Anyone that knows me knows that I struggled in virtually every single math class I have ever taken in both public and post-secondary schools. As a matter a fact, its probably the reason why I scored so poorly on my GRE and has put a major pause on my attempt to obtain a PhD, but I digress. So its no wonder why I am both passionate and dedicated to not only reform traditional schooling but in particular math education in this country. Its probably safe to say that I am not alone in my disdain for solving binomials or finding the area of a triangle, but its also frustrating as a grown man that many of the math skills that I use and have used into adulthood have absolutely nothing with what I was taught in school. In this effort this post is dedicated to not focusing on problems or even revisiting national debates on whether Algebra I is the "gold standard" for determining whether or not students can successfully matriculate onto post secondary studies, as I have mentioned in my previous post, but rather on a declaration promoting our schools focus on promoting a culture of numeracy. We defined numeracy as "the capacity to bridge the gap between ‘mathematics’ and ‘the real world’, to use in-school mathematics out-of-school” and consider people to be more or less numerate based on “how well they choose and use the mathematical skills they have in the service of things other than mathematics” (Willis 1998, p.37) To this end, we developed a set of seven Numeracy Principles that schools and educators can begin to adopt so that we create more informed and empowered young people in this world and bring an end to useless content that many of us will never use on a day-to-day basis:
- Numeracy is everybody’s business and pervades a school’s culture.
- All students can and must develop numeracy skills and dispositions and become powerfully numerate.
- Numeracy cannot be developed solely by learning mathematical procedures; these must be embedded in guided, open quests, explorations, and investigations.
- Numeracy connotes a familiarity and confidence with notions of change, chance, quantity, shape, and dimension.
- Real-world relevance and connections—both cross-discipline and within mathematics— are the cornerstones to developing numeracy skills.
- Numeracy requires effective communication, both written and oral.
- Numeracy, along with literacy, is a co-equal building block of human intellectual prowess.
Just as literacy is the foundation in which all other reading and writing skills will begin to flourish and grow, we believe that numeracy provides the very foundation in which all other math constructs can rest upon and create a more informed and empowered youth. As other organizations such as the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, are working towards a more just and equitable platform in which math instruction can take place: the question ultimately becomes: How do we get our kids to think of themselves as mathematicians and simply not doing, math like a hopeless drone.


Reading is the cornerstone of all learning and is critical for college and career readiness. The ability to read and understand written and digital text is of the highest importance in all subject areas. Reading not only includes foundational skills such as fluency, phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and, comprehension, but also the strategies for applying those skills to make meaning from text and transfer knowledge across the school day and beyond. Regular opportunities to read widely, intentional reading instruction at all grade levels, and thinking about what is learned while reading, fosters growth in reading for all learners.
The Minnesota Department of Education supports reading achievement for all learners by providing guidance and technical assistance on implementation of academic standards, current literacy best practices, multi-tiered systems of intervention, and reading policy administration.
Standards and Assessments
The Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in English Language Arts, which includes reading standards, were revised in 2010 and were to be implemented by the 2012-2013 school year. The standards will be reviewed again during the 2018-2019 school year.
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and alternate assessments (MCA-Modified and Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS)) are the state tests that help districts measure student progress toward Minnesota's academic standards. Most students take the MCA, but students who receive special education services and meet eligibility criteria may take the MCA-Modified or the MTAS. The MCA reading tests are administered each year in grades 3-8 and in grade 10. Learn more about the MCAs and statewide assessments on the Test Administration page.
All of the ELA standards, including reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, media literacy and language, are also assessed at the classroom level through teacher- and district-selected assessments or by language arts curriculum publishers and national assessment organizations.
The graduation requirements for English Language Arts (ELA) include credit requirements and standards requirements. All students are required to satisfactorily complete four credits in ELA encompassing the high school academic standards. Visit the Graduation Requirements page.
Special Projects and Initiatives
Reading Well by 3rd Grade (Minn. Stat.§ 120B.12), was revised during the 2011 legislative session and includes requirements for local school districts to post literacy plans that ensure all students are reading well by 3rd grade, data submission requirements, and local literacy aid incentives. Read more about Reading Well by 3rd Grade.
Leadership in Reading Network (LIRN) is a collaborative network that includes the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Reading Association, and the Minnesota Center for Reading Research. The network includes district-level and schoolwide literacy leaders who support teachers and administrators in developing literacy programs based on research-based best practices. Schoolwide reading coaches, district literacy coordinators, administrators and other Minnesota educators with similar job descriptions are invited to participate. The goal of LIRN is to help school and district literacy leaders and teams build capacity for increased instructional leadership in reading.
Standards Implementation Technical Assistance


School-based music education programs are a great introduction into
the musical arts. But more often than not, the school environment has
its limitations. There simply isn’t enough time during the course of a
single class to provide the kind of in-depth instruction that some
children need. In addition, a child with true musical potential might
face a glass ceiling if they don’t have exposure to musical education
outside of the school setting. So it’s time to get kids extra music lessons at home.
Finding alternatives to school-based musical education can be a
challenge, but here are some of the possibilities you can consider for
* Private music lessons.
Private music lessons are the ideal alternative to school-based music
education. Private lessons give the student lots of quality time with
the instructor. Not only that, in a school setting the instructor is
often a “jack of all trades, master of none.” A private teacher, on
the other hand, will be well-versed in both teaching and playing the
There are many places to find private music instructors, both in the
print world and online. One such resource is TakeLessons.com, a site
that allows you to locate a private instructor based on your
instrument and location.
* Multimedia instruction.
There are more options out there today than ever before when it comes
to music education without an in-person instructor. Instructional DVDs
and books can help a student to master the basics of playing a given
If you choose multimedia instruction for your child, there are a few
points you need to keep in mind when selecting which programs to use:
* Always check the program’s reviews.
Some are better than others, and there’s no one better than a former customer to tell you how this
* Make sure you don’t put all of your instructional eggs in one
basket. Just because you find a stellar DVD series to help your
daughter with her flute playing doesn’t mean she doesn’t need
instruction in music theory. Consider supplementing instrument
instruction with materials that teach things like music theory and
* Home-based music instruction.
If you play an instrument or sing, there’s no reason you can’t work with your child to help him hone his
skills. Keep in mind that there are a number of different dynamics at
For example, try not to bring any relationship baggage you or your
child might have into the practice room. When you’re there, focus on
the task at hand and leave normal parent-child relations aside.
* Group musical education.
Your child may have the opportunity to participate in a community
group or another organization that has a musical component. Playing at
church is a great example of this. Other community groups may have a
marching band that attends local parades or festivities. Opportunities
like these reinforce the teamwork aspect of music and help your child
learn to work with others.
* Virtual instructors.
One of the newer movements in education is the idea of the virtual
classroom. If your local school doesn’t offer orchestra and your child
wants to play the violin, he may still be able to participate in an
online “classroom” with other students. The technology to support
these kinds of scenarios is fairly new, but will become more
commonplace in the next few years.
What your child learns about music at school is useful and makes for
a solid foundation. Loot at some of these alternatives today, and see
just how much more effective your child’s music education can be.
Suzy St. George is a blog writer at TakeLessons. Since 2006, TakeLessons has provided affordable, hassle-free music
lessons to students of all ages. With certified instructors in cities
nationwide, students can learn to play the guitar,
the piano, drums and more.


Air Conditioning Certification and Certificate Program Information
Air conditioning certificate programs are more commonly known as heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) certificate programs. Students enrolled in these programs can learn how climate control and air distribution systems work, as well as how to diagnose and repair common maintenance issues.
Certificates in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
HVACR certificate programs can train students in the operation of heating and air conditioning systems. Students can also gain strong communication and organizational skills, both of which can be useful when working with businesses and customers. Programs are typically available at technical schools and community colleges, as well as some 4-year institutions. Applicants must typically have a high school diploma or GED.
Students enrolled in HVACR certificate programs typically complete both professional and technical courses, including how to safely operate air-conditioning systems and how to utilize energy-efficient systems. Courses may include:
- Electricity for HVACR
- Residential air conditioning
- Commercial air conditioning
- Ductwork and piping systems
- Gas heating
Employment Outlook and Salary Info
HVACR certificate holders primarily work as entry-level installation or repair technicians in residential, institutional or commercial environments. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), predicted that job growth in the field of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance would increase 28% from 2008-2018 (www.bls.gov). In May 2010, the BLS noted the annual median salary for those in this field was $42,530.
Continuing Education and Certification Information
Certificate holders can seek immediate entry-level employment in the field, or they can pursue additional education with an associate's degree in HVACR or a related field. Most programs allow students to transfer certificate course credit into an associate's degree program. A 2-year program may include a capstone where students apply their knowledge to real-life situations.
Some states require HVACR mechanics and installers to be licensed, which typically requires that applicants pass an exam. In all cases, individuals that work with refrigerants must be certified to handle them properly. HVACR professionals can become certified to work with small refrigeration appliances, as well as low- and high-pressure refrigerants, and can earn this certification by taking an exam through an Environmental Protection Agency-approved site, such as a trade school.
Related to Air Conditioning Certificate
- Recently Updated
Air conditioning education programs are available for those who wish to become technicians who install or repair these systems...
Associate's degree programs in air conditioning and refrigeration are not commonly offered online due to the extensive hands-on...
Research master's degrees related to air conditioning, such as programs in architectural engineering, mechanical engineering...
Research associate degree programs offering study in refrigeration, air conditioning, heating and gas technology. Get...
- Air Conditioning Repair Schools and Colleges in the U.S.
- Automotive Air Conditioning Installation and Repair Training Programs
- Air Conditioning Technology Salary, Career and Training Program Info
- Maritime Lawyer: Job Description, Duties and Requirements
- Paralegal Continuing Education Options and Requirements
- Masters in Educational Counseling: Degree Information
- Masters Degree in Criminal Intelligence: Program Summary
- Become an Air Conditioning Contractor: Step-by-Step Career Guide
- Air Conditioning Technician: Job Description, Duties and Requirements
- Fermentation Microbiologist: Job Description, Salary and Career Outlook
- Veterinary Pathologist: Job Outlook & Career Info
- Careers in Elementary Education: Job Options and Requirements


