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Of all the languages, English has the largest vocabulary -- approaching 2 million words. Perhaps the pre-historic history of the European languages descended from the Ice Age Cro-Magons or from the mysterious Basques of North Spain and Southwest France. Their language, the sole survivor of the Aboriginal tongues of Western Europe, is unique -- not resembling in sound or spelling any dead or alive European language. Although somewhat displaced around 8,000 years ago by those of the Indo-European family, according to Adelita Castro, it remains useful in road, street and commercial signs and names among the Basque people. Along with Castillian Spanish, it became the official language of the Basque Country in 1978. Its otherwise displacement occurred in the general area north of the Black Sea -- maybe in the valley of the middle Danube near Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria. People of this area, called the Aryans, were of the pastoral, bronze-working, horse-breeding type. Some think they inhabited the steppes of Central Asia around 4500 B.C. Over the next 3,000 years they migrated in all directions, but mainly westward. For example, some went to Iran and India where their idioms or dialects developed into the sister languages, Old Persian and Sanskrit. As the Aryans (a linguistic group and not a race) spread, their ancestral tongue diverged to give several Indo-European languages where there once had been only one. The more important of these branches included: (1) Indo-Iranian (e.g. India Sanskrit, Persian Iran, Hindi); (2) Slavic (e.g. Russian, Polish); (3) Hellenic (Greek); Italic (Latin and derivative Romance languages, such as Italian, French, Spanish); (5) Celtic (e.g. Gaelic, Welsh, Breton); and (6) Germanic (English, Dutch, German, Yiddish, the Scandinavian languages, and the now extinct Old Norse and Gothic). Ancient Languages (4000 BC to 500 AD): While Indo-European languages were developing in the late pre-historic times (10,000 BC to 4000 BC). Germanic, Greek, and Latin were well-developed and mature by 100 BC. In the interim, ancient religions and magic were generating various beliefs, legends, folklore, and myths. Religion was originated by those earliest of Africans who revered and humbly and earnestly prayed to a powerful divinity for good luck. It united the people into a moral community by their awe concerning the power of the one universal High God. It was from this setting that storytelling arose. By contrast, Magic was aimed at trying to control supernatural forces situated below the one high God by invoking supernatural powers. These gave rise to another type of storytelling and practices related to superstitions, sorcerers (or black magic magicians) and, particularly in Europe, witchcraft and werewolves. Stories originating in Africa, especially in relationship to the gods, were either carried into or borrowed by the Greeks, Romans, Scandinavians, Eastern Europeans (African migrations occurred there and in Central America 35,000 years ago), and elsewhere. In general, the gods were believed to have great power over human emotions, reactions, and conditions. Gods of the Egyptians were of a more stern and moralistic nature. Egypt was the center of the crossroads of the ancient world, with caravans moving through it to Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. In the process, languages were intertwined and carried throughout the ancient world. Language cross-fertilization spread endlessly as travel on the seas became common. Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D |< Prev||Next >|

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1. Introducing Arts Education This program includes three segments: What Is Arts Education? (14 minutes) shows a montage of insights from teachers and administrators, plus examples of successful arts instruction in classrooms across America. What Are the Arts? (5 minutes) presents teachers, administrators, students, and parents who offer thoughtful and sometimes humorous comments on what the arts mean to them. In How Do You Know They're Learning? (4 minutes), educators from several schools tell how they know if their students are "getting it." Go to this unit. 2. Expanding the Role of the Arts Specialist Three arts teachers work with colleagues around their schools, using collaborative techniques that go beyond the traditional work of arts specialists. Kathy DeJean is a dance artist at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans; Mary Perkerson is the visual art teacher at Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia; and Amanda Newberry is the theatre specialist at Lusher. Go to this unit. 3. Teaching Dance Two teachers with contrasting training and approaches to teaching bring rich dance experiences to students at their artsbased schools. Kathy DeJean, the dance specialist at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, promotes inquiry and self-expression in a multi-grade dance class. Scott Pivnik, a former physical education teacher at P.S. 156 (The Waverly School of the Arts) in Brooklyn, New York, uses African dance as a gateway to geography, writing, and personal growth for a class of secondgraders. Go to this unit. 4. Teaching Music Two music specialists from artsbased schools demonstrate different approaches to serving diverse student populations. At Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton, Georgia, all 500 students study the violin. Their classes with Barrett Jackson become lessons in character and discipline. At Smith Renaissance School of the Arts in Denver, Sylvia Bookhardt and a class of fifthgraders explore the Renaissance through choral singing. Go to this unit. 5. Teaching Theatre Two specialists work on basic theatre skills with children of various ages, and use theatre education as a gateway to other kinds of learning. At Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans, Amanda Newberry's lesson in improvisation with a thirdgrade class stimulates students' imagination, heightens language and listening skills, and encourages critical thinking. At Barney Ford Elementary School in Denver, George Jackson teaches basic movement skills to a firstgrade class, invites fourthgraders to take center stage as they explore a script, and works with fifthgraders to create masks that reveal inner feelings. Go to this unit. 6. Teaching Visual Art Two visual art specialist teachers use contrasting interpretations of the human face to explore inquirybased instruction and various techniques in visual art. Pamela Mancini, the visual art teacher at Helen Street School in Hamden, Connecticut, uses portraits to foster inquiry and self-expression with a class of fifth-graders. At Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, MaryFrances Perkins introduces maskmaking to a secondgrade art class. In making their own masks, students examine the concept of symmetry, study the vocabulary word for the day, and learn that masks are found in cultures throughout the world. Go to this unit. 7. Developing an Arts-Based Unit A team of first and secondgrade teachers at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans plans a yearend project that will let students show what they have learned in science, math, and English. The students write and perform an original play, using a painting by Breughel and an opera by Stravinsky as their starting points. Go to this unit. 8. Working With Local Artists Students and teachers at P.S. 156 (The Waverly School of the Arts) in Brooklyn, New York, benefit from the school's established relationships with artists from local organizations. This program focuses on a firstgrade class creating original works with visiting artists a dancer and a writer. Go to this unit. 9. Collaborating With a Cultural Resource A fourthgrade teacher and a museum educator in New Orleans collaborate to develop a unit of study with ties to language arts, social studies, and visual art. Students explore the work of a wellknown artist, visit an exhibition of his work, meet for a drawing lesson alongside the Mississippi River, and create poems and pictures that they proudly display to their parents. Go to this unit. 10. Bringing Artists to Your Community Successful collaborations between classroom teachers and artists who come for a residency enrich the curriculum of this rural school in Idalia, Colorado. A visiting actor brings storytelling and vocabulary to life for kindergarten and fourthgrade students and their teachers, while a musician engages first and thirdgrade students in writing songs that relate to subjects they are studying. Go to this unit. 11. Students Create a Multi-Arts Performance A team of arts specialists and classroom teachers at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans guides kindergarten and fourthgrade students in creating an original work based on Cirque du Soleil's Quidam. The program presents highlights of the creative process, including brainstorming about characters' emotions, creating speech and movement for the characters, constructing costumes, and performing. Go to this unit. 12. Borrowing From the Arts To Enhance Learning To add vitality and context to daytoday learning experiences, three teachers use techniques drawn from the arts that engage their students' minds, bodies, and emotions. In Denver, a teacher uses rhythm, color, movement, and handson projects to engage her class of fourth and fifthgrade boys. In White Plains, New York, thirdgrade students create short skits that help them understand the concept of cause and effect. In Lithonia, Georgia, a fifthgrade social studies unit on family history culminates with students using favorite objects to make visual representations of their lives. Go to this unit. 13. Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools Three administrators provide instructional leadership and solve daytoday challenges at artsbased schools serving diverse student populations. In Brooklyn, principal Martha RodriguezTorres describes her role as "politician, social worker, parent, and police officer," and says that her primary responsibility is to "provide teachers the resources they need to fulfill the program." In Georgia, principal Sandra McGaryErvin encourages use of the arts to achieve the school's priority goal of literacy. And in Denver, assistant principal Rory Pullens uses his own arts background to ensure that the arts play a prominent role in daytoday learning. Go to this unit. 14. Leadership Team At Lusher Elementary School in New Orleans, principal Kathleen Hurstell Riedlinger works closely with a Leadership Team of classroom and arts teachers. The team's central role in management is part of a longterm strategy to protect the school's commitment to artsbased learning. We meet individual members of the team and see them work together on a diverse agenda, including the school's annual Arts Celebration, the increased demand for enrollment from outside the school's neighborhood, and orientation of new teachers to the school's artsbased curriculum. Go to this unit.

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The Content of the Reading Test When we say “the content of the Reading Test,” we are actually referring to two different things. The first type of content refers to the subject matter of the passages. The second type refers to the sorts of questions asked about the passages. The Reading Test consists of four passages: Prose Fiction, Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science—always appearing in that order. Prose Fiction is the only fiction passage on the test; the other three are nonfiction. All four passages are given equal weight in scoring. Later in this chapter, we will present and analyze sample passages covering the four content areas. For now, read below for brief descriptions of each passage type. The Prose Fiction passage is the only fiction piece on the Reading Test. Prose Fiction passages are usually excerpts from novels or short stories. You should approach this passage as you would an assignment for your high school English class, not as you would a book you read in your spare time. When you read fiction for pleasure, you may be tempted to read simply for the story. Yet while the plot is an important element of most fiction, and one on which the questions will test you, it is certainly not the only In addition to the plot of the passage, pay attention to character development. Since plot and character are usually essential to a story, your ability to identify and comprehend them are probably pretty strong already. You should also pay attention to tone, style, and mood when reading the passage. Ask yourself questions like: “Who is the narrator?” “Does the narrator exhibit any sympathies or biases?” “What are the relationships between the characters?” These questions will help you keep on top of the passage as you read. The Social Science passage can cover a variety of subjects ranging from anthropology to economics to politics. All of the subjects that appear in the Social Science passage essentially deal with the ways societies and civilization work, and most of them have a political context. When reading the passage, you should pay attention to the key names, dates, and concepts mentioned, and you want to underline this information as you read over the passage. Because the subject of this passage is often historical, you should also pay attention to cause-effect relationships and the chronology of events. Social Science writing is often research-based and, as a result, relatively formal in tone. Despite the relative objectivity implied by words like “research” and “science,” the authors of Social Science passages often express strong and controversial views on their subjects. You should try to decipher the author’s standpoint—if he or she has one—from the general argument of the passage and individual Humanities passages cover cultural matters, particularly art and literature. These passages tend to be written analytically or journalistically. On rare occasions, you might encounter a Humanities passage that is an excerpt from a personal essay. In some respects, the Humanities passage closely resembles the Social Science passage. They both deal with either historical or contemporary figures and events, so they are both full of specific information. The difference between the two types of passages lies in their emphasis. Whereas the Social Science passage usually provides a political context for figures and events, the Humanities passage focuses on their artistic or literary significance. As in the Social Science passage, the writer of the Humanities passage will often have a slant or bias, and your reading of the passage should be sensitive to that. Natural Science passages discuss, unsurprisingly, scientific topics. These passages present scientific arguments or experiments and explain the reasoning behind them and their significance. These passages are usually heavy on facts and scientific theories. You should keep an eye out for cause-effect relationships and comparisons when reading Natural Science passages. The 40 questions found on the Reading Test can be broken down into several types according to what they test. Most broadly, the questions can be categorized by the way in which they force you to interact with the passage. One type will ask you to deal with the passage in a very straightforward way, and to identify details, facts, and specific information that is clearly stated in the passage. The second type will ask you to take a further step, and to use the information in the passage to figure out larger issues such as the main idea, relationships, point of view, etc. More specifically, the different types of questions test your ability to: Identify specific details and facts the meaning of words through context inferences from given evidence character and character motivation the main idea of a section or the whole passage the author’s point of view or tone comparisons and analogies Some of the question types apply primarily—and sometimes solely—to certain passages. For instance, understanding character questions appear only on the Prose Fiction passage, since it’s the only passage that will have characters. On the other hand, you won’t find a main idea question on the Prose Fiction passage, since works of fiction generally don’t present arguments. The list above is designed to give you a general impression of the questions asked on the Reading Test. We will cover each question type in far more detail later in the section, when we provide sample passages and questions.

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How Writing Develops Almost every interaction in a child's world is preparing them to become a reader and writer. This article outlines the stages of writing development, and tips for adults to help along the way. Young children move through a series of stages as they are learning to write. The stages reflect a child's growing knowledge of the conventions of literacy, including letters, sounds and spacing of words within sentences. Almost every interaction in a child's world is preparing them to become a reader and writer. The indicators of hallmarks within stages are described below. It's important to remember that there will be variations in the way kids move through writing stages; it may not happen in the same way or at the same time and the lines between the stages can be blurry. Many models of writing development and word study label stages with their own terms using various descriptors. The descriptions below are designed to communicate common writing characteristics. Most children begin their writing career by scribbling and drawing. Grasping the crayon or pencil with a full fist, a young scribbling child is exploring with space and form. He is creating a permanent record of his ideas and thoughts. These first scribbles can be proud accomplishments! Thick markers, crayons, and unlined paper are good writer's tools for this stage. Letter-like forms and shapes At this stage of writing development, children begin to display their understanding that writers use symbols to convey their meaning. Writing begins to include shapes (circles, squares) and other figures. A writer in this stage will often write something and ask, "What does this say?" There's little orientation of forms and shapes to space (i.e., they appear in random places within the writing or drawing). Tubs of markers, crayons, and paper remain good writer's tools. As a child's writing continues to develop, she will begin to use random letters. Most children begin with consonants, especially those in the author's name. Pieces of writing are usually strings of upper-case consonants, without attention to spaces between words or directionality. At the beginning of this stage, there remains a lack of sound-to-symbol correspondence between the words they are trying to write and the letters they use. Later efforts may include letters for the salient sounds in words and include the author's own name. Different types of paper, including memo pads, envelopes, lined paper and some smaller pens and pencils are good writer's tools at this stage. Tubs of foam letters and letter magnets are also handy. Letters and spaces As beginning writers practice their craft, they are learning many concepts about print. When a child points to individual words on a page when reading, and works to match their speech to a printed word, a concept of word is developing. This awareness of the purpose and existence of spaces separating words and that spoken words match to printed words is known as a concept of word. Often called the watershed event of kindergarten, adults watch young writers insert these important spaces in their own work. Guided either by an index finger in-between each word or by lines drawn by the teacher, children demonstrate one-to-one correspondence with words. At this stage, children write with beginning and ending sounds. They also may begin to spell some high frequency words correctly. Vowels may be inserted into words. As students transition to more conventional writers, they will begin to write words the way they sound. Punctuation begins as writers experiment with forming sentences. Conventional writing and spelling At this stage, children spell most words correctly, with a reliance on phonics knowledge to spell longer words. Writers use punctuation marks correctly and use capital and lower case letters in the correct places. Writing for different purposes becomes more important. First and second grade students often write signs for their bedroom doors or a letter to a friend. Storybook language, "Once upon a time," and "happily ever after," become a part of writing samples as the child joins the league of writers with a storytelling purpose. As students progress through the writing stages, various pieces become more automatic and fluent. Handwriting becomes easier, as does the spelling of a majority of words. At all stages, it's important to honor the writing efforts of your young child. Find opportunities to have your child share his work with others. Display efforts on the wall or on the refrigerator. Ask your child to read his work at the dinner table or by sitting in a special author's chair. Click the "References" link above to hide these references. Bloodgood, J. (1999). What's in a name? Children's name writing and literacy acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 342-367. Clay, M. (1975). What did I write? Exeter, NH: Heinemann. Gentry, J. R. (1982). An Analysis of Developmental Spelling in GNYS AT WRK. The Reading Teacher, 36, 192-200. Morrow, L. M. (2001). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and write (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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<< Back to Learning Tools Learn about multiple intelligences and your child's development. "My sister, Di, was the person who suffered my first efforts at storytelling (I was much bigger than her and could hold her down)." - J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and three sequels. Who doesn't love a good story? Or a joke, or a riddle, or a beautiful poem? If your child loves telling them as well as hearing them, he likely has a high degree of Linguistic Intelligence. In his book 7 Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences, author Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., says that this is "perhaps the most universal" of the intelligences in Multiple Intelligence theory. According to Dee Dickinson, author of Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences (Allyn and Bacon, 1996), children who have a high degree of Linguistic Intelligence are interested in storytelling, rhymes, plays on words, and "things that go beyond normal conversation." The components of this form of intelligence, according to Armstrong, include sensitivity to the sounds, structure and meanings of words, as well as a talent for using language to entertain, persuade, or instruct an audience/reader. There are many ways to help your child develop his Linguistic Intelligence. Dickinson, founder of New Horizons for Learning, a nonprofit international education network, says that jokes, riddles, crossword puzzles and word games are among them, as is reading. "One of the most important things, from birth or even from before birth, is to read aloud with children," Dickinson says. Also important are singing, poetry, and what Dickinson calls meaningful conversation. "Not just talking at children, but talking with them," she explains. Because Linguistic Intelligence is so highly valued in our society, and such a large focus in our schools, parents who want to work with children at home to develop it must be careful not to push too hard. "All of the things that parents do at home should be things that keep communication alive, and create strong, warm connections between parents and children," says Dickinson. So have fun with things like telling stories together, or writing down stories your child tells you. To spur your child's creativity, Dickinson suggests that you can start the story, then stop in the middle of telling it and ask your child what she thinks is going to happen next. Older kids can write down their own stories, or keep a journal. To get your child started, don't be too open ended. Focus on a question, such as "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" or "What was something that happened today that you wish could have been different?" suggests Dickinson. Again, be careful not to make your activities seem too much like classroom work. "When kids are doing creative writing, forget about correcting their spelling and punctuation. Let that happen in school," urges Dickinson. Only correct technical things if your child asks for help. Instead, focus on the good stuff, the ideas. Play with words together, and have fun. Kinds of Multiple Intelligences << Back to Learning Tools

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The key to working with children is variety. Any good teaching method can become routine if overworked. Therefore you must always look for creative ways to teach children. Using a lot of different teaching methods adds an element of surprise to your children's ministry. Children become more interested. They guess what will happen next. Repetition is important to help kids learn, so use a variety of methods to teach the same concept. If you want children to learn that Jesus loves them, for example, teach it over and over again by using music, a story, an object lesson, a game, memorization and role-play-all in one lesson! So how can you creatively present information to children? Chapters 5 to 8 give in-depth information on active learning, games, crafts and music. This chapter explores five other presentation methods: puppets, storytelling, clowning, drama and Puppets With a Purpose One of the most dynamic teaching tools is a hand puppet with a moving mouth. Of course, you can use different kinds of puppets, but Sesame Street has trained children to expect puppets with You don't need a lot of expertise to use puppets. You can buy a commercially made puppet and have the puppet lip-sync to a song played on a nearby tape recorder. As you gain experience, you can eventually write your own scripts and create different voices. Whether you're a veteran puppeteer or a first-timer, it's important to know the basics. Open the puppet's mouth once for each syllable spoken. Be sure the eyes of the puppet look at the audience. Make sure the audience can see the puppet's body, arms In addition to knowing the basics of operating puppets, it's important to gear puppetry to the audience's age. Some approaches that work well with older children don't always work well with young children, and vice versa. We've found the following methods to be effective for the different ages: With preschoolers, use soft, touchable puppets to assist you as another voice in the classroom. It's amazing how much more attentive preschoolers are when a teacher says something and a friendly puppet agrees. Create a personality for the puppet that differs from your own. If possible, give the puppet a cutesy voice that children will enjoy listening to. For preschoolers, action and repetition are more important than clever, funny scripts. Adapt nursery rhymes or familiar tunes for the puppet to use in teaching children some basic lessons. For example, we've created various messages to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell." One message that works with the tune is: "I like you. I like you. I want a lot of friends, so I like you!" Another message: "Roses are red. Daisies are white. Let's take turns and never fight!" Or sing: "Roses are red. Grass is green. It's not nice to hit or be mean." One Christmas we had 3- and 4-year-olds each make lambs by stuffing a lunch sack with newspaper, closing the end with a rubber band and covering the bag with cotton balls. We also used medium-size sacks with one side cut out to make shepherds' headpieces for each child to wear. The children walked around the room carrying their lambs, searching for green pasture. When they got to a predetermined spot, an angel puppet appeared over the side of a "hill" and told them all about the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. The children sure remembered that story! Other ways to use puppets with preschoolers include: - Use knock-knock jokes. - Have puppets ask children yes-and-no questions. - Have children clap or raise their hands if they hear the puppet make a mistake when saying a Bible verse or singing a song they - Invite preschoolers to sing along with the puppet or sing a song for the puppet. With this age group, use a puppet as a guest in your classroom. Dress the puppet as a Bible character or visitor from another country. Have the children ask the puppet questions. Consider using a puppet to help with discipline. When discipline problems occur, have the puppet tell the children what went wrong. If done sensitively, the puppet's rapport with the children allows it to address the issue more freely without hurting feelings. A puppet can be a great storyteller or contribute to the story the teacher tells. The puppet is something fun and colorful for the children to watch, and a puppet can confirm lesson truths for Children at this age also enjoy repeating their memory work for a special puppet. Think about having a professor puppet or a wise owl for children to tell what they learned. With older children, use puppets to play games. For example, play 20 Questions with a puppet where kids must ask 20 yes-or-no questions to figure out the person, place or event the puppet has chosen. The child who guesses the correct answer becomes the next Have a puppet comment on how kids are doing at a craft or project. Or have a puppet who is a "cool" musician, disc jockey, guitar player or drummer lead the singing. Children at this age can also make puppets and write their own scripts. Have them present puppet shows to younger children in your 5 Inexpensive Puppet Stages You don't need to buy an elaborate, expensive puppet stage to present your puppet shows. Even if you have zero dollars in your budget, you can still put on a puppet show. Try these ideas: - Have two people hold a blanket between them to create a - Turn a table on its side. - Cut a window in a refrigerator box. Paint the box to look like a TV set. - In summer, string rope between two trees about 3 feet from the ground. Hang a dark sheet or blanket over the rope. - Have a carpenter build a wooden stage that has hinges so you can fold it up. (Use pine or paneling so it won't be too -D.V. and L.V. Take advantage of discarded hat boxes, bags, a file cabinet or another container to house your puppets so children can't see or play with the puppets until you're ready to use them. -L.V. and D.V.

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Inquiry 2: How Can I Learn More About Animal Vision? Several of the activities that follow encourage students to research different animals and how they see, where their eyes are located, and why these animals have special adaptations. The book, Extraordinary Eyes: How Animals See the World by Sandra Sinclair (ISBN 0803708068) is an excellent resource that students can use as a starting point or to provide context for their animal vision projects. Model - Have students research and make a model of the eye and all of its parts, including a written description of how the eye parts work together to produce an image. Encourage them to investigate materials that have the same properties as lenses, such as clear gelatin. Research - Some animals have eyes in different places. The position of an animal's eyes determines what it can see. Have students choose an animal that has eyes in an unusual place (for example a hammerhead shark, a starfish, a snail, or a scallop), and find out where their eyes are located and what they can see. Students report on their findings. Art/Writing - Students could draw a picture of themselves with eyes in different places and write a short story about how these new eyes would help them see. Creative Writing - Humans and other animals have binocular, or 3-D, vision. Have students research what would happen if they did not have two eyes. Then ask them to write a story explaining the consequences of being able to see out of only one eye. Mythology - In Greek mythology, the Cyclops were a race of giants that had only one eye. Read to students the story of the Cyclops and have them imagine what these giants would see as compared to what two-eyed humans see. Art - Some animals have compound eyes, which are made of many lenses rather than just one. Insects, spiders, and crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish) are examples of animals that have compound eyes. Have students research what these animals can see and then design an imaginary animal that has compound eyes. The drawing of the animal should be neat and any features that are unusual should be labeled. Encourage students to make up a name for their animal and write a short description of where the animal lives, what it eats, and how the eyes work to help it survive in its environment. Interview - Humans and some other animals are able to see color. Have students research why we can see colors what it means for someone to be colorblind. Then have them interview someone who is colorblind and share their results with the rest of the class. Approve questions before students schedule their interviews. You could also invite a guest speaker to address the class instead of requiring students to carry out their own interviews. Collage - Have students find pictures of birds in magazines and create bird collages. This will provide a frame of reference with which they can complete the rest of this activity. The eyes of birds are more advanced than many animals and some can see very far distances. Students should choose a type of bird to study and draw the head and eyes of that bird. Have students compare drawings while paying attention to issues such as how the eyes of birds that hunt for food are different from the eyes of birds that eat seeds. Discuss their findings as a class. Reading - Read aloud Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel (ISBN 0689825587). Although this is a fictional account of a family of bats, there is a lot of information on how bats navigate, why they fly at night and not during the day, and how echolocation is used. Comparisons are made between bats and other animals. Afterwards, have students answer the following questions in their science notebooks: Are bats really blind? How do bats gather food? Are there different kinds of bats? What kinds of bats are found in Florida? How are bats like other nocturnal animals? How are the eyes of bats like those of other nocturnal animals? Local nurseries often provide workshops on making bat houses and producing environments that will encourage bats to live there. Attending a workshop such as this and then presenting this information to the class is a way to tie class work to real-world applications. Careers - There are several careers that involve the study and care of eyes. Students can research these careers or interview an ophthalmologist, an optometrist, or an optician. As a class, design a questionnaire that they can use as a guide, including topics such as how much education is required, what they like best about their job, what they like least about their job and what the potential salary in the field is. Groups of students could present their findings to the class. Questions or comments? Send us an email. © 1995-2013 by Michael W. Davidson, the Center for Integrating Research and Learning, and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, software, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners. This website is maintained by our

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Monday, December 09, 2013 The Rules of Writing-Syntax-The Sentence-Compound Sentences By OFW chief editor: Published: June 16, 2013 A compound sentence contains two or more clauses or simple sentences. These may be connected by coordinating conjunctions or punctuation. (A traditional mnemonic device to remember coordinating conjunctions is FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.) I wanted to practice a jig. The previous clause is a simple sentence, and so is: Donna wasn’t in the mood. Add a conjunction and we have a compound sentence: I wanted to practice a jig, but Donna wasn’t in the mood. The simple sentences might have dissimilar lengths, as in “Timmy brought two peanut sandwiches to the riverside,” and “Brenda brought two cans of soda.” Adding a conjunction and getting rid of the repeated verb transforms them into a passable compound sentence: Timmy brought two peanut sandwiches to the riverside, and Brenda two cans of soda. One more example: Sonia is cute. I hate her. Sonia is cute, but I hate her. In creative writing, the compound sentence is an excellent device to show balance between two concepts or strike a contrast between two similarly structured ideas. Example: The negotiators did not agree. The generals drew their swords. Each of the above sentences contains well-defined ideas. Joining them, the compound sentence gathers strength. The negotiators did not agree, so the generals drew their swords. Children use compound sentences early to connect ideas and deliver them chatterbox-fashion when excited: “I was at the back and Timmy had a coconut and he hit it with a stone and it didn’t break and I took a turn and it breaked...broke... and it was full of water and...” Though a silly example, it highlights the danger of joining too many simple sentences. Aware of the need to balance paragraphs with short and longer sentences, many inexperienced writers use conjunctions with abandon and string their sentence pearls into childish necklaces. To get rid of choppy constructions, the writer can join multiple simple sentences to add variety. Three simple statements like: Sue bought the small-sized dress. The dress fit like a glove. We can rewrite as: Sue bought the small-sized dress; it fits like a glove, so she’s elated. As we pointed out earlier, punctuation is another way to join simple sentences into compound ones. In some instances, a semicolon might be appropriate to replace a coordinating conjunction. Michael has a drinking problem; his wine cellar is empty. I am twelve years-old; she is only eleven. There’s magic in prose, a wonder that expresses itself in the nuances. These are the humble details that separate good writing from keyboard diarrhea. The difference between the simple sentences “Sonia is cute” “I hate her” and the compound “Sonia is cute, but I hate her” goes beyond a comma and a conjunction. Yin and Yang in their construction, the first sentence is affirmative and the second negative. The first is positive, the second pejorative. Yet, there’s no connection between the two statements; they could belong to different players, even different books, or chapters. Add a humble coordinating conjunction and a comma to transform these two sentences into the clauses of a compound one and magic happens: Sonia is cute, but I hate her. Same ideas, same ingredients, save for one extra word. The writer has tamed hate; he didn’t need the first clause to express abhorrence. Rather than loathe, the new compound sentence blushes with the feeling of an endearment. Writers who carelessly fling their words onto paper like chicken feed miss out on the endless possibilities of prose. Now a warning about the effect of the dreaded comma splice and the run-on sentence. Although we’ll review these horrors elsewhere, this is an excellent place to warn about their mechanics. As we’ve seen above, we need at least one independent clause to have a complete sentence. Shermaine has polished her manuscript. But there’s nothing to stop our adding another independent clause to the first, such as: She’s over the moon. Whether we end with a comma splice, a run-on, or a well-written sentence depends on the way we join these two independent clauses. If we add them with nothing in between, we create a run-on. Shermaine has polished her manuscript she’s over the moon. We can join them with a comma for a comma splice. Shermaine has polished her manuscript, she’s over the moon. But if we summon a comma and a handy coordinating conjunction, we have a correct compound sentence. Shermaine has polished her manuscript, and she’s over the moon. Of course, there are other ways. Rather than a compound sentence, we might strive for a complex one. If so, we can begin it with a subordinating conjunction: Since Shermaine has polished her manuscript, she’s over the moon. This leads us to the next section. Renee Miller & Carlos Cortes to leave a comment, or Login using No Comment Found. Fact or Fiction? Quote of the Day The Craft of Writing Terms of the Trade Terms of Service Work with Us Copyright © 2011 OFW. All Rights Reserved.

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What is this? This interactive writing tool has enormous potential for developing creativity among other higher order thinking skills. Inklewriter is a tool for writing interactive stories. It allows users to start a story and then branch out with different options, which can then be put back together thereby creating one story with mutliple developments. Why is the content good for language learning/teaching? - Absolutely intuitive, simple and attractive interface - Stories not only include text but may include pictures from the Internet - Stories can be easily shared - Stories can be turned into e-books (and sold thereafter by paying a small fee) Some ideas about how to use it in a teaching context - Use inklewriter to stimulate creative writing in your classroom. Firstly, negotiate with your students the topic of the story to write; it can be based on a picture or a real life experience common to the group. Then follow this procedure: split the class into four groups and ask group 1A to write the beginning of a story, ask 1B, 1C, and 1D to come up with an alternative continuation for that beginning. Finally, gather all the accounts, assemble the story and then share it among the students. - Building on the first activity, if the teacher has different classes of the same level, the story can be given to class 2 to develop the story even further. Once again, split the class into groups, preferably into 3 this time (2A, 2B, 2C). Students can now work on creating even more "alternative accounts". Once sufficient variations have been created, the story could be published online when finances allow. - Have group of students vote and select a celebrity they would like to write about. Then in groups, learners use inklewriter to write a biography for their celebrity of choice. Each section could deal with a different aspect. Assuming that they choose a singer, Option 1 could be the story of this public figure, Option 2 a description of their most popular songs including information such as the meaning, the period in which they were written, etc. With inklewriter, learners can use online pictures to enrich their presentations. - Learners can also use this tool to come up with a great story of their own (group work mainly) and then exploit grammar/vocabulary points. To illustrate, imagine that learners are writing about a crime that took place in London last month. In their stories, they could write paragraphs with some words/sentences missing and then provide three options. Learners then have to choose the word/sentence that completes the paragraph (as in a multiple choice sort of exercise). - None encountered

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Visual Latin is an unusual Latin program. It uses humor, short videos and Latin reading to make learning effective and engaging. Each Visual Latin lesson contains three parts. A short video and worksheet go together to create part of a whole lesson, which teaches Latin in a fun, easy to remember way. - Part A is always grammatical concepts. The grammar concepts are taught in a clear, concise way. Watching the video covers two different modes of learning, visual and auditory. Then a PDF worksheet adds a third mode of learning, reading. - Part B is sentences. This is where the grammar in part A becomes real. Latin sentences are broken apart in the same way again and again. Then a PDF worksheet allows kids to practice what they watched on the video. - Part C is translation. Kids listen to Dwane Thomas read a passage from the Latin Vulgate Bible. Then he reads the passage again slowly, and the kids read along with him. Finally a PDF worksheet has the same passage that the kids translate themselves. Because the text comes from a familiar source, kids have a known narrative structure for the new language. Visual Latin is recommended for ages 9 and up. The website says that kids need to be able to read. There are 30 lessons in Visual Latin 1. For the elementary through junior high ages,this can be taught one lesson a week over the year. For high school level, it is recommended that Visual Latin 1 be taught the first semester, then supplementing with Lingua Latina Pars 1 and Lingua Latina Exercita 1 for the second semester. Visual Latin 2 is also available for a second year of Latin study. Visual Latin is available as a DVD or a digital download in iTunes M4V format. Because the program is through iTunes, (which is a free download if needed) it becomes a very portable program. It is able to play on any Mac or PC as well as iPods, iPhones, or iPads. Visual Latin is available through The Compass Store. There are a few options on how to obtain the lessons. Visit the store for more complete pricing options. - A DVD containing Lessons 1-30 is available for $80. If you prefer breaking up the lessons and the cost, 3 individual DVD’s are available each containing 10 lessons for $30 each. - The download version of Visual Latin 1 is available in blocks of 10 lessons. Each block is $25. Ben and Rebekah working on the worksheets after watching the video. Visual Latin has been a good program for our family. I primarily used this with Ben (9) and Rebekah (8), although Sarah (14) watched the videos as well. Ben and Rebekah have had no previous Latin experience and Sarah has had about a semester of Latin at the high school level. Ben has been asking to learn Latin, so he was very enthusiastic to start this program. Rebekah, being the youngest, always wants to do what the older ones are doing, so she was excited to start as well. Because Sarah has had some Latin, she mainly watched the videos, but did not use the worksheets. She really enjoyed the videos though, it was a great way for her to review vocabulary she has been previously taught. She enjoyed Dwane Thomas’s humor and found the videos interesting. Ben and Rebekah were the ones that truly used this program as it was intended. We would watch the video, then work on the worksheets. We did approximately one lesson per week with Ben and Rebekah. Each lesson is divided into three parts and we would do one part a day. The age range for Visual Latin is 9 and up so Ben and Rebekah are at the low end of the age range. This did not pose a problem for us, we just took things slower. I was impressed at how much the kids retained. Each lesson ends with a translation exercise, taken from the Latin Vulgate bible. The idea is that if the kids are familiar with the story being translated, it will make translating less of a daunting task. It worked in our family. Each week, I was surprised to hear both Ben and Rebekah going over their translations and saying “I don’t have to look that word up, I already know what it is.” Because they were able to be successful quickly, they enjoyed the program and have not complained at all about their Latin lessons. No complaining about the lessons also comes from the videos that begin each lesson. Dwane Thomas’s humor and presentation style makes what could be a dry and boring video into an enjoyable watching experience. Another plus for our family is the length of each video. Each one is between 8 and 10 minutes long. Complete information is packed into each video with no fluff, just gentle humor. The worksheets are also a good length. Each worksheet we have done is one page long and follows what was taught on the video. I keep mentioning the humor that is involved during the videos. This comes in the form of gentle “Latin” jokes or stories and just Dwane Thomas laughing at himself if he makes mistakes. I have enjoyed that about this program. When watching a DVD you do not always expect the teacher to make mistakes, but Dwane will at times and then go back to correct himself or the video will show words on the screen saying something to the effect of “this is what it should be”. I like that my kids see that they can make mistakes and learn from them. One lesson my kids found hilarious was when the video started and Dwane was not in the screen and then walked in apologizing for being late. The worksheets are PDF files and with the purchase of the lessons you are given permission for an individual/family license so you are legally able to make as many copies as you need for your family. An answer file is also included to make grading the worksheets easy. I would highly recommend the Visual Latin program. In my opinion, it is a great program, simple to use but highly effective. We were given the first 10 lessons to review and I have already bought the next 10 because I know this is a program that we will continue with all year. The Compass store is offering the first 4 introductory lessons (no worksheets needed) and the 1st two lessons of Visual Latin for free. Click here to access the page with the free lessons. This is a great introduction to using the Visual Latin program. There were many other Homeschool Crew members who reviewed Visual Latin. Visit the Crew blog to read what other bloggers have to say about the program. As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received Visual Latin Lessons 1-10 as a download from Visual Latin for free, in exchange for my honest review of their product.

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Some thoughts and ideas produced for older people intending to mentor or tutor younger children in a school environment: Children of the same age may resemble each other in certain respects but they also differ from one another in many ways. A combination of physical, emotional and environmental forces plays a role in every child?s growth. You can support students most effectively when you recognize important characteristics of their development. 2. Five- to Seven-Year-Olds In general, children in this age group: - Are very active; need frequent breaks from tasks to do things that fun; - Need rest periods, good quiet activities include reading books together or doing simple art projects; - Like to talk and are rapidly increasing their vocabulary; - Have difficulty making decisions; - Are very imaginative and involved in fantasy-playing. Respond to the shifting interests and short attention spans of five- to seven- year-olds with patience and flexibility. Observe your mentee's energy level for cues about when to shift gears. Stimulate interest by starting a new activity, taking a five-minute break, stretching, or taking a walk down the hall. Provide opportunities for the child to express himself and for you to express your interest in him. Share something about yourself and then ask the student about himself. For example, I had a delicious chocolate milkshake today. Chocolate is my favorite flavor. Do you like milkshakes? Ask the child if anything good or bad happened at school that day. The more open-ended a question is, the easier it will be to continue the conversation. Some openers might be: I bet your teacher reads stories to your class. One of my favorites is The Cat in the Hat. What are some of your favorite stories? I love all different animals. My favorite is the cheetah because it can run very fast. Are there any animals that you like? I know lots of kids watch television. What are some TV shows that you like to watch? Offer your ideas but focus most on what the child says. The goal is to encourage the child to speak. A good prompt is, That's interesting. Tell me more. Solicit your mentee's own ideas for writing or drawing. Provide some suggestions, if necessary, to spark his thinking, but avoid guiding him through every step of the process. Give explicit praise to reinforce his efforts: I noticed you corrected yourself when you realized that sentence didn?t make sense. Good readers are always checking to make sure their reading makes sense. I see you looking at the pictures to help you make a prediction about what will happen next. That?s a great strategy. Nice job sounding out _________! I can tell by the way you were reading that you were really paying attention to the punctuation. 3. Eight- to Ten-Year-Olds In general, children in this age group: - Are capable of prolonged interest; - Are eager to answer questions; - Want more independence while knowing they need guidance and support; - Exhibit wide discrepancies in reading ability; - Show interest in people; show awareness of differences; show a willingness to give more to others but also expect more; - Often idolize heroes, television stars, and sports figures; - Spend a great deal of time in talk and discussion. Recognize eight- to 10-year-olds' increasing independence by offering choices in your mentoring sessions. Providing choices promotes independence, responsibility for learning, and personal investment in the activity. The language you use when offering choices is critical. Avoid asking yes-or-no questions unless you're willing to accept no as an answer. If you decide to work on a phonics game in the session, present it to the child as a plan rather than a choice: Now we're going to play a matching game versus Do you want to play this matching game now? There are many instances when it is appropriate for you to decide the content and sequence of a lesson. Invite children to make suggestions and share their feelings about the work you do together. Look for ways to integrate your mentee's personal interests into your lesson. If the student is very interested in dogs, bring some books about dogs that are on the appropriate reading level. If your mentee lives with his grandmother, read books about other children who live with their grandparents or ask him to draw or write about his grandmother. When discussing a child's personal life, however, be aware that some subjects may be uncomfortable. Watch and listen closely; use your judgment as to appropriate subjects for discussion and those that are better left alone. Choose your words carefully when offering praise or suggestions for improvement. Since eight- to 10-year-olds can be very critical of themselves and others, convey your support clearly and consistently. For example: I can see you worked very hard on writing this story. Let?s reread it together to hear how it sounds. You seem pretty tired this afternoon. Would it be helpful to take a short break and walk to the water fountain to help you wake up a bit? This is an interesting book but it may still be a bit of a stretch for you to. read on your own. It?s a good one to read with a grown-up right now and someday you will be able to read it independently. Positive and honest feedback is important and, as with children of all ages, it is best to give explicit praise to reinforce the child's good behavior or performance. 4. Eleven- to Thirteen-Year-Olds In general, children in this age group: Need help with organization, thoughts, schoolwork, writing Have more interest in current events and social issues Love to argue and can begin to see more than one side of an issue Feel challenged rather than defeated by reasonably hard work Tend to be perfectionists; if they try to attempt too much, may feel frustrated Can be both playful and serious May have bad diet and sleep habits and, as a result, low energy levels Enjoy testing limits; may exhibit a know-it-all attitude Are very concerned with what others say and think about them 11- to 13-year-olds are at a challenging crossroad. No longer children but not yet adults, they waver between a growing need for independence and a continuing need for support. Collaborate with 11- to 13-year-olds so they feel some control over what takes place in your mentoring sessions. While you still need to establish and maintain your role as the authority figure, you can accomplish this while giving students choices and asking for their suggestions about how you spend your time together. By this age, children may have experienced frustration with their academic experiences. 11- to 13- year olds often lack interest in subjects of classroom study and they may not get enough exposure to compelling books at the appropriate reading level. Ask your mentee to bring reading material that interests him and make time in each session to read it together; it may be a book, a magazine, a comic book, or even a shopping catalog. Make an effort to introduce new texts and ask librarians and teachers for assistance in your search. Show your enthusiasm for language, reading, and writing. Find ways to share your own reading material with your mentee; a newspaper article, a favorite book,or a piece of mail you received. Organize projects that integrate language skills in diverse ways, such as reading, writing, exploring computers and the Internet, storytelling, painting, sculpting, drawing, and writing descriptive paragraphs or stories to accompany the artwork. 11- to 13-yearolds may have diminished self-confidence, which hinders their willingness to take risks in their learning. Be supportive by honestly sharing some of your own challenges and successes. Cite examples from your own life or the lives of others and you can also find well-written books that tell inspiring personal tales. Developmental characteristics adapted from "Child Development Seminar." Volunteer Education and Development Manual. 1991. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Copyright Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

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In a previous article, 5 arguments against the Common Core state standards were articulated. The standards were summarized as the following: The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSI) came about in 2009 when the National Governors Association pursued development of new educational expectations. The NGA collaborated with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and released CCSI in 2010. The hope is to create a more modern and competitive education model for the US. There are currently 45 states opting into the standards, with a few proposing legislation to remove itself from it. As a response to the points made, here are 5 arguments in support of Common Core: 1. Students will be more competitive in a global economy "Common Core standards are meant to reflect cultural diversity of different states." Common Core outlines more rigorous standards to help high school students develop higher level skills to be competitive in a job market. Some argue that schools will lack diversity by abiding to the same curriculum. However, graduates will be more prepared for what employers around the country are looking for. 2. Standards were developed by a consortium of education experts and officials Despite claims of Common Core being a national curriculum, it was led by two organizations formed by state officials. Both the NGA and the CCSSO decided on what core standards would look like. States decide whether or not to opt in. As a result, the standards are meant to reflect cultural diversity of different states. Despite the federal government incentivizing Common Core adoption, it is not the same top-down reform seen in the past (i.e. No Child Left Behind). 3. The standards reflect a modern society Integrated in Common Core’s reform of mathematics and English is the incorporation of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). The inclusion of non-fictional texts can open discussions on the concepts of STEM. The structure of math standards are reflective of what is useful in engineering and science. Specific science and engineering standards are currently in development, known as Next Generation Science Standards. 4. Clearer goals and expectations The standards create clearer goals and students will better understand what is expected of them. Each grade level has outlines for what needs to be learned. There are also guides for teachers on how to help student meet those goals. Some argue this sacrifices flexibility for teachers to run their classrooms. 5. Room for flexibility in teaching remains There is room for flexibility in teaching since the standards act as a guide, not a governing law or curriculum. About 85 percent of the standards are set in stone, but the rest provides room for teachers to include what they believe is important. There are no cookie-cutter lesson plans to follow either — preferred teaching styles do not have to be sacrificed. There are important details to consider on both sides of the Common Core debate. Whether you believe states should follow a common path for education reform or develop their own, the effectiveness of a high school diploma is still an issue. Creators of Common Core are willing to address it. Pros and cons will always be present in any reform movement, but such is the nature of policymaking. Be sure to check out previous coverage of the issue on IVN: Join the discussion Please be relevant and respectful. I'm going through this hell they call "common core" It isn't doing anything but make things harder for both teachers and students. I STRONGLY DISAGREE!!!!! Common core is nothing more than a desensitization of our society. Another step toward socialism/ communism When I was in public school in the 1950's and 1960's, we were given achievement tests at the end of the school year to see how much we had learned since the previous year. The rest of the year we were graded based on quizes, 6-week tests, semester tests and a final exam at the end. We learned penmanship and the basics. Social studies, language arts (reading, creative writing, grammar, etc.) and we learned practical skills like how to count money and make change and how to fill out checks and other forms. My grandchildren who are in the public schools in Virginia, are taught only what they need to know to make an acceptable score on their sols (standards of learning). I have grandchildren who cannot read and write cursive writing, don't know how to tell time on a non-digital clock and have a hard time filling out job applications. Disagree, only a forced approval of immorality in our society. Instituted by whom else, but our "leader?" Disagree. We don't need national standards. We need teachers who teach without intimidation by unions OR school officials. This is going to be like obabmacare. The People don't want it but it is being shoved down our throats. just another way for the government to interfere in our lives. we have too many people in govt telling us what to do as it is. its time for the states to take back control and tell the federal govt to jump off a cliff Disagree! They kept voting & voting on Long Island, The people do not want it, so now they're holding closed door meetings. WTF????? Disagree with CC. It's not that I don't believe in national standards. I have big issues with the lesson plans and assignments. They leave a lot to be desired. I also don't care for the fact that states have been bribed with federal money in order to get them to accept this program. If it's so wonderful than it should sell itself. Haha read it Curt...for Gods sake why are people so lazy? If you don't put a link I can click on you are a liar! Good lord There are positives and negatives to homogenous education standards. On the one hand, it holds everyone to the same standard, on the other hand, it neglects the individual needs of a specific community. I just got my Master's in teaching this spring. We were taught that, love it or hate it, it's the future, so get used to it. Reading some of the comments attached to the article, it appears that our education system is definitely lacking. Pleural and possessive usage of the apostrophe needs to be emphasized more. I try usually to go by the content of what someone writes for their opinion, but when they constantly make the same grammar errors while trying to explain that we don't need standards...I've got to wonder. Oh, and as far as a job market - there isn't one. Unless flipping burgers is considered a career now. Most families cannot afford college, and students who do qualify for student loans can expect to be paying for them well into their 30's. One of the text books containing the "Constitution", completely re-wrote the 2nd Amendment to read something like this: "The right to bear arms as part of a militia." Which of course, completely skews the meaning of the Amendment. Tests are given to grade school students which contain wording such as the following: "All orders given by the government must be followed completely." A grade school in Wisconsin recently raised controversy when it produced a play which contained wording such as, "I will serve Obama". If this kind of indoctrination doesn't scare the hell out of you, then you are probably a socialist. Most countries have a national set of standards, which keep the schools up to the mark. My understanding of this program is that the curriculum has not been developed by any government agency, but by a national organization of educators, completely independent of government (sort of organization that libertarians should be in favor of!), and endorsed by the government. The real question should always be not who developed the ideas, but whether the idea is a good one, and how it measures up against what was in place beforehand. Schools must change continually in order to keep preparing the next generation for the future, not the past (real or imagined). The fact that the teachers union backed common core-ruption proves that they are unfit for involvement in the American school system. Our colleges have been failing us for years. Time to let each state set its own standards, They all have elected officials. Then we will see what works better or worse for American students. As an educator myself, I must disagree. But more importantly, Common Core asserts the idea that children can be STANDARDIZED. Political Indoctrination ? Propaganda ? I feel concerned for any children that will have to endure Public Education as it is let alone Common Core............ Disagree ! NC, GA, TX all started it. GA is talking about only do half the plan. Had to be dems seeing how these states are involved. However, I watched a video of someone who asked a question concerning this! He received a police escort and somehow was detained in Md. ;) So in short the states are doing this and the feds are just giving money to the state's to increase education. Many states have got this money and have not done anything with common core. The state's just need to come up with a plan. My opinion on this is the governors came up with this idea to get some extra federal money. But beside that point we do need to increase our educational standards. Check out the page independent voter put up 25 minutes ago. After that maybe a few Google's of actual real life sources and not a blog. The problem is our teachers are teaching to a known test. If they actually taught all the skills required for the grade the kids would not have a problem. We see every new technic being taught throughout the years. We even had the latest greatest abacus when I was in school. But if the kids are taught the foundation's and master them the problem will be solved when test time comes. Tired of hearing about teaching to a test. A little note on this. This was developed among a group of states at the request of the governors association and note the Fed's.

