Nebraska Instructional Materials Collaborative

To ensure that every student, every day, is engaged in meaningful, affirming grade-level instruction.

NIMC Resources

Research

FAQ

Instructional Materials in Nebraska (Excel)

Materials Matter: Insights from Nebraska Schools

Professional Learning

High-quality curricula and team-based professional learning: A perfect partnership for equity
Learning Forward, the national leader in professional learning, developed this paper that argues the case for connecting high quality curriculum and professional learning communities to increase equity for students. Included within are case studies and recommended next steps. All selection teams, school-based learning communities, and coaches who support standards implementation will benefit from reading this paper.

Communication Tools

Infographic

PowerPoint for Educators

Promotional Postcard

Parent/Community Member Letter

Parent/Community Member Letter (Spanish)

Content Area HQIM Resources

Arts Education

Arts Education Resources

Complete Guidance Books with Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, Selection Review Guide and Supplemental Checklists

 

Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings from the National Arts Education Standards

 

NDE Arts Education Review Guide with criteria and questions for each subject area.

 

Supplemental Checklists for Arts Education Instructional Materials Selection

ELA

English Language Arts Resources

Nebraska’s 2021 College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts

  • The Key Instructional Shifts for English Language Arts provides a framework for the role teachers, school leaders, and students play in realizing the expectations and rigor of grade-level standards in order to realize the vision for excellent teaching and learning.
  • The EdReports Bridge Document shows the alignment between Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts and the EdReports Gateways: Text Quality and Complexity, Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks, and Instructional Supports and Other Usability Indicators.

Building Oral Language Skills and Equity Through High-Quality Reading Curriculum (The74Million, 2024)

Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines The Reading League offers free tools designed to highlight non-aligned practices, or “red flags,” that may be present in instructional materials in the areas of:

  • Word recognition
  • Language comprehension
  • Reading comprehension
  • Writing
  • Assessment

The Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines Reviewer Workbook helps curriculum review teams rate and record evidence of “red flags.”

ELA Decision Trends: What District Choices Reveal About Curriculum, Coherence, and Quality (The Center for Education Market Dynamics, 2025)

  • What materials districts are selecting, and what that says about the shift toward HQIM
  • How layering programs affects coherence and implementation
  • When foundational skills supplements help or hinder strong instruction

The Hidden Complexity of ELA: What Curriculum Combinations Reveal About District Practice (Center for Education Market Dynamics, 2025)

Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) for ELA

This tool allows instructional leaders to provide content-specific feedback to classroom teachers and/or professional learning communities* throughout cycles of observation. The purpose of the IPG is to determine trends in the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) across grade levels. The core actions within describe the standards alignment and grade-appropriateness of content, teacher actions, and the depth of student ownership and engagement. This tool is not designed for the evaluation of teachers, nor should it replace an established system or framework for the assessment of educator effectiveness.

 

*The IPG should be used only if instructional leaders have received appropriate professional learning. Your region’s Educational Service Unit (ESU) may be able to provide support. You may also contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

ELA & Foundational Skills IPGs

The Knowledge Matters Campaign

The Knowledge Matters Review Tool helps educators understand how key research insights and practices are translated into curriculum design for K-8 ELA.

Navigating Text Complexity from CCSSO is a curated collection of text complexity resources, tools, and research aimed at supporting educators as they guide students learning to read and understand complex text.

Revised Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3–12 by David Coleman and Susan Pimentel, lead authors of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts, is early guidance (2012) designed to guide publishers and curriculum developers as they ensure instructional materials’ alignment with the standards in English language arts (ELA) and literacy for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

High Ability Learning

High Ability Learning Resources

The following organizations provide tools, resources, and research that support educators in the use of curriculum and materials for high ability learners and academic acceleration.

