The music education degree at Friends University was designed by music educators to develop teachers with the best skills and techniques for teaching music. Students also have excellent performing and learning opportunities to grow as musicians.
Music education professors at Friends have diverse education and fine arts backgrounds, all contributing to the well-rounded curriculum enjoyed by students. Successful students have passion for music and for teaching others.
The music education program prepares students to teach vocal and instrumental music in grades prekindergarten – 12. It is a four-year program that includes student teaching at both elementary and secondary levels. Graduates are licensed to teach by the state of Kansas after successfully completing the degree and passing the Principles of Learning and Teaching Exam (PLT). Other requirements include a 2.75 grade point average with no “D” grades in the major, a piano proficiency test, and a recital. Students also connect to the professional world of music teaching through involvement in state, regional and national organizations like Kansas Music Educators association, Kansas Choral Directors Association and the Collegiate chapter of the National Association of Music Education.
I teach kids important life and academic lessons, and I’m lucky that I’m able to do that through music.Danny Darrington, Music Educator
- The teacher education candidate will demonstrate an appropriate level of content and pedagogical knowledge.
- Demonstrate knowledge of content to be taught.
- Demonstrate knowledge of students’ skills, knowledge and prerequisite relationships.
- Demonstrate knowledge of content-related pedagogy.
- Demonstrate the ability to design coherent instruction.
- Demonstrate the ability to assess and evaluate student learning.
- Provide quality feedback to students and colleagues.
KSDE Standards 1, 2 and 3. KPTP Focus Area A: analysis of Contextual Information
- The teacher education candidate will develop and implement an appropriate learning environment where all students are engaged and on task.
- Recognize and implement factors related to development of a classroom environment of respect and rapport.
- Establish appropriate expectations for learning and achievement.
- Demonstrate the ability to manage common non-instructional duties.
- Demonstrate the ability to manage student behavior appropriately.
- Demonstrate the ability to engage all students in learning.
KSDE Standards 3, 4, 7, 11 and 12. KPTP Focus Area B: Analysis of Learning Environment Factors
- The teacher education candidate will appropriately implement and adapt instruction for diverse learners to ensure all learners meet expectations.
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and accurately.
- Demonstrate the ability to use questioning and discussion techniques appropriately.
- Demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness toward a diverse population.
- Demonstrate knowledge of age group characteristics.
- Demonstrate knowledge of students’ varied approaches to learning.
- Demonstrate knowledge of students’ interest and cultural heritage.
KSDE Standards 4, 11 and 12. KPTP Focus Area C: Instructional Implementation. KPTP Focus Area D: Analysis of Classroom Environment
- The teacher education candidate will demonstrate appropriate professional behaviors.
- Reflect on teaching and its effect on learners’ performance.
- Maintain accurate records of attendance, lesson completion, and student progress.
- Serve appropriately as student advocate.
- Communicate appropriately with families.
- Maintain cordial relationships with colleagues.
KSDE Standards 5, 6 and 8. KPTP Focus Area E: Analysis of Assessment Procedures. KPTP Focus Area F: Reflection and Self Evaluation
Select a Music Education, Bachelor of Music degree to see the required courses.
A degree in Music Education can be used in more ways than you may think. Take a look at some of the potential careers that can result from this area of study.Learn More
4-Year Career Plan
The path to your future career starts long before graduation. Learn what steps you need to take along the way to put you a step ahead.Read More
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She was one of the icons of American politics: A woman who was bold enough to chart her own course, often operating against the direction of political powers. In the end, Shirley Chisholm would become one of the most notable politicians in America.
In today's world, an era when there are 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, with 15 of them women, Chisholm’s pioneering role in American politics seems particularly dramatic. She was the first Black woman elected to Congress following her election in 1968. By 1972, she became even more steeped in the nation’s history by becoming the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In an interview with BET.com, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, who now represents much of the Brooklyn district that sent Chisholm to Congress, said her predecessor was “truly unbought and unbossed.”
Clarke added, “It was through her relentless dedication to public service that paved the way for women of color, like myself, to have the opportunity to serve in public office. She exceeded all expectations by defying both racial and gender biases when she launched her campaign for president of the United States 40 years ago.”
Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn to Caribbean parents. He father was from British Guiana and her mother was born in Barbados. She graduated from Girls High School and Brooklyn College and later received a master’s degree from Columbia University in elementary education.
That would be the field in which she would make her mark in the initial phase of her professional career. From 1953 to 1959, she worked as the director of the Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center. For the next five years, she was an educational consultant for the Division of Day Care.
But then, her passions led her to politics. And, in 1964, she was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing a district in central Brooklyn. After making her way in the male-dominated, rough-and-tumble world of Brooklyn politics, she became the Democratic candidate for a Congressional seat that was crafted by court order, after an upset victory over two Democratic stalwarts in the primary.
With her campaign slogan, “unbought and unbossed,” Chisholm ran in the general election against Republican candidate James Farmer, a civil rights activist who was the initiator of the 1961 Freedom Ride and a co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality. She was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1968.
She became one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. As a freshman, Chisholm was assigned to the House Agricultural Committee, which she found to be irrelevant to the concerns of her Congressional district, which was anchored in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
"Apparently all they know here in Washington about Brooklyn is that a tree grew there," she said in a statement at the time. "Only nine black people have been elected to Congress, and those nine should be used as effectively as possible."
She railed against the seniority system, stunning many by insisting on being reassigned to another committee. By some shrewd political maneuvering, she prevailed, getting a highly coveted seat on the House Education and Labor Committee and becoming the third highest-ranking member when she retired from Congress.
Chisholm became well known for hiring women in her Congressional office, with half of those being African-American. She often said that she encountered far more discrimination as a result of being a woman than she did for being Black.
By 1972, she set her sights on running for president, knowing full well the long-shot nature of such a campaign. She amassed a total of 152 votes on the first ballot for the nomination, which went to South Dakota Senator George S. McGovern. She did not win any primaries. Some years later, however, she said that the campaign for president had been an important “catalyst for change.”
She announced her retirement from Congress in 1982 and went on to work in education, teaching politics and women’s studies and working at Mount Holyoke College. Chisholm, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was also a visiting scholar at Spelman College. In 1990, she was part of a group that formed the African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as ambassador to Jamaica, but she declined due to poor health.
Chisholm, who was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, retired and moved to Ormand Beach, FL, where she died in 2005 at the age of 80.
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S1 to S3 - CfE PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical Education provides learners with a platform from which they can build physical competencies, improve aspects of fitness as well as developing personal and inter-personal skills and attributes. It enables learners to develop the concepts and skills necessary for participation in a wide range of physical activities.
Activities included in the S1-3 curriculum are: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Dance, Fitness, Football, Gymnastics. Hockey, Rugby, Social Dance and Volleyball.
Pupils receive two periods a week of physical education and will do 4 week rotation of activities. Pupils are taught in their PSR groups of mixed sex and ability. Assessment is in line with the CFE experiences and outcomes at Levels 3 and 4.
This enhances their physical well-being for leading a fulfilling, active and healthy lifestyle. They encounter a variety of practical learning experiences including working on their own, with a partner and in small and large groups, using small and large equipment and apparatus.
Due to the practical nature of the subject there is no homework issued in S1-3. However pupils will be responsible for keeping a record book detailing their experiences and achievements in the subject.
Continuous supportive assessment takes place throughout S1, S2 and S3.
Consistency in Effort is encouraged in all pupils at all times and in all activities.
All pupils are expected to bring appropriate kit for all lessons. This includes White or blue t-shirt, black or navy shorts/trousers or leggings and suitable sports shoes. Pupils will be working outside all year round so should ensure they have suitable kit for the conditions.
Literacy and Numeracy
In Physical education pupils will develop there numeracy skills through activities such measuring, timing, scorekeeping and calculating training zones. They will develop literacy skills through communication and peer evaluation activities.
Pupils who successfully complete the BGE may progress to the National 5 course and beyond.


