The Music Dictionary Code

gray words are tempos that tell you how fast or slow to play

red words are dynamics that tell you how loud or soft to play

blue words are directions in music that tell you where to go

yellow words tell you how how to play in general

accel. - short for accelerando which means play faster

accelerando - play faster

adagio - play slowly

al fine - to the end

allegretto - play meduim-quick

allegro - play fast and lively!

andante - play at a walking pace

a tempo - play at the original speed (same as Tempo I!)

bar - the notes and rests in between two bar lines (the upright lines!)

baton - the stick a conductor uses to direct performers

blues - a style of jazz music, usually 12 bars long

bouree - a dance in duple time (2 beats per bar) originally from France

brass instruments - trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, french horn

cadenza - a group of notes played out of time, like you’re imporvising (making it up!)

cantabile - in a singing style, or play it like you’re singing!

con moto - with movement

cresc. - short for crescendo, which means play gradually louder

crescendo - play gradually louder

da capo - go back to the beginning of the piece

dal segno - go back to the sign

dim. - short for diminuendo which means play gradually softer

diminuendo - play gradually softer

dolce - play sweetly

elegy - a lament, or sad piece for someone who has died

embouchure - the correct way to shape your lips and mouth on a wind instrument to get a sound

ensemble - French word for ‘together’ meaning any group of players together

espress - short for espressivo which means expressive, or play with expression

espressivo - expressive, or play with expression

fagotto - the Italian word for bassoon

fanfare - a piece of music usually written for a ceremony, played by trumpets or in a trumpet style

fermata - the Italian word for pause

fine - finish, or the end. Sometimes pronounced fee-nay
forte - play loud!

gavotte - a quick French dance with 4 beats to each bar

gigue - a lively dance, usually with 6 beats to each bar

giocoso - the Italian word for merry

humoresque - a fun piece of music, usually used as the title

hymn - a religious piece of music

improvisation - composing music as you go, making it up

intonation - being able to play or sing in tune, not sharp or flat

keyboard instruments - piano, harpsichord, clavichord, organ, synthesizer

key - what you press on a piano or intrument to get different notes. Also means whether a piece is major or minor and how many sharps or flats it has.

key signature - sharps or flats at the beginning of a piece of music, to be played through the whole piece

largo - slow and broad

ledger lines - short lines above or below the stave to show the pitch of notes

legato - play smoothly

leggiero - play lightly

ligature - a band (usually metal) used to fix a reed onto a mouthpiece

l’istesso tempo - the same tempo

marcato - play ‘marked’ or slightly louder (accented)

mezzo - medium. This always appears with another marking, like mezzo piano (medium-soft)

moderato - at a moderate speed

morendo - play softer and softer to the end

natural - a note that is not played as a sharp or flat

non - not

non troppo - not too fast

obbligato - the Italian word for essential, or important

octave - the distance between two note of the same name, like from middle ‘C’ up to the next ‘C’

ostinato - the Italian word for a set of notes that repeates through the entire piece or section of music

piano - play softly

percussion instruments - drums, cymbals, triangle etc

poco - a little. This usually appears with other words, like poco riten. (a little slower)

poco a poco - little by little. Appears with other words, like accel. poco a poco (play faster, little by little)

presto - lively!

quasi - Italian for nearly or almost

rall. - short for rallentando which means play gradually slower

rallentando - play gradually slower

rit. - short for ritenuto which means play slower

riten. - short for ritenuto which means play slower

ritenuto - play slower

staccato - play the notes short and detached

string instruments - violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, harp

tempo - the speed, or how fast or slow to play something

Tempo I - play at the original speed (same as a tempo!)

una corda - in piano music this means play with one string. Most pianos have a pedal for this

unison - when two or more people play or sing the same note

valse - the French word for waltz, a dance with 3 beats to each bar

vibrato - Italian word for ’shaking’. A way of enhancing the sound of a note by moving the pitch up and down quickly

vivace - Italian word for lively

waltz - a dance with 3 beats to each bar

woodwind instrument - recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone

Science Glossary of Terms

Change. A variance in the rate, scale, and pattern, including trends and cycles.

Constancy. The stability of a property, such as the speed of light.

Equilibrium. The physical state in which forces and changes occur in opposite and off-setting directions.

Evidence. Data and documentation that support inferences or conclusions.

Evolution. A series of changes, some gradual and some sporadic, that accounts for the present form and function* of objects.

Explanation. The skill of communication in which an interpretation of information is given and stated to others.

Form and Function. Complimentary aspects of objects, organisms, and systems in the natural world.

Measurement. The quantification of changes in systems, including mathematics.

Models. Tentative schemes or structures that correspond to real objects, events, or classes of events, and that have explanatory power.

Order. The behavior of units of matter, objects, organisms, or events in the universe.

Organization. Descriptions of systems based on complexity and/or order.

Systems. An organized group of related objects or components that form a whole.

TERMS UNIQUE TO SCIENCE

The following terms are used uniquely in science. They are used consistently throughout the standards and are identified by an asterisk (*) each time they appear. They represent the range of rigorous science skills and knowledge found in the standards.

Analyze. The skill of recognizing the underlying details of important facts or patterns that are not always readily visible.

Apply. The skill of selecting and using information in other situations or problems.

Construct. The skill of developing or creating.

Describe. The skill of developing a detailed picture or image.

Discover. The skill of learning through study or investigation.

Energy. The work that a physical system is capable of completing or doing.

Evaluate. The skill of collecting and examining data to make judgments and appraisals.

Group. The skill of identifying objects according to characteristics.

Identify. The skill of recognizing patterns, facts, or details.

Inference. The skill of using the results of an investigation based on a premise.

Illustrate. The skill of giving examples to describe something.

Interaction. The influence of objects, materials, or events on one another

Investigate. Scientific methodology that systematically employs many inquiry skills.

Observation. The skill of describing scientific events.

Predict. The skill of explaining new events based on observations or information.

Relate. The skill of association.

Show. The skill of illustration.

Understand. The skill of having and applying well-organized bodies of knowledge.

Math Glossary of Terms

Algorithm. An established step-by-step procedure used to achieve a desired result. For example, the addition algorithm for the sum of two two-digit numbers where carrying is required:

55
+ 27
82

Arbitrary unit (of measure). A unit that is not part of the standardized metric or US Customary systems. For example, using one’s own shoe size to measure the length of a door opening or saying that the area of an exhibition hall floor is “about the size of two football fields.”