My son is in fourth grade now, and his teacher is doing some really stimulating things as far as art education is concerned. At the beginning of each week, she has artwork by a famous artist posted (so far she has done Matisse, Georgia O'Keeffe, Magritte, Georges Seurat). The kids have till Friday to write 20 observations about the painting, and to research the artist. On Friday, the teacher discusses the artist's style (lines, shapes, space, etc.), and goes around the room asking each child for an observation. The class discusses each observation, such as how it is relevant, what do they think the artist was trying to say, etc. After the discussion, the kids do an art project based on the same technique as the artist they are studying that week. I help the teacher every Friday afternoon, and I have been really impressed with how the kids are progressing and observing. I hope this will help you.


Pandey, Adya Prasad (2006): Gender disparities in education - needs community participation.
Download (138Kb) | Preview
Education is the most important instrument for human resource development. Education of girls therefore, occupies top priority amongst various measures taken to improve the status of the girl child. The government has resolved to make the right to free and compulsory elementary education a Fundamental Right and to enforce it through suitable statutory measures. Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) has been accepted as a national goal since 1950. In order to achieve the goal, concerted efforts have been made and as a result, the elementary education system in India has become one of the largest in the world. The primary education enrolment rates of girls have a positive impact on economic well-being of women, their families and society in the long run. Since the mother carries the main burden of looking after the health of her child, how well she does this task depends on the knowledge and confidence that she gains from education.
|Item Type:||MPRA Paper|
|Original Title:||Gender disparities in education - needs community participation|
|Keywords:||Gender Disparities ediucation needs community participation; appandey; adyaprasad pandey; bhu; varanasi|
|Subjects:||I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare
A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics
A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A19 - Other
|Depositing User:||Adya Prasad Pandey|
|Date Deposited:||30. Oct 2006|
|Last Modified:||19. Feb 2013 00:36|
1. Ali, Aruana Assaf ,(1975) The Necessity for Education Parassar Vol. 2 No. 4 P.P. 10-14. 2. Bhatt .B.D. and Sharma S.R. 1980 Women’s Education and Social Dev. Kaushika Publication Delhi . 3. Chattopadhyay, Kamla Devi (1929) The Awakening of Indian Women’s, Calcutta. 4. India- Ministry of Community Development and Co- operation . Women’s Role in Community Development , Delhi Pub (1961). 5. Jain D and Nirmala Benerjee (1985) Women in Poverty . The Tyranny the households, New Delhi. 6. Leela Kumari (1984) Development of Women’s Education in Uttar Pardesh Since 1950 to 2000. 7. Pandey Balagi (1985)Women Education Social Scientist .Oct – Nov . Volume 13 P.P. 11-19 . 8. Ramchandra P. and others (1963) Women’s and Education, Tata institute of Social Dev. 9 .Rao . S.S. (1975) The Changing Indian Women’s Yojana Vol XIX No- 6 15th Sept P.P. 12-15.


After the kids had painted and pieced together a volcanic eruption and played with their dinosaurs a bit, I set up part two of our science play: the Coconut Volcano Science Experiment! This is actually our second time making a coconut volcano and I believe if I had enough baking soda and vinegar, my kids would do this activity over and over forever! I don’t blame them!!
To get ready for our experiment, I added one of our breakfast trays to the tub. Both kids still have plenty of room with the tray in place and it provides a nice surface for them to work without knocking stuff off the side of the tub onto the bathroom floor.
Next I put some baking soda into a plastic yogurt cup. We save these and applesauce cups and use them for everything!!
Then the kids placed our empty coconut shell on top of the yogurt cup. We used the half of the shell that has 3 holes in it from where the eyes were punched out to drain the coconut water. You can see more activities we’ve done with our coconut here.
In a cup, I mixed together our lava!
To make the lava, I simply mixed together vinegar, red food coloring, and a squirt of dish soap. Then the kids used a baby nasal aspirator to suck up the liquid from the cup,
and squirt it through one of the holes on the top of the coconut.
In a few seconds, bubbly red lava would come out of the volcano and ooze it’s way down the sides!!
Once the bubbles would stop, we’d simply rinse the coconut and yogurt cup out in the water, add some more baking soda, put it all back together, and make another volcanic eruption. The kids took turns rinsing the cups and squirting the vinegar. Using their hands to squeeze the aspirator is great fine motor practice which helps with future writing!!
We only used about a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar but we were able to make the volcano erupt many, many times!!The lava eventually turns the kids’ bath water red as it spills off the tray. Yet another fun aspect of this bath!!
The kids had fun touching the bubbles as they came out of the volcano…
and playing with their dinosaurs who were trying to get out of the path of the hot lava coming their way!
This really is one of the most fun science play activities we’ve done so far!!
Now be sure to hop over to Bath Activities for Kids to read all about Mud Science for Kids!
This post may contain affiliate links.


No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department of Education to questions about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how it will affect educators. If you have a question about No Child Left Behind, send an e-mail to Ellen Delisio, and we will submit your question to the Department of Education.
I am a credentialed teacher in California who has been out of the K-12 system for many years -- I have been teaching adult school. I am interested in going into elementary education (which is what I originally received my credentials for). How do I get NCLB certification?
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
In general, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires public school teachers instructing core academic subject areas to hold a minimum of a bachelor's degree; demonstrate subject matter competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches; and obtain full state certification or pass the state teacher licensing examination. The requirements for state certification and licensing are still set by the states. Your state education agency would be able to give you more information about fulfilling these requirements in your state.
Read previous questions and answers in our No Educator Left Behind archive.


Motivating Readers, Inspiring Teachers
Playing With Poetry to Develop Phonemic Awareness
Mary Jo Fresch & David L. Harrison
Learn more about why phonemic awareness is crucial to literacy development and discover ways you can help preschool children connect sounds with print using fun, engaging classroom poetry. With these examples of activities around original children’s poems, as well as links to high-quality poetry websites, favorite poetry compilations, and effective skill assessments, you can work phonemic awareness into your preschool curriculum in a playful yet effective way.
IRA Members: This publication and all IRA E-ssentials are available to you free of charge when you log in to the IRA Member area.
Nonmembers: This publication is available as a PDF e-book, which you can access from your My Account page for 7 days after purchase. If you don't already have an online account, you will be asked to create one during checkout.


Otto F. Ege Collection
The Ege Manuscript Leaf Portfolios
In the late 1940s, longtime Cleveland resident and art historian Otto F. Ege selected fifty medieval manuscripts from his personal collection and removed several dozen individual pages from each one. He mounted each leaf onto a large paper mat using tape hinges, and added a descriptive label to the mat. He then put one leaf from each of the fifty component manuscripts into a durable portfolio box; each of the resulting boxed sets thus contained a different leaf from each of the fifty original manuscripts. Forty boxes containing fifty leaves each were made in this way, and were offered for sale to university and public libraries around North America.
This was an extraordinary thing to do. For centuries, the act of biblioclasty (literally, "book-breaking") has been reviled--in most people's minds there exists an urge to protect books, especially old ones, and to view cutting pieces out of them as nearly acute a crime as burning them outright. But Ege's impulse was actually a largely altruistic one. He had devoted his career to teaching book arts such as decoration, typography, and layout design to the general public, and he believed that the transformative beauty of medieval book decoration could inspire bookmakers today to greater heights of creativity. He authored dozens of articles on this subject in art education journals, and loaned materials to public book exhibits regularly. His "Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts" portfolios were part of his longstanding commitment to populist art education in North America.
The manuscripts he took apart were his personal property, and there is strong evidence that most if not all of the books he used in this project were already damaged in some way. Manuscripts which have lost their front or back covers, or from which pages are already drifting out, were (then as now) less expensive to acquire than ones with intact bindings. They were mostly books that saw a lot of use during church services in the Middle Ages: Bibles, psalters (collections of the Psalms), missals (books containing the text of the mass), hymnals, Books of Hours (personal prayer books, often owned by wealthy women), breviaries (prayer books used by priests), and so on. Rarer items in the portfolios include pages from 15th-century manuscripts of Livy's History of Rome, Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and the Dialogues of Gregory the Great. The relative scarcity of copies of these latter texts, combined with the high quality of the work of their scribes, earns these three leaves special mention.
A secondary intention of Otto Ege's in making these sets was, of course, to profit financially from what was by then more than thirty years of book collecting. Sadly, Ege died in 1951 before selling any of these particular manuscript portfolios. His widow Louise, however, continued with the commercial plan, and began selling the boxed sets compiled by her husband to individuals and institutions for $750 each. Denison University is fortunate to own one of these forty portfolios, purchased in 1956 by Denison alumnus, benefactor, and longtime trustee Percy Wiltsee (Class of 1901), who then generously donated the set to the college.
To date, thirty of Ege's forty specimen sets of medieval manuscript leaves have been located, nearly all of them in libraries in the U.S. and Canada. The purpose of this website is to provide a single location where images, descriptions, and other information about Otto Ege and his leaves can be gathered and shared; in a sense, it is an attempt to "virtually" reconstruct the component manuscripts, as well as to promote the study of one of the most important figures of 20th-century book collecting. We hope you find the contents of this site useful, and invite your participation to the ongoing project of Ege Studies as we move into the future.
Greta Smith (Miami University) and Fred Porcheddu (Denison University)


