A Journey of Reading with Highlights

A Journey of Reading with Highlights

A Journey of Reading with Highlights

Reading is a lifelong journey that needs constant support from a variety of sources such as parents, teachers and friends. But these are not the only sources that one needs to rely on when instilling a love of reading your child. In recent years, the rise of companies offering services for a fee has risen due to the immense reliance on technology as well as the ease of interaction with it.

Many parents have therefore turned to service providers who can reliably provide them with a tool or resources that parents are able to use on a frequent basis. One such tool is Highlights. What is Highlights you might ask? Happy to oblige.

Highlights is a book and magazine vendor that provides engaging material that stimulates creativity and curiosity in children up to 12 years of age. Deliveries of all material are made monthly so that you have a never-ending supply of engaging material for your children. Let’s have a look at what magazines Highlights stock.

Highlights Magazine

Each monthly issue of this magazine enables generations of kids (aged 6-12 years) grow into their best self by being curious, creative, caring and confident. This magazine also brings out the vivid imagination in children, expands their world view and outlook and keeps their mind active and challenged in each issue.

High Five Magazine

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Preschoolers have a limitless supply of questions that need to be satisfied speedily. Thankfully, the High Five magazine helps in satisfying this curiosity by including age-appropriate puzzles, stories can be read long with and much more!

Hello Magazine

The Hello magazine is targeted at little babies and toddlers who just want to be entertained. The best part is that the pages are able to be wiped clean in an instant so that you will have a clean book every time.

Now, let us look at the book clubs that are provided by Highlights. In all these book clubs, you will receive materials and support themed around a particular topic like preschool. This will ensure that your child can continue to build upon the specific skills and values taught in each book club.

Early Learners

These subscription boxes come with grade specific reading materials and activities that will keep each child active and engaged until the next monthly issue arrives. Each subscription box comes with fun activities that do not stress the child out. Tools like a double-sided wipe clean practice board are also included to facilitate learning. The box also contains rewards for wonderful progress, like stickers and a progress poster to keep the children happy and motivated.

Hidden Pictures Lovers

For the children who love investigating text and photos for really small details, we have got just the right tool for you! The Hidden Pictures magazine will enable children to be captivated by pages of poems and mazes, along with other hidden-object activities. This touches upon much of the skills that children will need later on in school such as reading and creative thinking.

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Puzzle Fans

Each issue contains puzzles, secret codes, word games along with number and logic activities to boost the brain power of your child. These activities focus on the writing, reading and math skills together with other skills to develop your little puzzle solver!

Top Secret Adventurers

For the adventurous, this book club is themed around a big mystery that your child must solve in order to complete the mission. They will get to crack the code, dig for clues and then follow these clues to glory and beyond. All while being safely at home!

Highlights also have digital tools and resources to complement the physical tools that your children interact with. These include a mobile app to explore the concept of shapes, a critical concept which needs to be understood well for maths.

Highlights has a very comprehensive offering of products that will satisfy your child’s craving for challenging and fun material to read and interact with.

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Chemistry and Biology Unpacked – 3D Lab Kits to Learn in Style

Chemistry and Biology Unpacked – 3D Lab Kits to Learn in Style

Chemistry and Biology Unpacked – 3D Lab Kits to Learn in Style

Science, as a subject, is very well known for its intense demands of knowing the theoretical aspects behind the processes as well as the practical elements of experiments. It can lead to an information overload. Children need comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guides and tools in order to get a leg up in this subject. They also need to have the right equipment to safely carry out their investigations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, carrying out lab experiments became very challenging as children often had no access to the tools needed in order to explore and learn effectively. Carolina devised and developed 3D lab kits that could be shipped to children so that they could learn in the comfort of home. This would also give them an opportunity to learn concepts at their own pace, in an environment of their choosing. Let us have a deeper look at what these lab kits are based on, and how they help children to achieve competency in science.