Associative property. When adding or multiplying three numbers, it doesn’t matter if the first two or the last two numbers are added or multiplied first.

For example,

3 + 9 + 7 = (3 + 9) + 7 = 3 + (9 + 7)
12 + 7 = 3 + 16
19 = 19
3 x 9 x 7 = (3 x 9) x 7 = 3 x (9 x 7)
27 x 7 = 3 x 63
189 = 189

Attribute (measurable). An identifiable property of an object, set, or event that is subject to being measured. For example, some of the measurable attributes of a box are its length, weight, and capacity (how much it holds).

Box plot. A graphic method that shows the distribution of a set of data by using the median, quartiles, and the extremes of the data set. The box shows the middle 50% of the data; the longer the box, the greater the spread of the data. spread of the data.

Central tendencies. A number which in some way conveys the “center” or “middle” of a set of data. The most frequently used measures are the mean and the median.

Combinations. Subsets chosen from a larger set of objects in which the order of the items in the subset does not matter. For example, determining how many different committees of four persons could be chosen from a set of nine persons. (See also, Permutations)

Commutative property. Numbers can be added or multiplied in either order.

For example, 15 + 9 = 9 + 15; 3 x 8 = 8 x 3.

Congruence. The relationship between two objects that have exactly the same size and shape.

Correlation. The amount of positive or negative relationship existing between two measures. For example, if the height and weight of a set of individuals were measured, it could be said that there is a positive correlation between height and weight if the data showed that larger weights tended to be paired with larger heights and smaller weights tended to be paired with smaller heights. The stronger those tendencies, the larger the measure of correlation.

Deciles. The 10th, 20th, 30th, …90th percentile points (See definition for Percentile.)

Direct measurement. A process of obtaining the measurement of some entity by reading a measuring tool, such as a ruler for length, a scale for weight, or a protractor for angle size.

Dispersion. The scattering of the values of a frequency distribution (of data) from an average.

Distributive property. Property indicating a special way in which multiplication is applied to addition of two (or more) numbers.

For example,

5 x 23 = 5 x (20 + 3) = 5 x 20 + 5 x 3 = 100 + 15 = 115.

Expanded notation. Showing place value by multiplying each digit in a number by the appropriate power of 10. For example, 523 = 5 x 100 + 2 x 10 + 3 x 1 or 5 x 10² + 2 x 10¹ + 3 x 10⁰.

Exponential function. A function that can be represented by an equation of the form
y = ab^x + c, where a, b, and c are arbitrary, but fixed, numbers and 0 and b > 0 and b≠1.

Exponential notation (exponent). A symbolic way of showing how many times a number or variable is used as a factor. In the notation 5 ³, the exponent 3 shows that 5 is a factor used three times; that is 5 ³ = 5 x 5 x 5 =125.

Frequency distribution. An organized display of a set of data that shows how often each different piece of data occurs.

Function. A relationship between two sets of numbers or other mathematical objects where each member of the first set is paired with only one member of the second set. Functions can be used to understand how one quantity varies in relation to (is a function of) changes in the second quantity. For example, there is a functional relationship between the price per pound of a particular type of meat and the total amount paid for ten pounds of that type of meat.

Identity. For addition: The number 0; that is N + 0 = N for any number N. For multiplication: The number 1; that is, N x 1 = N for any number N.

Indirect measurement. A process where the measurement of some entity is not obtained by the direct reading of a measuring tool, or by counting of units superimposed alongside or on that entity. For example if the length and width of a rectangle are multiplied to find the area of that rectangle, then the area is an indirect measurement.

Integers. The set of numbers: {…, -6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,…}

Intercept. The points where a line drawn on a rectangular-coordinate-system graph intersect the vertical and horizontal axes.

Inverse. For addition: For any number N, its inverse (also called opposite) is a number -N so that N + (-N) = 0 (e.g., the opposite of 5 is -5, the opposite of -3/4 is 3/4).

For multiplication: For any number N, its inverse (also called reciprocal) is a number N* so that N x (N*) = 1 (e.g., the reciprocal of 5 is 1/5; the reciprocal of -3/4 is -4/3.

Line of best fit. A straight line used as a best approximation of a summary of all the points in a scatter-plot* (See definition below). The position and slope of the line are determined by the amount of correlation* (See definition above) between the two paired variables involved in generating the scatter-plot. This line can be used to make predictions about the value of one of the paired variables if only the other value in the pair is known.

Line plot. A graphical display of a set of data where each separate piece of data is shown as a dot or mark above a number line.

Linear equation. An equation of the form y = ax + b, where a and b can be any real number. When the ordered pairs (x, y) that make the equation true for specific assigned values of a and b are graphed, the result is a straight line.

Matrix (pl.: matrices). A rectangular array of numbers, letters, or other entities arranged in rows and columns.

Maximum/minimum (of a graph). The highest/lowest point on a graph. A relative maximum/minimum is higher/lower than any other point in its immediate vicinity.

Mean. The arithmetic average of a set of numerical data.

Median. The middle value of an ordered set of numerical data. For example, the median value of the set {5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11,13} is 10.

Mode. The most frequently occurring value in a set of data. For example, the mode of the set {13, 5, 9, 11, 11, 8, 10} is 11.

Model (mathematical). A [verb] and a noun. [Generate] a mathematical representation (e.g., number, graph, matrix, equation(s), geometric figure) for real world or mathematical objects, properties, actions, or relationships.

(Non)-Linear functional relationship. (See definition of Function above.) Many functions can be represented by pairs of numbers. When the graph of those pairs results in points lying on a straight line, a function is said to be linear. When not on a line, the function is nonlinear.

Outlier. For a set of numerical data, any value that is markedly smaller or larger than other values.

For example, in the data set {3, 5, 4, 4, 6, 2, 25, 5, 6, 2} the value of 25 is an outlier.

Patterns. Recognizable regularities in situations such as in nature, shapes, events, sets of numbers.

For example, spirals on a pineapple, snowflakes, geometric designs on quilts or wallpaper, the number sequence {0, 4, 8, 12, 16,…}.

Percentile. A value on a scale that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to it or below it. For example, a score at the 95th percentile is equal to or better than 95 percent of the scores.

