Jackson, Dukerich, and Hestenes: Modeling Instruction: An Effective Model for Science Education
The authors describe modeling as hands-on experience by building and applying models of concepts that students learn in class. Previous research has shown that modeling instruction can help students speak more eloquently, confidently, and in-depth about the scientific concepts that they learn about. This learning style also prevents students from falling victim to inactivity, indifference, and non-participation in their science education by allowing students to predict, visualize, and work collaboratively on understanding their models. The authors go on to describe a “before-and-after” process for using the modeling in the classroom: model development, where the students create their own model and analyze data, and model deployment, where students apply their models to practice problems and examinations.
- · Inquiry-based learning: experiments are set up in a way that allows the students to truly delve into the material. Teachers must give the students freedom to fail at constructing models in order to allow students to grapple with scientific concepts on their own.
Lehrer and Schauble: What Kind of Explanation is a Model?
Lehrer and Schauble have a similar definition of modeling, which uses tangible, real-world analogies to represent scientific concepts. While they argue that modeling instruction is not a natural learning process for novice thinkers, the authors note that experimentation and graphical analysis of data foster inquiry-based learning in students. To expose novice thinkers to the benefits of modeling, teachers can help students “arrange conditions for seeing” and “invent measures,” or let the students determine what materials might be used and what qualities can be measured to model a certain concept.
- · Experimentation vs. right answers: the authors emphasize the way in which students should be able to construct, revise, and discuss the effectiveness of various models instead of trying to determine what representation is considered “correct.”
- · Discussion and collaboration: students need to work cooperatively to evaluate each other’s ideas, ask quality questions about experimental modeling, and analyze evidence.
Lehrer, Schauble, and Petrosino: Reconsidering the Role of Experiment in Science Education
The authors here argue that teachers should not place too much emphasis on experiments in science education. Teachers must scaffold experiments with design, inquiry, and focus on specific testable qualities to help the students understand the purpose of the experiment. Furthermore, students can learn the effectiveness of various inscriptions to understand how well data and their related models represent the realities of scientific phenomena.
- · Experiments vs. models: the authors indicate that typical classroom experimentation either replicates experiments with known outcomes or limits students’ ability to think abstractly about the topics they are meant to explore. Models, however, allow the students more freedom to represent classroom concepts based on their own inquiry.
- · Continuous development of modeling skills: the authors demonstrate modeling at different ages, showing how, with age, students are able to gain new skills. (For example: third grade students were able to represent their experiments qualitatively and mathematically, whereas the majority of first grade observation was strictly qualitative).
Overall, these readings emphasized how to use modeling instruction in elementary education classrooms. While standardized experiments have their role, the authors argue that experimenting should serve as part of a larger model of inquiry and representation, not as the initial objective. This limit on experiments helps ensure that science education is more open-ended. Similarly, the readings helped outline a various facets of modeling instruction and how to apply it to teaching, including inquiry-based discussion, model representation, and scaffolding.
While I am generally a strong proponent of modeling instruction, I wonder how much information should be modeled in the classroom. Given time constraints, testing, etc., how can we balance modeling and teacher-based instruction? How far should this balance lean towards student modeling?


Studying Tips for Your Child
Should kids pick the same quiet part of the house for studying, or does variety boost his ability to retain information? If you're a mom, you're probably always eager to learn tricks that can help your child through school.
Below are five tips you can apply:
1. Establish a route.
Establishing a regular routine is very important in teaching science for kids. There has to be a certain time and place assigned for studying. Whether your kids like to grab a few snacks before studying or if they arrive home and want to study immediately, you have to make it routine.
2. Give your kids an environment that will be conducive to studying.
Another factor that affects studying success is the study environment. Moms usually recommend giving children a quiet space where there's good lighting and there are no distractions (for example, TV, computer, etc). On the other hand, some moms also say that switching locations can be good. They think this practice actually improves retention. Then again, not all kids are the same, so maybe you'd like to try both tips and choose which one seems to work better for your child. Click here for more info about kids learning.
3. The study routine should include breaks.
Just as adults must take breaks when working to improve focus, kids must take breaks from studying to prevent mental and physical fatigue. For each study session, there should be around two or three breaks. This refreshes your child's sense of focus so he can think better when he returns to the table.
4. Teach your kids how to handle their time effectively.
Time management is another very useful skill you must teach your child. Give your child enough time for studying and help him develop a schedule for continuing projects. A good way to keep kids from procrastinating is using a timer during homework time. Set around 15 minutes for every task so the child won't have time to stall or get distracted. For more info about education, visit http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews.
5. Encourage your kids to ask.
The struggle to understand new lessons comes with learning and studying. If there's a particular subject your child is having trouble with, make him ask questions. And if your child is not responding positively to you as a teacher, consider tutoring. Even for a short time, this can be very helpful to your child.
As we mentioned earlier, kids can be so unique, so you need to be a little flexible when imposing the rules. For example, some kids are more productive when they study in groups because they can ask questions and remember information better that way. So if you have at least two children who like to study together, let them study together, even if this means they will be noisy at some points. What's important is that they have a study routine and it's working for them.


Children at Richard Bonington are offered a rich, broad-based curriculum which includes Early Learning Goals at the Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2.
Literacy and language skills, including phonics, reading, writing and speaking and listening are taught daily. We are committed to developing writing for real audiences and linking literacy to other areas of the curriculum.
Is also taught daily, covering both numeracy skills and understanding in areas such as shape, space and measures and data handling. We place emphasis on the acquisition of basic skills which can then be applied through problem solving.
At Richard Bonington working scientifically forms the focus of all lessons. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and answer them using the appropriate type of enquiry. We take part in Science Week every year and we participate in national projects such as The Tim Peake Project and BBC's Terrific Scientific.
We recognise that Computing is an increasingly important subject which will be vital to our pupils in the future. We have an interactive whiteboard in every classroom as well as a bank of 3-5 computers. Skills learned in ICT are applied across the curriculum. We are using a scheme of work, ‘Switched On’, to ensure we meet the requirements of the new 2014 computing curriculum.
Teaching of religious education is a statutory requirement. This follows the Nottinghamshire Agreed Syllabus and children study Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism throughout the school and where relevant, through topic work. We seek to promote the spiritual, moral and cultural development of pupils by encouraging respect, understanding and tolerance of each other, to all faiths and those who adhere to them.
Our assemblies are non-denominational and hope to promote the principles of positive concern and respect.
Assemblies are also a time of coming together and celebrating the ‘successes’ in our school.
Parents who wish to have their child excluded from religious education and/or assemblies should consult with the Headteacher.
We have a very active School Council which has representatives from all classes from Y1 through to Y6. They meet regularly representing the views of their class and are influential in bringing about change in school.
Richard Bonington Primary & Nursery School is a Healthy School and has been awarded a gold status. We actively promote a healthy lifestyle for all children through a variety of activities.
We encourage children to walk to school as often as possible and regularly undertake surveys. We also encourage parents to park responsibly and considerately.
As part of the Government’s ‘Fruit and Vegetable Scheme,’ all children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 are given fresh fruit or vegetables each day as a way of promoting healthy eating.
We ask that children in Key Stage 2 provide their own fruit and vegetables as a snack at playtimes. On Tuesdays the children are allowed their own choice of snack (not including chocolate).
We also encourage families to have healthy lunchboxes if bringing their lunch from home.
The Governing Body has decided that SRE should be taught within the school curriculum and has formulated a policy that is available to all parents.
Aspects of SRE are taught as an integral part of our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) provision throughout school and delivered through SEAL (Social Emotional Aspects of Learning) programme.
We aim to help our children respect themselves and others, and to develop the skills to allow them to move confidently from childhood through to adulthood. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from any part of the SRE programme as long as it is outside the compulsory elements of the sex education aspect of the Science National Curriculum.
We provide a range of visits and visitors to enhance our curriculum.
Residential activities are considered extremely beneficial for the children and the school is appreciative of the willingness of staff to organise such activities. They are always subject to review. During their time at Richard Bonington, the children are usually given the opportunity to take part in a residential visit in Y2 and Y6.
It is a requirement of the Education Reform Act that the school does not charge for any activity carried out in school time. However, in order to provide a broad range of educational visits, parents are informed of the provisional costs and asked for a voluntary contribution to cover them. If insufficient contributions are received, the visit may have to be cancelled.
Phonics in Foundation
We follow the Letters and Sounds pattern of learning phonics in school. Children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 take part in short daily phonics sessions, starting with phase 1 in Nursery and continuing with phase 2, 3 and 4 in Reception. Earlier in the year, parents were invited to a phonics meeting to explain how it is taught at school. To view the presentation, please click on the file below. Children who have not met the expected standard in Year 3 will receive intervention support.


