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Social Studies School Service’s Active Classroom series is a set of comprehensive digital resources to support social studies instruction at the middle school and high school levels. Courses focus on developing literacy skills in the context of social studies instruction. Content is organized in “Activity Sets” that address key concepts (e.g., Ratification of the U.S. Constitution) and can be implemented in about a week. Activity Sets include diverse sets of learning experiences related to content, including reading passages, web-based lessons, video and audio segments, maps and images for analysis, and hands-on projects, or “simulations.” Reading passages are provided at different Lexile-based complexity levels and web-based lessons require that students use online resources to analyze primary source documents and conduct research on topics. Videos illustrate key concepts and are followed by questions that require students to think critically about what they have viewed. Simulations present multi-day, creative projects related to content. Many simulations are provided by Interact , a division of Social Studies School Service, and include comprehensive lesson plans and teaching resources. Student materials are organized to support comprehension. Reading passages begin by clarifying learning objectives and defining key vocabulary. Content is presented in short blocks of text with frequent checks for understanding and tips to support students’ retention of content. Student texts include “Think About It” questions that addresses critical thinking skills and an “In Real Life” feature connects content to students’ experiences. Some passages include activities to reinforce and extend learning and most passages conclude with a short quiz.

JUMP Math’s Assessment and Practice (AP) Books provide comprehensive mathematics instruction for grades 1-8. Learning List recently reviewed JUMP Math’s products for grades 4-6. At these grades, instruction addresses number sense, patterns and algebraic thinking, geometry, measurement, and probability and data management. Based on the work of mathematician and bestselling author John Mighton ( The Myth of Ability , 2003; The End of Ignorance , 2007), JUMP Math emphasizes building students’ confidence in their ability to solve problems mathematically. Instruction is discovery-based and focuses on helping students explore concepts with teacher support and guidance. Lessons begin with brief period (about 3 minutes) of explicit, teacher-led instruction, followed by guided and independent practice with teacher support, and extension activities. Lessons introduce one or two concepts at a time and present learning tasks that build on one another in a logical progression. Click on the picture to watch a video titled "Everybody Child Can Learn Math and Love it." “Mental Math” activities are included in each lesson. These activities ask students to solve problems without paper or pencil. Mental Math develops number sense and fluency in problem solving and helps students recognize patterns, make predictions, and estimate solutions. Teachers are encouraged to provide continual formative assessment of learning through questioning and observation of student performances on learning tasks and exercises. Bonus questions are provided for students who master concepts quickly. Student AP Books are designed to support students at all reading levels. Each page addresses one or two concepts in simple language and includes reminders of relevant concepts that students have already learned. Textboxes provide the steps needed to solve problems, and some problems include partial solutions to help students understand the process of problem solving. Illustrations are provided to help students visualize concepts. Click here for samples. About JUMP Math: JUMP Math is a registered non-profit that promotes numeracy based on the belief that all children can learn math, all teachers can teach math, and both can enjoy it. Their approach features meticulously crafted lesson plans that enable teachers to explain math concepts in a clear and engaging way.  A careful progression from basic concepts to challenging problems methodically builds student understanding, confidence, and love of math.  You can read about the success teachers have experienced using JUMP Math in the New York Times article “A Better Way to Teach Math ” and explore news reports about JUMP Math.

Sapling Learning’s Dynamic Math Series is a comprehensive, online mathematics program designed specifically for Texas high schools. The series includes interactive, eBook courses for Algebra I , Geometry , and Algebra II . Each course provides a set of interactive learning tools, including videos, virtual manipulatives, animations, and tutorials. Course resources may be used to support instruction in flipped classrooms and self-directed learning environments. eBooks are written in concise, easy to understand language and include visual elements, such as photographs, graphs, and figures, to support understanding. Each chapter begins with a clear statement of learning goals and an explanation of the why the content is relevant to students’ lives. Chapters are broken into manageable sections that identify objectives and new vocabulary and link content to real world problems and events. Instruction includes step-by-step guidance in solving problems and incorporates interactive tools, including virtual manipulatives (e.g., algebra tiles). Content is customizable and teachers may upload their own materials. Each chapter section includes one or more PowerPoint presentations of key content. PowerPoints are editable and include lecture notes for teachers. Presentations are also available as “Power Lessons,” which are video versions of PowerPoints with voice-over narration. Lessons have video tutorials in which an engaging teacher provides instruction in key concepts. Chapter sections also include printable study sheets and interactive coaching activities. Coaching activities facilitate students’ understanding of key concepts and provide questions in multiple formats, including numeric entry, multiple choice, equation entry, graphing and ranking. Coaching questions provide immediate, targeted feedback, including hints and explanations of why responses are or are not correct. Sapling’s eBooks include easy-to-use navigation options and include features that allow students to highlight important information, take notes, add bookmarks, and skim chapters. Search functions allow students to search the text as well as their notes by keyword or phrase. The program includes a library of videos for students that explain how to use the navigation, note taking and mark up tools, as well as a set of professional development videos to guide teachers’ use of resources. Click here to register for a high school demo account through Sapling Learning.