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Digital literacies in adult literacy education ABEABC Annual Conference Harrison Hot Springs, BC May 11-12, 2011 A “wiki-mediated” workshop Log in to the wiki for this workshop http:adultdigitalliteraciesinbc.wikispaces.com Username: digital_guest Password: guest_password Session overview What are digital literacies and who has access? Why digital literacies in ABE? A webquest: Explore and contribute tools and technologies in your practice Building a digital literacy community of practice What is digital literacy? Digital Literacy includes the ability to read and interpret media (text, sound, images), to reproduce and create data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments. According to Gilster,5 the most critical of these is the ability to make educated judgments about what we find online. -Jones-Kavallier & Flannigan, 2008. para 5. Digital tools Computer Laptop Mobile phone Camera DVR iPad Digital technologies Blog Wiki Video Podcast Moodle and conferencing platforms Facebook Twitter Flickr, RSS, voicethread (combinations of these: e.g. digital storytelling) In small groups: What digital tools and technologies do you currently use in your teaching practice? What are the benefits and challenges to incorporating digital literacies into your teaching practice? What do you most hope to learn in this workshop? Digital literacies Anchored in a Web 2.0 world Include: privacy literacies, attention literacies, critical information literacies, multimodal literacies… Capacity to craft texts for different audiences Recognizes that some literacies are more powerful, and/or are “deeper” than others. What digital literacies do adult learners have access to? Web 2.0 “Read-Write web” Social sharing options Social networking options Non-linear (hyperlinked and networked) Opportunities for scaffolded practice: learn through play! Authentic audience (different literacies for different domains/purposes) Implications for ABE People are able to be producers and ACTIVE consumers of content People construct knowledge collaboratively: Crowd Wisdom The meanings of literacy are expanded to include multi-modal meaning making Social interaction leads to knowledge creation This is a “social constructivist” pedagogy Why digital literacies in ABE? Access to powerful literacies: social capital Reflect changes brought by a digital culture: how we communicate, learn and work Inclusion: Universal Design Web Quest: Guiding Questions 1. How would you describe this digital technology to another educator? In other words, What is it? 2. What kinds of literacies/essential skills can students learn/develop? Make a list. 3. Can this tool support student learning in your setting? If not, why? If yes, in what ways? 4. What is the level of technological knowledge required to use the tools effectively? 5. Any other thoughts? Web Quest findings Take notes and upload them to the “Digi-literacies” WebQuestwiki page Choose one or two key points/ideas to share with the workshop group Examples: Incorporating digital technologies in ABE/adult literacy ACCESS!! Do adult literacy learners have access to “powerful” digital literacies? Share your views and experiences What needs to happen or change? Still and always (even more) important Engagement Affirmation, Discipline (practice) Inspiration A purpose Love (Morell, 2010) http://ucla.academia.edu/ErnestMorrell/Blog What next? Fill in the web survey (print-based or electronically) Contribute to the “digi-literacies” wiki Keep in touch! Suzanne Smythe: firstname.lastname@example.org

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Free, fun lesson plans for use in your homeschool. Some are online and some are printable. For students pre-K throught 12th grades. AN A TO Z RESOURCE A sortable database for free curriculum online and off. Sort by age, topic, and specific terms. Discovery School Lesson Plans Find hundreds of original lesson plans, all written by teachers for teachers. Use the pull-down menus below to browse by subject, grade, or both. Also lesson plans to support Assignment Discovery and TLC Elementary School programming. Easy Fun School Making homeschooling more enjoyable for both child and parent. Lesson Plans – Worksheets – Teacher’s Lesson Plans – WebQuests – Primary Teacher Resources – Math Lesson Plans – Writing Lesson Plans – Reading Lesson Plans – Science Lesson Plans – Technology Lesson Plans – Social Studies Lesson Plans. From the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lessons and units for art and culture, literature and language arts, foreign language, and history and social studies. Education World Lesson Plan Center A resource for lesson plans and research materials. Educational Resources and Lesson Plans Over 1000 links to lesson plans and other resources of potential use to homeschoolers. It also includes lesson plans and resources unique to this site. File Folder Farm Sets of learning games to print out and store in file folders. Topics are Pre-K through 2nd Grade. Print out unlimited copies of your favorite projects including art, deals, and greeting cards. This is the most comprehensive site offering every kind of easily-printed activity that you can simply copy on your home computer. Cross-curricular lesson plans on all sorts of fascinating topics. Gateway to Educational Materials The key to one-stop, any-stop access to high quality lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the Internet! Google for Educators This website is one of the ways we’re working to bolster that support and explore how Google and educators can work together. Grade Level Skills Help Pages These links are grade specific to help students practice on specific concept areas. Caution: As a teacher, you know that if a child doesn’t understand a skill, they will still not know it if they are put on the computer to practice it. These skill practices are suggested to be used with adult or peer assistance until the student has a basic skill knowledge that can be improved with some extra practice. Homeschool Huskies and Ponies Sets of workbooks and projects in different topics. Patches given as awards for completion. At this point there are several hundred files (forms, unit studies, lapbook templates, worksheets, etc) created and uploaded by various members of the site – with several more being added each week. HomeSchooler Network: Lessons & Activities Find innovative ideas for learning at home with our large inventory of resources and materials. Search by subject and your child’s age. Ideas For Homeschoolers Marty Layne, of Victoria, BC, posts her monthly newsletter in her delightful writing style that will delight and enthral you. A part of the iTunes Store featuring free lectures, language lessons, audiobooks, videos and more, that you can enjoy on your iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC. Explore over 200,000 educational audio and video files from top universities, museums and public media organizations from around the world. Kitchen table Classroom Tips and tidbits on how to make learning fun! On this site, we offer a new tidbit each day, so come back often. K to the 8th Power Over 600 lessons which are organized into integrated and cross-curricular lessons. The integrated lessons teach a computer skill and apply it to grade level academic content. Layers of Learning Layers of learning refers to the scaffolding all people need as they learn. The more we can connect ideas together ast teachers, the more meaningful the ideas become. A program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education, finds the most innovative and successful practices in K-12 education and makes them available to teachers and students. Each week there’s a new online lesson that takes learners on a thematic journey across cyberspace. Lessons are tied to current events and help learners extend their knowledge on a wide range of topics. A Guide to Educational Activities for Families that covers a lot of topics: reading, math, science, geography, history, writing, responsible behavior, and many more. For each topic, there are activities that you can do with your children to reinforce learning. Most are simple, everyday activities. The Teachers.Net Lesson Bank is your opportunity to share your most precious asset – your teaching ideas and lesson plans. Use LessonPathways.com as a core curriculum or as a hands-on supplement to your existing curriculum. Mix and match Pathways from various grade levels and subjects. Use our Planner tool to customize your child’s curriculum. Create learning plans for multiple children. Lesson Plan Center Let TeacherVision.com help you create innovative plans quickly with our large inventory of ideas and materials. Lesson Plan Page Far more than just a “page,” this site has plans in all typical subjects, as well as holiday units, computer science, and even PE. Add your own plans to the project. Free reproducible lesson plans, unit studies and print ready worksheets for all levels, all abilities and all subjects of Grade School and High School. Featured articles will give you general teaching and learning encouragement, references and support. Newton’s Apple: Teacher’s Guides A complete collection of Teacher’s Guides from season 9 through 15 is available. Mostly science lessons, though a few from other topics as well. NY Times Lesson Plan Archive The archive contains hundreds of free lesson plans for grades 6-12. You may perform a keyword search to retrieve a lesson, browse the archive by subject, or scroll down the page to view the most recently published lessons. Outta Ray’s Head A collection of lesson plans with handouts for writing, literature, poetry, and using the library, by Ray Saitz and many contributors. PBS Teachers Source Updated monthly. Resources so you can integrate PBS shows with your unit studies. Praetor Education Technology How to use open source software to develop free curriculum online. Free Java lessons for educators. Good math and science resources already developed. Each scripted lesson already comes with fully-inclusive content developed around a single homeschool curriculum, the hours that you would have spent putting these lessons together yourself represents time saved for you. Covers some topics in American history and science. Read Write Think Access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction through free, Internet-based content. Scholastic Lesson Plans & Reproducibles Pick a grade level pre-k through 8th grade and then a topic to locate a variety of lesson plans teaching that skill. Free weekly units, free worksheets for online and offline study, and software to download. Arts, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies plans. Offers teachers FREE access to lesson plans, printable worksheets, over 150,000 reviewed web sites, rubrics, educational games, teaching/ technology tips, advice from expert teachers, and more. Teach With Movies Through movies, introduce children to major events in history, principles of science, extraordinary people, literature, drama, dance, art, character development, and ethics. Low annual subscription rate for hundreds of movies. Teacher Created Materials Free monthly activities, lesson plans, and brain teasers. New each month as well as archives. Lessons categorized by monthly and holiday or date themes, mostly for young children. Texas Instruments Activities Exchange Browse by subject area or submit your own activity ideas. Learn to use TI calculators to solve real-world problems. Relevant, creative materials that can help you make good use of new technology. Look here for planning guides, teaching techniques, activities, projects, and more.

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In play therapy, children are encouraged to express, through play, all the things they may have difficulty saying or contextualizing into words. As a consequence of this primary focus, play therapy has expanded to include most of the expressive art forms including drawing, painting, sculpturing, music, dance, drama, movement, poetry, and storytelling. So while the mainstay of play therapy is still the playroom with its selection of symbolic toys, the play therapist has greatly expanded the medium for nonverbal and verbal expressions. Selecting Appropriate Activities Activities in play therapy aim to engage the child and enable the child to tell their story and in the telling reshape it accordingly. When selecting an activity, it is important for the therapist to note that each child is different both in personality and presenting issues. It is therefore important to match the play therapy activity with the child’s abilities and needs (Geldard & Geldard, 2008). Three key factors to consider when selecting a play therapy activity include the following: Adapted from: (Geldard & Geldard, 2008) Activities for Expressing Feelings and Emotions Some activities that can be used to promote expression of feelings and emotions include the following: Clay tends to promote expression of anger, sadness, fear and worry as it allows the child to be creative and it is through this creativity that the emotion of the child is likely to emerge or be expressed. Drawing allows the child to get in touch with their thoughts and emotions. For example: Children can be asked to create a representation of what has made them angry. Finger painting tends to promote emotions of joy, celebration, and happiness. It is important to work with the child in determining which activities they prefer and also which activities promote a clarity and freedom of expression with their emotions. Activities to Develop Social Skills Social skills include the ways in which the child relates to others in order to make friends, get their needs met, be assertive, employ boundaries and cooperate. In order to develop social skills effectively, it is important that the child understands and experiences different behaviours and their consequences. To achieve this in play therapy, a therapist may use the following activities: An imaginative pretend play to help the younger child learn about social skills and practice them. For example: if a child is engaged in playing as a mother, looking after and feeding the baby (doll), the counsellor could ask, “What should I do now” Dolly hasn’t eaten her cereal and I’m her big sister” This gives the child an opportunity to interact with the counsellor in the imaginative pretend play, gaining empathy for the mother and also gaining an understanding of their own position as the big sister. Puppets and soft toys can help the child learn and practice socially acceptable behaviours too. By getting involved in the puppet play with the child, the therapist can create situations that require the child to respond to various social situations by using their puppets. In this way, the child can indirectly explore the appropriateness of their own social behaviour. For example: a therapist can invite the child to start the puppet show by introducing the characters. Therapist: “why don’t you show me all the characters in your play and introduce them one by one”. As the child introduces the characters, the therapist can engage in a conversation with each character as it is presented. For example: “Hello Tom. I like your big red tie”. Activities to Build Self Esteem and Self Concept Children’s self concepts and self esteem are almost inevitably affected whenever they experience troubling events or trauma (Hebert & Ballard, 2007). In order to help build a constructive self esteem and self concept within the child, the therapist needs to select activities that promote self fulfilment and independence in the child by enabling the child to explore, accept and value their strengths and weaknesses (Geldard & Geldard, 2008). Examples of activities that aim to achieve this are listed below. Drawing can be used to illustrate the development of the child’s own strengths. For example: a child may show through a drawing, their progression from infancy to the present day to highlight memorable milestones and how much they have developed and grown and accomplished over the years. Games can be used to target the child’s specific skills to give them an opportunity to perform well and experience their strengths. Imaginative pretend play can be used to help the child experience various roles that either represents their current strengths or the qualities that they would like to have. For example: playing as a leader or a helper. Specific worksheets can be used to address issues that directly relate to the child’s self esteem and self concept. Activities to Improve Communication of Problems By expressing themselves symbolically through toys in play therapy, children are allowed to distance themselves from difficult feelings and memories, which are frequently too hard for them to talk about directly with others. Creating an opportunity for children to communicate their fears, worries, problems, wishes, and desires to others, even if it is done symbolically through toys can be very beneficial. Through such a process, the therapist can obtain a better understanding of child’s inner world, which also helps the counsellor obtain a better understanding of what the child may need in order to provide the appropriate type of help and support for them. Some of the activities that can be used to improve the child’s communication of problems include the following: Activities for Dealing with Loss, Grief and Death For most children, death is a new experience. And like all new experiences, the unknown can be confusing and frightening. Most children do not know what to expect following the loss of a family member or friend or even a pet. Young children may not understand what death really means and may be confused or even frightened by the reactions of other family members (Perry & Rubenstein, 2002). Some of the activities that can help the child express loss and grief include: Drawing: to allow the child to get in touch with their thoughts and emotions. For example, a child can be asked to draw their family before and after the loss. Telling stories: the child is encouraged to create their own story as opposed to reading story books. It is highly likely that the child will project ideas from their own life onto the characters and themes in the story. The child may even include themselves in the story. Telling stories enables the child to express their wishes, fantasies and hopes. This is particularly useful for children who are experiencing painful life events as it gives them opportunity to express their hurt. Use of clay: clay allows the child to be creative and it is during this creativity that the emotions within the child are likely to emerge and be expressed. Clay allows the child to express a wide range of emotions. For example: a child may calmly stroke the clay or aggressively punch the clay or pull it apart in frustration. As such, the emotions that the child may be withholding are more likely to be expressed outwardly and with cathartic effect. Sand tray work: this can provide the child with an opportunity to tell their story using symbols etched out in the sand. Through telling their story in such a way, the child has the opportunity to recreate the events and situations from past to present and explore possibilities for the future. Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

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Curriculum. Overview. Sample. Lessons. SECOND GRADE. Oak Meadow ..... Crafts; Animal Stories; Just So Stories;. 2ND GRADE. Adapted by ... Write down the predictions and have the class look at them after they have seen the play. ... Tell the students that the play Just So Stories was originally written as stories to. A Unit for Second through Sixth Graders* ... read/tell pourquoi stories to the class and have them read more on their own. ... Why the Big Toe is So Much Bigger than the Other Toes .... Just So Stories. This unit explores various aspects of India: its geography, its religions, its culture, and its literature. Students ... Content from the Core Knowledge Sequence (2nd Grade). 1. ... Kipling, R. Just So Stories. 2007 Core Knowledge® National Conference, Second Grade, Conquering ... Knowledge topics (i.e., Lesson One – The Blind Men and the Elephant can be taught when ... How the Camel Got His Hump (a “Just-So” story by Rudyard Kipling) p. This session represents the official launch of your second-grade writing ... didn't just come up with a story and “poof! ..... when I was your age and I got a big role in the class play—I was so scared, ... o Unit 5. ESSENTIAL QUESTION. Why do we hand down stories? Grade 2 ▻ Unit 5. Hand-Me-Down Tales From. Homelessness Fact Sheet for Kindergarten-Second Grade Students. What Does It Mean To Be Homeless? Most people ... Lesson 1: Identifying Story Elements (2nd grade) ... saved the Tosis family, so the family decided to keep her. Setting: The house and ...... could call the fire department to help, Hannah could just wait for. Family FUNdamentals for Summer Learning—Grade 2 ..... Talk about what you read and write so your child can hear. Say: “I don't have ...... view. After reading a story or book with your child, just ask a. MATHEMATICS • GRADE 2• UNIT 2: Becoming Fluent with Addition and .... out two fingers on their chest and so on. ... to solve addition and subtraction computation as well as story problems. 6. Grade 2: Two- and Three-Digit Addition and Subtraction ... Solving Story Problems: Students count by tens from any given 2-digit ..... “So 57 is composed of 5 tens and 5 ones.” ..... The first worksheet has students just add or subtract tens. 94 in G Major “Surprise,” second movement ... ti-ti rhythms, using hand signs for So and Mi, and playing a mallet instrument. ... Each lesson plan has been designed specifically for the grade K-2 age. ... teachers forget facts they consider essential to stories being read aloud. ... book in a particular series, I suggested that they just go ahead to the next one. ... into your classroom so that you and your second graders can get the most out of this ... 25 Jun 2013 ... 8 + 2 = 2 + 2, just as 72 – 8 = 70 – 8 + 2 = 62 + 2. ... foundation for Grade 2's work towards mastery of fluency with the ... multiple (e.g., 7 – 5 = 2, so 47 - 5 = 42.) ..... Worksheets, story problems, and other problem sets can be ... As always, in so many ways your talent has helped to ... ideas, and all primary teachers of Southlawn Elementary School, Liberal, KS ..... They become familiar with story structure and framework such as. The students of grade 2 enjoy stories with visual aids and different sounds. ... Grade 2 v. The Lesson. Church Education Service is divided into: ..... After few days Jesus was taken away by soldiers from the disciples just as He had said to the. Grade Lesson Plan —— Storytelling. Overview .... Storytelling is more than just reading the words of a story out loud. It takes .... Say the words clearly so that everyone can understand you. ... A little while later, the second Billy Goat Gruff came. (Suggested lesson submitted by Criss Smith, LMS @ Lee Elementary) ... Kipling's “Just So” stories fall into this category.

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Taking a Look at Nonfiction Conventions Nonfiction reading material can be a powerful tool in grabbing the attention and interest of otherwise reluctant readers. However, reading lessons often focus primarily on fiction features (plot, character development, etc.). With this in mind, I thought it might be useful to share some of the resources and materials I have used in my classroom to help readers learn to read, interpret, and eventually write nonfiction texts independently. Photo: You can download four printables in this post, including the nonfiction conventions posters shown above. Nonfiction Supplies: Avoid the Literary Desert! I've used the analogy of teaching in a literary desert before. As elementary teachers we know that we must have a plethora of classroom books for our students. According to Richard Allington, an elementary classroom should have 1,500 books as a base. Two thirds of that should be nonfiction and informational texts. That can be a real challenge, but it is so important when our students are reading to learn to have those books in the collection. Are you feeling low in this department? One easy solution is to purchase used magazines. Most of my collection has been donated or purchased from garage sales. Magazines are also great because you don't feel too bad when you cut things out to discuss with your class. Photo: Ripped-out magazine pages on display. Photo: Red bins in our classroom indicate nonfiction. We currently house 2,500+ books. Although there are fantastic books to read on teaching nonfiction, it doesn't have to be so complicated. Let me save you some time researching and reading. Are you ready? It's really very simple. Study it, talk about it, try it out: 1. Talk about how nonfiction and fiction are organized differently and have different conventions. This is where you would want to pull out a variety of nonfiction material to show to your class. Better yet, use a nonfiction big book to demonstrate some of the nonfiction conventions to the whole group. Here are some anchor charts we created this year and the previous year: 2. Copy and pass out various examples of nonfiction passages, and ask your students to record what conventions are being used and why. This might include using different types of print, making comparisons, or labeling drawings. Download this guide on the purposes of the conventions. 3. Do a mini-lesson on comparisons. In my experience, examples of nonfiction comparisons can be a little harder to find. An excellent book totally dedicated to this nonfiction convention is Steve Jenkins's Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. Each page takes those numbers and compares them to something familiar (e.g., the Empire State Building). Reading this book is a great mini-lesson in and of itself. 4. Help your readers create nonfiction convention notebooks or flip-books. This idea comes straight from Debbie Miller, except we used a Dinah Zike flip booklet instead of Miller's notebooks. Under each convention, the student adds an example. They also add the purpose for the convention. If you have a lot of magazines around, you can pass these around the room and have students go on a scavenger hunt for these features. 5. Apply it through writing. I usually find that writers can only write as well as they read. I believe this applies for nonfiction writing, too. The more we talk about and look at nonfiction pieces, the better prepared students are to try the conventions out in their own writing. When you see a student trying some of these conventions in their writing, make sure to show it to the class. Other students will begin to try it out on their own as well. 6. On a final note, just give your students the time and opportunity to look at, read, and discuss books in your classroom this year. Fiction and nonfiction. The more they read, the better equipped they will be across the curriculum. I am blessed to be working in a school that doesn't advocate basal-prescribed reading instruction or extrinsically motivated reading programs. It makes a world of difference, and I know we are creating lifelong readers and writers using the workshop approach in our room. To learn more about how Readers Workshop functions in my classroom, watch a video overview of Readers Workshop. More Anchor Charts/Bulletin Board Ideas Last year I wrote a post that included several of the anchor charts and bulletin boards in our room. This included a nonfiction convention bulletin board made by students. It has now been turned into an article, "Reading Strategy Charts and Bulletin Boards." Photo: We use Scholastic's Navigating Nonfiction to discuss various ways that nonfiction articles are organized (compare/contrast, problem/solution, etc.). You can find a link on the main page, if you are interested in ordering it for your class.

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A Leap Ahead in Writing: 3rd Grade In 3rd grade you’ll likely see a significant leap cognitively in your child, and as a result more will be expected of him at school. Your child will not only learn how to write in cursive, with letters joined together, he’ll stretch beyond the paragraph writing of the 2nd grade and begin to compose short essays. Teaching to the Test States are required to test students annually in language arts, beginning in the 3rd grade. These tests assess standards for reading, listening, and writing. Tests generally consist of two types of questions: multiple-choice and open-ended. In reading, students read several passages representing a variety of genres, then answer questions that demonstrate their understanding of the passages. For listening, students hear a passage read out loud, then answer comprehension questions. Along with formalized testing, another hallmark of 3rd grade is learning to write in cursive, or longhand. For many 8 year olds, cursive separates them from the little kids — and they love it. In the majority of classrooms across the country, cursive is taught in 3rd grade (although some 2nd grade teachers introduce it toward the end of the school year). Over the years, some letters have been modified to make them easier to write and recognize. Today’s cursive Q and X may look quite different to someone who learned to write them a generation ago. Now that cursive has made a comeback, teachers begin the school year by devoting one week to each letter and spending a few minutes each day in review. Upping the Vocabulary Ante In 3rd grade, students are ready for solid work in written composition. Their thinking is more abstract and their stories less simplistic. Using transitions and writing in paragraph form remain challenging, but your child will have plenty of opportunities to practice these difficult skills. Now your child will work to enrich his stories through word choice, with a continued emphasis on using adjectives to enliven his compositions. In addition, your child will be introduced to reference books, such as the thesaurus (a book of synonyms and antonyms), to help him select more interesting words. Writing as Process Writing as a craft is a fairly new classroom concept. “Learning to write well isn’t considered a one-shot deal,” says Cynthia Graves, a 3rd grade teacher at Forest Avenue School in Verona, New Jersey. “It’s a process that evolves over time.” While the focus may vary from school to school, you can expect that your child’s work will progress through the following phases: - Prewriting, or brainstorming, includes activities such as creating a story web with ideas related to a main topic. - The first draft, or “sloppy copy,” is a student’s initial attempt at converting his thoughts into sentences and paragraphs. - Feedback involves sharing the first draft with classmates and/or the teacher to strengthen the work. The reviewer reads the piece, then tells the writer what’s good, bad, or confusing about the story. - The student incorporates the feedback during rewriting. - Correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes takes place during the proofreading phase. - The final copy is either handwritten or typed on the computer. - Publishing is the last step, and each teacher handles it differently. It may mean turning the story into a book with illustrations, adding it to a class book, reading the work out loud to the class, or submitting it to a children’s publication. As in 2nd grade, in 3rd grade your child will be expected to write in a variety of genres. A narrative assignment might ask your child to write about a personal experience, such as her favorite day. A typical nonfiction assignment in 3rd grade would require her to write a simple report using facts gleaned from different sources of information (for example, an encyclopedia, a Web site, or a book on the subject). An informative writing assignment might ask her to explain how to make or do something (for example, my daughter wrote instructions for doing a handstand). Persuasive writing could be a letter to the editor, and finally, penning a poem might cover creative writing. Recommended Products for Your Child Ages 8-10

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Teacher Resources by Grade |1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th| |5th - 6th||7th - 8th| |9th - 10th||11th - 12th| Media Literacy: Examining the World of Television Teens |Grades||6 – 8| |Lesson Plan Type||Standard Lesson| |Estimated Time||Five 60-minute sessions| New Haven, Connecticut MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY - Computers with Internet access - One classroom computer with a projection screen (optional) - One taped episode of a television program popular with students on a VHS tape or DVD - Television and VCR or DVD player Grades 6 – 12 | Student Interactive | Inquiry & Analysis Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author in this secondary-level interactive. The goal of this lesson is to help students increase their awareness of media, and become critical, reflective, and active viewers and producers of media. These skills emerge as students increase their awareness of how and why media is made, how different viewpoints and perspectives are portrayed, and how character, plot, and motivation are developed in the various media programs they view. In this lesson, students have the opportunity to analyze why certain television shows are more popular with teenagers than others. With these observations in mind, students create their own idea for a show. This is an important part of the lesson because responding to media and becoming active "readers" and producers of media are essential parts of developing media literacy skills. |1.||Informally chat with a few of your students about what their favorite television shows are. This will give you an idea of what programs they will indicate as their favorites when you conduct the class-wide survey. Familiarize yourself with the characters and general story lines of these shows by watching them or visiting their websites. Once your class votes on the most popular show, you will have to record one episode for students to view in class during Session 2. |2.||Identify, preview, and bookmark websites about the television shows on the computers your students will be using. Remember that it is critically important to give students time to explore the websites independently and without any prescribed direction. Give students the opportunity to discover and learn in ways that may not be apparent to you. Computer learning is often about discovery. |3.||If you are not familiar with the online Literary Elements Map, you may want to complete one prior to working on it with your students in Session 2. Add this tool to the Favorites on the computers your students will be using and make sure that it is working properly on all computers. If you experience difficulty, make sure that computers have the most recent version of the Flash plug-in, which can be downloaded for free from the ReadWriteThink Site Tools page.

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are another person's exact words--either spoken or in print--incorporated into your own writing. a set of quotation marks to enclose each direct quotation included in your a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of a whole sentence. Do not use a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of part of the quotation is interrupted and then continues in your sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation. Mr. and Mrs. Allen, owners of a 300-acre farm, said, "We refuse to use that pesticide it might pollute the nearby wells." Mr. and Mrs. Allen stated that they "refuse to use that pesticide" because of possible "He likes to talk about football," she said, "especially when the Super Bowl is coming are not exact words but rather rephrasings or summaries of another person's words. Do not use quotation marks for indirect quotations. According to their statement to the local papers, the Allens refuse to use pesticide because of potential water pollution. Omitted words in a quotation you leave words out of a quotation, use an ellipsis mark to indicate the omitted words. If you need to insert something within a quotation, use a pair of brackets to enclose the addition. For example: The welfare agency representative said, "We are unable to help every family that we'd like to help because we don't have the funds to do so." omitted material The welfare agency representative said, "We are unable to help with ellipsis every family . . . because we don't have the funds to do so." The welfare agency representative explained that they are "unable with brackets to help every family that [they would] like to help." MLA style requires any quote that goes to four lines to be done block style (APA requires block style after 40 words). Block quotes begin on a new line, indented ten spaces and do not use quotation marks. Notice how the quotes are introduced AND that there is a follow-up to the quote. The first is APA; the second is MLA. 1. This method exemplified by those above and many others was a common procedure; it was not until the 1960's that scholars began to focus on capturing the performance of the storyteller rather than just the story itself. There are several reasons to consider for the lack of attention to narrative structure. First, as Tedlock points out, there were no tape recorders to aid the field worker who was more likely to be interested in content rather than style since the substance was the story, not the manner in which it was told (Finding the Center 37). Also, without the tape recorder, the field worker was forced to repeatedly stop the storyteller in order to write out the dictation, which hampered any possibility of hearing the normal pauses and breaks (“Translation” 29). Second, many believed that style was untranslatable anyway. Both Boas and A. L. Kroeber believed that the literary form was a property of the native language and hence, could not be rendered into English. As Arnold Krupat discusses in "On the Translation of Native American Song and Story: A Theorized History," translators had to recognize that native languages were both like and unlike European languages (8). He states: All English translations from Native language performances cannot help but place themselves in relation to Western conceptions of art (literature) or of (social) science as they inevitably privilege either the Sameness of Native American verbal expression in forms aspiring to what is accessibly recognizable as literary, or its Difference, in forms committed to scientific authenticity and accuracy. (8) Most did not look for the similarity in the native language and only perceived the dissimilarity and to make the narrative appear as the audience would expect. 2. George and Shoos pose two questions concerning the teacher’s role in this type of class that seem suggest that silence may be due to the teacher’s position: How do we, as composition instructors using a cultural studies approach, design our classes so that we do not judge our students’ positions by how closely they mimic our own? How do we set up true ‘communication and dialogue’ as Friere suggests we must if real education is to They suggest choosing texts for study that we find perturbing or disturbing so that meaning is as unstable for us as it is for our students. In those texts, instead of looking for definitive answers to the questions we pose about the text, we need to explore how cultural forms and subjectivity play a role in that text (207-9). Quote with a change from the original (MLA) 3. One of the more prevalent problems of teaching with a cultural studies approach is that in encouraging students to critique their culture, they may misunderstand our intentions and believe that we are either asking them to discard their experiences as trivial or to conform to our way of thinking about those experiences. This perception would surely cause some students to remain silent rather than challenge us. George and Shoos note that “asking students to become critical readers of their culture does not mean demanding that they reject that culture” (201). They further note, “[I]f we judge our students’ work by whether or not they come to the same conclusions as we do, we not only send them conflicting messages about their own worth as thinkers but also insure our own failure as teachers” (201). Thus, it is plausible that part of the silence we encounter comes from students who mistakenly believe we want them to conform to our beliefs, so we must guard against sending that message. Other samples in MLA Tedlock has employed the former criteria in translating Zuni narratives. He felt "unhappy with the flat prose format which had always been used in presenting" field narratives (xviii). So as he listened to taped oral performances, he worked out a mode of presentation which combined the poetic with the dramatic features. These elements combined with the narrative form mark a pattern Hymes identifies as form-meaning covariation. He states that "while certain elements regularly serve to mark verses, this role is dependent upon the organization of the whole" (440). So one of the particles may occur with its normal lexical meaning and would not indicate a narrative pattern. The narrative particle that occurs the least number of times is higú 'still, now, yet'; twice it occurs with zhige 'again' and twice without any suffixes. Its function seems to refer to the progression of events through narrative time, much like White described its use in referring "to the arrival of the present section which continues the story" (Winnebago Narratives 17). In the first occurrence of higú-zhige, it begins a new verse, and here, it refers back to an action that is now to be 7. White has stated that zheegú refers to "that which has continued going by," indicating that zheegú is some kind of marker of connection (“Trickster” 54). In some cases, it clearly does mark a connection. Danker, Kathleen A. “Because of This I am Called the Foolish One: Felix White, Sr.'s, Interpretations of the Winnebago Trickster.” New Voices in Native American Literary Criticism Ed. Arnold Krupat. Smithsonian Series of Studies in Native American Smithsonian Institute Press, 1993. 505-528. Kathleen A. The Winnebago Narratives of Felix White, Sr.: Style, U of Nebraska. Lincoln, Barbara F., Ed. The Ethnologue. 13th ed. 1996. 8 Nov. 1998 Bible. Revised Standard Version. Thomas Nelson & Sons: Grammar of Winnebago. New York: King's Crown Press. 1945 Road of Life and Death. 1945. Bollingen Series V. Princeton, U Press. 1973. the Center: Narrative Poetry of the Zuni Indians. New York: Dial Press. 1972. Dennis. “On the Translation of Style in Oral Narrative.” Smoothing the Ground: Essays on Native American Oral Literature. Ed. Brian Swann. Berkeley, CA: of California Press, 1983. 57-77.

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Add To Favorites See the world in a new way--with the breads people eat. Explore cultural attributes and world populations with a pictograph bulletin board. Explore the world! Find out which countries have the most people, beginning with China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. Or survey your school’s students and their international heritages. Learn about breads people traditionally bake and eat. Prepare your bulletin board. What kind of graph could you make to show each country’s population? One way is to create a pictograph. Cut colorful paper with Crayola® Scissors to cover a bulletin board. On construction paper, use Crayola Gel Markers to create a colorful border and write each country's name. Attach country labels with a Crayola Glue Stick. Model the breads. Model small breads as symbols to represent the population of each country. Decide how many people each piece of bread will represent on your pictograph. Use Model Magic to form miniature loaves, rolls, tortillas, or other breads. To create different colors of dough, knead washable marker colors into Model Magic to blend. Roll modeling compound between palms, flatten with fingers, cut, and press with a craft stick to create different textures. Air-dry pieces for 24 hours. Assemble the chart. Stick pieces of hook and loop fastener tape on the back of each bread. Press matching sticky pieces in strips to the right of each country's label on your bulletin board. Stick on the breads. Make a key for your bulletin board, showing how many people each bread represents. Display the 7 principles of Kwanzaa in a one-of-a-kind accordion window book. Add To Favorites People around the world give thanks for their food. Celebrate a harvest of pineapples, pumpkins, or pomegranates-and sho Paper-bag puppets hold original poetry about pirates, pets, or any preferred topic. Young writers put the puppet's arms Storytelling and mathematics merge when students discover that by arranging and rearranging a set of seven geometric til Create a Model Magic® finger puppet of a president you research then use puppets to interview other presidential finger Use ordinary wooden clothespins to create original versions of Guatemalan worry dolls. These minipeople hold important p Picasso’s art career spanned many decades and included a variety of styles and influences. Create a portrait collage ins Update an ancient craft with contemporary designs and art materials. These holiday ornaments are light and unbreakable, Our crayons have been rolling off the assembly line since 1903, and you can see how it’s done. Visit us »

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Family Literacy Resources What are family literacy programs? Family literacy programs provide learning activities and opportunities for parents, caregivers, children and other members of the family. Some programs that the NWT Literacy Council has developed are: The 1-2-3 Rhyme with Me program promotes young children’s oral language development through the use of rhymes, songs and stories. The program is directed at parents and teaches them the skills they need to enhance their children’s oral language development. Good language development at a young age will help children develop good literacy skills in the future. The Books in the Home program is based on the belief that parents are children's first and most important teachers. In this program, parents learn to read and share books with their children in positive and enjoyable ways. The program promotes reading and writing of both parents and children. Family Tutoring is a family literacy program that supports school-aged children to develop reading and writing skills. The program works with parents, teacher’s assistants, and tutors to strengthen the English literacy skills of the whole family. Program participants learn reading and writing strategies to support their learner’s reading and writing development. Family Tutoring works with adults who tutor children at the emerging and early reader stages. Usually these children are in grades 1 to 4. Program strategies can also adapt for older children and youth who struggle with reading and writing. Reading circles encourage parents and other community members to help children become enthusiastic and positive about reading. In a reading circle, parents, community members and children meet once a week for an hour to share stories and books. The focus is on discussion, and the enjoyment of families reading and talking together. The reading circle is informal, and can be easily integrated into existing programs and services for families. Special family literacy events that encourage literacy related activities for holidays. These activities will include: storytelling, sewing, crafts, cooking traditional foods, celebrating holidays like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc. Other family literacy programs are: - Books and Bannock – Families come together once a week to read and eat bannock. - Story Time on the Radio – Each week someone reads a story on the radio in English and their Aboriginal language. Families listen to the story together then answer questions to win a prize. - Elders and Children – Elders tell stories to the children at the daycare or school. They talk about the past and what it was like when they were young. - Traditional Skills – Each week, Elders teach boys and girls traditional skills. Boys and girls learn to sew, trap, tan hides, make tools and go dogsledding. There may be a family literacy program in your community that you can attend. Ask your local school, daycare, family support program or library if they have a family literacy program you can attend. It is a great way to support your child’s learning and a lot of fun too. How can I get a family literacy program going in my community? The NWT Literacy Council can help people or organizations get family literacy programs going in their community. We travel to communities to give workshops and training and provide free resources. We also offer family literacy funding for people who have taken our family literacy training.

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With 70% of our planet covered in it, you can be sure water is a global issue. The topic of water can link into teaching and learning about issues such as climate change, economics, energy, health and human rights, for all age ranges. Did you know that out of all the water in the world, only 0.01% is clean, fresh water available for use? This is actually sufficient for all the world’s needs if distributed evenly. However, that is a big IF. Some countries (like Canada and Brazil) have a plentiful supply and some countries and regions (like sub-Saharan Africa) have a limited amount. Added to these fundamental differences are issues such as mismanagement and overuse, pollution, large populations, climate change, privatisation and conflict. The good news is that with careful management, political will and new technologies, there is enough water for everyone’s needs, and it can be used as a sustainable energy source. There are lots of opportunities in the curriculum to use water in lessons. The ideas discussed below give examples of how you can use water to bring a global dimension into your lessons. Each area provokes different opinions and could lead to some great opportunities for research and discussion in class. There are also lots of links at the bottom to more information. Why is water important? As my Grandfather says ‘Water is nature’s champagne’. It is a universal and essential requirement for life. Whether you live in the UK or Uganda, water is required for personal, agricultural and industrial use. In the UK we have fresh, clean water at the twist of a tap, but are vulnerable to flash flooding, rising sea levels and even water shortages. In Uganda, a land-locked country, coastal floods are not a threat but over half the population do not have access to safe, clean water. For a country reliant on agriculture, access to water is really important. It is used for personal and health hygiene and sanitation, to ensure successful harvests and to raise livestock. It is now common for people to talk about climate change as a global issue – but what effect will it have on water supply? There are two main areas discussed by scientists. The first concern is that increasing global temperatures could lead to rising sea levels and coastal flooding. This puts coastal and island communities in danger of losing their homes – if they become uninhabitable, millions of people could become refugees. The second area of concern is rainfall. In places where less rain falls the frequency and length of droughts could increase. This would result in crop failure and livestock losses, leading to many more incidents of starvation. Other areas may receive more rain than normal or have flash floods, which can also damage crops, houses and workplaces. What can we in the UK do to help? At the moment the rich world emits 50% of the world’s CO2 each year (despite only making up 15% of the world’s population). In simple terms, reducing our CO2 emissions could help slow climate change and make a huge difference to countries all over the world. Students could explore the debates about climate change and actions that can be taken to prevent it. As populations grow and quality of life improves, more water is required to meet all of our personal, agricultural and industrial needs. As there is only a limited amount of fresh water available, competition for use is increasing. For example, where rivers and lakes are shared by more than one country, such as the Nile, water usage has become a political issue. Discussions about who should have access to fresh water and how much each country is allowed can lead to international tensions. Some people even say that the next major war could be over water. Students could research areas of water stress to find out what factors contribute to the growing demand for fresh water and which countries are most affected. Privatisation of public services is often controversial in the UK. Clean water is an essential service and, in a global context, with the added complications of poverty, aid policies and the global reach of multinational companies it is even more hotly debated. Global institutions such as the IMF, individual donor countries and companies that stand to make a profit often champion privatisation. In countries where the public sector is struggling to provide water to local people, farmers and industry, privatisation can seem an attractive option. However, there are cases, such as that of Bolivia, where privatisation of water services caused prices to rise by up to 200%. This led to mass protest and a reversal of policy. Water is so clearly a universal human need that it provides a useful way in for young people to investigate issues around aid policies, the influence of multinational companies, and access to natural resources, the role of international campaigning organisations and the power of popular protest in challenging politics. Water and technology can work together to be both the means and the ends. For example, innovative ideas make it easier for people to collect water when they don’t have a piped supply. What inventions could your pupils think of to help meet water needs? Water can also be used to provide cheap, clean energy. Both small and large-scale projects can provide sustainable systems to meet technological needs. A great example of a small scheme can be found at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales who use water to power their cliff railway. Large ventures such as hydroelectric dams can even power big towns bringing energy to many people. However, there can also be negative impacts. Re-routing a river thorough a dam can result in less water flowing downstream. In this case, people who rely on the river as their main water source may find they face a shortage. Students could consider both the benefits and problems that these examples present. Why teach about water? Water is a basic human need – but we don’t all have equal access to this essential resource. Teaching about the issues can help children to understand how important water is, why people don’t have equal access to resources and what difficulties this presents. It also allows students to develop concern and understanding for the environment and make decisions on how their actions can influence these areas in the future. The curriculum has many entry points to teaching about water in subjects such as Geography, English, Maths, Science and Citizenship. It can be easy to add a global dimension to lessons that you have already planned. For example, when discussing weight, why not look at a case study of someone who collects water. You could calculate the weight of the water they carry. Or when studying graphs and percentages look at the number of people that don’t have access to safe drinking water versus the number that do. Water-related photographs could be used as a stimulus for creative writing, or when teaching about electricity you could study hydroelectric dams. In Citizenship you could ask students to research dams and hydro-electric power in the UK, and compare it to systems in other countries. An interactive world map showing the world’s water flashpoints. A range of articles on the theme of water, including a facts and figures Information on appropriate technologies and low cost sanitation approaches Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP) Some excellent case studies from the UK and other countries and teaching activities related to water and sustainable development. Background information on water-related issues, fact-sheets and teaching resources for all ages in WaterAid's Learn Zone.

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An Introduction to Copywork What is copywork? Quite simply, it is writing out by hand, or copying, words from a written model. In the very early stages, children may trace or copy the letters of the alphabet, but once they have had some practice with this, they progress to words and phrases. Later on, sources for copywork include a great variety of written materials: poetry, Bible passages, other writings of great men, to name just a few. Some people equate copywork with handwriting, and this is certainly part of it – but there is far more to copywork than just handwriting. Copywork has a long and noble history. The term itself seems to be a recent one , but the practice is almost as old as education itself. Archaeologists in the Near East have discovered clay tablets from Mesopotamia, on which trainee scribes used to copy down proverbs and wise sayings, more than 2000 years before Christ. Egyptian schoolboys received similar training. Hebrew kings were required to make their own handwritten copy of the Scriptures (Deuteronomy 17:18), which they were then expected to read, study, and put into practice throughout the rest of their lives. Coming down to more recent days, during the 16th-18th centuries AD, people used to keep “Commonplace books”. A commonplace (so the dictionary says) was “a notable passage or quotation entered in a book for future use”. Later still, children used to practise their handwriting in copybooks, using the same kind of mottoes and verses that little girls would stitch on their samplers. By and large, the greatest writers in the English language developed their writing skills through copywork and narration. Neither Shakespeare nor Jane Austen ever enrolled in a creative writing course; Dickens never studied journalism; Robert Louis Stevenson did not take classes in How to Write for Children (or for anyone else, for that matter)! Living before the invention of photocopy machines and computers, anything they wanted to keep a written record of, had to be copied down by hand: so copywork was a normal part of everyday life. Our children obviously live in a different age, but if we hope for them to become great writers, we can do no better than provide them with the same kind of training as these, and other, writers of the past. Copywork carries with it a number of benefits. Going on from the benefits to the practical questions. How do we teach copywork in our home schools? In our home, I assign copywork about four days a week. A lesson generally takes between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the child’s ability and the length of the passage they copy – though some children are quite capable of dragging out a 10-minute selection to 2 or 3 hours, if allowed! Using a timer or assigning a specific time limit helps to prevent this from happening. The younger members of the family copy from my own hand-written model. First they (or I) read through the selection, and I may note new punctuation; then it is time to write. Copywork may seem easy, but it is actually quite an intensive part of the day’s lessons, as it requires the child’s full attention – and initially the full attention of the parent as well. When our 5-year-old first began, I would sit with him, verbally directing him as he copied the letters (“start at the top, now go round and down to the bottom line, then back up to where you started, and down”). Several months later I found less need to do that, though it was still necessary to keep a close eye on what he did, and give assistance if needed. Little children begin with tracing the alphabet. A good "first" copywork passage is this alphabet rhyme, from one of Arthur Mee's books. One of my sons spent several weeks copying it, half a line at a time. It gave him practice with all of the letters: both upper and lower case. Once they are familiar with all of the letter-forms, children go on to copying very short selections; and as their ability increases, so does the length of the passages. My 5-year-old normally copies a 5 to 10 word selection; the 8-year-old writes a couple of sentences; older children copy whole paragraphs or poems. I always assign specific passages to the youngest children. Slightly older children are allowed more flexibility in their choice of copywork. At various times, I have used long lists of English proverbs or Bible verses with our six and seven-year-olds. I would print out these lists and then use Scripture one day, and proverbs the next. Doing this made it easy to assign a page at a time and allow the children to choose one or two sentences a day. Once they had copied half-a-dozen selections from one page, we would go on to the next . Charlotte Mason recommended that children choose their own selections; but too much choice can be overwhelming (an eight-year-old can easily spend four hours choosing a selection which he can copy in five minutes), which is why it is better to provide some direction, at least. Immediate feedback is very important. When correcting work, focus on one or two things to improve or practice – any more may be overwhelming. Show excellent work to Daddy, or to grandparents, or to anyone else who will be as excited as you are! Copyright © Ruth Marshall 2005 Charlotte Mason, the early 20th century British educator, called it “transcription” – which literally means “writing across”. Another way we could have done this is to cut the pages into individual sentence strips and place them in a jar, allowing the child to take out one or two each day. This idea is sometimes called the “candy jar copywork” method, after Penny Gardner's description on her website. Mrs Gardner is the author of the Charlotte Mason Study Guide. Note: This article is an edited version of one which first appeared in A Living Education, a quarterly publication devoted to "applying Charlotte Mason in Australian Homeschools".