Third Elementary Education Project
The Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP) is a project of the Department of Education (DepEd) in response to the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) initiatives of the government. Its purpose is to improve the quality of and access to elementary education, with the particular objectives of strengthening the capacity of DepEd to deliver elementary education more effectively; improving pupil participation, learning achievement and reducing dropout rate; and actively involving the community and local government units.
The project's aim is to provide technical and financial assistance to LGUs in the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings in 22 depressed provinces in the country. These are the provinces that are in urgent need of educational investments. Five were chosen by the Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty while the other seventeen were chosen by the SRA. In Luzon, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, Batanes, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Aurora, and Masbate. In Visayas, the following provinces were included, Antique, Negros Oriental, Romblon, Capiz, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, and Guimaras. In Mindanao, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, North Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur were included.
TEEP intends to raise the participation of school age children, improve the 6-year completion in elementary schools and increase their academic achievement. It finances two major components:
- Component 1 - enhances the capability of technical assistance, training, equipment, supplies and material and operating cost;
- Component 2 - enhances the Division/District Offices and schools in the areas of educational planning and management, instructional supervision, administrative information and financial management, improving LGU and community participation, and instructional effectiveness.
- Decentralization and school empowerment
- Local educational planning and management
- School improvement and innovation facility
- Adequate textbooks and instructional materials
- Needs-based training for teachers, principals and supervisors
- Local school construction and equipment
- Multigrade program
- Partnership with stakeholders
- Philippine LGU Assistance Portal (accessed on July 06, 2009)


Phonics Sound Identification
Phonics Sound Identification: Players are given three words but they differ by only
Example: big, bag and bug
Phonics Sound Identification: Have children make words out of a larger word.
How many words they can make out of a larger word?
Example: Constant – you could pull, sat, ant, nat
Phonics Sound Identification: Using the Dolch list appropriate for the student’s
grade level and write the words on index cards. Present three of the cards to the student
at a time. The instructor or tutor will say one of the words and the student must choose
or identify the word spoken from the three choices.
Categorizing words: Give the student a group of words and have the student
categorize them into a related word.
Example: Of the words strawberry, bat, banana, dog, bottle and orange; the student would categorize strawberry, banana, and orange together since they are
Similar interactive computer games can be found online at http://pbskids.org.
Systematic and Explicit Phonics Instruction
Introduce most common sound for a new letter (/k/ for “c”)
Separate instruction of potentially confusing letters due to visual or auditory similarlity
(h/n, e/I, b/d)
May introduce low case letters first (more functional)
Start with high-utility letters (s, t, m and vowels, not z, x)
Select words that start with continuous sounds rather than stop sounds when beginning
to sound out words—or for blending and segmenting practice (use “mat” before “bat”)
Potential sequence for introducing letters: a, m, t, s, S, I, f, d, r, o, O, g, l, h, u, U, c, C, b, n, k, K, v, V, e, w, W, j, p, P, y, Y, T L, M, F, D, I, N, A, R, E, H, G, B, x, X, q, z, Z , J, Q
Using Progress Monitoring as Data-Based Decision-Making: Materials for Trainers.
Presentation for ESU #1, Spring 2006, Dr. Erica Lembke, University of Missouri


- Elementary Education
- Energy Hands-On Video Lab
Energy Hands-On Video Lab
Large View | Find Similar Items
The principles in action are shown at a local park - an environment all students recognize. High repetition of vocabulary in different settings helps cement new terminology and solid understanding. Energy is defined, potential vs. kinetic energy is discussed, as well as the seven forms of energy. Hands-on involves testing a hypothesis, measurement, and highlights potential and kinetic energy. Kit includes 16 each of: marbles, paper ramps, 16-oz. cups, 6-oz. foam cups, 3-oz. foam cups, paper rulers, 12" cotton string, and straws; one pendulum ball; 64 washers (1/2"); 32 paper clips; 55-minute DVD; teacher’s guide; and master copies of test, vocabulary, and activities. For 32 students.


On World Water Day 2011, many of us will pause in the rhythm of our daily lives to think about the increasingly pressing relevance of water issues to global concerns. Some of us are less affected by these problems than others, some parts of the world face challenges of water scarcity, others struggle with devastating flooding.
Water shortage is widely known to be a pressing challenge in the Middle East and the West Bank. Please take a moment to view the photos below, which were taken by Triple Exposure photography students during a photo assignment to illustrate the meaning of water in their lives.
Want to read more about water issues around the world and learn what you can do to address these challenges globally and in the West Bank? Visit the World Water Day website!
“Triple Exposure” is an initiative of Tomorrow’s Youth Organization to promote art education for youth, community access to public art, and a better worldwide understanding of Palestine.


Early Childhood / Adult Education
Three Levels ELL
- Beginning ELL
- Intermediate ELL
- Bridge-Adult Basic EducationStandards-Based English Curriculum guides our classroom instruction
GED Preparation Class
- ABE Instruction
- Individualized instruction based on initial and follow-up assessments.
Job Skills Class
- Individualized instruction related to life and job skills.
P.A.C.T. stands for Parent And Child Together Time. Sometimes also called Interactive Literacy Activities.
- This is a time for parents and children to build literacy skills and interact together in the early childhood classrooms.
- They are regularly scheduled sessions
- Valuable one-on-one time where the children's interest and preferences drive the activities, with parents following their lead.
- Staff members help parents learn how to support their children's learning through interaction with each other in meaningful activities, including play.
- Reciprocal learning that takes place during this time offers parents and children a chance to become true partners in education.
- Common PACT Time activities include parents and children reading, playing or creating projects together.
- The PACT component of family literacy is integrated with other components of the program like parent time and adult education. So, parents may prepare for what will happen during PACT time in their adult classes.
Computer literacy is integrated into the curriculum as a tool to teach. Topics might include:
- Basics of Computers
- Windows XP
- Computer Programs
- Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Atomic Learning Tutorials
Job Skills Class
Topics may include:
- Job Search / Job Readiness
- Resume Writing
- Time Management
- Math / Reading Skill Building
- Home visits once a month
- Given in parent's native language (English and Spanish)
- Child Development
- Brain Development
- Current Research
- Parents As Teachers certified parent educators
- Ages and Stages Questionnaire
- Resource and Referrals
- Prenatal to 5 Years
- Parents attend parent meetings and child development classes as well as participate in community offerings to increase parenting knowledge and to help build connections between home and school.
- Parent Time provides information about numerous routine activities that enhance literacy development.
Adult Education Schedule
Classes held at: Delta Center, 822 Grand Avenue, Delta, CO 81416
|8am - 12pm||GED & Job Skills||GED & Job Skills||GED & Job Skills||GED & Job Skills||GED & Job Skills|
|12pm - 3:15pm||ESL/ABE
|6pm - 8pm||Community ESL/ABE


- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
On Reading Books to Children: Parents and Teachers brings together in one volume current research on adult book reading to children. The authors, drawn from around the world, are key researchers and eminent scholars from the fields of reading and literacy, child language, speech pathology, and psychology, representing multiple perspectives within these disciplines.
Chapters on the effects and limitations of book sharing are integrated with chapters discussing promising programs on storybook research. The reality of reading to children is more complex than it appears on the surface. The authors discuss some effects of and suggestions for reading to children that have emerged from the research. The ideas set forth in this volume will stimulate new lines of research on the effects of storybook reading, as well as refinements of current methods, yielding findings that enrich our understanding of this important arena of literacy development.
Contents: A. van Kleeck, S.A. Stahl, Preface. Part I:Book Sharing in Families. A.G. Bus, Social-Emotional Requisites for Learning to Read. J. De Temple, C.E. Snow, Learning Words From Books. E. Reese, A. Cox, D. Harte, H. McAnally, Diversity in Adults' Styles of Reading Books to Children. A. van Kleeck, J. Vander Woude, Book Sharing With Preschoolers With Language Delays. Part II:Storybook Reading in the Classroom. D.K. Dickinson, A. McCabe, L. Anastasopoulos, A Framework for Examining Book Reading in Early Childhood Classrooms. W.H. Teale, Reading Aloud to Young Children as a Classroom Instructional Activity: Insights From Research and Practice. L.M. Morrow, R. Brittain, The Nature of Storybook Reading in the Elementary School: Current Practices. M.G. McKeown, I.L. Beck, Taking Advantage of Read-Alouds to Help Children Make Sense of Decontextualized Language. A.A. Zevenbergen, G.J. Whitehurst, Dialogic Reading: A Shared Picture Book Reading Intervention for Preschoolers. Part III:Storybook Sharing as Cultural Practice. J. Anderson, A. Anderson, J. Lynch, J. Shapiro, Storybook Reading in a Multicultural Society: Critical Perspectives. V. Carrington, A. Luke, Reading, Homes, and Families: From Postmodern to Modern? R.B. Barrera, E.B. Bauer, Storybook Reading and Young Bilingual Children: A Review of the Literature. Part IV:Where Do We Go From Here? A. van Kleeck, Research on Book Sharing: Another Critical Look. A.D. Pellegrini, L. Galda, Joint Reading as a Context: Explicating the Ways Context Is Created by Participants. D.B. Yaden, Jr., Parent-Child Storybook Reading as a Complex Adaptive System: Or "An Igloo Is a House for Bears." S.A. Stahl, What Do We Expect Storybook Reading to Do? How Storybook Reading Impacts Word Recognition.