Permutations. Possible arrangements of a set of objects in which the order of the arrangement makes a difference. For example, determining all the different ways five books can be arranged in order on a shelf.

Prime number. A whole number greater than 1 that can be divided exactly (i.e., with no remainder) only by itself and 1. The first few primes are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37.

Pythagorean theorem (relationship). In a right triangle, c² = a² + b² , where c represents the length of the hypotenuse (the longest side of the triangle which is opposite the right (angle), and a and b represent the lengths of the other two, shorter sides of the triangle.

Quadratic function. A function that can be represented by an equation of the form y = ax² (or ax^2) + bx + c, where a, b, and c are arbitrary, but fixed, numbers and a 0. The graph of this function is a parabola.

Quartiles. The 25th, 50th and 75th percentile points. (See definition of Percentile.)

Range (of a set of data). The numerical difference between the largest and smallest values in a set of data.

Rational number. A number that can be expressed as the ratio, or quotient, of two integers, a/b, provided b Ͱ0. Rational numbers can be expressed as common fractions or decimals, such as 3/5 or 0.6. Finite decimals, repeating decimals, mixed numbers and whole numbers are all rational numbers. Nonrepeating decimals cannot be expressed in this way, and are said to be irrational.

Real numbers. All the numbers which can be expressed as decimals.

Real-world problems. Quantitative and spatial problems that arise from a wide variety of human experiences, applications to careers. These do not have to be highly complex ones and can include such things as making change, figuring sale prices, or comparing payment plans.

Rectangular coordinate system. This system uses two (for a plane) or three (for space) mutually perpendicular lines (called coordinate axes) and their point of intersection (called the origin) as the frame of reference. Specific locations are described by ordered pairs or triples (called coordinates) that indicate distance from the origin along lines that are parallel to the coordinate axes.

Scaling (Scale drawing). The process of drawing a figure either enlarged or reduced in size from its original size. Usually the scale is given, as on a map 1 inch equals 10 miles.

Scatter plot. Also known as scattergram or scatter diagram. A two dimensional graph representing a set of bi-variate data. That is, for each element being graphed, there are two separate pieces of data. For example, the height and weight of a group of 10 teenagers would result in a scatter plot of 10 separate points on the graph.

Scientific notation. A short-hand way of writing very large or very small numbers. The notation consists of a decimal number between 1 and 10 multiplied by an integral power of 10.

For example, 47,300 = 4.73 x ⁴; 0.000000021 = 2.1 x 10 ^-8

Similarity. The relationship between two objects that have exactly the same shape but not necessarily the same size.

Simulation. Carrying out extensive data collection with a simple, safe, inexpensive, easy-to-duplicate event that has essentially the same characteristics as another event which is of actual interest to an investigator. For example, suppose one wanted to gather data about the actual order of birth of boys and girls in families with five children. (e.g., BBGBG is one possibility) Rather than wait for five children to be born to a single family, or identifying families that already have five children, one could simulate births by repeatedly tossing a coin five times. Heads vs. tails has about the same chance of happening as a boy vs. a girl being born.

Slope. A measure of the steepness or incline of a straight line drawn on a rectangular-coordinate-system graph. The measure is obtained by the quotient “rise/run” (vertical change divided by horizontal change) between any two points on that line.

Stem-and-leaf plot. A way of showing the distribution of a set of data along a vertical axis. The plot at right shows the data 13,19, 33, 26, 19, 22, 34, 16, 28, 34.The ten’s digits of these data are the stems and the one’s digits are the leaves.

13699
2268
3344

Key: 15 means 15

Summary statistics. A single number representation of the characteristics of a set of data. Usually given by measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion (spread).

Symmetry. A figure has symmetry if it has parts that correspond with each other in terms of size, form, and arrangement. For example, a figure with line (or mirror) symmetry has two halves which match each other perfectly if the figure is folded along its line of symmetry.

Transformation. A change in the size, shape, location or orientation of a figure.

Transitive property. For equality: If a=b and b=c, then a=c;
For inequality: If a»b and b»c, then a»c; or If a«b and b«c, then a«c.

Tree diagram. A schematic way of showing the number of ways a compound event may occur. For example, the tree diagram at the right shows the eight possible ways the tossing of three coins could happen.

Unit fraction. A fraction with a numerator of 1, such as 1/4 or 1/7.

Variable. A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values. Usually represented in algebraic notation by the use of a letter. In the equation y = 2x + 7, both x and y are variables.

Variance. The value of the standard deviation squared.

Vertical angles. The pair of angles that are directly across from each other when two straight lines intersect. Angles a and b at the right are an example of vertical angles.

Whole numbers. The numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Background of Lincoln’s most famous and shortest speech

Of the five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Library of Congress has two. President Lincoln gave one of these to each of his two private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. The copy on exhibit, which belonged to Nicolay, is often called the “first draft” because it is believed to be the earliest copy that exists.

Considerable scholarly debate continues about whether the Nicolay copy is the “reading” copy. In 1894 Nicolay wrote that Lincoln had brought with him the first part of the speech, written in ink on Executive Mansion stationery, and that he had written the second page in pencil on lined paper before the dedication on November 19, 1863. Matching folds are still evident on the two pages shown here, suggesting it could be the copy that eyewitnesses say Lincoln took from his coat pocket and read at the ceremony.

However, one of the arguments supporting the contrary theory that the delivery text has been lost is that some of the words and phrases of the Nicolay copy do not match contemporaneous accounts. The words “under God,” for example, are missing from the phrase “that this nation [under God] shall have a new birth of freedom….” In order for the Nicolay draft to have been the reading copy, Lincoln uncharacteristically would have had to depart from his written text in several instances. This copy of the Gettysburg Address remained in John Nicolay’s possession until his death in 1901, when it passed to his friend and colleague John Hay.

The “second draft,” probably made by Lincoln shortly after his return to Washington from Gettysburg, was given to John Hay, whose descendants donated both it and the Nicolay copy to the Library of Congress in 1916. There are numerous variations in words and punctuation between these two drafts. Because these variations provide clues into Lincoln’s thinking and because these two drafts are the most closely tied to November 19, they continue to be consulted by scholars of the period.

The other three copies of the Address were written by Lincoln for charitable purposes well after November 19. The copy for Edward Everett, the orator who spoke at Gettysburg for two hours prior to Lincoln, is at the Illinois State Historical Library at Springfield; the Bancroft copy, requested by historian George Bancroft, is at Cornell University; the Bliss copy was made for Colonel Alexander Bliss, Bancroft’s stepson, and is now in the Lincoln Room of the White House.

