As you will know, a major emphasis at Project HappyChild is on free educational facilities. What appears to be *missing* from education generally, is a "common frame of reference" to which all children can relate.

England has "the national curriculum" (and no doubt other countries have something similar) - but having actually read the National Curriculum and seen how "bits" of it are taught in schools (there are so many specific identified themes to cover, that teaching staff can be overloaded) - the perception is that what *doesn't* always get taught in schools is the framework itself, into which all the bits of learning fit and inter-relate.

If you're an adult, you may recall from your own schooldays how teaching focussed on "bits here and there", say the geography of Australia, or the Roundheads and Cavaliers in history - but there was little to link one set of facts with another, and in many ways the experience was of a lot of isolated bits of learning which never seemed particularly relevant in adult life, and which didn't always provide a cohesive framework into which to place any other related knowledge.

The whole focus of learning is altering, now, because media advances are changing our world into a "global village" - where children in different countries have shared experiences - and, ideally, shared opportunities and resources. Given that English is probably the most-used language on the Internet, it seems appropriate to create, in the English language, some type of "common frame of reference" that kids should know something about most or all aspects of.

This is what this new area at Project HappyChild aims to do. Rather than just create some "boring lists" we've taken the approach of using "wordsearches" that kids can do and assimilate the keywords and linked items in the process. Working with Mario Becroft in New Zealand (to whom we are indebted for his programming help and wordsearch program design), a whole massive area is being created to provide a "common framework" of all the areas of learning.

The lists aren't just "academic" - they also include areas for leisure interests, crafts, hobbies, radio, television - anything which a reasonably-well-educated 16-year-old might ideally have some knowledge about.

Where we'd like *your* help is in creating lists of keywords (20 words per list, ideally) for specialist subjects. If you happen to know about "cars", for example, then send us (say) a list of 20 car manufacturers, with a separate 20-word list for each manufacturer, of the models they make (for example). Or if you know about "cricket" then we'd appreciate structured lists relating to cricket, whether it be cricket clubs or cricket teams or cricket field positions, or whatever. If you're a chemistry teacher we would value the different areas of chemistry subdivided into 20-keyword-lists leading off from a central list of chemistry themes, or similar.

What we're looking for, on any group of lists, is structured keywords, identifying the main themes and then subdividing into separate lists where necessary. The beauty of the Internet is that (like the human brain) it allows "cross links" between one discipline and the next. If you look at the "paper" list, for example, there is an entry for "litmus paper" - which can be linked to wherever litmus paper appears in the Chemistry lists ..... and so on. "Paper" is just a sample "general list" but it gives some idea of the capabilities for cross-linking across this whole area.

We've identified a provisional basic list of categories (click here) but these are just that, provisional, and more can be added at any time. Some but not all of the categories have been split into possible sub-categories, feel free to add your own (eg "Plays by Ibsen" to the Plays category, or "deep sea diving" to the Hobbies category).

Many keyword lists have already been created, and certain topics have gained a listing of their own, eg Invertebrates has five lists but a sub-section of Invertebrates, "Insects", has nine lists of its own, and is identified as a separate topic because not all children would think to look for Insects in the Invertebrates category.

What we're also aiming to do is to make the lists as globally-relevant as possible - eg "Reptiles" has a number of snake lists, covering snakes from all over the world, because the children using the wordsearches will be from many different countries.

Eventually we will have a great many wordsearches - probably around 1000 in total, interlinked wherever relevant. And also leading off to other Internet resources - eg the Beatrix Potter listing within the "Books" area leads off to a site where kids can go and read beautifully-illustrated versions of these books *on line* .

But more than this, the "common frame of reference" identifies potential "areas to cover" to help ensure that any child can cover the basics of the general knowledge possessed by most teenagers and adults with an average education.

The "interests/crafts/hobbies" areas are just that, to provide basic structured keywords and vocabulary relating to specific areas of interest, eg "knitting" could be split into types of stitches, types of wool etc. - or we could create a "trades" section where a decorator, plumber, electrician or carpenter could send in lists of words related to his trade, such as specific tools used, types of wood, types of bathroom fitments, types of paint - and so on.

Now we need your help! We'd really appreciate any lists you can send for any of the areas where we don't have specific structured lists as yet.

If you send in lists that we use, your name will appear on each one - virtually forever, probably. Lists are only likely to be replaced if someone sends in a more comprehensive or structured set of lists for the same topic - eg we might put up a list of 20 breeds of dog, for the "dogs" category, and someone might later send in structured lists of (say) 200 breeds of dog, subdivided by category, which is obviously more comprehensive - so everyone who uses the overall framework would benefit from the replacement list being included.

Any word lists sent in become the property of Project HappyChild, but we'll credit the authors of all lists we use, on the relevant page/s. Please include your forename, surname, country (town or state optional addition) and the list category and suggested list title, for each set of 20 words.

Any list you send in should have *all* the relevant words for the category or sub-category - ideal length of list is 20 words but realistically we can work within 16 and 24 - so if your chosen topic has, say, 42 words, split it into two lists of 20 and 22 words, or, ideally, pad out the word base with linked words like the category name, synonyms etc. - lists are easier to work with if the number of words in each list is divisible by four [if at all possible].

We're not looking for "endless detail" such as university-level complex vocabulary - just "all the basic keywords" on any subject - the sort you'd put in a mind-map to enable recall of the basics of any given subject, eg for an exam or a test of some kind. The important thing is to include all the words which are relevant to the topic or category, as the lists will collectively provide a unique reference source.

Wordsearches are added in batches, whenever we have a reasonable quantity (sent in by visitors) to be forwarded to New Zealand for processing. Whatever wordsearches we can include will be available for use by children all over the world - a group of lists you personally create in an hour or two, can form a part of a common frame of reference that kids can use hundreds or thousands of miles away. Please help if you can! Dually, you know that disadvantaged children will also benefit from the increased level of visits to the Project HappyChild site as a whole, when this new area is in place.

Look forward to hearing from you! - please e-mail via the contact page address, and be sure to include your first name, last name and country so we can credit you on the site. The categories for which we're requesting your input, are shown on the wordsearch index page - feel free to just nominate a sub-category (eg "World War One aircraft" in the "First World War" section) - or to add whatever your personal interest happens to be.

Best regards,

Penny.

To print any word search, simply select "print pages 1 to 1" [draft quality, greyscale, is fine].
Free to print and photocopy as complete page in the existing format for the benefit of children anywhere but may not be sold or published elsewhere in any media or in any other format without the written permission of the Trustees of Project HappyChild.

Our thanks to Mario Becroft in New Zealand for his help and technical resources provided in creating WordSearches for Project HappyChild - see our Sponsors page.