In the arctic, trees are scarce and most of the land is covered with dry tundra. But not every place in the north is barren. Just south of the polar regions grow boreal forests. Most deciduous trees can’t survive here because of the extreme cold, but evergreen conifer trees can. These trees have tough, waxy leaves that can withstand even months of freezing temperatures.
- Because the ground never thaws completely, it never dries out. In some areas, the ground is very soggy. Dead plants and leaves don’t decay quickly, but instead turn into acidic, peaty soil.
- Any animals living here must be tough. Mammals, such as bears, foxes, wolves and lynx have thick fur. Many animals hibernate through the winter months.
- Birds have a tough go of it too in northern forests. Some birds, including ravens, owls and eagles, stay for the winter, but most fly south to warmer climates.
- Scarce: in short supply
- Tundra: a vast, treeless region in the Arctic
- Boreal: belonging to the Northern regions
- Conifer: bearing cones
- Hibernate: to sleep or slow down the body
Head over to the University of California Santa Barbara to learn more about boreal forests.
Question: Do people live in the boreal forests?
Answer: Some large cities, such as Toronto, sit at the southern portions of boreal forests, but most forests are sparsely populated. Native people may live there in small numbers. These areas are remote and hard to reach. Conditions are harsh and there is little food.
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||Friday, January 30th 2009 [ versión español ]
What began as a collaborative project to promote the exchange between the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) and the University of Delaware saw the first fruits of its labor with the visit of 10 students, from distinct academic concentrations, in search of an experience that allowed them to understand the importance of science in everyday life.
During a five week stay in Puerto Rico, the students were able to relate science with all human activities through conferences, classes, and trips to various parts of the Island. As part of the collaborative agreement students attended social science classes offered at UPRM, and more than just science, they experienced a different culture, as explained by doctor Marla Pérez Lugo, associate professor of the Department of Social Sciences (CISO by its Spanish acronym) at UPRM.
Doctor Cecilio Ortiz, also from CISO, explained that the students were integrated into the Public Administration class (CIPO 4045) which was offered this semester. During this class they shared concerns and experiences about environmental problems in Puerto Rico, as well as those in Delaware.
He signaled that some of the biggest challenges of Puerto Rican public administration are associated to the relation between humans and nature. “These exchanges are extremely important for both my students in public administration as well as those students in Delaware. Through the comparative analysis of environmental matters they can identify, in a distinct manner, the environmental problems that affect both societies.
Similarly, Pérez Lugo confirmed that “we intend to contextualize environmental matters through the active participation of social scientists, who have limited themselves to providing data for environmental studies without going any further.” According to the professor it’s about applying politics to favor the environment; it is because of this that the role of the social scientist is so important.
The participants of this first scholarly exchange to Puerto Rico, who are part of the Study Abroad Program, are students from Elementary Education, Political Science, Anthropology, Nutrition, Business Administration, Chemistry, Animal Sciences, and Natural Resource Management, among others.
As explained by doctor Susan W. King, professor at the University of Delaware who accompanied the students on their journey, the principal objective of the Study Abroad Program is to demonstrate to these university students that science can help them in their future careers. That is also the purpose of the course she teaches at the University of Delaware called Environmental Science in the Rainforest, in which she expects they understand science and convert into productive citizens for society.
The program is divided into classes, and trips to the country in which group and individual projects are realized. One of the trips included eleven days in which they stayed in the Green Reserve, part of the UPR.
“To live in a tropical forest demonstrated that human beings can alter the environment through the activities they carry out,” mentioned the entomology professor.
During their stay in the west, students visited Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas, with the purpose of understanding other ways to manage the resources aside from government intervention, ecotourism and conservation efforts. They also visited the Hacienda Buena Vista in Ponce, which helped them to understand the existing relation between history and culture.
One of the most impacting trips for the group was to the Parguera in Lajas. “To visit Cayo Enrique, to be close to the reef and observe the organisms that coexist there allowed them to observe the influence of human activities on nature,” indicated Pérez Lugo.
Before leaving to Delaware, they visited the Parador Palmas de Lucía in Yabucoa to observe how an installation of this type operates; it is classified as an ecological hotel. They also visited a sector of Guayanilla, where they are proposing to install windmills, to share with the residents who oppose an environmentally good project.
“As a professor of public environmental politics, this program gives me the opportunity to utilize a more comparative focus in the analysis of environmental matters. The integration of the Study Abroad Program, a UPRM course, permits us to enrich the academic experience of our students, to expand their horizons of analysis and expose them to the experiences of students from other countries, which many times are facing the same or worse challenges in terms of environmental protection,” emphasized Ortiz.
Participants shared their concerns and experiences about environmental problems in Puerto Rico as well as in Delaware.
Doctor Cecilio Ortiz explained that this type of exchange allows the students to identify in a distinct way the environmental problems that affect both societies.
Doctor Marla Pérez Lugo emphasized the role environmental scientists in the forming of environmental politics.
For doctor Susan W. King, the program demonstrated to its participants that science can help them in the future careers.
Photos by Mariam Ludim Rosa Vélez / UPRM Press


This blog will be part of a series. I am very passionate about the art of music education and I think if I drop all of my thoughts on the subject now it may be a bit overwhelming. This series will focus mainly on guitar education, but many of the same principles apply to other instruments. So, I shall break this series into a few parts. Part One is titled Guitar Tablature Vs. Standard Notation OR What kind of musician will you be?
Guitar tablature is a simplified way to write out music for guitarists. If you've never seen guitar tab before here is an example of Crazy Train written out as guitar tab. It is amazingly beneficial for complicated lead parts, scale patterns, and riffs. Standard notation refers to the treble clef staff that is common to musicians of all instrumentation. Here is an example of Crazy Train written in standard notation. These are often presented as though they are in opposition to each other. As though, as a guitarist, you must choose one or the other. Each side looks down on the other side. I'm not here for sides. I want to look at the benefits and faults of each system, in a concise manner.
Guitar tablature is great if you are familiar with a song. If you have never heard the song before, guitar tablature is utterly worthless. This was common during my first few years of teaching (before youtube on the iPhone!). A student would bring in guitar tab for a song I had never heard and want me to teach him how to play it. Impossible. Guitar tab is simply a series of notes with no rhythm attached. Which leads me to the first of two main problems with guitar tablature: There is no rhythm given to the note. In standard notation every note tells you two things: the pitch of the note (E, G, F#, High or Low, etc) and the duration of the note (long note, short note, quarter note, dotted eighth note, etc).
The other fault with guitar tablature as a system of learning is that the fundamentals of music are never taught or addressed. If you never learn the notes on the guitar (my assumption if you focus solely on tablature and disregard standard notation and music theory) then you won't know how to move guitar riffs or chords to different locations on the guitar or understand what you are playing outside of what you have been spoonfed through tab or youtube. Since it seems like most guitar tabs online are tabbed by 17 year old kids (another huge fault with guitar tab: no standards for publication online), I often find mistakes. Technically the notes will often be correct, but there are usually much easier ways to play particularly passages in a song. Without some basic knowledge of music theory (or a decent teacher) you are simply stuck with whatever tab you have in front of you and have to assume that this is the only way to play the song. Knowing what notes you are playing and where to find other similar notes on the guitar is a huge benefit for guitarists. More on this later.
I'll close with this thought. Ultimately it comes down to what type of musician you want to be. If you are content to sit in your bedroom and just want to play a few of your favorite songs then guitar tablature and youtube are an invaluable resource to you! I don't want to make light of the previous statement. Not everyone desires to be a great guitarist and many are happy to simply pick up the guitar every now and then and play a few familiar tunes. This is great! But, most guitarists want more. You have rock star dreams. If you want to be able to play with other musicians, and understand what and why you play what you play then you need to learn the fundamentals of music theory and standard notation. The fundamentals of music theory can be learned in an afternoon and built upon with a small amount of dedication. You simply have to be realistic with your goals (what kind of musician are you?) and make sure that your learning style matches it.
Part 2 will focus on the benefits that come with reading standard notation and understanding the basic fundamentals of music.