The program organized for that day at Gettysburg by Wills and his committee included:

Music, by Birgfield’s Band
Prayer, by Reverend T.H. Stockton, D.D.
Music, by the Marine Band
Oration, by Hon. Edward Everett
Music, Hymn composed by B.B. French, Esq.
Dedicatory Remarks, by the President of the United States
Dirge, sung by Choir selected for the occasion
Benediction, by Reverend H.L. Baugher, D.D. [1]

Main speech was delivered by Edward Everett, not by Abraham Lincoln

What was regarded as the “Gettysburg Address” that day was not the short speech delivered by President Lincoln, but rather Everett’s two-hour oration. Everett’s now-seldom-read 13,609-word speech began: “Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now reposing from the labors of the waning year, the mighty Alleghenies dimly towering before us, the graves of our brethren beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature. But the duty to which you have called me must be performed; — grant me, I pray you, your indulgence and your sympathy.”

And ended two hours later with:

“But they, I am sure, will join us in saying, as we bid farewell to the dust of these martyr-heroes, that wheresoever throughout the civilized world the accounts of this great warfare are read, and down to the latest period of recorded time, in the glorious annals of our common country, there will be no brighter page than that which relates The Battles of Gettysburg.”

Not long after those well-received remarks, President Lincoln spoke in his high-pitched Kentucky accent for two or three minutes. Lincoln’s “few appropriate remarks” summarized the war in ten sentences and 272 words, rededicating the nation to the war effort and to the ideal that no soldier at Gettysburg— Federal or Confederate—had died in vain.

Despite the historical significance of Lincoln’s speech, modern scholars disagree as to its exact wording, and contemporary transcriptions published in newspaper accounts of the event and even handwritten copies by Lincoln himself differ in their wording, punctuation, and structure. Of these versions the “Bliss Copy” has become the standard text. It is the only version to which Lincoln affixed his signature, and the last he is known to have written.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

High School-level Poems

The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England
by Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793-1835)

The breaking waves dash’d high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches toss’d;

And the heavy night hung dark,
The hills and waters o’er,
When a band of exiles moor’d their bark
On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes,
They, the true-hearted, came;
Not with the roll of the stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of fame;

Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear;–
They shook the depths of the desert gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard and the sea:
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
To the anthem of the free!

The ocean eagle soar’d
From his nest by the white wave’s foam
And the rocking pines of the forest roar’d–
This was their welcome home!

There were men with hoary hair
Amidst that pilgrim band:–
Why had they come to wither there,
Away from their childhood’s land?

There was woman’s fearless eye,
Lit by her deep love’s truth;
There was manhood’s brow serenely high,
And the fiery heart of youth.

What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?–
They sought a faith’s pure shrine!

Ay, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trode.
They have left unstained, what there they found–
Freedom to worship God.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry that I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.

Sonnet XXIX
by William Shakespeare

When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deal heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess’d,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

How Do I Love Thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

The Last Leaf
by Oliver Wendell Holmes

I saw him once before,
As he passed by the door,
And again
The pavement stones resound,
As he totters o’er the ground
With his cane.

They say that in his prime,
Ere the pruning-knife of Time
Cut him down,
Not a better man was found
By the Crier on his round
Through the town.

But now he walks the streets,
And he looks at all he meets
Sad and wan,
And he shakes his feeble head,
That it seems as if he said,
“They are gone!”

The mossy marbles rest
On the lips that he has prest
In their bloom,
And the names he loved to hear
Have been carved for many a year
On the tomb.

My grandmamma has said–
Poor old lady, she is dead
Long ago–
That he had a Roman nose,
And his cheek was like a rose
In the snow;

But now his nose is thin,
And it rests upon his chin
Like a staff,
And a crook is in his back,
And a melancholy crack
In his laugh.

I know it is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-cornered hat,
And the breeches, and all that,
Are so queer!

And if I should live to be
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let them smile, as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

A Psalm of Life
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

Invictus
by William Ernest Henley; 1849-1903

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

If
by Rudyard Kipling; 1865-1936

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thought your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings:
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a man, my son!

Middle School-level Poems

Spring
by William Blake

Sound the flute!
Now it’s mute!
Bird’s delight,
Day and night,
Nightingale,
In the dale,
Lark in sky,–
Merrily,
Merrily merrily, to welcome in the year.

Little boy,
Full of joy;
Little girl,
Sweet and small;
Cock does crow,
So do you;
Merry voice,
Infant noise;
Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

Little lamb,
Here I am;
Come and lick
My white neck;
Let me pull
Your soft wool;
Let me kiss
Your soft face;
Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the year.

O Captain! My Captain!
by Walt Whitman

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up–for you the flag is flung–for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths–for you the shores accrowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Dream Land
by Christina Georgina Rossetti

Where sunless rivers weep
Their waves into the deep,
She sleeps a charmed sleep:
Awake her not.
Led by a single star,
She came from very far
To seek where shadows are
Her pleasant lot.

She left the rosy morn,
She left the fields of corn,
For twilight cold and lorn
And water springs.
Through sleep, as through a veil,
She sees the sky look pale,
And hears the nightingale
That sadly sings.

Rest, rest, a perfect rest
Shed over brow and breast;
Her face is toward the west,
The purple land.
She cannot see the grain
Ripening on hill and plain;
She cannot feel the rain
Upon her hand.

Rest, rest, for evermore
Upon a mossy shore;
Rest, rest at the heart’s core
Till time shall cease:
Sleep that no pain shall wake;
Night that no morn shall break
Till joy shall overtake
Her perfect peace.

Elementary-level Poems

Who has seen the wind?
by Christina Georgina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing thro’

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

Trees
by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

All Things Bright and Beautiful
by Cecil Frances Alexander

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Above the Bright Blue Sky
by Albert Midlane

There’s a Friend for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
A Friend who never changes
Whose love will never die;
Our earthly friends may fail us,
And change with changing years,
This Friend is always worthy
Of that dear name he bears.

There’s a home for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
Where Jesus reigns in glory,
A home of peace and joy;
No home on earth is like it,
Nor can with it compare;
And everyone is happy,
Nor could be happier there.

