Benefits of listening to classical music
We have already reviewed in our blog the benefits of music in children and even how music affects your brain, through the computer graphics ‘The psychology of music’. Music in general, and classical music in particular, has always been given a wide range of benefits.
Among other things, it is said to reduce stress, improve mood or even positively affect plants and animals. Here we review some of the proven benefits of listening to classical music:
Why listen to classical music
Not only classical music, but music in general, imitates the tonal characteristics of the emotion of the voice and has the ability to cause chills or produce joy, even in different cultures.
For example, Western music causes emotions of excitement or joy. This is because music imitates the tonal characteristics of the emotion of the voice, taking advantage of our ability to communicate and our cultural associations in the same way.
On the contrary, classical music can lower blood pressure, combat insomnia, improve performance, space-time reasoning and short-term memory.
Music influences our mood and causes a series of sensations that affect the whole brain helping to reduce pain and anxiety.
The positive influence of classical music in the treatment of some diseases has been demonstrated. There are several neurological disorders that, although they have no cure, use music as a form of treatment: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome and different forms of autism.
For example, according to research published in The Journal of Surgery Cardiothoraic, listening to classical music or opera after a heart transplant can mean the difference between success and failure, as they have found that music reduces anxiety, pain and nausea.
And they even claim that there may be some effect on the parasympathetic nervous system (a part of the nervous system whose function is to control unconscious things in our body, such as digestion).
Listening to classical music could combat insomnia. The University of Toronto says that “the rhythms and tonal patterns of this type of music create a meditative mood and slow brain waves,” which helps you fall asleep faster.
This is due to the rhythms and tonal patterns of this type of music, which create a meditative mood and slow brain waves.
Playing an instrument can improve the ability to learn languages. According to Northwestern University of Illinois, the brain connections that occur when an instrument is played can help other forms of communication such as speaking, reading, or understanding other languages.
Classical music reduces stress and may help lower blood pressure. According to some studies, listening to soft classical music a couple of times a week would help reduce your stress and anxiety levels.
And if you reduce stress, this in turn affects blood pressure, according to comparisons made in a University of San Diego study between classical music and jazz, pop or other music. Those who listened to classical music had lower blood pressure levels.
Listening to classical music, as well as learning to play an instrument and musical language, could improve performance so that people get better academic results and suffer less school failure. The effectiveness of music has been demonstrated in impregnating constancy, discipline and rigor in the students who study it.
For example, the next U.S. study also showed that those with some form of music education scored higher on college entrance exams.
Those who studied music scored 61 points higher than their peers in verbal tests and 42 in mathematics, while those who played instruments scored 53 and 39 points higher respectively in both tests.
Music helps to overcome dyslexia. It has been shown that studying musical language or playing the piano significantly improves the coordination of dyslexic people.
“Researchers argue […] that early music practice benefits (children with dyslexia) in learning to read. María Celia Ruiz Bernal, Director of the Royal Conservatory of Music “Victoria Eugenia” of Granada in the article “Dyslexia and Music Therapy”.
The “Mozart effect” is the series of supposed benefits of listening to the music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which means that it temporarily improves spatial-temporal reasoning and short-term memory.
However, this effect continues to be the subject of research and there are many opinions that cast doubt on it, such as that of biologist Nicholas Spitzer of the University of California, who questioned the existence of the Mozart effect based on his interpretations of a study that said that there was no effect on brain activity or ability to listen to Mozart’s music.
Music helps integration, as this case of an autistic girl who expresses herself through music shows, or as this initiative in favor of cancer patients who taught through music to understand what other people feel.


There are lots of reasons to share stories, songs and rhymes with children. It's easy to assume that the importance of doing these activities with children lies in the development of language and literacy. After all, these rich language experiences expose children to new words in a fun and playful way. Although language learning is an important reason to share stories, songs and rhymes, there's another significant benefit to sharing them with children – the chance for a cuddle and the opportunity to develop our relationships.
Relationships are at the core of all learning and babies are born looking to make emotional connections with others. The world can be big, noisy and intimidating. Babies and children need loving adults who can help them make sense of what they're experiencing by providing consistent, loving interactions that are tuned in to baby's needs and emotional state. If children don't feel loved, safe and secure, then it's harder for them to learn and engage with the world around them.
Sharing a story, song or rhyme is a great way to connect emotionally and get to know each other. In these moments, babies, children and adults experience so much together: cuddles, shared eye contact, laughter and tuned in interactions. The cuddles, tickles and bouncing provide a physical closeness which prompts the body to releases oxytocin, a hormone that helps us feel even more connected. Sharing eye contact or a loving gaze has the similar effect of enhancing intimacy. These special moments can help us build our relationships and learn what makes each other laugh, or what we like and dislike. If we tune in carefully, we begin to understand how the other person views and experiences the world.
You're never too young to enjoy a story, song or rhyme. Even before babies and children can talk, read and sing, they're communicating and engaging with these experiences. These moments will stay with a child for life. Not just forming a solid base for language and literacy development, but providing the vital foundation of loving relationships.


Tutt Library Research Guides
If a database doesn't give you the full text of article, just click on the Tutt Link logo.
Tutt Link will search to see if the article is available
Use this resource to locate background and specific information on specific types of music (search by the name of the composer if you know it, or by the genre of music). Contains good bibliographies and links to other Internet resources. Provides sources on classical music, ethnomusicology, opera, jazz, and much more…
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (also available in print) takes a cultural approach to its focus on the music of all the world's peoples. Each volume is arranged topically, regionally, or by ethnic group, and is complemented by an extensive index.
Use this resource to gather citations to international journal articles, book reviews, etc, with a broad coverage of music topics. It’s especially strong in the music education field.
JSTOR is a scholarly journal archives with many Music titles. Although many journals in JSTOR are archives only, JSTOR is now starting to host current content (the most recent issues). It's best not to limit your search to music journals; you'll find articles about music in journals principally devoted to other disciplines. Most articles will be available full text, to be printed.
RILM covers all types of publications on music, in all media: books, journals, online resources, research-based sound recordings and films, dissertations, and more (see a complete list of document types). Publications represented in RILM originate from 151 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe. Articles in many languages with English titles. Not full text, but very comprehensive coverage-articles may be linked to other sources for full text-otherwise you can order through interlibrary loan. Try this!
Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. An archival research resouce containing the essential primary resources for studying the history of the film and entertaingment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music pres titles. Magazines have been scanned cover-to-cover in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of all articels, covers, ads and reviews.
Streamed audio databases provide sound recordings 24/7 on and off campus. These include:
The Music Library also has a large CD collection; you'll find many musical genres available for checkout.
Databases have unique features that impact searching. The more aware you are about the differences, the better you'll be able to make the most out of each database.


Active outdoor play is a regular part of your child's Montessori day that should be scheduled into the day at least once in addition to other active play periods.
Throwing exercises aid gross motor skill development and hand eye coordination. Here are some throwing and related activity ideas (a few can be used indoors):
1. Throwing a baseball across a field. You can also play catch with your child.
2. Passing a basketball back and forth with another person.
3. Dribbling a basketball.
4. Throwing a basketball or other large ball against a wall and catching it. The ball can also be bounced on the ground before and/or after catching.
5. Playing a game of basketball.
6. Tossing foam balls into a large washbasin.
7. Tossing tennis balls into a laundry basket.
8. Tossing a beach ball into the air and hitting it.
9. Tossing a beach ball to another person to play catch.
Do you have ideas to share? Let us know!
Encourage Exploration and Creativity
8 years ago