By Richard Naithram, NEA Today Online | http://bit.ly/Wb0zcQ
July 16, 2014 :: With many of the nation’s education leaders focused on the importance of STEM education, the movement to add music to the equation is getting more attention. Recently, a panel of experts gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to discuss ways to elevate music education– and the arts in general – and turn STEM (Science Technology Education Math) into STEAM.
The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) sponsored the event, called “Music Education Powers STEAM: The Broader Minded Role of Music in Preparing a 21st Century Workforce.” The panel included Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, NAfME President Glenn E. Nierman, David Dik, National Executive Director of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, and Dru Davison, Arts Administrator for Shelby County Schools in Memphis. The panel was moderated by Matt Wallaert, a behavioral psychologist with Microsoft/Bing.
The participants all agreed that successful music education advocacy depended on highlighting how music develops key skills in students, including self-reflection, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.
“The goal of our teachers is not to make music majors, but lifelong persons who appreciate the arts and there are number of 21st century skills like communication and collaboration that happen almost every day in the music classroom,” explained NAfME President Nierman.
“Everything can be connected. Instead of saying ‘now we are studying science and then we are studying art,’ it can be integrated curriculum that can be really engaging to students…because we all know students learn in multiple ways,” said Rep. Bonamici, who also reported that the bipartisan Congressional STEAM Caucus has grown to include 63 members of Congress.
Nierman added that music offers students the chance to interact intellectually, kinetically, and emotionally, allowing them to take ownership of their world through creation and expression.
“One of the things that the arts and music do uniquely is to help that child discover who they are as a person and their relationship to their fellow human beings,” explained Nieman. “I have often talked to school boards about the fact had we had more students to come in contact with arts education and the integration of art, maybe we would not have had Columbine, the awful things we see happening in schools.”
Dru Davidson urged all stakeholders to recognize the role music teachers play in helping close achievement gaps. Davidson pointed out that too much of the dialogue about science and technology education and career readiness tends to focus on very high-achieving students. A strong music education program, he argued, can help struggling students – which Davidson was when he was in school – become more engaged in their studies and steer them toward a career and college readiness path.
“What are doing to prescribe solutions those students who are not at that high end?” Davidson asked. “The music teacher specifically has a unique role and I think we’re the prescription in many cases.”
Watch the NAfME STEAM Panel Discussion
Rep. Bonamici also emphasized that music and arts education can help close the gender gap by getting girls involved with STEM.
“Girls begin to realize that there are parallels between music and math or science and art, “Bonamici explained. “So we can start to get that confidence back and begin to close the gender gap.”
“Every child deserves arts education,” Bonamici continued. “It shouldn’t be an extra class or done in the basement or up in the attic of the school. It should be for everyone. We have to move STEAM forward and translate it into policy that will benefit not only to our students and our schools, but also to our business community and to the country – to make sure we are globally competitive and our students become innovative thinkers.”
The day after the briefing, more than 150 music education leaders and supporters visited Capitol Hill for NAfME Hill Day 2014 and shared with elected officials the urgent need to ensure the continued preservation of school-based music programs across America.


Tulip Clothesline Alphabet Sequencing and Matching
In this tulip alphabet review instructional activity, students hang the uppercase letters on a clothesline and then hang the lowercase letter next to the matching uppercase letters.
3 Views 3 Downloads
Alphabetic Understanding, Phonics, and Spelling
Have your youngsters reading in no time with with collection of literacy activities and lessons. Starting with a basic understanding of the alphabet, this unit progressively builds students' phonemic awareness and ability to decode and...
Pre-K - 1st English Language Arts CCSS: Adaptable
Phonological Awareness: A Sound Beginning
Looking for ways to spice up your phonics instruction? Choose from a variety of phonological activities to complement a reading lesson. The guide goes through the basic components of good phonics instruction focusing on sound types,...
K - 2nd English Language Arts CCSS: Adaptable


Did you know?
School buses are nearly 2,000 times safer than the family car.
Did you know that every nationwide, every school day, approximately 450,000 yellow school buses transport more than 24 million children to and from schools and school-related activities? The number of students who ride a school bus is equivalent to the combined populations of Florida, Massachusetts and Oregon.
School bus drivers are an integral part of the safe transportation of school children. While the structure of the school bus provides excellent protection in the event of a crash, it is the skill and performance of the highly trained, professional school bus driver that often prevents crashes.
Every driver must pre-trip (inspect) their bus BEFORE transporting students.
LCPS has 820 school buses.
LCPS has 532 school bus routes.
Due to extensive qualification requirements, only about 1/3 of those who apply to become school bus drivers are accepted.
School buses are inspected and serviced every 45 days.
Virginia Department of Education requires emergency exit drills shall be practiced by all pupil riders at least twice a year, the first occurring during the first 30 instructional days and the second in the second semester and shall include the school bus driver.
School bus drivers are required to attend two safety in-service meetings each school year.
School bus drivers are subjected to random drug and alcohol screening in accordance with Federal guidelines.
All communications regarding school bus issues should be directed to the Transportation Office 571-252-1700 (please provide bus number and location).
Students are required to be at their assigned bus stop 5 minutes prior to the schedule pick-up time.
To ensure safety of all everyone, students are prohibited from changing school bus assignment without prior approval.
All students must have a note signed by both the parent and school administration to ride a bus other than their assigned bus.
Sports equipment, large poster boards, large musical instruments such as cellos, etc are not allowed on the bus. If your student has to take any of these items to school, please make other transportation arrangements.
Parents or guardians should not stop, delay or board the bus when the driver is transporting students to or from school.
It's all in the seats. Bus seats are designed with high padded backs and seats, padded rails and stanchions. In addition, the seats are a specific distance apart for optimal safety. Plus, they are designed for a certain rate of collapse in case of a crash. Even the size of the windows has all been taken into consideration. These are designed to protect you from being ejected through one if the bus were ever in an accident. (Science for Kids, 2015)


There are so many great books about one hundred it's hard to choose and you could substitute any of them for the following lesson plan...
This lesson will begin with 100th Day Worries by Margary Cuyler.
This lesson was approached with the mind set of universal planning. For those unfamiliar with this phrase, it's basically planning with the end goal in mind.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.NBT.A.2Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.
Mentally add 10 or 100 to a given number 100-900, and mentally subtract 10 or 100 from a given number 100-900.
NCTM Focal Points: Use number patters to extend the knowledge of properties of numbers and operations.
What are the desired outcomes of this lesson?
Two goals were identify . The goals are both measurable and attainable. Goal 1 is a foundational skill that provides insight into student understanding. Goal 2 taps into essential understanding. It attempts to build schema between foundational skills and the larger concept of place value.
1. Counting and place-value patterns can be seen on a hundred chart.
2. Digits and place value are relational; this relationship determines the value of any given digit based on the magnitude of the place value.
Brainstorming assessing and advancing questions was the next step. This was important because it ensured a foot hold on where this particular lesson falls in the trajectory of learning for students. It allowed for planning of differentiated moves and contributed to the artful movement of facilitation.
Advancing and Assessing Questions:
What are some patterns that you have seen at school, outside, or at home?
· Explain patterns that you have identified.
· What is the value of digits in the ones/tens/hundreds place?
· How does the position of a number affect its value?
· What number patterns can be identified on the hundreds chart/number line?
· How can you create number patterns using skip counting/rote counting/hundreds charts?
· Can you predict how this number pattern will continue?
· Looking at the number pattern and using the hundreds chart, how can we predict what will come next?
· How can the pattern be extended?
· What do the number patterns look like on the hundreds chart (describe)? Why?
Finally I wanted to ensure that I kept my students' interest. I did this by incorporating an iPad app and a book/board game that reinforced the targeted skill.
Hundred Chart App:
Book/Board Game adapted from Envision resources:
Downloaded this lesson plan and/or the accompanying smart notebook document via Mrs. Dowell's Teaching Resources Wiki or the second grade shared resources wiki. Grab your favorite all about one hundred book and dive in. Feel free to take this lesson plan and make it your own.


IS our obsession with computers in primary schools anything more than a fascination with fool's gold? According to eminent educationists and child health professionals at the Alliance for Childhood, computers are developmentally out of step with the low-tech needs of young children; in the context of elementary education they are, indeed, fool's gold. The alliance contests that after 30 years' research there is no clear, commanding body of evidence that children's sustained use of computers or TVs, the Internet, word processing, spreadsheets and other applications has any impact on academic achievement.
The alliance is not the first to question technology in primary education but it will find itself in a tiny minority. Many parents are delighted, and very impressed, when they see their child doing something such as using a mouse (which often parents can't). Why should teachers deflate innocent belief - my son's primary teacher tells me I am the only parent she talks honestly to about computers.
The Department for Education and Employment's website features a Year 5 residential field trip as an example of best practice in primary ICT. The trip used live web cams so "Big Brother" parents could follow it virtually and stay in touch via e-mail. Why are parental e-mails seen as a measure of success when until nowphone calls to children on residential trips have been for emergencies only, because the point of the trip is for children to be out of touch? There is also the issue of putting identifiable groups of children on the web for uninvited adults to watch. If this "best practice" were widely adopted it could even put children at risk.
The alliance's belief that what is useful for adults and older students may be inappropriate for youngsters needs to be objectively assessed by practising primary school teachers.
Is giving a computer to a young child like giving them Pete Sampras's tennis racket to learn with? Does the sheer power actually hamper their ability to be taught?
Take spreadsheet programs that provide a complex system for analysing intricate data. What young children need to master is the simple system from which complex systems like spreadsheets evolve. Entering simple data into a spreadsheet is overkill an clicking icons to make charts takes away vital learning experiences.
The same criticism applies to computer simulations. How can games with real magnets, for example, ever be bettered by anything simulated on a computer screen? The effect that "creativity" tools like clip art and Microsoft's WordArt and PowerPoint have on children's originality needs to be watched as well. And is e-mail a good communications tutor or just a practice ground before children graduate to teenage internet chat? The alliance is critical of computers for isolating children and weakening the relationships that less sociable young children make with their peers and teachers.
Most incongruous in primary schools is the world wide web. Imagine proposing a library for young children that contains pornography, is unedited, organised like a second-hand book shop after an earthquake, costly to use and may or may not be open. An army of expensive consultants has told us that there are one or two useful things out there and now we are paying them to find them. I asked one of these consultants why we need the Internet and her reply reminds me of the world Laurie Lee described: too busy with statistics and information to experience life. "How else are we going to know if it's raining in Birmingham or where Tony Blair is today?" she said.
So will computers follow calculators out of primary classrooms? I do not believe anyone who justifies them as preparing children for using technology later in education or at work: to be a good screen reader, you need to be a good reader. I would keep computers out of primary classrooms (except for pupils with learning disabilities who benefit from technology) and support teachers in their complex task by giving each one a laptop with training and free Internet connection. Instead of children treading water (at best) when they arrive at secondary school, Year 7 would have new purpose as technology year.
Only independently-minded practising teachers will really know the value of computers in primary education. As a society that is mesmerised by technology, we need to make sure they are both free to speak and heard.
Debbie Davies is a journalist and author of the BBC's Webwise tutorial for online beginners.