Math

Mathematics Resources

Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics

  • The Key Instructional Shifts for Mathematics provides a framework for the role teachers, school leaders, and students play in realizing the expectations and rigor of grade-level standards in order to realize the vision for excellent teaching and learning.
  • The EdReports Bridge Document shows the alignment between Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics and the EdReports Gateways: Focus and Coherence, Rigor and the Mathematical Processes, and Instructional Supports and Usability Indicators.
  • The Nebraska Math Atlas is an interactive tool that illustrates the coherent structure of the 2022 NE CCR Math Standards. Curriculum specialists and teachers can use the tool to build student understanding within and across grades by linking math concepts together.
  • Nebraska Math Instructional Shifts, Practices, and Materials. Nebraska educators developed this resource to support district adoption teams and mathematics educators in better understanding the shifts and look-fors in instructional materials. Use it as part of your professional development and step 3 of the materials selection process.

The 3 “Must-Haves” for High-Quality Math Materials: Mapping, Monitoring, and Making Connections (English Learners Success Forum, 2025)

A Common Math Curriculum Adds Up to Better Learning (ASCD, 2023)

A Nation of Problem-Solvers: How State Leaders Can Help Every Student Achieve in Math (CCSSO, 2024)

Checking In: Do Classroom Assignments Reflect Today’s Higher Standards? (The Education Trust, 2015)

Defining “Quality” in Math Instruction Remains a Challenge (Gallup, 2025)

Effective Implementation of High-Quality Math Curriculum and Instruction (National Implementation Research Network, 2024)

From Gatekeeper to Gateway: Creating More Paths to Algebra I Success (National Math Improvement Project, 2025)

Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool (IMET) Mathematics, Grades K-8 (Student Achievement Partners, 2015)

Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) for Math

This tool allows instructional leaders to provide content-specific feedback to classroom teachers and/or professional learning communities* throughout cycles of observation. The purpose of the IPG is to determine trends in the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) across grade levels. The core actions within describe the standards alignment and grade-appropriateness of content, teacher actions, and the depth of student ownership and engagement. This tool is not designed for the evaluation of teachers, nor should it replace an established system or framework for the assessment of educator effectiveness.

 

*The IPG should be used only if instructional leaders have received appropriate professional learning. Your region’s Educational Service Unit (ESU) may be able to provide support. You may also contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

K-8 Math Materials Spotlight: Understanding the Landscape in Three Charts (Center for Education Market Dynamics, (2025)

Math Teachers Rely Heavily on the Internet for Instructional Materials (FutureEd, 2024)

Mathematics Curriculum Effects on Student Achievement in California (Koedel et al., 2017)

Prioritizing Curriculum-Based Professional Learning for Mathematics Teachers: District, Principal, and Teacher Perspectives from the American Educator Panels (RAND, 2025)

Principles for the Design of Mathematics Curricula:  Promoting Language and Content Development (Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, & Equity, 2017)

Zearn Math. Beginning in Summer 2021, in response to school closures and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDE provided all Nebraska districts full access to Zearn Math (K-7), a high-quality, standards-aligned core program with digital access. Nearly 500 schools requested and received access to Zearn Math and virtual professional learning, giving over 110,000 Nebraska students access to accelerated math learning. Impact studies showed the effectiveness of Zearn Math on students learning and growth across all student groups. Additional research shows the positive effects of standards-aligned materials on math achievement.

Science

Science Resources

Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Science

  • The Key Instructional Shifts for Science provides a framework for the role teachers, school leaders, and students play in realizing the expectations and rigor of grade-level standards in order to realize the vision for excellent teaching and learning.
  • The EdReports Bridge Document shows the alignment between Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Science and the EdReports Gateways: Designed for NCCRS-S, Coherence and Scope, and Usability and Supports.

The Effects of Research-Based Curriculum Materials and Curriculum-Based Professional Development on High School Science Achievement: Results of a Cluster-Randomized Trial (Taylor et al., 2013)

The EQuIP Rubric for Science provides criteria by which to measure how well lessons and units are aligned to NGSS.

Finding High-Quality Science Materials (National Science Teaching Association, 2025)

Instructional Practice Guide (IPG) for Science

This tool allows instructional leaders to provide content-specific feedback to classroom teachers and/or professional learning communities* throughout cycles of observation. The purpose of the IPG is to determine trends in the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) across grade levels. The core actions within describe the standards alignment and grade-appropriateness of content, teacher actions, and the depth of student ownership and engagement. This tool is not designed for the evaluation of teachers, nor should it replace an established system or framework for the assessment of educator effectiveness.