At Biddenham, we believe that all students have the right to a full and balanced education.
At some stage in their school career many students encounter difficulties that prevent them from learning successfully. Factors such as:
…all these can create problems that make it difficult for students to fulfil their learning potential. Working in close partnership with colleagues, the Learning Support Department aims to foster success for all students across the whole curriculum.
Additionally students who are gifted or talented can encounter situations requiring special attention to ensure they achieve their learning potential.
TA support is provided via in-class support for students with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) as deemed appropriate at the annual review. Support is also present in the lowest set maths groups in order to support the students with greatest need. TA’s are also present in classes where there is evidence of need in terms of students who are known to the Learning Support department and are on the SEN register as requiring additional learning support.
Targeted students participate in Learning Support lessons to further support their literacy, numeracy and academic skills to help them access learning in the mainstream classroom.
“IDL is an online literacy intervention that combines a multi-sensory, structured approach with an accessible, stress-free user method.
Multi-sensory approaches are effective because they address key areas, commonly associated with dyslexic-type difficulties. These relate to processing and retention of information. Multi-sensory learning methods allow information to be accessed via several sensory channels
simultaneously. This maximises opportunities for effective processing and retention. IDL incorporates sight, sound, touch and voice. Students see and hear the words, type and repeat,
then read aloud and listen back. Research suggests that information heard via one’s own voice is absorbed more readily than via others’ voices.
IDL is tightly structured to provide comprehensive and specific teaching, tailored to individual
need. Sequenced modules contain lessons in sentence format with story themes, interspersed with spelling, grammar and punctuation exercises. Following the Initial Test, Students’ reading and spelling scores are entered to generate lessons at the appropriate level. Students then work through the lessons sequentially. Each learning focus is introduced, demonstrated, practised and consolidated before progressing to the next focus. Previous learning is continually reinforced throughout the programme. Specialist intervention for dyslexic-type difficulties will provide a very high level of repetition and ‘overlearning’ opportunity.
Each lesson should deliver approximately 80% revision of previously learnt material, with 20% new learning, to allow learning to be consolidated and, ultimately, transferred to long-term memory.” https://www.idlcloud.co.uk/
IDL will be administered as a whole cohort intervention for years 7 and 8.
Students will be expected to complete a 20 minute session 3 times a week. One of these sessions will be facilitated during an English lesson and the other 2 independently.
For students in years 9, 10 and 11 any student with a reading age below their chronological age will also complete IDL on the same basis as years 7 and 8, with one session occuring during timetabled English lessons. Students not enrolled on the IDL programme will be able to engage in some independent reading.
If students have EAL Lessons or Learning Support lessons, IDL will be completed during this time.
For the independent sessions students will be able to access IDL before school, at breaks and lunch and after school. As IDL is web-based students are also able to access IDL on any electronic device at home.
The aim of the school is for all students to have a functional reading and spelling age of greater than 10 years and 6 months by the time they take their GCSEs. After initial assessment on entry to the school, currently all students are placed on the Lexia programme to develop their literacy skills. Progress is monitored within a year and students then continue or not as required.
Additional literacy interventions are offered as required on a 1:1 or small group basis to support students needs i.e. reading club; handwriting club; toe by toe intervention.
Students develop numeracy skills where necessary through 2 different computerised interventions. Either by using ‘mymaths’ within their maths lessons or by using ‘123maths’. Some targeted students do this as a part of their Learning Support lesson or as a part of their Maths (set 5 only) lesson.


English Language Learners at Woodroffe High School were given the opportunity to put their words (in multiple languages!) to music with singer-songwriter, Craig Cardiff.
Cardiff is a Juno-nominated Canadian folk artist who, in addition to recording and touring, runs workshops with students of all ages. His workshops aim to empower and unite students through song.
Most students who participated in the workshop are in the English Literacy Development program and are developing their English language, literacy and school skills. Many have had periods of interrupted schooling in their lives and are newly arrived in Canada with varying levels of English.
The ELD/ESL teachers at Woodroffe High School are always searching for ways for their students to feel a sense of safety, belonging and empowerment. This songwriting workshop was the perfect opportunity for students to have ownership over their words and their stories. Cardiff encouraged students to think and write about how they felt moving to a new country. The students were brave and eager to share their stories. They jumped right in, writing lyrics that meant something to them. After some time brainstorming and writing, Cardiff took each student’s song and put it to music. He sang along with students as songs (and smiles!) were shared.
Highlights included creating songs about family, home, migration and war. Students were open and honest about their past and their present. Teacher Ann-Marie Reid hopes to continue the great work done in this workshop over the next semester.


Didática das Expressões Artísticas
Teacher Responsible: Sandra Mónica Figueiredo de Oliveira
1º Ano | 2º Semestre
Know the main pedagogical guidelines for intervention of different artistic expressions (Plástic, musical, dramatic and dance)
Know different didactic models and ways of implementation of this area of knowledge in the context of basic education;
Identify the importance of art education for the development of aesthetic sensitivity on the first Cycle of basic education.
Understand the art education as an instrument of educational intervention for the development of specific and transversal competences.
Reflect about the multiple uses of different artistic expressions in an educational context.
Mobilize the technical, expressive and sensitive aspects of different materials, formats and instruments for the execution of an art education project.
Designing work planning for art education in the first cycle of basic education.
-Guidelines of Art Education in the 1st cycle BasicEducation
-Art education as a tool for the development of specific/transversal skills
2.Specificity of artistic languages
-Models of musical pedagogy,building activities in accordance with proposals of Dalcroze,Orff and Schafer
-The relationship between music and movement in the development of children's expression and communication skills:theoretical exploration/practical experimentation
-Improvisation and vocal exploration
-Dramatic play in teaching context
-Plastic expression and creative process:elements of communication and visual form
-Graphic representation:techniques and materials
-Didactic-pedagogical approach to creative dance
-Know and experience the elements of dance through the knowledge of the body
3.Artistic and pedagogical intervention
-Designing work planning for art education:Conceptualization and implementation of interdisciplinary projects
-Art education:forms and artistic models of representation
Teaching methodologies (including evalution)The curricular unit is structured in TP and PL lessons and tutorial orientation, based on active methodologies, using different strategies such us lectures, debates, films visualization, practical experimentation of techniques and working methods.
The students work will have, as a reference, objectives and learning outcomes achieved and verified through the following evaluation form:
Elaboration of a theoretical practical interdisciplinary group work focused on performing an intervention proposal that, based in a theme-generator, explores its potential as a research and educational intervention tool whose artistic and pedagogical knowledge can be useful for PES. This work has a weight of 100% (25% for each artistic area). The final classification is the result of the simple arithmetic mean of the different evaluations.
Essential Bibliography (including ISBN)Bachmann, M. (1998). La Ritmica Jaques-Dalcroze: una Educación por la Música y para la Música. Madrid: Ed. Pirámide
Cortesão, I. (2014). A magia dos sons: a descoberta do ambiente sonoro como instrumento de intervenção educativa.In Trevisan, G. et al (2014) (Eds.). Direitos da Criança: Realidades e Desafios do Caso Português. U.M: Instituto de Educação
Freedman, K. (2006). Enseñar la Cultura visual - Currículum, estética y la vida social del arte. Barcelona: Octaedro
Landier, J. & Barret, G (1999). Expressão Dramática e Teatro. Porto: ASA
Marques, I. (2010).Linguagem da dança: Arte e Ensino. S. Paulo: Digitexto.
Oliveira, M. (2015). A Arte Contemporânea para uma Pedagogia Crítica. Porto: Associação de Professores de Expressão e Comunicação Visual
Oliveira, M. & Silva, B. (2013). Una Imagen sobre la Educación Artística en la actualidad, European Review of Artistic studies, vol. 4, n. 1, pp. 54-75
Sousa, M. (2000). Metodologias do Ensino da Música para Crianças. V. N. Gaia: Gailivro


Learning in Action
Elementary education major’s real-world experience prepares her for teaching
Savhanna Korver believes that teaching is one of the most important jobs a person can do. Teachers, good and bad, have a lasting effect on their students, and Korver wants to have a positive effect on the lives of the children she teaches in the future.
“It might not be the most monetarily rewarding, but I can’t think of a career that would fill your heart more than helping a student learn how to read, or making sure that they are going home to a safe home at night,” she said. “You have the ability to make your students feel that they are important, and I can’t think of one thing that’s more important than instilling confidence in a first-grader.”
Korver, 22, from Potter Valley, California, is a senior majoring in elementary education in the University of Idaho College of Education. She loves the hands-on nature of the university’s curriculum, which involves working in classrooms at local elementary schools
“It’s really exciting that, especially this year, I’m in a classroom once a week for at least three hours, if not more than that,” she said. “Even when we are in class (at the university), it’s a lot of peer-teaching. So I’ll teach a lesson to my peers as if they were third-graders, for example.”
Her experience has been shaped not just by teaching and learning in the classroom, but also by the research she conducted over the course of her junior year with Vanessa Anthony-Stevens, an assistant professor of social and cultural studies. The focus of their research was diversity in the classroom.
Korver gained knowledge by transcribing interviews conducted by Anthony-Stevens, and by accompanying her on field trips that broadened her understanding of how a community can shape a classroom’s diversity. An experience that stood out to Korver was a visit to the Nez Perce tribe’s reservation in Lapwai, Idaho.
There, she spent time observing teachers in their classrooms, visited the local fish hatchery and learned how the school incorporated cultural diversity. She felt a strong sense of community in Lapwai, and saw that community is a part of implementing cultural diversity.
Working with Anthony-Stevens has been inspiring for Korver.
“It was really cool to not only experience, but also listen to Vanessa’s point of view during the whole thing,” she said. “She is very experienced in the area and I’m not. She did a lot of teaching abroad. She’s taught in Mexico and other places, and I plan on teaching abroad when I’m done with my student teaching.”
Ultimately, what will be a rewarding career for Korver and others like her will be a benefit to future generations.
“Since we live in a country that has such an emphasis on education, we should have good educators,” she said.
WRITER: Madison Billingsley, a senior from Covington, Washington, is majoring in creative writing.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Madelen Johansson is an international student from Tibro, Sweden, and is majoring in interior design.


