2 Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment: Administering and Interpreting Results

This binder details how to score and interpret the results of the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA). This course is Unit 4 of the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academy (TALA). These materials are available for view only; no credit or certificate is provided.
Skits and Martha Bake a Cake—Martha Speaks

Help children build vocabulary and understand STEM education concepts. Skits and Martha bake a cake for Helen.
Engagement | Reading Rockets: Topics A to Z

Families play an important role in how well students do in school. Find information about the importance of teachers and parents working together on behalf of kids, as well as examples of programs that specifically make the link between home and school.
Read a Good Book: Communicating by Drawing | IPTV KIDS Clubhouse

IPTV KIDS Clubhouse kids read and discover more about communication! In this segment, kids go to the library and try to get their friends to guess their favorite book titles without using any words, only drawings and actions.
Pressure—Martha Speaks | PBS KIDS Lab

Help children build vocabulary using this Martha Speaks video! Martha explains the meaning of the word "pressure."
Professor Monkey Follows the Directions—Martha Speaks

Help children build vocabulary and understand STEM education concepts with this Martha Speaks video! Professor Monkey follows instructions to make a paper airplane but accidentally uses paper that has the directions for where he needs to be!
Education | Reading Rockets: Topics A to Z

Teaching reading is a complex process that draws upon an extensive knowledge base and repertoire of strategies. Find out more about best practices in reading instruction and why so many are concerned that our teachers aren't prepared to teach in today's classrooms.
T.D.'s Report on Inventor Tom Adams—Martha Speaks

Help children build vocabulary and understand STEM education concepts with this Martha Speaks video! T.D. gives a report in class about the inventor of chewing gum, Tom Adams.
Getting to the Game (PDF) | Martha Speaks

The PDF of the interactive, informational story "Getting to the Game" designed for in-classroom use.
Using the Present Progressive Tense | No Nonsense Grammar

Present progressives describe an action in progress, or something that started in the past and is still happening. It is formed with the helping "to be" verb in the present tense and the present participle of the verb.
Simple and Compound Sentences | No Nonsense Grammar

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb and by itself contains a complete thought. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Using Proper Punctuation for Titles | No Nonsense Grammar

Small works (short stories, essays, magazine and newspaper articles, etc.) are indicated with the use of quotation marks. Larger works, such as books or movies, are indicated either through italics (in typing) or underlining (handwriting).
Instruction | Reading Rockets: Topics A to Z

Curricular materials tell us what to teach, and instruction informs us of the best way to teach. This section includes information about both the "what" and "how" of evidence-based teaching.
Comic Cam: Lazy F

Willie Reale does a standup routine about how "ph" and "gh" make the same sound as "f." This resource teaches consonant sounds and letter combinations, reading, sight-reading, spelling, decoding, and phonics.
How to Recognize a Phrase | No Nonsense Grammar

A phrase is a group of related words that does not include both a subject and a verb. It only has one or the other!
Lights, Camera, Beetles | The Electric Company

Jessica and Hector plan to surprise their cousin with a bug zoo for his birthday party. When Francine steals the prized rhino beetle, it's up to the Electric Company to get it back in time to save the party.
Edison: Boyhood and Teen Years

Find out how young Thomas Edison’s curiosity got him into trouble, and how, during his teen years, he lost his hearing but gained confidence as an aspiring inventor, in this video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: Edison.
Bananas | The Electric Company

Learn about the vocabulary words binoculars, discover, observe, flustered, and admit with The Electric Company when family members need assistance. Annie's Uncle Sigmund needs The Electric Company's help to talk to an old friend who has come back to visit the neighborhood.
Book Buddies | Engaging with Literature

Watch as two teachers create Book Buddies with 3rd and 5th graders in this half-hour video from Engaging with Literature. Book Buddies offers students a chance to explore a book they are familiar with in new ways.
Lesson Builder Template | Engaging with Literature

Download this lesson builder template as a framework for reviewing and analyzing your classroom literature lesson.