This week isn't so much a tip, but features an activity.
December 8th-14th is Computer Science Education week and our school district is participating in the Hour of Code. Even if you don't know how to code, studio.code.org offers different courses and activities to introduce block-based coding. I was not sure how I would feel about learning how to code, but now I am hooked! It enforces Common Core Standards as well as critical thinking & creativity (two of the four 21st century skills).
There are many activities and courses to Choose from. One you can do in about 10-15 minutes is create your own Flappy Bird game. This classic game allows the player to click the mouse to flap Flappy Bird's wings to try and navigate the obstacles. Code.org allows the user to customize the sprite (Flappy Bird, not the drink), the setting, sound effects, speed, and the rules. Below is the before and after including both links to make your own game and to play my holiday themed game.
You can choose to login by creating an account or by using your Google, Facebook, or Microsoft accounts. This will allow students to save their progress. If you complete the activity, you get a Certificate of Completion.
Give it a try! I know you will like it and have some fun!
~The IT Persin, Carol
About the "IT Persin"
Carol has her degree from Duquesne University in elementary education (K-6) and the Instructional Technology Specialist certificate. She has 4 years of teaching experience K-8 & 1 year of computer para experience. Carol is currently the Technology Integration Specialist for Keystone Oaks School District in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been married 5 years to her loving husband and they have a retired racing Greyhound, Henry.
Search my site!


Solving math problem
9 Step 1 - Read the problemWrite down the numbers. Nick earned 14 Accelerated Reading points the first week of November. At the end of the following week he had a. Interactive Problem Soving Games. Note: These pages are part of a free workshop, Math FACTS (Free, Awesome Cool Tools for Students), brought to you by … Lesson plans, activities and ideas for kindergarten classrooms, including math problem-solving, reading workshop, writer's workshop, inquiry-based science …
Problem solving plan, problem solving strategies in math.. By Deb Russell. Learning how to solve problems in mathematics is knowing what to look for. Dec 21, 2008 · The basic idea: use one problem map for the actual problem and one or more tool maps with large collection of problem solving tools.
Solving math problem
Math Playground has hundreds of interactive math word problems spanning grades 1-6. 9 Step 1 - Read the problemWrite down the numbers. Nick earned 14 Accelerated Reading points the first week of November. At the end of the following week he had a. Who Can Do The Math? is an activity designed to help students become more reflective in problem solving. Students begin by reading a math. © 2013 CORE, Inc. Problem Solving in Elementary Math Participant Handout 3 IES Practice Guide: Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8 Understands the Problem : Identifies special factors that influences the approach before starting the problem: Understands the problem
Problem Solving Strategies. The computation strategies and approaches described below can be used by parents and teachers to foster. Practice your math problem solving skills with our tests. Use a calculator only where necessary. You shouldn't need more than three lines of working for any problem. This website is a resource for anyone who wants to enjoy creative math problem solving. Math games, puzzles, magic tricks and interesting real life contexts can be.
Featuring original free math problem solving worksheets for teachers and parents to copy for their kids. Use these free math worksheets for teaching, reinforcement. Problem Solving Word problems Monsters Monster Problem Solving *Newly updated! Now includes both US and UK/Australian/Canadian spelling!* In this center Problem solving consists of using generic or ad hoc methods, in an orderly manner, for finding solutions to problems. Some of the problem-solving techniques developed. This website is a resource for anyone who wants to enjoy creative math problem solving. Math games, puzzles, magic tricks and interesting real life contexts can be.
Problem solving strategies for math. The main reason for learning all about math is to become better problem solvers in all aspects of life. Comments Three Part Lessons ~ Teaching Math through Problem Solving — 4 Comments Pingback: The three part lesson ~ What is Bansho? - Teaching Rocks! Math Problem Solving PSAT Practice Tests.Free Math Problem Solving PSAT Practice Tests from Test Prep Practice.net


It's that time of year again: backpacks, notebooks, uniforms, and fall sports.
Here at Help Me Grow we have decided to make a whole week of ideas for back-to-school preparation.
We will break down the areas into Preschool (Monday), Kindergarten (Wednesday), and First grade (Friday). We will be compiling tips from experienced moms and educational websites, just to make sure we cover everything.
If you are sending your child off to school this fall you don't want to miss these posts!
Before we start the week, here are some fun ideas for any grade:
First Day of School Pictures
Back to School Fairy
|From "Happiness Is..."|
A bag full of back to school goodies, all delivered by the "Back to School Fairy."
The bag could include:
Social Skills ReviewI was actually homeschooled my entire elementary education, but my mom still went through all the steps of school preparation; buying new pencils, notebooks, curriculum, and charts.
The most memorable part to me was my dad's preparation (he wanted to make sure we had adequate social skills). He would pull out his Dale Carnegie book How to Win Friends and Influence People and give us a brush up on the most important steps of socializing with other people. I felt that it made a huge difference in my life, especially when I started attending public school in 8th grade.
Unlike popular belief, kids aren't born with the natural ability to socialize, and most teachers don't have Social Skills 101 on their agenda. Children need to be taught how to properly interact with other children and adults.
Here are the most important points that should be reviewed every year:
- When you want to play with someone, ask them! Start with "My name is ______, what is your name?" and then, "Can I play with you?"
- The best way to make friends is to be interested in them; ask questions about them: "What do you like to play?" "What is your favorite movie?"
- You need to obey your teacher, sit quietly in your seat and make sure you raise your hand if you want to ask a question.
- Kids may say mean things to other kids, or even you. This is not nice and you should never call people names other than their own.
- Always use your words; do not hit, push, bite, or scratch. If you are upset at another child you must tell them that you are upset and why, do not hit another child because you are mad at them.


One-to-one instruction based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is provided in the home to:
- Foster skill generalization across home and school
- Train activities of daily living in the natural environment
- Prevent residential placement
- Promote maximal independence
Skill building programs are designed using traditional behavioral interventions such as discrete trial training and naturalistic teaching methods to teach foundational skills such as joint attention, imitation, and communication. Once the foundational learning skills are in place, more advanced skills such as academics, play skills, leisure skills, social skills, pre-vocational skills, and daily living skills are targeted.
Click here to apply for home-based services.