How Much Sugar is in Soda? – Video for Kids
Sugar can be defined as a class of carbohydrates and also a source of food energy. It was first known as sweet salt and was a luxury. Sugars have different functions in food like: – provide sweetness, serve as preservatives in jams and jellies, allow fermentation by yeast etc. Lemons have more sugar than strawberries. India is the world’s largest consumer of sugar. It has been found in a study that sugar is as addictive as cocaine. There are many different types like: – Glucose, Fructose, Galactose, Sucrose, Lactose, and Maltose. Sugar is something we are born to enjoy.
Fast Facts: –
- Sugar is also known as an ‘empty calorie food’. It provides calories to our body but has no protective nutrients.
- It also associated with obesity and tooth decay.
- Tooth decay is not actually caused by sugar. It is the bacteria that feed off the sugar.
- Too much consumption of sugar can also affect your memory negatively.
- It releases an opiate like substance that activates the brain’s reward system.
- It is the only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells in human body.
- One gram of sugar contains four calories.
- An average American consumes around 22 teaspoons of sugar every day.
- Soft drink has the largest amount of sugar. They have 33% of it.
- Glucose is the most widely distributed form of sugar in nature.
- Fruits contain three different forms of sugars: – Fructose, Sucrose and Glucose.
- Adding a spoonful of sugar in a vase can prolong the life of freshly cut flowers.
- Lugduname is the sweetest compound known as it is more than 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.
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On June 5, we were joined by Dr. Matthew Farber in a discussion on teaching empathy with video games. In case you were unable to attend, here is a recording of the webinar along with some of the key takeaways, as well as some helpful resources.
Teaching Social Emotional Learning (SEL) at a Young Age Leads to Greater Career and Personal Growth
Kindergarten students who score high on social-emotional skills such as empathy are four times more likely to graduate from college and two times as likely to have a full-time job by the age of 25. Just like numeracy skills or literacy skills, social-emotional skills are built up through practice, and they need to be taught effectively and adequately. It is important in an era focused heavily on testing that we do not allow the teaching of soft skills to fall to the wayside.
Video Games Can be Used in the Classroom the Same Way One Might Use a Film
Many educators are unsure about using video games as a teaching tool because they are not sure how to use them in a classroom setting. Dr. Matthew Farber suggests using video games as you would use a movie or any other special media. Students will be excited about playing a video game just as they would be about watching a film (if not more), and it provides the opportunity for teachers to make use of co-viewing and open-ended reflections. It is important to engage the students in what they are doing in these games. After playing a game, discuss as a class what the students experienced when it came to decision-making, how the game made them feel, and how they can apply what they learned in the game to other aspects of their life.
Teaching Empathy with Video Games is Incredibly Effective
There are many great video games out there that can be used as an effective teaching tool. Teaching empathy with video games can be done through the feeling of agency in a game. Video games allow students to have a deeper emotional connection with a character than other media such as books or film. iCivics is a great tool that allows students to experience historical empathy by placing them in someone else’s shoes during particular situations relating to civics and law. Another excellent tool is Peekapak and the world of myPeekaville. Peekapak is an innovative online platform and personalized learning game that teaches young students important SEL skills including empathy, self-regulation and respect.
If you want to speak with the co-host of this webinar, Ami Shah, CEO & Co-Founder of Peekapak, click here to set up a time to chat.
- Great Games to Teach Empathy and other SEL skills
- myPeekaville: an interactive learning experience featuring the characters and stories of Peekapak that reinforces SEL skills
- Spent: an online game about poverty and survival that focuses on tough decision-making
- That Dragon, Cancer: an autobiographical game based on the experiences of Ryan and Amy Green about raising a newborn diagnosed with cancer
- Other Resources
- Teaching Empathy with Video Games: Dr. Matthew Farber’s original article on Edutopia that inspired our webinar
- Joan Ganz Cooney Center: a non-profit organization founded by Sesame Workshop focused on children’s literacy skills and innovating education through the use of digital media
- Common Sense Education: a division of Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization that offers resources and education to families to advocate safe technology and media for young kids
- CASEL: the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. They are focused on making SEL a key part of education from preschool through high school.


The latest news from OFSTED continues to deepen our own understanding of what schools and colleges should have in place in relation to curriculum design and delivery. It is with this knowledge that the Learning Cultures’ Curriculum team can support senior leaders and their teams to determine with clarity and purpose their curriculum intent and design. We can also advise on the quality assurance processes that will give senior teams and subject leaders the confidence that their curriculum vision, rationale and ambition for pupils is translated into high quality learning outcomes.
Amanda Spielman spoke at the Headteachers’ Symposium on Creativity and Education about arts subjects in schools, cultural capital and initial teacher education this January 2020. Naturally, she focused on music and the arts for some of her speech and made it abundantly clear that these elements are essential to a broad and balanced curriculum and OFSTED will tease out what schools are contributing to music and the other arts subjects. She goes on to say, however, that:
“Creativity and creative thinking in any subject requires deep subject knowledge and understanding as well as the development of skills that enable the application of this knowledge and understanding.”
There is no doubt about her message here, which is, that all subject specific learning should have creativity and deep learning at its core. All learners need to be able to make connections, build on prior learning and weave skills and knowledge in order that they deepen their understanding, grow in confidence and have the ability to apply and make sense of their learning across many different contexts.
Subject leaders, school leaders and teachers all need to look closely at the pedagogy that facilitates learning and at the outcomes they want to see as a result of their pedagogical endeavours. There needs to be evidence that learning is re-enforced and re-visited, that literacy and numeracy skills are the bedrock of all subject learning and that pupils are challenged beyond just recall. There needs to be a tacit understanding of how teachers encourage pupils to demonstrate that they can use higher levels of response and highly challenging questioning in order to have the evidence that pupils are progressing and growing in the pursuit of mastery over time.
The final message that I want to highlight from this speech is the use of the term ‘cultural capital’. Her definition of this recent OFSTED phrase is this,
“It really matters that children learn and enjoy things they won’t necessarily experience at home or with their peers.”
She suggests that the Quality of Education judgement in the OFSTED handbook is trying to capture this element and she says that it is to cultural capital that we should focus when considering the extent to which the school provides a broad and rich curriculum and how that curriculum is taught.
“our quality of education judgement is trying to capture this [cultural capital] dimension of your work.”
There is clearly an imperative to ensure that the curriculum intent points to the need for all subject teaching and cross-curriculum thematic learning to take pupils beyond the narrow and into new realms of deeper understanding and broader experience. Defining this in terms of planning the curriculum content and ensuring that subject specialists have the expertise and confidence to be creative and innovate is essential. Hold onto your sanity and join us at one of our curriculum courses and we can provide a wealth of resources and materials to create the right culture for this to happen. The link will take you to the course details on our website. Or visit the Curriculum Courses section.
- Realising the Primary Curriculum Vision – A triad of evidence based solutions to support the implementation of a deep and rich curriculum
- Realising the Secondary Curriculum Vision – A triad of evidence based solutions to support the implementation of a deep and rich curriculum
- Quality Assuring Curriculum Delivery for Impact – How to create a blueprint that delivers a school focused collaborative system
- Defining and Enhancing the Role of the Subject Leader – a ‘deep dive’ into subject specific implementation
- Literacy is the Language of Learning – Ensuring that reading, writing, speaking and listening are integral to all learning across the secondary curriculum
- Maths Concepts in the Wider Curriculum Context – Figuring out where numeracy equals learning
- Mastery and Deeper Learning in Literacy and Numeracy across the Primary Curriculum – Creating a tapestry of learning through the weaving of skills across the curriculum


Dual Language Showcase Site
The group is committed to forging a stronger home-school connection. We believe that reading in any language, develops reading ability. We want to engage parents in reading with their children at home and to encourage discussion and the sharing of their experiences and realities. As a result, the group decided to create dual-language book bags, comprising of dual language books and multilingual audio tapes, for use at school and at home. Non-English speaking parents could enjoy reading the stories to their children in their own language and elaborating on the ideas, values, skills, and concepts introduced in this "expanded" home literacy program. Student/parent/community volunteers would record the multilingual stories on audio cassettes.
Through the use of audio cassettes, ESL students and parents would be exposed to basic English vocabulary, grammatical structures, and conventions of texts.
Promoting literacy development in the ESL student's first language will facilitate the acquisition of literacy in English. Accessing prior knowledge through the use of their first language provides the framework for new learning.
Fostering active collaboration between caregivers and teachers would create an inviting atmosphere in the school (e.g., parents can read aloud or tell stories to groups of children in their native language or in English, share information about their countries of origin and their cultures, or translate newsletters, etc.)
- Freeing students to express themselves more fully through the use of their first language in oral and written communication, alleviates the initial feelings of confusion and frustration, and the sense of alienation
- Inspiring parents to embrace their roles, and their opportunities and responsibilities with regard to their children's intellectual, social, and emotional development
- Supporting parents in their efforts to develop their children's communicative skills in their first language maintains the lines of communication between generations
- Enhancing the status of multilingual children and giving them ample opportunities to demonstrate their skills (e.g., as authors and interpreters) and to share their cultures, countries of origin and personal experiences as newcomers to Canada and Thornwood Public School.Broadening children's horizons by increasing their awareness and appreciation of other languages, cultures, and each other
- Providing opportunities for ESL parents to develop their own literacy skills in the English language through listening to dual-language audio cassettes, translating books, helping out in the school, etc.
- Developing computer literacy skills in the use of multilingual word processors.