So recently I have been blogging about things related to the future, the hoverboard and Star Wars.
The “real” future is happening in tech and education and it is all due to the Maker Movement.
What is the Maker Movement and why should you care!?!
The Maker Movement began with independent inventors, designers and tinkers that create and market products that are recreated out of raw, unused, or discarded materials. The “Maker” is a fusion of a tech hacker and artisan, a 21st century renaissance person that thrives in an open infrastructure of increasing knowledge due to the internet and decreasing costs of electronic materials. And voila! We have portable 3D printers and a generation of child coders.
I love what Open Bionics, from the UK is doing with 3D printing and affordable prosthetics. Imagine a child born with no arms or losing an arm and having it replaced with Iron Man’s hand, a Jedi lightsaber hand, or Queen Elsa’s snowflake hand. To see the joy and confidence in that child’s face is priceless. That is just what Open Bionics has done. They have created Disney-inspired bionic hands that are affordable for for amputee kids. Check out their story.
Open Bionics has recently created a special 3D arm for the ‘Fashion Finds the Force’ fashion collection, which will be auctioned off for charity. There is a strong connection between robotic prosthetics and Luke Skywalker. In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, just before Vader drops his famous lineage bombshell, he severs Luke’s lightsaber-wielding forearm and is later replaced with a bionic arm, which he is seen flexing in the final moments of the film. Definitely an awe inspiring moment, especially for amputee children.
Not only is the Maker Movement creating they are also teaching. In Hong Kong, Michelle Sun from First Code Academy is teaching children as young as kindergarten how to code. With all the technology available to children such as tablets and smartphones it only makes sense that coding be a fundamental part of primary school curriculum. Check out what our friends from Codecademy had to say about it.
Just as English, Spanish and Mandarin are universal languages, coding is the future universal language. Coding will also prepare our children for a world dominated by robots and computers, oh my!
So why should we care about the Maker Movement? Because it inspires this generation and the next to build a brighter future for all.


Marco Polo was a merchant explorer born in Venice, Italy in 1254. He belonged to a noble family of Venetian merchants. His father Niccolo Polo and uncle Maffeo Polo were jewel merchants and went to china in 1266 to set up a trading business. Marco Polo was not the first European to travel to Asia but surely one of the first Europeans to describe many of the advanced technologies found in China. He started his first trip to Asia in 1271 at the age of 17 years. He travelled to the Mongol empire in China with his father and uncle. Their journey took around four years.
Quick Facts: –
- Marco Polo was a major influence on other explorers like Christopher Columbus.
- He stayed in China for 17 years with his father and uncle and worked as envoys for the great Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.
- He introduced Europe to the concept of paper currency and some animals like Chow Chows, musk deer etc.
- He returned to Venice in 1295, after 24 long years.
- There was a conflict going on between Venice and Genoa. Marco Polo joined Venetian army and he was captured and put in a jail for about 1 years.
- During his imprisonment, he met another prisoner Rustichello da Pisa who was a famous romance writer.
- Polo told his travel stories to the person who wrote all the stories under the name ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’.
- The book was printed in three different languages: – French, Italian and Latin.
- He married Donata Badoer in 1300. They had three daughters together.
- Marco Polo was a Christian.
- He died on January 8, 1324 and was buried in the Church of San Lorenzo in Venice.
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Awesome ARRAYS ideas
Shape Math Activities for Kids - So many fun ways for preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade kids to explore geometric shapes in this stem activities for kids.
Turn a Cardboard Box into an Epic Marble Run
Starting a Bullet Journal - tips and suggestions
Super fun and simple science for kids. Make the water cycle in a bag!
Age Appropriate Chores for kids with free printable chore charts.
The Medieval time period is a fascinating part of history - here are some kids activities to learn all about it.
Numeral recognition... from Rachel (",) (Could make more creative - "2 Eyes... 5 Flowers..." etc.
Store and organize board games with a repurposed hanging sweater rack! Great idea they take up so much space!
Scrapbook paper out of control? Use this IKEA Hack: Trones Shoe Holders are the perfect size and shape for holding all of your paper! Plus it takes up so little space in your craft room.


Celebrity Chef Links Cooking, Math Learning
In a blog post earlier this month, I asked why STEM learning needed to be "real world," kicking off an interesting discussion in the comments section and on Twitter about connecting science, technology, engineering, and math learning to careers.
It seems Scholastic is aiming to make those connections concrete with a series of "webisodes" showing reality-TV celebrities using math in their professions.
The newest 30-minute online episode of [email protected], scheduled to air April 29, will feature chef Carla Hall, who gained fame on "Top Chef" and is now a co-host on "The Chew." (I admit it. I'm a big fan of Carla, perhaps why this caught my eye.) She will challenge culinary-arts students to cooking competitions, giving them recipe conversions and other math problems along the way. Here's a preview:
Apparently Michelle Obama will make an appearance as well, along with White House executive chef Sam Kass, to deliver a message about the importance of healthy eating and cooking. Kass and the first lady partnered on the Let's Move campaign to encourage healthy lifestyles.
A previous webisode featured fashion guru Tim Gunn of "Project Runway" showing the link between clothing design and math problem-solving.
Teachers can get free lesson plans, which Scholastic touts as common-core aligned, to go with the online episodes. (As we have noted many times at Education Week, claims of alignment to the standards don't always pan out.)
The lessons are aimed at students in grades 5 and up.
Obviously there are plenty of programs now making these real-world connections explicit. But this one seemed particularly fun. If you're a teacher and decide to watch, please do check back and let us know how it went.


Middle School: Grades 6-8
As students arrive on the cusp of adolescence, the rigorous Waldorf Middle School program challenges their emerging thinking, reasoning, and inquiry. On an ever-deepening base of foundational skills, students explore the world without and within. Continuing artistic work in diverse fields (fine, practical, and performing arts) hones the powers of perception and develops skillfulness in the context of a rigorous practice. Pasadena Waldorf middle school students also have opportunities to experience themselves within the context of a wider social group during curricular and extra-curricular activities that bring together the whole the middle school.
Core curriculum includes:
History. From Rome, through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Age of Enlightenment, revolutions, industrialization, into modern times students trace the development of Western civilization to the present.
English. Foundational skills in vocabulary, grammar, composition, writing of reference papers are developed. Elements of poetry and figurative language, including ballads, sonnets, epics, Chaucer and Shakespeare, short stories, modern American and British novels and plays are explored.
Geometry. Geometric drawing with instruments, plane geometry, solid geometry, and Platonic Solids.
Mathematics. Percents, ratio, proportion, areas, formulas, algebra from the simple equation through quadratics, powers and roots, binary system, inequalities, numerical trigonometry, probability, logic and problem-solving.
Geography. Western Hemisphere and the poles, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, oceans and winds of the world, world economic geography.
Natural sciences. Mineralogy, geology, astronomy, meteorology, human physiology and anatomy.
Physics. Optics, acoustics, heat, electricity, magnetism, hydraulics, mechanics.
Chemistry. Combustion, lime cycle, acids, bases and salts, metals, and chemistry of foodstuffs.


SQ3R is a helpful reading comprehension mnemonic--
S= Survey the text
Q= Question about the text
R= Read the text (using reading strategies like visualization, main idea/details, author's purpose, inferences, making connections, etc.)
R= Recite the text (take notes, highlight key parts, answer questions)
R= Review the text throughout the week (study skills)
Introduce and reinforce reading fiction and non-fiction comprehension strategies posters with this fun twist on the SQ3R Reading Strategy!
Students create paper toolboxes to store their reading comprehension tools. Each reading tool is pictured with a description of a reading strategy.
The tools are listed with strategies on full pages. For smaller versions, print multiple copies per sheet.
Use to introduce comprehension strategies, and allow students to reference their toolboxes for independent practice. These also may be used as colorful classroom posters!
-Paper toolbox foldable template with directions
-5 posters describing tools correlated to reading comprehension strategies (Survey=Goggles, Question=Screwdrivers, Read=Construction Book, Recite=Pick, Review=Hammer) and descriptions on how to use them
-Name tags (two choices) to glue on front of toolboxes
Thanks for visiting!
Thank you so much for downloading this product! I hope it helps you and your students! This product is licensed for one teacher or one classroom. Sharing, redistributing, selling, or posting this item on the Internet is prohibited without prior permission from the author. If you use, please credit back to my TPT Store http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Peach-for-the-Teach


