British Government Urges Phonics-Based Reading Strategy
Just as many American classrooms will be echoing with the sounds of schoolchildren practicing phonics this school year, their counterparts in England will also be more deeply entrenched in learning basic literacy skills.
The new National Literacy Framework, lauded by officials in Britain as "a crusade to promote reading," is one of the most extensive interventions by that government into classroom instruction. The program to raise flagging student achievement in England's 18,500 schools mirrors the efforts of many educators and lawmakers in this country who have instituted programs and passed laws to ensure a greater emphasis on phonics instruction in the early grades. ("More States Moving To Make Phonics the Law," April 29, 1998.)
As in the United States, the level of government intervention across the Atlantic Ocean is deemed necessary by those frustrated by low test scores and convinced that schools need more guidance on how to teach reading.While similar initiatives in the United States have been primarily instituted by conservative lawmakers, England's version began under Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party government. Its beginnings, however, can be traced to the previous conservative administration of Prime Minister John Major.
Complaints of Intrusion
Despite the bipartisan agreement on the plan, it has been condemned by some as an unwelcome intrusion into the classroom.
"This is the first time ever that there has been this degree of specification of not only content but pedagogy," said Greg Brooks, a senior research officer for the National Foundation for Educational Research, a nonprofit group in Berkshire, England.
"The hope is that in schools where there isn't any firm structure for literacy, they would, if [the framework is] adopted wholeheartedly, be able to pull themselves up by bootstraps," added Mr. Brooks, the chairman of the European development committee of the International Reading Association. The Newark, Del.-based reading group is a professional association of K-12 and postsecondary educators. "The worry which a lot of people have expressed is that ... this will steamroller effective, but different, programs."
'The Literacy Hour'
Britain's education secretary, David Blunkett, a member of Mr. Blair's Cabinet, has made literacy one of his top priorities. His goal is to get 80 percent of 11-year-olds reaching the expected level of proficiency in reading by 2002. According to the Department for Education and Employment in London, the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Education, only about 60 percent of 11-year-olds meet that standard.
The cornerstone of the initiative is the "literacy hour," one hour per day of dedicated time that includes "systematic and challenging teaching of phonics, spelling, and vocabulary." The hour is broken into blocks of time for shared reading and writing, phonics and spelling, independent reading or writing, and a review period. The framework further defines what should be taught for each academic term through the first six levels of schooling, which begins with what Britons call the reception year, or prekindergarten. Although not required by law, teachers are feeling the pressure to follow the guidelines, according to news reports there.
To help them do so, Mr. Blunkett has reduced the compulsory curriculum in primary schools, allowing more time for reading and mathematics instruction. He has also expanded the country's summer-literacy schools and provided two days of professional development to prepare teachers to implement the program.
The new strategy, which requires that students first be taught phonics, will replace the widespread practice of teaching children to read in the context of the story or picture clues, a method associated with whole-language instruction.
Schools in the rest of the United Kingdom--Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales--are governed by their own education ministries and are not required to follow England's lead on such issues.
Mr. Blunkett argues that the framework uses "tried and tested teaching methods" from the United States and Australia, as well as Britain, according to The Times of London.
While many teachers are enthusiastic about the project, Mr. Brooks said, the initiative has drawn criticism from many others who say the government should not get so involved in what happens in the classroom.
"One of the concerns I've heard is that the whole curriculum process in the United Kingdom has had the effect of limiting the professional judgment of individual teachers," Alan E. Farstrup, the executive director of the International Reading Association, said. "That has created a lot of anger and resentment among fine, professional teachers."
Vol. 18, Issue 2, Page 6


Monthly Archives: July 2014
These videos from the American Chemical Society, introduce elementary and middle level students to unique careers involving chemistry. In All About Droughts, for example, students meet scientist Collins Balacombe, who works to keep drinking water safe and find new ways to reuse water. And in Transforming Tech Toys, students meet research professor Aydogan Ozcan, who creates mobile chemistry laboratories from cell phones. He’s transformed cell phones into a blood analyzer, a bacteria detector, and a waste tester!
In the ASK (Adapting Science for Kids) Project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, K-6 elementary teachers from rural Missouri and Iowa are creating science inquiry lessons that not only teach science concepts, but also facilitate instruction in other curriculum areas, such as reading, writing, and social studies. Lessons address topics in Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Science Processes, and Physical Sciences. Notes and videos describing how their lessons are adapted are available at www.justaskateacher.com (free registration is required). Teachers can comment on the posted materials, as well as submit their own adapted science lessons to the project.
Hey guys! I have been working on a project for next year for my classroom, which involves using the students smartphones as a formative assessment tool. Problem is…some students cannot afford a smartphone and I do not want them to feel left out. I wrote a DonorsChoose.org grant to help supply my classroom with 5 iPod touches to provide to students in my classroom who cannot afford smartphones. If you are interesting in supporting, please visit. If you cannot contribute, I would appreciate it if you could share this post to see if any of your friends/family would want to contribute. If not…well…thanks for your time 🙂
I am currently knee deep in reading literature for my lit review for one of my graduate classes. I took a quick break to get your feedback on something interesting I ran across:
Colleen Ruggieri, and English teacher at Canfield High School, in Canfield, Ohio, makes use of virtual response systems as part of the assignment that the students see when they enter the classroom, what some of us call a “Do NOW” or “Bell Ringer”. She projects a list of the day’s activities on her interactive whiteboard and has students vote on the day’s first exercise by tapping the screen on their iPod touch. She states that she knows what needs to get done during the class, but this option gives students a say in what they’re going to do.
1) How do you feel about this?
2) Would you be willing to try this in your classrooms?
3) Does this make you nervous? If so…why?
Demski, Jennifer. “A Quicker Clicker.” THE Journal 37 (Mar. 2010): Issue 3, P17-18. A Quicker Clicker –. The Journal, 01 Mar. 2010. Web. 10 July 2014.


Music Education Program
Public schools desperately lack enrichment programs that provide students with outlets to express themselves creatively. The Dominican Republic is one of the most musical cultures in the world, yet very few organized music programs are available, especially to children from poor families. Without enrichment programs to keep children motivated, many choose to disengage or dropout.
Children that participate in band and ensemble music programs are seven times more likely to graduate from high school. In addition, developing the skill of playing a musical instrument instills confidence and a sense of responsibility. The DREAM Music Education Program is based on the simple belief that music can change lives, providing a solid foundation for at-risk children and youth to develop their creative talents, strengthen their cognitive abilities, and improve their educational experience. Our program was the first of its kind in the region, beginning with a small group of dedicated local volunteers in 2008, this professional music program now exposes 350 youth ages 3-18 to a structured music curriculum that complements DREAM’s high quality early childhood and primary education programs. The core curriculum is enriched by various partnerships, which coordinate local volunteers and visiting artists to offer additional classes and workshops in traditional Dominican bachata music, rock, jazz and other creative genres. In addition, these partnerships, such as FEDUJAZZ/The Dominican Jazz Festival, Wimbash and other international musicians, offer our students the chance to play with many different musicians and expose them to new sounds, performances and musical experiences. Individual direct instruction, instrumentation practice, group classes, and public performances are highlights of the DREAM Music Education Program.
The Music Education Program fosters social development, encourages personal growth and artistic development, and strengthens values among at-risk children and youth.
- Students receive artistic stimulation through basic music education, developing their musical appreciation in a group setting (Music Education).
- Students receive basic education in Dominican musical traditions, participating in diverse workshops and research projects that promote the musical identity of Dominican culture (iASO Bachata School, Studies in Dominican Music)
DREAM Music Education
The basic music education program reaches all students enrolled in the Montessori early childhood education and Young Stars at-risk youth programs at the Doña Flora and Benjamin Rabinovitch Education Center in Cabarete. Starting at a young age, children are exposed to the power of music through group music classes, music demonstrations, instrument practice, and engaging workshops. The Music Program Coordinator works directly with classroom teachers to integrate music instruction throughout the weekly class schedule, planning classes that respond to the musical interests and developmental levels of each group. Local volunteers are key in delivering these fun, interactive music classes and workshops.
iASO Bachata School @ DREAM (Studies in Dominican Music)
Bachata is the principal music of the Dominican Republic, and one of the most popular styles in Latin America. Until DREAM, iASO Records, and Benjamin de Menil launched the Bachata School in January of 2013, there were no formal programs for teaching bachata music in the Dominican Republic or anywhere in the world. This program recognizes the need to formally cultivate talent for bachata performance, while also celebrating a music form central to Dominican culture and identity. In this program, students receive one hour of semi-private musical instruction every day and are assigned their own instrument, which they can take home for practice. Students understand and play traditional Dominican musical instruments and are encouraged to perform for their fellow students and the local community. The program aims to graduate professional musicians who will help preserve and advance the Dominican Republic’s indigenous music, while also encouraging female students to broaden the traditionally male domain of bachata performance.


