education, our child study, our experimental pedagogy, if it does not finally result in the devising of better methods of teaching, and make the teacher more skillful and effective in his work.”—T.M. BALLIET: “Undergraduate Instruction in Pedagogy,” Pedagogical Seminary, vol. xvii, 1910, p. 67.]
THE TEST OF EFFICIENCY IN SUPERVISION


Last month, Dr. William Klemm (a fellow PT blogger) published an article that beautifully summarized recent research on music training and brain development (Click here to read his article).
Dr. Klemm's major points include:
- Music training benefits not just auditory processing skills, but speech, language, and emotional areas as well.
- Musicians are better able to remember information from conversations and can learn new languages more easily because of our enhanced auditory processing abilities.
- Music training challenges our working memory load, which potentially raises our IQ (relative to if we weren't musicians)
- Several studies have hinted that music training in children may improve their auditory, motor, and reading abilities. This is especially true if training begins before age 7.
And--this is my favorite--Dr. Klemm quotes Northwestern neuroscientist Nina Kraus as saying "music training does for (the) brain what exercise does for body fitness." (Kind of fits with my suggestion that music therapists are like personal trainers, doesn't it?)
Dr. Klemm's article supported the importance of music education for our children. And I agree whole-heartedly--I strongly feel that one of the best things we can do for our children's brains and their development is to teach them music.
But something's missing. Music training isn't just for our children. In fact, music can play an immensely important role for adults, too.
One of the best ways to keep your mind young and engaged is to challenge your working memory skills. And what's a good way to do that? Learn a new skill.
Like playing an instrument.
Sure, you likey won't fulfill your childhood dream of becoming a concert pianist, but there are a multitude of other benefits. You can:
- improve your fine motor control and dexterity
- increase your gross motor range-of-motion and strength
- challenge (and improve) your working memory capabilities
- increase the number of opportunities for social involvement (e.g. church choir, community ensembles)
- keep your auditory processing (and your "ears") sharp
- increase your cardiovascular health (if playing a wind instrument)
Thus, learning an instrument doesn't solely benefit the youngsters in our society. It can benefit out elders, too.
Follow me on Twitter @KimberlySMoore for daily updates on the latest research and articles related to music, music therapy, and music and the brain. I invite you also to check out my website, www.MusicTherapyMaven.com, for additional information, resources, and strategies.


History of ORT: Roots, History & Growth
In 1880 a group of Russian Jews petitioned Czar Alexander II for permission to start a fund to assist Jewish trade schools and establish new colonies, agricultural schools and model farms in order to help lift Russia's five million Jews out of crushing poverty. The success of the appeal led Russian authorities to create the "Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor," for Jews of Russia. It is from this original name—Obschestvo Remeslenovo i. Zemledelcheskovo Trouda—that the word ORT is derived.
Farming, tool and industrial cooperatives were formed. Jews were trained as artisans in everything from sewing and handweaving to mechanics and furniture design. ORT became a pioneer in teaching, using new techniques to raise standards, while always giving attention to those with the greatest need. In its first 25 years, ORT provided training to 25,000 Jews in 350 towns within the Russian Empire, vastly improving their quality of life. .
As time marched on, ORT’s training programs evolved to meet the changing needs of Jews as reflected by politics, war and industrialization. After World War I, ORT’s character and focus shifted from Russian Jewry to an organization that linked Jews from across the globe—first in Europe and later on other continents. ORT opened vocational and agricultural schools and encouraged industrial expansion by providing tools and training.
In 1921, the World ORT Union was formally established, followed by the founding of the American ORT Society (forerunner of American ORT) in 1922. As a new chapter began with the proclamation of the State of Israel (May 1948), the country’s gates flung open to Jewish refugees, now immigrants. ORT began operations and created workshops in Jaffa and Jerusalem to rehabilitate and train this influx.
During the second half of the 20th century, American ORT (formed in 1922) and Women’s American ORT (formed in 1927) were established to provide fundraising, and became a vital resource to ORT schools and training programs. Established in 2007, ORT America (a North American affiliate to World ORT) was created through a merger of the two former entities, and collectively raise funds for ORT schools and programs in the United States and around the world.
Today, ORT Works to offer skills and training and to some of the world’s most impoverished communities. With the assistance of its supporters, ORT helps communities meet the demands of a competitive job landscape - now and in the future - through its global network of educational institutions that deliver state-of-the-art education in technology, science and more.