Compass Learning provides supplemental, online middle school science courses that support instruction in remediation, self-paced, and supplemental programs. The Nature of Science addresses life science and the scientific method and process skills. Physical Science covers topics in chemistry and physics, including physical and chemical changes, atoms and elements, mixtures and solutions, the periodic table, states of matter, motion, gravity, the properties of waves, and light. Earth and Space Science addresses Earth’s history, atmosphere, and structure; weather and climate; the solar system, stars, and galaxies; and how the motions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth affect seasons and tides. In each course, content is presented in lessons that provide direct instruction through video lectures, slide shows, and interactive explorations. Direct instruction videos are presented by entertaining teachers with accompanying animations of key concepts. Instruction includes multiple visual examples and opportunities for guided and independent practice. Practice problems provide “critical mistakes” feedback that demonstrates why an answer is or is not correct and individualizes remediation and re-teaching. Each activity concludes with a page of summary notes, questions that check for understanding, and a brief multiple-choice quiz. Instruction includes opportunities for students to write about science and to discuss science topics with other students using an online discussion board. Students may repeat activities if they need additional instruction. Some lessons include “Authentic Tasks” that link to external resources such as PBS’s NOVA website and the University of Colorado Boulder’s PhET™ interactive simulations and games. PhET™ resources include statements of learning goals, guidance for teachers, and links to related resources. Teachers may use the Authentic Task tool to add their own links and course content.

Triumph Learning supports instruction of Texas students in grades 3-8 with its TEKS-focused supplemental products in mathematics and English language arts and reading (ELAR). Beyond the TEKS English Language Arts and Reading provides genre-specific instruction focused on developing students’ reading and writing skills, and Texas Coach TEKS Edition supports preparations for STAAR math tests. Instruction in both products is student-centered and focuses on developing students’ ownership of their learning processes. Instruction in Beyond the TEKS is structured in three parts: (1) Listen and Learn, (2) Share and Learn, and (3) Read on Your Own. During Listen and Learn , teachers introduce and model new skills in whole group instruction. In Share and Learn activities, students work in small groups to practice new skills, and in Read on Your Own , students independently read and analyze a leveled reading passage. Leveled passages are available for students reading below, at, and above grade level. Passages include the same comprehension questions so that students have the same opportunity to develop higher order thinking skills irrespective of their reading level. Texas Coach TEKS Edition provides content in four chapters. Each chapter addresses one of the four STAAR Reporting Categories: (1) Numerical Representations and Relationships, (2) Computations and Algebraic Relationships, (3) Geometry and Measurement, (4) Data Analysis and Personal Financial Literacy. Similar to Beyond the TEKS , Texas Coach structures lessons in three parts (1) Getting the Idea, (2) Coached Example, and (3) Lesson Practice. Student editions are written in simple language with an uncluttered page layout that allows students to follow the step-by-step guidance and easily identify solutions. Each chapter ends with a set of review questions that reflect the types of questions students will see on STAAR exams.

EMC Publishing’s Economics: New Ways of Thinking (Second Edition) is a comprehensive, semester-long high school economics course available in print and eBook formats. Instruction introduces students to concepts in economics in the context of globalization and relevant current events. Content is organized in five units: (1) introduction to economics, including the free enterprise system, (2) the concepts of supply and demand, (3) microeconomics, (4) macroeconomics, and (5) trade and investment. Each unit includes an overarching project and ends with an activity in which students debate economic issues. The course includes features that make connections between economics and students’ lives. The Why it Matters? feature establishes the relevance of content to students’ lives and Economics Around the Clock demonstrates the day-to-day applications of concepts. Resources also support student understanding and engagement. The “A Student Asks” feature anticipates many of the questions students may have as they read and provides answers. “Economics in the Real World” poses questions that link economics to culturally relevant topics and events (e.g., Can Big Macs Predict Exchange Rates?). “Your Personal Economics” demonstrates how economics connects to individual students (e.g., the power of saving), “Economic Facts and Fallacies” clarifies common misconceptions, and “Thinking Like an Economist” asks students to examine problems from an economist’s point of view. The course culminates in a multi-day, multimedia group research project in which students examine the effects of a financial crisis. Teacher Editions include comprehensive resources to support instruction, including a pacing guide for 50-minute and block schedule courses and a correlation to the Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics. Teacher materials include suggestions for cross-curricular activities, Internet research projects, and collaborative learning experiences.