A Maternal Nutrition Group comprised of top professors of obstetrics and doctors of nutrition from across the country, in partnership with the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), unveiled recommendations for seafood consumption during pregnancy.
The recommendations come at a time when the debate about mercury in fish and an FDA/EPA advisory have created confusion for pregnant women, causing a reduction in their fish consumption. This leads to inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids resulting in risks to their health and the health of their children. This inadequate intake of fish is confirmed by data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which shows that 90 percent of women are consuming less than the FDA-recommended amount of fish.
The Group recommended that women who want to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breastfeeding should eat a minimum of 12 ounces per week of fish like salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel, and can do so safely. The Group found that eating fish is the optimal way to gain the benefits of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Seafood is the richest dietary source of DHA and EPA in Americans' diets. The Group also recognized that selenium, an essential mineral found in certain ocean fish, accumulates and appears to protect against the toxicity from trace amounts of mercury.
"The Group reviewed recent scientific studies and found a link between ocean fish consumption and advanced cognitive and motor skill development in children," said Group member Ashley S. Roman, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the New York University Medical Center, who is also a mom. "Some data also shows a connection with reduced pre-term labor and post-partum depression in mothers who ate ocean fish when pregnant."
With data increasingly showing that pregnant women are eating less fish, the risks of nutritional deficiencies are growing. "Eating adequate amounts of fish during pregnancy is a nutritional and public health issue," said Judy Meehan, Executive Director of HMHB. "Patients and doctors alike must be better educated about the safety and importance of maternal food choices in optimizing pregnancy and childhood outcomes."
In order to better understand the impact of the FDA/EPA advisory on pregnant women's seafood consumption, a study by Dr. William Goodnight et. al. was conducted in 2007 at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The research found that awareness of the advisory's warning drove 56 percent of pregnant women to needlessly reduce fish consumption - to levels well below beneficial amounts - out of fear it may harm their developing baby.
On a national level, HMHB surveyed women who are pregnant for the first time about their attitudes regarding consumption of fish during pregnancy. The findings, which were similar to those of MUSC's, show that 53 percent of these women are eating less fish during pregnancy because of warnings about mercury.
"We know from our research that pregnant women are concerned about eating seafood and hope that our science-based recommendations will give women who are pregnant, nursing or planning to become pregnant, the confidence that they are doing the right thing for their health - and the health of their children - by including fish in their diets," said Dr. Roger Newman, Maternal Nutrition Group member, Professor and Vice Chairman for Academic Affairs & Women's Health Research Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina.
The following general guidelines are provided by the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.
Diet during pregnancy
An optimal pregnancy diet includes a balance of healthy meals and snacks, including frequent choices from among the following:
- Lean nutrient-dense protein sources, such as fish, eggs, beef, poultry, and dried legumes paired with brown rice.
- Complex carbohydrates that are sources of Vitamin A, C and B-complex (including folic acid), such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains (cereals and breads).
- Low-fat dairy products that are sources of protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and Vitamins B-12 and D, such as milk, yogurt and cheese.
- Long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids, such as fish.
Conversely, pregnant women should limit high glycemic foods that can cause wide fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels. These include white bleached flour, quick-cooking rice, oatmeal or other instant grains, and refined carbohydrates such as sugar, soda, white bread, cookies, cakes and pies.
The above story is based on materials provided by National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Cite This Page:


- How do we balance exploration of process, play & idea formation with technique and skill? I find that students get frustrated when they don’t have the skill to follow through with their ideas.
- How do you begin changing a traditional art department that is ALL SKILLS-BASED and get teachers on board?
Now let me tell you, there were a ton of good questions brought up at this particular session, and we will address a bunch in the coming weeks and months, but this particular set is quite popular right now so we might as well get into it.
Finding a balance between teaching specific skills and techniques with teaching about how to explore process in order to form and pursue ideas is not easy. If you teach in a culture (or department, or school, or district, or university…) that emphasizes skills and techniques as the “meat” of the curriculum, it’s probably a good idea to begin talking about the kinds of skills that everyone really considers “essential”. We all know it’s impossible to teach everything, even if you had classes for hours upon hours every day. What are the skills that the group feels are essential? This of course will vary from place to place and school to school, and it also has to be considered in context. My school, which offers lots of electives for high school students may very well come up with a different set of skills from another with different offerings, staff and students. But first, a frank discussion about the essential skills that should/could be taught is in order.
Once students have experience with these skills and actually practice them, even if they are bare-bones basic, it’s our responsibility to teach them to use these skills in order to explore ideas and important questions. Let’s face it, artists rarely if ever start works of art by saying something like, “I think I’ll make a piece about pointillism today.” But they may decide to utilize a stippling technique because it serves the idea they are exploring.
Similar to talking about essential skills that should be explored in a curriculum or art education program (and please keep in mind that I am streamlining a LOT here), educators then have to decide what kinds of big questions and themes can and should be explored. It all begins with discussions about how to do things differently and not accept the same old, same old “way we learned it.” I mean, while I certainly respect the way I learned about visual art growing up, I never really explored much more than representation until I got to college. And this really has to stop.
Should elementary-level art education emphasize skill building a little more than teaching students to grapple with ideas? Perhaps. But an elementary art education that is all about step-by-step projects is really teaching students how to follow directions and not necessarily how to be creative thinkers.
Should middle school art education build on skills learned, introduce new ones, and begin teaching students how to work with personally relevant themes and questions to drive exploration in the arts? Absolutely. Middle-level art curriculum that sticks with keeping students “busy” and steering clear of meaningful discussion, or themes, isn’t doing anyone any favors.
How can high schools and college programs begin balancing the teaching of important skills and working with big ideas? Talk with one another. Have the courage to ask, “How can we do this differently in order to better reflect how artists work today?” See the work being made today… together. Talk about it. Allow process a prominent place in the curriculum vs. solely emphasizing finished products.
It’s a lot to think about!
Finally… If you are a K-12 educator and interested in exploring questions like these, please consider applying for year 4 of the Art21 Educators program. Click here for more information. The application deadline has been extended to March 18th!
Until next week…


Sections / Articles
NAESP on Leading Early Childhood Learning Communities
By Kelly D. Pollitt
December 2013, Volume 37, Issue 4
Communities, policymakers, and educators are united in their support of robust early childhood learning opportunities for all children, especially those from disadvantaged households. In fact, three out of four Americans believe preschool programs for children from low-income households would help these same children perform better in school in their teenage years, according to “Which way do we go?” The 45th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. The poll also reports that almost two out of three Americans are willing to support these programs with taxes.
Now, more than ever, principals understand the importance of providing every child a high-quality early childhood educational experience, due to the profound and lasting effect of developing an academic pathway that leads to college and career-readiness. The opportunity for high-quality early learning and student success relies on systems and schools providing a seamless continuum of learning for children from age three to grade three, ensuring effective alignment of appropriate curricula and instructional leadership practices.
In 2005, NAESP developed Leading Early Childhood Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do, a resource to guide instructional leaders in supporting the youngest learners. The standards-based publication has helped principals rethink the connection between early childhood centers and elementary schools, and understand the importance of creating appropriate early learning experiences where there are gaps in local systems. The publication continues to provide principals with sound practical knowledge through six indicators of effective strategies for instructional leadership practice in the prekindergarten and early elementary years. However, as the research and knowledge on child development and early childhood education has advanced, effective practices for instructional leaders related to early learning and the academic, social, emotional, and physical development of young children has evolved.
In response to these developments, NAESP has launched a comprehensive effort to revise and update its base of knowledge on effective instructional leadership practices in early childhood education. As a part of this effort, NAESP has partnered with VINCI Education, home of award-winning VINCI Blended Learning curriculum and Class VINCI, to address and promote effective leadership and improve instruction and learning practice in early childhood education. This partnership will produce resources supporting effective P-3 leadership practice, including integrating blending learning and technology in the early years and creating professional development to build the capacity of principals.
NAESP and VINCI Education recognize the importance of high-quality early learning opportunities for all children, and will work together to help build the capacity of principals in P-3 education to close and ultimately prevent achievement gaps between students from disadvantaged households and their more affluent peers. NAESP and VINCI are committed to establishing evidence and best practices to help teachers and principals successfully incorporate blended learning and technology into their classrooms.
Over the next several months, NAESP will convene an advisory group of early childhood experts as well as a working group of principals to examine the critical questions. The research will provide the foundation for the revised standards and practical guidance for principals. The materials and final body of knowledge will be released at NAESP’s 2014 annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, which takes place July 11-13. For more information, please contact me at email@example.com.
Kelly D. Pollitt is Associate Executive Director for Policy, Public Affairs, and Special Projects at NAESP.
Copyright © 2013. National Association of Elementary School Principals. No part of the articles in NAESP magazines, newsletters, or website may be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. For more information, view NAESP's reprint policy