All for strings is a comprehensive three-volume method surrounded by a wealth of supplementary materials for teaching and performance.This complete curriculum covers virtually every aspect of beginning through intermediate string study, emphasizing technical skills, rhythmic understanding, and quality musical experiences. Many of the National Standards for Music Education can be easily implemented into the classroom setting with the varied components All for Strings has to offer.
Book 1 provides a well-rounded course of study for all beginning string students. It begins with "Starting by Rote" and "Starting by Note" approaches to music reading. Photos, diagrams, and logos intergrated throughout the book reinforce all new concepts introduced. Carefully selected and composed technical materials and musical selections provide excellent opportunities for learning and growth. Rhythm exercises and theory games are also provided, as well as duets, trios, and ensembles.
Book 2 devotes many exercises and musical selections to the development of major and minor left hand finger patterns for all string players, as well as shifting for cellists and bassists. New bowing styles are introduced, and more advanced rhythm patterns are incorporated. As in Book 1, a great variety of solos, duets, trios. and ensembles are included - perfect for performance!


Mr. Michael Delahunt
Graphic Design 1 & 2
Alter a Photo of a Family Member
Find or take a photograph of one or more of your relatives, and bring it to school, so that you can digitize it with our scanner, and then make improvements / changes to it.
Such improvements might include:
- removing unwanted picture elements -- people, things, blemishes, scratches, spots, stains, etc.
- adjusting color, especially in a faded old photo
- replacing a background with another
making it more respectful, or funny, etc.
The photo might be of a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, great-uncle, great-aunt, great-great-great-great-great-great grandparent, or?
Be sure to get the cooperation / permission of any family members who might be interested in your use of the photo of your choice. This means asking for an "okay" from your mother to borrow a photo of her mother, even though she's your grandmother!
Don't bring the only photo, or a fragile photo, or an irreplaceable photo to school. Instead, bring a copy of any really precious photo, even if it's a Xerox copy.
Consider taking a picture of a picture, if it's large enough to allow you to get close enough to make it fill the viewfinder of your camera.
For a grade: Along with a printed copy of the original photo (as digitized), hand in one version that is a conservatively improved version of the photo, and a second version that is a wild or wierd one (funny, bizarre, or otherwise strange).
Having it in the classroom: Tuesday, November 6th.
Scanning it in the classroom: Friday, November 16th.
Making the final two versions and submitting them as prints, along with a print of the original photo to the teacher: Tuesday, November 27th.
Return to Graphic Design Course
ArtLex has thousands of articles about art terms used in art production, art criticism, art history, aesthetics, and art education. I created ArtLex for my students, to help them increase their understanding of art concepts, readings, writings, and conversations. Some of the hyperlinks found on the pages about my elementary art program will take you to ArtLex articles about terms on these pages.
I have taught art at three elementary schools in the Paradise Valley Unified School district (northeastern Phoenix and north Scottsdale) from 1986-. I began publishing information about my classes on the Web in 1995. I taught at Pinnacle High School during the 2001-2002 school year, and posted these lessons that year. I will maintain them as time permits.
Please send your comments to


Workshop offers help for parents in using basic mathematics
Parents went to Melrose Avenue School last week to learn mathematics. The presentation screen in the multi-purpose room welcomed the adults with a quote taken from legendary mathematician Albert Einstein, "Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
Math coach Jenn Clark presented the Jamestown Schools' newly adopted mathematics curriculum in a work session for parents on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Jan. 29 and 31. "We have just fully implemented a new K through 6 curriculum, and this workshop is enrichment for parents to help support children in the new approach," Clark said. The seventh and eighth grade students have new textbooks, as well, she added.
The new curriculum, called Everyday Mathematics, builds understanding and development of math skills through a series of connected learning experiences, Clark said. Through repeated exposure and practice of new math concepts, the learning curve spirals into more difficult and challenging content. "The curriculum approaches math in a different way. It's a spiral technique, and new concepts build on each other," Clark explained as she flashed a picture of a spiral staircase on the screen. "The concepts are constantly reintroduced so they are not forgotten."
Clark opened the workshop with a "What's My Rule?" task sheet. Number tables offered samples of computation practice at various grade levels. "A typical task in the curriculum includes a warm-up mental math activity," Clark said. Students are given a question to solve. They compute in their heads, and write down their answers. "It's a quick way to assess the student's ability," Clark said.