Our innovative interactive programs bring a wealth of music, dance, and cultural diversity (from classical cello to blues harmonica to Swedish mouth music to classical Indian dance) to schools and groups of all ages. Students develop collaborative, communication, and character skills as our artists demonstrate, and encourage students to adopt, the open-minded, brave, humble attitudes inherent in making art with people different from oneself.
World on a String
World on a String, a full-day workshop adaptable to shorter and longer programs at all levels, explores the wide variety of world music played on strings and other instruments, including the body as musical instrument (percussive dance, singing, mouth percussion).
Figure & Ground
Figure & Ground, our newest program (in development), is an in-depth school residency exploring the relationship of heritage, creativity, community, and perspective. Resident artists work with school faculty across disciplines to carry out this theme. Students learn and create cross-cultural music and dance, culminating in a public concert.
The Dovetail Ensemble
The Dovetail Ensemble presents an exciting array of programs in cross-cultural music education for all levels. Students learn more about their own musical and cultural heritages while broadening their experience and gaining skills in musical, verbal, and non-verbal communication.
Interactive performances for all levels provide:
- an energetic program of song, instrumental music, and dance
- a real-time window into the process of arranging
- audience involvement in creating new music
- a welcoming introduction to diverse scales and rhythms
Classroom programs can be tailored to grades K-12:
Bigger Than Life: Creating a Soundtrack
Starting with an Appalachian or blues ballad, we’ll find sounds to illustrate the story. Then we’ll use hand and foot movement to link sounds into rhythms, explore the sounds of the presenters’ instruments, and create a new “soundtrack” for the story.
An adventurous and playful way to understand the basics of meter, this workshop uses movement, hand and foot percussion, and voice to explore the many varieties of triple meter, and of triplets within duple meter.
Step Right Up
Percussive dance leads the way into an exploration of the wealth of ways melody is made in world music. From the natural scales of Scandinavia to the variable blues scale to modern microtonal music, students will explore the creation of melody through a movement- and voice-based approach. Listening skills will be developed by identifying pitch and steps in various kinds of music.
Orchestra clinics and master classes include
- cross-cultural approaches to scale and melody
- bass lines and accompaniment for melody players
- movement-based approaches to rhythm


Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is the process that offers relief from removal for undocumented residents who meet certain conditions. When parents and families are approved through DACA, they are able to work legally. They also do not need to worry about being immediately deported. Those who received DACA approval in 2012 will need to reapply for another two-year period.
Use this toolkit from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to learn more about DACA eligibility. It outlines the process new and current DACA recipients need to follow to apply. Agencies who work with undocumented residents can use this toolkit to raise awareness about DACA and its process. It offers tips around the critical reapplication process for people who were DACA-approved in 2012. Select this link for the complete version of the DACA Toolkit: Resources for Community Partners [PDF, 969KB]
Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center


A partnership that is improving reading, writing and mathematics skills among young Indigenous students is also building better teaching skills among ACU students.
"Much has been written about the 'gaps' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students' learning," said Faculty of Education Research, Research Training and Partnerships Professor Elizabeth Warren.
To bridge these gaps, we must acknowledge that there are also gaps in "white knowledge", and recognise that there are "white ways" of thinking and communicating.
The project began in 2007 with seven preparatory teachers in five schools in Cairns, focusing on building oral language capacity and ensuring that the language used by teachers for literacy and numeracy was being understood. The children, aged four and five, were helped to become more familiar with the Standard Australian English language used in schools.
"Indigenous students come to school with different knowledge bases and different ways of learning, but they are very capable learners," Professor Warren said. "This project endeavours to reach these students, recognise their different ways of learning, and acknowledge their home languages.
"It is up to the white educational community to recognise its own inadequacies and prejudices and begin to work out ways that we can effectively allow Indigenous students to engage in 'our' conversations while maintaining a respect for their ways of being and their knowledge and understandings."
Both Independent Schools Queensland and the Cairns Catholic Diocese have backed the project, offering financial support to extend it beyond the original funding provided by the University's Mathematics and Literacy Education Flagship.
This year the project has been extended to eight Year 1 classrooms, with Commonwealth funding received through the Whole of School Intervention Strategy and the Parent School Partnership Initiative. Schools from all education sectors are now participating, including two independent schools, three from the Cairns Catholic Diocese and one state school, with two catering exclusively for Indigenous students.
One of the partners, Djarragun College, an independent Anglican school for Indigenous children, also involves older siblings in the program, such as Patrina Dick, pictured above with her brother Zakeil.
Professor Warren and School of Education (Queensland) senior lecturer Dr Janelle Young have provided professional learning sessions for current teachers and visited their classrooms as they trialled new strategies and teaching resources.
"Indigenous students come to school with different knowledge bases and different ways of learning, but they are very capable learners."
The involvement of parents and relatives has been particularly important, with workshops concentrating on developing children's literacy and numeracy skills using everyday learning experiences in the home.
"Most of the parents are very enthusiastic and welcome the opportunity to be involved in a practical and genuinely helpful way," Dr Young said, adding that educators must form and maintain partnerships with community members, and continue to welcome the involvement of Indigenous parents, working closely with them to enhance their children's learning.
All preparatory aged children who took part in 2007 showed improvements in their knowledge and understanding of literacy and numeracy. Indigenous students showed high levels of growth in both areas.
The project, which underlines the importance of respecting cultural practices and home languages, demonstrates the ability of all young children, when they engage with their teachers and parents, to expand their spoken language capabilities to support the growth of their knowledge in literacy and numeracy.
Page last updated: 2017-06-28
Short url: http://www.acu.edu.au/115131


Imagine trying to learn how to read, build any intellectual skill or make sense of things in a world that doesn't seem to speak your language. That is what learning is generally like for kids with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who are taught in conventional ways. The best reading and phonics programs for autistic kids are those designed specifically to meet the unique needs of this special population.
ASD Learning Style
The majority of kids with ASD are primarily visual learners who tend to struggle with auditory skills. According to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, most autistic kids are 90% visual learners and only 10% auditory learners. Autistic kids also benefit from kinesthetic activities that allow them to learn while doing. Since conventional reading and phonics instruction is typically geared for auditory learners, it is largely ineffective for kids with ASD. Reading and phonics programs designed for kids with autism are most effective when they present information visually and provide opportunities for kinesthetic reinforcement of skills. Multi-sensory methods of instruction are ideal because they cater to all learning styles.
Using a multi-sensory approach, the Reading Horizons Program delivers explicit and sequential reading and phonics instruction that allows autistic kids to master simple concepts first and reinforces each skill while gradually moving on to more complex concepts. Reading Horizons focuses on the visual strengths of autistic learners by offering visual cues to aid the learning of sounds and words.
PCI Reading Program
The PCI Reading Program is ideal for visual learners like autistic kids because it relies heavily on visual discrimination of word parts and whole words. In each of the program’s three levels, learners are given explicit instruction with ample opportunities for practice and assessment of skills. The phonics system and word recognition training within the PCI Reading Program use repetition and hands-on practice to help transform nonreaders into readers.
See the Sound
The See the Sound Program consists of a visual phonics system that helps autistic and other nonverbal learners to master phonics by using hand cues and symbols to represent sounds. A unique hand cue is linked to each of the 46 sounds found in the English language. The connection between each hand cue and its corresponding sound is reinforced by a written symbol that depicts the hand cue.
Reading Rocks caters specifically to visual learners who struggle with phonics. The Reading Rocks program harnesses the visual strengths of its learners by teaching through pictures, magnetic shapes, flashcards and activity sheets. Autistic kids benefit from the Reading Rocks Program because it gives them an opportunity to be visually and physically involved in each learning activity.
- Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images


We think kids should learn AND have fun at the same time. Many art projects have an educational slant that reinforces and even, in some cases, introduces children to aspects of STEM. Of course, we LOVE ART so you know that's what we're here to talk about.
Some reasons to pull out the markers, crayons and paint -
Short and long term benefits:
- Art promotes abstract thinking
- Art helps develop problem solving skills
- Art helps develop individuality
- Art encourages inventiveness
- Art helps children build confidence in their abilities
Long term benefits:
- Creativity is the number one skill sought after by Fortune 500 business leaders according to a 2010 IBM survey
So why Visual Art and Why should you invest in visual art enrichment?
Visual arts teaches us to think outside the box and to create a new one, to let our hair down, that sometimes there is no right or wrong answer or way; to trust your instincts, to improvise, to visualize the results we want to achieve, to formulate a plan to achieve those results, and to just do it; to interpret when necessary, and to mimic when appropriate, to view the world in new ways; that the world is beautiful even if our current circumstance isn’t; and it teaches us a hobby so when we’re alone we aren’t bored. Visual art encourages abstract thinking, self development and awareness, and encourages exploration of the world.
And that's just the beginning!
We couldn't possibly list all the benefits of an art education but research has proven art education helps improve grades in other school subjects. And for the little ones, development of fine motor skills, self-awareness and awareness of the world around them, and decision making skills are some of the perks of art exploration.
These are skills needed in life and in future work endeavors. Visual art touches everyone’s life everyday just like reading, writing and math therefore, it is just as worthy of being learned and with as much zeal.


