Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: MyPerspectives | ELA
ELA 6-8
The instructional materials for myPerspectives 6-8 meet the expectations of alignment, building knowledge, and usability. The materials include anchor texts that are well-crafted, content-rich, and rich in language and academic vocabulary. The tasks, questions, and assignments are connected to the texts students read and require students to collect textual evidence. Units are grouped around topics/themes to grow students’ knowledge over the course of the school year. Throughout the program, there are culminating tasks and research opportunities that require students to expand and show their knowledge and understanding of the topics/themes in each unit.
There is sufficient support provided for teachers to implement the program with fidelity. The materials provide comprehensive guidance, correlation information to the ELA standards, information for students and families to support learning, and a list of supplemental resources in order to support the teacher with instruction. The materials also include strategies, supports, and resources for diverse learners to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level expectations.
6th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
7th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
8th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
ELA High School
The instructional materials for myPerspectives 9-12 meet the expectations of alignment, building knowledge, and usability. The materials include opportunities for students to read a wide variety of texts, including classics by well-known authors. The texts are well-crafted and content-rich and should build students’ overall vocabulary and knowledge base. Units are organized around cohesive topics/themes that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Throughout the program, there are culminating tasks and research opportunities that require students to expand and show their knowledge and understanding of the topics/themes in each unit.
There is sufficient support provided for teachers to implement the program with fidelity. The materials provide comprehensive guidance, correlation information to the ELA standards, information for students and families to support learning, and a list of supplemental resources in order to support the teacher with instruction. The materials also include strategies, supports, and resources for diverse learners to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level expectations.
9th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
10th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
11th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
12th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Report for 11th Grade
Alignment Summary
The grade 11 myPerspectives materials meet the expectations for alignment. The materials include opportunities for students to read a wide variety of texts, including classics by well-known authors. The texts are well-crafted and content-rich and should build students’ overall vocabulary and knowledge base. There are high-quality questions and tasks sequenced in a way that is appropriate for the grade level and require students to cite specific evidence as well as draw inferences and conclusions to support their responses to questions.
Throughout the program, there are varied opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge about what they are reading and learning through speaking and listening tasks. Students also have many opportunities to practice their writing both in on-demand and process writing tasks. While students engage in informative or expository, argumentative, and narrative writing, the opportunities do not reflect the distribution required by the standards. In addition, well-designed explicit instruction guidance is inconsistent or lacking in some areas. While the materials provide a comprehensive year-long plan for students to interact with and acquire academic vocabulary in a systematic way, the explicit instruction of some grammar and usage standards is inconsistent or, in some cases, lacking.
The materials are organized around cohesive topics/themes that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Throughout the program, there are culminating tasks and research opportunities that require students to expand and show their knowledge and understanding of the topics/themes in each unit.
The pacing for the six units in the program is generally reasonable, and the suggested implementation schedule can be reasonably completed in one school year.
11th Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Usability (Gateway 3)
Overview of Gateway 1
Text Quality and Complexity and Alignment to the Standards with Tasks and Questions Grounded in Evidence
Materials provide opportunities for students to read a wide variety of texts, including classics by well-known authors. The texts are well-crafted and content-rich and should build students’ overall vocabulary and knowledge base. There are more informational texts than literary texts, and they reflect a 69/31 balance, which should support achieving the 70/30 balance of informational and literary texts across the school day required by the standards. The materials provide a series of texts at a variety of appropriate complexity levels for the grade band, which support students’ literacy growth.
The materials have the appropriate level of complexity according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and the relationship to their associated student task. Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understanding of the texts being studied. Text-based questions require students to cite specific evidence as well as draw inferences and conclusions to support their responses to questions.
There are varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. There are multiple opportunities over the school year for students to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening tasks.
The materials include various on-demand and process writing opportunities, and there are frequent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. There is a yearlong writing plan provided that does not reflect the distribution of writing types of the standards and some guidance for teachers on explicit writing instruction.
While the materials provide a comprehensive year-long plan for students to acquire both academic and concept vocabulary in a systematic way, explicit instruction of grammar and usage standards is lacking.
Gateway 1
Criterion 1.1: Text Quality and Complexity
Texts are worthy of students’ time and attention: texts are of quality and are rigorous, meeting the text complexity criteria for each grade. Materials support students’ advancing toward independent reading.
Materials provide opportunities for students to read a wide variety of texts, including classics by well-known authors. The texts are well-crafted and content-rich and should build students’ overall vocabulary and knowledge base. Materials provide six units across the grade level with different themes and multiple texts to engage students. There are more informational texts than literary texts, and they reflect a 69/31 balance, which should support achieving the 70/30 balance of informational and literary texts across the school day required by the standards.
The materials have the appropriate level of complexity according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and the relationship to their associated student task. While the materials provide an accurate text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purposes for the anchor and series of texts, a complexity analysis of the relationship to the associated student task is not provided.
The materials provide a series of texts at a variety of appropriate complexity levels for the grade band, which support students’ literacy growth. The complexity is mixed throughout the units.Six units offer a variety of texts for whole-class, small-group, and independent reading that encourage independent reading goals.
Indicator 1A
Anchor texts are of high quality, worthy of careful reading, and consider a range of student interests.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1a.
Materials provide opportunities for students to read a wide variety of texts, including classics by well-known authors. The texts are well-crafted and content-rich and should build students’overall vocabulary and knowledge base. Materials provide six units across the grade level with different themes and multiple texts to engage students.
Anchor texts are of high-quality and consider a range of student interests, are well-crafted, content rich, and engage students at their grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson, a seminal work of U.S. history. In Small-Group Learning, students read from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, an autobiography with rich language and academic vocabulary detailing the journey of a former enslaved person. Students also read from America’s Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar, which provides historical context to the foundational document by a leading constitutional lawyer.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read “The Writing of Walt Whitman,” a collection of works by Walt Whitman, including “Song of Myself” and “I Hear America Singing.” In Small-Group Learning, students read an excerpt from Walden by Henry David Thoreau, an established work of the literary canon.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth, adapted by Frances Gage, a well-known speech by an African American woman and abolitionist. Students also read “Brown v. Board of Education: Opinion of the Court” by Earl Warren, a legal document that provides context for the historical period.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain. The text includes rich language choices highlighting his use of humor and dialogue in telling a story. In Small-Group Learning, students read an excerpt from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston, which has relatable themes, conversational language, and humor. Hurston is an influential author from the Harlem Renaissance.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act I by Arthur Miller, which received a Tony Award for Best Play. The subject matter is engaging and related to American history.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, which uses imagery, characterization, and an engaging topic. In Small-Group Learning, students read the canonical short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, which is set at the end of the Civil War. The short story uses stream-of-consciousness to explore the narrator’s thoughts during his final moments before his execution.
Indicator 1B
Materials reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.
Materials include a variety of text types and genres across the year. Materials include more informational texts than literary texts and reflect a 69/31 balance, which should support achieving the 70/30 balance of informational and literary texts across the school day that is required by the standards. Text types include, but are not limited to, historical fiction, realistic fiction, drama, poetry, argument, biography, essays, historical accounts, memoir, and speeches. The texts connect to a common topic or theme for each unit.
Materials reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the seminal document, “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson, and the “Speech to the Convention” by Benjamin Franklin, and students view an image gallery, “The American Revolution: Visual Propaganda.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of poems by Walt Whitman from “The Writing of Walt Whitman,” including “Song of Myself.” In Small-Group Learning, students read the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read from the speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass and “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln. In Small-Group Learning, students read the essay, “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and listen to the podcast, “Giving Women the Vote” by Sandra Sleight-Brennan.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read from a memoir, Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. In Small-Group Learning, students read from another memoir, The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read Act 1 from the play, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and listen to an audio performance of The Crucible by L.A. Theatre Works. In Small-Group Learning, students read the short story, “Antojos” by Julia Alvarez and view “Interview with George Takei” from the Archive of American Television.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read the short story, “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich. In Small-Group Learning, students read the article, “A Brief History of the Short Story” by D.F. McCourt.
Materials reflect a balance of informational and literary texts that support the 70/30 balance required by the standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Over the course of the year, 45 or 69% of the texts read are informational and 20 or 31% of the texts read are literary.
Unit 1 contains 13 core texts with 100% being informational and 0% being literary.
Unit 2 contains 11 core texts with 73% being informational and 27% being literary.
Unit 3 contains ten core texts with 90% being informational and 10% being literary.
Unit 4 contains 13 core texts with 62% being informational and 38% being literary.
Unit 5 contains ten core texts with 50% being informational and 50% being literary.
Unit 6 contains eight core texts with 25% being informational and 75% being literary.
Indicator 1C
Core/Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to documented quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Documentation should also include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1c.
The materials have the appropriate level of complexity according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and the relationship to their associated student task. While the materials provide an accurate text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose for the anchor and series of texts, a complexity analysis of the relationship to the associated student task is not provided. In the Teacher’s Edition Planning section for each unit, a Text Complexity Rubric provides quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitative measures include Lexile score and word count. Qualitative measures are scored and explained by the following categories: knowledge demands, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and levels of meaning/purpose, including notes explaining the reason for the score in the category. All texts are rated as moderately complex, complex, or very complex based on the provided qualitative and quantitative measures. Texts that quantitatively fall below the grade level remain moderately complex due to their qualitative nature and student tasks. While no explanation of the relationship to their associated student task is provided, the Planning section provides a rationale for the selection of each text in the Summary and Insight sections. The text selection rationale is divided into different categories: Launch Text, Whole-Class Learning texts, and Small-Group Learning texts. The Connection to Performance Tasks explains how texts are associated with Performance Tasks with a focus on writing or speaking and listening; however, there is no explanation for other tasks in the units.
Anchor/core texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from America’s Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar, which has a Lexile level of 1360L, appropriate for a shared learning experience. The text is moderately qualitatively complex, and the Teacher’s Edition, Planning section shares, “the purpose is clear (to explain how the Constitution came to be), but may be hard for some to grasp because of sophisticated language and supporting concepts that are complex.” The text connects to a Performance Task: Speaking and Listening Focus when students present an argument that answers the question: “Do narratives provide strong evidence to support arguments about American freedoms?”
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, which has an overall level of complexity of moderate. The quantitative measure is 1060L, and the qualitative measure is moderately complex. The associated student task level is meets. In Author’s Style, students look at two key elements of Twain’s style - his tone and diction. Students define and find examples of Twain’s technical terms and colloquial language, along with his conversational tone. They explain how colloquial language contributes to the humorous style and then mimic Twain’s style in an original piece of their own.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich, which has an overall level of very complex. The quantitative measure is 1210L, and the qualitative measure is moderately complex. The associated reader task level exceeds grade level expectations as students compose a fictional narrative concerning stressful situations.
Anchor/Core texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by an accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level; however, there is no complexity analysis for the associated task. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, every text includes a Text Complexity rubric for both quantitiave and qualitative measures. For example, in Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather, which has an overall level of very complex. The quantitative measure is 1410L, and the qualitative measure is moderately complex. The associated student task level is meets. The Text Complexity Rubric provides a score for the qualitative elements and a rationale for that score. The text scored a three out of five in the following three criteria: knowledge demands, language conventionality and clarity, and levels of meaning/purpose. Structure scored a two out of five. Rationales include unfamiliar references to opera and music that are not explained in the text under knowledge demands, regional vocabulary, figurative language and complex sentences under language conventionality and clarity, and the main idea that, while simple, may be hard to grasp because of sophisticated language and complex supporting ideas. In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read "A Brief History of the Short Story" by D.F. McCourt, which has an overall level of very complex. The quantitative measure is 1270L, and the qualitative measure is moderately complex. The associated student task level is Exceeds. Rationales include that students will be familiar with short stories but might need to know more about Margaret Atwood and literary journals under knowledge demands, the text is a magazine article under structure, and there is one purpose for the article, which is clear and straightforward under levels of meaning/purpose. The rationale for language and conventionality includes the figurative language, metaphors, and quotes can make the text moderately difficult.
Although there is not an explicit rationale clearly stated for each text, there is an explicitly stated connection to the unit topic, essential question, and performance task for each text.
The accuracy of the provided quantitative measures was verified using MetaMetrics or determined using the Lexile Text Analyzer on The Lexile Framework for Reading site. The accuracy of the provided qualitative measures was verified using literary and informational text rubrics.
Indicator 1D
Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band to support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d.
The materials provide a series of texts at a variety of appropriate complexity levels for the grade band which support students’ literacy growth. The complexity is mixed throughout the units. Overall, the quantitative measures generally increase across the year, and the qualitative measures are moderately complex throughout the year. The overall quantitative complexity measures across the year range from 460L–1930L. Over the course of the year, 41% of texts lack quantitative ratings. Specifically, the qualitative measures increase through the first five units, though they decrease in the last unit. While this decrease in qualitative and quantitative data suggests a level decrease, the student tasks all meet or exceed the standards. All units consistently provide an opportunity for students to grow their skills with additional support during Whole-Class Learning activities as they engage in reading and writing in relation to the Essential Question. In Small-Group Learning, students have opportunities for repeated reading of texts accessible for the grade level. Students also have opportunities to read and analyze texts independently. In all activities, students have access to models of literacy skills which help them complete tasks that require appropriate application of depth of knowledge and work toward the speaking and listening performance task and Performance-Based Assessment. The text pairings work together to scaffold the student tasks with the scaffolding suggestions provided in the Teacher’s Edition. The students read and annotate the texts while teachers guide them with text-specific scaffolding options throughout the units. The scaffolding suggestions are found in clearly identified locations and are consistent, including providing specific suggestions for various student populations, such as English Language Learners, below level learners, on level learners, and above level learners. While the general scaffolding options remain static throughout units, the Teacher’s Edition provides specific options related to the texts.
