New York Colleges
New York (/njuË ËˆjÉ”rk/; locally IPA:Â [nÉªuÂ ËˆjÉ”É™k] or [nuËÂ ËˆjÉ”rk]Â ( listen)) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the north and west, and Quebec to the north. New York is often referred to as New York State or Upstate New York to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, with a population of over 8,000,000 people, is the most populous city in the United States. It is known for its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing center, and for its history as a gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
New York was inhabited by the Algonquian, Iroquois, and Lenape Native American groups at the time Dutch settlers moved into the region in the early 17th century. In 1609, the region was first claimed by Henry Hudson for the Dutch. Fort Nassau was built near the site of the present-day capital of Albany in 1614. The Dutch soon also settled New Amsterdam and parts of the Hudson River Valley, establishing the colony of New Netherland. The British took over the colony by annexation in 1664.
The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were roughly similar to those of the present-day state. About one third of all the battles of the Revolutionary War took place in New York. New York became an independent state on July 9, 1776, and enacted its constitution in 1777. The state ratified the United States Constitution on July 26, 1788 to become the eleventh member of the United States.
Matching New York Colleges
New York University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $39,344 average out-state tuition; $39,344 average in-state tuition
Columbia University in the City of New York
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $43,088 average out-state tuition; $43,088 average in-state tuition
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $41,325 average out-state tuition; $41,325 average in-state tuition
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $36,300 average out-state tuition; $36,300 average in-state tuition
Stony Brook University
Four or more years; Public; $14,720 average out-state tuition; $5,270 average in-state tuition
CUNY Hunter College
Four or more years; Public; $11,040 average out-state tuition; $5,130 average in-state tuition
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $39,235 average out-state tuition; $39,235 average in-state tuition
New York College Scholarships
|Dr. Frank Santamour Scholarship||$1,250||September 04, 2015|
|UAS7 International Study and Internship Program in Germany||Varies||October 01, 2015|
Popular Majors in New York
- Business Administration and Management
- Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Nursing - Registered Nurse Training (RN, ASN, BSN, MSN)
- Special Education and Teaching
- Elementary Education
- English Language and Literature
- Social Work
- Political Science and Government
- Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration
- Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- Reading Teacher Education


Learn how to find the top schools of music in the U.S.
Schools of music are educational institutions that offer professional and advanced training in music composition, appreciation, history and performance. Music schools may be part of a larger liberal arts college or a university, or they may be stand alone institutions, often called conservatories.
Conservatories allow students to concentrate on music and other types of performance art, such as drama and dance. Students who attend schools of music can work as professional musicians, composers, music teachers and music industry professionals.
According to the College Music Society, there are 4,314 institutions of higher learning in the United States and of these, 1,739 institutions have programs granting degrees in music and music education. The College Music Society further estimated that there were 330,534 students enrolled in schools of music in 2006 to 2007, representing 1.9 percent of the entire student population.
While each school of music offers a unique curriculum, each degree program will contain similar core material, based on widely accepted standards. The National Association of Schools of Music, founded in 1924, establishes nationally recognized criteria for awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees in music.
Educational institutions are ranked according to a number of factors, including cost of tuition, quality of institutional facilities, number of students who achieve professional employment post graduation, and achievements and awards given to former students and faculty.
News organizations such as U.S. News and World Report publish lists ranking the nation's academic institutions according to various factors, including the number of students who graduate after entering a degree program and the success of graduates in entering the professional environment. Schools of music are listed in U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings of liberal arts colleges.
There are also international organizations, such as the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), that publish annual reviews of educational organizations worldwide. The ARWU uses a number of factors in determining the quality of the institution, including the achievements of school alumni and the achievements of school staff and adjunct faculty.
In 2005, Rolling Stone magazine began publishing an annual review of music schools, which contains information about the music "scene" surrounding the school. Though a more informal approach, Rolling Stone's "Schools that Rock" provides useful information for students who are hoping to build careers within the popular music industry.
In addition to ranking lists, students looking to enroll in schools of music should evaluate the school's faculty. Some schools of music may employ faculty members with expertise in classical and jazz music, while other schools may employ faculty whose expertise extends to other genres.
The following music schools are considered among the finest in the United States, based both on official ranking and popular opinion:
The Juilliard School of Music, located in New York, N.Y., is one of the best-known schools of music in the United States. Juilliard consistently places high in ranking lists and has also achieved fame because many of the school's graduates have achieved prominent positions as performers and educators.
The Juilliard School was founded in 1905 and became the nation's most prominent school of music in the 1930s. Composer William Schuman, who won the first Pulitzer Prize for music, served as president of the school in the 1940s, during which time Juilliard gained an international reputation for excellence.
The Peabody Institute, which was founded in 1857 as a department of John's Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., is one of the most prestigious schools of music in the country. Prominent alumni include pianist and composer Philip Glass and singer Tori Amos. Peabody focuses on classical and jazz music with an emphasis on performance. Even students focusing on music industry management are expected to achieve a high level of skill in both composition and performance.
While Peabody and Juilliard top most ranking lists, musicians and industry leaders argue that there are many high quality schools of music in the United States. A student's ultimate choice must therefore depend partially on personal preference and the unique educational opportunities offered by specific programs.


Classical Hebrew & Judaism Curriculum 1 (EDMT5610)
UNIT OF STUDY
This unit of study is the first in a series designed for students who intend to teach Judaic Studies/Classical Hebrew texts within relevant syllabuses in Stages 4 and 5 and the NSW Board of Studies Classical Hebrew Stage 6 Continuers and Extension Syllabus. The unit develops foundational skills for language pedagogy for the classroom teaching of Classical Hebrew texts in the local Judaic Studies educational context.
Further unit of study information
1x 1-hr lecture/wk for 9 wks, 1x 2-hr seminar/wk for 9 wks
2500wd essay (40%) and lesson plans (25%) and resource portfolio (35%)
Faculty/department permission required?
Study this unit outside a degree
If you wish to undertake one or more units of study (subjects) for your own interest but not towards a degree, you may enrol in single units as a non-award student.
If you are from another Australian tertiary institution you may be permitted to underake cross-institutional study in one or more units of study at the University of Sydney.


Filed under: composers, women's history month. Tagged as: Maria Antonia Walpurgis.
Also known as Maria Antonia of Bavaria (1724-1780) was Electress of Saxony as well as a composer, singer, harpsichordist and arts patron. In the same year that she wed (1747) she also joined the Accademia dell’Arcadia of Rome which sought to reform opera. Opera played a significant role in her life – she composed two operas in her lifetime, including penning the librettos. Other works attributed to Maria Antonia include arias, intermezzo, motets, and other small works.
Maria Antonia received an excellent music education, studying with Giovanni Battista Ferrandini, Nicola Porpora and Johann Adolph Hasse. Her works were published in her lifetime, though under a pseudonym, and received good reviews. You can purchase a recording of her opera Talestri, about the Amazons, through the WPA store.
The an aria from Talestri is below:


Young children learn through multiple pathways. To support science learning in the preschool classroom, the National Science Teachers Association recommends using hands-on activities that allow the students to explore and discover. Instead of keeping weather activities boxed up in the science center, extend them throughout the curriculum and into pretend play. Whether children pretend they're weather anchors or create a mock storm, drama can provide an imaginative way to tackle environmental science concepts.
Pretend to Be Weather Forecasters
During the preschool years, children are learning about the seasons and connecting the changes that they see to different weather patterns, according to the PBS Parents website. Help your students learn about the weather, build related vocabulary and get creative with a TV station pretend play experience. Set up a TV station in your classroom. Hang a map of the United States behind the students and explain that they will describe the weather in each area. This also provides an opportunity to learn about climate and explore the differences between regions. For example, the "weather anchor" can point to the northeast area of the map. If it's December she might say, "Today's weather will be cold and snowy." If it's June, her forecast may include, "Today's weather will be sunny and hot."
Dress Up for the Four Seasons
Preschoolers are developing the ability to understand that different types of weather require wearing specific pieces of clothing, according to the "Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood." Provide your students with a bin of pretend play dress-up clothes that match the seasons. Include a winter coat, snow boots, mittens, hats, rain boots, a rain slicker, shorts, sweaters and sundresses. Call out a season and have the preschoolers pick out which dress-up clothes they will wear. If you say "winter," students can pick out coats, mittens, hats and boots. They can then act out their own winter scene. Repeat this with the other seasons.
Learn With a Make Believe Thermometer
Understanding how to use a thermometer and what the numbers mean is part of many states' preschool standards. For example, Pennsylvania's early learning standards for preschoolers include the use of a thermometer in their science concepts and competencies. Preschoolers should also develop the ability to use scientific tools to observe change, according to Maine's "Early Childhood Learning Guidelines." Explore how to use this science tool and help your young students to connect the numbers with the weather outside by making a pretend play thermometer out of paper. Write a number on it and ask the students to act out a scene that features the weather for the temperature. For example, write "85" and have the students act out a summertime scene at the beach or the swimming pool.
Use Props for Weather Play
Children in the preschool years should develop the cognitive skills necessary to pretend props are the real deal within a pretend play scene, according to the Arizona Early Learning Standards. Make and use weather props in your classroom. For example, ball up pieces of white paper to make a snowstorm, or use cotton balls to stage a pretend play snowball war. Cut pieces of blue construction paper and have the students toss it around like rain.
- National Science Teachers Association: NSTA Position Statement, Early Childhood Science Education
- PBS Parents: Science: 4 to 5
- Arkansas State University: Weather Wonders
- PA Keys: Pennsylvania Learning Standards for Early Childhood
- Maine Department of Education: State of Maine Early Childhood Learning Guidelines
- Arizona Department of Education: Arizona Early Learning Standards
- Photo Credit Ingram Publishing/Ingram Publishing/Getty Images
Dramatic Play Ideas for Preschool
Preschool Weather Theme Dramatic Play Activities. Dramatic play in a preschool classroom is a popular choice of students and an excellent way...
Dramatic Play Ideas for Winter
Adding a winter theme to the dramatic play center allows young kids to explore the season more fully. ... Preschool Weather Theme...