The math approach, developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, is based on research about how students learn and develop mathematical power, Clark explained. The research evidence about Everyday Mathematics shows that children who use EM tend to learn more mathematics and like it better than children who use other programs. "The curriculum introduces students to math concepts at a much younger age," she added.
Clark provided parents with a research summary on the math program. The summary offered extensive evidence proving the program's success, from feedback on standardized tests to reports from individual school districts that implemented the curriculum.
Clark admitted that the idea to show the strategies to parents came from the school administration. "Principal Kathy Almanzor and Superintendent Marcia Lukon thought that providing parents with the informational tools would be a big help," Clark said.
More than 50 parents attended the workshop event and were given opportunities to practice activities that their children typically experienced in the new math lessons. Clark sent the adults home with suggestions on good homework habits and games to play in math.
Clark has taught elementary education for 12 years. She taught sixth grade last year in Jamestown and feels comfortable with leading educators and instructing students in the new math approach. Her role as a math coach is to provide classroom teachers and other instructional staff members with strategies, tools, and techniques to teach math effectively to all students.


See E. J. Gleazer, Jr., This is the Community College (1968); C. R. Monroe, Profile of the Community College (1972).
Educational institution that provides up to two years of college-level academic, technical, and vocational instruction with emphasis on career preparation. Roots of the junior college may be traced to the Chautauqua movement and other adult-education programs created after the American Civil War. The first junior college opened in Joliet, Ill., in 1901. The vast majority of junior colleges are publicly supported; called community colleges, they offer a variety of flexible programs that are often nontraditional in style and content. They have pioneered in offering part-time study, evening sessions, instruction by television, weekend workshops, and other services for members of their communities. Students rarely live on campus. Graduates of junior or community colleges ordinarily earn an associate's degree. They then transfer to a four-year college or enter the workforce. Seealso continuing education.
Learn more about junior college with a free trial on Britannica.com.
In Canada, community colleges are usually simply referred to as "colleges". This is because in Canadian English, there is formal differentiation between the term "college" (referring to a community college) and a University, that is not present in American or British English. In the province of Quebec, they are called Cégeps for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education"
In Canada, and also in the United States, a community college, sometimes called a county college, junior college, technical college, or a city college, is an educational institution providing higher education and lower-level tertiary education, granting certificates, diplomas, and in the United States associate's degrees; in Canada, the associates' degree is rare and community colleges increasingly offer limited selections of specialized bachelor's degrees. The name derives from the fact that community colleges primarily attract and accept students from the local community, and are often supported by local tax revenue.
At the moment, most community colleges award qualifications up to Level 3 in the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (Certificate 3) in both the Skills sector (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia or the Malaysian Skills Certificate) as well as the Vocational and Training sector but the number of community colleges that are starting to award Level 4 qualifications (Diploma) are increasing. This is two levels below a Bachelor's degree (Level 6 in the MQF) and students within the system who intend to further their studies to that level will usually seek entry into Advanced Diploma programs in public universities, polytechnics or accredited private providers.
The concept of community college dates back to the time of the former Minister of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) that had under its wings the Bureaus of Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Higher Education and Vocational-Technical Education. MECS Secretary, Dr. Cecilio Putong, who in 1971 wrote that a community school is a school established in the community, by the community, an for the community itself. Dr. Pedro T. Orata of Pangasinan shared the same idea, hence the establishment of a Community College, now called the City College of Urdaneta.
In the Philippines:
In the UK:


NAHOUM, ḤAIM (1872–1960), chief rabbi of *Istanbul and *Cairo. Born in Manisa, Turkey, Nahoum moved to *Tiberias with his family and received his elementary education there. He then went to Smyrna, Turkey, where he was graduated from government high school, and then to Istanbul, where he studied law. Between 1893 and 1897 he studied at the rabbinical seminary in Paris, where he was ordained, and at the Higher Seminary for Semitic Languages of the Collège de France. When he returned to Istanbul, Nahoum was appointed secretary-general of the community committee and deputy director of the rabbinical seminary founded in 1898 by his father-in-law, R. Abraham *Danon. At the same time, he received a government appointment as history teacher in the Turkish Military Academy. At that time, he became acquainted with the "Young Turks" who were exiled in Paris, and when they seized power in the *Ottoman Empire in 1908 they appointed him chief rabbi of the Empire. In this position, Nahoum successfully intervened in favor of Jews in various localities of the Empire, especially in assuring government protection for them during World War I (it seems that it was due to him that the project of expelling the Jews from Jerusalem was averted). After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the removal of the "Young Turks" from power, Nahoum left Istanbul for Paris in 1920. In 1925 he was elected chief rabbi of Cairo, a post he held until his death. In June 1931 the king of Egypt appointed Nahoum a member of the Egyptian senate, and in 1933 he was appointed a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo. He was also awarded many honors by the governments of Turkey, Egypt, France, Austria-Hungary, and Ethiopia. Proficient in many languages, he engaged in research on the history of Egyptian Jewry. He also published – with a French translation, notes, and a glossary of Turkish terms – a collection of 1,064 firmans (decrees by the sultan) that had been sent to the rulers of Egypt between 1597 and 1904. This work is entitled Recueil de firmans impériaux (1934).
