One of the most significant goals that educators have is developing 21st-Century critical thinkers. The portfolio of instructional materials that Mentoring Minds has developed is designed to work toward that goal. Mentoring Minds provides grade-specific supplemental instructional materials to support K-8 students’ preparation for STAAR tests in reading, writing, math, and science. Products include:
- Motivation Reading (grades 2-5)
- Motivation Writing (grade 4)
- Motivation Math (grades 1-5)
- Motivation Science (grades 3-5, and grade 8)
Motivation products for each subject and grade level are organized in terms of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and focus on preparing students for STAAR tests. Content is provided in TEKS-specific units and includes opportunities for students to practice for standardized exams. In both teacher and student editions, the table of contents reference the specific TEKS addressed by each unit, and the header of each page references the unit’s TEKS focus standard. Instruction includes critical thinking activities, opportunities to work with peers, games and puzzles, and activities to be completed at home with parents.
Mentoring Mind resources include TEKS support for teachers and tools to help teachers and students track TEKS mastery. Teacher edition units begin with an overview of the unit’s focus standard. An “Unpacking the Standards” feature clarifies the standard’s student expectations and the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed to master the standard. Teacher editions provide comprehensive guidance in implementing unit activities with students and include charts and references that link each unit activity and assessment question to the relevant TEKS, Bloom’s Taxonomy level, and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge level. A “Class Performance Chart” helps teachers track class mastery of the TEKS. Student editions have a “Chart Your Success” tool that allows students to monitor their own progress.
About Mentoring Minds: Mentoring Minds is a national educational publisher developing proven K-12 instructional materials that encourage critical thinking for life. Their mission and commitment is to motivate children to think critically and to learn effective problem-solving skills in the classroom that will increase their success and prepare them for life in the 21st-century global marketplace.