“Learning to learn and the willingness to unlearn and relearn are important as means of responding to new situations in a flexible and creative manner”
A balanced curriculum gives equal status and resources to arts, humanities, language, mathematics, physical education, science and other disciplines. The curriculum of our school is broad and balanced. It aims to provide a structured programme for all children while at the same time catering for the individual needs of each child.
All of the disciplines have an equal place at all stages of education, from prekindergarten through to the end of high school and beyond. They should be provided for in ways that take account of children’s ages and levels of development. In terms of personalization, it’s also essential that as they grow, students should be able to focus more on some disciplines than others as their interest start to become more focused. That’s what choice and diversity mean.
In order to meet the purposes outlined in learning culture and implied competencies, our curriculum as a whole has these characteristics:
To cover the sorts of understanding that we want for all students to provide proper opportunities for them as individuals to discover their personal strengths and interests.
To provide appropriate choices so that as they develop, students can pursue their own interests in proper depth.
To allow for collaboration and interaction between students of different ages and teachers with different specialties. It should build bridges with the wider community, and it should evolve and develop in process.
Wisdom Valley Global School adopt and adapt an educational program which is largely based on the policies and procedures laid by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and national curriculum framework (NCF). The NCF proposes five guiding principles for curriculum development:
- connecting knowledge to life outside the school;
- ensuring that learning shifts away from rote methods;
- enriching the curriculum so that it goes beyond textbooks;
- making examinations more flexible and integrating them with classroom life; and
- nurturing an overriding identity informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country.
Our school practice a skill based curriculum and is content driven as well. The curricular areas are as follows:
Reading and writing, listening and speech, contribute to the child’s progress in all curricular areas which is the basis for curriculum planning. We emphasize reading throughout the primary classes to give every child a solid foundation for school learning.
Access to quality mathematics education is the right of every child. The teaching of mathematics enhances children’s ability to think and reason, to visualize and handle abstractions, to formulate and solve problems.
To engage the learners in acquiring methods and processes that nurture their curiosity and creativity, particularly in relation to the environment. To equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enter the world of work.
To equip children with the ability to think independently and reflect critically on social issues, to develop interdisciplinary approach, promoting key national concerns such as gender, justice, human rights, and sensitivity to marginalized groups and minorities.
It covers all four major spheres, i.e. music, dance, visual arts and theatre. We emphasize interactive approaches because the goal of art education is to promote aesthetic and personal awareness and the ability to express oneself in different forms.
Peace has immense relevance today in view of the growing tendency across the world towards intolerance and violence as a way of resolving conflicts. We promote peace-oriented values in all subjects throughout the school years with the help of relevant activities.
Health and Physical Education
Health and physical education are necessary for the overall development of learners.
Habitat and Learning
Environmental education is pursued by infusing the issues and concerns of the environment into the teaching of different disciplines at all levels while ensuring that adequate time is earmarked for pertinent activities.
The examination and evaluation processes are extremely dynamic to keep pace with the changing trends of research in education. We at Wisdom Valley Global School work continuously on innovations in teaching-learning methodologies by devising student friendly and student centered systems.
Activity day are kept on Saturdays to develop a wide variety of skills in the students. These days are dedicated to Co-curricular activities, clubs, remedial classes, inter-house competitions, industry visits, excursions, workshops, seminars and other beyond academic activities, which help our students to engage into experiential learning.


Graduation Assessments: Questions and Answers for Grade 10 students and Parents
- Grade 10 students will:
- Write the Numeracy and Literacy 10 assessments before graduation.
- There will also be a Literacy 12 assessment that current grade 10 students will write before graduation in their grade 12 year.
► What are the new literacy and numeracy graduation assessments?
They are two new provincial assessments required for graduation. They are broad-based measures of a student’s literacy and numeracy skills.
► What is the purpose of the new literacy and numeracy graduation assessments?
- They are a graduation requirement for all students.
- They provide system-level information on performance in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
- They help inform decision-making at all levels of the system (school, district, student, province).
► What do the new literacy and numeracy assessments measure?
The assessments measure foundational literacy and numeracy abilities that have been learned across multiple subjects. Within the new curriculum, students’ proficiency in literacy and numeracy is developed over the course of their education. The assessments will ask critical-thinking and problem-solving questions within relevant contexts and scenarios.
► What are the definitions of literacy and numeracy?
For the purpose of these new provincial assessments, literacy and numeracy are defined as follows:
Literacy is the ability and willingness to make meaning from text and express oneself in a variety of modes and for a variety of purposes. Literacy includes making connections, analyzing critically, comprehending, creating, and communicating.
Numeracy is the ability, willingness, and perseverance to interpret and apply mathematical understanding to solve problems in contextualized situations, and to analyze and communicate these solutions in ways relevant to the given context.
► How are the new literacy and numeracy assessments aligned with the new curricula?
Literacy and numeracy are foundational across all curriculum areas. The new assessments measure literacy and numeracy as applied in relevant scenarios and contexts.
► Will the new literacy and numeracy assessments be tied to a course?
No. Because these are broad-based measures, the assessments will not be tied to a course mark.
► What types of questions will be on the new literacy and numeracy assessments?
The assessments consist of both selected-response questions (e.g., multiple choice, sequencing) and constructed-response questions (e.g., written answer, problem-solving)
► When will students write the new assessments?
Students in grade 10 will be registered to write the literacy 10 and numeracy assessment in the quarter they are enrolled in math and English 10. If a student is currently taking a math and/or English course, they will write their assessment(s) in November during the week of November 2 – 6. Other sessions of the assessments are scheduled for January, April and June, in alignment with our quarters.
► How will the assessments be reported?
A student’s overall result will be reported on a four-category proficiency scale. Each category on the proficiency scale will have a corresponding description indicating what skills the student has demonstrated to attain that level.
► Do students need to attain a certain proficiency category to graduate?
No. Students are not required to reach a minimum proficiency category in order to graduate; however, they will be required to complete the assessment to graduate.
The intention is to allow students to demonstrate their “best level of proficiency,” which will be shown on their transcript, and thereby provide an additional piece of evidence of a student’s achievement.
Students can write the numeracy assessment up to 3 times before they graduate, if they want to improve their proficiency level. Information will be shared soon with respect to re-writing literacy assessments if students desire to.
► What information will show on the student’s transcript?
Student results on the literacy and numeracy assessments will appear as a stand-alone item on their transcript. It will be in the form of a numeric value from 1 – 4.
► How is assessment information used?
The results from these assessments will serve as one piece of evidence of a student’s achievement. The results will appear on student transcripts as a category on a proficiency scale.
The Province reviews and monitors student performance and the performance of groups of students. The results of the assessments are also used to provide information to citizens regarding the performance of BC students in key areas and to maintain public confidence in the education system.
Schools and districts may use the information from graduation assessments as an indicator of student performance in literacy and numeracy. They may also use the results for program planning, resource allocation, and monitoring trends in student achievement over time.
► Will the assessments affect scholarships?
Results of these assessments are not used to determine eligibility for scholarships.


Developing your ability to perceive objects in 3D space is an essential tool for aspiring designers and artists. Perspective drawing is an intimidating initiative to take on for the beginner.
Many courses are over complicated making it difficult for the beginner. I am going to simplify this process for you and get you results.
BASIC ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING will focus on creating simple shapes that will be easy to draw and gradually increase the challenges at the right pace so you get the results you are looking for.
After completing the exercises, you will have a stronger grasp of your one-point perspective ability.
Use these techniques as a daily exercise and you will see a dramatic improvement in your sketches.
TARGET AUDIENCE :
1. Students who are serious about improving their drawing fundamentals
2. Students that are willing to improve their abilities by taking action and practicing the concepts
3. Students who want to create from their imagination
4. Students who are constantly on the lookout to learn something new
COURSE OVERVIEW AND CONTENTS:
7 LESSONS/21 TOPICS – 2Hrs 30 min
- TYPES OF PERSPECTIVE
2. MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- IMPROVING YOUR MOTOR-SKILLS WITH FREEHAND LINE DRAWING
- DRAWING RADIATING LINES FROM A SINGLE VANISHING POINT
- SKETCHING RADIATING LINES FREEHAND AND CHECKING THEIR ACCURACY
3. FUNDAMENTAL ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING
- DRAWING CUBES IN ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE
- POSITIONING CUBES IN SPACE
- USING PERSPECTIVE TEMPLATES
- DRAWING RECTILINEAR FORMS
- DRAWING CURVED SHAPES
4. TRANSFORMING CUBES TO BUILDINGS AND CITYSCAPES
- DRAWING A CITY USING A STRAIGHT EDGE
- DRAWING A CITY USING TEMPLATES
- CREATING DETAILS ON 2D SHAPES
5. SOLIDIFYING PERSPECTIVE CONCEPTS WITH 3D SOFTWARE
- USING 3D MODELS FOR 1 POINT PERSPECTIVE DEMO
6. USING THUMBNAIL SKETCHING TO PRACTICE SCENE COMPOSITION
- ANALYZING THE SKETCH AND DEFINING THE DRAWING APPROACH
- TRAIN IN LOS ANGELES – LINE DRAWING
- TRAIN IN LOS ANGELES BONUS – ADDING VALUE AND CONTRAST WITH MARKERS
7. FINAL PROJECT: TYING ALL CONCEPTS TOGETHER WITH A RAILROAD SCENE
- DRAWING RAILROAD SCENE BASIC ELEMENTS
- ADDING DEPTH TO THE TRACK RAILS
- ADDING DETAILS: INDICATING GRAVEL AND GRASS
- ADDING DETAILS: SHADING AND ADDING ELEMENTS TO THE HOUSE
- ADDING LANDSCAPING – HAPPY BUSHES AND TREES


