A well-rounded education includes the arts (music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, film). The arts encourage creativity, innovation, and self-confidence—essential skills for a 21st century workforce. The arts have been shown to reach students that don’t learn well through traditional methods, sparking an interest in learning and academic achievement. Increased school attendance, civic engagement, and decrease anti-social behaviors have all been linked to arts education. Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA ) can help schools include the arts in their curriculum in a variety of ways.
TCA offers a program to provide affordable ($150 on up) high-quality artists who are willing to travel to schools to do performances, workshops, residencies, and master classes. TCA maintains a searchable list of these artists called the Texas Touring Roster. Artists of all disciplines and genres compete for the chance to be part of the roster. Many of these artists offer programs specifically designed to work with the Texas curriculum on a variety of subjects. The roster has artists ready to work with students from pre-K through high school and beyond. Schools (public, private, homeschool) may apply to TCA for a portion of the cost of bringing these artists to their campus. It is a simple application process based on the dates of the performance. To apply, visit with TCA Program Staff.
This video demonstrates the program:
Poetry Out Loud
Poetry Out Loud is a national program created by the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. TCA provides Texas schools with Poetry Out Loud lesson plans, resources, and the opportunity to work with Texas poets. Students choose poems to memorize and recite from the Poetry Out Loud website. Schools hold competitions to determine the student who will go on to the statewide competition each February. The state winner competes in the national finals in April. Visit the TCA Poetry Out Loud webpage for more information.
This program awards grants for summer study to the most talented and promising young artists in our state. This is a highly competitive program open to 8th to 11th graders of all artistic disciplines. The winners receive the title of Young Master and are awarded grants to help further their studies in their chosen arts discipline. Past Young Masters have used the grant to attend summer programs at Juilliard, Interlochen, Alvin Ailey, Joffrey School of Ballet, Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, Digital Media Academy, School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, and Maryland Institute College of Art among others. Visit the Young Masters Program webpage for more information.
Our grants fund activities provided by arts organizations across the state. TCA can help connect you with arts organizations in your community that may be able to provide arts programming in your school. Contact TCA Program Staff or search our list of grantees by city online.
Our staff has the expertise to help you develop a plan for incorporating the arts into your curriculum. We can point you to best practices and working models across the state. We can connect you to resources and experts.
Free or low-cost resources:
Art and Media Communications is a TEA approved curriculum developed by the Texas Cultural Trust focused on teaching 9th grade students 21st century workforce skills in the creative media arts. Specific emphasis is placed on media literacy and cultural studies on top of rigorous explorations into the contemporary visual art and media design fields.
The Art-To-Go lending library of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston features materials that may easily be integrated across the K–12 curriculum. Resources include DVDs, music CDs, children’s books, study guides, poster sets, and more.
North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA) has had more than fifteen years of experience in providing quality professional development experiences in comprehensive art education, museum education, technology training, arts advocacy, and leadership development for a wide variety of audiences. Their website offers a wide variety of curriculum materials, study prints, and other electronically-based materials.


A greater commitment and further actions to eliminate illiteracy in a short time frame, clearly defined inclusion policies and consolidation of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), with specific educational measures, were the central decisions of the 2013 International Pedagogy Conference.
For five days, more than 4,000 Cuban delegates and visitors from 44 countries, including academics, teachers, officials, and representatives from international organizations, discussed in Havana central issues affecting education systems in the region.
At the center of the debates were urgent questions on the quality of education, teacher training, the preparation of students for professional life, literacy teaching for women, young people and adults, as well as educational requirements which consider indigenous populations, early years, and persons of African descent.
One of the achievements of this meeting of educators was the approval of the Final Declaration, which emphasized the need to pursue the struggle for peace and democracy, with the aim of ensuring a higher educational level for the peoples in order to better understand the global problems currently faced by humanity.
Among the resolutions made in the different sessions in the 2013 Conference were calls to adopt a single philosophy on education, develop joint research projects, promote learning in the Sciences and continue to strengthen teacher training.
Framework for regional integration
The first meeting of education ministers from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), was undoubtedly a clear indication that regional integration involves much more than political unity strategies.
The eradication of illiteracy in Latin America and the Caribbean was the main focus of the event. In the meeting of education ministers of the 26 member countries it was acknowledged that, despite progress in the area, some countries still have lower than desired levels of literacy.
Recognizing that education is a right for everybody, the CELAC ministers approved a plan which includes literacy for all and quality of education as one of the community’s objectives.
Also important in this context was the agreement to work toward 100% literacy by 2015 in countries in which 90% of the population are able to read and write, and to achieve a similar target by 2020 in countries with a current lower level.
Equally significant were calls to reinforce UNESCO’s role as a global agency for education priorities, the decision to jointly draw up, with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, a good practice catalogue for literacy teaching, and the creation of a permanent CELAC working group for feedback on the implementation of these agreements.
Salvadoran Minister Francis Hatos Hasbún commented that the conference discussed basic undertakings such as “increasing educational quality and availability in Latin America, fundamental issues geared towards ensuring that quality is the central pivot of educational planning.”
Possibilities versus realities
Figures outlined in the 2013 Pedagogy Conference demonstrate substantial advances in education in Latin America and the Caribbean, but they still fall short of fulfilling the Education for All initiative, launched at the World Education Forum in Dakar (Senegal) in 2000.
According to figures presented by Ana Lucia D’Emilio, regional UNICEF education advisor, Latin America has one of the highest levels of students repeating school years in elementary education, with only Sub-Saharan Africa having a higher rate. In addition, abandonment of secondary education begins at 12 years of age, with increased levels at 15 and above.
It is possible to reverse this trend in the region and this view was shared by conference delegates, who recognized the need to eliminate barriers to reaching secondary education, eradicate disparities between the sexes in terms of access to education, to ensure a more just and equitable distribution of resources for education programs, and to reward schools committed to reaching their goals with committed action.
The plans are outlined to put into practice all these agreements. All that is needed is to begin working today to make them a reality.
Yenia Silva Correa


January 30, 2012 in Education (E)
[prMac.com] Dallas, Texas - In recent years, clinicians and educators are beginning to recognize that fostering phonological awareness skills in children helps them to learn more effectively once they become aware of the sounds within their language. As phonological awareness skills relate to literary development and speech sound, studies have shown that these foundational skills contribute to children's early success in reading, writing, and speech and language development. The first step in this process is to measure the children's skills to determine the type of treatment needed and which areas should be the main focus.
Developed by Canadian Speech-Language Pathologist, Tanya Coyle and published by Smarty Ears, Profile for Phonological Awareness (Pro-PA) was created to evaluate and describe the phonological awareness skills in children with speech, language, and/or reading difficulties. Pro-PA aids speech therapists and teachers in collecting information and gives them the ability to choose which areas of skill development to target and measure their student or patient's treatment effectiveness and skill growth over time.
Pro-PA provides its users with the ability to enter students' information, track their progress, and quickly view a student's skill level or a group's average skill level with color coded scores. The versatile app provides automatic analyses in the following skill areas: blending, deleting, isolating, rhyming, segmenting, and substituting. It also features a color changing counter that helps students to visualize segmenting and provides them with support when attempting segmenting.
Tanya Coyle states, "Whether you are assessing an individual child or entire classrooms, the Pro-PA can give you the information you need about each student's, or group's, strengths and weaknesses. Then, you can target weaknesses more specifically and improve student outcomes."
Pro-PA provides teachers and speech therapists with the flexibility of choosing which sections to administer and the option of skipping sections without compromising the totals in other areas. Most areas are tested with separate information about consonant clusters. Another excellent feature of Pro-PA is the option to add notes throughout the assessment; for faster administration, users can utilize prewritten common errors or answer patterns. Once administration is complete, the results can be immediately emailed and printed.
"As a school board SLP, I include phonological awareness skills in almost every student assessment I do. I have found that it is an important (but often overlooked) skill for reading and writing, as well as articulation skills and auditory processing," she continues, "I created the Pro-PA to use in my own practice, but also with the functionality that many educators and other SLPs may want in a phonological awareness test."
Profile of Phonological Awareness is appropriate for individuals in all age groups; it is currently available for $29.99 and can be purchased from the iTunes app store. The app is compatible with the iPad running iOS 4.0 or above.
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 38.3 MB
Pricing and Availability:
Profile of Phonological Awareness 1.0.1 is $29.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category.
Smarty Ears was founded in december of 2009 by Barbara Fernandes, a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association. Smarty Ears was the first company to create apps geared towards speech therapy for mobile devices. Smarty Ears' first application, called Mobile Articulation Probes(name changed to Smarty Speech in 2011) was released in January of 2010 and it has helped many speech therapists to make sessions more dynamic and engaging. Fourteen month later, Smarty Ears has created over 21 applications for children with speech and language delays and disorders such as Stuttering, articulation delays, autism, down syndrome, and language disorders. Our goal is to provide the best tools that engage every children to learn, develop appropriate communication skills and become better communicators. Copyright (C) 2012 Smarty Ears. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.


