General Curriculum ELA & History: MTEL #178 (Zoom Classes)

This course includes four sessions, each two hours long. The MTEL General Curriculum Multi-Subject prep course begins with an introduction to essential test-taking strategies and the Open Response, then concludes with a review of the specific content included—and what is NOT included—on the exam; we focus on only what is necessary to pass. Test-taking skills and strategies are the focus of the first session and interwoven through each subsequent session.

The curriculum is a copywritten series of documents and practice exams written specifically for this MTEL. The ETI guarantee is included with the program fee.

Recommended supplemental study materials (which are NOT included in the fee and must be purchased separately if you want them) are:

• Everything You Need to Know About World History Homework
• Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework
• Everything You Need to Know About Geography Homework

All by Zeman and Kelley and published by Scholastic books—they are available on Amazon.

Each session begins with students’ questions and a review of the previous session’s homework.

• Session 1: The instructor guides students through reliable test-taking strategies. Students The instructor guides students through reliable test-taking strategies. Students learn how to recognize multiple choice answers designed to distract or confuse them. They discover the best logical process for narrowing down answer choices. This is unlike other “test-taking strategy” session you have experienced. Multiple-choice exams are a game, but you have not been taught the rules—it’s unfair. This session will give you the tools you need to play the game. You will learn how to NOT fall for attractors—answer choices written specifically to confuse you—how and when to apply the “process of elimination,” and even how to correctly answer questions that you do not know the answer to. Logic and phenomenology drove the development of this program, and it will change the way you experience and approach multiple-choice exams. Current and past MTELs are provided to review and practice the test-taking skills and strategies.
• Session 2: The instructor teaches information needed for the English and language arts portion of this MTEL. Literary devices/terms, narrative forms, poetry.  Important conceptual topics such as the writing process, main idea, tone, and author’s purpose are reviewed. Many skills and strategies are covered while reviewing a practice test created from MTEL standards. 
• Session 3: The instructor teaches information needed for the history portion of this MTEL. Starting with the Agricultural Revolution, history is taught not by memorizing dates but by thinking about the zeitgeist, the spirit of times, of each important historical period. Understanding how people thought and how each historical period influenced the next aids our ability to comprehend the people and events we will study. Emphasis is placed on OR content and more complex and interconnected topics. Many topics and key terms to know are included for student review after class. Students complete practice tests created using MTEL standards.

• Session 4: The open-response question requires both strong reading and analytical skills.  Students will learn how to think through and answer the question for maximum credit; determine which information from the passages is relevant to your answer and how to structure your response.  Practice with questions created using MTEL standards.