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This report explores why libraries are well positioned to be allies in increasing family engagement. The strategies shared come from a review of the literature, a survey of library directors, and a learning community of librarians.
You for Youth (Y4Y) is a virtual hub for Out-of-School Time (OST) providers. This website offers free professional development courses, tips on training staff, resources and tools for designing high-quality programs, and answers to questions.
This infographic lists the 10 categories of the NAA (National Afterschool Association) core knowledge and competencies (CKCs). The CKCs articulate what professionals need to know and be able to do for a program to be considered high quality. This infographic presents the 10 core knowledge areas in an easy-to-read-and-remember format.
This issue brief includes helpful facts on literacy rates among underserved youth. It identifies ways afterschool and summer programs can contribute to literacy development. It includes program examples and ideas for advocacy.
This toolkit is a compilation of resources focused on fostering the development of young Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The research, audiovisual resources, and online resources listed encourage practices, tools, and strategies that are inclusive, responsive, and culturally appropriate for young DLLs and their families. Most listed resources are free; some are available in Spanish.
This website offers links to thousands of publications and data sets related to child care and early education. Data and resources can be searched by author, state, or topic. For information on out-of-school time issues, try typing in "after school" in the search bar.
This video begins with stories from students from a variety of backgrounds discussing their experiences dealing with "isms" in school. The students, teachers, and administrators give tips on how to create safer and inclusive schools and environments.


Guided Reading bundle with 6 Leveled Texts per Reading Level
24 Leveled Books Reach, Teach, and Learn is my brand new Guided Reading Curriculum that incorporates EVERYTHING that must be taught to your Early Readers.
This Guided Reading Curriculum includes Levels H - K and provides you with DETAILED step-by-step 3-day lesson plans, instructional guides, leveled texts, discussion prompts, structured scaffolded word work, sight word instruction, guided writing activities to support comprehension and SO MUCH MORE!
What's included in this bundle?
- 24 Leveled Books for Levels H - K
- 6 Leveled Books for each level
- 3 fiction and 3 non-fiction texts per level
- Professionally Illustrated Fiction Texts by Children's Book Illustrators
- DIGITAL BOOKS accessed through QR code on iPads, tablets, etc.
- 3-Day step-by-step scripted standards-based Lesson Plans
- 6 Instructional Trifolds with step-by-step Procedures to guide instruction
- Strategy Fans to teach reading strategies
- Word Work Instruction with step-by-step procedures
- Box-Its (Sound Boxes) with scaffolded phonics instruction
- Make-Its (Making Words) with scaffolded phonics instruction
- Match-Its (Analogy Charts start at Level H)
- Sight Word instruction, Progress Monitoring, and Sight Word Cards
- Vocabulary instruction
- Running Records for each leveled text
- Guided Writing Interactive Notebook activities to support Comprehension
- Guided Writing Booklet for Sentence Dictation and written responses to texts
Level H includes:
- Eeek! Mice!
- Puppy in the Park
- All These Things with Strings!
- The History of Ice Cream
- Busy Beavers
- The Winter Concert
Level I includes:
- Rachel Runs
- She's a Grand Old Flag
- Moving Away? Not Okay!
- The Baseball Hall of Fame
- Wolves and Coyotes
- Skates and Snowmen
Level J includes:
- Sweet Apples
- Snowflake Magic
- A Show for Every Dog
- Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Bear
- Who is Clara Barton?
- Jo-Jo on the Loose
Level K includes:
- Time to Get Your Tonsils Out
- Stone Soup
- The Running Club
- Birds of a Feather
- Leading the Parade
My Reach, Teach, & Learn Guided Reading Units will give you the step-by-step blueprint to reading success for your students. If you have ever felt UNSURE of what do during Guided Reading or how to get your students to mastery level, THIS UNIT IS FOR YOU!
Please DOWNLOAD the Preview for a closer look at the units!


Teaching Music magazine offers music educators a forum for the exchange of practical ideas that will help them become more effective teachers. Written in an easy-to-read, conversational style, the magazine includes timely information to interest, inform, and inspire music teachers and those who support their work. Most of Teaching Music is written by professional writers based on input from members.
Teaching and Teacher Education is an international journal concerned primarily with teachers, teaching, or teacher education situated in an international perspective or in an international context.
Teaching and Teacher Education is a multidisciplinary journal, committed to no single approach, discipline, methodology or paradigm. It is concerned with teaching and teacher education in general and devoted to all concerned with teaching.
Beginning as the California Journal of Teacher Education in 1972, Teacher Education Quarterly (the title since 1983) is a peer-reviewed (double blind) journal dedicated to advancing knowledge and research by teacher education researchers and practitioners. The journal is sponsored by the California Council on Teacher Education (established 1945) and is part of the organization's overarching goal to improve the pre- and in-service education of teachers.
Teacher Education and Special Education (TESE) stimulates and improves the preparation of those who will work with children with disabilities. It offers research on exceptionality and the teaching of exceptional children, as well as the critical issues shaping the future of teacher education. The journal publishes original research, evaluations of personnel preparation programs, and interpretive or critical literature reviews.
Studies in Art Education is a quarterly journal which reports quantitative, qualitative, historical, and philosophical research in art education, including explorations of theory and practice in the areas of art production, art criticism, aesthetics, art history, human development, curriculum and instruction, and assessment. Studies also publishes reports of applicable research in related fields such as anthropology, education, psychology, philosophy, and sociology.
Sport Management Education Journal (SMEJ) promotes advancement of the body of knowledge in pedagogy as it relates to sport management education and disseminates knowledge about sport management courses, curricula, and teaching. This established semiannual journal addresses a range of issues concerning graduate and undergraduate education in sport management. Topics of interest include curriculum development, accreditation, employment competencies, effective teaching methods, experiential learning, online learning, and issues and trends in sport management education.
Social Education, our peer-reviewed, flagship journal, contains a balance of theoretical content and practical teaching ideas. The award-winning resources include techniques for using materials in the classroom, information on the latest instructional technology, reviews of educational media, research on significant social studies-related topics, and lesson plans that can be applied to various disciplines. Departments include Looking at the Law, Surfing the Net, and Teaching with Documents.
PS: Political Science & Politics provides critical analyses of contemporary political phenomena and is the journal of record for the discipline of political science reporting on research, teaching, and professional development. PS, begun in 1968, is the only quarterly professional news and commentary journal in the field and is the prime source of information on political scientists' achievements and professional concerns.
PRIMUS (Problems, Resources, and Issues in Mathematics Undergraduate Studies) is a leading journal for exchanging ideas about teaching collegiate mathematics. PRIMUS publishes lively and engaging articles for a readership comprised primarily of practitioners. The journal’s focus is on pedagogical initiatives in college-level mathematics, mathematics education, and elementary statistics ranging in scale of application from individual students and courses to curricula and entire programs.
Pedagogy is an innovative journal that aims to build a new discourse around teaching in English studies. Reversing the long history of marginalization of teaching and the scholarship produced around it, it offers a forum for critical reflection and spirited debate. The journal publishes articles by senior scholars as well as more junior members of the profession, featuring voices from many subdisciplines and institutions. Pedagogy promises to stimulate new and exciting developments for undergraduate and graduate instruction in English studies.


It was again an enriching discussion and I’m eager to share some insights with you.
Reading and writing in any language involves three crucial aspects:
Knowledge of print.
Knowledge of language.
Knowledge of the world.
And it is important for those supporting the child not to lose sight of the biggest purpose of reading, which is to understand a message; and of writing, which is to communicate an idea.
That’s why language and knowledge are so important!
But let’s go back to print for a bit, because that’s where the whole mechanics of learning to read and write starts.
Children need to learn to do three things with print:
Recognize the letters/characters/symbols.
Connect them to sounds or meanings.
Form them, write them correctly.
And all that must become automatic and fluent for them to be competent readers and writers.
A few ways to practice reading and writing in a fun, sensory way at home:
- Have magnetic or wooden letters to play around with forming words.
- Make cards with letters, words or pictures that they’ve been learning. Create games such as memory, dominoes, categories, make up a story, etc.
- Sort objects or toys into categories (initial/final sound, rhyme, etc).
- Play I Spy and I’m going on a trip.
- Play Scrabble and Hangman.
- Organize a Word/Letter Hunt around the house.
- Play Word Snake or Word Ladder.
- ‘Blind read’ with sandpaper letters.
- Make letters from different materials: play dough, clay, pipe cleaners, Lego, etc.
- Draw and write with different equipment: chalk, paint, crayons, markers.
- Write with your ‘magic body parts’ in the air.
- Write on someone’s back.
- Write on a sand/salt/rice tray or on a Ziploc bag filled with hair gel.
The more hands-on and fun the activities are, the more eager children will be to learn!
As they grow and develop, it’s important to keep finding context and purpose for reading and writing. Some interesting practices could be: writing letters, cards or emails to family, writing stories together, writing a journal or keeping a happiness jar.
Language transfer and different alphabets
It is true that once a child learns to read in a language they’re likely to transfer those skills to the other, especially if they share the same alphabet. The task here is to work on the letters and combinations that are read in a different way. There might be a bit of initial confusion, especially when writing, but with time and practice it will sort itself out.
Children learning different alphabets or writing systems will have more to learn and probably need more time to master both, but on the other hand they might experience less confusion.
Literacy development requires time, patience and consistent practice. And if you're learning more than one language, even more so!
★ ★ ★
This meeting followed Reading in different languages with babies and toddlers.
For more Free Online Meetings on Multilingualism, check out Ute's calendar.
Test your children's reading skills in English and find out what you need to bridge the gap.


