Learning List has reviewed Benchmark Education’s STAAR Reading Practice. This test preparation product helps Texas students in grades 2-6 prepare for STAAR Reading exams. Content is available in print format. Instruction focuses on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Readiness and Supporting Standards at each grade level and helping students build test-taking skills. [Read more…]
Instructional Materials Reviewed
Blog posts featuring highlights from our reviews of thousands of widely used PreK-12 instructional materials.
New Product Review: W. W. Norton America: A Narrative History
Learning List has reviewed Norton’s America: A Narrative History, Tenth Edition. This comprehensive product supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) United States History courses. Content is available in print and digital formats. Instruction focuses on how political and economic developments have shaped the nation, with analyses of how these developments informed social change and discussions of key individuals and events. [Read more…]
New AP Curriculum Review: Edvantage Interactive AP Chemistry 1 and AP Chemistry 2
Learning List has reviewed Edvantage Interactive’s AP Chemistry 1 and AP Chemistry 2. The combined products comprise a comprehensive resource that supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry courses. Content is available in print format with additional digital learning tools. Instruction addresses the College Board’s course framework for AP Chemistry with an emphasis on real-world problem solving linked to contemporary problems (e.g., buffering agents in over the counter medications). [Read more…]
New Product Review: Writing A-Z
Learning A-Z’s Writing A-Z is a supplemental product that addresses writing instruction in grades pre-K-6. Content is available online and includes printable resources. Instruction develops students understanding of the writing process and builds writing skills across a variety of genres, including narrative, informational/explanatory, persuasive, and transactional (e.g., letters) writing. Learning List recently reviewed resources for grades K-5. [Read more…]
New Product Review: USATestprep
USATestprep is a supplemental online test preparation product that helps students prepare for a variety of standardized tests, including STAAR, Advanced Placement, and SAT/ACT exams. Content is available online and includes printable materials. USATestprep provides a variety of assessment resources and short instructional activities linked to standards. Learning List reviewed resources designed to help students master the Algebra I Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and prepare for STAAR testing. [Read more…]
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: OpenStax Biology for AP Courses
Learning List has reviewed OpenStax’s Biology for AP Courses. This comprehensive, open education resource (OER) resource supports Advanced Placement (AP) Biology instruction at the high school level. Resources are available online and may be downloaded as an interactive PDF. Instruction covers the content for an introductory college-level biology course with an emphasis on ensuring resources address the College Board’s course framework for AP Biology. [Read more…]
New AP Curriculum Review: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, AP Edition, Tenth Edition
Learning List has reviewed National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning’s Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity, AP Edition, Tenth Edition. This comprehensive product supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry courses. Content is available in print and eBook formats with additional online resources. The course provides an overview of chemical principles and processes, and the real-world applications of these principles and processes in industry, medicine, and the environment. [Read more…]
What to Expect from Supplemental Materials
A supplemental resource is designed to complement and support comprehensive materials. Publishers design supplemental resources for different purposes, including to:
- help students learn the content and practice the skills contained in all of the standards for a particular grade and subject;
- offer some of the same resources as comprehensive materials to support students in learning a specific subset of standards (e.g., writing standards, Personal Financial Literacy, etc…);
- target specific standards with which students typically struggle;
- build skills addressed across grade level standards; or
- support specific student learning needs, such as the needs of English language learners, students with disabilities, or advanced learners.
Supplemental materials vary in the percentage of standards they intend to address. Some intend to align to all grade-level standards, but most do not. A supplemental resource that is aligned to only 50% of the grade-level standards may be the best material to select if it is aligned to the standards you need it to teach. Similarly, a resource that intends to build vocabulary may do so effectively even though it is aligned to fewer than 10% of the grade level standards because it does not teach the other content and skills the standards require. Thus, such a product may be a great addition to your district’s instructional arsenal despite its low alignment percentage. [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…]