I use this packet to teach my Pre-K students how to be scientists and how to learn about the world around them– by using our 5 senses! Encourage your little ones to use their senses: see, hear, taste, touch, smell with this fun-filled packet. Packet contents:
-The 5 Senses student worksheet – use this to introduce the 5 senses. Cut and paste pictures of children using their 5 senses.
-Mystery Smells activity – materials: baggies, cottonballs, extracts: mint, strawberry, orange, coconut. Cut and paste data recording sheet provided.
-Touch activity – materials: 8 items from your classroom: 2 smooth, 2 rough, 2 soft, 2 mushy (suggestions included), sorting mat provided and follow up student worksheet
-Mystery Sound Boxes activity – turn ordinary tissue boxes into mystery sound boxes using the patterns provided! Fill with rice, coins, paper clips, pasta – student worksheet provided
-Seeing activity – 20 cards to laminate for a matching activity- all images are provided large and small, if you can- use a magnifier to view the small images. If you do not have magnifiers in your classroom, the images can still be seen with the naked eye. Do-it-yourself magnifier suggestions included. Optical illusion follow-up student worksheet provided.
-Taste activity – I do not let my students eat in science lab! This is a sorting activity – no real tasting involved, no purchasing of food!! Sort the 6 cards into 2 columns: sweet, sour. Follow-up student worksheet provided.
Follow my store! You will receive an email every time I put up a freebie or a new product for sale.To follow me, go to the top right of this page where you see my photo, next to the little green star it says “Follow Me”. Click on that and you’ll receive the email updates. Thanks for stopping by my PK – 4 science store! Sue
Please note: these units are for the use of one educator.
If you would like to share my lesson plans with a co-worker, your team, your school, or your district, please purchase multiple licenses which are offered at half price.
When you click “add to cart”, please also click on “ buy licenses to share” and then enter the quantity of half-price licenses. Thank you so much!!
Sue from Science for Kids :)


To better troubleshoot early literacy problems in children, teachers need a broader understanding of how children develop literacy, concludes a recent study published in Educational Assessment.
Teachers’ rationales for identifying children as at-risk for reading difficulties often overlook student deficits revealed in standardized assessments,report researchers Alison Bailey and Kathryn Drummond.
“After all, if teachers are going to deliver interventions, they must diagnose children’s deficits accurately (and usually quickly) to deliver effective intervention,” the researchers write. “However, in an environment that focuses more on the content of reading rather than on guiding those who teach reading, teachers may not have the necessary expertise to assess and remediate reading weaknesses.”
Administrators should encourage additional professional development in literacy learning and assessment for teachers, the researchers conclude. More training could help them make “finer-grained distinctions” across and within reading, writing, speaking and listening. Reliable classroom-based assessments should be developed to help teachers identify students with literacy problems.
“Teachers’ own skills, particularly in differentiating phonemic awareness, phonological processing, and phonics, may need to be developed before teachers can recognize students’ difficulties and give accurate information about them,”the researchers write.
Literacy checklists can help teachers make more specific diagnoses and take more appropriate action, particularly with cognition-related skills such as comprehension.
Oral vocabulary deficits overlooked
In the study of 17 teachers from five schools in Southern California, teachers were asked to give their rationales for identifying kindergarten and first-grade students as at-risk for literacy difficulties. Rationales were coded and then compared to how children performed on more formal assessments such as the Woodcock Diagnostic Reading Battery. The researchers found that teachers were “focusing on the right group of students, if not always identifying all areas of weakness. In other words, they sense that something is wrong, but cannot pinpoint the particular problem.”
Teachers were more proactive in intervening with children who had decoding problems, possibly reflecting their responsiveness to current research and policy trends. But the students in the study had large deficits in comprehension and oral vocabulary that few teachers mentioned in their rationales, the researchers report.
“This potential oversight is cause for concern,” they write, “particularly in light of recent work by Buly and Valencia (2003) that shows the mandate to focus on phonics instruction would not have served the 50% of students in their study who fell below proficiency levels in reading due to comprehension and language deficits.
In this study, the researchers also found that:
• Teachers’ rationales for identifying students were often vague and not based on assessments;
• teachers’ concept maps of early literacy almost always included basic literacy skills (primary phonics) and phonological
awareness (an oral language skill), but varied a great deal in including other literacy skills;
• selection of students was not influenced by gender, language and grade level of student or teacher characteristics such as years of experience; and
• teachers’ use of a literacy checklist (Literacy Development Checklist) had a modest, but positive influence on identification.
The checklist was developed by researchers to encourage teachers to reflect on their students’performance across a comprehensive range of literacy domains. Research has shown that a complex brew of skills, attitudes and style of social interaction, characteristics of the home and learning environment contribute to a successful literacy outcomes. The checklist, which was used by 13 of 17 teachers in the study, can help teachers develop a more detailed profile of students.
Understanding teacher decision-making in identifying at-risk children is important because it will help develop more effective in-classroomn interventions with accurate diagnoses of students’ literacy problems. But it is also important because of the potential long-term negative effects on children who are identified as needing extra help, the researchers say.
Reasons most often cited by teachers in their rationales were: reading, writing skills, oral language abilities, and student shyness and quietness. Teachers were asked to document sources to explain why they selected certain students, but few did so, relying instead on informal observation of student performance and behavior. Teachers also sometimes were confused about the terminology around literacy skills.
“Who Is at Risk and Why? Teachers’ Reasons for Concern and Their Understanding and Assessment of Early Literacy,” by Alison Bailey and Kathryn Drummond, Educational Assessment, Volume 11,Numbers 3 & 4, 2006, pps. 149-178.
Published in ERN December 2006 Volume 19 Number 9


My son and I picked out our favorite science videos from The Kid Should Watch This. We hope you enjoy them too! Here’s our archive of favorite science videos:
Science for Kids: How to Make Fizzy Bottle Rockets
ExpeRimental from The Royal Institution: How to make fizzy bottle rockets using a plastic sports bottle, Alka Selzer tablet, warm water and a mug. Do this outdoors!
Trek the Mountains of Khumbu, Nepal
This commercial from Google Maps showcases the Nepalese Sherpa people and the mountains they live in.
Banana Slimes and the Secret of Slime
The Banana Slug lives in California and their glorious slime. Here are some interesting facts about the Banana Slug:
- Slugs are mostly water
- Slime actually attracts water
- Slime is critical to how slugs move
- Slime is recyclable; slugs eat other slug’s slime (and their own)
- Slime is similar to human mucus
Rare Footage of Baby Platypuses Hatching
The baby platypus hatches from an egg and emerge the size of a jellybean. The platypus young hatch in a less developed state than a reptile who is ready to fend for itself when it hatches. What is the solution? Watch and see.


Studying the guitar at STES is a wonderful way to help foster in a child, the joy of learning. The satisfaction that each child experiences when they successfully take on a challenge and reach their goals is one of the many reasons this program is so valuable.
Here at STES, we prefer to start all pre-school aged children in our early music education classes to give them a good musical foundation before they move on to an instrument. Once they have this foundation, which includes listening to the music they will first learn to play on the guitar, they are prepared to move on to the instrument. Children who begin in our infant or pre-school music programs can start playing the guitar as early as 4 years old. Children who have not been in our pre-school music program and are six years and older can begin lessons on the guitar.
As with all instruments taught using the Suzuki philosophy, students learn to play the Twinkle variations and folk songs. This is the beginning of their musical journey. Because they will learn the first pieces by ear, the children can focus on their technique and tone. Daily listening to the recording is necessary so that the child can internalize the music. Once the basic technique is established, music reading is introduced on the instrument. This parallels the process children experience when they learn to read and write. Each student is allowed to progress at their own pace and emphasis is placed on mastering each step before moving to the next. Review of previously learned music is necessary as it allows the student to gain ability and develop skill in polishing their music.


Lost in Wildcat Cove is the first book in an educational series based on the Early Childhood Learning Expectations and the Common Core curriculum. The series, The Critters of Wildcat Cove, was written by Sandra Cook, an early childhood educator with 45 years of experience and a doctorate in curriculum development and specialist certification in reading. This series was developed as a tool to help parents and educators foster emergent reading strategies in children from Pre-K to third grade. Each book focuses on a hot topic in education and provides character-building insight. Lost in Wildcat Cove is a sweet story that will teach young readers about tolerance, friendship, confidence, and how to deal with bullies.
A brave little chipmunk named Chippy lived with his mother and siblings in a quiet cove in the Lake of the Ozarks. The shoreline of the cove was surrounded by plenty of trees and lots of ground for the critters who lived there to roam.
Being the brave chipmunk that he was, Chippy left the safety of his burrow to explore the world outside, but soon found that he did not know his way home.
Chippy came across other critters that lived in the cove: a not very nice snake named Simon, a mother groundhog named Greta, and a turtle named Timmy.
Along his journey, Chippy learned the value of friendship and that you must stand up and face your fears to help a friend.
Ms. Cook has worked with children from birth through sixth grade for over fifty years. She has dedicated her life to building lifelong readers. Her passions for reading and animals inspired her to create the setting for her book series. Chippy, a brave little chipmunk, learns the value of friendship through his journey around the cove.
As teachers use this story in their classroom curriculum or parents read this story to their children, Ms. Cook’s hope is that children will learn the value of being kind, and that kindness and tolerance are much better than bullying others because of their differences.
Hardback: 978-1-5144-7352-8 ($25.99)
Softbound: 978-1-5144-7351-1 ($15.99)
eBook: 978-1-5144-7350-4 ($3.99)
Available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, Apple.com and other online book retailers.
Order the eBook here:
Author-Signed Hardback editions are available here with a tax-exempt $50 donation.
Shipping to U.S. address is free of charge.
For a personalized message from the author, contact Luis de Galicia, Author Liaison: ldg@HamiltonRandPublishers.org.