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Lectures & discussions 9.1 The narrative arc/9.2 The elements of a narrative arc This is one chapter where you really should ask students to read the essay ahead of time. However, you know how unengaging and dull it can be to simply run over a reading saying “so, did you read X section? Any questions?” We suggest, instead, that you start with the narrative arc chart, on the board. Get students to define a protagonist for you, and a spark (the two most complex concepts here). Then, use Cinderella and/or other stories to run over the function of the arc multiple times. You might also invent your own story, as we do with the Roderick/Rodrigo example. You could even finish that one for us (send it in if you do!). Depending on the kind and level of students you have, you might use the Archies, classic superhero stories (new ones have arcs that are too long and twisty), or other comics of your choice. Or you can discuss the arcs of novels, shorts stories, and movies. The important thing in driving this lesson home, however, is to engage the students. If they aren’t forced to think the chain of events in an arc through, and identify their parts, they will not internalize the ideas. One other trick: have students use the basic shape of the arc chart to literally chart other stories. That is, have them write the applicable points at the right places on the chart, and explain their reasoning. You can have students do narrative arc book reports, as well, where they pick a story, and chart the arc of the story, then present it to class. Repetition is key. Feel free to send in your best arc analyses. We’d like to include some on the site! Depending on your artistic philosophy, you may have issues with teaching the narrative arc. Of course, you should teach the way you want to. However, we think we make a good argument for teaching this structure to students so that they have it available to them as a tool. We don’t believe the narrative arc is the be-all and end-all of narrative structure, but it is one of the most important structures out there. Its flexibility and ability to sink into the background when necessary make it one of the most basic skills a storyteller needs, in our opinion. If you’re reluctant to teach this using something like Die Hard (a very clear example, by the way), you should pick a story or stories that reflect the arc in a more subtle and complicated manner. "The Crush" is carefully designed to hit all the major points in the narrative arc essay. You might do a few verbal analyses (Cinderella, et al.), then move on to this story as a group. Note one of the questions in the talking points: how do the obstacles build on the previous obstacles? This is something we don't cover much in the essay, so you might want to spend some time on it. The sense of building and interconnection are vital to a tight arc. One other point we don't bring up is that the spark ties in with the particularities of the protagonist. Clay is a bit geeky, shy, and an adolescent boy—this means seeing a cool girl and crushing out is going to be more of a challenge to him than it might be to, say, a self-confident team captain. A strong spark is designed to dovetail with the protagonist's strengths and weaknesses. TV writer make-believe This activity can easily be folded right into your lecture/discussion. Choose whichever set of characters make sense to use, and continue with the examples and troubleshooting you did on Cinderella and whatever else you used. Alternately, you can set students loose in small groups to work on this independently, and then have them write and turn in their arcs, or present them to the class. You can have them write the various stages of the arc on an arc chart, if that appeals to you. Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting David Mamet, On Directing Film Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting Dennis O’Neil, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics Thumbnails for a six-page story with a narrative arc This is the first stage of a project that will carry your students through the end of the book. It's also the first time we've set them so free with regard to topic, so many students may need their hands held so as not to get writer's block right out of the gate. For these students, focus on the utility of the narrative arc chart—as soon as they've got one element in place, they can use the chart to figure out what they still need to figure out. Emphasize what we say in the "materials" section: writing a story really is 99 percent perspiration. It will not come to them whole cloth, but, rather, will require that they use their initial inspiration to build carefully the scaffolding of their story. If students are still under the impression that stories (any kind of stories) flow seamlessly from the fingers of writers, this is the moment to disabuse them of that idea. All storytellers work at it, and make conscious decisions about their arcs that may feel artificial in the moment of decision, but end up making the whole contraption hang together. Students should understand that they need to allow the needs of the story to be paramount, even if that means jettisoning some scene, character, or setting that is close to their hearts. One of Jessica's in-class refrains is "kill your babies!"—that is, make the hard decisions about what belongs in the story. That's what real artists do. A note about the stories students decide to work on: we recommend to them in the text that they start from scratch, and not work on a story they'd previously thought of—especially if it's long. This won't be enough for some students. Many of them have been harboring dreams of launching their series or graphic novel for a long time, and want to get started right away. There are obvious reasons this isn't a good idea: their skills are not likely to be up to the task of a huge undertaking like this yet. However, the more subtle reason is that students who have been thinking about a story for a long time are going to be really stubborn about it. When you suggest that they jettison some aspect or another, or modify the story in order to accommodate a narrative arc in six pages, they're going to fight it. The story is too developed to submit to critique and modification, yet (likely) too undeveloped to be useful as is. Suggest (or require—we do) that they set aside their epic stories for a little while longer while they get ready to do them right. The structure set up for students to follow in the homework is very helpful; it breaks down the story across space in such a way as to help make clear where it's over-padded or thin. It also helps to think about rhythm right from the outset. You should decide how much preparatory work you want students to do: how many maps, how many sketches? Be specific if you want this material to get done. Thumbnail a three-page Chip and the Cookie Jar comic Chapter 9: Thumbnails for a six-page story with a narrative arc The crit guidelines in Appendix B are fairly extensive. But one further note: your job will be primarily to troubleshoot the narrative arcs. Make sure both you and the students understand how the arc is implemented in each story. Naming the scenes, and figuring out if each scene moves the story forward, as suggested in the talking points, is a very helpful technique in tightening the story and cutting bloat. It's also a good moment to check how much real estate has been carved out for each scene, and to question whether that pace feels right for the story.

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Over a period of almost four centuries, four milion Africans were transported to North America and the Caribbean Islands in the Atlantic slave trade. Captured from their homeland and seperated from their tribes and families they were enslaved in a new world, where all familiar customs were absent. The African diaspora is the story of how Africans, though scattered disperesed, managed to retain their traditions and reform their identities in a new world. Elements of African culture such as religion, language, and folklore endured and were their links to their past lives. In the process of americanization, Africans formed another culture known as Afro-Americans or Creoles. The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in the world. It created permanent ties between Africa and North America. Africans were shipped from many regions of Africa but mostly from those areas along the coast. The Bantu, along the Guinea coast had largest homogenous culture followed by the Mande, thus the culture of African-Americans was influenced the most by the people of these regions. In the colonies the economic demand for slaves and the demographics of the slave population had an enormous effect on the developement of Afro-American culture. Never did their exist one Afro-American culture, for each area had a different social, economic, and political relience on slavery, which characterized a unique slave culture. For example, areas that depended on plantation farming such as the deep South and the Chesepeake had a huge number of slaves, while in comparison the North had relitively few slaves. As a result, the southern colonies more frequently imported new African slaves which constantly re-established African traditions. Each area in the colonies had the developement of a specific Afro-American culture. Though Afro-American culture was specific to each area, there were several general cultural themes that ran throughout the Afro-American population in the colonies, one was religion. Christianinty is an execellent example of how Africans merged their own beliefs with the existing religion, and produced a theology of their own. Christianity spread rapidly throughout the slave communities during the Great Awakening, a surgence of evangelical Christianiy which swept the colonies. This movement illuminated the mystical and magical elements of Christianinty, a side which the Africans could understand and identify with. It is ironic, for white slaveholders originally used Christianinty as a tool to perpetuate obedience and docility in slaves; yet, Africans recognized the hypocrsy in the white's version of Christianity, realizing they were equal in God's eyes. Africans took the tool ment to manipulate them and used Christianinty to give them hope for the future and to strenghten their bonds between one another. While slaves were Christianized and assimilated to white culture they kept elements of their native culture alive. African Americans blended old style with new when cooking, smithing, woodcarving, storytelling, and gospel singing traditions. Africans added their own spices and cooking style to some pre-existing European dishes. Slaveowners were also influenced by African cooking styles which is an example of the blending of the cultures. Many African traditions were kept alive by placing familiar, symbols (such as the snake) in smithed gates and window frames. The wood that the carver chose played an important role in native culture preservation. This meticulous tradition lead the way for woodcarvers to make canes, statues, and sculptures such as chains, to show the bondage they endured. The carvings were very detailed and had relevance to the family and friends of the woodcarver. Songs that began in the fields of the plantations to pass the work day evolved into a new type of music, gospel. Gospel music combined the themes of salvation and freedom of Christianity with a native style of singing and dancing. These examples show the integration of native culture with traditional european culture. In the past the Pigeon English spoken by Africans was seen as proof that Africans were not intelligent enough to learn the English language. Through recent studies, we have learned that in the English spoken by African Americans, ties to African Languages can be traced. The Creole languages like Gullah and Pigeon English, still spoken in parts of the U.S. today, reflect pieces of the African culture that survived slavery, not an inability to learn English. The English spoken by the slaves was greatly influenced by their native languages. Gullah was influenced by the languages of the Fante, Ga, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Mandinka, Twi, Ewe, Ibo and Yorba. As time went on, the Creole languages (influenced and) were also influenced by the languages of settlers, such as, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, as well as Native Americans such as theCreek, Cherokee and many others. By mixing parts of the languages spoken around them, African-Americans created a way to express themselves and communicate with others in the "New World." William D. Pierson. Black Yankees(Boston, 1988) Charles Joyner. Down by the Riverside(Chiacgo, 1984) Ira Berlin, "Time, Space, and the Evolution of Afro-American Society on the British Mainland North America"American Historical Review 85, 1(1980) Joseph E. Holloway, ed. Africanisms in American Culture(Indiana, 1990) Michael L. Conniff and Thomas J. Davis, Africans in the Americas(New York, 1994) Albert J. Raboteau, Slave Religion(New York, 1978) Black People and their Culture, Selected Writings from the African Diaspora,(Washington D.C., 1976) The roots of Afro-American music can be explored in Native African Music. Look at Documents of the History of African Descents throughout the World or the Library of Congress links to brush up on African history.

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Teacher Resources by Grade |1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th| |5th - 6th||7th - 8th| |9th - 10th||11th - 12th| Fighting Injustice by Studying Lessons of the Past |Grades||6 – 8| |Lesson Plan Type||Unit| |Estimated Time||Seven 45-minute sessions| Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson Students critically explore the moral issue of slavery through reading fiction and nonfiction children's literature about the Underground Railroad, and they extend their understanding through creative writing projects. Grades 6 – 9 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson After reading or viewing The Diary of Anne Frank, students will make connections between audience and purpose and revise a journal entry with an outside audience in mind. Grades K – 12 | Student Interactive | Organizing & Summarizing This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically. Grades 9 – 12 | Calendar Activity |  December 7 Students use the Interactive Venn Diagram to compare the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. Grades 3 – 10 | Calendar Activity |  December 19 Students listen to a news article about the LA race riots and then read Smoky Night to discuss how a younger observer might be affected by these events and their perceptions. Grades 1 – 5 | Calendar Activity |  February 11 Students read one of Jane Yolen's books, retell the story in the form of a puppet show, research animals in the book, and document their findings with the Animal Study interactive tool. Grades 9 – 12 | Calendar Activity |  November 9 To help understand the thinking of German leaders during the Holocaust, students write about a time when they failed to come to the assistance of someone who needed help. Grades 5 – 12 | Calendar Activity |  June 12 Students learn about eyewitness reports through a lesson that is grade-level appropriate. Then, groups use primary source documents and research an event using eyewitness accounts. Grades 7 – 12 | Calendar Activity |  September 30 Students compare and contrast two views of the Holocaust from different authors. Students may also research stories of other survivors who may or may not be published and create a presentation on this survivor. Grades K – 12 | Printout | Graphic Organizer Students use this graphic organizer to describe similarities and differences between three objects or ideas.

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-Chronological order text is similar to narrative structure. -Chronological order matches what students experience in their lives. -Chronological order is easy to understand and analyze. This year, I went carefully through my collection of texts to try to find the texts that my students would find the most interesting and engaging. One of my favorite kinds of chronological order text is the animal life cycle text. Last fall, I wrote a new set of texts that includes a text about how peregrine falcons raise their young. This text was a good starting point for students, as it follows a fairly short span of time. (And peregrine falcons are awesome!) After reading the text, we went online to check out the peregrine falcon cams. Our local peregrine, up the road in Harrisburg, was at the nest when we checked. And she laid her first egg between Tuesday and Wednesday! This was so amazing. Kids started going back to the text to see when the eggs might hatch. After we worked through the animal life cycle texts, I wanted students to experience a procedural text. Procedural texts exist in kind of hypothetical time. They do not explore events that have actually happened, but look at steps in a process. We talked about the organization of procedural texts as I displayed a few examples of recipes and crafts projects. Then, students read the "Fabric Scrap Easter Eggs" text from Chronological Order Texts. Reading procedural texts with the goal of answering questions is much different from reading procedural texts with the goal of completing the task. Today's tests, of course, value answering questions over performing tasks. (Anyone else remember the MSPAP tests of the 90s? Kids actually had to perform the tasks on those tests...which probably led to its own set of challenges.) I love the Easter eggs text because it is about the way that we always dyed eggs when I was little. My students had little patience for the process. When they got to Step 5, some of them were downright annoyed. "You mean you could go through all of those steps, get all that fabric and cut it up, and then have it not even work? Why would anyone want to do this?" Ah well, these are the questions that we ask of procedural text. I was tempted to give the assessment at this point. I am trying to be more efficient this year, and compact topics into more manageable chunks. But I just couldn't do it. I wanted students to have some experience with a chronological order text about a historical event. To make the task a little more interesting, I didn't give students the texts right away. Instead, they had some pictures and a map. "What will this text be about?" I asked them. "What clues do you have?" They pieced together the evidence and tried to make some guesses. There was a building on fire,horses pulling an old-fashioned fire truck, and an untitled map of a city along Lake Michigan. The map did have some labels of locations. "This is a fire truck, because I've seen it in a museum," one girl told her partner. In another group, a student found the 10-point font "Chicago Railroad" on the map and said, "I bet this is about Chicago." Another student looked up at my Student Learning Map, which I had posted two weeks before, and said, "Look, that text says 'Great Chicago Fire' and we have some pictures of buildings on fire. So I bet that's the text that we're going to read." (Honestly, I'd forgotten that I'd put it up there!) This fifteen-minute activity helped to get the students much more engaged in the text, which they read with their partners. Our next step will be to use the figures to act out the action and to create our own graphic organizers. Will students be able to merge content and structure to make a creative organizer? I hope so. Every year I wonder if I should come up with one theme to unite all of my text structure readings...and every year I enjoy putting together a patchwork of different texts. In the weeks to come, as we look at other structures, we'll revisit the peregrine falcon and the Great Chicago Fire, as well as look at some other topics.

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Education: The Importance of Creative Writing for Children Education—The importance of artistic and creative development is something that can be encouraged at a young age. Parents and educators can help nurture and foster creativity in children with some simple games and activities. Creative writing helps to encourage this development and plays an important role in one’s ability to communicate. Fun Ways to Nurture a Child's Creative Writing Ability There are some fun ways to nurture this development in your child. By allowing your child’s creative juices to run wild and unhindered, this helps to develop and strengthen their written and verbal skills. Some of the activities that parents can do to stimulate the creative juices in their children include: Activity 1: Read a favorite story. Have your child choose a favorite story that either you or they read – depending on their reading ability. Have them change the ending of the story. For example, in the bestseller: LadyBug Girl, does she decide to start her own baseball team because her big brother won’t let her play with him? Who does she include on her team? Her silly dog? Do they play in her backyard or at the school baseball field? Do they use pink bats or brown bats? By asking questions about their story, it helps them to formulate a more thorough idea of where they want to take the story. Activity 2: Recall a favorite family story. As most parents can attest, our little ones have amazing memories! They can recall things that we forgot (or never absorbed) quite often. Have them remember a fun or silly family story. What time of year did this event happen? Was it during the warm or cold months? What part of the story did they think was the funniest? Who laughed the hardest? This activity is guaranteed to be a fun one! Activity 3: Take a tour of their favorite or imagined place. Have them take you on a tour of their favorite place. This could be at Disneyland, a rainforest, or on the plains of Africa. Have them describe the animals, colors and sights they see. They can even make up new creatures and inventions. Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, is one of our favorite shows because the boys are always coming up with new inventions. This activity can really get your child’s imagination flowing! Depending on your child’s age, you can have them tell you their stories and you can write them down. For older children, maybe a special journal or notebook with funky paper and cool pens could encourage them to make the connection that writing should be fun and exhilarating. I hope these ideas helped get your creative juices flowing on how to encourage children to start writing for fun. One way to do this to have your child enter MrsP.com Be-A-Famous Writer’ Contest. MrsP.com is an award-winning and free interactive digital storybook destination. Mrs. P is played by TV actress and author, Kathy Kinney, from the Drew Carey Show. MrsP.com was founded in 2008 by Hollywood team Clay Graham, Dana Plautz and Kathy Kinney. They were brought together by a love of reading and a desire to help spark that same passion in young people everywhere (Source: MrsP.com). I had a chance to speak to Ms. Kinney about MrsP.com and their upcoming 3rd Annual Be-A-Famous Writer’ Contest. She said the group started the contest to encourage children to celebrate the joy of reading and writing – as well as to inspire them. The contest is open to children 4 to 13 years of age. There will be two (2) Grand Prize winners’ stories that will be read by Mrs. P and original illustrations will be created. How fun is that! The contest submissions open September 1, 2011. Ms. Kinney encourages children to enter the writing contest by stating “If you can tell a story – you can write a story!” Go here to read more about the Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest: http://www.contest.mrsp.com/Default.aspx. Melissa Northway is a mom, writer of children’s picture books, and has written a storybook app and book called Penelope the Purple Pirate. She supports the Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest and is donating signed Penelope copies to the first 10 submissions received in the 4 to 8 years of age category. Go here to see the fun prizes the final contestants will win: http://www.contest.mrsp.com/Prizes.aspx. You can read more about Penelope and Melissa at: www.melissanorthway.com.

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Fun and Interesting Ways To Teach Your Child About Internet Safety The internet has afforded children, some as young as preschool-aged, new and exciting ways to learn and to discover. It has also shown itself to be a platform through which predators can slink undetected. The internet can be as dangerous as it is useful. For this reason, many parents enforce strict guidelines in terms of search time, websites and appropriate chat rooms. This may not be the best approach. Restriction ultimately leads to rebellion. The objective here is to make internet safety training as interactive as possible, so that your child understands the risks associated with irresponsible behavior, has fun while learning, and makes the decision to reinforce those caveats in themselves while surfing with limited supervision. Here are some fun ways to teach your children internet safety. There are some computer programs that promote internet safety (like PBS's webonauts) by roleplaying certain situations, like an instant message from an unknown user. The child must choose between accepting the message and blocking the user. If they make the right choice, they earn rewards and have access to more levels. Because of the complexity of the role plays, children are made aware of insidious behaviors that predators operate on. After each level, explain the significance of defensive behaviors and reward them. Reinforce what they’ve learned by setting up contracts where they promise to follow safety protocol while using the internet, in exchange for you being open and honest when they have safety-related questions. Hang the contract by the computer in highly visible location so they always know where it is and can refer to it in situations that may be questionable or inadvisable. No child under the age of fourteen should be allowed to use the internet without supervision. Age-Appropriate Role Plays As children age, they go through stages of comprehension that increase with time, and games may no longer hold their interest. In order to instill internet safety in children and capture their attention, lessons must be interactive, challenging and enjoyable. This means tailoring your lessons to their age-group, so that as they age and respective safety challenges emerge, areas of interest are targeted squarely, ensuring that your techniques are easy to understand and effective long-term. Making learning fun and interactive is the best way to let your children know that you are there for them in any situations where they need advice in terms of internet safety. Help your children make the right choices when it comes to internet safety by instilling in them the dangers of irresponsible internet use and reinforcing good decisions through role play and rewards. Download our infographic to get advice on how to keep your kids safe and happy online: “Safety Net: A Parent’s Guide to Internet and Mobile Safety.” About the Author: Tim Woda is an Internet safety expert, and a passionate advocate for empowering families and protecting children from today’s scariest digital dangers. Woda was on the founding team of buySAFE, an Internet trust and safety company, and he started working on child safety issues after his son was targeted by a child predator online. While his son was unharmed, the incident led Woda to to kick-start uKnow.com. You can follow Tim on Twitter or on his blog.

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Anyone who has spent a brief moment of time with someone from Folger Education knows that we are avid believers in introducing students to Shakespeare through performance-based teaching, that is, an interactive approach to the study of literature in which students participate in a close reading of text through intellectual, physical, and vocal engagement. Certainly, that may include students participating in language-based activities, working on scenes from the text, or putting together a full or truncated production of the play being studied. But what is the total extent of performance-based teaching? Are there other interactive approaches that can engage a student intellectually, physically, and vocally? One of the things I have come to appreciate most about Folger Shakespeare Library is the diversity of approaches that the Folger as an institution takes towards the study of Shakespeare. While other establishments may be a theatre, a museum, a library, or a research organization, the Folger houses all of these. Additionally, we are a conservation lab, an early music consort, a poetry and lectures hotspot, and a place where students from grade three through post-graduate studies can learn more about Shakespeare. I don’t mention these things to brag. I say this because I love the fact that the very nature of the Folger reflects what I believe about the study of Shakespeare: that the methods of approach are as diverse as people are, and the possibilities are only limited by our own creativity. The Folger’s High School Fellowship program includes a component known as an illumination project. The illumination project allows students to take Shakespeare’s text and apply it to a different medium in order to explore meaning, enhance understanding, and present a point of view. It is an opportunity for students to integrate new thoughts, ideas, and attitudes explored through the works of Shakespeare with a pre-existing interest or area of study. It is a chance to carry out a valuable, in-depth study of Shakespeare through a medium that is connected to their own interests and to experience how Shakespeare may be applied to other fields of study. In the past, illumination projects have been approached in a number of ways and have involved a variety of mediums. Here are some examples of the types of approaches that could be used in this project: - Visual Art – i.e., creating drawings, photographs, mixed media, comic book, etc. that integrates Shakespeare’s text. - Music – i.e., “scoring” text to self-written songs, composing music for Shakespeare’s songs or other pieces of Shakespeare’s text, etc. - Technology – i.e., remixing Shakespeare through Audacity or Garageband, creating a photo montage with sounds and text through Photostory, designing a website, animation, powerpoint, or podcasts, etc. - Creative Writing – i.e., writing/illustrating a children’s story that distills Shakespeare’s text, fusing personal poetry with Shakespeare’s text, etc. - Theatrical Design – i.e., designing costume renderings, a set model, soundscape, and/or light plot based on your own directorial concept of a scene, etc. Perhaps there are students in your class who would rather eat hot coals than stand in front of a group of people and act in a play. Perhaps, for whatever reason, this is not the year your school will be able to produce a Shakespeare play. Do not be daunted. See what happens when you let your students loose on Shakespeare’s text with their own creative outlets. The results may be surprising, exciting, and delightful. To see examples of past student work, visit the High School Fellowship Program online gallery.

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Teaching with Technology: Tech That Explores Diversity New technology is at its best when it brings diverse people together to share common issues, including those that center on our most precious resource, our children. - Grades: PreK–K, 1–2 WEB SITES that "Set Their Sights" on Kindness and Diversity Anti-Defamation League (www.adl.org) Can hate be "unlearned"? The group dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry has several articles for teachers, including "Talking to Your Child About Hatred & Prejudice". Educators for Social Responsibility (www.esrnational.org) This excellent online resource for teachers is designed to help children understand cultural diversity. ERIC's Early Childhood Education Section (http://ericeece.org) Teachers will find a variety of great articles on kindness and diversity, such as "Teaching Young Children About Native Americans". Southern Poverty Law Center (tolerance.org) This site offers a nice variety of lesson plans designed to teach tolerance. Precious Children (www.PBS.org) Sixty U.S. teachers are tracked during their trip to China. Learn more about the documentary, and don't miss the wonderful collection of links and articles on teaching diversity. Peace Gallery: Pictures from Around the World (http://www.peacegallery.org/) Peace Corps volunteers display thousands of images from around the world. The pictures show the amazing diversity and similarities of people. I've recently come across an interesting Web site, www.peacegallery.org, where you can see thousands of images from hugely diverse cultures-many of young children-as viewed through the cameras of America's Peace Corps volunteers. At first glance, I noticed how different everyone looks-different skin, eyes, and clothing But look closely, and you start noticing the similarities: People in the pictures are playing, eating, cuddling, crying, and laughing. Today's early childhood classroom is the first "melting-pot" experience for many families. It may also be the first time children meet others who are "different" from themselves. Here are some ways you can use technology to help children better understand one another and develop an appreciation for other cultures. Spotlight Similarities and Differences - Digital Camera: Make a face gallery. Every family gets up in the morning and sends its best "cultural messenger" to you in the form of their child. Take your digital camera, turn the flash off, and zoom in close on each child's face. Capture every detail, and then print out each picture on an 8 1/2" x 11"I sheet of paper and make a "face gallery" bulletin board. If you don't have a color printer, don't worry-- the pictures look great in black and white. - APS Camera: Bring home to school. Offer parents a classroom camera to take home for the weekend. Provide a "shot list" of ideas that includes their child's bedroom, pets, favorite toys, and so on. Any 2.1 MP (MegaPixel) or digital camera works fine. Use the photos to make a bulletin board that features that child. If you don't have an APS camera, you can purchase a disposable camera at your local grocery store. - Tape Recoder: Listen in on home. Encourage children to record the sounds of family members who may speak a different language, the music they enjoy, foods sizzling on the stove, and family activities. When you play the tape in the classroom, see if children can identify the different languages spoken or guess what kinds of foods are cooking in the kitchen! - Word Processor. Create a recipe book. Ask each family for a favorite recipe and use your word processor to type them up. (You can also ask families to submit recipes on disk-a nice tech lesson for their child.) Print a copy for each child and send it home. Have fun naming the dishes-- Lucy's Lovely Lasagna, for example. Software That Supports Your Curriculum Here are some software programs you can use in the classroom to introduce children to different places, cultures, and people. You can also recommend these to parents to support learning at home: Clifford Musical Memory Games Teaches: music, sequence, logic. In this fourth release from the Clifford series, children go back to Birdwell Island to fix the island's music. Players collect objects to reconstruct instruments, play a seashell sound-concentration game, and experiment with the 10 main keyboard notes. Parents will appreciate the musical focus. Scholastic Consumer Software, 800-724-527; www.scholastic.com; Win/Mac; $19.99. Ages 4-6. Curious George Reading and Phonics Teaches: letter sounds, phonics, early reading. The Man with the Yellow Hat has a present for George, but the map to its location has been torn apart and the pieces scattered all over the town. Children guide George through different locations, playing five word games along the way to earn back pieces of the map. The activities are delightful and involve playing cards with George to spell words, washing windows to match upper- and lowercase letters, and sorting rhyming words as they come down a conveyor belt. Knowledge Adventure, 800-545-7677; www. knowledgeadventure.com; Win/Mac; $19.99. Ages 3-6. Teaches: writing, creativity. This 1997 "classic" may be a bit dated, but it is still one of the most innovative programs ever made. Orly is a little Jamaican girl with a penchant for storytelling. She invites players to create characters, vehicles, and buildings at a well-stocked pop-up art center For instance, while telling a story, she'll stop and say, "Hey! We need a submarine for this story. Can you make one?" Players then create a submarine, and when the story resumes, there is their submarine, cruising across the screen. There's also a writing center so children can write their own stories, choose music and sound effects, and of course, illustrate their work. Orly's stories are engaging and emphasize the importance and benefits of friendship. Broderbund (The Learning Company), 800-716-8506; www.learningco.com; Win/Mac; $10. Ages S-10. ECT

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Building the Classroom Community With Picture Books - Grades: 1–2, 3–5, 6–8 Tolerance, perseverance, self-confidence . . . the list of community values we want to instill in our students goes on and on. Character education is always important, but it feels even more urgent at the beginning of school, when I am trying to set the tone for the entire year. In my classroom, picture books are the perfect springboards for rich conversations on heavy topics. Here are some of the picture books that I rely on to jump-start my classroom community. Using Picture Books With “Big Kids”? Picture books are one of the most powerful tools in a teacher’s arsenal, even in the upper elementary classroom. Picture books marry writing and art to create a form that is more than the sum of its parts. The short format of picture books means that you can get to the meat of the story in a single sitting. The illustrations provide an entry point for a wide range of students. And to be honest, I think picture books speak best to the heart — a requisite when talking about community values. Picture Books That Wear Many Thematic Hats We’ve all seen long lists of children’s books that are organized thematically — books for discussing bullying, for teamwork, for multiculturalism. And while these lists are certainly helpful, picture books can often be used for a wide range of themes and topics, not just the topic suggested on a reading list. The layers of meaning in these stories run deep, so we teachers have license when choosing picture books to match our community-building themes with the perfect book. While the purpose of these early read-alouds is really community building, I can’t help but squeeze in some instruction about literary elements as well. This is a perfect time to start discussing themes, or “big ideas,” with my students, and it helps them focus on the social and emotional content of the stories as well. I adapted Beth Newingham’s wonderful theme posters to create a “What’s the Big Idea?” door in my classroom. Each time we finish a picture book, my students hold a lively debate about which theme is the best fit for the book. This introduces multiple perspectives, too, since the books rarely fit just one theme. The students practice accountable talk and using textual evidence as they defend their thematic choices for the book. Finally, we put it to a vote and tack a small, laminated printout of the book cover onto the corresponding section of the door. (For more ideas for teaching literary themes, see Angela Bunyi’s blog post “Finding THE MEssage.”) Colored masking tape and laminated theme cards transformed the back of a door into an interactive bulletin board. We use sticky tack to add book covers to the door as we finish books. My Back to School MVP(b) List (Most Valuable Picture Books) During the first few weeks of school, I read to my students many times throughout the day. Read-alouds are a wonderful way to build a common knowledge base, to extend the length of time my students can sit without wriggling, and to foster a sense of joy and wonder around reading. This means that we read many, many high quality picture books during September — and I love all of those books dearly! Here is a very abbreviated list of some of my favorite back-to-school read-alouds. Swimmy by Leo Lionni Don’t write this book off as little kid stuff. The simplicity of this poetic classic belies its multitude of themes, and I always find that it leads to the very best grand conversations in my classrooms. Last year, my students discussed the messages in this book and how it relates to our classroom for an uninterrupted forty minutes! Anything that can spur a conversation like that during the first week of school is pure magic, in my book. Ish by Peter H. Reynolds Peter Reynolds has made himself the ambassador for creativity, and his heartfelt books about living an artistic life bring tears to my eyes. Ish is the second book in his “creatrilogy” that also includes The Dot and Sky Color. I read my students Ish on the first day of school to send a clear message: creativity, academic risks, and coloring outside of the lines is a requirement in my classroom! After sharing this book with my students, they head back to their seats for a follow up art activity. Each student gets ten wax-covered Wikki Stix strings to make an unusual sculpture. Then, each student in the class walks around our ad hoc sculpture gallery, writing down titles for each sculpture on index cards. The students marvel at all of the possible interpretations of their sculptures, and I point out how much fun divergent thinking can be. (FYI, September 15 is International Dot Day if you want a timely celebration of creativity.) A student adds his title to the list of possible titles for this Wikki Stix creation. Heroes by Ken Mochizuki This is one of the more mature picture books that I use with my class at the beginning of the year. It tells the story of a Japanese American boy who is upset when his “friends” always make him play the villain in their pretend games. This book introduces historical fiction, a thoughtful discussion of prejudice, and a wide range of themes including teasing, acceptance, heroism, family relationships, and bravery. The publisher puts out this useful guide for teaching with the book, and Scholastic has an interview with the author. Crickwing by Janell Cannon The eponymous cockroach is transformed from misunderstood bully to culinary hero in this creative jungle story. I adore Cannon’s dazzling illustrations and her generous use of challenging vocabulary. I find this book particularly useful for discussing empathy, forgiveness, and teasing. Cannon also writes Stellaluna, Verdi, and Pinduli, and together her books are great for a brief author study that focuses on social/emotional themes. Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt by Lisa Campbell Ernst Farmer Sam Johnson challenges the gender-biased norms in his small town when he decides that men should be allowed to quilt just like women, and he starts his own quilting bee to prove that men can succeed at it. Eventually the men and women quilters join together for the greatest success of all. This book can be used for both encouraging group work and for more sophisticated discussions about gender roles and prejudices. After we read this book, we celebrate the beginning of our strong classroom community with a quilting bee of our own. I use a tie-together quilting kit like this Knot-a-Quilt kit, and the students paint personal messages onto the fabric squares before they tie their quilt together. Constructing our quilt takes a lot of teamwork and patience, but it pays off when the students proudly display their custom quilt, a beautiful metaphor for our classroom community. Students patiently work on knotting the quilt together. What are your favorite read-alouds to begin the school year? Please share your book suggestions and project ideas with us!

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Stress is how the body reacts when confronted with a physical or emotional situation that alters lifes normal balance, or that presents change. Another way to describe stress is pressure on the outside that causes pressure on the inside. While the early childhood years are often thought of as lighthearted and happy-go-lucky, even the youngest children can be affected physically, emotionally, and behaviorally by stress. Change is a constant in life, and children are more vulnerable than adults because they have less understanding and control of their worlds. Stress can be physical, like an uncomfortable temperature or a painful injury, or psychological, like feeling ignored, neglected, or rejected. Some stress is a normal and expected part of life. Stressors can be positive, like moving from a crib to a big bed or promotion to a new age level in preschool. Other stressors, like homelessness, natural disasters, or family violence, are negative. Whether stress is positive or negative, when it is prolonged, overwhelming, or unmanageable, it can become a problem. Stress in the Childcare Setting A caring and consistent childcare environment is an important part of a childs support system, and understanding the causes and symptoms of stress will make you both more effective and more comfortable when dealing with a stressed child. Like adults, children have different personalities and temperaments, so what stresses one child may have little effect on another. Children who are ill or have developmental delays or physical challenges may be more susceptible to stress. If children have a predictable, stable, and emotionally and physically nurturing environment, then any form of loss (inconsistent routines, inadequate sleep, or improper nutrition) will cause them less stress. Negative events that affect the family, like poverty, divorce, or the illness or death of a relative or pet, cause children stress. Positive family events, like the birth of a sibling or a birthday party, also can be stressful for young children. Family events that adults consider positive, such as a career promotion that requires the family to relocate, may cause children tremendous stress because it represents apparent disruption in the predictable world. Even normal growth and development can be stressful for children. Skills of independence, like self-feeding, toilet training, and separating from the parent can cause a young child stress, as can social development of skills like sharing and taking turns. Like adults, children also can be stressed by events covered by the media, such as war, famine, and natural disaster. Generally, childrens behavior offers clues to whether they are stressed. Some children may become increasingly aggressive when stressed, while others may become more withdrawn. Sometimes it is challenging to accurately detect stress in young children, because the behavior of a stressed child may be the same behavior that indicates normal developmental milestones. Infants who are stressed may cry and fuss more than other babies and may struggle with adjusting to new environments, including childcare. Toddlers may show stress by displaying abnormal eating and sleeping habits, having more frequent tantrums than other children their age, and/or being more distracted than normal. Stressed toddlers also may be aggressive, trying to bite or hit other children more frequently than is typical for that age. Preschoolers who are stressed may regress into infant or toddler-like behaviors, or be abnormally irritable, angry, or fearful. They may cry excessively or have disrupted eating and sleeping patterns. They also may act jittery, nervous, or agitated, or they may withdraw from people or situations. Helping with Stress Children who receive support from adults cope better with stress, and they develop ways to manage stress that serve them throughout life. A key factor is consistency. Infants and toddlers, especially those who are stressed, find comfort in predictability. When possible, avoid introducing new routines, different schedules, or unfamiliar foods when you suspect an infant or toddler is stressed. Sometimes, personnel changes in your childcare setting may require children to adjust to different caregivers. This can be particularly difficult for infants and toddlers who struggle with change. To make the transition easier, keep routines and the environment consistent and calm; keep familiar, trusted caregivers with the child as much as possible. Remember that laughter and fun are anecdotes to stress. Running, skipping, and jumping provide children opportunities to develop gross motor skills, and also to expend energy and relieve stress. Art experiences in which children can express themselves can be helpful to stressed preschoolers, particularly painting, coloring, and working with dough or clay-like materials. Playing in sand or water and similar hands-on sensory activities also can give young children an outlet for relieving the pressures of stress, as can dramatic play and puppets. Books and storytelling in a restful, relaxed environment can help children who are stressed. Consider adding soft cushions, pillows, and other comforting objects to make the story area more appealing. Preschoolers benefit from consistency and predictability, just like infants and toddlers, so keep this in mind when considering routines and activities. Preschool-age children who are stressed may need increased personal space and alone time. Look for ways to help children fulfill those needs within the childcare environment. Be aware of your own perceptions and susceptibility to stress. One of the most important ways adults can help children manage stress is to model healthy behavior. If you become stressed during your childcare day, you may pass on that stress to the children in your care. As you work to help children who are experiencing stress, realize that this in itself can be stressful for you as a childcare provider. Remember to take time for yourself, do things you enjoy, and seek out people who support and nurture you. Parent Educator, Asheville, NC, City Schools Preschool Caring for Kids: Children and Stress, Penn State Cooperative Extension Service; betterkidcare.psu.edu/CaringForKids/CaringForKids2-3.pdf Children and Stress: Caring Strategies to Guide Children, Virginia Cooperative Extension Service; www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/family/350-054/350-054.html Helping Children Cope with Stress, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service; www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/human/pubs/copestress.html and www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/human/disas3.html Stress and Children, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Head Start Bureau; www.bmcc.edu/Headstart/As_I_Am/stress_children.htm Stress Management for Childcare Providers, www.childhealthonline.org/stressman.htm Stress Reduction Among Childcare Providers, All Family Resources, www.familymanagement.com/childcare/practices/stress.reduction.practices.htm Teachers Helping Young Children in Times of Stress, Ohio State University Extension Service; ohioline.osu.edu/flm99/fs07.html

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Better Students Ask More Questions. How do you draw a character map for literature?I'm reading The Cosmic Poachers by... 1 Answer | add yours The principle behind creating a character map of an existing character is that the reader analyzes the story to find the elements of the character's life, the "backstory" that may or may not be explicitly (directly) told in the story. For instance, the author or character may state that because s/he is an orphan, s/he was raised by Aunt Willimetta in Nebraska after having been born in Montana. This would be directly told information about the character that would go in a character map. As another instance, a character may speak crossly to everyone reporting to him at work. The author may never state that the character is obnoxious, but the reader can hear for themselves through the dialogue that the character is obnoxious. This would be indirect information about the character that would go in a character map. There are specific questions you'll want to answer about the character, in your case, Captain Shure. You'll put each answer in your character map. You'll want to answer who the character is: who the parents are, who raised the character, interests that define her/im, etc. You'll want to ask what are her/is character traits, attitudes, beliefs, and why does s/he have or hold these traits, attitudes or beliefs. You'll want to ask where the character is from: Did s/he grow up in the same place where born? Does s/he work in the same place where raised? Etc. When is usually also important to the story and, therefore, to the characters in the story. You'll want to ask relevant when-questions: born in 1950? working in 1929? Queen in 1560? You'll want to ask how is s/he involved in the story: the heroine, the best friend, the one in trouble, the one causing the trouble, the one looking on and narrating? Etc. You'll also want to ask if s/he is involved in the solution of the problem/conflict in the story and if so, how? You'll also ask: How does the resolution affect this character? Does s/he go through any character development so that s/he is different in the end or has learned something or has a changed belief or attitude? A character map is constructed in a couple of ways. You can make a sideways vector map that has multiple branches out to the side from the character name, one for each answer to your questions, or you can make it with branches extending downward from the name. Or you can put the character name in the center and have branches encircling the name, going clockwise or counterclockwise. Each branch extending from the name connects to a box, circle or space in which you write the briefest possible answer to your questions, bearing in mind that answers may have branches also. For instance, answering Who, you'd write Parents at the end of one branch extending from the name. Then you'd add two more branches to your map extending from Parents, one for mother's name and one father's name. Perhaps the mother dies when the character is eight years old; this would require another branch, which would extend from mother's name. You'd continue like this, adding branches where and as needed, until all your questions are answered. Bear in mind that character maps are for brief answers. Posted by kplhardison on July 12, 2010 at 3:09 AM (Answer #1) Related QuestionsSee all » Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.

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[What is below was shared with Rwandan caregivers and counselors. It is written in simpler English and has no footnotes. Academically oriented readers will recognize the interventions come from narrative exposure therapy models for children]. Counselors invite others to tell their stories of pain, heartache, fears, and traumas so that they can find relief from their troubles. However, not every way of talking about past problems is helpful and some ways of talking can actually harm the person. So, it is important that all caregivers and counselors understand how to help others tell their difficult stories in ways that invite recovery and do not harm. Good Storytelling Practices Counselors who do the following can encourage healthy and safe storytelling of difficult events: - Allow the client to tell their story at their own pace without pressure - Allow the client not to tell a part of their story - Use silence and body language to show interest - Encourages the use of storytelling without words (art, dance, etc.) or with symbols - Ensures the difficult stories start and end at safe points - Encourages good coping skills before story telling - Points out resiliency and strength in the midst of trauma - Encourages the story to be told from the present rather than reliving the story Here are some things that we should avoid doing when helping another tell a difficult story - Frequent interruptions - Forcing the person to tell their story - Asking the person to relive the story - Avoiding painful emotions - Exhorting the person to get over the feelings; telling them how to feel - Only talking about the trauma, ignoring strengths and other history - Ending a session without talking about the present or a safe place **Trigger Warning: rape, threatened violence A Case Study With 2 Storytelling Interventions Patience, a 13 year old girl, suffered a rape on her way to school last month. The rapist’s family paid a visit to the girl’s family and offered money as a token of penance. The girl’s father accepted the money because, “nothing can make the rape go away so we will take the money for now.” Patience was told by some family members to not tell anyone about the rape and to just act as if it never happened. However, Patience is suffering from nightmares, refuses to go to school, and sometimes falls down when she catches a glimpse of the rapist in town. Her father has threatened to beat her if she doesn’t return to school or help out with the chores at home. Her favorite aunt, a counselor/caregiver, learns about the rape and asks her to come for a visit in a nearby city. [Warning: these two interventions are not designed to rid a person immediately of all trauma symptoms. In addition, these interventions must be used only after a counselor has formed a trusting relationship with the client.] - Symbolic story telling. The aunt tells Patience that keeping a story bottled up inside can cause problems, like shaking a bottle of soda until it bursts out. Using a long piece of rope (representing her entire life) and flowers (representing positive experiences) and rocks (representing difficult experiences), the aunt directs Patience to tell her life story. They start with her first memories of her mother, father and two brothers. She tells of her going to school, the time when her mother got really sick but then got better again, the time when her cousins moved away, and the time when a boy told her he liked her. Patience noticed how she had many flowers along the rope and only a few rocks. Then, they put a large stone down on the rope representing the rape. Patience had difficulty saying much at all. She remembered being afraid, the weight of the man, the pain, and worry that her family would reject her. She remembered getting up and going to school and acting as if nothing happened. Her aunt noted that Patience was a strong girl—she had gone to school for a week before telling her mother. So, Patience placed a tiny flower next to the rock to represent that strength. After stopping for a cup of tea and some bread, the aunt asked Patience to notice how much more rope was left. This represented her future. Patience was surprised to see the rope and said that she didn’t think she would have a future now that she was spoiled. Her aunt encourages her to consider what she would like to be in her future. They continued to discuss this over the next day. By the time Patience returned home, she was able to see that she still had a future. Seeing the rapist still bothered her. However, she was able to go to school with two friends along a new path so that she would feel safe. Patience kept a drawing of the rope with the flowers and rocks and extra rope to remind her that she had a good future. - Accelerated Storytelling. About six months later, Patience visited her aunt again. She was still going to school and able to do more chores (getting firewood and buying food in the market). However, she still suffered from nightmares and sometimes fell down when she heard footsteps behind her. This time, her aunt asked her to help create a “movie” of event. Before Patience was to narrate the rape, they first recounted the safety she felt at home before the rape and the safety she felt when she told her mother about the rape and was comforted. Next, her aunt asked her to identify all of the “actors” in the play: her mother, father, herself, brothers who went to school without her, classmates, teacher, and rapist. Patience then made a figurine out of paper for each actor and drew a small map of her village including the path from home to school. Then, the aunt asked her to tell her story as fast as she could from safe place to safe place and to only look at the figurines (and to move them along the map). Her aunt noted those places where Patience slowed down in the story. When she paused, the aunt asked her to try to keep moving. Once the story was complete (when she told her mother about the rape), she asked Patience to tell the story backwards as quickly as possible. Then, she instructed Patience to tell the story forwards again twice as fast. However, this time, Patience stopped part way through the story. She added one detail she had not disclosed before. She recalled that a young boy of about 5 was peering at them from behind some bushes. Her aunt encouraged her to finish the story and thanked her for her courage. Patience indicated that she was so ashamed of being seen in such a position. Again, her aunt thanked her for working so hard but asked her to tell her story forwards and backwards one more time. Patience noticed that she was less upset by the presence of the 5 year old than she had been the first time through the story.

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Add To Favorites Uncover the history behind modern shoes and the similarities between styles of the past and those of today. Show off your sense of style by designing a shoe with Crayola® Model Magic®! Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? What do you like about them? When do you wear them? Why do people wear shoes? Shoes can be traced back to prehistoric times. Cave paintings show images of shoes in the most basic form, as bags, likely made from fur or animal hide, wrapped around people’s feet. That protective covering provided a shield against sharp rocks, hot sand, and other extreme terrain while hunting and performing daily activities. As societies evolved, so did the style and functions of shoes. In ancient Egypt, shoes were status symbols. Even the color of shoes could be used to identify one’s class. Ancient Rome also used shoe color to define social lines. Similarly, in ancient Greece, shoes were an indicator of one’s profession. Greeks become highly skilled in shoemaking, and were known for the elaborately woven styles they created. Other countries focused on making shoes more durable and comfortable. Make a list of different shoe styles on the board with your class. How many can you think of? How do these styles differ from shoes created by ancient cultures? How are they the same? Do some research with your class to find examples of how shoes changed throughout history. What purpose did the styles serve in society during those times? What did they represent about the people wearing them? What do the shoes of today say about our society? Imagine you’re a shoemaker. What style of shoe would you like to create? What would be the function of those shoes? Why would people want to wear them? Design a shoe of your own using Crayola Model Magic! Use the research you found as inspiration for your design. Consider the style, function, and symbolism of the shoe when molding it. Cover your work area with recycled newspaper to work on for easy cleanup. Model Magic that is fresh from the pack will stick to itself. Dried pieces can be glued together. Be creative! Add colors and details to enhance your shoe. Explore swirling, rolling, and twisting the Model Magic for interesting effects! Jewels, buttons, and beads can be added using Crayola No-Run School Glue. Store the completed shoe in a safe area and allow it to dry completely over 1-3 days. What inspires you to create art? With Crayola Twistables® Slick Stix™ Super-Smooth Crayons, your colors can be as bright Add To Favorites Simulate the Underground Railroad and design dream homes for fictional former slaves. Bring attention to good causes with an awesome fundraising container. Turn the container into a reusable surface with cl Experiment with primary colors and geometric shapes in the style of Piet Mondrian! Create a template to make one huge, u Crawling geckos! Jumping geometrics! Without fabric or sewing a stitch, design a traditional appliqué-like mola using th Storytelling meets visual arts in the style of Jacob Lawrence, African American artist and storyteller. Georgia O'Keeffe's landscapes inspire a study of deserts and creation of detailed desert ecosystem drawings. Introduce Genre painting with the work of post-Expressionist George Bellows then create a dramatic original painting of Our crayons have been rolling off the assembly line since 1903, and you can see how it’s done. Visit us »

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Teacher Resources by Grade |1st - 2nd||3rd - 4th| |5th - 6th||7th - 8th| |9th - 10th||11th - 12th| Tell Me Your Story: Video-Inspired Vocabulary Writing |Grades||9 – 12| |Lesson Plan Type||Recurring Lesson| |Estimated Time||Recurring 30–45 minute sessions| - Demonstrate an understanding of vocabulary words and creative writing practices by responding to a variety of videos - Construct better understanding of vocabulary words by analyzing and justifying their evaluation of a peer’s creative writing piece - Briefly review with students any vocabulary words you’re studying, and tell students that they will be using these words within a creative writing exercise. - Display the video you’ve chosen on your projector, interactive whiteboard, or tablet. Remind students they are going to respond to the video in writing and should pay close attention to the video and think about how they can respond using vocabulary words. - Pass out the Creative Writing Prompt to accompany the video, and ask students to write quietly. The first time you do the activity, walk students through the example provided in the prompt before they begin to write. Circulate and answer questions about the vocabulary as needed. - When students have completed the writing, pass out the Peer Analysis Guide. Group students into pairs and have them trade papers and complete the peer analysis for each other’s stories. Circulate and answer questions as needed. - Collect students’ completed Creative Writing Prompt and Peer Analysis Guide. Use the Grading Rubric to grade each student’s final product. You can continue this lesson series throughout the year, either by choosing your own video clips and inventing short creative writing prompts, or by inviting students to take turns doing it. Note that if students choose the clips, they should be submitted to the teacher for approval in advance. - Informally assess students’ understanding of the vocabulary by reviewing their selections and explanations on the completed Peer Analysis Guide. - Formally assess students’ understanding of the vocabulary and their effort in creative writing by using the Grading Rubric.

