Grades K–3

• How Lessons are Organized

• Preparing to Teach

• Teaching a Lesson

• Assessments

In general, the screens for grades K-3 are designed for the adult.

How Lessons are Organized

Units

A unit is a group of lessons that have related content, skills, and objectives. Each K12 course is divided into units that typically consist of 8–15 lessons. Many units conclude with an assessment.

The first screen of a unit includes:

• A summary of the unit

• Unit objectives

• Lesson titles

Clicking the “Begin” arrow takes you to the first lesson in the unit.

Preparing to Teach

The first screen of a lesson prepares you to teach. Start by reading the lesson summary at the top.

The right side of the screen has options that you may choose for additional information. (The number of options will vary.) The top of the list supplements the content of the lesson. The bottom part will help you get organized. Additional information can include:

• Objectives: What your student will learn—and what the assessment will cover

• Lesson Notes: Background information and useful tips

• Safety: Crucial information to keep your student safe

• Keywords: Important terms used in the lesson, with definitions

• Pronunciations: Words that are difficult to pronounce with audio and phonetic re-spellings

• Resources: Links, books, games, and printable materials that supplement the lesson

• Map Reference: Links to maps that support the lesson material

• Advance Preparation: Anything you need to do before the day you teach a lesson

• Materials: A list of everything you need for all the activities

The left side of the screen lists activities. An icon tells you if your student will do the activity at the computer or away from it. A sunburst around a number indicates an assessment.

Icons in the black bar pertain to the entire lesson. You will be able to choose them from any screen.

You can move between lessons in a unit. Click on the vertical unit number to see a list of lessons in the unit.

To start the first activity in a lesson, click the “Begin” arrow.

Teaching a Lesson

The first screen of an activity tells you what you and your student will do. Use the materials list to make sure you have everything you need and to print worksheets if you haven't already done so. Any relevant safety information will be on the screen.

The arrows at the lower right take you from one screen to the next. At the end of an activity, the arrows will take you to the next activity.

The numbers on the left side of the screen show you where you are in the lesson and provide another way to move among activities. For example, you can go directly to the assessment this way. The arrow under the lesson title returns you to the first screen of the lesson.

The clickable items sometimes found at the top of the screen provide help with the activity. They can include:

• Answers: A key to the questions on the screen

• Teacher Tip: Help on teaching a concept

• Student Help: Ways to help a student overcome roadblocks to learning

• Extension: More activities related to the lesson

Assessments

Most lessons in grades K–3 conclude with an assessment. There is also a unit assessment at the end of every unit. Starting in grade 2, some courses have semester assessments.

Assessments may be either offline (paper-based), observational, or online.

Offline Assessments

This is the opening screen of an offline assessment. From here, you can print the assessment, as well as the answer key:

After the student completes the assessment, check the answers. If you want to enter the results immediately, choose “Enter assessment results now.” You may choose to enter results later and proceed to optional activities at the end of the lesson.

Observational Assessments

Observational assessments are intended to help you make sure that your student has mastered the objectives before you continue to the next lesson. You should record the results at the end of the lesson.

Online Assessments

For online assessments in grades K–3, the student sits with you at the computer and answers a question or completes a task. Then you evaluate the results.

Assessment results are displayed the same way as they are for offline assessments.

If a lesson does not have an assessment, the last screen of the lesson will let you know you have completed the lesson. You can click the arrow to mark the lesson complete and return to Planning & Progress.