Little Things
by Julia A. Carney

Little drops of water,
Little drains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the beauteous land.

And the little moments,
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

So our little errors
Lead the soul away,
From the paths of virtue
Into sin to stray.

Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of love,
Make our earth an Eden,
Like the heaven above.

My Shadow
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest things about him is the way he likes to grow-
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.

He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

The Land of Counterpane
by Robert Louis Stevenson

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bedclothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.

Mary’s Lamb
by Sarah Josepha Hale

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go;
He followed her to school one day-
That was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned him out,
But still he lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.
And then he ran to her and laid
His head upon her arm,
As if he said, “I’m not afraid-
You’ll shield me from all harm.”

“What makes the lamb love Mary so?”
The little children cry;
“Oh, Mary loves the lamb, you know,”
The teacher did reply,
“And, you, each gentle animal
In confidence may bind,
And make it follow at your call,
If you are always kind.”

Young and Old
by Charles Kingsley

When all the world is young lad,
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away;
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.

When all the world is old, lad,
And all the trees are brown;
When all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down;
Creep home, and take your place there,
The spent and maimed among:
God grant you find one face there,
You loved when all was young.

Now the Day is Over
by Sabine Baring-Gould

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars began to peep,
Birds and beasts and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With thy tenderest blessing
May our eyelids close.

Grant to little children
Visions bright of thee;
Guard the sailors tossing
On the deep blue sea.

Comfort every sufferer
Watching late in pain;
Those who plan some evil
From their sin restrain.

Through the long night-watches
May thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure and fresh and sinless
In thy holy eyes.

Glory to the Father,
Glory to the Son,
And to thee, blest Spirit,
Whilst all ages run.

Responding to Literature The Homeschooling Way

1.WRITE THE STORY IN THE BOOK FROM A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW. Take an entire story (or part of it) and write a version as someone else would tell it.

2.WRITE THE DIARY A MAIN CHARACTER MIGHT HAVE WRITTEN. Imagine you are the person in your book. Write a diary for a few days or weeks as she or he would have done.

3.WRITE A CHARACTER SKETCH OF SOMEONE IN THE BOOK. This might be the central character or a minor supporting character in the story. Tell what he looked like, but also include favorite color, horoscope sign, sports liked, and even a bumper-sticker or a T-shirt.

4.REARRANGE A PASSAGE AS A “FOUND” POEM. Find a particularly effective description or bit of action that is really poetry written as prose. Rewrite it. Leave out words or skip a sentence or two, but arrange it to create a poem.

5.WRITE A PARODY OF THE BOOK. This kind of humorous imitation appeals to many students. Parody the entire book or one scene.

6.WRITE A LETTER TO THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK.

7.MAKE A NEW BOOK JACKET. It should include an attractive picture or cover design, an original summary of the book, information on the author and illustrator, and information about other books by the author.

8.CONVERT A BOOK TO A RADIO DRAMA.

9.CONVERT A BOOK INTO A PUPPET SHOW. Make simple puppets (stick puppets, finger puppets, paper bag puppets, and so on) or complex puppets (marionettes) and present the story or an exciting scene from it.

10.MAKE A SOAP OR PARAFFIN CARVING ABOUT AN EVENT OR PERSON IN A BOOK. These are inexpensive materials and soft enough so there is little danger from the tools used for carving.

11.IMPERSONATE A CHARACTER AND TELL AN EPISODE IN A BOOK. Dress up as a character and retell the story.

12.DRAW A SCALE MODEL OF AN ITEM IN A STORY. Making an object from the story to scale presents many challenges. For example, try a go-cart, a match-lock gun, or any other item.

13.COOK A FOOD MENTIONED IN YOUR BOOK. It is always fun to share something to eat.

14.DESIGN AND MAKE YOUR OWN T-SHIRT OF AN ILLUSTRATION ABOUT A BOOK. Create a design, using color-fast marking pens.

15.MAKE SOME COSTUME DOLLS FOR A DISPLAY OF CHARACTERS IN A BOOK. Create costume dolls and display them.

16.THE WRITTEN WORD VERSUS THE VIDEO. Compare the book to the movie or television version of it. What aspects of the book have been altered for the visual performance and why? Do these alterations make the story “better”? Why or why not?

17.RETURN TO THE FUTURE. Pretend that you are one of the characters who has “come back” 25 years after the novel has ended. Describe your reactions.

18.PERSONAL TASTE. Select one character from the book. If he/she were living today, what kind of clothes, books, records, movies, etc. would he/she select? Why would he/she do so?

19.WRITE A HUMAN INTEREST STORY ON ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE STORY.

20.WRITE AN EDITORIAL ON SOME CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE RAISED BY THE BOOK.

21.DESIGN A COMIC STRIP RETELLING SOME EVENT IN THE STORY. This may be expanded to tell the whole story of the novel as a comic book.

22.DESIGN A TIME LINE FOR THE EVENTS IN THE STORY.

23.DESIGN A DETAILED MAP OR MAPS FOR THE SETTING(S) OF THE BOOK.

24.WRITE A LEGEND, FABLE, OR MYTH BASED ON SOME EVENT IN THE STORY.

25.PEN SOME POETRY. Write a limerick or a short poem about one of the characters or some event in the novel.

26.WRITE A BALLAD AND/OR MUSIC TELLING THE STORY.

27.TRADING PLACES. Write a short paper explaining why you would or would not like to change places with one of the characters in the novel.

28.WRITE A PERSONAL LETTER TO ONE OF THE CHARACTERS YOU ADMIRE OR DESPISE.

29.CORRESPOND WITH ANOTHER CHARACTER. Pretend that you are one character in the book. Write a friendly letter to another character.

30.A CHARACTER IN SEARCH OF A JOB. As if you were a character in the book, compose a resume and cover letter for your character, who is applying for a job suitable for the character and the setting of the novel, Does your character have any references?

31.ONCE UPON A TIME. Write a fairy tale about some event or character in the book.

32.DESIGN AND PRODUCE A POSTCARD OR A SERIES OF POSTCARDS. On one side draw/paint/reproduce an appropriate photo and on the other side compose a message to me from one of the characters. There will be automatic A’s for the best design, most intriguing message, most distant postmark, and most appropriate postmark (mail it to me from there!).

33.COMPILE A SCRAPBOOK OR A MEMORY BOX. Choose one of the major characters in your book, and, as that person, put together a scrapbook or memory box of special memories and mementoes. Be true to your character.