A total of 265 Norwegian children, with their teachers and parents, participate the the project.
Children's skills (e.g., different numeracy skills, reading, and executive functions), motivation and emotions for mathematics learning are measured five times during the project:
Grade 1 spring 2019
Grade 2 autumn 2019 and spring 2020
Grade 3 autumn 2020 and spring 2021
Data collection is arranged at the University of Oslo. Each day, during a couple of months, a group of 8–12 children comes to an adventure day. All tasks are connected to a specific theme. In spring 2019, the theme for the adventure day was astronaut training. By the end of the adventure day, the children received a diploma for completing the training. Several students, studying (special) education, participate the project as research assistants, and gain valuable experience in assessment and working with children.
Recent development of more advanced statistical methods as well as technology related to measurement tools, such as eye trackers and equipment measuring physiological responses, enable us to take a step further in tracing children’s numeracy development. The main statistical methodological approaches in this research are person-centred methods and latent growth analyses.
As the project makes progress, the results will be mainly disseminated as articles in international journals. We will also share the main results on this website.


Here are some insights:
Literacy starts early, even though your young child is not formally being taught to read and write. Literacy starts with language development, with communication.
At this stage the best way to support your child’s language/literacy development is to offer as much input as possible, motivate their curiosity and open doors to discovery. Help your child learn new words and understand the world around him/her.
You can do that through conversation, singing, playing games and of course, reading aloud.
What does reading aloud to a baby or toddler look like? Can they sit and listen to a story? They might. Or not. And it’s ok.
It’s ok not to finish a book.
It’s ok to read a story over and over again.
It’s ok to stop and play, laugh, talk, cuddle.
It’s ok not to have a set time and place to read.
Follow your child’s lead. Don’t push.
Reading with such young children involves more looking and talking that actual reading.
Look at the pictures in the book. Describe them. Ask questions. Teach new words. Go beyond what’s on the page.
Reading aloud needs to be engaging, dynamic, memorable. Choose books that are interactive, that have textures, flaps, pop-ups. Pay attention to the language: does it have a good rhythm? Rhymes? Repetition? Interesting words?
Are the topics and characters relatable to your child?
Then, the way you read is crucial. You need to show enthusiasm! Use your voice, facial expressions, props.
Reading together as often as possible, having meaningful conversations, singing, playing, drawing, building… this is the foundation upon which literacy instruction will be built later on.
★ ★ ★
You might also like:
Home Literacy Environment Checklist (Reading Rockets)
Literacy Milestones Birth to age 3 (Reading Rockets)
Literacy Milestones ages 3-4
Strategies for reading aloud to young children (video)
Support literacy even before your child starts to read
No Print, No Prep - Phonological Awareness Games (PDF)
Reading Magic, by Mem Fox
Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family, by Xiao-Lei Wang
★ ★ ★
Find support in our Facebook Communities:
Raising Biliterate Children (Ana)
Multilingual Families (Ute)


An exploration of science educating and learning based mostly on prior conceptions and experiences will be used to help and develop science literacy. This course is meant to serve as one of the key components of a scholar’s first term in an Education program. This course examines sociological theories and research strategies as they apply to training, the school as a proper and casual organization, and results of training on stratification, social management, race, class, and gender. Biblical or Christian Studies electives are required of scholars so as to meet Crandall’s B.A., B.B.A., or B.Sc. equivalency necessities.
Your portfolio will embrace your resume and Philosophy of Teaching Statement and function a method to showcase the talents you have acquired throughout your diploma program and Demonstration Teaching. Cohort Seminar provides mentoring and helps instructor candidates during their demonstration instructing interval by offering weekly collaboration and instruction associated to the demonstration instructing experience. It facilitates their demonstration of competence in becoming reflective practitioners, adhering to ethical requirements, practicing inclusion in a various classroom, exploring neighborhood resources, constructing collegial and collaborative relationships with academics, and contemplating leadership and supervisory skills. Supervised Demonstration Teaching in Elementary Education involves a series of classroom performance observations by the host instructor and scientific supervisor that develop comprehensive efficiency information about the trainer candidate’s expertise. Elementary Physical Education and Health Methods helps students learn how to implement efficient bodily and health training instruction in the elementary classroom.
In Malaysia, it is among the most troublesome admittance degrees for the students to get into. Students not solely need a distinction end result but additionally have to undergo a psychology take a look at, rigorous interviews and demos of teaching. Students who already get these courses shall be given a full scholarship by the Minister of Education.
degree, or equivalent, … Read More


: Whilst there exists a plethora of research about the benefits of reading aloud on children’s literacy development and a range of government reports highlighting the positive investment return on early intervention strategies such as reading aloud, most literature is presented from an adult perspective. Limited research exists on children’s attitudes toward being read to at home or school or the frequency of reading aloud practices that occur within these contexts. This mixed method study examines reading aloud practices in schools (N=21) and homes (N=220). It captures the attitude toward reading aloud practices from the viewpoint of 220 children aged between 6-12 years of age (Grade 1-6) across a representative range of diverse school contexts in Western Australian. The findings identify specific reading aloud practices, patterns of frequency and perceived barriers to reading aloud in the classroom and at home. The study provides support for the practice of reading aloud to be continued past the period of acquisition and independent reading. It raises concern about the low frequency of reading aloud practices at home and school and the early signs of a literacy. It also highlights the limited attention to affective domains of reading that occur in schools.
& Merga, M. K.
Reading Aloud: Children's Attitudes toward being Read to at Home and at School.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3).


Action 1.15: Views on Adult Literacy Learning
Freedom to Learn is the report of the working group looking into the basic skills needs of adults with learning difficulties and disabilities. It sets out ways in which access to good basic skills teaching and learning could be improved for adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
From executive summary:
"sufferers from dyslexia" Sir Claus Moser (1999) - medical model or charity model of disability
"basic skills needed for employment or further education" - employment focus
Low self-esteem/low self confidence - a major barrier and one that prevents learners approaching colleges, community support is vital.
"Learning difficulties such as those caused by poor short-term memory, poor sequencing skills or language dysfunction require specialist high-quality teaching. Currently, this is not available to many learners because of a shortage of skilled and qualified teachers." - This is not recognised and specialist staff have low status which comes from relying on volunteers and low level training courses.
Staff need to be aware of facilities for disabled learners - legalities too!
Community education should be recognised - I really agree with this as working with learners on a simple aromatherapy course allowed them to realise that adult education was not like school and they were then ready to move into learning literacy/numeracy skills.
"alternative ways to demonstrate achievement" - yes, Key Skills are not appropriate as too high to achieve in some cases and too close to school experiences in many.


As parishes throughout the Diocese pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life by imploring the help of Our Lady and four holy men, at the suggestion of one of our readers, we now begin a series of short articles looking at the life of each of these men and their connection with our geographical area. This month we focus on Blessed William Richardson.
William’s father came into this area from Lancashire to find work, and settled in Waleswood, at what is now known as the far side of Rother Valley Park and long-time residents knew as the hamlet of Bedgreave (William’s birthplace). As the medieval mill still stands in the same place, it is perhaps safe to say that his father’s employment was that of a miller and that William himself received some elementary education at the hands of a parish curate.
We know from the Entry Book in the English College in Spain that William was a convert to the Catholic faith and was received into the Church by one of the clergy at Wiesloch, Germany, where at that time he was working. He was called to the priesthood, attended the English College in Spain, studying Philosophy and Theology, and was ordained priest there in 1594 and then returned to England.
Most of William’s life was spent working in London, often with the legal profession in the Inns of Court. He visited prisons as an ordinary visitor, to take Mass to Catholics imprisoned for their faith, and he was sentenced to death after being betrayed by a priest catcher. His execution took place on Tyburn Gallows, by the barbaric act of being hung, drawn and quartered on 17 February, 1603. We have no knowledge of his last resting place.
William’s death was in the reign of Elizabeth 1 and he was the last priest to be murdered at that time. Elizabeth 1 died one week later. It is said that he accepted his death with such constancy and faith, while praying for the Queen, that his executioners were deeply impressed.