Dinosaurs have always been a favourite with my daughter and from the moment she popped this box on her head (well before we painted it) she was already in dinosaur mode.
Start with a cardboard box cut in a helmet style shape to fit on your child's head. We used a box from the supermarket that they use to display some foods so it was already this shape.
Choose a base colour for your dinosaur and get painting. Maddie wanted green.
Manipulating the 3-dimensional shape to paint all the sides required concentration and coordination. Whoops, watch the thumb :)
While the box was drying it was time to make some spikes. I pre-cut the spikes out of cardboard and let Madeline choose the colours she wanted the spikes to be. I then labelled them with the name and colour to encourage literacy development.
I then put out the paints we would need but only in Primary Colours (and white) in order to involve some colour mixing and problem solving. Which colours needed to be mixed in order to get the chosen colours for the spikes?
We decided the easiest way to do it was to paint with the Primary Colours first. The ones that didn't need to be mixed.
While painting the other side of the cardboard (which had some printing on it) she discovered that you could still see the printing through the paint. It was then we decided that some may need a 2nd coat.
So that we didn't have to wait for 1 side to dry before painting the other side, we propped the spikes up like this so one side wouldn't stick to the paper. The splits in the bottom are needed for attaching the spikes to the box later.
Now it was time for colour mixing! Red and white for the pink
Deciding her purple needed a bit more red
Here we discussed using the lighter colour as the base and adding in little bits of the darker colour at a time to get the desired colour.
Once the spikes dried I cut a slit the same width as the spike in the cardboard box
You then push the spike through and split the 2 tabs and tape to the underside of the box
They will then look like this
- To simplify this activity, leave out the colour mixing or problem solving part and just provide Primary coloured paints for the spikes. Focus on the fine motor skills and then the imaginative play.
- To extend this activity, let your child help with the cutting out or tracing of the triangles for the spikes. You could also test their reading and recognition by writing the colours for each spike in black and working out which colour to paint each spike together. eg "Which spike will you be painting orange? What sound can you hear at the start of the word, "orange?" Which letter makes the "o" sound? Can you see a spike with that letter at the start of a word?" etc
- Make your child aware of the problem solving they are doing. "You wanted to make an orange spike but we don't have any orange paint. How will we get orange?" "This orange looks quite reddish, which colour should we add more of to get the orange shade you're after? etc
- Use this time to talk about dinosaurs, when and how they lived, how they behaved etc depending on your child's interests.


Much research has pointed to the importance of pretend play as a facilitator of literacy development. However, few studies have investigated the corresponding role of sociodramatic play in mathematical development. This exploratory naturalistic study examined the numerate behaviors that occurred during spontaneous pretend play in a preschool through fifth-grade multiage summer enrichment program. A twelve-hour video segment of children's play in the drama center was transcribed and analyzed to identify numerical conceptions. The findings indicate that children's play included the following authentic mathematical behaviors: one-to-one correspondence, counting, adding, subtracting, and representing number via written and spoken signs and symbols. The results suggest pretend play provides a context that facilitates children's numerate behaviors and thus validates play as a curricular component.
Play, a long established hallmark in early childhood classrooms, is rapidly becoming extinct. Currently, early childhood teachers are under enormous pressure to emphasize achievement of academic skills. Many sacrifice playtime in favor of more structured activities because they cannot explain specific literate or numerical behaviors supported by play. Given this trend toward a 'back to basics" approach, Bergen (2002) cited the need for empirical evidence connecting play with children's specific academic behaviors and subsequent academic achievement.
A plethora of research (Bergen, 2002; Christie, 1980; Piaget, 1962; Roskos & Christie, 2000; Smilansky & Shefatya, 1990) supports the value of symbolic or pretend play as a facilitator of cognitive growth in general. These studies conclude that pretend play is related to divergent thinking, problem-solving skills, impulse control, and representational competence.
Researchers established the relationship between sociodramatic play in a literacy rich play setting and literacy skill development (Fields & Hillstead, 1990; Morrow, 1990; Neuman & Roskos, 1988; Pelligrini, 1980,1985; Roskos, 1990; Roskos & Christie, 2000; Stone & Christie, 1996). Literate behaviors identified in play provide evidence that pretend play functions as a valuable curricular tool for teaching and learning reading and writing during early childhood (Roskos & Christie, 2000).
Conversely, there has been little investigation of pretend play as a facilitator of children's mathematic behavior. Yawkey (1990) concluded through pre and posttest measures, that adult directed sociodramatic play without props facilitates mathematic behavior in five-year olds. Similarly, the investigation of Zamarelli and Bolton (1977), showed that guided individual play of ten to twelve year-olds with a specifically designated toy facilitates mathematics learning. Cook's (2000) naturalistic case study focused on pre-school children's mathematical discourse in a mathematically enriched dramatic play setting. She found that talk increased and included topics related to mathematical concepts. However, the complexity of children's discourse did not change.
Although Cook (2000) found that mathematical concepts as represented by language are evident in children's play, her sociocultural focus on linguistic interactions arising from the play does not document the individual child's developing conceptions of numeracy as communicated through other forms of representation. In order to verify the presence of numerical behaviors and identify the differing types of numerical behaviors, it becomes important to investigate children's developing numerical conceptions in a child initiated play environment. Thus, the present study set out to determine how numeracy functions in pretend play and the types of numerical behaviors children incorporate into their play.
Piaget's (1964) scientific theory, constructivism, was the guiding theoretical force of this study. …


Music is fun, expressive, imaginative, beautiful, energizing, relaxing, interesting, and freeing. Through music, we preserve our cultural heritage, celebrate our faith with praise and worship, remember events and experiences from the past, come together with friends and family, and express our emotions. Music is the soundtrack of life. TAKE ACTION TODAY
- Listen to your favorite music and sing, dance, clap, jam on your air guitar, and enjoy it like no one is watching.
- Go see or buy tickets for a live music performance.
- Sign up for music lessons for yourself or your family.
- If you already sing or play an instrument, do it today or offer to teach someone who wants to learn.
- Donate unused instruments to a local school, church, or music education center.
- Communicate with your school-district administrators or national legislators. Write a letter of appreciation for the hard work they do and request continued funding for the arts.
- Over 70% of schools are not able to maintain funding for the arts.
- Schools with music programs, compared to schools without, have significantly higher graduation rates, 90.2% compared to 72.9%, and higher attendance rates, 93.3% compared to 84.9%.
- Students with coursework in music appreciation score roughly 53 points higher in verbal and 40 points higher in math on the SAT than their non-arts peers.
- Early musical training increases brain development in language, reasoning, math, science, memory, creativity, expression, and spatial intelligence.
- Choral singers are nearly twice as likely to be involved in charity work—as both volunteers and donors—than the average person.
- Every human culture uses music to preserve and pass on its ideas and ideals.
- Music is not limited by age, gender, ethnicity, or time.


Other Policy and Resource Documents
The Ministry of Education administers the system of publicly funded elementary and secondary school education in Ontario, in accordance with and under the authority of the Education Act.
The Minister of Education, through the ministry, issues curricula, sets diploma requirements and sets policy for student assessment.
Curriculum documents define what children are taught in Ontario public schools. They detail the knowledge and skills that students are expected to develop in each subject at each grade level. By developing and publishing curriculum documents for use by all Ontario teachers, the Ministry of Education sets standards for the entire province.
Policy documents set government standards. Resource documents support implementation of policy.
In the case of education, Language, Grades 1-8 is an example of a curriculum policy document. It sets out what the public can expect children to learn in Ontario's elementary Language program.
On the other hand, the publication The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1–8: English As a Second Language and English Literacy Development – A Resource Guide is a resource that supports the Language policy. It helps teachers ensure that students from other backgrounds meet the curriculum expectations.
In 2003, the Ministry of Education established a schedule for ongoing curriculum review. Each year, a number of subject areas enter the review process, to ensure they are kept current, relevant and age-appropriate.
Because so much is at stake, reviews are conducted with great care. Comprehensive information-gathering includes:
These sources of information form the basis of recommended revisions to the curriculum. Writing teams drawn from school boards across the province then develop revised English and French documents.
The following revised curricula are being implemented in September 2005:
Mathematics, Grades 11 and 12 and Mathématiques, 11e et 12e année have also been revised and will be implemented in September 2006.


