The adventure of the German Student

Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words - Emphasis

Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words Reading test for six-year-olds to include made-up words The latest plan to boost childrens literacy levels involves a reading test for six-year-olds, which includes made-up words like mip, fack, zort, koob and glimp. The Government scheme is intended to provide a light touch phonics-based check, to either reassure parents of their childs ability, or to identify the pupils falling behind. It would entail reading back a list of both real and made-up words, to ensure that none was just recited by rote. Some of the words may be nonsensical, but the idea may not be quite as crazy as it sounds. Teaching with phonics where words are deduced by recognising the sounds associated with letters or groups of letters has been shown to help with individual word identification and spelling. Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools, quotes academic research from Australia and the US that points to synthetic phonics being the most effective method for teaching literacy for all children, especially those aged five to seven. And one can hardly fault the Government on their stated goals. Too many children leave primary school unable to read and write properly, says Gibb. We are determined to raise standards and the new phonics-based reading check for six-year-olds will ensure that children who need extra help are given it before it is too late. But it is the prospect of a test based solely on phonics that is causing consternation among education and literacy experts in the UK. Many think it is more likely to actually put kids off reading, by isolating the act from its own rewards: understanding and enjoyment. The test is trying to control all the different variables so that things like meaning dont get in the way, says president of the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), David Reedy. We think this seems a bit bonkers when the whole purpose of reading is to understand words. And children cannot learn through phonics alone: There is the context, the sentence itself, and whether they have that word in their spoken lexicon, Reedy points out. Professor Greg Brooks, from the University of Sheffield, has also questioned the term light-touch, saying the exam will inevitably become high-stakes, with all the educational deformations that are known to attend high-stakes tests, including teaching to the test and needless anxiety for children. And, if the UKLA are to be believed, it would be needless. They assert that the results wouldnt be a good indicator of how well pupils would read connected text, or pick up meaning. Perhaps the theory is sound enough, but the test itself is just a case of too much, too early. Most children at that age are not ready to learn phonics, never mind be tested on them, says Professor Janet Moyles, an early years and play consultant from Anglia Ruskin University. Children do not have formal teaching of reading in Scandinavian countries, for example, until they are six to seven years of age and do much better than our children in formal testing later.

Nursing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 28

Nursing research - Essay Example In this case, an organization’s leadership acted as a barrier to successful implementation by failing to provide support to the implementation process (Bostrom et al.). An organization setting may fail to provide essential collaborative efforts between the staff, physicians, and colleagues in a hospital setting, which acts as a barrier to successful implementation of a proposal (Bostrom et al.). In effect, stakeholders working to implement the proposal will have varying objectives and goals that do not contribute to successful implementation. On the other hand, an organization may fail to have expertise that is necessary to implement the research utilization proposal (Bostrom et al.). In addition, the organization may fail to train their staff on the importance of the proposal and the approaches to implement the proposal in order to ensure provision of quality care. In this case, the lack of expertise and the failure to train staff members act as barriers to successful implementation. Finally, an organization may fail to allocate enough resources to the implementation of the research utilization proposal, which will act as a barrier to successful i mplementation. utilization and research use among registered nurses working in the care of older people: Does the BARRIERS Scale discriminate between research users and non-research users on perceptions of barriers? Implement Science 3.24(2008). Web. 7 January 2013.