The other day I woke up thinking about growth measures. I know that seems weird but better growth measures are key to the future of personalized learning and the end of heavyweight year end tests. I reached out to Matt Chapman, the CEO of NWEA, another guy obsessed with student growth.
Portland-based nonprofit NWEA provides Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a leading adaptive assessment. They work with 7,600 partner schools, districts and networks and measure the academic growth of about 15% of US students. They all measure growth between a fall and spring test and nearly all use both literacy and math.
NWEA uses the Lexile scale from Metametrics to guide students to appropriately leveled books. Chapman notes the distinction between measuring materials (text) such as Lexile does and measuring the student growth which is what NWEA’s MAP does.
Despite all the talk about ensuring that students gain a year’s worth of growth each year, it’s tricky and technical to actually measure it. NWEA reports a raw score, a growth index score (relative to a norm), and a z score (normalizes growth across grades). Raymond Yeagley, NWEA VP of Research and CAO, said when measuring growth it’s important to note where students start and the amount of instructional time between tests.
In most cases, said Yeagley, MAP reported results are similar to state calculated growth measures. Like the Virginia growth measure, NWEA can report a growth rate adjusted based on school challenge. On the risk of adjusting expectations based on poverty, Yeagley notes that “Growth norms are not growth targets, they represent the average growth for students who were included in calculating the norm, but should not be used as the basis for setting new expectations.”
“The complexity of text is but one aspect of where a student’s reading skills have progressed, and not necessarily a very precise one,” said Chapman. He said there is a lot to consider in terms of growth with the new standards including the challenges of adding Depth of Knowledge to the mix.
Comparable growth rates. As more students progress on personalize pathways, it is necessary to develop comparable growth rates to ensure that all students are making adequate progress. However, it is technically challenging to calculate comparable growth rates using different instruments.
One approach to comparability is using common scales like Lexile and Quantile. However, the relationship between the test and the scale is influenced by test design. Different tests vary in accuracy at different points on the scale.
Districts can ease the problem of different growth rates reported by different systems by using a common tagging systems the way Houston requires partners to use Thin Common Cartridge).
The bottom line is that more R&D investment is required to develop comparable growth measures. Without it states will continue to use week long summative assessments to check school quality.
New. NWEA recently launched Skills Navigator, a short cycle assessment that complements MAP. It measures the foundational skills that build up to standards.
NWEA also launched AssessmentLiteracy, a professional development resource.
Could MAP be used as a state summative assessment? With a writing assessment and modifications to align with each state’s test blueprint, it’s certainly possible.
For more check out:
- The Future of Personalized Learning is Now
- Mastery Tracking: Measuring Specific Skills to Accelerate Student Learning
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We don’t think enough about how to teach music as a community of music educators. We think about the importance of it, and the narrow sequences of how to do it in individual classrooms… but there’s no strong standard on what kinds of music should be taught, what students should be exposed to (and at what age), or what we completely leave out. We spend a lot of our time defending the art, the profession, the curriculum – talking about the value of music education for all students.
I think that even 50 years ago there was reason to teach only western music to our students. We had access to the history, the performers, the music itself, the recordings, the instruments. At this point though, I’m not sure I understand why ‘we’ limit the music education of our younger students to european art music most of the time. I have access to several traditions, even here in this small community. We bring in and teach the traditions of Africa, India, South America, the U.S., Europe, etc etc… and I think it’s all important – yet there’s no rhyme or rhythm to the curriculum. I know that I want students to be exposed to as many different kinds of music as possible, to develop the ability to compare music of different traditions and thus to appreciate it, yet there’s so little time with them that I worry about holding them back because other programs bring their students so far ahead in european classical music when I’m trying to expose them to all of it equally.
There are so many reasons why my program is artificial to public school classroom experiences, and I’ve been thinking about that lately. Here, students gain knowledge of fundamentals in theory class, then apply it to their ensembles. It means we spend more time playing in ensembles instead of teaching the basics of how to read music. K-12 teachers don’t have that luxury. I’m able to offer something that public schools just don’t have the resources for: that ability to bring in guest artists every single time my students walk into the building – the ability to expose them to new music every single week, and to talk about it for an entire half hour in a music history segment. Every student walks into the building and has their own private instructor for a half hour lesson. Imagine if every public school student across the nation (or even New Orleans) had all of those components once a week like ours do. A total of 6 hours is what I have them for, every week. I need to do a comparison study of students involved in this program and local music students who aren’t (that are the same age). I hate to be narcissistic but I really think this program is effective, probably more-so than any other program in the city. Then again, our goals are different. There are other amazing after-school/weekend programs in New Orleans – I would like to point that out.
I wish I could develop some kind of course on musical mathematics – revisiting the reason why Plato included it in his Republic – based on acoustics and development of sounds, but for young students. I strongly believe that music will only be a core part of the curriculum again if we treat it like an academic subject again, and not for the sole purpose of a final performance.
In 1837, Lowell Mason included music as part of the curriculum with the development of Boston’s public schools because , it “provided a recreation, yet not a dissipation of the mind – a respite, yet not a relaxation – its office would thus be to restore the jaded energies, and send back the scholars with invigorated powers to other more laborious duties” (Birge, 1966, p. 43)
…While surely an advocate for music ed, I think Mason could have touched on the academic rigor of music a bit more. 🙂 I wish I could have a core group of 10 students to start teaching academic music to from the age of 10-17 and see where they would land in college –
There’s a lot in this one – sorry it’s so jumpy. My head is zippy today.


Rinamay Rhoten, news writer
Photos by Laura Fox
A joint afterschool program from UVU and Alpine School District is providing elementary students with the chance to work on math and science skills as they build programmed robots with Lego kits.
The robotics program features students and faculty from UVU who will help instruct the elementary students participating in the program. UVU students will be working for ten weeks by going into classrooms and teaching kids how to program a robot. They are planning for kids from fifth and sixth grade to build a programed robot by themselves using Lego Mindstorms, a kit that has software to create and personalize a programmed robot.
“It’s not as difficult as it seems. However, we want to factor in the variables,” said Ben Everitt, UVU student and teacher of the robotics program.
The new project is to help students see how math and science along with engineering is used every day.
“The main focus of this project is mathematics but we‘ll incorporate science and also engineering,” said Vessela Llieva, assistant professor in UVU elementary education.
In the ten-week program, Learning Through Robots, nearly a dozen students from Utah Valley University will be working with students in the classroom. The first week the students will have to assemble a robot using Legos. In the second week the students will learn about the software.
“Even though it’s an afterschool program, I treat it like a classroom. The students raise their hand and know they have to listen,” said Everitt.
Each class begins with a math lesson.
“They have to figure out the circumference or the dimensions of the tires,” said Everitt.
At the end they also give out homework that will be reviewed next class session.
Currently, the program is not in the curriculum, but there are a lot of people that would like to see it become a permanent program.
“While this is the first attempt in a project like this, the results are very positive,” said Llieva.
This project goes beyond just teaching about math and science. This is also an opportunity for children that aren’t motivated with textbooks to get hands on experience
“They are also learning discipline and how to explore,” said Llieva. “We want students to be skilled and confident.”
Most robotic programs have always been in middle schools and high schools in past years. Alpine school district wants to get kids excited about math and science from an early age.
“We know that not all kids are good at math, this is a way to get them excited about math because it’s engaging,” said Elaine Turf, Associate professor of UVU elementary education.
Research has shown that when students enter middle school they already know whether or not they are good at math and science. The reason most kids signed up for the program was to learn and have the opportunity to build a robot. It’s not just playing with Legos. It’s the opportunity to challenge themselves.
The robotics program is an elaborate program that needed a lot of funding. The program received funds from a UVU grant for engaged learning from the Alpine School District and a generous $40,000 donation from Renya Kikuchi, chairman of Learning Systems in Japan. In total the project cost roughly $73,000.
“I believe it is worth it, especially with how the world is moving, teaching children from an early age that they can do something with math and science,” said Turf. The kids that are building the robots are around the ages of eleven to thirteen. The robots are made up of Legos and other construction kits. Each robot will be different.
“This isn’t just for boys. It’s boys and girls coming together forming a unity and experiencing math and science being used in real life,” said Everitt.


The government seems to have woken up from a long long sleep and introduced the much awaited Right to Education Act that was enacted by the Indian parliament on 4th August 2009 and finally came into force on 1st April 2010. The enforcement of this act made India one among the 135 nations that have made education as one of the fundamental right of every child.
The amendment to Article 21 of the Indian constitution is made by inserting Article 21 A . This Article provides for free and compulsory education for all the children between the age group of 6 and 14. The following are the salient features of the Act.
- Children between the age group of 6 to 14 are entitled to free and compulsory education.
- Until the completion of elementary education no child shall be expelled, held back
- After the completion of the elementary education (up to 8th grade) the child must be awarded with a certificate.
- The teacher student ratio has to be fixed.
- This Act is applicable for the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The Act requires that a reservation of 25% for the economically disadvantaged communities in all the private schools for the purpose of admission to the Class One.
- One of the mandatory provision of this Act is the improvement of the quality of Education.
- The Act also requires that the teachers in the school must have an adequate professional qualification.
- The schools are under the obligation of providing proper infrastructural facilities. If this condition is not followed the recognition of the school stands canceled.
10. The financial expenditures will be shared by the Central and the State government in their respective ratios.
I think that the government needs to put in rigorous efforts in implementing this law in the rural areas where there is a limited access to the schools and parents and children prefer working to education. There is a dearth of trained teachers in the rural areas too. Steps have to be taken to provide for good, well trained teachers in the rural areas who can impart proper education to the people. The schemes designed by the government for educating the girl child must be followed on strict basis.
By enacting this Act the parliament of India has taken its first step to provide quality education to the children in India. Let us hope that in the years to come we find that no child is found to be illiterate and deprived of the fundamental right to education.


Education holds the key to economic growth and social transformation. Though the major indicators of socio-economic development viz., the growth rate of the economy, birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate (IMR) and literacy rate, are all interconnected, the literacy rate has been the major determinant of the rise or fall in the other indicators.
There is enough evidence in India to show that a high literacy rate, especially in the case of women, correlates with low birth rate, low IMR and increase in the rate of life expectancy.
The recognition of this fact has created awareness on the need to focus upon literacy and elementary education programmes, not simply as a matter of social justice but more to foster economic growth, social well-being and social stability.
The National Policy on Education aims to play a positive and interventionist role in correcting social and regional imbalances, empowering women and in securing rightful place for the disadvantaged and the minorities.
The Education and Training sector contributes to a major share by creating job opportunities to women in the country.