elected officials, policymakers, advocates, and others around the country are making grade-level reading by the end of third grade a priority.
The Campaign works with child and family advocates across the country to help assure a seamless system of care, services and supports from birth through third grade. This includes policy and practice that promotes children’s optimal social, emotional and cognitive development; improves professional development for the early childhood education workforce; and supports parents as their children’s first teacher and best advocate. We work with state advocacy networks—including KIDS COUNT and Voices for Children—as well as State Early Childhood Advisory Councils to better coordinate and align public, private and philanthropic investments in early learning.
More than 30 states have put a stake in the ground around third grade reading. These “stake in the ground” states are proving that there is no single approach, silver bullet or magic formula.
Some have focused on investing in the early years to ensure readiness for kindergarten. Others are supporting improved classroom instruction and extended learning time. Still others have joined community-wide efforts to reduce chronic absence and summer learning loss. Even those states embracing controversial student retention policies present a diverse array of approaches about when and subject to what constraints student should be retained in grade.
In most of these states, the governors, chief state school officers and legislative leaders have been prodded by advocates who realize that third-grade reading offers a coherence-making target for the multi-faceted agenda pursued on behalf of children in the early years and early grades; inspired by proof points provided by exemplary programs and schools; and supported by donors and foundations seeking to tilt more resources toward what works and away from what does not.
Read more about smart promotion policies.
The Get Georgia Reading Campaign is engaging public and private partners across the state to get Georgia reading! Nearly 100 partners are working together on population-focused efforts to provide integrated and coherent support and education to children, with the expectation that every child under the age of eight living in Georgia achieves reading proficiency by the end of 3rd grade. In 2013, 66 percent of 4th graders in Georgia lacked reading proficiency.
In 2013, the Campaign organized three large convenings and a series of “learning journeys” that engaged hundreds of stakeholders in developing an agenda for change to guide the Campaign in supporting children in learning to read by 3rd grade so that they might read to learn throughout school and life. The result is a four-part agenda that identifies the four conditions that are necessary for children to achieve reading proficiency – all of which address the birth through 3rd grade population.
1. Language Nutrition: All children receive language-rich adult-child interactions, which are as critical for brain development as healthy food is for physical growth.
2. Access: All children and their families have access to, and supportive services for, healthy development and success in early childhood and early elementary education.
3. Productive Learning Climate: All educators, families, and policymakers understand and address the impact of the learning climate on social-emotional development, school attendance, engagement, and ultimately student success.
4. Teacher Preparation and Effectiveness: All educators provide high-quality, evidence-informed instruction and effective learning experiences tailored to the needs of each child, regardless of the child’s background.
The Campaign is led by a Cabinet comprised of nearly 30 high-level leaders representing the Governor’s office, eight state departments or agencies, statewide nonprofit organizations, the business community, school superintendents, and funders.


Eight-year elementary education in the Republic of Croatia is compulsory and free for all children at the age of six to fifteen. This refers to all children with permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia, irrespective of their citizenship.
There are three segments of elementary education. Compulsory elementary education conducted in regular elementary schools and special institutions for students with developmental difficulties, art education in elementary music and dance schools, and elementary education of adults conducted in regular schools and specialized institutions. Elementary music education is also conducted in certain regular elementary schools, as a separate educational program.
Regular schools were mostly founded by the units of local self-government and the towns (828), while some were established by other physical and legal persons (10). In private elementary schools alternative elementary education is available according to special pedagogical principles (Waldorf, Montessori). Education of children with more significant developmental difficulties is conducted in 21 special institutions. Art education is conducted in 56 institutions, 3 of which are private. Education of the representatives of national minorities is carried out in 24 elementary schools, where the program is conducted in the language and writing of a relevant national minority, while 61 elementary schools have classes with program conducted in the language and writing of a relevant national minority.
In addition to 838 elementary schools in the elementary education system we also have the following:
1. SPECIAL SCHOOLS, the total of 21 (3 special schools founded by the counties, 16 special schools founded by the towns and municipalities, and 2 special schools founded by other physical and legal persons).
2. ART SCHOOLS, the total of 56 (13 art schools founded by the counties, 38 art schools founded by the towns and municipalities, and 5 art schools founded by other physical and legal persons.


- - Please visit: Wichita Band Instrument Co. - -
In a few weeks John will be covering the topic of transposition in Week 12 of the University of Horn Matters pedagogy course.
In the meantime, I decided that the transposition chart created about 4-5 years ago needed some refreshing. Along with the Playing Tips page, this chart has been one of the most popular pages in the entire site and so it was worth it to go back and freshen it up.
This new version includes a fourth column, one that illustrates the interval differences from the fixed pitch of F. I hope that it may help students to more easily remember the intervals required for each key.
An easy way to remember the correct transposition interval is to relate Horn in F and the transposition key as a specific notes on the staff and discern interval relationships from there.
For example, if the transposition key is A-alto, imagine an “A” on the treble clef staff to represent that key. To represent the standing pitch on the modern Horn in F, add an “F” to this imaginary staff.
The interval relationship from the “F” to the “A” is a major 3rd upwards – this also happens to be the correct transposition interval for Horn in A.
The updated chart
Click for a larger view or see the PDF below.
A quick note on the PDF version: while the lines in the tables may look invisible in random areas when viewing the PDF on a computer monitor, when printed out, everything looks as it should be.
Other Horn Matters resources on the topic of transposition worth looking at:
- Transposition Tricks: Sometimes Up is Down
- Transposition Tricks: Bass Clef
- Transposition Tricks: Alto Clef
- Transposition Tricks: Old vs. New Notation
- Hornmasters on Transposition
- Just Say “No” to Transposed Parts
- Horn in A in Italian ‘Bel Canto’ Opera: Rossini’s Semiramide
- I’m in Music Education – Why Do I Need to Know Transposition?


NANTWICH FREE LIBRARY
The Public Libraries Act of 1855 permitted local authorities
with 5000 or more inhabitants to levy a rate of one penny
in the pound to establish a public library. For thirty years
Nantwich took no action.
In 1886 Samuel Harlock,MP,proposed that the town should
adopt the Act - as an essential complement to the 1870 Education
Act which had set up compulsory elementary education. The
people of Nantwich were not enthusiastic. A penny rate would
produce only £65 a year.
Fortunately, a year later, the Local Board discussed ways
in which the town might celebrate Queen Victoria`s Golden
Jubilee. Gradually Harlock`s idea to have a library was taken
up. At first donations were small. Then John Brunner(of Brunner
Mond Chemical Works in Northwich)wired from New York: "Gladly
subscribe £200 Free Library." This generosity was
due to the impression made on Brunner as a young boy when
his father took him to the opening of the Brown Museum and
Library in Liverpool. He was reported to have said: "Perhaps
some day I shall be a rich man and give a free library like
Sir William Brown."
By August 1887 donations had reached £900 and the
Local Board agreed to adopt the Public Libraries Acts 1850-55.
A Library Committee was set up. Lord Cholmondeley agreed to
sell, for £200, some land in Pillory Street. He also
gave £50. Thomas Bower would be the architect and J.Matthew,
of Beam Street, the builder. The cost of the library was estimated
to be £485 but when extras were added the cost rose
to £712. Furnishings would add another £65.
By this time (1888) donations had reached £1220. The
people had accepted the project. They were asked to recommend
books for the collection or to donate any that were suitable
for the reference part of the collection. It was the use of
the books in the Reference Library freely by anyone that gave
the early public libraries the name `Free` Library even though
ratepayers paid for the whole library (whether they used it
or not) and then had to pay a subscription to be a member!
The library of 3,000 volumes, was opened in December 1888
by John Brunner. This date is permanently built into the facade,
high up, and can still be seen, even though the building has
been re-cycled as Nantwich Museum. In the evening a grand
concert took place in the Town Hall (lower High Street).
Miss Annie Jackson was the first librarian. She served for
26 years starting on a salary of £20 per year. She catalogued
the library and the first books were circulated on the 9th
of March 1889.
(Details and later history may be found in "Nantwich
Free Library: the early years" by Allan Whatley
to mark the centenary library building in 1988)
Top of page | History
index | Next page