Joanne Jacobs highlights a piece in Salon by Garrison Keillor in which he criticizes Democrats for opposing systematic phonics instruction just because it is associated with political and social conservatives.
But Jacobs is right when she says that “phonics instruction is not inherently the property of the GOP or George W. Bush.” Keillor isn’t familiar with the history of the U.S. reading wars if he thinks that ”progressive” opposition to structured phonics is a recent or merely political phenomenon.
After attacking phonics in his annual report of 1843, Horace Mann (godfather of U.S. public schooling) got into
an email flame war a tense exchange of pamphlets with 31 Boston schoolmasters. Mann was advocating the “word” or “look-say” method of early reading instruction, which has since morphed into “whole language.” He thought children shouldn’t be taught to systematically sound out and combine letters and syllables, but rather to simply look at words as wholes and know how to say them out loud, as if by magic. The schoolmasters told him he was nuts. (The original sources are cited here, for the curious.)
Education was still too decentralized and market driven in this country in the early 1840s for nutty pedagogical methods to displace ones that had proven themselves effective. It was not until the 1920s, when modern state school systems and teachers’ colleges had become well established, that progressive educators were able to impose their philosophical and pedagogical predilections on teachers-in-training and the public schools as a whole.
The issue here has never fundamentally been a political one. It has always been philosophical. Progressive education philosophers and practitioners generally object to highly structured systematic teaching methods, in any subject, because those methods do not comport with how they believe learning should take place.
The fact that structured methods work, and for many children work far better than the magical osmosis processes of “whole language,” confers no competitive advantage within a monopoly school system that has no real competition. Do public school districts go out of business if they adopt lousy methods or materials? No. That’s why lousy methods have survived for so long in the public school monopoly, and that is why those same lousy methods (and Horace Mann) were laughed at by schoolmasters at a time when educators actually had to show results in order to make a living.


Posted on Thursday 19th July 2012
The production team for the BBC programme See Hear visited the School of Education in July to film an interview with Dr Linda Watson, based around International Literacy Day which takes place on 8 September 2012. Linda’s particular interest is in early language and literacy development of young deaf children, and how this can be enhanced by the use of cochlear implants and/or digital hearing aids.
Linda was interviewed by Clive Mason, who has been a presenter for over 20 years and was the first See Hear presenter to use British Sign Language (BSL) on television. BSL has only been recognised by the Government as an official language since 2003.
In the interview, Linda talked about conditions that underpin literacy learning for all children, such as language development, wide vocabulary and understanding of story structure and how parents can help their deaf child. She stressed the need to remember that deaf children are a heterogeneous group, with varied needs and how these link to learning literacy. She discussed how recent developments in technology, such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, have enabled many more deaf children to learn to read and write using spoken language, whilst other deaf children benefit from being taught using BSL to help them to learn to read and write.
The programme will be broadcast on BBC2 at 1.30pm, on Wednesday 5 September 2012.
UNESCO Literacy Portal: International Literacy Day (8 September)


Teachers in Shenandoah County are excited to introduce new technologies and programs to their students.
They're getting more than $100,00 in grant money.
It's part of the Helen Moore trust fund. Moore was a Strasburg resident who passed away back in the 2002.
She left a $3 million trust fund to the Shenandoah County Public School system, the interest from that goes towards grants for teachers.
In the past five years, the trust has awarded about $600,000 in grants.
"Provide opportunities to our teachers that's above and beyond what we would normally provide in our school budget, we were looking for something that would extend the curriculum and would enhance it and there have a variety of projects that have been awarded throughout the years that just takes learning to another level," says Stacey Leitzel, Director of Elementary Education.
Every school in Shenandoah County has received at least one of the Moore grants since they started awarding them.
These grants are helping teachers in every kind of classroom from music to science, to p-e, to agriculture *and at every grade level.
"Kids can graduate and they can regurgitate // facts but they can't think for themselves so hopefully this will provide an opportunity to develop that thinking in a fun way," says Carol McFarland, Resource Specialist at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
To be exact, 30 fun ways. Carol McFarland works with gifted and talented students at Sandy Hook Elementary.
She says her Moore grant will help buy 30 board games for teachers to use in the classroom. The goal is to teach students new ways of thinking.
"Social skills like listening, planning ahead. Persistence. These programs are providing that opportunity," she adds.
And not just at the elementary level.
Jaclyn Roller has been teaching agriculture at Signal Knob Middle School for five years. This year, these students will have access to 10 thousand dollars worth of laptops.
"They have to research, they have to find out information, they have to create projects in order to that they do need access to technology," she says.
Roller says laptops readily available will help her kids see how they can apply what they learn here in the real world.
"They're researching anything from bee keeping, to being a crop duster. I know I can't take them out and see every single career and so we're trying to bring just a little bit of that to them as much as possible," she adds.
These grants are also challenging students in the gym. Clayton Rice is a P.E. teacher at Peter Muhlenburg Middle School. Thanks to a five thousand dollar grant a storage area will turn into a wellness center.
"We have some students that cannot or are not able to participate in the regular gym classes so we wanted an area where they cam actually do something other than just sit and watch," Clayton Rice says.
Other grants include 25 thousand dollars technology lab for students and community members at Signal Knob.
"When a teacher walks in they'll have all the tools of technology available to them so they can differentiate among the students the way that they would like. So if they have students that need to be on the computer they can be on the computer, if they have somebody who needs to be reading then they can go and grab a kindle and read and or they can do some type of activity on the iPad," says Chanda Greco.
Another grant is for a music class at sandy hook is getting guitars to start teaching guitar class.
Another grant is 14 thousand dollars to help buy a wind turbine for Central High School.
"We do all kinds of calculations with wind energy. This is going to be a great application in the real world, here is our data, what does this tell us about wind energy in this area, compared to other states," says Meredith Bauserman, Central High School Science teacher.
© Copyright 2014 WHSV / Gray Television Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


I’m fortunate to have some duplicate copies of fine art prints — most were freebies from conferences and workshops. Originally, I divided a few prints into rectangular sections for grid drawings but after inheriting a felt board I started using them as a puzzle (click image at left to enlarge). When students had free time they loved working on these giant puzzles. And I loved finding a new purpose for existing materials that can do double duty and extend learning. Below is how to create each activity.
Group Grid Drawing Pieces
- Select a duplicate print to cut up into pieces. Remember you can use posters from inserts in publications like School Arts, your state art education publications, National Art Education Association publications or vendor freebies.
- Use a paper cutter to divide the art print into even sized pieces. Each art print will measure slightly differently due to its size. Cut up a large supply of blank paper the same size as the art print pieces for students to do their grid drawings on.
- Glue directions on the back of each art print piece and number them (see example). Having the directions on the back of each piece allows students to work independently when they finish regular assignments. Click here to print Art Puzzle Directions for students.
- Laminate all the art print pieces and cut them out. Remember cutting out laminate is a great job for student helpers in the art room (see odd art jobs).
- Store the art print and blank paper pieces in a gallon sized zip-lock plastic bag. On your storage bag record the artist, name of the artwork and the number of art print pieces. (Knowing the number of pieces makes clean-up and sorting easier.) Zip-lock bags are on the student supply lists at my school. I asked a home room teacher for an extra box to use in the art room. Check with the teachers in your building.
- Introduce the group grid drawing activity to your classes and store the pieces in a box, basket or container that they can easily access when they complete their regular work. Make sure to create a place to turn in completed grid drawings as well as store drawings still in progress.
Art Puzzle Pieces
- Take the newly created art print pieces for grid drawing and add Velcro or magnets to the back of each one. This is another great job for students (see odd art jobs). What you use depends on your preferences and what you have on hand.
- Velcro is great on felt boards and carpets. Kids can easily work on a puzzle in groups in a carpeted area. If you don’t have a carpet area you can take a piece of the Velcro’s hook side to a discount store and find an inexpensive throw rug. Local flooring companies might be willing to donate carpet samples or remnant pieces. There are also lots of inexpensive ways to construct a felt board. Here is a link to one creative solution I found. How to Make a Felt Board. Find the “U Loop” fabric for velcro board online here.
- Magnets are a perfect option for any classroom because almost everyone has a magnetic chalkboard or whiteboard surface that can be immediately utilized. If you have art on a cart or travel to another building you’re almost always guaranteed to have a magnetic surface at your disposal. Other options to consider are magnetic dry erase easels, magnetic paint or even cookie sheets depending on the art puzzle size.
- Store art puzzle pieces in a labeled zip-lock bag along with the blank paper for the group grid drawings and place in an area easily accessible to students.
Below is a short video of kindergartners using an art puzzle.
Can’t view this video? Try this link.


