Why I have students practice and get feedback in the same period
A veteran teacher on what research says about practice testing and feedback, and why I grade in class. Linked to high school U.S. History units.
Research and methods
This page is two things at once. You'll find how I check a unit before it goes out, and notes on the research I had in mind when I wrote the lessons. I built these units to line up with that work, and each note shows what that looks like in the materials.
What's in the research notes?
You'll find notes on the research I had in mind when I wrote the lessons, from practice testing to background knowledge and disciplinary literacy. I built the units to line up with that work. Each note links to a live Teachers Pay Teachers product line and shows what that looks like in the materials.
Why I teach social studies content when the goal is stronger reading
What research says about background knowledge and reading comprehension, and why I teach 8th grade U.S. history content inside ELA-style reading practice.
Why content teaching and disciplinary reading belong in the same lesson
A teacher's take on disciplinary literacy, document-based history lessons, and elementary evidence that social studies time is linked with reading growth.
What high-level reading comprehension looks like in a history lesson
How I practice close reading, evidence, and author's purpose on history passages and primary sources, including the World War II unit.
Classroom practice notes on feedback, sources, and ACT reading are on the blog.
How do you check a unit before it goes out?
Every unit gets a blind solve, a separate fact audit, and a fix pass before release. The blind solve is done from the student materials alone. The fact audit traces claims to the sources we cite, and the fix pass repairs what those steps find. That's an internal review, not a third-party or official one.
How do the units use this research?
The notes walk through research on practice testing, feedback, background knowledge, and disciplinary literacy. I built these units to line up with that work, so the required content and the hard reading happen in the same lesson. Each note links to a live product line and shows what that looks like in the materials.
How do you handle standards and reading level?
Teacher editions list the literacy and course standards each unit was written to teach. Public crosswalk tables will be added here as they are prepared. Until then, treat the codes in the teacher materials as the verified list. Passages aim at exam-level reading demand, and this site does not make Lexile claims.
What's in the sources and the answer keys?
Units put American or period primary sources first when the topic allows it, and they cite the sources used. Answer keys explain the wrong answers too, and we check them for long letter runs. Internal fact-check logs are working documents. They aren't published on this site.
If something is wrong, it gets fixed and noted. See the corrections log, and write to [email protected] if you find an error.
ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. SAT® and AP® are trademarks registered by the College Board. Neither is affiliated with, nor endorses, Socratic Standards.