Imagine the reaction of a parent who asks: "Is my child ready for first grade?" What would they say to the seemingly simple inquiry, "Can he skip down the street?"
Adults don't skip. Other than while holding the hand of a young child, we would all be hard pressed to say we have seen an adult skipping down the street. Clearly, it is not a motor skill that children will use later in life, but for a young child skipping is imperative.
This playful method of movement is actually a great predictor for a child's later comfort with fine motor and visual motor skills. Bob Sornson, founder of the Early Learning Foundation, identifies fluid skipping as one of four necessary movement goals for all students by the end of kindergarten. His list of goals that indicate early learning success follow:
In some ways, we all agree with him, perhaps without realizing it. For example, we can agree that the body was designed to move. Anyone who has young children will tell you how much they need to move. Parents, just think of every time you have ever said "sit still."
The bottom line is that movement, from the crawling of a baby to the skipping of a 5 year old, is an important predecessor to a child's brain growth and development. Most parents understand that crawling is an important cross lateral movement that improves communication between the two sides of the brain. Likewise, physical activity in early childhood develops brain-body coordination that lays the foundation for cognitive brain wiring yet to come. Indeed, such motor skills serve as catalysts for the development of listening, speaking, attention, emotional control, and visual motor and visual thinking skills.
In the progression and the development of sensory motor skills, optimal readiness for school is built on balance and gross motor skills. Those fundamental skills need to be obtained for later skills to develop - skills such as visual memory that help young students remember sight words, or skills such as visualization that allows us to comprehend abstract concepts.
All of this is to say that learning and movement are intrinsically tied together.
For young children, movement is the key to joyful learning. Movement increases blood flow and brings more oxygen to the brain. Indeed, a student before second grade can only pay attention for 10 minutes before needing to move in some way. The child who is fidgeting is sending a clear message that (s)he needs to move. Being asked to sit still at a desk might make it impossible to concentrate when the body needs to move.
Research agrees, young children need to move. Even the NFL has adopted a campaign to encourage physical activity in children for at least 60 minutes every day. Daily physical education classes meet this goal. It allows children the exercise and cardiovascular fitness to keep the blood moving and oxygen pumping in the brain. It is a different way to think about the whole child when we think about early childhood education.
What is a parent to do? Consider if you will that to sit still and be productive, your child might need to have an opportunity to move first. If you want your 6-year-old to sit for an hour, physical exercise ahead of time will help and the opportunity to move even in small ways every 10 minutes will make a world of difference.
Linda Krulock graduated from West Liberty State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education and early childhood. She teaches senior kindergarten at Wheeling Country Day School. Elizabeth Hofreuter-Landini is head of school at Wheeling Country Day. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard University Graduate School of Education.


Report identifies best practices in closing early digital divide
Closing the digital divide has been a constant challenge as technology tools and use become more prevalent in schools. Now, research shows that developing early technology skills can help close the digital divide.
Though technology use has expanded in schools, students’ at-home technology and internet access isn’t necessarily reliable.
According to a RAND Corporation report, Using Early Childhood Education to Bridge the Digital Divide , this means that children from families without access to digital technology “have fewer opportunities to learn, explore, and communicate digitally, and fewer chances to develop the workforce skills they will need to succeed in later life.”
Early childhood education access to technology will help ensure that students begin to develop tech skills and learn how to use tools that they are likely to use once they enter elementary school.
(Next page: The report’s findings on early childhood technology exposure)
Early childhood education helps children prepare for school and also gives low-income students and other disadvantaged groups an opportunity to begin kindergarten on equal ground. It helps children build foundational skills in core academic areas and, the report suggests, may do the same for technology skills and literacy.
Research has proven that people with technology skills have more workforce potential and tend to earn more, and much emphasis has been placed on the fact that today’s students will be competing for technology-centered jobs that don’t even exist today.
Debates also exist over how much technology use and screen time are appropriate for young children and in early education settings.
And while technology access, supported by high-speed internet and appropriate software and apps, is important, what is most important is that a highly-trained educator is able to help young students use technology as a tool to develop their early learning.
The report includes five questions that educators should ask when it comes to integrating technology in early education settings:
- What is the goal for information and communication technology in early childhood education?
- How do we define appropriate use of technology in early childhood education?
- Once defined, how do we support effective use through devices, connectivity, software, and other components of ICT infrastructure?
- How do we ensure that ECE providers are prepared to address the digital divide?
- What relationship should parents and families have to the integration of technology into early childhood education?


Free Lesson Plan Download: Abstract Tech
Level: Middle School Art Education Lesson Plan
Art Elements: Line, Shape, Color
Art Skills: Computer Graphics, Critique
Art History: Abstract Expressionism
* Get more free lessons like this, on our Lessons Page
This lesson is a great way to introduce your students to the idea of critique. Using a simple game, students are asked to look carefully at, and talk thoughtfully about different works of Abstract Expressionism. Taking this new knowledge, students are then challenged to create their own works of art that deal with emotions. Adding a layer and a generous dose of 21st Century skills, students complete their final pieces in the computer lab.


Infant Toddler Development Training
|Age||Examples of Language Play behaviors||Typical Adult support with objects or others||Adaptive Adult support with objects or others|
|Young Infants Birth to 8 Months||- cries to signal pain or distress
-smiles to make contacts with others
-responds to voices and gazes
-uses vocal and non
-vocal communication to express interest or delight
|-use exaggerated speech while facing the baby to stimulate cooing
-make silly expressions for baby's intent expressions and overall body responsiveness
-name the baby's body parts as you touch each one
-sing to the baby for auditory intrigue and emotional comfort
|-put the babies head next to your chest as you talk so he can feel the sounds, too
-use brighter colors of object
-use soft objects to name or show -turn the baby's head to you as you speak
-look directly at the baby eyes when you speak to him/her
-use rattles to get his/her attention
|Mobile Infants 8 Months to 18 Months||-understands more words that can say
-looks at objects when named
-creates longer babble sentences
-shakes head - NO!
-looks at and points in picture books
-uses other vocal sounds to get attention
-uses me, I , you
|-pretend to talk on the phone and then hold the phone for the baby to speak
-look at picture books together and make the animal sounds in the book
-repeat their sounds, ie ba-ba-ba back to them
-provide simple pictures for the baby to name
|-provide phones and books that talk and repeat phrases
-use more simple language and ask them to repeat it
-provide larger photos with less people in each photo
-teach "baby-signs" (language) of common objects
|Toddlers and Twos 18 Months to 35 Months||-combines words -listens to stories for a short while
-may have 200 word vocabulary -develops fantasy in language
-defines household items
-uses compound sentences
-uses adjective and adverbs
|-look at family photos together and say - "point to..."
-engage in fantasy play and ask "what are you pretending?"
-count with the child
-have the child tell you about his drawings and paintings
|-provide a simple PECs (picture cuing) system for the child to point to pictures to let you know what he/she wants
-provide more guidance and suggestions in fantasy play to enrich the experience
-provide books with audiotapes and headphones
From: Brain Wonders (Bredekamp & Copple, l987; Frost, Worthington, Reifel, 2005; Gozalez-Mena, Eyer, 2004; Johnson, Christie, &Yawkey, 1999; Johnson-Martin, Jens, Attermeier, & Hacker, 1991; O'Brien, 1997.
Language and Speech: Critical Points for Interventions
Read the Introduction to Early Literacy informational topics listed below.
- What We Know About Early Language and Literacy Development
- Early Literacy Does Not Mean Early Reading
- What Infants and Toddlers Can Do - Early Literacy Behaviors
Next, read Repeated Readings Here, you will find the answer to the following question "Why does a young toddler insist on having the same book read over and over again?"
Consider these questions:
- Sometimes families say they are too busy to read to their child. What would you as a service provider say and do to work with the family?
- What community resources are available to help families with their child's literacy development?
- Do you know how to make a book with a family that they can read with their child?


Working with troubled youth can be challenging and stressful, yet also rewarding and meaningful. While they can test your patience and push the rules to the limits, troubled children and teenagers are often just looking for someone to care and pay attention to their needs. If you love working with children and adolescents and think you have what it takes, a career helping troubled youth might be the right path for you.
Direct Service Providers
There is a wide variety of careers that involve providing direct services to troubled youth. Direct service providers offer assistance and support to youth who have been subject to abuse or neglect, who have behavioral or emotional disorders or who have been identified as at-risk due to living circumstances, poverty or other social problems.They might help youth locate needed services, such as alternative housing, assist their families with obtaining concrete needs, like food stamps or other medical care, or provide other supportive services. Some of the job titles of direct service providers who help troubled youth include case worker or case manager, residential counselor, youth advocate and child care worker. In most cases, these professionals need at least a high school diploma, but some employers may prefer candidates with post-secondary education.
Therapists are usually master's level clinicians who provide counseling and therapy to troubled youth and their families. They might have graduate degrees in mental health-related fields such as professional counseling, social work, psychology, marriage and family counseling or pastoral counseling. Therapists work in social services agencies, community organizations, juvenile justice settings, schools, hospitals and residential settings to help troubled youth find solutions to their problems, deal with stress and address underlying psychological or emotional disorders. They may also provide services such as family counseling or group therapy, depending on the work setting.
Educators who work with at-risk youth are teachers and other educational specialists who offer support and guidance to their students. They might work in alternative schools, residential settings or community services agencies. Many are licensed teachers who have bachelor's or master's degrees in fields like elementary education or special education. They might work in school settings or alternative programs that help high school drop-outs obtain GEDs. Others might work in community education and prevention programs, such as violence prevention, substance abuse prevention and education or gang prevention programs. They may have job titles such as outreach worker or prevention specialist. These professionals generally must have a bachelor's degree in a human services field.
Any program that helps troubled youth must have a strong administration in order to run smoothly and efficiently. Administrators often work behind the scenes to ensure the effective day-to-day operation of the organization, but they might also be involved directly with youth and their families. These professionals include administrators and program directors, who usually must have at least a bachelor's degree and some management experience. They might run non-profit organizations, for-profit residential programs and schools. In addition to managing the program and taking care of administrative issues, they must also lead and direct staff and ensure the overall safety of the organization.
- Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images