American Legacy Publishing’s Studies Weekly Texas K-5 Social Studies Series provides resources to support elementary social studies instruction in print and online formats. Content is presented in weekly student magazines that focus on developing reading skills, with a particular focus on informational texts. Student magazines are available in Spanish. Studies Weekly Magazines are delivered to schools in four quarterly installments. Each installment includes six to seven weekly units of instruction. Magazines present short blocks of age-appropriate text, vivid illustrations of historical content, writing prompts, and related games and activities. At grades K-2, Studies Weekly introduces students to important historical events and figures, social studies concepts (e.g., rules, responsibility, patriotism), and tools (e.g., timelines, maps, globes). Instruction at grade 3 focuses on the role of community and the importance of citizenship. Students learn about Texas history at grade 4 and U.S. history at grade 5. Studies Weekly also provides online resources that are compatible with iPads and interactive whiteboards. Online content includes additional “bonus” primary source materials, including paintings, illustrations, newspaper articles, and audio and video clips of important speeches and events. Bonus materials also include audio reenactments of events that present illustrations accompanied by audio dramatizations of events (e.g., the Boston Tea Party). Bonus content includes questions at easy, medium, and hard levels of difficulty. Students earn “virtual reward points” for each bonus article they read or listen to online and for each correct response to a bonus question. Students use points to purchase items for the program’s online classroom pet—Revere the Rat. Audio readers are provided and support fluency development by highlighting words in the text as they are read aloud. At K-2, audio readers also provide pronunciation support.

Learning List is a “resource review service by and for educators™.” We recognize that our reviews are only as good as the educators we hire to do the reviews. We are often asked, “Who are your reviewers?” The bios of our Leadership Team members and of our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are available on the Our Team page of our website. Our Leadership team has deep and diverse experience in education law, policy, research and practice, as well as in the education publishing and high tech industry. We currently employ over 40 highly qualified SMEs to review materials for alignment and for the editorial reviews. Our reviewers: Must have at least five years of teaching experience, though on average, our SMEs have an average of 17 years of teaching experience; Must be certified in the grades and subjects of the products they review; 73 percent of them have either a master’s or Doctorate degree, and almost half of them (48%) are ESL certified; and To maintain the independence of our reviews, our SMEs cannot have worked for a publisher or online content developer within the prior two years of working with us or during their tenure with Learning List. Verifying a product’s alignments is an inherently subjective process. To reduce the subjectivity, at least two and often three SMEs, as well as our Director of Alignment, sequentially contribute to Learning List’s alignment verifications. The same SMEs provide feedback for the product’s editorial review, so those reviews reflect the perspectives of multiple educators. While each SME must have experience aligning materials to standards, Learning List provides rigorous initial training and individual feedback after each alignment is completed. Having reviewed over 500 materials in the four core subjects, our SMEs are experienced product reviewers. To learn more about SMEs or to join the Learning List team, click here .

USHistory.org provides free open-educational resources (OERs) to support social studies instruction in high school and home schooling environments. USHistory.org is owned by the Independence Hall Association , whose mission in providing OERs is to provide a forum for learning and discussing American history and values. The website provides comprehensive online textbooks for courses in American History , Ancient Civilizations , and American Government . Course authors are not identified. Each course’s informational text is written at a level that most high school students will understand and includes relevant visual elements, including political cartoons, images of key documents and figures, and illustrations that clarify written content. Content is designed to engage adolescent readers; however, Learning List’s reviewers found explanations sometimes oversimplified the complexity and significance of historical events. For example, an opening paragraph to a section titled “The Colonial Experience” in American Government reads: They created and nurtured them. Like children, the American colonies grew and flourished under British supervision. Like many adolescents, the colonies rebelled against their parent country by declaring independence. But the American democratic experiment did not begin in 1776. The COLONIES had been practicing limited forms of self-government since the early 1600s. Each course includes unique features, such as “Share Your Thoughts,” which allows students to share their thinking on topics discussed in the text and read the thoughts of others—content is monitored by the site’s webmaster. The “Cite This Page” tool provides reference information for students using content as source material for a project or research paper. Sidebar resources include reader-suggested links to external resources that contain primary source documents, biographies of key figures, background information, and related activities (e.g., build a guillotine). Sidebar content also contains advertising targeted to individual users. Courses do not include many features of a traditional textbook. For example, learning objectives, new vocabulary and terms, and essential questions are not clarified prior to instruction. There are no teacher resources or embedded opportunities to practice social studies skills (e.g., using maps, analyzing primary source documents). There are few checks for understanding, and no digital learning experiences, such as interactive timelines, video segments, and audio files. Further, there are no resources for students with special learning needs, such as English language learners and struggling readers. Although USHistory.org’s courses are comprehensive, Learning List’s reviewers indicated that they would be more effective when used as supplemental instructional resources.

