The school level scholarships, which are also called as the pre-matric scholarships, consist of the primary and secondary school level scholarships, and the high school level scholarships. Consequently, these school level scholarships are obtainable by children and students studying in classes 1 to 10th or 11th. The main aims of such school level scholarships are to provide essential financial support to students belonging to financially poor and deprived backgrounds, and rural regions of the country. Ours this well-drafted web-article provides very beneficial information about the various school level scholarships in india, with a view to inform and help meritorious and bright students who are confined in financial constraints.
In India, these school level scholarships are mainly and primarily offered by the Central and State Governments of India, through their diverse departments and ministries. However, some government-funded institutions and private organizations and trusts also offer such scholarships. These school grants scholarships enable students to pursue elementary education smoothly, recognize their inner talents, and hone their specific professional skills, for building a rich career in any field in future. Some school-level scholarships and contests also help school students in building their confidence and social recognition. Some merit-based scholarships also help students in taking admission to prestigious colleges after their school education. Also, the boarding school scholarships are elegant enough to provide a rather constructive learning environment to the students, along with continuation of the school education of high standards.
High School Level Scholarships in India
As India is a vast country with the second largest population in the whole world, and the third largest educational infrastructure of the world in respect of the massive number of enrolments every year, India has many prudent and prestigious scholarship schemes for school students, both for male and female students. In this respect, the Government of India, its Department of Science & Technology, the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been highly active, in addition to the departments and institutions of the various State Governments.Though there are a large number of school level scholarships offered in India by governmental and private institutions and organizations, the following are some of the most popular and reputed school level scholarships in India, at present:
- National Talent Search Scheme (NTSS) / Examination (NTSE) [conducted by NCERT]
- Chacha Nehru Scholarships for Artistic and Innovative Excellence
- Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY)
- SEATS Scholarship for School Students [conducted every year by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India]
- National Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme
- Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education
- Scholarship schemes for Minority students
- Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme to OBCs
- Balika Samridhi Yojana
- The Velammal Science Talent Search Exam
- AVIVA Young Scholar Award
- And, many other Scholarships for School Students by the Central and State Governments, and private or corporate organizations.


By Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC
It feels like every day is a National soup or sandwich day or Taco Tuesday. So much that national recognition months are getting lost in the shuffle. National Disability Employment Awareness Month was declared in 1988 by the United States Congress for October to raise awareness of the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. This year’s theme is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All”
“Americans of all abilities must have access to good, safe jobs,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “Smart employers know that including different perspectives in problem-solving situations leads to better solutions. Hiring employees with diverse abilities strengthens their business, increases competition and drives innovation.”
Why does it matter? Why recognize a small group of the population? Because they are a valuable resource. Because they deserve a reframe from being disenfranchised to being seen as an asset. In 2017, 18.7 percent of persons with a disability were employed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In contrast, the employment-population ratio for those without a disability was 65.7 percent. The employment-population ratios for both persons with and without a disability increased from 2016 to 2017.
The Office of Disability Employment Policy under the US Department of Labor offers so many resources for employers and employees. They offer free curriculum on teaching soft skills so all young people regardless of ability can not only get jobs, but keep jobs. They offer public service campaigns that promote the benefits of employing those who regardless of disability or diagnosis offer something to an employer. They propose the question, “What can YOU do?” They give examples of what employees with disabilities can do!
“I can solve difficult problems for a Fortune 500 company.” Says Bob an executive from Google who has bipolar disorder.
“I can manage your home improvements.” Says Michael a landscaper and carpenter who has an intellectual disability.
“I can run a successful business.” Says Patty who co-owns and manages a grocery store and has paraplegia.
These are just a few examples of the valuable contributions that many people with disabilities can offer.
As each day passes and it is National Dessert Day and you want to roll your eyes and minimize a special day or month. Please pause and remember that some of these national recognitions may be a valuable opportunity to celebrate pride and difference in a positive way.
If you are interested in supporting National Disability awareness month please feel free to visit the ODEP website and find several ways to positively support those who are capable and desiring employment, but may be overlooked.
About the Author:
Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed. CRC is a deeply knowledgeable and experienced transition specialist. Prior to her tenure at NESCA, Ms. Pignone was the Career Development Director at Bay Cove Academy for 15 years, providing students with classroom and real-world employment skills training, community job placement and on the job employment-training. She has also worked at Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education and privately as a vocational rehabilitation consultant. As a certified rehabilitation counselor, Ms. Pignone brings unique expertise carrying out vocational assessment and employment planning for adolescents and young adults as well as supporting local school programs. In addition to fortifying NESCA’s premier transition assessment services, Ms. Pignone engages in person-centered planning with teens and young adults, consultation and training for parents, providers and schools, and community-based coaching services.
To book an assessment or consultation with Kathleen, please complete NESCA’s online intake form.


What’s the place of contemporary art in schools? What’s the place of “controversial” contemporary art in schools? And what’s our responsibility as teachers?
The very best contemporary art speaks a language our students can understand. One of the great gifts of Art:21 is that we can introduce our students to artists who LOOK and SOUND like they do, and who are making art that deals with issues that are important to them.
Kids grapple with issues of sex and identity early on. Stereotypes abound: girls are princesses, boys are athletes; girls are good at art and boys are good at math. Beautiful people are tall, light-skinned, with clear complexions and good hair and are very, very thin. What’s a regular every day kid to do?
A few years ago we presented a show called Sugar and Snails. It was created in response to a desire to have open conversations with our students about issues of gender identity and body image. Even at very early ages kids deal with questions like these, and it’s our job to help them make healthy choices.
Samantha Salzinger’s Skin Deep Series provided opportunities for our middle and upper school students to directly confront issues about beauty. For adolescent girls AND boys conversations about eating (or not), complexions, hair, makeup, tanning, tattooing and piercing, exercising and all sorts of other physical issues are every day occurrences. Salzinger’s large format portraits of patients recovering from plastic surgery called into question all of our assumptions, both student and adult, about the price of beauty.
Our students responded with works of their own. Human sexuality teacher Debbie Roffman asked middle school students to create collages that highlighted the stereotypes and subliminal sexual messages in popular culture. Their work showed their understanding that sex sells everything from beauty products to cars to home appliances. In their collages, the students created thoughtful, funny, often startling pieces and raised our awareness about how the media helps reinforce stereotypes.
Photographer Nikki S. Lee’s work really called into question the whole idea of fitting in. In her Projects, Lee identifies a group (tourists, Hispanics, yuppies, elderly people, lesbians, and others) and works to transform herself to be as much like them as possible. That’s Lee herself in the foreground of the skateboarders piece and second from left in the tourist piece. Our students looked at works like these and (almost without fail) took a closer look at how they, too, reinvent themselves to conform to a group norm. It happens very early, doesn’t it, when “everyone” has a particular shoe or backpack or haircut? Nikki S. Lee’s work provides an opportunity to talk to kids about it.
It’s work like this that helps open conversations with kids about issues that make a difference.
Check out more about Nikki S. Lee in this month’s Art Education magazine: Identity in Flux: Exploring the Work of Nikki S. Lee by Amanda Allison. It includes lesson plans for grades 9-12 that explore identity within contemporary subculture groups. January 2009, Volume 62, No.1.


Below is an image of the constellation Perseus holding the head of Medusa, famous for her serpentine hair. This chart is from a Russian celestial atlas published in 1829. I became aware of this unusual atlas while searching for new acquisitions for the collections of Geography and Map Division. This led me to learn more about it. The atlas is significant because it was the first published Russian celestial atlas. It is also rare. In addition to the copy held at the Library of Congress only three other copies are known to exist in the United States. They are held at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, the Pennsylvania State University Library and the Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin. The atlas was acquired for the collections of Geography and Map Division as a James Madison Council purchase in 2012. The Madison Council is a philanthropic organization that helps build the collections of the Library of Congress. The atlas held in the Geography and Map Division has been scanned in full and may be viewed on the hyperlink below the image.
The title roughly translates to Presentation of Constellations in 30 tables with Description and Guide to finding them conveniently in the Sky. The atlas contains a total of 30 celestial charts, but many of the constellations are no longer recognized by the International Astronomical Union. The engraved celestial charts appear to be printed in gold with a black background. Tests performed within the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate indicate the charts were printed with bronze lead powder rather than gold. Holes were pierced on the charts and covered with transparent paper. The principal stars shine through when the charts are held up to the light. In another published version of the atlas, the constellations were printed in black on a white background. The format and design of the constellations were based on the tradition of British astronomer John Flamsteed who compiled the Catalogus Britannicus, a catalog of 3000 stars.
Featured below are examples of two other constellations from the atlas, Pegasus the winged horse and Gemini the twins.
A Russian astronomer named Kornelius Reissig prepared the atlas for amateur astronomers and students. Reissig was born in Germany in 1781 and moved to Russia at the age of 29. He served as the director of Russia’s Military Academy in St. Petersburg and as an associate member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition to his occupation as an astronomer, he was also a mathematician and artist. He was a professor of astronomy and trigonometry in St. Petersburg and headed a workshop that produced instruments used by the Russian military. Some of the instruments included telescopes, barometers and astrolabes, a device used in navigation to predict the positions of the sun, moon and stars. Reissig was interested in promoting art education. He formed a graphic studies program at the St. Petersburg Practical Technological Institute. Students enrolled in the program were trained in both artistic and technical drawing.
I recommended this atlas for the Library’s holdings because of its rarity and value as the first published Russian celestial atlas. This unique atlas bound in tooled red leather is an important addition to the extensive collection of celestial maps, atlases and globes at the Library of Congress.


