Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is a familiar name
amongst public school publishers. These full-year course options provide a rich
text for the student full of color photos and graphics, as well as targeted
guidance for the teacher/parent with answers to text questions. Many titles also
offer a consumable workbook with answer key. ONLINE CONTENT IS NOT INCLUDED.
All courses promote a secular worldview, though you may see samples of the
Bible and the Quran in some world history courses as your student learns about
world religions as they pertain to historical events. While you will see
information about online content, know that is a school-only
option and not included.
Student Text Lessons have a logical sequence. Reading
is punctuated with colorful photos and margin notes with captions. Vocabulary
words are clearly highlighted. Questions at the end of each lesson serve as a
formative assessment or as an assignment. Questions ask students to compare
ideas, write a sentence for key terms, draw conclusions, and synthesize answers
to big questions relating topics from past lessons to the current one. Answers
to text questions are in the Teacher Guide.
Teacher Guide (Bundle) There could be one Teacher
Guide per course or a set of 5 or 6 guides. Reduced student pages are
surrounded by teacher notes in the margins. These include talking points and
questions, possible writing assignments, reading comprehension checks,
enrichment options, and answers to the end of lesson assessments. You will see
“online assessments” that are not available to you, however, you do have the
tests/answers printed in your teacher guide(s).
Guided Reading Workbook and Answer Key (Some courses
call this an Interactive Reader and Study Guide and a Teacher
Management System Answer Key – different names, same function.) Designed
with a struggling reader in mind, the workbook presents a summary of each
lesson with a couple of simple comprehension questions to answer. Key terms and
people are presented up front with points to consider before you read
and as you read. Visual organizers are formatted for the student to
complete and include the main points of the lesson. The charts/organizers vary
by lesson, providing alternatives to a traditional Q&A format. Some courses
offer this component in a Spanish/English version.