Roots of Discontent
Portugal's assimilationist policy had produced a small group of educated Africans who considered themselves Portuguese. But as this group recognized that it was not fully respected by the Portuguese and as it became increasingly aware of its alienation from its traditional origins, some members began to articulate resentment, both of their own ambiguous social and cultural situations and of the plight of the nonassimilated majority of Africans. From among their ranks emerged most of the first generation of liberation movement leaders.
The influx of rural Africans to towns also bred anticolonial resentment. In the 1950s, the population of Luanda almost doubled, and most of the growth was among Africans. Lured by the expectation of work, Africans in towns became aware of the inequality of opportunities between Europeans and Africans. The compulsory labor system that many had experienced in rural areas was regarded as the most onerous aspect of Portuguese rule. More than any other factor, this system, which was not abolished until 1962, united many Africans in resentment of Portuguese rule.
The Salazar government's settlement policies contributed to the spread of anticolonial resentment, especially after 1945. These policies resulted in increased competition for employment and growing racial friction. Between 1955 and 1960, for example, the government brought from Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands more than 55,000 whites. Induced to emigrate by government promises of money and free houses, these peasants settled on colonatos (large agricultural communities). Many immigrants to the colonatos were unskilled at farming, often lacked an elementary education, or were too old for vigorous manual labor. Consequently, many of them were unsuccessful on the colonatos and, after a time, moved to towns where they competed with Africans, often successfully, for skilled and unskilled jobs. The Portuguese who held jobs of lower social status often felt it all the more necessary to claim social superiority over the Africans.
External events also played a role in the development of the independence movements. While most European powers were preparing to grant independence to their African colonies, the Salazar regime was seeking to reassert its grasp on its colonies, as witnessed by the effort it expended in the ill-fated colonatos system.
There were two basic patterns in the rise of nationalism in Angola. In one case, African assimilados and other urban Africans with some education joined urban mestišos and whites in associations based on the assumption that their interests were different from, and perhaps in competition with, those of the majority of the African population still attached to their rural communities. Angolans also formed organizations based on ethnic or religious groupings that encompassed or at least sought to include rural Africans, although the leaders of these organizations often had some education and urban experience.
|Country Studies main page | Angola Country Studies main page|


We have had a lot of indoor days lately. I have to say it is kind of fun to just play and not go anywhere.
On our last trip to the library I found this great book. I know there are a lot of books out there on science for kids , but this one is simple and I have almost all the ingredients in the the house.
Of all the experiments we have done so far this one is my favorite!
Making goo out of corn starch. It is truly amazing!
|The book : I'm a scientist, Kitchen by Lisa Burke|
She also has a backyard book that looks interesting for summer.
|You start off by measuring two cups of corn starch in a bowl and slowly adding one cup of water.|
It is pretty hard to mix as you can see !
|Then add food coloring of your choice and keep mixing!|
|It is really interesting how my kids played so differently with the same goo.|
My son got his hands in at once , but my daughter wanted more spoons and things to prod it with and would not put her hands in!
It was amazing to see how long they kept going. Making balls and watching the goo go from solid to liquid and back to solid. If you push your hand down on it the goo is a solid , but if you scoop with a spoon it becomes a liquid.


GREEN WOODS CLASSROOMS
7/8 Language Arts
The middle school writing curriculum focuses on creating student authors that are able to proficiently write for different purposes in multiple genres. Grammar will be studied and literary devices will be explored to fortify the students' writing abilities. Using the writing process, the students will hone their writing skills to perfection. Specific genres of writing that will be studied include persuasive, expository, narrative, research, and literature response. The students' writing skills will also be utilized for their work in the new Media Studies program.
The 7th to 8th grade language arts classes will mimic a reader's workshop model. Through modeling and mini-lessons students will have a specific focus which will be strengthened and guided through independent, whole group, and small group instruction. We will be utilizing a variety of reading materials and genres. We will be taking a close look at biographies, novels, short stories, magazine and newspaper articles, and plays. Reading comprehension strategies and vocabulary will be interwoven throughout the curriculum where relevant and will also be taught in isolation. Many of our reading selections will be integrated with the social studies, writing, media studies, and science curriculum and will provide us with relevant background knowledge about what we are studying in those subjects.
Examples of reading selections seen throughout the school year:
The Misfist (7th Grade)
The Outsiders (8th Grade)


Madison Masters MULTIPLE Milestones!
A few months ago we watched Madison learn to lift her head. Her mother practiced with her for about 10 minutes a day. Gradually her strength increased to where she could hold her head up for long periods of time. Madison first learned tummy time and then she gradually strengthened her neck and back muscles through daily practice of short intervals, no more than 10 minutes twice a day, of lifting her head. Eventually she could spend many more minutes in tummy time. After a few weeks of skill development with “lifting the head,” she began to learn the next motor milestone of rolling. During one of her Stellar Caterpillar lessons, she learned to turn from her back to her belly and from her belly to her back. After practicing that at home for several days, she began rolling through the house!
NEXT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: BABY CRAWLING
What follows the developmental milestones of lifting the head and rolling? Belly crawling! Madison demonstrates the preparation for belly crawling by bending her left knee and leg so she can push off of the floor and scoot forward. This is the skill we focused on during today’s Stellar Caterpillar lesson. How does Madison need to move her body to prepare for belly crawling? She needs to lift up one side of the pelvis so the leg on that side becomes lighter in weight and the hip joint is free to bend. This drags up the leg and bends the knee. In the photo above, Madison lifted the left side of her pelvis to bend the left hip joint and drag up the left leg.
TUMMY TIME AND MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Most of the skills Madison has learned were built from the tummy time position. This is where she learned lifting the head. She developed strong neck and back muscles as well as upper body strength. When reaching for and grasping toys in this position, she strengthens her upper body because she supports her weight with only one arm while the other one is busy playing with the toy. She learned to move her legs and pelvis in order to roll. When a baby masters tummy time, she prepares to conquer more milestones and become a true stellar caterpillar!


What is Dyscalculia?
- It is sometimes referred to as developmental dyscalculia
- It is distinct from a difficulty that has been acquired through accident, illness, poor teaching and other adverse circumstances
- Literally means disorder in calculation - condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills (Department of Education and Skills (London)
What causes Dyscalculia?
- Strong genetic influence on the development of mathematical skills
- environmental factors
- biological influences (50% if the siblings of a pupil with dyscalculia can be expected to have it as well Shalev and Gross-Tur 2001)
- Parents and siblings of a pupil with dyscalculia are then times more likely to have dyscalculia than members of the general population
How to identify Students with Dyscalculia?
List of Warning Signs
2. Reliance on Tangible Counting
3. Difficulties with the Language of Mathematics
4. Difficulties with memory for Mathematics
5. Difficulties with sequences
6. Difficulties with position and spatial organisation
7. Reliance on imitation and rote learning instead of understanding
Common symptoms of dyscalculia
In the July 2009 article of Dr. Francis Dimalanta in Manila Bulletin, he enumerated the common symptoms of dyscalculia.
• Normal or accelerated language acquisition: verbal, reading, writing Poetic ability. Good visual memory for the printed word. Good in the areas of science (until a level requiring higher math skills is reached), geometry (figures with logic not formulas), and creative arts.
• Difficulty with the abstract concepts of time and direction. Inability to recall schedules, and sequences of past or future events. Unable to keep track of time. May be chronically late.
• Inconsistent results in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Poor mental math ability. Poor with money and credit. Cannot do financial planning or budgeting. Checkbooks not balanced. Short term, not long term financial thinking. Fails to see big financial picture. May have fear of money and cash transactions. May be unable to mentally figure change due back, the amounts to pay for tips, taxes, etc.
• When writing, reading and recalling numbers, these common mistakes are made: number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals.
• Inability to grasp and remember math concepts, rules, formulas, sequence (order of operations), and basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Poor long term memory (retention & retrieval) of concept mastery- may be able to perform math operations one day, but draw a blank the next. May be able to do book work but fails all tests and quizzes.
• May be unable to comprehend or “picture” mechanical processes. Lack “big picture or whole picture” thinking. Poor ability to “visualize or picture” the location of the numbers on the face of a clock, the geographical locations of states, countries, oceans, streets and the like.
• Poor memory for the “layout” of things. Gets lost or disoriented easily. May have a poor sense of direction, lo May have difficulty grasping concepts of formal music education. Difficulty sight-reading music or learning fingering to play an instrument.
• May have poor athletic coordination, difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing physical directions like in aerobic, dance, and exercise classes. Difficulty remembering dance step sequences, rules for playing sports.
• Difficulty keeping score during games, or difficulty remembering how to keep score in games, like bowling, etc. Often looses track of whose turn it is during games, like cards and board games. Limited strategic planning ability for games like chess.”
Chinn, S & Ashcroft, R. (2007) Mathematics for Dyslexics (Including Dyscalculia).
West Sussex, England. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Dimalanta, F. X. (2009). Understanding Dyscalculia. Retrieved from
Hannell, G. (2005) Dyscalculia (Action Plans for Successful Learning in
Google Images for the pictures


