Tools and Resources
Discover new tools and materials to integrate into you instruction.
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Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Top Blog Posts of 2018
Here are our top 25 most-visited posts of 2018.
Encouraging a Growth Mindset through Art
Strategies for moving beyond "follow-the-leader" style art projects and developing an art curriculum that supports student learning across subjects
Observing Reading Foundational Skills Instruction
Introducing a new tool to observe the components of foundational skills instruction
Part 1
Addressing Common Challenges with Student Writing
Why aren’t students successful writers and what can teachers do to help?
Building A Culturally Responsive Classroom
Why building a culturally responsive classroom matters for the success of ALL students
Engaging Students with #BookSnaps
Reinventing how your students discuss text within the classroom
Formative Assessments and Feedback in the Digital Age
How implementing Pear Deck changed my classroom.
Inspiring Writers
A process for supporting writing practice with K-2 English Language Learners
enVisionmath 2.0: Focusing the K-5 Mathematics Curriculum
The process and the documents one district designed to support alignment of their curriculum to the standards.
Making enVisionmath 2.0 Work
An Introduction to Adapting enVisionmath 2.0 K-5
Compelling Digital Lessons for English Learners
How to use the free WriteReader app to support English Language Learners
Part 2
The 3 R’s + 4 C’s = 7th Heaven (Part 2)
A technology integrationist introduces digital tools to support collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
Part 1
The 3 R’s + 4 C’s = 7th Heaven
A Technology Integrationist’s Guide to 21st Century Learning (Part 1)
The Digital Coaching Menu: Four Reasons Why You Need One
Providing teachers with content-focused options for coaching support
Understanding vocabulary standards: Building students’ skills
Differentiation between the vocabulary standards in the Reading and Language Strands
Part 2
Supporting Our Youngest Readers: Teaching the Skills of Reading
Why using decodable readers can be powerful
Materials Alignment Quick Check
Introducing a new evidence catcher to facilitate instructional materials decisions
Three APPS to Support Students with Special Needs
Helping All Kids Grapple with Grade-Level Content
Part 2
Addressing unfinished learning in the context of grade-level work
Not all unfinished learning should be treated the same way
Creating Student Empowerment Through Your Garden-Variety Graphic Organizer
How I use graphic organizers in my classroom to promote student independence
Emerging Effects from CCSS
A high school math teacher shares examples of student progress following CCSS implementation
A Five-Course Meal Complete with Strategies for Assessment
Concrete strategies to help classroom educators get involved with assessment design
The Many Positive Uses for Assessment
Three ways to use assessment for good
Instead of…Try This
Avoid common pitfalls in the ELA classroom with these strategies
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
The Instructional Practice Toolkit: An Introduction
Learn how the Instructional Practice Toolkit can help teachers make connections between planning, instruction, and student outcomes.
Assessing Grammar and Language Convention Skills
New guidance explains how to assess writing skills through embedded-error passages and multiple-choice items
Blended Learning: The Station Rotation Model
Find out how a blended learning station-focused model can help you differentiate instruction and give ALL students the support they need to tackle grade-level work
Unfinished Learning in Math: How Do You Address it?
The role of coherence in ensuring all students stay on grade level
Piloting the Instructional Practice Toolkit
Two curriculum specialists who piloted the professional learning resource share their experience
Part 2
Looking At and Learning From Student Work, Part Two: Now What?
An 8th grade teacher models the process of using writing analysis checklists to make plans for future writing instruction
State of Our Classrooms: Instructional Materials
Findings from a 2017 survey about instructional materials usage among educators
Finding Our Way in Fluency – A School’s Journey to Strengthen Math Fluency Instruction
A personal story of how educators built their knowledge of mathematics fluency from the ground up, and identified creative ways to help their students master fluency expectations
Part 1
Looking at, and Learning from, Student Writing
An introduction to the Vermont Writing Collaborative's Writing Checklists
“We’re the best. Just trust us!”
Finding unbiased information about instructional materials.
Reading to Learn
Strategies to build a love of learning through content-rich nonfiction
Demonstrating Conceptual Understanding of Mathematics Using Technology
Using free recording software to capture students’ solution methods and help teachers reflect on their instruction
Five Places for Trusted Resource Recommendations
Amid the sea of free online materials and digital applications, here are five places we’d start our search.
Part 7
Empowering Primary Math Teachers
How one school moved from contention to ownership of their math curriculum
Forming a United Whole – The Coherence Map
A K-12 STEM District Supervisor Explains How He Used the Coherence Map to Improve His District's Math Curriculum
Part 4
Using an EdReports Review to Improve My Math Curriculum
A 5th grade teacher explains how she made small adjustments to improve the Everyday Math Curriculum after identifying its weaknesses.
Pinterest: A Useful Tool for the Educator’s Toolbox
Learn how educators can use Pinterest to identify and collect high-quality instructional resources
Getting to Know Mini-Assessments
Learn about free, high-quality mini-assessments for math and literacy.
Planning for Argument Writing
Learn how to plan effective argument writing instruction
Part 3
Determining Reading Fluency
Learn how to determine a student’s current reading fluency level and pinpoint problems impeding students from becoming fluent readers
Which text set approach is right for you?