That is so true in everything, including choir. I hope that we can work hard this year to continue the long-standing tradition of excellence in our music programs.
National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Since 1994, the National Standards of Music have been implemented in schools across the country.. For more information, feel free to visit www.menc.org


Helping Struggling Students Build a Mathematical Mindset
byMarch 03rd, 2017 All Blog Posts
Recent research on mathematical mindsets is turning some long-standing beliefs about mathematics learning on their heads. These studies have important implications for classroom teachers and mathematics coaches.
What do we want our students to know about mathematical mindsets? Here are three big ideas I recommend discussing, modeling, and cultivating in any mathematics learning setting:
- Everyone can learn math. Research has conclusively disproved the myth that only some people are good at math.
- Understanding mathematics is a process not accomplished all at one. Adult mathematicians sometimes work for years to solve a single mathematical problem.
- Mistakes are a normal and needed part of learning. Getting stuck on a problem and then figuring out how to get unstuck is fun and an important life skill.
In his book Solving for Why: Understanding, Assessing, and Teaching Students Who Struggle with Math, John Tapper talks about ways of helping students with math anxiety. Tapper suggests that teachers ask these students to write down statements that show how they feel about math:
Math is my worst subject.
I’ve never been smart at math.
When I can’t find an answer I feel like I want to disappear.
Next, help students to rewrite these statement framed in a growth mindset terms:
Math doesn’t have to be my worst subject. I can do better. I’ve had other experiences where I’ve improved and math could be like one of those.
Maybe I’ve never felt smart at math because I’ve never found a way to like it. If I can find things I like about it, I might do better.
I don’t need to let how I do at math be so important. If I relax about it, maybe I will improve. (p. 143)
How might you use this idea of writing growth mindset statements as part of your RtI process or in a teacher professional learning cycle?
What might you learn from using this process that would benefit not only the students you work with today, but also build your instructional toolkit and deepen your understanding of the impact of mindset on learning?
Please share your thoughts and your stories in the comments.
Sue Chapman is a professional educator, presenter, and author who has devoted over 30 years to instructional improvement and mathematics education. Throughout her career, Sue has served and taught in several different areas of professional education, including instructional and leadership positions.
Sue has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education, a M.S. in Elementary Education, and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership. Sue started her career as an Elementary Math Teacher in 1976, later serving as a Mathematics Coach, Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator, and School Administrator. She currently serves the educational community as a Math Solutions Professional Learning Specialist, Learning Forward Texas Board Member, and adjunct faculty member at the University of Houston – Clear Lake.
Sue’s passion for professional learning and her ability to inspire teachers to come together around a shared vision of success have been instrumental in helping schools and districts develop systems and internal capacity to achieve continuous improvement of mathematics instruction.


Literacy for the 21st century learner encompasses a broad set of skills and competencies, integrated across the Kindergarten to Grade 12 programs of study. These skills are manifested when students are engaged in authentic, relevant and meaningful learning contexts. Each student must develop competency in reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, representing and numeracy as foundational skills for 21st century learning. Literacy learning involves effective use of:
- Personal and social skills such as collaboration, communication, leadership and self-direction
- Digital age literacy that includes cultural competence, global awareness, accessing information from a variety of texts and effective use of technology and tools
- Learning and thinking skills such as inquiry based learning, critical and creative thinking, problem solving, number sense, higher order thinking, meta-cognition and and intellectual engagement.
The 21st century learner embraces the pluralism of the contexts in which these skills are applied.
The 21st century literacy encourages student interaction with a community of learners and promotes self-directed learners.
Quality assessment and instruction are paramount to the teaching and learning of literacy in language and in all other curricular areas.


During the year in choir, the student will be:
Working on physical aspect of singing.
Learning different languages.
Listening and critiquing music.
Performing in several different community and conference events.
Becoming a 'team' of diverse members with ONE goal; be GREAT at whatever we are doing!
National Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Since 1994, the National Standards of Music have been implemented in schools across the country.. For more information, feel free to visit www.menc.org.


Research has proven that high-quality early childhood programs – particularly those targeted to children at risk for poor outcomes – can provide a considerable return on investment in terms of economic gains and educational outcomes.
This is a guest post by Mayor Betsy Hodges. It is the second post in a series about the Mayors’ Education Task Force.
It is incumbent upon us as city leaders to create cities that are focused on the future, not just the present. All cities will face similar challenges down the road, from workforce shortages to racial achievement gaps; we must be willing to address those challenges today by forming the next generation of citizens. That means reaching children as early as possible.
In the city of Minneapolis, I have formed the Cradle to K Cabinet to develop and implement a plan of action that makes very young children and their families a priority. Here’s why: research consistently demonstrates that the first three years of life are critical to children’s healthy growth and development. In every second of those first three years, more than 700 new neural connections are formed. These connections are vital for healthy brain development and form the foundation for future learning.
Infant brains are wired to absorb their environment, and positive early experiences in safe, supportive, nurturing environments facilitate healthy development. During this period of early growth and development it is vital that infants and very young children receive positive stimulation from a caring parent or adult that will allow them to grow and thrive.
Unfortunately, not all children receive such positive stimulation; far too many are exposed to toxic and stressful environments that impede their development. As a result, disparities and inequities occur early, and gaps in learning and development widen over time.
In 2013, Stanford University researcher Anne Fernald found that, by the time a child is two years old, there is already a six-month gap in language comprehension. This means that too many children are already behind by the time they enter school. Such an early learning gap is the strongest predictor of the persistent achievement gap in educational attainment.
Quality early education programs can mitigate these risks. Investments during formative years will ensure that all children get the best possible start to early learning and future school success.
Minnesota economist Art Rolnick’ s substantive research on, and advocacy for, investments in high-quality early childhood programs – particularly those targeted to children at risk for poor outcomes – has proven that they can provide a considerable societal return on investment in terms of economic gains and educational outcomes. For every dollar invested in high-quality early care and education programs, up to $13.00 in future costs are returned. Access to quality early care and education programs helps parents fulfill their parental responsibilities and allows them to go to work and provide for their children. Children that graduate from these programs have yielded benefits in academic achievement, behavior, educational progression and attainment.
I continue to advocate for the necessary federal and state resources that support the healthy development of young children. Federal programs and initiatives like the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start/Early Head Start, Community (or Federally Qualified) Health Centers, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and Community Development Block Grants are just a few of the federal investments that support this critical need. The loss or significant reduction of these programs would impact the success of our future generations.
City leaders like ourselves must foster early learning and allow children and families to have access to high-quality, accessible early education programs and learning environments that are responsive to the needs of families and ensure that children are on a path to early learning and lifelong success.
For specific information on how you can invest in early childhood education, read NLC’s Early Childhood Learning: Building Blocks for Success and Educational Alignment Framework for Young Children.
About the author: Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges took office in 2014 after spending eight years on the Minneapolis City Council.


Teacher support for Maths
Hamilton has a range of additional reference and advice materials for Maths.
New Curriculum Maths Support
Example Calculation Policy
Addition and Subtraction Methods
Multiplication and Division Methods
Key Skills to Go to the Wall for
Maths Challenges KS1 (answers)
Maths Challenges LKS2 (answers)
Maths Challenges UKS2 (answers)
Hamilton Education sells hard copy teaching resources that support Hamilton plans at very low cost. Group Readers, phonics books, number lines and 'Five Minute Fillers' can help you teach literacy and numeracy skills in your classroom.
Problem-solving investigations provide a fun, stimulating context in which children can develop and exercise their ability to reason mathematically and think creatively. They provide extra skills practice and also provide a real challenge if the skill itself is proving undemanding for some children.
These problems are designed to help children identify patterns, explore lines of thinking and investigate properties of numbers, shapes and measures. They can be used alongside the Hamilton plan for the week or independently. The teacher instructions for the whole term are collated in the Overview. Ruth's Advice gives some background and tips for using these investigations with your pupils.
Children play an adapted game of noughts and crosses, aiming to get negative number answers.
Children find patterns in the differences when pounds and pence are reversed.
Children use an incomplete magic square to explore patterns in the addition of four numbers.
Children use a sequence of co-ordinates to create quadrilaterals.
Year 5: Multiply four-digit numbers with consecutive digits by a single-digit number; reverse the four-digit number and repeat. Find the difference between the two answers. Year 6: Multiply three-digit numbers with consecutive digits by a two-digit number; reverse the three-digit number and repeat. Find the difference between the two answers.
Children add fractions with related denominators and find equivalent fractions to identify patterns.
Year 5: Children use short division to divide 3-digit numbers with consecutive digits by 12. They reverse the digits in the 3-digit number and repeat, then find the difference between the two answers. Year 6: As year 5: but children use long division to divide 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers less than 30.
Children cut squares from a square piece of paper, fold up the sides to form an open cuboid and find out which size will hold the most cm³ cubes.
Mobile differences (Y5): Children use trial and improvement to find the largest and smallest possible differences using numbers selected to given criteria. Geometry genius (Y6): Children use what they know about how to find the areas of triangles and parallelograms to find the areas of rhombi, kites and trapezia.
Decimal difference (Y5): Children subtract pairs of numbers with consecutive digits and different numbers of decimal places, and look for patterns in their answers. Stars and crosses (Y6): Children find totals of the numbers in shapes on a 1-100 grid, make generalisations and then write a formula to find the total of any similar shape on the grid.
Children look at patterns of remainders in four-digit numbers when dividing by numbers 3 to 6. The can establish a rule.
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How Creative Storytelling Improves Your Child’s Literacy Development! by Mindy Hudon, M.S., CCC-SLP
Storytelling is an important part of literacy development. Sequential stories like, "The Story Book Knight" by Helen and Thomas Docherty or familiar folk tales like "Goldie Locks and the Three Bears" or "Little Red Riding Hood" are a great way to help your child learn to tell stories.
- Read to your child and then ask them to retell the story.
- Model the retelling by acting out the adventures of the characters in the book.
- Encourage your child to tell the story to grandparents, friends, etc.
- Help them make up their own stories by creating interesting characters, settings and adventures.
Formal training in literacy starts when children begin school, but literacy acquisition is the foundation of language skills that are learned at home. Rejoice in your child’s creativity!