Growing hyacinth (Hyacinthaceae) bulbs in water is a traditional method because of its beautiful shape and look, especially when placed in a glass container.
1Find a suitable container. A narrow-necked container with a broad base is ideal. It is great if it is glass but a stylish container of any sort is excellent.Ad
2Fill the container up to the neck with water.
3Place the bulb in the shallow top part of the container.
4Keep in an area of low light to allow for growth of the roots.
5Shift the container to a brighter place once there is strong root growth in place. From this point, the bulb will continue to grow into a complete hyacinth plant.
6Enjoy the fragrance of the plant. Once the hyacinth flowers are in place, the scent will be delicious. Take advantage of the portability of the container to move it around the house as wished; from the dinner table to the lounge, etc.Ad
We could really use your help!
Science for Kids?
Things You'll Need
- Container, something like a carafe, in glass, or a stylish container
- Hyacinth bulb
In other languages:
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 56,067 times.


I admired George Muller's works in caring for orphans and his faith on God to provide for his need. However, I find it troubling that he didn't accept illegitimate orphans.
George Muller was a Prussian who came to Britain in 1829 in order to train for Christian missionary service. Some years later, inspired by the example of August Francke's orphanage in Halle (founded in 1696), George Muller began a similar work in Bristol. Muller's Homes - a complex of five gigantic barracks at Ashley Down, Bristol - provided accommodation for over sixteen hundred orphans mainly aged from seven to twelve years, who received an elementary education and were trained for trade or domestic service. The outstanding characteristic of Muller's work was that it depended entirely on faith in God: George Muller had no personal resources, yet he never asked for money; his Institution never went into debt; all his assistants were committed Christian believers and, on leaving, children were apprenticed to Christian employers or placed in service in Christian homes. His orphanages never attempted to be children's hospitals or reformatories; incorrigible delinquents were reluctantly expelled, and, curiously enough, George Muller did not accept illegitimate children. But the scale of Muller's work created a public awareness of the problem of orphan children, and aroused Christians to their responsibilities. George Muller was one of the early founders of the (open) Christian Brethren.
link Emphasis mine
What is his biblical reason for not accepting illegitimate children?
While searching, I found this article and learned that it's not easy to adopt illegitimate child during their times
I know it’s hard to believe, but foundlings [illegitimate children] generally died in the streets because there was no home for them, and adoption, as it is known today in the western world, has generally been illegal throughout most of history.
British almshouses (poorhouses) were more difficult to get into than either of the other institutions [Charles Spurgeon's and Muller's orphanages] mentioned in the first paragraph. Spurgeon and Muller both lamented the cruel system of gathering signatures, securing votes, and the complex paper work necessary to place a child into an almshouse. Most almshouses were notoriously horrible places. 90% of the foundlings who went into almshouses died before reaching 10 years old. It took Thomas Coram, a wealthy retired shipbuilder who was shocked to see dead babies in the streets of London, years to get legal permission to open the first home for foundlings. Afterwords his legal charter was repeatedly debated, and at one point rescinded, because saving foundlings was considered a corrupting influence on society.
Could it be that George Muller tries to avoid running afoul with the existing law or is it that, sadly, he shares with the his current society's social stigma on illegitimate children? I can only speculate.


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Replete with children's stories and illustrations, Math Is Language Too looks at children as sense-makers, storytellers, language creators, and problem-posers.


One fun fact about the excretory system is that the kidneys receive signals to produce less urine in an effort to preserve hydration when the temperature is hot or there isn't much drinking water available, according to Biology4Kids. When someone consumes too much water, hormones release to make urine production increase.Know More
All of the blood in a person's body cycles through the kidneys approximately 400 times daily, according to Easy Science for Kids. As the blood passes through the kidneys, they filter harmful wastes and excess water out of the bloodstream, notes the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. The wastes and fluid comprise urine, which then travels out of the kidneys and into the bladder through two ureters.
Once the bladder nears its urine capacity, healthy individuals experience the urge to use the restroom, notes the he National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. The urine then exits the body through the urethra, which is shorter in women than in men.
In addition to the kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra, the skin and the lungs are also components of the excretory system, explains Monroe County Women's Disability Network. The skin is the human body's biggest organ and releases sweat via perspiration. The lungs release carbon dioxide, another waste product in humans, via the process of respiration.Learn more about Human Anatomy
The skin excretes sweat and dead cells from the body, according to the Franklin Institute. Sweating and dead cell excretion through the skin is a function of the integumentary system, which supports the excretory system.Full Answer >
The excretory system is a collection of organs tasked with removing excess nitrogen and other toxins from the body. The kidneys, liver and large intestine perform most of the filtration duties. Solid waste passes out through the colon, gaseous waste exits the body through the lungs and excess liquid leaves through the bladder and skin.Full Answer >
Course information from the University of Cincinnati states that the excretory system is important to the human body because without it, nitrogenous wastes would build up in blood and tissues to toxic levels. The kidneys play a major role, filtering the nitrogenous wastes from the blood and mixing them with water to make urine. The kidneys filter large volumes of blood every day for this purpose.Full Answer >
One fun fact about sand dollars is that these animals are closely related to sea urchins. In addition, the white or off-white sand dollar skeletons found on beaches are called "tests," and their five-jawed mouths are at the center of the star-shaped markings on the tests.Full Answer >


To Do This, You Must Know How
Music Pedagogy in the Black Gospel Quartet Tradition
Publication Year: 2012
To Do This, You Must Know How traces black vocal music instruction and inspiration from the halls of Fisk University to the mining camps of Birmingham and Bessemer, Alabama, and on to Chicago and New Orleans. In the 1870s, the Original Fisk University Jubilee Singers successfully combined Negro spirituals with formal choral music disciplines, and established a permanent bond between spiritual singing and music education. Early in the twentieth century there were countless initiatives in support of black vocal music training conducted on both national and local levels. The surge in black religious quartet singing that occurred in the 1920s owed much to this vocal music education movement.
In Bessemer, Alabama, the effect of school music instruction was magnified by the emergence of community-based quartet trainers who translated the spirit and substance of the music education movement for the inhabitants of working-class neighborhoods. These trainers adapted standard musical precepts, traditional folk practices, and popular music conventions to create something new and vital.
Bessemer's musical values directly influenced the early development of gospel quartet singing in Chicago and New Orleans through the authority of emigrant trainers whose efforts bear witness to the effectiveness of "trickle down" black music education. A cappella gospel quartets remained prominent well into the 1950s, but by the end of the century the close harmony aesthetic had fallen out of practice, and the community-based trainers who were its champions had virtually disappeared, foreshadowing the end of this remarkable musical tradition.
Published by: University Press of Mississippi
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Title Page, Copyright
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We started sharing research back in 1980, based on a mutual interest in the African American gospel quartet tradition. Ray Funk was the third member of our original research team. Between the three of us, we located and interviewed hundreds of quartet veterans and spent hundreds of hours reviewing historical...
Introduction: “Say Four Come . . .”
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Early-twentieth-century African American sacred harmony singing, spiritual and gospel, was, in a sense, shaped by the interaction of two historical impulses. The first was to perpetuate folk music traditions, a cornerstone of black cultural identity; the second was to master standard Western musical and cultural...
Chapter One. John Work II and the Resurrection of the Negro Spiritual in Nashville
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The treasury of African American folk song known as the spirituals arose anonymously from slave cabins and brush arbors and was initially perpetuated as an oral tradition. The Original Fisk Jubilee Singers of Nashville, Tennessee, were first to demonstrate the usefulness of the spirituals, the “genuine...
Chapter Two. “Time, Harmony, and Articulation”: Quartet Training and the Birmingham Gospel Quartet Style
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Jefferson County, Alabama, incorporating the city of Birmingham and the neighboring towns of Bessemer and Fairfield, was a cradle of black gospel quartet singing. Grassroots music pedagogy, presided over by community-based quartet trainers, was the critical factor behind the intense outbreak of...
Chapter Three. An Alabama Quartet Expert in Chicagoland
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For many years Chicago was the capital of African American entertainment commerce. State Street’s legendary vaudeville theater and cabaret district was a haven for the first generation of jazz and blues musicians and composers. Progressive race music educators made their home in the city, and world-famous...
Chapter Four. The “Alabama Style” and the Birth of Gospel Quartet Singing in New Orleans
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New Orleans is a universally celebrated musical homeland with a deep but underestimated heritage of African American vocal quartets. For the better part of a century, a cappella quartets thrived in black New Orleans; more prevalent than brass bands, they were also more directly connected to folk music...
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Page Count: 368
Illustrations: 160 b&w
Publication Year: 2012