 

*The IPG should be used only if instructional leaders have received appropriate professional learning. Your region’s Educational Service Unit (ESU) may be able to provide support. You may also contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

Science IPG

NDE & EdReports Science Webinar

Making decisions centered around vision and standards-aligned effective teaching and learning for science? Not sure where to start when it comes to science selection or implementation for materials? Noticing your district materials need wrap-around support for teachers to promote evidence-based practices for NE students? NDE and EdReports partnered in a webinar to answer some of the most pressing questions from the field. Watch our K-8 webinar.

K-8 EdReports Webinar

9-12 EdReports Webinar

The NextGenScience Design Badge is awarded to top-rated science lessons and units aligned to NGSS.

OpenSciEd provides free and open-sourced high-quality K-12 science materials.

Reviews of Science and Engineering Instructional Materials and Assessment (NextGenScience | WestEd)

Science Instructional Materials Selection and Modification: A Landscape Analysis. (NextGenScience | WestEd, 2023)

Supporting teachers through curriculum-based professional learning: Shifting teachers’ instructional vision of science to empower student voice (McNeill et al., 2025)

Social Studies

Social Studies Resources

2019 Nebraska State Social Studies Standards

  • The Key Instructional Shifts for Social Studies provides a framework for the role teachers, school leaders, and students play in realizing the expectations and rigor of grade-level standards in order to realize the vision for excellent teaching and learning.
  • The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards is a powerful guide to strengthen instruction in the social studies by establishing fewer, clearer, and higher standards for instruction in civics, economics, geography, and history, kindergarten through high school.

The Bill of Rights Institute provides free, open-source digital resources aligned to state C3 frameworks.

Criteria for High-Quality Instructional Materials for Social Studies, provided by EdReports and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), is a tool for the evaluation of social studies materials for quality and standards alignment.

Digital Inquiry Group provides standards-aligned history and civics instructional materials.

Elevating Social Studies with High-Quality Instructional Materials (Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, 2024)

The Gilder Lehrman American History Institute offers a wide variety of free, open-sourced materials including primary source documents and professional learning for educators.

Guide to High-Quality Instructional Materials for Social Studies: A Comprehensive Guide for Choosing Curriculum (Teachers’ Curriculum Institute)

The Ohio Department of Education’s 2025 is a tool for the local review of instructional materials: Social Studies High-Quality Instructional Materials Rubric

From the Knowledge Matters Campaign, the History Matters Campaign demonstrates how historical content knowledge is uniquely positioned to support literacy in elementary classrooms.

Nebraska Instructional Materials Review Look-Fors

Developed for Nebraska educators, this rubric will help guide the process in determining if social studies instructional materials can be considered high quality.

Open Social Studies is a free, open-sourced, inquiry-based and literacy focused K-6 Social Studies curriculum. 

Nebraska OER Commonsis a statewide collaboration between the Nebraska Department of Education, Educational Service Units, school districts and educators with the goal to curate and create quality open educational resources that are aligned to Nebraska curriculum.

Identifying High Quality Instructional Materials in Social Studies (National Council for the Social Studies

The Nebraska Department of Education’s Social Studies Instructional Materials Review Rubric guides the selection of standards-aligned instructional materials.

Social Studies Curriculum Review Landscape (EdReports & American Institutes for Research, 2024)

World Languages

World Languages Resources

The NDE World Language Advisory Board developed HQIM materials based on the 2019 Nebraska World Language Standards to support curriculum development or improvement to ensure instructional material quality. The Nebraska Department of Education has developed several helpful resources:

  • The HQIM Short Rubric (housed on the OER Commons) for curriculum developers and teachers to evaluate the quality of materials for instructional purposes.
  • The HQIM Rubric (housed on the OER Commons) for curriculum development and textbook selection
  • The NDE’s PowerPoint on World Languages HQIM research and strategies