Classroom Tools
The Institute for Excellence knows that teaching is one of the most difficult and rewarding professions available. It is our mission to support the adults who have made it their passion to reach the inner workings of a child. Our tools are specifically designed to aid in the deep learning that must take place for youth to rise above and meet the demands of the 21st Century workplace.
One side of this bookmark will guide students into dialogue as they learn how to agree, disagree, ask for clarification,… Flippin’ Great Strategies is a flip-book full of engaging strategies, targeting students of all ages. This 6×9 ensiled flip-book, contains 41 pages of interactive teaching lessons and teacher tips cover the topics of classroom management, student engagement, and reading strategies. It’s a great tool for any teacher! Teachers who use data to monitor student mastery of content share a common question, “Now what?” High performing teachers give every lesson their best and when students do not learn from that experience, teachers are left scratching their head and wondering how to support this student. IEE’s Math Strengths and Stretches provides teachers with an easy to use, step by step process which answers that question. With Math Strengths and Stretches teachers move students through the learning continuum, concrete to abstract, using the Build, Draw, Solve process. This tool provides the intervention teachers everywhere are looking for to support student learning. Math Strengths and Stretches includes a series of grade specific practice manuals and personal or school wide professional development. Put Math Strengths and Stretches to work in your classroom! The IEE Strides Kit contains 4 easy to follow steps: Summarization, Analysis, Purpose Attainment, and Connections provide students and teachers with a different focus for each read, in order to ensure that the teachers and the students have a well rounded understanding of the concept. Purchase your Strides Kit today and support your students in their close and critical reading strategies. Have you been looking for a fun way to recognize students who are mastering math content and non-cognitive skills? Just like badges, Brag Tags provide a fun, motivating way for students to keep track of what they’ve learned while having fun earning more tags to put on their backpack rings.
Accountable Talking Stems (set of 30)
Flippin’ Great Strategies
Math Strengths and Stretches sets
1st Grade Set:
2nd Grade Set:
3rd Grade Set:
4th Grade Set:
5th Grade Set:
*6th Grade Set:
*7th Grade Set:
8th Grade Set:
*(Please call us if you're interested in ordering 6th or 7th grade)
What is Math Strengths and Stretches?
Math Strengths and Stretches is a Tier II intervention system that provides teachers with a way to be responsive to the FIM data in an intentional manner. The Progress Monitoring Test data that is collected every two weeks provides the teacher with opportunities to support all students in their learning. Math Strengths & Stretches uses a suggested 15 minutes of the day to intentionally intervene by using data to support and/or maintain the most necessary skills in math. After analyzing student data, the teacher will decide their intention and use the Math Strengths & Stretches resource to facilitate the students’ thinking around a chosen standard. All students will progress through the build, draw and solve continuum of learning to ensure they have a strategy on which to anchor their thinking:
Build – students will use manipulatives to help solve problems
Draw – students will draw pictures to help solve problems
Solve – students will use standard algorithms to help solve problems
Student progress will be monitored for both effort and for content mastery throughout the intervention. All students will have the opportunity to work in a small group with teacher support or will be working on the most important identified math skills in pre-arranged stations. The incoming data will provide teachers with an independent skill level for each student so all students are practicing skills tailored to their needs. At the onset of the next Progress Monitoring Test in FIM, the groups will change based on the new data that the test reflects.
The Focused Instructional Model is a responsive tool to support all children on their mathematical journey. Math Strengths & Stretches helps teachers use incoming data effectively to help meet individualized needs of students. 
Strides Kit
Brag Tags
What are Brag Tags?
Brag Tags work alongside IEE’s Focused Instructional Model Mathematics program, as a classroom incentive system that are used to encourage, promote, and celebrate positive behavior and learning goals. There are 2 types of tags, non-cognitive (ex: I am organized, I am cooperative, etc.) and mathematical. The mathematic tags are directly linked to the FIM program—as the students take the Progress Monitoring Tests and learn required math skills, they receive math achievement tags. When a student demonstrates a behavior that the teacher feels is exemplary, a non-cognitive tag is rewarded to that student.
These tags are approximately 1″x2.75″ and hung on a 2 inch key-ring that students can attach to their backpacks. There are different Brag Tags awarded for each grade level (K-8). The students can choose to keep adding on to this ring throughout all these grades and collect all of the fun designs available. Add more fun and gamification to the classroom by ordering your Brag Tags today!