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School and Society
- Identify a topic of your own interest
- Connect it to readings and media in your bookclub
- Find 2 scholarly sources about your topic
- Facilitate 7-minute discussion
Questions for Today
1. How can you make connections with life experiences or really different interests and your bookclub?
2. How can you know the best place to look for information on a given topic?
3. How do you know when a topic is too broad/narrow? How can you determine what’s the right scope?
4. What words do you choose to search? What other tips will help?
5. How do you know you’ve found the “good” stuff-- credible, reliable, current, etc?
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
Multidisciplinary index to thousands of popular and scholarly journals, including engineering trade journals, from 1975 to current.
Contains full-text dissertations, market reports from 40 countries, and newspapers from the United States, Canada, and other countries. Includes the following collections:
The U.S. Department of Education sponsors this comprehensive database of education literature.
Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)
Scholarly articles in the fields of addition studies, anthropology, criminology, economics, family studies, gerontology, minority studies, political science, psychology, social work, and urban studies. Includes the following collections: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 (H.W. Wilson)
Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCO)
Comprehensive coverage of crime and criminology research from all over the world.
Useful for human computer interaction. Covers psychology and psychological aspects of medicine, psychiatry, anthropology, business, law, and similar disciplines.
Many library databases have advanced search screens like this:
Boolean Searching Tips
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||"music education" NOT "music teachers"
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|"" (Quotation marks)
||"multiple personality disorder"
||Searches an exact phrase, those words in that order
(will include possibilities like communication, communicators, communicating, etc)
|Includes all possible word ending variations


The Star Spangled Banner is arguably the most controversial song in the repertoire of songs for American music education. While American music educators nearly universally agree that, as the national anthem of the United States, it should be taught to American children, the pitch range, spanning an octave and a fifth, puts it out of … Continue reading The Star Spangled Banner and Young Singers
One of the fascinating things about music history is how people have gradually over the centuries changed in how dissonance is regarded. From the position that all dissonance was bad and even evil, to the twentieth century view that dissonance can be beautiful, we have accepted and embraced more and more dissonance in our art … Continue reading Varieties of Musical Dissonance
A casual survey of so-called music theory books used by piano and violin teachers reveals that music theory is frequently understood to be the body of knowledge needed to read music. When students using these materials “learn music theory,” they are asked to name notes and chords, identify and define symbols such as key and … Continue reading What Is Music Theory and How Does It Fit Into Music Education?
Today, I have two things on my mind. One is that while every child is entitled to a music education, no one is entitled to success; that has to be earned. I am a strong believer in the principle that the less one has to work for something, the less it will be valued. The … Continue reading Teaching Music Reading to Very Young Children
Regardless of how successful a private music lesson is, a large measure of the student’s eventual success depends on regular and effective practice at home. Often, attention is given to how to get students to practice more, but not enough attention is given to what students should be doing when they are practicing. I have … Continue reading How Can Students’ Practice Be Improved?
One of the reasons teaching music reading and writing is so challenging for students and music teachers is that music is not used nearly as often as a basis for thought and actions. Every action begins with a thought, and thoughts are generally pictures or words; images or descriptions. Music for most people is something … Continue reading Thinking In Music is the Key to Music Literacy
School is a social environment. Learning takes place in classes where groups of children are gathered, usually 20-25 at a time. When everything is going smoothly, students are listening to a teacher and to each other, are asking and answering questions, responding to prompts, understanding what is being said or done, and keeping their attention … Continue reading What Does Music Have To Do With Social Development?
In our well-tempered musical culture, all musical keys tend to sound the same, except for being higher or lower. Yet throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, composers enjoyed the rich and expressive variety in the way different keys sounded. Rousseau described D major as being suited for “gaiety or brilliance,” Schumann spoke of C major … Continue reading A Tale of Two Temperings
When planning a concert, there are many more things to keep in mind than just the date, time, place, and what pieces will be programmed. While these certainly need to be set, without first establishing why we give concerts with our students, and what we hope to accomplish by doing so, programming and scheduling issues … Continue reading What To Consider When Planning A School Concert
It seems there can never be too many methods for teaching music rhythm, especially where reading music is concerned. It is interesting that music notation can be at once both so logical and so confusing. Researchers have taught us that music reading is learned similarly to language reading; first we learn a vocabulary of patterns, … Continue reading An Intervention Strategy for Teaching Music Reading of Rhythms


A video game designer creates the core features of a video game to make it engaging for users. They design the characters in the game, may assist with the storyline and goal of the game, and implement the game design to make the game more engaging to users. They also get to collaborate with others on the game project to ensure a successful launch and fun gaming experience.
Watch a video:
How to Become a Video Game Designer
Though not mandatory to become a video game designer, most video game designers have earned a bachelor’s degree. According to O*NET OnLine, almost 60% have earned a bachelor’s degree and almost 20% have earned an associate’s. Ten percent of the video game designers surveyed had taken some college courses but had yet to graduate. Unless you are already an established video game designer, earning a bachelor’s degree may increase your chance of gaining employment.
You have a few options when considering which bachelor’s degree to choose. Some degree programs may focus solely on video game design and development where other programs can provide you the foundational skills needed to develop games. For example, you could go to school for a bachelor’s in computer science and learn how to develop. This would teach you the skills necessary for game development. Then, you could take electives in video game design. Another bachelor’s degree option would be a degree in multimedia arts. No matter the degree program you choose, you’ll want to ensure it teaches you graphic design, coding, and game theory.
Job Description of a Video Game Designer
Video game designers will work in a variety of stages in the video game development process. These designers could be part of brainstorm sessions to think of new game ideas that would engage a wide audience. They may then be responsible to outline the game’s concept into a storyboard to document the gamer’s experience. This storyboard can become a resource to help plan the project out into the various tasks that are needed to develop the game.
Video game designers may also develop the code necessary for the game to work. They would document their code and share their progress with the team on the project. Ensuring the code works and limiting bugs in the game is vital in this phase. These designers may still recommend engagement elements for the user to ensure the game is challenging enough to keep them interested but not too easy to want to stop playing. Once users are able to play the game, video game designers will also collect user feedback to fix any bugs people may catch or make revisions to the game if able.
Free Teacher and Student Resources
EdX.org hosts many free courses on game design and development that are taught by some of the best universities. If you visit EdX.org and do a search for ‘video game’ you can review the list of options available. One such option is offered by Harvard called CS50’s Introduction to Game Development (link opens in a new tab). Rochester Institute of Technology also offers a course on EdX.org titled Video Game Design: Teamwork and Collaboration (link opens in a new tab). Taking free courses such as this can allow you to explore a career field before deciding on your major and may even prepare you for your college courses.
Video Game Designer Career Video Transcript
Video game designers create the rich, exciting worlds that allow us to indulge our imaginations and immerse ourselves in an alternate reality. If you play video games, you’ve probably thought about turning it into a career, but know there are many dimensions to this occupation. Video game designers start with a list of concepts, narrowed down by a large team of developers to the best one. Teamwork is essential in this field, as designers collaborate with role-play mechanics, storylines, character development, graphics, and everything in between.
They are likely to need expertise in programming languages and game design computer software as well. They usually work in office settings, with typical office hours expanding to overtime as project deadlines approach. A single project usually lasts about two years, and ‘crunch’ time can last months – but through it all, these designers still report high levels of job satisfaction. To enter the field, some will create a portfolio of video game designs and concepts that will help them get noticed and hired. Others start out as quality assurance testers and work their way up. A bachelor’s degree in computer science isn’t usually required but it can be helpful if you lack other experience. These professionals aren’t just making games, they’re designing the future of gameplay experience.
National Center for O*NET Development. 15-1199.11. O*NET OnLine.
The career video is in the public domain from the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.