KIDS FROM RUSSIA
This is another post featuring kids around the world. Russia, the world’s largest nation, borders European and Asian countries as well as the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Its landscape ranges from tundra and forests to subtropical beaches. It’s famous for novelists Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, plus the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet companies. St. Petersburg, founded by legendary Russian leader Peter the Great, features the baroque Winter Palace, now housing part of the Hermitage Museum’s art collection.
- Climate: Varies; includes Arctic tundra in the north, sub-Arctic forestland in eastern Asia, desert in central Asia and a temperate and humid region in Europe
- Russian children have nine years of elementary education. The school day usually runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; lunch is eaten at school.
- School uniforms were abolished in the 1990s. For attire, the emphasis is on warmth-children may even wear fur coats.
- Chess is a national obsession. Other pastimes include the card game Durak (Russian Fool) and the computer game Tetris, which was invented in Russia.
- Soccer is the top sport in Russia. Ice hockey and ice skating are also popular in this chilly country.
- About three-quarters of Russian families live in small city apartments. Some families also have a country cottage, which is called a dacha.
- In Russia, grandmothers—babushkas—are famous for the strong role they play in families, public life and fairy tales.
- Borscht, a beet soup served hot or cold, topped with sour cream and sprinkled with dill or chopped green scallions
- Pelmeni, small, moist dumplings filled with chopped meat. They are often served with butter, sour cream and vinegar.
- Unique holiday: On Defenders of the Motherland Day, February 23, families honor men and boys with cards, gifts and other special treats. (Women and girls are not neglected—International Women's Day, March 8, is a big holiday in Russia.)
- Did you know? Russia is the largest country in the world. It covers 6.6 million square miles (17 million sq km), eleven time zones and two continents—Europe and Asia.
Clancy's comment: An extraordinary place. Sadly, in recent years, any Russians I have seen or met have been bereft of smiles.


EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & LITERACY DEVICE
FOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Brief: My team and I were tasked with prototyping and building a technology product that could impact elementary education.
Problem: Learning to identify personal emotions is an integral part of a child's psychological development. By more critically recognizing their own feelings, children can more appropriately handle their impulsive reactions. It is essential for elementary schools to create an environment to build healthy emotional habits as well as teach empathy and compassion within the classroom.
Solution: Create an interactive device that empowers teachers and enables children to communicate their feelings and emotions.
The device utilizes color association for each emotional state and pairs each button to its associated color: green pairs to happy, blue to sad, red to angry, and purple to scared, fearful, anxious, and nervous. Finally, we included a black button off to the side to act as an on/off button.
To bring our idea to life, we utilized an Arduino Uno and an Adafruit NeoPixel RGB LED. Additionally, we used a 1Sheeld to integrate cloud data mapping so that we could view a user's inputs over time within an excel spreadsheet.
Conducted primary and secondary research to develop an understanding of the problem facing elementary school children. Sketched initial prototypes and laser cut the final product to meet desired specifications. Built and coded the prototype using an Arduino Uno and a NeoPixel RGB LED. Researched and incorporated additional technologies such as the 1Sheeld to bring our idea to life. Conducted usability and user testing with elementary school teachers and students.


Students learning about robotics at Summer Camp
Students in Grades 1 to 5 from a number of Lakehead Public Schools elementary schools are learning the ins and outs of robotics at a special summer learning camp at Claude E. Garton Public School this week. The elementary students will be learning and working with high school and university students and teaching staff as they learn to code and operate robots.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the participating students to have fun and continue to build their literacy and numeracy skills during the summer break,” says Donica LeBlanc, Supervising Principal – Early Years, Lakehead Public Schools. “It also provides a venue for the students to experience coding, a skill that is in high demand throughout the world.”
As the students learn at the camp they will be using Scratch, Sphero and Dash robots. The resources available at the camp will be provided to schools this coming Fall. The skills leaned by both the teachers and the students during the summer program will be transferred into the classrooms.


Games - Activities - Students will be introduced to games that date
back to pioneer children and will improve certain skills.
Physical Education contains a wealth of resources and activities for
the physical education or health teacher.
Applications for Educators. WebQuest Activities for Physical Education
Kids Play This is a site you're going to want to bookmark. Games
Kids Play is a site that lists the "official" rules for games like:
Crack the Whip; Dodgeball; Red Rover; Kick the Can; Sardines; and Picking
Who is "IT."
Physical Fitness Challenge Homepage
How You Play the Game - Examining the Ethics of Gamesmanship
Name Game (all, Games) - For those of us in secondary classroom, this
is great for having to learn 120 - 150 names per semester:
and whales (all, Games) - Divide your class evenly into fishes and
whales. choose 3 or 4 kids to be fishermen and women. Make a large square...10
Name Is (all, Games) - Name games can be played at any time of the
year but are especially important at the first. They are also useful when
- This is elementary physical education lesson on parachutes. We all enjoy
playing with the parachute, well this is a lesson with a few fun activities
to use with your class. I used this in a class, and the children loved
Relay Game could be used in PE and a variety of grade levels - This
is a simple game that makes learning to spell words fun. Add On Relay:
Directions: Students are divided into 2 teams. The students need to stand
in a single file line. The teacher calls out a word. The first student
in each line walks to the board a...
and Barracudas: Chasing and Tagging Activity - An AskERIC Lesson Plan
- The activity called the Sharks and Barracudas is a fun children's phys.
ed. game involving tagging and chasing. This activity is geared for children
at the 1st or second grade level. Their are two teams, one is the Sharks
and the other is theBarracudas.
Activities - An AskERIC Lesson Plan - The objective of these activities
is to allow students to explore the gymnastic equipment, develop basic
mobility skills, and to improve a variety of other skills.
Line Ball - An AskERIC Lesson Plan - This game helps students develop
throwing and catching skills along with basic mobility skills.
Practice Program- Special events, Fitness nights,
PE Central Challenge 4th & 5th grade motor skills challenge.
Educational Lesson Plans
Trail Teacher's Guide
These games may be helpful
in planning activities in physical education classes
Lesson Plans and Activities
Elementary Education Physical Activity Area


The Jill Grey Collection
The Jill Grey Collection consists of some 37,000 items relating to the history of education and the social history of childhood. This was collected between approximately 1962 and 1987 by Jill Grey, a Hitchin resident.
An eccentric yet extraordinarily gifted woman, Jill Grey (1919 – 1987) was a code and cypher officer with the Royal Air Force during World War 2. After the war she went to the USA as personal assistant to Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine, at a time when American companies were negotiating to use his important invention.
During the 1950s she began to collect all things associated with early education and childhood – eventually filling her house in Hitchin with books, postcards and items of furniture, costume and much, much more.
In 1975 she succeeded in getting the buildings at the British Schools in Hitchin ‘listed’, so confirming their architectural importance and helping to protect them from future demolition. On her death in 1987, Jill Grey left a collection of some 37,000 items. This highly acclaimed collection is now cared for by Hitchin British Schools Trust. Items and images from the collection form part of the changing displays and exhibitions at the museum.
Since 1994 we have built up a separate collection of material relating to education and childhood, that has been donated to the British Schools Museum.
There are now more than 10,000 items in the Benchmark Collection to tell the full story of elementary education, and the childhoods and home lives of the children who attended the schools and those of the teaching staff. Items from the collection have been used to furnish the Head Master’s House, to equip the classrooms and the Discovery Room. It is an invaluable resource and has enabled us to build up an archive of photographs featuring the children who attended the school.
The Replica Quilt Project
We have started work on making a replica of our beautiful 1830's quilt. The original quilt was made painstakingly by hand with quality fabrics, some dating as far back as the 1700’s. Find out more


Fun penguin facts for kids including photos and printable activity worksheets; suitable for Kindergarten through Grade 6.
Enjoy our fun penguin facts for kids. Learn about the Emperor Penguin, King Penguin, Crested Penguin, Little Blue Penguin, Chinstrap Penguin and more.
Click here for more animal facts. Penguins are birds that do not fly. Over millions of years a penguin's wings have evolved and instead of flying they work as ...
Emperor penguins spend their entire lives on Antarctic ice and in its waters. They survive—breeding, raising young, and eating—by relying on a number of ...
Penguins are flightless birds that make up the scientific order Sphenisciformes and the family Spheniscidae. They live exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere ...
Easy Science for Kids Penguins - The Cute Sea Mammals - learn fun facts about animals, the human body, our planet and much more. Fun free Penguins - The ...
Did you know emperor penguins can dive deeper than any other bird and can stay under water for more than 20 minutes? Learn more at Animal Fact Guide!


Many of the advantages of music education are acknowledged, from improved language acquisition to development and refinement of fine motor skills and spatial awareness. In fact, a study led by Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston College,
To learn more about music benefits on children visit some guidelines on locating critical issues for music benefits on children
and Gottfried Schlaug, teacher of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, found modifications in the brain photos of youngsters who underwent 15 months of regular music instruction and practice.
This is very important, as special education kids will have differed capacities in using and perceiving the various senses. They pursue quality and are risk-takers. The role of music in assisting in language abilities adds to the development of reviewing skills. These results were not related to family earnings, sex, household structure, or parental work. Music education includes the teaching of all things music-related. Some decide to teach in schools, teaching students the best ways to play instruments, sing, or both.