This is the “1-page project summary” we submitted as part of the December, 2012 grant proposal.
Project Title: Elementary Teachers Engaged in Authentic Math and Science (ETEAMS)
Lead Partner: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC)
Core Partner: Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD)
Proposal Type: Prototype Targeted Partnership
Focal Area: K-12 STEM Teacher Preparation
Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), together with Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD), proposes the Elementary Teachers Engaged in Authentic Math and Science (ETEAMS) partnership. The purpose of ETEAMS is to test an innovative model for improving grades 4-8 STEM education by recruiting preservice elementary education teachers into a field-based fellowship program for middle level mathematics and science instruction.
The partnership will support preservice elementary teachers in middle levels STEM teaching fellowships. Starting during the final year of a generalist teacher education degree program, 120 preservice elementary teachers will participate in annual cohorts of 40 fellows to contribute on original STEM research projects on Gulf coast marine ecology, participate in professional development school partnerships to gain grades 4-8 teaching experience, complete university workshops for middle levels mathematics or science certification, and collaborate with teacher-leaders to increase STEM participation, interest, self-efficacy, and achievement.
Though challenged by high poverty and limited resources, the participating schools, including one middle school and two elementary feeder schools serving a total of 1,900 students (80% Hispanic, 78% economically disadvantaged), are committed to excellence in STEM teaching and learning. ETEAMS addresses this need by preparing 120 preservice elementary teachers for middle levels STEM teaching through fellowships supported by 3 teacher education faculty, 6 scientists, 3 mathematicians, 3 science graduate students, 1 university instructional coach, 5 school administrators, and 9 teacher-leaders at partner campuses.
Intellectual Merit: Though almost half of middle level STEM teachers hold generalist elementary teaching certifications (Hill, 2007), ETEAMS will be the first large-scale research project on a middle level STEM teacher preparation program exclusively enrolling preservice elementary teachers. By supporting preservice elementary teachers to add middle level STEM certification without changing majors or delaying degree completion, ETEAMS offers an innovative strategy for improving the quality, quantity, and diversity of early career middle level STEM teachers. The research strand connects program features to effects on early career teachers’ STEM-related interests, views on the nature of science, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching self-efficacy. Matched-group comparisons and structural equation modeling of grades 4-8 student performance and teacher outcomes will provide empirical evidence for implications of the new teacher education model on the science and mathematics performance of underrepresented grades 4-8 STEM students and teachers.
Broader Impacts: High-poverty urban schools lose over 20% of their faculty each year (Ingersoll, 2003), and recruitment and retention of effective middle level STEM teachers are ongoing challenges for most school districts serving underrepresented students. With an evidence-based approach focused on the large population of generalist preservice elementary teachers, ETEAMS will yield an articulate, scalable, and transferable model for middle level STEM teacher preparation. Theoretically-grounded research will contribute to teacher education literature and provide contextualized support for establishing similar programs. Moreover, the program’s unique setting among underrepresented populations of teachers and students makes ETEAMS well-prepared to vividly illustrate how an “all hands on deck” partnership can increase engagement of scientists and mathematicians in preservice teacher education while contributing to STEM achievement and the quantity, quality, and diversity of grades 4-8 STEM teachers.


Selasa, 16 Mei 2017
Report: Women's Rights Still Lacking
This story was written by Joanna Pelletier, The Daily VidetteAccording to the 2008 Global Gender Gap Report, women are equally as healthy and well educated as men, but are still less likely to occupy top management and political positions.
In 2008, women are still paid less than men in many labor sectors and, in many cases, not given any sort of compensation for maternity leave.
Women also make less money after they leave their jobs to raise children, sometimes creating doubts about whether they can balance their professional lives with their personal lives or if they can keep their jobs while raising a family.
According to Laura Tyson, professor of business administration and economics at the University of California, Berkeley, neither the American government nor American business es pay for maternity leave. "It's weird for people to get used to change, but it's happening every day."
The disparity may also be a result of traditional values held within the many cultures of the United States.
"The most important factor is discontinuous labor force experience, primarily due to women taking time out of the labor force to bear and raise children," Sherrilyn Billger, Illinois State University associate professor of economics, said. "Latinas receive particularly low wages on average."
The gender equality gap is significantly less in European and Scandinavian countries, which hold better policies on affirmative action and work-life balance. Tyson explained in a YouTube video that the lack of compensation for maternity leave usually forces women to leave their jobs, making it more difficult for them to advance to prominent political and managerial positions.
"Women of all ethnicities earn lower pay than their male counterparts," Billger said.
Compensation for maternity and paternity leave in the Scandinavian countries have allowed women to advance to better paying, more powerful positions.
These countries rated in the top five for gender equality, while the United States placed 27th-just one spot above Kazakhstan and 12 slots below France.
"In Mexican culture, it's believed that the man is the worker and the woman stays at home," Fernando Jimenez, a sophomore music education major, said


The Mozart Effect
Most music scholars would agree that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most precocious and influential musical composers of all time. Having been a piano player for seven years, I felt a wave of nostalgia when in class we listened to his Sonata No. 16 in C Major and Alla Turca, two pieces that I played in the past. As the music played, I couldn’t help but allow my muscle memory to guide my fingers to play the original notes on the imaginary keyboard on my desk. But to what extent was Mozart’s influence on the world today? Of course, thousands of pianists today still play the two above-mentioned pieces for fun, but his music in fact goes beyond a simply recreational purpose. As I was browsing Mozart’s music online, I came up across an incredibly interesting phenomenon that I had actually heard about before but never really explored in detail. That phenomenon is “The Mozart Effect.”
The story begins sometime in the 1950s. An ENT doctor named Alfred Tomatis claimed that listening to Mozart’s music could help people with speech or auditory problems. Fast forward to 1990. A psychiatrist named Dr. Gordon Shaw conducted a study at the University of California at Irvine on 36 students who listened to a Mozart sonata (Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos) before taking an IQ test. The students’ average IQ increased by 8 points, and thus, the “Mozart effect” was introduced. However, many people were still skeptical about this discovery. Could simply listening to Mozart’s classical pieces increase IQ?
In 1993, Shaw, along with 2 more scientists (Rauscher and Ky), decided to conduct another experiment to determine whether the Mozart Effect really lived up to its name. However, this time, subjects were given standard tests of abstract spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning is the ability to visualize spatial patterns and manipulate them. The scientists found that the subjects exhibited a temporary 15-minute enhancement of their spatial reasoning abilities, but no definitive increase in IQ.
Although the 1993 experiment debunked the theory that listening to Mozart increases IQ, the Mozart Effect gained significant popularity. In 1998, Zell Miller, the governor of Georgia, stated that he would propose a budget of over $100,000 to provide every child born in Georgia with a CD of classical music. Some critics, however, blasted Miller and argued that the money should rather go towards music education programs.
Mozart’s music has also been found to have additional health benefits. Patients with epilepsy have been played the same Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos, with the effect of having a decrease in epileptic activity in the brain. Studies have also found that some rats perform more efficiently through mazes after exposed to Mozart’s music.
So do you believe in the Mozart effect? Although it may not actually augment IQ, is it worth listening to Mozart’s music for the increase in spatial reasoning ability? Or maybe we should just leave science out of it and listen to Mozart for the sake of listening to beautiful sonatas?