Locke's Criticism on Descartes' Philosophy of Calling Extension the Essay

Locke's Criticism on Descartes' Philosophy of Calling Extension the Essence of Body - Essay Example Our body is not the essence of anything like extension as this concept lessens the significance of human body. Our body is solid while extension is empty space, hence there is no match between these two. Locke’s criticism on Descartes’ philosophy of calling extension the essence of body Rene Descartes, a French philosopher come mathematician of sixteenth century, is unanimously called as 'Father of Modern Philosophy' & the Father of Cartesian Doctrine which describes the relation between body and mind. "I think, therefore I am" is the most famous concept given by Descartes' about mind-body dualism. According to him, human beings are composed of two different things, body & soul or mind. The essence of soul (mind) is thought by which it controls the movements of body & the essence of body is extension. He argued that I can perceive my mind as an independent identity upon which there is no influence of extension (body) & I can distinctively perceive my body as a complete thing without the influence of my thoughts. Thus God has made the two things independent of each other so they behave like distinct objects. Here, the idea of extension is not very clear, i.e., whether it describes our body as a combination of solid parts which are there to move or extend, or is there something else Descartes wanted to explain? The idea was contrary enough as it says that there is no particular connection or relation between body & soul & they are independent of each other. He tried to explain the idea but could not provide enough valid points & arguments to prove this. One of his successors of seventeenth century, John Locke, an English philosopher, who is undoubtedly the philosopher of modern times & the originator of concepts like self & identity, presented his own theory of human understanding which is considered to be more authentic & reliable regarding the concepts of human identity & self. He contradicts Descartes’ Cartesian philosophy by saying that a ll human have innate ideas in their minds by birth & they acquire more knowledge through their vast experience & their individual use of senses & perception. According to him, the essence of body is not extension but consciousness & mind is nothing but a blank slate on which anything can be written by acquiring knowledge & wisdom. Children & babies from their early stages of development & even during their gestation period acquire simple kind of knowledge like color & taste distinction etc. The child is not born with such kind of knowledge but experiences such situations & learns from them, either by sensation or by reflection (perception). Thus every person’s body & mind are not two exclusive identities but they are linked together & body is used to perform according to mind’s instructions (Locke. 1959) In his famous book â€Å"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding†, Locke explained his point of view very deeply. He says that extension and body can never be t he same things & if anyone says like that, he only tries to lessen the significance & importance of human body while the meaning or philosophy behind this still remains unclear & uncertain. Our body is not simply a combination of extended solid blocks of different shapes joined together for different movements; neither the extension only means the space or the area in which the body moves. Anything that simply occupies area or has some mass is termed as matter, not

Compare the ways in which ambition is presented in Act 1 of Macbeth and chapter 5 of Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Compare the ways in which ambition is presented in Act 1 of Macbeth and chapter 5 of Frankenstein Essay Compare the ways in which ambition is presented in Act 1 of ‘Macbeth’ and chapter 5 of ‘Frankenstein’. Pay close attention to the writers presentation of ideas and relate your thoughts to the social and historical content of the texts. Ambition is a passion for something so strong that weaker individuals will become utterly seized by it. We see this in both protagonists in the two texts. Macbeth is first shown as a noble warrior. Shakespeare uses the language of the other characters such as ‘the captain,’ to underline and suggest what had happened and what will happen throughout the plot. Shakespeare uses the phrase â€Å"But all’s too weak/ for brave Macbeth† to explain Macbeth’s capability in the beginning of act one. Although we soon learn that he leaves his nobility behind as his selfish ambition takes control of mind. The words have been chosen to make the phrase dramatic and shocking to the audience, as Macbeth has just slaughtered â€Å"Macdonwald†, Shakespeare uses punctuation to split up the sentences as Shelly also does when ‘Frankenstein’ is terrified that the monster could be lurking in his home in Inglestad when he returns with ‘Clerval’. The novelist also does this when Frankenstein becomes manic due to his relief at seeing ‘Clerval’ and the fear of his creation. This technique is used so that the texts are read or performed in a disjointed manner which creates a sense of anticipation. Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ as an outlet of her experiences throughout her previous years and to express her feelings of grief, anxiety and shock from her childhood. When Mary Shelley was younger, her own ambition was to have a child to love and care for. This ambition and hope was shot down when her baby died soon after its birth. This could be the inspiration that she used for the creation and the unkind response given by the world to it. We learn much about the protagonist victor Frankenstein and his utterly selfish ambition throughout chapter five. This is the climax of his scientific obsession, he finally manages to bring the creature to life after his â€Å"Candle was nearly burnt out†. Shelley uses this metaphor to indicate that Frankenstein only had a small amount of his candle left to work by, and that he was close to giving up, and that his ‘Candle of hope’ was nearly extinguished. We can see parallels between Macbeth and Frankenstein where in the last act of the play, Macbeth describes how he sees life and death. He uses the words â€Å"Out out brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to display his thoughts about the light or flame of life and how he now wishes he could blow out his candle so that he may die. A candle will flicker, shrink and grow through time and these uses of the word make me imagine the ups and downs of our lives until finally, they weaken and extinguish. The authors use the idea of a candle as it is often used as a symbol of light, hope and expectation. Frankenstein describes his own ambition to create the monster when he tells us that he had â€Å"desired it with an ardour†. Shelley uses â€Å"desired† to make us realise that Victor Frankenstein has wanted this success for a long time and that he has dreamed about it, the word â€Å"ardour† is in this phrase as it makes one think of a deep and intense passion of love in which Frankenstein is referring to the monster by. He contradicts this by using it in the past tense to explain that he regrets his decision to bring life to the monster. Frankenstein says that his aspiration â€Å"†¦far exceeded moderation† when talking about his hope to create a life. Shelley has used the words â€Å"exceeded moderation† to display the extent to which Victor Frankenstein had wished to succeed as a scientist. Although Victor Frankenstein, automatically rejects the creation when he views its appearance. This tells me that Frankenstein is very shallow and intolerant as he does not give the â€Å"utterly benevolent,† creature a moment to be understood or loved. Shelley uses this expression to compare the Frankenstein’s creation a new born babe as babies are completely innocent when they are first born. Shakespeare also introduces the idea of children and violent acts with Lady Macbeth when she tells us about the horrifying moves she is willing to take to have the opportunity to become Queen. Lady Macbeth says the expression â€Å"†¦dashd the brains out† to turn the beautiful and natural act of breastfeeding into something monstrous, she is comparing killing her â€Å"babe† while breastfeeding to killing King Duncan. The word â€Å"dash’d† has been used to emphasise the speed at which she would kill her child and the Shakespeare has used punctuation to create this effect. I believe that this is where Frankenstein begins to fall due to his ambition and, in contrast to Macbeth, he dies not realise that what he is doing and has done is wrong. Macbeth describes his hopes for King Duncan’s death as â€Å"black and deep desires†, which tells me that Macbeth recognises the immorality of his wishes. Frankenstein and Macbeth both soon become arrogant and totally selfish. Macbeth also turns evil and bloodthirsty. Shelley and Shakespeare both warn their audience of the potential threats and consequences of trying to play the role of God by creating, destroying or changing life.