Literacy for the new millennium
- edited by Barbara J. Guzzetti.
- Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2007.
- Physical description
- 4 v. : ill. ; 25 cm.
- Praeger perspectives.
Education Library (Cubberley)
- Library has: v.1-
LC149 .L4987 2007 V.1
LC149 .L4987 2007 V.2
LC149 .L4987 2007 V.3
LC149 .L4987 2007 V.4
- Library has: v.1-
- Guzzetti, Barbara J.
- Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
- v. 1. Early literacy
- v. 2 Childhood literacy
- v. 3 Adolescent literacy
- v. 4 Adult literacy.
- Publisher's Summary
- This four-volume set offers a comprehensive outline of the study and practice of literacy in the United States. Each book in this set is divided into three sections: recent trends and issues impacting the field, issues in assessment and instruction, and issues outside the classroom that impact literacy development and practice. Each of the texts concludes with a chapter on community and professional resources appropriate for the specific age group. The first volume, "Early Literacy", covers infancy and early childhood. Topics such as oral language development, phonics, beginning writing, storytelling and drama, family literacy practices, and instruction for second language learners and special needs children are all addressed. Volume two, "Childhood Literacy", includes information on popular approaches to reading instruction, children's literature, spelling computer and instructional technology, book clubs, after-school programs, No Child Left Behind, and Reading First. "Adolescent Literacy", the third volume, covers supplementary literacy programs for at-risk adolescents, literacy tutors, young adult literature, gender issues, digital literacy, and blogging. Volume four, "Adult Literacy", includes chapters on adult basic education, programs for English language learners, Literacy Volunteers of America, and workplace literacy.
(source: Nielsen Book Data)
- Supplemental links
- Table of contents only
- Publication date
- Praeger perspectives
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Details about Philosophy and the Analysis of Music:
A musical experience is marked by the synthesis of passion and rationality, emotion and understanding, and body and mind. Ferrara demonstrates that each method of musical analysis confines musical significance to a single level: formal methods explain musical syntax; phenemonological methods describe the sound-in-time; and hermeneutic approaches interpret referential meanings. Ferrara devises an eclectic method that provides bridges for musical sound, form, and reference.In response to the multiplicity of levels of musical significance, Ferrara's eclectic method draws upon a wide-ranging number of conventional and non-conventional approaches to musical analysis which results in a dialectic of methods. Referential meanings are concretized, clarified, and delimited by the degree to which they can be grounded in the sound-in-time and formal elements; the latter are reexamined, expanded, and enriched by referential insights. In the last two chapters, the eclectic method is tested through analyses of works by Bela Bartok and David Zinn. This book is intended for trained music listeners and performers, music analysts, musicologists, and those interested in aesthetics and the development of music and music education.
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The world's oldest survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland is dead at 108.
More from GlobalPost: Auschwitz documents surface, then vanish
A teacher by trade, he was imprisoned at the death camp for giving lessons to Polish children in defiance of his Nazi occupiers.
After the Germans invaded Poland, sparking World War II, the Nazis banned Poles from anything beyond four years of elementary education in a bid to crush the country's people and its culture, according to the AP.
More from GlobalPost: Auschwitz survivor and museum director dies on 60th anniversary of liberation
But an underground movement known as the Secret Teaching Organization sought to keep the country's education system alive and well.
Dobrowolski and other Polish teachers engaged in the effort were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Auschwitz in June 1942, according to Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza.
Dobrowolski later spent time at the concentration camps of Gross-Rosen and then Sachsenhausen, where he was liberated in 1945 at the war's end, the AP reported.


Delayed development of speech and/or language is one of the commonest reasons for parents of preschool children to seek the advice of a paediatrician.
Accessible to non-academic Speech and Language Impairments provides an overview of recent research developments in specific speech and language impairments, written by experts in the field. Topics include normal and disordered development of problems , crosslinguistic studies, pragmatic language impairments, early identification, educational and psychiatric outcomes, acquired epileptic aphasia and experimental studies of remediation. The book concludes with a chapter by Michael Rutter that gives guidelines for conducting and evaluating research in this field.
The range of topics covered in the book provides a commendable reference source for researchers and practitioners. All chapters are built on a sound edifice of research providing sufficient depth to evaluate contrasting views. - Julie Dockrell, Institute of Education, in Child Language
Foreword. M. Tomasello, Acquiring Syntax is Not What You Think. M.L. Rice, Grammatical Symptoms of Specific Language Impairment. R. Plomin, P.S. Dale, Genetics and Early Language Development: A UK Study of Twins. G. J. Whitehurst, J.E. Fischel, Reading and Language Impairments in Conditions of Poverty. J. Stackhouse, Barriers to Literacy Development in Children with Speech and Language Difficulties. D.V.M. Bishop, Pragmatic Language Impairment: A Correlate of SLI a Distinct Subgroup, or Part of the Autistic Continum? L.B. Leonard, Specific Language Impairment Across Languages. P. Tallal, Experimental Studies of Language Learning Impairments: From Research to Remediation. S.E. Weismer, Intervention for Children with Developmental Language Delay. M.E. Fey, K. Proctor-Williams, Recasting, Elicited Information and Modelling In Grammar Intervention for Children with Specific Language Impairments. R. Paul, Predicting Outcomes of Early Expressive Language Delay: Ethical Implications. G. Conti-Ramsden, N. Botting, Educational Placements for Children with Specific Language Impairments. I.M. Goodyear, Language Difficulties and Psychopathology. M.J. Snowling, Language and Literacy Skills: Who is at Risk and Why? T. Deaonna, Acquired Eplieptic Aphasia (AEA) or Landau-Kleffner Syndrome: From Childhood to Adulthood. M. Rutter, Research into Practice: Future Prospects. Index.


A bedtime app gives new readers and their parents a big language boost.
Mommy and Daddy have tucked Caillou into bed, but there are scary noises and shadows keeping him wide awake. And so begins the first app in the iReadWith series based on the animated TV character Caillou. Although a predictable storyline—things go bump in the night—what makes this app special is its approach to language and literacy development. Young readers personalize the experience by choosing avatars that appear at the bottom of each page with prompting questions and conversation starters that not only inspire engagement in the story, but also build verbal fluency, imagination, vocabulary, comprehension and narrative skill. The avatars ask questions like, “What makes the shadows on the bed?” creating intriguing opportunities for dialogue between children and parents. Using the Read & Record option, they can record any or all of 12 “living words” in the story, which are offered in both French and English. And when readers have progressed through all three reading levels, they can create and record their own stories and dialogue, choosing scenes and characters in the Theater (found on the intro page). The 1.2.0 version features a Listen option with professional narration, giving pre-readers the opportunity to learn and explore on their own.
A cacophony of educational inspiration, this “Noise” is anything but. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 4-8)


Impact of Alternative & Innovative Education Programmes: A Study of Bridge Course Centres in Bardhaman District
Education is the basic requirement and the ‘Fundamental Right’ of the citizens of a nation. Elementary Education system also serves as the base over which the super-structure of the whole knowledge system is built up. This calls for bringing all children under coverage of Elementary Education, which sadly has not been possible yet in India. Policy makers have responded through various programs – two latest examples of which are the Sarva Shikhsa Mission and the Right to Education Bill. The former have been hailed as a successful instrument to remove all ills plaguing the elementary education system in India through some of its alternative, innovative, and flexible programs. In this paper we examine the performance of one of the Flagship programme under SSA – the Bridge Course Centres – in selected areas of West Bengal to evaluate its performance, identify the shortcomings, and suggest some steps for improving them. This is extremely important as the SSA is now being extended to Madhyamik Shikhsa Mission and mistakes of the former should not be repeated in the latter.
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Summary of Major Themes and Issues Raised at Meeting
- Supporting Positive Language and Literacy Development in Young Language Minority Children: Research, Policy, and Practice: Roundtable Meeting, 2008 | Learn more about this project
The Language Minority Roundtable was a working meeting where invited participants engaged in critical dialogue regarding how research can support efforts of policymakers and practitioners to serve the language and literacy needs of young language minority children (i.e., birth to 5 years of age). The central goal of the meeting was to gain a better understanding of how available research can or cannot presently inform policy and practitioner concerns.
The present report highlights key research issues and questions that arose from the roundtable meeting on the topic of how research can support positive language and literacy outcomes for young language minority children. The roundtable discussions, held in Washington DC in April 2008, were unique in that they highlighted research issues specific to the needs of programming and policy audiences. Several federal agencies and prominent researchers in the field assisted in planning the content of the meeting. In addition, many efforts were made to ensure that the voices of stakeholders outside the academy were included in the proceedings, which greatly enriched and enlivened the discussions. To this end, half of the attendees at the roundtable consisted of scholars from various institutions (about 40 total), while the other half comprised directors and practitioners in early childhood programs and federal representatives.