Take a couple of moments to enjoy the most effective hand-picked and really easy to understand Horse Facts easy science for kids video:
Horse Facts Video Information
This short animated video for kids is all about Horses. With this video, kids will learn about the 350 different breeds of horses and ponies and learn what exactly a Pony is. Kids will also learn about the average life span of a horse, how a horse can show its moods with its nose, ears and eyes and learn about what some of their body languages mean. Kids will find out how horses actually spends more energy lying down than standing up, how the horses’ line of sight works, how they are Herbivores and what that means.
View this Horse Facts for kids video and rapidly broaden your children’s expertise of Horse Facts.
This Horse Facts video is simple to learn from for youngsters, from ones partaking in early learning programs for pre-Kindergarten kids, until grade 5, certainly as well as young children and parental assisted educational programs.
So, increase your knowledge our available free of charge educational videos for kids, personally advised by our in-house deputy editor. These kids videos are a very big assemblage of science for kids videos freely available on our science kids website. See lots more engaging and educational albeit enjoyable basic science facts for young children on our science facts for kids website about associated topics, and make certain to experiment with our many FREE OF COST educational worksheets, quizzes and free games for kids.
Liked our Horse Facts video? Read lengthy information and facts on the topic of Horse Facts.


by Brianna Rae
Faith Ringgold, world-famous painter, writer, sculptor, and performance artist, was born Faith Willi Jones on October 8, 1930 in Harlem, New York City. Her mother a fashion designer and her father a great storyteller, Ringgold was surrounded by the arts from an early age. She was also born into the thriving arts scene of the Harlem Renaissance, where she counted Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes as her neighbors, and Sonny Rollins a childhood friend.
In 1950, Ringgold began studying art education (she wanted to study just art, but being an artist was considered exclusively a male profession at the time) at City College of New York. She then married jazz pianist Robert Earl Wallace, with whom she had two children and divorced four years later.
After receiving her bachelor and master’s degree, she taught for the New York Public School System and traveled through Europe and West Africa studying art. Influenced by her travels, childhood experiences, and people she became close to, Ringgold’s own art consisted of broad and diverse expressions and mediums.
Inspired by the writings of Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin, and by African art, Impressionism, and Cubism, Ringgold was key in helping to create and define a modern Black artistic aesthetic. Her work incorporated the underlying racism and sexism of everyday life, before racial and sexual politics rose to maturity and prominence with the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements.
In addition to her painting, she also began to experiment with storytelling through quilting in the 1970s, and created many famous pieces, including The Slave Rape Series, Echoes of Harlem (1980), and Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima (1983).
Throughout the seventies, she began to create mixed-media sculptures and masks, which progressed into her doing performance art, incorporating African elements of storytelling such as dance, music, and costumes. She also wrote and illustrated 17 children’s books.
In addition to her art, Ringgold was heavily involved in activism, particularly feminist and anti-racism organizing. She got arrested for protesting the lack of Black and female artists in exhibitions and museums, and that year also founded the Women Students and Artists for Black Liberation with her daughter, Michelle Wallace. Ringgold and Wallace also became founding members of the National Black Feminist Organization in 1974.
Ringgold has won numerous awards and honorary degrees. She elevated the status of ‘women’s work’ or ‘craft’ to the level of high art, and also portrayed and celebrated underrepresented Black culture and life in her work. She lives with her husband Burdette Ringgold in New Jersey, where she still makes art.
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was born as Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderon on July 6, 1907. She is known as one of Mexico’s greatest painters and is celebrated internationally for her portrayal of Mexican indigenous and cultural traditions and for her depiction of female form and experience.
Kahlo grew up in a small town outside of Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution. She suffered health issues all of her life, and in 1925 was involved in a serious bus accident, resulting in the breaking of her spine, collarbone, ribs, pelvis, and leg, and the puncturing of her abdomen and uterus. The accident left her immobilized with extreme pain and the inability to bear children, both of which greatly influenced her decision to pursue art instead of medicine.
She created over 140 paintings and numerous drawings and studies, often choosing to do self portraits because “I am often alone and I am the subject I know best,” said Kahlo. Her work incorporated symbolism, Mexican mythology and indigenous traditions, and portrayals of psychological and physical trauma and wounds. Though others have labeled her as a surrealist painter, she rejected the label, stating “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”
Kahlo is also known for her tumultuous relationship and marriage to famed Mexican painter and muralist, Diego Rivera. The couple married in 1929, divorced in 1939, and remarried in 1940.
Kahlo and Rivera were active Communists and befriended Leon Trotsky and his wife during the 1930s.
Kahlo continued to suffer from health issues, and by the 1950s, her leg had to be amputated. She suffered frequent anxiety attacks and increased her morphine consumption. On July 13, 1954, Kahlo died shortly after her 47th birthday.
It wasn’t until decades after her death that Kahlo was widely recognized for being an accomplished and genius artist in her own right; she previously was known mostly as Diego Rivera’s wife. Today, she is one of the most celebrated and respected figures in modern art.


International Women’s Day Gender Ground Rules – Task Cards
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A set of task cards to be paired with the International Women's Day comic 'Gender Ground Rules'.
A graphic organizer to record characters traits.
A graphic organizer to record characters traits for Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prompts for students to use when orally discussing books.
A fun newspaper themed poster with 3 library book report templates to use when responding to literature.
A set of 12 literature study task cards for lower elementary students to use when analyzing children's literature.
A set of QR code question cubes to use when working with reading comprehension strategies.
A fun comprehension strategy board game for students to play during literacy rotations.
A worksheet to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
5 different versions of dice to use when asking questions before, during and after reading.
A profile about Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
A set of 6 reading stamina posters that highlight strategies students can use to read for longer periods of time.
A set of 7 posters that display different decoding strategies.
Use this flip book template with your upper elementary students when teaching about the features of literary characters.
A poster highlighting how to ask questions when reading a piece of text.
An engaging 22-slide interactive PowerPoint to use in the classroom when learning about chance and probability.
A set of 28 generic QAR question cards for students to use as a comprehension task after reading.
A fun script and set of questions to help students develop reading and comprehension strategies.
A set of 15 finger puppets that can be used to spark the imagination for creative writing or to perform puppet shows.
A worksheet which encourages students to create a new book cover for a shared class or independent novel.
Use this template during a guided reading session for a scaffold to help your students retell a text.
A set of reading question and sentence starter cards aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy.
Choosing your country and state helps us to provide you with the most relevant teaching resources for your students.


Literaturnachweis - Detailanzeige
|Titel||Who wants to become a teacher and why?|
|Quelle||Paris: OECD Publishing (2018), 6 S.
PDF als Volltext
|Reihe||Teaching in Focus. 22|
|Schlagwörter||Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Lehrerbildung; Lehrerrekrutierung; Lesekompetenz; Mathematische Kompetenz; Berufspädagogik; Berufswahl; Berufswunsch; Internationaler Vergleich; OECD-Staaten|
|Abstract||On average across OECD countries, 4.2% of 15-year-old students expect to work as teachers - a greater proportion than the share of teachers in the adult population. In many countries, 15-year-old students who expect to work as teachers have lower mathematics and reading scores than students who expect to work in other professions that, like teaching, require at least a university degree. However, data from the OECD Survey of Adult "Skills show that the numeracy skills of teachers tend to be similar to the numeracy skills of other degree holders. The skills gap between students who expect a career in teaching and those who expect a career as another type of professional is often larger in low-performing versus top-performing countries. Countries with higher teacher salaries (relative to GDP) and higher perceptions of the social value of the teaching profession have, on average, larger shares of students who expect to work as teachers." [Abstract: Site editor's information].|
|Erfasst von||DIPF | Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation, Frankfurt am Main|


The Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool is an online adaptive tool primarily designed to provide robust and reliable information on the reading, writing, numeracy and vocabulary skills of adults. This information informs the development of learning interventions that match learners’ needs and strengthen their literacy and numeracy skills. The Assessment Tool also allows learners to track their progress over time and enable educators and organisations to report on the progress made by groups or cohorts of learners. Further overview and background information is available here.
Modified on: Thu, 26 Apr, 2018 at 3:01 PM
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本研究採用行動研究法，探討利用提問教學能否提升四年級學童閱讀理解能力，以研究者所任教的國小四年級學生為研究對象。研究結果分兩節討論： 第一階段實施歷程及第二階段實施歷程紀錄結果，其中包含學習單、觀察記錄、訪談紀錄、教師省思札記等多元方法蒐集質性資料分析。獲致下列結論： 一、提問教學策略對學生閱讀理解能力，有提升的趨勢。 二、提問教學模式可增進學生閱讀理解策略的運用。 三、學生的學習態度改變，喜愛提問教學策略，且期待持續進行。 四、實施提問教學提升四年級學童閱讀理解能力之行動研究，能提高教 師省思能力，並有助教師專業成長。 最後，本研究對於未來欲從事與本研究相關議題的研究者與現職教師，提出若干教學研究方向與建議。 This study uses the action research method to explore the influence of improving fourth-grade students’ reading comprehension by questioning instruction. The subjects are the forth-grade students in the elementary school which I am teaching in. This research has two sections, (1)the implement process, (2)the records and results of the process, including worksheets, observation records, interview records, and the reflection of the teacher. Through collecting and analyzing these multiple datas, the results of the research are summarized as follows: First, the questioning instructional strategy can improve student’s reading comprehension ability. Second, the questioning teaching mode enhances the use of reading comprehension strategies of the students. Third, the learning atitude of the students has changed. They like questioning teaching strategies and are looking forward to the following process. Fourth, the implementation of questioning instruction to enhance the fourth-grade children''s reading comprehension of action research method can improve the reflection ability and develop the professional ability of the teacher. Finally, the research provides several directions and suggestions for future researchers and teachers willing to engage in related issue.