Work and Impact
Early Childhood Education & Development
PDI invests in early childhood education to provide otherwise extremely vulnerable students with the opportunity to succeed in the government education system. Most students in Bududa begin their education in primary school, at the age of six or seven. Their peers in urban and other areas boasting enhanced government attention (typically nearer big cities) are more likely to begin their education at the age of three or four. These students across the country must sit for the same Primary Level Examinations (PLEs), the scores of which determine entry to secondary schools. Thus, students in rural, remote Bududa face an extreme disadvantage right from the start of their educational experience. Seventy one percent of children in the district do not make it past the 7th grade. They also score among the lowest in the country on their PLEs.
We opened our pre-primary program in May 2012, which enrolls students aged four to six for early childhood education from 8am-12pm, providing each student with a daily meal. Many of these children would otherwise stay home alone as parents and guardians go off to the field or to work. In order to emphasize the importance of early childhood education, we also facilitate sensitization workshops with parents in the Bududa community.
The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund recognize that the ages between 0 and five years are critical stages in a child’s development. At PDI we believe it is absolutely imperative that pre-primary age children gain the confidence and learn the foundational skills necessary to pursue a lifetime of educational success.
Many families have low income to meet their household basic needs and have little left to invest in the education of children under their care. To break the vicious circle poor families unable to educate their children and because they can’t educate, they remain poor; PDI strongly believes in an economic strengthening approach as a strategy to make education a possible for all.
PDI’s economic strengthening approach to community development is a portfolio of strategies that grow physical, natural, financial and social assets as a key in reducing economic vulnerability of families and empowering them to provide essential needs and education of children and young adolescent youth in their care.
Village Savings and Loan Association Program (VSLA)- “Saving for a purpose”
Over the years, the people of Bududa have been disappointed by numerous groups including microfinance institutions and sporadic government intervention programs that promise and under-deliver. PDI wanted to fill the gap by introducing VSLAs to individuals who are financially excluded from accessing financial services, savings, credit and social funds.
PDI launched the VSLA project in 2012 starting with a limited number of participants, now the PDI VSLA model is the strongest saving group in the district with over 3,000 VSLA members. The demand from the community for the expansion of the program is ongoing. PDI continues to expand the program targeting especially hard to reach communities.
Through participating in the VSLA model individuals are better able to manage their financial resources and withstand shocks to their livelihoods. Members use these funds to support their families and invest in the care and education of children.
Features of the VSLA Model
PDI maintains that individuals must be educated to improve their income capabilities. The program consists of community members coming together to save and subsequently make funds available as loans in a structured group. With no external funds provided, members are responsible for the management of their group savings and loans, placing ownership at the center of activity.
PDI’s role in the VSLA group is to:
Organize the formation of groups
Train the group in the modality of the VSLA model
Monitor the implementation of the groups and provide guidance
When groups are formed and functioning, PDI finds partners with the capabilities and expertise to help these groups grow and equip them with business development, entrepreneurial and financial literacy skills
Micro Business Lending Fund (MBLF)
Micro Lending project is a complementary fund that allows those who have graduated from the VSLA approach to access additional capital to grow their businesses.


A teacher delivering quality education using teaching aids in a conducive classroom environment Image credit: ace-english.club
The 6 Core Elements of Quality Education in the 21st Century | Key Indicators of Quality Education in the 21st Century | How to know the basis of Quality Education
There are 6 core elements or key indicators that can facilitate quality education. These elements or indicators will help understand the basis on which quality education strives in any school or institution of learning whether in developing or advanced countries.
1. Effective school management
The first out of the 6 core elements of quality education in the list is effective school management. The school must be well-administered in order to deliver quality education. The administration of the school should well-organised to deliver the expected dividend to students and produce future leaders.
The school management should have good and friendly rapport with all stakeholders in the school system – students, teachers, parents, communities, regulatory bodies and governments if they will run the school successfully.
The school management set clear parameters on how the students should be treated and taught. It should ensure cooperation among teachers, accommodate and appreciate parents and surrounding communities’ positive contribution to the growth and development of the school.
However, each privately-owned or government-owned school is expected to administer its resources and organize the academic and administrative engagements in the best possible way on its own terms to ensure quality education.
Another important element of quality education is funding. Quality education does not just form by itself but it is built and delivered. Funding helps to set the organization and other educational factors aright. It is promotional and provisional in nature. An academic institution can be individually-funded private school or government-funded public school, Whichever is the case, any school that is not granted adequate funding and has no clear guidelines will not be able to deliver quality education. In summary, funding as an important factor can’t be ruled out from the 6 core elements of quality education.
3. Quality teaching aids and materials
The relevance of teaching aids and materials in enhancing quality of education cannot be downgraded for once. Teaching aids and materials make knowledge acquisition experiential and tend to remove abstraction in subject contents thereby making it look real. In fact, the more interesting revelation about this basis of quality of education is that there is no topic or content that can be delivered in any subject matter in any field of study or discipline that does not require the use of teaching aid. Therefore, every education system is fully armed in that respect to produce quality in education services it offers. In conclusion, quality teaching aids and materials made the list of 6 core elements of quality education because of its importance in the acquisition of knowledge.
4. Quality learning content
Still on the 6 Core Elements of Quality Education, it is very important to note that the 21st century learning content in the curriculum should be encompassing and the teaching aid relevant in the education system in order to build a total child. Content should include basic literacy and numeracy skills. It should also reflect social and life skills like computer, health, environment literacy skills and others like conflict resolution, work, gender equality or other important national and international issues.
5. Quality learning environment
Structural learning environment, as a key indicator of quality education should be sound, healthy, secured, supportive-to-learning, inspiring and motivating as well as adaptable to all categories of learners irrespective of background or race.
6. Quality teaching
The other six core elements of quality education will not likely strive in the absence of a teacher. The teacher is the ultimate mover or driver of the quality education. The teacher is probably the most important factor in the core elements of quality education. The 21st century quality teacher should be able to use to use appropriate teaching methods and instructional styles to impart knowledge pertaining to future sustainability to his or her students.


ERIC Number: ED334563
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1991-Aug
Factors Influencing the English Reading Test Performance of Spanish-Speaking Hispanic Children. Technical Report No. 539.
Garcia, Georgia Earnest
The role that reading achievement tests play in the education of limited-English-proficient children makes it important to understand the relationship between these children's reading test performance and their literacy development. A study employed both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify factors that influenced the English reading test performance of 51 Hispanic children as compared to that of 53 Anglo children enrolled in the same fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms. In the statistical analyses, the children's reading test performances were compared in terms of the effect of time constraints, the children's prior knowledge of the passage topics, and the influence of the children's prior knowledge on their reading passage and question-type performances. As part of the qualitative analysis, 18 children participated in retrospective, open-ended interviews that focused on how they determined their vocabulary and reading test answers. The combined findings suggested that the Hispanic students' reading test scores seriously underestimated their reading comprehension potential. Their test performance was adversely affected by the range of test topics, the use of paraphrased vocabulary in the test questions and answer choices, their performance on the scriptally implicit questions, and their tendency to utilize a literal interpretation of the text to determine their test answers. The Hispanic children's interview responses about how they determined their answers and their responses to open-ended questions asked orally tended to elicit more information about their test passage comprehension than did their test performance. (Four tables are included; 62 references are attached.) (Author/PRA)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Illinois Univ., Urbana. Center for the Study of Reading.; Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Inc., Cambridge, MA.