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The following links provide information and resources for using technology with young children in a center or classroom setting. - Activating Children Through Technology Tools This site contains technology integration activities and samples of kindergarten, first, and second grade products using digital cameras, microscope, and a variety of software applications as tools in the curriculum. Children’s creations include books, movies, slideshows, and podcasts. Technology Review's Software Evaluation Instrument This webpage on the Children's Technology Review's site contains an instrument for evaluating software to use with young children. - Document Cameras Pre-K Pages website contains a variety of ideas for integrating the use of a document camera into classroom activities. - Document Cameras in the Classroom This section of the Educational Technology Network website provides information on using a document camera in the classroom and ideas for how to use it in preschool and primary grades. Introduction to Computer Environment - Sample Workshop This online workshop developed by the Early Childhood Technology Integrated Instructional System at the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood, Western Illinois University, contains physical environment considerations and equipment requirements for a preschool computer center. Users can register for other free workshops at the This site contains a variety of links to resources for integrating technology into all areas of the curriculum. Online - Technology Integration Workshop This workshop developed by the Interactive Technology Literacy Curriculum Project at Western Illinois University contains activities and strategies for integrating technology into early literacy Design the Future University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab site contains video examples of children designing and using technology in - Learning and Teaching Scotland: ICT in the Early Years Learning and Teaching Scotland has a variety of resources related to learning and teaching with technology. On the "Sharing practice" section of their website, you can read about the use of a variety of technology tools, including whiteboards with case studies and comments from various classrooms. - Learning, Digital Media and Creative Play in Early Childhood Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning website contains Featured Stories with archived articles on topics related to technology integration and Videos section which shows examples of classroom use including some which focus on early childhood. - Northwest Education Technology Consortium Under Focus on Effectiveness, the site has classroom examples of how Internet applications and technology, such as a digital microscopes and projectors, can be used in early elementary classrooms. - Queensland Government SMARTClassrooms Ideas for integrating a variety of technologies into preschool through third grade curriculum are presented in a table format which includes examples of how technology can enhance learning, key learning areas, and sample resources. - Technology Integration Matrix The Technology Integration Matrix Grade Level Index contains video segments which show early elementary level students using various types of technology, including digital cameras, video cameras, and the Internet to explore topics in math, science, and language arts. - Use of SMART Boards for teaching, learning, and assessment in kindergarten science This link downloads a pdf version of an article from the June 2008 issue of teachingscience that provides information on what SMART Boards are and how they can be used in a kindergarten classroom. All Young Learners - Apps for Stages This site provides lists of recommended apps organized around seven Stages of skill development ranging from cause and effect to functional skill achievement. Some of the early stages are applicable for younger children. - Alliance for Technology Access Resource Hub ResourceHUB on this site contains publications related to assistive technology and its use with young children which can be downloaded as pdf files. for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education The Center housed at Western Illinois University has federally-funded projects focusing on the use of technology and assistive technology in early childhood. The site contains articles, curriculum ideas, and research reports. Center on Technology and Disability The website hosted by this federally funded project contains newsletters, discussions, AT organizations and resources, fact sheets on aspects of technology including adaptive toys, and AT success stories. The Let's Play Project at the Center for Assistive Technology, University at Buffalo, provides educators and families with ways to play with their infants and toddlers with disabilities, through the use of assistive technology. Information on toy selection, universal design, and other AT resources are included. This national research project's website contains a variety of ideas for using AT with infants and toddlers for communication, mobility/positioning, Design for Learning CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology provides articles, policies, and publications related to designing learning experiences for all children. Online Activities for Children The following links are websites that contain interactive activities for children to use with other children or with an adult. Most of the activities are designed for children to explore visual effects and sounds, learn early math and literacy concepts, or to create artwork or stories. This website contains a variety of activities related to drawing, counting, categorizing, letter recognition, and mouse manipulation. Children can make visual effects appear and change as they move the mouse. This simple activity helps children explore mouse movement and activation in an appealing way. This website contains a blank slate and drawing tools for children to create different visual effects which can be made into a drawing to save for later printing. - Count Us In A variety of math activities can be downloaded in Windows or Macintosh format from this website. A teacher or parent would need to set this up ahead of time and select activities, such as patterns, that would be interactive and appropriate for preschool children. This website contains open-ended activities for young children to draw, create a picture, or make a story. The many options at this site insure interactivity for children. Educators can use this collaborative storytelling site to help children read stories created by others or to create their own stories using the many choices of colorful characters and scenery. Created stories can be saved for private viewing or can be shared with others outside the classroom.

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Wordless books provide an opportunity that no other book can offer—a personally crafted storytelling experience from you to your baby. “Reading” aloud from picture books with few or no words promotes creativity, is accessible regardless of reading level or language, and allows flexibility while honing in on what the baby likes most. You can take your baby on an imaginative journey—building vocabulary, comprehension skills, and emotions—just by adding your own words to a picture book. Here are some tips for telling a story with wordless books! - Pick a book that is visually interesting to you. Your level of engagement as you create the story will be much higher if you are looking at something you like! - Look around the page for things that are happening. Are there characters? What are they doing? Is there scenery? What does it look like? Describe aloud what you see. This is your story. There is no right or wrong way to tell it—it’s up to you! - Focus on facial expressions. Babies love faces, both in pictures and in person. Identify characters in the pictures and mimic their expressions and actions. Make up things that those characters might say, or faces that they might make, and see how your baby responds. Tailor the story to reinforce positive responses! - Vary the tone and voices you use throughout your story. You can go from a low, slow voice to a higher, faster one. Your baby will follow changes in sound and be further engaged in this sensory experience. - Sing your story! You can select characters to communicate musically (birds or whistlers, for example) and tell their parts in song. Even adding simple humming broadens the range of audio exposure for your baby. - Incorporate exaggerated movements and gestures. Physical expression adds entertainment and helps develop motor skills. Clap your baby’s hands together, wave them in the air, pretend you’re a plane—act out movement together! - Tell the story in different languages. If you live in a multi-lingual environment, wordless books provide the perfect opportunity for others to tell the story in their own languages. Encourage family members and friends to participate using familiar verbal dialects of their own! - Let the story go where you want to take it! You don’t need an ending, nor does it need to make sense. You can use the same pictures to tell a different story every time. You can make a new story out of one picture. You can even create your own story for books that already have one! The most important thing is that you’re relaxed, happy, and bonding with your baby through a dynamic and imaginative exchange. Just like playing make-believe, there is no one way to do something—it’s up to you and your imagination when you “read” wordless books. Everything you share is a unique moment between you and your baby that strengthens a loving bond and healthy developmental growth. Have fun, be silly, and enjoy sharing a story! Here are some recommended wordless books for storytelling: - The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin, 2004) - Wonder Bear (Dial, 2008) and Bunny Days (Dial, 2010) by Tao Nyeu - Wave(Chronicle Books, 2008) and Shadow (Chronicle Books, 2010) by Suzy Lee - Dinosaur by Peter Sis (Greenwillow, 2000) - Where’s Walrus by Stephen Savage (Scholastic, 2011) - The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (Random House, 1999) - Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie De Paola (Sandpiper, 1978) - A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog by Mercer Mayer (Dial, 2003)

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Add To Favorites How did you remember that? Students create original color memory games to assist with developing fine motor skills and visual-spatial abilities. Prior to students creating original memory games, play some well-known memory games with them to stimulate their interest and familiarize them with the process of playing this type of game. Adults find or mix eight different colors of Crayola® Washable Tempera Paint. Organize students into small groups and ask them to put on their Crayola® Art Smocks before covering the work area for their group with recycled newspaper. Distribute 16 index cards (3" x 5") to use as cards. This number can be increased or decreased depending upon the age and skill set of the group. Using Crayola® Crayons or Colored Pencils, students sketch the outline of a favorite shape (square, circle, triangle, etc.) on two cards for the game. Once the set of cards has been outlined, students use Crayola® Brushes to paint the inside of each shape, matching the colors with the shapes. For example, if Joan outlined two squares, her two squares will both be painted with the same color paint. Allow cards to dry overnight. Before returning to the game cards, play another round of an established memory game. Verbalize the thinking and concepts involved. For instance, "I remember Kylie turned over a green card on her last turn. Let's see…where was that card? I think it was in the left column." Return to student groups and organize the game cards for a round of their memory game. By the way, did students name their game? To play Color Memory: Play with 2-3 friends. Mix the cards. Place them face down in four equal rows. Each player, in turn, selects two cards. Name the colors turned over. If the cards have matching color, keep the cards and take another turn. If the colors are different, turn the cards face down for the next player's turn. The game is over when all cards are matched. Let's make something! Students identify favorites in this exciting activity! Add To Favorites Become a numeral or math symbol so your class can act out solutions to math problems. Addition, subtraction, multiplicat Create a plate to look like your favorite animal then add Crayola® Dry-Erase Crayons and you’ll have tons of reusable fu Tell a story using only shapes with an interactive class activity. Count on your alien to help you practice reading, labeling, and counting while playing a fun matching game. Storytelling and mathematics merge when students discover that by arranging and rearranging a set of seven geometric til People around the world give thanks for their food. Celebrate a harvest of pineapples, pumpkins, or pomegranates-and sho A word blend game makes learning grammar easy! Our crayons have been rolling off the assembly line since 1903, and you can see how it’s done. Visit us »

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Robert Baden-Powell created the BOY SCOUTS which grew rapidly into an international educational youth movement before 1914. He wrote Scouting for Boys in 1908, and also coauthored the Girl Guides manual, How Girls Can Help Build Up the Empire, with his sister Agnes in 1910. The Boy Scout scheme was a system of character development and citizenship training that, while based on a manual of military scouting, was firmly grounded in both contemporary psychological theory and educational methods. The aim was to create model adolescents and ultimately model adult citizens through Boy Scout training–complete with its own moral code (encapsulated in the Scout Promise and Scout Law)–and by its public service roles in ambulance, fire fighting, and lifesaving. Boy Scouts were to be replete with the skills and virtues of backwoodsmen and frontiersmen by taking a whole series of scout tests such as cooking without utensils, shelter building, and knots and lashings. Scouting was designed as an "all-embracing game" by Baden-Powell to be pursued all year round both indoors and out, that contrived to mold boys' character and moral values. For younger boys scouting could provide an adult-inspired "escape" from the suffocating domestic conventions of childhood combined nonetheless with custodial supervision. For fourteen year olds it was intended as a diversion from adult recreational forms (notably smoking and gambling) widely adopted by precocious school leavers in Edwardian Britain. Major-General Baden-Powell, the Boer War's "hero of Mafeking," had an upbringing with a Progressive educationalist mother. Following public school Baden-Powell did so well in the entrance exam that he bypassed officer training and went straight to his regiment. He was to prove an unconventional and unorthodox regular soldier who advocated the use of irregular volunteer forces and wrote the military manual Aids to Scouting–subsequently adapted as the core theme for citizenship training in the Boy Scouts. Later RUD-YARD KIPLING's Jungle Book was used as the basis for his Wolf Cub program for boys below scout age. Prior to the publication of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell developed scouting for the Boys Brigade at the invitation of its founder, W. A. Smith. Scouting then grew largely by being adopted by existing youth organizations like the Boys' Clubs, SUNDAY SCHOOLS, and church choirs, who would establish a scout troop so as not to lose their members completely to the new fashionable movement. Baden-Powell's concept of scouting was shaped by an eclectic blend of influences and ideas. He borrowed the idea of self-governing clubs from American Charles Stelzle, who helped operate boys' clubs starting in the 1880s; the scout's secret handshake and notion of a scout brotherhood came from Freemasonry; the Scouts Farm schools and emigration policy imitated the Salvation Army plan. Baden-Powell also drew heavily from MARIA MONTESSORI's ideas on PLAY and G. STANLEY HALL's biogenetic psychology–including the idea that children recapitulated the cultural history of the race in their development and play as they grew up. Accordingly, the Wolf Cub program was designed for those in Hall's "Savage or Barbaric stage" and the Boy Scouts, for those over ten years in the "Tribal or Clan stage." The sixboy Scout Patrol was meant as a "fraternity gang." Maria Montessori greatly admired the Scout movement and saw it as an invaluable preparation for "going out." Despite being a product of Edwardian England's intellectual and cultural climate and its socioeconomic preoccupations, scouting had widespread appeal and proved equally applicable in many diverse national contexts. By 1914 it had spread to fifty-two other countries, dominions, and colonies including France, Germany, Austria, Japan, Russia, the United States, Peru, Australia, and Canada. Baden-Powell actively encouraged this by making a six-month world tour to promote his brain child in 1912. In 1918 there were 750,000 Boy Scouts overseas and 155,000 in Britain. Scouting has been modified and kept up to date since then (for example, the Beavers were started for the pre–Wolf Cub age group) and the uniform altered to accommodate changes in fashion (short trousers were abandoned). Nevertheless, the Scout movement's aims, objectives, and most of its activities are fundamentally the same at the start of the twenty-first century as they were in 1908. Aitkin, W. Francis. 1900. Baden-Powell, the Hero of Mafeking. London: S. W. Partridge and Co. Dedman, Martin J. 1993. "Baden-Powell, Militarism and the 'Invisible Contributors' to the Boy Scout Scheme 1904-1920" Twentieth Century British History 4, no. 3: 201-23. MARTIN J. DEDMAN

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- slide 1 of 4 Dialogue is an extremely important aspect of storytelling and creative writing. Playwrites use almost exclusively dialogue to tell their tales. In Creative Writing and English classes it is good to "raise the stakes" when teaching students how to write dialogue by having them practice writing a short play (or just part of a short play). The experience of trying to tell a story with only dialogue makes embellishing a story with dialogue much easier. - slide 2 of 4 Hear the Voice The first step is to choose each character's voice. It is most helpful to choose a voice you have heard and give the character that same style and pattern of speech. Tell students to think about the various people in their lives. They can think about their closest family and friends, but remind them to think about, for example, the old man who chatted with them on the bus one day, or the loud neighbor gossiping in her yard. People whose speech patterns have a personal, unique flair are very useful to think about in this context. Tell students to remember what people sounded like when speaking. Remember their speech patterns, their quirks, the types of phrases they would repeat. Did they speak slowly or quickly? Were they especially verbose or concise? Writers must listen to those individual voices in their memories. - slide 3 of 4 Monologues & Dialogues To get warmed up, students should write a short monologue or speech of each character talking. Focusing on the individual character and his or her speech patterns prepares the writer to maintain a consistent and unique voice when they are ready to use this character in a conversation. As I stated above, before going back to the story writers can benefit greatly by engaging two or more characters in dialogue or conversation. The exercise is to tell the story with the dialogue only. This causes the writer to stretch and infuse more information and emotion into the characters' speech. When going back to creative writing, the dialogue in the essay will be more colorful, unique and personal to each character and even convey information in a captivating, not dry, way. - slide 4 of 4 A Little Fun Group your student writers in pairs. Each pair must share a pad of paper and pen or pencil. You read that correctly: each pair gets only one paper and one pen or pencil. All writing will be in the form of speech. One students starts to write, the other may not respond unless and until s/he has hold of the pen and paper. It can get interesting, for example, if one student wants to interrupt the other, s/he must physically grab the paper and pen out of the hands of the other student. Try this fun activity and see what your creative writing students think of it.

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Related Web Resources Please visit the following websites for additional information regarding topics introduced in the Civil War 150 readers. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s History by Era Material on nineteenth-century culture and the Civil War The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s Online Journal History Now Primary Sources on Slavery (Issue 2, Winter 2004) Abolition (Issue 5, Fall 2005) Lincoln (Issue 6, Winter 2005) Abraham Lincoln in His Time and Ours (Issue 18, Winter 2008) New Interpretations of the Civil War (Issue 26, Winter 2010) United States Civil War Basic background information concerning the Civil War. National Park Service Civil War Website A critical analysis of the Civil War through the stories, people, and places that were central to the war. The Making of America A digital library of primary source material covering the antebellum period through Reconstruction. Search collection by title, author, or subject to find Civil War resources. Civil War Trust Civil War battlefield information as well as educational resources. The Civil War A companion site to Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary. Includes an image browser, maps, biographies, and related links. Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877 Selected primary source content available online at the Library of Congress. The United States Civil War Center Links to other valuable resources, including Civil War collections and book reviews. Documenting the American South A wide range of maps, photographs, printed works, Confederate currency, manuscripts, and diaries. The Valley of the Shadow A collection of original letters, diaries, newspapers, and speeches detailing the lives of two American communities, one Northern and one Southern. Civil War Potpourri A variety of articles on the Civil War. Topics include causes, battles, compromises, slavery, diplomacy, and roles of women and youth during the war. Resources to help teachers and students learn about various Civil War topics and events through art. A Sampler of Civil War Literature Online access to fifteen Civil War stories from the pages of Harper’s Weekly. Have Fun with History A compilation of short videos pertaining to different topics throughout the Civil War. The Presidential Elections 1860–1912 Cartoons, posters, campaign materials, and other information concerning key presidential elections during the Civil War and beyond. A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln A useful overview of the Civil War, including its causes, content, and consequences. Various drafts of the war’s most famous address with supporting documents and commentary from the Library of Congress. Civil War Maps Maps collected from the Library of Congress, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia. Rare Map Collection A collection of reproductions of rare maps from the Civil War. Civil War Battles by State A selection of Civil War maps organized by state. The War of Rebellion A compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. The Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Official documents and descriptions of important military confrontations organized by battle. Poetry and Music A collection of poems and songs written during and after the war. Band Music from the Civil War Era Printed and manuscript music selected from the collections of the Music Division of the Library of Congress and the Walter Dignam Collections of the Manchester Historic Association. Civil War: Letters and Diaries A collection of letters, journals, and diaries of soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Civil War Biographies A collection of short biographical descriptions of some of the major Union and Confederate military personalities with regards to their involvement in the Civil War. Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society Digital reproductions of the New-York Historical Society’s archive of the Civil War. Civil War 150: National Portrait Gallery Links to a series of seven exhibitions from the Smithsonian related to the Civil War and the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Selected Civil War Photographs Scenes of military personnel, preparations for battle, and battle after-effects. Pictures of the Civil War A collection of images from the Civil War of civilians and civilian activities; military personnel, equipment, and activities; and the locations and aftermaths of battles. Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of War Digitized images from Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War with their original captions. Photographs of African Americans during the Civil War Photographs from the Civil War Photograph Collection that include African Americans. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936–1938 A collection of more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writer’s Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection An extensive collection of anti-slavery pamphlets, literature, and correspondence. The Emancipation Proclamation Background information regarding the Emancipation Proclamation as well as access to digital copies of the original document. Civil War Women: Women and the Home Front A collection of women’s diaries, letters, and memoirs from the Civil War. (After selecting a topic, refine your search to archival materials on the left-hand sidebar to access primary source materials). For Young Audiences Lessons on Slavery, the Crisis of the Union, and the Civil War and Reconstruction (6–12) Lesson plans from the National Endowment for the Humanities EDSITEment website are built upon the analysis of primary sources, through which students are asked to critically examine the Civil War. Discovering the Civil War Information concerning the National Archives’ Civil War exhibit as well as additional educational materials to accompany the exhibit. (To access additional resources select the Resources or Education links on the main page). Civil War Trust (K–12) A resource for students with maps, photos, and games. The Civil War (9–12) Lesson plans and activity ideas for topics in the Civil War. The American Civil War Extensive information regarding the Civil War, covering its causes, famous battles, and leaders. The Lincoln/Douglas Debates of 1858 (9–12) A comprehensive collection of transcriptions from Democratic and Republican newspapers covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates. This site also includes a video discussing the debates and a series of images, maps, and lesson plans. (6–8) Information regarding Lincoln’s life from Illinois to his role as president. Includes valuable links to Lincoln’s writings. Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress A collection of nearly 20,000 documents. Includes correspondence, speeches, notes, and other printed material related to Lincoln and the Civil War era. Letters, Telegrams, and Photographs Illustrating Factors that Affected the Civil War (6–8) A lesson plan including creative writing assignments, oral history projects, and document analysis. Students are asked to use documents and photographs from the period to discuss important factors in winning the war. Historical Maps of the Civil War Digital reproductions of maps created during the Civil War era organized by battle. (K–5) A collection of oral histories meant to encourage students to look at the lives of slaves and compare slave life to the lives of free African Americans after the Civil War. Africans in America: The Civil War and Reconstruction (9–12) A collection of images, documents, stories, and biographies that relate to the debate over slavery in America and the changing role of African Americans over time. The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (6–8) Images and lesson plans that ask students to discuss changes in caring for the Civil War wounded. Civil War Medicine (9–12) A series of articles outlining the changes occurring in medical care for soldiers throughout the Civil War through primary sources. This site also summarizes the introduction of women onto the battlefront as nurses. Not Just a Man’s War (9–12) A lesson plan that looks at the role of women during the Civil War. Famous American Trials: Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators, 1865 (9–12) A detailed review of the trial of John Wilkes Booth and his conspirators. Includes extra educational resources and games.

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Anthropomorphism in literature is a common theme throughout the ages. While many tales about animals are directed toward children, simply because adult writers feel that young people are better able to connect with animals or simply because they feel that involving too many human characters would be overwhelming. Despite the host of possible reasons for why so many animal stories exist for children, it is important to also consider the way these stories continue to affect adults. As one of the main themes in “The Life of Pi” that lies under the surface, the anthropomorphism complicates the task of reading. While many adult readers would feel “demeaned” reading an animal tale since it is associated with low-level reading, the fact remains that adults still retain the tendency to anthropomorphize. The only difference in this act of projecting human characteristics onto animals in adults is that their greater life experiences change the ideas they project. Generally, when in terms of anthropomorphism in literature, one images that children are likely to impose more basic traits on animals (imagining them speaking in strange accents, seeing them as equals, feeling the ability to communicate) adults project “big issues”. Given the fact that so many adults deny their capacity and inherent tendency to anthropomorphize, it seems strange so that so much literature involving human and animal relationships is devoted to children. One of the exceptions to this idea—that a book about such relations must be confined to children—is “The Life of Pi“. While this is in many senses an adventure/animal story for younger readers, it is filled with some of the most provoking adult themes; the quest spirituality, truth, the meaning of life, and many others. In some ways, through the use of anthropomorphism in “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, recognizing the tendency across age groups to anthropomorphize, accepts this and even encourages readers to engage in projecting human traits on the animals. Throughout the history of storytelling—from the oral traditions of primitive peoples to the canon of modern literature—animals have been represented extensively. Fables employed animals to present moral lessons and animals have also been depicted in a more postmodern sense to glorify or mourn this “loss of touch” with the natural world. Most importantly, the role of animals is especially prominent in children’s literature. For some reason, adults tend to confine themselves to tales of the everyday and consider animal tales to be strictly a part of a child’s intellectual world. On the same note, animals are still a vital part of the cultural life of many adults, serving as pets and the objects of less literary entertainment (zoos, sophisticated nature programming, etc). The question becomes, why are animals confined, in the mind of many adults, to the children’s literature genre? What is it about animal and human interactions that are not suitable for the adult world? In addressing this question about anthropomorphism in literature, adult fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin observes, “it appears we give animal stories to children and encourage them to be interested in animals because we see children as inferior, mentally ‘primitive,’ not yet fully humanized, thus pets and zoo animal stories are ‘natural’ steps in the child’s way up to adult, exclusive humanity—rungs on the ladder from mindless, helpless babyhood to the full glory of intellectual maturity and mastery” (Le Guin, 2004). While Le Guin addresses the somewhat condescending nature of devoting animal stories to children, she recognizes one of the deeper truths about children and their relation to animals—they have not yet learned that animals don’t really speak or communicate, not because they are mentally inferior and underdeveloped, but because they still proudly display the empathetic connection with the animal world while adults are more likely to dismiss the idea that animals are similar to us and are capable of mirroring our darkest secrets. Along with this idea, it is also important to discuss the role anthropomorphism plays in literature for children and more specifically, how this transposing of human characteristics on humans should be just as meaningful and useful for adults as for children. One of the most pertinent modern examples of human and animal relationships in literature is Yann Martel’s novel, “The Life of Pi” This work offers young readers a familiar foray into the world of animal and human encounters by presenting anthropomorphism in “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, while still balancing the very adult themes of seeking and maintaining spirituality and contemplating the grand order of life. In short, the novel follows a teenage boy through his life in India (told initially in retrospect by an author who is interviewing an aged Pi) and his quest to explore religions that will help him grow closer to God. During this quest, he becomes Catholic, Muslim, and is already Hindu thus proving himself to be accepting of the love of God in all its many forms—remaining free of the dogma that dominates the lives of adults who attempt to persuade him that he must only choose one religion to practice. This spiritual quest forms the backdrop for much of the foreshadowing of Pi’s eventually loss at sea with a Bengali tiger as his only companion. As the tale winds on, Pi and the tiger, named “Richard Parker” due to a clerical error at the zoo, must survive adrift on the ocean for 227 days. While the story of their survival is not one filled with the sentimental human-animal bonding one would typically associate with children’s literature, they do make a connection even if it is based on survival instinct and knowledge of behavior. The adult themes of religion in “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel make this an animal story not confined to children and children are engaged by the story of survival and close communion with the animal world. The use of anthropomorphism in “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel is almost endless once Pi leaves normal society. With a potentially dangerous tiger as his only companion (aside from God) Pi and the tiger almost trade places. While the tiger is always thought to be the savage one, it is actually Pi who turns to savagery for survival. This is almost like a case of double anthropomorphism since Pi attributes human characteristics on the tiger while at the same thinks of himself in animal terms. At one point, after killing fish and other ocean creatures to survive, Pi remarks on this anthropomorphic reversal in one of the more important quotes in ‘Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, “It became an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed—with a pinching of the heart—that I ate like an animal. That this noisy-frantic-unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate” (Pi 225). In terms of crossing the line (in terms of its status as an “animal story) between the adult theme of man as animal and the children’s literary theme of physically associating so closely with animals and speaking with them (although Richard Parker doesn’t speak back) this makes “Life of Pi” an animal tale that is readable to both children and adults, much in the same way Kipling novels such as “Jungle Book” were read across age groups.

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Based on the article by Barrett, "Digital Storytelling facilitates the convergence of four student-centered learning strategies: student engagement, reflection for deep learning, project based learning, and the effective integration of technology into instruction." While digital storytelling is fun, engaging and powerful in the eyes of students and teachers, data is going to be detrimental to administrators in order to rationalize the money that will be needed to fund the staff development and technology tool costs associated with digital storytelling in schools. Data is also detrimental to the persuasion tactics that some administrators and staff developers will need to engage unwilling educators to participate in the digital storytelling revolution. Since the advent of digital cameras, video cameras and cell phones with camera/film capabilities, digital storytelling has become an easy new learning tool for willing teachers and students across all grade levels. Applications like PhotoStory, MovieMaker and Frames have to be purchased, but there are also free online story telling tools such as VoiceThread, Xtranormal, Animoto and Mixbook. Teachers that are interested in learning more about digital storytelling should start by visiting the Center for Digital Storytelling. The Center for Digital Storytelling assists educators around the world in using digital media to share, record and value the stories of their lives. It is the goal of the center to promote artistic expression, health and well-being, and justice. Other resources for digital storytelling include Alan Levine's CogDogRoo site: 50+ Ways to Tell a Digital Story, as well as Silvia Tolisano's Langwitches' Blog Post on Digital Storying. Larry Ferlazzo also has a great post on the Best Digital Storytelling Resources on his Website of the Day Blog. Personally, I love using digital storytelling with my students. Most recently we finished a storytelling unit on Tall Tales where groups of students were given the task of retelling and elaborating on an assigned Tall Tale story. The video below was inspired by Lee LeFever and Common Craft videos and it was created using a Flip Camera and edited within MovieMaker. While my students were provided with a very specific rubric at the beginning of this particular Tall Tale assignment, I know that this type of assessment does not indicate or document the impact that the digital storytelling process has on student learning, motivation and engagement, nor does it show how teaching practices and strategies change with technology integration. I will say, however, that there has been an improvement in the quality of student work since we began introducing this year's class to digital storying this past September. While the visually appealing end result is engaging to on-lookers, there was a lot of note-taking, research, reading, writing, editing and digital literacy skills that are involved in digital storytelling. These are the same skills involved in writing essays and reports, but from my perspective: digital storytelling is so much cooler in the eyes of a child. If you haven't tried using any of these digital storytelling tools with your students, I would hope you would make the effort to try. While you might not officially collect data on the impact digital storytelling has on student learning, motivation and engagement, you'd give yourself the opportunity to practice with the tools and the strategies that would make digital storytelling successful for you. “The only real failure in life is the failure to try." ~Anonymous

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Math Writing Prompts offer Fabulous Creative Writing Ideas Math prompts made easy! Here are samples of math instructional prompts for creative writing across the curriculum . Each math writing prompt below is written using the RAFTS technique. See this page for a quick refresher and to help you design your own math prompts. I wrote these math prompts to address specific National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Use these math prompts to begin the important work of writing about math! - Role: you - Audience: the restaurant manager - Format: comment - Topic: someone else's dinner bill - Strong Verb: revise and express You are dining with your family at your favorite restaurant. You order three hamburgers with French fries at $6.50 each, one Caesar salad at $5.35, three iced teas at $1.29 each, a lemonade at $1.39, and four desserts at $3.99 each. But when you receive your bill, you discover that you've been charged for an extra hamburger and an extra iced tea. Correct your bill to get an accurate total. Then write a comment to the restaurant manager, expressing your concern regarding the restaurant's overcharging ways and document how you corrected the error. The Field Trip - Role: teacher - Audience: parents of students - Format: expository letter - Topic: field trip costs - Strong Verb: explain You are a teacher of elementary-aged students. Write a letter to the parents of your students, explaining how much it will cost to take a field trip to the natural science museum. Be sure to include fees for transportation, admission prices, and lunch, as well as suggested amount for gift shop spending money. - Role: you in your math class - Audience: your classmates - Format: notes for a step-by-step demonstration - Topic: how to solve 565 x 24 - Strong Verb: create and explain You are an excellent math student. For a class review, your teacher has asked you to create a step-by-step demonstration of how to solve the problem 564 x 24. Be sure to explain each step in the process, so classmates will understand how you got the correct answer. Treasure Map Grid - Role: the pirate treasure-master - Audience: the captain of the ship - Format: mapped grid - Topic: co-ordinates of the treasure on a desert island - Strong Verb: identify You are the treasure-master for a swashbuckling pirate crew. Your job is to keep records of the locations of treasures your ship has hidden on a desert island. For your ship's captain, create a grid of the island where your most recent treasures are buried. Identify the exact co-ordinates of each treasure. - Role: puzzle and toy designer - Audience: young kids - Format: puzzle and simple instructions - Topic: puzzles in geometric shapes - Strong Verb: design and include You are a puzzle and toy designer for a major toy company. The sales team reports that young children enjoy large colorful puzzles in geometric shapes. Design a puzzle for this age group, creating it so that all the pieces interlock. Give your puzzle a catchy name and include simple instructions for assembly. Dream Day at School - Role: you - Audience: the principal of your school - Format: schedules in 30 minute time periods - Topic: a dream-day schedule - Strong Verb: create Your school administration is thinking of redesigning the daily schedule and the principal is asking for input from students. Create a dream-day schedule, breaking everything down into 30 minute segments. New Lunch Menus - Role: spokesperson - Audience: school lunch oficials - Format: persuasive letter - Topic: new meals - Strong Verb: argue Students at your school are interested in changing the lunch menus, and you have agreed to be their spokesperson. After surveying your classmates to collect their preferences for healthy yet tasty meals, write a letter to the school lunch officials, arguing a case for new meals your fellow students would enjoy. In your letter, include the survey information you collected to build a case. - Role: you - Audience: you and your parent - Format: recipe - Topic: take a favorite dessert recipe and triple it - Strong Verb: record Your mom or dad has agreed to make your favorite dessert. Take the original recipe and triple it, so that there is enough dessert for everyone in the family, as well as some of the neighbors. Record the new recipe so that your mom or dad can start baking. - Role: math tutor - Audience: students - Format: story problems - Topic: how multiplication is used in everyday life - Strong Verb: think and write You are a math tutor for students at an elementary school. The teacher has asked you to help younger children understand the importance of math by connecting it to real-life situations. Think of three examples where multiplication is used in everyday life and write them out in story problems for your students to solve in tutoring sessions. - Role: gardener - Audience: yourself - Format: plan - Topic: rows of potatoes - Strong Verb: calculate and write You are a gardener who is planning your potato patch. You know that if you plant one row, you will harvest enough potatoes for several family meals, but you want more than that. Calculate how many rows of potatoes you need to feed your family for at least two months. Write out your plan so know how many seeds to plant. - Role: reporter - Audience: Math Magic readers - Format: list of questions - Topic: strategies to get kids interested in everyday math skills - Strong Verb: interview You are a reporter for the magazine Math Magic . For your next article, you plan to interview a local math teacher about recommended strategies for getting kids interested in everyday math, such as planning a garden, making change, or calculating recipe ingredients. Write the list of questions you intend to ask. The Weather Report - Role: meteorologist - Audience: television viewers - Format: the evening weather segment - Topic: daily temperatures - Strong Verb: average and chart You are a meteorologist at the local television station. Each week, your report features the average daily temperature for that week. Design a graph that charts the daily temperatures to share with your viewers, then write a short script for your segment that includes the average temperature. Math Average in the Gradebook - Role: you - Audience: your parents - Format: reflection - Topic: average your math grades to a median score - Strong Verb: calculate and write You record your grades in a small notebook. Calculate your grades to a median score to share with your parents. Write a reflection for your parents about your strengths and any weaknesses in math. As you can see, creative writing ideas for math prompts are hidden in plain sight within any math concept: numbers and operations, geometry and measurement, data analysis and problem solving. Design your own math prompts to help your students write creatively, thinking deeply and productively about math everyday! Who knew that math prompts and creative writing could go hand-in-hand! Imagine! Return from Math Prompts to Creative Writing Ideas Return from Math Prompts to Creative Writing Ideas and Activities Helping You Write Across the Curriculum! copyright 2009-2013 www.creative-writing-ideas-and-activities.com

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Jeremiah Handley Lesson Plan 2nd Place, Best Lesson Plan Contest 2011-2012 By Todd Searing Living a young man's life during the Civil War Grade Level: Middle School Approximate Length of Time: Four, 45-minute periods Students will understand choices someone close to their age in 1861 might have faced during the American Civil War. 1. Students will apply historical knowledge to the condition of a hypothetical individual, demonstrating understanding through creative writing. 2. Students will engage in goal-oriented primary source analysis to accomplish an individualized creative task. All materials used can be downloaded with the lesson plan on the right side of this page. Primary Source materials (linked below) Primary Source analysis sheets (linked below) "Jeremiah Handley's Story" (included with lesson plan) for each student "Interview with Jeremiah" response sheet for each student Pages 1-3 of the original story of fictional character, Jeremiah Handley. Activate prior knowledge of events and issues of the early Civil War and build student ownership in leading up to the first choice to be made. 1. Have students read a selection of the primary source materials provided below and discuss as a class or in groups. - Accounts from the Battle of Shiloh - Battlefield Tragedy - Carnage at Antietam - Sherman's March to the Sea - Recollections of the Battle of Perryville - The Humane Hero of Fredericksburg - National Archives Civil War Photographs - Images from the Library of Congress 2. While reading selected documents and viewing images, students can fill out these analysis forms. 3. Have students read Jeremiah's story, making choices as to how his life will play out until reaching an "ending" on one of the last eight pages (11-18). - Depending on where students are in terms of background knowledge, a read aloud and discussion of pages 1-3 can be a good beginning to the lesson. - In making the choices, small groups can get together and make the initial decisions or each individual can take time to explore the story. - If students read individually, they can then join a partner or a small group and come to a consensus on the "ending" the group will reach. Alternatively, groups can be assigned based on the choices individuals made. 4. At the end of the story (pages 11-18), students will answer the questions that are provided. They will use their knowledge from the primary sources and the events of their chosen path of Jeremiah to address these questions 5. Have students complete the "Interview with Jeremiah" response. - Students should imagine themselves in the role of interviewer and interviewee, writing responses as Jeremiah. - All four questions give opportunities to include learning from the primary source analysis in step two and question four is designed to specifically focus students' attention on the issues left open on the "ending" page they reached. Sharing responses among students can be confusing if everyone is not familiar with all of the possible endings. One remedy is to close with a survey of what choices were made and what endings were reached. With some explanation, students can then concentrate on sharing what was most informative to them when analyzing the primary sources. Some groups may decide to record the interview responses as a performance as well. The two areas of assessment are participation as a group member according to expectations and evidence of primary source research included in the written interview responses.

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Total: $0.00Close Cart eBook & Document Store Basic Literary Elements Excerpt From this Document TRUE OR FALSE - Outer space could be the setting for a story.____________________ - A character’s personality can be revealed by the things he/she does and says.______________ - Human v. Nature is when a character in a story is struggling with another character.___________________________________________ - In third person point of view stories, the narrator uses the words “I” “we” or “our” to show their perspective.________________________________ CIRCLE THE BEST ANSWER - If a narrator is omniscient, it means that: a. He/she is a minor character b. He/she knows everything about all characters c. He/she is a “good guy” in the book d. He/she has no clue what is going on - The ______________ of a story is the most intense moment. a. Resolution b. Exposition c. Climax d. Rising Action - The resolution of the story is the ______________________ a. First thing you read b. How the conflict is solved at the end c. The climax d. The story that occurs before the climax - In the exposition stage, readers learn about a. Characters b. Setting c. Both a and b d. None of the above - The process by which an author reveals the personality of a character is___________. a. Conflict b. Point of View c. Characterization d. Setting - Internal conflict is a. A struggle with an outside force b. A struggle against mother nature c. A struggle against oneself d. A struggle for life or death - External conflict includes a. Human v Nature b. Human v Society c. Human v Human d. All of the above - When an author uses the pronouns I, me, my, mine, us, it indicates that he/she is writing in the _______________ point of view. a. Human v. Nature b. Conflict c. Third Person d. First Person - A __________ character is a type of flat character that relies on some type of stereotype. a. Round b. Dynamic c. Flat d. Stock - A_____________ character undergoes at least one mental or emotional change from the beginning of the book to the end. a. Round b. Dynamic c. Flat d. Stock - ______________ occurs before the climax and ___________________ occurs after the climax. a. Flat action and Round action b. Rising action and Falling action c. Stock action and Flat action d. Falling action and Rising action - Please write briefly about an internal conflict faced by one of the characters in a story we have read. - Please name a dynamic character from a story we have read and discuss an internal, emotional change that he/she went through. State what kind of person the character was at the beginning vs. the kind he/she was at the end. - Describe the setting of one of the stories we have read. - Name the theme from one of the stories we have read—please be sure to list the story name as well. - The universal message that an author wants the reader to be able to take away from a piece of writing is called the____________ a. Theme b. Plot c. Conflict d. Story About this Document I used this with Freshman as we were studying literary elements as they applied to various short stories.

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Lesson Plans and Worksheets Browse by Subject Library Skills Teacher Resources Find Library Skills educational ideas and activities Making the transition to a higher-tech school library or computer lab? This plan suggests 5th graders undertake a scavenger hunt and make a PowerPoint to educate younger schoolmates about how to use information resources in an increasingly tech-outiftted facility. Underlying principle is that students fluent in the use of any library will be better equipped to take advantage of the next generation of resources available. Not much procedural detail, but important ideas for moving forward. Students become familiarized with the layout of the library utilizing a map unit in the classroom. They role play as explorers and their territory is the library within the scenario. Each student relates library skills to classroom lessons to help surface relevance to their studies. Cyber Dewey? Dewey Made Fun? Do the Dewey Game? After a librarian-led tour of the school library and an explanation of the Dewey Decimal System, class members use the Internet to access MAGNOLIA, a site with resources devoted to library skills and the Dewey Decimal System. Pupils are then given a list of books that they must successfully locate. Students examine how historical events have helped to shape society, the roles played by singers and protest songs in the movement for civil rights, and the role American citizens played in shaping their society. Students make posters and PowerPoint presentations, create time lines, participate in debates, write a newspaper article, and compose a creative writing in this project. Orienting learners to the resources at your school library enables access to information and encourages discernment about the validity of sources. Includes link to a PowerPoint slide show that explores plagiarism and clarifies when, how, and why to cite sources. Refers to a teacher-made movie that may take some time and work to acquire. Alternatively, see if your school library has an orientation video of its own. Word relationships, connotation, and denotation are the focus of an activity to teach the use of a thesaurus. Scholars seek out vocabulary words to replace common starter words; they use the new vocabulary words to write three grammatically correct sentences that demonstrate the different connotations of each. Author Pearl Buck's, The Good Earth is the central focus of this terrific eighth grade language arts lesson. Essentially, it is a very thorough study of the book. While reading, there are worksheets embedded in the plan to be completed. There are many postreading assignments as well, all supported with worksheets. This is a fine educational resource to complement the study of this book. The Great Depression is one of the landmark time periods in American History. Use these lessons to lead your seventh graders into a thorough study of how the Great Depression came about, how long it lasted, and how people got through this difficult time. The 12-page packet has many terrific activities designed to help learners gain a deep understanding of the economics of the times and how President Roosevelt's New Deal helped bring the country back on its feet. Fourth graders identify books based on the Dewey Decimal System. In this library skills instructional activity designed to be used after introducing the Dewey Decimal System, 4th graders play a game collecting books from each category of the Dewey Decimal system while using a digital card catalog to identify the location of each book. Second graders practice using technology to gather information. In this online research lesson, 2nd graders use technology to find information for a research project. Students write a research paper, and give a presentation to the class effectively demonstrating knowledge of the topic, and the resources used to find the information. Primary graders master library skills as they explore the work of beloved author and artist Eric Carle. Rotating through four centers, children learn about the author while navigating a website, browsing books on display, listening to audio versions of Carle stories, and checking out books. Teachers need to prepare research questions in advance. Comprehensive accommodation ideas for every need are attached. Students review and practice many of the skills they have learned in the library throughout the year. They create a Library Handbook for next year's incoming third grade students.They are excited about the project because they love the idea of being authors and illustrators of such a valuable resource for other students.

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Native American Facts For Kids was written for young people learning about the Shawnees for school or home-schooling reports. We encourage students and teachers to look through our main Shawnee language and culture pages for in-depth information, but here are our answers to the questions we are most often asked by children, with Shawnee pictures and links we believe are suitable for all ages. How do you pronounce "Shawnee?" What does it mean? Shawnee is pronounced "shaw-NEE." It comes from the Shawnee word shawanwa, which means "southerner." In history books, you can sometimes see the same name spelled Shawano or Where do the Shawnees live? The original Shawnee home land was in Ohio, Indiana. But the Shawnees were far-ranging people. Shawnee villages were located as far north as New York state and as far south as Georgia. Here is a map showing Shawnee and other Indian migrations. Today, most Shawnees live in Oklahoma, where they were deported by the US government. How is the Shawnee Indian nation organized? There are three Shawnee bands in Oklahoma. Like most Native American tribes, the Shawnee Indian tribes are autonomous. That means each tribe has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Shawnee are also US citizens and must obey American law. In the past, each Shawnee village or band was governed by its own chief and tribal council. The Shawnees also had war chiefs, who were chosen by other warriors based on their bravery and military skill. But all of them owed allegiance to one main principal chief. The principal chief was a member of the ruling clan who the other Shawnee leaders chose to be in charge of the entire tribe. The Shawnee principal chief was a powerful figure, but he needed the support of his people to stay in power-- otherwise he could be replaced. Today each Shawnee tribe is governed by a tribal committee that is elected by all the tribal members. Do the Shawnee live on reservations? Technically, no. The lands belonging to the Shawnee and other Oklahoma Indian tribes are trust lands, not reservations. There are some legal differences between these two kinds of lands, but they are not very important. Many Oklahoma Indians call their homelands a reservation anyway. What language do the Shawnees speak? Shawnee Indians all s peak English today. Some elders also speak their native Shawnee language, which is songlike and has complicated verbs with many parts. If you'd like to know a few easy Shawnee words, "bezon" (pronounced bay-zone) is a friendly greeting and "neahw" (pronounced nay-aw) means "thank you." You can listen to Shawnee being spoken here and read a Shawnee picture glossary here. Today Shawnee is an endangered language because most children aren't learning it anymore. However, some Shawnee people are working to keep their language alive. What was Shawnee culture like in the past and today? Here are the home pages of the Absentee Shawnee and Eastern Shawnee tribes, where you can learn about the Shawnee people past and present. How do Shawnee Indian children live? They do the same things any children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. In the past, Shawnee kids had more chores and less time to play, just like early colonial children. But Shawnee children did have dolls, toys and games, like miniature bows and arrows and hand-held ball games. Like many Native Americans, Shawnee mothers traditionally carried their babies in on their backs--a custom which many American parents have What were men and women's roles in the Shawnee tribe? Shawnee men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Shawnee women were farmers and also did child care and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Shawnee principal chiefs were always men, but either a man or a woman could be a village chief. What were Shawnee homes like? The Shawnees didn't live in tepees. They lived in small round dwellings called wikkums, or wigwams. Here are some images of American Indian wigwams like the ones Shawnee Indians used. Each Shawnee village also included a larger council house built from wood. Today, Native Americans only build a wigwam for fun or to connect with their heritage, not for shelter. Most Shawnees live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you. What was Shawnee clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint? Shawnee women wore skirts with leggings. Shawnee men wore breechclouts and leggings. Shirts were not necessary in the Shawnee culture, but both men and women often wore ponchos in cool weather. The Shawnees wore moccasins on their feet. As they migrated from place to place, the Shawnees adopted clothing styles from many other Indian tribes and from white settlers as well. Here is a picture of Shawnee Indian clothing, and photos and links about American Indian dress in general. The Shawnees didn't wear headdresses like the Sioux. Sometimes they wore a beaded headband with a feather or two in it. Shawnee people usually wore their hair long, though Shawnee warriors sometimes shaved their heads in the Mohawk style. Many Shawnees painted designs onto their faces, and some wore tribal tattoos. Today, some Shawnee people still have a traditional headband or moccasins, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths... and they only wear feathers in their hair on special occasions like a dance. What was Shawnee transportation like? Did they paddle canoes? Yes, the Shawnees made dugout canoes by hollowing out large trees. Here is a website with pictures of different Indian canoes. Over land, the Shawnee tribe used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.) Today, of course, Shawnee people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes. What was Shawnee food like in the days before supermarkets? The Shawnees were farming people. Shawnee women planted and harvested corn and squash. Shawnee men hunted in the forest for deer, turkeys, and small game and went fishing in the rivers and lakes. Shawnee Indian food included soup, cornbread, and stews. Here is a website with more information about traditional Native American Indian food. What were Shawnee Indian weapons, tools and artifacts like? Shawnee hunters and warriors used bows and arrows, stone tomahawks, and spears. Shawnee fisherman used spears and nets. Here is a website of pictures and information about Native American weapons. What are Shawnee art and crafts like? The Shawnee tribe is known for their Like other eastern American Indians, the Shawnee also crafted wampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were traded as a kind of currency, but they were more culturally important as an art material. The designs and pictures on wampum belts often told a story or represented a What other Native Americans did the Shawnee tribe interact with? The Shawnee were a very far-ranging tribe, so they interacted with many different nations. Further to the north, the Shawnees were allies of the Delaware Indians and enemies of the Iroquois tribes. Further to the south, the most important neighbors of the Shawnee tribe were the Cherokee, Creek Indians. Sometimes the Shawnees traded with these tribes, and other times they fought them. What kinds of stories do the Shawnees tell? There are lots of traditional Shawnee legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the Shawnee Indian culture. Here is one well-known tale about a Shawnee man who married a sky daughter. What about Shawnee religion? Religions are too complicated and culturally sensitive to describe appropriately in only a few simple sentences, and we strongly want to avoid misleading anybody. Here are links to learn more about Shawnee mythology or this site about Indian religion in general. How do I cite your website in my bibliography? You will need to ask your teacher for the format he or she wants you to use. The authors' names are Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis and the title of our site is Native Languages of the Americas. We are a nonprofit educational organization working to preserve and protect Native American languages and culture. You can learn more about our organization here. Our website was first created in 1998 and last updated in Thanks for your interest in the Shawnee Indian people and their language!

