About Us

Performance Education was started over 10 years ago to provide educational materials for the under-served, but critically important discipline of history and social studies.

Our mission is to help raise standards of learning, support teachers desire to better prepare their students for life; develop critical thinking and literacy skills; and achieve superior results in state tests.

Our focus is on lifelong learning, and helping to develop not just better students, but also better citizens.

Our vision is that all students recognize their ability to learn and in doing so take responsibility for their own education and their own future.

At PE Unlimited we are working hard to make this vision a reality and with your help we can.

Performance Education, where we believe 30 minds are better than one.

What’s in the name?

The name of our company is best summed up by two meanings or definitions of the word performance:

• performing
• of doing something successful or well

At Performance Education we believe it is critical to involve the student in the learning process, and hence we work hard to provide interesting, fun and thought provoking games and activities which students “perform” in the classroom. Games like “Life is like a rock group”, “The Gong Show”, “The Great Race”, “Mars/Venus”, “Bloom” and “The Bell Game” will captivate and engage your students and help them truly digest the information.

Second, we believe in achieving sustainable and real results which means that students use the knowledge gained as opposed to merely possessing it. In this fashion students using our materials not only do well in tests but learn valuable skills for life.

Why Bloom's Taxonomy?

Our materials are based on Bloom's Taxonomy because it is the # 1 approach required for student success on any standardized test, plus a proven method in the development of critical thinking, a skill for life.

• Bloom’s taxonomy is used to write state standards
• Bloom's taxonomy is used to write state tests
• Bloom’s taxonomy is the basis for our materials

Each Toolbook is designed to provide students with practice in the 6 levels of critical thinking outlined in Bloom's Taxonomy, and used to set questions on standardized tests:

1. Recall Recall the facts themselves (memorization, rote learning)
2. Interpret Translate the facts into your own words
3. Apply Apply the facts to a new situation
4. Analyze Break down the facts
5. Synthesize Add up the facts
6. Evaluate Judge whether the facts measure up to a high standard

The assumption here is simple: If you truly understand a concept you can demonstrate it in six different ways. To do well, the test requires students to manipulate the facts in order to answer questions based on all six methods. It’s that simple, yet most other materials, including text books do not prepare students for this approach to testing and learning. At Performance Education this is what we do well.

Our Products

We have 2 primary product lines, Toolbooks and Daily Warm-Ups, both based on Blooms Taxonomy of learning, and both available in digital format as part of the Virginia Unlimited Schools program.

Teacher Toolbooks: These all inclusive Unit Guides cover Grades 6 through 12 of the Virginia History and Social Study Standards and each Toolbook includes lectures, timelines, graphic organizers, maps, documents, games, activities, homework assignments, and hundreds of practice test questions.

Our reproducible lesson plans are designed to be adaptable for any standard of learning from those with special needs to those students taking AP classes. Read how teachers in all academic settings (from special needs to AP) use our products.

The school subscription program includes access to over 60 of these Teacher Toolbooks covering US History, US Government, World History, as well as electives such as Global Studies, World Regions and Geography. Click here to visit the full product listing and sample pages.

Daily Warm-Ups: Called "Predicting-the-Past" this series of 8 books stimulate discussion and encourage reading, writing and critical thinking skills. Each book is rich with fascinating stories of famous and infamous characters that have helped shape US and world history. Available in hard copy, or digital format, access to the full line of Daily Warm-Ups are also part of the schools subscription program. Click here to see the full list and sample pages.

What schools have to say about us?

"Your product is great! I’m just mad I didn’t know it was available last year. It would have saved me and my staff hours and hours of work. My teachers and my students will love this".
Jack Jouett MS, Albemarle County

"The materials are extremely comprehensive, and the Virginia Resource Book with all those additional resources pre-selected to match the curriculum are truly incredible. It not only saves an enormous amount of prep time, but adds tremendous value and flavor to the program. My students will absolutely love this approach to learning".
Monticello HS, Albemarle County

Your products have the ability to help young teachers get confortable with a style that engages the students instead of just standing and lecturing. And as we all know, engaged students make good students.
Augusta County, Curriculum Staff

"This will be great for my staff. Textbooks always leave such large gaps in the coverage of the standards but your materials seem to cover everything."
Albemarle County, Social Studies Curriculum Specialist

We have to take Social Studies off the backburner and make it a priority in our school!
Principal, VASSP Annual Conference

"One of our main goals for the coming year is to not only score well on SOL, but to move beyond just testing and engage the students in a way that they are truly involved citizens with a knowledge of history. The activities in your materials give a context to students that will really impact them.
Staff Development Coordinator

"Your commitment to student centered activities is impressive."
Principal, Palacios Jr. High School

What teachers have to say about us?