The complexity of anchor texts students read provides an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, the Lexile range is 1140L–1930L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Exceedingly Complex. In Unit 2, the Lexile range is 960L–1900L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Very Complex. In Unit 3, the Lexile range is 750L–1490L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Moderately Complex. In Unit 4, the Lexile range is 920L–1250L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Moderately Complex. In Unit 5, The Lexile range is 980L–1040L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Moderately Complex. In Unit 6, The Lexile range is 460L–1270L. The qualitative range is Slightly Complex to Very Complex. The overall quantitative complexity measures across the year range from 460L–1930L. The overall qualitative range across the year is Slightly Complex to Exceedingly Complex.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell (NP). Students interpret images in the graphic novel; teacher guidance includes: “Explain that the images in a graphic adaptation are set apart by panels. A panel refers to a framed image. It offers the reader a perspective, or point of view.” In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1490L) and listen to a podcast, “Giving Women the Vote,” before completing a writing assignment to analyze how each selection shows persuasion at work. The instructions include a reminder during Prewriting: “Persuasion involves communicating a point of view and convincing others to adopt it.” Standards students address through the activity include, “Students determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.” In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston (1040L). Students learn that the author uses the first-person point of view from two perspectives, a young child and an adult, and “because the author is recalling these events years after they happened, the narrative unfolds on at least two levels.” Students complete a Read It activity individually, compiling notes on a chart about shifting perspectives in the selection. Then, students complete a Write It activity: “Write a short narrative account of an event from your childhood. Use first-person point of view to tell your story, but shift perspectives to highlight the differences between how you experienced the event as a child and how you understand it now.” As the units progress, the tasks connected to tracing or presenting point of view increase in complexity.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read from the collection of works “The Writing of Walt Whitman” by Walt Whitman (1900L), including “Song of Myself.” In the Analyze the Text section, students interpret with the question, “In ‘On the Beach at Night Alone,’ how does the second stanza state and develop the ‘thought’ the speaker has in the third line of the poem? Explain.” In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read the short story “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain (1190L). In the Analyze the Text section, students interpret the historical context with the question, “What insights do you gain about life in nineteenth-century miners’ camps from the story?” In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read the short story “Everything Stuck to Him” by Raymond Carver (460L). In the Analyze the Text section, students interpret the historical context with the question, “Could this story have taken place in any historical period, or do you see evidence that the tale is specifically anchored in the mid-twentieth century? Explain.” As the units progress, the tasks connected to analyzing craft and structure increase in complexity.
As texts become more complex, appropriate scaffolds and/or materials are provided in the Teacher Edition (e.g., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings, skill lessons). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson (1390L), which has an overall complexity level of highly complex. The Teacher’s Edition primarily focuses on scaffolding techniques to support comprehension of the complex texts but also provides suggestions for more rigorous enrichment. In the Decide and Plan section for standard support, teacher instructions state: “Language/Clarity: For students who may have difficulty with difficult and complex sentences, encourage them to break the sentences down into smaller chunks and identify the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases. It may help to work in pairs and go through the text line by line, paraphrasing as they read aloud.” In the Challenge section for enrichment, teacher instructions state: “Text Analysis: Have students choose a grievance from the ‘Declaration of Independence’ and retell it to a partner. Encourage them to include details and descriptive language. They may refer to the text as needed to remember details, but should use their own words.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Literature of Place” by Barry Lopez. In the Teacher’s Edition, page 406b, a chart shows the available resources and supports available for the text, such as English and Spanish versions of an audio, first read extension questions, a worksheet on author’s purpose, and an accessible leveled text. On page 406c, there is a text complexity rubric and a graphic organizer providing suggestions for support based on the text’s rubric scores. On page 406d, a flow chart assists teachers in identifying the standards being taught and what supports to use for students below and above the standard.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act II by Arthur Miller. The Teacher’s Edition provides several specific scaffolding suggestions for different levels of students, including the Challenge options for above-level students and several supports for English Language Learners and supports for on-level students. In the Decide and Plan section, teacher instructions state: “Text Analysis: Pair students and have them choose one of the longer speeches in the act and go through it line by line, looking at the unconventional language, biblical allusions, and any other challenging elements.” An English Language Learners teacher support states: “Apostrophes: Students may have difficulty with Miller’s use of apostrophes in dialogue to show characters’ pronunciation. To show that some characters turn the final /ng/ sound to an /n/ sound, Miller uses an apostrophe for the missing letter: nothin’ for nothing, for example. Remind students that apostrophes also signal missing letters in regular contractions, such as can’t/cannot. Write the following on the board, then have students supply the missing letters for each underlined word.” Additionally, the Teacher’s Edition provides supports for on-level students, such as “Strategic Support: Character Development: Call students’ attention to the stage directions in paragraph 187. Have students make a character web for Reverend Hale at the end of each act. Remind them that the words can be nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs. Have students especially note changes in Hale’s behavior and attitude from one act to the next. Then have them use the webs to write a short report tracing Hale’s character development throughout the play.”
Indicator 1E
Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year, including accountability structures for independent reading.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1e.
The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading, including accountability structures of independent reading. Six units offer a variety of texts for whole-class, small-group, and independent reading that encourage independent reading goals. Texts connect to a common topic or theme and Essential Question for the unit. Teacher lesson plans include selection resources and explain the connections of the text to the Essential Question and to the performance task. Throughout the year, students engage with texts of a variety of types and genres, and the consistent structure of the materials provides support for students as they grow their skills and ability to read grade level texts. Each unit starts with a launch text which models a specific type of writing, followed by whole group reading and activities, small group reading and activities, and independent reading. There is sufficient guidance to foster independence for all readers, including independent reading procedures and texts for students to read independently. The Frontmatter also provides a selection of trade books with suggestions for how to incorporate them in each unit. Lesson plans for the trade books can be found on myPerspectives+.
Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and genres. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read an informative text, a historical perspective article, speeches, and view a photo gallery. In Small-Group Learning, students read a speech, a public document, a short story, a legal opinion, and listen to a podcast. Students choose between two poetry collections, two essays, a historical article, and a podcast tied to the unit’s theme in the independent reading section.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read three texts, including a literary history, “A Brief History of the Short Story” by D.F. McCourt, and two short stories, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Amrose Bierce and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter. There are also four independent reading selections available from which to choose.
Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in a volume of reading. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter and each Teacher’s Edition for each unit, the time for students to engage with texts during the Unit Introduction, Whole-Class learning, Small-Group learning, and Independent Learning is similar. There is one day for the Launch Text during the Unit Introduction, 14 days for the Whole Class Learning, 11 days for Small-Group Learning, and two days for independent learning. The Teacher’s Edition for each unit also notes, “Pacing is suggested for a 40- to 50-minute class period. If you use block scheduling, you may combine days to meet your schedule needs.” These opportunities to engage with multiple texts and a volume of reading are consistent across the school year.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read six texts over 12 regular classes or six block classes. In Small-Group Learning, students read five texts over nine regular classes or four and a half block classes. Students end the unit by reading one independent text choice over two classes or one block before the final performance task. The Teacher’s Edition provides a pacing guide for each unit and suggests supports for various student needs in the wrap-around materials.
There is sufficient teacher guidance to foster independence for all readers (e.g., independent reading procedures, proposed schedule, tracking system for independent reading). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter state: “Students self-select a text to explore an aspect of the unit topic and share their learning with the class.” Each unit includes options for students to choose an independent reading selection via the Interactive Student Edition, and the activity takes place over two days. Independent Learning strategies are available in the Teacher’s Edition, including a video. Students can use the “Create a schedule” strategy to track completion and “Assess whether you need to adapt your plan to meet all your goals and deadlines.”
In each unit, independent reading selections are listed at the end of the unit. The section provides guidance for students to pick an independent text. In the “Look Back” section, students review the texts already read in the unit for topics of interest, “Look Ahead” includes titles to see which is of interest, and “Look Inside” allows students to scan the selection they choose to be sure it meets their needs. A graphic organizer helps students plan their reading and study of the text. First Read and Close Read guides are included for students during reading to prepare for sharing with the class at the end of the independent reading.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Independent Learning, students can choose to read “Reckless Genius” by Galway Kinnell. Resources such as text questions, audio summaries, and a selection test are available. The materials include the Connection to the Essential Question: “Galway Kinnell’s essay, ‘Reckless Genius,’ connects to the Essential Question, ‘What role does individualism play in American society?’ by defending one of America’s most famous poets. The text explores how Emily Dickinson’s genius resulted, in large part, from her willingness to depart from the poetic conventions of her day.”
Criterion 1.2: Tasks and Questions
Materials provide opportunities for rich and rigorous evidence-based discussions and writing about texts to build strong literacy skills.
Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understanding of the texts being studied. Text-based questions require students to cite specific evidence as well as draw inferences and conclusions to support their responses to questions.
The materials provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. The Teacher’s Edition provides suggestions to support student skills and growth, which includes a standard protocol for working in groups and developing presentations and various prompts and strategies to assist growth in both the content and the speaking and listening skills. Speaking and listening instruction for teachers includes facilitation, monitoring, evaluation guides, rubrics, and support. There are multiple opportunities over the school year for students to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening tasks.
The materials include various on-demand and process writing opportunities. On-demand writing tasks are offered throughout the year, connecting to the Introduction, Whole-Class Learning, Small Group Learning, and Independent Learning sections. They include a mix of summaries, quick writes, and responses to texts. Process writing tasks include essays using single or multiple texts as sources and following standard writing procedures from prewriting/planning to revising and/or editing. There is a yearlong writing plan consisting of a 21/50/29 balance of argumentative, informative or explanatory, and narrative writing, which does not reflect the 40/40/20 distribution of writing modes as required by the standards. The Teacher’s Edition offers some guidance and includes explicit instruction within argumentative, informative, and narrative writing tasks. There are frequent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence.
While the materials provide a comprehensive year-long plan for students to acquire both academic and concept vocabulary in a systematic way, explicit instruction of grammar and usage standards is lacking.
Indicator 1F
Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-specific and/or text-dependent, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1f.
Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understanding of the texts being studied. Text-based questions require students to cite specific evidence as well as draw inferences and conclusions using the cited evidence to support their responses to questions with every story in each unit. The uniform structure includes comprehension check questions, research prompts based on the anchor and exemplar texts, close reading tasks, analysis of craft and structure tasks and questions, vocabulary tasks and questions, author style analysis tasks, writing tasks that ask students to draw on their understanding of the texts, and core writing or speaking assessments that center around understanding from multiple texts in the unit. The questions following each text align with unit Essential Questions and text-specific guiding questions.
The Teacher’s Edition for each unit includes a list of Lesson Resources that include guidance for Making Meaning. The teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-specific and/or text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments. Guides are provided for choosing appropriate supports and additional text-based questions for students who need scaffolding to access the grade-level material or challenges to go beyond the grade-level material.
Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the texts being studied. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read foundational documents, including the “Preamble to the Constitution” by Gouverneur Morris, and answer questions following a First Read: “According to its Preamble, who is responsible for establishing the Constitution? What laws are forbidden in Amendment I of the Bill of Rights? Which amendments cover legal proceedings?”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Literature of Place” by Barry Lopez and then answer comprehension questions including, “What two things were magical to Lopez when he was a boy?” and “According to Lopez, why are indigenous people good guides to remote places?”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Brief History of the Short Story” by D.F. McCourt. In the reading task associated with analyzing craft and structure, students explore the unit’s Essential Question, “What do stories reveal about the human condition?,” by answering the question: “How does this literary history shed light on the short story’s ability to address the human condition? Discuss with your group.”
Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from “Nature” and from “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In the Teacher’s Edition, Formative Assessment, Analyze the Text from “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson states, “If students struggle to close read the text, then provide the from Nature and from Self-Reliance: Text Questions available online in the Interactive Teacher’s Edition and Unit Resources.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read “Antojos” by Julia Alvarez; the Teacher’s Edition includes a Jump Start for the Close Read, which connects with the Analyze the Text questions that students complete: “Engage students in a discussion of how fear can be an obstacle to accomplishing one’s dreams and goal.” Students complete questions, including the following: “1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraphs 1–4 of ‘Antojos.’ What do these paragraphs suggest about the country’s political situation and the economic issues that shape the story?; 3. Essential Question: How do we respond when challenged by fear? What have you learned about people’s responses to fear from reading this story? Discuss with your group.” A possible response is available for the teacher for the first question: “1. The fact that there is a hunger march suggests that some of the country’s citizens are unhappy with their leaders and their economic situation.” The third question also includes the Essential Question of the unit and allows students to make connections with the specific text they are close reading.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present an oral response to quotations pulled from the unit texts. The Teacher’s Edition provides a suggestion to support students struggling to formulate their responses: “If students have difficulty connecting the quote to the theme, then suggest they connect the quote to the characters they refer to first.”
