Study Tips and Resources for Early Childhood Education MTEL

General Tips

• Print Early Childhood Education test objectives and use as a study guide. Also, review Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for content knowledge you will be expected to know and teach.
• Brainstorm and think about your life schedule and how much time can you devote to study, taking practice tests, and writing sample essays.
• Network with other friends and contacts who have already completed MTEL(s).
• Print out and take the practice test on the MTEL website.
• Use study resources available online and in books. Some suggestions: 
  
  - Curriculum trade books -- E.D. Hirsch series, What Your Kindergartner
    (1st, 2nd grader...) Needs to Know
  - Text Books, Workbooks, Online Interactive Websites - Look for grade
    levels 5 – 7; the test is based on content above the 2nd grade level.
  - Curriculum guides -- individual school districts have guidelines for
    teachers about what will be taught in each grade. Public schools and
    libraries should have this available. Then, students can get a 1st grade
    math textbook, for example, to see how concepts are being taught.
    This can be done for math, literacy, social studies, health, and science.
  - Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can be found at
    mass.gov/legis/const.htm. 
  
  
• Use online educational games to practice factual recall and trigger information you may have learned a long time ago. Keep at it until you are an expert!
  
  - Brain Pop 
  - Learning Games for Kids 
  - Math Glossary  
  - National Geographic Bee  
  - USA Games by Sheppard Software 
  
  
• The following list is suggested resources found either in bookstores such as Barnes and Noble, or at Amazon, or in libraries: 
  
  - Uniquely Massachusetts by Carol Domblewski , Heineman Library (2004).
    It's at bookstores in the kids section. It's great!
  - Summer Bridge Activities Grades 7-8, Rainbow Bridge Publishing (2003).
    It's a workbook, perfect for math and map skills, charts and some other
    science content. At bookstores such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com.
  - Revised Edition Math Yellow Pages for Students and Teachers, Incentive
    Publications, Inc (2002). Resource for math formulas (geometry,
    definitions, weights and measure, fractions); found in the workbook
    section at bookstores.
  - Flash Forward Math 6th Grade, Spark Publishing (2007). It's a workbook,
    GREAT for math, found in the workbook section at bookstores.
  - XAM MTEL Early Childhood 02 (Paperback), XAM Publishing. Contains
    some good info on developmental and other content in the beginning
    and 2 practice tests. May be ordered from Amazon.com and is
    available in library.
  - More suggestions from an Early Childhood MTEL Peer Study Group
    (in Downloads)