Researchers in Germany have found that instrumental music lessons have an impact on specific executive functions in children.
Professor Susan Hallam’s research found that regular beat-based music making sessions can improve the reading skills of 11-12 year-olds.
A study by staff at the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and the University of Texas, raises the possibility that musical training may help offset age-related declines in brain volume in older adults.
Researchers from the University of Geneva and Université de Lausanne in Switzerland have found that formal, intensive, musical instrument training in a group setting in primary schools can enhance their cognitive development.
Taking a music qualification in school is linked with higher academic achievement, according to Cambridge Assessment research.
A School of Music professor set out to disprove the idea of a link between a students’ musical and mathematical achievement. But the results of his study proved otherwise.
Neuroscientists in Chile have found new evidence that learning to play a musical instrument may be good for the brain.
Students at Reigate Grammar School in Surrey who learned a musical instrument achieved better A-level results than their non-musician peers in 2018.
A three-part study, commissioned by BBC Arts, of nearly 49,000 people found that regardless of skill level, taking part in creative activities like making music helps people manage their emotions, build confidence and explore solutions to problems.
Researchers in Germany have found that a rhythm-based music programme helped pre-school children control one of their executive functions: their impulsive responses.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a classic music training programme (Démos) on the cognitive development of children from low socio-economic backgrounds.
This page contains international music education news and reports.


People are asking about a tool we’ve been sharing in recent presentations—a pithy evidence-catcher for ELA instructional materials evaluations. We originally created it to facilitate note-taking when we were in groups discussing the features of different high-quality programs. It offers an easy structure for capturing information about what is unique and especially strong from program to program, which helps when you are trying to differentiate between programs that are highly-aligned.
If you’ve seen the alignment criteria in the Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool (IMET), the language in this tool will look familiar. For our purposes we gathered the criteria into eight clusters to help people capture information as it was presented – not by Non-Negotiable and Alignment Criteria, but by relationship to the Shifts. Talking about programs thematically allows us to communicate much more efficiently, and to help people better understand the big picture and to see patterns within and across instructional programs. The eight clusters of criteria are as follows:
- Close Reading of Complex Text
- Building Academic Language
- Volume of Reading to Build Knowledge
- Evidence-Based Discussions
- Volume of Writing to Build Knowledge
- Foundational Skills and Fluency
- Supports for All Students
- Fit to Your Setting
Between the eight, they get at every standard and every strand of the ELA and foundational skills standards for any high-quality, college- and career-ready (CCR) standards-aligned program.
Here’s a sample of two clusters from the tool:
When collecting evidence with this tool, we always recommend that people pay especially close attention to “Fit for Your Setting” which asks people to consider:
- How easy is this program to learn and implement given your resources, personnel, and history to allow all students to meet grade-level standards?
- Does the program fit into your existing school and community culture?
- Is the program more affordable relative to others that are equally effective and appropriate to your circumstance?
You can find the original version of the tool here.
Other Use Cases
Since we began sharing this tool, people have shared other ways they’ve been able to put the tool to good use. In one case, when schools wanted to purchase materials not found to be highly-aligned by EdReports, they were asked to fill out the evidence-catcher to demonstrate their understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the program they were interested in pursuing. This allowed central curricular support staff— trained on the Shifts and familiar with the IMET—to check the school’s understanding about what’s aligned and ensure that the school had a strategy for addressing gaps in alignment. In another instance, a district used this tool to guide them in a swift check of a large number of programs so that they could do a thorough IMET analysis on only the programs that emerged as both aligned and likely to fit their needs. When the users above adapted our tool for their purposes, they also borrowed from the rating and scoring language of the IMET. The results in both cases looked similar to this.
The tool does not replace the IMET or the use of EdReports reviews, but it can help narrow and focus your search and assist you in determining what’s worth further consideration. Said another way, it’s not a shortcut for an instructional materials review: it’s a shortcut for determining to which reviews you should allocate more time.


What is Occupational Therapy?
Our Peadiatric Occupational Therapist’s at In Sync Kids OT passion is to ensure that every child has confidence and appropriate developmental skills so that they can confidently learn and engage in all environments.
An OT (Occupational Therapist) looks at ‘occupation’ as the roles, routines and daily activities that an individual would participate in. For children, this would commonly include sleep, eating, coping and adapting with all environments, emotional regulation, self-care activities, school and hobbies/sports. When a child is having trouble engaging in daily activities,
it is our role to determine what factors are impacting their participation.
At In Sync Kids OT, we have adopted a Neurodevelopmental approach, working from the bottom up, based on movement activities to build core foundational skills. For children, many developmental milestones happen during a specific phase of developmental or age band, if these skills are not fully or sufficiently developed during this time, sensory integration difficulties creep in.
Occupational Therapy treatment at In Sync Kids OT encompasses Ayres Sensory Integration® Intervention to support the development of the sensory systems and postural control. This facilitates the ability to modulate sensory information and to enable appropriate behaviour/emotional response.
We can help your child through well disguised play activities all designed to target your particular areas of concern, helping your child develop their daily life skills. In the initial assessment and parent consultation, the areas of your child's development that requires assistance will be identified.


OTTAWA, April 4, 2014 /CNW/ – Since the introduction of the new $20 polymer bank note, Canadians have been reminded of Vimy Ridge and what it represents for our country.
The bank note was introduced in November 2012 and the back features the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Located on the site of the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge, the memorial was erected in honour of Canadian service during the First World War. It is featured on the note as a tribute to Canadian men and women’s contributions and sacrifices in military conflicts throughout our history.
One organization has come up with a nickname for the polymer $20 note. Give a VIMY for Vimy is a fundraising activity organized by the Vimy Foundation. The goal is to raise $5 million to build a state-of-the-art education centre on the memorial site in France. The Foundation aims to unveil the new centre in 2017, to commemorate the centennial of the victory at Vimy.
Vimy Day is celebrated each year on 9 April and provides Canadians an opportunity to recall those days in April 1917 when all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together in France to successfully capture the Ridge—a moment in Canadian history often described as Canada’s coming of age.
Located at the highest point of Vimy Ridge, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial bears the names of the 11,285 fallen Canadian First World War servicemen with no known resting place in France. The memorial was erected on land that was granted permanently to Canada by France in 1922, in recognition of Canada’s war efforts.
Designed by Canadian sculptor Walter Seymour Allward, the limestone monument features two pylons that stand 30 metres high. With a maple leaf carved in one and a fleur-de-lis in the other, the pylons represent the sacrifices of people from Canada and France.
In designing the Polymer series, the Bank of Canada consulted the Vimy Foundation to ensure an appropriate depiction of the monument. The Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote Canada’s First World War legacy as symbolized with the victory at Vimy.
For more information or to donate, visit www.vimyfoundation.ca.