The Muslim World (Hartford, Conn.), 51 (1961), 233–4; M. Fargeon, Les Juifs en Egypte (1938), 202–3; M.D. Gaon, Yehudei ha-Mizraḥ be-Ereẓ Yisrael, 2 (1938), 461, 736; H. Rabbi Abraham, in: Haaretz (Dec. 16, 1960), 12; Nathan, in: JJSO, 6:2 (1964), 172, 187; A. Galanté, Histoire des Juifs d'Anatolie, 2 (1939), 98. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: E. Benbassa, Un Grand Rabbin Sépharade en politique, 1892–1923 (1990).
[Haim J. Cohen]
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.


|William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98)
Famous as Disraeli's rival and for their spirited debates, Gladstone had a long and distinguished
career in public service which began in 1832 when he entered Parliament as a Tory. Serving
there until 1895 except for a one year absence in 1846, he served in numerous governments
beginning with Peel's ministry in junior capacities.
Gladstone's first real office was that of president of the board of trade in Peel's second ministry
(1841-46). He was chancellor of the Exchequer in Aberdeen's government, cutting duties and
even attempting to abolish the income tax. His efforts failed due to the need for funds to carry
on the Crimean War. He served in Palmerston's second ministry in the same role (1859-65) again
effecting tax reductions. When Palmerston died, Gladstone stayed on as chancellor of the
Exchequer under Russell through 1866. In 1867, he followed Russell as leader of the Liberal
Gladstone became prime minister in 1868 and was an active legislator and reformer. He was
responsible for the diestablishment of the Church of Ireland (1869), an unsuccessful attempt to
bring peace to Ireland. He also carried the Irish Land Act (1870) which provided for
compensation for improvements to tentant farmers who were evicted by landowners. Gladstone
reforming legislation included the army. Cardwell's Army reform (1868) made peacetime
flogging illegal. In 1870, he was responsible for passage of Forester's Education Act, making
elementary education available to Welsh and English children between the ages of five and 13.
He passed the Ballot Act of 1872 which instituted secret ballots for local and general elections.
In 1873 he passed laws restructing the high courts.
Gladstone was replaced by Disraeli in 1874, ending his first ministry. As Opposition leader,
Gladstone was an active and vocal critic of Disraeli's policies. His re-election in 1879 for his
second ministry was a personal triumph, but his land and agricultural reforms were eclipsed by
wartime events. In 1881, the British suffered a stunning defeat in the first Boer War at the hands
of the Afrikaners under Kruger. Then in 1884, General Gordon was killed by Muhammad Ahmad
at the siege of Khartoum. Gordon had been sent to help evacuate Egyptian forces trapped in
Khartoum by the "Mahdi's revolt" a jihad started in 1881 with the in the Sudan.
Gladstone's third ministry, a short one lasting on six months (February to July, 1886) was one that
was overwhelmed by Irish affairs. Gladstone is converted to support home rule for Ireland. When
the bill is defeated, he resigns.
Gladstone's last term as prime minister saw the passage of an Irish home rule bill (1892) in the
Commons, which he first championed in his 1886 ministry, but the bill never made it through the
Lords. Gladstone resigned as a result, leaving office in 1894. He died four years later from
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About Open Access
The role of musical identities in the changing face of music education: How our learners can surprise us!