Developments in neuroscience have enabled researchers to discover that we use the same regions of our brains to process aspects of music and language.
The similarities between music and language are that they both:
- are an acoustic signal that we hear and interpret
- have a rhythm and tune, with rising and falling patterns (this is 'intonation' in speech)
- are structured by differences in sounds that resonate at different frequencies
- have an underlying structure - researchers are looking into similarities in the way that our brains interpret musical phrases and grammar and structure sentences.
This blog explores more about how music links with language development and how we as practitioners can support this.
Links between sounds and language
We know that babies' hearing is developed by 27 weeks in the womb and studies have found that babies had a positive response to music and sounds they heard in the womb. This feature helps babies to prepare for the world they're coming in to and aids with attunement to their environment and the people in it. Equally, babies respond more strongly to their caregivers' voices, showing that they notice the differences between voices and speech patterns.
This ability to tune in to music and sound are laying the foundations for babies' speech, language and communication development. Babies tune in to environmental sounds, which leads into tuning into the sounds for speech. Babies younger than six months tune into the sounds of any language, but then after that respond more strongly to the sounds of the language(s) they hear around them most.
Music and early literacy development
Music and rhythm have a role to play in early literacy development. Phonological awareness skills develop from syllable, to onset-rime (e.g. m - at, c-at, f-all, w- all), to phoneme. These skills tend to begin at age 3 and continue through to the development of early reading skills at ages 6 and 7. Phonological awareness relies on hearing the differences and similarities between sounds in words and being aware of these patterns. Developing these skills can support children's ability with reading and, later on, spelling.
A study into the relationship between keeping a steady beat and literacy development showed that 'children who are poor readers have a lot of difficulty doing this motor task and following the beat'. Research is ongoing to see how supporting musical skills can impact on literacy development.
Musical ability and learning new languages
Recent research in Finland has found that children who played a musical instrument picked up new languages more quickly. They found that musical training helps children to tune in and learn the speech sounds of a new language more quickly and easily, and also to learn different grammar patterns.
Reflecting on practice
Supporting children's language and early literacy skills:
- Are there opportunities every day for children to sing songs and learn nursery rhymes so that they become familiar with the tunes for these?
- Do children have access to musical instruments and soundmakers to experiment and play with sound?
- Are there opportunities for them to hear the differences between sounds and also to copy rhythms and sounds patterns?
- Do you clap out or beat out the syllables in words and learn the sounds that make up new words?
- Are there opportunities for children to hear rhyming stories and to hear different onset and rhyme patterns (e.g. cat/hat/mat/sat/rat)? Could you ‘chunk’ the parts together, leaving gaps between phrases
- Do you emphasise the rhyming words and when a child is familiar with a nursery rhyme, try leaving out a rhyming word to see if the child can remember it?
For more ideas look at I CAN's Early Talkers boxset. You can also download I CAN's factsheet on speech sounds, which has some tips about sound games.
The same regions of our brain process music and language and research is ongoing into how supporting aspects of musical development can help children develop early literacy skills. In the meantime we know that early years practitioners have a vital role to play in enhancing children's early language and literacy development through songs, rhymes and music activities.
About the author
Amanda Baxter is a speech and language therapist who specialises in working with early years practitioners and families with young children. As a Communication Advisor for I CAN, she delivers training to early years professionals and supports them to develop their practice. She also works on I CAN’s Enquiry Service providing information, advice and support for practitioners and parents. Amanda has worked in children's centres and as a Local Authority Early Language Consultant.


The health benefits of singing – Although many people may restrict their singing to the shower or when no one is around to hear them, there are some surprising health benefits of singing frequently – and encouraging others to do so as well.
A person need not be auditioning for the next season of “American Idol,” “America’s Got Talent” or “The Voice” to start belting out a favorite tune. According to the singing advocacy group Chorus America, more than 32 million American adults sing regularly in groups nationwide. Millions of children enjoy music education as part of their school curriculum as well.
Singing and stress
Scientists say that singing can have a calming but energizing effect on people. Singing can help tame stress but also lift the spirits. Singing is a natural antidepressant. According to information published in Time magazine, singing may release endorphins associated with feelings of pleasure as well as stimulate the release of oxytocin, a hormone that is found to alleviate anxiety and stress. Prevention magazine notes that choir singers, who often report feeling happy and free of significant anxiety, may notice their moods improving when they start to sing.
Singing and immune system function
Singing can be a form of exercise that works the lungs and other parts of the body required to project one’s voice. Singing may lead to a stronger diaphragm and stimulation of circulation due to the greater amount of oxygen needed to carry a tune.
Research conducted at the University of Frankfurt found that professional choir members who had their blood tested before and after an hour-long rehearsal displayed a greater amount of antibodies called immunoglobulin A after the rehearsal. These increases were not found in the choir members who simply listened to music. In the study, titled “Singing modulates mood, stress, cortisol, cytokine and neuropeptide activity in cancer patients and carers,” researchers found higher levels of cytokines present in the blood of those who sung for an hour in a choir, and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Singing and snoring
Singing may help alleviate snoring. A 2008 study published in the journal Sleep Breath found that the prevalence and severity of snoring among semiprofessional singers and non-singers indicated that singers scored lower on the snoring scale. Singing strengthens muscles in the airway that can help reduce snoring. Furthermore, the breathing required to sustain a song may help improve lung function and reduce symptoms of mild asthma.
Singing and memory
Singing may help improve mental alertness by delivering more oxygenated blood to the brain. For those with dementia, singing can improve concentration and memory recollection. The Alzheimer’s Society has a “Singing for the Brain” program to help people with dementia maintain their memories.
Singing and social connections
Singing with a group can reduce loneliness by bringing together like-minded people engaged in the same activity. Websites like ChoirPlace.com can help people find choir groups near them.
Singing can boost confidence, improve mental function, help with immune response, and be a form of cardiovascular exercise.
If I was to sing, it will be noise. Maybe that is why God told us to make a joyful noise unto Him. At times I do sing to the songs on the Christian Radio station I am listening to.
However, I do enjoy corporate worship and singing with others at church. You could possibly join your church’s choir too or worship team.
Article Compliments of MetroCreative. TF183827


Teaching as a Career in Haryana
A teaching profession has always been considered as the noblest professions that you can take up. Teachers since time immemorial are held with great respect. Despite average salary, teaching profession attracts youth from all sections of society. The popularity of teaching courses is evident from growing number of educational institutes in Haryana. There are various universities that promote excellence in the field of teacher education. As a teacher, you need to have a Bachelors in Education (B.Ed) degree. Colleges across the Haryana offer Bachelors in Education (B.Ed) degree. At post graduate level that is at Masters in Education (M.Ed) level you can do specialization. For Nursery and pre school teaching, along with a graduate degree, a diploma or Certificate in Pre-school teacher education programme of a duration of not less than one year, or B.Ed is required. Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) or Diploma of Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) is mandatory for teaching at the primary level.
To become a teacher in the College and university level in Haryana, one does not have to undergo any formal teacher training but have to qualify for National Eligibility Test
(NET) conducted by UGC. The minimum qualification to apply for NET is a post graduation degree. Qualifying the NET can make them eligible to apply for the post of Professor, Assistant Professor in any college and universities in Haryana.To know about teacher's education and entrance exams all over India, click here


Guitar & Bass Lessons
One-on-one instruction combining traditional methodology with modern teaching techniques, including interpretation of tablature, sight reading, rhythm and composition. Teachers at B2R use special arrangements of relevant popular music and innovative approaches, such as special tunings that accommodate small hands and growing muscles, to develop a student’s musical and instrumental skills right from the start. B2R teachers work through each arrangement with their students, providing guidance and accompaniment.
Beginning students are taught first position chords, scales and arpeggios as well as the fundamentals of music theory. Intermediate and advanced students continue to perfect these skills and are guided in the development and performance of their own original material. B2R teachers frequently play together with the students, providing guidance and accompaniment.
Private lessons are designed to develop independent musical skills as well as to support the instruction received in Jam Sessions. Students are strongly encouraged to combine short private lessons with these small “jam band” ensembles because interacting with others of similar ability and age strongly reinforces the lesson material. Perhaps most importantly, ensemble playing enhances a student’s ability to hear and respond to music as it is most frequently played. The group setting also provides powerful social reinforcement for music appreciation and encourages practicing. Students in private lessons have the opportunity to learn and work with industry standard software such as Sibelius and Pro Tools.
Small group (2 or 3-to-1) lessons in piano/keyboard, guitar, bass, voice, drums, woodwinds, brass and many more. Instruction is each week for 30 or 60 minutes. Recommended for children ages 7 and up. We also recommend registering two students for the same lesson type to ensure the lessons take place. Two students are required to schedule a semi-private lesson. We will make our best efforts to pair students that sign up individually but cannot guarantee the lessons will occur without a second student.
- A well-balanced music education consists of Music Theory, Technique and Repertoire.
- Students learn faster playing music they like.
- Simplified versions of modern songs allow students to see results more quickly.
- Audio recordings of each simplified arrangement are available to students. This allows them to hear how their part should sound.
- Lessons are catered to the needs of each student's learning style.