Elementary school women teachers transfer their fear of doing math to girls
Female elementary school teachers who are anxious about math pass on to female students the stereotype that boys, not girls, are good at math. Girls who endorse this belief then do worse at math, research at the University of Chicago shows.
These findings are the product of a year-long study on 17 first- and second-grade teachers and 52 boys and 65 girls who were their students. The researchers found that boys' math performance was not related to their teacher's math anxiety while girls' math achievement was affected.
"Having a highly math-anxious female teacher may push girls to confirm the stereotype that they are not as good as boys at math, which in turn, affects girls' math achievement," said Sian Beilock, Associate Professor in Psychology and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago, lead author of a paper, "Female Teachers' Math Anxiety Affects Girls' Math Achievement" published in the January 11 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Beilock is an expert on anxiety and stress as they relate to learning and performance.
Other authors were University graduate students Elizabeth Gunderson and Gerardo Ramirez as well as Susan Levine, Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology, Comparative Human Development, and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago.
More than 90 percent of elementary school teachers in the country are women and they are able to get their teaching certificates with very little mathematics preparation, according to the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Other research shows that elementary education majors have the highest rate of mathematics anxiety of any college major.
The potential of these teachers to impact girls' performance by transmitting their own anxiety about mathematics has important consequences. Teachers' anxiety might undermine female students' confidence in learning mathematics throughout their years of schooling and also decrease their performance in other subjects, such as science and engineering, which are dependent on mathematical understanding.
To determine the impact of teachers' mathematics anxiety on students, the team assessed teachers' anxiety about math. Then, at both the beginning and end of the school year, the research team also tested the students' level of mathematics achievement and the gender stereotypes the students held.
To assess stereotypes, the students were told gender neutral stories about students who were good at mathematics and good at reading and then asked to draw a picture of a student who was good at mathematics and one that was good at reading. Researchers were interested in examining the genders of the drawings that children produced for each story.
At the beginning of the school year, student math achievement was unrelated to teacher math anxiety in both boys and girls. By the end of the school year, however, the more anxious teachers were about math, the more likely girls, but not boys, were to endorse the view that "boys are good at math and girls are good at reading." Girls who accepted this stereotype did significantly worse on math achievement measures at the end of the school year than girls who did not accept the stereotype and than boys overall.
Girls who confirmed a belief that boys are better in math than girls scored six points lower in math achievement than did boys or girls who had not developed a belief in the stereotype (102 for the girls who accepted the stereotype, versus 108 for the other students).
Other research has shown that elementary school children are highly influenced by the attitudes of adults and that this relationship is strongest for students and adults of the same gender. "Thus it may be that first- and second-grade girls are more likely to be influenced by their teachers' anxieties than their male classmates, because most early elementary school teachers are female and the high levels of math anxiety in this teacher population confirm a societal stereotype about girls' math ability," Beilock said.
The authors suggest that elementary teacher preparation programs could be strengthened by requiring more mathematics preparation for future teachers as well as by addressing issues of math attitudes and anxiety in these teachers.


‘Speech is a child’s oral passport to life!’
We organise speech festivals in schools for children to overcome the potential anxiety of speaking in front of a group by providing a platform for them to create, organise and present their ideas logically, creatively and convincingly in the form of poetry, speeches or stories and receive excellent feedback and encouragement.
Success in this setting cannot be measured just with the marks awarded but also with the satisfaction of the child knowing that they have stood alone on a stage, in front of an audience and used nothing but the power of their voice to connect with others. Finding the confidence to take the step away from being a spectator to a speaker is no mean feat but the earlier you take that step, the easier it becomes.
There is unanimous evidence to suggest that it is best to teach public speaking to children at a young age before they are overtaken by the fear of speaking in front of others. However there are indications that not enough schools appreciate the benefits of encouraging pupils to be confident speakers. Our work enables the children to learn crucial soft skills which are not necessarily taught in school like persuasiveness and creativity as well as leadership skills such as courage and perseverance.
Our workshops provide the students with an introduction to the art of effective speaking and listening with the goal of building up their confidence and communication skills. Our fun and interactive sessions use a simple and effective methodology along with games that enable the students to learn the most crucial skills required to become confident communicators.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, are more likely to suffer from communication difficulties, and are afforded the least opportunity to develop the confidence and abilities in speaking that will enable them to compete with their more socioeconomically advantaged peers.’ – School 21
Public speaking is a vehicle to promote the cause of social mobility and provides foundational skills for life. It levels the playing field for children and helps to equalize the life chances of those from less privileged backgrounds. We are aware that the challenge of unravelling this is not a new one but our hope is that all young people would be provided with every possible opportunity to enable them to go as far as their talents and hard work will take them. iVerbalize seeks to do this by embedding the soft skills of communication and creativity from early on and enhancing them so as to broaden the horizons and elevate the sights for these children as they grow up.
We run effective and inspiring training sessions which are linked back to the school’s aims and values, to foster a clear understanding of the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’.
- Training sessions on Confident Communication
- Public speaking and Presentations
- Speaking and Listening
Tailor-made sessions are also available specific to the school’s specific needs.


Making it REAL - One Day Training
REAL stands for Raising Early Achievement in Literacy
The programme is inspired by the original REAL project delivered by Professors Cathy Nutbrown and Peter Hannon at the University of Sheffield.
Making it REAL one day training will:
- Equip you to understand how the home learning environment contributes to children’s literacy and communication skills.
- Identify practical ways you can support children and families across the four strands of literacy: environmental print, songs and rhymes, books, and mark making.
- Make you comfortable using and sharing the ORIM framework to support parents and their children’s literacy development. (ORIM stands for Opportunities, Recognition, Interaction and Model)
- Equip you to build parents’ knowledge and confidence so that they can help their children with reading and writing.
This training be delivered live, on line, via Zoom. Log in details will be sent nearer the time.
Who should attend?
Early Years Practitioners
Please note: course viability is subject to sufficient bookings being received. payments will be refunded automatically if delivery has to be postponed.


Look to Learn is a software package with 40 activities designed for adults and children starting out with eye gaze technology. These activities have been specially created to provide a fun way to improve access and choice making skills.
Each activity develops a different skill, ranging from early cause and effect through to accurate eye gaze control. Most of all, Look to Learn is designed to be motivating and fun!
Try it Now!
The Look to Learn from Sensory Software can be downloaded from here. Once downloaded, you will be able to access three of the activities for free; to access all 40 activities you will need to purchase the software.
Five Areas of Learning
The 40 Look to Learn activities have been split into five key areas of learning and development:
Look to Learn, Sensory
Sensory – Teaches cause and effect
Explore – Encourages engagement with the whole screen
Target – Helps improve accuracy of eye gaze access
Choose – Develops choice making skills
Control – Improve eye control
Look to Learn provides a progression from early cause and effect activities right through to choice making and game playing. This process develops the eye gaze skills required for alternative communication, literacy development and computer access.
Customised for You!
Many of the activities can be customized to include favorite images or videos. Get creative and have some fun!
Look to Learn has been created in conjunction with teachers and therapists from across the UK to provide the tools needed for assessment:
Eye tracking – where on the screen are you looking? Are you engaged with the content?
Targeting – learning to find targets and fix your gaze on it.
Choice making – introducing early choice making in preparation for AAC.
The built-in analysis tool creates a heat map to show where you have looked on the screen during an activity. Heat maps can be saved, printed and used to measure progress and record successes.


3D digital design is where we start in terms of the product development timeline. After the initial product idea is brought to us by the inventor, we then take their idea and transform it into a 3D digital design. This 3D design allows us to refine and develop a manufacturable design.
3D Digital Design Adds Efficiency to Product Development
A 3D digital design is one simple way to streamline the entire product development process. “Not only does 3D modeling help the designers and end users visualize space requirements, but also improves drawing efficiency and accuracy. 3D modeling for design allows the designer to see what they would not see when designing in 2D.” (Plus Group) With a digital design you can:
- Validate the design
- Test the design
- Evaluate form, fit & functionality
- Verify tolerances, loads & stresses
- Optimize manufacturability
A professional 3D digital design will make the transition into manufacturing much smoother. These digital files are beneficial for the patent process as well—for both provisional and non-provisional patent applications. Taking the time early on during product development to refine, test and validate your design virtually will save both time and money later on.
Interest in 3D Digital Design is Growing
Where once 3D digital design was used mainly by engineering, IT and design professionals, interest in it has grown exponentially over the past 5 years. Software companies have seen a steady rise in 3D design software interest right alongside the evolution of 3D printing.
A few popular 3D modeling programs include:
These programs are a great starting spot for people interested in 3D design and students interested in furthering their STEM education. “3D modeling may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of art education. However, it really is just a digital approach to drawing, painting, and sculpting. And like any other art form, it is an excellent outlet for artistic creativity. Furthermore, with the increasing affordability of 3D printers and easy-to-use 3D design software, much like a painting or sculpture that is tangible, students are able to bring their 3D creations to life.” (eLearning Industry)
It is important to note that while there is a growing list of 3D digital design software available, there is also a steep learning curve when it comes to using the technology in a professional setting, such as developing a product. When it comes to design for manufacturability, we highly suggest working with a professional to refine your design.
Have questions about 3D digital design for your product? Send us an email at email@example.com
3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.