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Lesson PlansBack to lesson plans archive September 24, 2013 Lesson Plans for PBS “Latino Americans” Documentary LATINO AMERICANS is the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape North America over the last 500-plus years and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S. The changing and yet repeating context of American history provides a backdrop for the drama of individual lives. It is a story of immigration and redemption, of anguish and celebration, of the gradual construction of a new American identity that connects and empowers millions of people today. Trailer- Click here to watch Latino Americans Series Lesson Plans September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and to celebrate, PBS is releasing its Latino Americans documentary. To teach your classroom about the ways in which Latino Americans have contributed to the rich and diverse history of the U.S., use these 12 lesson plans that were designed to accompany the documentary. Urge your students to watch along at home, or you can use web versions of the episodes after they air. Find all episodes here as they appear. In this lesson plan, students consider their own preconceptions of Latinos, view a trailer for the documentary series Latino Americans and identify new topics questions to investigate further. Who are Latinos? What does the term Latino American reference? In this lesson plan, students examine the evolution of Latino electoral participation with specific reference to the growth of voter participation in South Texas and New York in the 1950s – 70s, as well as the impact of Latino voters in major elections of the early 2000s. Students will explore early efforts to mobilize disenfranchised voters, examine watershed campaigns and elections and consider major issues – including the politics of immigration. They will reflect on the major paradigm shifts that have occurred within the last 60 years. Teachers can complete the entire sequence of activities or choose just one of the activities as a stand-alone lesson. In this lesson plan, students will trace the varied stories of becoming Latino in the United States—and dispel common generalizations. Latinos have come to be part of the United States through many different avenues: immigrants seeking a better life, refugees driven by war, and those who did not move at all, but who found themselves on the other side of redefined borders as the United States expanded. Students will document details of historical characters from the program and plot their movements on a map. In this activity, students will trace firsthand, the varied stories of becoming Latino in the United States – and dispel common generalizations. In addition, they will compare and contrast these stories with the arrival experiences of their own families. In this lesson plan, students evaluate preconceptions and stereotypes about Latinos and how they have come to the United States. A reflective pre-activity is followed by analysis of statistical graphs from the Pew Research Center. In this lesson plan, students evaluate preconceptions and stereotypes about Latinos and how they have come to the United States. After completing reflective writing on the experience of being stereotyped, students will review current studies and graphs from the Pew Research Center and Latino Decisions to contrast assumptions with realities. In this lesson, students examine the involuntary deportations of Mexican immigrants and U.S. citizens of Mexican heritage during the 1930s. This displacement is only one of many legally sanctioned, forced relocations in our nation’s history. It also is an example of how a certain population may be scapegoated during times of economic downturn – and how there is an ongoing tie between immigration policies on the one hand, and economic trends on the other. Students analyze primary accounts and images from the 1930s, develop new vocabulary related to relocation, and demonstrate their understanding through creative writing. (Elements of this lesson were adapted from Learn NC). In this lesson plan, students explore rising consciousness and activism among Latino youth in the 1960s. Students view a clip on the situation of Mexican American students in Los Angeles, examining how self-concepts and expectations began to change during the Chicano Movement. Students can respond individually or in small groups, in writing, or through discussion. The last set of questions connects the historical study to student’s own civic participation. Two extensions offer options for connecting the history to current student activism. In this activity, students reflect on their own family’s arrival to the U.S. by filling in a family tree of as many generations as possible. Students research and fill in as much information as possible on the names and birthplaces of themselves, their parents, grandparents and so on. Next, they plot the names and birthplaces on a world map. More important than establishing the exact detail of their family tree is the process of understanding the migration/settlement story of those that came before them. Students complete reflective questions that compare and contrast their family’s story of arrival with the rich arrival stories of characters from the documentary. Two extensions are available. In this lesson plan, students analyze how regions such as Texas, New Mexico and California had established Mexican and Indigenous communities already in place as the United States expanded westward in the mid 1800s. Students review the different ways that Mexican citizens come to terms with the expansion of the United States and the ways in which they became foreigners in their own lands within a very short time. In this lesson plan, students examine Puerto Rican experiences of the United States throughout the 20th century. How did the Spanish American War shape the connection between the island and the U.S.? How has this shaped the question of identity for Puerto Ricans? What are the issues surrounding Puerto Rican migration and settlement in New York? Four extensions available. In this lesson plan, students explore the conditions faced by farm laborers in the mid-20th century and meet the advocates who led efforts to improve those conditions. Students view a clip on the emergence of the farm worker movement and respond through discussion questions. Students can respond individually or in small groups, in writing, or through discussion. Two extensions offer additional activities and investigation. In this lesson plan, students examine place-names around North America that tell the story of Indigenous, Spanish and Mexican settlements that pre-date the United States’ presence. The investigative questions can be used alone or in conjunction with the map analysis and plotting activities. For more resources please visit Latino Americans and PBS Learning Media Tooltip of related stories More Lesson Plans Tooltip of more video block Tooltip of RSS content 3 Introduction In this lesson plan, students will use text from Mandela’s autobiography “Long Walk to…civil rightsMandelaNelson MandelaWorldWorld & Geography Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa known as a symbol of the movement…World zeit•geist noun, often capitalized \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst,ˈzīt-\ : the general beliefs, ideas, and spirit of a time…Arts & CultureWorld DOWNLOAD VIDEO Today the United Nations (U.N.) is set to vote to send a peacekeeping…World 150 years ago on December 2, construction was completed on the Capitol Dome in Washington,…U.S.

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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER (DEPENDING ON THE TEACHER AND/OR GUEST SPEAKER - AND THE STORIES THAT ARE USED - THIS LESSON PLAN COULD PROBABLY BE ADAPTED FOR USE IN ALMOST ANY GRADE: K-12) I. ORAL TRADITIONS IN THE PAST A. THE STORYTELLER 1.Background/training/experience 2. Age/gender 3. Social role and status B. THE STORY 1. Give an example (or several) of African folktales to the class. This can be done orally or by using an audio- visual method since many films and filmstrips are commercially available./ 2. Characteristics of the story: a. Characters, plot, symbolism involved, ironies, allegories, etc. b. Deal with the purpose of the story (especially what values or moral lessons are being conveyed) C. THE SETTING 1. The time and place for storytelling 2. The age and make-up of the audience II. ASPECTS OF MODERNIZATION A. THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM 1. Affects on languages, borders, desires for independence, etc. 2. Affects on story themes, etc. B. SINCE INDEPENDENCE 1. Affects of modernization: ie. urbanization, industrialization, "new" religions, "formal" education, etc. 2. Impact of new ideas: ie. "Revolution of Rising Expectations", "Global Village", etc. III. ORAL TRADITIONS IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA A. THE STORYTELLER 1. Refer back to I.A. - What things have changed, if any, and why? B. THE STORY 2 Refer back to I.B. - What things have changed, if any, and why? C. THE SETTING 1. Refer back to I.C. - What things have changed, if any, and why? IV. CLASS REACTIONS AND DISCUSSION A. SOME QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Why hasn't the ancient art of storytelling disappeared 2. Of what value are oral traditions today? 3. In general, in what areas has modernization had its greatest impact on African oral traditions? 4. What parallels are there between African oral traditions and anything comparable in the United States? 5. As even more modern forms of technology spread throughout Africa, what might their effect be on oral B. A POSSIBLE ACTIVITY 1. Have the students choose several animals and several morals (ie. being truthful, respectful or loyal) and have them work in sets of items. 2. Have the student s present their stories to the class. 3. Make comparisons (if known) to any African oral Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D. |Previous Menu||Home Page||What's New||Search||Country Specific|

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School is in full swing, the leaves are changing, and temperatures are falling — all indications that autumn is here. What better way to celebrate October — punctuated by Halloween's ghost stories, pumpkins, monsters, and costumes — than with EDSITEment's lesson plans and educational websites? Give your students a treat and explore the ghostly historical and the ghoulishly dramatic with a variety of online resources. One of the most well known creatures of horror is the monster of Frankenstein. While often portrayed as a lumbering creature with outstretched arms, Mary Shelley’s scarred monster became both physically and intellectually superior to his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or A Modern Prometheus, written in 1818, warned against hubris in its portrayal of a battle of wills between a scientist and his creation that stretched from Europe to the depths of the Arctic. Learn more about this foundational gothic novel and the rest of the genre with EDSITEment's lesson Tales of the Supernatural. The lesson not only explores Shelley's Frankenstein by drawing on resources available on the EDSITEment-reviewed website Romantic Circles, but also leads students to explore the subsequent gothic heritage in America through such writers as Nathanial Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe. To continue the horror, EDSITEment has two other lesson plans about Poe that are suitable for grades 9-12: Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Narrator and Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Biographers. Still students' hearts through a close reading of Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart” or hold a ghastly masquerade with his “The Masque of the Red Death.” Both stories (and more) are available through the EDSITEment-reviewed resource American Studies at the University of Virginia and are explored in the lessons listed above. Of course, few tremble at the knees as well as Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Many students are familiar with Tim Burton's film version or the Disney rendition of the story, but there are some surprising differences between the Hollywood adaptations and Irving's original tale. In EDSITEment's lesson The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, students analyze the characterization of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones and seek to answer an enduring literary mystery: what happened to Ichabod Crane? If the Headless Horseman makes you squeamish, look for less ghoulish creatures in the EDSITEment lesson Unicorns, Dragons, and Other Magical Creatures, suitable for students in the K-2 range. By taking advantage of children's curiosity about fantastic creatures, this lesson helps them examine the many cultural meanings embedded in make-believe creatures. Of course, children dress as all types of creatures and in all sorts of costumes for Halloween. Since wearing a mask is often part of this process, take the opportunity to explore with students how masks work in cultures beyond our own. The EDSITEment lesson The Meaning Behind the Mask helps younger students (grades K-2) explore the cultural significance of masks. After recalling some of the contexts in which masks are worn in the United States, students look at images of African masks online and investigate the role masks play in various African cultures. By reading several folktales, students will explore how storytelling is used along with masks and costumes to preserve and pass on the society's values, morals, religion, and traditional and historical heritage. The EDSITEment lesson What Masks Reveal extends this exploration for students in grades 6-8, adding masks from Puerto Rico and the Yup'ik people of Alaska to the lesson. Entice your older students with a classic tale of temptation and murder. Shakespeare's Macbeth functions as a great Halloween story, containing all of the requisite elements: intrigue, dark castles, witches, and ghosts. EDSITEment's lesson Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the “Dagger of the Mind“ helps students understand how Shakespeare's language dramatizes fear. Use this lesson as a precursor to Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil, another EDSITEment lesson that delves more deeply into the concept of fear by using online search tools and concordances to navigate specific themes within the play. By doing so, students learn the particular ways that Shakespeare’s language helps shape the tone of fear and dread. Such discussion also leads to inquiries into the role of the supernatural in Macbeth; as an extending exercise, students are encouraged to investigate the role of the witches—the Weird Sisters—in the play by researching the cultural significance of witches in the 17th century. Of course, few tales of witchcraft hold as much power in the popular imagination as the Salem witch trials, dramatized by Arthur Miller in his play The Crucible. In the EDSITEment lesson Dramatizing History in Arthur Miller's “The Crucible,” students in 9th to 12th grade explore how Miller interpreted the facts of the witch trials and successfully dramatized them. Drawing on sources such as the EDSITEment-reviewed website Witchcraft in a Salem Village, students further examine the relationship between history and art by researching historical documents, learning about the religious and cultural life of the Puritans, and developing a close reading of the play. A "witch's house" in Maine. Image courtesy of American Memory at the Library of Congress.

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A Study Guide is available for The Greedy Sparrow and offers questions for discussion and activities that will enhance the reading experience with both younger and older students. Download a pdf version of The Greedy Sparrow guide. Click here for a study guide to accompany the Cobblestone issue on Armenian Americans. Click here for an Addendum to the Appendix B appearing in the book, Armenia: A Rugged Land, an Enduring People. The Greedy Sparrow: An Armenian Tale A 2013 Nautilus Silver Award winner in the Children's Picture Book category. Chosen as an Honor Book in the 2012 Storytelling World Resources Awards. A Discussion and Activity Guide for Teachers, Parents and Students Part I: Story discussion Part II: Armenian geography and culture Part I: Story discussion OVERVIEW: The characters in The Greedy Sparrow agreed to help the sparrow because he looked gentle and seemed to be in genuine need. But can looks be deceiving? Should a person always do what someone else asks him or her to do? It depends, as wise adults know, on the situation. Children (and adults, too) must exercise good judgment to protect themselves, their families, and their friends. They should be kind, but also careful. We must all stand up for ourselves when necessary. The tale of the sparrow (jin-juh-ghoog or dzeed, in Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian dialects, respectively) has been in the Armenian oral tradition for centuries. The Greedy Sparrow, Lucine Kasbarian's retelling of this tale, contains a plot variant that also existed in the oral tradition. While this slight twist from the most common version of the ending does not change the ageless lessons in the story, The Greedy Sparrow's surprise ending has a particular message for today's children and parents. At first glance, the story is about a sparrow who takes advantage of people, "trading up" his ill-gotten gains to further his ambition of becoming a minstrel. The ending is very satisfying, as we learn that manipulation, trickery and bad intentions are -- thank goodness -- not rewarded. What are the deeper lessons in The Greedy Sparrow? Here are some thought-provoking questions that teachers and parents may pose to children (and to themselves) to explore further: - Do you think the sparrow stumbled upon the characters in this story by accident, or did he intend to take advantage of them from the very beginning? Why or why not? - Do you think the characters in the story realized that they were taking a risk by agreeing to mind the sparrow's property? Should they have agreed to help the sparrow in the first place? Why or why not? - Was the sparrow being honest and reasonable when he returned and demanded something in return for his lost property? Did each person do the appropriate thing when he or she complied with the sparrow's demand? Explain your answer. - If you were the baker, shepherd, groom or minstrel, would you have acted differently? - Should the baker have taken the thorn out of the sparrow's foot? Should the baker have tossed the thorn into the oven? What do you think the baker should have answered when the sparrow demanded, "Give me the thorn or give me some bread"? - Should the shepherd have agreed to mind the bread just because the sparrow asked him? What would you have said to the sparrow? Should the shepherd have eaten the bread just because he became hungry? Did the shepherd really owe the sparrow a sheep, or anything at all? Would you have given the sparrow anything? - Should the groom have agreed to mind the sheep? Did the groom have the right to slay, cook and serve the sheep? What would you have done if you were the groom? Did the groom have the right to hand over his bride to the sparrow? What should the bride have said or done? What would you have said or done? - Should the minstrel have agreed to mind the bride? Does anyone ever have the right to give a person to someone else? If you were the bride, what would you have done? If you were the minstrel, would you have given the sparrow your lute? - When the sparrow fell from the apricot tree and again caught a thorn in his foot, were you sad or happy about that, and why? If you were near the apricot tree at the very end, what would you have said to the sparrow and what would you have done? Would you have offered to remove the thorn from his foot? SUMMARY: Do you think the sparrow learned a lesson from his experience, or do you think that he will just repeat his behavior again? And how about the characters in the story? Do you think they learned a lesson? Part II: Geography and culture - FOR ALL AGES: The locations described in The Greedy Sparrow are real places. Together, study the map of Armenia below and locate areas in the book such as Mount Ararat, the Arax (also spelled Araks) River, Lake Sevan and Lake Van. Which of those areas are part of present-day Armenia? Which are not? FOR OLDER STUDENTS: How long were the regions described in The Greedy Sparrow inhabited by native Armenians, and what real-life events caused that to change? Read these articles (one and two) for clues. - FOR ALL AGES: In Biblical history, for what is Mt. Ararat famous? Read this article and discuss. - In The Greedy Sparrow, the baker is baking bread in a "tonir." FOR ALL AGES: Watch/listen to the "lavash song" and ask a child to explain how a tonir works. FOR OLDER STUDENTS: Read this article to learn and discuss how a tonir works. - FOR ALL AGES: In The Greedy Sparrow, the wedding takes place at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on the island of Aghtamar. On the map provided, locate Aghtamar (also spelled Akhtamar). Read about the legend of Aghtamar. How did the island get its name? - FOR OLDER STUDENTS:What is the history of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross? How has the Cathedral been featured in the news lately? Read these articles (one and two) and, depending depending on student age level, discuss accordingly. What are some pros and cons regarding the renovation of this Cathedral? In The Greedy Sparrow, a cross sits atop the Holy Cross Cathedral. Does the cathedral have a cross in the present day? Are Armenians today able to pray in this structure? How is the building used today and why? Ask students to discuss who constructed, owned and used the Cathedral in the past, and who claims ownership of it now, and why. - FOR ALL AGES: Following Armenian tradition, the bridal veil is white (symbolizing purity), while the costume is red (symbolizing sacrifice) and green (symbolizing fertility). Together, read this article and another about Armenian wedding traditions and explain what a narod is. - FOR ALL AGES: Minstrels (called ashughs or kousans/gusans in Armenian) held respected positions in Armenian society and culture. Why? Read the following articles (one and two) and discuss. Who was the most famous minstrel in Armenian history? Study guide written by Lucine Kasbarian, 2011 Map credit: Lucine Kasbarian & Ortelius Design.

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Add To Favorites Words count! Discover the power of words in poetry such as Maya Angelou’s Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Then create a changeable wheel of communication. Have you ever found yourself in an argument when you thought "What did I say?"? Word choices can either soothe or enflame communication. How do you feel when someone says "You …"? Attacked and wanting to attack back, right? What if they had said "I feel … when …"? Wouldn’t it help you to understand what was going on and not feel defensive? Words go a long way to resolve conflict peacefully. Identify word pairs.Read poetry or other literature that highlights the power of words, such as Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Brainstorm words that divide people, such as them or but. Come up with another word that communicates what needs to be said without escalating upset feelings, such as us or and. List as many word pairs as you can with Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils. It’s easy to make spelling corrections! Then create a spinning word wheel using your geometry skills. Here’s how we made ours. Draw speech bubbles. On a recycled file folder, sketch two people speaking to one another. Draw a speech bubble that comes out of both of their mouths and merges into one near the top of the page. Mark an area where each person’s mouth is, near the center of the page. Use Crayola Scissors to cut out the mouths and the area where the bubbles intersect. Create word circles. From a file folder, cut out at least one circle with a circumference large enough to fill the holes you made for the mouths and speech bubble. Poke a brass paper fastener through your drawing and into the center of the circle behind it. Write a word that tends to divide people on the part of the circle that shows in the speech bubble (such as <EM>but</EM>). Sketch frowns in the mouth areas to look like the people are upset. Turn the circle to an empty spot. Write a word with a similar meaning that could unite people (<EM>and</EM>). Draw smiles on their faces. Continue until you fill the circles. Remember, you can erase if necessary! Use Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils and Multicultural Markers to permanently color your word wheel and people. Share your words. Twist the circle to show people’s reactions when different words are said to each other. Team up with a classmate. Show each other your "divider" words and think of several similar "uniter" words. Create a Model Magic® finger puppet of a president you research then use puppets to interview other presidential finger Add To Favorites This powerful diorama pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrate his historic civil rights speech on the step Update an ancient craft with contemporary designs and art materials. These holiday ornaments are light and unbreakable, Display the 7 principles of Kwanzaa in a one-of-a-kind accordion window book. Storytelling and mathematics merge when students discover that by arranging and rearranging a set of seven geometric til Picasso’s art career spanned many decades and included a variety of styles and influences. Create a portrait collage ins What do you know about Japan---its geography, culture, sports, and industries? Decorate a fan with symbols of the countr Build an imaginative fortress, castle, or chateau using Crayola® Model Magic®. Our crayons have been rolling off the assembly line since 1903, and you can see how it’s done. Visit us »

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When students enter the 1st Grade they experience a significant transition between the Early Childhood classes (or other Kindergarten programs) and the Grade School. First grade provides a strong framework for classroom dynamics, desk-based work, group interactions. The curriculum introduces daily routines, methods and exercises from which academic, communicative and social skills develop. The first graders are introduced to the letters of the alphabet. Via both oral and visual traditions of storytelling the teachers move the children’s exposure through a transformation from pictures to symbols. In their storytelling, letters become familiar characters that the students relate to (rather than trying to conceive of them as abstract symbols). Sound and symbol relationships are practiced and students begin writing short sentences that they have memorized. These activities prepare children for the transition into reading as another form of narrative and constructing meaning. To develop numeracy skills, students first experience numbers through stories that identify their qualities and root them in a comprehensible world for the first grader. The students begin with the operation of division. Students are then introduced to the four primary mathematical operations as four characters in a story. Math is supported experientially through rhythmic movements and lively counting and sequencing work as well as through movement. After considerable practice with manipulatives and mental math, the written symbols for the four arithmetic operations and the equal sign are introduced. In addition to letters and math, the curriculum explores the natural sciences, ancient legends, handwork, music, painting, drawing and modeling. An awareness of history is explored through various folk tales. And finally first graders are exposed to foreign language instruction in Spanish. Main Learning Objectives - Main Lesson Skills: Learning and modeling classroom behaviors, Listening and speaking in constructive ways, Experiencing stories and texts and repeating and reflecting on their themes, situations and outcomes - Language Arts: Writing is taught first, then ABC letter & sound symbols, pre-reading skills taught through storytelling - Mathematics: Introduced through division, the four math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) are introduced simultaneously and integrated into stories demonstrating the themes and functional interactions of these operations - Sciences: Nature stories - Exercise: Students have multiple recesses, games classes, and frequent field trips to energize their bodies and activate their minds in social play, group dynamics, and exploration of the physical environment. - Art: Beeswax Modeling - Painting & Drawing: Form Drawings and Wet-on-Wet Painting for developmental (rather than artistic) exploration and assessment - Foreign Language: Spanish - Handwork: Knitting (for coordination skills) - Music: Singing - Games: Establishing Timing, Coordination and Spatial Awareness

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The Use of Animation as a Teaching and Learning Tool to Engage Students’ Interest in the Classroom From simply being seen on television and movies in the past, animation has recently become a common tool in classroom teaching and learning. The book, Learning with Animation (2007), notes that it can actually increase interest and motivation in learning. A module brochure of VIA University College in Denmark, entitled “Animation as a Learning Tool”, further promotes the use of animation as a fun and effective tool to encourage learning among children. It says that by using animation, “children develop skills and competences in storytelling, visual communication, cognition, emotional ethic and aesthetic aspects, observation and sensitive aspects, concentration, and problem-solving and innovative aspects.” The development of more Web 2.0 tools has allowed animation to be produced much more easily and inexpensive than in the past years (Educational Animation, 2010). The technology that used to be so specialized has now become accessible and possible for teachers and students, even without intensive technical training, to create their own animations. Two of these free tools include Go!Animate and FluxTime Studio. In the Box of Tricks website, the writer describes how he made use of Go!Animate as an assessment tool for his German language class, an alternative he used instead of asking his students to write a dialogue on paper or exercise book. A sample output by his12-year old pupil is showcased on the web page. On the other hand, FluxTime, which has an online and standalone version, promotes the use of animation in education in children through projects such as the Liverpool History Animation initiative, European Animation Project, and their latest animation competition called Mission to Titan, which was participated by 4 to 14-year old students. “Young people are fascinated by animation and they enjoy the opportunity to create their own” (FluxTime Studio, 2010). Moreover, the animation module brochure of VIA University College, claims that “children in particular, are said to learn best and most when they enjoy what they are doing”. With these, the use of animation in teaching and learning appears to be more appropriate and effective in young students, though not to be labeled superior to static graphics, as mentioned in the article of Lowe (2001). He further explains that animation, as compared to static graphics, can be more informative, closer to the characteristics of the subject matter, more explicit, more explanatory and clearer. Animation, certainly, provides a sure means to capture and maintain students’ interest in the classroom, given that many people grew up watching animations on television and in movies. However, the effectiveness of using animation, and other Web 2.0 tools in classroom teaching and learning, will always depend on the type of learning experience that the teacher designs for a class. Knowing the students’ context and interests will help provide a learning environment where a particular instructional and learning tool, like animation, can be used, and eventually meet the learning objectives set for a class. Animate Your Homework! (2008). Technology and Education Box of Tricks . Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=489 Animation as a learning tool. (2010). VIA University College (module brochure). Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.viauc.com/exchange/tools/Pages/tools.aspx Educational animation. (2010). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_animation FluxTime Studio. (2010). Animation for kids – Create animation online with FluxTime Studio. Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.fluxtime.com/ Learning with Animation: Research Implications for Design. (2007). New York: Cambridge University Press. Ruffini, M. F. (2009). Creating Animations in PowerPoint to Support Student Learning and Engagement. EDUCAUSE Quarterly 32(4). Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/CreatingAnimationsinPowerPoint/192966 Lowe, Richard. (2001) Beyond ‘Eye-Candy’: Improving Learning with Animations. Apple University Consortium.

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For today's students, the leap from playing video games to programming video games isn't necessarily a big one. Even elementary school students who enjoy filling some down-time with a favorite game can begin exploring the logic and sequencing involved in designing a video game. Before sitting down at a computer, encourage your students to work on mapping out a storyboard as they think through the premise (or plot) of their game. Who are the main characters? What is the goal? What kinds of problems will be encountered? What skills do you need to win? Answering these questions is an important first step and gives the game designer a chance to think about the concept of game levels or stages and the need to develop traps, challenges, and objectives for each level -- as well as the need to build in ways for main characters to successfully handle each situation. This stage in the development also encourages solid grounding in "process-oriented thinking." It's easy to envision A, D, and Z, but what steps happen in between? If a storyboard for a video game ends up looking like a massive flow-chart filled with conditional if-then statements (if this happens, then this will happen), chances are they are on the right path - and they are demonstrating the kinds of detail-oriented and conditions-based thinking necessary for computer programming. Storyboarding gets the ball rolling, but the magic lies in working with software that enables the designer to begin bringing the story (and the game) to life. As a parent or teacher watching a student's first steps in game design, it can be eye-opening to see the cycle of development as it unfolds. Having grown up with first-wave Atari systems and having spent time learning to program on a Commodore 64 system in my own pre-teen days, my history with video games is one steeped in games like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Asteroids, Centipede, and other "vintage" games. When I saw the game my 8-year-old designed as part of a week-long LEGO camp this summer, I was amazed to see familiar principles from those early games peeking through, as well as features and concepts he's absorbed from games he's played on the LEGO site (e.g. JunkBot and WorldBuilders) and from his own experience with hand-held games. With computers already an established part of the routine for many students and in many classrooms and learning environments, working with video game programming software can be viewed as an extension of computer literacy efforts and can increase a student's familiarity with technology as well as result in a project (and product) that she enjoys, is invested in, and is proud of. When it comes to introducing students to computers, there is room to do more than simply have them cut and paste digital stickers or use a "paint bucket" in a graphics program or learn to type a report in word processing software. For some, the grasp of digital storytelling and the programming that lies beneath it is innate, and with GUI-based game design software like Scratch from MIT, there's ample room for students to experiment. For those interested in programming but not in gaming, working with LEGO Mindstorms can provide introductory grounding in principles of programming, circuitry, timing, and robotics. Maybe your class will end up with a small bot that can help clean pencils up from the tables and floors! The following Science Buddies Project Ideas can get you and your students started: - Want To Make a Video Game? Here's How! (Science Buddies difficulty rating: 5-7) - Go, Gadget, Go! Building Robots with LEGO® Mindstorms® (Science Buddies difficulty rating: 6) If you have high-school-aged girls interested in computer programming, video game design, digital design, or another computer-related field, be sure and check out the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. National winners will receive a $500 cash award, a laptop, and a trip to the awards ceremony. The application period runs from September 15 to November 1, 2009. For more information on the award or the NCWIT, please visit: www.ncwit.org.

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Anchor Activities (or Sponge Activities) are designed for students to work on either immediately at the beginning of class time or after their class work has been completed, so that their instructional time is maximized. These activities are intended to review or extend learning of the subject matter, not to be busy-work. Activities may be designed for students to complete independently or in small groups. You may choose to assign particular students to particular tasks or to allow them to choose, when appropriate. All tasks should be relevant to the concepts being developed in class, but some may be more complex than others; there are times when students need the opportunity to do something that is low-stress and less demanding. Anchor Activity Ideas: Art Projects Related to Content: - Draw a picture to represent a concept recently studied (a map, a model, a diagram, etc.) - Build a 3-D model using Play-Doh - Math facts, Spelling, Vocabulary, Matching - Use blank, printable business cards to make your own, or have students make them Ideas for Prompts: - What questions do you currently have about _________? - Write 3 sentences describing what you learned about _______ this week. Creative Writing Related to Content: - What would have happened if Christopher Colmbus had landed on Antarctica instead of in the Caribbean? - What would happen if a volcano erupted with chocolate instead of lava? - Try to write three sentences without using the letter "i" Opinion Related to Content: - Which biome would you prefer to live in? Why? - Was ________ right to do what he/she did at/in __________? - Which part of this unit so far have you liked the best? Online Sources for Academic Games and Activities: - FunBrain - Math and other Games (for younger and middle level students) - Starfall - For beginning readers - Brain Pop - Learning Activities for Math, Health, Science, Technology, English, and Social Studies - Zoomerang - Create quizzes for students to take on-line Online Sources for Brain Teasers, Critical Thinking and Logic Puzzles: Preassessment and Content Review: - Give each student one or more sticky notes. Have them write one fact or characteristic of a topic of study on each sticky note (ie. George Washington, the Coriolis Effect, a story recently read in class). Have students put sticky notes on a board and then work in small groups to organize the notes into clusters or rows of similar ideas. Notes can be revisited after the lesson to add or adapt based on new knowledge. - Post 2-3 questions on the board. Have students respond in a journal. Answers can be revised after lessons and/or submitted to the teacher. - Have students respond to a question on the board on a sticky note or index card that are then submitted to the teacher immediately. This allows the teacher to get a immediate sense of how well the class understands/remembers the information. - Have students respond to a more complicated question on the board by discussing possible answers with a neighbor or preassigned partner. Then discuss as a whole class once class begins. - Allow students to choose (ie. may be recreational reading) - Assign reading, possibly 2-3 paragraphs from a chapter in the text (review or new information to be discuss further in class) - Consider using a tool such as Lexile measures to make sure the material students are given to read is at a level they can each successfully read independently

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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policy and advocacy Steps to Art Early Childhood Arts Education Initiative Fact Sheet About the Benefits of Arts Education for Children Benefits of Arts Education Source: Americans for the Arts, 2002 - Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills. - Has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries. - Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success. - Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting—skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond. - Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building self-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish. - Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions. Source: Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connections, 1998, Introduction - Plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development. - Motivates and engages children in learning, stimulates memory, facilitates understanding, enhances symbolic communication, promotes relationships, and provides an avenue for building competence. - Provides a natural source of learning. Child development specialists note that play is the business of young children; play is the way children promote and enhance their development. The arts are a most natural vehicle for play. The Need in Preschools Source: Americans for the Arts, 2002 - Preschool care and education, except for certain low-income programs, is considered a private service and receives little or no federal funding. - While the importance of early childhood arts education has received greater attention in recent years, the majority of funding and programming is directed to grades K–12, with preschools being largely underserved. - Arts education should not be considered a frill, but a necessity. Since preschools are not part of the public school system, funding sources vary greatly. When budgets are tight, arts programs, teachers, and supplies are often cut first. - More than four million children attend preschool programs nationwide. Source: Arts Education Partnership, Children’s Learning & the Arts: Birth to Age Eight - Preschool-age children are primed for learning and greatly accepting of most art forms. - Compelling evidence exists that early arts experience has an impact on all aspects of a child’s learning and development and that, in many ways, “earlier is better.” - Early childhood thus presents both a unique opportunity and a unique challenge; a part of that challenge is to engage and support all who care for and educate young children in making the arts an integrated and vital part of their earliest experiences. - We know that "art," understood as spontaneous creative play, is what young children naturally do—singing, dancing, drawing, and role-playing. We also know that the arts engage all the senses and involve a variety of modalities including the kinesthetic, auditory, and visual. When caregivers engage and encourage children in arts activities on a regular basis from early in life, they are laying the foundation for—and even helping wire children's brains for—successful learning. Adults Agree on Importance of Arts Education Source: Americans for the Arts national public opinion survey, January 2001 - Ninety-one percent of respondents believe the arts are vital to a well-rounded education. - Ninety-five percent of respondents believe the arts teach intangibles such as creativity, self-expression, and individualism. - Seventy-six percent of respondents somewhat or strongly agree that arts education is important enough to get personally involved. However, just thirty-five percent of those who are closely involved in the life of a child have done so. - Sixty-seven percent say they do not know how to get involved. - Eighty-nine percent of respondents believe that arts education is important enough that schools should find the money to ensure inclusion in the curriculum. - Ninety-six percent agree the arts belong to everyone, not just the fortunate or privileged. The Social and Academic Impact of Arts Education Source: Eisner, E. W., Ten Lessons the Arts Teach, (January 1998) - Art is defined as something aesthetic to the senses. A “work of art” is both an activity and a result; it is a noun and a verb. “One of the great aims of education is to make it possible for people to be engaged in the process of creating themselves. Artists and scientists are alike in this respect.” - Arts curricula is typically process-driven and relationship based, so its impact on academic performance is often underestimated and undervalued. The arts provide a logical counterbalance to the trend of standardized testing and should not be marginalized just because the curriculum is more difficult to measure. - The emphasis and time given to a particular school subject sends a message to students about how important that subject is in life. - Arts programs, especially those including trained professionals, can help draw students out of “formal” ways of approaching relationships, outcomes, and perceptions. - The arts can play a crucial role in improving students’ abilities to learn, because they draw on a range of intelligences and learning styles, not just the linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences upon which most schools are based. (Eloquent Evidence: Arts at the Core of Learning, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, talking about Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1995) The Physical and Sensory Impact of Arts Education A student making music experiences the “simultaneous engagement of senses, muscles, and intellect. Brain scans taken during musical performances show that virtually the entire cerebral cortex is active while musicians are playing.” (Learning and the Arts: Crossing Boundaries, 2000, p. 14) “Dramatic play, rhyming games, and songs are some of the language-rich activities that build pre-reading skills.” (Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connection, 1998, p. 1) “Preschoolers who were given music keyboard lessons improved their spatial-temporal reasoning…used for understanding relationships between objects such as calculating a proportion or playing chess.” (Education Leadership, November, 1998, p. 38) “Creative activity is also a source of joy and wonder, while it bids its students to touch, taste, hear, and see the world. Children are powerfully affected by storytelling, music, dance, and the visual arts. They often construct their understanding of the world around musical games, imaginative dramas and drawing.” (Hamblen, Karen A., Theories and Research That Support Art Instruction for Instrumental Outcomes, 1993) “Regular, frequent instruction in drama and sign language created higher scores in language development for Head Start students than for a control group.” (Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connections, 1998, p. 1) “Listening to music for just an hour a day changes brain organization…EEG results showed greater brain coherence and more time spent in the alpha state.” (Malyarenko, et al., 1996) Art Experiences that Promote Preschool Learning Source: Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connections, 1998, pp. 11–12 - Dance helps build motor control, body relationships, and a sense of direction. - Drawing, sculpting, and other visual arts develop spatial acuity. - Group activities, such as learning dance steps or singing songs, build social skills. - As children describe people and things in their world using pictures, body movements, and mime, they enhance their descriptive, nonverbal, cognitive capabilities. - Repeating stories, poems, and songs strengthens memory. - The art supplies children choose for their work reflects their approach to process and outcomes.

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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Creative Writing - Fiction edited: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 By Patrick H Dent Rated "G" by the Author. Posted: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 Become a Fan This article will address 7 of the key components of writing good fiction: Plotting, Characterization, Scene, Dialogue, Point of View, Genre, and Narrative Voice. When writing fiction, the author must rely upon his/her instincts and experiences to create a story. This article will provide an overview of 7 of the major elements of writing fiction in good form, i.e., the form editors expect. Plotting and characterization carry the other elements of the book. The plotting must be believable, plausible, and interesting. It is a sequence of events connected in a cause-and-effect manner. Generally the plot consists of a series of increasingly more intense conflicts, a climax (the most intense part of the book), and a final resolution. The plot must advance as the book unfolds. Usually the closer to the end of the book the climax is placed the better. Long works like novels can have many subplots and secondary climaxes and resolutions. Avoid using subplots in order to have cliché characters. Avoid too many coincidences. Flashbacks have been overused. A book is stronger when it runs chronologically. The reader should be able to identify with and care about the characters in the sense that the characters seem real to the reader. The characters must do something, and what they do must seem reasonable for them to have done it. Characters should be introduced early in the book. The more often a character is mentioned or appears, the more significance the reader will attach to the character. Also, the main character should be introduced before setting, so that the setting can be introduced from the point of view of the character. The nature of characters can be brought out through minimal description and the actions, thoughts, and dialogue of the characters. The author should allow the reader to make judgments about the characters; the author should avoid making the judgments for the reader. The feelings of the character should be demonstrated rather than told by the narrator. Yet, there are some very good books in which much of the narrative voice is about a character's feelings and thoughts or in which the narration goes into great detail and analysis of a character's feelings and thoughts at some point. So one rule about writing fiction is that there are no rules, or maybe: If it works, it works. Scene includes the place and time in which the book takes place. The scene should be described in specifics to make the book seem real, to set the atmosphere and mood of the book, to place limitations on the characters, or to help establish the basic conflict of the book. Weather can be an important part of a scene. The scene can be used for contrast, having something taking place in an unexpected place. Also, the more unfamiliar the reader is with the setting, the more interesting the scene. Dialogue makes fiction seem real. However, dialogue that copies reality may actually slow down a book. Avoid unnecessary or repetitive dialogue. Dialect in dialogue can be difficult to read. A small amount of it can be used to establish the nature of a character, but overuse will intrude on the book. The level of use of language by the characters- pronunciation, diction, grammar, etc.- is often used to characterize people in a book. Most often the main characters use the best English. Profanity and vulgarisms can be used where they seem appropriate. Overuse amounts to author intrusion and can interrupt the reader's belief in the book. Too much exposition through dialogue can slow down a book. Characters should not repeat in dialogue events which have already happened in the book. Also, one character should not tell another character what the second character should already know just so the author can convey information to the reader. The form of dialogue should be varied to keep the reader interested. However, don't try to find too many different ways to say "said." Interior dialogue is what a character is thinking. Dramatic dialogue is a character thinking out loud, without response from other characters. Indirect dialogue is the narrator telling what a character said. Dialogue should be used to develop character or to advance the book. It should not be used just to hear characters talk. Point of View First person point of view has the main character telling the story or a secondary character telling the main character's story. Everything that happens in the book must be seen or experienced by the character doing the narration. The reader's judgment of other characters in the book will be heavily influenced by the narrator. This can be very limiting. Also, a book written in first person usually means that the main character won't die in the plot. However, first person point of view gives a sense of intimacy to the book. Third person point of view can be objective or omniscient. An objective narrator describes actions but not the inner thoughts or feelings of the characters. An omniscient narrator can describe all the actions of all of the characters but also all of their inner thoughts and feelings as well. Genre is the main category into which a book fits. Most stories meet the criteria for multiple genres, but you should have some focus, identifying a market before you begin writing fiction. Narrative voice is the way the author uses language. The longer the work the less important language becomes. Above all, the author's work must tell a story. The author should not be more concerned with the words used than with the tale the author is trying to tell. Don't be a fanatic about words. The language is less important than characterization and plotting. However, a combination of a good story and good narrative voice will be a delight to read. Mistakes in English amount to author intrusion and detract greatly from the book. The most effective writing uses the active voice, and nouns and verbs so specific that they require no modifiers. The choice of words can help set the tone of the book. Beginning authors often miss one critical fact about writing fiction. It is up to the author to please the reader, not the other way around. Patrick Dent, author of the new covert ops thriller, Execution of Justice, at The online resource to help new authors refine their writing and marketing skills.

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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en

Fairy Tale Dice Storytelling is a wonderful and engaging learning tool to get your child to exercise his imagination and build up his reading and writing skills. You can inspire and encourage the inner storyteller in your child with this activity by having him create some fairy tale dice! All you need are some Styrofoam cubes, markers, and adhesive paper, and you'll have dice with story elements to play around with. Just roll the dice and sit back, as your child weaves his own innovative and adventurous story. What You Need: - 2 Styrofoam cubes - White construction paper - Clear laminate sticker, or adhesive paper What You Do: - Measure one side of a styrofoam square. With the measurements, help your child cut down the white construction paper into squares to cover each side of both dice. There will be 12 white squares total. - Set aside 6 white square pieces of paper. - On each of the 6 pieces of white paper, write the name of a different fairy tale character. Some examples are: Queen, Fairy, Jester, Wicked Witch, Princess, Knight. - On one styrofoam cube, help your child tape a drawing to each side. - Set this cube aside and begin on the second cube. - On the other set of square sheets of paper, write six different locations that exist in a fairy tale. Some examples are: Castle, Cave, Tower, Dark Woods, King's Chambers. - Help him tape these drawings on to each side of the cube. - Assist him in covering both cubes with clear laminate to protect the drawings. - Time to tell a story! - Have your child roll the die with characters on it. The story begins, "Once upon a time there was a..." - Whichever character is on the top of the die, will be the main character for the story. - He can then roll the second die, and continue with, "...who lived in a ..." - Have him continue the story until he needs to add another element. Then, have him roll the dice again. - If he gets stuck, ask him what actions or verbs his characters are doing, or what may happen next to his characters to encourage story development. Consider recording your child's fairy tale to share with friends and loved ones! Also, put the new fairy tale book in your child's library. Now he has his own published story to share with others and enjoy!

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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en

Video games can increase literacy in the classroom 3 October 2012 Are video games just a distraction in the classroom, or can they be used as a tool to increase literacy skills? And do educators have a responsibility to adapt methods of teaching based on culture and technology, or should more traditional methods be upheld? In a special guest presentation at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Professor of Media Education at the University of London’s Institute of Education Andrew Burn, has said that when children study video games in the classroom, they gain a deeper understanding of a wide range of concepts central to English. “Games are often a kind of interactive narrative, sometimes even adapted from literature: there’s even a computer game of Beowulf!” Professor Burn said. Professor Burn said he believed that making games and using authoring softwares in schools could promote similar creativity to writing poems and stories, and that the games are, in a sense, artforms, like literature and drama. “Computer games are a relatively new artform, and vary enormously in genre and style. They are often the medium of choice for people to engage with large adventure narratives, historically-themed stories and horror scenarios,” he said. “It has taken 100 years to for film to be considered as a legitimate curriculum medium: we shouldn't leave it so long with games if we want to engage with the cultural worlds familiar to young people.” Professor Burn said the negative side effects of introducing games into the learning environment appeared to be negligible. “There are no obvious negative effects to using games in the classroom. The ‘negative’ effects offered for games as a leisure medium - addiction, dumbing down, solitary pleasures - can all be levelled at certain kinds of literature too. It’s about discriminating choices, proper respect for popular culture, and sound pedagogy”, he said. Professor Burn’s lecture outlined recent research projects and ‘curriculum interventions’ in which school students make horror games, adventure games, and games based on Shakespeare. “I’ve worked with The Globe Theatre…so that students could make games based on Macbeth. The 13 year olds who tried it out made some very interesting games, developing not only themes of blood and death, but also elaborate visual metaphors such as the sewers of Lady Macbeth’s mind.” Dr Jen Scott Curwood, a lecturer in Secondary English and Media Studies agreed that there should be a focus on alternate ways of learning in schools. “I think in this era of high stakes assessment, Andrew shows the value of children’s play, of children’s multimodal literacies and their gaming practices. Andrew’s research in both school context and out of school context helps to understand the literacy that children bring to bear on their learning,” Dr Scott Curwood said. “Andrew’s talk at the University of Sydney has offered an opportunity for practising teachers, research candidates and scholars to learn about his important work. He is just brilliant.”