Indicator 1G
Materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1g.
The materials provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. The Teacher’s Edition provides suggestions to support student skills and growth, which includes a standard protocol for working in groups and developing presentations and various prompts and strategies to assist growth in both the content and the speaking and listening skills. Speaking and listening instruction for teachers includes facilitation, monitoring, evaluation guides, rubrics, and support.
Materials provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Materials include a Conversation and Discussion guide for high school. This web-based tool gives specific guidelines and directions on discussions such as:
Leading a Group Discussion
Formal Group Discussion Guidelines
Informal Group Discussion Guidelines
Debates
In the Conversation and Discussion guide, materials provide the following guidance for leading a group discussion: “Here are some guidelines for leading a group discussion:
Introduce the topic and purpose of the discussion.
Lay out any ground rules for the discussion.
Be objective when summarizing the group’s discussion.
Make sure that no one dominates the discussion. Invite and encourage contributions from all participants.
In the Conversation and Discussion guide, materials provide the following guidance for Formal Group discussion guidelines: “Here are tips for successful discussions and an exchange of ideas in a structured setting
Do not use an excessive amount of informal or colloquial speech in a formal discussion.
Manners are important in any discussion; make sure you allow others to speak, and do not interrupt.
Use exclamatory language, or dramatic language, sparingly; a little goes a long way.
Diction, or the proper use of vocabulary related to the topic of the discussion, is an important element of any discussion.
Stay focused on the subject under discussion.”
In the Conversation and Discussion guide, materials provide the following guidance for Informal Group discussion guidelines: “Informal discussion is open-ended and participants are free to speak in a more conversational manner, but most rules still apply.
Speech may be more colloquial but should still maintain a professional code of conduct.
Dramatic and exclamatory remarks help emphasize one's point of view, but overuse weakens their effectiveness.”
In the Conversation and Discussion guide, materials provide the following guidance for Practices that make for good Debates: “During the debate, be sure to adhere to these practices:
Be courteous and listen to your opponent's point of view; allow others the opportunity to speak.
If you are debating as a team, support your team members.
Speak only when it is your turn, and follow the moderator's instructions.
Speak clearly, slowly, and loudly enough to be heard and understood by the audience.
Speak with spirit, enthusiasm, and conviction.”
Speaking and listening instruction includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Launch Text, students read an excerpt from Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington. In the Teacher’s Edition, the teacher wrap Personalize for Learning box suggests supporting students in Active Listening. The teacher instruction states: “Some students may find that taking notes helps them to stay focused while they listen…When the speaker is finished speaking, listeners may want to pose questions.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett and form two teams to conduct a class debate over the quote drawn from the text, “Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,—who can tell?” The Teacher’s Edition provides multiple model language suggestions, such as “Before students begin evaluating claims, they should discuss what the debate question means.” Teacher Resources are included that review and reteach concepts about debates.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present an argument with a speaking and listening focus. In the Teacher’s Edition, Facilitating notes are available with details to assist students as they prepare to present an argument, plan and rehearse with their group, and present and evaluate other group presentations. Teacher support includes, but is not limited to, “Before groups begin work on their projects, have them clearly differentiate the role each group member will play. Remind groups to consult the schedule for Small-Group Learning to guide their work during the Performance Task. Students should complete the assignment using presentation software to take advantage of text, graphics, and sound features.”
Indicator 1H
Materials support students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1h.
The materials provide multiple opportunities over the school year for students to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening tasks. While not all sub-standards for speaking and listening are explicitly outlined in the Teacher’s Edition, varied opportunities are included to collaborate and synthesize ideas as a group. Opportunities are present during speaking and listening work for students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. Students regularly engage in speaking and listening in Whole-Group Learning and Small-Group Learning with activities such as small-group discussions, oral presentations, and collaborative dramatic interpretations. Speaking and Listening activities are varied and included as a recurring component in the after-reading activities throughout the units. Small-Group Learning uses informal student discussions for each selection. There are protocols for students to establish norms and roles within the small group. When completing activities, students draw evidence and information from the texts they read and their prior knowledge or research. Each unit includes a speaking and listening-based Performance Task as a part of Small-Group Learning. The Teacher’s Edition includes suggestions for supporting students in successfully participating in these activities, such as guidance on incorporating structure to meet the requirements of the tasks and facilitate the successful demonstration of standards.
Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task: Speaking and Listening Focus, students work in groups to present an argument: “You have read a variety of texts, both historic and contemporary…Work with your group to present a panel discussion that addresses this question: Do narratives provide strong evidence to support arguments about American freedoms?” In the Plan With Your Group section, groups “identify the texts in this section that are either fully narratives or include narrative elements. Consider the arguments about freedom that are either directly stated or that readers can infer from the narrative details.” A chart is provided to fill in narrative details and related arguments. In the Rehearse With Your Group section, students are instructed to “Fine-Tune the Content” and “go back to the texts to gather additional details that will help balance the presentation.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act II by Arthur Miller, and complete a speaking and listening task: “Participate in a whole-class discussion about whether Mary Warren will defend or condemn Elizabeth Proctor in court.” The instructions include an analysis of Mary Warren’s character: “Scan Acts I and II to find details about Mary’s character. Use the chart to note reasons she may lie in court and reasons she may tell the truth. For each reason you list, jot down reminders of textual evidence you might refer to during the discussion.”
Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
All units begin Small-Group Learning with an overview of how to work as a small group. Students practice taking a position on a question, sharing their views, and listening to others’ perspectives. Students then decide on group rules, apply the rules to a discussion of their prior learning on the topic, give their group a name, create a group communication plan, make a schedule for reading the texts, and assign roles for the culminating project.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from Walden by Henry David Thoreau and hold a discussion in which they respond to excerpts from Thoreau’s philosophical writings. The materials include instructions for Holding the Discussion: “Make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and to express opinions that are supported with evidence from the text or related research. If questions emerge from your discussion, decide together how you will locate the answers.” Additional instructions are available for students as they Consider All Responses: “Philosophical ideas can generate a wide variety of responses—and that can make a discussion exciting. Be open to the idea that many interpretations can be valid.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. The Speaking and Learning activity is to “hold a debate about the question that Jewett poses in the final paragraph of ‘A White Heron.’” Student instructions state: “Decide who will speak for each team. Assign roles to other team members—for example, note-taker, textual evidence finder, and argument evaluator. Discuss issues such as time limits and an alternating order of speakers, and then come to an agreement. Decide whether you will include time for rebuttals to refute the opposing side’s arguments. Finally, determine who will judge the debate: your teacher or a student panel.”
Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students view “Perspectives on Lincoln,” a collection of political cartoons. After review and analysis, students research other political cartoons about a person from the past. They create a slideshow of an “image gallery” that illustrates various perspectives on that person or his/her beliefs. Students prepare an “informative script” to use during their presentation. Following the presentation, groups “discuss how well the various perspectives were captured in the images.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg, and view a photo gallery, “Sandburg’s Chicago.” The Writing to Compare activity is to “Create a multimedia presentation about early-twentieth-century Chicago in which you weave together Sandburg’s poem, images from the photo essay, and your own knowledge and ideas.”
Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and participate in a class discussion. The materials ask students in step 4 to Listen and Evaluate: “As your classmates speak, listen attentively. Decide whether you agree or disagree with their ideas and why. Contribute your responses with care, and support them with specific examples.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Overview: Small-Group Learning, in the Working as a Group section, students begin by discussing the thematic concepts using the question, “Do you think American Teenagers today would rather fit in than stand out? Explain.” Next, they set rules for the group, followed by practicing the rules by having a discussion of what they have already learned about destiny. The provided rules include “Everyone should participate,” and the Teacher’s Edition provides reminders for Accountable Talk: “Remember to ask clarifying questions, which sounds like I think you said ____. Did I understand you correctly?”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. This text leads to a group discussion that considers how different social groups of the time would have responded to the story. Students work in small groups to prepare a response to a prompt that focuses on one social group and present their responses to the class.
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read “The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation” by Jonathan Hennessey. In Analyze the Media, students complete three activities. In Present and Discuss, they pick a part of the text they find interesting and share their choice with their group. They synthesize ideas by discussing the questions, “How do the images, speech balloons, and captions work together to reveal the difficult moments in this part of the Constitution’s ‘story’? Do they inform, entertain, or both? Explain.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and engage in a speaking and listening assignment and group discussion as they consider “how readers of Chopin’s time might have responded to ‘The Story of an Hour.’” The materials include instructions for Holding the Discussion: “Decide as a group whether you want to go through the story section by section and have each person respond from his or her chosen perspective, or whether you prefer to look at the whole text through one perspective at a time. Either way, make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and to express opinions that are supported with evidence from the text and knowledge about 1890s America. If questions emerge from your discussion, decide together how you will locate the answers.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from Walden by Henry David Thoreau and “hold a discussion in which [they] respond to… excerpts from Thoreau’s philosophical writing.” Students are reminded by the teacher to consider multiple perspectives: “Philosophical ideas can generate a wide variety of responses—and that can make a discussion exciting. Be open to the idea that many interpretations can be valid.”
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students view an image gallery, “Perspectives on Lincoln,” and create and present an image gallery. Student instructions state: “Conduct research, using print and online sources, to find relevant political cartoons and photographs.” When planning the project, the materials ask, “What sources will you use to conduct your research?” The Teacher Materials include the following: “Remind students that sources are biased, so they must weigh the opinions they find to form their own well-reasoned assessments.” There is no additional guidance or instructions for students to evaluate the credibility and accuracy of each source or that require multiple sources in various formats.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Chicago” and “Wilderness” by Carl Sandburg, and view a photo gallery, “Sandburg’s Chicago.” In the Effective Expression, Writing to Compare assignment, students create a multimedia presentation “about early-twentieth-century Chicago in which [they] weave together Sandburg’s poem, images from the photo essay, and your own knowledge and ideas.” Students choose from the options to create a slideshow presentation, an informative website, or a museum exhibit guide. Part of the Task List is to decide if they need to research to add more photographs or information about Chicago or find additional media. In all three tasks, students evaluate and integrate information from various sources to make a decision on the best information to add to their slideshow. There is no direct instruction on how to evaluate the credibility of sources.
Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students listen to radio broadcasts from “Emily Dickinson,” an episode of Great Lives by BBC Radio 4. In the Analyze the Media section, students answer questions: “Lewis thinks that Dickinson speaks through her poetry about her vocation. What does she mean? Do you agree with Lewis’s statement? Why or why not?” Later in Unit 2, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present a personal narrative as a group speech. Questions are available in the materials for students to peer evaluate the presentation: “Does the speech offer clear reasoning and provide enough evidence to support the group’s overall position on nonconformity? Does the speech bring together real-life experiences with examples from the texts in this section?” The Teacher’s Edition also poses additional questions for students, such as “Were the experiences presented in a logical sequence? Did the personal and selection examples support the thesis statement regarding nonconformity? Which presentation techniques did this group excel at?” Guidance is also available for students relating to tone and other elements.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. The Speaking and Listening assignment after reading is a partner discussion about “what factors lead a person to embrace, reject, or feel neutral about his or her heritage…At the end of your discussion, create an extended definition of heritage.” Instructions to help them Craft an Extended Definition state: “To complete the extended definition of heritage, come to a consensus about the most important ideas to include: Summarize your notes in three main points. Summarize your personal experiences with heritage. Draft and refine an extended definition that includes all your most important thoughts.” The substandard is not explicitly stated; however, the evaluation of others’ points of view and reasoning is required to complete the assignment successfully.
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read foundational documents, including the “Preamble to the Constitution” by Gouverneur Morris, and write and deliver a speech. The materials provide an evaluation guide with instructions: “Did you fulfill the assignment by showing how the Bill of Rights applies to your life? Were your ideas logical, clear, and appropriate to your audience and subject?”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act IV, by Arthur Miller. After reading, students conduct a “thematic analysis” of the play. They “choose one theme from The Crucible, introduce it, and illustrate it with a dramatic reading of three sections of dialogue from the play.” The five steps to complete the assignment include identifying a theme, locating three examples of text to support the theme, writing an introduction, and preparing to deliver the analysis. Students are encouraged to practice their presentation “in front of a mirror or present it to a friend or family member. Keep these suggestions in mind: Vary your intonation (tone and pitch)...Speak naturally but with attention to enunciation and volume…Use facial expressions…to help convey characters’ emotions and meaning.” Teacher instructions state to “make sure students understand the meanings of the following terms: intonation, tone, and pitch.” Teachers are directed to find more support in the Speaking and Listening: Thematic Analysis document.
Indicator 1I
Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1i.
The materials include various on-demand and process writing opportunities. On-demand writing tasks are offered throughout the year, connecting to the Introduction, Whole-Class Learning, Small Group Learning, and Independent Learning sections. They include a mix of summaries, quick writes, and responses to texts. Process writing tasks include various types of essays using single or multiple texts as sources and following standard writing procedures from prewriting/planning to revising and/or editing. Students are provided step-by-step guidance for each task and a checklist or peer review process. At the end of each Whole-Class Learning section, students complete a writing Performance Task over the course of two days. A Performance-Based Assessment writing task is at the end of each unit with a Unit Reflection. Materials include digital resources where appropriate. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance on how to model each type of writing, including a launch text to start the unit that functions as a model for the Performance-Based Assessment. The Teacher’s Edition also includes Digital Perspectives boxes in each unit that often suggest digital resources but do not provide the resource or links to the resources.