Marginalized students accessing museum art education programs
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For many years as an art educator, this researcher, has observed, the positive impact an art education program can have on a variety of different student populations. All students deserve access to a meaningful art education. It has been shown that developing brain health and looking at art is beneficial for the human mind. Scientists in collaboration with artists have recently shown, through Computed Axial Tomography (CAT scans) something that we already knew (or suspected), from our own experiences; making and looking at art is positive for human cognition. According to Professor Semir Zeki, Chair of the Neurasthenics Department at University College London: (1999, p.187). Inner Vision: An exploration of art and the brain: "What we found is when you look at art – whether it is a landscape, a still life, an abstract or a portrait – there is strong activity in that part of the brain related to pleasure. We put people in a scanner and showed them a series of paintings every ten seconds. We then measured the change in blood flow in one part of the brain. The reaction was immediate. What we found was the increase in blood flow was in proportion to how much the painting was liked. The blood flow increased for a beautiful painting just as it increases when you look at somebody you love. It tells us art induces a feel-good sensation direct to the brain." This thesis will not be examining the positive impact art has on the brain; it is referred to in order to acknowledge the fact many artists and art appreciators already know: Looking at art is a valuable thing, and art education is important for developing minds. This thesis will examine the bridge between art museum programs and marginalized student populations. These are the students who have Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s), or those for whom English is a second language and who may live in low-income urban communities. It will also examine what museum-based art education programs can provide to this population of youth. In the Wall Street Journal, as cited by (Winner, Goldstein, and Vincent-Lancrin, 2013, p.18) the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman offers pointed remarks when arts education comes up: "Some students don’t fit the No Child Left Behind regime and other subjects don’t inspire them. Talented but offbeat, they sulk through algebra, act up in the cafeteria, and drop out of school. The arts 'catch' them and pull them back, turning a sinking ego on the margins into a creative citizen with 'a place in society.'" Museums often provide a place for students to go and engage with art in a meaningful way that captures their imagination and engages them in learning. The emphasis of this research falls on the unusual student, the difficult learner, the student who has a learning style difference and who may never have encountered an original work of art. The purpose of this study is to report the ways in which students responded to art in a museum setting. Why art museums enjoy a reciprocal benefit from serving these students will also be examined. Art educators know that art is important for the development of creativity in students, and students’ benefit from engagement in studio art activities. Yet, most crucially, art programs are often marginalized in low-income urban communities. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than 95 percent of schoolaged children are attending schools that have cut art education since the recession. In low-income communities, many students have few studio art classes along their journeys through pre/K-12 public education. Those denied an art education often find themselves without the benefit of an education that includes studies about the value of culture, leaving those affected by poverty with little impetus to reach for higher educational goals. Art education programs at two museums are examined to show how their programs reach out to students from underserved communities. In particular, this study looks at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester and Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, both in, Massachusetts, to evaluate how to engage marginalized, urban students and retain these youth as enthusiastic lifetime museumgoers.
Thesis (M.A.) PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org. Thank you.


Today, I wanted to highlight one of the three products available in the "Phonics Instruction Made Easy" Bundle, currently available for half off in the TallyTales TPT store this week: the "Hands-On Reading and Spelling Materials for Phonics Interventions."
There are so. many. good. items in this product that can help teachers, parents, and interventionists provide appropriate instruction for young or struggling readers. I developed these materials as needed for my own instruction. In this post, I want to share ways these materials can be used. However, these tips are valuable instructional advice for anyone, whether you have this product or not. So read on for a quick overview of phonics instruction guidelines and how these materials support that instruction.
In my opinion, the overarching goal for explicit, phonics instruction is to build reading and spelling fluency with individual phonics skills. Orton Gillingham methodology focuses heavily on systematic phonics instruction that revolves around syllable types as well as the phonics rules associated with each type of syllable. The more fluent students become with each skill, the less they struggle to decode words (especially multisyllabic words). Naturally, this translates into their spelling abilities as well.
One of the key components in providing effective phonics instruction is to include multisensory opportunities throughout the instruction. I talk with my students a lot about using "touch points" to help sound out words. I know a lot of teachers discourage students from using their fingers to track print, but for struggling readers, using the sense of touch creates a powerful connection as students make speech-to-print associations. Whenever possible, I provide visual touch points for students as they develop fluency at the word-level. There should be a gradual release of dependency on visual touch points, but developing that tactile strategy is a powerful tool for students! I implemented that philosophy into these materials, and it has been highly supportive of my students' reading fluency development.
Alternately, the same philosophy applies to developing spelling fluency. It is important to support students' development of phonemic awareness, but if they already have a stable foundation, you can continue to foster the speech-to-print connection by providing a visual guide of the sounds within each word. Again, you must also foster a gradual release of dependency on those visual cues. These materials serve to support the reading-writing connection since students first decode each word. Then there are visual cues for the individual sounds within each word to help students spell sound-by-sound. After that, the visual cues are removed and students spell the word as a cohesive unit of meaning. It's a 3-step process that is simple in format, but effective in helping strengthen letter-sound relationships that can be so challenging, especially for students with deficits.
Along with this, you have to explicitly teach phonics rules, including syllable types and the rules within each syllable. The instruction must be consistent and sequential. That's a "fancy" way of saying that you have to teach the skills thoroughly, maintaining a similar method in your delivery, and you have to teach the skills in an order that makes sense.
You may have an awesome phonics program that takes care of this for you. If you do, that is super. If not, you may be searching for something more. Whatever your current phonics "program" looks like, it is always helpful to have ready-to-use materials on hand that will easily supplement the skills you are teaching.
That is what this product is intended to be! These materials provide guidance for the "rules" as well as materials that support multisensory instruction (visual and tactile elements) and are consistent in format throughout the whole product.
Not only this, but it's included in a bundle along with other materials that will all work together cohesively to enrich your phonics instruction. The reading passages are fantastic alone, but I wrote them very much for the purpose of being used with these phonics materials. All these pieces are on sale this week, so I hope that you can take advantage of them, and I hope so very much that they will be immediately useful to you in your classroom, at home, or wherever your journey with your students finds you today.


This two and a half hour workshop will give you the skills to:
Teach your child how to read unknown words (NOT GUESS).
Hook your child into reading.
Give your child the building blocks of literacy.
Teach your child how words are spelled (NOT LOOK-COVER-GUESS).
Develop reading fluency and comprehension.
When: Thursday 27th, February, 2020
Where: Speld Qld, 141 Merton Road, Woolloongabba, Qld, 4102
Book on the SPELD website
This information filled workshop will be presented by Dr Lillian Fawcett, who has over 20 years teaching experience, is an accredited Dyslexia-SPELD specialist teacher and has successfully helped hundreds of students improve their literacy skills. This workshop will be of particular interest to parents who have concerns about their child’s reading or spelling and parents of young children who want the knowledge to provide the best support for their child’s literacy development. Lillian has presented this workshop at numerous primary schools to very positive feedback.
For further information or if you would like to host a parent workshop at your school, please contact Lillian: firstname.lastname@example.org or 0402 156 567
Find out about the current research regarding acquiring literacy.
Discover the ‘spelling code’.
Learn a unique and highly successful multisensory technique for effectively teaching spelling that can be applied to any spelling program.
Watch the strategies used by a successful speller.
Listen to a brief history of the development of the English language.
Discover the 5 components of reading competency and how you can help your child develop these skills.
Learn a simple strategy for helping your child read unknown words.
Find out the importance of daily reading and how you can help your child develop a love of books.
Enhance your child’s memory and learning by applying the strategies from the memory research.


In the area of today’s Montenegro, several traces of early music cultures have been found, including a whistle from older Stone Age, which is Europe’s oldest specimen of a musical instrument. Musical motifs have also been found in cave paintings and archeological objects from the century before Christ.
Lots of preserved medieval liturgical songs, musical notation in the form of neums and a number of older organs testify to a lively tradition of church music in Montenegro’s coastal regions. Archbishop Jovan Vladimir of Duklja (990-1016) is the earliest known composer in the entire coastal area around the Adriatic.
- Countryaah: Population and demographics of Montenegro, including population pyramid, density map, projection, data, and distribution.
The tradition of guslari, troubadours that sing long, epic legend songs to their own accompaniment of gusl, has existed over large parts of the Balkans but is especially associated with Montenegro where the tradition is kept alive. The country’s cultural life in general is characterized by the many festivals with parades, local music ensembles and choirs.
A founding figure in Montenegro’s art musical history is Jovan Ivanišević (1861–89). During the 1900’s, a lot of effort was invested in music education, which resulted in relatively many qualified musicians and music creators. The composers Borislav Tamindžić (1933–92) and Žarko Mirković (born 1952) are among the country’s foremost today. Mention can also be made of the Janko Nilović (born in 1941) operating in France, who among other things made genre transcending licensing music for radio and TV.
Popular music is largely in common with that of other former Yugoslavia. Indigenous artists include the poet Marinko Pavićević (born 1957), the poet and rock poet Miladin Šobić (born 1956), the humorous, multi-stylist artist Rambo Amadeus (born 1963), the folk pop singer Šako Polumenta (born 1968) and popular singers Eur represented in the country Song Contest: Sergei Ćetković (born 1967), Knez (actually Nenad Knežević, born 1967) and Andrea Demirović (born 1985).
The pre-industrial Montenegrin folk culture depended mainly on ecological and historical factors. The scarce availability of arable land hampered the development of agriculture. Most olives, maize, figs, wine and tobacco were grown. The main industry was a primitive, usually ambulatory livestock management with crafts as binary. When it came to influences from the surroundings, Slavic (Serbian) influences prevailed mainly within the social culture with its tribal organization, a family structure with strong patriarchal features and the associated complexes of customs and customs (blood revenge, bridal shopping and bridal robbery). Turkish features could be found in the accommodation, home decor, meal customs and food preparation. Wine, horticulture and fruit cultivation were the result of Italian influence, as well as elements of the costume, decoration and textile crafts. In the oldest state of popular culture, however, the Balkan features have dominated into the present. They can be found in sheep farming, herding culture and milk handling as well as in the primitive building culture.