Visual and Performing Arts Academy students who have an interest in the arts may select courses that prepare them for postsecondary advanced studies or for a faster entry into arts-related occupations. The balance between artistic development and academic preparation is at the heart of the Academy program. Students are exposed to the humanities and have the opportunity to select a course of study that will best meet their needs and interests.
The Academy is organized into five strands:
- instrumental music
- vocal music
Students will view each strand through the lens of four components:
- aesthetic perspectives
- creative expression
- culture and history
- analysis and criticism
While students will select one strand on which to focus, they will be encouraged to explore more than one area of the arts. All strands emphasize performance and exhibition. Literacy is stressed across the curriculum, and all aspects of art are incorporated throughout. In addition, students enrolled in the program explore the cultural influences within the arts and the impact of the arts on history.
The arts strands’ focus is on developing the students’ understanding of the artistic concepts that serve as the foundation for future development of aesthetic judgment. Students apply knowledge and understanding of the elements of style, form, and cultural heritage in order to, perform, create, and defend their artistic choices accordingly. Students concentrate on their own special interests and compare and contrast social, ethnic, and cultural influences on the arts. As students learn about the individuals who contributed to the area and time period of the art form studied, they form personal choices from a variety of historic periods.
"Inspiration, Creation, and Realization" are the theme of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. The Academy is designed to:
- offer an interdisciplinary curriculum of differentiated academic and applied instruction in the arts;
- develop individual talent and interest;
- instill an increased awareness of cultural literacy and the value of the arts in society; and
- provide varied opportunities for performance and exhibition.
Students may earn either an Advanced Studies Diploma or a Standard Diploma based on the options available in the various curricula. Core courses (English, mathematics, science, and social studies) are required of all students in the Academy including the honors and advanced placement course options as well. During their freshman year, all students take "The Arts: A Global Perspective." This semester course exposes students to strands being studied.
Most students focus on one strand of the arts and have the option to take courses in more than one of the five strands. During their senior year, students take a course entitled, “Senior Production Project.” This course integrates all the strands in required performances and projects. Through their four years in the program, students attend “topic” seminars and master classes which will be held periodically throughout each school year. These seminars can serve as a basis for an internship as part of the seminar course in the students’ senior year. Students are also expected to participate in presentations and exhibitions during their four years at the Academy.
The visual arts strand provides consistent instructional opportunities for students to examine a wide range of forms that are natural and man-made and to create art work using the elements and principles of design. Students’ interests in individual artists and their art forms are encouraged, and they study careers in graphic design, commercial art, art history, preservation of art, art education, art therapy, and arts management.
Students taking classes in the dance strand develop an awareness of the body as an instrument of expression. They refine their skills in dance technique and choreography and increase their ability to move creatively and spontaneously. Exposure to great works of art allows students to analyze the special characteristics of noted performers, choreographers, critics, and impresarios, as well as understand how these individuals have shaped the history of dance.
In the theater strand, students learn to create, perform, analyze, and critique dramatic performances. Class work becomes formalized with the students participating in theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions. As careers and performers are studied, students develop a broad world view.
Students involved in the music strand develop an understanding of music composition, theory, and production. Through the refinement of their technique, students increase their ability to identify the components of musical sound which enhance their capabilities for composing and performing. In both musical strands, students explore career possibilities in music education, music composition, the music business, and music therapy.
For detailed course descriptions and a sample student schedule, please refer to the Secondary School Curriculum Guide.
Class of 2008
"My future goals are to continue pursuing my major in Music Performance as well as a minor in Psychology, to find more ways to give back to the Academy program, to continue performing in my string quartet and small ensembles, and to one day be a part of a major symphony orchestra."


CORVALLIS - Connections between physics and music as viewed by scientist Hermann von Helmholtz will be the focus of two lectures at Oregon State University next week. A pair of Harvard scholars, one a musician and the other a physicist, will deliver the free, public lectures Feb. 26-27.
A 19th-century physicist, von Helmholtz, was interested in music and sound and is famous for his statement of the law of conservation of energy and the "Helmholtz free energy."
"Reflections on Helmholtz and the Practice of Music" by Elfrieda F. Hiebert will explore Helmholtz's influence on music education theory and his impact on the music world, including composers and piano makers (notably Steinway). Her talk will begin at 4 p.m. in Benton Hall Room 303. She is director of the Chamber Music Program at Mather House at Harvard.
Erwin N. Hiebert will discuss how physicists appraised, criticized and amplified Helmholtz's views on musical acoustics and aesthetics and how his work might relate to future music. His talk will begin at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union Room 206. He is professor emeritus of history of science at Harvard, where one of his more popular seminars has been "Physicists as Philosophers."
The presentations are part of the 1997-98 OSU Thomas Hart and Mary Jones Horning Endowment in the Humanities, titled this year "The Arts and the Sciences: Interactions and Influences." For more information on the series, call the OSU Department of History at 541-737-3421.
All events in the series are free and open to the public.


Online Bachelor's Degrees in Teaching
The majority of those who earn education degrees become kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) teachers. This includes elementary school teachers (typically grades one through five), junior high school teachers (usually grades six through eight) and high school teachers (commonly grades nine through twelve). Elementary school is often referred to as primary education, while junior high and high school are typically called secondary education. You can earn your teaching degree online or on-campus, but you must pass your state’s licensure exam before you can work as an educator.
Click on the "request info" button next to the accredited school of your choice to receive more information on specific bachelor's degrees in teaching programs.
Results per page
Earn Your Bachelors in Teaching Online
All states now require kindergarten and elementary public school teachers to have a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Depending on the location, teachers might also be required to have a degree in the content area in which they teach, such as English, math or science.
Some school districts may require teachers to earn a master's degree. All teaching classes help equip future teachers with the latest methods for presenting information to children.
Job Growth for K-12 Teachers
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 17% job growth for K-12 teachers through 2020 – a pace that is as fast as average compared to all professions. While employment opportunities will vary depending on the location, the number of teachers is expected to increase due to lower teacher-student ratios and increases in enrollment.


|Magazine Home I Links I Contact Us|
|Home Automaticity: What is Automaticity?|
What is Automaticity?
Acquisition of a new skill is generally associated with a decrease in the need for effortful control over performance, leading to the development of automaticity. Automaticity by definition has been achieved when performance of a primary task is minimally affected by other ongoing tasks.
People often refer to automaticity by saying they can do the task "on auto-pilot" or "in my sleep".
Examples of automaticity are common activities such as walking, speaking, bicycle riding, and driving a car. Try to remember your first few driving lessons. How hard you had to concentrate on what to do when to prevent the car from wrapping itself around the nearest tree! You had to think about when to use the mirror, where the indicator is, how to coordinate your feet with your hands when changing gear, what's happening on the road and so on. But the more you practiced, the more automatic your driving became, until you could eventually drive without thinking about it. In fact, while driving, your mind is now probably on something else most of the time, like talking to the other people in the car, or listening to the radio, or looking at the scenery outside.
Why is Automaticity Necessary?
Any person, who speaks a language that he knows well, does not concentrate on vocabulary, or on sentence structure, or on grammar. His mind is focused on what he wants to say. As explained in the Journal of Learning Disabilities, "if the skill on the primary task is automatized, it will not be disrupted by concurrent processing on the secondary task because automatic processing does not take up attentional resources."
If, on the contrary, the skill is not automatized, it will be disrupted by concurrent processing of a second skill because two skills are then competing for limited attentional resources. Therefore, when a person attempts to speak a language in which he has not become automatic yet, he will necessarily have to divide his attention between the content of his message and the language itself. He will therefore speak haltingly and with great difficulty.
This also applies to the act of reading. The person, in whom the foundational skills of reading (for example, visual discrimination of position in space and visual discrimination of forms) have not yet become automatic, will read haltingly and with great difficulty. The poor reader is forced to apply all his concentration to word recognition, and therefore has "no concentration left" for content, and as a result he will not be able to read with comprehension.
Studies show that the brain is a limited-control processor that isn't capable of efficiently managing both fixed knowledge processing and higher-order reasoning simultaneously.
The development of automaticity involves a shift in brain usage and a reduction in brain activity. The processing of new information makes heavy use of working memory. Dramatic changes in brain activity can be seen on fMRI scans as automaticity develops. The development of automaticity of skills generally reduces the load of the working memory by 90%.
How Is Automaticity Accomplished?
It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice. The main process by which we develop automaticity is called overlearning (also called overtraining). Overlearning is a pedagogical concept according to which newly acquired skills should be practiced well beyond the point of initial mastery, leading to automaticity.
Overlearning is a frequently used tool by people who make speeches, or who must perform in any way to an audience.
A violinist, for example, doesn't stop learning a piece he or she will perform once it's initially mastered. The violinist instead keeps practicing that piece so that it is automatic and there is little possibility of forgetting it when performing in front of a large crowd. Similarly, actors, dancers, and other musicians may calm the jitters by overlearning their parts, and may actually improve their performance by continuing to practice beyond initial memorization of lines, steps or moves, or musical notes.
|Home A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z|