Prof, my apologies on behalf of the commentariat for no one responding to this one. I'll try to make it up with this late comment.Not having read the book, I'll ask you something that may be answered in it: To what do you attribute the success of Greek-Americans compared to other similarly-situated immigrant groups?I am especially interested in the Ottoman-area immigrant experience, wrt any lessons that might be extrapolated to the current immigration from former Ottoman-controlled territory.JSM
I make the argument that Greek peasants had an advantage over Europeans for two main reasons. Unlike European peasants, Greeks were literate and they were not serfs. The Ottomans taxed you, but they didn't own you. Ottoman subjects were used to buying and selling products in the market. This is a big business advantage. Even though many Greeks toiled in factories and mines, the Greek ideal was generally to open your own store and be your own boss. And there were Greek schools under the Ottomans. So even so-call uneducated Greek immigrants arrived with elementary education. Reading and writing and counting skills would have been a huge comparative advantage. And though this would be more speculative, there might have been some American advantage by coming from the ethnic and religious diversity of the Ottoman Empire. Not certain if that can apply to the present day, especially with the hyper nationalism that followed WWI.
Interesting. The same traits would explain the success of Maronites, Chaldeans, and Sephardic Jews. Do you think the small size of these immigrant communities was also an advantage? In that, compared to, say, Irish, the Greeks etc had to both stick together more and assimilate more?JSM
Maybe. Probably, even. But while Greek numbers were not near the level of the Irish, Greek numbers weren't small. (And the Greeks were less desperate than the Irish, ie: not literally starving.) Close to half a million Greeks came between 1890 and 1924. About 12,000 a year. (The Irish came at 40,000 to 90,000 a year for roughly 70 years!) Greeks were able to (and often did) live in Greek communities. I doubt there was a huge Chaldean neighborhood anywhere (I had to google Chaldean, by the way). There does seem to be remarkable success of Orthodox Rûm and all the various Ottoman millets, particularly Jewish, in America. I would guess the key is a focus on education and ethnic identity/solidarity being stronger than class identity. And when it comes to huge numbers, let's not forget America's largest ethnicity: the Germans. They did pretty well. And, under intense pressure, assimilated to the point of invisibility.
"ethnic identity/solidarity being stronger than class identity" - I think I understand what you mean, but could you clarify?JSM
The archetype was petite bourgeoisie. Identity in the old country was pre-industrial and not rooted in working class. Generalizing, of course, but Ottoman emigrants to America didn't bond over working-class solidarity and revolutionary ideals. Greeks and Maronites were not on the vanguard of the Wobblies. (Though see Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre for a fascinating exception.)
Interesting. Also, there weren't many ethnic Turks, or Muslims of any variety, over here, so there really was a clean slate, as opposed to the old-country religious/ethnic battles that many external and internal migrants kept carrying with them (think Irish/English, Cath/Prod, etc).Except, as you point out, the Germans, whose historic enemies have generally been other Germans! They couldn't help but bring their old grievants and grievances with them. But I guess they were able to come up with an internal truce on the way to total assimilation....JSM
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More than 20 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students participated in a two-month teaching and advising project with students from Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Qatar and the United States — all without leaving the classroom.
The Net Generation Education Project, a global interactive research project, focuses on how new technology is being integrated into learning styles of the new generation of high school students.
“This project is about collaborating beyond the classroom,” said Eric Brunsell, UW Oshkosh assistant professor and expert adviser for the project. “It shows that emerging technology can be used to do things in education that haven’t been possible in the past.”
The project was based in part on the book “Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World” by Don Tapscott’s and the New Media Consortium’s 2009 Horizon Report.
Approximately 300 participating high school students were placed on 50 teams that researched one Net Generation “norm” and one emerging technology and then created more than 150 videos.
Each UW Oshkosh student in Brunsell’s instructional technology class acted as expert advisers for two teams of high school students from around the world, guiding their research.
“It was really cool to see that these students can create these videos,” said Sara Pelech, an elementary education major. “They were collaborating in a way that I had never seen before. It was really rewarding to see the students’ progress and encourage them along the way.”
The most popular trends students came up with include the freedom of choice when choosing how they are informed by the Internet, collaboration in working with other students and experts from around the world, and more specialized access to online information.
UW Oshkosh students and other experts around the world judged the videos based on design and technical quality, construction of ideas and creativeness.
“This really helps students broaden their perspective on issues that face the global world,” Brunsell said. “It really gives our students a sense about what is technologically possible in education.”
Flat Classroom, a grassroots group of educators who focus on collaborative technology projects in their classrooms, helped organized the project, along with ReactionGrid’s software, which allows interaction in a 3-D, virtual world.
Brunsell said that while new Web 2.0 tools are changing rapidly, the technological trend is that people are no longer just consumers of information.
“People don’t have to have a huge toolset to create and share their knowledge on the Web,” Brunsell said.
For more information, visit the NetGen Ed Project Wiki at http://netgened.wikispaces.com.
To view NetGen Ed Challenge Winning Videos visit, www.grownupdigital.com/index.php/2009/04/net-gen-education-challenge-winners.


Along the western side of South America runs Chile, a long narrow country that borders the Pacific Ocean. The coastline is over 4,000 miles long, but less than 70 miles wide. You can drive across the entire country of Chile in a few hours. The Andes Mountains border Chile on the east, and most of the country is made up of mountains.
The country has had many terrible earthquakes over the years, including one in 2010 that ranked 8.8 in magnitude. Tsunamis often come with the earthquakes. This small country hosts a rich variety of animal life. Penguins, sea lions and pelicans live in or near the ocean. Whales migrate through the waters off of Chile on their way to feeding and breeding grounds. You’ll also find pumas, flamingos, alpacas, foxes and many other animals living in Chile.
The Easter Islands, which lie 2,300 miles to the west, belong to Chile. Few people live on this remote island, but tourists like to visit to see the huge human-like statues called moai. Incas and other native people lived in Chile before the Spanish came in the 1500s. The Spaniards ruled Chile until 1810. From 1810 until 1973, the country enjoyed peace. A bloody war, followed by several years of oppression, ended in 1989, when dictator, General Augusto Pinochet, was overthrown.
Many people in Chile live in or near the city of Santiago. Children living in rural areas have to ride the bus for as much as two hours each way to go to school. They get up very early. When they’re not doing homework or helping with chores, children in Chile like to play soccer.
Fun Facts about Chile for Kids
- Over 16,136,000 people live in Chile.
- Chile has 291,930 square miles of land.
- Spanish is the official language of Chile.
- Most people are Roman Catholic or Protestant.
- People in Chile can expect to live 76 years.
- 96 percent of adults can read.
- Coastline: Boundary or shape of a coast
- Magnitude: Measure of the energy released by an earthquake
- Migrate: To relocate periodically from one region to another
- Remote: Distant or otherwise inaccessible
- Overthrown: Removed by force or threat of force
- Rural: Less populated areas
All about Chile Video for Kids
Watch this awesome Chile video for kids:
A video documentary of the geography and facts about Chile.
Question: Does Chile reach to the bottom of South America?
Answer: Yes, at the very bottom of South America sits a narrow point of land called Cape Horn. For many years, ships traveled around Cape Horn until the Panama Canal was built. Cape Horn is a dangerous place, with fierce winds and high waters.
Map of Chile
Here’s a map of the country of Chile and all its cities and villages. Zoom in to get into street level or zoom out to see other countries around Chile! You can see the terrain, but also see the roads, images of the buildings and even take a 3D tour through the streets of the cities of Chile, as though you are actually there!
Cite This Page
You may cut-and-paste the below MLA and APA citation examples:
MLA Style Citation
Declan, Tobin. " Chile Facts for Kids ." Easy Science for Kids, Jul 2017. Web. 28 Jul 2017. < http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-chile/ >.
APA Style Citation
Tobin, Declan. (2017). Chile Facts for Kids. Easy Science for Kids. Retrieved from http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-chile/
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Embracing all STEM strands
It is the Young Scientist Committee’s desire that teachers and school departments provide opportunities for students to work on STEM projects that embrace skills from each of the Working Scientifically, Working Technologically and Working Mathematically strands. By embracing these foundational skills of our current technological age, students will be better equipped to think critically and solve problems. To encourage student involvement in applying the different processes of Working Scientifically, Technologically and Mathematically, the STANSW Young Scientist Awards offers 41 sponsored prizes that award achievement in both specific skills and in general skills that encompass all three strands. We also have specific Category Awards that are sponsored by the Professional Teaching Association that is responsible for that area of STEM.
The Institute of Industrial Arts Technology Education is the professional body sponsoring the IIATE Models and Innovation Awards, the major category awards in the Working Technologically category. IIATE is offering 6 secondary prizes and 9 primary prizes. Visit the IIATE Models and Innovation Awards page to get specific details about these awards.
The Benefits of Working Technologically?
Active engagement in the processes of Working Technologically increases a student’s capacity to solve problems and generate ideas in a society driven by rapid technological change,
“When applying the processes of Working Technologically, students actively engage with real world situations and use technology skills, knowledge and understanding to create solutions for themselves and others. They creatively and competently use a range of materials, tools, equipment and techniques to produce solutions relevant to their world.” Year K-6 Rationale excerpt from Science K–10 (incorporating Science and Technology K–6) Syllabus
The Processes of Working Technologically
The Working Technologically processes adopted in the IIATE Models and Innovation Awards are based on the Designing and Producing K-12 documentation prepared by the NSW Department of Education and Communities and :
- exploring and defining the task
- generating and developing ideas
- producing solutions
- planning and managing
- evaluating and testing
These processes are at the centre of learning and teaching in Technology. It is the level of coverage of these processes that determines the quality of an innovative device or application submitted into the Working Technologically category. For further guidance, visit the Primary Models and Innovations page or the Secondary Models and Innovations page where these processes are broken down and explained further.