Help Struggling Readers Improve Reading Ability
A Better Future Learning Center is at the forefront in scientific research that is most effective for helping struggling readers improve their reading skills. This is why our students experience rapid improvement.
Is Your Child Frustrated at School? See video below to learn how our tutoring program helps struggling readers to:
1. gain 2-4 years quickly.
2. bring D and F grades up to A’s and B’s.
3. lose labels (except the genius label).
4. gain confidence.
Eight Ideas to Get Your Child Excited About Reading here
Diane McGuiness explains about the most effective way to teach and learn how to read, through Synthetic Phonics.
Call now for an appointment
The Truth About Learning to Read
There are a lot of misconceptions about learning to read that are predominant among parents and even teachers. Many parents wake up one morning to find out that their child is struggling with reading.
They can’t understand it, it was not long ago that Johnny was reading at the top of his class. Not only that, he scored so high on his standardized test. How could this happen? Sure, he was beginning to slow down a little at second grade, but he was still at the top of his class. How could everything fall apart in such a short period of time? More
Check Back With us For More Valuable Information to learn how to improve reading skills
When the book “Why Johnny Can’t Read” came out, phonics instruction was all the rage. Then when phonics instruction failed many people became frustrated. We have informative articles that explain the problems and the solutions. Visit us often for further updates and tips for struggling readers.


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Charlotte – Mecklenburg Schools Lead the Nation in Preschool Education Programs
By Stacy Andell for http://www.schoolsk-12.com
One program in Charlotte Schools is focusing on the littlest learners. Recognizing that good learners begin early, education officials have developed an award winning preschool program called Bright Beginnings.
The Bright Beginnings program involves full day, literacy based programs for four year olds in the Charlotte – Mecklenburg area. More than 3000 students benefit from the program at five education centers and fourteen elementary schools. Over time the program has spread beyond the public school system and has been integrated into preschool classrooms throughout the community by partnering with the Smart Start, Child Care Resources, Child Care Centers, and More at Four programs, which all target the education needs of preschool students.
Developing Pre – K Experiences
Teachers and program developers recognize the need for enriching experiences at the preschool level. Students at this age have very limited opportunities to explore the world around them, and the Bright Beginnings Program hopes to change that. By exposing children to new and different things, program developers believe that they can strengthen student vocabulary, a skill that they hope will carry over when the students learn to read. While many of these new experiences take place in the classroom, Bright Beginnings also encourages students with field trips to local learning centers, such as Discovery Place and ImaginOn.
Aligning Pre – K with Elementary Education Curriculum and Instruction
Bright Beginnings has recently been incorporated under the North Carolina State Elementary Education Curriculum and Instruction area. Teachers hope to build connections between what they do in the Bright Beginnings program and what students will need to do when they enter kindergarten. The new partnership seeks to produce students entering kindergarten who are better prepared to learn and kindergarten teachers with a clearer idea of what their students have been exposed to and how they can build on that knowledge as they move through kindergarten. The program has the potential to raise student achievement at every grade level, as better prepared students advance year to year. Bright Beginnings recognizes that as Elementary Education Standards increase, preschool student curriculum must as well. As the director of the program explains, “(Children) are expected to learn more. The standards have increased, not just in college and high school but in kindergarten too.”
Professional Development for Teachers
As part of Bright Beginnings commitment to preschool education, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has used federal and state grant money to ensure that the teachers working in the program are highly trained and qualified. All teachers must be certified in early child development, meaning that they have studied children from birth to kindergarten.
National Recognition for Bright Beginnings
Several years ago, Bright Beginnings sold its award winning curriculum to Pearson Publishing. Through this partnership, the curriculum has been distributed nationwide and continues to grow in neighborhoods far from the Charlotte – Mecklenburg area. The director of the program credits Bright Beginning’s success to the continued dedication of teachers and developers to work towards better learning practices. She comments, “We’ve started some new things and we’re going to continue to build them. We have gotten great marks for our curriculum for years. (Charlotte – Mecklenburg Schools) is a leader in the nation.”
About the Author: Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more on Charlotte schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/North-Carolina/Charlotte/index.html


Is it nature?
Were they born “gifted” with amazing musical ears…
Or did they work hard to achieve them?
In most cases, musicians who have significantly better ears than their peer group (for example the 12-year-old who can transcribe complex music by ear, or the jazz saxophonist whose improvisations are significantly more impressive and musical than the others in his class) have had better ears from an early age.
There are a number of factors which influence how good your ears are at understanding music, and how effectively you put that understanding to use in your music.
Factor 1: Early music education
There is some debate over whether musical ability is genetic, but one thing is clear: a child born to musical parents and raised in a way which promotes music learning and enjoyment of music will grow up more “naturally musical” than a child whose upbringing does not feature music.
It’s rare that a musical prodigy appears without some family history of musical talent. In most cases the children of composers are raised playing instruments from an early age, and encouraged to expect that they will become great musicians. These children grow up surrounded by music and plenty of opportunities to develop their musical ear, and by the time their peers get started learning music they are already years ahead of the curve.
When you next meet a musician with impressive ears, ask them whether they had much music education growing up. You’ll probably learn that they came from a household filled with music!
Factor 2: Dedication and Determination
For those who don’t have a “headstart” with early music education, the path to great ears is one of determined ear training practice.
Some musicians will practice this consciously, choosing ear training exercises which build the musical listening skills they covet. Others will simply incorporate careful active listening into every music practice session and develop their ears passively yet quickly.
The best musicians are constantly listening, learning from what they hear, and applying these new lessons in their music playing.
Whether or not you have had the jumpstart that musical parents or childhood music lessons can provide, you can follow the path to great ears by dedicating yourself to regular ear training.
Factor 3: The X-Factor
The third factor is that mysterious “X-Factor”: the talent which magically seems to imbue some people with the “gift” of music.
Just one problem: just like the ROUS, we don’t believe it really exists.
In most cases what gets called “talent” really boils down to charisma – and some combination of Factors 1 and 2 above.
The “gifted” musician more than likely had an excellent early music education and improved their ears even further with determined ear training practice. Wrap that headstart and gritty determination up with an attractive persona and “pop star” charisma, and it suddenly seems effortless: a magic “gift” (instead of the down-to-earth hard work truly responsible!)
Whether you believe that an “X-Factor” is responsible for great musical ears or not, there is no question that Factors 1 (start early) and 2 (work hard) are the most effective way to develop your own superb musical ears.
Want to become more musical?
Whether you want to sing in tune, play by ear, improvise, write your own songs, perform more confidently or just make faster progress, first you need to know where you're starting from.
The Musicality Checklist will quickly reveal your personal musicality profile and how you can improve your natural musicianship.
Available FREE today!


Key Stage 2
Our Key Stage 2 curriculum provides a seamless transition from first to middle school. By working closely with our feeder schools, we ensure that each child makes rapid progress from their starting points and that they benefit from a wide range of relevant, challenging and stimulating experiences. Particular emphasis is given to the development of strong literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils are assessed at an early stage and immediate, specialised support is implemented where necessary to accelerate progress in reading, writing and numeracy.
When pupils join Year 5, most will already have met key staff through our programme of first school visits and have had the opportunity to spend time at Hexham Middle School as part of our summer transition days.
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3 we continue to build upon the firm foundations provided by our excellent Year 5 and Year 6 team.
The Key Stage 3 curriculum provides a broad and balanced blend of academic, creative, active and technological subjects that bring out the best in each individual. At the same time, we continue to ensure that every pupil continues to make outstanding progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and numeracy by emphasising these skills across the curriculum. Pupils who display talents in these areas are also given the opportunity to compete against young people from other schools by taking part in competitions such as the UK Mathematics Challenge and the regional Literacy Quiz.
Throughout Key Stages 2 and 3, the knowledge and skills developed in the classroom are further enhanced by a wide range of educational visits to theatres, historic monuments and other sites of educational interest and value.
We encourage our pupils to have a broader understanding of society, religious diversity and healthy lifestyles through a comprehensive PSHE programme that is undertaken by all year groups on a weekly basis.


