Mazer Creative Services

Reading/Language Arts

McDougal Littell

Literature Assessment
Leveled assessment tests, grades 6–12

Mazer’s Role

For this voluminous product line, Mazer engaged in extensive conceptualization and prototyping of four new literature assessment modules across seven grades and multiple learning levels for a total of nearly 1,200 pages. Building from the client’s upcoming student edition, our editorial team crafted ongoing and flexible tests for below-level, on-level, and above-level students, focusing on comprehension and language arts skills. Two of the test types required Mazer to carefully select genre-directed literature applicable to specific student edition units or sections.

Prentice Hall

Literature, Penguin Edition © 2007
Student editions grades 9–10, annotated teacher editions
grades 9–12, and World Masterpieces

Mazer’s Role

Mazer executed full editorial development of the latest version of the client’s classic literature program. New features originated for the student edition included placing literature in a historic context, understanding connections between art and literature, developing reading strategies, and reading critically. For the teacher edition, Mazer created components to assist educators and enhance learning, such as Time and Resource Managers; Learning Modalities instructions; Differentiated Instruction boxes; and Enrichment boxes that illustrate connections between literature and topics such as science, history, and media.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Leveled Readers
Grade 5 reading program including student and teacher editions, consumable ancillaries, and leveled readers

Mazer’s Role

In this full-service project, Mazer managed both in-house and offsite resources to write and edit three sets of leveled readers—Approaching, On, and Beyond—and all the attendant consumables and teacher’s guides. The 90 fully illustrated books test reading comprehension and include literacy activities and vocabulary strategies. The biographical and informational readers describe subjects as diverse as earthquakes, the Wild West, and the Taj Mahal to create cross-curricular appeal and meet science and social studies standards while incorporating reading strategies and standards.

Glencoe

Literature: Reading with Purpose © 2007
Reading program student editions, teacher wraparound editions, ancillaries, and unit teacher resources, grades 6–8

Mazer’s Role

After creating innovative prototypes, Mazer wrote, edited, designed, and produced selected units of the student and teacher wraparound editions for grades 6–8 of this reading program. Mazer produced ancillaries for each unit of the student and teacher editions to the client’s satisfaction in record time. These consumable ancillaries encompassed all facets of each skill and selection, as well as activities for English language learners. The unit teacher resources contained lesson plans and transparencies, as well as instruction for successfully teaching English language learners, special-needs students, and students with multiple learning styles.

Harcourt School Publishers

Washington Test Preparation grades 1–6
Florida FCAT grade 4 prototype, grade 1 test, grades K–5 student and teacher editions, and grades 3–5 Daily Planning Book
Alabama SAT 10 grades K–6

Mazer’s Role

Mazer worked with Harcourt to analyze state tests and standards and fashion testing programs tailored to specific states. Working directly with state reviewers, Mazer developed a format for the Washington state test and wrote and edited passages and questions for the student and teacher editions. For the FCAT, Mazer created a prototype and developed a testing program that included a student edition, a teacher edition, and a daily practice book. Mazer also took the tenth incarnation of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10) and accompanying teacher editions from conceptualization through production. While focusing on questions that satisfy state reading and language arts standards, our team also created scripted teacher editions with modeled instruction and listening passages.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Reading © 2006, Reading instruction teacher’s edition, ancillaries
Leveled Readers © 2007
Grade 5 reading program including pupil and teacher editions, consumable ancillaries, and leveled readers

Mazer’s Role

For this successful theme-based reading program, Mazer provided editorial development for both pupil and teacher editions and revised a set of five consumable ancillaries (Spelling, Grammar, Extend, Practice, and Reteach), submitting many of the components in InCopy. As a result of Mazer’s outstanding success with the grade 5 program, the client requested additional work in another grade. Targeting literacy activities, vocabulary strategies, and reading comprehension skills, Mazer also wrote and edited three sets of illustrated leveled readers: Approaching, On, and Beyond. The readers generate cross-curricular appeal by addressing a range of subjects, from earthquakes the Wild West to the Taj Mahal.

Prentice Hall

Reader’s Notebooks © 2006
Consumable ancillaries and TEs for on-level, below-level, and English learners, grades 6−12, and World Masterpieces edition

Mazer’s Role

Mazer created this large group of readers—24 books of 300 pages each—with the goal of providing support for readers of varying skill levels. The readers feature concise prereading summaries, practical graphic organizers, carefully chosen side-column notes, and well-crafted short-response tests designed to cultivate interpretation and literary analysis skills. Created to accompany the Prentice Hall Literature 2007 series, each of the three leveled notebooks addresses the same canonical literature from a unique instructive approach. The Adapted and English Learner’s Notebooks feature abridged selections with comprehension, fluency, and language support, and the On-Level Notebooks feature selections in their entirety with an emphasis on higher-order critical thinking.

LeapFrog SchoolHouse

Mazer’s Role

Mazer’s exceptional editorial and design staff was responsible for writing, editing, designing, and producing the printed components for grades Pre-K–1 of this innovative early literacy program. The program focuses on mastery of phonics skills through the use of research-based tools and methods, including teacher resource cards. For example, a series of cards lists creative ideas for implementing best practices in classroom reading instruction, including how to perform round-robin reading circles and picture walks. Mazer also demonstrated the expertise of its design studio by designing and illustrating a series of posters to accompany the program.

LeapFrog SchoolHouse

LeapTrack Assessment Books & Interactive Skill Cards © 2001
Colorful, interactive assessment and remediation cards for specific K–5 reading, language arts, and math skills

Mazer’s Role

The LeapTrack Assessment program is designed to provide individualized and differentiated instruction for every student, regardless of his or her ability level. As the program identifies students’ areas of weakness, teachers consult a preselected set of LeapTrack activity cards designed to provide focused skill instruction and additional practice. Mazer wrote, edited, and created thumbnail sketches for approximately 340 activity cards covering a wide range of skills for grades 1–5, in addition to providing scripts for audio content, technology prompts, sound effects, and scaffolding for incorrect answers.

Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Digital Learning

Phase III: May–Sept. 2007
Grades 2–8 test items

Mazer’s Role

In developing passage-based multiple-choice items, discrete multiple-choice items, and constructed-response items for electronic assessments, Mazer adhered to rigorous item-writing guidelines and met the technological challenges of crafting an interactive product. Project demands included a lightning-quick timeframe for generating manuscript and exacting formatting requirements that allowed the manuscript to be imported directly into the client’s software. Mazer’s RLA team responded with commendable flexibility to an ever-shifting workflow and to late-breaking changes in content and formatting. As part of its editorial management efforts, Mazer interacted with multiple outside service providers.