Apr 22, 2010
The Role of Culture in Literacy Development
I've been thinking a lot lately about the many ways in which culture affects teaching and learning. One specific area of interest deals with the reading and writing processes. I'm thinking that this may become a focus for dissertation, but I'm having difficulty narrowing it down and deciding on a direction to take. Here's what I know: The role of culture and language is vitally important to literacy learning. Historically, African American children who speak African American Vernacular English (AAVE) have not experienced high levels of academic success because their particular literacy needs go unaddressed, as they are encouraged, even forced, to assimilate into the mainstream. When addressing literacy needs of students who employ AAVE, cultural and linguistic differences should be recognized and respected in order to most appropriately serve them. Effective literacy instruction should build upon cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the different ways of making meaning, and prior knowledge that children bring to the classroom. Most teacher preparation programs only have one required multicultural class, if that. New teachers are often culturally unaware and insensitive to the specific needs of their students as a result. Those beginning teachers often become discouraged and discontinue working in urban schools or they leave education all together. Some of them spend their entire career with negative and inaccurate perceptions and beliefs regarding their students and what they are capable of accomplishing. Although AAVE has been clearly shown to be a systematic, rule-governed linguistic system, it appears that a number of non-AAVE speakers continue to view it as an inferior, unequally linguistic system when compared to Standard English. Teachers sometimes form negative perceptions of students as a result. This can have adverse affects on AAVE speakers' academic educational achievements. Because reading is a two-step process for these students, they are at a huge disadvantage.
Posted by Committed Sardine


THE vast majority of students are leaving higher education in the UK without the highest levels of literacy, an international study suggested yesterday.
Just one in four reaches the highest standards in the basics, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) annual education report.
Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s director for education and skills, said the findings indicate that, while more people in the UK are getting qualifications, this is not matched by better reading and writing skills. He suggested the picture was similar for numeracy.
The latest Education at a Glance study reveals that a student in the UK is now more likely to go to university than they are to finish their education when they leave school.
In 2012, just over two in five (41 per cent) of 25 to 64-year-olds held a degree or equivalent qualification, while 37 per cent stopped studying after gaining their GCSEs or A-levels.
It also shows that in 2012, the last year for which data is available, 48 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK had been to university or college, compared to 33 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds.
But while more people are continuing their education, the report suggests this is not reflected in better basic skills.
The data, which draws on international tests conducted by the OECD, shows that just 25 per cent of graduates have the highest levels of ability in literacy. In many high-performing countries – including Australia, Finland, Japan and Sweden – more than a third of graduates are performing at this level.
“On the one hand in the UK, you can say qualification levels have risen enormously, lots more people are getting tertiary qualifications, university degrees, but actually not all of that is visible in better skills,” Mr Schleicher said. “In the UK, it’s at best a middle position. Quality and degrees do not always align.
“There’s also a big distribution in outcomes. What’s interesting is when you look at people with tertiary qualifications, there’s a lot of variability in the skills those people have attained. Not all further education qualifications really deserve that name because often those individuals are not actually better skilled than people who have just come out of school.”
The figures cover not just university degrees, but any type of higher or tertiary qualification.
Mr Schleicher said he would have expected the UK to perform better in literacy.
He said: “UK universities have a very strong reputation – you would have expected this stronger prevalence among the most highly skilled people.”
In general, literacy and numeracy skills can reflect what a student has learnt at school before they go on to higher education, Mr Schleicher said, adding that universities may assume that students have these abilities when they could be better.
The latest report shows that around a third of 25 to 34-year-olds have achieved a higher level of education than their mothers and fathers, but adds that parents’ level of education still has a strong influence on a child’s educational achievement.
An individual whose parents hold a degree is more than six times more likely to go into higher education themselves than someone whose parents did not gain GCSEs.


Getting Boys to Read: A Look at the Research and the Books They Love
<-- Please Select Department -->
This session focuses on what the research says about males as readers and introduces the audience to great boy books and other types of text that appeals to male readers. The presenters have chosen titles from the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards program that are of interest to young male readers. Presenters also introduce and promote Kentucky’s children’s choice reading program, the Kentucky Bluegrass Awards. To misquote George Ella Lyon, the presenters would like to get boys to "shake hands with a book."
Cooper, Carrie Lynn and Watson, Kathy Cox, "Getting Boys to Read: A Look at the Research and the Books They Love" (2009). Library Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations. 9.
Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Library and Information Science Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons


Colorful student texts and Bible-based material make Purposeful Design Spelling appealing to kids and parents alike. This is half-way between a student-directed and teacher-intensive course. While students will definitely need some instruction, the teacher editions with their extensive lesson plans aren't necessary, especially for each grade. Though we do carry teacher editions for each grade level, a more economical approach might be to simply buy one teacher edition and use the instructional philosophy as your guide for teaching all levels. (If you're going to do this, the third grade teacher edition is recommended.)
How Do These Work?
There is one student worktext and a teacher edition for each of grades 1-6.Thirty-six weekly units to be taught 5 days a week and about 15 minutes per day cover an entire schoolyear. While the teacher editions aren't necessary, since your child will need some instruction throughout the course, having one definitely cuts back on prep time. The student books are colorful and engaging, while remaining uncluttered.
The first and second grade books emphasize phonetics and spelling rules. Those aren't forgotten altogether in the following levels, but the focus becomes visual memory. A lot of the exercises involve students identifying words that are spelled wrong and then re-writing them correctly. This helps kids get a feel for what "looks right" on the page.
There aren't a bunch of long word-family lists for students to memorize. Words are grouped according to meaning (a lot of attention is paid to root words, suffixes and prefixes), and kids master most-frequently-used words before trying to learn how to spell less familiar ones. This reinforces the use of spelling rules, rather than confusing kids with lots of rote memorization.
Extra words can be integrated into each lesson at the teacher's discretion. These are included in the teacher editions, or the instructor can come up with her own. Composition is an important element of this course, as kids learn how to spell correctly within a realistic context (as opposed to just writing random words all by themselves). Many of the composition activities relate to a specific Bible verse or character virtue, and there is a strong Christian element in all the books.
All levels in the Purposeful Design Spelling have been recently revised. The worktexts are even more colorful and fun-looking than before, and the teacher editions are also now in full-color. The teacher editions contain much more material than in the older versions; each student worktext page is reprinted in reduced form and there are notes on each one to help the teacher present the material. While you don't actually need the teacher editions, if you lack any confidence in your ability to teach spelling, they may prove exactly what you need.
Our Honest Opinion:
This is a pretty solid course. It will keep most kids interested and engaged, and the clear layout make it easy to teach. This would probably be a good choice if your child hasn't learned to read exclusively through phonics instruction. It would also be a good choice if you don't want to take a lot of time preparing a lesson each day. While the teacher editions do provide lesson plans and suggestions for presentation, you could just as easily tell your kids how to finish each exercise and then grade their work after they finish.
Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.
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FIRST MEETING OF MUSIC TEACHERS IN 1920NOTES DA CAPO - By Clifford Brown
Who were these music teachers? Supervisors, elementary specialists, private teachers? How did they get to the meeting? By train, trolley, or horse and buggy? We don't know the answers to these questions, but historical records reveal that 1920 was the first meeting of school music teachers in West Virginia. Like other subject-matter groups, they met as the "music section" at the annual conference of what was then the State Education Association (SEA). The chair, probably assigned by the SEA, was Lucy Robinson, a music supervisor from Wheeling.
Just imagine the setting in 1920! It was the post-World War I era; Woodrow Wilson was President; acoustic record players and silent movies were prevalent; Henry Ford's "flivver" was leading the auto pack; radio was in its infancy; and your parents were probably in grade school. Music instruction, except in the elementary classroom, was not considered a responsibility of the public schools. Individual lessons by private teachers, paid for by the parents, was the accepted way to learn music. High school music groups - choir, glee club, madrigal singers, orchestra, mandolin club - met as an "activity" outside school hours.
The only music certificate available in 1920 was the music supervisor's certificate. A curriculum in Public School Music (PSM) was just being developed in West Virginia institutions of higher learning. With the limited number of positions available, the demand for a PSM degree was minimal. Of the 389 school districts in West Virginia at that time, only a few could afford or justify hiring a music supervisor who would assist the elementary teachers and direct the high school choral instrumental groups. Some districts would -employ a local musician part-time by obtaining temporary certification.
The WVMEA today is a conglomerate of affiliated organizations that serve music education from kindergarten through the doctoral level. It took more than forty years of persistent and dogged effort to make music a part of school/ community life. A real struggle it was, but more about that later.
Tacet . . . for now.