Foundation Skills in Reading, Writing and Maths - Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy and Numeracy courses offer students a chance to expand on their reading, writing and maths skills and gain the confidence to apply them professionally.
Courses in this sector are formulated to equip you with the practical skills and background knowledge you need to accomplish basic maths, written and oral communicative tasks within any organisation.
Popular courses in Literacy and Numeracy
Basic English Language Skills
Course code: 10078NAT
Do you want to learn english? Nationally recognised ESL course for non-English speakers who want to start learning how to speak English. You will learn how to listen, speak, read and write in English.
Statement of Attainment in Foundation Skills Support
Certificate I in Access to Vocational Pathways
Course code: FSK10113
This qualification is designed for individuals who require significant foundation skills support to access a vocational learning pathway.
Certificate II in Skills for Work and Training
Course code: 10089NAT
Certificate IV in English for Academic Purposes
Course code: 10226NAT
Do you need to improve your English language skills to study at TAFE or University? The Certificate IV in English for Academic Purposes is a Nationally Recognised course to help improve your english language and better your experience at english speaking academic institutions.
A literacy and numeracy course can lead to a number of job opportunities, as higher levels of education in reading, writing and mathematical skills will increase your chances for study as well as in the job market. Qualifications in literacy and numeracy will lead to better everyday communication in your community as well as preparing students for further education, employment or citizenship.Whether you're just starting out improving your literacy and numeracy skills, want to gain more qualifications, add to your previous experience, or simply broaden your horizons, TAFE NSW offers a wide variety of courses at a number of levels to suit you. TAFE courses in the area include Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways, Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice, Foundation Skills Support, Skills for Work and Training, Foundation English Language Skills and Vocational and Community Engagement.


There’s a quote about parenthood along the lines of “the years are short, but the days are long”. Sometimes I get to 9am and feel like it must be nearly bedtime – and it is on these days that it can be a struggle to get through to actual bedtime with my precious little ones by my side.
I’m an early childhood music teacher, and so my go-to move is, of course, music. One of the things I love about teaching my classes is sharing ideas for home with the parents who come along, and hearing about how bringing music home has transformed their lives as well as their children’s – especially through those long, hard days (and nights).
So how can you use music at home?
You don’t need to be a world-class singer or have thousands of resources to use music at home. In fact, all you need are your voice and your hands – and a few ideas. There does not need to be any great ceremony or planning around using music – just slip it into your day-to-day routine by singing a song or saying a rhyme. Some great opportunities are:
- during nappy changes/going to the toilet
- driving in the car
- getting dressed
- waiting (for older siblings at school pick-up, in waiting rooms, in checkout line at shops etc)
- packing things away
- transitioning from one activity to the next
- before bed
- calming an unsettled baby (try humming – it lowers your heartrate and blood pressure, regulates your breathing and calms you and your baby down)
What kind of music should I use?
Why not start with nursery rhymes? Nursery rhymes are a wonderful and timeless way to connect with your child. We carry with us the nursery rhymes that were sung to us as children, and they are passed down orally from one generation to the next.
Nursery rhymes are little nuggets of goodness – they aid language development (through introduction of new words, simple sentence structure and variations in pitch and volume), cognitive development (via repetition, patterns and sequencing and imaginative imagery), physical development (through movement of the mouth and tongue as well as the whole body) and social/emotional development (through touch, exploration of emotions and personal expression).
I’ve put together some videos of favourite nursery rhymes to use with a variety of ages here.
Music and storytelling
Another lovely time to use music is when reading a book. Many storybooks lend themselves beautifully to being sung. There’s a huge range of ‘singable’ books at Sound Thinking Australia (my favourite is this BEAUTIFUL and tear-jerking version of Puff the Magic Dragon) and there are often lots of great books based on songs at op-shops and discount stores. If you are feeling brave, why not add your own little melody to a book written in rhyme? Try using a melody you know well, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and see if you can make it fit! Here’s a version of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox that I like to use:
What about recorded music?
Popping on some music and having a dance, a sing or just a quiet listen can be therapeutic for grown-ups and children alike. Children love all kinds of recorded music (not just music aimed at children). Gentle music can be wonderful for tiny babies – check out Music for Dreaming and Cradle Songs for some truly beautiful instrumental lullabies. Be aware of the lyrical/thematic content of recorded music that you might be playing around young children. Also be mindful of the constant noise and ‘busyness’ that creeps into our children’s lives and be sure to give them quiet time and space without background noise.
You are doing an awesome job!
There are a wide range of correlations between music education and the development of language, mathematical ability, spacial awareness, social/emotional and cognitive development, motor skill development, rhythmic ability, pitch and in-tune singing. These benefits are important. Most important of all, though, is the transformative power of music. When if a child is nurtured by a loving, responsive caregiver and given opportunities to interact and grow through music, then that child will have a better chance at becoming a socially aware and empathic adult. You are doing your bit to change the world, for the better, one child at a time.
“The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children.” – Cheryl Lavender


Sunday, September 4, 2011
Remembering Critical Lessons in Early Literacy Research: A Transactional Perspective
Being an early childhood education student, the subject of literacy is one that I hear about often. Literacy is discussed within my early childhood classes, at my work, and within several different textbooks and readings. In my most current readings assignment, “Remembering Critical Lessons in Early Literacy Research: A Transactional Perspective” the idea of literacy and culture being connected became quite clear. Our culture is one way we identify ourselves as individuals. Our culture also effects how we read and view a book. One section within this reading explained how cultural tools, such as television, play a role in a child’s literacy development. What a child sees on a television show or in a movie adds new information into their schemas. This information then plays a role in the books that they read. Popular culture can be a tool used within a child’s literacy development. This reading digs deeper into that thought by explaining that “children use tools such as popular culture and narrative to situate themselves socially and textually and to mediate their environments” (Whitmore, Martens, Goodman & Owocki). Children use popular culture to create ideas about important topics such as age, gender, race, class, and stereotypes. They may compare these ideas to the books that they read. Children may challenge ideas they have seen in popular culture by comparing them to their environment. Children may embrace certain popular culture to create mental images for their readings. Children take in information all around them to try and understand this world. Popular culture is one source children use to define their world. Reading books is another wonderful source children use to define their world and their own identity. By comparing these two different things children use educational thinking skills. Seeing how popular culture effects the way children think makes it is easy to see how popular culture can also effects literacy development. This concept is important to remember as a future educator. Therefore remembering the concept of how popular culture can be used as a tool will be important when working with children and their literacy skills.


What is the purpose and value of Art education in the 21st Century? Cindy Foley makes the case the Art’s critical value is to develop learners that think like Artists which means learners who are creative, curious, that seek questions, develop ideas, and play. For that to happen society will need to stop the pervasive, problematic and cliché messaging that implies that creativity is somehow defined as artistic skill. This shift in perception will give educators the courage to teach for creativity, by focusing on three critical habits that artist employ, 1. Comfort with Ambiguity, 2. Idea Generation, and 3. Transdisciplinary Research. This change can make way for Center’s for Creativity in our schools and museums where ideas are king and curiosity reigns.
Cindy Meyers Foley is the Executive Assistant Director and Director of Learning and Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art. Foley worked to reimagine the CMA as a 21st century institution that is transformative, active, and participatory. An institution that impacts the health and growth of the community by cultivating, celebrating and championing creativity.