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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German Canadians, Canada's third-largest ethnic group, hail from a variety of national and cultural backgrounds: GERMAN, Austrian, SWISS, MENNONITE and others. German Canadians, Canada's third-largest ethnic group, hail from a variety of national and cultural backgrounds: GERMAN, Austrian, SWISS, MENNONITE and others. Common to them are their language (High or Low German, or a variety of dialects), the experience of leaving the Old World and finding roots in the New World, and that of learning the new language(s) and adapting to new customs. Reflecting their experience, first-generation writers generally perceive and portray the new country from their perspective of the old, and in their native tongue; the next generation, having acquired the new cultural traditions and at least one of the official languages, contributes to one of Canada's mainstream literatures, usually English Canadian. Chronology and locations of developing literary activity are related to settlement. In 1750 the first Germans arrived in Nova Scotia and established LUNENBURG. At the time of the American Revolution the Loyalists - among them some of German origin - moved north. During the 1830s many Mennonites from Pennsylvania settled in the Berlin [Kitchener, Ont] area. Large waves of German immigration came from Europe to Ontario from 1830-80, and to western Canada from 1880-1910. The most significant influxes followed the 2 world wars, and during the same periods many Mennonites came, mainly to Manitoba. The pioneers had little time for literature, but newspapers and periodicals provided an early forum for creative writing. One of the earliest publications, Der Neu-Schottländische Calender (1788-1801), featured anonymous poems and short prose. Among the numerous German-language newspapers, the Berliner Journal (Waterloo) is of special interest for its humorous and entertaining dialect letters to the editor by John A. Rittinger. Spiritual leaders published religiously oriented didactic literature in early church bulletins, such as the Kirchenblatt der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Synode von Canada (1869-1909) and Der Deutsche Lutheraner (1920-22); samples from 14 contributors are contained in the collection Hier laßt uns Hütten bauen. Deutsche Gedichte Lutherischer Pfarrer in Ontario (1869-1930) (Gerhard Friesen, ed, 1984). These poems, along with book-length publications by Father Eugen Funcken (1831-88) and Heinrich Rembe (1858-1927), for example, reflect strong influences of German classicism and romanticism, as does early Canadian Mennonite devotional didactic literature, which was written in Low German for a Mennonite audience. A significant departure in Mennonite literature is the recording of the experience of being uprooted from Russia, migrating to Canada and starting anew. Dietrich Neufeld's diary, Ein Tagebuch aus dem Reiche des Totentanzes (1921), and Hans Harder's In Wologdas weissen Wäldern (1934; tr A Russian Dance of Death, 1977, and No Strangers in Exile, 1979, respectively), and the novels of Gerhard Toews (pseud Georg de Brecht) deal with these chaotic times and events. Other important works are Arnold B. Dyck's educational, autobiographical novel Verloren in der Steppe (1944; tr Lost in the Steppes, 1974) and the vivid poetry of Gerhard Friesen (pseud Fritz Senn). Beginning in 1935, the periodical Die Mennonitische Warte encouraged literary activity. The anthologies Harvest (ed William de Fehr et al, 1974) and Unter dem Nordlicht (ed G.K. Epp, 1977) feature poetry and short prose in High and Low German and in English by more than 40 Mennonite contributors. Most significant in contemporary Mennonite literature is a new generation of writers born in Canada and writing in English, including Rudy WIEBE, Clint Toews, David Waltner-Toews, Menno Wiebe and Patrick Friesen. Writers who had made their debut in German-speaking Europe continued to publish there. Else Seel (1894-1974) came from Berlin in 1927 to the BC wilderness, where she wrote poetry, short prose and a diary reminiscent of the work of Catharine Parr TRAILL and Susanna MOODIE. Walter Bauer (1904-76), well known as an author in Germany, came to Canada in 1952. His books on Canadian themes reflect his European view of Canada. A small part of his work is available in English translation: The Price of Morning (1968) and A Different Sun (1976; both tr Henry Beissel) and A Slight Trace of Ash (1976, tr H. Milnes). Swiss-born Hermann Böschenstein (1900-82), author of expressionist prose, wrote, besides scholarly publications on German literature, short stories and a novel dealing perceptively with the immigrant experience. Some writers who were at home in both German and English made their mark in English Canadian literature: Felix Paul Greve, under his adopted name Frederick Philip GROVE, became one of Canada's most important realists; his work is deeply rooted in the literary traditions of German naturalism and neoromanticism. Three writers came to Canada during WWII via internment in England: Carl Weiselberger (1900-70), already known in Vienna, served as the art and music critic of the Ottawa Citizen after his internment, and wrote short stories and newspaper articles reflecting a refreshing enthusiasm for his new homeland. Henry KREISEL, born in Vienna, Austria, has written short stories and 2 novels, The Rich Man (1948) and The Betrayal (1964), with themes concerning Europe and Canada. Charles Wassermann (1924-78), reporter, broadcaster and writer, became an important intermediary between the Old World and the New. The writers who came to Canada at an early age were most successful in adopting English as their creative medium: Henry Beissel, born in 1929 in Cologne, Germany, came to Canada in 1951 via England. His work dealing with Indian and Inuit themes, his epic Cantos North (1982) and his subjective Kanada, Romantik und Wirklichkeit (1981) are sensitive statements about the Canadian experience. Derk Wynand, born in 1944 in Bad Suderode, Germany, came to Canada in 1952 and became known as the translator of H.C. Artmann and as an author of modernist poetry and short prose in English. Andreas Schroeder, born in Hoheneggelsen, Germany, in 1946, was educated in Canada and is known as an editor and translator from German and an author of prose and poetry in English. Ulrich Schaffer, born in 1942 in Germany, came to Canada in 1953. Though he writes in both English and German, his audience is primarily in German-speaking western Europe. His writing, often inspired by the Canadian landscape, is sometimes reminiscent of Kafka. Those writers who continue to write in German well after their arrival in Canada invariably have to contend with the problems of both publication in a minority language and reaching an audience. Rolf Windthorst, born in 1909 in Dortmund, Germany, and living in Alberta since 1956, and Valentin Sawatsky, born in Ukraine in 1914 and living in Ontario since 1950 - to name but 2 of the more prolific writers - have not been able to find the readership their works may deserve. The anthologies edited by Friesen as well as Ahornblätter (comp Heinz Kloss and Arnold B. Dyck, 1961) and Nachrichten aus Ontario (ed Hartmut Fröschle, 1981) feature samples of work by over 60 authors. The latter also contains a comprehensive introduction to German Canadian literature, a useful "Who's Who" and a selected bibliography. Critical attention to the writing of German Canadians is recent. The most important forums are the German-Canadian Yearbook (ed Hartmut Fröschle, 1973- ), the proceedings of symposia on German Canadian studies and 2 series of critical editions and studies of German Canadiana. K. Gürttler, ed, Symposium (6 vols, 1976- ); H. Loewen, ed, Mennonite Images (1980); W.E. Riedel, ed, The Old World and the New (1984).

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Tests designed to measure creativity in children or adults. Creativity tests, mostly devised during the past 30 years, are aimed at assessing the qualities and abilities that constitute creativity. These tests evaluate mental abilities in ways that are different from—and even diametrically opposed to—conventional intelligence tests. Because the kinds of abilities measured by creativity tests differ from those measured by intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, persons with the highest scores on creativity tests do not necessarily have the highest IQs. Creative people tend to have IQs that are at least average if not above average, but beyond a score of 120 there is little correlation between performance on intelligence and creativity tests. Most creativity tests in use today are based at least partially on the theory of creativity evolved by J. P. Guilford in the 1950s. Guilford posited that the ability to envision multiple solutions to a problem lay at the core of creativity. He called this process divergent thinking and its opposite—the tendency to narrow all options to a single solution—convergent thinking. Guilford identified three components of divergent thinking: fluency (the ability to quickly find multiple solutions to a problem); flexibility (being able to simultaneously consider a variety of alternatives); and originality (referring to ideas that differ from those of other people). Early tests designed to assess an individual's aptitude for divergent thinking included the Torrance (1962) and Meeker (1969) tests. The most extensive work on divergent thinking was done under Guilford's direction at the University of Southern California by the Aptitudes Research Project (ARP), whose findings between the 1950s and 1970s produced a broad structure-of-intellect (SI) model which - Word Fluency: writing words containing a given letter - Ideational Fluency: naming things that belong to a given class (i.e., fluids that will burn) - Associational Fluency: writing synonyms for a specified word - Expressional Fluency: writing four-word sentences in which each word begins with a specified letter - Alternate Uses: listing as many uses as possible for a given object - Plot Titles: writing titles for short-story plots - Consequences: listing consequences for a hypothetical event ("What if no one needed to sleep?") - Possible Jobs: list all jobs that might be symbolized by a given emblem The figurai ARP tests, which measure spatial aptitude, include the following: - Making Objects: drawing specified objects using only a given set of shapes, such as a circle, square, etc. - Sketches: elaborating on a given figure to produce sketches of recognizable items - Match Problems: removing a specified number of matchsticks from a diagram to produce a specified number of geometric shapes - Decorations: using as many different designs as possible to outline drawings of common objects Divergent thinking tests are generally evaluated based on the number and variety of answers provided; the originality of the answers; and the amount of detail they contain (a characteristic referred to as elaboration). A number of creativity tests currently in use include sections that measure divergent thinking. The Creativity Assessment Packet (ages 6-18) is composed of Test of Divergent Thinking as well as Divergent Feelings Test that measures traits including imagination, curiosity, risk-taking, and complexity. A Divergent Production subtest is part of the Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students (SAGES) (ages 7-13), together with a Reasoning subtest that emphasizes the identification of relationships and a multiple-choice School Acquired Information subtest. The goals of the Test of Creative Potential (TCP) (ages 2-adult) are described using the language of divergent thinking theory: fluency, flexibility, and elaboration. Like the ARP tests, it has a figurai section (Picture Decoration) to measure nonverbal ability, as well as a verbal section and a symbolic section. Among the oldest of the divergent thinking tests are the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (ages 5-adult), which also have both verbal and figurai sections and measure fluency and other standard categories. Rather than ways of thinking, some creativity tests evaluate attitudes (based on the child's answers), behavior (based on descriptions by an observer familiar with the child, usually a parent or teacher), creative perception, or creative activity. The Creativity Attitude Survey (CAS) (grades 4-6), composed of 32 statements for which the child indicates agreement or disagreement, assesses confidence in one's own ideas; appreciation of fantasy; theoretical and aesthetic orientation; openness to impulse expression; and desire for novelty. The Preschool and Kindergarten Interest Descriptor (PRIDE) (ages 3-6) is one of the tests completed by an observer rather than by the person being evaluated. It includes 50 items that assess children's behavior in the following areas: Independence-Perseverance, Imagination-Playfulness, Originality, and Many Interests. The Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) (child and adolescent) include 95 questions by which teachers evaluate students in such areas as motivation, leadership, art, music, dramatics, and both precise and expressive communication. The Creativity Checklist (CCL) (grades K-graduate school) is also filled out by an observer; it measures resourcefulness, constructional skill, ingenuity or productiveness, independence, and positive self-referencing behavior, as well as the more standard fluency, flexibility, and complexity that are common to divergent thinking tests. Some creativity tests specifically address the problem of assessing creativity in minority populations, who are at a disadvantage in tests that place a strong emphasis on verbal and semantic ability. The SOI-Learning Abilities Test (ages 2-adult) includes such categories as constancy of objects in space; auditory attention; psychomotor readiness; auditory concentration for sequencing; and symbolic problem-solving. The use of creativity tests such as this can aid in identifying gifted minority students, who, as a group, do not perform as well on standard IQ tests as non-minority students and are thus overlooked in the allocation of resources for talented students. (In one minority-populated school in Florida, only four out of 650 students were labeled as gifted according to aptitude standard tests.) The Eby Gifted Behavior Index (all ages) reflects the growing view of creativity as specific to different domains. It is divided into six talent fields: verbal, social/leadership, visual/spatial, math/science problem-solving, mechanical/technical, Creativity tests have been found reliable in the sense that one person's scores tend to remain similar across a variety of tests. However, their validity has been questioned in terms of their ability to predict the true creative potential of those who take them. In one study, there was little correlation between the scores of both elementary and secondary students on divergent thinking tests and their actual achievements in high school in such creative fields as art, drama, and science. Creativity tests have also been criticized for unclear instructions, lack of suitability for different populations, and excessive narrowness in terms of what they measure. In addition, it may be impossible for any test to measure certain personal traits that are necessary for success in creative endeavors, such as initiative, self-confidence, tolerance of ambiguity, motivation, and perseverance. Tests also tend to create an anxiety-producing situation that may distort the scores of some test takers. Teresa Amabile, a well-known researcher in the field of creativity, has advocated assessing creativity by observing a child's creative activities in a natural setting, such as painting or storytelling. Critiques of tests that involve divergent thinking have also been based on the conclusion of many researchers that creative accomplishment actually requires both divergent and convergent thinking. Besides being original, the successful solution to a problem must also be appropriate to its purposes, and convergent thinking allows one to evaluate one's ideas and reject them if they cannot withstand further scrutiny. Amabile, Teresa. The Social Psychology of Creativity. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1983. ——. Growing Up Creative: Nurturing a Lifetime of Creativity. New York: Crown Publishers, 1989. Guilford, J. P. The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Sternberg, R. J. The Nature of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Torrance, E. P. Guiding Creative Talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.

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The first specimen of Paranthropus boisei, also called Nutcracker Man, was reported by Mary and Louis Leakey in 1959 from a site in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation. The evolution of the distant ancestors of humans and other primates may have been driven by dramatic volcanic eruptions and the parting of continents, according to a controversial new theory. Scientists remain skeptical about the idea, however. According to prevailing theories, primates originated in a small area. From this center of origin, they dispersed to other regions and continents. The problem with this idea is that it has "resulted in all sorts of contradictory centers of origin," from Africa to Asia to the Americas, said researcher Michael Heads at the Buffalo Museum of Science in New York. It has also led to perhaps improbable suggestions that primates rafted across the Mozambique Channel to reach Madagascar or even across the Atlantic to reach South America, "imaginary migrations" that are "incompatible with ecological evidence," Heads noted. Instead, Heads suggests the ancestors of primates and their nearest relatives were actually widespread across different parts of the supercontinent Pangaea some 185 million years ago, back when the lands that make up our continents nowadays were fused together. These ancestors could have evolved into the primates in central-South America, Africa, India and southeast Asia, the flying lemurs and tree shrews in southeast Asia, and extinct creatures known as plesiadapiformes in North America and Eurasia. The big split Dramatic geological events on Pangaea — major volcanic eruptions and the splitting up of the continent — might have then helped split the primates into different lineages. For instance, Heads suggested that at roughly the same time as intense volcanic activity in Africa about 180 million years ago, the group that includes humans, other simians, and tarsiers — altogether known as the haplorhines, or dry-nosed primates — split from the strepsirrhines or curly-nosed primates, which include the lemurs and lorises. There are more examples he poses as well. He speculated the lemurs of Madagascar diverged from their African relatives at roughly the same time as the opening of the Mozambique Channel some 160 million years ago, while New and Old World monkeys diverged with the opening of the Atlantic about 130 million years ago. Heads detailed his concept in the journal Zoologica Scripta. Behind the theory Heads reached these conclusions by incorporating spatial patterns of primate diversity and distribution as historical evidence for how they might have evolved. Prior research looked solely at the fossil record and genetic data, he said. Still, doubts remain. Evolutionary biologist Anne Yoder at Duke University in Durham, N.C., bluntly stated, "I believe that Heads' theory is absurd." While Heads conjectures that primates were widespread across Pangaea some 185 million years ago, the ages of the oldest primate fossils known to date suggest they emerged some 56 million years ago, while genetic data suggested they originated some 80 to 116 million years ago. Primatologist John Fleagle at Stony Brook University in New York added that Heads' findings "are inconsistent with all other evidence we have about the timing of major events in primate evolution." Heads notes that fossils often serve as an incomplete record for what and when animals actually existed. He added that genetic data might also potentially lead scientists to underestimate ages by tens of millions of years. Although Fleagle noted it was reasonable to assume that the fossil record is imprecise when it comes to what species emerged when, "the question is how far off is the fossil is record likely to be." For instance, "Why don't we find even a hint of a primate in the very rich fossil record of South America between 180 million years ago and 26 million years ago, if they there were actually there?" Indeed, new research suggests primates could have rafted from Africa to Madagascar. Computer simulations detailed online Jan. 20 in the journal Nature suggest powerful ocean surface currents flowed eastward for a few million years from northeast Mozambique and Tanzania to the island about 50 million years ago. These could have rapidly carried the ancestors of Madagascar's mammals outward, following storms that washed them out on natural rafts of trees or large vegetation mats. "I was very excited to see this paper," Yoder said. This kind of dispersal had been an idea without actual data backing it up. "This takes it out of the realm of storytelling and makes it science," she added. - Top 10 Things That Make Humans Special - Top 10 Mysteries of the First Humans - Human Origins: Our Crazy Family Tree

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Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited From Slavery, By Anne Farrow, Joel Lang, and Jenifer Frank, Ballantine, 255 pp., $25.95 A startling new history exposes the plantations, slave ships, and rebellions in the North, upending the notion that slavery was a peculiarly Southern institution. In 1641, Massachusetts became the first colony to recognize slavery by statute. Four years later, a Boston ship made one of the earliest known slave voyages from New England to Africa. By the late 1700s, tens of thousands of blacks were living as slaves in the North. ''Complicity" shows just how integral slavery was to the region's economy. While the authors are careful to say that slavery was never as widespread in the North as it was in the South, the scope of the North's involvement with slavery is staggering to anyone raised with the notion that slavery was limited to the South. In the mid-1800s, Charles Sumner, a Bay State abolitionist, railed against the unholy alliance ''between the cotton-planters and flesh-mongers of Louisiana and Mississippi and the cotton spinners and traffickers of New England -- between the lords of the lash and the lords of the loom." In 1861, the mayor of New York suggested the city -- long a hub of illegal slave trade -- secede from the Union in large part so cotton trade with the South could continue. ''Complicity" grew out of The Hartford Courant's investigation of slavery throughout Connecticut. The reporters discovered that more than 5,000 Africans were enslaved in Connecticut during the year before the American Revolution. Now three Courant veterans have produced a rich history of slavery in the North that adds new dimensions to what you might have learned in school. The successful voyage of a slave ship was 10 times as profitable as an ordinary trading voyage from New England to the West Indies. Rhode Island entered the slave trade in a big way, shipping nearly 50,000 slaves in less than 20 years. By the mid-18th century, plantations in the Narragansett area matched the plantations of Virginia's Tidewater region in acreage and numbers of slaves. For more than a century, Ivoryton and Deep River, Conn., were an international center for milling elephant tusks into piano keys. As many as 2 million enslaved Africans carried tusks hundreds of miles to the coast so the tusks could be shipped to America. Two industry leaders were abolitionists who ignored the contradiction between their business and their politics. ''Complicity" joins a number of books published over the past year that have taken a closer look at slavery. ''Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution" by David Waldstreicher analyzes Franklin's history as an indentured servant and, later in life, a slaveholder. ''New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan" by Jill Lepore examines the fires of New York City in 1741 to which ''Complicity" devotes a chapter. The fires were thought to be a slave rebellion and 30 slaves were executed. Unlike the tighter focus of those two books, ''Complicity" ranges across a wide swath of territory and time. This is the book's weakness as well as its strength. Each chapter moves to a new place and another facet of the North's entanglement with slavery. A reader can be forgiven for feeling that this is history for the fast-paced MTV generation. Yet the sheer volume of numbers and narratives from Northern states brings home the extent to which slavery was a part of everyday life in a region largely defined by its antipathy toward the institution. Much of what's in ''Complicity" was gleaned from old newspapers and more than 100 period drawings, photos, and documents bring a sense of immediacy to the storytelling. This is history at its best, a story not only of the government officials who made front-page news, but a story of the fugitive slaves for whom a bounty was offered in the classified ads.

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Writing an Autobiography - Grades: 6–8 - Learn about the process of writing; brainstorm ideas, write draft, revise, edit, finalize draft and share work. - Be able to write effectively and with detail about their personal history (family, friends, neighborhood), growth and goals over time. - Read and critique published autobiographies to help understand effective writing techniques used. - Read and respectfully critique the work of their peers. - Final product will be completed as a published piece. Worksheets, timelines, selection of autobiographies for reference, pencil, pen and notebook paper and supplies for scrapbooks Set Up and Prepare Explain the meaning and purpose of writing an autobiography. Review autobiographies that would be of interest to your students. Discuss what devices authors use to make the stories compelling. Provide worksheets for students to use to help them generate ideas and support their writing. Review the writing process. Part I — Learning From Our Pasts Tell students they will be writing about their personal family history and important events in their lives that have shaped who they are today. Discuss that a family is composed of people living together and functioning as a unit. Give them a copies of the Birth Certificate and Family page and ask them complete them to the best of their knowledge. They can take the worksheets home to ask family members for help completing any missing information. Part II — Who I Am Today Explain to students that family is composed of people living together and functioning as a unit. Ask students to complete the Friends and Folks in My Neighborhood worksheets. Using the Family and other related worksheets as reference, students will write and describe their neighborhoods and significant relationships with family, friends, teachers or community members as a way to write about and define how these people have impacted and influenced who they are today. Part III — Preparing for the Future Ask students to complete the Scenario, Things I Like to Do and Want Ads worksheets. Explain that a scenario is an account or synopsis of a projected course of action or events. Ask them to make projections for and write about various stages of their lives, e.g., 10, 20 or 50 years from now, etc. Part IV — The Final Product Students will use the three written parts to complete the final draft of their autobiography. This piece will be peer reviewed and teacher reviewed before publishing. The timeline and scrapbook pieces can be used to support their writing. Use worksheets as guide to complete a visual timeline about important events their lives. Students choose "firsts" events to use on their timelines, such as: my first birthday, Christmas, first day of school, first haircut, visit to the dentist, first night away from home, etc. Use worksheets to make autobiographical scrapbooks. Students are encouraged to talk to their parents and family members about their writing. They can discuss important events in their childhoods such as, the day they were born, learning to walk and talk, funny things they use to do, etc. After students complete their information gathering, they can work on their autobiographical timelines and scrapbooks. - Brainstorm a list of possible writing ideas/topics to provide focus for writing stories with more details. - Use worksheets and ten-minute sessions of directed writing for students having difficulty beginning their writing - Write first draft - Revise first drafts through peer conferences - Edit revised work through teacher conferences - Share final drafts - Did students understand and follow the writing process? - Did students enjoy thinking about their personal lives, families, and goals for the future? - Did writing an autobiography change their thinking about their future goals? - Books for Teaching Successful Autobiography Writing by Elizabeth Ramos - Website for Timeline: http://www.ourtimelines.com Ask students to find a partner to read and respectfully critique their writing using the following criteria: - Is this story in good order? Are the events in sequence? - How are the paragraphs? Are all the ideas about one subject/event grouped together? - Does this story have a good beginning, middle, and end? Which parts, if any, need more information? - Are there any parts of this story that could be left out? Why? - Does this story have well-structured sentences? Which need more work? - Are there grammar mistakes? - Are there spelling mistakes? - Does this writing make you feel any particular way? Why? - What parts of this story are you able to visualize? - What did you like best about this story?

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Spacial (see, draw, visualize it, mind-mapping) Visual-Spatial intelligence makes it possible for people to perceive visual or spatial information, to transform this information, and to recreate visual images from memory. Well-developed spatial capacities are needed for the work of architects, sculptors, and engineers. The students who turn first to the graphs, charts, and pictures in their textbooks, who like to "web" their ideas before writing a paper, and who fill the blank space around their notes with intricate patterns are also using their spatial intelligence. While usually tied to the visual modality, spatial intelligence can also be exercised to a high level by individuals who are visually impaired. People with well developed spatial- visual intelligence enjoy drawing, designing, looking at pictures and images, slides, videos, and films. They are especially proficient at imagining, visualization, sensing changes, doing puzzles, and reading charts and maps. They absorb information best through visualizing, using the "mind's eye", and by manipulating and working with pictures and images. This intelligence can serve a variety of scientific ends; as a useful tool, as an aid to thinking, as a way of capturing information, and a way to formulate and solve problems, and graphically represent patterns. Visual/ Spatial intelligence: Perceives objects accurately, relies on sight and ability to visualize, forming mental pictures, imagining, able to manipulate mental images and represent things graphically. Preferred Activities: Guided imagery, collages, labelling, pictures, pretending. think it, conceptualize) Logical-mathematical intelligence enables individuals to use and appreciate abstract relations. Scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers all rely on this intelligence. So do the students who "live" baseball statistics or who carefully analyze the components of problems--either personal or school-related before systematically testing solutions. People with well developed logical mathematical intelligence are sensitive to logical patterns and relationships, to functions, propositions, and hypotheses. They can easily use categorization, classification, inference, generalization, and calculation. They are "natural" critical thinkers, and adeptly handle long chains of reasoning. These individuals learn best when provided with opportunities to classify, categorize, and work with abstractions and to experiment. They like to figure things out by asking questions, exploring and finding the order and logic in the content to be learned. They are usually good at math and in logical problem-solving. Logical/mathematical intelligence: works with numbers, deductive and inductive thinking, recognizes abstract patterns, performs complex calculations, and is able to reason scientifically. Preferred Activities: Calculations, numbers, scientific thinking, sequencing, logical problems write, talk about it, listen to it) Linguistic intelligence allows individuals to communicate and make sense of the world through language. Poets exemplify this intelligence in its mature form. Students who enjoy playing with rhymes, who pun, who always have a story to tell, who quickly acquire other languages--including sign language--all exhibit linguistic intelligence. People with well developed linguistic intelligence find their fullest identity in writing or in verbal storytelling. They are articulate, accurate spellers, and avid readers. They often think in words, and learn well by listening to others speak, by reading, writing, and verbalizing. They love to play with language, are good at remembering names, places, dates, and trivia. If these people are given the opportunity to hear, see, and say words associated with the desired outcome, they will readily learn practically anything of interest to them. Linguistic intelligence: Those with this intelligence can analyse their own use of language, have a good memory, understand grammar well. Preferred Activities: Creative writing, reading, explanations, journal writing, biographies, feelings, reports Body Kinesthetic intelligence allows individuals to use all or part of the body to create products or solve problems. Athletes, surgeons, dancers, choreographers, and crafts people all use bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. The capacity is also evident in students who relish gym class and school dances, who prefer to carry out class projects by making models rather than writing reports, and who toss crumbled paper with frequency and accuracy into wastebaskets across the room. People with well developed bodily - kinesthetic intelligence process knowledge through their bodily sensations and learn best by touching, manipulating, and moving. They often have a natural sense of how their body should act and react in demanding physical situations. Learning is best facilitated by providing a kinetic component, where the learner can interact with space in some way to help them process and remember the new information through their body. Bodily/Kinaesthetic intelligence: Have a good wisdom of bodily movements and can connect mind and body. They have good awareness and control of body movements. Preferred Activities: Dancing, acting, drama, role playing, inventing, physical gestures Musical intelligence allows people to create, communicate, and understand meanings made out of sound. While composers and instrumentalists clearly exhibit this intelligence, so do the students who seem particularly attracted by the birds singing outside the classroom window or who constantly tap out intricate rhythms on the desk with their pencils. People with well developed musical intelligence excel at remembering melody, noticing the rhythms of life, and usually keep perfect time. They are hummers of tunes, singers of songs, probably play an instrument, and often listen to music. These learners get new information by listening to melodies, writing musical notations, or in using rhythm to help them master new concepts. They are able to hear music and rhythm accurately, to remember, master, and eventually produce musical sequences. Musical intelligence: These people possess a sensitivity to tone and sound, also a sensitivity to the structure of music Preferred Activities: Chants, music, singing, rhythmic patterns, humming, instrumental sounds cooperative learning, social) Interpersonal intelligence enables individuals to recognize and make distinctions about others' feelings and intentions. Teachers, parents, politicians, psychologists and salespeople rely on interpersonal intelligence. Students exhibit this intelligence when they thrive on small-group work, when they notice and react to the moods of their friends and classmates, and when they tactfully convince the teacher of their need for extra time to complete the homework assignment. People with well developed interpersonal intelligence have a strong sense of empathy and concern for others. They are often natural leaders, and take others "under their wing". They are almost always with a group of people and have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. They like to talk with others, to teach others, and to organize, mediate and communicate in group activities. They generally understand people and instinctively know how to work with them. They learn best when given the opportunity to interview others, share ideas, and to cooperate and collaborate to complete any task. Interpersonal intelligence: These people are cooperative in groups, good at role play, discussion, communication and teamwork, and have the ability to see all points of view and are good at group projects. Preferred activities: Feedback, co-operative groups, discussions, group projects, teamwork, interviews, team assessment to personal life, make choices, independent) Intrapersonal intelligence helps individuals to distinguish among their own feelings, to build accurate mental models of themselves, and to draw on these models to make decisions about their lives. Although it is difficult to assess who has this capacity and to what degree, evidence can be sought in students' uses of their other intelligences--how well they seem to be capitalizing on their strengths, how cognizant they are of their weaknesses, and how thoughtful they are about the decisions and choices they make. These type of people have an ability to reflect on internal states, have a good metacognitive awareness, good concentration, higher order reasoning, and an awareness of personal feelings. People with well - developed intrapersonal intelligence have an accurate picture of their inner self - their strengths and weaknesses, their inner moods, goals, intentions, motivations, temperament, beliefs, and desires. They have the capacity to cultivate superb self - discipline, self - understanding, and high self - esteem. They seem to be self - motivating, need their own quiet space to work in, and "march to the beat of a different drummer". These learners take in knowledge more easily through independent study and self - paced instruction. They absorb new information best when involved in individual projects. Preferred Activities: Reflection, autobiography, focusing, goal setting, higher order reasoning, awareness of personal feelings Spiritual (Naturalist) intelligence allows people to distinguish among, classify, and use features of the environment. Farmers, gardeners, botanists, geologists, florists, and archaeologists all exhibit this intelligence, as do students who can name and describe the features of every make of car around them. Spiritual(Naturalist) intelligence. These type of people find it easy to categorise plant names and recognize animals. Preferred Activities: History, philosophy, religion, botany, geology are independent of each other and help explain a person's specific abilities in certain areas. The multiple intelligences framework also helps identify particular strengths in specific areas of intelligence. All individuals are different in their learning styles and intellectual profiles. (1) We have to consciously learn through our strongest intelligence(s), which may be different from the intelligences emphasized in the main; and, while emphasizing your unique learning style, you will also (2) enhance your brain power by using your full range of brain skills. It would be very useful to you, at this point, to learn what YOUR unique learning style is. CLICK HERE FOR LEARNING STYLE

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Help your child learn to write well (and enjoy doing it) with these 10 expert tips. Skilled writing is important not only from elementary school through college, but throughout adulthood. Good writing skills help your child do well in school, enjoy self-expression and become more self-reliant. Unfortunately, research consistently shows that many students have difficulty writing with clarity, coherence or organization. Surprisingly few students can write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of four students have serious writing difficulties, and the number of students who report that they enjoy writing decreases the older they get. You can make a big difference in helping your child learn to write well and to enjoy doing it! 1. Provide appropriate tools and space. Provide plenty of paper—lined and unlined—and different kinds of writing utensils including pencils, pens, markers and crayons. Allowing your child to choose a special pen or journal will help promote a willingness to write. Make sure the lighting is adequate and that the writing surface and chair are comfortable for your child. 2. Allow time. Help your child spend time planning a writing project or exercise. You may even want to set aside a daily writing time at home. Writing for twenty minutes per day is equally as important as reading the same amount of time. Respond to the ideas your child expresses. Focus first on what your child has written, not how it was written. In the beginning, you can ignore minor errors while your child is just getting ideas together. After you acknowledge and respond to the content of your child's writing, go back and correct errors or misspelled words. Always say something good about your child's writing. Is it accurate? Descriptive? Thoughtful? Interesting? 5. Write together. Have your child help you with writing, even such routine ones as to-do lists and thank-you notes. This helps the child see a variety of ways in everyday life that writing is important. 6. Make it real. Your child needs to do real writing. Encourage your child to write letters or send email to relatives and friends or to help with shopping lists. 7. Suggest notes and postcards. Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings. Store-bought or handcrafted postcards can provide an additional impetus for your child to write about the experience. Talk with your child as much as possible about his impressions. Encourage your child to describe people and events in detail. 9. Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Encourage your child to write about things that happen at home and school, or about special friends. Encourage your child to write about personal feelings—pleasures as well as disappointments. A personalized journal—one your child selects—will encourage journal keeping. 10. Practice creative writing. Ever read a story and have your child disagree with the ending? Did he side with the villain? Did he complain that a character's decision was foolish, or a plot twist seemed unfair? Encourage your child to try writing a different version. Maybe one of the ugly stepsisters nabs the prince instead of Cinderella. Maybe Beth from Little Women can be resurrected. Or perhaps your child can insert himself inside the tale to talk sense into the characters and put the story to right. Don't worry if writing is too advanced for your child. Let him dictate to you, while he illustrates each page. Punch holes in the paper and tie it together with string for a finished book. Before long he'll be trying to sell the movie rights! Flip's Fantastic Journal By Angelo Decesare Puffin (Ages 7–10) The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ By Sue Townsend Avon (Ages 10 and up)

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Animation: Activity 3 Cel animation is the most familiar type of animation, but a good animator can bring clay models, sand, paper, puppets, or pins to life. Shapes or figures are cut out and photographed against a backlight for silhouette animation or arranged and shot from above to create collage animation. A more three-dimensional effect can be achieved by using stop-motion photography to animate movable figures made of clay, wood, or other materials. In the two types of animation called "time-lapse photography" and "pixilation," a camera is set to snap one frame at regular intervals. Time-lapse compresses time, reducing the blooming of a flower, for instance, to a few seconds of screen time. Pixilation works in a similar manner, but with actors performing in real time.When the film is played back, the action appears jerky, something like an old silent movie when it is projected at the speed of sound movies. Animated films can also be made by drawing or scratching directly on the film, painting scenes on glass, moving wire-thin black pins on a white pinboard or even by using the photocopying machine. No matter what the material, each step of an animated film is worked out beforehand on storyboards, a representation of a film in outline form, using sketches, small drawings, and captions. Since every second of a typical animated film involves 12 to 24 changes (more than 50,000 visuals for a 70-minute film), it is too expensive and time-consuming to complete an entire animation sequence and then scrap it. Even if the animator is not telling a story but has an abstract design in mind, he or she plans in detail the progression of images and how they can be combined to achieve the desired effect. The storyboard is an indispensable tool for the animator and is revised often. Comic strips, with their captions, close-ups, long shots, and other storytelling techniques, are similar to storyboards and can help your students understand the format. Encourage them to study comic strips or graphic novels to learn the components of visual storytelling. Discuss the way pacing, dialogue, color, line, shape, and composition create moods, convey emotion and move the story forward. Consider the way movement is depicted in a still drawing. Then have students storyboard the key moments in a sequence from one of their own stories or from a selected animated film, using some of the techniques they have studied. Show students a sequence or short film made without the use of cels. Some suggestions from the list at the beginning of this teacher's guide are Crac (pastel-on-paper drawings), Closed Mondays, Creature Comforts, A Close Shave, and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (all four done in clay), The Street (washes of watercolor and ink), The Sand Castle (sand), Mindscape (pinboard), Neighbours (pixilation), Pas de Deux (optical printing), and Coraline and Fantastic Mr.Fox (stopmotion puppets). Have students create a short animated film using an alternative medium like one of the above,or by using puppets, dolls, silhouettes, shadows, or construction paper.

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You may think your story is unimportant. However, how many times have your kids asked what the world was like when you grew up? They love to hear stories of you and themselves. By documenting your own story, not only can others experience your stories, they can see how you interact with your world. NOTE: This badge program builds on “Tell My Story” which encourages sharing stories of your life through storytelling. 1. What do you want to leave behind? Perhaps you want to leave stories of your life? Dreams you have achieved? A special experience that changed your life? Make a list of the items you wish to share with future generations. This might be your own stories or from your family. Telling your story 2. Short stories. You might be interested in telling short stories. Think of a funny or embarrassing moment in your life. Make notes about how you might tell that story. 3. Long stories. Perhaps you want to go beyond just a moment in time. Create a brief outline of a longer event such as a vacation or sport season you participated in. Make notes about how you might tell the story. Most people think of written stories when they think of telling a story. Write a short story about yourself. It can be short or long, encompassing something as simple as the first time you did something or complicated like experiences during a week at summer camp. Oral traditions have been around longer than written ones. Tell your story to others. Record your telling as well as the questions you are asked afterwards. Use the questions to help improve your oral story. 6. Skit or plays. Skits or plays allow you to tell your story through many mouths. After documenting your story, ask others how they perceived the same events. Create a skit trying to keep to the authenticity of many points of view. Create a puppet show based on your story. You can use shadowgraphs, sock puppets, marionettes or any other movable personification of yourself to tell your story. Perform your story for others. Create a piece of art that reminds you of a story. Share your story with someone else. Ask if they can see the links between your art and story. You can have photos of people and locations in your stories. A series of photos can allow you to tell a story as well. Try telling your story through photos alone. Add brief quotes or comments as triggers to remember the story behind the photo. 10. Combining words and art. Journals, whether written or art, are a great way to tell your story. When you open a diary or journal, you feel like you are taking a glimpse into someone else’s life. Start a journal to tell your story. Tell your story with digital media. Record your story as an audio or video file. Perhaps you might want to start a personal blog or podcast. Perhaps digital photos can be included in your legacy. Send these files / links to friends or distribute on YouTube. Creating a story If you feel like you don’t have a story to tell, start one today. Find a way to start making a change in your life, the lives of those you love or your community. Explore your passions and start now. Keep track of your story as you create it. Giving service to others affects your life as well as other in a positive way. Find ways to give service that allow you to start creating a story. Start and build a business. Build your reputation with organizations where your expertise can benefit them. Start your own cause or significantly improve another. Build a garden to share with your community. Move beyond “Service” in Step 13 and push yourself to make a difference. Create art. Create music. Create a blog that offers inspiration and hope. Create something from your own mind that you can share as a story. 16. One on one. Choose a person who needs help and build a relationship. Help them start their own legacy. Document their stories. Or perhaps just spend time to brighten someone’s day and record their stories to carry on their traditions instead of your own. 17. Participate in an event. At a family reunion or get-together, have a few stories prepared and ready to go. Record the event to get additional ideas, stories and more. Once started, you’ll find many people like to share their stories. Select a theme for your stories and ask others to contribute their own stories. Create a contest for your family and friends to join. You can give serious or silly awards for your contest. Create a montage of stories and share it with others to vote on so even if someone doesn’t participate, they can be part of the fun. 19. Online archive. Create an online archive for yourself or allow others to join. You can have as much or little control over submissions, organization and more. Ask others to help maintain the archive if they are better at certain tasks than you. Collect your stories and publish them to offer inspiration for others to start building their own legacy. You might want to publish a single story or a group of them. You might instead choose to share how you took your own journey or help others to start theirs.

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The School Story Lesson Plan - Grades: 3–5 About this book Subject area: Language Arts Reading Level: 3.5 Twelve-year-old Natalie Nelson is a gifted writer who's just written a powerful novel. Her mom is a children's book editor, but Natalie doesn't want special favors. Zoe Reisman, Natalie's best friend, is determined to get her friend's book published. She's smart and aggressive — perfect agent material. With lots of secrecy, great daring, and much humor, the girls find a way for everyone to come out a winner. Students will be introduced to the writing, editing, and publishing process. Standard: Students will become familiar with editing and publishing strategies for written work (e.g. proofreading using a dictionary and other resources, editing for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling at developmentally appropriate levels). My Favorite Book Get students thinking about why a favorite book is a favorite. - Ask each student to come up with a (short) list of his or her favorite books. - Have each include one or two reasons why the particular books were chosen. - One at a time, have each student share his or her list, including reasons, with the class. Does one (or more) book appear on several students' lists? - Hold a classroom discussion about what makes a good read. - In The School Story, Natalie learns a lot about character development, plot progression, action, and motivation. Talk about these elements with your class, introducing them with appropriate language. Something's Wrong Here! Here's a creative way to train attentive editors! - Choose a passage from a children's book and try to find an excerpt that your class is most likely not familiar with. Several paragraphs, or even a whole chapter, will work best. - Retype the selected passage with the goal of introducing errors. - Include grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors, and — if possible — plot errors. (These may be achieved by simply deleting crucial sentences.) - Make copies of your "revised" passage and distribute the papers to your students, along with pencils (with erasers!). - Ask students to read through the passage and correct any errors they may find and to write a note or question in the margin for other suggestions or questions they have. Encourage them to pay attention to details both small and large. - Have each student compare his or her marked-up copy with your answer key. - Talk about any non-tangible (less concrete) changes students may have suggested. These may include action, motivation, or plot issues. Writer to Editor What does it feel like to be a writer? an editor? - Announce to your students that they will each be writing a short story. Depending on the abilities of your class, you may wish to assign a topic (or even characters and plot). - Allot a certain amount of class time to the writing of these stories. - At the end of the allotted time, ask each student to pass his or her story to the person to his or her right. - This student will act as an editor. He or she should conduct a careful reading of the story, making any corrections or suggestions necessary. - After a set period of time (or the next day, if more feasible), ask the "editor" to return the story to the "writer." - Hold a classroom discussion about what it felt like to be a writer, to be an editor, and to be an edited writer. Other School Stories Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary Leigh begins writing to an author as part of a school assignment. He never dreams that he'll still be corresponding with Mr. Henshaw years later…or the impact that correspondence will have on his life. Jake Drake: Teacher's Pet by Andrew Clements Jake is a hard-working third-grader, but he doesn't like being the teacher's pet. He sets out to change the class opinion of himself with humorous results. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar Sachar's beloved Wayside School is the setting for these outlandish stories about peculiar students. Other Books by Andrew Clements The Laundry News The Janitor's Boy Teaching Plan by Rebecca Gomez

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What is cultural learning? Published 24 October 2011 New terms and definitions As a result of our extensive consultation over the summer we are now able to share with you the Guiding Principles and Definitions for Cultural Learning that you helped us to hone and shape. These will form the back-bone of the CLA strategy and arguments going forward and should give us all some shared touchstones and language to use as we lobby for Cultural Learning in our own practice. The Principles of Cultural Learning - Every child and young person should have equality of access to a baseline of quality cultural learning opportunities. - Cultural learning happens inside and outside of schools and colleges, and in a wide range of settings. - Families, parents and carers are important providers of cultural learning. - Young people shape the cultural landscape and are the arts professionals of the future. They should be empowered and supported to engage with, lead and drive the cultural learning agenda. - Cultural learning involves diverse practice and encompasses the arts, heritage and knowledge valued by all individuals, cultures and communities. - Arts subjects taught in schools and other settings as part of the curriculum have depth, rigour and an established canon of knowledge. They are of equal weight, status, value and importance within the curriculum as other subjects, and require equal resource and provision. - Partnership, collaboration, a shared commitment and a collegiate approach from those who use cultural learning in their work with young people are key to its successful delivery. - Cultural learning enriches our national life and intrinsically makes a contribution to our society. It is critical to the development of our economy. Through cultural learning young people gain the skills to become creative and cultural professionals and to contribute effectively to the wider workforce. - It inspires civic engagement and helps neighbourhoods to make positive changes through collective ownership of culture. This leads to personal, social and community benefit and a shared sense of place. - Cultural learning has clearly evidenced educational and social outcomes. Young people who have the opportunity to learn through and about culture are better equipped to achieve across the curriculum, and to take responsibility for their own learning. Attendance, attitude and wellbeing are all improved by engagement with culture. Cultural learning practice should be informed by rigorous research and evaluation into impact Cultural learning is an active engagement with the creation of our artsand heritage. - ‘The arts’ is a broad term that includes a wide range of disciplines from theatre, dance, literature, storytelling, music, craft and visual arts to film, spoken word, digital media, photography and beyond. - The term ‘heritage’ encompasses an individual’s understanding of themselves, their material culture and the world around them. Cultural organisations and specialists such as museums, libraries, archives, archaeological sites, historic houses and other built environment institutions safeguard and contribute towards this knowledge and understanding. Culture, in all its richness and diversity, can be experienced as listening, playing, seeing, watching and interacting, performing, devising, designing and composing, making, writing and doing. Arts and cultural subjects in schools include English, Drama, Art and Design, Music, Dance, History and Performing Arts. Good cultural learning takes place across all subjects, including science and the humanities, and through digital means. Cultural learning involves both learning through culture, and learning about culture , and involves critical thinking, creativity and the development of original ideas and action. The CLA uses the term ‘children and young people’ to mean individuals from 0-19 years of age. It also includes young people from 19-25 who do not have the opportunity to access cultural learning independently. Equality of access to cultural learning does not involve every child accessing the same thing: it involves every child experiencing a parity of access to regular, ongoing opportunities for meaningful engagement. Young people, teachers, families and communities can create, participate in – or be audiences for – culture: they are its makers and consumers. Cultural learning leaders practise at all levels in organisations and communities. They innovate and drive cultural learning. They can include young people, parents, professionals and practitioners. The term ‘cultural learning settings ’ encompasses a wide range of provision, including: formal and informal youth and early years settings and services; local authority provision; voluntary, community and private sector provision; services for vulnerable young people, disabled young people, looked-after children and those at risk; cultural organisations and their initiatives; children’s centres, education settings; FE provision, universities and schools.

