Digital technology has long been ubiquitous in many communities within Australia and internationally, thereby requiring suitable digital proficiencies. While a majority of Australian children experience digital literacies as part of their everyday lives, limitations in access disadvantage others. In educational settings, there is a clear need for…

This study examines two longstanding but thinly evidenced claims regarding credentialing requirements for teachers in the early grades (pre-K, K, 1, 2, and 3): 1) that elementary education (ELED) educator standards, under which many U.S. early grade teachers are prepared, address early instructional practices less adequately than early childhood…

Prop boxes are a collection of materials for sociodramatic play in which children act out authentic roles and scenes of the real world. Teachers collect materials around a topic or theme that connects to students' interests and addresses academic standards across multiple subjects. In this article, the authors suggest that prop boxes can make more…

Biomimicry is a difficult concept for younger children to grasp. This manuscript describes a group of successful activities that we have used to teach biomimicry to first graders. The activity begins with a class discussion about camouflage, a concept many students have experienced. Then the students participate in an activity in which they are…

Background: Prior research shows that teachers' working conditions are important for teacher and student outcomes, such as teacher retention and student achievement. Because National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) can be effective in the classroom and as instructional leaders, they are well positioned to create favorable working conditions for…

This study investigated teachers' perceptions of the implantation of a new first grade policy based on the new Turkish education standards during the 2012-2013 academic year. The study was based on a phenomenological case study design utilizing a structured interview protocol. Ten teachers discussed opportunities and challenges of implementing the…

Arts integration has shown to enhance student comprehension, retention, and engagement, while connecting to rich science content. The integration of the Next Generation Science Standards and the National Arts Standards into a first grade lesson illustrated how the arts enhanced the students' understandings of the sun's apparent motion during the…

Two related questions are investigated regarding programs accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). First, to what extent do NCATE-recognized elementary teacher preparation programs, which have been approved by the Association for Child Education International (ACEI), prepare candidates to teach in…

Annual National Assessment (ANA) performance in Mathematics across the primary grades in South Africa indicates a decrease in mean performance across Grades 1-6. In this paper, we explore the apparently high performance in Grade 1 through a comparative investigation of learner responses on two assessments: the Grade 1 ANA taken in February 2011 by…

Literacy skills acquired during the first years of schooling have been recognised as the key to students' learning success. However, despite the continuing efforts by the New Zealand government and teachers there is still a large proportion of students who struggle to become literate. To address this issue the Ministry of Education funded selected…

This article presents ideas and suggestions from various physical educators regarding how the National Standards for Physical Education play a role in their daily PE program. One educator shares that in her middle school's physical education program, students who demonstrate competency in many movement forms (and proficiency in a few movement…

This paper provides an overview of assessment policy and practice in mathematics for early years classrooms in New Zealand between 1993 and the present day. It describes the introduction of school entry assessment for children starting school at age five. A numeracy initiative, the Numeracy Development Projects (NDP), for students in Years 1-10…

This article reports the findings from a comparative analysis that examined several mathematical content strands, reasoning processes, and emphasis on technology in prior K-8 state mathematics standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). Various methodological tools were utilized to compare and contrast CCSSM with prior…

Flower petals, acorn hats, exoskeletons of beetles, and lichens are just a few of the objects students may find in a surprising array of vivid colors. These tiny examples from nature's palette can be discovered in a school yard, a park, or even along the edges of a paved sidewalk...it simply takes careful observation! This article describes a…

Many elementary teachers encounter science lessons with a hands-on component that requires very little engaged thinking by the students. The good news is that any teacher can create successful minds-on inquiry opportunities by adding key instructional strategies to a typical "cookbook" activity. The authors discuss some of these strategies using a…