Holidays are the best time to get your DIY on, as you have a base to start creating from. My child is 2.5 so he’s still home with me, and I’m always looking for fun activities to encourage learning. In March, our focus is St. Patrick’s day so that entails books under that theme, lots of green and gold and a focus on anything that ties in with this particular holiday such as leprechauns, rainbows, gold, 4 leaf clovers, etc. This is why months with holiday’s rock; you have endless material to work from!
Playdough is an awesome and fun learning tool for small children. As an educator, I know the benefits of playdough and they are significant for toddlers, they include:
-Building up strength in all the tiny hand muscles
-Poking in objects and pulling them out of play dough works on co-ordination
-Squishing, squeezing, rolling, flattening, chopping, cutting, shredding develops fine motor skills and requires concentration
-Imaginative play (making a cake out of playdough and adding candles for example)
-Adding scents to the playdough can heighten the imaginative play or also work as a calming tool if you add essential oils
-Exploring textures (letting them add pasta, natural objects like leaves and sticks, straws, rice)
-Maths and Literacy development (using alphabet and number cutters, using placemats that explore letters and numbers)
-Science and Discovery: the act of making the playdough itself and talking about the process and asking questions leads into early science. Talking about the liquids and solid materials being used, observing the changing states of materials.
Now, let’s get started on making some awesome, sparkly homemade lime Jell-O playdough for your little one(s)!
You will need:
-white flour – 1 cup
-warm water – 1 cup
-salt – 2 tbsp
-cream of tartar – 2 tbsp
-cooking oil – 2 tbsp
-Jello – 1 3oz pack
1. Mix all together in a bowl
2. Cook on medium heat
3. Place on floured cutting board to cool for 30mins
4. Add ½ cup for flour and let kids knead it (add glitter and extra food coloring at this stage for a more rich color)
Note: there are several recipes on Pinterest, click here for this original recipe. (http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/2012/05/play-dough.html)
I’ve made homemade playdough a million times with my students and now I’m constantly making it with my son. The reason I love the homemade stuff best, is that the kids get to experience creating it with you which is an invaluable experience in and of itself. It’s also a great way to bond with children and show them that they have the tools to create. Not to mention, its chemical free and the healthier alternative to the store bought stuff.
This playdough not only looks good, it smells awesome too. Keep it stored in an air tight container and refrigerated to keep it fresh for as long as possible (typically 1-2 weeks with daily use).
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and may the luck of the Irish be with you today!


A high quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world"
Have you read this before?
Do you recognise the document from which this quote is taken?
It's actually the first sentence in the new computing programme of study for KS1 and KS2 to be implemented in maintained schools by September 2014!
It challenges us all to understand what is meant by computational thinking.
According to Jeanette Wing, Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, computational thinking involves answering these questions:
• What is the problem we are trying to solve?
• What's the best way to solve it?
• How do I break the problem down into smaller parts?
• Can I develop a step by step strategy to solve the problem?
• Can I see any patterns, similarities or differences that will lead to a solution?
• Is the solution I've found efficient?
• Have I avoided over complicating my solution?
In short, it is a set of problem solving skills and techniques that pupils will utilise throughout life along with their literacy and numeracy skills. The challenge for us is to devise strategies to create a generation of confident problem solvers with the determination to succeed combined with the resilience needed to overcome difficulties.


Young people’s careers will be more like jungle-gyms than ladders, and we are not preparing young people for the increasingly casualised and insecure ‘gig economy’ they are entering. Today’s average 15 year old is expected to have 17 different jobs across five different industries in their lifetime.
The two foundational skills sets young people need to not just survive but to thrive in their career are ‘portfolio skills’ in entrepreneurship and career management, developing specific skills and capabilities in these two areas that can be transportable.
These were some of the insights shared by Jan Owen, AM, CEO of the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) to YMCA leaders at the recent YMCA CEO Forum in Melbourne.
Jan said the age-old question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was no longer relevant. “The dream job is gone, the job for life is gone, but skills and capabilities are transferable.”
She says a new “whole new mind set” is needed by previous generations, parents, educators, and Governments about the needs of young people, with 4.3 Million young Australians, of which:
- 31% are under-employed
- By the time they finish their education they will be $24,000 more in debt than their parents at the same stage of life
- They will carry three times the amount of debt than their parents did to buy their first home
- It will take them an average of 2.5 years to gain any employment on completion of higher education
- 60% of young people are studying and training for jobs that will not exist in the next 5-15 years, with 7 in 10 jobs to be transformed by technology and the forces of automation, globalisation and flexibility.
Growth areas were in these three key categories: 1. Informers (eg, teachers, economists). 2. Carers (eg GPs, fitness instructors, social workers, 3. Technologists (eg programmers, website developers)
The entrepreneurial skills needing to be taught to young people include collaboration, team work, problem-solving and creativity.
Career management skills include skills such as budgeting, finance and marketing to help young people successfully navigate and manage their career, seeing themselves as a “business unit” in their own right.
Ground-breaking research conducted by the FYA showed that today’s employers are favouring ‘soft skills’ in their recruitment of young people including 1) digital literacy 2) critical thinking 3) creativity 4) bilingual skills 5) presentation and communication skills. And employers were paying more for entry-level graduates who could demonstrate these skills.
Jan says the FYA shares the YMCA’s belief in the power of inspired young people, and despite the challenges, remained relentlessly optimistic about young people’s capacity and future, but a totally new mindset about young people was required.
YMCAs in Australia already currently providing social entrepreneurial programs and opportunities for young people include YMCA Victoria, who has been working in this space for a few years. See more at http://youthforcauses.ymca.org.au/ And YMCA WA has opened a space at their youth space HQ where young can find training and support for their social enterprises. More here. They’re also currently running a competition “Pitch Please” for young people to pitch their ideas for social enterprises.
Links to the Foundation for Young Australians “New Work Order” Research Reports from which the data referenced in this article is drawn. Today (27th July) FYA will launch the latest research report in this series, the New Work Smarts.
New Work Order
How Young People Are Faring
New Work Mindset:


“Look at the stars Mummy, there must be 89 of them” (89 is the favourite number at the moment, everything must be 89, even poor Nanny).
“Hmmm I wonder how many there are?”
“I know, lets count them” (Great idea Miss 4)
So off she went, Miss 4 got to 46 without any help and then made it to 100 with a few reminders. I was very pleasantly surprised!! It made me think, how has she learnt to do this? I do alot with my children but I don’t sit down and make them learn; there are no structured ‘learning sessions’ in my household.
However……What we do is talk naturally about numeracy as part of our life. For example,
1. Miss 4 is my speed limit spotter!!
She is able to read most speed signs and loves to tell me “Mummy now its 60”!!!
2. We talk about what is more, bigger, less, equal.
3. We also use our fingers, toes to get us to numbers higher then 10 and then use them to do simple addition and subtractions.
4. We talk about money and I let them play with coins (under my supervision), what the shapes are, what the value of each coin is and how to add money. Money is great to look at when you have a play shop.
There are a 1001 different ways you could add ‘numeracy’ into your life. Everything we do can in our day to day life relate back to skills that can be used for numeracy literacy.
What do you do to help encourage numeracy skills with your children?


New Michigan Science Standards adopted
Michigan – a leader in developing the Next Generation Science Standards – adopts new Michigan Science Standards.
Michigan State University Extension and Michigan Sea Grant have been actively engaged in science education for decades through programs such as the 4-H & Great Lakes Natural Resources Camp and the Great Lakes Education Program. On November 10, 2015, the Michigan State Board of Education approved the new Michigan Science Standards, which are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.
According to the Michigan Department of Education, “The effort to revise science standards comes from a vision for science education that is based on over thirty years of research on how students best learn science, as well as the ever changing needs in our workplaces and communities for scientific understanding.” This vision for learning science and engineering was presented by the National Research Council in A Framework for K-12 Science Education, which was used to develop the Next Generation Science Standards.
The view of science in these new standards has three dimensions: Practices (research suggests that students need to be engaged in doing science), Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts (which link the different domains and disciplines of science).
Michigan actively participated in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as a Lead State Partner.
Two Michigan State University professors served on the 41-member NGSS Writing Team. Both were team leaders, and Michigan was the only state to have more than one team leader. They were Melanie Cooper, Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education and Professor of Chemistry, Michigan State University; and Joseph Krajcik, Director, CREATE for STEM Institute and Professor, Science Education, Michigan State University, who served as Chair of the Physical Science writing committee.
The NGSS developmental process included 66 Michigan educators including elementary education, secondary education (grades 6-12), post-secondary education, and informal science educators. These educators represented Michigan professional science organizations including the Michigan Science Teachers Association, Michigan Science Education Leadership Association, Michigan Math and Science Centers Network, and the Michigan Department of Education. Members were selected to provide expertise in all areas of the NGSS, and represented a cross-section of the state. Michigan also provided extensive public feedback for two public drafts, with Michigan respondents representing 11% (most in the nation) and 8% (third in the nation) of the total respondents for the two drafts, respectively.
The Michigan Science Standards will be implemented over time. The Michigan Department of Education will provide support for educators through guidance, professional development, and learning resources as Michigan seeks to improve science literacy statewide.
Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research and outreach. A collaborative effort of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, Michigan Sea Grant is part of the NOAA-National Sea Grant network of 33 university-based programs.