Lookup NU author(s)
Dr Anne Preston
Preston C, Preston A
Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
Centre for Learner Identity Studies (CLIS) Fourth Annual Conference on ‘Learner Identity’: Identity, State, Education
Edge Hill University, UK
Year of Conference
11-13 July 2012
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
The recently published National Plan for Music Education states that, “When young people make music together, they work toward a common goal that has the potential to change lives profoundly for the better” (2011:4). The plan supports this vision by proposing a more centralized approach where arts organizations, classroom teachers, specialist teachers and professional performers work in partnership for the good of ‘high quality’ music education provision. This aim encompasses a more specific emphasis on the importance of the socio-cultural context of music education and the significance and transferability of values acquired through music classroom ‘academic’ work in the broader framework of music in society and lifelong learning. Traditionally, approaches to music education have been based loosely around 3 distinct camps: what was practically possible within the context of the classroom; musical knowledge as a product in terms of underlying structures of music and a more holistic perspective, where the acquisition of relevant musical knowledge took place by treating the classroom as a microcosm of music-making practices and values present inside and outside the classroom walls (Swanwick, 1999). A recent addition to this third perspective, and one which has similarities to the national plan, is the Musical Futures model (Green, 2002, 2006, 2008). It is based on an understanding that a student can gain more from musical participation when given greater control over his or her learning. A central challenge is how to integrate such models into everyday classroom practice. This paper explores the micro-macro dimensions of school music in terms of exploring the relationship between the broader framework of music in society and lifelong learning and existing practices in the music classroom. It takes a learner-centred approach and probes the nature of musical knowledge through the co-construction of musical identities. In doing so, it shows how pupils working unsupervised demonstrate a whole range of musical skills and knowledge. It also shows how identity can be used a methodological tool more specifically for uncovering often surprising findings. The extent to which current learner-centred music classroom practices reflect the broader aims of the National Plan for Music Education will be explored by posing two research questions: 1. What can localized formations of learner musical identity reveal about the acquisition of musical knowledge in the music classroom? 2. What can localized formations of learner musical identity reveal about how this musical knowledge is co-constructed in classroom activities? In order to address these questions, the research draws on a micro-analytical framework to studying identity-as-context (Zimmermann, 1998). This approach treats identity as a socially constructed phenomenon rooted in the moment-to-moment dynamics of human interaction. It draws on the notion of ‘discourse identities’ to show how identity is activated, displayed, negotiated and processed in situated experience through discourse. The ‘identity-as-context’ framework enables a view of the development of musical identity during unsupervised collaborative activities in the music classroom. A discourse analysis approach is taken to analyse selected episodes from a series of group work activities. This analysis involves the identification of different ‘discourse identities’ which are then mapped onto the construction of specific roles and relationships in the discourse reflecting different musical identities Findings from the analysis point to a range of unexpected musical identities related to informal musical contexts outside the classroom. The findings also reveal how music collaborative contexts can foster localized identity formations that can extend to broader social relationships and values beyond the classroom. These findings can be used to support the notion that a lot of what already happens in the music classroom reflects the aims and objectives of the New National Plan for Music Education
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Children might have very clear reasons for their seemingly careless strokes on paper. They do not care if the houses they draw are bigger than the mountains in the frame. The cows could be blue in colour and the flowers, black. In representing the world through pencil strokes and colours, children have all the say.
While almost all children enjoy drawing and colouring, artists and art teachers wonder if schools give enough space and time for the teaching and learning of art.
A lot more could be done if more time was allocated, says R. Balasubramanian, art teacher at a Government Higher Secondary School. “We get one or two periods (45 minutes each) every week,” he says.
Since he feels that children ought to be oriented to different styles of traditional art while at school, Mr. Balasubramanian gives his students a few exercises they could work on throughout the week. “Some children come up with fascinating ideas. They observe the world around them keenly. We must encourage original thinking and give them the space to express themselves,” he says.
Artist Sangeetha Jaichandran, who independently trains youngsters in art, concurs. “All children need to get to do something that is not strictly part of the syllabus or for the purpose of examination. Art education allows them to do that,” she says.
Not all teachers give equal importance to art as a subject in school education, note some. The teacher of another government school, who did not wish to be named, says the attitude among some art teachers is also worrisome. “If art teachers see their subject as being inferior to other subjects, how will they teach with motivation?” she asks.
It is time they reflected on art curriculum, teachers observe. “A lot of us still resort to theme-based drawing where we want children to draw something based on or related to a particular topic given to them. Do we want to limit their imagination to those themes? We should allow them to explore new ideas as well,” says Mr. Balasubramanian.
