Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills (TEKS)

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: Universal Publishing Universal Handwriting

August 12, 2022November 26, 2018

Universal Publishing’s Universal Handwriting provides comprehensive handwriting products for grades K-5. Content is available in print format and includes interactive whiteboard tools (i.e., animations). This review is of print materials only. Instruction emphasizes correct letter formation and the importance of legibility. Teacher resources include corrective strategies to address handwriting problems.

Across grades, lessons use a three-stop process that includes: Model and Discuss, Practice, and Self-Evaluate. In Model, teachers model letter formation or use AlphamationPlus whiteboard animations of letter formations. Discussions center on the strokes used to form letters (e.g., undercurves) and students trace letters in the air or on their paper. During Practice, students complete related activities in their workbooks. Students identify their best work in Self-Evaluate and discuss what they did correctly and where they could improve. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Perfection Learning’s Benson Handwriting with Reading and Language Arts

August 12, 2022November 19, 2018

Perfection Learning’s Benson Handwriting with Reading and Language Arts is a comprehensive handwriting product for students in grades K-5. Core content is available in print format and includes software-based and online resources. This review is of print materials only. Handwriting instruction emphasizes fluency and legibility. Students learn to print in grades K and 1, and to use cursive in grades 2 and 3. At grades 4 and 5, students apply handwriting skills in tasks related to English language arts and reading (ELAR). Learning List also reviewed Benson Escritura, the Spanish-language version of Benson Handwriting.

Benson Handwriting organizes content in grades K-3 in units that group letters based on the strokes used to form the letters. For example, in grades K and 1, the printed letters L, I, T, and F are grouped in a unit because they begin with same pencil stroke. Students transition from print to cursive in grade 2. Workbooks at grades 4 and 5 revisit handwriting basics (e.g., letter and number formation), but most instruction is delivered in lessons that address ELAR/SLAR content such as root words, subject/verb agreement, and approaches to text structure (e.g., compare/contrast). [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 Curriculum Review: Savvas Texas myView Literacy

August 22, 2022October 31, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed Savvas’s Texas myView Literacy, submitted for state adoption in Texas. Texas myView Literacy is a comprehensive English language arts and reading product for grades K-5 available in print and digital formats. This review is of online materials only. Instruction is organized using sets of mini-lessons that facilitate flexible instructional planning and a variety of instructional models.

Across grades, myView Literacy is organized in five 6-week units. Each unit addresses a cross-curricular theme focused on an essential question. For example, a grade 4 unit titled “Diversity” integrates social studies topics and asks: “How can we reach new understandings through exploring diversity?”

Each unit features a “Spotlight” genre that is the focus of instruction (e.g., informational texts) and includes works from additional genres. Across units, instruction provides a balance of authentic literary and informational texts. Students learn to read different types of content, such as maps, infographics, and timelines. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Savvas’s myPerspectives Texas

July 21, 2022October 29, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed Savvas’s myPerspectives Texas, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to 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). myPerspectives Texas is a comprehensive product that supports English language arts instruction in grades 6-12. Learning List reviewed resources for grades 6-8. Content is available in print and online formats and facilitates instruction in blended learning environments.

myPerspectives Texas is a student-centered program that develops close reading skills and students’ ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken formats. At each grade level, content is organized in five 6-week thematic units (e.g., “Facing Adversity”). As its title suggests, myPerspectives explores authors’ points-of-view and helps students develop their own perspectives. Units present a balance of literary and informational texts and a variety of genres from a range of time periods. Readings have diverse authorship and represent protagonists and themes that reflect a variety of experiences, support inclusion, and facilitate understanding. Instruction provides opportunities for students to respond to non-print texts, such as videos, radio plays, and television interviews. [Read more…]

New Product Review: McGraw Hill Texas Wonders

August 12, 2022October 24, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed McGraw Hill’s Texas Wonders, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to 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). Texas Wonders is a comprehensive reading and language arts program for students in grades K-5. Materials are available in print and digital formats. At each grade level, instruction incorporates a balance of literary and informational texts to build close reading, analytic writing, and speaking and listening skills. Wonders also emphasizes the development of social and emotional learning.

Across grades, Wonders is structured to “Teach the Whole Child.” Instruction emphasizes the habits of learning (e.g., thinking critically, solving problems), social and emotional skills, and a positive classroom culture. At each grade level, Texas Wonders student resources include a “Reading/Writing Companion” and a “Practice Book.” The Reading/Writing Companion is at the center of instruction. The Companion addresses close reading skills, collaborative conversations, analytic writing, and foundational skills (e.g., phonics). Instruction focuses on the reading and rereading of authentic literary and informational texts for specific purposes, and the use of textual evidence to support conclusions and opinions in spoken and written communication. Students learn to discuss what they read and to produce written products that use textual evidence to support a particular view or response. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Istation

August 12, 2022October 22, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed Istation, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to the Texas Education Agency’s Proclamation 2019 call for K-8 English language arts and reading (ELAR) and Spanish language arts (SLAR) products aligned to the new ELAR and SLAR Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Istation is a supplemental reading and writing program for grades PK-8. Content is available in English and Spanish. Instruction is presented digitally and includes printable resources. The adaptive program identifies and addresses gaps in student learning and supports intervention at each Response to Intervention (RtI) tier. Across grades, the program develops vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and word analysis skills.

Istation provides personalized, adaptive instruction in specific reading skills. Students complete the “Istation Indicator of Progress” (ISIP) at the beginning of the year and each month thereafter. Animated characters provide directions for ISIP tasks and examples of how to enter responses. ISIP is available in English and Spanish. Based on ISIP results, the program prescribes specific learning activities and the usage time needed to address individual student learning gaps. As students move along individualized learning paths, instruction adapts, providing more or less challenging content based on student progress. [Read more…]

New Product Review: StrongMind Middle School

August 12, 2022October 17, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed StrongMind, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to 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). StrongMind provides online “courseware” that supports instruction in the core subject areas and some electives (e.g., art history, career and technology courses) in middle school and high school grades. Instruction is designed for self-paced and credit-recovery programs and blended learning environments. Learning List reviewed English language arts resources for Texas middle school students.

At each grade level, StrongMind’s Texas middle school content is organized in two semester-long courses. Each semester is made up of six units that are loosely organized around a theme. For example, a grade 7 unit titled “Putting It In Order” includes lessons addressing informational texts, such as chapters from Helen Keller’s “The Story of My Life,” and writing an informational essay. [Read more…]

New Product Review: ThinkCERCA

August 12, 2022October 15, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed ThinkCERCA, which was submitted for state adoption in Texas in response to 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). ThinkCERCA is an online learning platform that helps students in grades 3-12 develop literacy and critical thinking skills across the core subject areas. Instruction focuses on developing close reading and academic writing skills. ThinkCERCA’s Texas Edition addresses the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for English language arts/reading (ELAR) and supports instruction in blended learning environments. Learning List reviewed materials for grades 6-8.

ThinkCERCA focuses on developing students’ ability to read texts and produce written responses using the CERCA framework: (1) make Claims, (2) support claims with textual Evidence, (3) explain their Reasoning, (4) recognize Counterarguments, and (5) use language that appeals to a particular Audience. Core instruction is presented in modular “CERCA Sets” that cover content from across the core subject areas (i.e., English/language arts, science, mathematics, and social studies). Many CERCA Sets are not grade specific. [Read more…]

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