34.DESIGN A TRAVEL BROCHURE. Illustrate and advertise the “world” of your novel.

The Multiple Intelligences Theory

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences makes people think about “IQ,” about being “smart.” The theory is changing the way some teachers teach.

Howard Gardner, Ph.D. is a professor at Harvard University and the author of many books and articles. His theory of multiple intelligences has challenged long-held assumptions about intelligence — especially about a single measure of intelligence. Dr. Gardner also co-directs Harvard’s Project Zero.

Howard Gardner first identified and introduced to us seven different kinds of intelligence in Frames of Mind.

1. Linguistic intelligence: a sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.


2. Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex logical systems.


3. Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create music. Musicians, composers and dancers show a heightened musical intelligence.


4. Spatial intelligence: the ability to “think in pictures,” to perceive the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper. Spatial intelligence is highly developed in artists, architects, designers and sculptors.


5. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one’s body in a skilled way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Mimes, dancers, basketball players, and actors are among those who display bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.


6. Interpersonal intelligence: an ability to perceive and understand other individuals — their moods, desires, and motivations. Political and religious leaders, skilled parents and teachers, and therapists use this intelligence.


7. Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one’s own emotions. Some novelists and or counselors use their own experience to guide others.

Then, Gardner identified an eighth intelligence, the naturalist intelligence. He said, “The naturalist intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence…Some people from an early age are extremely good at recognizing and classifying artifacts. For example, we all know kids who, at 3 or 4, are better at recognizing dinosaurs than most adults.”

Gardner identified Charles Darwin as a prime example of this type of intelligence. The naturalist intelligence meshed with Gardner’s definition of intelligence as “…the human ability to solve problems or to make something that is valued in one or more cultures.”

Preschool-level Poems

Jack Be Nimble
Jack be nimble.
Jack be quick.
Jack jump over the candlestick!

The Apple Tree
Way up the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled at me.
So I shook that tree
as hard as I could!
Down came the apples
Mmmm, mmmm, good!

Little Miss Muffet
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on her tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a fairy small.
I’m sure he is out today.
He nipped my nose,
And pinched my toes
When I went out to play.

Bones
by Ferne Connor
Bones in my fingers,
Bones in my toes,
Not in my ears,
And not in my nose.
Bones in my hands,
Bones in my feet,
Bones in my legs
Help me run down the street.

Dinosaur Stomp
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Dinosaurs romp.
Zap! Zap! Zap!
Dinosaurs flap.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dinosaurs zoom.
Please no more!
Dinosaurs snore.

The Tale of a Tail
I had a little pig.
I fed him in a trough.
He got so fat
His tail dropped off.
So I got me a hammer
And I got me a nail
And I made my little pig
a brand-new tail.

Mouse in the House
There’s a mouse in the house
I know it is there
When it shuffles about
It gives me a scare
I really can’t stand it
It gives me a fright
When it scampers about
In the darkness of night.

The Wind

No matter if there’s rain or sun
The wind can come to have some fun
It sometimes changes to a breeze
Or blows so hard it makes you sneeze

It blows my kite and swirls around
And makes the leaves come tumbling down
It spreads the seed of all the flowers
And huffs and puffs for hours and hours

Night Night
by CJ Heck

Night night moon,
night night stars,
night night noisy
trucks and cars.

Night night sand box,
night night toys,
night night other
girls and boys.

Night night Mom,
night night Dad,
night night Boogie Man
who’s not bad.

It’s time to go to sleep now,
most all my night nights said.
Night night blankie,
night night bed.

A Number Poem

ONE is a line all alone like a ladder.
TWO is the long curvy neck of a swan.
THREE is a rabbit whose ears lie down sleeping.
FOUR is a cat with a tail very long.
FIVE is a diving board over the swimming pool.
SIX is a ringlet, a very round curl.
SEVEN is a jet zooming back in for landing.
EIGHT is balloons and together they twirl.
NINE is a flower — see how tall it can grow.
TEN is so many it starts a new row.

Action Poems

Pat-a-Cake
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake,
Baker’s man!
Bake us a cake
As fast as you can,
[Alternate clapping baby’s hands and yours.]
Mix it and prick it
[Pretend to stir bowl, then prick cake.]
And mark it with B,
[Make a ‘B’ in the air.]
And put it in the oven
For baby and me.
[Alternate clapping baby’s hands and yours.]

Five Fingers
Five fingers on this hand.
(hold up one hand)
Five fingers on that:
(hold up the other hand)
A dear little nose.
(point to nose)
A mouth like a rose.
(point to mouth)
Two cheeks so tiny and fat.
(point to each cheek)
Two eyes, two ears
(point to each)
And ten little toes;
(point to toes)
That’s the way the baby grows.

Ten Fingers
I have ten fingers
(hold up both hands, fingers spread)
And they all belong to me,
(point to self)
I can make them do things-
Would you like to see?

I can shut them up tight
(make fists)
I can open them wide
(open hands)
I can put them together
(place palms together)
I can make them all hide
(put hands behind back)

I can make them jump high
(hands over head)
I can make them jump low
(touch floor)
I can fold them up quietly
(fold hands in lap)
And hold them just so.

My Head
This is the circle that is my head
(make large circle with both hands)This is my mouth with which words are said
(point to mouth)
These are my eyes with which I see
(point to eyes)
This is my nose that’s a part of me
(point to nose)
This is the hair that grows on my head
(point to hair)
And this is my hat all pretty and red
(place hands on head, fingers pointing up and touching)

My Hands
On my head my hands I place.
(Place hands on head)
On my shoulders,
(Place hands on shoulders)
On my face,
(Place hands on face)
On my hips,
(Place hands on hips)
And at my side,
(Drop hands to sides)
Then behind me they will hide,
(Hide hands behind back)
I will hold them up so high,
(Raise hands high above head)
Quickly make my fingers fly,
(Wiggle fingers)
Hold them out in front of me,
(Hands in front of body, arms extended)
Swiftly clap them. One, two, three!
(Clap, clap, clap)

This is a family
This is a family
(hold up one hand, fingers spread)
Let’s count them and see,
How many there are,
And who they can be
(count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

This is the mother
(touch pointer finger)
Who loves everyone
And this is the father
(touch big finger)
Who is lots of fun.

