NIMC Resources
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.
Content Area HQIM Resources
English Language Arts HQIM Resources
ELA Decision Trends: What District Choices Reveal About Curriculum, Coherence, and Quality
The Center for Education Market Dynamics (July 2025) offers a 3-part series that elevates insights from the field about K-5 ELA curriculum and instruction:
- 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 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.
Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines
The Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines are designed to highlight non-aligned practices that may be present in the areas of: word recognition, language comprehension, reading comprehension, writing, and assessment.
CCCSO’s Navigating Text Complexity
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.
Nebraska ELA Instructional Shifts
Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for ELA require key instructional shifts in practice to support student achievement and the promise of these standards.
Revised Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3-12.
Utlize the Bridge document to determine how the EdReports reviews the support alignment to the Nebraska ELA standards and instructional shifts.
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.
Mathematics HQIM Resources
Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics require key instructional shifts in practice to support student achievement and the promise of these standards.
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
Utilize the Bridge document to determine how the EdReports reviews the support alignment to the Nebraska mathematics standards and instructional shifts. The previous 2022 Bridge document also provide helpful information.
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.
Science HQIM Resources
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.
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.
Not sure how to interpret EdReports reviews for alignment to NCCRS-S? Use this Bridge Document to bridge between the EdReports reviews and the NE standards.
Nebraska’s College and Career Ready Standards for Science require key instructional shifts in practice to support student achievement and the promise of the these standards.
Dig Deeper into the Implementation Plan for Science Standards
An implementation toolkit was developed and provides a variety of resources to serve the outcomes for successful implementation. Use the toolkit and resources linked below to understand best practices for district planning to implement the new science standards.
Sample Science Self-Assessment Survey
How well do you and your team know the science instructional shifts and what that means for instructional materials? Millard Public Schools developed this survey as a pre-assessment that can help all districts to know current strengths and gaps before digging into new materials. Make a copy to support your own district data collection and reflection.
Preparing Students for a Lifetime of Success: Understanding New Science Standards
Engage parents and help them to understand what changes they can expect to see as the new science college and career ready standards are implemented. A great resource to include as part of stakeholder engagement, step 4 of the selection process.
Social Studies HQIM Resources
Nebraska Social Studies Instructional Shifts
In combination with the 2019 Nebraska State Social Studies Standards and the C3 Framework, the instructional shifts focus on both inquiry and student agency.
The C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards is a powerful guide to help each state 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.
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.
2019 Nebraska State Social Studies Standards
The Nebraska Social Studies Standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should learn, but they do not prescribe particular curriculum, lessons, teaching techniques, or activities.
The vision for the Nebraska OER is to provide statewide OER awareness, resources, support, and training. This is 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.
Introducing our free online U.S. History resource for high school students! Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is designed to meet the course needs of a yearlong U.S. History or AP U.S. History class. The history of the United States is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment. The content is coupled with rigorous assessments that help students to develop historical thinking skills and reasoning processes.
Gilder Lehrman American History Institute
Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.
OER Project courses make sense of our world by connecting the past to the present with an eye toward the future. Everything is free, online, and totally adaptable to meet your students’ individual needs.
This curriculum was built to help teachers in K-6 schools regularly enact powerful and authentic social studies in their classrooms that will also meet essential literacy goals (linking every lesson to the Common Core State Standards). In other words, it leverages the richness of social studies content to help students learn to read, write, and think critically while exploring the past and present world around them. Moreover, it aims to make every single lesson culturally relevant, connecting to the racial, ethnic, gender, class, language, and immigration experience of the increasingly diverse United States.
The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features a set of primary documents designed for groups of students with a range of reading skills.
Arts Education HQIM Resources
Complete Guidance Books with Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, Selection Review Guide and Supplemental Checklists
- Nebraska Arts Education Instructional Materials Selection Process and Guides – (PDF format)
- Nebraska Arts Education Instructional Materials Selection Process and Guides – (MS Word download)
Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings from the National Arts Education Standards
- NCAS-Enduring-Understandings-and-Essential-Questions.xlsx”>NCAS Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions – (MS Excel download)
NDE Arts Education Review Guide with criteria and questions for each subject area.
- NDE Arts Education Materials Selection Review Guide – (MS Excel download)
Supplemental Checklists for Arts Education Instructional Materials Selection
- Supplemental Checklists -Arts Education Review Guide – (PDF format)
- Supplemental Checklists -Arts Education Review Guide – (MS Word download)
World Languages HQIM 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