Materials include on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman, “The Writing of Walt Whitman,” including “Song of Myself.” After reading, students complete the following task: “Using Section 9 of ‘Song of Myself’ as a model, write a brief narrative account about something that happened to you while you were working.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass. In the Writing to Sources section, directions state: “In this speech, Douglass mentions Southern laws that made it a criminal offense to teach a slave to read and write. Briefly research how some slaves, including Douglass himself, learned to read. Then, write an informative paragraph in which you draw connections between your research and Douglass’s speech. Include these elements in your paragraph: a clear introduction to the topic, a misconception you correct with a fact, a formal, objective tone.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act IV by Arthur Miller and complete a WriteNow on-demand activity in which they express and reflect when creating interview questions and answers: “Review paragraphs 1–3 and ask students to consider what will happen in Act IV…Have students work in a group to come up with useful questions and likely answers for a mock television interview with Arthur Miller. Then have two students conduct the interview, role-playing the interviewer and Miller. Questions and answers should be based on what students wrote beforehand, but role-players might ad-lib some parts of the interview to make it seem more authentic. After the interview, ask students to share any new insights they have into Miller’s life, The Crucible, and Miller’s other works.”
Materials include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and edit are provided. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument over the course of two days, and they use word processing software to take advantage of editing tools and features. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance for editing and proofreading the essay, including “As students proofread, they should check for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation as well as the items listed on the Student Edition page. Remind them that although many word processing programs catch grammar and spelling errors, they are not foolproof. Students should still review their work manually.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay: “Write a five-paragraph explanatory essay in which you address this question: How do American authors use regional details to make the events and themes of a narrative come to life for readers?” The materials provide information on building an informative essay and provide the protocol for the writing process, including prewriting and planning activities, drafting activities which include research method tasks, a language development process focused on adding variety through precise word choice, a revision process that includes evaluating the draft based on a provided rubric, evaluation through the peer review process, proofreading and editing, publishing the work by presenting to the class, and reflecting on the learning and writing process.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write a narrative. The task reads, “Write a fictional narrative addressing this question: How do stressful situations often reveal the best and worst in people?” Students review the narratives in the unit and incorporate literary elements into their writing. The task walks students through the writing process with sections called prewriting/planning, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading, publishing and presenting, and reflecting. Each step includes directions and support for the students.
Materials include digital resources where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
All units include interactive digital components such as a reader’s notebook for answering specific questions and making notes about selections, audio summaries, video and audio selections, online annotations, and online assessments.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and complete a chart to track Mrs. Mallard’s actions and the emotional journey she undergoes, citing textual evidence. In the Teacher’s Edition, the Digital Perspectives box suggests teachers enrich the text: “To help students analyze how society constricted women and their roles, have them research photos and films of women in the 1890s, examining their clothing and considering how it reflected society’s attitude toward women. Guide students to evaluate the fit of the clothing (especially at the waist), the length of the dresses, and the undergarments, as well. What generalization can they draw about how clothing affects women’s opportunities?”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Under the text, a box titled Media Connection includes a video. In the Teacher’s Edition, instructions state: “Project the media connection video in class. Then, ask students to open the video in their interactive textbooks.” The prompt for the interactive textbook reads, “How does listening to someone tell this story help you understand Mama and the tensions among the characters?”
Indicator 1J
Materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1j.
The materials reflect a 21/50/29 balance of argumentative, informative or explanatory, and narrative writing, which does not reflect the 40/40/20 distribution of writing modes as required by the standards. The Teacher’s Edition offers some guidance and includes explicit instruction within argumentative, informative, and narrative writing tasks. Where appropriate, writing opportunities are often connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports).
Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing. Materials include an uneven distribution of writing types with the following percentages for the different modes of writing: 21% argumentative, 50% informative, and 29% narrative. The number of writing opportunities in each mode is eight argumentative, 19 informative, and 11 narrative. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Percentage or number of opportunities for argumentative writing: two units address argumentative writing. 21% of writing opportunities over six units are argumentative.
Unit 1: 5
Unit 2: 0
Unit 3: 0
Unit 4: 0
Unit 5: 3
Unit 6: 0
Percentage or number of opportunities for informative/explanatory writing: six units address informative/explanatory writing. 50% of writing opportunities over six units are informative/explanatory.
Unit 1: 3
Unit 2: 2
Unit 3: 7
Unit 4: 5
Unit 5: 1
Unit 6: 1
Percentage or number of opportunities for narrative writing: two units address narrative writing. 29% of writing opportunities over six units are narrative.
Unit 1: 0
Unit 2: 5
Unit 3: 0
Unit 4: 0
Unit 5: 0
Unit 6: 6
Explicit instruction in argumentative writing:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and write an editorial in Writing to Sources. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance to support students: “Help students clarify Jefferson’s central claim: declaring independence is the only thing that the colonists can do—given their circumstances. Point out to students that Jefferson is appealing for independence on ethical and logical grounds. Ask students to give examples of evidence Jefferson offers to support this claim, such as his list of accusations against King George III. ”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act IV, by Arthur Miller. In Writing to Sources, students write an argument on the following prompt: “Identify a theme from The Crucible that is relevant to today’s world. Then, write an argumentative essay in which you make a claim as to why this theme still matters, or—perhaps—matters even more than it once did.” The Teacher’s Edition provides instruction to define terms for argumentation, including claim, relevance, and evidence. However, these are terms students should know, and there is little instruction to support the development of the claim or moving the development to grade-appropriate levels. At the end of Whole-Class Learning, in the Performance Task, students write an argument to the prompt: “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end the hysteria in Salem?” Students complete the process writing steps to develop the essay.
Explicit instruction in informative/explanatory writing:
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay to the prompt: “Write a five-paragraph explanatory essay in which you address this question: How do American authors use regional details to make the events and themes of a narrative come to life for readers?” Students complete the steps of the writing process with specific directions and support, starting with a review of the parts of the explanatory essay and a model essay for students to use while writing. In prewriting, students start by answering two questions as they develop a thesis statement and an organizer to identify effective evidence. This section includes choosing evidence, adding to the evidence with research, and organizing the essay. Students then receive additional explicit instruction in drafting, revising, editing, and publishing the essay. For example, while revising their essay, teachers are prompted to “Remind students that when we evaluate something, we make a judgment about how well it meets certain standards. As students use the checklist to evaluate their draft, suggest they use sticky notes to mark each element in their essays. They can record on the sticky notes exactly what needs to be done as they move forward.”
Explicit instruction in narrative writing:
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and complete a Writing to Sources task, a short narrative in which they retell an event “from the perspective of a character other than Mama.” The Teacher’s Edition includes guidance to support students with the writing task, including: “Explain to students that when they write a narrative from a different point of view, they should focus on the aspects of the text that allow them to say something meaningful. They should first choose a character and determine how he or she fits into the story. Next, they should decide what they need to tell to clarify the character’s motivation and actions.” Additional questions are available such as “Why these words? Have students list example of words they chose to add power to their narrative.”
Different genres/modes/types of writing are distributed throughout the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Students have opportunities to engage in argumentative writing.
Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument after reading seminal U.S. texts. As part of the prewriting/planning step of the performance task, students break down the prompt to develop a claim, completing sentence stems such as: “In my own words, the question I must answer is” and “I believe that… because….” Then students gather evidence to support this claim.
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument after reading seminal U.S. texts. In the Write It section, students develop ideas about their claim using a graphic organizer that includes the following headings: “Notes that support my claim, Notes that oppose my claim, Notes that make me rethink my claim.”
Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument after reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible for the prompt: “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end the hysteria in Salem?” As a part of the revision step of the writing process, students use transitions to clarify relationships between ideas in their writing and create cohesive writing.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument after reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible to the prompt: “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end the hysteria in Salem?” As a part of the revision step of the writing process, the text instructs students to use domain-specific language for writing arguments about literature, such as “character, setting, scene, conflict, dialogue….”
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In both Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, and Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning Performance Tasks, students write an argumentative essay to answer the question “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end hysteria in Salem?” The text indicates that this standard is covered; however, the instruction is minimal. The text tells students to include a conclusion that summarizes the main ideas and provides closure but does little to guide students through direct instruction. The checklist students use to evaluate their essay, includes the statement “Provides a conclusion that follows for the argument.” However, there is no direct explicit instruction for students to learn to do this.
Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. In the Writing to Sources section, students create a digital presentation that “explains, amplifies, or extends key ideas about J. Alfred Prufrock’s worldview.” Students work in small groups to plan and write the presentation and pair it with appropriate visual and audio elements.
Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read foundational documents, including the “Preamble to the Constitution and Bill of Rights” by Gouverneur Morris and James Madison. In the Writing to Sources section, students write an extended definition of a word or phrase from the preamble. The extended definition is expected to be a paragraph or two long. Students are given a list of ways to develop the definition, including “compare-and-contrast the word or concept with more familiar words or concepts, discuss what the word or concept does not mean, identify meanings that people often assign to the word or concept, provide examples of ways in which the word or concept is used today, and share a personal experience that helped you understand the word or concept.” In the Teacher’s Edition,
examples are provided for students who struggle along with the suggestion to use the additional worksheet: Writing to Sources: Extended Definition (RP).
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an informative essay to the prompt: “What motivates people to struggle for change?” Students use all texts in the unit to find evidence that supports their answer; however, the Teacher’s Edition also reminds teachers, “Although students will use evidence from the unit selections for their informative essay, they may need to collect additional evidence, including facts, statistics, anecdotes, quotations from authorities, or examples that support their topic sentence or thesis sentence.” The highest level of the rubric states: “Ideas are supported with specific and relevant examples from research and the texts.”
Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Wagner Matinée” by Willa Cather. In the Writing to Sources activity, students write an informative research report on the historical context of the story. The Teacher’s Edition states: “Explain that as they revise, students will add appropriate transitions and resolve inconsistencies in style, tone, diction, and syntax as they make revisions.” Additional support is available in the handout, Writing to Sources: Research Report.
Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass. In the Writing to Sources section, students complete the following task: “In this speech, Douglass mentions Southern laws that made it a criminal offense to teach a slave to read and write. Briefly research how some slaves, including Douglass himself, learned to read. Then, write an informative paragraph in which you draw connections between your research and Douglass’s speech.” Additional instructions state that the paragraph should be set up with a topic sentence, a misconception from the speech that the student corrects with information from their research, and a conclusion. In the reflection, students discuss their word choice and how it makes their paragraph more powerful.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and listen to the podcast “Giving Women the Vote” by Sandra Sleight-Brennan. In Writing to Compare, students write a compare-and-contrast essay focusing on the rhetorical strategies used by Stanton and Sleight-Brennan to persuade their audiences. Students use a list of rhetorical elements to focus their analysis, including argument, tone, repetition, imagery, allusion, and analogy. The Teacher’s Edition states to first discuss why rhetorical elements are effective in creating persuasion.
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students give an explanatory talk. Prior to giving the talk, students write an explanatory essay as the basis of the talk. On the rubric’s highest level, it states, “The tone of the essay is formal and objective. Vocabulary is strategic and appropriate for audience and purpose.”
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell. In Writing to Compare, students write an informative essay that compares the original version to the graphic adaptation. Student instructions provide each step of the writing process. In the write a draft step, students’ directions state: “In your conclusion, make an observation about one or both texts that leaves your reader with some food for thought.”
Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Performance-Based Assessment, students write a personal narrative to answer the question, “What significant incident helped me realize that I am a unique individual?” Students select a personal experience they are willing to share and “show how your experience illustrates or departs from the ideas” expressed in the texts they read. The conclusion of the narrative should show “ways in which the understanding you gained from the incident affects your life today.”
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read Letter to John Adams from Dear Abigail by Abigail Adams and Diane Jacobs. After reading, the Speaking and Listening assignment includes three options. One is a dialogue: “Write and present a dramatization of a conversation between John and Abigail Adams in which the two discuss the colonies’ struggle for freedom from Great Britain. Base the conversation on the information provided in the texts. Strive to capture each speaker’s unique opinions and point of view.”
Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone and outcome (e.g., a sense of mystery, suspense, growth, or resolution). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students write and present a “stream-of-consciousness narrative that responds to this statement: The day felt as if it would never end. Be certain of the plot structure which will be central to their narrative.” They map out the plot prior to planning how to include the stream-of-consciousness elements. Students use a storyboard as an outline for the narrative.
Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman. In the Writing to Sources section, students use sensory language to complete the following assignment: “Using Section 9 from ‘Song of Myself’ as a model, write a brief narrative account about something that happened to you while you were working. You may narrate an event related to household chores, homework, or an after-school job. Use precise details and sensory language to make your account vivid and interesting for readers.” The Teacher’s Edition provides instructions: “Remind students to use sensory language, describing what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, or tasted. Encourage them to go beyond cliches, such as ‘dark as night’ and ‘sing like a bird.’”
Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Leap by Louise Erdrich and write “a short, entertaining anecdote about an event in your or your family’s past.” The anecdote needs to conclude with a “paragraph that explains how your experience compares to that of the narrator in ‘The Leap.’” Students have access to a graphic organizer to prompt thinking and idea development.
Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a poetry collection by Emily Dickinson, “The Poetry of Emily Dickinson,” and complete a Writing to Sources task where they write a blog as the first-person speaker in Dickinson’s poems: “Give an account of a day in your life, using your interpretation of words, lines, and images from at least two of Dickinson’s poems to describe your experiences and observations.” Students later complete an evidence log to record what they have learned from the poetry of Dickinson.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Performance-Based Assessment, students write an explanatory essay to the question, “What makes certain places live in our memory?” Student instructions state: “Analyze at least three texts from the unit to show how their authors address the question.”
Indicator 1K
Materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1k.
The materials provide frequent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Writing opportunities are focused on students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence. The writing opportunities include shorter specific writing aligned with a specific text or texts, longer process writing in the performance tasks, writing as a preparation for a speaking task, and short, informal written responses to questions. During Whole-Class Learning, most units end with a writing task that involves explicit instruction in the skills needed to complete the task. During Small-Group Learning, students work collaboratively to complete research assignments and other writing projects that reference the text and often require support from the text or other credible sources. Graphic organizers are available to help students organize textual evidence to support a claim. Students are required to go outside the texts and conduct research to add additional evidence for some activities. All units have multiple opportunities to write using evidence, although it is more limited in Unit 6, which focuses on students doing narrative writing. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance to assist students when completing writing tasks and can offer additional support in the form of modeling and graphic organizers.
Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and write an editorial, including “a list of reasons that support and clarify your claim.” The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance, including but not limited to: “Ask students to give examples of evidence Jefferson offers to support this claim, such as his list of accusations against King George III.” As students write, the teacher provides the following feedback to strengthen their writing “like the Declaration of Independence, [your] editorial includes a claim, evidence, and reasons. It should also include appeals to ethics, logic, authority, and/or emotion.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an informative essay answering the question, “Did the nation achieve the goals Douglass and Lincoln desired?” Students research the Reconstruction, and after taking notes on what they find, students connect their information to specific details from the Whole-Class Learning texts. In the prewriting/planning step of the task, students receive instruction on types of evidence they may want to find to support their thesis. The Teacher’s Edition provides the following guidance for teachers as they give students feedback on evidence gathering. “Remind students that they can glean facts and statistics from any source, but if they use a source from the Internet, it’s important to first evaluate the quality and validity of that source before using it in an informative essay. Encourage students to organize their evidence in a logical manner.” Students find evidence from the unit texts for their essays.
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain, and A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett. After reading, students write an explanatory essay to the prompt: “How do American authors use regional details to make the events and themes of a narrative come to life for readers?” Students are prompted to consider how specific geographic details play into the text they have read. As students plan their essay, the teacher instructs them to gather evidence. The Teacher’s Edition provides teachers with the following guidance as they give students feedback: “encourage students to find at least three examples from each selection. Discuss why particular examples evoked visualization of the place. Did any arouse strong emotions, either positive or negative?” Once students have gathered evidence, the teacher prompts them to evaluate it and “reminds students to ensure that the evidence they have found supports their thesis and that they are able to refute any evidence that might undermine their thesis.”
Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “Innovators and Their Inventions.” In the practice work after the reading, students choose one of three prompts that reinforce their close reading strategies. One of the prompts states: “Essential Question: What role does individualism play in American society? What have these public documents taught you about the role that innovative individuals play in society? Discuss with your group.” Students gather evidence from the texts that help them form their claims/discussions.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and listen to the podcast “Giving Women the Vote” by Sandra Sleight-Brennan. In the Writing to Compare activity, students write a compare-and-contrast essay analyzing how each selection shows persuasion at work with a focus on the arguments and strategies used by people involved in the campaign. In prewriting, students analyze the following elements of rhetoric in each selection: argument, tone, repetition, imagery, allusion, and analogy. Then they look for similarities and analyze how the argument and strategies have changed over time. In drafting, students create a thesis and outline for the essay based on their analysis. In the outline, they include specific evidence to use in each section.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argumentative essay around the question, “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end the hysteria in Salem?” Students write the argument in response to the reading of the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller and after listening to an audio performance of Act I of the same play. The materials ask students to “Choose a position and state a claim. Then, develop and support that claim with quotations and examples from the text, as well as information about mass hysteria from secondary sources.”
Indicator 1L
Materials include explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards, with opportunities for application in context.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1l.
The materials include opportunities to demonstrate the application of grammar and convention skills in context in writing tasks; however, explicit instruction of grammar and usage standards is lacking. Some grammar substandards include explicit instruction but have limited practice or are not outlined thoroughly, such as spelling and using a style manual. Some substandards are included when the explicit instruction is about a grammatical element connected to the substandard. Students apply grammar skills in context in Whole-Group and Small-Group Learning, though the opportunities are not always authentic. Students complete Language Development tasks that connect to a text they are reading; the tasks include a teaching component with sections for Language Development, such as Concept Vocabulary, Word Study, Conventions, and Author’s Style. The materials offer other practice opportunities in a Grammar Center that includes workbooks and tutorials for each grade level. The End Matter of the Teacher’s Edition provides a Grammar Handbook consistent for each grade level that provides a structure for teachers to scaffold grammar instruction.
Materials include some explicit instruction of some of the grade-level grammar and usage standards. Materials include some authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills in context, including applying grammar and convention skills to writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Students have opportunities to apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and complete a Conventions and Style Task around Changes in Syntax and Usage. Student instructions state: “Usage: the way in which a word or phrase is used. Jefferson uses some words that would rarely be used—and might even be contested—today. For example, the word consanguinity in paragraph 32 is a term that few modern writers would use.” Students complete a Read It activity including but not limited to: “Locate Jefferson’s use of conjured in paragraph 32. What does the word mean to Jefferson in this context? What does the word often mean today? Use an etymological dictionary or other source to explain how the two meanings are connected by word origin and word history.” To conclude the task, students complete a Write It activity: “Rewrite this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Use modern English usage and syntax to express the same meaning. Then, compare the two versions and take note of ways in which each version would likely appeal to different audiences.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act I by Arthur Miller. The Conventions and Style activity focuses on personal pronouns. Students learn that Miller chose not to use the archaic personal pronouns of the 1600s in the play but instead to use modern personal pronouns and nonstandard pronouns in Tituba’s dialogue.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Brief History of the Short Story” by D.F. McCourt. In the Conventions and Style sections, students examine the differences between active and passive voice. The text provides explicit instruction and examples. The Tip section provides instructions on clarification of the nuance in using active and passive voice: “Some grammar handbooks or style guides may advise against using passive voice. However, it is a stylistic choice that may give clarity or provide emphasis.” In the Read It section, students identify examples of voice in sample sentences. Students write a paragraph responding to the reading in which they explore using both active and passive voice.
Students have opportunities to resolve issues of complex or contested usage, consulting references (e.g., Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, Garner’s Modern American Usage) as needed. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano and complete a Conventions and Style task. The materials include a chart with characteristics of the eighteenth-century narrative style, including sentence length, usage, and mechanics: “Usage: the ways in which words are commonly used” and in eighteenth-century style, “Word meanings change over time, as do word forms, including the formation of singular and plural nouns. Modern readers may contest usage or need to confirm archaic meanings.” Students complete a Read It activity in which they “Identify an example of eighteenth-century usage” from a passage from Equiano’s narrative.” The Teacher’s Edition provides possible responses. To conclude the task, students complete a Write It activity: “Rewrite the passage in modern style. Then, share passages with your group and discuss whether or not the change in style lessened the persuasive impact of the original passage.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a poetry collection by Emily Dickinson, “The Poetry of Emily Dickinson,” including “The Soul selects her own Society –” and complete a Word Study relating to Word Derivations. During the activity, students “Use a dictionary or online source to compare the precise meaning and derivations of these related words: czar, kaiser, caesar.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. The Word Study activity has students use a dictionary to find five examples of exocentric compounds.
Students have opportunities to observe hyphenation conventions. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. The Conventions and Style activity focuses on compound nouns. One paragraph discusses when and how hyphens are required to join words and are used as a stylistic choice by an author. Students identify compound nouns in sample sentences and write four sentences using one new compound noun and decide if they will use a hyphen or not. Students explain why they did or did not use a hyphen.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Literature of Place'' by Barry Lopez and complete a Conventions and Style task relating to punctuation. The author uses a dash and hyphen as “an important tool for helping readers gain a clear and subtle sense of a writer’s meaning.” Student instructions state: “Hyphens are shorter in length than dashes. Their main function is to join words together.” Examples of the appropriate use of hyphens are available, including an example from the text: “It is as if someone has opened the door to a stuffy and too-much-studies room…” Students complete a Read It activity in which they “locate the compound adjective too-much-studied in paragraph 4. Discuss what this adjective means and why you think Lopez chose to create his own compound adjective instead of using a more common modifier.” The Teacher’s Edition provides possible student responses. To conclude the task, students complete a Write It activity, in which they “Use a hyphen or hyphens to create at least one compound adjective.”
Students have opportunities to spell correctly. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell. The Writing to Compare activity includes Review, Revise, Edit step directions to correct any spelling errors in the essay.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument and complete editing and proofreading. Student instructions state: “Read your draft carefully, looking for errors in spelling and punctuation.” The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance: “Remind students that although many word processing programs catch grammar and spelling errors, they are not foolproof. Students should still review their work by reading it.” There is no explicit instruction provided on this skill.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write a narrative. During editing and proofreading, student instructions state: “Read your draft carefully, correcting errors in spelling and punctuation.” The Teacher’s Edition asks teachers to offer students a proofreading checklist, such as the following: “Check for errors in: capitalization, end marks, use of commas, colons, semicolons, use of quotation marks, use of apostrophes, and spelling.” There is no explicit instruction provided on this skill.
Vary syntax for effect, consulting references (e.g., Tufte’s Artful Sentences) for guidance as needed; apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Conventions and Style activity focuses on sentence variety. Students review independent clauses, dependent clauses, and the four types of sentences before identifying each type of sentence used in a paragraph from the text. Students write a paragraph containing at least one of each type of sentence.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an informative essay. In the Drafting step, the Language Development: Conventions activity focuses on syntax. Students review the four types of sentence patterns using sentences from the Launch text and are reminded to use the type of pattern that best fits their ideas as they are writing their draft.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay and focus on Language Development: Style and Add Variety: Vary Syntax. The materials include ways in which writers vary syntax: vary sentence lengths, vary sentence types, and vary sentence structure. The Teacher’s Edition includes guidance to Make it Interactive: “Project ‘Planning Your Trip to Gold Country’ from the Interactive Teacher’s Edition and ask several volunteers to read aloud paragraphs 3–6 so students can listen to the rhythm created by the author’s variable syntax. Point out the importance of syntax variety by breaking down and reading aloud the first sentence in paragraph 4: ‘Jamestown has a number of businesses. They allow you to take pans, trowels, and boots into the American River. You can test your ability to find gold.’” Students complete a Write It activity: “As you write, consider using a reference resource for ideas on how to vary your sentences.” Examples are provided, including but not limited to Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte.
Indicator 1M
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 1m.
The materials provide a comprehensive year-long plan for students to acquire both academic and concept vocabulary in a systematic way. Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words (e.g., words that might appear in other contexts/content areas). Materials include lessons and activities for vocabulary critical to understanding the text, the overall concept of the unit, and the genre of writing for each unit. Vocabulary is repeated in various contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts. Units systematically build vocabulary, as each unit includes academic vocabulary instruction before reading texts in the Introduction and builds during the reading of individual texts. Students rank their familiarity with the words before reading and, after reading, think about the connection between the words and practice using the words and Greek and Latin roots in the Word Study and Concept Vocabulary sections. Concept Vocabulary is found in Whole-Class and Small-Group Learning activities for the texts in each unit. Activities for demonstrating understanding of the Concept Vocabulary become more complex as the year progresses. Vocabulary is associated with the writing focus of the Performance Tasks, and students can incorporate vocabulary in authentic ways during the Performance Tasks and from their Word Networks during the Performance-Based Assessment. Stand-alone vocabulary assessments include a pre-test, mid-year assessment, and end-of-year assessment. The Vocabulary Center includes supplemental practice resources for students to work with common general academic and domain-specific words using Interactive Vocabulary Lessons, Word Study Worksheets, Domain-Specific Academic Vocabulary lessons, and General Academic Vocabulary lessons. Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive vocabulary development component.
Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter, the materials include a Standards Correlation, including Language: Conventions, Effective Use, and Vocabulary: “The vocabulary standards focus on understanding words and phrases, their relationships, and their nuances and on acquiring new vocabulary, particularly general academic and domain-specific words, and phrases.” Each unit includes Vocabulary/Word Study, and the Unit at a Glance includes the academic vocabulary, concept vocabulary, and word study, such as the following: Latin Prefix, Latin Root, Cognates, Connotation and Denotation, and Multiple-Meaning Words. The materials include a consistent approach for students to interact with word relationships and build academic vocabulary regularly. Each unit offers information in the Introduction regarding the Academic Vocabulary for students to interact with and with teacher guidance, such as offering possible student responses. The materials offer Language Development consistently in the Whole-Class and Small-Group Learning sections with Word Networks and through annotations when close reading. The Teacher’s Edition End Matter also includes a Glossary: Academic Concept Vocabulary and the academic vocabulary appears in blue type. The Index also offers a list of the academic vocabulary and concept vocabulary with corresponding page numbers.