One day he’s in the classroom, teaching science to middle school students. The next he’s strapped in a harness hurtling toward the heavens on NASA’s high-flying starship.
Wright State University alumnus Tom Jenkins, who teaches science at Indian Valley Middle School in Enon, Ohio, was a crew member on several flights of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, in May. The flights were part of NASA’s flying-classroom-for-teachers program.
“As we walked down the runway toward the plane, I was flooded with emotion,” Jenkins said. “I knew that what I was about to experience would be one of the highlights of my life. I was going to witness science at its highest level.”
The aircraft, a highly modified Boeing 747 outfitted with a telescope 10 feet in diameter, took off from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. Besides the pilots and technical crew, the plane carried two teams of educators as well as scientists, engineers and astronomers from NASA and universities around the world—29 people in all.
Inside, Jenkins was sitting backwards at a research station, strapped snugly into his seat.
“The pilot punched it, and it was quite a rush to feel the immense power of the four-engine 747,” he said. “In the blink of an eye we were at altitude.”
During the 10-hour flights, the airborne observatory flew over the western half of North America at altitudes of up to 43,000 feet. It was equipped with a 17,000-pound infrared telescope that peers into the heart of the universe from an open garage-door-sized panel on the aircraft.
Conventional telescopes allow scientists to use visible light to see the night sky, but they can’t see everything because of cloud cover or distances. Infrared telescopes enable scientists to see through things and see greater distances. And by flying at heights of 43,000 feet, the telescope is above the water vapor in the atmosphere and can see even farther.
SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center. Twelve two-person teams were selected for the Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program, representing educators from 10 states.
Jenkins used headsets to communicate with other crew members. Those on board included Brian Williams from NASA Goddard and Ryan Lau from Cornell University, the primary research investigators. Much-discussed topics included supernovae—or blinding stellar explosions—and events occurring around the galactic center, the rotational heart of the Milky Way.
“I was excited to be able to geek out with people that are at the pinnacle of their professions,” Jenkins said. “To be able to work with NASA-level astronomers and astrophysicists was incredible.”
Jenkins earned his bachelor degree in elementary education with a science concentration from Wright State in 1997 and a master’s in science teaching in 1999.
The flight enabled him to gather resources and come up with examples to create new curriculum and aid in the teaching of his students.
During the flight, he also talked to the engineers who created and flew the aircraft and met the German engineer who built the telescope. The engineer explained how it was mounted, remained balanced during the flights and captured one-of-a kind images. Jenkins said the interactions gave him ideas for engineering design challenges for his classes.
In addition to teaching at the middle school, Jenkins has worked at the Dayton Regional STEM Center and Air Camp, a hands-on, educational aviation and aeronautics program.


Copyright Nicole Munoz. Used with permission from http://www.EzineArticles.com. All rights reserved.
Studies have shown that music and music training provide a wealth of educational benefits to children. Early exposure to music has been proven to help develop areas of the brain responsible for language and reasoning skills. Music education also increases the spatial and temporal reasoning necessary for advanced mathematics. Children who study music typically score better on standardized testing as well.
Music education not only provides children with a terrific healthy outlet for self-expression, it enhances creativity and boosts self-esteem. There are a number of ways for parents to help their child receive quality education in music, starting as young as birth. The most important thing is to expose your child to a variety of music, including several different genres, not just classical or kid’s music.
Sing songs to your infant each day. Fun, repetitive songs with movements or motions are best and as your child gets older, you can encourage her to join in. By the toddler years, your little one can dance along with music. Continue to sing simple silly songs with your toddler and dance together to a variety of songs, both upbeat and slow. Toys, like the Baby Einstein Learning Sounds Piano, will allow your toddler to create her own beats and songs.
Preschool age children can begin to differentiate between tones and pitches. Play games to pick which note is higher and which is lower. Introduce your preschooler to the specific sounds made by various instruments as well. Continue to listen to many different types of music with your preschooler and discuss how various pieces make you and our child feel.
Make musical instruments with your preschooler and play them together. Shakers are easy to make out of ordinary household items. Attach two paper plates together with a hole puncher and yarn or cover the ends of a toilet paper tube with construction paper and fill either with dry beans or rice. A coffee can and lid can be used as a drum. Have fun and use your imagination to create your own family band.
You may want to start formal music education with music lessons at this age. Discuss how various instruments are played and allow your child to choose the one he would like to learn.
Visit a symphony or orchestra performance to investigate the various instruments. Piano lessons are typically best for this age because your child will learn to read and play music without having to remember difficult fingering techniques.
Continue your child’s music education as she enters elementary school. As your child gets older, she may begin to prefer a certain genre of music, but keep exposing her to a variety of music. Allow her to start learning an instrument by this age and make practice a part of her daily routine. Provide your child with encouragement and support in her musical endeavors.
By the middle school and high school years, encourage your child to be a part of a band, symphony, or orchestra. Playing music as a group provides even more developmental benefits than playing alone and a teenager’s involvement in a quality music program is important for self-development.
Music, even without the educational benefits research has proven, is a fun and relaxing pastime. Start at a very young age to instill the love of music in your child and continue throughout her childhood to provide an excellent musical education that will drive her future success.
For more tips and information about 365 Days of Baby Einstein, check out www.thekidstoystore.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nicole_Munoz


Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
- ISBN: 9781111298128 | 1111298122
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 4/15/2011
This market-leading text sets the standard for reading instruction to ensure that aspiring teachers are able to help students learn not only how to recognize words, but also how to comprehend what they read--and enjoy the process. The book balances new approaches to reading, such as language arts integration and emergent literacy/literacy as a continuum, with more traditional foundations of strong skills and phonics instruction. Updates to the Eleventh Edition include discussion of the latest technology for literacy learning, how writing instruction impacts literacy learning, and recent movements in literacy assessment.


Sat, 20 May 2017 00:59:52 +0000
Water bottle flipping in the classroom? Yes with this STEM challenge project students will love. Water bottle flip experiment, water bottle flip science, water bottle flip lesson plan, science fair, bottle flipping, bottle tossing, bottle flip experiment, scientific method
water bottle flipping More
Which fidget spinners spin the longest? Use this complete STEM Challenge to investigate fidget spinners in the classroom.
Explore student #robotics projects, activities, kits, and lesson plans. [Science Buddies, http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/2017/04/build-fun-robots-with-students.php?from=Pinterest] #STEM #roboweek
Awesome STEM engineering project with basic household materials! Fun way for kids to practice essential science skills (measurement, creating a hypothesis, conducting an experiment, using science tools, thinking like a scientist, and more) in a short amount of time.
STEM Challenge! Building real-life models of rescue devices! Students must build a cranking device. Using a real life scenario the idea is to build a device to rescue a fallen friend- and it has a tricky part!
SPRING SCIENCE FOR KIDS- 30 FUN ACTIVITIES!
Water Bottle Flipping STEM Activity is a packet of five experiements your students will love! Water Bottle Flipping is the latest trend! Even though it might drive you crazy, it will engage your students in learning about collecting data, fractions, measurement, and opinion writing. Students will flip for this activity!
The Great Arctic Circle STEM Challenge - Save the stranded explorers by completing 5 different STEM activities!
Build a parachute for Santa, a shelf for the elf, and the tallest tree! 3 Holiday Themed STEM Challenges for Elementary Students! | STEM Activities | STEM Projects
iLearn Science: awesome back to school tool for teaching student about the scientific method


Date of this Version
This grounded theory was generated from interviews with eighteen middle level music educators with the goal of uncovering the values and beliefs that support those teaching strategies which foster student growth and learning in music education. The eighteen middle level music educators were chosen by purposeful sampling using peer recommendation. The informants were teachers in the states of Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. Their teaching experiences at the middle level included work with student populations in public schools, private schools and Native American reservation schools. Both vocal and instrumental music educators were interviewed. These interviews were transcribed by the researcher and analyzed with the aid of the computer program QSR NUD•1ST™ (Nonnumerical, Unstructured Data Indexing, Searching and Theory-building). The data from these interviews, together with observations and related artifacts, were used to develop a grounded theory about the values and beliefs that shape the teaching strategies of middle level music educators. The data analysis revealed the belief statements that support the teaching strategies employed by effective middle level music educators. First and foremost, they valued music and music education. They felt that teaching music to middle level students is important work. They valued their students, and they believed that all children must have music in their lives and that all children must be taught the skills that will enable them to listen to, understand, perform, move to and create a wide variety of musical styles and genres. The grounded theory model developed in this study delineated these values and beliefs in four levels of connectedness to the central belief systems of the informants. Practical applications of this grounded theory are suggested for preservice and inservice teacher training. Guidelines are also suggested for administrators wishing to hire effective middle level music educators.