RILM Abstracts of Music Literature is a comprehensive music bibliography featuring citations, abstracts, and subject indexing. It provides broad coverage in categories like hip hop to Händel, ethnomusicology to music therapy, elementary music education to advanced music theory. RILM’s coverage spans 1967 to the present. Types of publications and media covered by RILM include collections of essays, conference proceedings, critical editions of music, digital media, dissertations, journal articles, monographs, online resources, reference materials, reviews, and technical drawings of instruments. Sound recordings and motion pictures that present the results of scholarly research of fieldwork are also included. An increasing number of records also feature abstracts in the language of publication. Roman and non-roman scripts are represented in RILM.
September 13, 2010


Our Preschool Program
Our Preschool Program (2 1/2 – 4 years olds)
Our Preschool Program offers a balanced approach to academic instruction; play based learning and free exploration. Our daily schedule includes circle time, outside time, academic centers (i.e. language arts, mathematics, writing, art, science) as well as open centers (i.e. library, dramatic play, blocks). All units or instruction are presented in many ways, both whole group and small group, to accommodate the many different learning styles and levels of our children. Our teachers create lesson plans from our core curriculum to include a variety of concepts, strategies and materials beyond the expectations of the basic curriculum. Music, movement, art, literature, cultural awareness are emphasized daily.
Curriculum – Our daily schedule provides a balance of activities, indoors and outdoors, with alternating periods for both quiet and active play. Teachers provide a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and materials that are selected to emphasize concrete experiential learning and to achieve the following goals.
The goals of our preschool rooms are:
• Foster positive identity and sense of emotional well-being
• Develop social skills
• Encourage children to think, reason, question and experiment
• Encourage language and literacy development
• Enhance physical development and skills
• Encourage and demonstrate sensible health, safety, and nutritional practices
• Encourage creative expression, representation, and appreciation of the arts
• Respect cultural diversity
The core curriculum consists of hands on learning in both phonics based language and every day math activities. Our preschool programs use Land of the Letter People as the base curriculum. Land of the Letter People is a phonics based program which provides a framework for themes and concepts throughout the year. We supplement this program with Math Their Way, AIMS and the Kindness Curriculum. Please click the links for more information on each individual curriculum.
Extensions – In addition to the core curriculum, we also provide instruction in Spanish, American Sign Language, Art, Music Mike, Computers, Kindness Curriculum, and Physical Education.
Classroom Environment – Visit this room and you will see preschoolers happy, exploring, creating, following directions, learning a second language, developing pre-reading skills, doing simple math projects, problem solving, being kind and considerate, sharing, interacting with their peers, pretending, expressing a sense of humor, taking the initiative, and much, much more. You will also see teachers interacting with children, reassuring, praising, laughing, hugging, teaching self-discipline, developing the learning environment, planning lessons for the day, fostering independence, observing each child as an individual and so much more. But don’t take our word for it. Come see for yourself.


Curriculum Tools | News
K-5 Readers Get New Common Core-Compliant National Geographic Program
- By Dian Schaffhauser
A division of Cengage Learning has released new K-5 reading curriculum that uses material from National Geographic and aligns with the Common Core. National Geographic Learning has put together a reading program titled, "Reach for Reading," which uses multiple types of content and technology to get students to read. The new program includes the pairing of content, such as fiction with articles developed by National Geographic, along with access to other content, such as videos.
The programwas built around Common Core State Standards, which were implemented as a way to provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students nationwide are expected to learn. The standards call on students in these grade levels to be able to interpret informational text, such as that found in articles, as well as other kinds of reading, such as fiction, poems, blogs, and fantasy.
Schools that use Reach for Reading will have access to National Geographic texts as well as videos and a digital library with images from the organization through a myNGconnect portal. The feature also provides students with digital editions of the texts, vocabulary games, a word builder app, and a vocabulary notebook.
Instructors gain access to a teacher site with a digital library, lesson planner, and interactive whiteboard activities. A teacher's edition at each grade level allows the instructor to automate the weekly planning process by clicking on a lesson, choosing a unit, and specifying a timeframe for the lesson. The teacher can print out the lesson, share it, or make it accessible to others, such as a substitute.
"The adoption of the Common Core State Standards raises the bar for reading instruction in elementary schools," said Nancy Frey, one of the authors of the new program and a professor of literacy in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. "The standards have resonated with educators and curriculum developers nationwide and presented a challenge: How best to staircase literacy learning in order to meet the college- and career-ready goals articulated throughout? Elementary education is the first step on that staircase, and educators need comprehensive curriculum that addresses the shifts in practice that Common Core requires. The Reach for Reading program was explicitly designed with these shifts in mind."
According to Vincent Grosso, vice president of National Geographic Learning, the Common Core Standards require that reading instruction contain a balance of literary and informational texts. "But recent studies have shown that over 75 percent of titles used for reading were narrative. With Reach for Reading, we are incorporating content and imagery from National Geographic to help prepare children for the world of informational texts. Students will be reading about animals, places, and other topics, while seeing vivid photos and labeled diagrams that correspond with the text, which results in a much more engaging experience."
Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at firstname.lastname@example.org.


It is taught early and tested often, and it is a lifetime skill that should be expanded to improve comprehension in daily life.
Although children often enter school with a basic grasp of reading and language, educators must be prepared to engage students to improve these skills.
Dr. Deanne Camp, professor of reading, foundations and technology and the graduate literacy program coordinator at Missouri State, understands the challenges of reading instruction and prepares educators for overcoming them.
Her primary research areas include literacy development, comprehension and struggling readers.
She has authored and co-authored approximately 10 journal articles or book chapters in the last three years, tackling topics like the importance of reading aloud, teaching study skills and developing writing lessons for early elementary school.


Funky Chickens: Free Lesson Plan Download
Level: 3-5 Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Line, Shape, Color
Art Skills: Drawing, Coloring, Digital Design
Art History: Folk Art
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
Technology in the art room is a really hot topic. Classrooms are filling up with mind-blowing hardware and devices, apps and websites are getting better, and the products they can create are getting more sophisticated. So, what do we want our students to learn from this 21st century media? It is the perfect opportunity to dig into our art history! This lesson asks students to discuss and experience making very traditional and very high-tech art then compare and contrast the two. These activities constitute a well-rounded unit that directs students to create art, think about it critically, and then reflect on their experience. Perc-a-doodle-doo!


In Ghana, as in many parts of the developing world, women often face significant barriers to financial stability. Particularly in rural areas of northern Ghana, women are much less likely than men to earn income, have access to credit or own assets, leaving them particularly vulnerable to shocks such as drought or family illness.
That's why Feed the Future is promoting gender equality in Ghana by training women to practice improved agricultural techniques, good nutrition and sound business management. Through a Feed the Future program managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), thousands of women are building skills, increasing their incomes and strengthening their status in their families and communities.
Many women in northern Ghana lack basic numeracy skills, which puts them at a disadvantage in agricultural markets where smallholder farmers exchange currency and negotiate prices for crops. To address this challenge, Feed the Future has trained more than 4,000 women farmers on numeracy in the small farming community of Gindabour, which has led to other opportunities for participants such as opening savings accounts with local banks and assisting their children with math homework.
Feed the Future also trained 5,000 women how to operate their family farms as for-profit agricultural businesses by measuring inputs and outputs, reducing production costs, using improved seeds and applying modern technologies to increase yields. Since participating in the trainings, the women have formed groups to increase knowledge sharing among smallholder farmers and provide a platform to continue learning from one another.
In addition, Feed the Future collaborated with four Ghanaian private sector companies to train 100 smallholder farmers on fertilizer and weedicide application, row planting and post-harvest handling. Today, more than 40 Gindabour women farmers from that group of 100 now have the right to cultivate land closer to their homes, a rare practice in the region that community leaders are coming to recognize as important to Gindabour’s food security. Those farmers who adopted the practices they learned in training have also doubled their yields in rice, maize and soybean crops.
“I adopted what I learned by using hybrid seeds, practiced row planting and the right way of fertilizer application,” says Esteher Mulnye, one of the smallholder farmers who participated in the training. “At the end of the season I had 25 bags of maize; now some of the women in my community come to me to learn these practices.”
As women in Gindabour have steadily increased their economic participation, they have become better able to ensure their children can go to school and eat nutritious food. They have also been galvanized to contribute to improved food security and help secure a better future for their community.
About the Author: Alicka Ampry-Samuel serves as a Development Outreach and Communications Specialist at the USAID Mission in Ghana.
Editor's Note: This entry also appears on the Feed the Future website.