The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are designed to be short (one minute) indicators used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills.
DIBELS were developed as indicators for several basic early literacy skills. Each measure has been thoroughly researched over the last few decades and demonstrated to be reliable and valid indicators for hundreds of thousands of students. Teachers use the measures to monitor early literacy development and predict later reading proficiency. This aids in the early identification of students who are not progressing as expected, so teachers can provide extra supports for those students. When used as recommended, results help set literacy objectives for students and then monitor progress toward those objectives.
DIBELS Next is used to assess the following skills:
- Phonemic Awareness. The earliest literacy skill. FSF and PSF are measures that indicate students' abilities to hear, segment, and isolate the phonemes in words. This is a critical precursor to developing letter-sound relationships in print.
- Alphabetic Principle and Basic Phonics. NWF is the measure that best indicates a student's knowledge and skills with phonics. Students' progress in figuring out unfamiliar words spans several years, from kindergarten to second grade.
- Fluency. For each skill and measure, fluency is a goal. Students should develop reasonable automaticity with identifying letters and sounds, and putting words together. Enough fluency is needed so that a student's reading pace does not prohibit reading comprehension.
- Advanced Phonics and Word Attack. NWF and DORF both help measure students' abilities to read texts that stretch beyond their sight-word vocabulary.
- Accurate and Fluent Reading of Connected Text. DORF is the measure used to assess students' abilities to recognize and read words accurately and automatically. Students' progress in this area spans several years, from first to third grade.
- Reading Comprehension. DAZE is the measure used to assess the students' abilities to construct meaning from text using word recognition skills, background information, prior knowledge, familiarity with linguistic properties such as syntax and morphology, and cause and effect reasoning skills. Students' progress in this area is monitored beginning in third grade.
|Talk to your Literacy Assistant if you have a concern about a student prior to testing||Wait until after testing to express a concern|
If a student is having a bad day, please request that he/she be tested on make-up day
|Use Benchmark Passages for a re-test|
|If a student has forgotten his/her glasses, please request that he/she be tested on make-up day.||Change the standardized administration of a test|
|Use progress monitoring materials to instruct students so they understand what is expected of them on test day||Practice or review Benchmark passages prior to testing|
|If there is a discrepancy in the student’s performance relative to other information available about the student, or if there is a question about the accuracy of a score, validate the score by retesting the student using alternate forms of the DIBELS measures or additional diagnostic assessments|
See an overview of what DIBELS can do for a young learner's literacy
- mClass home from Amplify (login page for educators)
- DIBELS Next home page from dibels.org
- "What doesn’t belong here? On Teaching Nonsense Words" by Timothy Shanahan
If you have any questions, please contact Becky Gerber at 801-567-8087 | email@example.com. You can also contact Gaylene Miller at 801-567-8112 | firstname.lastname@example.org.


Fairlawne class is made up of children from year 4 to year 6, learning together in a caring, enthusiastic and supportive environment. When a child enters Fairlawne class, they will be a reasonably fluent reader, ready to develop independent learning skills. In order to meet the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 and ensure good progress, all learning is differentiated to the age, individual needs and ability of the child, with a range of teaching and learning approaches being employed.
In English, writing tasks are predominantly linked to a class book or topic, providing a meaningful and on-going context for the writing; this also helps to develop each child’s reading comprehension and skills of inference and deduction. The text selected is often linked to our current Geography or History topic. This cross curricular approach helps to develop the child’s understanding of more than one area of the curriculum, whilst providing good breadth and depth. Children are also taught spelling and handwriting skills within each English lesson, with phonics support given to those children who need it. Daily guided reading is also an important part of the timetable, as is daily home reading which all children are encouraged to complete.
In Maths we endeavour to develop Numeracy skills within a real-life problem-solving context. By year 6, all children should have sound mental maths skills and be proficient in using standard written methods for calculations. Home learning and support with homework tasks will help every child become more confident in this. As for English, children are set meaningful targets in every lesson, enabling them to move forward in their learning and to take responsibility for their progress.
During the afternoon, a varied timetable covers Science, Geography, History, Art, DT, RE, PE, Computing, PHSE, Music and French. A variety of topics are covered each year, enabling a broad and balanced coverage of the National Curriculum during the three years a child is in the class. As a child progresses into the later years, they are encouraged to seek answers to their own questions, utilising independent research skills and developing a thirst for knowledge.
All children work towards assessment at the end of Key Stage 1 and 2. By the time children have progressed through their seven years of Primary Education, they should feel confident in themselves and their abilities to move on to their Secondary Schools.
Click here for Fairlawne Welcome Powerpoint presentation


You know all the things that go out in your trash or recycling bins every week – papers, empty cans, old shoes and food scraps. But what about all the trash left behind in space? Any time space shuttles travel into space they leave debris behind. It might be tools, old engine parts, fuel tanks or even an astronaut’s gloves. Satellites eventually wear out and stop working. They, too, become space junk. Most of this space junk orbits around the Earth, although some of it is found deeper in space.
Fun Facts about Space Junk and Debris for Kids
- Space satellites are launched by governments, as well as individuals and companies. If you have a cell phone, for example, it operates because of satellites launched by your cell phone company.
- In 2012, Russia had 1446 satellites in orbit over the Earth; The US had 1111. As of 2010, there were 8,000 man-made objects orbiting the Earth.
- Space junk can cause problems. Working satellites can crash into the space junk, creating more space junk. Sometimes space junk falls back to the Earth. Most of the time it burns up before it reaches the ground, but not always.
- Scientists are working on ways to clean up space junk.
- Satellites are very expensive. It costs about $100 million to build them and another $50 million to launch them.
Space Junk Vocabulary
- Space junk: debris in space
- Orbit: a circular path created by gravity
- Expensive: costs a lot of money
- Launch: send space satellites into space
Learn More All about Space Junk and Debris
Watch this amazing video all about space junk:
A video documentary about space satellites and space junk.
Space Junk Q&A
Question: Has anyone been hurt by falling space debris?
Answer: Most of the debris that has fallen from space lands in oceans or places where few people live. So far, no one has been seriously injured. In 1997, a woman in Oklahoma was hit on the head by part of a booster from a space shuttle, but she wasn’t hurt.
Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Space Junk info? Take the FREE & fun Space Junk quiz and download FREE Space Junk worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.
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Richard Strauss was born in Munich, Germany on June 11th 1864. His mother, Josephine, was an heiress of the Pschorr brewing dynasty, a famous name in German beer and his father was Franz Joseph Strauss. Franz was the principal horn player of the Bavarian Court Opera for more than 40 years, a teacher at the Royal School of Music, Munich, and a conductor. Strauss’s father made sure that Richard had a solid music education and undoubtedly had a crucial influence on his son’s developing taste. As early as the age of six, Strauss was already composing his first pieces. By his 18th birthday, he had composed 140 works. Not only did he write some of the most famous opera repertoire, tonal poems, and orchestral pieces, but was also the principal conductor at 3 major European opera houses, and was known to be an obsessive card player.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna on February 1st, 1874. He was the son of an upper-class Christian Austrian mother, Anna Maria Josefa Fohleutner, and a Christian Austrian–Italian bank manager, Hugo August Peter Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal. He began to write poems and plays from an early age. Some of his early works were written under pseudonyms, such as Loris Melikow and Theophil Morren, because he was not allowed to publish as a student. He studied law and later philosophy in Vienna but decided to devote himself to writing upon graduating in 1901. Along with Peter Altenberg and Arthur Schnitzler, he was a member of the avant garde group, Jung Wien, a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Vienna’s Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses in the late nineteenth century. Hofmannsthal had a successful and independent career as a writer of some of Austria’s finest lyric poetry, and his plays remain in the repertoire of German-speaking theater. He was strongly influenced by the neo-romantic movement and European symbolism.
Hofmannsthal met Richard Strauss for the first time while on holiday in Paris, France in 1900. The collaboration between these two artists resulted in six operas: Elektra (1909), Der Rosenkavalier (1911) with Harry von Kessler, Ariadne auf Naxos (1912, rev. 1916), Die Frau ohne Schatten (1919), Die ägyptische Helena (1928), and Arabella (1933). They worked closely with director Max Reinhardt who was made responsible for creating effective staging and production. Strauss and Hofmannsthal, along with Reinhardt, scenic designer Alfred Rolle, and the conductor Franz Schalk founded the Salzburg Festival in 1920 as a way to celebrate the beauty of culture in the wake of World War I with the performance of Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann.
The collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal was one of the greatest composer–librettist relationships of all time, spanning nearly three decades. As with most great partnerships, they respected each other as masters of their own crafts, but they were not without their disagreements. In fact, one example of this is while they were working on Die ägyptische Helena. Strauss occasionally misread/ignored Hofmannsthal’s punctuations. One instance occurs in one of the lines the poet had given to Helena. This error changed the meaning and intention of the text, and when Strauss realized his mistake, he sent a card to Hofmannsthal asking him to change the words to fit the melody. Strauss was so impressed with the music he had written and did not plan to change it. Hofmannsthal felt so strongly about the words he had chosen and thus refused. Strauss ultimately altered his notes to suit Hofmannsthal’s original text. When Strauss spoke about his partnership with Hofmannsthal he had said, ‘No musician ever found such a helper and supporter’.
The partnership had a particularly tragic end, when Hofmannsthal died of a stroke in July of 1929, two days after his son Franz had committed suicide. Strauss had sent a telegram to Hofmannsthal between those two days, to congratulate him on the great work he did are Arabella, however sadly Hofmannsthal never saw the telegram or the results of that work. Strauss went into a deep depression after learning of his friend’s death. Strauss wrote, ‘No one will ever replace him for me or the world of music!’.
Come experience this lush and dramatic work, a rare offering by one of opera’s greatest creative teams, in our one night only concert event you will not want to miss!


