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3 Critical Facts To Help You Get the Most Instructional Value from Your Materials

August 29, 2022March 25, 2020

Person using publisher's correlation to makes notes

As you consider using unfamiliar materials, we offer these tips to help you get the most instructional value from your materials:

If a material does not provide a correlation to your state’s standards, it probably was not designed with your state’s standards in mind. Thus, the material likely will not cover all of the content knowledge and skills your standards require students to learn. Using a material without a correlation will cause you more work in planning instruction to ensure that your students have the opportunity to learn everything the standards require. Consider using such resources for engagement or enrichment rather than as the primary resource for the course.

New Product: Edgenuity United States History Since 1877

August 30, 2022March 11, 2020

Is your district looking for a self-paced program to support students enrolled in United States History? Take a look at Learning List’s reviews of Edgenuity’s United States History Since 1877.

Edgenuity’s United States History Since 1877 is a comprehensive, online course that supports instruction in blended learning and self-paced environments. Video-based lessons focus on developing students’ understanding of United States history beginning with Industrialization and the Gilded Age. A citizenship unit that addresses foundations of government and topics such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and immigration is also included.

New Product: Edgenuity Earth and Space Science

September 6, 2022March 5, 2020

Is your district looking for a self-paced program to support students enrolled in Earth and Space Science? Take a look at Learning List’s reviews of Edgenuity’s Earth and Space Science.

Edgenuity’s Earth and Space Science is a comprehensive, online course that supports instruction in blended learning and self-paced environments. Video-based lessons focus on developing students’ understanding of science concepts and their real-world applications. Instruction includes virtual and classroom-based lab activities.

When Selecting Materials, Relying on Numbers Is Not Enough

August 12, 2022March 3, 2020

At Learning List, we are often asked, “Which material is the best?” While some organizations rank and/or rate materials, we do not. We do not sum a review up in a number or set of numbers or tell you which materials will be best for your students, because many variables affect the efficacy of a material. For example, how the material will be used, whether the material has the adaptions your students need and whether the district’s technology will support the full implementation of the product are all variables that affect which product is “best” for your students.

Trends in Materials Designed for NGSS

August 12, 2022February 24, 2020

The Next Generation Science Standards are impacting science education for approximately 71% of United States students. As of January 2020, twenty states have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which are based on the National Research Council Framework for K-12 Science Education. An additional twenty-four states have adopted their own standards that are based on the National Research Council Framework for K-12 Science Education.

As teachers across the country have realized, NGSS changes the expectation for what science instruction looks like. NGSS moves students beyond just knowing science and demonstrating their knowledge through completing scripted science experiments and demonstrations to doing science and solving problems like scientists and engineers. This means the materials for science instruction have to change, too.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Intervention Materials

July 12, 2022February 19, 2020

When our Learning List team talks to district staff, we hear a variety of responses to the question, “How are you currently selecting resources to support Tier I intervention?” Answers range from systemic processes with district-wide solutions to teachers each selecting their own materials from multiple sources. The results of intervention are equally varied. Ensuring successful intervention requires consideration of multiple factors that can be addressed by answering the following questions:

Mapping Resources to your District Curriculum

July 12, 2022February 17, 2020

Districts invest significant time, resources, and money into the development of curriculum and the purchase of instructional materials. A lack of consistency between the sequence of the curriculum and the sequence of instructional materials can be a hurdle to implementation of both.

Mapping instructional resources to the district curriculum will support teachers with planning so that lessons and activities from instructional materials are in sync with the curriculum.

New Product: IXL Learning for Mathematics TEKS

August 30, 2022February 3, 2020

Is your district looking for a digital program to provide personalized math practice? Take a look at Learning List’s reviews of IXL Learning’s Math for grades 4-6.

IXL Learning is a supplemental online program providing content for grades PK-12 that includes language arts, math, social studies, and science. Learning List recently reviewed the math content for grade 4-6, which provides math practice problems and explanations based on diagnostic assessment results. The program intends to offer a personalized learning experience to meet students’ individual learning needs.

7 Trends in Materials’ Supports for English Learners

July 1, 2022January 30, 2020

Districts increasingly are contacting us for assistance finding high quality materials to support ELs. Whether, and if so, how materials support ELs is part of Learning List’s quality review rubric. Having reviewed thousands of materials, we have observed seven trends in how instructional materials address the needs of ELs:

New Product: Mentoring Minds ThinkUp! Math for TEKS

July 12, 2022January 28, 2020

Do you need a product to support student mastery of the TEKS for math? Take a look at Learning List’s reviews of Mentoring Minds ThinkUp! Math.

Mentoring Minds ThinkUp! Math is a comprehensive mathematics product that supports TEKS-based instruction in grades 1 through 8. Content is available in print with an online pre-assessment. ThinkUp! Math is designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and connect math to real world situations. The material also supports instruction in the 9 Traits of Critical Thinking™ as defined by Mentoring Minds.

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