Uh oh, the moment has come. Practice time, and your child is refusing. They want to play, they want to watch tv, they just got a new bike, or a friend is due to come over for a playdate.
Sometimes you can chalk up a child's refusal to practice to something as simple as a momentary distraction. When this happens, go ahead and let your child do their desired activity first. After the activity, and before the day is over, just make sure you bring your child back to the piano to continue their routine. They usually won't protest and be happy they were able to have their cake, and eat it too.
However, when these momentary distractions keep piling up for DAYS and you can't seem to bring your child back to the piano, you may need to try some other techniques.
Often when this aversion to practice happens, it's because your child has been given a new song to learn. It's a song that hasn't completely gotten into their brain yet, it's harder, and it seems like this daunting, overwhelming task to learn. How do you figure out if this is the issue? When your child brings up those dreaded words "I just don't like piano anymore", don't call your teacher and discontinue their lessons, ask your child "Why?"
Usually your child will tell you, "the new song is too hard and I don't like it." Sometimes it will take a lot of questions (and patience) to get them to the point where they can finally respond with the answer. Either way, this frustration is normal and it's always good to take this time to tell them "I am sorry you are frustrated with the new piece, it's ok to feel that way when you are learning something new!" Then follow with "But your teacher and I know you can learn it, so don't give up!" Validating your child's emotions is child psychology 101, and then taking the moment to give them some encouragement will help them feel better about getting back to the piano.
There are some other ways you can help encourage your child to get back into their practice routine. Take a look at how much practice you are having them do every day. Are they practicing for an hour a day? For 30 minutes? Sometimes, (and especially for younger children) they may feel like it's just too long. So the solution to that one is simple- shorten the practice routine! Still have them practice once a day, but go ahead and experiment with different amounts of time. For example, if your child was supposed to practice for an hour, shorten it to 45 minutes. If they still don't like the 45 minute time, try 30, and then 15, and then 10, etc. As a teacher I'm a firm supporter that 5 minutes a day is enough practice time. It seems like nothing to us, but it's amazing what a child can learn in that tiny window!
Remember, learning an instrument like piano is a skill, but it also has its perks. It will boost your child's confidence and enhance their social and motor skill development, but most importantly, music is the language of healing, togetherness, and life. To quote Plato: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
*Want to know some other benefits of playing piano?? Check out this link: 10 Benefits of Playing the Piano


L'havin U'lehaskil: A Skills-Based Chumash Curriculum!
L’havin U’lehaskil is a Hebrew language-skills based primary school Judaic curriculum approach in which Jewish children across the religious spectrum learn to decode Torah verses on their own.
Currently in use in over 200 schools worldwide, and reaching over 7,000 students, students learn to read and translate the original Biblical Hebrew into English, Ivrit or Spanish. It has extensive guided lesson plans replete with skill pages, pesukim, exercises, and review pages. The curriculum encompasses 25 workbooks, with detailed Teachers Editions for each one. It begins with two volumes that teach foundational skills, followed by workbooks for all parshiot in Sefer Beraishit.
The program allows for teacher and school creativity, enabling individual teachers, classrooms, and schools to emphasize different aspects of Torah learning; prioritizing content, or skills based on their school’s specific goals.
The L’havin structure provides teachers with the clear knowledge of what the students learned previously ensuring continuity throughout grade levels. Our instruction is data driven; formative and summative assessments built into the system are designed to assist teachers and administrators in evaluating each student’s knowledge, level and progress. Reports are generated by CoJDS.
Administrative and Teacher Support
CoJDS is committed to ensuring the success of the L’havin curriculum in each of our schools.
CoJDS employs a curriculum team, who interacts with both teachers and administrators. We work with principals and curriculum advisors, assessing school needs and creating a comprehensive tailor-made plan to meet them. Our team provides workshops, evaluations, on-site teacher assistance, teacher consultations and quality distance learning for smaller remote schools. We observe teachers, providing invaluable feedback. We help teachers with scope and sequence of the L’havin program and coordinate with administrators and teachers of all grades to streamline the curriculum.


Frequently asked questions
What is the Suzuki teaching method?
The Suzuki Method is based on the principle that every child can – just as every child has the ability to learn language, every child can develop musicality through a nurturing and positive environment. In the Suzuki approach, students can begin learning an instrument as young as 3 years old. To name a few – this approach includes involvement of the parent, the importance of listening to music, and a high standard of teaching. The main goal of this method is to develop and raise thoughtful human beings through music education.
Is the Suzuki Method right for me?
This method is best applied to younger children – every child can with the right support. At the end of each week's lesson, I will provide simple tasks for the student to practice. For the best results, parents should imitate what was done in the lesson at home with their child. Over time, your child will blossom into a fine musician and person.
What kind of guitar should I play?
When choosing a guitar the most important factors include:
Type: an acoustic, nylon string guitar. Steel strings can be hard on beginner's fingers.
Size: an appropriate sized guitar. Full sized guitars are best for adults and teenagers. Depending on a child's age and height, there are options for 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 guitars. Imagine buying a mens size 9 shoe for a 7 year old.
How much do I/my child need to practice?
Consistent practice every day is ideal. Depending on the student’s age and prior obligations, the time could range from 15-60 minutes per day. There will be little-to-no improvement if the student does not practice.
"I took guitar lessons in school & learned little to nothing. By the end, I didn’t even learn to play a single chord. Naturally, I quit. It wasn’t until years later, when I took lessons with Chris Rogers, that my skills truly developed. I progressed more in my first month with Chris, then my previous year of lessons. He paid attention to my natural ability to play by ear & read music from previous piano lessons.
Chris is great at helping students set and reach personal goals. He's informative in the history of classical guitar and the importance of technique to prevent injury – as well as desired sound. I was so impressed how much my sound and string-to-chord progression improved in such little time, it wasn’t long before I upgraded from 30 minutes to 1 hour lessons. It was worth every penny! If you have the time and love music, I would highly recommend giving Chris your business."
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.


Issues and Trends in Teaching and Learning (Credits: 3) EDTE 201
Introduces and examines current issues and trends in teaching and learning.
Learners and the Diversity of Learning (Credits: 3) EDPY 401
Overview of psychological theories and research as it applies to education, including theories of learning, child and adolescent development, cognitive processes, classroom practices, individual differences/student diversity, and motivation.
Schools in Communities (Credits: 3) EDFI 300
Social, political, and historical aspects of diverse educational institutions in American culture with an emphasis on families, schools, and communities.
Introduction to Exceptional Children (Credits: 3) EDEX 523
Overview of the field of education for exceptional children.
Nature and Management of Elementary Classrooms (Credits: 3) EDEL 305
The learning environment to include diversity of students, instructional materials, classroom management, and communication patterns.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy for the Elementary Classrooms EDEL 306 (Credits: 3)
Theoretical and pedagogical approaches to Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP)-curriculum design tools and instructional strategies that reflect the diversity of students’ cultural backgrounds and languages in elementary classrooms.
Introduction to Classroom Assessment (Credits: 2) EDRM 423
Development of assessments for different content areas and grade levels, and processes for making decisions based on assessment results.
Elementary Mathematics Instruction (Credits: 3) EDEL 440
Approaches, materials, and methods for teaching mathematics in elementary grades.
Elementary Science Instruction (Credits: 3) EDEL 450
Instructional approaches and methods for teaching science in elementary grades.
Elementary Social Studies Instruction (Credits: 3) EDEL 460
Instructional approaches, materials, and methods for teaching social studies in elementary grades.
Elementary Literacy Instruction I (Credits: 6) EDRD 430
Examination and implementation of the key concepts, content, goals, and strategies in teaching reading and the language arts in the elementary school. Students will work with elementary children in a school setting to learn literacy concepts and instructional strategies.
Introductory Elementary Internship (Credits: 3) EDEL 441
Field experience requiring students to gradually assume the responsibilities of teaching in an assigned classroom under the guidance of an experienced teacher.
Reading Assessment (Credits: 3) EDRD 431
Seminar and supervised one-on-one field experience focused on reading assessment of and instruction for individual children and groups of children.
Internship in Environments, Planning, and Motivation for Teaching and Learning (Credits:
6) EDEL 471
Internship for practice in classrooms appropriate to elementary education related to curriculum design and assessment. Field experiences emphasize planning lessons that actively engage students in learning.
Internship in Elementary Education (Credits: 12) EDEL 490
Internship for practice in elementary classrooms (grades 2-6) related to curriculum design, assessment, interactive teaching, and professional roles.
Seminar on Teaching (Credits: 3) EDEL 491
Exploration of the principles and theories about teaching and learning as they apply to the field of practice in the context of schools in democratic societies.
Specialized Content Preparation Courses
Art for Elementary Schools (Credits: 3) ARTE 520
Methods of teaching art to elementary and preschool children. Major emphasis will be given to relevant studio experiences.
Physical Education for the Classroom Teacher (Credits: 3) PEDU 575
Appropriate movement experiences for children.
Basic Concepts of Elementary Math I (Credits: 3) MATH 221
The meaning of number, fundamental operations of arithmetic, the structure of the real number system and its subsystems, elementary number theory.
Basic Concepts of Elementary Math II (Credits: 3) MATH 222
Informal geometry and basic concepts of algebra.
Children’s Literature (Credits: 3) SLIS 325
A study of materials for children from birth through elementary school (age 13) with emphasis on the evaluation, selection, and use of those materials to meet the educational, cultural, and recreational needs of children.


VISITOR: Just found your site and it is amazing. My daughter and I both have dyscalculia although I didn’t know why I had so much trouble with math until she started having trouble as well. I would like to find a program where I can learn and work as a tutor for her. I have my degree in elementary education but we never covered anything like this. She has basic number sense and skills. The biggest area is with word problems. She, nor I, can parse the words to make sense of the problems. If you give me straight numbers I’m great. Thanks for your guidance!
In general, you will want to talk through word problems, draw pictures to illustrate the word problem and solve it, and focus on the words that give the problem meaning and direction. For accuracy, you want to color code operations (add in green, subtract in red, multiply in blue, divide in black) [think Bic pen]. Use large square graph paper to line up numbers and triple check that you write and say the numbers that are actualy there. Use a calculator to double check your math facts. Highlight the boxes that will contain the numbers carried and borrowed and the answer. You need this visual feedback to keep it all straight. Talk it out, always. You will notice verbal mixups. Accept them and correct yourself and each other. Be aware that this is a natural brain glitch with dyscalculia. Learn to control for it.