The Diploma programmes seek to provide students and workers with a range of skills and knowledge that will enable
them to work effectively, creatively and professionally. The courses are also designed for students or workers who are interested in exploring and developing an art practice through collaboration with a variety of community groups and in diverse range of settings.
Graduate of these may take up careers as teachers of Art and Design at the primary and post-primary level or work in related areas. The courses also develop the student’s understanding of the ways in which art experiences can be used to promote the aesthetic, intellectual/ personal and social development of both the young and the old.
The aims of the programmes are:
The curriculum is designed to provide each student with requisite skills to practice as a self-employed studio artist, legible to be employed and the academic credits for further studies in Art.
To offer well-structured curriculum aimed at encouraging the student to be innovative rather them imitative
To equip the student with digital design application to meet current standards of art and design production
To provide basic entrepreneurial skills in a selected Art discipline.
The programmes are:
Diploma in Textiles
Diploma in Ceramics
Diploma in Sculpture
Diploma in Basketry
Diploma in Picture Making
Diploma in Leatherwork
Diploma in Jewellery
Graduates from the programmes can be employed by:
The Ghana Education Service
Other Educational Institutions
Government and Private Agencies
Industrial product designers
Applicants must possess, at least, ONE of the following qualifications
One-Year Certificate in Art
Teacher’s Certificate ‘A’/ Diploma
Five (5) Passes in SSSCE /WASSCE including Mathematics and English Language and three (3) Visual Arts Elective subjects
Advance Handicraft Teacher’s Certificate or City and Guilds Advance or Technician Part II or III.
The courses offered by the Art Education Department under these programmes are designed to provide foreigners, who are interested in African Art in general and Ghanaian Art in particular, a platform to:
view exciting, unique and exotic Ghanaian Art artefacts and interact with them
have a personal experience of the making of Ghanaian artefacts
interact with and learn from people who make a living though the production of these Ghanaian Art artefacts
learn to personally make some of these unique Ghanaian artefacts
have a lively discussion to ensure that students gain knowledge of historical and contemporary Art of Ghana As far as students from outside Ghana are concerned, they have to meet the admission requirements for the respective course in the university


This course is designed for literacy coaches, reading specialists, classroom teachers, Title 1 educators/administrators, and special educators who are knowledgeable about literacy development, curriculum, and instruction and are interested in learning more about the role and responsibilities of a literacy coach. The course is aligned with the New Hampshire PreK-16 Literacy Action Plan for the 21st Century. Introduction to Literacy Coaching presents an overview of the literacy coach's authentic role in improvingthe literacy performance of students at his/her school/district. With the demanding rigor of statewide assessments and an ever changing educational leadership, policies, and procedures, the literacy coach's role is instrumental in closing the gap between performance and achievement. The literacy coach is charged with communicating the focus, supporting and building teacher capacity in literacy instruction. This course has been differentiated for participants not currently in a school system.


On July 8th, the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, launched “Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life – The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020“, a wide ranging new strategy aimed at ensuring that every child leaves school having mastered literacy and numeracy. This National Strategy to improve literacy and numeracy among children and young people is seen as a key pillar of the Programme for Government for the new Fine Gael / Labour coalition. Speaking at the launch, Minister Quinn said, “It is the government’s belief that no child should leave school unable to read and write and use mathematics to solve problems. We know that there is currently much room for improvement and this strategy sets out the road map with concrete targets and reforms that will ensure our children, from early childhood to the end of second level, master these key skills.”
The Strategy aims to ensure that teachers and schools maintain a strong focus on literacy and numeracy skills, within a broad and balanced curriculum. It sets out a wide-ranging programme of reforms in initial teacher education courses, in professional development for teachers and school principals, and in the content of the curriculum at primary and post-primary levels in order to achieve these vital skills. Schools will be required to make greater use of standardised tests of reading and mathematics in second and sixth class in primary schools and introduce these tests for 2nd year students in post-primary schools. They will be required to report the findings to parents, Boards of Management (BOM) and the Department of Education and Skills (DES). Schools will be required to develop and implement school improvement plans in accordance with guidance from the Department’s Inspectorate. A circular will be issued to primary schools shortly, requiring them to increase the time available for literacy to 90 minutes per day and for mathematics to 50 minutes per day (up from 36 minutes currently) from this September.
Given the financial constraints facing the country, Minister Quinn said that the Strategy had been developed in a way that keeps additional costs to a minimum. “This means that we will have to find the necessary resources for literacy and numeracy by re-prioritising existing spending, by cutting activities that may be desirable but less important, and by ensuring that we get the very best outcomes from whatever financial and human resources we have,” stated the Minister. The Minister concluded that he wanted a “concerted national effort to achieve world-class literacy and numeracy skills among our children and young people.”
Sheila Nunan, General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), said the union would consider the plan carefully, discuss it with teachers, see what bits of it were worthwhile and what parts could be implemented. However, her initial reaction to the strategy could only be said to be “lukewarm”. She remarked that this plan was being introduced at a time when many teaching jobs were being lost. “You cannot on the one hand demand higher standards and then cut teacher numbers, reduce funding, decrease supports for special needs and disadvantaged children and increase class size”, Ms Nunan said. She said that these cutbacks would compromise the ability of schools to deliver on the plan. “The government’s commitment to literacy and numeracy will be seen in the next budget. If teacher numbers are cut then this plan is not worth the paper it is written on,” said Ms Nunan. “The challenge for the Minister is to ring fence front line staffing and find the resources to support a rise in standards. If he doesn’t do this, then this plan will be a pointless exercise.”
This sentiment was broadly backed by Pat King, General Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI). Commenting on the launch of the plan by Minister Quinn, Mr. King said, “Literacy skills have a significant influence on a young person’s future life chances. The ASTI welcomes this focus on literacy. However, it is important to point out that quality learning requires a quality learning environment. The learning environment of schools is significantly affected by resources such as the number of teaching staff, access to specialist staff and the availability of educational resources including new technologies and reliable broadband connection. In this context, we are appealing to the Government not to impose further cuts on our under-resourced schools. Further cuts will militate against the effective delivery of the Minister’s literacy plan and on the delivery of a range of other plans, programmes, and projects which are currently being implemented in schools.”
The 88 page Literacy and Numeracy Strategy can be downloaded from the DES website HERE.
View the Wordle of the text of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy HERE.


The Art of Making the Ordinary Extraordinary
Kuster, Deborah, Art Education
For grades 4-6
These four photographs by the Texas artist Keith Carter may initially appear quite ordinary. The subjects are not famous people; the places are not examples of the prosperous and progressive. But as Carter, himself, explains:
There are an extraordinary number of people who have these great lives of the spirit. They work hard to make their lives interesting. This series is about those people, it's about the animals they live with, the gardens they have, how they spend their time. It's about imagination in the boondocks. (Carter, 1990, p. 125)
This resource is a journey into the art of Keith Carter that guides and seeks the extraordinary in the ordinary stories of people's lives.
Objectives and Overview
Students will look carefully and interpret what is extraordinary about the "ordinary" photographs by Keith Carter. Suggested strategies and activities encourage students to discover the extraordinary people and things in their own lives. It is about imagination "in the boondocks" or wherever you are!
An advantage of examining the works of contemporary artists is having the words of the artist to gain greater understanding and insights into the art. Keith Carter is an articulate artist, and his words and ideas are used as the springboard for discussion, analysis, and interpretation.
This resource includes a short quote by the artist about each photograph along with strategies for looking and discussing. It concludes with one discussion strategy summarizing all four photographs that leads into the project idea and assessment plan.
Aesthetics. Many theorists have agreed on specific types of questions to approach the aesthetic experience:
* Questions about the art object, such as: Which properties of the art serve to represent, express, convey ideas, or act as symbols?
* Questions about the artist, such as: What role does the artist's intention play in descriptions and evaluations of his or her work? How is what the art expresses related to the artist?
* Questions about the audience, such as: What is the role of emotion? What is the role of intellect? What is the role of taste? Are some interpretations of artworks better than others?
* Questions about the context, such as: How does culture determine which artworks have aesthetic value? (Eaton, 2000)
Art History. There are certain tasks students need to be able to carry out if they are to learn the process of art historical inquiry. These include:
* describing and contrasting visual change
* supporting conclusions
* imagining life in another time or culture
* constructing historical interpretations
* proposing explanations that account for change (Erickson, 2000)
Art Criticism. Formalist criticism can be important in discerning the structural qualities of works of art, but it is the subject matter that attracts many people to art in the first place. Sufficient attention needs to be given to the ways the medium, form, and subject matter contribute to the content and expressive power of a work of art (Wolff, 2000).
About the Artist
Keith Carter lives in Beaumont, Texas, where he owns and operates a photography studio and teaches at Lamar University. Carter does portraits as well as illustrative and editorial work. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times and to Texas Monthly, and his work is included in many public collections. …