Art Educators of Minnesota
The Art Educators of Minnesota promotes interests and concerns of art educators.
Art History Network
Links to artists, civilizations, virtual tours and resources.
Art History Resources
Resources for the study of art history compiled by Dr. Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe.
Art History Resources (WWAR)
The World Wide Arts Resources Corporation provides access to artists, art movements, history and art news. http://wwar.com/
Art on the Net
Artists share their work on the Internet.
Google Cultural Institute
"Discover exhibits and collections from museums and archives all around the world. Choose from art project, historic moments or world wonders. worldhttp://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/homet
Art Studio Chalkboard
The Art Studio Chalkboard provides information for artists and students on drawing and painting.
"The Fine Art Search Engine" ARTCYCLOPEDIA has compiled a comprehensive index of artists represented at museum sites, image archives and other online resources. http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
"You will find definitions of more than 3,100 terms used in visual culture, along with thousands of images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and cross-references." http://www.artlex.com/
ArtsNet Minnesota is designed to connect students with art. Included in this site are "artists' biographies; style characteristics; discussion questions; vocabulary; student activities; and, in come cases, teacher lessons and local student artwork." http://www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmn/theme.html
The J. Paul Getty Museum Resources for the Classroom
"This site includes lesson plans, curriculum ideas, image galleries, a publication catalog, highlighted topics and much more." http://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/index.html
This web site provides information on the elements and principles of art, art concepts, media and styles of art. http://www.beau-coup.com/articles/learn-art.htm
Metropolitan Museum of Art Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY) Timeline of Art History allows you to search by subject; artist; world regions by time period; as well as other ways.
Minnesota Academic Standards: Arts K - 12
Minnesota Academic Standards in the Arts
Museum of Fine Arts Boston Explore Online
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts allows you to explore collections and take interactive tours of the resources in the museum. http://www.mfa.org/explore
National Art Education Association (NAEA)
The National Art Education Association promotes art education. Click under Learning to find lesson plans
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS)
The proposed preK-12 media arts standards proposed by the National Art Education Association. Updates to the standards can be found at the http://nncas.wikispaces.com. https://www.arteducators.org/research/nccas
National Gallery of Art
Search for art by nationality or artist or see video and audio resources as well as resources for families, teachers, and children. http://www.nga.gov
PCAE: Perpich Center for Arts Education
The Perpich Center for Arts Education brings the arts to Minnesota students K-12. http://www.pcae.k12.mn.us/
Stationary Art Projects for Kids (Allison De Meulder, Invitation Consultants)
A variety of art resources including painting and drawing and art projects. http://www.invitationconsultants.com/stationery-art-projects-for-kids.aspx
For more information, contact:
Martha Eberhart, Reference Librarian
416 Library Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
Revised and updated 12/13


ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.
Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.
Teacher Resources by Grade
|1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th|
|5th - 6th||7th - 8th|
|9th - 10th||11th - 12th|
Whole-to-Parts Phonics Instruction: Teaching Letter-Sound Correspondences
|Grades||K – 2|
|Lesson Plan Type||Standard Lesson|
|Estimated Time||Two 30-minute sessions|
- Distinguish the onset and rime in spoken and written words
- Identify words that belong to the /-ill/ family using onset-rime analogy
- Substitute consonant sounds in context to form new words in a given word family
|1.||Let the class listen to and become familiar with the tune and rhyme of Jack and Jill.
|2.||Present a Big Book copy of the rhyme or use a computer-assisted presentation to display the words from the rhyme. Highlight the words Jill and hill.
|3.||Ask students to read-a-long and then sing-a-long as you point to each word in the rhyme. Initially, this can be done by the whole class and then within small groups.
|4.||Point out the two highlighted words and ask someone in the class to say or read the words aloud.
|5.||Ask students to repeat the words Jill and hill, and focus students' attention on the final sound and spelling of the two words.
|6.||Encourage students to identify words that have the final /-ill/ sound. You may show several Flashcards to assist students in giving and spelling words that belong in the /-ill/ family and present other text-related materials to assist students in recognizing words in context.
|7.||Guide students in compiling a list of new /-ill/ words and assist them in reading each word correctly. Make sure that students' identify the words will, fill, pill, dill, bill, mill, sill, till, hill, Jill, Bill, drill, grill, and ill.
|8.||Conduct a group and individual drill by asking students to read the following sentences. Have the whole class read the sentences together first, and then invite individual students to read some of the sentences on their own.
|9.||Ask students to complete the Copy-Change Worksheet using the original Jack and Jill rhyme. The associated picture guide may assist students in creating their adapted versions.
- Challenge students to create their own Copy-Change Worksheet by changing the original pattern of the Jack and Jill rhyme. Present more /-ill/ words for this activity such as skill, still, chill, grill, and thrill.
- Present students with computer-assisted programs, such as the interactive Construct-a-Word, which focus on onset-rime analogies.
- Have students access the interactive Picture Match for practice with beginning-letter sounds or the Word Family Sort for additional practice with onset and rime. The lesson "Word Sorts for Beginning and Struggling Readers" can also be used for follow-up lesson planning.
- Have students present their Copy-Change Worksheet to the class and observe students' ability to use words from the /–ill/ family in context.
- Challenge students to use their writing journal to write sentences or compose a story using words from the /–ill. family.
- Provide a teacher-made test to evaluate mastery of content and whether the skill has been learned.
- Ask students to write in their reflective journal what they have learned or have not learned during this lesson. Also, ask them to express what they wish they had learned or what they would like to do to master this lesson.
- Record or note those students who need more assistance in recognizing words from whole-to-parts. Engage them in activities that offer further practice.


A recent analysis of international data from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) offers more evidence of the link between oral language development and reading. The new analysis finds that children whose parents regularly read aloud with them in the first year of primary school performed substantially better in reading at age 15 than children whose parents rarely, if ever, read to them. The results underscore the need for effective family engagement strategies as part of any plan to improve children’s language and literacy development.
“It does not require a PhD or unlimited hours for parents to make a difference,” notes the OECD brief (What Can Parents Do to Help Their Children Succeed in School). “In fact, many parent-child activities that are associated with better reading performance among students involve relatively little time and no specialized knowledge. What these activities do demand, though, is genuine interest and active engagement.”
Researchers examined data from the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses 15-year-olds in 65 countries in reading, math and science. Students also complete a background questionnaire. OECD’s analysis of 14 countries for which data is available finds that 15-year-olds who reported their parents read to them at least once or twice a week scored, on average, 25 points higher in reading than peers whose parents read to them once or twice a month or less. The gap, OECD reports, ranged from 4 points in Lithuania to 63 points in New Zealand. The United States was not one of the countries analyzed.
“Even when comparing students of similar socio-economic backgrounds, those students whose parents regularly read books to them when they were in the first year of primary school score 14 points higher, on average, than students whose parents did not,” OECD reports.
The PISA analysis also finds benefits for 15-year-olds whose parents engage them in conversation and other activities.
“Students whose parents discuss political or social issues with them either weekly or daily score 28 points higher, on average, than those whose parents discuss these issues less often or not at all,” the brief notes. “When socio-economic background is taken into account, the score point advantage drops, but remains important – 16 score points – and is observed in all participating countries and economies except Hungary. PISA findings also show that other parent-child activities, such as ‘discussing books, films or television programs,’ ‘discussing how well children are doing at school,’ ‘eating main meals together around the table’ and ‘spending time just talking with one’s children’ are also associated with better student reading performance in school.”
The countries included in the analysis are Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong-China, Hungary, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Macao-China, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal and Qatar.


Classroom Musical Instruments
Classroom Musical Instruments at the Woodwind and Brasswind
The Woodwind & Brasswind is loaded with products to help kids learn music. Researchers have shown that learning music at an early age can help children to learn other subjects. Singing, listening to music any playing simple, easy to learn instruments provides a tremendous benefit to children.
Children’s language development is especially enhanced by playing and listening to music. Children are born with a need and a willingness to make sense of words and sounds. Early music education helps those natural abilities.
Lyons is strongly aligned with the children’s instruments market, specializing in rhythm instruments, kazoos, printed instructional literature, CDs, DVDs and more. They offer large kits that are perfect for kids’ classrooms that contain a wide variety of hand percussion instruments, available in different sizes for different-sized classrooms. Lyons additionally makes good quality ½ size acoustic guitars, and even offers them in packs of ten that feature extra discounting. Always committed to musical education for children, Lyons instruments are priced well below what you might think and will provide years of excellent service.
Nino is a respected manufacturer and distributor of essential auxiliary percussion instruments including congas, djembes, tambourines, shakers and much more. Their product line largely consists of ethnic percussion, notably Latin and African. Their instruments are well made, colorful and sound fantastic. Their selection is vast and their prices are attractive.