A new Finnish study shows a link between children’s temperaments and their motor skills.
Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland found that children with active temperaments and attention span persistence tend to have stronger motor skills. This was a rather novel result, as the association between motor skills and temperament during early childhood is not yet widely understood. The team also found that participating in organized sports and being older were positively linked to motor skills.
The findings are published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
In general, motor skills include locomotor, ball and balance skills, all of which are present in everyday life tasks like running, climbing, throwing and drawing. Adequate motor skills enable participation in typical games and types of playing for different ages and developmental phases, for example, in tag, running and ball games.
The Skilled Kids study, conducted from 2015 to 2017, involved a sample of 945 children (ages 3 to 7) and their families from 37 different childcare centres in Finland. Children’s temperament traits and participation in organized sports were assessed using a parental questionnaire.
“Even though motor skills develop as a function of age, skill development still needs to be stimulated consciously,” says Donna Niemistö, a Ph.D. student from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä.
“Motor skills do not develop without practicing, thus skills need reinforcement through repetition of the skills. Motor skill development is greatly supported when the child is moving in multiple ways. In a current study we found more evidence that participation in organised sports can be useful to gain more opportunities to practise and repeat essential movements.”
Temperament and its traits refer to a child’s biological and individual characteristics, such as one’s instinctive way of reacting to his surroundings. Temperament is rather stable over time. To date, there have been very few studies focused on young children’s motor skills and temperament traits, even though in older age groups, more research is already available.
“Children who tend to have an active type of temperament, as well as children who show persistence when faced with challenges can be motivated and persistent in learning and rehearsing motor tasks. Therefore, these findings were expected and logical,” said Niemistö.
“A child with an active temperament can react more rapidly. Consequently, the child will get more opportunities to move along with increased repetitions. Without noticing, the child will also gain more opportunities to perform motor tasks.”
Furthermore, the ability to maintain attention is equally important for learning skills.
“To learn new skills, one must be able to concentrate and maintain focus even though the skill may, at first, feel challenging or even difficult,” said Niemistö.
Both temperament traits can influence the development of motor skills. Therefore, it is important that parents as well as early educators and teachers are aware of these individual factors in case they want to encourage and support their children’s motor skill development.
“For example, there is no need to emphasize for an active child to be more active,” Niemistö said. “However, with an active child, a parent could guide the child to maintain focus and attention, despite possible distractions in the surroundings.”
Motor skills were assessed with two internationally well-known measurements. The first assessment tool measured the locomotor and ball skills and the second one the balance and coordination skills of the child.
“The development of balance and coordination skills was better in those children who were described as more emotionally regulated,” said Niemistö. “On the other hand, locomotor skills were better in children whose parents had higher educational level and the development of ball skills benefitted if children had free access to sport facilities in nearby surroundings.”
Source: University of Jyväskylä


Want to remember this post. Simply cut and paste them right into their journals and discuss their responses as a class afterward. Those pincher muscles are extremely important for their fine motor development to help with handwriting. We can line up in less than 15 seconds.
You can even do the follow-up graphing activity to reinforce this math skill. This classic game is great for kids who are familiar with the concepts greater than and less than.
It give my students the opportunity to practice what we have learned and keeps them busy so I can do my Guided Reading groups. Probably more than any other age group in elementary school, kindergartners thrive on their routine.
This idea from Craftulate is brilliant when you have a purse or diaper bag with you. Think of a number and keep it in your mind. Students find the initial sound for each picture and it spells a mystery sight word. There are several videos online for making them.
If they go home seeing themselves as scholars on the first day of school, you will have set the tone for the whole year.
We used the teacher chart and insect cards here too. First we use the green text cards to talk about ways insects help us.
Concept sorts are another great way to infuse new vocabulary into everyday conversations. Check out the Dollar Store for deals on all sorts of things for kindergarten. Call out a kindergarten writing activities pinterest and ask your children to identify objects around the room that begin with that letter.
Sight Word Practice Students use a pencil, crayon, colored pencil, and marker to practice writing one sight word. Plus, it has a follow-up comprehension check to complete afterward.
Just focus on the routines and rules. That always gives me perspective the first few weeks teaching kindergarten. This sorting activity has two types of cards. Make it short, sweet, and active. These 25 books will add some humor and levity to your day.
There was an error submitting your subscription. Keep little fingers cleaner with this trick. Here is how simple this section is to print and prep. Try it with other topics too four-legged animals, types of fruit, etc.
But this year - WOW. This resources is yours with a confirmed subscription. One of the most repeated themes on our helpline post about teaching kindergarten was that you should always over-plan for this age group.
I love my kinders dearly and find so much joy in watching their little light bulbs go on for the first time!. How exciting is it that we’re just a month away from the Winter Games?! For some reason, I have strong memories associated with the Winter Olympics.
My earliest memory of the is from when I was in fifth grade and they were played in Lillehammer! I had a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids. A community helper theme teaches students about all the people who live and work in their neighborhood.
There are so many fun community helper themed activities you can do with preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten kiddos. This product is a MONEY SAVING BUNDLE of two of my writing activities for young learners.
Here is the description for Part 1: Kindergartners and First Graders love to write! Don't throw away those plastic Easter eggs!
Reuse them for learning activities and crafts! Here are 20 (non-Easter) plastic egg activities. Elementary Education Resources: Kindergarten. List of Contents (click on topic name for more links). General Resources and Activities.
Ecology/Environment activities. History and Social Studies activities. ideas about kindergarten homework on pinterest folder folders and kidzone worksheets summer from word scramble games activities for kids school lesson plans camp.Kindergarten writing activities pinterest


Douglass began with learning his ABC’s through his master’s wife. Inspired by his master’s objection to him learning to read, he sought any opportunity he could to develop his understanding of the alphabet. One opportunity came through him sneaking into his master’s office to copy out of his ledger book. Before long, Douglass had learned to emulate his master’s handwriting. From there, he created writing competitions with the local white children he would encounter around the town. He would boast of being a better writer, and the children would write in order to show Douglass how they could write better than he. Douglass set this up in order to continue his mastery of letters and the few words he knew how to write (Douglass, 1845).
Another opportunity came while Douglass was working at the shipyard. When pieces of wood were labeled in order to be assigned to a certain part of the ship (for building the ship), he would use charcoal to copy the labels. In this way, Douglass seized every moment to develop his literacy. There was one major act that demonstrated Douglass’ literacy development and his progression on the continuum of literateness. This act gave evidence of his graduation from the rudimentary practice of copying letters of the alphabet or simple words and phrases. In time, on his first attempt to escape slavery, Douglass wrote his own pass, in the same writing style as his master (Douglass, 1845). This was no small accomplishment. Lucinda MacKethan, professor emeritus of English at North Carolina State, says:
Writing his own pass, for the slave narrator, involved the appropriation of the master’s hand, the master’s grasp of language, and the master’s symbols…a black slave became a man of letters in a country where letters—the ability to make them and make meaning of them—were exclusively a white man’s domain. Mastering letters enabled Douglass to write his “pass” and to “pass” into a world where he could no longer be named a slave. (MacKethan, 1986, p. 64)
This evolution in Douglass’ life happened well before he actually became physically free. Literacy had liberated his mind (MacKethan, 1986). The pursuit of literacy all began with one moment when his master sought to keep him within the confines of slavery.
This process of Douglass mastering his master’s handwriting reveals his comprehension of the master’s language. When a person can take a piece of text and make it his/her own, and then develop some sort of creation from that text, it reveals a major step in the building of a person’s literacy. Douglass wrote his own pass and it was so well done that it looked exactly as if his master had written it. Another example is when the slaves wrote the Negro Spirituals, they proved to be the first persons of African descent to seek literacy in America. The creation of the Negro Spirituals is surprising because the Spirituals are based on the Bible which is the text slave master’s used to justify enslaving another human being. However, when you read the words of the spirituals, you see an embracing of Christianity for themselves.
Douglass creating his own pass and the slaves creating the Negro Spirituals, both remind me of when a student I had wrote a song based on our unit which included Ecclesiastes, The Iliad, and The Peloponnesian War:
It’s all meaningless, meaningless, meaningless
I can climb the highest mountain
I can swim to the deepest sea
But at the end of the day what does it all mean
I can do my very best
Pass every test
Wear victory on my chest
But I still know that it’s meaningless
(a student in my Great Books class)
The student wrote the above words, composed the instrumentation, played it and sang it during another one of our class productions. He went over to the keyboard (my class met in the school auditorium) and just started playing and singing this song. This is probably one of my most memorable moments in teaching the Great Books because of the spontaneity of this incident. We read the books and discussed them and he was inspired to write a song about his interpretations of the texts. To demonstrate their comprehension and connection with the literature, my students joined the process of recreating a text as Frederick Douglass did with the master’s handwriting and the slaves did with the Bible and the Negro Spirituals. Louise Rosenblatt (1983) says, “Fundamentally, the process of understanding a work implies a re-creation of it” (p.13).