Has your district ever purchased instructional materials that failed to live up to their claims? If so, you’re not alone.  Learning List  has reviewed over 500 instructional materials, and only half (54%) of those that  claim  to be aligned to 100% of the state standards, actually are.  Ever wondered why that happens? This brief whitepaper,  Why Alignment Matters ,  explains: How Do Educators Define “Alignment”? How do Publishers Define “Alignment”? What Causes the Discrepancy Between Those Definitions? Alignment Is Critical To Students’ Success. Before your district starts selecting new materials,  download  your free copy of  Why Alignment Matters .

Savvas Education’s Texas High School Math Series provides comprehensive Algebra 1 , Geometry , and Algebra II courses for Texas high schools. Each course features “3-Act Math” problems that develop students’ ability to use mathematics to understand and solve real-world problems. Courses are designed for use in blended learning environments and deliver most content digitally. Resources will be most effective in classrooms in which all students have Internet-enabled devices and teachers are comfortable teaching with technology. Although content is delivered primarily online, each course includes two printed student resources: the “Student Companion” and the “Student Text and Homework Helper.” The Student Companion is a journal to accompany digital classroom instruction and is available as an interactive, electronic workbook and as a printed consumable. The Student Text and Homework Helper is a reference resource available in print and eBook formats. It includes an “Unpacking the TEKS ” feature that presents each of the TEKS student expectations, underscoring key terms (e.g., justify); an explanation of the expectation in student-friendly language; and a completed example problem demonstrating mastery of the expectation. Although Learning List’s reviewers did not have access to digital content, the publisher’s materials indicate that online resources include interactive explorations, animations, math tools; a glossary with audio capabilities in English and Spanish; and “Virtual Nerd” video tutorials. Teacher editions are provided in two volumes and include comprehensive overviews of all teaching resources and assessments and detailed guidance in implementing each instructional activity with students. Teacher resources include background in math content, explanations of why students need to understand this content, and “Unpacking the TEKS” features that clarify what students need to know in order to master the TEKS content and process standards as well as the ELPS and College and Career Readiness standards. Each topic includes a pacing and differentiation guide. Guides provide strategies for English language learners, pre-Advanced Placement students, and each RtI tier. Point-of use resources include teaching notes, questioning guides, checks for student understanding, and answer keys. Click here to register for a demo for any one of these resources.

Earlier this year, we published a blog post that described how the funds for instructional materials in Texas flow from their source to local school districts. In that post, we explained that the instructional materials allotment (IMA) begins at the Permanent School Fund ( PSF )—a $30 billion endowment created expressly for the benefit of the public schools of Texas—and flows through the State Board of Education , the state legislature, and the Texas Education Agency before making its way to the local education agencies. Shortly before the beginning of each biennial legislative session, the State Board of Education (SBOE) determines the annual distribution rate (commonly referred to as the payout) from the PSF for each of the subsequent two budget years. The SBOE sets aside half of this distribution for instructional materials. This is the first step in the process that determines the amount of the IMA that each school district will receive for the purchase of instructional materials. On September 19, 2014, the SBOE voted to set the distribution rate at 3.5%. As a result, the annual payout from the PSF for the IMA for the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 school years could be as high as $500 million per year. To divide the total payout among all school districts, the commissioner of education has, in previous years, determined each district’s IMA allocation based on the percentage of the total student population served by the district. If the same rationale is used in the coming school years, a district that serves 1% of the total student population of Texas could receive $5 million (1% of $500 million) each year. Knowing the amount of its IMA allocation for upcoming years can help a district begin planning for its instructional materials purchases. However, in doing so, districts should be aware that the possible amount of the IMA for the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 school years suggested in this post is, at this point, only a projection . There are still several steps yet to be taken in the process that determines the actual amount of the IMA: the SBOE can decide to change the distribution rate at its November 2014 meeting; from (but not limited to) the payout set aside by the SBOE, the state legislature must appropriate the money for the IMA; and, from the amount appropriated, the commissioner of education must determine the per-student allotment for each district. The total amount of the IMA available to the commissioner and each district’s individual IMA allocation should be known shortly after the end of the legislative session in 2015.