Solar System – The Sun and Planets
Have you ever looked at the stars at night and wondered about what’s up there? Space is a big place with a lot to explore. At the center of our solar system is the Sun. Around the Sun orbit eight planets, as well as stars, bits of dust, comets and meteoroids. We live in a spiral galaxy known as the Milky Way.
The Sun is huge. It makes up 98 percent of the matter in the solar system. Because of its weight, it has the most gravity. It pulls everything in the solar system toward it. At the same time, the planets pull against that force. Because of this push-pull effect, we don’t get too close to the sun or too far away. Instead, we orbit around the Sun at a predictable pace and location.
Fun Facts about the Solar System for Kids
- The planets nearest the Sun – Mercury, Venus and Earth – lie in the inner solar system. The other planets, as well as asteroids and space junk, lie in the outer solar system.
- The planets nearest the Sun are called terrestrial planets because they are made of solid matter. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called the gas giants. They don’t have a solid surface.
- The asteroid belt is an area between Jupiter and Mars where thousands of bits of matter and comets orbit. Some of these pieces are no larger than a speck of dust. Others are 100 miles across or more. Some even have their own moons.
- Scientists have several theories about how the solar system began. Some believe that the solar system was formed when huge clouds of dust and gas collapsed, creating a circular motion sort of like water going down the drain. From these collapsed clouds grew the Sun, planets and stars. People argue over how the process started. Many people believe God created the universe. Others believe the process started by itself.
- The solar system has eight recognized planets, but it has over 100 smaller worlds. Some of these have lakes of liquid methane or erupting volcanoes. Europa has an ocean of water.
- The planets nearest the Sun are smaller than those at the edge of the solar system. The planets nearest the Sun are made of rock and dust. Those near the edge are mostly gas or liquid.
- The planets of the solar system include Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto was previously thought of as a planet. It is now thought of as a dwarf planet. It sits in the Kuiper belt, which includes comets, dust and other dwarf planets. The Kuiper belt lies on the edge of the solar system.
- The moon is made of rock. Since the beginning of mankind, people have watched and studied it.
Solar System Vocabulary
- Orbit: a circular path controlled by gravity
- Galaxy: a huge solar system made up of stars, planets, dust and a central star
- Collapse: falling in on itself
Learn More All About the Solar System, the Sun and Planets
Watch and listen to this fun solar system video:
A video song all about the solar system.
Solar System Q&A
Question: Are there other solar systems?
Answers: Scientists believe there are trillions of other stars like the Sun, which have their own solar systems. It’s quite possible that some of these solar systems may contain life.
Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about the Solar System info? Take the FREE & fun all about the Solar System quiz and download FREE all about the Solar System worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.
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Academic essentialism is an educational philosophy whose adherents consider that kids should learn the traditional primary subjects and that these must be realized totally and rigorously. Such statements are often requested of nominees for educating awards or candidates for funds for revolutionary educational initiatives. For some purposes, including a section on one’s private progress as a instructor can also be necessary in a statement of instructing philosophy. Within the absence of an satisfactory philosophy of life, the tactic of teaching employed by the teacher could repel the student from the subject.
His recognition, however, sharply declined after the Soviets launched Sputnik, for Dewey and progressive training have been blamed for the USA dropping the race into house (illustrating the purpose about scapegoating made earlier). As was harassed at the outset, the sector of schooling is large and accommodates inside it a just about inexhaustible variety of points which are of philosophical curiosity.
Plato’s writings contain among the following concepts: Elementary education can be confined to the guardian class till the age of 18, adopted by two years of obligatory military training after which by larger training for many who qualified. This experience leads us to develop the intellectual flexibility, tolerance, and curiosity which can be essential to democratic participation in American society. Explore Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy of education and provides some sensible examples for educators. At the age of 30 there could be one other selection; those who qualified would study dialectics and metaphysics , logic and philosophy for the subsequent five years. To be a profitable teacher it is for him to know the philosophy of schooling and its associated components.
Steiner’s principle of kid improvement divides education into three discrete developmental levels predating however with shut similarities to the levels of growth described by Piaget Early childhood training occurs through imitation; teachers present practical activities and a healthy environment.


Music & Art
St. Gabriel Catholic School and Parish support the recognition of the Arts as essential in the foundation of a basic education.
Students develop a knowledge base in the following elements of music:
- Students master basic music theory and notation.
- Students develop a knowledge base of basic vocal technique and performance.
Our music program is strongly based in vocal music, with concerts given in the school year. We offer a band program which includes individual
instruction on band instruments as well as guitar and piano for student in grades 5-8, and instrumental recitals.
Students develop a knowledge base in the following area of visual arts
- Paper Art
Students are exposed to a knowledge base of art history, cultural art and careers in art. Art education teaches visual literacy. Student art work is showcased throughout the school year and Middle school students participate each year in the Richfield Lion’s Club Peace Poster.


The human brain is composed of two hemispheres, which function like two networked computers. The left hemisphere receives motor and sensory input from the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere receives input from the left side of the body. When we bring the two systems together and begin the task of developing harmony and synchrony, the first step is to achieve an efficient balance between the two sides of the brain.
Because most mental processes involve both sides of the brain, integration problems between the two hemispheres can result in inefficiencies in brain processes. Thus, some children with reading problems, central auditory processing disorder, language delay, and other learning problems may be suffering from a lack of integration between the two sides of their brain.
Lack of integration between the two sides of the brain can become a vicious circle. A child who has a learning problem may suppress one eye. This can be a symptom of lack of integration between the two hemispheres. But because suppressing one eye means that the child reads with one eye only, the brain networks to support the other eye will become further disorganized through lack of use, exacerbating the lack of integration.
Since the left hemisphere of the brain controls movements on the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere of the brain controls movements on the left side of the body, a person can refine the integration between the two sides of the brain through activities involving both sides of his body. These movements bring the two systems into balance.
One of the most significant points on a child's perceptual and motor skill development continuum is the establishment of a synchronized cross pattern creep (crawling). This is the point where both sides of the body and both hemispheres of the brain are operating within the framework and under the control of a consistent timing system, a system in which the standards for measure for both sides of the body are matched perfectly. For the left leg to move forward synchronously with the right arm and for the same pattern to occur when the right leg and left arm move, requires that the time and space increments for both sides of the brain be in phase.
As the child begins to learn to walk, the sensory integration and balance requirements become much greater. In order to achieve synchrony the child must achieve a higher level of integration between his two sides. The most efficient possible walking pattern for a human is the one in which the two arms are swinging as pendulums counterbalancing the movement of the legs and setting the rhythmic pace for the total movement pattern.
Successful integration between the two sides of the brain is necessary for improving all brain processes, including those for reading, writing, academic achievement, motor skill development, and many others. Click here to learn how Balametrics sensory integration products and therapies can improve integration between the two sides of the brain.


Phonics Games for Kids
Reading Eggs includes interactive phonics games and activities ideal for preparing your child for school. Register now for your 5 week FREE trial!
Phonics is an essential part of learning to read, and Reading Eggs is the proven way to help children build early phonics skills and phonemic awareness.
Suitable for ages 3+, Reading Eggs features online phonics activities and games to help your child learn phonics and get reading-ready for school.
Register now for your 5 week FREE trial of Reading Eggs. It’s fast, easy and obligation-free – no credit card required!
Phonics games for kids - proven to work
- Uses a systematic phonics method to teach your child to read
- 91% of parents noticed an improvement in their child's reading ability since using Reading Eggs
- Based on solid scientific research
- Used in over 12,000 primary schools worldwide (and counting!)
- Developed by expert educators with 30+ years' experience
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Why children love learning phonics with Reading Eggs
- Hundreds of educational games, colourful animations, fun songs and exciting rewards
- Makes learning to read fun and highly motivating
- One–on–one lessons match your child’s ability
- Over 2500 e-books for children of all ages and reading levels
Reading Eggs features hundreds of structured lessons and thousands of phonics games and activities to support your child’s literacy development in phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension – the five keys to reading success.