Chrome Music Lab
Updated: Jan 1
Chrome Music Lab is free and is a web-based program that works without being downloaded or installed.
Here are suggestions from the Music Education Pre-Teachers about how to use the music lab in your classroom and online:
Chrome Music is a great way of teaching beginning composition without the students even realizing they are creating their own music.
Students can draw the music, make patterns, and “Paint by color” so to say. Using Chrome Music also takes the barrier of traditional notation out of the way. Sometimes students feel restricted when composing because they are unsure of how to accurately notate their ideas.
The interactive chord tab provides a great visual for explaining the pattern of half steps and whole steps in major and minor keys to younger students. The sound wave tab provides a great opportunity to discuss pitch and intonation with students. As I teacher, I could use this as a visual to explain that lower pitches are made of slower sound waves, that higher pitches are made of faster sound waves, and that when musicians play in tune, the higher frequencies sit lined up inside the lower ones.
The harmonics page would be especially helpful when teaching brass students and string players about harmonics on their own instruments.
As a teacher, I could assess rhythms by asking students to program basic rhythms into the website as they see the rhythms notated on the staff that I would give them. I could also create a guidance worksheet for this website that would include questions for the students to answer such as, “what did you notice about the speed of sound waves as you move from high to low?,” or “what happened to the harmonics as they went on? How did the sound change? How did they change in appearance?”
I really loved the visual aspect especially in the arpeggio section. Being set up as the circle of 5ths, not only does it allow the student to hear the chords and see how they are placed in the circle, but it also helps them hear the arpeggios in relations to the keys right next to it. I think that aspect really makes the circle of 5ths easier to understand since you are able to hear it see it and compare it to the keys around the circle.
I think it could allow for students to practice items they're assessed on - the youngest groups focusing on rhythms, while older moving onto chords! This could also fulfill composition requirements for their education. You could create compositional lessons with direction, as for length and even pitches/intervals! Rhythm lessons would be easy enough to record them clapping the rhythms with the sound, or creating their own way of replicating the rhythms they hear in their free-time music or band music. As students advance, it would be easy to create lessons on harmonics and arpeggios that they can study at home if they desire, as I feel in younger musicians it is a topic easier learned together in class.
Song Maker. The colors and distance between the notes can also lead to a lesson regarding pitch class and intervals. Knowledge can be assessed by giving certain guidelines for compositions such as "Write a piece using only green, orange, and pink notes" In the program, this is a major chord, and a little ear training could be done after this!
I also think the Song Maker or Rhythm tools would be great for young jazz band. Students could create their own "backing track" and practice improvising over that. Their final product could either be recorded and submitted, or played for the class during rehearsal. Assessment could be based on matching style of the solo to the backing track, or their use of an assigned scale or chord progression.
The rhythm program would be a great way to teach students about how their individual rhythms are a part of a composite rhythm, or a fun visual and tactile way to explain subdivision within music.
Write a rhythm that goes, 1, 2+,3+, 4." Then I can see if the students actually comprehend the big beats and small beats
Use the arpeggio tool to learn about keys as well as chord progressions.
Piano roll uses multiple styles of learning and this one involved visual and auditory. This one would be helpful to show the students maybe how phrases and forms work, as well as showing the intervalic as well as rhythmic relationship.
Harmonics and the strings. I think those are nice because it shows you how the frequency increase, or decrease in the length of string will raise the sound and vise versa with lengthening. A way to maybe assess for this one would be to have the students listen to the strings being played and have them determine if the string is long or short based on the sound.
UPDATE -- I also found this article with great Chrome Music Lab lesson ideas:


Learning standards are composed of statements that express what a student should know and should be able to do at certain points in their learning career.
Before school boards established universal learning standards, individual publishers, through textbooks, would suggest specific knowledge to be taught to people at specific ages. In 1892 the National Education Association formed a committee of ten who codified the first learning standards for national high schools.¹
In 1893 a committee of fifteen formed to decide the standard number of years for elementary education and established the content to be taught.¹ At present, learning standards have become very important and are tied to rubrics and assessments in many schools. Standardized tests are often used for evaluation within states, and standardized exams are used nationally for college admission.
State learning standards are developed by state boards of education and enforced by state education agencies. Learning standards are further developed by individual school districts where they take the form of guidelines by grade of what a student should be able to do for their grade.¹
An example of a detailed learning standard would be the expectation of grade 8 students in English in the province of Ontario, Canada. By the end of grade 8, each student should be able to read and critically respond to a variety of texts using proper English grammar and spelling techniques.¹
Additionally, each student should be able to engage in classroom discussions about texts and respond to teacher-led discussions of the texts. Finally, each student should be able to write, edit, and deliver a three-minute speech about a topic that they find interesting.
Further, each of the expectations will have an explanation as to why it is important for the student in order to justify to teachers, parents, and the student why they are learning what they are learning.¹
1. Feldmmann, Doug (2005). Twenty-Five Years of erosion in the Curriculum: The Committee of Ten to the Cardinal Principles, 1893-1918. Research for Education Reform 10 (2): 41-50.
Image source:Wikimedia Commons© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com August 3, 2021, 9:49 am ad1c9bdddf


Babies may connect words to their referents by gazing long before they can express by finger-pointing or uttering a word.
For example, Juli turned her gaze toward a referent when I signed the ASL word. Likewise, Grandma Z reported that Juli turned to gaze toward the door or window door when Z told Juli, (translated as) "Mom will be coming home soon."
In an activity, I introduced three written English words to Juli (age 8;4) by writing on the little whiteboard: dog, baby, and mama and articulated them in ASL that Juli were familiar with.
Through several rounds, the patterns were similar in which Juli was kind of indifferent to the signed words #dog along with tapping on the lap and baby. But, Juli became excited every time the ASL word mother came up.
When the ASL word mother came up, Juli looked at the art images (one of those was the image of me) in one direction and also she turned around to look at the photographs of me in the other direction.
In the video, Juli also responded to "dog" by tapping on my lap twice throughout the video.
The video clip from last week shows that Juli appeared to learn the relationship between the ASL word #dog or the older sign (a hand tapping on the leg) and the picture of the dogs.
In the last part of the video clip, I asked Juli ix what? (English translation: What is this?). Juli responded by tapping on my leg.
Note: Grandma Z reported that earlier she taught Juli the ASL word "dog" and tapped on her leg. Juli tapped on her leg also.
Then when Z pointed at the cat in the picture book, Juli tapped on her lap. Perhaps, they look alike or perhaps Juli overcategorized them. Or perhaps she found the closest association she could express.
This week Juli and I took a stroller walk on the sidewalk. The cat sat on the porch. I stopped and pointed to the cat. Juli turned and looked. She patted on her lap.
Earlier Grandma Z reported that Juli patted on her lap when grandma showed her the picture of a dog in the picture book. The same result with another image of the dog.
But then, as Z pointed at the image of the cat. Juli patted on her thigh. It showed that Juli might overgeneralize dogs and cats together -- furry friends with pointed ears and tails.
The ASL words and phrases that I used with Juli (age 8;4) lately were as follows: where [insert here]?, #dog, read book, read book done...
This documentation project follows a baby's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, week by week from gazing at birth to manual babbling, to first words just before the first birthday in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.
The second-year and third-year documentation continues to follow the same child's language and phonological acquisition and literacy development in ASL on a weekly basis from the one-word stage to two-word and multiple utterances.
The documentary continues to follow the same child's ASL language and literacy development on a regular basis from age three to four. It surveys ASL phonological acquisition and more complex utterances.
These posts on ASL-English bilingualism, language acquisition, and bilingual education may be of an interest for parents who raise a bilingual-bimodal child in ASL (or another signed language) and English (or another written and/or spoken language of its respective) as well as informative and educational for ASL specialists, educators, and professionals.