Helping develop early literacy skills.
The video above has been created as a self-guided learning tool for you. First, watch the video. Afterwards, a series of questions will appear below. Consider these questions and replay the video. After watching the video a second time, click to reveal answers to each of the questions to find out if you’ve identified key points.
How is the provider encouraging literacy development?
She is holding the baby so the book it at his level. She is encouraging the infant to look at the images and showing him how to turn pages.
How is the provider encouraging autonomy for the infants?
She is allowing the child to handle the book and attempt to turn pages. She asks “do you want to go to the next page”. This is giving the infant cues that they are important to the literacy process.
In what way is the provider making the infant feels safe and comfortable. Why is this important to literacy development?
She is holding the child securely in her lap, she is talking softly, and she is encouraging the infant. Feeling safe and secure is one of the most important factors in any development. Only when a child feels safe and secure can their brains fully develop. For more about brain development see the brain development link.


Given the robust nature of learning sciences research, this website is best viewed on tablets and computers. A small screen experience is coming in the future.
On June 22, 2021, we will launch updated strategies for the Math PK-2 model, as well as additional updates to the Navigator that highlight equity, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching. To learn more, visit our Site Updates (available in the "About" menu at the top of any page).
Hover to see how factors connect to Spatial Skills. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.
We use our Spatial Skills to mentally manipulate objects and numbers. These skills are foundational in the development of Number Sense and Geometric Reasoning and allow for later math learning, as visualizing and mentally manipulating numbers and representations in space can be an effective way to solve math problems.
There are three main Spatial Skills:
Individuals differ in Spatial Skills. For example, boys often outperform girls in tasks of mental rotation, one component of Spatial Skills. This gender gap is small in early childhood but grows larger throughout development into adolescence. Importantly, Spatial Skills are malleable, and both boys and girls show substantial improvements with Spatial Skills training.
Continual use of foundational skills with different problems reinforces a conceptual understanding of math skills.
Daily review strengthens previous learning and can lead to fluent recall.
Thinking of and about patterns encourages learners to look for and understand the rules and relationships that are critical components of mathematical reasoning.
As students walk through stations working in small groups, the social and physical nature of the learning supports deeper understanding.
Adding motions to complement learning activates more cognitive processes for recall and understanding.
In guided inquiry, teachers help students use their own language for constructing knowledge by active listening and questioning.
Spending time with new content helps move concepts and ideas into Long-term Memory.
Practicing until achieving several error-free attempts is critical for retention.
Math centers with math games, manipulatives, and activities support learner interests and promote the development of more complex math skills and social interactions.
Math games allow students to practice many math skills in a fun, applied context.
Providing physical and virtual representations of numbers and math concepts helps activate mental processes.
Visual representations help students understand what a number represents as well as recognize relationships between numbers.
Connecting information to music and dance moves can enhance Short-term and Long-term Memory by drawing on auditory processes and the cognitive benefits of physical activity.
When teachers connect math to the students' world, students see how math is relevant and applicable to their daily lives.
Math games and manipulatives for vision differences support math development for learners with visual needs.
Children's literature can be a welcoming way to help students learn math vocabulary and concepts.
Spaces that are structured, organized, and clean provide increased room for collaboration and active learning.
Providing visuals to introduce, support, or review instruction activates more cognitive processes to support learning.
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Generating summary page
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Summary" to view your Design Summary Report.
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Report” to view your Design Summary Report.
By selecting "Show Report" you will be taken to the Assessment Summary Page. Once created, you will not be able to edit your report. If you select cancel below, you can continue to edit your factor and strategy selections.
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Where Did Pipes Originate?
A British music teacher, Margaret James, started making these in the 1920’s, based on an old goatherd’s pipe. During the last century their popularity gradually spread to different countries – Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA – where groups were formed to make and play pipes.
Now there are big international courses involving all those countries every few years, where the camaraderie is remarkable.
What are Bamboo Pipes?
Bamboo pipes are simple musical instruments with cork used for the embouchure, resembling recorders but with a sweeter sound. They are not sold but must be made by the players themselves, under the guidance of a master teacher. They come in sopranino, soprano, alto , tenor, bass, quart bass and great bass sizes, alternating between G and D as the fundamental tone. Their range is an octave and a third to an octave and a sixth, depending on the type of instrument. They are carefully tuned so they can be played with a variety of other instruments. Their sweet sound has long been heralded by composers from many nations.
Why Make One?
There is something unique about creating one’s own sound, as part of a high-quality musical instrument, and subsequently playing with others who have done the same. One learns more about acoustics and the production of sound than from buying a ready-made instrument. In addition, it brings you into contact with a special international movement of pipe makers and players.
Charlotte Elliott Poletti, founder and President of the American Pipers’ Guild, received her B.A. from Smith College and an M.S. in Music Education from the University of Illinois. She has studied extensively in Europe and is only one of two Americans to have attained Masters status in the making and playing of pipes. She is also an examiner for future Master teachers. Over the last thirty-five years, she has taught more than 1,000 students aged 7 to 70 to make and play pipes, including in the Adirondacks where she hopes to continue her work. She has been a frequent guest teacher for the Austrian, British, Dutch, French, and Swiss Pipers’ Guilds. She presently directs several performing groups in New England which give periodic concerts in the area. She has taught music in several different schools for many years and has been a children’s choir director and singer at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, Connecticut. She also composes music, has published three music books for pipes, and loves researching music history.


The claim of whether music education can create social benefits in the school environment was tested in 10 Finnish schools with an extended music curricular class and control classes. The quality of school life (QSL) was assessed by a representative sample (N735) of pupils at years 3 and 6 (9- and 12-years-olds). The results showed that extended music education enhances the QSL, particularly in areas related to general satisfaction about the school and a sense of achievement and opportunity for students. Differences related to the schools and gender did not account for the results. A follow-up study examined whether the increase in critical QSL variables was related to music. This analysis utilised data from other classes (N98) with an extended curriculum (sports and visual arts). These classes did not confer similar benefits. Overall, the results imply that extended music education has a positive effect on the social aspects of schooling.
|Author:||Päivi-Sisko Eerola & Tuomas Eerola|


Literacy: What exactly does it mean? Do we still have literacy problems in the modern world? Well, on a basic level it means to possess the ability to read and write efficiently. Beyond the basics, it also includes recognition of languages and cultures within the learning process. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization had this to say about International Literacy Day:
“Our world is rich and diverse with about 7,000 living languages. These languages are instruments for communication, engagement in lifelong learning, and participation in society and the world of work. They are also closely linked with distinctive identities, cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems. Embracing linguistic diversity in education and literacy development is therefore a key part of developing inclusive societies that respect “diversity” and “difference”, upholding human dignity”. Audrey Azoulay, Director General, Message on the occasion of the International Literacy Day
Literacy rates have been on the upswing across the globe with some countries reaching a 100% literacy rate. While that is amazing, the United States and others haven’t reached the 100% rate yet. (For more information on literacy rates around the globe click here to go to UNESCO site for actual numbers.) According to UNESCO, there are still 750 million illiterate people around the world with the largest percentage being female. We can each reach out and help someone become confident and self-sufficient within our own communities. This issue can be solved if we work first within our communities and then globally. Take time this week to ponder the blessings of a free education and how you can bless the life of someone struggling to read or write.
“‘Let us pick up our books and our pens,’ I said. ‘They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.’” (Page 310) Malala Yousafzai I Am Malala (Incredible book that changed my perspective and worldview forever.)
Join DiscoverBooks.com in celebrating the accomplishments of this journey towards 100% literacy rates by Reading a Book to a Child, Working with an Adult, or Just Enjoying Your Own Literacy by Reading a Book on World Issues.
Enter coupon code ILD2019 to save 15% off all books purchased now through Sept. 22nd.


