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Instructional Materials Decision Guide

This guide helps teachers sift through the wide array of instructional materials available online and find the best materials for their classrooms.

All teachers need great instructional materials that reflect students’ cultures, languages, and lived experiences and help them build deep content knowledge.

Unfortunately, great instructional materials can be hard to come by. Too many teachers lack access to a comprehensive, standards-aligned curriculum, and as a result, spend considerable time and effort looking for texts, tasks, and other lesson materials on the internet.

In our research for The Opportunity Myth, we saw a huge variation in the quality of the materials sourced from popular websites like Pinterest and Teachers-Pay-Teachers. We put this decision guide together to make it easier for ELA/literacy and mathematics teachers* who don’t already have strong district curricula to find high-quality, grade-appropriate instructional materials online.

 

*Teachers of science and/or social studies teachers may also find this decision guide helpful. The Next Generation Science Primary Evaluation of Essential Criteria (PEEC) Tool and Quality Examples of Science Lessons and Units can serve as additional resources for science teachers.

Download the Guide

Related Tools

Student Work Library

Learn to distinguish between high- and low-quality assignments. The Student Work Library rates more than 70 assignments on how well they align to college and career-ready standards.

A close-up photograph of a young woman with dark, curly hair and glasses, leaning in to assist a young boy with his schoolwork. The woman, likely a teacher or tutor, is smiling and pointing at a paper with a pencil while the boy, who is wearing a dark hoodie, looks intently at the work. Word flashcards are visible on a blue background in the distance.

A teacher leads a one-on-one reading session focused on strategy and engagement.

About TNTP

TNTP is the nation’s leading research, policy, and consulting organization dedicated to transforming America’s public education system so that every young person thrives.

Today, we work side-by-side with educators, system leaders, and communities across the nation to reach ambitious goals for student success.

Yet the possibilities we imagine push far beyond the walls of school and the education field alone. We are catalyzing a movement across sectors to create multiple pathways for young people to achieve academic, economic, and social mobility.

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