Art Smarts #1 March 19, 2009Posted by alwaysjan in Art Education.
Tags: Art Education, Art Lessons, Art Projects, Arts in Education, Education, Lesson about Lines, Lesson about Shapes, Lesson Plans, Second Grade, Third Grade
Black construction paper. White glue. Chalk. It’s that easy. (Okay, I used pastels instead of chalk, which aren’t that cheap, but you can get a lot of mileage out of a couple of boxes). I’d seen the fantastic artwork done by second graders displayed in the hall using this process. That art was simpler – a straight line, a curvy line, and a zigzag line, with the shapes colored in between. Wonderfully abstract images. Some of my third graders had already “been there, done that,” so I upped the ante. Since we’ve studying fractions, I had them fold their paper into fourths. (I’m big on killing one bird with two stones -better yet, pummel that bird with as many standards (er, I mean stones) as you can lay your hands on.
The directions were to draw a geometric shape (a triangle) in 1/4, an organic design in 1/4, and a spiral in 1/4. The last quarter was free choice (that always elicits a cheer). No drawing in pencil first either. I drew a couple of examples on the board then turned my students loose.
The biggest problem was even though I’d checked the Elmer’s glue bottles, half of them were clogged. I spent a fair amount of time bending paperclips to try and get the glue flowing. Note to self. Next time, have a student test all of the bottles ahead of time! A few students were a little heavy-handed when it came to squeezing the glue, but overall it went quite smoothly.
I showed students how to carry their papers over to the floor like a tray of cookies, or else the glue would start running. I hoped that if we laid the papers in front of my big fan, the glue might dry while we were at lunch. Wishful thinking. This is a 2-day project.
I cordoned off the “drying” area with rope. One student remarked it was like having an art gallery in our classroom. The children proceeded to crowd the rope to get a better view of their art. Yes, it did look like a gallery – on the floor and laid out over several chairs. When one boy decided he was going to be the museum “guard,” I sent them all back to their seats.
By the next day, the white glue had dried so that it was clear. I gave a quick lesson in how to use the pastels. Don’t use them like crayons; use the sides. Each table got a paper plate of various colors and I suggested they complete 1/4 then walk around to see what other students were doing. There’s always a couple of “Class Artists” who are only to happy to share their expertise.
Trouble Shooting: 1) There’s always those kids who just use the same old colors on the school rug-red, blue, yellow, and green. I suggested they experiment with blending colors or working with only cool colors and then using one warm color.
2) A couple of kids paid no attention to the raised glue lines. They just wanted to color in big areas and viewed the lines as “speed bumps.” I had to get them to slow down and work within the lines.
Considering it was the first time I taught the lesson, I thought the results were stunning. When the pastel goes over the glue, it takes on almost a metallic or jewel-tone look. Ooooh! Ahhhhh!


Vocal and Instrumental Music Education is an integral part of the curriculum at Taylor Elementary School. Students begin their music instruction in kindergarten and continue through 5th grade. We strive for students to learn and experience all aspects of music, such as singing, playing, moving, reading, listening, analyzing, creating, editing and performing.
At Taylor, we have a 4th and 5th grade chorus that rehearses weekly during the school day and performs throughout the school year. Students in both grades have the option to participate in instrumental music instruction. Band and Orchestra members are taught playing techniques and well as important ensemble skills. Fourth grade also performs a muscial annually that all fourth graders are involved in. Lastly, Taylor is pioneering a ukulele program for 4th and 5th grade students.
Arlington Public Schools prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, creed, color, religion, gender, age, economic status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, gender identity or expression, and/or disability. This policy provides equal access to courses and programs, counseling services, physical education and athletics, vocational education, instructional materials and extra-curricular activities. Violations of this policy should be reported to the Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services at 703-228-6008 or the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources at 703-228-6110.


- Our Work
- Transforming Lives
- Work With Us
Jordan has taken steps to capitalize on its vast human potential by investing heavily in education. It is working toward high literacy and school completion rates and is steadily increasing access while decreasing gender disparities. The U.S.-Jordan partnership first began pioneering teacher and technical training in the 1950s. Since then, USAID has built schools, donated libraries and sent thousands of Jordanians to study in American institutions; countless more have been trained in Jordan. Between 2002 and 2014, USAID invested $458 million in the education sector. Recently, USAID investments have focused on improving the quality and relevance of public education,
particularly in the early grades; reducing drop-out rates; involving parents and communities in the education of their children; and providing youth with second-chance opportunities, life skills and technical training in preparation for the workforce.
Despite many achievements, the Government of Jordan (GOJ) recognizes that the quality of education remains uneven and not competitive by international standards, particularly in poorer urban and rural areas. Low early grade reading and math literacy rates impair later academic success and completion. Poor learning environments, particularly in boys’ schools, exacerbate an already underperforming school system. Pressures of a growing, young population, migration from private to public schools, and a growing Syrian refugee population put additional stress on the public system’s facilities, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
Weak pre-service and in-service teacher training paired with a lagging and rigid national curriculum has led to the majority of early-grade students not reading or doing math with comprehension. Without the necessary foundational skills and confidence, students are at risk of future academic failure. Additionally, there are few out-of-school programs and spaces available for youth to be positively engaged. Furthermore, public schools are poorly maintained and overcrowded, with limited community support or parental involvement. Moreover, the teaching profession has been undervalued, especially among men, leading to male teachers who lack motivation and incentives to be positive role models for young boys.
Strengthening the Public Education System:
1) Building Ministry of Education (MOE) capacity to implement reforms that improve learning environments and outcomes, using quality assurance standards; 2) building capacity, from schools to MOE central levels, to better use information and data-driven decision making; 3) establishing monitoring and evaluations systems; 4) developing enduring public-private partnerships; and 6) promoting professionalism and recognizing excellence among teachers and other educators.
Improving Quality of Education and Learning Outcomes:
1) Establishing a comprehensive professional teacher/administrator development system and policy framework; 2) strengthening primary students’ reading and math skills in grades K-3; 3) improving career counseling and developing the skills of secondary school students to prepare them for higher education and future careers; 4) promoting parent and community involvement; and 5) creating positive opportunities for at-risk youth, such as non-formal education.
Improving Access to Education and Learning Environments:
1) Building/expanding/renovating/refurbishing schools in underserved areas to alleviate overcrowding, ease the impact of the refugee influx, and improve the learning environment; 2) addressing psycho-social aspects of the learning environment to make the schools more engaging, healthy and safe; and 3) involving parents and community members in schools to create a sense of ownership and responsibility among stakeholders within the public school system.
IMPACT & RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Recent USAID-supported achievements include:
Completed the construction and furnishing of 27 new schools with enhanced quality and learning features, as well as rehabilitated and expanded 97 existing public schools.
Improved the learning environment for more than 84,600 students attending 124 new or rehabilitated schools, and 12,180 kindergarten students in 609 renovated kindergarten classrooms.
Completed training for 20,000 educators in induction, in-service, leadership, and mentorship programs improving the quality of education for 200,000 children.
Initiated 67 Community Parent School Committees across Jordan.
Enhanced the leadership and life skills of 130,000 youth who participated in school-to-career programs.
Renovated playgrounds and/or provided sports kits at 100 schools, and provided life skills activities serving more than 20,000 students.
Completed six high-quality policy-oriented studies through alliances with the National Center for Human Resources Development, resulting in broad dissemination and high-level policy dialogue.
Conducted Learning Environment Improvement activities and teacher training in 120 schools in 11 Field Directorates in Jordan.
Leveraged $14 million in private-sector funds to benefit USAID-supported programs.
Completed a pilot early grade reading and math intervention that reduced the number of students unable to correctly answer a single reading comprehension question from 32 percent to 19 percent, and increased student success rates on conceptual math tasks from 5 percent to 24 percent.
Last updated: February 03, 2016