Writing about music can be a great way to engage students with their passion while Compare & Contrast Essay Topics About Music . Register for a free trial.
Music Education: Historical Perspective and the Role of Musicians as Global Citizens will be first given to Plato and Boethius, who provide music education accounts in their . social program that provides tuition- free music education to children and and the discussion was enriching, sharp and informative.
Free music papers, essays, and research papers. Music allows emotions of happiness and sadness to arise. From those emotions, physical effects, negative. Typically, music types include national songs, religious music and secular music, as well as. For instance, when walking in the street, not only will we see people listening to their music through all kinds of portable music players, but also hear people humming their favorite songs. Gives you a little feel for the good ol days. Furthermore, knowledge of music genres helps one to understand different audiences, such as their traits or characteristics, what they enjoy, and why they enjoy it. Uncle Tom's Cabin . Informative Speech Video: The Effects of Music


In the broadest sense curriculum is everything that happens throughout the day. The physical environment, our responsive teachers, and planned activities all converge to create worthwhile and enriching learning experiences. Language acquisition and self-expression are valued for all children, and exposure to reading, art, and music begins in our infant rooms. Curriculum includes direct teaching and learning experiences derived from a prepared environment, but also includes natural teachable moments all day, every day. Our daily routines actively promote each child’s physical, intellectual, and social/emotional growth. Our classrooms are rich with materials, books, and toys—but without TV, videos, and electronic devices.
Research shows that social skills are essential for success in life. Children at Treehouse learn to be members of a group, to share, to take turns, to help others, to wait, to make choices, to complete a task, and to resolve conflicts. Our infants say “please,” “thank you,” and “more” with sign language, and eagerly greet other children and their parents. Older children learn to develop empathy and verbal confidence. During snacks and lunches, teachers model mealtime conversation and trying new foods. Children learn to eat independently, serving themselves, and participate in table setting and clean up. We teach children about being safe in their classrooms, with their friends and belongings.
The foundation of our curriculum at Treehouse Learning is a synthesis of several traditions of educational leadership. Piaget, Vygotsky, and Montessori to name a few. During their days, months, and years at Treehouse Learning, children develop secure relationships with caring teachers, resulting in fundamental resiliency. When our children leave for kindergarten or first grade, they are distinguished by strong academic and social skills, love of learning, curiosity, and personal confidence.
Piaget is well known in the field of educational psychology, particularly his concept of developmental stages. “Developmentally Appropriate Practices” are a result of Piaget’s influence, meaning that we match our classroom activities with the child’s readiness to learn.
The writings of Vygotsky encourage teachers to offer help at the point of readiness, using the term “scaffolding” to describe the teacher’s active role in helping children to achieve higher levels of competency. He also emphasizes the social context of learning, in that children are prompted to learn from more competent peers. Our Pre-K classroom follows the “Tools of the Mind” program – which is a Vygotsky based curriculum. This program emphasizes literacy development through the lens of dramatic play. Children spend time with purposeful writing, role playing, mathematical reasoning, invention and discovery. Through this program self-regulation skills are introduced and developed naturally.
Montessori education is a long-recognized tradition of hands-on learning, based on the belief that young children can learn complex concepts easily during sensitive periods. We appreciate and draw from the Montessori philosophy to respect each child’s individual learning style and preference. At Treehouse Learning we include daily opportunities for children to practice physical, social and practical living skills. We also implement the Montessori Peace Education lessons to help children learn how to use conflict resolution when necessary and empower children to take responsibility for their own choices.
Communication about classroom activities occurs via e-mail and parent information boards. Daily reports are sent home each day for our younger children. Conferences are used for more specific information about each child. These are scheduled each Fall and Spring, as well as anytime by request. Each fall we schedule afternoon back-to-school events in our classrooms so that parents can meet our teachers and explore their child’s learning environment. Our annual traditions include a family picnic, annual pancake breakfast, holiday performances, fun run, art show, and graduation for kindergarten and first grade bound children.


A bachelor's degree is a hallmark of higher education. It is given to those who dedicate three to seven years studying a specific program. A bachelor's degree can be earned in a variety of disciplines in the arts and sciences.
Music business is a field that can help students better develop the financial, managerial, marketing, and recording skills needed for a career in music business and management. Individuals who specialize in music business may go on to work for record companies, recording studios, or as band managers.
The United States of America commonly called the United States, is a federal republic consisting of fifty states and a federal district. The 48 contiguous states and the federal district of Washington, D.C. are in first North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in northwestern North America, west of Canada and east of Russia across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-North Pacific. The country also has five populated and nine unpopulated territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
View all Bachelor Programs in Music Business in North America 2017
The Music Business program is designed to be both academic and practical: our goal is to prepare students for vocational readiness from a Biblical perspective in all fields of music business (publishing, management, tour promotion, marketing and record label operations). [+]
Designed for the student who is interested in music industry management. [+]
The constantly changing climate of the music business serves as the backdrop for the Music Business Major. Students learn by studying a wide range of topics, including Copyright, Record Contracts, Music Publishing, Artists Management, Record Company Operations, Internet Marketing and Distribution and International Music Business. [+]
As much as it is about composition, songwriting, engineering and arranging, music production is really about managing a process. The Music Producing & Recording major teaches students the historical and technical background they need to compete in the world of production, but also develops the necessary tools and techniques needed to take ideas to the next level. [+]
Analyze dramatic scoring and compose film music in the style of selected historical periods and genres. [+]
The School of Music serves as a professional school offering Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees to prepare students for careers in music education, church music, performance, and theory/composition. [+]
With our unique program, you do not spend one single day in a classroom! The radio station or media company is your “classroom”, and a real radio professional is your teacher and mentor. You will be the only student in the class! [+]


Collaborative Wall Collections
The most significant aspects of a structure often go unnoticed.
In Art Education, the building blocks of most curricula are the
individual student art projects--each student works alone, exploring
the concept of creativity solely within the paradigm of Western,
individual creative genius. Yet creativity has many forms. Some
argue that all creative expression is a result of a collectivity,
of the zeitgest, the times, the community of discourse. Similarly,
much contemporary learning theory focuses on the ecology of the
classroom--a collective, rather than an individual and competitive
model of learning.
The Collaborative Wall Collections project is a powerful tool for
investigating and presenting thematic material to the school community.
Its an ideal way to integrate artmaking into other areas of
the curriculum. Students consider symbolic and diagrammatic forms
of representation, experiment with the effect that the juxtaposition
of images has on the creation of meaning, and experience the sense
of accomplishment, community, and communication that comes from
creating a large scale dramatic piece. The effort to impact ratio
for this project is excellent--a few dollars in art supplies and
a week of class time gives art students and the entire school community
a vivid experience in reshaping the visual environment.
This project involves the display and arrangement of individual
elements, created or collected, by members of the collaborative
group. The elements brought to the group become the material out
of which the final work is constructed.


During the conference, the official language is
English. However, at the airport, restaurants, hotels, shops and on the
streets, most Brazilian people can only speak and understand Portuguese.
At every Brazilian schools girls and boys are
supposed to learn English; however, as a matter of fact, most Brazilians, after
finishing their elementary education, cannot understand or speak even simple
... just a little bit.
Learning some Brazilian Portuguese before you go to
Brazil is an extremely good idea. If you know Spanish you are halfway there:
there are obvious similarities in the grammar and vocabulary, so you should be
able to make yourself understood if you speak slowly, and reading won’t present
you with too many problems. However, Portuguese pronunciation is utterly
different and much less straightforward than Spanish. So, unless you take the
trouble to learn a bit about it, you won’t have a clue what Brazilians are
talking about. And contrary to what you might expect, very few Brazilians speak
Main Amerindian languages spoken in Brazil
Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. Minority
languages are spoken throughout the nation. One hundred and eighty Amerindian
languages are spoken in remote areas and a significant number of other
languages are spoken by immigrants and their descendants.
Brazilian Portuguese has had its own development,
with a few influences from the Amerindian and African languages, restricted to
the vocabulary only. As a result, the language is somewhat different, mostly in
phonology, from the language of Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking
countries. These differences are comparable to those between Australian, American and
Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in
the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national
identity and giving it a national culture distinct from those of its neighbors.
Written Portuguese and Spanish are quite similar,
and most educated Brazilians will be able to understand simple written Spanish
– and conversely. However, the spoken languages are quite different. Because of
neighbor Spanish speaking countries, Brazilian people of the South Region can
usually understand Spanish and they can also speak a mixture of Portuguese and
Spanish, humorously called “portunhol” (a combination of the words Português
and Espanhol). In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, many Brazilians are able to
understand Spanish, just about, but Spanish-speakers won’t understand
Portuguese – especially because of deep phonetic differences.
Of course, it is not necessary to spend several
months studying Portuguese before you travel to Brazil. You will be able to
survive with no Portuguese at all. But some knowledge of basic Portuguese will
certainly make your stay in Brazil easier.
There are many phrasebooks that provide the most
usual sentences and expressions you might be willing to use in Brazil. They also
present the way of pronouncing the words. It is not too difficult to learn how
to say “Thank you” (obrigado), “Good morning” (bom dia) and other similar
phrase. It is possible to acquire this basic knowledge of Portuguese studying a
few hours, before your trip. We suggest phrasebooks such as these:
Larousse Brazilian Portuguese Phrasebook,
Berlitz Brazilian Portuguese Phrase Book &
Lonely Planet Brazilian Portuguese Phrasebook &
Say It in Portuguese (Brazilian usage)
You will find that Brazilians will greatly
appreciate even your most rudimentary efforts, and every small improvement in
your Portuguese will make your stay in Brazil ten times more enjoyable. The
same rule works in any country, of course.