Compare the features of popular text set sources
Five APPS to Redefine your Math Class
Focusing on building a student-centered classroom through the integration of apps in the math classroom
Part 1
What is Reading Fluency?
Literacy experts David Liben and David Paige explain the characteristics of reading fluency
Putting Focus into Practice: The Case of Word Problems in Grades K–2
Standards co-author Jason Zimba explains how word problems can build understanding of addition and subtraction.
Classroom Strategies, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Introduction to Argument Writing
A long-time middle school teacher and writing expert explains how to design strong writing instruction
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Training Materials for the ELA/Literacy IMET
New training modules on the IMET’s Non-Negotiables and Alignment Criteria
Four APPS to Redefine Your Language Arts Curriculum
Focusing on building a student-centered classroom through digital applications
Supplementing Your Curriculum with Knowledge-Building Text Sets
Discover why text sets work and how to use them to build student knowledge
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Part 2
Piloting New Curriculum Options with Educators
Learn about OUSD’s piloting process and find out what teachers thought of three popular ELA/literacy programs
Lessons from the Fordham Assessment Review
One of the reviewers explains how the assessment review was conducted and what the findings mean for educators and students.
Supporting All Learners with Complex Texts
Strategies to scaffold instruction of Standards-aligned, complex texts
Classroom Strategies, Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Sitting Beside the Learner: The ‘Me’ in Assessments
Common Core-aligned assessments must capitalize on teacher-student relationships
Choosing Alignment over Familiarity
How a district made the decision to select a new textbook provider instead of a long-used vendor
Part 5
Putting the Math Practices into Practice
A K-12 math team collaborated in creating tools about the practices to enhance understanding and planning
Part 4
A Recommendation to Fellow Publishers
The President of Core Knowledge challenges fellow publishers to complete an alignment rubric
Part 4
What to Do When Curricular Materials for ELLs Are Not Available
Where to look for additional ELL resources to support Common Core-aligned lessons
Part 3
Reason Abstractly and Quantitatively
A math teacher explains how well-designed materials can help students learn to deal with challenging math problems
Part 3
CCSS-Aligned Materials for ELL Students
Where to Find High-Quality Curricular Materials for ELLs in the Public Domain
Part 2
Criteria for Curricular Materials Labeled as Appropriate for ELLs
How to determine whether instructional materials support ELL's needs
Customizing the IMET PD Training for a Local Setting
A training leader explains how she customized the IMET PD training to better match the professional learning needs of her district’s educators.
Part 11
Supplementing Your Anchor Math Curriculum with Rich Tasks
A New York math specialist explains how he’s enhanced his school’s curriculum with tasks from Illustrative Mathematics.
Decision-Making that Matters: 10 Ways Teachers Can Impact Curricular Decisions
A high school English teacher shares 10 ways classroom teachers can influence curriculum
Training Materials for the Math IMET
New training modules on the IMET’s Non-Negotiables and Alignment Criteria
Part 5
Creating Full-Course Open Educational Resources (OER)
The K-12 OER Collaborative plans to create a year-long open educational resources curriculum.
Including Tier 2 Vocabulary Instruction in Curricular Materials
Building tier 2 vocabulary is critical to comprehending texts across content areas, yet it often receives insufficient attention in existing curriculum options. What can teachers do to fill the gap?
Creating a Coherent Math Curriculum
The Coherence Map can help you uncover gaps in understanding and find resources to supplement your instructional materials.
The EQuIP Review Process and Rubric
Achieve created a rubric and review process to facilitate peer reviews
Part 3
Working Together to Create Open Educational Resources
The K-12 OER Collaborative is working to create Common Core-aligned resources
Six Instructional Materials Articles You Should Be Reading
Keep up-to-date with the latest media coverage of instructional materials
Part 4
Publishing Review Results
Why Louisiana chose to share all its curricular reviews online and where you can see the findings
Teachers Create Lessons and Adaptations to Strengthen ELA Learning
Common Core-aligned resources for popular read-alouds, basal stories, and anthology selections
Part 2
Mathematics in the Common Core Classroom
A Kentucky teacher explains what the CCSS Math Shifts mean for classroom materials
Part 2
Open Educational Resources in Action
Washington's work to identify OER and put them to use in classrooms
Part 1
Introduction to Open Educational Resources
What are OER? Where can you find them? How should you use them?
Materials Adaptation, Research and Reflections, Standards-Alignment Information, Tools and Resources
Lament of a Review Team Member
Conducting a review was harder than expected, but it illuminated how critical this information is for publishers
Introduction to the Publishers’ Criteria for ELA/Literacy
Sue Pimentel, one of the lead writers of the Common Core, introduces the Publishers’ Criteria
Using What You Have
An introduction to supplementing and adapting instructional materials
Reviewing Is a Journey and the Benefits Aren’t What We’d Expected
Educators from Granite Falls uncovered benefits to reviewing that they hadn’t anticipated
How Reviewing Materials Changed My Classroom Practice
A teacher explains the unexpected connection she uncovered between materials reviews and the classroom
When to Use the IMET
When is the right time to use the IMET? Whether you’re purchasing, supplementing, designing, or simply building capacity, the IMET can help.
Why Not Just Crosswalk?
Reviewing instructional materials for CCSS alignment means looking for evidence of the Standards and the Shifts