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Famine remains one of the worst calamities that can befall a society. Mass starvation--whether it is inflicted by drought or engineered by misguided or genocidal economic policies--devastates families, weakens the social fabric, and undermines political stability. Cormac Ó Gráda, the acclaimed author who chronicled the tragic Irish famine in books like Black '47 and Beyond, here traces the complete history of famine from the earliest records to today. Combining powerful storytelling with the latest evidence from economics and history, Ó Gráda explores the causes and profound consequences of famine over the past five millennia, from ancient Egypt to the killing fields of 1970s Cambodia, from the Great Famine of fourteenth-century Europe to the famine in Niger in 2005. He enriches our understanding of the most crucial and far-reaching aspects of famine, including the roles that population pressure, public policy, and human agency play in causing famine; how food markets can mitigate famine or make it worse; famine's long-term demographic consequences; and the successes and failures of globalized disaster relief. Ó Gráda demonstrates the central role famine has played in the economic and political histories of places as different as Ukraine under Stalin, 1940s Bengal, and Mao's China. And he examines the prospects of a world free of famine. This is the most comprehensive history of famine available, and is required reading for anyone concerned with issues of economic development and world poverty. "This is why Cormac Ó Gráda's latest book is so surprising. He is an optimist. According to him, famines are becoming less common. Even better: they will probably decline in frequency even further. Is it time to declare famine history? Ó Gráda says 'yes'. This is a thesis not to be lightly dismissed. Ó Gráda is a distinguished economic historian. He is the world's foremost authority on the Irish economy, and has written eloquently on the Great Famine of the late 1840s, in which around one million Irish men and women died. Furthermore, this book is packed with facts, all eloquently presented. Although it is a compact little book with generous margins, it is truly global in nature and spans the period from the beginning of written history to the present."--Joanna Bourke, The Times (UK) "Cormac Ó Gráda's indelible new book Famine: A Short History emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between famine and a plethora of other social ills, including crime, slavery, infanticide, and prostitution."--Evan R. Goldstein, Chronicle of Higher Education "Despite its modest title this is an impressive book. . . . Apart from the author's encyclopaedic knowledge, this book is distinguished by its attention to detail, insistence on evidence to back up arguments, and clever structure, which enables the reader to engage easily with cutting-edge arguments about the nature and evolution of famine. It is likely to become the standard academic text on the subject, but its accessible style, clarity and illustrations make it of much wider interest and significance."--Pádraig Carmody, The Irish Times "This persuasive argument for global development is intricate enough to satisfy policy wonks but written with a larger audience in mind."--Publishers Weekly Table of Contents Other Princeton books authored or coauthored by Cormac Ó Gráda:

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Are You Into It? Do you love to tell stories using digital technology? In this project you get to tell your story or the stories of others by learning all about the production process and technologies that make it possible. Zoom in on animation, video production, editing, sound production, image manipulation, and the secrets to telling a great story. - To develop interest, knowledge, and skills related to digital storytelling - Develop problem solving and logical reasoning skills - Improve communication and teamwork skills by working the way they do in the real world – in production teams - Develop responsible attitudes about technology and how technology relates to our everyday world and people’s lives - Gain experience in problem solving and decision making using science process skills Here’s what you can do all year! Starting Out / Basic Level 1 - Discover the world of digital storytelling from the process of creating stories to the technology that makes it possible. - Learn about cameras and microphones and their functions - Discover light and sound techniques that make quality presentations possible. - Analyze various media forms and evaluate their use in different situations. Learning More / Intermediate Level 2 - Use digital storytelling tools to create an image, video, or audio project - Play with audio and video editing software. - Discover how audio can enhance the quality of video production. - Discover how design elements and art principles impact your message. Work with the different media styles and evaluate when each would be the most effective at telling a story Expanding Horizons / Advanced Level 3 - Use digital storytelling hardware, software and communication principles to tell a compelling story. - Use your skills to create a 4-H story for member recruitment in your county - Enter a research project in a science or technology fair - Use your digital storytelling skills to bring awareness to a need in your community. - Organize a local media event for youth to exhibit and share their media pieces. Take It Further! Here are other opportunities to explore the digital storytelling: - Contact your county ISU Extension Office for local workshops, activities, and events. - Contact your County Extension Office for local workshops, activities, camps, and events on video, audio, or image production (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/contactus/countystaff.htm) - Check out the Iowa 4-H Center for camps focused on digital storytelling sciences (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/center/) - Are you in high school? Think about state youth conference (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/StateConference/) or join the Iowa 4-H Technology Team (http://techteam.iowa4h.org/) - Join Iowa Studio 4-H (http://iowastudio4h.iowa4h.org/) and hone your digital storytelling skills with the advice of professional mentors - Become a 4-H TV crewmember—create audio and video news stories for local and state 4-H events! (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/e-set/4htv.html) - Is it fair time? Consider taking an exhibit, about digital storytelling processes or technologies to your county fair Step It Up! Pass it on! Now that you know how, share it with others. Here are ideas to get you started. - Enter video in a youth film festival such as the Iowa 4-H Film Festival http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/StateFair/filmfestival.htm - Create an exhibit for your county fair or do an educational presentation about one of the technologies or techniques used - Use video or audio production to inspire community members or your city council to take action on a topic important to you - Use your digital storytelling skills to help a local non-profit - Organize a fieldtrip to a local lab, business, or industry to learn how they use digital storytelling - Teach a workshop on video production or image editing during a day camp - Join the State 4-H Youth Technology Team - Develop a presentation or working exhibit that shows a technique in digital storytelling. - Do a working exhibit on how to do layout a poster - Make a poster on the different shot angles for videos - What impact does sound have on video production? Find out and share your findings in a video - Create a timeline with visuals of significant events in the development of media and media messaging - Agriculture & Natural Resources - Creative Arts - Family & Consumer Sciences - Personal Development - 4-H STEM Projects - Project Helpers - Filmmaking tips on the Iowa 4-H Film Festival webpage http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/StateFair/filmfestival.htm - 4-H Filmmaking Studio and Workshop, the online space to learn about filmmaking, digital storytelling, and videography webpage 4-H Filmmaking Studio and Workshop - 4-H Yearly Summary (4H 0096) - Basic 4-H Project Record (4H 0096A) - Experienced 4-H Project Record (4H 0096B) - Advanced 4-H Project Record (4H 0096C) - Recordkeeping Self-Evaluation (4H 98, PDF) Connect with others doing this project! http://iowastudio4h.iowa4h.org - University Houston’s Educational uses of Digital Storytelling - For free clips, sound effects, and music you can use in your videos, check out: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/public_domain.html or http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/royalty.html

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While readers typically remember a story's high-stakes climax and conclusion the most, it's the opening that lays the foundation for the plot that follows. Exposition is the initial setup for a work of fiction where audiences are introduced to the world of the story. It is also where they learn any information they need to understand the plot. Elements of effective fictional exposition include introducing the main characters, revealing backstory and establishing setting and mood. The most memorable, successful stories include characters that audiences find fascinating, likable or easy to relate to. Therefore, part of a story's exposition needs to be spent introducing the protagonist, antagonist and other major characters. Characters are also typically introduced in a memorable way that reveals their personality. In the Disney film "Beauty and the Beast," audiences first meet Belle as she strolls through the marketplace reading a book, oblivious to the townsfolk gossiping about her dreamy nature. Through the exposition of the opening sequence, audiences learn that Belle desires adventure that her modest village can't provide for her. A significant part of expositional character development is backstory -- any significant events that occurred prior to the story. Sometimes backstory is revealed through a prologue, such as in the opening of "Beauty and the Beast," where the audience learns how the prince became the Beast. Other stories establish backstory through dialogue between characters. Another tactic is to have the narrator share the backstory, either in the first-person voice of the protagonist or a more distant third-person narrator. Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People" uses a third-person narrator to reveal the history of the tense relationship between the protagonist, Hulga Hopewell, and her mother. Conflict is the source of tension in a story, where one character wants something and another is bent on stopping him from getting it. Therefore, one purpose of exposition is to put the opposing forces in place before the story gets underway. Audiences should know early on what the protagonist's objective is and what he is up against. Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" opens with the main character, aspiring architect Howard Roark, being expelled from a major university for his unorthodox design ideas. This exposition provides a glimpse of the conflict he will face as he fights to be accepted in his profession. A story's setting often plays a significant role in establishing both plot and theme. Exposition introduces setting by showing the characters' interactions with their environment and the role it plays in their lives. This is especially important for stories set in unfamiliar or fictional places, such as foreign countries or the alternate universes of science fiction. Lois Lowry's "The Giver" takes place in a dystopian society that has sought to create a perfect world by eliminating pain and suffering through frightening and morally questionable means. Lowry uses exposition to introduce readers to the rules and procedures of this setting. Without descriptions of thunder, lightning and spooky castles, the opening of a scary story wouldn't strike nearly as much fear in readers. Exposition is often carefully written to create a story's emotional atmosphere, commonly called mood. In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson creates a mood of expectancy and dread as the townspeople assemble for the annual lottery, where one member of the community is randomly selected to be sacrificed to ensure a profitable harvest. This initial mood of nervous anticipation gives readers a glimpse of the unsettling events that will develop. - Goodshoot/Goodshoot/Getty Images

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- Students will understand and be able to define in-group favoritism - Students will identify ways they participate in in-group favoritism - Students will identify ways they can cross social boundaries and guard against in-group favoritism According to Social Identity Theory, social groups influence inter-group relations because people strive to maintain or enhance a positive social identity. The desire for positive self-esteem is thought to lead to the tendency to evaluate one's own group favorably in comparison to other groups, or "in-group favoritism." In-group favoritism at its best offers a positive sense of belonging and affiliation, i.e. debaters enjoy debating with others who enjoy debating, football players encourage each other's athletic best. At its most insecure, however, in-group favoritism can lead to highly destructive and hurtful behaviors: gossiping against others, scapegoating and bullying and pressuring group members to do what they individually do not respect or feel comfortable doing. Slowly begin leading students from the global to the local using the following examples of in-group favoritism. Be sure to make specific local connections based on your area. For example, if you're from West Virginia, are you a West Virginia University Mountaineers fan or a Marshall University Thundering Herd fan? The purpose of this activity is to slowly lead students to identify their own in-group favoritism and then identify ways to cross these social boundaries. - Global in-group favoritism – Nationalism is one kind of in-group favoritism that plays out on our global stage. We see this when professional athletes compete against each other at events such as the World Cup, the Tour de France or Wimbledon. We see it at the Olympics. We see it at The Oscars when an actor from, say, Australia wins and that entire country cheers. - State in-group favoritism – You see an example of state in-group favoritism play out in national events like the Miss America Pageant, when people from a given state root for their state representative. - City in-group favoritism – City in-group favoritism often manifests in people's sense of place —where someone lives within the city. One side of town is generally known as the "right" side to be from, and the other is "the wrong side of the tracks." Sometimes family members want their children to only play with children from a certain area. - School in-group favoritism – Is there place in your school where only the seniors are allowed? Does your school promote competitions where the juniors are against the seniors? Do the athletes always sit together and appear easily identifiable"? Do Advanced Placement (AP) students only hang out with other AP students? Now that students have multiple examples of in-group favoritism, work with students to brainstorm a list of in-groups and out-groups in your school and community. Then ask these questions regarding the positive and negative impacts of in-group favoritism: - What favors or special privileges do people in the same groups tend to give to each other? - How do you think it makes them feel to support their own group members over others? - How do you think it makes others who are outside their group feel? - What negative peer pressure (ostracism), superiority/inferiority "storytelling" and hurtful behaviors might be linked with in-group favoritism? - How would you explain these behaviors? - Do you know anyone who is popular and has found a way to avoid, even transcend, in-group favoritism and can relate to many groups without problem? - How have they done so? - If you saw in-group favoritism playing out, what might you be able to do to confront or stop it? In-group favoritism may be a global phenomenon, but it plays out in schools across the country. Mix It Up is a national program focused on getting groups to see the importance of crossing social boundaries. Have students bring in articles and advertisements from their local newspapers that demonstrate in-group favoritism. Make connections to national issues.

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/group-favoritism

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Standards Based Grammar is a daily grammar program that systematically teaches your students every grammar skill required at the third grade level. The purpose of Standards Based Grammar is to give the students the spoken and written rules of the English language in an easy, step-by-step program. It seeks to teach, assess, and add to prior knowledge. Standards Based Grammar doesn’t just ask students to identify grammar errors. They learn grammar rules and apply them immediately into their writing. Furthermore, it provides the teacher the exact knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each student and allows the teacher to communicate that information to the parents. Standards Based Grammar shows your students how to become grammar experts. Not only will they be able to understand each grammar rule, they will be able to articulate the logic behind each rule. Best of all, it’s easy to teach and simple to administrate. - Student Worksheets – Over a hundred worksheets provide practice for every standard required for your grade level. Each worksheet comes complete with lesson, examples, and student practice. Simply review the lessons (often, only minutes are needed), and you are ready to teach. Click here to see a sample Worksheet - Journal Prompts – If your students are not applying grammar rules into their writing, do they really understand the concept? These journal extensions give your students immediate practice as they apply each new grammar skill within an actual creative writing setting. Click here to see a sample Journal Prompt - Assessments – Each skill is assessed at the end of every unit. Use each test to assess your students' abilities. Then, use each assessment to form groups for re-teaching and review. - Parent Checklists – There are plenty of worksheets to help students meet each grammar standard. Unfortunately, some concepts may be difficult for some students to learn. All teachers know that there is a point when you just have to move on to other topics. So what do we do with those students who are being left behind? As a parent, I would want to know if my child was having a hard time with certain concepts. The parent checklist provided after each test gives the parents a report about their child’s progress on each skill. Impress the parents of your students with detailed knowledge of their child's achievements, and give them the opportunity to work on skills as the class moves forward to new concepts. Click here to see a sample Parent Checklist - Student Checklists – Keep track of student progress over the course of the year. The two biggest advantages are: 1) Before state testing, use the student checklist to create review groups. Allow students to practice only the skills they need to prepare for state testing. 2) Give next year’s teacher a precise record of each student’s abilities. Your students' future teachers will be amazed at the thorough language preparation given to their new students. Click here to see a partial Student Checklist - Teacher Checklists – Worried about teaching every standard before state testing? This checklist reminds you what standards you’ve taught and what standards still need to be taught. Click here to see a partial Teacher Checklist - Table of Contents for Standards Based Grammar: Grade 3 Grade 3 Table of Contents – Pg. 1 Grade 3 Table of Contents – Pg. 2 As a complete grammar program, Standards Based Grammar’s value is second to none! Although this is a complete grammar program, it is so affordable that it can be purchased and used strictly as a supplement for your existing grammar program. We are confident that after using several of the worksheets you’ll be anxious to try the others. However, the versatility of the program allows you to: - Use entire units or just use individual worksheets to supplement what you are already doing. - Use the assessments to measure student growth. - Use the worksheets to prepare for state testing. - Use the checklists to keep track of your yearly pacing of grammar. Many teachers have gone to teacher supply stores looking for grammar books because they need some worksheets to help their students with a certain skill. They spend $9.95 on a workbook and may use only three or four worksheets from it. Then they do it again for another skill, then another. Over the course of a few years, they’ve spent a small fortune just for a few worksheets that only cover a few skills. With Standards Based Grammar you get almost TWO HUNDRED worksheets covering over twenty-five standards. You’ll never buy another supplement again. Easy Lesson Plan: Most elementary school teachers teach over thirty lessons a week. You DON’T need another subject that requires lesson planning. With Standards Based Grammar you have hundreds of lesson plans ready to go. Each worksheet has the skill and lesson at the top of the page. Most lessons require just a few minutes of review, and you’re ready to go. The lessons on each page also serve as an excellent review when students need to review certain skills. Improved Test Scores: Every worksheet in Standards Based Grammar has been tested in the classroom. The worksheets have been written and rewritten for maximum effectiveness. The advantage of Standards Based Grammar is unmistakable. Language scores improve with Standards Based Grammar. Several classrooms surveyed have shown growth in language tests scores of over 12%. Many students are receiving perfect scores in language. Even some Title 1 students are scoring in the seventieth and eightieth percentiles. English Language Learners: Clearly, beginning language learners need intensive practice with English to achieve the basics of the English language. Many English learners pick up just enough English to survive. Many teachers are tricked into believing that, just because the child can speak English, he/she does not need English language instruction. Most states require that students receive daily instruction in English until they achieve Fluent English Proficiency (FEP). While many English learners acquire enough English proficiency to achieve survival status, they become stuck below (FEP) because they can “get by” with their current English abilities. Standards Based Grammar forces them to acquire a deeper understanding of the English language. Furthermore, Standards Based Grammar helps the teacher keep track of the skills they are learning. NO child sneaks through the year without the teacher being aware of his/her abilities. Classrooms with predominately ELL students have also shown dramatic results with students achieving FEP status on state tests. What About My District’s Language Arts Program? Many district language arts programs are one-size-fits-all programs. They combine reading, writing, grammar, language, and oral language skills into one program. In addition, they try to teach ELL, high functioning, middle functioning, and low functioning students all at once. Using these programs, grammar is taught side-by-side with each reading unit. What if you don’t teach every story in your district’s reading program? What if you teach a grammar concept using the ONE worksheet they give you, and your students still need more practice? How do you know your students are mastering every grammar skill required on state tests? There is simply too much to monitor with these programs. Standards Based Grammar gives you confidence that every skill is being taught effectively. At the very least, you can use Standards Based Grammar along side your current language arts program to guarantee the success of your students. |Order Now by clicking the image below and receive these Free Gifts: and become THE language expert at your school! - Over 200 worksheets - 8 Assessments - Over 100 journal prompts - Teacher Checklists - Parent Checklists |Standards Based Grammar: Grade 3 Note: The eBook version may be purchased for $8.00 with the purchase of the soft cover edition (see below). Just click "Add eBook" during checkout. Standards Based Grammar: Grade 3 Note: The eBook version may be purchased for $8.00 with the purchase of the soft cover edition. Just click "Add Ebook" during checkout. For Information on Student Consumables Click Here

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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en

The year, according to Javanese Mythology of the Saka era, was around AD 230. Legendary King Sang Hyang Guru needed a signal to summon the gods. How exactly it happened, we do not know, but an elegant solution appeared: The gong. Not one gong, but multiple gongs to send complex messages. The Gamelan, so the story goes, was born. Gamel: "strike or hammer". The suffix "an" makes the root a collective noun. Gamelan. Today, Gamelan is the thriving indigenous music of Indonesia, most readily found on the islands of Java and Bali. The word refers more to the set of instruments than to the players. This may include metalophones, xylophones, drums and gongs, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists also may also perform. There are hundreds of different types of gamelan ensembles, differing in size, instrumentation, tuning proportions, cultural role and place of origin. Altogether, each gamelan orchestra is a distinct entity. The instruments are built and tuned to stay together and it is rare that instruments from different orchestras can be interchanged. Musically, gamelan is known for its uniquely tuned relative scales (called "Pelog" and "Slendro" which bear no resemblance to the relationship of the notes in the western and western tempered scale), its interlocking melody lines and graceful merger of percussion and melody. In Bali there is a specific caste of people who have, for generations, been responsible for making and tuning the instruments. (These people have built and tuned the instruments that make up the Gamelatron.) In Java, the cultural significance of Gamelan music has dramatically changed over the last centuries. It is less common than it once was in the daily life of the cities and villages but still plays a prominent part of an honored tradition in the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta in Central Java. In Bali, in contrast, the music remains woven into the Hindu traditions of daily life. The music is understood as having the power to bring harmony, protection, spiritual insight, ease and understanding. Hundreds of orchestras entertain and serve a ritual function in rites of passage and in all matters of the local temples. Young children learn to play at a very early age and almost all the music is transmitted by ear. There is both an extraordinary liturgy of classic compositions and an ever expanding oeuvre of new work by young and old. The music is often woven together with dance, puppetry and storytelling. Every village has a set of instruments that, on special occasions or a night that the villages feel called to gather, will be played and heard far out over the rice fields. ABOUT THE GAMELATRON ROBOTICS The Gamelatron features sets of classic instruments often presented in ornate frames or sculptural mounts outfitted with custom robotic counter parts. We have hand-machined out of architectural aluminum casings and levers that hold mallets. MIDI* sequences are fed to proprietary MIDI decoding microprocessors which send pulses of electricity to solenoid electromagnets. This actuates the levers to move the mallets and strike the instruments. Settings can be scaled to accommodate velocity sensitivity and to map different MIDI notes to any actuator. The Gamelatron in its largest incarnation used 170 different actuators. *MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is an music industry-standard protocol that enables electronic musical instruments to communicate and synchronize with each other by sending event messages and digital musical notation.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI

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What is Communication and Why Is It Important? From Caring For Infants and Toddlers - Volume I According to Chapter 6 in Caring for Infants and Toddlers, to communicate means to express and share ideas, desires and feelings with other people. In young babies communication can be recognized by their cries, smiles, coos. Most infants, according to this chapter are saying a word or two by the time they are at the end of their first year. As adults, besides, words and gestures, we also communicate through images and pictures, which can represent ideas and feelings. While all communication is important, the ability to communicate through spoken language is most significant. Without spoken language our communication is restricted to some degree. Communication skills in a child are built by being around caring adults who communicate with them and respond to their efforts to communicate. Just by talking to a toddler or an infant can encourage them to communicate. In order to help children develop listening and speaking skills, storytelling, books, poems, finger plays, songs and records should be utilized. imitate the infants cooing sounds encourage children to talk to each other. Tell them what to say. Talk about what both of you are seeing. Model correct speech, even though you accept a child's way of speaking. Name and talk about feelings with the child Help them express their verbal and non verbal feelings. Also caregivers can provide materials and activities that promote communication skills by playing peek-a-boo, using puppets, creating small activities for children to playa together, commenting o what children are doing and experiencing, posing questions, encouraging dramatic play by pulling out real props, making picture labels for toys and materials, writing children's dictation and labeling their drawings when they go along wit your idea to write. A caregiver can ask the child, "What would you like me to write?" To help infants and toddlers develop listening and speaking skill a caregiver can talk often in normal voice and use adult language. The authors of this chapter feel that using what we know as "baby talk" sends the wrong message to young children who are trying to learn how language really works. Caregivers should encourage children to identify pictures in a book, listen to and identify sounds in their environment, make books about topics that are important to children, familiarize yourself with the language of the children whose language might be different from yours. As a caregiver you can take advantage of the different languages spoken by children's families to enrich you language environment, by saying something like "Hai;s sister is taking with her in Vietnamese. Let's ask them to teach us a few words." Also, if you take notice of a child's speech pattern and notice any impairments, these should be reported for the purpose of assessment. Since communication skills are central to our ability to relate to others, in order to understand what other have to say, we need to do three things: receive the message; interpret the message; and send back an appropriate response. To avoid messages being misinterpreted we should use question that help clarify the message, such as: Are you saying that..? Do you mean....? Do I understand correctly that....? It sounds like you want....? Caregivers should use their knowledge of Infant and toddler development to promote communication skills by sharing our pleasure and excitement at first words, because our enthusiasm will encourage an infant to learn words. Modeling speech is an excellent way to improve a child's communication skills, as well as reading books and encouraging writing. Caregivers should read simple stories with pictures about things toddlers know. Since we know that infants and toddlers develop communication skills by being around adults who respond to them and talk to them, we should strive to develop a trusting, responsive relationship with each child. Respond to crying as a form of communication Take advantage of daily routines a opportunities to communicate Play games in which you interact and have fun together, such as Pat-a-cake, This Little Piggy and Open, Shut them. In summary, this chapter encourages the following things to develop communication skills in toddlers and infants: Using your normal tone of voice Using words with interesting sounds Talking with children about their feelings Playing with the language (making up rhymes and silly words) Using songs and finger plays Providing puppets, dolls and dress-up clothes, and being quiet sometimes, because is you are always talking, you can never be listening.

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

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The site is called P22 Music Text Composition Generator and you can find it at: http://p22.com/musicfont/ What the site does is to convert a written text into musical notation with a midi music file to play the notation. It's quite simple to do. You just copy and paste your text into the field, give it a file name (with no spaces or punctuation) choose the speed and instrumentation, then just click to generate the notation and midi file. Then you get a printable copy of your notation and a midi music file that you can download and play. I copied and pasted this blog text in and generated this music file with it. Well I can hear people thinking; "What's this got to do with language teaching?" and that's a really good question, so here's how this 'might' work. How to use this with students - You could produce a music file to play as background while students read the text used to create it. This could build up associations between the music and text and might help them to revise and review elements of the text. You just play the music file a week or so later and see what they can remember from the text (vocabulary, main points). - It could also be interesting to build up a music text library and see if your students can remember which text went with each composition. Just play a music file and see which text they think it is. - Students could produce musical versions of dialogues and see if listening to the music can help them to remember the dialogue. - You can produce the musical accompaniment to stories or plays and use it as background to reading the words. - Get your students to play with the speed and instrumentation and produce the best accompaniment to a text. They could listen to each other's composition and choose the most appropriate one and try to explain why it works best for that text. - For students who like creative writing such as stories or poems it might be nice for them to also have their own musical version of the text. - You or your students could create short musical versions of example sentences that show how vocabulary or grammar points are used. - Students could write a text about themselves and then generate their own personal music. - If you have any musical students you get them to try to play the notation. What I like about the site - It's free, quick and easy to use. - It produces something that to my knowledge is quite unique - The midi files it produces are very small and could be emailed (The one I produced 0f this text is 30 mins long, but still less than 30K) - I like the musical angle and the appeal to different learning styles - Nice to see anything that promotes the ideas and musical concepts of John Cage What I'm not so sure about - Would be great to have an embed code for the midi file so that you could upload to a blog more easily (I hyper linked to mine, but might put it on my own server space then link to it as it might not stay on te website server for very long) - Would be great to be able to select more than one instrument - Good idea to select either a short text or a fast speed as the compositions can be quite long - Karaoke with a Social Network - Transcribed Videos for EFL ESL - Great New Karaoke Site - Another Great New Karaoke Site - Music related activities for students

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

http://nikpeachey.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/can-music-aid-memory-of-text.html

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en

The job of a teacher, regardless of subject, involves communicating concepts. These abstract ideas - with no single, objective interpretation - can More… prove troublesome. How, for example, do you explain courage? There is behaviour that we can point to and say, “that person is being courageous” or “that is an example of courage”, but there is no single, universal interpretation of what courage is. What about “loveliness”, “good” or “choice”? People can have vastly different views on what those words mean, too. Concepts are usually contestable like this; they are not objectively provable one way or the other. Yet concepts are integral to our language, to how we communicate and to our understanding of each other, ourselves and the wider world. Hence, they are also infused in the fibres of every subject area. So how do you go about teaching something so hard to pin down? Fortunately, there are a number of transferable activities you can use to bring concepts to life in any lesson. Case studies are great for helping students to access, understand and use new concepts (or refine their use of existing ones). They make use of the simplicity and accessibility of concrete thought to present students with a route into more abstract and difficult ideas. In a geography lesson, for example, we may be introducing students to the idea of deindustrialisation. Simply learning the definition of the concept, coupled with a range of illustrative facts around a historical period when it occurred, may mean that the student reaches a position where they can describe the meaning of the word - as well as repeat the examples that illustrate it - but they will not have begun to understand the concept in real terms. A case study can mitigate that. For example, we may present students with a resource explaining the impact of deindustrialisation on the mining communities of South Wales in the UK. This would include an explanation of what actually happened there, along with a series of stories explaining the impact this had on different individuals such as miners, local shopkeepers and young children. Such a resource serves two purposes. First, it provides students with a means of contextualising the concept of deindustrialisation, enabling them to flesh out their basic understanding of what the word means. Second, the case study contains a wide range of concrete material. This provides a recognisable path that helps to lead students towards more complex ideas. A second tool to call on when introducing students to concepts is narrative. Storytelling is a powerful means through which to introduce new and complex ideas. Take, for instance, the teaching of the concept of human rights. There is a great deal of abstract information for students to absorb, with each of the 30 rights predicated on various concepts such as free speech, religion and freedom. Narratives give students a way through this conceptual minefield. For example, the charities Amnesty International and Oxfam provide teaching materials that centre on individuals or groups who have suffered human rights abuses. These narratives introduce students to the idea of human rights (as well as the ideas behind it) through, for example, the concrete experience of a child in a war-torn country. While narrative and case studies are the two primary routes into concepts for students, three other activities are worth employing, too. First, card sorting can be very effective. Ask students to work in pairs or threes. Provide each group with a set of cards on which a series of different concepts connected to the lesson are written. Challenge students to do one or more of the following: match the concepts; sort the concepts into groups; or rank the concepts according to a set of criteria (for example, most to least important). Whatever you ask students to do, be sure to remind them that they will need to justify their decisions using reasons, examples and evidence. The cards allow students to manipulate concepts physically. This is easier than dealing with them in a purely abstract sense. The second method is real-world scenarios. Using relevant real-world scenarios in the classroom gives students the opportunity to put their conceptual understanding to the test. For example, in an English lesson you could explain to students that there has been a major terrorist threat detected within the UK and that the prime minister has asked for help in drafting an appropriate speech in response. Students will have to call on their understanding of concepts such as fear, safety and anger in order to do this, which will test their abstract thought. Finally, there is making models. Ask students to work in pairs. Give each pair some material they can use to make a model of one of the concepts connected to the lesson. Allow between three and five minutes for this. When the time is up, ask half the class to remain seated. The remaining students walk around the room, visiting various models. They engage their peers in discussion about the models as they go. The halves then swap over and repeat the process. The activity has two major benefits. First, it gives students the chance to create a physical manifestation of a concept, reinforcing and refining their understanding of it. Second, when the students are walking around the room and engaging each other in discussion about the models, they are actually talking about the concepts. This further develops their understanding by making them think in more depth. Once these introductions to concepts have been made, you can then challenge students to push their understanding further. When they use concepts in class, you can question that usage to force them to think more carefully about what they are saying. You can also ask them to consider context: a football fan’s use of the word “good” may differ from a surgeon’s use. Understanding how context can change a concept leads to a more in-depth understanding of its usage and interpretation. Discussion is another useful tool. You can tailor activities such as speed debating, formal debates and speech-writing so that students are doing specific things with specific concepts. This may include evaluating, analysing or defending. In any case, they will be further developing their understanding and building more detailed mental maps connected to the idea in question. Concepts, then, are tricky for teachers, but there are many ways into conceptual thinking that make it easier for students to manipulate, understand and critique the various notions they encounter. In so doing, we provide them with a means by which to think more clearly, more logically and more effectively - which is very much what we are employed to do. Mike Gershon is a teacher, trainer and writer. He has written seven books on pedagogy, all of which are available at Amazon.co.uk Liz Lightfoot explores the benefits of philosophy for children: bit.ly/SchoolPhilosophy - Concepts are a tricky area for teachers as they have no single, universal explanation or interpretation. - Understanding of concepts is crucial to a student’s ability to think clearly, logically and effectively. - There are a number of ways for teachers to aid a student’s understanding of concepts: case studies, narratives, real-world scenarios, card sorting and modelling. Each of these provides a way into concepts through more physical, concrete terms. - Once students have grasped the concepts by means of these methods, use discussions to extend their understanding by challenging their usage of the concepts, particularly with regard to the context they are being employed in. Photo: Using case studies such as the 1989 student protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing will illustrate concepts in a memorable way. Photo credit: Jeff Widener/AP/PA Original headline: Classroom Practice - A concrete plan to explore the abstract

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CC-MAIN-2013-48

http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/How-to-help-your-class-grasp-abstract-concepts-6333650/

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en

- The Times - The Issues - The Music - Then & Now: View the Timeline Resources for Educators On What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye sang about the world around him—war and social upheaval, environmental disaster, economic injustice, and urban decline. These themes are as resonant today as they were then, and offer rich opportunities to connect to a range of curricular topics and creative experiences. This project uses three “lenses” to explore the historical, musical, and intellectual themes of What’s Going On: - History & Culture, to frame discovery and thinking about the world then and now. - Musicality, to learn through the lens of music composition and arrangement. - Issues & Ideas, to look into the essential themes of the album and judge their connection to today. Through this framework, we invite young people to think about how their “now” compares with Marvin’s “then,” and to create original artworks in response to the critical question, what’s going on now? What's Going On...Now Lessons Through these lessons, teens in grades 8-12 will: - Research, assess, and reflect on then and now, and the change between them through investigation of the history, culture, and art of the Vietnam era and contemporary times. - Use (and/or become familiar with) a variety of different “artistic lenses” or ways of seeing. This can include storytelling through digital media as well as other forms of artistic expression and performance. - Find and incorporate the tools, primary sources, and best practices for communicating ideas or creating variety of inspired new performances that leverage the music of What’s Going On itself. These lessons and investigations are designed for 45-minute teaching blocks. Prior to beginning the lessons, make time to orient students to WhatsGoingOnNow.org, and introduce the music, the times, and the issues section. Here is a way to introduce the campaign to your students. The first four lessons provide the foundation for learning around the issues, songs, and historical contexts. We recommend that you teach each of these lessons and investigations in the following order: Music and Civil Society [PDF]:The first lesson of the series examines the role of music in society, through a conversation around contemporary songs and their themes. Students will analyze and reflect on popular music of today, and begin to understand the changing standards (and unchanging themes) in popular music over time. Culture and Music [PDF]: This lesson examines the ways music reflects the social, political, and cultural climate in which it was created. Students will understand the complex issues of the Vietnam Era, and begin to assess the ways music both captures and creates culture. The Role of the Artist [PDF]: In this lesson, students reflect on the role of artists in society, through the lens of socially-conscious music. They debate the responsibility of the artist to be a change-leader, and listen to contemporary songs that reflect the issues of today. Guided Listening: "What's Going On" [PDF]: This lesson dives deeply into the album through guided listening and discussion of the key issues and ideas it addresses. The framework for this lesson provides multiple pathways for teachers to create a variety of positive listening environments, develop skills in active listening, and support student critique and reflection. At the conclusion of these four lessons, student groups will choose an Issue/Song for deeper investigation and creative production. We suggest that you choose one or two lessons for group focus. The investigations below center on: - Examining the issue in the context of “then” and “now,” - Exploring essential questions, and - Examining the connection between the song and the theme. Each closes with a “call to creative action,” prompting students to choose an art form and/or media type to create their final project. Veterans Issues/ “What’s Happening Brother” [PDF]: From the struggles of returning Vietnam veterans to the issues faced by our modern day soldiers and their families, this lesson examines how we, individually and as a country, return to normal after war. Addiction / “Flyin’ High (In the Friendly Sky)" [PDF]: This lesson examines historical attitudes toward addiction and drugs through the lens of popular music. Students survey how addiction is impacting their communities today. Social Responsibility / “Save the Children” [PDF]: This lesson asks students to challenge who is responsible for the health and well-being of our future world. It assesses the ways that music brings people together around issues of civic action, and the ways that spirit may be evident in their communities. The Environment / “Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)” [PDF]: In this lesson, students discuss issues around balancing economic and environmental sustainability, and how advances in technology both protect and threaten the environment. They analyze two songs about the environment from two different eras, looking for differences and similarities between them. Personal Truth / “Wholy Holy” [PDF], “God Is Love” [PDF], “Right On” [PDF]: Music has often been used as a vehicle for the expression of personal truths. This lesson allows listeners to take any of the songs listed above to look at how Marvin Gaye professes his personal ideas about Faith, God, and Love, and discuss their own. Poverty / “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” [PDF]: This lesson examines poverty in America—where it is, who it affects—and how it is portrayed in the popular media. ideas for group activities Host a Film Screening. From Standing in the Shadows of Motown to documentaries of the music and cultural issues of the Vietnam Era and today, there are countless videos to increase understanding and dialogue around the issues Marvin grappled with. Throw a Listening Party. Aside from listening to the album itself, there are lots of ways to engage around music: - Motown Quality Control listened to the weekly charts to see how their songs fit into the context of popular music. We’ve made Spotify playlists of hit songs from each year between 1960-1971, and 2000-2011. Listen to these summer hits, and talk about how tastes in popular music have changed over time. - What’s Going On is seen as a collection of protest songs. What other protest songs were popular during the era? What music from 2000 to today could be considered protest music? Use Spotify to create playlists of songs from a range of eras and discuss. Discussion starters. Each module in the Issues/Songs section has “essential questions” that can be used to guide and prompt discussion. - Can a song written in response to a specific event transcend time and place to have a lasting appeal? Why do people still care about the song, "Four Dead in Ohio." Are there current popular songs dealing with the issue we have learned about that will, in your opinion, stand the test of time? Why? Play it for the group, and discuss. - In what ways was the Vietnam War a defining event for an entire generation of Americans? Has there been a defining moment for your generation? Using the Site to Support Learning - The Times section of the site connects users to the Vietnam Era and to contemporary life, from 2000-today. Read the articles in this section, and use the Interactive Timeline to explore “Marvin’s then” and “our now.” - Each module in the Issues/Songs section contains essential questions that can be used to guide and prompt group discussion, written response, or media creation. - Remind students that the CREATE section gives step-by-step instructions for contributing, as well as guidelines and rubrics for selection, production tips, ideas, and more. Tips for Introducing Students to the Project This project asks young people to use media to create their own responses to the critical question, What’s Going On…Now? Tell your students that there are three easy ways to get started: - Familiarize yourself with the issues and think about how they touch you. If you have a personal or emotional connection to the subject, your piece will be that much stronger. - Listen to the music, and spend some time looking at how the world was in Marvin’s day. Connecting the “then” to the “now” is an important part of this project. - Do some research. It will help inform and inspire your work. There is plenty to get you started on this site, and links to other, bigger collections on our Primary Source page. You might even find things to use in your own piece. Selected lesson plans, ideas, and other materials for teaching: Teaching History, Then and Now - Teachable Moment - Tapped In - The Vietnam War Then & Now - Discovery Education - Opposing Views on the Vietnam War - National Museum of American History - September 11th Motown, Music and Society

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"What we do is Jazz" Modesto Tamez Paul Doherty, Exploratorium Teacher Institute Click here for the images that accompany this presentation. The Exploratorium Teacher Institute seeks to inspire learners by showing them how science is interesting, relevant and fun. We begin by having participants experience the real phenomena of science. Encountering science phenomena in person naturally leads to questions created by each individual, they ask their own question and they truly want to know the answer, we then provide resources where they can do the work, sometimes hard work necessary to understand the phenomena. Along the way we can guide them to resources with correct science or at least science that is not wrong. We provide participants with materials, often simple materials, then give them sparse instructions, and turn them loose to explore. Turning the participants loose to explore and report on what they see means that a class will not progress according to a rigid plan. As a presenter you have to know how to deal with the resulting flow of ideas, it is like being a jazz performer in education, you have to be a superb musician/educator and go with the flow, all the while keeping track of where you want to take your audience. When designing a science exploration: Begin with the phenomena.Make it as real as possible. Then ask, "What do you see?" There is no wrong answer. The answer helps the presenter understand where the observer is in their understanding of what they are seeing. Modesto Tamez suggests that the phenomena include a touch of the unexpected. That way it becomes a "provocacione" a stimulus to question and explore. Think about going one step further. Do the classic blind spot activity. This involves an object to focus on and and object that disappears.Do this with the right eye and then the left eye. Then do it with both eyes at the same time blinking back and forth between eyes, the object that you focus on with one eye is the object that disappears in the other eye. When you provide participants with materials pay attention to what they discover. Look through a black film can at a pinhole in the bottom. Do it in a bright room and open and close the opposite eye. The pinhole seems to grow and contract. This was discovered by a participant in a workshop. Make explorations social activities. Head Harp Wrap a string around your head, pluck the string and make music. Then wrap the string around 2 people. Keep it simple Model the black drop effect by squeezing your fingers together Make it human Tell about the discoverer as a person. H.G. Wells, as a science teacher did the disappearing glass roods demo, then wrote the Invisible Man. Hans Christian Oersted, discovered the connection between electric current and magnetism during a public demonstration. He did what any presenter would do when something unexpected happened, hoped the audience didn't notice, then go home to research it. Look at a string Use the tools of classic storytelling Repeat things 3 times Play with scale, start with the normal, go to the small, then go giant Corrugated tube singing Bell on a straw oboe Reduce the number of parts to a ridiculously small number Moshe Rishpon: Reduces the bed of nails to one single giant nail and invites participants to sit on it. They get the point. Allow the participants to be creative by providing them a tool rich environment. In our workshops we provide many simple materials, these are stored in rolling carts. Combine the above ideas two or 3 at a time Perception and make it human Newton was seen wiggling one eye ball with a knitting-needle-like-rod inserted beside his eye to see how it altered his perception. Scientists teachers and students A scientist looks at something that everyone has looked at and sees something that no one has seen. A teacher helps students to see things they have never noticed before. Students ask questions that will help teachers see things they have never noticed before. Almost all my explorations will be found here Exploration Index Here are some of the ones you might be most interested in. Spinning Cylinder What cuases the patterns to appear when you soin a cylinder. String crossing Stretch a string in front of you, what do you see. Find the Rays Look at a bright point of light do experiments to find the location of the rays radiating from the light. 3D afterimage Move a bright point of light in front of you in a 3D pattern, observe the afterimage. Gray step, print your own gray step exploration Laser Speckle Observe how it moves and learn about yourself. Laser Speckle Explanation use ray tracing to understand laser speckle. Pinhole images Explore inversion by your eye and brain Blinky Light Explorations Inova microlights can be made to blink 100 times a second and used to document motion. Ball Bounce Drop a tennis ball on top of a basketball, observe how the gravitational slingshot is used by spacecraft. Gravity Well Explorations Many museums have gravity wells, how can they be used? Compact disk light explorations, reflect sunlight from a CD onto a white shady wall. Project a spectrum, use a holographic diffraction grating and an overhead projector to project a spectrum. Project an anti spectrum, observe a spectrum made from cyan,magenta and yellow. Interference colors in a soap film, soap film in a can, soap film interference model, origin of soap film color Mirror pairs explore your image and its rotation in two mirrors. Left right reversal in a mirror and in multiple mirrors Whirlies, singing corrugated tubes. Ringing aluminum rod, explore the sound patterns in a 1.4 m long aluminum rod using your fingers. Head Harp wrap a string around your head and pluck it. Sound reflection from an open ended tube Adding a bell to a straw oboe Magnet lesson series, using ceramic disk magnets Repel a grape using a neodymium magnet Hot Hands Arrange people by hand temperature Boil water at room temperature in a syringe Lava lamp salt powered Tape Electroscope Use Scotch tape as an electric charge detector Multimeter electroscope Use an FET input VOM to measure electrostatic charge Rectified Globe place a globe in the sun with your location at top dead center and the polar axis aligned with the earth to see the light on the earth. Measure the brightness of the sun, Use a grease spot photometer. Some common science errors, polar bear fur,airplane flight, lightning safety,glass is a liquid, water rise in a jar with a burning candle. The MR diagram, plotting everything in the universe on a graph of mass versus radius. Aerodynamics, how to airplanes fly, Newton Bernoulli and circulation theory. Did you want to do any construction , soldering, PVC? Energy versus color, find the voltage necessary to light LED's of different color. Downhill Racer Measure slow acceleration. Scientific Explorations with Paul Doherty 7 July 2012

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According to the Center for Digital Storytelling, a digital story is a short, first-person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds. Joe Lambert, one of the pioneers of this project-based multimedia activity, describes digital storytelling as a process that infuses new media and technology tools with a compelling written narrative. Jason Ohler (2008), an advocate of multimedia pedagogy in the classroom, indicates that digital storytelling is the ideal vehicle for blending traditional (reading, writing and speaking) and emerging (information technology) literacy development. In order to understand the composition of, and ultimately produce, a digital story, Lambert (2003) provides a conceptual framework of seven elements that serve as a guide throughout the writing, production, and publishing process. These elements are: point of view, a dramatic question, emotional content, the gift of your voice, economy, pacing and the power of a soundtrack. Each element, as interpreted by Kenneth Warren, is described hereafter: Point of view The point of view element focuses on both the story’s purpose and perspective of the author. The purpose of a story or narrative can be to inform the listener about an experience or an idea, and, depending on how its communicated, persuade them to change, engage them to discuss and inspire them to act. These stories can be told in the first-person (personal and reflective), where the digital storyteller is speaking from first-hand experience; or they could be in the third-person (historical and analytical), where the digital storyteller describes someone else’s life or presents information about an interesting topic. A dramatic question The dramatic question is the key theme that holds the listener’s attention. Often times, digital stories are most powerful when the problem, conflict or dilemma is introduced at the beginning of the narrative. This can instantly capture the listener’s attention. Once captured, the digital storyteller should provide enough detail that describes the context and evidence that pertain to this inquiry. Here’s an example of a digital story with a strong dramatic question that asks, “How does one communicate in a foreign land when they feel as if they being perceived as an “other”?” . When honing in on a question, storytellers should think about any ethical, moral, legal, cultural, historical or controversial issues that connect to the story. This is usually where drama exists. Ultimately, the digital storyteller has to resolve this question and “sort out this drama” by the end of the story or provide enough information to the listener so they can resolve it themselves. Each story or narrative should seek to include an aspect of emotional content that connects to its listeners’ feelings and evokes a response, whether visceral or subliminal. Written narratives can convey emotions of humor, empathy, fear, anxiety, solitude, amongst many others. Addressing the emotional content of a story can be challenging because it requires storytellers to deeply consider the perspectives of their listeners, as well as think about how the story may be interpreted through the use of rhetoric, images and vocal tone. For instance, if you’re trying to convey humor, think about the use of language, timing and visuals that make people laugh. Also, think about the pace and rhythm of your music if this is to enhance the listener’s response. Certain emotions, like humor, can be a difficult communicate because what may be funny to one person may be offensive to someone else. It’s always a great idea to get constant feedback about your story during each step of the production process! The gift of your voice The storyteller’s voice is a gift that must not be taken for granted, but rather recognized and nurtured as it is the vehicle that delivers the story’s message… and makes an impact! The voice carries varying degrees of richness, context, character, and personality that strengthen the narrative. Distractions such as background noise, vibrating cell phones, the sound of turning pages, repeating statements, mumbling and a low volume of voice will affect the impact of the story – no matter how well it is written. If a storyteller has a noticeable accent or pronounces certain words in a unique way, this could affect how the listener perceives the story. However, remember that the storyteller’s voice is a gift and it takes lots of practice (and patience) to master the art of oral communication. Be sure to read your story multiple times so that when you record your audio, you will know what words, statements, and style to expect. Knowing your story will help you to deliver clear and compelling multimedia presentation. A good length for your written narrative is about two double spaced pages – approximately 500 words. This will result in a three minute digital story. If the digital story is longer than three minutes, the storyteller takes the risk of losing their listener’s attention. Think about the most important elements that belong in your story, you may need to edit, revise, and, quite possibly, re-record. If you still have a lot of information that must be conveyed, consider making more than one digital story. For instance, if you are producing a digital story about stem cell research for a science course, you might create one DST that analyzes the research, and another, more subjective DST, that reflects the storyteller’s personal opinions about the consequences, effects or impacts of the research. Pacing is connected to the gift of your voice and sequence of images. A digital storyteller’s voice should be clear, inflect emotion, a have proper cadence. To achieve this, the entire narrative must be recorded in one take, from the first word to the last word. No interruptions or digital edits. Storytellers should pause for each comma, semi-colon and period that they see, while seeking adequate breath control when recording into the microphone. A vocal change should also be heard when communicating inquiry with a question mark (?) or projecting excitement with an exclamation mark (!). Additionally, storytellers should consider their use of images and how they transition from one to another. A three-minute story may use 15 or more images and storytellers will need to decide how long images appear on the screen. However, images may also be shown more than once and the longer an image remains on the screen, the more time a listener has to process what they are both seeing and hearing. The power of a soundtrack A digital story’s soundtrack can include music or other sound effects that help amplify the emotional content of the story’s theme and dramatic question. However, this element should be approached cautiously as music (especially music with audible lyrics) will add an additional layer of information to the digital story. This could be distracting as it may compete with the existing audio of the storyteller’s voice. Moreover, issues concerning music availability, copyright and attribution can determine whether or not its appropriate to include a soundtrack. It is advised that storytellers especially those with limited experience, ensure that the “Gift of Your Voice” audio is flawless before proceeding to utilize the power of a soundtrack. You can also learn more about digital storytelling and how these 7 elements are now evolving into what is known as the “7 steps”. Take a look at Joe Lambert’s new book here: Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community”