Kutubee Teacher Portal

The Carolina Kits 3D Flex program comprises of individual student kits that enable each student to embark on a year-long Chemistry or Biology lab program. Teachers are equally well supported, with a copy of all student material plus tailored material for teachers included in every instructor kit – this material also includes all digital resources needed for teachers to conduct a guided lab experiment online

Each lab experiment and its learning outcomes is delivered by hands-on investigation, teacher demonstrations through an online format, as well as digital student investigations to supplement their physical learning. Students also receive all their necessary materials and tools in a handy storage box for easy packing and portability – perfect for those living room science experiments that need to disappear in a flash!

This program is very versatile and assures students and teachers that they will be receiving authentic lab experiments that replicates the very feeling of tinkering with science. Be it at home, in class or online, each experiment is guaranteed instructional consistency – ensuring that each student is able to achieve the same outcomes irrespective of location.

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No matter what lesson mode the student is in, both synchronous and asynchronous, these lab kits are able to deliver the same outcomes across learning modes, ensuring that there is flexibility in learning. Ultimately, flexibility is important when teaching a student a new concept.

The Carolina Kits 3D Flex program strives to provide consistent and unique lab experiences for all students. This ensures that these kits can be deployed in a school environment alongside a curriculum to enhance the knowledge of science uniformly across individual classes and grade levels.

The biology program focuses on 4 main topics that are the core foundations of the program. In the topic From Molecules to Organisms, various sub-topics like food and nutrient analysis and biofuels are covered.

Next, the Ecosystems topic explores how small actions can affect a large ecosystem and covers sub-topics ranging from group behavior and social insects to oil spill remediation.

The third topic, Heredity, focuses on how humans, plants, and animals are formed and covers sub-topics like chromosome simulation.

The last and final topic in the biology program is the Biological Evolution module that deals with the combined role that genetics and biology play in our lives. This module thus covers topics like natural selection and genetic kinship.

Likewise, the chemistry program also has 4 main topics that enhance the understanding of content. This is done through a variety of sub-topics that present targeted information and require students to extract the relevant information needed for mastery of the concept.

In summary, the Carolina Kits 3D Flex program is a robust tool that can enhance the pursuit of science knowledge in a world dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program ensures that each student receives instructional consistency across various environments while having fun and learning about science in a safe manner.

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New-age Teaching, Not Just Limited to Whiteboards and Markers

New-age Teaching, Not Just Limited to Whiteboards and Markers

New-age Teaching, Not Just Limited to Whiteboards and Markers

Introducing a modern revolution to classrooms, schools are keeping up with the trend of combining the power of technology with the teaching expertise of educators to introduce to children new ways of learning. Though whiteboards and markers are powerful tools, its scope is limited. The explanation by a teacher with the help of drawings on a whiteboard is restrained to the drawing capabilities of the teacher and physical constrains of the writing board.

When technology is integrated into classrooms, the opportunities are limitless. One can only imagine the depth and creativity that can be added to a subject to make the student thorough with the lessons. Moreover, audio-visual teaching aids have proven to be a clear winner, as the retention power of the child increases by watching videos, sound, pictures, and graphs, on a particular topic.

The use of technology also encourages the student to proactively take-up assignments and add their touch of creativity to it. Using their personal handheld tabs, students are often more actively engaged in project work when technology is integrated in school for the learning process.

The TechnoKids Computer Curriculum is a step in this direction. TechnoKids is specially designed to engage children in computer activities in sync with the K-12 school curriculum objectives. The platform focuses on project-based learning and makes available computerized lesson plans along with other resources for students. Each of the TechnoKids project kit includes a curriculum planning guide, a student workbook and handbooks, besides the integration of software into the classrooms which can be used by unlimited number of teachers & students.

