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New Product Review: Cengage Learning Managing Your Personal Finances

August 12, 2022November 28, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed Cengage Learning’s Managing Your Personal Finances, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to the Texas Education Agency’s Proclamation 2019 call for high school Personal Financial Literacy products aligned to the new PFL Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Managing Your Personal Finances is a comprehensive resource to support instruction in Personal Financial Literacy courses. Materials are available in print format and include additional online components. Learning List’s review is of print resources only. Instruction addresses personal money management, career and retirement planning, saving and investment, and credit management.

Managing Your Personal Finances is organized in six units that address: (1) Managing Careers and Income, (2) Managing Credit, (3) Managing Resources, (4) Providing Financial Security, (5) Risk Management, and (6) Consumer Rights and Responsibilities. Units open with a short overview of each chapter’s content and a related “Net Link” that links students to related content on the text’s companion website. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Edmentum’s Courseware High School English

August 12, 2022November 5, 2018

Edmentum’s Courseware™ is an online program that supports instruction in self-paced, remediation, and credit recovery programs. Courseware provides comprehensive instruction in each of the core subjects, as well as in other content areas (e.g., world languages). Learning List recently reviewed Courseware’s sequence of high school English courses. Instruction is provided online and includes printable materials.

At each grade level, content is presented in two semester-long courses, and each semester is made up of three units. Each unit begins with a pre-test that assesses students’ mastery of learning objectives. Based on pre-test results, teachers may exempt students from some or all of the unit’s lessons or use results to provide targeted remediation. [Read more…]

New Product Review: McGraw Hill Texas StudySync

August 12, 2022October 3, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed McGraw Hill’s Texas StudySync, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response the Texas Education Agency’s Proclamation 2019 call for K-8 English language arts and reading (ELAR) products aligned to the new ELAR Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). StudySync is a comprehensive product that supports English language arts/reading (ELAR) instruction in grades 6-12. Content is available in print and digital formats and is intended for blended learning environments. Learning List reviewed online resources for grades 6-8. Instruction centers on the close reading of a set of thematically-related texts with integrated lessons in reading comprehension, writing, and speaking and listening skills.

StudySync’s content is organized in six, 30-day thematic units at each grade level. Each unit focuses on an essential question and a genre. Most units address personal topics (e.g., “No Risk, No Reward”) and include content that relates to other subject areas, particularly social studies. Units integrate authentic literary and informational texts and culminate in an overarching project that requires students to respond to what they have read in either written or spoken format. Across middle school grades, texts vary in length and genre and address diverse individuals and cultures. [Read more…]

New Product Review: The College Board’s SpringBoard English Language Arts and Language Workshop

August 12, 2022September 5, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed the College Board’s SpringBoard English Language Arts and Language Workshop middle school resources (i.e., grades 6-8), which were submitted for state adoption in Texas in response the Texas Education Agency’s Proclamation 2019 call for K-8 English language arts and reading (ELAR) products aligned to the new ELAR Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Both resources focus on developing English language arts skills through active learning. At each grade level, instruction emphasizes the development of the knowledge and skills needed for rigorous coursework, including Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Core content is presented in SpringBoard’s English Language Arts resource. Content at each grade is organized in four thematic units. For example, at grade 6, reading selections address the theme of change. Students explore the concepts of change and growth in their own lives and in the lives of real and imagined characters. Each unit includes a balance of literary and informational texts and opportunities for students to respond to non-print texts, such as photographs and clips from audio recordings and films. For the most part, units incorporate reading selections that present the experiences of diverse individuals and cultures. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Texas A&M University Press Texas Aquatic Science

August 12, 2022September 3, 2018

Texas A&M University Press’s Texas Aquatic Science is a comprehensive aquatic science product that supports science instruction in grades 6-8 and high school Aquatic Science and Environmental Science courses. The student text is available in print and online formats; teacher resources are in print format only. Instruction examines water from the molecular level to the level of aquatic ecosystems. Learning List reviewed materials for high school Aquatic Science courses.

Texas Aquatic Science is a joint project involving the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, and The Hart Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. The course includes an online and print-based student text, and a Teacher Guide that is integral to instruction. The online student text and course-specific videos are available at no cost (http://texasaquaticscience.org/). [Read more…]

New Product Review: EMC Mirrors & Windows: Connecting with Literature

August 12, 2022August 13, 2018

EMC’s Mirrors & Windows: Connecting with Literature is a comprehensive resource to support English language arts instruction in grades 6-12. The program includes print and web-based resources. In the middle school grades (grades 6-8), instruction uses the theme of “mirrors and windows” to help students use literature to reflect on their own lives and to connect with people from different cultures and times.

Across middle school grades, Mirrors & Windows units are organized in terms of a theme linked to a literary genre. For example, a grade 6 unit that introduces poetry is centered on the theme of “Expressing Yourself.” Each unit is made up of a set of reading selections related to the theme. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Blue Pelican Math Algebra I

July 24, 2022May 29, 2018

Learning List has reviewed Blue Pelican Math’s Algebra I course. This comprehensive product supports teacher-led instruction and independent study for students in Algebra I. Content is available in print and online formats. Instruction emphasizes paper-and-pencil problem solving and includes web-based videos in which author Charles Cook explains concepts and demonstrates problem solving strategies. [Read more…]

New Curriculum Review: American Reading Company (ARC) Core

September 6, 2022May 10, 2018

American Reading Company’s (ARC) Core is a comprehensive, project-based reading, writing, and research program for students in grades K-12. Available in print and online formats, resourcesaddress the instructional shifts of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (e.g., “Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction”). Instruction is organized in a workshop structure that provides opportunities for whole class, small group, and one-on-one instruction. Learning List recently reviewed resources for grades K-5. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Glynlyon Odysseyware Middle School and High School Science

August 12, 2022April 12, 2018

Glynlyon’s Odysseyware provides comprehensive online products that support instruction across a range of content areas for students in grades 3-12. Odysseyware resources support instruction in self-paced and credit-recovery programs and blended learning environments. Content incorporates instructional videos, grade-appropriate texts, games, and interactive learning activities. Learning List recently reviewed Odysseyware middle school science and high school science courses for Texas. [Read more…]

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