1. Materials should be relevant to the instruction that is going on in the rest of the unit or lesson.
2. A portion of the materials should provide for a systematic and cumulative review of what has already been taught.
3. Materials should reflect the most important aspects of what is being taught in the course or subject.
4. Materials should contain, in a form readily accessible to students and teachers, extra tasks for students who need extra practice.
5. The vocabulary and concept level of materials should relate to that of the rest of the subject.
6. The language used in the materials must be consistent with tat used in the rest of the lesson and in the textbook or workbook.
7. Instructions to students should be clear, unambiguous, and easy to follow; brevity is a virtue.
8. The layout of pages should combine attractiveness with utility.
9. Materials should contain enough content so that students will learn something and not simply be exposed to something.
10. Tasks that require students to make discriminations must be preceded by a sufficient number of tasks that provide practice on individual components.
11. The content of materials must be accurate and precise; should not present wrong information or use language that contains grammatical errors and incorrectly used words.
12. At least some tasks should be fun and have an obvious payoff.
13. The instructional design of individual tasks and of task sequences should be carefully planned.
14. The number of different materials should be limited so as not to overload or confuse students.
15. Artwork in the materials must be consistent with the text.
16. Cute, nonfunctional, space-and time-consuming materials should be an avoided.
17. When appropriate, materials should be accompanied by brief explanations of purpose for both teachers and students.