Instead of a texbook
"I have every one of your workbooks for U.S. history and world history! I’ve got a whole shelf in my classroom with nothing but Performance Education workbooks."
-Jay, rural Colorado

Fits the standards
"The workbooks are a really nice fit to our curriculum."
-Clarice, Virginia

Students learn the logic of a standardized test
"Then they take the written test. You ask the same questions five or six different ways on the test. So after a few questions, the students get it - and then go back and change their previous answers.
-Janice, Washington

Higher test scores
"In my classes I’m seeing higher test scores. The students are making better connections – especially connections between the eras. Your tests are good. You take one concept and turn it into five or six questions. But I use the test in a new way. I start every class with a quiz. I use it as a review from yesterday – and as a warm-up for today."
-Michael, Southern California

Raising test scores
"Yes, your workbooks are raising our test scores. We’re in the middle of the U.S. Constitution – and these are the highest scores I’ve had . . . We need to raise our test scores. We are a high poverty school. There is a great deal of emphasis on language arts and math. So we cram one year’s worth of history into just one semester."
-Anne, Colorado

Invested her own personal money
"I’ve spent a thousand dollars just with Performance Education. Why? Because the workbooks are worth it: the lessons are easy, user friendly, and very accurate."
-Amy, South Carolina

Students love the games
"The games are very popular with high school students. The Gong Show: Hilarious. They love the gong. (I actually went out and bought a gong.) The Bell Game: I also bought ten bells. The Great Race: Highschool students are very competitive. They love anything that gets them out of the desk and into the action."
-Francis, Indiana

Promotes literacy
"The lessons in the workbooks make sense. I use the graphic organizers, teach the vocabulary, and students love the games."
-Peter, northern Virginia

Homework on the internet
"For homework, my students do your lessons on the internet. Last week, they interpreted political cartoons about the Anti-Imperialist League. The web pages actually work – and that’s awesome!"
-Reyna, Oregon

Visual learners
"I gear my lessons to the individual students in my class. This year, many of my students are visual – and very much into art. They really like the political cartoons. (Now I like the political cartoons because the websites are still active.) But they are drawn to art in any form. So they create their own political cartoons . . . to capture the historical era."
-Lynette, upstate New York

Auditory learners
"We listen to music throughout each era in U.S. history. During the Harlem Renaissance, it’s jazz. Some of my students – who don’t excel in other areas – are amazing at turning historical eras into hip-hop."
-Lisa, North Carolina

Students at risk
"Many of my students are at-risk. But even the least motivated students like your games, especially The Bell Game and The Great Race."
-Rhonda, Florida

Special education
"I’m a special ed teacher. I teach students with severe learning disabilities. The lessons are easy to read, easy to use, very user friendly. I use the overheads – they work really well for short lectures and graphic organizers. But the kids love the games, especially The Bell Game. I went out and bought the bells, of course – and so did the other Social Studies teachers at my high school."
-Jane, San Francisco

High Interest
"The lessons in the workshops are very comprehensive, detailed- and high interest. They’re nicely done. We finished World War I, so last week we did the lessons on propaganda. They’re not worksheets so much as they are thinksheets and they are very good."
-Martin, Texas

What do students think about us?

We spend a great deal of time talking to students and observing how they learn and interact with teachers, their peers and their materials, and there are powerful reasons why they prefer our approach:

Action:
They love the action packed activities which makes a welcome break from all that sitting still.

Variety:
They get to change gears every 15 to 20 minutes so boredom is never an issue

Fun:
Many of the games are hilarious and fun to perform

Student Centered:
Students do almost all the work, which keeps them engaged and motivated.

Peer pressure:
Most students enjoy a sense of competition, and are provided ample opportunity to “shine” in front of their peers.

Success:
Students want to succeed, and if they complete 180 days of practicing Bloom’s Taxonomy they will do well on the test.

Why do you do it?

We do it because we hold the following beliefs:

• We believe in Children, and in the knowledge that children learn best when fully engaged.
• We believe in Teachers, and in providing them with the best tools possible to do their job.
• We believe in Excellence, and the power of critical thinking.
• We believe in Affordability, accessibility and opportunity for all.
• We believe Customer satisfaction and being the best at what we do.

We do it because we believe 30 minds are better than one!

We do it because while we recognize and understand the role played by standard tests, we believe even more in developing the basis of learning, and the importance of critical thinking as a life skill. And we focus exclusively on social studies because it is the curriculum which best trains students in the 5 themes of citizenship: honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, and courage.

Why you should purchase

Consider these reasons:
The program has been specially developed for schools and school teachers in Virginia, plus

1. We are specialists in social studies for grades 6 through 12. This is all we do, and we continuously update our lessons to conform to changes involving current events, internet sites, state standards and state tests.
Learn about our product line by clicking here
2. It works. Based entirely on Blooms Taxonomy, your staff will produce better results not just in tests, but in the quality of your students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Learn more about our revolutionary teaching methods by clicking here
3. Your teachers will love it. Each Teacher Toolbook contains everything they need to present and reinforce the subject, from facts, lectures, maps, timelines, graphic organizers, games, homework assignments, tests, and links to other useful sites. Think how much time they spend looking for just half this stuff, and it’s all here in one reproducible book.
Check out a sample of our Toolbooks by clicking here
4. Your students will love it. We all know that students learn best when they’re engaged, and that’s what we provide with our materials. They will love the variety, the Brain Games, the competition, and above all the knowledge that they can all be successful with your help and these materials.
5. It’s easy to Use. No special training or learning curve is required by your staff or students. And they’ll never be short of ideas to use.
6. It shares the burden and reduces stress. Our program is student centered and encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning, recognizing their own strengths and weaknesses, and working together as teams in a collaborative manner.
7. We support you. Our goal is to help you, your staff and your students be successful and we are here to provide answers to any of the questions you may have.
8. We offer Exceptional Value. Check out PE Unlimited and see for yourself the incredible value of this program, costing for most schools the equivalent of about $1.00 per student per year. In times of tight budgets you’ll be hard pressed to find better value anywhere.
9. Our customers love us. Don’t just take our word for it. Check out comments from teachers and principals from around the country by clicking here, or call us and we’ll be glad to put you in touch with one of our customers and you can hear for yourself what they have to say.