Twenty lessons to introduce Gregorian chant to children’s choirs: music educator Wilko Brouwers has put together this program based on a lifetime of learning and reflection on the past century of music education. The result is nothing short of brilliant. The program is simple, short, and focused, leading children to sing chant one step at a time.
This demonstration CD of 94 tracks is a companion for the instructor manual and student workbook. Recorded by the choristers of the Madeleine Choir School under the direction of Melanie Malinka.
Discounted pricing and shipping are available for bulk orders of this product. Contact us at email@example.com for information.


The Elementary Education Act of 1870 (Forster's Act) set up the first state schools (called Board Schools) for children up to ten years old in England and Wales. This doubled the number of pupils in elementary schools, and most of their teachers were women.
This act placed an even greater emphasis on the teaching of domestic subjects for girls. In 1878 Domestic Science was made compulsory for girls: it included how to look after a house, wash clothes, take care of a budget and prepare and cook food. In 1904 women inspectors were appointed in domestic subjects to ensure that girls were given a thorough domestic training for life. Other important subjects such as arithmetic got little attention in girls' schools.


Baking & Pastry
Baking and Pastry for secondary students is a course that provides students an opportunity to develop foundational skills needed for a seamless transition to a postsecondary program, workforce, or military. Students will develop advanced skills in safety and sanitation in addition to management and professionalism. Specialized content includes units on formulas and techniques, basic baking principles, specialized dietary baking, breads, desserts and pastries, and advanced techniques for specialty cakes, confections, piping, plate presentation, and flavor pairing. Concepts are aligned with competencies from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Education foundation assessment, ACF Retail Commercial Baking Certification. Integration of the strategies from the Family and Consumer Sciences student organization, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), provides leadership and entrepreneurship development in addition to an opportunity to compete and demonstrate technical skill attainment. Participation in the career and technology student organization, SkillsUSA, provides the students with the opportunity to compete and display professional baking techniques.


- Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
The Culture of Leadership examines the place of educators and leaders within a rapidly developing global world. This course will provide learners with an understanding of the importance of developing a safe, collaborative and inclusive professional environment. Central to this aim, is the necessity for all educators and leaders to partake in lifelong learning and understand the importance of positive personal and professional values, including effective reflective practices.
This course is action-oriented and will engage learners through scholarly literature, real case studies, diverse narratives and global-focused readings. On completion of this course, educators and leaders will be equipped with the fundamental skills with which to adapt to change in both a confident and flexible manner.
Upon completion of this course current and future educational leaders will be able to:
- understand the role and responsibilities of educators and leaders in a changing world.
- critically reflect on the role of personal and professional values, including the importance of lifelong learning.
- use critical and creative skills to identify ways to develop a safe, collaborative and inclusive professional environment.
- identify different management styles and recognise the importance of collaboration.
- utilise critical and ethical practices when undertaking action research projects.
The course is divided into four units:
Unit 1: Educational Leadership in a Changing World
Topic 1.1: Education and Leadership in a Changing World.
Topic 1.2: The Role of Personal and Professional Values.
Unit 2: The Professional Learning Environment
Topic 2.1: Developing a Safe, Conducive and Collaborative Professional Environment.
Topic 2.2 - Examining Your School Culture.
Topic 2.3 - Changing Your School Culture.
Unit 3: The Connected Educator
Topic 3.1 - Leadership in Collaborative Workplaces.
Topic 3.2 - The Role of Professional Development.
Topic 3.3 - Creating Professional Connections.
Unit 4: Leadership in Practice
Topic 4.1 - Foundational Skills of Investigation.
Topic 4.2 - Unit Exercises.


A workplace educator can provide support to apprentices who are having difficulty with reading, math or study skills while taking technical training.
Technical training instructors may not have the time to teach struggling apprentices foundational skills, such as how to skim and scan a page of text for information. There is a lot of material to learn in a short time, but apprentices with strong foundational skills can cope with reading complex and lengthy materials, and finding numbers from a document to make calculations.
One solution is to have a workplace educator assist apprentices who need the extra help. Workplace educators have experience teaching Essential Skills such as reading, document use and numeracy to learners.
Apprentices need to be at a minimum of Level 3 Essential Skills to be successful in technical training. Apprentices at this level can find information from several sources of reading material or translate a word problem to the math operations needed to solve it. For example, an apprentice who has difficulty with making inferences about information on a schematic may not be able to find the numbers needed to complete a calculation. This apprentice needs to learn how to locate information in a document. Workplace educators can teach these apprentices strategies that they can use to improve their reading and numeracy skills.
Workplace educators can also teach apprentices study skills. Some apprentices who have been out of school for a while may have forgotten how to study for exams and may need pointers on study techniques, such as summarizing information from several pages of text into a table or into brief notes in the margin of their textbook. Other apprentices may never have developed these skills.
Increasing Essential Skills levels and developing study skills will help apprentices improve their ability to learn, as well as to pass exams, increasing their chances of success in technical training.


Telephone : 01474 814646 :
At Meopham School we are committed to providing all students with a rich and broad curriculum. We believe that it is crucial to provide students with clear opportunities for deep learning within, across, and outside of the traditional academic subjects. To achieve this we offer a series of calendared enrichment days (or “Drop Down Days”, as we prefer to call them). These Drop Down Days facilitate more extended learning opportunities and experiences than would normally be possible within our traditional lesson timetable.
The vision behind our Character Days is for all students to have an opportunity to explore themselves, their character traits, personal strengths and to explore their interests. The four character strands within our Excellence Through Character curriculum become the focus of the day. Students have time to reflect, to grapple, to explore and lead. Character days are an opportunity to further practise the skills needed to prepare for their future whilst developing an understanding of active citizenship. Lessons are thought provoking, they include discussion and debate, whilst allowing students to ask questions and form authentic opinions. Although we seek to provide opportunities for this to happen within all of our schemes of work, our specially designated Character Days enable this to be at the forefront of learning and allow for meaningful development of our student's individuality and sense of self.
SALAD stands for “Speaking and Listening Active Development”.
We believe that every subject has a responsibility to promote core skills relating to literacy. We also place a strong emphasis on the development of oracy and debating skills. This is a key focus during our SALAD Days. Whilst we do much on an everyday basis, particularly within the English curriculum, we use these dedicated days to focus solely on transferable skills across the curriculum. The days are structured to provide opportunities to support students to improve their oracy within a group, as a pair, and on an individual basis. In both our SALAD Days and oracy lessons we encourage student development in four key strands of oracy:
All lessons on these days, regardless of subject content, have a speaking and listening focus, and students are encouraged to develop their oracy skills in a variety of ways.
We also believe it is fundamental for all students to demonstrate good numeracy skills. Whilst we know that this is taught effectively within the mathematics curriculum, we also believe that all teachers have a responsibility to deliver basic numerical skills. The whole school Numeracy Drop Down Days therefore are a fantastic opportunity for students to focus on these skills across the curriculum. Much like the SALAD Days, students focus on numeracy across the curriculum, and identify and develop transferable skills which are fundamental to their future.
Careers education is embedded in all areas of the school. Students are regularly encouraged to discuss the potential pathways for their future. During the dedicated Careers Days activities are planned to allow students to develop an array of skills such as listening, communicating, problem solving, working under pressure, demonstrating resilience and reciprocity. Each student will also learn about the interview process and may participate in mock interviews. Students will have the opportunity to learn about careers linked to their chosen subjects, and experience what it would be like to have a career in a particular industry. Teachers will assist students to explore the skills and qualifications required for each profession and the opportunities for progression in the future.
This year Meopham School will be hosting our first Careers Exhibition on 25 June 2020. We will be welcoming over 30 different employers, Universities, colleges and training providers to provide opportunities for students to both find out more about their options, and to have a personal conversation about their future prospects. All students in the school will benefit from this exciting event.
If you would like to contribute to the success of this event, please email email@example.com
In Year 11 students are preparing for their examinations, completing coursework assignments and studying their chosen range of subjects in more depth. Students therefore benefit from having an extended amount of time with their specialist teachers in their Option subjects. Therefore we give Year 11 two Drop-Down days each year, for each of these subjects. This means they get two full days in each subject, completing coursework, delving into greater content and refining revision techniques. These Bucket Days immediately follow the mock examinations in November and March.
At Meopham School we understand that Year 11 students, especially, feel the pressures of their imminent examinations, and we are mindful that success comes from supporting the whole person. While our academic curriculum supports their learning and exam preparation we also ensure that our character curriculum supports the students' mental and physical well-being. Following the intensity of mock examinations and Bucket Days we organise Well-Being Drop Down days for all Year 11 students. Students choose from a wide range of activities including sports, arts, technologies and relaxing team activities. Cooking, football, yoga, sculpture and board games are just a few examples of some of the most popular activities on offer.