Teaching young workers about safety
Start with NIOSH 8 Core Competencies
Many young workers under age 25 enter the workforce before they have had a chance to develop foundational job skills. In fact, most high schoolers—an estimated 80 percent— hold a job at some point during their school years. With work-related injury among these young workers approximately twice as high as among older workers, the need for early training in foundational job skills is critical. To address this knowledge gap, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a framework for teaching young workers fundamentals about safety and health on the job. These foundational skills include the abilities to read for information, apply mathematics, problem solve, think critically, manage social relationships, and communicate effectively. Called the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies, this framework includes eight steps that younger workers can take to help ensure their safety in any workplace, the researchers report in the Journal of Safety Research:
- Recognize that all workers potentially face the risk of injury, illness, and even death on the job. Workers need to know how workplace risks can affect their lives and their families.
- Recognize that work-related injuries and illnesses are predictable and preventable.
- Identify hazards at work, evaluate the risks, and predict how workers can be injured or become ill.
- Recognize how to prevent injury and illness. Describe the best ways to address workplace hazards and apply these concepts to specific workplace problems.
- Identify emergencies at work and decide on the best ways to address them.
- Recognize that employers are responsible for, and workers have the right to, safe and healthy work. Workers also have the responsibility for keeping themselves and coworkers safe.
- Find resources that help keep workers safe and healthy on the job.
- Demonstrate how workers can communicate with other people, including authority figures, to ask questions or report problems and concerns when they feel unsafe.
The researchers used the Health Belief Model, an established theoretical framework for effecting change in health behavior, to guide the development of the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies. In practical terms, according to the researchers, teachers and administrators can incorporate the NIOSH 8 Core Competencies into school curricula to help ensure that young workers have the skills and knowledge they need to stay safe and healthy at work.
More information is available:


Learning music can be a life-changing experience for a child with a learning disability, though some say it “cannot be done”. Nevertheless, two of the most gifted and talented pianists that ever graced the world of music are blind: Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. You don’t need your eyes to play music, and all too often this is forgotten by the old-school music teachers of the world. For learning disabled people, sometimes a combination of certain types Music Theory and ear training can open up the awesome ability to play anything they want.
Studying Music and Autism
Nowadays, at least 1 in every 150 children is recognized as autistic. Certain kids with autism, when trained properly in aural skills, learn new music as fast or faster than “normal” (neurotypical) kids. The right kind of musical training can instill a respect for the idea of disciplined study in an autistic person. Weekly structured creative assignments, such as composing a Waltz specifically in 3/4 time and in D minor, help develop creativity with a sense of purpose. Exercises where student is to imitate a small passage of music that teacher plays by ear encourage the autistic student to hone his or her attention. Memorization and repeated performance of songs enhances the brain’s capacity for storing both larger forms and smaller nuances and details.
What is Comping?
Ever had an uncle or aunt that couldn’t read a note but could play any Holiday or folk song that existed? This is a skill known as comping or faking. When you are taught early on to play what you hear, just like an ape or a parrot, it develops a much needed skill in understanding music. Comping is not the same is reading music, but it can help a great deal when one is trying to understand or memorize music. All students enrolled at Kimberly Steele Studio learn how to “comp”. It’s part of the big picture. Learning disabled students are usually very good at picking up this basic skill. The goal of Kimberly Steele Studio is to use intuitive processes to help students of all abilities to understand the structures that make up music.
Every student needs to move at his or her own pace. This is probably the number one most common mistake among music teachers: going too slowly or pushing the student too fast. If a student has a learning disability, our biggest goal needs to be figuring out what pace of learning is ideal for that student.
Working with Parents
When teachers work with learning disabled students, it is absolutely crucial that parents and teachers communicate at every single lesson. Not only do we have to understand what the learning disabled student’s strengths and weaknesses are, parents are often needed to help the learning disabled student at home with their weekly assignments.
Though the Kimberly Steele Studio is a very fun and colorful place, it can often be overstimulating, especially for children with limited attention spans. If you are still very interested in the Kimberly Steele Studio approach to music education, please call the number listed on the header to schedule an in-home interview lesson with one of our available instructors.


Volume 6 (1) 2014 – Article
Performance and Participation: A Qualitative Study of Music Education Practices in Digitally-Based Musicking with Young People with Physical Impairments
This article highlights results from a research study of ‘Music Week’; a one-week Swedish music project performed at a Swedish folk high school, a Nordic-style residential adult education college. The aim of the Music Week project was to enable young people with physical impairments to take part in musical activities. Digitally-based musical settings were used in order to provide tools for both performing and creating music. The Music Week project was part of a larger 3-year music project.
The main purpose of the present research study was both to explore the interaction and the music education practices applied during the Music Week project as well as to explore the musical settings used within the project. The research method was partially inspired by ethnographical methods. In the study, two main variations of teaching music in groups were identified: i) Performance-oriented, with a clear goal of performing songs for an audience and ii) Participatory-oriented, where the participants were able to explore their potential to play and create music. Furthermore, the results suggest that musical settings should be regarded in a holistic way to include all kinds of resources: musical, technical, physical, psychological and personal.
musicking; music education; accessibility; digital music instruments; impairment; health promotion; interaction; cultural awareness; young people
Bo Nilsson, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in Education at Kristianstad University, Sweden. His research interests include children’s musical creativity, music in special education, popular culture and ICT in music education and public health. He received his doctorate in Music Education in 2002 at Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University. Bo is teaching and supervising at the Teacher Education and at the Public Health Program. He taught music and science in a Swedish compulsory school for several years and was a member of the expert group that wrote the new music curriculum for Swedish compulsory schools in 2011.


The Art of Teaching Music takes up important aspects of the art of music teaching ranging from organization to serving as conductor to dealing with the disconnect between the ideal of university teaching and the reality in the classroom. Writing for both established teachers and instructors on the rise, Estelle R. Jorgensen opens a conversation about the life and work of the music teacher. The author regards music teaching as interrelated with the rest of lived life, and her themes encompass pedagogical skills as well as matters of character, disposition, value, personality, and musicality. She reflects on musicianship and practical aspects of teaching while drawing on a broad base of theory, research, and personal experience. Although grounded in the practical realities of music teaching, Jorgensen urges music teachers to think and act artfully, imaginatively, hopefully, and courageously toward creating a better world.
|"The particular strength of the volume is its usefulness across all levels of music education. Jorgensen offers not only artistic fundamentals unique to those involved in music but also material that will cause readers to reflect on personal characteristics. Detailed notes and references add to the book's value as a study tool. . . . Recommended." —Choice
"The beauty of this book lies in its embrace and discourse of the ways in which people become music educators, develop their craft over the course of their lives, and influence those around them." —Music Educators Journal
". . . offers sound advice for the new teacher or the student who is about to become an in-service teacher. However, the veteran music teacher will also find 'The Art of Teaching Music' to be refreshing, in that it affirms and validates much of what good music teachers know through experience and have been doing by connecting to philosophers and pedagogues inside and outside of music education." —Frank Abrahams, Westminister Choir College, Rider University, Princeton, NJ
". . . foremost a book about wisdom: a direct albeit thoughtful attempt to capture the profession for those who, by virtue of time or the nature of their work, may not have a full sense of the music education field. Jorgensen presents us Music Education." —Patrick Schmidt, Westminister Choir College, Rider University
"I have had the pleasure of reading the book manuscript, 'The Art of Teaching Music,' by Estelle Jorgensen. The content explores a variety of ideas that are covered in the myriad of courses experienced by undergraduate students and introduces new ones that are critical to the development of musicians and prospective teachers. Some of these ideas might be alluded to or briefly discussed in methods classes, but not at the level of thoughtful detail as they are entertained and examined in the book. This level of depth would require students and teachers to discuss, dialogue, debate, and reflect over time within and across semesters and courses." —BETTY ANNE YOUNKER, University of Michigan, Philosophy of Music Education Review
"The Art of Teaching Music is a meditation on a lifetime of experience in teaching. What makes it special for music educators is its resonance with idealism and experience." —The British Journal of Music Education , Volume 27/1 - 2010
"As an experienced teacher and teacher educator myself much of this book came as a
welcome refresher, with new insights along the way to allow for more reflection on my own practice. For every beginning music teacher this should be compulsory reading, going a long way beyond advice for a particular sector, and presenting a picture of music teaching that can be adapted to suit any situation." —Diana Harris, Music Education Research
"Few books about teaching manage to fill the reader with the sense of things being possible, but Jorgensen eloquently achieves this in prose that is clean, clear, concise and coherent such that it culminates in a manifesto that attempts to 'open wide the conversation on teaching that is waiting to happen'. In that, and in much more, The Art of Teaching Music succeeds and can be warmly and enthusiastically recommended for the novice, the veteran, and the yet undecided music teacher in waiting." —Music Teacher
"Attempting to understand Jorgensen's words and work, as well as the paradigmatic
notions that envelop them, has been a learning experience. . . Hopefully, this has resulted in a critique centred not upon the discrepancies of our worldviews, but on the challenges of viewing the world through someone else’s lenses. Jorgensen's are bright and hopeful, care-full and caring, demanding and plural. One will discover much about music education by reading The Art of Teaching Music." —Patrick Schmidt, Music Education Research
"This book will turn heads and quite likely deepen the thoughts of working musicians who teach. I do not doubt that it will, as Jorgensen declares, open wide the conversation on teaching that is waiting to happen." —Patricia Campbell, University of Washington
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Table of Contents