Texting has become so popular that many have taken to calling today’s teens “generation text” With the proliferation of technology you realize how important it is to explore the effect of cell phone texting on learner literacy.
Texting refers to the use of abbreviations and other techniques to craft messages sent through the cell phone. This form of writing known as “Txtspk” does not follow standard grammar or spelling conventions. It is popular because of the wide use of cell phones and instant messaging (IM). In some developed countries there are several million texts that are sent daily.
For many years educators and parents have blamed texting for two ills: the corruption of language and a degradation in spelling. Teachers are even complaining about textisms creeping into schoolwork. This has led many to wonder if it is possible that texting can have any positive influence on learners’ language development.
Before you write off texting as a corruption of this generation it is important to realize that many studies have found that teens through their texting, blogging and emailing are reading and writing more than any other generation. The bottom line is that texting is not going to go away; so it has become crucial to explore the opportunities for cell phone-assisted literacy development, as well as understand the risks. More research will have to be done to consider the full impact of texting and literacy.
A recent study explored the relationship in 10- to 12-year-old children between the use of textisms and school literacy attainment. The researchers found no association between overall textism use and the children’s spelling scores. However there was a strong association between textism use and phonological awareness (for example, “2nite” sounds the same as “tonight”). This is because although spelled incorrectly in a conventional sense, many textisms are phonologically acceptable forms of written English. There are decades of research that have demonstrated a consistent association between different forms of phonological awareness and reading attainment.
Further research supports that sending frequent texts can actually help children to read and write because of the abbreviations that are used. Text style requires learners to write economically, inventively and playfully which are all good practice when learning to read and write. Some English teachers have even gone as far as to ban cell phones and texting believing there is a place for texting in the classroom. Below are some examples that teachers are using to incorporate texting into their teaching and classrooms-
- Teachers are having students translate text-heavy pieces, (for example a MySpace page), into Standard English. Or they are doing the reverse by having students translate passages from classic literature into text speak.
- One English teacher has asked her students to summarize in the form of text passages from Richard III to demonstrate succinctly their comprehension of the material.
- Teachers are using text as a means to communicate with their students. This allows teachers to discuss content with their students in the formal writing assignments. Because learners are communicating through so many channels these days, there is a need to educate them about writing for a particular audience: school writing is different to casual chat.
- When writing first drafts some educators are allowing the quick, free-flowing style of texting to spark their learners’ thinking processes. The students will then switch to standard language during editing and revising.
- Texting is crossing over into math and applied sciences as well as teachers in those areas use formal math problems based on the send rate and receive rate of texts. This type of creative problem solving appeals to today’s heavy digital technology generation of teens.


The charity, whose backers include Nationwide Building
Society and Oxford University Press, said the 17 million with poor numeracy
skills represented an increase of nearly two million over the past eight years.
A total of 49% of adults are affected, compared to 47% eight years ago.
Its figures were first published in a 2011 government ‘Skills
For Life’ survey of 7,000 working-age adults. This ‘largely ignored’ data
showed one in two adults have numeracy skills roughly equivalent to those
expected of children at primary school and may not be able to understand pay
and deductions on a wages slip.
is aiming to emulate the success of the National Literacy Trust and contrasted
the adult numeracy situation with that for literacy, where around five million
adults have poor literacy skills.
The organisation also revealed the results of a YouGov
poll of 2,000 adults, commissioned last month. which found that, while 80% of
adults would be embarrassed to tell someone they were bad at reading and
writing, only slightly more than half (56%) would be embarrassed to say they
were bad at maths.
Chris Humphries, chair of National Numeracy and former
chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), said: ‘It
is simply inexcusable for anyone to say “I can’t do maths”. It’s a peculiarly
British disease which we aim to eradicate. It doesn’t happen in other parts of
the world, and it’s hitting our international competitiveness. With
encouragement and good teaching, everyone can improve their numeracy.’
Mile Ellicock, the charity’s chief executive, said the
government’s figures showed the need for a focus on numeracy. While there has
been a significant improvement in the proportion of adults with literacy skills
equivalent to the level of GCSE A*-C - up from 44% to 57% since the last survey
in 2003 - the figure for numeracy has actually dropped from 26% to 22%.
‘We welcome the improvement in literacy, but it’s vital
that attention is now turned to the state of numeracy,’ he said.


So much of what we teach during a typical IL session are the lower level skills that serve as a foundation for information literacy. While students absolutely need those foundational skills, it’s the higher order thinking skills that we really need to be concentrating on in order to help students become independent learners so that they can become lifelong learners. Flipping library instruction can remedy that problem. (See my previous post of flipping the one-shot session.)
Flipped instruction can be valuable, but is often done entirely wrong. Many instructors make the mistake of believing that by merely providing students with videos to watch outside of class, they’re ‘flipping the classroom.’ NO. That’s called ‘extending the lecture.’
Flipping the classroom requires interactive lessons to take place outside of class. Students need feedback in order to learn. And instructors need to know what students are learning. How do you know what students are learning if they’re just watching videos?
That’s where Knowmia comes in. It’s a great tool that helps you design flipped instruction the right way.
Knowmia allows you to combine video lessons with assignments to develop a truly flipped approach to learning. You can upload a screencast or YouTube lesson, or create your own using Knowmia’s Teach app for the iPad. Then you can intersperse your lessons with questions (open-ended or multiple choice) using the Assignment wizard. You get notified when students have completed an assignment, at which time you can provide them with feedback. They can respond back to you.
And Knowmia is good for more than flipped instruction. It’s ideal for distance education and embedded librarianship. And it would also make a great online library orientation tool.


I also am inspired by all the responses to Terry's questions about studio
critiques. I wonder if I might also get some of your input regarding
your experiences in engaging students in philosophical inquiry.
I have worked with many teachers on this topic and have many examples of
student writing and summaries of their comments and questions about
aesthetic issues, but I would like to include more in the book.
As most of you probably know, students often wonder about philosphical
issues and raise questions as they are engaged in art criticism, as they
consider the history of art, and as they engage in studio work. I
recommend what I call the "Big Questions Chart." When questions arise,
they are placed on the chart, which may take the form of a Thinking Wall
(I loved this idea), a bulletin board, or simply a long sheet of paper
displayed in the room somewhere. Even if time does not allow for a full
discussion of the question, the students are shown that questioning is
appropriate and even encouraged. Hopefully, teachers can find the time
for a discussion of one or more of the questions at some point.
I also recommend taking the time to ask the students to consider
philosophical questions. Many such questions center around the nature of
art, such as those mentioned by some of you. Other philosophical
questions might focus on our responses to art, generally. For instance,
students might consider whether it is possible to dislike an art work and
still judge it as a good work. How important is it that everyone agrees
about an art work being good or not? Is it ever OK to be uncomfortable
with an art work? Is there a BEST way to respond to an art work?
Students might consider how beliefs about art influence the ways we
perceive, interpret, and evaluate art works. They might consider what
makes one person's interpretation of an art work better than another
I have created a teaching resource, QUESTIONARTE, which is available
through CRIZMAC. The questions above are just a few of those under the
"Questions About Art, In General" component of the resource, which
primarily deals with philosophical questions. QUESTIONARTE also has
questions about meaning, designed to help students engage in art
criticism, questions about origins and traditions, designed to help
students engage in art historical inquiry, and questions about making,
designed to help students engage in inquiry associated with studio
production. There are four posters, each with 15 major questions and
60 3x5 cards that include follow-up or extension questions. A
teacher's guide is included with this resource. In addition, all posters
and cards are in English and Spanish!
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used
QUESTIONARTE. In addition, I would love to hear from those of you who
would be interested in sharing your students' responses to
philosophical questions for possible inclusion in my book. You may
respond online or by sending email to my address:
stewart. Or--you might send them to me. My address is
Marilyn Stewart, Art Education, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530.
Marilyn Stewart, Art Education, Kutztown University
Kutztown PA 19530 stewart@kutztownedu 610 683 4517


The School and Society
Originally published in 1899, The School and Society began as a series of lectures given to parents, professionals, and others at the University Elementary School. In this short volume, Dewey discusses the way in which education is fundamentally tied to a thriving democracy. The problem, according to the author, with the old education model was that elementary schools did not encourage exploration and curiosity in their students. In a country that requires the thoughtful pursuit of ideas by the populace in order to arrive at reasonable governance, this repressive form of education encouraged rote following and closed minds. Anyone interested in philosophy, education, and the general betterment of society will find Dewey's thoughts and early childhood learning progressive and intriguing. American educator and philosopher JOHN DEWEY (1859-1952) helped found the American Association of University Professors. He served as professor of philosophy at Columbia University from 1904 to 1930 and authored numerous books, including Experience and Nature (1925), Experience and Education (1938), and Freedom and Culture (1939).
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Learning to play a musical instrument as a child could prevent cognitive decline in later life, a new study suggests.
Older people who took music lessons in childhood had a faster brain response to speech, even if they had not played an instrument in decades, researchers found.
The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that learning the piano or violin as a child could cause a lasting improvement in how our brains respond to sound.
Changes in our brains as we age mean that older people respond more slowly to sounds which change rapidly, including speech.
Researchers from Northwestern University studied a group of 44 adults aged 55 to 76 and found that the more musical training they had been given during childhood, the faster their brain response to a speech sound.
Each of the volunteers listened to a synthesised version of a spoken syllable, "da", while electrical activity in their auditory brainstem – a region of the brain which processes sound – was recorded.
None of the participants had played an instrument in almost 40 years, but those who took music lessons for between four and 14 years in childhood were a fraction faster to respond to the sound.
Prof Nina Kraus, who led the study, said it "suggests the importance of music education for children today and for healthy ageing decades from now".
“The fact that musical training in childhood affected the timing of the response to speech in older adults in our study is especially telling because neural timing is the first to go in the ageing adult,” she said.
Brain responses to the sound were only a millisecond faster in participants with musical training, but such a difference could "pay dividends," said Prof Michael Kilgard, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, who was not involved in the study.
"Being a millisecond faster may not seem like much, but the brain is very sensitive to timing and a millisecond compounded over millions of neurons can make a real difference in the lives of older adults," he said.