Celtic Druids :: European History Essays

Evidence of the Celts first came about 400 BCE from Northern Italy. More evidence or encounters were found during the young Roman Empire. Many of the accounts we hear of them come from Greek and Roman writers, such as Julius Caesar and Diodorus. There were various tribes to this group, many of them called Galli by the Romans and Galataoir Keltoi by the Greeks, these terms meant Barbarian. The Greek word Keltoi was what Celts came from, this is the reason the C is pronounced as a K. As languages went there was one language that tied all of them together, Old Celtic which is the descendent of the original Ur-Lnaguage. "Welsh, Breton the language of Brittany, in France- and the variants of Gaelic spoken in Ireland and Scotland are all Celtic languages"(Stokstad 485). Celtic Druids Evidence of their culture is basically archeological, it has also come from oral tradition, dating back to shortly before the fifth century AD. Knowledge of all the Druids besides the Celtic ones has been found from and around the third century BC to the fourth century AD. Blacksmithing was an important craft to the Celts. Tools of knives, shears and axe-heads were made to stock patterns across the Celtic World. Iron was also used to make decorative and functional pieces which were very elaborate. Iron again was used for spears, swords and defensive mounting of wooden shields. Bronze workers used a lot of copper and tin to make their intricately designed ornaments. The theme of the Celtic warrior played an important part, with the practice of single combat, the warriors feast and the prize of severed heads of defeated foes. Writing in the Celtic society was sort of restricted, it was not used for imaginative or traditional literature. Before the Roman conquest a state of conditional literacy intermittently existed among the Gaulish upper classes (Piggott 51). Greek letters were occasionally used. However in Celtic societies other than the Druids it seemed opposite. Greek Letters were used in the Book of Mathew, Book Of Kells , in Stoktads book there is an example of how finely the craftsmanship is with the Chi Rho Iota page. This translated into "Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about" (Mathew 1:18).Many abbreviations of Latin words were used as well which had to be memorized by scribes. The page seems abstract at first glance but if you look closely you can see the fine detail of figures in it.

Racism in Haiti

Racism In Haiti Racism is present throughout the whole world in fact,Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another — or the belief that another person is less than human — because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. but in Haiti and the Dominican republic it is a very different variation of the word,. n fact if racism is as the dictionary defines it then surely a new word must be invented to describe and explain the events that take place against the Haitian people,where hatred and racism are defined so intensively and so brutally that one does not believe a human being a member of one`s own gender that another human being is capable of such hatred, of such vicious behavior towards another person,.Because of extreme poverty,. nresourcefull land,,and dangerous living conditions the people of Haiti cross the border into the Dominican republic,but they are received by the intense racism of the Dominican people where their own religion wich in many cases includes Haitian people and share Haitian belief discriminate and exhibit very hateful behavior towards the simple Haitian people who flee from their own country with the innocent purpose of finding a better life for themselves but are received by the cold cruel hate of the Dominican residents.Conclusion; Throughout this whole presentation we hope you have all been made aware of the cruel treatment that Haitian people receive,At the beginning of my groups topic we honestly did not know what to expect but I never thought of such blunt scenes of what is very clearly racism and what may even be genocide,we hope that all of this will encourage you to lend a hand to a person you may know is being discriminated against because racism is everywhere,and it can affect us all in many ways.