Rivers and Streams – How They Are Formed
Mountains and hills tend to slow rain clouds down, squeezing the water from them. These high points usually get more rainfall than the surrounding areas. When rain falls, it has to go somewhere. Gravity causes it to run down the hills. As it runs down the hills and onto the surrounding area, it gathers in an area called a watershed, which is a valley with lots of little streams. The little streams run together to make rivers.
Small rivers join to make larger rivers. Finally, a river runs all the way to the ocean or into lakes. Clouds over the ocean and lakes collect water. The water moves onto land and is dumped as rain. The process starts all over again.
Fun Facts about Rivers and Streams for Kids
- Some rivers form when lakes overflow. The Mississippi River starts at Lake Itasca in Minnesota.
- Rivers and streams have many purposes. Farmers sometimes build canals and dams to catch the water and use it for crops. People travel by boat on rivers. Rivers provide a home for many fish and animals.
- The names of rivers often change over time. Many rivers in the U.S. have names that came from the original Indian name.
- Some rivers are named for their qualities. The Snake River, which runs through Idaho, was named because of its snake-like, curving form.
- Over 65 percent of our drinking water comes from streams and rivers.
River and Stream Vocabulary
- Watershed: a valley where water collects before running into streams
- Overflow: run outside the borders
- Collect: gather
Learn More All About Rivers and Streams
Check out this video all about rivers and streams:
A video documentary explaining about rivers.
River and Stream Q&A
Question: Who owns rivers in America?
Answer: You do. Almost all rivers are publicly owned up to the high mark, which is the highest place that the water runs. The land surrounding the river might be privately owned, but the river itself is yours.
Question: Is it safe to swim in rivers and streams?
Answer: That depends. Some slow rivers and streams are safe to swim in. Others have undercurrents or deep drop-offs that can make them dangerous. Always swim with an adult.
Question: What is the longest river in the world?
Answer: The Nile, which stretches over 4,132 miles, is the longest river in the world. The Missouri River is the longest river in the U.S., stretching over 2,340 miles.
Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Rivers and Streams info? Take the FREE & fun Rivers and Streams quiz and download FREE Rivers and Streams worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.
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It’s not just what you eat but where and how you eat that seems to affect obesity, say researchers who looked at the effects of family dinner rituals.
Families who frequently ate dinner in the kitchen or dining room had significantly lower body mass indices for adults and children, compared with families who ate elsewhere, including in front of the television, the researchers wrote.
“Family meals and their rituals might be an underappreciated battleground to fight obesity,” the researchers wrote in the journal Obesity, published Wednesday.
“The ritual of where one eats and how long one eats seems to be the largest driver,” said Brian Wansink, a Cornell University professor and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. He co-authored the study with Ellen Van Kleef from Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
Girls who helped make dinner had higher BMIs. “there is no effort to imply causality. We do not know if cooking leads girls to become heavier or whether heavier girls are more interested in learning to cook and helping with meal preparation,” the researchers wrote.
And boys who stayed at the table until everyone finished eating had lower BMIs, the researchers wrote.
Researchers decided to depart from looking at the food and consider the rituals around meals. They queried 190 parents and 148 children in grades three to six in the Chicago area. The height and weight of adults and children were measured.
The parents were asked about their habits around mealtimes such as what was discussed at the table, how frequently everyone sat together at the table, and how the meal was prepared. Talking meaningfully about the children’s days and saying grace before eating were associated with lower BMIs in the adults, and eating with the TV on was associated with higher BMIs for everyone.
Perhaps, the researchers said, meals at the table were less distracted or more supervised.
Wansink and Van Kleef suggested that changing mealtime rituals is an easy experiment for families to try. They proposed families who need a nudge for meaningful conversation could start with getting each person to disclose four things: high point of the day, low point, who he/she most appreciates and the plan for tomorrow.
Previous research has shown links between mealtime conversations and literacy development in children, and between family eating habits and eating disorders.


Over 60 studies have shown a direct improvement in student achievement when school libraries were well-stocked and staffed. This is true for academic achievement and for literacy. Reading scores rise. Students read more. Their writing and spelling and vocabulary improve. Here’s what some of those studies say about the literacy aspects.
Why would qualified TEACHER librarians make such a difference?
Staffing a library with a TEACHER LIBRARIAN, especially if flexibly scheduled, means the library is available to classes and individuals and groups when needed. The resources are centrally controlled by an authority who can locate and promote them. A 1996 Australian literacy survey found that “Effective literacy teaching practices that involve extensive use of the school library and classroom computers are associated with higher literacy achievement.” (Masters, G and Forster, M (1997)Mapping literacy achievement. Results of the 1996 National School English LIteracy Survey. DEETYA, Canberra).
“The research is overwhelming. It tells us that those with more access to books read more, and that children of poverty have very little access to books, at home, in their communities, or in school (reviewed in Krashen, 2004, Power of Reading). And of course, as noted earlier, the US National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) report confirms that more reading leads to better literacy development and more knowledge.” (S. Krashen, 2008. The “Decline” in Reading in America: Another Case of the “Shock Doctrine”?) See also Krashen, S., Lee, SY, and McQuillan, J. 2010. “An analysis of the PIRLS (2006) data: Can the school library reduce the effect of poverty on reading achievement?” CSLA Journal, in press. California School Library Association.
The qualified teacher librarian is trained in collection development. This means using expert reviews, knowledge of the curriculum and student literacy levels and interests to build a targeted collection of digital and print and audiovisual resources to support teaching and learning. Today’s TL must make every dollar count. Care must be taken in locating the best resources for the best outcomes. It is not a matter of just selecting from the traveling booksellers stock. Professional TLs use professional reviews such as WA’s Focus on Fiction to keep up-to-date with the best in publishing, whether as e-books or hard copy. They belong to networks of colleagues and professional associations to stay current. When you want a “good book” or the right teaching resource, the professional TL is ready.
As a TEACHER librarian, the TL is an equal, a trained teacher who understands teaching methods and the curriculum and stated outcomes. The TL can work with teachers to design units of work, to implement and to assess these. With a broad knowledge of fiction and non-fiction, digital and hard copy, which can provide wide reading, the trained TL can advise on current publications, learning objects, webquests, databases, to inform teachers as well as students.
Book Week. The Premiers Reading Challenge (see each state). MS Readathon. Author visits. Storytelling. Literature Circles. Book Clubs. Book Raps. Readers Theatre. Simultaneous Storytime. National Year of Reading. TLs do it all to share their enthusiasm for reading.
Educational leaders care about teaching and learning. They keep up-to-date on current ideas and strategies. They share their knowledge with colleagues. They have a vision. They work toward improving student learning and they enjoy working in teams and building open and collaborative relationships. They love learning themselves and trying new ideas and communicating and seeing the whole school picture. In short, an excellent teacher librarian can be a transformational school leader with a vision of the school library as a learning hub.
The teacher librarian, especially in primary schools, sees every student over several years. S/He knows their interests, their abilities and how to expand their reading and their learning.
See also the Saskatchewan Schools on how teacher librarians support reading literacy.


I came away from the annual ACTEM conference this year with questions about where we are going in Maine with personalized learning (Inevitable: Mass Customized Learning was published in early 2011 and sent to all Superintendents). The schools that have been piloting standards-based learning and 1:1 iPads are modeling an ungraded, individualized approach to elementary education that is far from the more traditional, whole group instruction going on in most schools. What is best for students? I wonder what direction we will be going in the majority of districts that have not been included in the pilot programs.
Based on the powerful learning opportunities I heard about in some sessions I couldn't help but wish for more iPads and a 1:1 scenario for our early learners, perhaps even through 4th grade. I'm trying to figure out if that is a proposal that we should be putting forward as we think about the next few years of planning and K-12 expenditures for technology. In the meantime I want to push us to make the most use of the the 1:1 laptops we have in the 3rd and 4th grade classrooms.
What does that look like? It looks like using the computers to record reading, take pictures and videos, having kids draw, using online tools like WeVideo for collaborative video, Voicethread, Animoto, and Comic creators. Teachers can use Kahoot!, Socrative and Google Forms for interactions between teachers and students on their laptops.
Upcoming team meetings and times in classrooms are important times for conversations with teachers about these expanded ways of using the laptops. We have an energetic set of teachers who are all using all of our technology resources as part of their instructional process. A challenge I see is putting more of the autonomy on the students to show us how they choose to learn and then to share that learning through writing, drawing, video or whatever medium they find best for expressing their ideas.


Last week I shared a blog post from the Cub Cadet's that showed all the fun and hand-on ways we can begin to teach children how to form letters. I found this blog post that talks about reversals and what do do. It is a questions that is asked over and over again by parents. I hope this post helps to explain beginning writing skills.
Reverse, Backward, and Upside Down: When to Worry When About Your Child's Writing
Some parents may worry when their preschoolers begin to reverse letters, write words from right to left, or confuse letters like b, d, and p in their writing. Even preschoolers who previously "got it right" might begin to reverse letters and words. But not to worry! This is a normal stage in learning to write. Between the ages of three and seven, it is quite common for children to write some or all of their letters and words backwards. Sometimes called mirror writing, research shows that this phenomenon is not only normal, but is likely the result of normal brain development. As a former preschool and kindergarten teacher, I can tell you that such writing does not worry me and in fact it lets me know that often children have moved on to the next stage in their literacy development. Often, children "get it right" in the beginning because they have learned to write by copying something that a grown-up has written for them. When children start to write on their own without an example, they will make more errors. They are using their brains to figure things out and that is a good thing! When you watch a preschooler write, you can often see a level of concentration that says, "My brain is working OVERTIME over here!"
What should parents of preschoolers do?
Avoid making a big deal and correcting your child. Over corrections may discourage your child from future attempts at writing.
Model writing for your child. For example, when he or she asks you to write their name or a sentence on their artwork, start in the upper left corner so children see the direction of print.
Sometimes (but not always) point to the words books that you are reading so children learn that text is read from left to write and from top to bottom
Relax and don't worry! This is an awesome stage in your child's development and if they are taking an interest in writing, NURTURE it rather than over-analyzing it!
What if my child is in Kindergarten and is still writing backwards?
The same rules apply. Up until age seven or eight, children may continue to display mirror writing. Most of the time, children will learn the correct way with lots of practice that they are likely to get when they enter elementary school. If you are still concerned, speak to your child's teacher and your child's pediatrician.