In the Teacher’s Edition during the Launch text of each unit, the Vocabulary Development box provides teachers with additional Academic Vocabulary Reinforcement activities.
Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, academic and concept vocabulary are embedded throughout. In each unit Introduction, students view a chart with academic vocabulary for the unit, read mentor sentences with the words, and complete a chart for the predicted meaning and related words. Each text Introduction includes a Concept Vocabulary section where students rank words from least familiar to most familiar. All words are defined in the footnotes of the text. After reading, the Concept Vocabulary section includes activities with words from the Introduction, and the Word Study section includes practice with Latin and Greek word parts. The structure of the vocabulary lessons remains consistent throughout the year.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and encounter the word despotism in the text: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” Later in the same unit, students read “Speech in the Convention” by Benjamin Franklin. During Making Meaning before the reading, students rank their familiarity with the word despotism. Following the reading, students consider why vocabulary was selected, including despotism. Students respond to questions in their notebooks, including “2. What are two negative effects that might result from a government ruled by despotism?”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Introduction, the Academic Vocabulary: Personal Narrative activity introduces the word sequence. It is also used again in Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, where students are encouraged to use the academic vocabulary in their personal narrative essays. In the end of unit Performance-Based Assessment, students are reminded they will need to know the meaning of the academic vocabulary to successfully complete the final assessment. While Academic Vocabulary is included in three activities in Unit 2, it is not formally revisited in other units.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everything Stuck to Him” by Raymond Carver. In the Concept Vocabulary activity in the introduction, students rank their familiarity with the words waterfowl, letterhead, overcast, and shotgun. In the Concept Vocabulary activity, students consider how compound words contribute to the internal setting and action of the story. Next, they use the words in sentences showing they understand the meaning, then rewrite the sentences replacing the vocabulary words with one or two other words. The activity ends with a Word Study section on endocentric compound words. During the Writing to Sources activity, students consider how they could incorporate some of the Concept Vocabulary into the essay they are writing. While students engage with the words several times within the story, they are not included in concept vocabulary for any other text in this or other units.
Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words (e.g., words that might appear in other contexts/content areas). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Vocabulary Center, Interactive Vocabulary Lessons, Grades 11–12 General Academic Vocabulary, the lesson includes Show It, Try It, and Apply It sections. Examples of Vocabulary Terms include, but are not limited to: anachronism, epiphany, immutable, tenacious, engender, and theoretical. In the Interactive lessons, student instructions state: “Drag each vocabulary word in the left-hand column to match it with the vocabulary word in the right-hand column that has the same root.”
In the Vocabulary Center, Interactive Vocabulary Lessons, Grades 11–12 Domain-Specific Academic Vocabulary, the lesson includes Show It, Try It, and Apply It sections. Examples of Vocabulary Terms include, but are not limited to: absolutism, entropy, gigabyte, chromosome, correlate, exponent, invest, and vicious. The Interactive lessons include the following student activity: “Identify the domain of each vocabulary word. Drag each word into the correct subject area column.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “Innovators and Their Inventions” (author not cited). In the Introduction, Media Vocabulary section, students read definitions and example sentences for the following technical vocabulary: specifications, cross-section, and figure. The words are also used in other contexts. After reading, in the Media Vocabulary activity, students answer questions about the definitions for the words when used in discussing media.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Focus Period 1920–1960: Times of Trouble” (author not cited). The materials provide instruction on the Tier II academic vocabulary words: assert, relevant, certify, immutable, and definitive. The words are related to the Performance Task of writing an argument.
Overview of Gateway 2
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
The materials are organized around cohesive topics/themes that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. There are high-quality questions and tasks sequenced in a way that is appropriate for the grade level and include text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. Throughout the program, there are opportunities for students to complete research to learn more about or expand their knowledge on topics. The multi-faceted culminating tasks require students to show their knowledge and understanding of a topic through integrated literacy skills. While the materials provide writing instruction that aligns with the standards for the grade level and include different types of writing tasks that connect with texts, well-designed guidance is lacking to help teachers implement and monitor student growth.
The materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions, tasks, and assessments are aligned to grade-level standards, and by the end of the academic year, every standard is addressed. The pacing for the six units in the program is generally reasonable, and the suggested implementation schedule can be reasonably completed in one school year.
Gateway 2
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
The materials are organized around cohesive topics/themes that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Each text builds knowledge in either the topic, literary skill, or historical time period the text represents. Historical, biographical, cultural, or textual references are included to build and support student comprehension of the anchor texts.
The materials include high-quality questions and tasks in which students analyze key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts. The tasks are sequenced in a way that is appropriate for the grade level and include text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. There are multi-faceted culminating tasks that require students to show their knowledge and understanding of a topic through integrated literacy skills. The program also provides research and writing activities and projects that are sequenced and encourage students to develop knowledge and understand different aspects of a topic. In each unit, there are opportunities for students to conduct both shorter and longer research tasks to build knowledge on topics and synthesize their learning.
While the materials provide writing instruction that aligns with the standards for the grade level and include different types of writing tasks that connect with texts, well-designed guidance is lacking to help teachers implement and monitor student growth.
Indicator 2A
Texts are organized around a cohesive topic(s)/theme(s) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a.
The materials are organized around a cohesive topic(s)/theme(s) that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. The materials include six units, each focusing on a topic related to the Essential Question, which can be found in the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter. Each section has a guiding question that builds to an answer for the unit Essential Question; texts are tied to these questions through a unifying theme. Students complete readings during Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and Independent Learning. A variety of texts are provided with varying levels of complexity to build students’ knowledge and ability to navigate complex text independently and proficiently by the end of the year. Each text builds knowledge in either the topic, literary skill, or historical time period the text represents. Historical, biographical, cultural, or textual references are included to build and support student comprehension of the anchor texts. The Teacher’s Edition notes several areas of support for background knowledge and scaffolding support in vocabulary and knowledge acquisition, close reading annotations, and discussions. Texts are followed by a set of questions and activities divided into consistent sections: Before Reading includes Concept Vocabulary and First Read Strategies; After Reading includes Comprehension Check, Research, Close Read the Text, Analyze the Text, Analyze Craft and Structure, Concept Vocabulary, and Author’s Style.
Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry. Texts build knowledge and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter, the materials consistently share how students engage with text around each unit topic. A Launch Text “introduces a perspective on the unit topic.” During Whole-Class Learning, teachers are directed to “lead the shared reading experience providing modeling and support, as students begin exploring perspectives on the unit topic.” The next step is for students to “encounter diverse perspectives on the unit topic, working in collaborative teams.” Finally, during Independent Learning, students choose “a text to explore an aspect of the unit topic and share their learning with the class.”
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, the Essential Question is “What is the meaning of freedom?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson, America’s Constitution: A Biography by Akhil Reed Amar, from The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, “Letter to John Adams” by Abigail Adams, and “Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln.
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, the Essential Question is “What is the relationship between literature and place?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as the Launch Text, “Planning Your Trip to Gold Country” (author not cited); a Whole-Class Learning text, reading from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain; a Small-Group Learning text, “A Literature of Place” by Barry Lopez; and, an Independent Learning text selection, such as “The Rockpile” by James Baldwin.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, the Essential Question is “How do we respond when challenged by fear?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as “Focus Period 1920-1960: Times of Trouble,” The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and an audio performance of The Crucible by L.A. Theatre Works.
Indicator 2B
Materials require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality questions and tasks.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b.
The materials include high-quality questions and tasks in which students analyze key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts. The materials are organized in a consistent pattern across all units with multiple after-reading activities. The First-Read Guide requires students to note what they notice, annotate the text, connect ideas with other selections, and respond by writing a brief summary. The Close-Read Guide provides students with reminders to revisit sections and annotate what they notice. The Close-Read Guide includes the Analyze the Text and Analyze Craft and Structure sections in which they analyze key ideas and details as well as consider the author’s choices of patterns, structure, and techniques. All of the activities require students to revisit the text and use specific text evidence in their answers. In the Teacher’s Edition, the sample answers also include the depth of knowledge levels for questions; most are at DOK 2 or 3. For some texts, the questions lead to the subsequent Writing or Speaking and Listening activities. These questions also build toward the various Performance Tasks embedded after Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and at the end of the unit. Students keep an evidence log and notebook throughout each unit to record responses and help them prepare for the culminating tasks.
For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson and analyze key ideas and details, citing strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Students answer questions in their notebooks, and the materials add a reminder to cite textual evidence to support their answers, such as “1. Make Inferences Why does Jefferson begin with points about human rights before discussing the colonists’ specific grievances?”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and analyze key ideas and details, identifying how the author develops the theme. The Teacher’s Edition includes the guidance, “Point out that the first two sentences define how the theme is developed in this story. The author reveals some of Mrs. Mallard’s internal monologue through her dialogue, set off by quotation marks. In some of these instances, Mrs. Mallard is speaking to others, as when she says, ‘Go away. I am not making myself ill.’ Direct students to look at what Mrs. Mallard says as well as what she thinks and feels to identify the thematic meaning.” Students complete a chart to “track Mrs. Mallard’s actions and the emotional journey she undergoes. Then, explain how Mrs. Mallard’s actions and feelings suggest Chopin’s theme about the status of women in the society of her area. Note that there may be more than one theme.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Brief History of the Short Story” by D.F. McCourt. In Analyze the Text, students examine the complexity of the central ideas to answer the following prompt: “Essential Question: What do stories reveal about the human condition? How does this literary history shed light on the short story’s ability to address the human condition?”
For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read foundational documents, including the “Preamble to the Constitution” by Gouverneur Morris and the “Bill of Rights” by James Madison. Students analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure of these foundational documents, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. During a Close Read, students annotate and answer questions, such as “Why does the author list this particular series of nouns? What do these nouns establish as the purpose of this document?” Students also answer the following question: “Revisit a section of the text you found important during your first read. Annotate what you notice. Ask yourself questions such as why did the author make this choice?’ What can you conclude?” In Analyze Craft and Structure, students answer questions such as “1. What does the preamble to the Bill of Rights tell readers about the reasons the document was created? 3. Explain why enumeration is an effective organizational pattern for the Bill of Rights.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from “Nature” and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students review ways writers develop ideas within an essay. Student instructions state: “Work on your own to analyze Emerson’s presentation of his vision in these two essays. Complete a chart like this one. Then, share and discuss your findings with your group.” The Teacher’s Edition suggests teachers remind students the process of generating ideas happens over and over as an essay takes shape. The ancillary resource Analyze Craft and Structure: Generating Ideas is suggested for additional support.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students examine theme and symbolism throughout the anchor text by answering the following prompts: “Trace Sylvia’s attitude toward the stranger from the beginning of the story to the end. How do her feelings about him change? Use a chart… to analyze imagery, symbols, and themes. For each topic listed in the left-hand column, record images, symbols, and other details from the story that help to reveal the author’s central messages or insights. Then, write a theme statement for each topic.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act I by Arthur Miller. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students complete multiple activities about the Structural Elements of Drama. They review the “exposition of Reverend Hale from paragraph 312” and consider what it reveals about his character. Students consider other elements of the exposition as well. Student instructions state: “Examine how two specific events or characters are described in the play’s opening. How did most of the members of Salem feel about the vast forest that surrounded them? How might these attitudes have affected the girls’ actions in the forest as well as Parris’s reaction to what he saw there?” Students also consider the stage directions in the play: “Identify two examples of stage directions that are essential to understanding the action of Act l and explain your thinking.”
Indicator 2C
Materials require students to analyze the integration of knowledge within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.
The materials include multiple opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts and across multiple texts. The tasks are sequenced in a way that is appropriate for the grade level and include text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. The materials provide related questions as students comprehend and analyze texts and complete culminating tasks. Most sets of questions and tasks require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across the unit to build knowledge around a topic/theme and the essential question. In some instances, the materials pair two or more texts, and students practice the same skills across all texts. Multiple texts connect to the essential question in preparation for the end-of-unit assessment. In this assessment, students synthesize ideas based on various text-dependent prompts that align with grade-level standards.
Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman, “The Writing of Walt Whitman,” including “Song of Myself.” After reading the collection of works, in Analyze the Text activity, students answer the Historical Perspectives question, which reads: “The French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that Americans are ‘always considering themselves as standing alone, [imagining] that their whole destiny is in their own hands.’ To what extent do you think Walt Whitman’s writing illustrates that idea?”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass. In Analyze the Text, students delineate and evaluate the reasoning Douglass used in his speech and answer the following prompts: “Douglass presented this speech to an antislavery society—an audience that was already on his side. Why, then, did Douglass speak as harshly as he did? Whom was he trying to reach? How does the struggle for freedom change with history? What have you learned about the struggle for freedom from reading this speech?”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible by Arthur Miller and listen to an audio performance of The Crucible by L.A. Theatre Works. In the Writing to Compare assignment, students analyze how the performance addressed various aspects of the play and write a critical evaluation by answering the following prompt: “Write a critical review of the L.A. Theatre Works production of Act I of The Crucible. In your review, consider these questions. How does the performance present the setting, characters, and events? How does it establish a mood? Is the interpretation effective and insightful, or does it misinterpret the play? In your conclusion, state whether you would or would not recommend the L.A. Theatre Works production to students studying the play or to general audiences.”
Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. In Analyze the Text, students answer the following questions: “According to Jefferson, what has been the king’s attitude toward the laws of the colonies? Why is that attitude an important factor in the decision to declare independence? The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew that their announcement could mean war with powerful, well-equipped Britain. In your opinion, why isn’t that idea more prominent in the document?”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman, including “Song of Myself,” from the “Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass”, “I Hear America Singing,” “On the Beach at Night Alone,” and “America.” Students demonstrate knowledge of early foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics. As students analyze the text, they respond to questions in their notebooks, such as “In the ‘Preface to Leaves of Grass,’ what does Whitman mean when he calls America a ‘nation of nations?’ How does he develop that idea in ‘I Hear America Singing?’ In ‘On the Beach at Night Alone,’ how does the second stanza state and develop the ‘thought’ the speaker has in the third line of the poem? Explain. What role does individualism play in American Society? What have you learned about American individualism from reading Whitman’s writings?”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg, and view a photo gallery, “Sandburg’s Chicago” (author not cited). Students integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats as well as in words to address a question or solve a problem. In the Writing to Compare assignment, students “analyze the texts and consider how the medium in which information is provided affects your understanding of the subject.” In a small group, students complete the following assignment: “Create a multimedia presentation about early-twentieth-century Chicago in which you weave together Sandburg’s poem, images from the photo essay, and your own knowledge and ideas. Either in your presentation or in a separate written text, explain how poetic words and photographic images bring early-twentieth-century Chicago to life for readers and viewers in different ways.” As students analyze the texts, they compare the text and photographs, identifying ways in which the poem and photo essay convey information. A chart is available for them to capture their observations. Students respond to questions in their notebooks, such as “Do the photographs reveal dimensions of the city that the poem does not? Explain. Does the poem conjure aspects of the city that the photographs do not? Explain.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write a narrative. The instructions reference multiple texts: “You have read three short stories that employ flashbacks or framing devices to tell stories. Now you will use your understanding of those texts to create a narrative that explores a question related to the human condition in a fresh way.” Students answer the following question: “How do stressful situations often reveal the best and worst in people?”
Indicator 2D
Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit's topic(s)/theme(s) through integrated literacy skills (e.g., a combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.
The materials include multi-faceted culminating tasks that require students to show their knowledge and understanding of a topic through integrated literacy skills. Each unit across the grade level includes an essential question connecting to a topic/theme. The units include Whole-Class Learning and Small-Group Learning opportunities. Students build knowledge of the topic/theme under study by reading various texts, completing writing tasks, and engaging in speaking and listening with peers. The Whole-Class Learning Performance Task, Small-Group Learning Performance Task, and Performance-Based Assessments in each unit provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of the topic/theme through various means addressing several different standards. The Whole-Group Learning Performance Tasks assess writing, and the Small-Group Learning Performance Tasks assess speaking and listening skills. Throughout the unit, shorter culminating tasks following each reading also provide practice opportunities for multiple skills. Teachers can provide feedback to support students with mastery by the end of the unit. The Teacher Resources includes an Assessment section that provides online and PDF versions of selection tests, extension selection tests, unit tests, extension unit tests, and beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year tests. Each exam includes multiple choice and short answer questions testing various standards.
Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, each Introduction for the unit includes information about the Unit Goals, including goals for Reading, Writing, Research, Language, and Speaking and Listening. The Teacher’s Edition states, “These unit goals were backward designed from the Performance-Based Assessment at the end of the unit and the Whole-Class and Small Group Performance Tasks. Students will practice and become proficient in many more standards over the course of this unit.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman, “The Writing of Walt Whitman'' including “Song of Myself.” In the Analyze the Text Practice, students answer questions such as,
“(a) Interpret: In the Preface to Leaves of Grass, what does Whitman mean when he calls America a ‘nation of nations’?
Connect: How does he develop that idea in ‘I Hear America Singing’?
In Section 51 of ‘Song of Myself,’ what attitude toward time does the speaker express? Cite time-related details to support your answer.
Analyze: What does the speaker seem to want of the listener? Explain.”
Later in the Performance Task, students write a personal narrative based on the prompt: “Write a brief personal narrative in which you address this question: How has my personal experience shaped my view of individualism? Do I see it as a guiding principle, something to be avoided, or a combination of both? Begin by choosing an incident from your life that has shaped your view of individualism. Develop that memory into a narrative, sequencing events so that they reveal how you acquired the view you now hold. Connect your ideas to details from the texts you have just read.” The tasks address reading, writing, and speaking and listening standards.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students participate in a panel discussion and research presentation. This culminating task for the unit asks students to review all text and “note what further questions the source raises.” As a group, students formulate a research question and synthesize findings to narrow their focus. Students write a script that will be used for a presentation of their research and are encouraged to “adapt…word choice if you find your presentation seems too informal.” The task addresses reading, writing, and speaking and listening standards.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, and students view “Interview with George Takei” by Archive of American Television. In the Writing to Compare activity, students write a compare and contrast essay to one of three prompts about the two texts. Students analyze the two texts’ position on the Loyalty Oath and then look for similarities and differences in how the Japanese experience in the internment camps is presented. Students write a thesis and select evidence before drafting their essays. Finally, students work in groups to revise, review and edit their first draft before publishing their final draft. The task addresses reading and writing standards.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Performance-Based Assessment, students respond to a related prompt: “How does a fictional character or characters respond to life-changing news?” that connects to the Essential Question of the entire unit: “What do stories reveal about the human condition?” Students complete an Evidence Log throughout the unit when reading selections to prepare for the Performance-Based Assessment, which is completed independently. The Teacher’s Edition does provide the following guidance: “Prior to beginning the Assessment, ask students to think about these questions: What constitutes life-changing news? What do we, as humans in a developed country, expect when we wake up each morning? What do expectations have to do with life-changing news?.” Students can refer to their previous work throughout the unit, including the Evidence Log and Word Network, as they write a short story. The task addresses writing standards and speaking and listening standards.
Indicator 2E
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.
The materials provide writing instruction that aligns with the standards for the grade level and include different types of writing tasks that connect with texts; however, well-designed guidance is lacking to help teachers implement and monitor student growth. The materials follow a consistent pattern in each unit that includes a variety of writing tasks. Argumentative, informative, and narrative writing activities are offered across the year in the Unit Introduction, Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and Independent Learning sections of each unit. Students can practice for the writing Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments with the writing activities in the section and unit leading up to each task. Since units focus on a specific type of writing, the program is cyclical in building skills toward the performance task in each unit versus over the course of the year. The Teacher’s Edition includes some guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. There is limited information relating to a year-long writing plan. Mentor texts are provided for students to reference and learn techniques to apply in their own writing. Some guidance is provided for students as they practice and apply writing standards, mostly in reminders to teachers rather than explicit instruction and modeling. While all standards are tagged as a part of the instruction and tasks, a number of standards do not have explicit instruction; rather, students are told to address the skill indicated in the standard. While there are some interactive and minilessons available in the resources, the materials do not consistently outline where these resources may be helpful to teachers and students. Those resources that are available for students and teachers to access are generic resources that are not specific to each text, writing, task, or unit.
Materials include writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Each unit provides a Launch Text to model the mode of writing that will be used in the Performance-Based Assessments. Throughout Whole-Class Learning, the teacher will “lead the shared reading experience, providing modeling and support, as students begin exploring perspectives on the unit topic.” Writing tasks connect with the texts students read. The Performance Task assists students in building toward proficiency with the Unit Performance-Based Assessment. Students draw on evidence, notes, and previous writing instruction during the Unit Performance-Based Assessment.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Unit Introduction, students read the Launch Text “Totally Free?” (author not cited), an argumentative text. Students consider the writer’s argument, including various viewpoints: “Mark facts and examples that provide strong evidence to support the main claim.” The Teacher’s Edition states, “The Launch Text provides a common introduction to the unit theme for all students…Additionally, ‘Totally Free?’ provides a writing model for the Performance-Based Assessment students complete at the end of the unit.” Students also reference the Model Argument when completing the Performance Task and writing an argument. In Small-Group Learning, students read from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano. In the “Writing to Sources” formative assessment task, students write an argument supporting a claim related to an abolitionist cause. A graphic organizer is provided that outlines different parts of the argument (claim, reasons, and supporting details from the text).
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students complete the task: “Write an informative essay that looks at American history after the Civil War and that answers this question: Did the nation achieve the goals that Douglass and Lincoln desired?” Students complete the steps in process writing and have support, such as guiding questions and graphic organizers. In the prewriting/planning step, students draft a thesis. They are reminded to consider what type of evidence would be most effective before gathering evidence and to look back at the model text to see how to incorporate direct quotations. The last part of prewriting/planning shows students how to use research to support their analysis of to what extent the nation achieved Douglass’ and Lincoln’s goals with a focus on assessing the strengths and limitations of the research information. In the drafting step, students create an outline and then use it to write their first draft. There is an exercise on choosing sentence patterns to best convey simple and complex ideas to guide students in writing the draft. In the revising step, students are guided to look closely at if they have a strong conclusion and if their use of technical vocabulary is correct. Leading up to the Whole-Group Learning Performance task are activities after the unit texts. One example is after students read from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass, the Writing to Sources activity requires students to research how some enslaved people, including Douglass, learned to read. Then, students write an informative essay connecting the research to Douglass’s speech by correcting a misconception from the speech with factual information.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and “Interview with George Takei” by Archive of American Television “about the experiences of interned Japanese Americans during World War II.” Students then write a compare-and-contrast essay. There are charts to assist students when analyzing the two texts and when selecting evidence to support their thesis. Students have an opportunity to review, revise, and edit their essays.
Instructional materials include some well-designed guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Writing and Research Center includes the following minilessons: Informative/Explanatory Writing, Narrative Writing, and Argumentative Writing. A minilesson relating to the Writing Process, Research Writing, Integrating Research Elements, Citing Sources, Sources and Evidence, EssayScorer Writing Prompts, and Writing and Research PowerPoint Presentations are accessible for teachers to assign and offer additional support.
The Professional Development Center offers the option to access Teacher Support videos, including but not limited to: “Become a Better Writer, Feedback, Sequencing Your Ideas, and Time Shifts in Your Writing.” A White Paper is also available entitled “New Perspectives in Building Readers and Writers” by Kelly Gallagher, M.Ed, with information to inform teachers, including but not limited to: “Teachers should be encouraged to write in front of their students, and to share their thinking as they work their way through the writing process. Modeling is also key in helping to sharpen students’ reading skills.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write a personal narrative that addresses the question, “How has my personal experience shaped my view of individualism? Do I see it as a guiding principle, something to be avoided, or a combination of both?” Teachers begin the writing process collaboratively with the students with a “Jump Start” activity in which they pose a thought-provoking question on the topic that leads to discussion. The goal of the activity is to encourage students to “turn the spotlight on themselves and consider the same question about their own uniqueness.” The launch text for the unit acts as a model for this task, and teachers use it to illustrate the components of a successful narrative. The Author’s Perspective resources with Kelly Gallagher, M.Ed., provide a process to model the writing process, and a rubric is used to measure success.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an informative essay. In the Teacher’s Edition, suggestions are provided throughout the writing, such as, “In writing this informative essay, students will first need to determine and articulate what Douglass’s and Lincoln’s goals were in the first place (and how they were similar and different). The second part of their task will be to determine whether the nation achieved those goals. Remind students that additional material on this subject can be found online or in the library.” During the prewriting/planning step, teacher instructions state: “When using two or more texts to write one’s own informative essay, it is especially important to attribute each piece of information to its source. Remind students to use signal phrases for exact quotations and paraphrased text.” The article “The Zig Zag Road to Rights” is provided, with the suggestion for teachers to project it and engage the students in activities to reinforce key ideas and skills. The Teacher’s Toolkit contains a student model of an informative essay. For activities with the texts leading up to the Performance Task, teachers have the same suggestions and guidance for teaching the various skills with links to materials for reteaching and suggestions for stretching a student.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Crucible, Act IV by Arthur Miller. In the Writing to Sources activity, students write an argument about why a theme of the play is still relevant (or more relevant) today. A checklist of requirements is provided, but ways to further address the themes are limited. The Teacher’s Edition provides some suggestions for addressing the theme, such as, “If students are having difficulty finding a theme that they think is relevant to today’s world, then ask them questions that will help them identify themes in The Crucible. Such questions might include: What observation does Miller make about weak people’s behavior when they are afraid? What does he say about good, strong people’s behavior when they are forced to make life-or-death decisions? What does the playwright say about dogmatic, inflexible religious beliefs? What does he say about authority and power?” There is also a suggestion to use a generic digital resource, a graphic organizer, to teach the idea of argumentation.
Indicator 2F
Materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f.
