MTEL Elementary Subject Test Resources

Subarea I: Language Arts

T.O. 1: English Language History and Structure

• http://www.m-w.com/about/look.htm
  Read overviews of the history of the English language on Merriam Webster's "Inkwell to Internet" site.
• http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm
  Another site with an overview of the English Language's history. Expert, but not academic, this site contains a useful chronology (timeline) of English language history.
• http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/oaltoc.htm
  Lists many sites, most academic, on the history of American literature.
• http://members.tripod.com/Caroline_Bowen/BrownsStages.htm
  Great definitions/explanations of phonology, morphology, syntax - the most difficult of the language structure terms you need to know for the MTEL Elementary Subject Test.
• http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm
  The best site on the WWW for grammatical language structures. This URL brings you straight to the index so you can click on what you need.

T.O. 2: Understand Literature

• http://www.bartleby.com/cambridge/
  Project Bartleby brings you history of the language and history of literature all in one enormous site. This site features "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature."
• http://mason-west.com/MasterWorks/index.shtml
  Find a thorough list of the great works of literature, with links to full text!
• http://www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~issowl/literaryanalysis.htm
  Explains and illustrates elements of literary analysis.
• http://www.bigchalk.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/wa/BCPageDA/sec~ga~11956~~
  Don't bother trying to type the URL above - do a keyword search with "literary criticism" and choose the bigchalk site. Fantastic! History of literary criticism and all the major schools of thought are represented - quite cerebral, very advanced.

T.O. 3: Genre, Elements, Techniques

• http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed366985.html
  Ask ERIC! Discusses how to help children understand the different genres of literature. What more can we ask for?!
• http://www.uni.edu/english/craft/
  A University of Northern Iowa course website containing wonderful descriptions of some forms of poetry.
• http://inic.utexas.edu/asnic/countries/japan/haiku.html
  Careful! You might crash your machine if you use "Haiku" as a keyword - wow, what a literary phenomenon! This is (at least) an academic, if very short, treatment of what Haiku is and how it originated.

T.O. 4: Children's Literature

• http://scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/
  A Rutgers University professor of children's literature put up this beautiful and thoughtful site. Review and supplement your own training in children's literature here.
• http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
  True, it's not American, but it's still excellent.

T.O. 5: Writing

• http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/
  Use Professor Charles Darling's site differently this time; click on the "Paragraph Level" menu to review the formal elements of writing. Use the "Essay and Research Paper Level" to find discussions of writer's purpose.
• http://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/writingprocess/prewrite.html
  An in-service teacher's site on prewriting contains great links to information on graphic organizers and other prewriting tools and strategies.

Subarea II: Mathematics

General Purposes

• http://www.aaamath.com/B/abpg.htm
  A very comprehensive mathematics site. This URL brings you to the page for K-8 math students; scroll down for teacher and resource links. This is a great place to brush up your own skills in both

T.O. 6: Number Properties

• http://standards.nctm.org/Previous/CurrEvStds/k4s6.htm
  National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) site explains Number Sense.
• http://www.mathleague.com/help/wholenumbers/wholenumbers.htm
  Resource for information on number properties.
• http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter6/numb.htm#bp1
  NCTM on Equivalent Forms and Symbolic Representation of Numbers

T.O. 7: Number Operations

• http://standards.nctm.org/index.htm
  Pick from the topics listed on NCTM's home page to investigate the concepts listed under this test objective.

T.O. 8: Patterns, Algebra, Geometry

• http://www.math2.org/math/geometry/areasvols.htm
  Look to this site for clear illustrations and definitions of common algebraic and geometric terms.
• http://archives.math.utk.edu/
  Many topics listed on this site; good for T.O.s 6-8. The site is especially useful for algebra and geometry and includes links to other mathematics resources on the web.

T.O. 9: Measurement, Statistics, Probability

• http://bmj.com/statsbk/
  Well-organized site that claims to cover "Statistics from Square One." Good for an overview of the basics of this branch of mathematics.
• http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/esc.html
  An online statistics textbook that includes clear explanations of major statistical concepts.
• http://www.statsoftinc.com/textbook/esc.html
  Introduces probability terms and concepts.

Subarea III: History & Social Science

T.O. 10: History of the United States

• http://www.ku.edu/history/VL/USA/
  University of Kansas site with numerous links to major topics in United States history. Some links are more useful than others to MTEL candidates.
• http://www.gliah.uh.edu/index.cfm
  This site serves as a portal to a host of on-line U.S. History resources, including e-texts. Be patient as you learn to navigate the various links - you'll find many worthwhile and in-depth discussions of major topics in U.S. History.