I am firm believer that in education, you must first start with where you want to get to, and then build a path to that goal. As I have lamented, there is a huge need for better and broader research to assist in knowing where we should go. (Although only part of this can be solved with research, as there are also inherently values and normative statements in this mix, which research cannot determine.)
But, with the research we do have, and my personal knowledge, I can see that in our technological environment, there is a need for different foundational skills and knowledge than the traditional. In fact many of these were part of “New Math”. But “New Math” was such a failure, that if I even mention it to someone, they nearly look at me in horror!
Here is what I see as the root cause of this and results:
- In our species deep past, only simple mathematical processing was generally required to survive.
- Therefore, through biological evolution, our brains are naturally wired in a way that can calculate these types of traditional problems.
- Our technological evolution has only recently needed different knowledge and skills as are contained in “New math”, and further only recently could we as a species even recognize that understanding the basis of ourselves (quantum physics, etc.) requires a different type of logical processing than the basic arithmetic of the past.
- Therefore, most people still have a past mental model of mathematical concepts, and democratically they can not see in sufficient mass the need for the different models.
- Because New Math was pushed onto the populous without them being able to understand it, and pushed onto children at a development cycle that was likely completely the wrong time for them to learn such concepts (or at least was presented in a way that did not match with their developmental stage), New Math was a failure.
- All of this makes bringing these concepts back again a challenge.


The Pros & Cons of Teaching Phonics
The International Reading Association describes phonics, the relationship between letters and the sounds they make, as "an important aspect of beginning reading instruction." However, it also point out that phonics needs to be included in a complete language arts program. While phonics teaches important reading skills, reading success requires more than just instruction in phonics.
1 Pro: Word Recognition
Phonics instruction teaches students to recognize and correctly pronounce new words. The National Reading Panel analyzed the best designed studies researching phonics and found that learning phonics improved students' word-reading ability. Beginning readers and older students with difficulty reading demonstrated an increased ability to sound out words with regular spelling. Knowledge of phonics even helped, to a lesser extent, with words that don't follow phonics rules.
2 Pro: Spelling
Phonics improves children's spelling ability. According to linguistics professor Dr. Johanna Rubba, English spelling is problematic because the pronunciation of words has changed over the centuries, and many words have been borrowed from other languages. She states that teaching phonics, which finds the patterns that are present in English, makes learning to spell easier for students than leaving them to figure out those patterns themselves. The National Reading Panel's study supports Rubba. Kindergarten and first-grade readers taught phonics demonstrated significantly better spelling skills than students lacking such instruction.
3 Con: Understanding Words
An overemphasis on phonics can lead to students correctly pronouncing words but having no understanding of what those words mean. Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Connie Juel describes how in her study on children's reading acquisition she found children who could sound out words like "pond" and "hog" but had no idea what those words meant. Some confused "pond" with the word "paw" and thought it meant an animal's foot. Others assumed "hog" was like "log" and might be part of a tree.
4 Con: Understanding Text
Children with a satisfactory understanding of phonics may be able to read words in a text but not understand what the text itself means. A 2003 study by Marsha Riddle Buly et al. for the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy found that over half of fourth graders who lacked proficiency on state reading tests had adequate word identification skills. Instead, they struggled with comprehension, language and fluency -- areas where further phonics education wouldn't help.
- 1 International Reading Association; The Role of Phonics in Reading Instruction; January 1997
- 2 California Polytechnic State University; Phonology, Phonics, and English Spelling; Johanna Rubba; April 2006
- 3 Harvard Graduate School of Education; The Limitations of Over-Emphasizing Phonics; Abigail Bucuvalas with Connie Juel; December 2002
- 4 University of Washington; Meeting the Needs of Failing Readers: Cautions and Considerations for State Policy; Marsha Riddle Buly et al.; April 2003


Come along with Jack and Jill as they lead your preschooler on an adventure in literacy development.
This engaging set supports preschoolers as they learn skills such as: Making Predictions, Retelling a Story, Sequencing Events, Identifying parts of a story, Tracking Print, Engaging in Conversations and more!
This 27-page Jack & Jill Oral Language and Literacy Set includes the following printables:
Take a closer look...
Easy to Assemble
This early language set is easy to assemble. It includes a colorful cover that can easily be slipped into the front of a binder, or simply set up at a table.
Word Bank and Skills Checklist
I have included a skills checklist to help guide educators in using this activity with preschoolers.
Support early language skills by inviting young children to learn and retell the story. use the Word Bank to identify main parts of the story before reading the rebus story together. Later the word bank can be used as reference in the included activities.
**Try printing two copies of the work bank to use as a matching game.
Making Predictions & Building Vocabulary
Being able to make predictions and recall information from a story are essential skills for a strong language and literacy foundation.
These cards can be used to strengthen knowledge about the story, increase recall skills, support vocabulary development, and more!
Rebus Story, Word Bank, and Pocket Chart Cards
Use the included Rebus Story Materials and Pocket Chart Cards in a variety of ways!
These cards and posters can be used in pocket charts, as tray activities, matching games, and more!
Here's a chance for preschoolers to show off their sequencing skills!
This sequencing activity is included in both black & white as well as color for your convenience.
Use this set as a cut and paste activity, or laminate the pages for use again and again!
The included comprehension question cards are designed to support children as they learn to recall information from the story.
The fun graphics support the questions and increase engagement.
**Teacher Tip: The activities included in this pack are designed to support young children in developing many different language and literacy skills. I have included a Skills Checklist for your convenience. This checklist is great for reference while engaging in these activities with preschoolers. Afterward, you can use the checklist to help guide your lesson plans and/or to add to their portfolio.
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This week I have been grueling at my computer, writing curriculum maps for Visual Arts Standards grades K-8. When I am done, it will be a 50 page (probably more) document, including standards, content of lessons, skills and objectives, resources and assessments. I am the art teacher at my school, and the administration has made a big push to get everyone organized so that we are prepared for our NEASC evaluation for renewed accreditation in the spring. I won’t even mention that I am the music teacher and the librarian and those maps have to be written too – ooooppps, I mentioned it.
Well, I suppose that my pain is your gain, because while writing my curriculum maps, I found a few resources that might be handy, should you be interested in writing with the Common Core in mind.
Why might you be interested?
1. Know your audience. It couldn’t hurt to know what grade level students learn about the planets or dangling participles, should something like that come up in your story.
2. Help the teachers out. Teachers are always looking for resources (trust me, I had to come up with a dozen for every unit) that they can use in the classroom. Make your work accessible, and they’ll add your story to their bookshelves.
3. Reach a wide audience. Forty-three states, the District of Columbia and four territories are moving forward with the Common Core. That’s a lot of readers.
What is the Common Core?
According to the Common Core website:
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live.
Ultimately, the writers of Common Core strive to put everyone on the same page. Debating whether or not this is productive, along with the recent push for standardized tests, is another blog post entirely. What follows are some resources that you can check out to learn more about the new standards.
Putting pen to paper.
English Language Standards
Check out http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/ for more information on the English Language Standards. The page has links to ELA for grades K-12, from Writing to Speaking and Listening, and also includes links for History and Social Studies.
2 + 2 = 4
The core standards for math can be found at http://www.corestandards.org/Math/. These standards are broken down by grade level and subject matter. With just a few clicks, you can learn, for example, that students are first introduced to statistics and probability in the sixth grade.
I’m geeking out.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are the equivalent of Common Core standards, but for science. You can check them out here. NextGen Science standards were constructed by 26 states, the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and a nonprofit group called Achieve.
I find these the most useful, considering that I tend to write science fiction / fantasy. For example, while writing a middle grade science fiction novel, a perfect thing to throw in there would be (let me check the standards)…. computing, computing…. The Structure and Properties of Matter. This is something covered in fifth grade science classes. If you click on the topic, it will bring you to a massive breakdown of each item students need to know. Teachers would be thrilled to know there was a fiction novel out there that they could read in ELA that connected exactly to what they were doing in science.
World Languages Standards
Interested in World Languages? Is your main character multi-lingual? Check out this PDF, and you will find the ELA standards, and the World Language standards side by side. Very handy, no?
Creating, Presenting, Responding and Connecting
Visual Art Standards
And then… drumroll please… the standards that I have been staring at for days… The National Standards for Arts Education, written by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards. These are a bit more vague than say, the math standards, but art education is tricky in the respect that 2+2 = 4 in math class, but in art 2+2 = fish. Or 2+2 = asparagus. My students love coming up with silly answers to 2+2 in art class, and these standards allow for a bit of wiggle room.
Have you ever considered incorporating the Common Core Standards into your stories? Add your thoughts to the Writers’ Rumpus!