The violence against Malala Yousafzi wasn’t an isolated incident. Around the world, people—girls, in particular—fight to earn an education. The world recently cried #BringBackOurGirls as nearly 300 high-school girls were held captive. The name of the extremist group responsible for their kidnapping—Boko Haram, in Nigerian Hausa—means “Western education is a sin.”
I beg to differ. Education may not be a basic human right, but it should be. We have to invest in education because it is arguably the single most effective way to reduce poverty.
According to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a collaborative group dedicated to ensuring quality education for everyone, if all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. Yet today, some 50 million children in GPE’s 59 developing-country partners do not complete primary education at all, and 36 million of those children live in fragile and conflict-affected countries.
At its core, access to education is an issue that stretches across time and boundaries.
According to a 2013 study by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults—14 percent of the population—can’t read. Another 21 percent of adults read below a fifth grade level, which puts books like Little Women and Treasure Island out of reach.
As a practitioner and professor of journalism—a profession dependent on the ability to read—that statistic saddens and offends me. Yet, education is not limited to a school setting. I know that a school can help a student improve, but a school cannot be expected to save a child alone. What happens outside of school is just as important as what happens in it. And learning doesn’t stop at graduation.
A person with low literacy skills has a hard time with word recognition, inference and problem solving—everything from filling out a job application to following a bus schedule or deciphering nutrition information on a label.
And so, education must be a priority for nonprofits, schools, and families alike. In Caring, we aim to break down complex social issues, like education, that affect the way people live.
We approach the topic from seven spheres of influence (arts, business, education, government, family, religion, technology), bringing together thought leaders to inspire, inform and activate readers toward social good. The goal is to have a conversation that drives change.
In this issue on education you’ll find insight on the Special Olympic Games that help athletes learn skills in addition to physical training, the approach of Barefoot College in India that teaches solar engineering to grandmothers who then return to their villages able to build and repair solar panels, the longstanding tradition of music education in The Salvation Army and its effect on child development, and why religious literacy could be crucial for the future of democracy.
As John Dewey, psychologist and education reformer, said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”


Learning to create and appreciate art is important to young children as they develop critical skills such as motor, language, decision making, visual, cultural, academic and more. Some may regard art education as a luxury, but simple creative activities are known to be important building blocks of child development. Arts education increases vocabulary development, understanding of mathematical concepts and development of creative problem solving techniques.
This is why Broad Ripple Kiwanis includes the arts among projects funded with Pints for Half Pints proceeds. Over the past year and a half, we donated funds to provide:
- Lessons in puppetry – Broad Ripple Magnet High School
- Gear for a film project – Broad Ripple Magnet High School
- Mirrors for art projects – Eliza Baker School 55
- Canvas, paints and painting tools – Grades 3-5, Eliza Baker School 55
- Ten scholarships to “Moving to Music Camp” – Pre-K through 3rd grade, Midtown Schools
- Markers – 1st grade, Eliza Baker School 55
- Music-themed posters of instruments, composers, performers – Eliza Baker School 55
- “Soundation” subscription – Eliza Baker School 55
- Music and art related equipment – Midtown Schools
- Seven scholarships for Music Theatre Camp – 4th through 8th grade, Midtown Schools
- Literature – 2nd through 5th grade, Eliza Baker School 55
- Materials to increase school families’ engagement in creative processes – 3rd through 5th grade, Eliza Baker School 55
Students’ success in school is enhanced significantly by engagement in the arts, which improves:
- Motor skills—Many motions involved in art are essential to the growth of fine motor skills.
- Language development— making art—or just talking about it—provides opportunities to learn words for colors, shapes and actions.
- Decision making—Art education strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
- Visual learning—Even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information.
- Inventiveness—When kids are encouraged to express themselves and take risks in creating art, they develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives.
- Cultural awareness—Teaching children to recognize the choices an artist makes in portraying a subject helps kids understand the concept that what they see may be someone else’s interpretation of reality.
- Improved academic performance—Young people who participate regularly in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.
Help us help more kids in Midtown; join us at Pints for Half Pints! Click here to purchase tickets.


A brief history of Warminster School
The School has a long and fascinating history and today incorporates four schools, plus a convent, in one. It was founded in 1707 by Thomas Thynne (1640 - 1714), who had been created 1st Viscount Weymouth in 1682, to educate the sons of his Longleat estate workers. In 1789, the 3rd Viscount Weymouth was created the 1st Marquess of Bath. The close links between the School and Longleat are embodied in the Wren Doorway to School House, the original 1707 school building. The doorway is believed to have been designed as the main entrance to Longleat House by Sir Christopher Wren, who was born locally, in 1663 on the occasion of the visit by King Charles II and Queen Catherine. It was then moved to the new school in, or soon after, 1705. The School’s crest remains the arms of the Thynne family.
The foundation of the School was strongly supported by Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells between 1685 - 1691, and regarded also by the School as a central figure in the School’s foundation. He had been at Oxford with Thynne; after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, he refused to swear allegiance to the new monarch, William III (William of Orange) because he felt legally bound by his oath to the previous monarch, James II. As a result he was deprived of his benefice. In sympathy he was invited to live at Longleat, where he remained until his death in 1711. He was a strong influence on Lord Weymouth and encouraged him to charitable and benevolent works. His chair, which is Tudor (1485 - 1603) and was presented by him to the School, now sits in the Headmaster’s office. On the back is graffiti – in the form of carved pupils’ names and dates - from the 1820s (pictured above).
Over the course of the centuries that followed, the School became known as Lord Weymouth’s Grammar School, ‘Grammar’ because the teaching focused on Greek and Latin grammar. The word was dropped from the name only in the mid-1950s. Thomas Arnold, the historian and great educational reformer, was a pupil at the School from 1803 - 1807. He was later headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 - 1841.
The present-day school also incorporates a ‘National School’ dating from 1815. The National Society for Promoting Religious Education was established in 1811 with the aim of providing an elementary education, in accordance with the teachings of the Church of England, to the children of the poor. The building is now the Deputy Headmaster’s house.
St Boniface Missionary College was founded in 1860 by the Vicar of Warminster, James Erasmus Philipps. During his incumbency he also established St Denys Convent and St Monica’s School for girls (1874), run by the Sisters of the Convent of St Denys. The college closed for the duration of World War II and when it reopened in 1948 it was in a different guise, associated with King’s College London, as a post-graduate centre for missionary work. It closed for good in 1969 and the buildings have been leased to Warminster School ever since. St Boniface is now a boarding house for boys and is one of the School’s most striking pieces of architecture, comprising Georgian, neo-Jacobean and neo-Gothic styles.
Although St Boniface also houses the School’s chapel, it is small, and so the whole school gathers three times a week in the neighbouring Minster Church of St Denys. It is here that the School has a stained-glass window as a memorial to those pupils who died in the First World War. Charles Alcock, headmaster of the School from 1864 - 1895, is buried in the graveyard. St Denys is the oldest church in Warminster and stands near the site of the original Saxon church, dating from the early 10th century. It was extensively rebuilt in the 11th, 15th and 19th centuries.
The School remained single-sex until 1973, when Lord Weymouth’s School amalgamated with St Monica’s, which stood on the site of the current Prep School. Thereafter, the School became known as Warminster School. Since 1996 the St Denys Convent has been a boys’ boarding house.
The School is a member of both the Society of Heads and of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC).


College degree programs in the arts are diverse. The degree you choose will depend on the course of study you wish to pursue -- whether you want to focus on creating art, or understanding and analyzing it. In addition, different types of bachelor's and master's degrees are available, depending on the course load you wish to take on.
Fine Arts Programs
Two main study paths are open to you if you want to study the arts. You can either study the technique and creation of an art or arts, or focus on how to interpret and understand the work created by others. Most degrees in a creative field, such as photography, painting or sculpture, are simple noted as an arts, studio art or fine arts degree. The degree program usually allows a student to take courses in multiple specializations, but only requires specialization in one field. Arts degrees typically require a studio exhibition of a student's work to be completed before graduation.
Analytical Arts Degrees
Not all arts degrees train students to become artists -- many focus on teaching about the historical and cultural contexts and uses of art. The most common type of program in this category is art history, the study of how art developed and was understood through time. Other art-related degrees include art therapy and art education. Instead of emphasizing creative work, these degree programs emphasize research and analysis, and may require a thesis essay or similar research project before graduation. Because of the close relationship between these subjects and the creative arts, some colleges and universities offer combined creative arts and applied arts programs. At one of these schools, a student may obtain a fine arts degree and art history degree simultaneously.
Bachelor's and Associate Degrees
There are two bachelor's level degrees in the arts -- the Bachelor of Arts, B.A., and the Bachelor of Fine Arts, BFA. The difference is one of course load. A BFA indicates more intensive study, usually mandated by more course credits -- the BFA is thus a more valuable degree. Some schools offer both B.A. and BFA degrees in arts subjects. The same core courses are usually required for both programs, so you can wait until you've completed your initial coursework to decide which degree you want.
Two-year associate degrees are also available in the arts. These are typically offered by technical schools or community colleges, and are equivalent to freshman and sophomore level college arts programs; the degree is usually obtained in anticipation of transferring into a bachelor's degree arts program.
Graduate Arts Degrees
The most typical graduate degree in the creative arts field is the Master of Fine Arts, MFA degree. The equivalent degree in analytical subjects such as art history is the Master of Arts, M.A. Master's degrees typically take two years, but may be longer or shorter depending on the program or the pace at which the student obtains credits.
The advanced graduate degree Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., is relatively rare in the creative arts, but is becoming more popular as artists look to compete with artists with MFAs. Ph.D.s are more common in the art history field, since its emphasis on research and analysis is similar to that of other liberal arts, such as English or philosophy. Ph.D. programs are typically five years, with students focusing on coursework in the first three years, and then spending two years largely teaching younger students and working on a lengthy final research project or exhibition called a dissertation.
- All Art School: Guide to Art and Design School Degree Programs
- Top Universities: Art Degrees
- World Wide Learn: Guide for Art Majors
- Barry University: What is the Difference between the BFA and the BA?
- Wesleyan University: Art & Art History
- Anoka-Ramsey Community College: Associate in Fine Arts Degree
- NYU Steinhardt: Department of Art and Art Professions
- Columbia University: The PhD Program
- Inside Higher Ed: For Artists, M.F.A. or Ph.D.?
- Jack Hollingsworth/Blend Images/Getty Images


Prosocial behaviors are included in every state's preschool standards and in the goals for Head Start. These behaviors typically include the sharing of materials, taking turns, cooperating with others toward a common goal and empathizing with others. Training in these behaviors starts early and continues throughout life.
Read a book about sharing, and have the children suggest solutions to the various problems posed.
Distribute an insufficient number of materials for a task, then wait for the children to devise a solution; if the children do not suggest a way to share, suggest one.
Give each pair of children one large sheet of paper and a pile of collage materials, then encourage them to share the materials to create one collage.
Have children "prepare dinner" in a play kitchen. Encourage them to devise a way to share the equipment -- for example, one child might use the stove while the other uses the oven; one child might cook while the other cuts vegetables for a salad.
Show two to three children how to blow bubbles. Tell children you will give them each a wand, but you have only one bottle and it can accommodate only one wand at a time. Children should take turns inserting their wands into the bottle.
Give a child a cup of red beads, and his neighbor a cup of beads in a different color. Give the pair of children one string, and ask them to create one necklace in alternating colors.
Children can play horseshoes to practice taking turns as well. A child throws one shoe one time, then lets another child do the same with his own shoe. After everybody has taken a turn, play resumes with the first child. There is no reversal of roles.
Children can also throw a ball back and forth. This activity requires turn-taking and role reversals as well.
Pairs of children can plant seeds to learn to cooperate. One child in each pair drops individual seeds into a furrow; the other child waters each seed.
Another activity involves placing a ball on top of a pillowcase held at the edges by two children. Children move across the room while keeping the ball on the pillowcase, or launch the ball into the air catching it on the pillowcase. Increase the number of children, and use a sheet rather than a pillowcase.
They can also learn cooperation with an activity where each child holds the handle of a spoon in his mouth. The teacher places a plastic Easter egg on the spoon held by the first child. Children pass the egg from one to the other using only the spoons held in their mouths.
Play charades in which the words guessed refer to emotions. For example, one child pretends to be angry, while the other children try to guess the word "angry."
Children work in pairs. A blindfolded child goes through an obstacle course as directed by his sighted partner. The course should be on a soft material, and children should go through it on their hands and knees.
Children exchange gifts. Each child asks what his partner would like, then designs and creates a gift accordingly.
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning: State Planning
- Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center: "Curriculum in Head Start"; Helen H. Taylor, et al.; 2001
- ChildrensBooks guide: Sharing
- Book Nook: " I Can Share"; Karen Katz
- "Social and Emotional Development"; Dave Riley, et al.; 2008
- Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images


Resources for math instruction gathered by the SABES PD Center for Mathematics and Adult Numeracy:
- Using the PIAAC Numeracy Framework to Guide Instruction: An Introduction for Adult Educators (2017). This guide encourages teachers to shift their teaching to focus more on the use of numeracy skills.
- 5 Great Reasons to Teach Number Lines. Think number lines are just for kids? Think again! Number lines are a flexible tool that can be used to strengthen students’ math comprehension knowledge in several ways.
- TIAN in Action: Teachers’ Stories. Seven adult education teachers who participated in the Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy (TIAN) professional development series share stories of how their thinking and their practice have changed.
- CUNY HSE Curriculum Framework. This resource from the City University of New York (CUNY) offers teachers lessons for standards-based instruction. A well-written overview ties in current research, and additional resources are mentioned throughout.
- Adult Numeracy: A Reader. Four Papers from CAAL’s January 2011 Roundtable on Adult Numeracy. CAAL (Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy)’s hope is that these four papers will stimulate discussion about the need to improve math instruction in adult education, and prompt action by policymakers and providers at the federal, state, and local levels.
- Designing Instruction with the Components of Numeracy. This article (from the May 2008 issue of World Education) uses the Components of Numeracy to illustrate how to design effective lessons.
- Statistics for Action. This resource includes activities, guides, videos, and other tools for bringing environmental issues into the math classroom.
- The Answer Is Still the Same—It Doesn’t Matter How You Got It! This document compares computation methods used in the United States and other countries for math teachers and students of various backgrounds.
Mathematics and Adult Numeracy


Science for Kids: Bubble Experiment
Growth Mindset Freebie Free Activity about Growth Mindset that can be used for K-2nd grade! Click for the freebie!
love2learn2day: Free Math Strategy Posters from The Math Learning Center
24-7 Teacher: Accountable Math Talk Stems for Students - cards to go on a ring with math questioning.
Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle told from the Butterflies perspective on Youtube
Parts of a Monarch caterpillar. Feel free to copy and use for educational purposes.
Nectar plants for monarch butterflies
Circus Activity Pack from A Moment In Our World on TeachersNotebook.com (112 pages)
FREE "A Day at the Big Top" Circus Themed-Literacy and Math unit
this would be super easy to make with the kids


Musical sensibility can significantly help people to become better teachers as well as researchers, says a new study.
Lead researcher Liora Bresler, University of Illinois professor of education, says that the inherently performative and improvisatory aspects of teaching, along with the temporal, polyphonic aspects of scholarly research, compares favourably with musicianship.
She added that knowing there was an audience to perform for "really intensifies the relationship between the music and the performer."
This is analogous to how a teacher should think of a lecture or a researcher a presentation at a conference.
"A musician would approach a piece of music by looking for meaning, and then how they would interpret it and perform it," she said.
"All throughout that process, they pay much more attention and are much more focused and organized, because they know they have an audience to perform for," she added.
Similarly, when a researcher prepares to delve into a subject or a teacher reviews notes for a lecture, Bresler said the whole process of making meaning is intensified.
Teachers can think of a lesson "as if it's a musical form - there's harmony, rhythm, tension, orchestration, higher- and lower-intensity dynamics."
"When you teach, you have a lesson plan, but you're not bound to follow it. You play, follow up, improvise and adapt, as the situation dictates. It's intellectual engagement, and you want to be engaging. So having a real, live audience makes a difference," she added.
Bresler said that while research has a more significant solitary component than teaching, the intellectual retreat of research is preparation for the more social aspects of scholarship - similar to a jazz musician who practices licks in private so the music is heard as effortless and spontaneous on stage.
"In qualitative research, thinking about a project is a solitary activity," she said.
"Going to places, interviewing people, presenting research at a conference are all highly social activities, somewhat like a performance. Data analysis and writing up the actual research are both solitary activities, but they are informed by the same two-way communication between author and audience that informs music," the expert added.
To train better scholars and educators, Bresler said people need to be trained how "to see better, to listen better, and to make better connections."
"Our different sensibilities help us become better teachers and researchers in the sense of making meaning and communicating to others," she added.
The study was published in the British Journal of Music Education.