We’re glad you found us!
Most of your baby’s important brain development will happen in the first 2000 days of life.
Did you know that the library provides resources and programs to enhance your child’s early learning?
Even for newborns – they are “born to read”!
Now you’re ready to use the Born To Read library card you received in your birthing center to give your baby a big head start with immediate access to thousands of online resources including children’s books, movies, and music.
Just click on any of the Born To Read Resource links to the right, use the library card number and the PIN 1234 for full online access.
All that’s left now is for you to start exploring! Come visit us at any of our 7 locations to check out books, movies, audio books, and music. And join us for early learning storytimes!
So what is Born To Read all about?
The Catawba County Library’s Born To Read project is a partnership with hospitals and Catawba County Partnership for Children to empower our citizens with the tools and resources to improve kindergarten readiness and overall educational attainment in Catawba County. The library is a key part of the solution with collections and Ready to Learn Story Time programs, as well as early literacy outreach and education that positively reinforces early literacy development.
“Research has proven that reading to newborns improves a child’s cognitive development,
language and literacy development as well as establishes positive attitudes toward reading.” (Highberger and Brooks, 1973:; Mol et at., 2008) “Research also indicates that parents who participate in a program such as Born to Read demonstrate more engagement in practicing early literacy activities with their children.(Van Zanten, Newborn Literacy)”
As a goal of our community centered strategic plan, the library seeks to expand our capacity to improve pre-literacy skills and teach parents how to foster these skills with their children. The library is collaborating with the Catawba County Partnership for Children to connect families to the Imagination Library program which provides children a free book each month for five years. This partnership compliments the library’s story time programming, addressing early literacy at a systemic level. The Born to Read program will expand the reach of the library and increase the likelihood that more young children will enter kindergarten prepared to learn.
The library has created 1600 Born to Read early literacy bags and is conducting early literacy workshops at prenatal education classes in local
hospitals and pregnancy care centers. The library will publish a Born to Read newsletter
containing early literacy tips to help parents engage their children in early literacy activities.
The Born To Read project is made possible through support from The Unifour Foundation Inc. Endowment and the Kenneth K. Millholland and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment Fund, as component funds of the North Carolina Community Foundation.


"People who uniquely extend and add such richness to our language, we call artists. But everyone, to be truly human must be able to respond to the subtle messages only the arts convey. Art education, then, is basic because it extends our language. Music, theater, and the visual arts are languages that reach all people at their deepest and most essential human level. Thus, aesthetic literacy is as basic as linguistic literacy." - Ernest L. Boyer
At Calverton all students, preschool through fifth grade, participate in the arts. In sixth through twelfth grade, numerous arts electives are offered, from basic to advanced levels. Study in the fine arts challenges students to develop perceptual awareness, historical perspective, and creative and performance skills as well as aesthetic sensitivity. Such a program complements the school philosophy by furthering intellectual curiosity, self-evaluation, and self-discipline.
The Fine Arts program at The Calverton School incorporates the disciplines of history, production, criticism, and aesthetics. In keeping with contemporary theories of education, Calverton includes the fine arts within the academic program goals for all grade levels. Study in the fine arts not only develops creative expression, but also allows for creative understanding.


BOOKS OECD iLibrary
Making mathematics accessible to all Do you know what an arithmetic mean is? Or a polygon? On average, fewer than 30% of students across OECD countries understand the concept of an arithmetic mean, while less than 50% are comfortable with elementary geometrical shapes known as polygons. Yet with numeracy skills needed more than ever in the work place, today’s students should be able to compute, engage in logical reasoning and use mathematics to tackle novel problems. However, only a minority of 15-year-old students in most countries grasp and can work with core mathematical concepts. To what extent
can teachers and schools break this pattern? Equations and Inequality: Making Mathematics Accessible to All suggests that one way forward is to ensure that all students spend more quality or “engaged” time learning core mathematics concepts and solving challenging mathematics tasks. According to the report, based on results from PISA 2012, education systems have done well in providing equitable access to the quantity of mathematics education, but differences in quality remain. While well-off students are taught to think like mathematicians, disadvantaged pupils tend to be exposed to simple facts and ﬁgures only.
different study programmes, that have larger percentages of students in selective schools, and that transfer less-able students to other schools. Over 95% of students in Australia, Ireland, Israel and the UK attend schools where students are grouped by ability for mathematics classes. Policy makers could develop more ambitious and coherent mathematics standards that cover core mathematical ideas in depth, the report suggests. Another path would be to reduce tracking and stratiﬁcation among schools. Teachers could also help by replacing routine tasks with challenging problems, support positive attitudes towards mathematics and offer tailored support to struggling students.
The relationship between content and socio-economic proﬁles is even stronger in countries that track students early into
OECD (2016), Equations and Inequalities: Making Mathematics Accessible to All, OECD Publishing Visit www.oecd.org/pisa and www.oecd.org/education
progress has been achieved over the last decade.
water governance on three fronts: policies, people and places. On the policies front, favouring inter-sectorial action is the key to efﬁcient response to water crises. The German city of Cologne, for instance, co-ordinates water and spatial planning for new building areas to prevent ﬂood damages due to heavy rainfalls. Technology also helps, and the report describes how it is used to display water quality and quantity data in Marseille, which citizens can consult. Communication campaigns such as “Max 100” in Copenhagen also raise public awareness and helped generate water savings as well.
Urban water Too much, too little, too polluted: these are three water risks facing many urban areas. By 2050, worldwide water demand will increase by 55%. This will mean ﬁerce competition across different water users–farmers, industries, households, etc. Whether containing ﬂooding in Paris, drought in San Francisco or groundwater contamination in Mexico City, cities everywhere are asking how to anticipate, avoid and overcome future water crises. Water Governance in Cities analyses the weakness of urban water governance systems. Building on a survey of 48 cities, the report ﬁnds that signiﬁcant
Among cities surveyed, the average share of wastewater treated was 90% in 2012 compared to 82% in 1990, while per capita domestic water consumption decreased by 20% between 2000 and 2012. However, social and territorial inequalities in access to water services remain high in some urban areas: the lowest access rates to sanitation services are reported in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte–75%–and Veracruz in Mexico–79%. Although 75% of cities identify water pollution as a challenge, more than 90% cite ageing or a lack of infrastructure and support as the main challenge. This is a capacity issue: 65% of cities surveyed decried a lack of staff and managerial competencies as a challenge.
OECD (2016), Water Governance in Cities, OECD Studies on Water, OECD Publishing
Water Governance in Cities showcases best practices to foster good urban
OECD Observer No 308 Q4 2016


In recent years European educational systems seems to struggle to provide youth with the skills needed to strive on the labor market. Eurostat data on Youth Unemployment confirm it. In 2015 five EU countries – Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Portugal had more than 20 percent of unemployed youth aged 20 to 29. Whole EU had an average youth unemployment rate of around 15 percent. At the same time there is a lack of workers in ICT and STEM fields will reach 825,000 skilled workers by 2020. Based on this data we have a paradox – while there is a lack of skilled workers in the EU there is also a surplus of educated youth searching for work opportunities.
One of the solutions to the problem of under skilled educated youth could be reshaping the education process. Focusing on STEM, entrepreneurship and promoting lifelong learning in the education system could be the key to solving the problem.
By definition STEM is an educational program developed to prepare primary and secondary students for college and graduate study in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In biology, STEM is a central part of something from which other parts can develop or grow. The way STEM and learning should be seen in life. Students that pass through an educational system strongly focused on STEM have a problem solving inquiring mind and great collaboration skills. They can use the skill set in different situations they find themselves in.
Focus on Croatia
Today we are focusing on Croatia that has some interesting public and private initiatives in the STEM field. Croatian school infrastructure, at least the most of it, dates back to the 60’s and 70’s and is not one of the priorities of either local or state authorities. The lack of political interest in education is seen in public spending on education as a part of GDP that is getting lower each year. Therefore, the only exit from this “lack” of initiatives in the educational system is in private initiatives or EU funded intiatives.
Croatian Makers League (CM League)
The competition focuses on elementary school students with the aim to enable a wide-ranging inclusion of robotics, automation and programming into elementary education.
Furthermore, CM League brings up interest for STEM fields by “playing” with an educational robot. In this case “playing” means basic programming of the robot. The goal is for the robot to complete simple tasks in each round of the league. Currently, CM league includes more than 360 schools and 8000 participants in Croatia.
BBC micro:bit – STEM Revolution
One of the most recent and most successful crowdfunding projects in Croatia. It raised around 300 000 $ on Indiegogo and overcame the first goal by stunning 480 percent! The project is organised by the same people as the CM League and has a similar goal. They state: “Instead of 19th century style rote learning in the atmosphere of submission towards any kind of authority figure, kids need modern competencies, development of a growth mindset and a strong character.”
How do they want to do it? By a massive implementation of the micro:bit. Not only in STEM fields but also in design, arts and many other subjects.
e-Schools: Establishing a System for Developing Digitally Mature Schools
The only state/EU funded project on this list is a project from Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNet. The project is aiming to introduce ICT into the school system in the 2015 – 2022 period. “e-Schools” programme focuses on establishing lifelong learning in the educational system.
The focus is on teachers who are responsible for in-class teaching and learning processes. Moreover, motivated teachers and digitally equipped schools elementary and high school students should be able to gain skills necessary for the labor market, and more important – lifelong learning.
A cute little hexapod called STEMI is another entry that has had an Indiegogo success. In 2015 it raised over 36000 USD and reached the goal in only 3 days. STEMI is a hexapod robot controlled via smartphone with a special “learning by creating” approach to STEM fields. Furthermore, STEMI users receive access to video tutorials that cover everything – from 3D modeling, electronics, mathematics to programming a mobile application. The fun part about the robot is its similarity to IKEA furniture – STEMI also arrives in assembly ready parts.
Some would say it is only a toy for kids, some would say it is AI. We say – its somewhere in between. A smartphone controlled toy can be whatever game the user wants. Smart Lumies combines an application with a real space toy. Effects for kids are multiple, it boosts kid’s creativity, motor skills, logic and algorithmic thinking. Focus of Lumies is on preschool and early elementary school kids which makes a great introduction to STEM way.