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EducationWorld is pleased to present this article contributed by Aimee Hosler, a writer for onlineschools.com and mother of two. Passionate about education and workplace news and trends, Hosler holds a B.S. in journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Bullying. Peer pressure. Social anxiety. Their negative effects can reach well beyond the classroom. In this information age, even distance-learning students can be targets of cyberbullying. Teachers have long been aware of these social concerns, and increasingly, parents and policymakers are getting involved. Addressing these challenges in the classroom has never been easy, but has always been important. Research suggests that when schools promote positive social and emotional development, it not only reduces negative social behaviors, but also has a long-term positive impact on children’s success in a variety of areas. Why social, emotional and character development matter For most parents and teachers, the reasons for promoting social, emotional and character development in the classroom are obvious: They want children to be kind, emotionally competent and respectful to others. The benefits of social-emotional learning extend far beyond that, however. According to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, a child's “environment of relationships” in the first years of life can actually shape her developing brain's architecture, creating circuits that can influence academic performance, mental health and interpersonal skills for the rest of her life. Many schools or districts have adopted structured social-emotional and character development programs to help cultivate these important student skills. There are also many informal ways in which teachers can support social-emotional learning in the classroom and at the school level. How to promote social, emotional and character development in the classroom Teachers must establish a classroom environment that promotes social and emotional development right from the start—their students’ long-term success depends on it. Rules and expectations should be clear and reinforced often, and should prioritize behaviors such as kindness, honesty and good citizenship. This is only the beginning, however. TKCalifornia, a program designed to support early education teachers and administrators, emphasizes that in order to promote social-emotional development in the classroom, teachers must model effective social behavior at all time and intentionally teach skills such as conflict resolution and problem-solving. These guidelines may sound great on (virtual) paper, but how, precisely, do they play out in the classroom? Here are a few strategies that might help. Strategy 1: Create a consistent, but play-based, classroom structure According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Play is integral to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development.” TKCalifornia notes that one of the most powerful ways to nurture social or emotional development in the classroom is by establishing routines that are fun at the core. For instance, using songs, chants or games during challenging times—such as during periods where children must wait in line or take turns—can minimize negative behaviors, giving teachers an opportunity to reinforce positive ones. Strategy 2: Teach—and reinforce—empathy Helping a child understand people’s behaviors, feelings and thoughts is the first step toward teaching them how to respect and relate to others. Teachers can model empathy by comforting a child who is upset or by verbally acknowledging students’ feelings, but they can also incorporate these lessons into existing curricula. For example, when reading a book, ask children to identify characters’ emotions and discuss how other characters or events have contributed to their feelings. You may also choose to role play with puppets or with the children themselves. By giving children a broader emotional vocabulary, and by emphasizing that everyone has feelings, teachers can hone or reinforce students’ empathy. Strategy 3: Actively teach conflict resolution When children begin to fight or argue—as they often do—it is easy for teachers to step in as mediators and resolve the conflict themselves. It might be more beneficial in the long run, however, if they use these opportunities to teach children how to resolve conflict themselves. For instance, if two children are fighting over a toy, rather than telling them to take turns and setting a timer, ask them how they could go about sharing the item. Talk through solutions. Educators can also model problem-solving skills throughout the day. For example, allow children to vote for the book they want to read, or encourage them to take turns leading their peers during transition periods. Great teachers are students, too Teachers can modify their methods and philosophies to accommodate students’ evolving needs, which can be influenced by everything from technological innovation to the economy. What works well for one classroom might not in the next. Consider investing in a little continuing education on the topic of social-emotional development, whether it means attending a formal workshop or simply keeping tabs on the latest research. Your students will thank you. Promote Social-Emotional Development With Proven Programs Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Growth Site Review: Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning Beyond Icebreakers: Building Student Connectedness Anti-Bullying Lessons, Resources and Strategies How to Accentuate Respect and Eliminate Disrespect in Students 25 Activities for Building Student Character, School Community Copyright © 2013 Education World

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© Copyright BabyClassroom If I had to choose two words to represent the magic of early childhood, they would be: "Let's pretend!" After all, who else but a young child can pilot a bunk bed to the moon, share afternoon tea with a teddy bear, or vanquish aliens as they emerge from a closet? And not only does pretend play offer hours of silly, giggly fun, it also offers incomparable opportunities for children to develop cognitively, socially and emotionally. So Much to Learn: Pretend play, says Angeline Lillard, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia who's done extensive research on the topic, gives young children the unique opportunity to be in control. "They can do what they're interested in," she says. "They can make choices about what they're going to do and who's going to be what and what's going to be what and how the story's going to unfold." As their play becomes more advanced -- where they take on different personas -- they begin to see things from the perspective of others, to understand that other people have thoughts and feelings and emotions that drive their behaviors. When they begin pretending with peers, they learn how to communicate effectively and develop problem solving and negotiation skills. With pretend play, children can work through difficult emotions in a safe, self-directed environment. Playing mommy and baby can help a child come to terms with the arrival of a new sibling. Playing school can make him more comfortable starting preschool. Playing hospital can alleviate his fear of doctors. Playing superhero can help him gain control over his fear of monsters. Additionally, when children begin to use objects symbolically -- pretending a block is a telephone, for example -- they begin to develop an understanding of symbolic representation. Later, this can translate to reading (the letters C-A-T represent the animal cat, for example) and math (the numeral "5" represents a set of five items). As their plot lines become more elaborate, children develop storytelling skills that can strengthen reading comprehension, and a well-developed imagination is useful for visualizing concepts -- whether historical, geographic, or literary -- when they hear or read about something new and unfamiliar. The Birth of Pretend Play It's difficult to tell exactly when pretend play begins, says Lillard, because we can't be sure if toddlers are imitating something they've seen us do or actually pretending to be engaged in the activity. If your little one puts a spoon in her toy duck's mouth, for example, is she simply using a spoon the way she knows it's meant to be used, or is she pretending to feed the duck? Typically, though, pretend play is thought to begin around 18 months of age. Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget believed we can tell when a child is pretending by his "coy smile," says Lillard, and many experts still follow that assumption. However, she adds, "we don't know definitively." What we do know is that early pretend play most often centers on familiar activities. Young children play house, store, restaurant, or doctor. They pretend to feed a doll, drive a car, talk on the telephone, or put a stuffed animal to bed. "For early childhood," says Lillard, "they'll pretend just with reality and what's domestic because that's what they need to learn about." Beyond the Familiar As children enter the preschool years, their themes become more elaborate, moving from the domestic to the more fantastical. They might fly space ships, for example, sail with pirates, become princesses or slay giants. This is also the stage when children typically begin to take on the roles of characters they create and to participate in pretend play with peers, although children with older siblings, and those whose parents play along, often enter this phase earlier. What Can Parents Do? Play Your Part: When children first begin pretending, the best thing a parent can do is play along. "Children's pretending is more advanced when they pretend with their parents or with their older siblings than when they pretend alone or with their age mates," says Lillard. Just remember that your child is in charge and be sure to follow his directions. If you're a customer in his restaurant and he serves you pretend pizza with ice cream on top, better to enjoy it and pay the bill than tell him people don't serve pizza that way. Once your child has progressed to more advanced pretend play, it's often a good idea to step back and let him play alone or with friends. When they first begin to pretend, however, your participation can "bring it up to a higher level and help children engage in it," Lillard says. Help Set The Stage: "Pretending is facilitated by the kinds of materials one has around," says Lillard, so parents can encourage pretend play by providing the right props. While props need not be elaborate or numerous, early pretending is often facilitated by toys that look somewhat realistic. A very young child, for example, is more likely to talk on a toy telephone than to pretend a block is a phone. "As they get older," says Lillard, "they'll take any object and turn it into a telephone, (but) early on children have trouble overriding the functions that something is supposed to have in order to have it do something else." Kitchen sets, doctor kits, toy tools, grocery-related props and other toys with familiar life themes are ideal for early "domestic" pretend play. Dolls, toy animals and small vehicles also are useful, especially because they can fit into so many stories and settings. Does Pretend Have To End? Most psychology texts teach Piaget's theory that pretend play ends around age 6, when children begin to accept the reality in which they live. But Lillard and her colleagues don't believe it -- and neither would anyone whose 8-year-old still battles aliens in his backyard. Her latest research indicates that children pretend well into their elementary years, and some of the undergraduates involved in her study admit they still pretend "when nobody's looking!" So go ahead, explore the world of make believe with your little ones. You'll be helping them develop important life skills, including the ability to dream and have fun for many years to come! At Baby Classroom, we're excited to offer a line of toys specifically designed for pretend play. You can choose from Pretend & Play Snack Shop, School, Office, Animal Hospital, World Traveler, and Gym Bag, as well as Ocean Animals, Jumbo Farm Animals and Jumbo Pets for years of fantastic fantasy fun! Shop securely online or phone our order hotline between 8:00am and 4:30pm CST Copyright © 2011 Renaissance Discover This, LLC - All rights reserved

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A term paper is usually assigned to students as a research assignment that covers most of the material covered over an academic term: a semester, or a whole academic year. It is used by examiners and instructors to estimate how well a student has understood, researched and incorporated the set material and activities associated with the course. How an instructor or lecturer determines what is meant by term paper is usually their choice, since the expression is a loose one that may or may not involve extensive research, and may or may not cover all the work in a semester or ‘term’. Stages for Writing a Term Paper - Selecting a subject or topic is usually the first step. This is either set by the instructor or chosen from a short list by the student. - Seeking materials associated with the topic in journals, articles, books and websites is usually the next step in the creation of a term paper. - Reading the material to gain understanding, and taking copious notes is a good practice. - Writing a solid outline based on the notes is the next step. - The first draft of the central part, or body, of the term paper comes next. - Devising a fitting conclusion that summarizes the findings follows. - The hardest step is writing the introduction, which must include a good thesis statement. - Reading, editing and proofing comes last. Depending on the subject being studied, students can choose some excellent topics on which to base a term paper to demonstrate how well they have understood the work or research covered during the term. Science, arts, business, communications and engineering subjects all provide absorbing topics that can be used, but care must be taken to devise a topic that engages most of the material studied in a comprehensive way. Term papers are important when it comes to grading a student’s progress, so a term paper must showcase as much ground covered as possible. A good example can be taken from a student researching primitive and early art during a semester in an arts course. A good topic would be “Religious Art: Primitive Icons of 9thth century AD”. A good topic for a chemical engineering term paper might be, “Redesigning the Manufacturing Process of Analgesic Tablets.” An excellent topic for a literature term paper might be, “Epistolary Literature: Authors Writing to Authors.” These topics are specific to their subject, but they are general enough to allow the student scope for extensive research and comprehensive reading and writing on the topic. Key Points to Consider - Assemble all the materials before starting to read and take notes. Keep all applicable books together, and mark the passages and pages of relevant material. Card systems do work for some students – others like to open a word processing folder and type the notes. These are then easily re-worked into paragraphs. - Remember that facts and figures are more important than ideas and opinions. Remember too that all facts and figures must be supported by properly formatted referencing, using APA, MLA or Chicago/Turabian styles. - A self-devised note-taking system is best. It will help to keep notes and cuttings in order. The less confusion and fragmentation the better: organization is valuable, and time-management skills come into play here. - It is important to use effective writing techniques in a good term paper. Three basic persuasion techniques are: use facts and evidence, apply logic and reason, and appeal to the intelligence and emotion of the reader. Combine the three to create valid points. - Each point can be built into a paragraph, using notes and paraphrased material from sources such as books, websites, articles, videos, audio files and websites. - The salient, main points must be combined with minor ones, to contribute to the overriding premise or thesis. Each paragraph can lead with an important point, then proceed to explain it, and then introduce a minor point closer to the end to support the initial statement. - Deciding on a writing style is not difficult: your writing must be semi-formal, academic and precise: do not fall into the habit of using conversational language, since it is inappropriate for a work as important as a term paper. Dos and Don’ts - It is a mistake to build an argumentative essay in place of a term paper, which should be mainly based on research and the ground covered over a long period of study. - The most common mistake found in term papers is using all new material rather than the set texts or reading material used during the period covered by the term. - It is not wise to change arguments as the paper develops. A stance or opinion should be maintained throughout, and demonstrated with material used during the term. It is perfectly acceptable to show both sides of an argument, but care must be taken not to write down an entire debate instead of demonstrating knowledge of material. - A frequently seen flaw is rushed or unprepared writing. Research all the material thoroughly, making sure the notes you write are clear and cogent, and create paragraphs of well-prepared writing steadily and surely. Hesitation is another aspect that weakens an otherwise well-researched paper: take a stance and sustain your position. - A lack of structure or a missing central premise is often found to weaken a student’s work. It is important to make a plan or outline for a successful term paper. Randomly listing facts, arguments and data found in the literature without organizing it in a logical sequence to demonstrate your understanding of it is not an effective way to persuade an examiner of how well you have covered the material and absorbed the topic. - Poor language skills, inappropriate or irrelevant vocabulary, the wrong tone and errors of punctuation, grammar, syntax and structure demonstrate low aptitude. A term paper needs to demonstrate that a student will go out into a working life well-equipped to communicate ideas, research and present concepts in clear language. Now that you have acquainted yourself with the basic term paper writing tips and rules, you can check our best term paper samples to link theory with practice.

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Painting Presidential Portraits Subjects: Social Studies/Language Arts Estimated Time of Completion: six fifty minute class periods - I. Summary - II. Objectives - III. Materials Needed - IV. Procedure - V. Classroom Assessment - VI. Extensions and Adaptations - VII. Relevant Standards This lesson offers the opportunity for children to look at the duties of the president. The featured guide for this lesson is the online game, "President for A Day." The students can express themselves through art and creative writing, as they design new U.S. currency with presidential portraits, facts, and figures. - Students will know the duties and powers of the president. - Students will use timelines. - Students will recognize former presidents. - Students will identify important events of the past associated with presidencies. - Students will research to find information. - Students will improve communication skills. - Students will recognize the importance of the arts in documenting historical information. - Students will chronologically sequence material. - Students will increase vocabulary related to government. - Students will improve reading and listening skills. III. Materials Needed - Computers with Internet access - Picture of the Presidential Seal - Portrait of a well-known president - White board or chalk board - Art paper - Crayons, markers or coloring pencils - Desktop publishing software such as Broderbund's Print Shop (optional) - Play an audio file of "Hail to the Chief," found at Grolier's Online Presidency site. Ask if students recognize this music; explain that this is a special tune that has been used to announce the president?all the way back to 1837! Why are presidents so special in this particular year? Identify that it is an election year, and explain that students will be learning more about the important duties of the U.S. President. - The students will visit the online activity, "Be President for a Day" to learn what the president has to do during the day. Brainstorm some of the words, symbols, pictures and colors associated with the president. Questions to spark discussion might be: What does a president do all day? With whom does he or she talk or work? What things are important to him or her? Where does the president work? How powerful is he or she? What decisions does the president make? After discussion, instruct students to design a new presidential seal for homework (review the current presidential seal and explore the choice of images and detail there). Make sure that they incorporate some of the brainstorming ideas. Completed seals may be displayed and discussed. - Explain to the class that presidents usually have portraits made during their term in office; a collection of these is available online through the Portraits of Presidents and First Ladies site by the Library of Congress. Explain that a portrait is a picture of a person. The portrait may be "painted" in pictures or in words and knowledge. - Ask students where presidential portraits appear (answers may include: buildings, textbooks, and money). Elaborate on the "money" idea by explaining that the U.S. Treasury uses the portraits of six historical figures?most of them presidents?on paper money ranging from $1 to $100. For more information about paper currency, visit the PBS Online NewsHour feature, "On2 Money" or NOVA's "Secrets of Making Money." - Explain that the U.S. Treasury is currently redesigning paper money (if possible, show examples of the old versus new $20 or $10 to illustrate what you mean). Ask students to imagine that the Treasury wants to use six different people on the new paper money, and it's their job to select six former presidents for the new bills. Research these sites that offer historical presidential information: - White House Historical Association - The American President - The White House - American Presidents: Life Portraits Suggestions for research are birth dates, death dates, famous quotations, inauguration, friends, enemies, wars occurring during term, domestic and foreign problems or triumphs, family, previous careers, political offices, changes in the White House, famous members of his staff, hobbies, assassinations, pets, home state, monuments, presidential library and funeral. - Design new paper money featuring selected U.S. presidents. Students should also write paragraphs defending their choices and providing details about that president's life. (Note: for younger students, teachers may wish to limit the activity to redesigning the $1 bill with a new president, and offer students two to three former presidents to research and choose from.) - Conduct a poll to see which past president is most popular. Assign students to poll other classes, other teachers or students' parents. Compare and contrast results. V. Classroom Assessment - Presidential seal shows elements discussed during brainstorming session - Research yields detailed information about former presidents' lives and accomplishments - Students present persuasive evidence for their new presidential currency choices in written paragraphs VI. Extensions and Adaptations - Send students' currency redesigns to Treasury Department officials. Contact information is available at the U.S. Treasury Web site. - Add a presidential face to a print of Mount Rushmore. - Make a Top 10 newsletter pertaining to the presidency (e.g., oldest, most children, longest time in office, longest speeches, etc.). A print resource for this activity would be Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame and What the Neighbors Really Thought by Kathleen Krull. - Read the Mouse books (by Peter W. Barnes and Cheryl Shaw Barnes and Betty Shepard) to understand a president's interaction with other branches of government. - Students could try "Positively Presidential," an online presidential quiz. VII. Relevant National Standards These are established by McREL: - Understands ideas about civic life, politics and government - Knows that the United States is one nation and that it interacts with every other nation in the world - Knows what political leaders do and why leadership is necessary in a democracy - Knows the major duties, powers, privileges and limitations of a position of leadership (e.g., class president, mayor, state senator, tribal chairperson, president of the United States); and knows how to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of candidates in terms of the qualifications required for a particular leadership role - Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens' ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities - Understands the importance of political leadership, public service and a knowledgeable citizenry in American constitutional democracy responsibilities

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|CREATING A POETRY WEB SITE HOW IT WORKS Using poems that illustrate the use of figurative language, tone, repetition, imagery, and refrain, high school English students write short essays, first in small groups and then by themselves. Afterwards, they answer questions on the poem they have selected as their favorite and write about it. Along with the poems, these essays make up the Favorite Poem classroom Web site. Students scan the poems, and artwork can also be incorporated. Then they compare and contrast their classroom site to a national Favorite Poem Web site. There are also video and audio readings of some of the poems on the national site. Students can also analyze and write about some of these poems. Students are assessed by their comprehension of the poems’ content and the literary devices used, as well as by the essays they write. WHAT YOU NEED This project takes ten or more class periods to complete. Computers with an Internet connection and word processing equipment, as well as a scanner, are necessary. Students should have a basic working knowledge of computers and the Internet. Teachers must be knowledgeable in creating a Web site. I covered this unit with 9th and 12th graders in New York City. The ability level can be wide. Once students have learned how to recognize literary devices in poems and use this understanding to see the author's tone and theme, they can deepen their interpretation of new poems. After reacting to and analyzing more than eight poems, two of which are on the national site, students write essays about their favorite poems and create a class site. They also examine poems new to them on the national Favorite Poem site. Their appreciation and analysis is heightened by audio and video readings. Students put to use what they have learned about applying their knowledge of literary devices to analyze the poet’s tone and theme. My students can find similes with almost no problem and explain the comparison well. They look for the words "as" or "like," but most need more help understanding and identifying metaphors and symbolism. Technology: Students develop note-taking, drafting, writing, and editing skills through use of the computer; use critical thinking and establish research skills to evaluate the credibility and appropriateness of Web sites and the validity of the available information. They compile, analyze, and evaluate the data collected while visiting a Web site. English Language Arts: Students develop several main points relating to a single thesis and analyze and revise work for clarity and effect. They recognize literary elements and techniques, read and interpret poems, write interpretive and responsive essays, and support their ideas by using references to the text. Project URL: http://teachnet.org/TeachNetProject/ny/fklane/pmaslow-poem.htm Peggy Maslow, a New York City high school English teacher for 23 years, has used technology in the classroom for over 16 years. She has also been her school's newspaper advisor for almost two years. She has taught all levels of students ranging from those with reading difficulties to honors, and has taught courses in journalism, mystery, American literature and other topics.

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My sister is a professional storyteller. Mary can get into character and affect age, voice, and mannerisms to invite the audience into the world she is creating. She also uses storytelling as a tool to train on leadership and teambuilding – with great results. The use of stories in the learning environment can be one of the most powerful instructional techniques in your arsenal. It can help you get the learners’ attention and aid with the retention of course information. You can use storytelling at the beginning of, during, or at the end of training. Yet, in order to have the greatest impact, you need to know your purpose in telling a story and keep some purpose-related guidelines in mind. At the beginning of a course, use stories to: 1. Help set the tone for the course. 2. Establish rapport. 3. Help create a comfortable /safe environment. During the course, use stories to: 4. Help make a connection between the old and the new. 5. Create a link between complex concepts/ideas. 6. Increase learners’ attention. 7. Appeal to different learning styles. 8. Aid in the retention of information. At the end of the course, use stories to: 9. Aid in the retention of the information. 10. Illustrate what has been learned. Guidelines for Storytelling - Know your audience and select stories that are appropriate to that group. - Check your story for anything that may make someone uncomfortable. Even true stories can embarrass someone if they were around when it happened. For example, telling a story about an associate who made a foolish mistake that cost the company a lot of money may be very risky if the incident is relatively recent, the name of the associate who made the mistake is known, or if s/he has a friend, colleague, or relative in the class. - Be especially wary of stories that accidently make fun of a culture or belief. - Make sure the story makes sense and is relevant to the course content. If not, why tell it? Make sure the connection between the story and the course content is clear for the learners. - Make the story short and to the point. Even a good story that goes on too long loses steam. - Find a way to get the learner involved in the storytelling. For example, give them the beginning of the story and let them finish it. Provide them with clear instructions on what you would like them to produce as it relates to the course. Regardless of when you tell a story, there are several other delivery guidelines to keep in mind: - Be real; tell stories that fit who you are. - Pay attention to your tone, pace, volume, and non-verbal cues. - Use the story to teach, not preach. This can be a turn-off for the adult learner. - Practice, practice, practice your delivery beforehand. With thought and planning storytelling can be a powerful tool to grab learners’ attention and help with the retention of course information. So go ahead, enhance your presentation skills by telling a story! What other storytelling tips would you like to share with our readers?

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- Students will examine ideas surrounding good and evil and will recognize that there are often complexities in life that make choices more challenging. - Students will be introduced to the powerful artworks of Henry Darger in which the issues of good and evil are clearly drawn. Using Darger text and image as motivation, students will develop critical sensitivity to the power and appeal of both good and evil. - Students will investigate why people have been fascinated with the ideas surrounding good and evil in literature, art, philosophy and religion from biblical times to the present. Throughout history, people have been fascinated with ideas surrounding good and evil. These ideas are considered in a variety of art forms including fairy tales, fables, the latest books, television programs, cartoon strips and video games. Good usually triumphs over evil but not without many challenges along the way. Concluding a series of harrowing trials and complex adventures, narrated in thousands of pages of original text and several hundred compelling watercolor paintings, Henry Darger's characters, the seven heroic Vivian Girls, emerge triumphant. Related Video Clips Henry Darger had a difficult childhood that influenced his views on good and evil. (Please note: Some of the clips below depict violence and may be inappropriate for younger children. Please view before sharing with students.) LESSON PLAN I: - Students will learn about the artist Henry Darger and consider what may have motivated him to devote so many years of writing and art-making to the subject of good and evil. - Students investigate how Darger intensifies the drama in his images with use of color, characters depicted and arrangement of pictorial elements. Students write a brief answer to the question: What is good and what is evil? - Image: At Jennie Turner Children tied to trees in path of forest fires. In spite of exceeding extreme peril, Vivian girls rescued them I Vivian girl Jennie observes with spyglass great massacre of children and brings the attention of her sisters to it. - Colored pencils, marking pens, paper Share image with students. Some suggestions for guiding discussion: - Danger and evil are sometimes more "thrilling" when the villains are absent. Where are the villains in the image? - In this image, we recognize vulnerable tortured children tied to trees. Though unseen, how do we recognize the villains? - How does Darger's use of color make you feel? Some thoughts: His use of color heightens the drama. The dark palette suggests sinister forces lurking through the tree bark and the contrasting hot oranges and yellows indicate fire and destruction. - Why do you think Darger paired the picture on the left with the picture on the right? Some thoughts: Darger enhances the sense of evil by strongly contrasting the painting on the left with the one on the right (that includes seven Vivian sisters with their white horses standing nearby in what appears to be a grassy patch). The soft yellow, purple and green colors contribute to the calm setting. Consider Darger's composition placing figures on the right side of the image in a smooth horizontal plane and the figures in the picture on the left side in a more chaotic arrangement. Create an image of a dramatic moment, from your imagination or life experience, in which good and evil play a role. A consideration of good and evil helps a person understand himself/herself and the world in which he/she lives. Through stories and pictures, a person can create a universe and gain control over his/her world. Examine comic strips and find as many examples as you in which issues of good and evil are expressed graphically. Bring examples to class. LESSON PLAN II:Aim/Objective: - To relate concepts of good and evil to the heroes, villains and anti-heroes in Henry Darger's visual art work. Throughout history, rules of conduct for individuals and society have fascinated historians, philosophers, clerics and artists. Artists often personalize complex concepts such as good and evil through story and song. In Henry Darger's world, the heroine Vivian sisters, with some assistance from an assortment of generals and others, conquer the forces of evil. The Vivian Girls are always heroines in the story and the children they protect are always good. What examples of good and evil did you find represented in comics or magazine pictures? What about the image led you to define it as either good or evil? Was it difficult to locate these images? - Image: Untitled (Battle scene during lightning storm, children carry rifles) - Paper and pencils or wire, fabric, recycled materials Consider heroes and villains you know from games and movies. Generate a list of these characters with students. Some questions for discussion: - What is the appeal of the hero? (Some thoughts: attractiveness, courage, unselfishness, kindness, cleverness and cunning). - What is the appeal of the villain? (Some thoughts may include many of the same strengths as those of the hero such as: good looks, strength, cunning, power, competition, challenge and mastery). - Why do stories and games about pitting the forces of good and evil against each other continue to have universal appeal? (Among other thoughts, human nature is complex with potential for good and evil). Examine the image to continue the discussion. - What do you see? (Notice: Unclothed children fleeing and others are dead. Children are also drawn prominently in the foreground shooting at an unseen enemy.) - What does Darger do to enhance the feeling of turbulence and disjunction in the scene? (Notice: Along with the poised rifles, notice the storm, lightning and darkness in the background.) - Why do you think Darger painted large pretty flowers in this horrific scene? (One possibility might be that the flowers make the war imagery more palatable. Another is that the scene is imaginary. A third idea is that flowers and birds symbolize "goodness.") - Is war ever justified? (For further thought: characters like Robin Hood, Zorro and James Bond break laws in order to fight injustice. Discuss the appeal of these characters.) How are concepts of good and evil related to the heroes, villains and anti-heroes in Henry Darger's visual artwork? Draw or create a figure that has symbolic and literal elements of "goodness" enabling them to protect, befriend and support you. Take note of what this figure first looks like as you imagine it in your mind. What does this tell you about your perceptions of what characteristics are equivalent to "good" and what are "evil"? What visual clues can you use to communicate your concept (color, value, symbols, location of figure in a setting etc.)? LESSON PLAN III: Students will create a personal journal or sketchbook. Ask students to write a brief answer to the following question: What are some of the differences between writing (or drawing) in a personal journal (or sketchbook) and writing (or creating artwork) that will be viewed by other people? - Composition books or spiral notebooks - Construction paper or oak tag - Colored masking tape (available in art supply stores) - Narrow ribbon (24 per book) - Glue sticks - Diagram for creating book (located in this unit) For a few minutes, have students write a brief answer to the "Do Now" question. Ask volunteers to share their answers. Topics may include privacy, spontaneity, freedom of expression, lack of concern over criticism. Ask students if any of them keep journals, diaries, or sketchbooks. - Cut paper to fit covers (inside and outside covers) of notebooks. (You may wish to have paper ready before class begins.) - Cut ribbon to 12-inch lengths. - Have students open books. Using glue sticks, students should glue end of ribbon to left inside edge of cover, about midway down its length. Only about half to one inch of ribbon will be glued down; the rest will extend outside the book. Repeat process on the back cover. This will become a tie for privacy. - Now have students glue down one paper to cover the end of ribbon and line the inside cover. Repeat process on the back cover. - Have students close the book and glue down papers to cover the outside cover, front and back. Use masking tape to create a decorative edge; half of tape will be folded over front, half over back. Students may use collage or drawing to further personalize the books. The books may be used for creative writing projects, journal writing, sketching, etc. The following lesson plans will relate to these Learning Standards: NYS Learning Standards for the Arts: Standard 3: Responding to and analyzing works of art Standard 4: Understanding the cultural dimensions and contributions of the arts NYS Learning Standards for English Language Arts:Standard 1: Using language for information and understanding Standard 3: Using language for critical analysis and evaluation McRel Standards for Visual Arts: Standard 1: Understands and applies media, techniques and processes related to the visual arts Standard 4: Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures Standard 5: Understands the characteristics and merits of one's own artwork and the artwork of others McRel Standards for Language Arts: Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media These lesson plans are excerpted with the permission of the American Folk Art Museum. © 2005, American Folk Art Museum.

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view a plan Here students write the story of Anne Frank’s life if she had survived Language Arts, Social Studies Title – Alternate Ending By – Jacqueline Eich Primary Subject – Social Studies Secondary Subjects – Language Arts Grade Level – 4-5 “Diary of Anne Frank” has been identified as a classic because it’s read the world over. Being that it was published after the end of the war and there were still so many anti-Semitic feelings, it humanized the Jewish people. The book is a primary source, non-fiction first-hand account and a historical document. It is not only popular in the states, but is an incredible piece celebrated in multiple countries. Objective(s): Knowing the time frame of Anne Frank’s death and the end of the concentration camps, the students will write a story of Anne Frank’s life as if she had survived. Sunshine State Standards: La.a.1.2.2-selects from a variety of simple strategies, including the use of phonics, word structure, context clues, self-questioning, confirming simple predictions, retelling, and using visual cues to identify words and construct meaning from various texts, illustrations, graphics, and charts. focused, purposeful, and reflects insight into the writing situation; conveys a sense of completeness and wholeness with adherence to the main idea; has an organizational pattern that provides for a logical progression of ideas; has support that is substantial, specific, relevant, concrete, and/or illustrative; demonstrates a commitment to and an involvement with the subject; has clarity in presentation of ideas; uses creative writing strategies appropriate to the purpose of the paper; demonstrates a command of language (word choice) with freshness of expression; has varied sentence structure and sentences that are complete except when fragments are used purposefully; and - has few, if any, convention errors in mechanics, usage, and punctuation. La.a.1.2.4-clarifies understanding by rereading, self-correction, summarizing, checking other sources, and class or group discussion. La.a.2.2.2-identifies the author’s purpose in a simple text. La.a.2.2.4-identifies specific personal preferences relative to fiction and nonfiction reading l.a.b.1.3.1-organizes information before writing according to the type and purpose of writing. La.b.1.3.2-drafts and revises writing that is Diary of Anne Frank 2. pencil and pen This lesson should be taught during the period in which history of the Holocaust and World War II are being taught and when writing and literature during Language Arts is relevant 1. Have the students read and discuss (whole-group, not teacher lead) the diary and history of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. Encourage them to take notes from the story and ask comprehension and guide discussions throughout the reading of the book. 2. Instruct them to write either journal entries as if they were the survived Anne Frank or a story about her surviving from another person from that era’s perspective. 3. Allow them to write as much as possible instructing them to use proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Also allow their creativity to show if they’d like to use different types of paper, a word processor or any other manipulative to enhance the project. Provide the time to make a semantic map of the story, if possible get a translated version of the book, but have all students complete the required assignment. Use technology, such as the internet to show pictures of the anything pertaining to Anne Frank and the story (some materials should be monitored). Grade based on proper punctuation, grammar and knowledge of the book. You may choose to speak to students to know if they have comprehended the story.

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Langauge B - Chinese, French, Japanese, Spanish (HL and SL) WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE COURSE? The aims of the IB course are to develop the ability to communicate accurately and effectively in both speech and writing in a variety of contexts. The course provides students with insights into the culture of the countries where the language is spoken, and encourages students to see language learning as an integral part of the modern world, either in a social or recreational context or as an essential tool for the word of work. WHO IS THE COURSE SUITABLE FOR? The Higher Level course is suitable for those students who have been very successful at GCSE level (or the equivalent) and who are happy to pursue their foreign language education to a much more sophisticated level. Higher level is both challenging and rewarding for those students who attain a B grade or above at GCSE, and who may wish to pursue their language studies at University. The Standard Level course follows the same course outline as the Higher Level, but with reduced content. Students need to have completed a GCSE level course (or equivalent) in their chosen language to a Grade C or above and should feel happy to continue improving their foreign language skills beyond the everyday approach of the GCSE. The Standard Level group will be taught separately from the Higher Level. At both Standard and Higher level there is focus on the use of language and language manipulation skills. Students who have found their GCSE language very challenging, or who wish to broaden their languages having achieved highly at GCSE should consider Ab Initio as the IB option. WHAT TOPICS WILL BE STUDIED? There is no set list of books or texts for the course; the themes are explored by exposing students to the widest possible variety of foreign language materials. These will include newspaper articles, films, radio bulletins and, at Higher Level, some literary sources. Students will engage frequently in oral and listening activities throughout the course with particular emphasis on the discussion of issues arising from the three themes. Written work will be of a varied nature and will, for example, include letters, imagined conversations, reports, discursive essays and possibly some creative writing. HOW WILL STUDENTS BE ASSESSED? There are two written papers, one containing questions on a variety of texts, the other requiring candidates to write an essay style question on one of a choice of themes. The oral component of the course consists of a number of assessed oral activities, including the preparation of an individual topic for discussion.

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Lesson Plans and Worksheets Browse by Subject Setting Teacher Resources Find Setting educational ideas and activities Setting and conflict are the focus of an image-rich presentation that asks viewers to imagine the story behind the picture. Each principle is illustrated with examples from published stories. Practice exercises are included in this PowerPoint that deserves a place in your curriculum library. Do the actions of a character in a story change based on the setting the writer provides? Learners explore the concept of character action in relation to story setting by investigating the setting and events in the story Science Friction. They start by discussing how the main character's actions change throughout the story as the setting in the story changes. They also work specifically on using context clues to anticipate what the character might do at the end of the story. Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, is an often-read, dramatic book about a boy who is forced to mature rather quickly. This plan is divided into 11 days and includes chapter summaries, unfamiliar words, suggested teaching points, and reading activities for learners to complete independently. A great start to creating your unit plan! Creative kids read, discuss, play-act, and sketch to examine the cultural significance of Old Man Coyote. They listen to several stories involving Coyote, analyze the Harry Fonseca painting Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and write Coyote stories of their own. Tons of great background information will make discussing the painting a breeze. Many classic tales, like "Cinderella," can be found worldwide. Bacis events are similar, but each retelling is molded by the culture in which it exists. Present your class with several version of tale (links provided) and have them discuss the unique qualities of each. Pupils then write their own ultra-modern version of the Cinderella tale and present it along with a critique of how it compares to the French one composed by Charles Perrault. "What my father had anticipated was now actually happening." The Chosen explores the complicated relationships between parents and their children. Readers make personal connections to Chiam Potok's story, set in Brooklyn's Hasidic community of the 1940s, through a series of problematic situation activities and discussions. Step-by-step directions and worksheets are included in the detailed plan. Students define adjectives and use adjectives and descriptive phrases to write a descriptive paragraph. They write a description of a sensory item, and read and discuss a five senses chart. Students then complete a chart using adjectives or descriptive phrases to describe nouns, and write a descriptive paragraph to describe a painting. Kids listen to the story, How I Became a Pirate and analyze the painting, Our Lady of the Victory of Malaga. So, what do these to things have in common? The art depicts the time period and style. And, the story sets their imaginations afloat with a fun pirate theme. They research both the art and the art of piracy, then paint an original pirate piece. Teach your third graders to compare and contrast literary elements in two different works on related topics. A pre-assessment activity asks young readers to identify story elements such as character, setting, plot, and main idea. Pairs then record the similarities and differences between the two poems or stories on a Venn diagram. Instructional tips, differentiated instructional support, and extensions are included. What is the initiating event? What is the protagonist's goal? What attempts are made to achieve this goal? What is the outcome? Model for your class how to map out the structure of any narrative. Readers then search for answers as the progress through a story. Although designed for use with Les Miserables, the approach could be used with any text. A worksheet is included. Youngsters construct a map of treasures that they find along a nature trail as they hike. They also make sketches and create place names of some of the spots along the trail. Once back in class, pupils use their treasure maps to help them construct a story based on the map and their detailed observations. The engaging lesson does a nice job of combining language arts with life sciences. The teacher would be wise to have a treasure map journal made up ahead of time to show the class what they should be creating out on the trail. Engage your class in shared reading and writing activities with this group of lessons. They work practice using phonemes and story elements while they read aloud books by Mem Fox and Kit Wright. They also participate in shared writing as they write about the memories that are used in the stories. It's always fun to make up something together as a class. This fine instructional activity has children make up and illustrate a collaborative adventure story. The essential elements of a good story (setting, characters, plot, help, conclusion) are all here. You can be sure that the final product will be a source of great pride for the whole class. This instructional activity is based on the Arthur episode: "Arthur's Faraway Friend." An extensive lesson on art analysis, storytelling, critical thinking, and observation awaits your class! They learn to observe and read art the way they would a story; paying attention to details, historical context, and visual cues that describe a place, time, and thought. The lesson is broken into four parts, where learners discuss what they see, review content specific vocabulary, and finally create a work of art that expresses a story. Note: The lesson could be used in either an art or language class.

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A Togolese Tale: The Big Fire - Africa, Togo - Grades 9-12 - Language Arts & Literature Students will examine the universal nature of folk tales and evaluate the meaning of a tale told in Togo. After studying the letter and engaging in different activities, students should be able to explain how or why folk tales represent the cultures where they originate. - The author felt dissatisfied with the ending of the story. - People can make friends by sharing stories and common elements of their cultures. - Telling the truth always has its merits. The Folk Tale Outline for students the structural elements on which most folk tales are based: an introduction, a development, a climax, a conclusion, and a moral. Retell a familiar story, such as "The Three Little Pigs" or "Goldilocks," and then ask the students to identify each of these elements. You might draw a graphic organizer to help students in the process and have them identify specific elements in the story below the line: - Ask students to identify each of these elements in Esso's story. - Ask students why Koehler was initially confused by the ending of Esso's story. Was it because one of the elements of a folk tale seemed to be missing? Or that the ending didn't conform to a more typical Western folk tale? Or that a sense of justice seemed to be missing? - Ask what the moral is in Esso's story. (Students may have different ideas on what Esso's story teaches. It might be helpful to remind students that a moral doesn't have to be explicitly expressed by the author; it can be implied by the story.) - Do students think the moral in Esso's folk tale is unique to Togolese culture? Why or why not? - Ask students what aspects of Esso's tale ring true in their own culture. What similarities can they identify between Esso's outlook and their own? Hold a class discussion centered on these points: - There seems to be a question of justice in this folk tale. Do you think the honest brother experienced justice in the end? If so, how? If not, why not? - Do you think the wicked brother experienced justice in the end? If so, how? If not, why not? - Koehler observes that the folk tale seems to show that crime does not always get punished. If there was some good that came out of the story (e.g., the wicked brother no longer misbehaves), does that qualify as a kind of overall justice? - Outline for students the structural elements on which most folk tales are based: an introduction, a development, a climax, a conclusion, and a moral. Retell a familiar story, such as "The Three Little Pigs" or "Goldilocks," and then ask the students to identify each of these elements. You might draw a graphic organizer to help students in the process and have them identify specific elements in the story below the line: The Frame Story - Once you have discussed the folk tale itself, have students identify and reread the narrative sections that come before and after the folk tale itself. Ask students why the author took the trouble to describe Esso and set the scene rather than just telling the story. What information do these sections add? - Define frame story as a story that contains one or more additional stories. [With older students, you might give examples such as Boccaccio's Decameron or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Younger students will probably be familiar with the story of Aladdin and would probably enjoy hearing the story of Sheherazade's storytelling in The Thousand and One Nights.] Why doesn't the author retell for the reader his own story about the boys who fell down the well? Why does he feel he needs to change the details in his story, such as the boys' names? - What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Togolese tradition of taking in the children of poorer relatives? - Ask students: Do you agree with Koehler's assessment of the story? Would you rewrite the story? - Define the term oral tradition and explain that when stories are told orally instead of being written down, it is much more likely that many variations of the story will appear. Frameworks & Standards Framework and Standards - Folk tales exist in all cultures and teach important lessons about life. - Folk tales contain universal themes that transcend their culture of origin. - What life lessons can we learn from folk tales? - What does this folk tale teach me about my culture and other cultures? - Have students devise and write their own folk tale, based on the structural elements suggested in A #1 above. This would be a good opportunity for students to work in small groups. You might use the brief account Koehler gives the reader about his own story as a springboard, and see how many different stories your class can create from the same starting point. - Have each student locate another folk tale and retell it to the class in his or her own words, as expressively as possible. Older students might enjoy visiting younger classes to tell their stories, after practicing with peers. - Ask students to create an illustrated version of a folk tale. You might have the results spiral-bound at a local business-supply store to use as a classroom resource in the future.

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- Get Involved - Education & Events - Publications & Research - About ACA Research Notes: Moral Dilemma Discussions by Gwynn Powell In the broadest sense, what are elements in a child's environment that influence character development? What processes lead to the development of moral maturity? Nature versus nurture? Peers versus parents? Researchers ask these questions in an effort to understand the developmental process and its effect on behavior. While some investigate the "either/or," others question the removal of the dichotomy and investigate the interaction. For example, what are the effects of peers and parents on growth? It is often said, "a camp counselor is a cross between a parent and a friend to the camper"; therefore, research into the interaction of peers and parents on a child's moral development may offer some useful insight for camp counselors and leadership staff. In order to investigate the relationships between interactions and moral-reasoning development, Walker, Henning, and Krettenauer (2000) recorded a series of conversations between teens (boys and girls ages thirteen to sixteen) and a parent, as well as between teens and a friend. The conversations contained both hypothetical moral dilemmas (to allow for comparison between participants) and actual moral dilemmas. The latter were situations reported by the participants, involving themselves (to allow for comparison across contexts). In addition, each participant's stage of moral-reasoning development was rated annually, using a standard process (Colby & Kohlberg, 1987), so that an investigation of moral growth could extend over a four-year period. The results of the study revealed different types of interactions with peers and parents that could be used as predictors of growth in moral reasoning. Three main areas of insight relevant to summer camp are: types of moral-dilemma discussions, types of interactions, and relationships of interactions to moral-reasoning growth. Types of Moral Dilemma Discussions A common way to lead cabin-group discussions is to pose a hypothetical what-if situation and encourage discussion among campers. Earlier research (Berkowitz & Gibbs, 1983) categorized such types of discussions, generally, as one of two types: representational and operational. A representational discussion involves campers seeking to understand another person's reasoning process, using paraphrasing as a tool for verifying comprehension. In contrast, an operational discussion reflects a critical or questioning approach, involving campers who seek to either act on a situation, as if they were using the other person's strategy, or attempt to challenge and change the other person's line of reasoning. As the discussion leader, knowledge of the two approaches gives insight into the thought processes of the campers and can also lead to the following springboard questions. Types of Interactions The process of analyzing the recorded conversations by Walker, et al., centered on classification of the "conversational turn" by each participant. The researchers classified the turns in the following categories: The ability of a counselor to recognize and label the types and goals of specific responses provides a more stable base from which to lead, understand, and support discussions. Relationships of Interactions to Moral-Reasoning Growth Walker, et al., initially examined the relationship between the different types of interactions (both peer and parent) and the rate of moral-reasoning growth of the participant. Their findings indicated differences in growth rate that could be predicted by type of interaction. Next, they investigated the specific difference between parent-child interaction and friend-child interactions. The primary difference between the two groups of interactions was that parents generally interacted with cognitive discussions, using both operational and representational comments. Friends, however, generally interacted with more informative and interfering comments. With both groups, the hypothetical-situation discussions yielded more of an intellectual exercise, while the real-life-situation discussions resulted in more questions and paraphrasing in regards to conflict with another person. Among both peers and parents, representational interaction predicted high rates of moral development, while peers engaging in operational interaction were associated with minimal growth (perhaps due to defensiveness related to the challenge). Informational interactions from peers or parents may have been perceived as lectures, thus explaining the association with slow-growth rates. Among peers, when supportive interactions were combined with representational ones, growth was predicted, yet when combined with informational, it was not. The interfering category was related to minimal growth in the parental context, yet was related to rapid growth among peers. The researchers' explanation is that freer expression of conflict occurs more among peers than among unequals. The Bottom Line While this research offers insight, it also brings to the surface areas in need of greater understanding. As a camp counselor seeking to lead discussions that will generate greater moral development, results which show that parents and friends play different roles, based on their interactions, may be of comfort. At different times during the camp experience, the counselor may play a variety of roles (never fully parent and never fully peer). Regardless of the role of the counselor, participation by campers in discussions based on real-life cabin dilemmas may contribute to increased moral-reasoning development, especially if the questions and probes lead to greater understanding of another's perspectives and thought processes. Knowledge of different types of interactions and their relationships to growth rate may assist counselors in their leadership and give them confidence in leading discussions pertaining to character issues. Gwynn Powell is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia teaching recreation and camp administration. She has twelve years of professional year-round experience in camping. Please contact Powell through e-mail, email@example.com for further information regarding article content or to share research ideas. Originally published in the 2001 January/December issue of Camping Magazine.

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At-Risk Youth Topics Preparing At-Risk Youth for the Future A large fraction of American youth perform poorly in high school, and many of these youth fail to obtain a high school degree. The costs of failure in high school are growing, both for the individual student and for society overall. Mathematica researchers have conducted many of the most important studies of at-risk youth and interventions designed to address their educational needs. We have studied a diverse array of dropout prevention approaches, ranging from small programs in a single school to those designed to address the dropout problem in clusters of schools or entire school districts. Mathematica's staff are also principal investigators for the What Works Clearinghouse comprehensive review of evaluations of dropout prevention programs. Our staff are assessing the strength of the evidence on the effectiveness of dropout prevention initiatives and synthesizing the lessons from these studies for policymakers and educators. Youth who drop out of high school represent a loss of human potential. For the Office of Vocational and Adult Education within the U.S. Department of Education, Mathematica conducted case studies of six dropout recovery programs that help youth ages 16 to 21 return to school, earn a high school credential (either a diploma or GED), and prepare for further education and jobs. Drawing on site visit interviews and an analysis of school records, the study examined program goals and partners, admissions and attendance policies, instructional approaches and academic outcomes, methods for addressing participants' personal issues, and strategies to connect participants to specific postsecondary programs and jobs. Many educational programs and services target youth at risk of dropping out. To help educators better identify these youth, Mathematica uses national longitudinal data sets to identify variables that can predict which students will eventually drop out. This information can be valuable for helping dropout prevention programs better target their services. By drawing on recent and older longitudinal data, we are examining how the predictors of dropping out have changed over time. This research builds on Mathematica's previous studies of factors that predict whether or not students will drop out. Educators and policymakers have been exploring strategies to encourage students to develop useful social skills and habits and refrain from violent, disruptive, or self-destructive behaviors. We are evaluating the impact of mandatory random drug testing programs. In addition, our evaluation of social and character development is assessing programs designed to promote positive social and character development and reduce negative behaviors among elementary school children. Many school districts have sought to create special environments, called alternative schools, that focus on encouraging highly at-risk students to graduate from high school. Our analysis revealed that programs with a more academic focus seemed to improve instruction, but alternative schools have had mixed success in achieving their primary objective. Although alternative school students were more likely to attend school, go to school more days, and earn more credits, after three years in these programs, only about 40 percent had graduated. In preparing for postsecondary education, disadvantaged youth often must overcome a variety of hurdles. Many struggle to secure the requisite academic skills, financial assistance, or information about alternative postsecondary programs and application procedures. Mathematica has evaluated several programs designed to help high school students overcome these hurdles. Upward Bound provides instruction, tutoring, and postsecondary counseling during the school year and summer. Talent Search provides postsecondary guidance, including assistance in applying to specific postsecondary programs and in securing financial aid. The Quantum Opportunities Project was an intensive after-school program offering case management and mentoring, supplemental educational and developmental services, and financial incentives to participate. The results of these evaluations have informed efforts to refine the design of these three programs. Schools are increasingly used to deliver a variety of programs for at-risk youth. For example, efforts to teach young people about responsible behavior through sex education programs have done little to reduce teenage sexual activity. As a result, abstinence education programs have been developed that emphasize abstinence from any sexual activity outside of marriage. These programs do not discuss the reproduction cycle or successful contraception methods, but focus solely on the social, economic, psychological, and health gains to be realized through abstinence. Our national evaluation found that youth in abstinence education were no more likely than their peers not participating in programs to have abstained from sex. They were also no more likely to have engaged in unprotected sex.

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