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…]
Supplemental Materials
Posts about Learning List’s reviews about supplemental materials
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…]
New Product Review: Pathways 2 Greatness SmartPrep Database
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: Scientific Minds Science Sidekicks
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 Product Review: myON
myON is a supplemental online product that supports cross-curricular reading instruction in grades K-12. Content is formatted as a digital library of authentic texts organized by theme and reading level. Most texts are non-fiction and informational. The library is searchable by keyword and a variety of filters, including standards. Resources enable independent student reading and group instruction using interactive whiteboards. Learning List conducted and editorial review for myON’s K-12 library. We did not conduct an alignment review because myON is a library focused on developing students’ reading skills; it does not teach state standards. [Read me…]
New Curriculum Review: Special Topics in Social Studies Courses
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
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 Review: Algebra I Mini Interventions: Linear Equations and Inequalities
Learning List has reviewed Region 13 Education Service Center’s Algebra I Mini Interventions: Linear Equations and Inequalities. This is a supplemental product that helps teachers understand and teach the student expectations (SEs) added to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Algebra I in 2012. Instruction addresses only that content added to the “Linear Equations, Functions, and Inequalities” strand of the TEKS. Content is available in interactive PDF format and may be printed. [Read more…]
New Product Review: Texas Instruments 10 Minutes of Code
Learning List has reviewed Texas Instruments’ 10 Minutes of Code. This supplemental online product introduces students to programming concepts and the basics of coding using Texas Instruments’ TI-84 Plus and TI-Nspire™ graphing calculators. Instruction is provided in short, hands-on lessons that may be completed in about 10 minutes. Resources may be accessed at no cost on the Texas Instruments website and support instruction in Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles courses. [Read more…]