According to a senior official of the School Education Department, the syllabus for art education will be revised soon. Senior artists and teachers will be involved in the exercise, he says.


About Storytime Share
The purpose of this site is to offer and to exchange ideas regarding storytimes that ARTICULATE early literacy information to adults. You can search, or browse by category or date.
Click Submit an Idea tab to submit your ideas and/or documents of handouts and/or whole storytime plans.
The purpose of this website is not to give instruction on the overall planning of storytimes. There are many resources for that. This website offers example of ways you can insert early literacy information for parents and caregivers into your storytimes. You can help them see how what you do and what they do or can do at home helps them to support their children’s early literacy development in enjoyable ways.
In any one storytime it is recommended that you concentrate on highlighting only one early literacy skill or component so as not to overwhelm the participants. We highlight the skill by giving three early literacy “asides” or tips directed to the adults, each about 30 – 45 seconds long. One model to follow is to have the three asides have different purposes, but all support the early literacy skill you have decided to highlight for that storytime. The first aside is the Explain Aside, the second is the Example Aside, and the last is the Empower Aside. See the following for explanations.
1. Explain Aside: At the beginning of your storytime, a bit of information concerning the early literacy skill that is being highlighted. For some examples, click on Explain Aside.
2. Example Aside: During the course of the storytime, point out something you are doing that relates to the skill you have chosen.
3. Empower Aside: At or near the end of the storytime, give an idea of something to do or repeat at home or at the child care center to relate it to the highlighted skill.
Each aside should be an “effective early literacy aside.” An effective aside gives a research-based reason for why or how an activity (repeating a phrase, asking open-ended questions) or practice (sing, talk, read, write, play) supports an early literacy component (phonological awareness, print conventions/awareness, letter knowledge, vocabulary, background knowledge—with or without use of the terms) or reading skill (decoding—recognizing words and relating letters and sounds to formulate words or comprehension).
Based on the second edition of Every Child Ready to Read® from the American Library Association, the early literacy components are
Phonological Awareness: the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words
Print Conventions/Awareness: knowing that print has meaning, how to handle a book, direction of print, environmental print
Letter Knowledge: knowing that the same letter can look different, that letters have names and represent sounds
Vocabulary: knowing the meanings of words
Background Knowledge–Content: what a child knows before entering school about various topics/subjects
Background Knowledge–Conceptual Thinking: what a child knows before entering school about concepts (size, shape, opposites, spatial relationships, etc.) and about thinking skills (making observations, hypothesizing, problem solving)
Background Knowledge–Book/Story Knowledge–Print Motivation: a child’s interest in and enjoyment of books and reading
Background Knowledge–Book/Story Knowledge–Narrative Skills: expressive part of language, ability to describe things, to recount events, to tell and retell stories
Early Literacy is what children know about communication, language (verbal and nonverbal), reading, and writing before they can actually read and write. Early literacy encompasses all of a child’s experiences with conversation, stories (oral and written), books, and print.
For further information on developing storytimes, start here:
and for the book Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library from ALA Editions:


The Incidence and Prevalence Database: Global Incidence, Prevalence, Morbidity, Comorbidity, Cost Data, Symptoms and Many Other Health Issues for over 4,500 Diseases and Procedures
- Language: English
- Published: September 2014
- Region: Global
This product is currently not available for purchase.
This study investigated fourth graders' understanding of rectangular solids made of small cubes through equal sharing activities involving cube buildings. A quasi-experimental design was utilized. In the first phase, clinical interviews were conducted individually to assess the level of functioning both in concrete and pictorial situations. In the second phase, they engaged in equal sharing of spatial constructions using drawings, concrete buildings, loose cubes, and colored pens. In the last phase, post-clinical interviews were conducted to probe their improvements. Students used three distinct conceptualizations for cube arrays depending on what they formed as a unit and how they structured the whole building. Initially, their structuring was distracted by the complexity of buildings and none of them used the same strategies consistently across the problems. During the instruction, they exhibited the same three conceptualizations. After the instruction, all students consistently used layering strategies regardless of the complexity of the buildings. Equal sharing situations paved the road in establishing units, composite units, and unit iteration.
Sinan Olkun is currently working for Ankara University, as a Professor of Mathematics Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Elementary Education. His area of interest includes children’s mathematical development, geometric thinking, spatial visualization and word problem solving.