||What is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?
The Orton-Gillingham approach is language based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, flexible and emotionally sound. Infinitely adaptable, it is a philosophy rather than a system.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is based on a technique of studying and teaching language, understanding the nature of human language, the mechanisms involved in learning, and the language-learning processes in individuals.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is multisensory. Sessions are action-oriented with auditory; visual, and kinesthetic elements reinforcing each other for optimal learning. Spelling is taught simultaneously with reading. In this respect Orton-Gillingham differs from traditional phonics instruction.
Structured, Sequential and Cumulative
The elements of the language are introduced systematically. Students begin by reading and writing sounds in isolation. These are blended into syllables and words. The various elements of the language, consonants, digraphs, blends, and diphthongs are introduced in orderly fashion. As students learn new material, they continue to review old material to the level of automaticity. The teacher addresses vocabulary, sentence structure, composition, and reading comprehension in similar structured, sequential and cumulative manner.
Students learn about the history of the language and study the many generalizations and rules which govern its structure.
At its best, Orton-Gillingham teaching is diagnostic-prescriptive in nature. Always the teacher seeks to understand how an individual learns and to devise appropriate teaching strategies.
Because old material is constantly reviewed and new material is introduced systematically, the student experiences a high degree of success in every lesson and gains confidence as well as in skill. Learning becomes a happy experience


While John Dewey (1859-1952) was developing his philosophy to change the educational system, Woodbridge Nathan Ferris (1853-1928) was building a school by trial-and-error which would become the cornerstone for career, technical/professional education beyond the secondary level. Dewey became internationally famous. W.N. Ferris did not.
Dewey and Ferris were both influenced by the same man: Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Many believe that Ferris nurtured the Pestalozzian movement and carried it into the twentieth century.
That movement began in pre-revolutionary France with John Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) who wrote the book Emile, which proposed a new educational plan. In an unorthodox manner, a mix of academic and practical, Emile was educated to use his hands as well as his mind to provide the necessities of life.
Emile, although a member of the upper class, was taught things which would be considered low class by the aristocracy. He was even "apprenticed" to a carpenter in order to learn how to build a house. Rousseau's philosophy was not popular, and he was banished from France for publishing the education of Emile.
The thread then extends into the next century to Switzerland where Pestalozzi, who set up, among other things, a school on a farm where he planned to educate poor people's children; for this he earned the title of "Father of Elementary Education." But his method of teaching was to have his pupils learn while doing, thus also making him "Father of Vocational Education."
He had tried out his principles by educating his own daughter according to the format Rousseau had suggested for educating Emile. Pestalozzi asked for a government grant from Switzerland to support his school concept, but he was turned down. Without this financial support, he personally paid for the education of his pupils until he ran out of finances. He later set up a private school which he operated for many years.
The system became popular throughout the United States and Europe, particularly England. There even was a Pestalozzian Center in Japan.
Pestalozzi's chief assistant was Hermann Krusi, whose son, Johann Heinrich Hermann Krusi, Jr., (1817-1903) found his way to Oswego, New York, where he became a faculty member at Oswego Normal School, teaching the Pestalozzian method which the Oswego president tried to adopt as the basis for teacher training at this fountainhead of teacher education in America.
When W.N. Ferris entered Oswego Normal School in 1871, he fell under the influence of Krusi. In his autobiography, Ferris mentions Krusi as the one outstanding teacher who influenced his thinking to develop an educational institute for the working class.
Krusi also taught geometry at Oswego, and Helen Gillespie Ferris, who attended long enough to receive her advanced certificate, also had many courses from him. In her time Helen Ferris was considered the best geometry teacher in Michigan, as attested to by the state superintendent of Public Instruction. Woodbridge and Helen Ferris, much influenced by the Pestalozzian philosophy, carried to Big Rapids this philosophy and used it as a foundation for their Big Rapids Industrial School.
Among the books salvaged from Mr. Ferris' library is a biography of Pestalozzi written in 1875 by the younger Krusi as a tribute to his father, Pestalozzi's long-time associate. Its title is, Pestalozzi: His Life, Works, and Influence.
When the younger Krusi retired from Oswego Normal School in 1887, the Pestalozzian identity began to wane as the normal school concept waxed. Although he died in 1903, Krusi's autobiography, Recollections of My Life, was not published until 1907.
In 1969 Will S. Monroe published a History of the Pestalozzian Movement in the United States. It concluded with a chapter on the St. Louis example from 1868-1880.
Thus the impetus was there for W.N. Ferris to incorporate whatever Pestalozzian theory he saw fit into his school in Big Rapids.
There are many who believe that much of the Pestalozzian push came from Helen G. Ferris. After all, she attended Oswego Normal School for three years and earned a degree while Woodbridge attended little more than a year. As is often the case with wives of domineering men, she probably had a great deal of influence on her husband without his realizing it.


"Now in its fourth edition, Best Practices in Literacy Instruction just keeps getting better! This comprehensive volume offers up-to-date, evidence-based information on virtually everything a teacher needs to know about literacy instruction. Clearly written, with end-of-chapter activities to promote deeper understanding, this book is indispensable for preservice and master’s courses in literacy programs and for school professional development efforts."--Mariam Jean Dreher, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Maryland, College Park
"This fourth edition continues the tradition of excellence established in prior editions. From motivation to the pillars of literacy, assessment, and new literacies, every significant aspect of teaching reading is fully examined. This is an excellent, up-to-the-minute, evidence-based reference that provides innovative insights into essential literacy topics. Classroom teachers, reading specialists, curriculum directors, and teacher educators will benefit from this wealth of knowledge."--Maureen McLaughlin, EdD, Department of Reading, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania "Beginning with the superb introductory chapters, this book is filled with theory- and research-based discussions of critical issues and instructional practices in literacy education. The contributors develop a deeper understanding of literacy in their chapters while embedding a strong emphasis on technology. I loved reading this fourth edition. It flourishes with new ideas, new topics, and an abundance of practical teaching ideas and classroom examples."--Barbara J. Walker, EdD, School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership, Oklahoma State University
About the Author
Lesley Mandel Morrow, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Learning and Teaching in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her research, which she conducts with children and families from diverse backgrounds, deals with early literacy development and the organization and management of language arts programs. Dr. Morrow has published more than 300 journal articles, chapters, and books. Her work has been recognized with awards including the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award and the William S. Gray Citation of Merit from the International Reading Association (IRA), and the Oscar S. Causey Award from the Literacy Research Association. Dr. Morrow is past president of the IRA and is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.
Linda B. Gambrell, PhD, is Distinguished Professor in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University. Her major research interests are in the areas of reading comprehension strategy instruction, literacy motivation, and the role of discussion in teaching and learning. Dr. Gambrell has published numerous books and articles on reading instruction. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award from the IRA, the Albert J. Kingston Award from the National Reading Conference, and the Laureate Award from the College Reading Association. She is past president of the IRA and is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.


The idea began during lunch at a downtown café. Kathryn DiPietro, assistant professor, Technology-based Teacher Education, picked up a flier from the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley and called to see what she could do to help children in the community. She learned that the South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center’s summer program had a focus on education and welcomed assistance. Coincidently, she was teaching a children’s literature class and had 18 students from Special Education, Elementary Education, and Secondary Education in summer session II. DiPietro thought that a project involving the neighborhood center would be a good fit for her students, for her research, and for the children attending the program.
“I’m studying teachers in urban schools to determine what brings them there and what keeps them there,” DiPietro says. “Literature
suggests that there is a 50 percent attrition rate within the first year for teachers in urban settings. Service learning—that is, learning and practicing skills in an authentic setting in the community—is one way in which to address the high attrition rate.”
“So I created this project where my students provide reading assessment and assistance to the children in the program. Many of the children in the program are considered at-risk and are not generally non-native English speakers. This project would provide an authentic experience for our students—experiences that are shown to increase a teacher’s compassion and to create a connection to the community. Pre-service teachers who complete service learning experiences during their teacher education programs are more likely to teach in urban settings and are better prepared to deal with the unique challenges.”
DiPietro’s Technology-based Teacher Education students completed informal diagnostics of each child enrolled in the six-week program and then identified weaknesses and needs. Together with DiPietro, they made educational decisions to meet the needs of the child. Each day, students work individually with a child, improving his or her reading skills.
“I was thrilled that Dr. DiPietro was interested in working with our campers,” says Kristina Bealer, South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center program director. “Our kids are getting the attention they need: one-on-one help.”
DiPietro is continuing the project through the fall semester, participating in the Center’s after school program.
Posted on Thursday, March 04, 2004


