Instructional Materials

Read more about the materials that are used to help students learn the curriculum
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Classroom Technology Opinion More Than 12 Million Students Have Used This New Study Aid. What’s the Deal?
There is a near-constant stream of new ed-tech tools. What makes this one unique?
Rick Hess, January 11, 2024
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5 min read
Illustration of a male student holding a pencil and conceptually solving curriculum challenge, from A to B, choosing easier or harder.
iStock/Getty
Curriculum As Districts Choose Better Curricula, Some Teachers Say It's Too Hard
Teachers' perceptions of challenge vary by school and student characteristics, a new RAND survey found.
Sarah Schwartz, December 13, 2023
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4 min read
Tele Phillips, left, and Saniyah Sims react as they cut into a bullfrog they are dissecting during a hands-on learning experience for students from the Malone Center on April 19, 2023, at the Lincoln Children's Zoo in Lincoln, Neb. The Science Focus Program Student Council arranged two days of a hands-on learning experience for elementary students from the Malone Center.
Tele Phillips, left, and Saniyah Sims react as they cut into a bullfrog they are dissecting during a hands-on learning experience for students on April 19, 2023, at the Lincoln Children's Zoo in Lincoln, Neb.
Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP
Science Aligned Science Curriculum, Better Scores? Research Finds a Connection
A WestEd evaluation of the Amplify Science curriculum found it raised student performance on NGSS-aligned assessment questions.
Sarah Schwartz, December 8, 2023
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4 min read
Illustration of checklist.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Reading & Literacy New Tool to Evaluate Reading Programs for 'Knowledge-Building'
The guidelines can help measure whether curricula help build kids' content knowledge using text sets, discussion, and embedded writing.
Sarah Schwartz, November 1, 2023
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4 min read
Illustration of a large database server connected to smaller stacks of information with math numbers and symbols floating into the large server
DigitalVision Vectors
Mathematics Are Schools Choosing High-Quality Math Curricula? A New Database Offers Clues
There’s little national data about what curricula are most popular. A new project aims to change that.
Sarah Schwartz, October 17, 2023
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5 min read
Collage of a young student reading a book.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
Equity & Diversity Researchers Find Need for More High Quality, Culturally Relevant Curriculum
A new report from The Education Trust examines the limited complexity of representation in children's books deemed to be high quality.
Ileana Najarro, September 25, 2023
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5 min read
Image of an open book, and a hand drawing a character of the content.
Canva
Curriculum Download DOWNLOADABLE: Choosing Grade School Books With Complex Representation of People and Topics
A new tool from The Education Trust helps educators think deeply about what complex representation of people, cultures, and topics means.
Ileana Najarro, September 25, 2023
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1 min read
Photo of girl using tablet computer.
E+ / Getty
Classroom Technology How 3 Districts Are Integrating Tech Into Math Instruction and What They've Learned
Finding the right digital math tool for a district’s instructional philosophy, culture, and capacity is a challenge, educators say.
Alyson Klein, September 18, 2023
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9 min read
090523 columbia teachers college AP BS
The exterior of Teachers College, Columbia University, which will no longer house the popular—and controversial—literacy consultancy, the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.
Diane Bondareff/AP
Reading & Literacy Teachers College to 'Dissolve' Lucy Calkins' Reading and Writing Project
The consulting group, founded by the popular and controversial literacy icon Lucy Calkins, will soon be shutting its doors.
Sarah Schwartz, September 5, 2023
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4 min read
Dennis Prager attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif.
Dennis Prager attends Politicon at The Pasadena Convention Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Pasadena, Calif.
Colin Young-Wolff/Invision via AP
Social Studies PragerU, Creator of Controversial Social Studies Videos, Now Has a Toehold in Schools
Florida's Department of Education has come under fire for approving the media company's videos as supplementary materials. What's in them?
Sarah Schwartz, August 31, 2023
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8 min read
This image shows an 1876 engraving titled "Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776" made available by the Library of Congress. On that day, the Continental Congress formally endorsed the Declaration of Independence. Celebrations began within days: parades and public readings, bonfires and candles and the firing of 13 musket rounds, one for each of the original states. Nearly a century passed before the country officially named its founding a holiday.
The 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence depicted in this engraving set in motion the long process of compromises and negotiations that led to the signing of the Constitution 11 years later.
J. Trumbull, W.L. Ormsby via AP
Social Studies A Digital Game Offers a Lesson on Compromise, the 18th Century Way
A civics group and historical site teamed up teach about the compromises made to create the U.S. Constitution.
Caitlyn Meisner, August 30, 2023
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5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Reading & Literacy Opinion Can This 'Shark Tank'-Winning Platform Get Kids to Read?
Summer reading is always a big push for schools and communities. What tools are available to increase their success?
Rick Hess, August 17, 2023
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6 min read
Conceptual illustration. Unraveling tangled tangle.
Evgeny Gromov/iStock/Getty Images
Curriculum Teachers Are Frustrated by Schools' Scattershot Approach to Instruction
Standards-based reform has held sway for decades. But teachers say schools continue to send mixed signals about priorities for learning.
Sarah Schwartz, June 6, 2023
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3 min read
Image of a textbook and a magnifying glass.
<a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/search/photographer?photographer=Bet_Noire">Bet_Noire</a>/iStock/Getty
Social Studies Florida Rejects Social Studies Textbooks, Requests Edits for Others. What You Need to Know
Florida's education department rejected more than 30 books for social studies instruction, highlighting a new challenge for publishers.
Ileana Najarro, May 23, 2023
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9 min read
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