Philosophy - Core Elements
Meet the Director
Classes & Recreation
Parent & Me Classes
School's Out Days
Children as Constructivist Learners
• The school’s curriculum emerges from child development combined with the children’s interest.
Children construct their own learning as opposed to teachers dictating facts.
• Children engage in Project Based Learning, which enables them to integrate knowledge and skills in
meaningful ways, incorporating math, literacy, science, social studies and physical education.
• A project is an in-depth investigation of a worthwhile topic. The teachers’ focus is to guide the children
to ask questions and, therefore, the children become more interested in what they are learning.
• The cognitive, social, emotional, language, literacy and physical skills are developed through the
learning experiences that the children participate in each day.
Families as Engaged Partners
• Family engagement is essential to building a quality school community. We actively incorporate parents’
perspectives into how we think about teaching and learning.
• Families have opportunities to joyfully celebrate Jewish life with their children.
• Communication about each child’s development is on-going, relevant and supportive.
• Families are involved in adult learning to support their own and each other’s parenting and Jewish journeys.
• Children and families are represented in the classroom environment, creating a sense of belonging.
• Space is flexible and materials open-ended, stimulating exploration and inquiry.
• Children have freedom to interact with the environment and manipulate materials.
• Aspects of the natural world are present in the classroom, engaging the senses.
• Attention is given to indoor and outdoor classrooms and common spaces to create community,
build connections and allow opportunities for Jewish living
Directors as Visionaries
• Inspired by Jewish values, directors work with the parents, teachers and lay leaders to create an
environment that cultivates a diverse and vibrant community.
• Create professional learning opportunities for the faculty. Arrange consistent and adequate time
for the teachers to learn, grow and reflect with their colleagues, families, students and community.
• Ensure that the goals of the early childhood center are aligned with the mission and goals of the JCC.
Integrate the JCC staff and lay leaders with the early childhood center.
• Cultivate professional and lay leadership to promote a sustainable early childhood learning center.
Meet the Director, Veronica Maravankin
• Early Childhood Educators are considered by the JCC and view themselves as Professionals.
• Engage in deep meaningful learning experiences, collaboration and mentoring with all members of the community.
• Fluent in the standards of excellence set by the state and accrediting agencies and have a passion to
go beyond these definitions.
Catch (Coordinated Approach to Child Health)
• Based on a foundation of Jewish values, Discover CATCH Early Childhood nurtures a love of
physical activity in children and encourages them to develop life-long healthy eating habits.
• The physical education component incorporates activities that develop flexibility, strength,
muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
• Featured activities and games develop fundamental motor skills and rhythm.
• A “no elimination” philosophy assures all children are moving at all times while having fun.
Teachers as Professionals
• Teachers have an authentic relationship with Israel allowing the children to create a strong bond with the
“Israel of the imagination.”
• Different aspects of Israel are experienced on a daily basis to seamlessly create powerful images and
representations in the minds and hearts of our children.
• Israeli music, dance, customs, foods and language come alive at the school.


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Music teachers help students learn to read music, develop their voices, breathe correctly, and hold and play their instruments properly. As their students master the techniques of their art, teachers guide them through more and more difficult pieces of music. Music teachers often organize recitals or concerts that feature their students. These recitals allow family and friends to hear how well the students are progressing and help students get performing experience.
Elementary school music teachers teach basic music concepts and simple instruments to students, gradually adding more advanced topics or instrument instruction. They teach introductory lessons in music reading, music appreciation, and vocal and instrumental music. They may organize musical programs for pageants, plays, and other school events.
Secondary school music teachers teach music history, music appreciation, music theory, and other music-related courses to students in group and/or one-on-one lessons. They also teach students how to play percussion, wind, and string instruments. They direct in-school glee clubs, concert choirs, choral groups, marching bands, or orchestras. Since music is usually an elective at the high school level, music teachers often work with students who have some musical knowledge or ability.
College and university music teachers are also frequently performers or composers. They divide their time between group and individual instruction and may teach several music subjects, such as music appreciation and music history, arrangement, composition, conducting, theory, and pedagogy (the teaching of music). They use lectures, quizzes and tests, listening exercises in a musical laboratory, and performance before a jury (a group of faculty music teachers) to educate and assess the abilities of their students.
Private music teachers, also known as studio music teachers, may teach children who are just beginning to play or sing, teens who hope to make music their career, or adults who are interested in music lessons for their own enjoyment. They teach these students in a studio, in their homes, or at their students' homes. Private music teachers who teach music to very young children are sometimes known as early childhood music educators.
In addition to teaching students, music teachers also perform administrative tasks, such as assessing and grading the performance of their students, keeping attendance records, ordering supplies, storing and maintaining musical instruments and other classroom materials, and meeting with parents to discuss the performance of their children. They also plan classroom lessons based on local or state requirements and the National Standards for Music Education.
To earn extra income, music teachers may also direct school musicals or community choirs or other musical groups, work in community theater, or perform as musicians or singers. Some music teachers also work as freelance music writers, composers and arrangers, and in other music-related professions.
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Kerala was declared a Fully Literate State in 1991 and is the only state in India where over 90% of the people can read and write, thanks to the free and compulsory education provided to all children up to the age of 14 years. Apart from this, the Kerala government is taking every possible step to improve the quality and standard of education.
Education, in its broadest sense, refers to the ways in which people learn skills and gain knowledge and understanding about the world, and about themselves.A Literate is any person who is able to read and write on his own and Literacy is the ability to read and write or is the quality of being literate.
Kerala stands first among other Indian states in literacy.Recognizing the need for a literate population and provision of elementary education as a crucial input for nation building, the state government with the backing of the central government, launched a number of plans and programmes over the past years to encourage elementary education in Kerala.
Besides, a number of government organizations and voluntary associations under various schemes and services, conduct classes for the illiterate adults.The literacy rate in the urban areas is slightly greater than in the rural areas. As per the norms of National Literacy Mission, a literacy rate above 90 % shall be treated as complete literacy.It was on this basis that Kerala was declared a Fully Literate State.


Teaching is a rewarding profession that requires enthusiasm for knowledge and great patience. Not everyone is cut out to be a primary school teacher, because it is such a demanding job that can become wearing after time. However, if you were blessed with the necessary skillset and talent to teach young students, then this career path is worth pursuing. Primary school teacher qualifications are numerous and thorough, but they are necessary to prepare you for your intense adventure in education. If you are responsible, have a creative mind and enjoy working with children you should begin the process of gaining qualified teacher status immediately.
GCSE And A Level Grades Required
In order to begin your training to become a teacher you must first have GCSE grades at C or better in the following subject areas English, Maths and Science. It is also very useful to include other more diverse courses like History and foreign languages. After these initial requirement have been met you must then have at the minimum two A level passes in subjects that are connected to the primary school curriculum. The teaching curriculum usually includes courses like English or mathematics. Those looking to teach in the UK from abroad can consult the NARIC website to check your qualifications meet the minimum requirement.
Choosing A Degree
The most straight forward route in to teaching at primary school level is to undertake BEd Primary Education course or a BA Primary Education course. These normally come with Qualified teacher status and take between 3-4 years. The course will focus on teaching of the core subjects areas and you will gain hands on teaching experience via placements at a school. If you already hold a degree you can do a PGCE to gain qualified teacher status. One point to take note of is that some universities prefer your degree to be in a national curriculum subject, so check with the university before applying.
Additional Skills Required
Besides just basic teaching curriculum requirements teachers can also benefit from possessing a unique and diverse skillset. This includes being able to develop good interpersonal relationships and having good communication skill. It can also be helpful if prospective teachers have basic computer skills and experience interacting with children. Primary school teachers are responsible for teaching more than one subject; therefore their wealth of knowledge must be vast and broad. This includes being informed about art, music and theater.
Even after you have met the initial requirements and proven your skillset, admission into teacher training courses comes down to your academic history and the validity of your references. This process could involve interviews to evaluate you more effectively. During these interviews you are likely to be given classroom scenarios that you will be asked to problem solve. This process will enable you to be judged on how well you understand child development and how aware you are of issues pertaining to children. These interviews will cover many topics and will require you to share the skills and knowledge you have acquired so far.
After your teaching training has been completed you will then need to pass competency exams and background checks. Most background checks are done to ensure that you have no criminal records. Once these steps have been completed your profession as a primary school teacher can begin.