This is the sister
(touch ring finger)
She helps and she plays,
And this is the baby
(touch little finger)
He’s growing each day.

But who is this one?
(touch thumb)
He’s out there alone,
Why it’s Jackie, the dog,
And he’s chewing a bone.
(wiggle thumb)

Baby’s Storybook

Here is baby’s storybook,
(Palms together, like in prayer)
Opening up wide.
(’Open’ the book, palms facing upward,
with pinkies touching each other)
Here are birdies flying high
(Thumbs together, use other fingers
to flap, like wings)
That you’ll find inside.

Here’s a little windmill
Whirling ’round and ’round.
(Pointer fingers facing each other,
spin them around in circles)
And here is baby’s rattle,
(Hand in fist, as if holding a rattle)
Such a noisy sound! Chh, chh, chh!
(Pretend to shake rattle while making ‘chh’ sound)

Here is baby’s cradle,
(Fingers intertwined, with pointer
fingers up — like church steeple)
Soft and warm and white.
This is how the baby
Goes to sleep at night.
(Cup hands together at shoulder,
resting head on hands, eyes closed)

Here’s the big round sun
(Make big circle with arms over head)
That wakes the baby up.
And this is how she takes a drink
From her little cup.
(Hand fisted, as if holding a cup.
Bring cup to mouth to ‘drink’)

This Is The Church
This is the church,
(children hold hands down with fingers interlocked) This is the steeple.
(Now put up both index fingers in the shape of a steeple)
Look inside.
(children turn hands over)
And see all the people.
(everybody wiggle fingers)

Here Is the Sea
Here is the sea, the wavy sea
[Wave hands from side to side.]
Here is my boat,
[Cup hands like a boat.]
And here is me
[Point to self.]
All of the fishes
[Wiggle your fingers.]
Down below
[Point downwards.]
Wiggle their tails
[Wiggle your fingers.]
And way they go.
[Wiggle your fingers behind your back.]

My Garden
This is my garden
(Extend palm)
I rake it with care
(Pretend to rake with three fingers)
And then I plant flower seeds in there
(Pretend to plant)
The sun will shine
(Hold arms in circle over head)
And the rain will fall
(Wiggle fingers on both hands as move downwards)
And my garden will blossom
(Cup hands)
And grow straight and tall
(Stretch arms/hands up slowly)

Little Plant
In the heart of a seed buried down so deep
[Make a fist.]
A little plant lay fast asleep
Awake said the sun
[Make large circle over head with arms.]
Come up through the earth
Awake said the rain
[Flutter fingertips down.]
We’re giving you birth
The little plant heard with a happy sigh,
[Open hand, turn fingers upward, raise arm slowly.]
And pointed its petals up to the sky.

Relaxing Flowers
Five little flowers
[Hold up five fingers.]
Standing in the sun
See their heads nodding
[Make fingers nod.]
Bowing, one by one.
[Make fingers bow.]
Down, down, down
Falls the gentle rain,
[Flutter fingers downward.]
And the five little flowers
Lift up their heads again!
[Hold up five fingers.]

Ten Brave Firemen
Ten brave firemen sleeping in a row,
(extend both hands, fingers curled)
Ding dong goes the bell
(pull bell cord with one hand)
And down the pole they go
(close both fists, put one on top of other, slide down pole)
Off on the engine, oh, oh, oh.
(steer engine with hands)
Using the big hose, so, so, so.
(pretend to put fire)
When all the fire’s out, home so-o slow
(steer engine with hands)
Back to bed again, all in a row.
(extend both hands with fingers curled)

Policeman
This is a car driving down the street
(right fist travels down extended left arm)
Here’s a policeman walking his beat
(right index and middle fingers walk down left arm)
Now he is checking the stores at night
To see that the stores are locked up tight
(right index finger and thumb turn key in keyhole formed by crook of little finger of left hand, other fingers in a fist.)
And this is the friendly traffic cop,
(left hand in fist, index finger straight up)
Who tells the cars when to Go and Stop!
(on Go index finger beckons, on Stop, raise fist up)
When cars get in a traffic jam
(on jam fists together)
He help them better than anyone can.
(left index finger as cop stands erect)

Go Bananas!
Bananas unite!
(Put hands together over head)
Bananas split!
(Hands at side)

Go bananas!
Go go bananas!
Go bananas!
Go go bananas!
(Turn in circle, moving arms up and down
during these four lines)

Bananas to the left
(Point left)
Bananas to the right
(Point right)
Peel your banana and, mmmmmm, take a bite!
(Motion of peeling banana and biting it)

Little Turtle
There was a little turtle,
[Make small circle with hands.]
He lived in a box,
[Make a box with both hands.]
He swam in a puddle,
[Wriggle hands.]
And climbed on the rocks.
[Climb fingers of one hand up over the other.]
He snapped at a mosquito.
[Clap hands.]
He snapped at a flea.
[Clap hands.]
He snapped at a minnow.
[Clap hands.]
He snapped at me.
[Point at self.]
He caught the mosquito.
[Hold hand up, palm forward; quickly bend fingers shut.]
He caught the flea.
[Repeat.]
He caught the minnow.
[Repeat.]
But he didn’t catch me.
[Bend fingers only half-way shut.]

Two Mother Pigs
Two mother pigs lived in a pen
[Show thumbs.]
Each had four babies, and that made ten
[Show fingers and thumbs.]
These four babies were black as night
[Hold up hand, extend fingers, thumb in palm.]
These four babies were black and white
[Hold up other hand, thumb in palm.]
But all eight babies loved to play
And they rolled and rolled in the mud all day.
[Roll hands.]
At night, with their mother, they curled up in a heap,
[Make fists, palms up.]
And squealed and squealed till they went to sleep.

Elephant
The elephant walks
Like this and like that
[Get down on all fours and walk back and forth.]
He’s very tall,
[Stand and stretch arms up.]
And he’s very fat.
[Stretch arms out to sides.]
He has no fingers,
[Hold hands up, making fists to hide fingers.]
But he does have toes,
[Reach down and touch toes.]
And, goodness gracious,
What a nose!
[Grab nose between fingers and thumb of left hand; insert right arm through loop to form elephant’s trunk.]