George Sotter (1879 – 1953)
George W. Sotter Studio,
Design for Stained Glass
Graphite on Paper
21″ x 15″
George Sotter’s paintings have brought up to $200,000 at auction. But he was BEST known as a designer of stained glass! This is a striking original sketch from his workshop depicting the crucifixion.
George W. Sotter (1879 – 1953) was an American painter best known for Impressionist-style works. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but eventually made his name in Philadelphia. He is also known for his work in stained glass, some of which are still installed in numerous churches. In the August 5, 2006 episode of Antiques Roadshow on PBS, filmed in Philadelphia, a Sotter oil painting was appraised at $120,000 to $180,000, much to the delight of its visibly stunned owner. Sotter studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy with artist and teacher Edward Redfield, 1869-1965, member of the regional New Hope group. Later, Sotter became a member of the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, 1910-1919.
George Sotter, though relatively unknown, has recently been called “one of the most locally popular of the Pennsylvania Impressionists.” (An American Tradition, 1995-96, p. 29). Born in Pittsburgh on September 25, 1879, Sotter began his art education with local teachers and with Henry G. Keller, who had studied in various German academies. Keller, known for his superb, atmospheric watercolors, taught at the Cleveland School of Art but Sotter studied with him in Pittsburgh. Later Sotter would exhibit between 1903 and 1937 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His works were also shown at the Corcoran Gallery (1912-23), the Carnegie International (1901-26), the National Academy of Design (1913 and 1921), and at the Art Institute of Chicago (1911-27). In 1915, Sotter exhibited four works at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, where he won a silver medal. Sotter was known mainly as a stained-glass artist; his work may be seen from New York City to Salt Lake City. Around a dozen craftsmen worked under him for these commissions.
Sotter spent the summer of 1902 with Pennsylvania impressionist Edward Redfield in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Between 1910 and 1919, Sotter taught at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. His paintings often feature large areas of sky filled with clouds and he frequently painted winter night scenes, such as Moonlight, Bucks County (Beacon Hill Fine Art), a perfectly successful depiction of a quiet, moonlit landscape filled with twinkling stars. Star-studded skies, although rare in landscape painting, go back at least to 1600 when they appear in the oeuvre of Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610), a German painter who worked in Rome. The early eighteenth-century series of landscapes dedicated to the planets by the Bolognese master Donato Creti (Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome) also feature stars, but one might also think of Vincent van Gogh’s famous Starry Night of 1889 (Museum of Modern Art) when searching for precedents. Sotter’s Moonlight, Bucks County has an atmosphere of fantasy and nostalgia that one associates with American illustration and especially with Maxfield Parrish and his evocative, dream-like visions. Sotter was given a special exhibition toward the end of his life (1950) at the Woodmere Gallery in Philadelphia. Sotter died at Holicong (near Doylestown), Pennsylvania in 1953. The Bianco Gallery, Buckingham, PA, has been working on a catalogue raisonné of Sotter’s work.
An American Tradition: Pennsylvania Impressionists. New York: Beacon Hill Fine Art, 1995-96, p. 29; Folk, Thomas, The Pennsylvania Impressionists. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1997, p. 102.
Submitted by Michael Preston Worley, Ph.D.


By: Lili Levinowitz. Center for Music and Young Children Director of Research; Rowan University Professor of Music Education.
One of the joys I have as a Music Together teacher is watching the children I teach grow as music makers - from infancy through their preschool years - into basic music competence. Just as I love to watch my garden develop, I thrive on marking their music development on the path to singing in tune and moving to the rhythm. Many parents realize that reenrolling in Music Together classes is important to their child's emerging music intelligence. They are, however, faced with a sometimes overwhelming array of programming choices. Early childhood art, swim, gym, and preliteracy classes abound.
The impulse to introduce one's child to as many different disciplines as possible is a familiar one. As an educator, I am concerned that this can create a situation where many skills are sampled but few are truly developed. During the years from birth through age five, the brain is much more active than later on, making this a crucial time for "laying down the tracks" and "roughing in the circuitry" that will last a lifetime. The news from neuroscience clearly indicates that what doesn't get used during early childhood will be pared away by our efficient body/brain mechanisms.
Music development involves two systems with a crucial need for input during the years birth through kindergarten: the receptive and expressive systems. The receptive system primarily impacts music aptitude which is developing up until about age nine. During that time, music aptitude can fluctuate or atrophy from lack of quality stimulation. Furthermore, a child's expressive tools - the singing voice and moving body - are maturing at the same time as the "circuitry" is being laid down for these to receive the brain's signals efficiently. Thus, children learn to match what they perceive, evaluate what they sing or move to, and adjust to the changing music environment.
Continuing enrollment in Music Together ensures that your child receives the ongoing stimulation of rich, multicultural music as well as the opportunity for musical experimentation with voice and body. A single semester may open a window in your child's music development, but over time, a weekly routine of community music making in class with follow-through at home can provide a lifetime disposition for music making.
So, parents, please plan to enroll your children for all nine song collections. Deepen their music experience by repeating a collection they first learned or experienced as an infant or toddler. You and your teacher will share the ongoing pleasure of watching your child grow into basic music competence.


- This large walled garden originally belonged to a Georgian house in Castle Park.
- The gardens are in sections with a Georgian wall between them.
- Lancashire County Council took ownership in stages, the western section “inner garden” in the 1930s and the eastern section in the 1950s.
- The eastern section nearer The Storey building is on two levels.
- The centre piece of this space is an impressive Copper Beech tree.
- A tennis court was previously located on the upper level.
- The “inner garden” is accessed from the eastern section through a gateway in the Georgian wall.
- During the Second World War it contained an air raid shelter and a Dig for Victory plot.
- In the late 1980s the gardens were transferred to Lancaster City Council and by the 1990s had become overgrown and inaccessible.
- In 1998 funding was obtained from artranspennine98 to create a permanent artwork in the inner garden.
- This is “The Tasting Garden“, created by the American conceptual artist, Mark Dion. Click here for more information on this garden.
History of the Storey Building
The Storey was built between 1887 and 1891, and was financed by Sir Thomas Storey, a local philanthropist who was one of the two main employers in Lancaster at the end of the 19th Century. Thomas Storey then donated the building to the people of Lancaster for educational and cultural purposes, and it was originally used as a school, newsroom, library, and art gallery.
Throughout its life the building has been used in accordance with Thomas Storey’s wishes, hosting college and university courses, art and sculpture exhibitions and for a while playing a leading role in art education and training as the Lancaster College of Art. During the 2nd World War young people who were evacuated from southern England were educated in the Storey building.
The History of the Gardens
The land now known as the Storey Gardens is recorded as being used for gardens and orchards as far back as the 1600s.
The Storey Gardens were originally the property of the private dwelling 20 Castle Park. Dr Howson bought it in 1932 from the Satterthwaite family, who had occupied a residence there (now numbers 18, 20 and 22) since 1781.
Dr Howson almost immediately sold off the western section of the gardens, now known as The Tasting Garden, to Lancashire County Council but retained the eastern section. There was direct access through to that part of the garden from both 20 and 22 Castle Park. Dr Howson’s sister Miss Howson, occupied No. 22 which she bought in about 1930. Miss Howson died in 1962, No. 22 was sold off and the access between the gardens of Nos 20 and 22 was blocked off.
Dr Howson rented back part of the western garden during the 2nd World War from the council so that his family could grow vegetables as part of the Dig for Victory campaign. The lower part of that garden provided space for air raid shelters.
The eastern garden remained the property of the Howson family until 1955. The main feature was the tennis court which the family used – there were also some flower beds, bees were kept there and some ducks.
During the 2nd World War the gardens were used to provide outdoor recreation for young evacuees. In 1955 the gardens were transferred to the County Council.
Ownership of the gardens transferred to Lancaster City Council in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s the gardens had not been maintained and had become completely overgrown and inaccessible.
After having re-established use of the splendid but neglected art gallery in the Storey Institute building in 1991, the Storey Gallery organisation was keen also to open up these similarly neglected and unused gardens.
In 1998, Storey Gallery succeeded in attracting artTransppenine98 (a collaboration between the Henry Moore Foundation and Tate Liverpool) to fund the creation of a permanent artwork, The Tasting Garden by Mark Dion. Click here for more information on The Tasting Garden.