Image: Werner Kunz
I stumbled upon a neat way to apply literacy today in our applied learning context, thanks mainly to the initiative of a colleague responsible for teaching technology and design to our students.
We are in the middle of writing mid-term reports for our learners, and this teacher thought it would be an interesting exercise to have his students compose their own reports (about themselves) in relation to their performance and learning in his subject. He initially did this to create a comparison with his own assessments of the learners, but as we were to later discuss and ponder, this turned out to be a brilliant way to have the students reflect on their own performance in a much more salient way. Our students are fairly unlikely to read or take on board the formal reports written by their teachers, but when they do them for themselves there is much more likelihood of real reflection and uptake.
This in itself was something I thought of as being 'blogworthy'; it is a great example of what I like to call 'integrous teaching' -- a process that facilitates and promotes learner integrity.
The learners completed a paragraph about themselves addressing 3-4 key points suggested by the technology and design teacher in relation to performance in that particular subject. This teacher then approached me to see what we could do with this work in terms of facilitating extensions into literacy development. I was happy to give this a shot, and the initial integrous activity then became an integrated one (from subject to literacy skills).
Based on the initial paragraphs of about 100 words, I had the learners extend them to about 300 words basically by identifying the key ideas and thoughts, turning these into topic sentences for independent paragraphs and then 'growing' each paragraph to include supporting details and examples. They were then shown how to add short introductions and conclusions, along with signpost language to create progression and cohesion across the body paragraphs.
This created a 3-4 draft process (relatively untaxing based on the electronic format of their texts) which was precious in terms of meeting our VCAL literacy outcomes but also developing and applying real literacy skills in a fairly logical and organic fashion. From single paragraph 100-word accounts we had grown 4-paragraph essays of about 300 words in length and it was interesting how much easier for the learners this was compared to the 'traditional' approach of planning out a full essay in advance.
Aside from the literacy skills perspective here, I think this was really valuable from the integrous and reflective angles as well. By visualising and describing actual behaviours and experiences to support their initial assessments of themselves, it forced them to not only rationalise them but also genuinely notice their own performance.
This application across two teachers and two subjects was particularly fruitful. Like so many of my better teaching experiences, it sprang out of someone else's initial application and then grew in a very collaborative way. Cheers Robin!
The really juicy thing to consider is how this could be extended and reapplied across other subjects and tasks as well. For now and the future, I think I'd like to bear in mind those two terms 'integrated' and 'integrous'; I think there's a tremendous amount of potential mileage there for the applied literacy teacher.


The Meaning Makers is about childrenâ€™s language and literacy development at home and at school. Based on the Bristol Study, â€œLanguage at Home and at School,â€ which the author directed, it follows the development of a representative sample of children from their first words to the end of their primary schooling. It contains many examples of their experience of language in use, both spoken and written, recorded in naturally occurring settings in their homes and classrooms, and shows the active role that children play in their own development as they both make sense of the world around them and master the linguistic means for communicating about it. Additionally, this second edition also sets the findings of the original study in the context of recent research in the sociocultural tradition inspired by Vygotskyâ€™s work and includes examples of effective teaching drawn from the authorâ€™s recent collaborative research with teachers.
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Rent The Meaning Makers 2nd edition today, or search our site for Gordon textbooks. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Multilingual Matters.


The Metropolitan Museum of Art, home to one of the largest and most renowned art collections in the world, was the destination for Hamilton’s students in the New York City program last week. They were treated to a guided tour of the Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary galleries.
The Met first opened in 1870, founded by a group of American artists, academics, businessmen, and civic leaders with the purpose of creating a “national institution and gallery of art to bring art and art education to the American people.” Located on Manhattan’s iconic “Museum Mile,” the Met boasts more than two million works of art from every corner of the planet.
The Hamilton group, accompanied by an art historian from the Met, toured several galleries of masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries. They admired the grace of Degas’s ballerinas, uncovered the secrets behind Pollack’s paint spatters, and contemplated Rothko’s colored stripes in “No. 13.” The Hamiltonians discussed color, composition, content and the methods by which the artist fuses these components to generate meaning on a canvas. To enhance the analysis, the historian illustrated the cultural and personal themes underpinning the paintings.
Following the tour, the students wandered throughout the museum, discovering several unique exhibitions being featured at the Met. They journeyed through generations of ancient Islamic rugs, mosaics, and wood carvings at the grand opening of “The Making of a Collection of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan.” Also showcased at the Met was the 9/11 Peace Story Quilt, a creation of several New York City students aged eight to 19. The Quilt, designed by Faith Ringold, encourages “communication across cultures and religions to achieve the goal of peace.”
The students completed their visit with a picture in front of Andy Warhol’s larger than life portrayal of “Mao.”


Teaching Phonics with Wiley Blevins
- Grades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8
Learn, understand, and implement phonics instruction in your classroom. Here, you'll find model lessons and activities, classroom resources, and research documents — plus special tips from Wiley Blevins, a former teacher and phonics expert!
Watch Wiley's colleague John Shefelbine in this teaching phonics video.
Wiley Answers the Tough Questions!
What is phonics?
How is phonics different from phonemic awareness?
To hear these clips, you must have a computer with speakers and RealPlayer installed in your computer. If you don't have the player, you can download it FREE.
What you need to know about teaching phonics and the research behind it. Go Now
More articles and research. Go Now
Teach with Phonics
Phonics skills chart. Go Now
Lesson plans and activities. Go Now
Great Books and Programs for Teaching Phonics from Scholastic's Teacher Store. Go Now


Storytime Programs for All Ages
What is storytime?
The Dwight Foster Public Library offers storytime programs for kids of all ages, from birth to 6 years. Find the right storytime program for your family.
Baby Time is a fun time for babies from birth to 18 months and their parents or caregivers. Each gathering consists of rhymes, songs, and a few simple books. Baby Time introduces babies to literacy and encourages talking and positive interactions between the baby and the adult.
Baby Time occurs Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. in the storytime room.
Toddler Time aims to introduce toddlers ages 18 to 36 months to literacy and encourage positive brain and motor development. Each gathering consists of books, music or movement activities, and a craft. Toddler Time can expand toddlers' vocabulary, help them play with letters and sounds, improve their ability to describe things or tell stories, and encourage an understanding and enjoyment of books and reading.
Toddler Time occurs Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m. in the storytime room.
Preschool story time is a gathering of 3- to 6-year-olds on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings for the purpose of enjoying books and strengthening early literacy skills. Each storytime will consist of books read aloud, songs, movement activities, crafts, and more.
Preschool Storytime occurs Tuesday evenings at 6 p.m. or Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. in the storytime room.
Families can register for any storytime program at the library's front desk and begin attending the session as soon as they are able. Pre-registration is appreciated but not required. One-time visitors are always welcome! Registration information allows us to track statistics about storytime attendance and maintain up-to-date contact information. When a child outgrows a particular storytime program, consider enrolling him or her in the storytime program for an older age group.
Storytime programs occur year-round unless otherwise specified. Cancellations or schedule changes will be posted in the library and on the library's website.
- Parents and caregivers are encouraged to attend and participate in storytime with their children. When children see adults engaged in books and literacy activities, they are more likely to enjoy and seek out these activities themselves. Parents and caregivers play an essential role in their children's early literacy development.
- Children are not expected to stay perfectly still during storytime. Children at different stages need to move and make noise, and that is just fine. However, if a child becomes upset during storytime, feel free to leave the storytime room with the child and return when the child is calmer.
- Children younger than eight must be attended and supervised in the library at all times. (Refer to the Dwight Foster Public Library's Unattended Children Policy.) Please make arrangements for other siblings as necessary.
If you have any questions, contact:
Youth Services Librarian


Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University want to ensure that socially disadvantaged children around the world have the same opportunities as other children — and are looking at ways in which language plays a role.
"A large number of language minority and other socially disadvantaged children struggle with learning to read in a second language," said Keiko Koda, director of graduate studies in the Modern Languages program at Carnegie Mellon and a world-recognized expert in the field. "Because failure to achieve adequate reading proficiency denies access to the essential tool for learning, those children suffer academically and increasingly fall behind in their schooling. Identifying any resources available to the children is crucial for alleviating their learning problems."
Despite a rising cry across the globe to make education rights accessible to everyone, research-based evidence of how literacy acquisition occurs in these diverse contexts is still sparse. Enter Koda and her students.
"I think working under the strong guidance of Keiko Koda on this biliteracy program has given me an opportunity to do research with an incredible group of students and faculty truly committed to helping children who are grappling with learning to read more than one language," said Pooja Reddy, a fourth year doctoral student whose research focuses on the biliteracy development of multilingual children from the urban poor communities of India. "This is extremely important for educational development because there are growing numbers of children across the world expecting to be able to acquire literacy skills in languages that may not be their native ones."
Much of the group's work focuses on literacy acquisition in two or more languages, the development of second-language communication skills, and "instructional interventions" in foreign language classrooms.
Children learn to analyze language forms early in their lives and use this analytic ability — referred to as metalinguistic awareness — to figure out how meaning is coded in their language. This ability later serves as a critical foundational competence in literacy development. The ability is vital because learning to read entails systematic deduction of how spoken sounds are organized and coded graphically in the writing system. Once developed, metalinguistic awareness can be shared across languages.
"Because of its abstract nature, it is difficult to test — let alone teach — metlinguistic awareness," Koda said. "Our goal is to establish reliable methods of identifying and measuring metalinguistic awareness in school-age children learning to read in diverse combinations of languages."
She added, "We are hoping to provide researchers and teachers a means of assessing and describing metalinguistic awareness and, in so doing, promote higher quality research and instruction for biliteracy learners."
An example would be computer games designed to promote pattern detection. For example, children are asked to identify five words out of 10 with a common graphic element — for example, the "-er" in teacher, singer, dancer, driver — and then figure out what these words have in common in their meanings.
"We want to ensure that instructional activities are designed to provide children opportunities to use their meta-linguistic ability to analyze words, phrases and sentences in learning to read," Koda said.
"We are hoping to see the systematic incorporation of the instructional tactics that encourage teachers to identify, and use to the fullest, all possible resources readily available to their students."


The Role of Women in Music in Nineteenth-Century
PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
During the nineteenth century the position of women in music grew throughout
Europe, and Ireland was no exception. In Dublin, women went from participating in
the city's musical culture as performers to participating as teachers, composers,
organisers, performers and writers.
In the first half of the century, private music teachers such as Mrs Allen
represented women's first steps into promoting Irish music. With the re-organisation
of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1856, women were given a new outlet for
their talents as students and teachers. The employment and fair treatment of Fanny
Robinson, as the Royal Irish Academy of Music‟s first female teacher, set a
precedent for equal treatment of women in the music profession. The Royal Irish
Academy of Music continued to employ women as teachers, such as Mrs Scott-
Ffennell, Margaret O‟Hea and Edith Oldham. The nineteenth century saw Dublin's
first female composers, Fanny Robinson, Elena Norton and Annie Patterson,
publishing and performing their music. Women began writing about music as a
means of improving music education and public understanding. One of the greatest
outcomes of the promotion of music by women was the founding of the Feis Ceoil by
Annie Patterson and its organisation and promotion by Patterson and Oldham. The
musical culture of Dublin was given a means through which it could develop while
reviving native Irish music.
This thesis evaluates the contribution made by women to music in nineteenth
century Dublin and examines the areas they were involved in, how they were
perceived and how their important work has been neglected and often forgotten in
accounts of music from that period. It argues their worthiness of an important place
in Ireland's music history.
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Making Meaning: Teaching English Language Learners
Spring 2016 quarter
The intent of this program is to introduce undergraduate students to the foundational theories, research, and pedagogies specific to teaching English language learners (ELLs) in adult and K-12 classroom or international settings. Students will examine how such conditions as history, political climate, school policies, and program models impact the access and quality of education ELLs receive.
Students will focus on the study of language as a system with an emphasis on three important aspects of ELL pedagogy: literacy development, academic language/ content area instruction, and assessment of language proficiency and performance. Students will analyze the central theories, structures, and conventions presented in functional linguistics and language-acquisition research. With this knowledge base, students will design literacy curriculum and instructional strategies that align with Washington’s K-12 English language development and Common Core standards and competencies, or the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) standards for adult ELLs.
Students will also explore methods for content-area teaching (i.e., math, science, social studies) and assessment specific to the Common Core, four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), and the four developmental levels of language proficiency (preproduction, beginner, intermediate, and advanced). Students will learn the principles of backward design lesson planning, analyze instructional tasks for ELLs, provide ELLs opportunities for comprehensible input (receptive language instruction) and comprehensible output (productive language instruction), and offer content-area lesson demonstrations for peer feedback.
Fields of Study
Preparatory for studies or careers in
Location and Schedule
Offered during: Day


Infant Toddler Development Training
Module 4, Lesson 3
Getting to know Daniel, the Miracle Baby
Go to this resource to get acquainted with Daniel
- Review his history.
- Read his home visit case notes.
As you read about Daniel, pay close attention to his challenges in the area of motor development. If you were on the IFSP team, suggest one motor skill and method for Daniel to work on for his new IEP? How might that motor skill suggestion overlap with skill development in other areas?
Using Assistive Technology Devices - High and Low tech
Read about assistive technology in Baby Power: A Guide for Families for Using Assistive Technology with their Infants and Toddlers from the National Center to Improve Practice in Newton, Massachusetts. Focus on Chapters 1, 2 and 3 for this activity.
Chapter 1: Assistive Technology and Infants and Toddlers
Chapter 2: Parent-Professional Partnerships in Early Intervention
Chapter 3: Positioning and Mobility
During your reading, consider at least one device you feel confident in using and modeling as you coach families. Next, reflect on whether there are some on which you will need more information in each of the areas you read about.
The Valuable Outdoors as a Physical Therapy Context
Read Choosing Children's Play Equipment from the Disabled Living Foundation. This article can be found from the Resource Bank. Note: England has long been a promoter of the outdoors and makes important accommodations for children with special needs.
Consider how the ideas presented in the article might help caregivers and families in their own backyards to build or accommodate play outdoors.
Lesson 3 Highlights
- Motor skill development is steady and intrinsically motivating for infants and toddlers.
- Simple daily household routines, such as dusting are wonderfully enjoyable and help toddlers develop valuable motor skills with adult guidance and support
- It is important for caregivers to understand the families' expectations for motor development, care and feeding routines and cultural traditions.
- Family-centered intervention is still an evolving field with room for growth and need for training
- Outdoor play areas can and are being adapted to accommodate children with motor delays or disabilities.
Bruder, M.B. (2000). Family-centered early intervention: Clarifying our values in the new Millennium. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 20(2), 105-115, 122.
Baghwanji, Y., Santos, R.M., Fowler, S.A. (April 2000) Culturally and Linguistically Sensitive Practices in Motor Skills Intervention for Young Children CLAS EC Research Institute Technical Report #1 (also found at http://www.clas.uiuc.edu/techreport/tech1.html )
Deiner, P.L. (2005) Resources for educating children with diverse abilities: Birth to eight, 4th Ed. Clifton Park, NY: Thompson Delmar Learning.
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Synagogue in Przysucha, 2006. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber
By Ruth Ellen Gruber
The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ) reports that progress seems to be being made regarding the restoration and preservation of the imposing, 18th century synagogue building the Przysucha. The FODZ web site reports that a meeting will be held tomorrow about the synagogue's fate.
Przysucha was a major center of Hasidism in Poland -- Martin Buber mentione d seven Tzaddikim from the town. It was the seat of the influential Hasidic masters Abraham of Przysucha (d. 1806) and Jacob Yitzhak ben Asher (1766-1813), known in lore simply as the Holy Jew of Przysucha, who is credited with being the first propagator of Hasidism in Central Poland. Jacob Yitzhak's disciple Simcha Bunem (1784-1827) also lived here. Their tombs in the Jewish cemetery, which is near the synagogue, are places of pilgrimage.On October 26th, 2009 in Przysucha representatives of the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland will meet with representatives of the local NGO’s: Oskar Kolberg Cultural Society and Music Education Society as well as the Oskar Kolberg Museum in Przysucha. The meeting will be dedicated to the concept of the historical synagogue’s development.
Przysucha was founded in 1910 as a settlement of German ironworkers. Jews lived here from the beginning, and by 1921 made up two-thirds of the population of 3,200.
The synagogue is one of the largest of Poland's surviving synagogues. It was heavily damaged in World War II when the Germans used it as a warehouse. It conserves traces of structural and decorative detail, including the central bimah, the women's gallery, a few faded frescoes and much of the Aron ha Kodesh, with stucco work above it. Attached to the outside wall is a rare example of a kune, or pillory, where Jews sentenced by the Jewish community court would be locked in punishment.
The Kune. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber.
FODZ, which took possession of the badly deteriorated building two years ago, has a web page dedicated to the synagogue and efforts to revitalize it. On the page you can see architectural drawings and other material.
In 2008, we carried out essential protective renovations, but the building still needs urgent repairs. The roof is in a very bad condition and the interior is rapidly deteriorating due to excess moisture. Currently we are working on the construction and conservation documentation. Once it is completed, we will be able to apply for funding necessary to start the restoration and adaptation works.
The synagogue in Przysucha (yid. Parshishe vel Przishe) was built between 1774 and 1777. With an area of nearly 600m², it is a massive limestone building towering over a small town (current population: 6800). The main prayer chamber is rectangular, with a vaulted ceiling descending in the middle towards a four-piered structure formerly framing the bima (reader’s podium). The aron ha-kodesh, framed by a portal topped with stucco griffins, has also been preserved. Some polychromies remain on the walls.
Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber, 2006