A short stroll through any school hallway or a cursory look into any school classroom will quickly give one ample evidence that God doesn’t use cookie cutters in His creative act. A class of 20 students yields 20 different fingerprints, 20 different perspectives on the world and at least 20 different ways of eating an Oreo cookie.
Those types of differences are present in the learning process of a student as well. Every child is different with his own set of gifts, strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. Those challenges and strengths are not always clearly visible or evident, but they are present nonetheless, and they have profound impact on the learning experience that a student has in school.
At Cary Christian School this past year we introduced a program developed by the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) called Search and Teach that seeks to identify those potential challenges that a young student may have so as to work with them in such a way as to make those challenges opportunities and those weaknesses strengths.
Recent and current research indicates the value of a “preventive” approach to deal with potential learning problems in the future. Search and Teach is an early identification and intervention program developed to meet the educational needs of young learners before they experience the frustration of learning failure.
Search and Teach was developed by Archie A. Silver, M.D. (child psychiatrist) and Rosa A. Hagin, Ph.D. (psychologist) and the staff of the Learning Disorders Unit at New York University School of Medicine. It is based on extensive interdisciplinary research on the diagnosis and treatment of learning disorders and is now being implemented in diverse school settings throughout the nation.
The “Search” component of Search and Teach is a 20-minute individual test designed to identify 5 and 6-year-olds vulnerable to learning difficulty. It provides profiles of individual strengths and weaknesses in the foundational skills necessary for reading success.
The “Teach” component is a program of 55 learning tasks that have been carefully developed and tested during a four-year investigation of pre-reading skills to address the needs revealed by the “Search” component. It is an individualized program but does allow for some small group work of review activities with children of similar needs.
By employing these techniques and reaching students at a younger age, we hope to set more students on a path toward success earlier, thus establishing confidence in further academic development. As that confidence increases in their academic development, they will feel similarly confident in their understanding of their callings in Christ, and that’s when we really see some magic!
More Posts by This Author:
- A Garden of Children
- A World Turned Upside Down (Fourth Week of Advent)
- Anatomy of a Great Parent-Teacher Conference
- Beyond Cliché: Incarnational Education (Part 2 of 3)
- Beyond Cliché: Resurrectional Education (Part 3 of 3)
- Beyond Cliché: Trinitarian Education (Part 1 of 3)
- CCS Biology Labs Are Glowing!
- Christian Schooling and Sports
- Coaches’ Corner: It’s More Than Just a Game
- Common Core at CCS?
- Cuban and Cook on Classical Education
- Doing What We Are Made For
- Knights’ Fest
- Latin, Alive and Well
- Light in the Darkness (Third Week of Advent)
- Speaking Up
- The (Hand)Writing on the Wall
- The Father’s Land
- Through Order, Kids Have a Ball: Protocol Vs. Prom
- Training Up Children, or Churning Out Widgets?


As we move on post lockdown and through Phase 3 of the Scottish Government Roadmap to Recovery, school and schooling is looking quite different to what it was like before and all indications are that this will continue to be so for some time to come.
Schools are not following the normal curriculum - under instruction from the Scottish Government, our main focus is in Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and Numeracy.
In terms of Wellbeing, children are given opportunity to play together and are learning again to share space and resource. Activities around mindfulness and relaxation are built into the day. Opportunity to process and manage these unusual times are also planned as part of the day.
Alongside this, we are assessing all children to ascertain the impact of Lockdown on learning and the starting point as we move forward.
How we assess:
Teachers are continually assessing informally to monitor and check understanding. Specific planned assessment activities are implemented alongside continuous assessment through questioning and observation during teaching and learning to constantly assess where the learners are and what they need to do next.
In addition, this term we are conducting a series of more formal assessments to ascertain exactly where each child is in learning. These assessments are varied in form and based around literacy and numeracy skills.
What we are looking at in measuring success:
- The degree of independence a child demonstrates
- The level of support needed
- The degree of complexity of the task
- The extent to which learning is applied in new and unfamiliar contexts
- A child’s ability to contribute appropriately
- The child’s ability to question appropriately
- The level of engagement in thinking
- Mastery of a skill
- Depth of knowledge a child demonstrates
How are the pupils involved?
Pupils know what they are learning through the sharing of learning intentions and success criteria, and are regularly encouraged to assess how they are getting on, feeding into their successes and next steps in learning both orally and in writing in the second level.
We are having learning discussions with pupils. They are using their assessments to track their own learning and understanding earning against learning targets with support from the teacher, identifying where they are now and what the next steps are.
Pupils are sharing with the teacher how they see themselves as learners and what they need to be able to learn the best they can.
What we will do with this information?
The information will be shared with parents towards the end of term once it has been prepared. This will be in the form of a folio. This we see as a great opportunity for parents to see exactly where their child is in their learning and to support them in their next steps.
Teachers will then use the information to plan next learning, to form groupings and to target support and challenge.
There will be no individual Parents’ Evenings this term, although we do hope that we will be able to arrange these virtually next term.
Unfortunately, we cannot hold any open afternoons. We ask that parents please keep an eye on the class blogs which are updated regularly and show some of the things that children are doing in school. These are accessible through the schools’ website, which is being used as the primary platform for communication at this time.


AISNSW has developed two numeracy screening tools to assist teachers to monitor students’ progress in the foundational skills of Number across Kindergarten to Year 6. These have been designed to be administered three times a year.
The Early Numeracy Screening Tool (K-2) has been designed to monitor students’ acquisition of skills in the substrands of Whole Numbers and Addition and Subtraction. The Early Numeracy Screening Tool (K-2) should take less than ten minutes per student to conduct. This is administered 1:1 and is best administered by the classroom teacher in a quiet space. This screening tool is scripted, with teachers noting student responses on an answer sheet. Following the completion of the screening tool, the information from the answer sheets is entered into a spreadsheet.
The Years 3-6 Numeracy Screening Tool monitors student progress across the strand of Number and Algebra. A timed video is presented to the whole class at the same time. Answer sheets are provided to record student responses. An untimed problem-solving component is then completed by each student. This should take no more than 20 minutes per class. Following the completion of the screening tool, the answer sheets will be marked by the teacher and the data is entered into a spreadsheet
The results from both of these screening tools are entered into a spreadsheet which allows teachers to easily identify students who may be at risk of falling behind. The data elicited from these screening tools can then be used to plan whole class instruction and differentiated teaching for students according to their identified needs. It will support teachers to provide parents with clear evidence about their child’s progress in numeracy.
Schools interested in accessing these screening tools can contact Fiona Walker to register their interest.


At the Children’s Studio, our goal is to develop the whole child, not just the academic child. These social/emotional attributes are tied directly to a child’s success, both in the ability to learn academic material and function as a member of a group. They are part and parcel and cannot be separated when looking at a child’s success. A child who is gifted in math but has no impulse control or has trouble working with others will have a difficult time succeeding even with those great math skills.
On the academic side, we recognize that brain development and function are a condition of experiences. Every academic area (science, math, reading, language, etc.) has a primary place in the brain. We have developed curriculum designed to stimulate these areas and help activate the wiring (creation of dendrites and neural pathways) that help the child access all of the information available to them when trying to solve a problem. We see this next step when the child can take one part of something they learned, combine it with something else, and come up with a completely new or different solution (synthesis).
Example: We know playing with blocks and arranging items into groups helps to stimulate the area of the brain that develops math skills. We also know that pretend play in a group helps to develop language. When a child/children are pretend playing and they run into an issue of where their pretend play people need a place to sleep, they may incorporate block building skills to create hotels, homes, or something new for them to sleep in. Bringing into play life experiences also contributes. If they are playing in a group, children who haven’t had these life experiences or who haven’t developed certain areas of the brain will also learn through observation (observational learning). This is an example of how a child is not only a learner but becomes a teacher.
Understanding that a child’s success in life is directly tied to emotional stability, we take this part of child development as or more seriously than the academic side. Much of a child’s social/emotional success is directly related to the development of their executive function.
While observing a child at play we can begin to see how well their executive function is developed; if it is in a normal range or if there are areas the child is lacking or needs help in developing. In some cases a child’s difficulties are tied to a disorder (ADD/ADHD etc.) and early diagnosis is key to putting a plan together with the family and perhaps a therapist or agency that helps in these types of disorders.
Most of our social/emotional curriculum is based around the executive function and are designed to develop them in conjunction with brain development and cognitive learning. They include impulse and emotional control, self-monitoring, planning and prioritizing, flexibility, organization, and task initiation. Other areas are conflict resolution, transitions, and small and large motor skill development.
Our goal is to develop a smart, happy, healthy, well-adjusted child who develops a love of learning and inquiry and the ability to develop deep and lasting relationships, both in the present and in the future.


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