This course is designed to support parents and professional in their ability to teach individuals with Rett Syndrome Emergent Literacy Skills. Emergent Literacy Development is key as the foundation for the learning of more conventional reading and writing. Individuals with Rett Syndrome succeed with typical Emergent Literacy expectations, but need adapted materials and teaching strategies to be successful. This course will also embed the use of AAC and technology in order to best support individuals with Rett Syndrome in their learning.
EMERGENT READING PART 1:
This course covers the theoretical basis of Emergent Literacy and the research supporting it. A strong connection between communication and behavior/focus/attending will be both taught and modeled with video. How to teach individuals with Rett Sydnrome and the important aspects of the disorder will be delineated and examples in videos.
Participants will learn:
- basic assumptions about Rett Syndrome to aide them in delivering effective instruction and setting appropriate expectations.
- how to change their instructional perspective to support individuals with Rett Syndrome.
- to encourage and set-up play which encourages interaction and vocabulary foundation for language learning.
- an Emergent Literacy definition and the research to support it.
- the basics of the 6 Blocks of the Building Blocks Model for Emergent Literacy by Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy Hall.
- methods for embedding Language learning with Literacy learning.
- methods for instructing Emergent skills to support Building Block #1.
EMERGENT READING PART 3: Building Blocks 5, 6, Assessment, School Schedule, and Resources.
Registration includes unlimited access to this course for one year. To purchase, click below to enter our webinar catalog. Log in or create a new account on the next screen.Purchase [$100]


- Instant Reader
- May 14, 2017, 8:33 pm
Brain growth in the early years of life relies upon sensory experiences that stimulate the synapses and trigger the creation of new brain connections. The more complex these connections are, the more intelligent we become. Reading is one of the most important and vigorous activities that helps stimulate the brain and makes children smarter.
Here are five reasons why children should learn how to read at an early age.
- Early reading raises a child's IQ. A report published by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada states that not only does reading boost intelligence, it also help(s) children compensate for modest levels of cognitive ability (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1998). According to the authors, reading has cognitive consequences that extend beyond its immediate task of lifting meaning from a particular passage. These consequences carry profound implications for the development of a wide range of cognitive capabilities.
- Early readers get a head-start in accumulating reading volume and, consequently, in reading success. Reading fluency in the early years paves the way for better language acquisition, comprehension, literacy development, and writing skills. Children who don't start reading until they are older will have less practice and may not achieve reading success until much later. As a consequence, they may have difficulty acquiring language and comprehension skills factors that can affect their performance at school.
- Early readers have a higher success rate at school. Early reading success is a good predictor of future academic achievement. Children who become fluent readers at a younger age and who then grow up to enjoy reading tend to score better in math and in languages than their counterparts who don't. Early readers also develop a lifelong reading habit that helps them do well at school and at work, and succeed in adult life.
- Early readers develop fluid intelligence. This is the major category of intelligence that concerns our ability to solve problems, to detect significant patterns and relationships, and to understand things. Early readers get a running start on the ability to read between the line an important skill not only for reading but also for everyday human interaction and communication.
- Early reading develops understanding and increases the use of the imagination. Early reading opens up whole new ways of taking in and comprehending the world around the young child. When children read stories, they grow intellectually and emotionally. Reading literature fosters creativity and expands the child's awareness of himself and of others. Emotional intelligence, particularly theory of mind the ability to understand the mental state of other people is improved. And, just as importantly, when children are able to read independently, they develop autonomy and self-confidence.
Encourage children to read by taking them to the library, reading to them, and enrolling them in reading programs. The earlier children begin to read, the better their chances are at becoming fluent readers and at developing cognitive, emotional, and social capacities that will serve them throughout their lives. The good news is you can make this possible for your child with the Summer Instant Reader Program. Visit the Instant Reader center nearest you and find out how your child could become smarter this summer! Only 100 slots available so reserve now! Our friendly and competent staff would be more than happy to assist you!
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A history of music education in the Utah territory, 1850-1895
Rhodes, Rhonda Lee
MetadataShow full item record
This study is a chronological narrative of how and to what extent music was taught in public and parochial schools in the Utah territory in the second half of the nineteenth century. It also documents private music instruction during the same period. A compiled list of school and private music educators is provided. Music textbooks authored by Utahans David Orson Calder and Evan Stephens are examined. These textbooks and other documented descriptions of music teaching in the territory show that the Tonic Sol-fa method of teaching was the most common from 1860 to 1890. Music education in Utah developed within a unique ecology of a relatively homogeneous religious culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in geographical isolation from other developed areas of the United States from 1847 to 1869. The LDS people were encouraged by their leaders to be trained in and to participate in the arts. The gathering of LDS converts to Utah from locations such as Great Britain, Europe and Scandinavia brought conservatory-trained musicians to this isolated location. This influenced a gradual inclusion of music in the schools as early as the 1850s. The population of the territory gradually diversified beginning with the completion of the intercontinental railroad in 1869. In the public schools, by the 1890s, some urban school districts reported 100% of their students receiving music education. At the University of Deseret in Salt Lake City, all students in the Normal College (teacher training school) were trained in music instruction. The development of parochial schools from the 1870s forward further expanded music education in the territory. In many parochial schools, the opportunity for music study was a leading message in advertising for the school. Some parochial schools had multiple-year progressive programs in piano and vocal study. Private music teaching was more prevalent in the Utah territory than in neighboring states and territories in the second half of the nineteenth century. The teaching careers of Sarah Ann Cooke, Dominico Ballo, David Orson Calder, Charles John Thomas, John Hasler and Evan Stephens are documented in this study.


KCC’s Social Science Department offers instruction in a broad range of subject areas which are viewed as essential to building solid employment skills. Our rapidly changing economy needs workers who are able to critically think, analyze, and pursue knowledge to help themselves and their employers thrive. Social Science careers include: teachers, political scientists, social workers, psychiatrists, anthropologists, religious leaders, sociologists, historians, human service workers, early childhood specialists, and teachers.
Social Science and Education courses support all career paths including: health sciences, education, skilled trades, criminal justice, international travel, business, and creative arts. The KCC Social Science and Education Department supports Service Learning, Early Childhood Education, Elementary and Secondary Education, and International Travel Programming. We are committed to helping people acquire these skills. We study:
Anthropology: helps us to understand how cultures have made meaning of human existence over time.
Early Childhood Education: the field of study focusing on children’s growth and development between the ages of birth and 8 years.
Elementary Education: helps young children develop important skills in a positive learning environment.
Ethics: helps us to understand the guiding principles which can enrich our personal and professional lives.
History: helps us to understand what came before us so that we may take advantage of successes and mistakes along the course of human experience.
Human Services: helps us to understand the needs of persons on their journey through life so that we may assist them through transitions and in overcoming obstacles.
International Studies and Travel: helps us to explore our world learning about new cultures and opportunities.
Philosophy: helps us to understand the ideas of the great thinkers past and present.
Political Science: helps us to understand the role of leadership and how leaders can help promote economic and social growth.
Psychology: helps us understand ourselves, those around us and our relationships with them.
Secondary Education: instruction of students in middle and high schools in specific subjects such as math, science, literature arts, music and history.
Service-Learning: is a teaching and learning method that engages students in deep academic inquiry and reflection related to their field of study while they are also actively engaged in their own community.
Sociology: helps us to understand how societies have developed and how society influences us.


By Vally Lytra
This e-book is a sociolinguistic learn of children’s speak and the way they have interaction with each other and their academics in multilingual, multicultural and multiethnic faculties. it's in keeping with tape recordings and ethnographic observations of majority Greek and minority Turkish-speaking kids at an Athens basic college. It deals the reader a different check out the ways that young children draw upon their wealthy interactional histories and percentage, remodel and recontextualize linguistic and different semiotic assets in circulate to build play frames and discover, undertake, withstand on hand in addition to novel social roles and identities. Drawing on ethnographically knowledgeable methods to discourse, the booklet indicates the ways that verbal phenomena resembling teasing, joking, language play, tune making and chanting delivers a efficient locus for the learn of the negotiation of social identities and roles in class. This e-book might be of curiosity to students, researchers and scholars of sociolinguistics, discourse research, cultural stories, and multicultural schooling. it's going to even be of curiosity to anthropologists and sociologists.
Read or Download Play Frames and Social Identities: Contact encounters in a Greek primary school (Pragmatics and Beyond New Series) PDF
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Extra resources for Play Frames and Social Identities: Contact encounters in a Greek primary school (Pragmatics and Beyond New Series)


How to add, subtract, multiply, divide decimals is an important foundational numeracy skill.
Learn these, practice them and always keep to the same methods!
There are 6 main numeracy skills that will help with your maths. Click here to read more.
A decimal number is a number written in ‘base 10’ and is generally used with money or measurements such as weight, area, distance etc. Working with decimals can be relatively straightforward, but you need to remember:
- always keep the decimal point in the correct place
- always keep the numbers in the same column
- when calculating, work out the ‘numbers,’ then add the decimal point
|Decimal||Is the same as this fraction..||Is the same as this percentage..|
In the meantime, did you know:
- The decimal system was developed in Ancient India and Arabia.
- The earliest decimal system was probably invented by Elamites of Iran in the period 3500-2500 BC.
- The decimal point we use was probably invented by Bartholomaeus Pitiscus in 1612.
- A comma is used instead of a decimal point in some European countries.
- The value of ‘pi’ has been calculated to 2.7 trillion decimal places – 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 are the first 50.
Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000
Multiplying decimals – part 1
Multiplying decimals – part 2
How to divide decimals by a whole number
How to divide decimals by decimals!
How to convert fractions to decimals – part 1
How to convert fractions to decimals – part 2