Texas Essential Knowledge And Skills (TEKS)

New Product Review: Goodheart-Willcox Foundations of Financial Literacy

August 16, 2022January 14, 2018

Learning List recently reviewed the Goodheart-Willcox Company’s Foundations of Financial Literacy, 10th Edition, 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). Foundations of Financial Literacy is available in print and eBook formats and include additional online components. Instruction focuses on developing competent consumers by introducing students to concepts in personal finance.

Foundations of Financial Literacy presents content in six units titled: (1) Financial Literacy, (2) Protecting Your Finances, (3) Managing Your Spending, (4) Purchasing and Protecting Your Assets, (5) Exploring Economics, and (6) Preparing for Your Career. Units open with a short explanation of “Why It [content] Matters” and a list of chapter titles. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Reasoning Mind STAAR Readiness

September 6, 2022January 11, 2018

Reasoning Mind STAAR Readiness Learning List has reviewed Reasoning Mind’s STAAR Readiness, which is a supplemental online product that supports students in grades 3-8 in preparing for each grade’s STAAR mathematics exam. The program focuses on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) that are assessed at each grade level. Online tools allow teachers to create customized assignments to address individual student learning needs. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Vocabulary.com

August 16, 2022January 3, 2018

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

August 16, 2022December 20, 2017

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…]

New Product Review: Pathways 2 Greatness SmartPrep Database

August 30, 2022December 17, 2017

Pathways 2 Greatness’ SmartPrep Database is a test preparation product that supports students in grades 3 through Algebra I in preparing for Texas’ STAAR exams in mathematics. Test bank items are available online and must be printed for student use. Resources allow teachers to create customized assessments that address specific Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) at each grade level. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Edmentum Courseware™

August 16, 2022December 13, 2017

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 resources for the Texas Algebra I and Texas Algebra II courses. Instruction is provided online and includes printable materials. [Read more…]

New Product Review: Scientific Minds Science Sidekicks

August 14, 2022December 10, 2017

Learning List has reviewed Scientific Minds’ Science Sidekicks, which is a supplemental product that supports science instruction in grades 3-5. Content is web-based and includes some printable components. Instruction focuses on “chunking” standards into small, manageable amounts of content that are easy for students to understand. Lessons are presented using interactive slideshows that include opportunities for teacher-led whole group instruction, small group work, and independent study. [Read more…]

New Curriculum Review: Special Topics in Social Studies Courses

August 30, 2022December 3, 2017

Learning List has reviewed both of the comprehensive products submitted for state-adoption in response to Texas’ Proclamation 2018 for “Special Topics in Social Studies” courses. These products include:

Kendall Hunt’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) Toolkit. The course emphasizes the experiences of Mexican Americans in Texas, particularly in the Houston area, and focuses heavily on how racism and bias have influenced Mexican American lives. Instruction addresses contemporary issues affecting Mexican Americans (e.g., Arizona’s 2012 ban on ethnic studies).

Discussion prompts and collaborative learning activities are interspersed throughout the text.

Content is available in print and eBook formats.

Tanglewood Publishing’s Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz. Instruction focuses on using a memoir of the Holocaust as the basis for a book study that explores themes related to perseverance, love, and forgiveness. Although the text deals with disturbing subject matter, it does so in a manner that is appropriate for young adults. The memoir eschews gruesome detail and emphasizes the themes of perseverance through unimaginable hardship, commitment to family, and, ultimately, the importance of forgiveness. Content is available in print format and includes an Educator’s Guide. [Read more…]

Frequently Asked Questions About Learning List

May 1, 2024November 19, 2017

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 Product Reviews: Odysseyware Middle School Mathematics and English Language Arts and Reading (Texas Editions)

September 6, 2022November 15, 2017

Learning List has reviewed Glynlyon’s Odysseyware Texas middle school products for mathematics and English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR). Both products are Texas Editions that were developed to address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Both math and ELAR products are comprehensive resources that cover a full year’s content. [Read more…]

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