Research-based Health Literacy Materials and Instruction Guide - Beginning ABE and ESL Levels
Research-based Health Literacy Materials and Instruction Guide
Beginning ABE and ESL Levels
The initial development and implementation of these health literacy materials was the direct result of competitive federal funding for adult literacy research. The original health literacy materials, which form the basis for this web-based version, were developed through a grant from The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2002-2008) to Dr. Susan Levy, University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Health Research and Policy. The project was funded through a federal partnership which included The National Institute for Literacy, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education of the US Department of Education, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. For more details, including a full list of the original research project staff, see Introduction and Acknowledgements.
These health literacy materials meet both the need of adults to enhance their literacy skills as well as their need to navigate the health care system and begin to achieve better health care for themselves and their families. These materials integrate literacy skills and practice with pertinent health information. In a scientifically-based research environment, use of these materials led to an increase in participants’ literacy scores on standardized tests used to validate literacy gains. And, equally as important for these adult learners, they significantly increased health literacy and knowledge.
The materials presented here are specifically intended for Beginning ABE and ESL learners, and the strategies they employ to develop and strengthen the components of the reading process are those proven effective with these groups. Find the link to the Intermediate Level ABE and ESL version in the left navigation bar.
Navigating Through the Materials: What’s Where
The basic layout or organization of the Research-based Health Literacy Materials is very straightforward. There are 18 Sections, designed to be introduced to students in order from 1 through 18. The results and outcomes of the research are based on this sequence of instruction and a set number of instructional hours (42 hrs. minimum). The Sections are listed on the sidebar to the left of the screen. Clicking on a Section title will allow you to read a brief synopsis of the main topics and highlights of that Section.
You’ll find the materials for each Section organized into four “folders” or categories. Before introducing the materials in the classroom or tutoring session, instructors are strongly urged to read the Instruction Guide, in particular:
The four key chapters noted above contain the methodology and the rationale behind the activities in each of the respective folders. Activities common to all 18 Sections are noted by an asterisk (*). Due to the nature of the content, some Sections contain more material and will take longer to cover than others.
|Basic Skills and Vocabulary|
|Material in this folder should be considered building block material for the Section. It is intended to be used at the beginning of each lesson to help students develop the foundational skills needed for effective reading.
The folder contains:
|Reading and Comprehension|
|This folder contains the basic reading material for the Section:
|This material covers a wide range of activities designed to reinforce and give more “hands-on” application of the core lesson content. Type of activity is denoted by the following codes:
|This material is designed specifically for use with English language learners. The folder contains:
You may download, print and copy any individual file or activity for use, as well as a zipped file of all the materials in each section. For additional information please see Technical Requirements
Click the icon to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Troubleshooting information for Adobe Acrobat Reader.


Acquiring Literacy in English:
Crosslinguistic, Intralinguistic, and Developmental Factors
Subproject 2: Transfer of Reading Skills in Bilingual Children
|Principal Investigator:||Diane August, Center for Applied Linguistics|
|Co-Investigators:||María Carlo, University of Miami|
|Margarita Calderón, Johns Hopkins University|
Subproject 2 consisted of three sets of studies that examined the factors that influence English language literacy development in Spanish-speaking children. Study Sets 1 and 2 were longitudinal research projects that studied children from kindergarten through first grade and second through fifth grade, respectively. Study Set 3 was an intervention that investigated the possibility of “teaching for transfer,” that is, helping children to make explicit connections between their knowledge of their first language and their understanding of their second.
Each study set addressed specific research questions:
- Study Set 1: What is the nature of the development of phonological awareness and spelling in young bilingual children?
- Study Set 2: What is the relationship between language and literacy skills in Spanish and English?
What is the role of home literacy and language environment on bilinguals’ English and Spanish vocabulary development?
Study Set 3: Can interventions be developed that help third and fifth grade children transfer cognate knowledge from Spanish to English?
The sample for Study Set 1 consisted of 102 kindergarten and first grade children, in three groups: 45 bilingual children receiving Spanish literacy instruction only, 35 bilingual children receiving English literacy instruction only, and 22 English monolingual children receiving English literacy instruction. The sample for Study Set 2 included 189 students: 34 monolingual English speakers, 59 Spanish–English bilingual students in English-only instruction, and 96 Spanish–English bilingual students who received initial reading instruction in Spanish and then transitioned into English instruction. The sample for Study Set 3 consisted of approximately 160 third and fifth grade Spanish–English bilingual students.
The main findings from the study are summarized below in reference to the four research questions.
Research Question 1: What is the nature of the development of phonological awareness and spelling in young bilingual children? (Study Set 1)
Findings: Spanish-instructed bilinguals were more likely than English-instructed bilinguals or English monolinguals to treat diphthongs as two units, reflecting the influence of Spanish language instruction on English phonological analysis. Moreover, both English vocabulary and literacy instruction made unique, positive contributions to English spelling, whereas Spanish literacy instruction played a more important role than Spanish vocabulary in the production of Spanish-influenced spelling in English. Only bilingual students in Spanish literacy instruction (SLI) exhibited Spanish-influenced spelling, indicating a strong effect of language of literacy instruction.
Research Question 2: What is the relationship between language and literacy skills in Spanish and English? (Study Set 2)
Findings: Research results demonstrated that first language reading skills are related to second language reading skills, but that children must have first language literacy in the skill for this relationship to exist; oral proficiency in the first language is not sufficient.
Research Question 3: What is the role of home literacy and language environment on bilinguals’ English and Spanish vocabulary development? (Study Set 2)
Findings:Becoming or staying proficient in English does not require parental use of English in the home. Spanish, not English, is the at-risk language for children of Hispanic heritage living in the U.S. Students need early instruction in Spanish and home support in that language in order to become and remain proficient in Spanish.
Research Question 4: Can interventions be developed that help third and fifth grade children transfer cognate knowledge from Spanish to English? (Study Set 3)
Findings: Results indicated that students in both the intervention curriculum and a control curriculum were able to spontaneously apply knowledge of Spanish words when require to infer the meaning of unfamiliar English words. In addition, results indicated no significant difference between the children in the intervention group and those in the control group in their ability to transfer cognate knowledge to words that were not targeted in the curriculum. Further analysis will investigate whether knowledge of the transfer cognate items is related to differences in Spanish frequency and whether this variable might help explain the lack of a transfer effect for cognates among students in the cognate intervention.
Read subproject summary [PDF, 58 KB]
- Cognate Awareness Test (English)
- Extract the Base Test (English and Spanish)
- Test of Phonological Processing in Spanish (TOPPS)
- Diagnostic Assessment of Reading Comprehension (DARC)
- Phonological Transfer Test
- Spelling Transfer Test


Principles to practice approach for EL success
August 4–5, 2014
9:00 am – 4:00 pm ET
Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC
Design practical, hands-on activities for English learners to be successful within rigorous content instruction while exploring the academic language and literacy practices of the 21st century classroom.
This institute is based on a 21st century approach to literacy, which includes the incorporation of oral language skills, technology tools, and other modalities.
Participants will explore the academic language and literacy practices –– such as listening for the speaker’s point of view or justifying the answer to a math problem –– that students need to be successful within rigorous content instruction. They will also learn how to scaffold participation in these discipline-specific practices, such as creating a model of the planetary system or contrasting two different cultural versions of a story. Participants will have the opportunity to design activities to bridge from students’ own literacy practices to classroom literacy tasks, including close reading and argumentation. Sample unit plans from social studies, English language arts, and science are used as examples of student tasks related to developing language and literacy in content instruction.
Throughout the two days, activities that teachers can implement in the classroom will be modeled. Strategies are applicable to newcomer students, students with limited or informal education, bilingual learners, as well as students at intermediate and advanced proficiencies in English.
The institute is designed primarily for content and ESL teachers or other school specialists who instruct in the middle grades and high school. Collaborative teaching teams and teacher leaders are especially encouraged to attend.
$950/person. Send 2 people or more and pay $900 each.
Cost includes all training materials (2 workbooks and 2 companion videos, a retail value of $75) and breakfast and lunch each day.
Register early, as space is limited.
Travel and hotel expenses are the responsibility of the participant.
Topics will include:
- Analyzing the Principles of Effective Instruction for English Learners
- Identifying a variety of approaches to understanding academic literacy
- Recognizing and explaining multimodal forms of literacy
- Determining which forms of literacy are most prevalent in specific content areas
- Applying understandings of academic literacy development to real student scenarios and how to bridge students’ home literacy practices with classroom work
- Identifying a variety of approaches to viewing and understanding academic language
- Recognizing and explaining features of academic English in different content areas
- Identifying academic practices promoted by college and career readiness standards that are interconnected with academic language, including argumentation and close reading of text
- Connecting processes of academic language and literacy development in the content areas with best practices of instruction
Each attendee will receive the new professional development workbook and accompanying video plus two full unit plans.
Daily Training Schedule
|8:30 – 9:00 am||Breakfast and conversation|
|9:00 am – Noon||Morning training session|
|Noon – 1:00 pm||Lunch and networking|
|1:00 – 4:00 pm||Afternoon training session (including mid-afternoon dessert break)|
Registration and Payment
Please decide about your method of payment (credit card or purchase order) at the time of registration. Your seat at the workshop will be confirmed once payment is received. If paying by purchase order, you can complete the online payment form by entering your purchase order number. If you do not have a purchase order, complete steps 1-4 on the registration form to tentatively reserve your seat and fax a signed copy of the purchase order to 888-700-3629 as soon as possible.
Participants may cancel their registration and receive a full refund three (3) weeks prior to the course start date by sending an email to email@example.com. After that date, no refunds will be available. Registrants may choose to receive the workshop materials by mail or may transfer the registration to another individual up to three (3) days prior to the course start date.
Questions about workshop registration, payment, cancellation, or to be added to the waiting list for future workshops, contact Marilyn Raphael, Coordinator, or call 202-355-1500.
Questions about workshop content, contact Annie Duguay, Research Associate.