The Stoughton Area School District's literacy goal is to ensure that all students become successful, high level readers, writers, speakers and listeners. Students are expected to meet the State Standards in ELA adopted by the State of Wisconsin at each grade level. Stoughton's Comprehensive Approach to Literacy stresses the essential components of reading through explicit teaching of phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency and expressiveness, vocabulary, comprehension, spelling, writing and handwriting.
Daily read-alouds, independent reading time, reading workshop, writing workshop, and systematic word study instruction are key features of the approach. Teachers demonstrate the habits and strategies of effective reading and writing through a variety of structures: instructional read-alouds, small group instruction, shared reading, and interactive writing.
The Stoughton Area School District's elementary mathematics curriculum is Math Expressions. Within this curriculum, a series of learning progressions reflect recent research regarding students' natural learning stages when mastering concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and problem solving. These learning stages help determine the order of concepts, the sequence of units, and the positioning of topics.
In 2nd Grade, units focus on the following:
1. Addition and Subtraction Within 20
2. Addition Within 200
3. Length and Shapes
4. Subtract 2-Digit Numbers
5. Time, Graphs, and Word Problems
6. 3-Digit Addition and Subtraction
7. Arrays, Equal Shares, and Adding and Subtracting Lengths
Math Expressions fits the learning professions, the core-grade level goals, and the dual focus on understanding and fluency of the Common Core State Content Standards.
The Stoughton Area School District's elementary science curriculum uses the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) at the K-5 level. NGSS strives to develop students abilities to do and understand scientific inquiry through:
- Asking questions and identifying problems
- Planning and conducting investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Developing and using models
- Using mathematics, information and computer technology and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating and communication information
In 2nd Grade, the science standards are broken down into three topical questions taught over the course of the academic year. These questions will build in complexity in terms of both disciplinary and crosscutting content, as well as the application of science and engineering practices across the year. These three questions are:
- What patterns related to water exist in the natural world?
- Why does the land change over time?
- What do plants need?
The Stoughton School District's elementary social studies curriculum is based on the 2010 National Council for the Social Studies standards and the Wisconsin State Standards for Literacy in All Subject Areas. A technology rich program created by TCI is the core resource used in grades K-5.
In Second Grade, Social Studies Alive! My Community teaches students the basics of geography, economics, and citizenship in the context of learning about their local community (From teachtci.com).
In the Stoughton Area School District, we believe that the study of art is a vital component to the development of all students.
The 2nd Grade Art courses cover the Understanding and Using the National Core Arts Standards along with these projects and curriculum.
1. Elements & Principles (texture, repetition)
2. Drawing (spatial relationships, fore/middle/background, symmetry, still life)
3. Painting (cool/warm, watercolor techniques)
4. Ceramics (slab, modeling)
5. Sculpture (additive sculpture)
6. Mixed Media (weaving/fiber/collage/metal): (fiber weaving)
7. Graphics (technology/printing): (additive printmaking)
In the Stoughton Area School District, we believe that the study of music is a vital component to the development of all students. The general music program in our district reflects the National Music Education Standards, also adopted in the state of Wisconsin. Our grade two students will be able to:
• Sing independently on pitch in an appropriate range
• Sing a varied repertoire of songs with expression appropriate to the genre
• Perform on and compare pitched and non-pitched instruments
• Understand and perform simple rhythms using half notes, quarter notes, quarter rests, and paired eighth notes
• Recognize and identify basic differences in tempo and dynamics


Hiding unpreparedness or lack of knowledge can become an art form for some students. In the last blog we spoke of some of the ways students do this. Now we will talk about how you can overcome these strategies.
Slurring over long words. Assume the student needs advanced phonics instruction. Work on dividing words into syllables and how to pronounce those words. Work on prefixes and suffixes by separating root words. Then discuss what each prefix and suffix means. Put them back together again. After four or five such lessons, ask the student to read a new passage and see if he still stumbles. Ask about particular words which might be hard to pronounce or understand.
Speaking softly. Ask other teachers if the student speaks softly in their classes. If it is just in your class, there is probably no speech impediment. Make sure there are no distracting noises. If there are, move to a quieter spot to work. Insist that the student face you when she speaks, and that she reads or speaks slowly. Have her repeat if you still can’t hear her. If this leads to tears, offer a moment for the student to collect herself, but keep going. You could always bring a microphone. Or bring a tape recorder and replay the student’s voice on “loud.” The student needs to know the stalling tactic won’t work.
Rarely asking questions. Turn the tables. You ask the questions which you think your student should be asking. Wait patiently for the answers.
Talking off-topic. Interrupt Mr. Congeniality and say you would love to chat about your weekend after class. Check your watch each time your student goes off-topic and make sure the student know you are adding that time to the original start time. Continue to add minutes if the student interrupts.
Going last. Mix the order of students if there is more than one, so the student who prefers to go last goes first or second. If this is not possible, arrange your teaching time so you will have more than enough time for the one who desires a short lesson.
Needing to use the rest room. If possible, five minutes before the lesson begins, call the student who usually needs to use the rest room and instruct him to use it now because there will be no time during the lesson. If that is not possible, tell the student at the beginning of the lessons that there will be no bathroom break, and stick to it. If the student still insists, time the student and make the student aware that you are extending the lesson by that amount of time.
Checking the time. Tell the student he may not check his phone or watch during the class period. Instead, you tell him every ten minutes or so how much longer the class will last. Make sure he knows the time exactly when you begin—you could show him your cell phone—and show him the time again when class ends.
Coming to a lesson without workbooks, texts or homework. If possible, before the lesson begins, remind the student what materials will be needed and tell her to get them now. If that is impossible, tell the student as she approaches for her lesson that she has exactly 30 seconds to get what she needs. Start counting aloud from 30 backwards. Then add 30 seconds to the end of the lesson.
Your hope is that the student will improve his or her behavior. If they do, say thank you. If there is another parent or a homeroom teacher whom the student respects, make sure you also let that person know the student’s behavior has improved. Always spread good news.


Aims and purposes of music
By engaging students in making and responding to music, music education at The Axholme Academy offers opportunities for students to:
- Develop their understanding and appreciation of a wide range of music, extend their own interests and increase their ability to make judgments about music quality.
- Acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to make music, eg in community music making, and, where appropriate, to follow a music-related career.
- Develop the skills, attitudes and attributes that can support learning in other subject areas and are needed for employment and life, eg listening skills, concentration, creativity, intuition, perseverance, self-confidence and sensitivity towards others.
Students learn to make, perform and understand music, using as many instruments, other media arts and music technology as possible. Weekly lessons always offer practical activities that appeal to a wide range of musical abilities, whether students work alone or in groups.
Music Teacher : Miss I Duveen


Australia trails behind in readiness for primary school: TIMSSMedia release 25 May 2021 5 minute read
Lower student literacy and numeracy skills when beginning primary school may be contributing to Australia’s poorer achievement in Year 4 mathematics, new research by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) suggests.
Results from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), released in December, revealed Australia was outperformed by 22 countries in Year 4 maths, compared to 8 countries in Year 4 science and just 6 in Year 8 maths and science.
ACER’s new analysis of TIMSS student, teacher and principal questionnaire data suggests an important factor behind Australia’s poor Year 4 maths achievement may be the low proportion of Australian students who begin primary school with foundational literacy and numeracy skills such as recognising and writing letters of the alphabet, reading and writing some words, recognising numbers higher than 10, and doing simple addition and subtraction.
Only half (53 per cent) of Australia’s Year 4s attended schools where more than a quarter of students enter school with foundational literacy and numeracy skills, compared to 80 per cent of Year 4s internationally. Those students recorded average mathematics and science scores around 30 points higher than the scores recorded by students who attended schools where less than 25 per cent of the student population had foundational literacy and numeracy skills upon entry to school.
Socioeconomically disadvantaged schools and schools in regional or remote areas were more likely to have less than 25 per cent of students enter school with foundational literacy and numeracy skills than more affluent schools or schools in major cities.
TIMSS National Research Coordinator and ACER Deputy CEO Dr Sue Thomson said, “These findings underline the importance of providing access for all children to quality pre-school and early childhood education.”
Dr Thomson said once children commence school, teacher effectiveness is one of the most important factors that can influence their learning. TIMSS reveals a high interest in ongoing professional learning among Australian teachers, with the most desired topics including integrating technology into instruction; critical thinking and problem solving; and addressing individual student needs.
“We know there is a wide range of achievement levels within most classes, so it’s vital that we have teachers with strong pedagogical knowledge to be able to help students whatever their needs,” Dr Thomson said.
TIMSS has measured trends in Year 4 and Year 8 mathematics and science achievement every four years since 1995. More than 580 000 students from 64 countries and 8 benchmarking systems participated in the 2019 study, including 14 950 Australian students from 571 Australian schools.
TIMSS is a project of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). ACER manages the implementation and reporting of TIMSS within Australia.
The report TIMSS 2019: Australia. Volume I1: School and classroom contexts for learning by Sue Thomson, Nicole Wernert, Sarah Buckley, Sima Rodrigues, Elizabeth O’Grady and Marina Schmid, is available from www.acer.org/timss
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