Advantages of integrating TechnoKids lessons into the teaching curriculum:

Kutubee Teacher Portal

Focusing on teamwork:

Project-planning requires teamwork and learning to work in a team at an early age, gives the child a good start to getting used to what it would be like in a professional office set-up. Collaborating with peers in the class to complete a ‘project’ gives an opportunity to the child to hone various skills. Sharing ideas requires good communication and the child learns to put across his point-of-view through group assignments. Some children naturally take up the role of a leader. The hidden leadership skill of the student is recognized and he may be assigned more responsible duties to further strengthen the leadership quality. Also being a good team player requires listening skills.

Kutubee Teacher Portal

Adding creativity to lessons:

Technology-based projects widen the scope of the students in showcasing their talent. The ‘topic’ of research can be presented creatively without any constraints or restrictions. Original ideas to solutions are encouraged and out-of-the-box thinking is promoted in classrooms. Learners can apply their computer skills to subjects such as ‘Geography’ by showing impressive animations and 3-D models to create a magnificent visual display in class.

Making the curriculum relevant to the outside world:

Integrating technology to the entire teaching-learning process is extremely relevant in today’s tech-savvy world. Children who are trained in school to adopt software and use presentation platforms to display their homework, are more prepared for the outside world. No matter what profession they choose in the future, technology is going to play a vital role. Engineers, marketers, and doctors are all making use of technology to run their work. Hence the transition from education to workplace will be comparatively smoother for students who are familiar with new-age gadgets & platforms.

Supporting well-tested teaching methods:

Limiting the knowledge of the child to textbooks alone and testing them on their memory to recreate the answers on paper is a primitive method of learning. The modern education system offers ample opportunity to the students to not just limit their understanding to ‘workbooks’ but delve further by exploring the web. Students are encouraged to watch videos, stream documentaries, conduct research and further expand their knowledge on the subject. Schools hold debates, discussions, and group presentations to create a healthy competitive environment in class to test the child’s participative skills along with knowledge of the topic.

The integration of technology can make learning interesting for teachers and empower students to gain confidence thereby armouring themselves to face the challenges of a digitally connected world.

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Effective Ways to Promote Reading in Elementary School

Effective Ways to Promote Reading in Elementary School

Effective Ways to Promote Reading in Elementary School

Elementary school provides the foundational schooling and skills that propels a child into their further education in life. Reading, one of the foundational skills, is arguably the most important skill in education as it leads to comprehension and effective construction of arguments and ideas – key requirements when children move further along their education path.

To help with this critical aspect of education, we introduce Kutubee, a subscription-based educational tool that aids in the understanding of words and phrases as well as the transformation of simple individual ideas to complete a story. It does this by storing books in an online format and integrates key features that are required for effective reading, both for teachers and readers, so that the reading process is made much more engaging and beneficial. These books are categorized according to the IB Primary Years Program (PYP), reading level, age and subject. Let us look at some of the key features.

Key Features

Ability to Record (Teacher + Reader)

The ability to record a reading session provides the reader with a sense of accountability and also enables them to revisit their best readings along with the ones that need improvement.

For teachers, this feature proves to be invaluable as they are able to monitor individual student progress to find readers who are struggling and need help. The teachers can also utilize this feature to record their own reading of a particular book, so that readers have a model reading to reference in the event that they are unable to pronounce a word or have a problem pacing their storytelling.

Teacher Dashboard and Resources

To complement a good feature set for the reader, an equally robust offering has been included for teachers who would like to use or are using Kutubee. The dashboard provides data on reading hours and what books are being read across the class and grade level.

Using this information, teachers can assemble a favorite list of their preferred books, set reading goals and share the lists and goals with their students. Teachers can also generate Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with all the relevant data for administrative purposes and assessing the efficacy of the Kutubee service. Kutubee also provides teachers with guides and FAQ documents that help them to understand the technology and familiarize themselves with it before implementing it with their children.

Kutubee Teacher Portal

Comprehension Check

This feature serves two purposes. Firstly, curious and distracted minds can wander during reading sessions and this comprehension check at the end of each story ensures that children are paying attention.