I Am a Snowman
I am a snowman, cold and white
[Stand up tall.]
I stand so still through all the night
With a carrot nose
[Point to nose.]
And head held high,
And a lump of coal to make each eye.
[Point to eyes.]
I have a muffler made of red,
[Pretend to tie a muffler.]
And a stovepipe hat upon my head
[Place hands on top of head.]
The sun is coming out, oh my!
[Make big circle with arms over head.]
I think that I am going to cry.
[Wipe tear from eyes.]
Yesterday, I was plump and round.
[Form large circle with arms.]
Now, I’m just a river on the ground!
[Sink to floor.]

Types of Assessment

Examinations and assignments are the two most commonly used approaches to assessment in higher education. Negotiated and computer-based assessment are emerging approaches that are gaining popularity among some disciplines.

Examinations. It is a common misconception that examinations are a type of assessment rather than an approach. An examination defines the conditions under which students abilities will be tested. They usually restrict the time and place where the assessment task will be performed. Any of the methods of assessment below can be taken under examination conditions.

Assignments. Assignments are unsupervised pieces of work that often combine formative and summative assessment tasks. They form a major component of continuous assessment in which more than one assessment item is completed within the semester. Any of the methods of assessment below can be set as assignments although restrictions in format, such as word limits and due dates, are often put on the assessment task to increase their practicality.

Negotiated. Negotiated assessment involves agreements between staff and students on issues associated with learning and assessment. The most common negotiation method is to develop a written learning contract that outlines the conditions of assessment.

Computer-based. Using computers to administer student assessment can provide flexibility in the time, location or even the quesions being answered of students. The most common type of computer-based assessment is based on multiple-choice questions which can assist lecturers manage large volumes of marking and feedback.

Different methods of assessment provide the means of ensuring that students are able to demonstrate the range of their abilities in different contexts. Stiggens (2005) groups the different methods of assessment into 4 main categories:

Selected Response
Multiple choice questions - Select the correct answers
Short answer question - Short, usually descriptive, qualitative, answers of between one word to over a page. Might include diagrams with explanation.

Essays
Essays - Written work in which students try out ideas and argumentssupported by evidence .
Poster presentation - Display of results from an investigative project
Written Report - Methodically written account of a project or investigation

Performance Assessment
Case studies - Describes a scenario and asks students to respond as the scene changes.
Practicum - Assessment of practical skills in an authentic setting .
Projects - In-depth exploration of a topic or field.
Reflective journals - Develops an awareness of process.

Personal Communication
Class Presentations - Oral reports on projects or other investigative activities.
Interview - Verbal interaction between assessor and assessed.
Learning Contract - A structured method whereby the student designs and implementsmanageable learning activities in consultation with a staff advisor.

Source: Stiggins, R. (2005). Student-involved assessment for learning. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall

The Five Dimensions of Learning

Learning theorists have argued that learning and development are not like an assembly-line which can be broken down into discrete steps occurring with machine-time precision, but an organic process that unfolds in complex ways according to its own pace and rhythm. Teaching and learning occurs in complex ecosystems, dynamic environments where teachers, students, materials and supplies, texts, technologies, concepts, social structures, and architectures are interdependently related and interactive. Using the Learning Record, the teacher (and student) is actively searching for, and documenting, positive evidence of student development across five dimensions: confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and critical reflection. These five dimensions cannot be “separated out” and treated individually; rather, they are dynamically interwoven. Our goals for a particular class should describe a trajectory of learning across multiple dimensions, and our measurements should be able to identify the paths taken by students and their progress from their individual starting points along that trajectory.

Individually, learners can expect to make progress across these five dimensions:

Confidence and independence
We see growth and development when learners’ confidence and independence become congruent with their actual abilities and skills, content knowledge, use of experience, and reflectiveness about their own learning. It is not a simple case of “more (confidence and independence) is better.” In a science class, for example, an overconfident student who has relied on faulty or underdeveloped skills and strategies learns to seek help when facing an obstacle; or a shy student begins to trust her own abilities, and to insist on presenting her own point of view in discussion. In both cases, students are developing along the dimension of confidence and independence.

Skills and strategies
Skills and strategies represent the “know-how” aspect of learning. When we speak of “performance” or “mastery,” we generally mean that learners have developed skills and strategies to function successfully in certain situations. Skills and strategies are not only specific to particular disciplines, but often cross disciplinary boundaries. In a writing class, for example, students develop many specific skills and strategies involved in composing and communicating effectively, from research to concept development to organization to polishing grammar and correctness, and often including technological skills for computer communication.

Knowledge and Understanding
Knowledge and understanding refers to the “content” knowledge gained in particular subject areas. Knowledge and understanding is the most familiar dimension, focusing on the “know-what” aspect of learning. In a psychology class, knowledge and understanding might answer a wide range of questions such as, What is Freud’s concept of ego? Who was Carl Jung? What is “behaviorism”? These are typical content questions. Knowledge and understanding in such classes includes what students are learning about the topics; research methods; the theories, concepts, and practices of a discipline; the methods of organizing and presenting our ideas to others, and so on.

Use of prior and emerging experience
The use of prior and emerging experience involves learners’ abilities to draw on their own experience and connect it to their work. A crucial but often unrecognized dimension of learning is the capacity to make use of prior experience as well as emerging experience in new situations. It is necessary to observe learners over a period of time while they engage in a variety of activities in order to account for the development of this important capability, which is at the heart of creative thinking and its application. With traditional methods of evaluating learning, we cannot discover just how a learner’s prior experience might be brought to bear to help scaffold new understandings, or how ongoing experience shapes the content knowledge or skills and strategies the learner is developing. In a math class, students scaffold new knowledge through applying the principles and procedures they’ve already learned: algebra depends on the capacity to apply basic arthimetic procedures, for example.

Reflection
Reflection refers to the developing awareness of the learner’s own learning process, as well as more analytical approaches to the subject being studied. When we speak of reflection as a crucial component of learning, we are not using the term in its commonsense meaning of reverie or abstract introspection. We are referring to the development of the learner’s ability to step back and consider a situation critically and analytically, with growing insight into his or her own learning processes, a kind of metacognition. It provides the “big picture” for the specific details. For example, students in a history class examining fragmentary documents and researching an era or event use reflection to discover patterns in the evidence and construct a historical narrative. Learners need to develop this capability in order to use what they are learning in other contexts, to recognize the limitations or obstacles confronting them in a given situation, to take advantage of their prior knowledge and experience, and to strengthen their own performance.

Source: http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu