Amazon’s TenMarks Math is a comprehensive online product that supports mathematics instruction in grades K-12. Content addresses the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the California CCSS. TenMarks Math includes interactive whiteboard (IWB) lessons, inquiry-based learning games (i.e., “Labs”), practice assignments, and short video tutorials on specific concepts. Learning List recently reviewed of materials for kindergarten. [Read more…]
Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Posts about instructional materials aligned to the CCSS
New Product Review: Edmentum Study Island—Math
Edmentum’s Study Island is a supplemental online product that helps students in grades K-12 master the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and prepare for STAAR exams. Content is available for mathematics, English language arts/reading, science, and social studies. Resources support teacher-guided instruction and independent study. Teachers may create their own lessons and assessments using online tools. Learning List recently reviewed math materials for grade 3. [Read more…]
New Product Review: Carnegie Learning’s Integrated Math
Learning List has reviewed Carnegie Learning’s Integrated Math Series. This is a set of comprehensive integrated mathematics products for high school students in Integrated Math I-III courses. Content is available in print and blended learning (i.e., print and digital) formats. The program focuses on developing conceptual understanding and procedural fluency through collaborative learning experiences. Adaptive online resources support differentiated instruction and self-paced learning. [Read more…]
New Product Review: Vocabulary.com
Vocabulary.com is a supplemental online product that supports the development of academic vocabulary across core subject areas in grades 5-12. Content is fully online and some resources, such as vocabulary lists, may be printed. Instruction is adaptive. The program adjusts the level of difficulty based on individual student responses. [Read more…]
New Product Review: Edmentum’s Study Island English I and English II
Edmentum’s Study Island is a supplemental online product that helps students in grades K-12 master standards. Learning List recently reviewed resources for high school English I and English II. Instruction emphasizes preparation for standardized tests. Content supports teacher-guided instruction and independent study. Teachers may create their own lessons and assessments using online tools. [Read more…]
Frequently Asked Questions About Learning List
As the school year shifts into high gear, we are getting a lot of questions about our service. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions.
What is Learning List?Learning List is a subscription-based instructional materials review service designed to help improve student learning by empowering educators to choose and use instructional materials most effectively.
We created Learning List in 2013 to help districts become better informed consumers of instructional materials. Initially, districts used our reviews to facilitate their selection of materials. Over time, subscribers began telling us that our reviews also helped them identify the best parts of their existing materials to use to teach each standard. As one instructional coach explained, “We use your alignment reports as a GPS through our materials to ensure that we’re using the pages that teach each standard fully.”
What types of materials do you review?
We have reviewed over 2500 of the most widely used instructional materials, including:
- Materials in the four core subjects, 12 Advanced Placement courses, Tech Apps and 85 CTE courses;
- Comprehensive and supplemental materials, including RtI, testprep, criterion-referenced test banks, and professional development resources;
- Publisher produced and free open educational resources (OERs);
- State-adopted and non-adopted materials (i.e., materials that were not submitted for state adoption); and
- English and Spanish versions of materials.
Subscribing districts get access to all published reviews and may request reviews of additional materials as part of the subscription. That’s why Learning List is a service, not just a website.
New Curriculum Review: Pacific Learning’s CSI Literacy
Learning List has reviewed Pacific Learning’s CSI Literacy for grades 7 and 8. CSI Literacy is supplemental product that supports literacy development in grades 3-8. Content is available in print and online formats and includes digital resources (i.e., USB drives). Instruction emphasizes the development of close reading skills and the comprehension of complex texts. Resources support instruction in blended learning environments.[Read more…]
New Product Review: Heinemann Units of Study Grades 6-8
Learning List has reviewed Heinemann’s Units of Study in Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing for grades 6-8. We have previously reviewed Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing for grades K-5. Both products are supplemental writing programs made up of a set of print resources for teachers with additional materials available on CD-ROM. Based on the work of Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, Units of Study incorporates a workshop approach to teaching writing skills that focuses on Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing. [Read more…]
Helping Kids Learn to Write
A recent New York Times article titled Why Kids Can’t Write explores the reasons behind U.S. students’ poor writing skills. The article asserts that the root of writing problems lies with teachers, most of whom have not been trained in how to teach writing, and who are not confident writers themselves. The article goes on to cite specific efforts, such as the National Writing Project and The Writing Revolution, that are focused on training educators how to teach writing skills, as well as the research on effective writing instruction, which suggests a few concrete strategies. For example, students should learn to transcribe by hand and using a computer. Instruction should teach students to write strong sentences before introducing paragraphs. Students benefit when writing instruction integrates grammar, includes models of good writing, and provides frequent feedback about the students’ own writing.
At Learning List, we believe that high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials, including writing materials, are critical to teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. In our work this summer, we have reviewed several supplemental products that focus on teaching writing skills and preparing Texas students for the grade 4 STAAR Writing test. These products use different approaches, but each strives to improve students’ writing skills: [Read more…]
New Product Review: WriteSteps
Learning List recently reviewed WriteSteps, which is a supplemental stand-alone writing program for grades K-5. Resources address the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and state standards for writing and grammar and are available in print and digital formats. Instruction focuses on developing writing skills using the “6 Traits of Quality Writing” framework (i.e., ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and include a 7th trait, presentation).The CCSS are referenced throughout materials; pacing guides and correlation documents for the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are provided. [Read more…]