Secondly, children who are interested by the story can use this opportunity to reinforce the knowledge and lessons learned in it. This would develop their knowledge, creativity and vocabulary.

Classification of Books

Kutubee has conducted extensive work with educational consultants in order to appropriately categorize the books they have in the library according to established reading levels and classifications.

These reading levels help level the reading environment as children with different reading skills and vocabulary may not be able to progress on a single reading pace as the rest of the class or the grade. Teachers are able to identify children who require extra help and assign them appropriate reading materials and activities that fit their comfortable reading phase. This allows children to maintain their confidence in reading and gain the appropriate skills without falling behind their peers.

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Wrapping It Up

At its heart, Kutubee is a very able tool that packages stellar features, both for educators and children, that help this service deliver reading material and comprehension of stories of outstanding quality.

School administrators that wish to bring this service onboard are requested to contact Knowledge Hub from below form, the distribution agent for Kutubee.

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LEGO® Education Coding Express, an innovative STEM tool for Early Learners

LEGO® Education Coding Express, an innovative STEM tool for Early Learners

LEGO® Education Coding Express, an innovative STEM tool for Early Learners

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Most of us are very familiar with the LEGO® Education’s blocks and kits. These tools have entertained countless children for many hours on end. It has also fostered the skills of creativity and planning which are crucial in executing projects that are lengthy and contain a lot of parts.

Amazing, right? What if we told you that LEGO® Education’s bricks could also be used for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field? This is possible through LEGO® education wing, LEGO® Education that aims to bring subjects to life in the classroom and make learning enjoyable and impactful through a wide variety of physical and digital resources. These resources encourage children to engage in creative thinking, systematic reasoning, and unlock their potential so that they can take charge of shaping their future.

The solutions designed by LEGO® Education are targeted at the pre-school, elementary, and middle school grade levels, which are the school years that are the most formative in the education journey of a young learner. In these years, learners possess the curiosity and willingness to learn, making the job easier. The integration of LEGO® Education’s blocks therefore lead to a playful and curiosity-inducing environment and this environment is then supplemented with material that is appropriate to the curriculum being taught.

To put all these concepts into practice, let us introduce the LEGO® Education Coding Express, an intuitive and creative solution that builds on the curiosity, creativity and desire of preschool children to teach them basic coding concepts and modern day skills that they might need much later in their life.

The LEGO® Education Coding Express is based on the popular train theme, which fuses together a vehicle loved by many children and learning concepts that can be activated by that vehicle in a particular format. This solution contains 234 DUPLO bricks that includes a train with light and sounds which can be pushed, a motor to make the little train run about, 5 coloured action bricks and a colour sensor to act on those bricks, as well as two railroad switches.

By combining the familiarity of the train with the action bricks, young learners will have a chance to learn key coding concepts, such as sequencing, looping, conditional coding, and cause and effect. The action bricks allow children to test and redesign ways to problem-solve and collaborate with their friends and peers in the process to get the train to its final destination.

This fun learning is based on the work of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and several learning frameworks – the 21st Century Early Learning Framework and Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework – and these guidelines ensure that proper lessons are designed for young learners.

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In addition to this, the LEGO® Education Coding Express kit can be paired with a free mobile app that allows learners to engage with 4 activities. These activities then alter the way the action bricks behave, causing the train to act differently in each scenario.

In conclusion, the LEGO® Education Coding Express physical kit and mobile app introduces the basic coding concepts which can be applied in the real world, such as sequencing or ordering of actions, and cause and effect which teaches learners that every action can have an effect on something – be it positive or negative.

The LEGO® Education Coding Express set can accommodate 6 children to one kit. This kit is aimed at children who are aged 2 years and above. It contains 8 enriching lessons for kids to keep themselves occupied. They will learn new and interesting concepts without even knowing that they are doing so, it will be that engaging.

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