In many of my classes I have students reading, writing, making, and sharing in online spaces. This may include blogging, tweeting, or connecting with others on Twitter or Google+. In some of my more advanced classes, I ask students to go use the Internet to learn something…anything. At the end of the individual learning modules, I ask that they indicate or document what they have learned.
In this process we are practicing content curation as a form of assessment. In my work I try and move learners from content consumers, to content curators, to content constructors in online spaces. I believe content curation is a valuable step in the process. You are actively reviewing and evaluating content from an informed perspective and sharing this out with others. You might be an expert in reading comprehension strategies, fine leather handbags, or exercise routines. Regardless of the field, or the tools used (e.g., Diigo, Pinterest, Learnist), I believe you are performing a valuable service online as you curate the web.
One of the top tools I use, and use in my classes is Storify. Storify is a free online tool that scrapes social networks to find, collect, and share what people are saying all over the web.
Pedagogical opportunities for Storify
As detailed earlier, I use Storify in some of graduate level classes. I want my students to search and sift online texts, connect with other learners, and document their learning. I trust that they will be able to negotiate these online spaces without getting lost in some bad places. I also want them to learn in a networked space while respecting the challenges and opportunities of the open web. Students create Storify stories to document their learning over a module or block of content. They are to reflect during the process and guide the reader as they help identify what they have learned.
creative commons licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Phil and Jo Schiffbauer
I have also worked with secondary teachers as they use Storify to create their own stories to share with students. These stories are used as introductory activities to build prior knowledge, or closing activities to review in a unit. I recommend that teachers create and use Storify in secondary settings. If you want to have students use the tool to create a story, my recommendation is to have students curate and share content with the teacher using email or some other vehicle. Then the teacher can add this content to the class story.
Finally, I recommend embedding the Storify stories in your website or classroom blog. Students can click through the links in Storify to get out to the various social networks. However, in my humble opinion, it is far better to have students review and use content that you have edited to your digital learning hub…as opposed to traipsing across the Internet looking for breadcrumbs that you have left behind.
Cover creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by psd: http://flickr.com/photos/psd/2731067095


• Students can easily transfer into and out of US schools.
The British curriculum • It’s divided into a number of year blocks, which are called “Key Stages”, as well as the Early Years Foundation Stage, which covers pre-schoolers.
• Later stages have a number of curriculum options including GCSE and A-Level qualifications.
• All qualifications are internationally-recognised and respected, and are accepted at the vast majority of universities across the world.
• Students are encouraged to think for themselves and form opinions.
• The curriculum is strictly regulated by the same British government standards as schools in the UK.
•The curriculum promotes regular testing, enabling teachers to gauge their student's progress and address any issues.
The International Baccalaureate • Runs from FS1 (three years old) right through to sixth form.
• Children take an active approach to learning, taking part in team projects that require them to use a number of skills from an early age, such as public speaking and putting together presentations.
• Focuses on developing personal skills, such as team work, that students will require for life after school, rather than just academic achievement.
• Standards are generally high and students may find the work load tough going, especially in the later years.
The French curriculum • Established by the French Ministry of National Education and officially recognised by the French government.
• At kindergarten level (ages two to six) the French école maternelle curriculum includes reading and writing, numeracy and sometimes a foreign language, as well as creative activities.
• The primary school curriculum includes literacy and numeracy, with classes in French, arithmetic, geography, history, the arts and English.
• The college programme – for students aged 11 to 15 – includes French, maths, history, geography, technical education, art or music, physical education, civic education and some science.
• An excellent option for students of French origin who are looking to continue their education in France.
• School options in the UAE are limited.
The Australian curriculum • This curriculum is based on the assumption that every student can learn and that the needs of every student are important, too.
• Teachers account for the levels of learning of individual students aiming to develop each student’s key skills.
• Assessment is carried out on a project-by-project basis. There is a lesser emphasis on specific content and a greater emphasis on process, particularly higher-order thinking and inquiry.
• The curriculum is broad, with a wide range of academic options.
• Standards are high, and the qualifications gained are internationally recognised and accepted at most universities. The Indian curriculum (CBSE and ICSE) • There are two choices of Indian curricula that are taught in Abu Dhabi: the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE).
• The CBSE is considered more scientific in its approach to education, with each syllabus divided into segments so that they can be comprehensively taught throughout the year, and so students can balance their studies.
• The ICSE is considered to be very tough academically, with a lot of facts that need to be memorised.
• For both systems, the academic standard is incredibly high, with the emphasis on core subjects such as maths, languages and science.
• The system is sometimes criticised for its reliance on exam-based grading and rote learning, rather than on the spot problem solving.


Learning Tools | News
McGraw-Hill Releases K-6 Common Core Reading Intervention
McGraw-Hill Education has released a K-6 reading intervention focused on Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
Reading WonderWorks is a hybrid print and digital tool designed to help underperforming students "develop critical reading, writing and analytical skills required by the rigorous new standards so that they can accelerate through the curriculum and read on grade level by the following year," according to McGraw-Hill. The suite integrates with McGraw-Hill's Reading Wonders via a digital platform that provides teachers with shared resources and lesson plans. It also includes Foundational Skills Kits and an assessment tool, Reading Wonders Adaptive Learning, co-developed with ed tech company Area9.
Reading WonderWorks is available now. Complete details can be found on McGraw-Hill's Reading Wonders site.


As the costs and benefits of subsidized preschool are being hotly debated, a new study from Australia finds that the path to success in life for a preschooler begins with the bedtime story.
The study, conducted over eight years, concluded that when parents read to children on a daily basis, they are up to a year ahead of who are not read to.
And that’s regardless of socio-economic status. With consistent and frequent reading at home, the study found, children from low-income homes where parents have limited education are doing as well as children from higher income, more educated homes.
"It doesn't matter if a child is from a poor or rich family, or if the parents are highly educated or not, doing this basic thing of reading to them leads to better developmental outcomes," said Guyonne Kalb, a co-author of the study and director of the Labor Economics and Social Policy Program, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.
Kalb told the Australian newspaper, the Age, that his team wanted to test the impact of reading on a variety of socioeconomic groups to see what the outcome would be. The researchers deliberately chose children “representing a whole range of families, from all different backgrounds and economic circumstances.”
They studied about 4,000 children, beginning in 2004. They started with a group of 4- to 5-year-olds and followed them up to age 11. The goal was to gauge the effect of reading to children on not only the children's own early reading abilities, but also on other developmental areas.
A preschool-aged child who is read to at least three times a week, the study found, will herself be a better reader and thinker--she'll develop the reading ability of a child six-months older.
Another finding: Consistent reading to small children improves their development of numeracy skills.


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Space Shuttle Facts for Kids
A space shuttle is somewhat similar to a rocket and an airplane. As it takes off like a rocket but lands like an airplane. NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) has been using space shuttles since 1981 for various space programs. This was when the first space shuttle test flight took place. More than 600 astronauts have flown to outer space on space shuttles. A Shuttle can take up to seven astronauts.
Facts you didn’t know: –
- Until 2016, five space shuttles have been launched in space by NASA. Their names are: – Endeavour, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis.
- Two of them, the Challenger and the Columbia have crashed.
- The space shuttle was the first reusable spacecraft in the world.
- They could easily carry satellites, space probes and other cargo to orbit around the earth.
- The space shuttle system has four major components: – Two solid rocket boosters, the external tank, three main engines and the orbiter add-ons.
- The external fuel tank is the only part that cannot be reused as it burns up in the atmosphere after launch.
- In 1970s, the prototype craft Enterprise had been launched but it was only used for tests. It never flies in the space.
- The combined mileage of all five orbiters is 513.7 million miles. This is 1.3 times the distance between Earth and Jupiter.
- Thermal Protection System of the space shuttle contains approximately 30,000 sand tiles. These tiles are used to endure the intense heat.
- Columbia was the heaviest space shuttle orbiter that weighed around 178,000 pounds.
- A total of 14 astronauts lost their lives in two accidents in which the Challenger and Columbia both were destroyed.
Timeline of space shuttle launching: –
|Name of Space Shuttle||Launch Date|
|Columbia||April 12, 1981|
|Challenger||January 28, 1986|
|Discovery||July 26, 2005|
|Atlantis||September 9, 2006|
|Endeavour||August 8, 2007|
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RF.K.1 Standard, RF.K.1 Common Core, RF.K.1 Common Core Standard, RF.K.1 Worksheets, RF.K.1 Activities, RF.K.1 Worksheet, RF.K.1 Activity, RF.K.1 Lesson Plans, RF.K.1 Lessons, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.K.1, CCSS RF.K.1
Kindergarten Reading: Foundational Skills Standards
- RF.K.1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
- Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
- Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
- Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
- Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Worksheets, Activities and Posters for this standard, along with all other Math and ELA Common Core Standards for Kindergarten, are included in the Kindergarten Common Core Workbook.


