MTEL General Curriculum case studies
MTEL General Curriculum · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The MTEL General Curriculum tests are the subject-matter assessments used in Massachusetts for educator licensure in the elementary/general curriculum area, listed by Pearson as General Curriculum (178/278). Candidates typically take them to demonstrate the broad knowledge expected of teachers responsible for multiple subjects in a general classroom. The test is offered in two subtests, and Pearson lists MTEL-Flex alternatives aligned to the same content: MTEL-Flex General Curriculum Subtest 1: Language Arts and History/Social Science (918) and MTEL-Flex General Curriculum Subtest 2: Mathematics, Science, and Technology/Engineering (919). The subtest titles indicate the content areas covered: Language Arts; History/Social Science; Mathematics; Science; and Technology/Engineering. The MTEL General Curriculum case studies are 5 cases and about 4,369 words.
1Fluency Floor vs. Comprehension Ceiling in a Third-Grade Block
Okafor's third-grade class has 22 students. On the fall oral reading fluency screening, 6 students read below the 25th percentile; all 6 decode accurately but read 30–45 words per minute.
913 words, about 5 min2Sourcing a 1936 Photograph Without Killing the Evidence
Delgado's fifth graders are analyzing a 1936 Farm Security Administration photograph of a migrant mother and three children. In small groups, students list what they see and then write a caption.
899 words, about 4 min3Three Piles of Fraction Reasoning in Fourth Grade
Brennan asks her fourth graders to compare 3/4 and 5/8 and explain their reasoning. She sorts the 22 responses into three piles.
832 words, about 4 min4Five Fair-Test Designs and One $20 Budget
Iyer's fifth graders are investigating whether fertilizer affects bean plant growth. Each of five groups designs its own test.
866 words, about 4 min5Three Catapults, One Revision Period
A seventh-grade engineering class is building catapults that must launch a ping-pong ball into a target zone 3 meters away. Constraints: only the materials in the kit (10 craft sticks, 5 rubber bands, 1 plastic spoon, 30 cm of string, 2 paper clips), 40 minutes of build time, and no tape.
859 words, about 4 min