Flourishing in the First Five Years
Connecting Implications from Mind, Brain, and Education Research to the Development of Young Children
By Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers
This book for early childhood educators, caregivers, and parents of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers explores how exciting and practical findings from mind, brain, and education research can be applied to help every child flourish in his or her early years and be ready to thrive on the first day of school—and every day thereafter. It offers answers to many questions parents and caregivers may have:
- How can we best guide young children to become “the boss of their brains” by developing self-control and problem-solving abilities?
- How does learning affect the brain, and what does that mean for every child to be able to achieve his or her unique potential?
- What do we need to know about recent discoveries regarding learning through imitation and mirror neurons?
- How can we foster a love of learning among toddlers and preschoolers that will serve them throughout their lives?
- Why is an optimistic outlook important for young children and the adults with whom they interact?
- How do healthy eating, proper hydration, and adequate sleep enhance learning?
- How can we support the development of young children’s early literacy and creativity?
Within these pages, you’ll discover hands-on strategies to support young children’s natural curiosity and fascination with new ideas; perspectives from practicing early childhood educators about the implications of mind, brain, and education research; engaging stories with animal characters to illustrate the use of learning strategies for young children; and a five-step learning process to help toddlers and preschoolers apply and build on their developing skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Praise for Flourishing in the First Five Years:
“This book crosses the research, theory, and practice divide because it supplies seminal and current research from neuroscience at an understandable level and links this to everyday strategies that teachers, parents, and caregivers can use to make a difference in children’s lives. Key are the authors’ use of cognitive assists, the recurring AEIOU model based on the learning cycle, and the simple animal stories that help children learn to be the boss of their brains. . . . Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down.” —Debby Zambo, Division of Leadership and Innovation, Arizona State University; coauthor of Early Childhood and Neuroscience: Links to Development and Learning
“This is an encouraging and optimistic book that offers hope for future generations of learners. Knowledge of the critical importance of the first five years for optimal development has been acknowledged for decades, but Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers take this salient fact to another level with their explanations of the malleability of the brain during this time and with specific ideas of how to maximize and unlock the potential within each child. The authors provide creative and practical strategies that can easily be implemented by parents, teachers, and other caregivers.”
—Marcia Stewart, professor of education with expertise in early childhood education,
“Wilson and Conyers put all the pertinent research together with high-quality early childhood practices to create a guide for parents, teachers, and educators everywhere. The storytelling lessons on ‘hard-to-teach’ topics become real and relevant to children. This book is an excellent summary of what a young teacher needs to get started as well as an excellent guide for the veteran teacher who is always learning.”
—Sarah Sprinkel, director of elementary education/Florida services for Florida virtual school and city commissioner, Winter Park, Florida
“Flourishing in the First Five Years is an enjoyable book to read, and I think it would be a valuable tool for any parent or educator who is interested in exploring the connection between current brain research and child development. The authors’ writing style and use of real scenarios for applying strategies help make these concepts understandable.”
—Karen Sinclair, director, First Congregational Church weekday preschool and kindergarten,
Winter Park, Florida
“The first five years are the most sensitive and impressionable years, and Flourishing the First Five Years can help parents and educators make a head start. It is a must-read!”
—Regina Cabadaidis, preschool/kindergarten teacher at S. D. Spady Elementary School,
Delray Beach, Florida
Published by Rowman & Littlefield Education, November 2013
Available in hardcover or paperback, 190 pages


It is well known that teachers spend many hours (and often a considerable amount of their own money) planning engaging and exciting learning experiences for their students. Well here is some very good news for teachers and their students.
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- Brilliant Lessons: fantastic ready-made lesson plans and teaching printables
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- Minecraft Education: resources to promote creativity, collaboration and problem-solving
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Skoolbo has come up with a simple but ingenious way of helping children secure crucial foundational skills in math, literacy, and languages while raising funds for teachers to spend on amazing resources.
Learnathon challenges children to answer 1,000 math, literacy and language questions. Family and friends pledge their support and 100% of funds raised are returned to the teacher as credit to spend on exciting educational resources.
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Early, Mary Frances
Early received her post-secondary education at Clark College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education in 1957, again graduating as Valedictorian. She continued her post-graduate studies at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and later transferred her studies to the University of Michigan to pursue a Masters Degree in Music Education during the summers, beginning in 1957. She decided that she would "join the struggle to help these two young people and do what I could to help end the segregation that was so prevalent in the South," subsequently pursuing her transfer to the University of Georgia. After an FBI-styled background check and interrogation by University of Georgia officials, the university admitted her to its graduate school for the summer quarter of 1961. Early completed her graduate degree in Music Education in 1962. She was the first black student to graduate from the University of Georgia.
Archival Collections and Reference Resources
- Goin' back : remembering UGA (University of Georgia Office of Public Affairs)
- Southern school news (University of Georgia Libraries)


We concentrate on developing confidence and building relationships as they begin to wonder about their world.Physical Development
Developing child's motor skills in a safe environment. With your child's natural curiosity and eagerness to explore the world, our facilities are designed to discover, build motor skills and improve coordination.Cognitive Development
Building child's sensory and mental skills by participating in a variety of fun and interactive activities such as matching and sorting, colors, counting and categorizing objects.Social Development
Improving child's self-esteem while gaining awareness of others and realizing a sense of group identity.Creative Arts
Participating in music, dance and drama while exploring art activities to develop your child's sense of creativity.Communication Development
Introducing child to books and language for early literacy development.


Reading to infants and toddlers is important to literacy development. You can begin reading to your infant as soon as you begin talking to him or her. Reading aloud will help your child develop the language and listening skills necessary to begin a lifelong love of language and the printed word.
At 3 or 4 months, hold your infant and read books with rhythmic language and brightly colored, simple pictures.
- In a few months, add books that have pictures your infant will recognize.
- Read from cloth and board books that your infant can hold and touch.
- Be dramatic. Use different voices; make faces; and feel free to wiggle, bounce, and sing to engage your infant.
From the age of 2 to 5, children can turn the pages in a book and follow the pictures, repeat the words they have heard you read, follow the story, and “read” on their own.
- Be dramatic and read often, varying the length to accommodate your child’s interest.
- Involve your child by talking about the book while reading.
- Sound out some words and play with sounds.
- Have conversations about the book that you read last or will read tomorrow.
Five- and six-year-olds can begin the ritual with books they can read or almost read. Extend the bedtime hour as children get older so that they believe the reading period is an extra gift of time.
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VISION STATEMENT FOR MUSIC
The Broward County vision for music education is based on the concept
that music is an essential part of life, integral in the development of
the whole person, and a vital component for the advancement of civilization.
The quality of life is improved by physical, emotional, social and cognitive
growth experiences through a meaningful, sequential study in music.
|Learning through music is a lifelong process; successful learners are lifelong features.|
|All students are entitled to music literacy which enhances their ability to learn.|
|Students learn music in different ways and have widely divergent needs; instructional programs and teaching strategies should accommodate diverse learning styles and needs.|
|Learning in music promotes the investigation of old and new ideas, critical thinking and aesthetic awareness, as well as alternative ways of knowing and understanding.|
|The study of music prepares people to make informed choices about works of music that in turn contribute to richer, more meaningful lives.|
|Music education reinforces all other curricula by connecting concepts and processes to everyday life.|
|The study of music fosters an environment of acceptance and understanding of cultural diversity.|
|Excellence in music grows from a shared commitment by teachers, parents, administration and the community.|


The IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides that children with disabilities will be served from birth through 21 years old. The ESE (Exceptional Student Education) Department of the School District of Palm Beach County provides these services from age 3 through the school year of a student’s 22nd birthday. The child moves from a Family Support Plan to an IEP, Individualized Education Plan. This transition from receiving therapies to writing goals related to educational objectives is challenging at times and families should educate themselves on the differences and how they may affect their child.
Each step on a family’s journey through their child’s education may be seen as early intervention for the next step. While Early Steps emphasizes developmental milestones through therapies in preparation for preschool at age 3, Preschool is the early intervention for Kindergarten. Making each step meaningful is a thoughtful process that begins with the end of school in mind.
If we believe that children with Down syndrome are children first, then we should also believe that adults with Down syndrome should have full, valued adult lives in the community. Individuals who have Down syndrome are life long learners. Starting early by setting goals that lead to interesting, productive lives alongside other citizens can make a big difference. That is why Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization advocates for inclusive education. Every minute spent in a segregated classroom away from typical peers and positive language and behavior models is a trade that must be chosen carefully, if at all.
Today, adults with Down syndrome tell us and show us that they want a life similar to their brothers and sisters. They want to go to college, live away from home, access leisure activities of personal interest, and have meaningful relationships with people who may or may not have disabilities.
- U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION POLICY STATEMENT ON INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS September 14, 2015
- Resources for Early Childhood Inclusion
- Early Childhood Learning Info from Florida Center for Inclusive Communities
Gold Coast provides training opportunities for families whose children will be transitioning to preschool or kindergarten. The trainer discusses the differences between services in early intervention, preschool, and kindergarten, the IEP process, what to expect, and how to prepare. Educational Advocacy is a project of the organization that members may access. Families may be supported through the IEP process with information and training. The IEP document, developed through a partnership between school and home is driven by a student’s present level of performance and indicates the point at which to develop goals that will lead to academic and social success. A student will have an IEP as long as they are receiving special education services. Your child has the right to go to school and the right to have a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
Families have discovered that the education of a child with Down syndrome is positively impacted when parents participate as an equal partner in the process with the school. This means communicating with your child’s teachers, working with your child at home on all aspects of education: academic, social and behavioral; and knowing what your child is currently able to do at the time the IEP is written. Often this is accomplished by keeping records (data collection) at home.
Children with Down syndrome want to be independent just like their typical peers and it is important that parents provide learning opportunities to move in this direction. Parents often report that they feel unequipped to “teach” their children so we will use this webpage to list links to various education related websites. Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization wants to help you supplement your child’s education at home to achieve their greatest success in a home/school partnership and open doors in the community. This is why we are an affiliate of The Learning Program. Please let us know of more links to post here. Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org or by phone 561-752-3383.