T.O. 11: Government of the United States and Principles of Economics

• http://www.thisnation.com/
  A lively, non-academic site that reviews the basics of American Federalism, the structure of the U.S. Government, and citizen responsibilities.
• http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/GOV/
  A more academic site that offers in-depth discussions of the foundations of and various aspects of American government.
• http://memory.loc.gov/const/declar.html
  A full-text link to the Declaration of Independence with a useful "about" link as well.
• http://www.state.ma.us/statehouse/articles/murals.htm#1779
  Short commentary on the Massachusetts Constitution and a link to a full-text version of this historically significant document.
• http://william-king.www.drexel.edu/top/prin/txt/EcoToC.html
  An e-textbook that lists the major areas of inquiry in economics on its homepage.

T.O. 12: World History

• http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2104/civilizations.html
  Provides an overview of some of the earliest civilizations; candidates must extrapolate shared characteristics of early civilizations from this and similar sites.
• http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/
  A comprehensive site on the ancient world - includes timelines.

T.O. 13: Geography

• http://www.colorado.edu/geography/virtdept/contents.html
  The University of Colorado gives us this geography topics page - numerous links to a wealth of geography resources and content treatment.

Subarea IV: Science & Technology Engineering

T.O. 14: Principles of Life Sciences

• http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/biochemistry.html
  Use the University of Arizona's basic tutorials in biology and chemistry to re-familiarize yourself with basic scientific concepts.
• http://www.mblab.gla.ac.uk/~julian/Dict.html
  Look at some wonderfully clear and colorful graphics that illustrate and explain cell biology.
• http://www.pbs.org/ktca/newtons/9/phytosy.html
  Here's a good discussion of photosynthesis, presented as part of PBSs "Newton's Apple" content series for K-12 educators. Note the "index" link, which will take you to a full list of topics covered. Some of these links will prove useful for other knowledge areas.
• http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/hcs300/genetic.htm
  A lesson on genetics courtesy of Ohio State University.
• http://www.alienexplorer.com/ecology/topic4.html
  If you don't mind pop-ups and ads, check out this site to review food web and food chain concepts; key for the "organisms and their environments" topic in T.O. 14.

T.O. 15: Principles of Physical and Earth Sciences

• http://particleadventure.org/particleadventure/
  When the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation recommend it, you know it has to be good!
• http://www.fnal.gov/pub/inquiring/matter/index.html
  An accessible discussion on the composition and structure of matter courtesy of Fermilab.
• http://www.chemtutor.com/sta.htm#top
  States and properties of matter definitions.
• http://www.mansfieldct.org/schools/mms/staff/hand/Lawsmotion.htm
  A great site; definitions of many concepts in physics, including motion, inertia, and momentum.
• http://www.usgs.gov/education/
  United States Geological Survey's site leads to a limited number of teaching packets on various topics. Follow the links from the "Teachers" tab on the menu.
• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html
  Fabulous geology site from the University of California at Berkeley that includes a geo-timeline and introduction to geology.

T.O. 16: History of Science and Scientific Method

• http://echo.gmu.edu/center/
  This site includes information on the history of science that is broken down into the various realms of science. A little awkward to use, but little else exists on the web that would lead to a good overview of science's major milestones, developments, and figures.
• http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/scientificrev.html
  An on-line lecture on the Scientific Revolution.
• http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook09.html
  A very good, academic treatment of the Scientific Revolution from Fordham University.
• http://teachone.tripod.com/thinking/
  A simplified, but very understandable representation of scientific method and teaching scientific thinking to K-12 students.
• http://www.carleton.ca/~tpatters/teaching/climatechange/sciencemethod.html
  Here's a good academic discussion of scientific method.
• http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/safety/printout.htm
  Rules for laboratory health and safety; not universal, but certainly applicable to K-12 situations.

Subarea V: Child Development

T.O. 17: Child Development

• http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea7lk18.htm
  A short discussion of major theoretical strands in child development.
• http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699/0000/2699000056/p1/article.jhtml
  Another discussion - major theorists are named and their stages of child development outlined; from the Gale Group.
• http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699/0005/2699000525/p1/article.jhtml
  The Gale Group also outlines stages of language acquisition in this article.
• http://www.cdipage.com/
  From the Child Development Institute; offers a basic discussion and resource links.

T.O. 18: Understanding Student Exceptionalities

• http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/writing.html
  Helping students with learning difficulties with their writing - private, but contains many useful definitions and illustrations.
• http://www.cec.sped.org/
  Links to discussions of the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001, and many other resources.