just might be the most fun month there is as far as fall preschool themes go.
It’s early enough in the year that there are still plenty of outdoor activities
that can be done with preschoolers. It’s also early enough in the year
that you’re not suffering the stress of the upcoming winter holidays so
you can relax some and really enjoy creative lessons with your kid(s). But it’s
a busy month with a lot of fun kid-oriented activities (mostly centering on
Halloween) so there are plenty of different things that you can incorporate
into the day to keep things fun and interesting.
is the big October theme that you’ll probably spend a lot of
lessons focusing on. There are many fun things that you can do with this theme.
Art projects galore spring from Halloween. Witches’ hats and pirate swords
can be made from construction paper. Counting and coloring activities can be
done with pumpkins and goblins. Halloween songs are almost countless in number.
But there are also plenty of lesser-known things that you can teach kids using
this theme. For example, even though your kids are going to be eating lots of
candy during this time, you can teach them about the importance
of nutrition. This is where moderation comes in and kids can learn
that it’s okay to indulge sometimes but not to go overboard. Similarly,
haunted houses and scary Halloween themes can be used to teach kids about good
fear vs. bad fear. Think outside of the costume box when you’re
coming up with Halloween theme activities this October.
great October theme that’s related to Halloween is the celebration
of other cultures. Certain other cultures celebrate Halloween in
different ways from how we do in America. For example, Day of the Dead (or
Dia de los Muertos) is celebrated in Latin American cultures. Teaching kids
about the different ways of celebrating the same holiday is great for giving
them the basics of diversity and cultural awareness. Another great October
theme for teaching that same lesson is Columbus Day. Halloween
may be the big October holiday but this other October holiday is a good
one for lessons that relate to history geography and those issues of diversity
and cultural sensitivity. You can easily use these holidays to teach kids
about the Latin American culture as well as the Native American culture.
October may be a
great month for holiday themes but that’s not all that’s going on
in October. In most places, the weather is changing dramatically with leaves
turning colors and falling off of the trees. This makes October
a terrific month for lessons about the weather, nature and seasons.
This is good for science lessons and can be incorporated into art activities
as well. If it’s warm enough to get outside with the kids, you can have
them do observations about the changing weather. Fall animal themes
are also great in October. For example, squirrels may still be seen
out and about which is great for lessons about how animals store food and how
some hibernate in the winter. This even lends itself well to lessons about how
our own bodies change in the winter.
As you can see,
October is a fun month that allows for many different preschool themes. Like
all other months, these themes are great for art, reading, writing and singing
activities. However, they are also great for teaching social studies and science
lessons. See what October lessons you can find out there and
then expand on them with your own creativity to make October a fun and
educational month for the kids.
- "How to…."
- ADD / ADHD
- Alphabet / Letters
- Arts & Crafts
- Attending Preschool
- behavior issues
- birthday parties
- Child Communication
- Child Growth and Development
- Child Safety
- Children's Health
- Daily Schedule
- Everything Preschool Reviews
- Family Life
- HomeSchool Preschool
- kids fitness
- Kindergarten Readiness
- Music Education
- Potty Training
- Preschool Activities
- Preschool Curriculum
- Preschool Social Skills
- self confidence
- Separation Anxiety
- Social Studies
- Traveling with Kids


Motriz: Revista de Educação Física
On-line version ISSN 1980-6574
SOUSA, Arilson Fernandes Mendonça de; NOGUEIRA, Júlia Aparecida Devidé and REZENDE, Alexandre Luiz Gonçalves de. Training strategies for elementary education teachers in physical activity and health eating. Motriz: rev. educ. fis. [online]. 2012, vol.18, n.3, pp. 581-589. ISSN 1980-6574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1980-65742012000300018.
The study evaluated the learning effects generated by long (IL) and short (IC) educational interventions in health eating and physical activity knowledge. 42 teachers from two public elementary schools completed knowledge questionnaires with a 0-10 grade, pre and post-intervention. IL offered a 40 hours course and IC offered a 30 minutes lecture, and both groups received the same printed educational material. The intervention produced a statistically significant (p<0.05) increased in averaged health eating knowledge [IL: +1.19 (SE=0.31) and CI: +1.18 (SE 0.34) points]. In physical activity, change in average knowledge was only statically significant in IL [IL + 1.69 (SE=0.52) and IC -0.36; (SE=0.45) points]. There were significant differences between groups in final notes for physical activity knowledge. Simple educational activities produced positive effects on health eating knowledge however, for physical activity may be necessary longer intervention.
Keywords : Physical activity; Health eating; Education; School.


During the final half of each semester special classroom activities are conducted by members of the YCP student staff. These activities are part of a course assignment that requires them to plan, conduct, and reflect on appropriate learning experience for young children.
One characteristic of all the student activities is the use of instruction cards for the children to follow. These cards have photographs or graphics that clearly illustrate each step of the process, as well as simple text in a primary font. This use of text is important for non-readers, in addition to those children who are beginning to use phonics to decipher words.
The non-reader is becoming aware of the important function of print and is "reading" the pictures that symbolically represent the action to be followed. Both YCP teachers use instruction cards regularly to support children's literacy development, but our student staff contribute significantly to the number and richness of these experiences.


In our classroom, we will use the structure of CAFE to focus on
reading comprehension strategies. During Daily Five, two
of our whole class mini-lessons will focus on CAFE strategies.
I will also meet with small strategy groups and individual
students when I finish meeting with guided reading groups.
Our CAFE board shows the four strategies we will focus on-
Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary.
As we learn skills for each strategy, we will post them below.
The most exciting part is that students will have the chance to
declare the strategy they are working on. Taking ownership
of comprehension strategies is an important part to becoming
This is our CAFE board. You will declare which strategy
you are working on by putting a sticky note on the cactus page
below your strategy. We will make a list of skill cards
for each strategy as we learn them and display them underneath
Here are the skills we will work on this year:
Your TICKET to teaching comprehension!
A Photo Tour of my Pensieve
I got this great binder from
Inside my pensieve is my
calendar on the left where I can schedule conferences.
The piece of paper on the right
is where I keep track of who has had reading and writing
Next are graphic organizers
(just incase!) and a quick refrence sheet from The
Sisters with comprehension "hold ups" and possible CAFE
Next are my
group lesson plans.
After the group lesson plans,
are the individual student dividers. Each divider
is numbered... so that I don't have to re-type names on
them each year!
The first document in each
student section is a personal copy of the CAFE menu.
This is handy and a quick refrence during conferences.
The pages in green are the
reading conference sheets.
Each student has several copies of this in their
After the green reading
conference sheets, there are purple
writing conference sheets. This way all of my
"literacy" related documentation is in one handy place!
The last thing in each
section is a writing menu
that I designed, which is very similar to the CAFE menu
Don't try and implement this without reading the book by


MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, AND INSIGHT ARE NOT INherited characteristics, but are acquired. Musical pedagogy, or music education, concerns the processes through which musical knowledge, skill, and insight are acquired. Research in musical pedagogy applies to the problems of music education methods of thinking that have revealed what is known about music through acoustics, psychophysiology, aesthetics, and other related fields of study.
The auxiliary science that contributes most directly to musical pedagogy is psychology. What general psychology teaches about the educative process is applied to the specific problems of music education. Performance on an instrument is studied as sensorimotor learning. The psychological laws of learning can be applied to piano playing as well as to handwriting. For a rough definition in psychological terms, the learning process is the process of acquiring the ability to make the correct response to a given stimulus. Five steps may be distinguished in the process: mental set or adjustment; selection of the correct response; elimination of the unsuccessful act; fixation of learned responses; and integration of the separate acts into a unified whole.1____________________


The Earth: Its Structure & Its Changes
by Tom DeRosa & Carolyn Reeves
Retail Price: $12.99
The Earth: Its Structure & Its Changes is a study of the fascinating world of geology. With explanations of how our Earth was shaped, this elementary science curriculum gives evidence to the Genesis Flood, accompanying earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other powerful processes. Students will explore 20 “investigations” through experiments and a very specific learning progression.
The Investigate the Possibilities learning progression:
• Engage - Students make a note of what they know or have experienced about the topic.
• Investigate - Students will follow the instructions and make observations of what happens.
• Explain - Students will begin to understand the science behind what they observed in the investigation.
• Apply - Here, the understanding of the investigation is related to other situations and ideas.
• Expand -Each investigation also includes a few “Dig Deeper” projects to further understanding.
• Assess - Students explain what they have learned.
Students will examine natural occurrences such as mountains, volcanoes, rocks, minerals, crystals, water, and dirt (just to name a few). By using household items such as hard boiled eggs, oranges, measuring cups, maps, clay and markers, these scientific truths will come to life.
This title contains a full circle view of geology, creation, and history. All three of these topics are combined to create the big picture for your student and develop a stronger root in their faith. Also available is the combined teacher’s guide and student journal.
While geology is at the heart of this newest book in the Investigate the Possibilities series, other titles within this series include: Forces & Motion, Matter, and Energy. These are perfect for elementary education, grades 3rd-6th.
About the Authors:
Authors Tom DeRosa and Carolyn Reeves are committed biblical creationists with a combined 60 years teaching science. Both are excellent at helping students experience science concepts in the world around them.
Tom Derosa studied biblical creation and became committed to breaking down the barrier of a lack of knowledge about the biblical account of creation that is keeping people from Christ. In 1988 he formed Creation Studies Institute and has authored several books.
Carolyn Reeves, Ph.D., and her husband make their home in Oxford, Mississippi where they are active members of North Oxford Baptist Church. Carolyn retired after a 30-year career as a science teacher, finished a doctoral degree in science education, and began a new venture as a writer and an educational consultant. The Reeves have three children, three in-law children and nine grandchildren.