Sports and regular physical activities not only serve as fun-time for children and teens, but more importantly, it improves their overall health and wellness status while promoting a healthy
lifestyle which they can carry on into their adulthood years.
- Exercise and Health Education Cut Kids' Risk of Heart Disease
- Experts Urge Children Need More Exercise
- Results of Strength Training in Obese Prepubertal Girls
According to recent findings, vigorous exercise and health education classes in the adolescents can cut their blood cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of developing heart disease later in life.
This comes from a study which is part of the larger continuing Cardiovascular Health in Children study, a unique effort in North Carolina to learn about improving children's - and later adults' - heart and lung health. This study used 600 middle-school students, ages 11 to 14, from five rural North Carolina schools in three counties.
According to one of the researchers, "I don't think most parents realize how little actual physical activity their children get at school nowadays. Most middle-aged and older people in this country were far more active when they were children than kids are now."
In this study, subjects were divided into four groups. During the 1995-96 school year they received both physical activity and classroom training, either one or the other intervention, or neither. Physical activity was vigorous and sustained three times a week but did not require special sports skills. Classroom teaching focused on nutrition, fitness, not smoking, blood pressure and other topics.
Researchers measured fat levels in the blood of children before and after completing the program. Among middle-schoolers in the combined group, total cholesterol dropped an average of 10.6 milligrams per deciliter and LDL dropped 8.7 milligrams per deciliter.
"We conclude that the combination of both a knowledge and attitude program and a physical activity program was highly effective in improving lipid [fat in the blood] profiles in this group of adolescents, Our work is important because the few studies that have been done before on this looked at younger children and none has tested older children the way we did."
- American Heart Association Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico - March 19, 1998.
New guidelines from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recommend that children be physically active for at least 60 minutes per day - and longer if possible.
According to the NASPE, a nonprofit organization for fitness and physical activity professionals, "extended periods of inactivity are not appropriate for normal, healthy children... inactive children and youth are much more likely to be sedentary as adults than children and youth who are active."
The NASPE also stated, "children and youth who have active parents and family members and who do physical activities with them are more likely to be active than those who are not active with family members... 'children' develop skills through involvement in physical activity... only through devoting time to these skills will they become a regular part of a healthy lifestyle."
Other recommendations of the NASPE include:
- schools need to make time for physical activity in a child's day.
- youngsters should be exposed to a variety of activities.
- continue to encourage motor skill development.
- some of a child's physical activity each day "should be in periods lasting 10 to 15 minutes or more and include moderate to vigorous activity."
- activities that can be done throughout a lifetime should be encouraged.
- National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) in Reston, Virginia.
A group of researchers set out to determine the effects of a school-based, low-volume strength training program on energy expenditure, strength, and physical fitness in obese prepubertal girls.
The researchers designed a longitudinal, 5-month strength training exercise program in which 11 healthy, obese girls aged 7-10 years participated.
The girls increased their upper and lower extremity strength, on average, by 20%. However, similar results were not noted when energy expenditure was evaluated.
The researchers concluded, "This long-term, school-based, low-volume strength training program favorably increases strength in obese prepubertal girls but does not increase their daily energy expenditure."
- Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 30, No. 7, pp. 1130-1136, 1998.


- Reference guide to a variety of religious topics
- A good place to start to find out about the Saints
- PBS Kids - Zoom for kids by kids. Science rocks!
- Ideas for Science Fair projects
- Exploring Science
- Biology for Kids
- Welcome to Windows to the Universe! Our purpose is to develop a fun and different Web site about the Earth and Space sciences.
- VIMS Virtual Marine Education Center, where teachers and students can find information and on-line resources for learning about the marine environment.
- Astronomy for children of all ages.
- Science for a changing world. Explore things in, on, around and about the Earth.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- This site provides a wide range of weather information.
- The Miami Museum of Science website. This is a good place to find information about hurricanes and other weather.
- Test your knowledge about hurricanes. Listen to the pilots who fly into the storm to gather weather data.
- This website is maintained by the National Hurricane Center of the U. S. National Oceanographic and Aeronautic Administration.
- A wide variety of information, tools, and fun games to help everyone learn math and enjoy using it
- Exploring Math
- Welcome to Aplus Math This web site was developed to help students improve their math skills interactively.
- Have a Math question? You’ve come to the right place!
- Fun ways to expand knowledge and skills!
- Ask anything you want to know.
- Features a comprehensive set of interactive arithmetic lessons.
- The main content of the site is aimed at basic math skills. However you will find some more complex stuff, and some easier bits. Hopefully there should be something for everybody.
- Daily Sudoku Puzzle Fun.
- Music education on-line
- Free piano music - Courtesy of Gilbert DeBenedetti
- National Geographic online… what an enlightening experience.
- National Museum of Natural History – Smithsonian Institute
- Homework help
- Homework spot
- Homework helper
- Another great site to help with homework
- “ Information Please”… kids almanac
- Webster’s Dictionary on-line
- Online encyclopedia
- A great place for kids to safely search for pictures to include in their reports
- The Internet Public Library. Very comprehensive and highly useful.
- New Britain Public Library
- The Library of Congress
- Microsoft’s Encarta encyclopedia
- The Jones Telecommunications Company’s Multimedia Encyclopedia with links to other encyclopedic information.
- Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology
- USA Today newspaper.
- UCONN Health Center CELEBRATE GIRLS
- Offers a combination of free study guides, literature essays, college application essays, editing services and free writing resources.
- Connect to other classrooms around the world, find interesting global projects, or build and promote your own online projects.
- The exhibits here include interactive experiences, suggestions for hands-on activities, and links to related Web resources.
- This site offers abundant choice in all content areas.
- Extensive teaching and learning materials are highlighted in this K-8 site
- Collection of online resources related to books for children and young adults
- The appealing language arts activities are appropriate for school as well as home.
- For grades six and up, this outstanding news-related education site offers up-to-date content for students, teachers, and parents
- Springfield Public Television website.
- This site is especially attractive for families who have young children. Information is presented in charming ways and is comprehensive
- The National Institute of Health
- Information about how almost anything works
- New Britain Museum of American Art
- New Britain Youth Museum
- The American Museum of Natural History
- The Computer Museum of America in San Diego, CA.
- The archives and more than 200 articles about computer-related technology
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- The Smithsonian Institution
- Take a virtual tour of Plimouth Plantation. Learn about the first American Thanksgiving gathering


It’s hard to believe that Valentine’s Day holiday is just around the corner. This holiday fits beautifully into literacy development with young children from sharing some very lovely books for kids to creating your own valentine messages. This week we are going to explore some great books that are centered around love, sharing and caring.
Books for Kids: Valentine Day Books on Love, Sharing and Caring
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Peter Reynolds is a beautiful simple story of a little girl who plants a kiss, nurtures it and then shares it. What a sweet message of the power of tending to something and then sharing its bounty.
Everyone Says I Love You by Beejee Tolpa is a fun pop-up book that teaches you how to say, “I love you!” around the world. The book travels to Kenya, France, Italy, Holland and other locations.
Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton is a board book for the younger crowd. I absolutely love reading/singing this love song to my one-year old son. “Snuggle puppy of mine. everything about you is especially fine. I love what you are. I love what you do. Oooo, fuzzy snuggle puppy of mine. I love you.” You can even visit Sandra Boynton’s website to listen to the little love song which is on her Philadelphia Chickens cd.
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli and Paul Yalowitz tells the story of a man who receives an anonymous valentine that changes his perspective on life and he in turn becomes more sociable and positive.
I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore is a silly romp between a mother and her child in which the mother states over and over that she will love her child under any circumstances.
The Day it Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond is the story of Cornelia Augusta (such a great character name) who begins to catch raining hearts one day and then crafts them into special valentines for her many acquaintances. This is the perfect story to lead into your own valentine card making activity.
Check out our activity for Sending a Little Love with four creative Valentine making ideas to promote writing development.
I hope your Valentine’s Day is full of books and love!
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