Bowl by Jim Sprinkle
includes copper metal with choice hardwoods
Both processes incorporate disparate grains and colors of wood toward a single, planar surface. You see it on furniture, small goods, musical instruments, and even on bicycles. As I had attempted to use inlay on my table project this semester, I'll describing inlay and marquetry that appears on musical instruments.
In the Baroque period (16th century, as in Louis XIV), when rich people could afford music education in their own homes, music was composed for small ensembles (chamber music) to play in front of a small audience in a small space. Did I mention that the emphasis is on smallness and detail? I would imagine that the same applied to furniture then, when Islamic art had considerable influence on the visual Baroque style.Luthiers would imitate "strapwork" on lutes, any carving or arranging of wood so that it appears to be woven together geometrically. (Winternitz)
Marquetry refers to the application of a slice of wood to a bigger piece of wood to create an image. It's also called veneering. Where geometry is vastly repeated as on wood floors, the term parquetry is used. Buhl (German) or boulle (French) is the use of brass, shell, or other materials in achieving similar effect. Intarsia is the Italian word for combining woods in reference to the technique of knitting to weave different colors of yarn together. In addition to that, purfling is a technique used purely cosmetically to distinguish joined planes of wood by introducing a thin band of a different color, while "binding" is a band of inlay with used to mechanically close the edges of the instrument so that the end grain is no longer exposed, which means it is protected from cracking in the future.
Many terms in Western lutherie and music derive from Italian, Germanic or Franco vocabularies as a result of the widespread European mercantile and artistic influence in the 16th and 17th centuries. For instance, archette (bow), rosette (the embellished sound hole)... etc. It is hard to tell when inlay was first used because early uses of wood predate historical documentation in any part of the world. However, due to the volume of French and German scholarly writing on classical stringed instruments, their history is easy to acquire if you can read in those languages. (Try a query for "marquetry," "luthiers," and "instruments" within the King Library collections, and you'll see what I mean.)
Violins and cellos built by the famous luthier families of Europe, such as Stradivarius, tend to be appraised higher in the string market. It's due in part ; contemporary instruments of the same quality will not come as close in value. It is due partially to the acclaim of the family, the amount of money they made off of rich
Historical accounts of professional marquetry occur in rural towns of England, Japan, and Morocco. That's most of our
hile the lack of copious writing on the craft is attributed to the "folk" nature of building musical instruments- those who were considered experts in the field did not function traditionally as those writers or scholars who published literature. Trevor Semple and Anne Cole are exemplary luthiers who thoroughly document their processes for plebian curiosity- now, practically everyone with a computer and an internet connection is literally able to share in woodworking techniques, including the itty-bitty-teeny-tiny stuff.
|Kayak by Jürgen Köppen,|
binding on the ends
Annette Otterstedt, "Investigating Green Marquetry on Bowed-String Instruments. The Leaves Be Greene," The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 54 (May, 2001), 330-338.
Emanuel Winternitz, "The Evolution of the Baroque Orchestra," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol 12, No. 9 (May 1954), 258-275.
"Luthier," Wolfram|Alpha knowledgebase, 2011, http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=luthier
"Marqueterie," Wolfram|Alpha knowledgebase, 2011, http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=marqueterie
"Marquetry," Oxford Dictionaries, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/marquetry?q=marquetry (accessed 13 December 2011).
Maximiliaan Ruttern, "The Art Case Piano," The Galpin Society Journal, Vol 58 (May 2005), 168-172, 227-229.
Zachary Taylor, Marquetry & Inlay Handbook, Sterling Publishing Co, 2003.


See the complete review in 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum.
Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books is one of the few books I've reviewed that I just can't wait to tell you about. I've reviewed more phonics and reading programs than I can recall over the years. I've written up reviews of many that I liked and found useful and ignored many others. However, when I actually taught my own children to read, I never used a complete phonics program. I used bits and pieces and ideas from some programs, but we primarily used real books, magnetic letters, and encounters with the real world for developing reading skills. This might sound totally disorganized to you, but there was an underlying progression as my children first learned some of the letters and their sounds, then started recognizing some words, then mastered more letters and sounds, gradually building up a reading vocabulary from simple words to more complex. While I had a few simple beginning practice readers on hand, the most successful “learn to read” books were my sons' own favorite books like Green Eggs and Ham.
As I read through Teach a Child to Read with Children's Books, I felt like I was reading a description of my own experience. One of the most important recommendations in this book is that we read lots and lots of books to our children from the time they are little. Children develop a love of books, and they learn what reading is all about and how it works by watching and interacting with someone else who reads to them. This is so foundational that the authors point to a study that tells us that, “Children who entered school with a large bank of vocabulary words they had heard and used consistently scored higher on vocabulary and comprehension tests at ages 9 and 10 than those whose vocabulary was limited” (p. 14). But it's not just about good test scores. Rather it's about developing a love for reading.
The authors, Mark Thogmartin and Mary Gallagher, discuss the conflicts between the intensive phonics and whole-language camps over how to teach reading, showing that the best approach uses both methods. The authors identify problems at both extremes....
Instead of either extreme, they propose a combination of both, but one that starts with and continually works from good children's literature with phonics used when and as is appropriate. The phonics instruction grows from the child's own curiosity and interaction with words.
Recognizing that word formation and writing reinforce reading skills, the authors present an integrated use of magnetic alphabets, all sorts of beginning writing formats, dictation, copying, story writing, writing letters, and much more.
This is not a step-by-step program, but rather a guide for parents to create their own program. Lest that sound overwhelming, they present very concrete suggestions and steps that you might follow, including a lengthy journal from one homeschooling mother who taught her daughter this way. But the methodology cannot be presented as scheduled lesson plans, because the essence of it requires that we respond to our children's own developmental timetable and select books that appeal to them....Parents will likely have a shelf full of favorite books that a child requests to hear every day, but each child is likely to have his or her own personal favorites that make great jumping off points for beginning reading....
I think that Mark Thogmartin and Mary Gallagher's research and recommendations are so important that I would love to see every parent of preschoolers read this before making a decision about purchasing any other program.
[Note that this is a review of the fourth edition which apparently has changed significantly from the third edition.]


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What Do Artists Know? (Stone Art Theory Institutes)
by James Elkins
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0271054247, Hardcover)Each of the five volumes in the Stone Art Theory Institutes series, and the seminars on which they are based, brings together a range of scholars who are not always directly familiar with one another s work. The outcome of each of these convergences is an extensive and "unpredictable conversation" on knotty and provocative issues about art. This third volume in the series, What Do Artists Know?, is about the education of artists. The MFA degree is notoriously poorly conceptualized, and now it is giving way to the PhD in art practice. Meanwhile, conversations on freshman courses in studio art continue to be bogged down by conflicting agendas. This book is about the theories that underwrite art education at all levels, the pertinent history of art education, and the most promising current conceptualizations.
The contributors are Glenn Adamson, Rina Arya, Louisa Avgita, Jan Baetens, Su Baker, Jeroen Boomgaard, Brad Buckley, William Conger, John Conomos, Anders Dahlgren, Laurie Fendrich, Michael Fotiadis, Christopher Frayling, Charles Green, Vanalyne Green, Tom McGuirk, Robert Nelson, HÃ¥kan Nilsson, Peter Plagens, Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen, Howard Singerman, Henk Slager, George Smith, Martin SÃ¸berg, Roy Sorensen, Bert Taken, Janneke Wesseling, Frances Whitehead, Gary Willis, and Yeung Yang.
(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:18:18 -0400)
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