The materials include research and writing activities and projects that are sequenced and encourage students to develop knowledge and understand different aspects of a topic. Materials provide opportunities for students to complete research activities tied to topics as a part of the research process to build mastery of the grade-level standards. The language of the standards is present in the student materials and often referenced in the directions for assignments to allow students to make connections to their learning. Research is integrated throughout the curriculum in regular short research activities associated with specific texts. Students synthesize multiple texts and source materials to gain knowledge and understanding of the topic. Regular features in the after-reading activities are Research to Clarify and Research to Explore tasks that allow students to practice research skills related to the texts or topic. The final Performance Task in most units requires that students use knowledge from the selections and their research to answer the prompt. The Reflection task in each unit addresses student research goals and understanding. Materials support teachers in employing projects, including a research toolkit. Guidance is available in the Teacher’s Edition, connecting with the topics and suggesting ways to assist students during the research process. Additional resources are available for teachers in the Research and Writing Center, including mini-lessons and a research PowerPoint.
Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument in which they address the question: “Which statement do you find most compelling for Americans today: the Preamble to the Constitution or the first sentence of paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence?” Students use a variety of evidence, “including examples from history, to support [their] positions. In what sorts of resources might you find the types of historical information you need?” Students take notes that support and oppose their claims. The materials remind students “to supply evidence that supports your rejection of any counterclaim that you mention.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an informative essay to answer the question, “Did the nation achieve the goals Douglass and Lincoln desired?” Students begin by doing research on the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. In the Enriching Writing with Research activity, instructions explain how to find relevant information and weave it into an informative essay. The Launch text is used as a mentor text to show this skill. Finally, students review how to avoid plagiarism while using research.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay. Student instructions state: “Your goal in this essay is to inform your readers, but you are not expected to know everything about your subject. Thoughtful research can help you clarify or expand upon your ideas about the importance of setting in American literature.” There is a further explanation provided about primary and secondary sources: “Look for information in sources that are reliable, using multiple resources to verify any details that are not common knowledge.”
Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher Resources, a Plagiarism Checker is provided for teachers to access via Safe Assign, which offers guidance for implementation, including Video Tutorials: “SafeAssign is effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool. Use SafeAssign to review assignment submissions for originality and create opportunities to help students identify how to properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase.” The tool will assist educators when assigning research projects and connects to W.11.8 when students avoid plagiarism.
The materials offer Research Minilessons and a Writing and Research Center with a Research Writing PowerPoint Presentation that introduces research writing and provides prewriting tips to assist students in formulating a research question and making a Research Plan, such as “Once you have written your major research question, you are ready to make a research plan. As part of your plan, you will create a timeline for finishing your report. You also will find and evaluate sources of information.” The PowerPoint Presentation includes guidance relating to how to organize a research report and revise and edit the draft. A grammar mini-lesson follows, and student instructions for publishing the piece state: “When you’ve finished your final draft, publish it. Use this chart to identify a way to publish your informational research report for the appropriate audience.” The Teacher’s Edition: End Matter, Tool Kit: Research includes detailed guidance for Conducting Research, Reviewing Research Findings, and Incorporating Research Into Writing.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. The Teacher’s Edition provides the following suggestion for struggling students: ”If students struggle to come up with an unfamiliar detail to research, suggest that they focus on one of the following: 1) reasons why the colonists did not formally declare themselves independent until 1776 (when the war had already been raging for a year); 2) Enlightenment philosophers (such as John Locke) whom Jefferson read and admired to the extent that he included their ideas in the Declaration.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read from “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass. Teachers facilitate the Comprehension Check, and guidance is available to assist students during Research to Clarify and Research to Explore, such as “For students who cannot formulate a research question, guide them to use their findings from Research to Clarify as a starting point. For example, students who researched the Declaration of Independence might look into its authorship and signatories.”
Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “A Wagner Matinée” by Willa Cather. In the Making Meaning section, students research an unfamiliar detail from the text and consider how their research impacts their understanding of the story: “Research an aspect of the text you find interesting.” Student instructions state: “Write an informative research report that will help readers understand the historical context of Cather’s story.” There are three options for this task. The small group selects a project: “Consult a variety of sources, including primary, secondary, print, and digital.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students view an image gallery, “Perspectives on Lincoln.” In the Speaking and Listening activity, student instructions state: “Choose a person about whom or an event about which Americans had or have varying perspectives. Conduct research using print and online sources to find relevant political cartoons and photographs. Create a slideshow of your image gallery, and write an informative script to accompany your presentation.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read “Antojos” by Julia Alvarez, and students engage in a research project. Students can choose from three options for the research project, such as “Create a field guide entry for the guava plant Psidium guajava, including facts and diagrams about how and where it grows.” The student instructions state: “Include a section in which you explain how the information you researched contributes to your understanding of the characters, setting, and conflicts depicted in ‘Antojos’ by Julia Alvarez.”
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a poetry collection by Emily Dickinson, “The Poetry of Emily Dickinson,” including “The Soul selects her own Society –” and research unfamiliar details to develop meaning. Student instructions state: “Conduct research to find out what happened to Dickinson’s writing after her death.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Performance-Based Assessment, students write an informative essay connecting to the variety of texts they read throughout the unit. Students explore the question: “What motivates people to struggle for change?” Student instructions state: “Identify two or three texts from the unit that you feel most clearly show the connections between motivation and action. Use specific examples from each text to support your analysis and deductions.” Students draw evidence from the texts to support their analysis.
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument answering the question, “Could any of the characters in The Crucible have done more to end the mass hysteria?” Student instructions state: “As you prepare to write your essay, first choose a position and state a claim. Then, develop and support that claim with quotations and examples from the text, as well as information about mass hysteria from secondary sources.” Students gather evidence from the literature of the unit and secondary sources. The Enriching Writing with Research reviews how to evaluate sources and how to incorporate evidence into the argument to support the analysis.
Criterion 2.2: Coherence
Materials promote mastery of grade-level standards by the end of the year.
The materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions, tasks, and assessments are aligned to grade-level standards; however, not all instruction is aligned to grade-level standards with opportunities for explicit instruction. By the end of the academic year, standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard.
The materials provide a suggested implementation schedule and alternative implementation schedule that aligns with core learning objectives. The pacing for the units is reasonable and offers a systematic layout that allows multiple days for reading the texts and completing after-reading activities and a one-day Independent Learning choice text with more limited after-reading activities.
Indicator 2G
Materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g.
The materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions, tasks, and assessments are aligned to grade-level standards; however, not all instruction is aligned to grade-level standards with opportunities for explicit instruction. By the end of the academic year, standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Most speaking and listening standards and most writing standards are covered in the Frontmatter of the Teacher’s Edition, but the student tasks do not always adequately address the full intent of the standard.
Over the course of each unit, the majority of instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, the Unit at a Glance section lists the standards for each student activity in one of three columns: Analyze Craft and Structure, Conventions/Author’s Style, and Composition/Research/Speaking and Listening. Page numbers are not listed next to these entries, though the Teacher’s Edition: End Matter PDF includes an Index of Skills where page numbers are provided. In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter PDF, the materials provide the Correlation to myPerspectives® English Language Arts document with page numbers: “The following correlation shows points at which focused standards instruction is provided in the Student Edition. The Teacher’s Edition provides further opportunity to address standards through Personalize for Learning notes and additional resources available only in the Teacher’s Edition.” The materials do not always provide explicit instruction on the grade-level standards.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an argument. Included in the process writing task is instruction on how to include evidence that supports the claim aligned to W.11-12.1 and W.11-12.1.b. The instruction includes sentence frames for counterclaims and a discussion of how to make notes on evidence that supports the claim and causes the writer to rethink a claim. Students fill in a graphic organizer to plan the evidence and counterclaim.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman and address the standard RL.11-12.1: “Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.” The Correlation document states: “Students will address this standard in Analyze the Text features which appear with every literature selection.” Students complete Analyze the Text questions, such as
“In Section 51 of ‘Song of Myself,’ what attitude toward time does the speaker express? Cite time-related details to support your answer.
Analyze: What does the speaker seem to want of the listener? Explain.”
The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance for formative assessment as students analyze the text, including but not limited to: “If students fail to cite evidence, then remind them to support their ideas with specific information from the text. If students struggle to analyze the poems, then discuss how to interpret or summarize a poem with them and illustrate with examples.” There are seven instances across the school year when the students have an opportunity to address the standard, and teachers can engage in explicit instruction.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write a narrative. During editing and proofreading the materials, student instructions state: “Read your draft carefully, correcting errors in spelling and punctuation.” The Teacher’s Edition suggests offering students a proofreading checklist, such as the following: “Check for errors in capitalization; end marks; use of commas, colons, semicolons; use of quotation marks, use of apostrophes; spelling.” Explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards is limited.
Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, a Whole-Class Learning Performance Task with a writing focus and a Small-Group Learning Performance Task with a speaking and listening focus is included consistently across the school year. Shorter tasks follow the reading of text selections. The questions throughout the Whole-Class Learning and Small-Group Learning connect to the Essential Question of each unit and help prepare students to complete the performance tasks.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell. In the Analyze Media activity, students work with a group: “Review the entire graphic adaptation. How do the images, speech balloons, and captions work together to reveal the difficult moments in this part of the Constitution’s ‘story’? Do they inform, entertain, or both? Explain.” The task aligns with standard RI.11-12.3: “Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay, aligning with standard W.11-12.2: “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.” Student instructions state: “The Whole-Class readings celebrate some of the diverse landscapes that influenced America’s literature and sense of identity. After reading, you will create an explanatory text about the role that setting plays in these selections.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present a narrative aligning with standard SL.11-12.4: “Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.” Student instructions state: “The Small-Group readings focus on ‘last moments’ of characters’ lives and possibly even for short stories as a genre. After reading, your group will write and present a narrative.”
Over the course of each unit, the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, a Performance-Based Assessment is included, and the unit activities are backward-designed to the Performance-Based Assessment. The materials offer Selection Tests, Extension Selections Tests, Unit Tests, Beginning-, Middle-, and End-of-Year Tests, Next Generation Practice Tests, Next Generation Performance Tasks, and Customizable Test Prep Banks. In the online Teacher’s Materials under Assessment, there is an Interpretation Guide for each Unit Test and an Answer Key for each Selection Test, which indicates the standard that is assessed for each question. All questions on all tests are aligned to one or more standards.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Performance-Based Assessment, students write a personal narrative and address standard W.11-12.10: “Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.” Students answer the question: “What significant incident helped me realize that I am a unique individual?” The prompt connects to the Essential Question of the unit: “What role does individualism play in American society?”
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Assessments, Unit 4 Test, students complete a Selected and Short Response, analyzing craft and structure. Students answer questions such as the following: “How does the imagery in Jones’s story help develop the author’s theme?”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, Performance-Based Assessment, students write and present an argument based on the prompt: “Is fear always a harmful emotion?” Throughout the unit, students practice writing arguments through Performance-Tasks and practice tasks to prepare for the end-of-unit assessment.
By the end of the academic year, the majority of standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter PDF is available. The Standards Correlation document provides the Standard in the first column, and where those standards appear in the Print and Interactive Editions in the second column with corresponding page numbers. At times, the materials address standards multiple times across a school year to ensure students can reach mastery. For example, the standard L.11-12.6 is covered in the following texts and tasks: “The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, 82; Innovators and Their Inventions, 230; Second Inaugural Address, 306; Brown v. Board of Education: Opinion of the Court, 367; American Regional Art, 472, 477; Sandburg’s Chicago, 502, 507; Small-Group Performance Task, Unit 4: 533; The Crucible, Act II, 625; Interview with George Takei, 716, 719. Unit Goals, Unit 1: 4; Unit 2: 140; Unit 3: 276; Unit 4: 394; Unit 5: 546; Unit 6: 752.” However, there are instances when specific standards appear rarely or are not addressed fully to ensure sufficient opportunities to practice and reach mastery by the end of the year. For example, the research standard W.11-12.7 is addressed in the following texts and tasks: “Gettysburg Address, 125; A Wagner Matinée, 261; Whole-ClassPerformance Task, Unit 3, 318; Antojos, 737; A Brief History of the Short Story, 826. Standard RI.11-12.8 is addressed in limited ways: Declaration of Independence, 24; What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?, 294; Brown v. Board of Education: Opinion of the Court/Was ‘Brown v. Board’ a Failure?, 378.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot and address standard RL.11-12.5: “Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.” In the Analyze Craft and Structure task, students consider the physical traits, emotional traits, and verbal traits of the speaker and identify details for each trait. Students complete a chart and answer questions, such as
“How can the first line of the poem be interpreted to suggest that Prufrock sees himself as divided, both seeking and fearing action?
At what other points does he express a deeply conflicted sense of self?”
The Standards Correlation document lists thirteen opportunities to address the standard across the grade level with a variety of texts.
Indicator 2H
Materials regularly and systematically balance time and resources required for following the suggested implementation, as well as information for alternative implementations that maintain alignment and intent of the standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h.
The materials provide a suggested implementation schedule and alternative implementation schedule that aligns with core learning and objectives. The pacing for the units is reasonable and offers a systematic layout that allows multiple days for reading the texts and completing after-reading activities and a one-day Independent Learning choice text with more limited after-reading activities. Each unit is planned for 30 days in a 40-50 minute class resulting in 180 class periods of instruction but does not provide a cushion for optional activities, enrichment, or re-teaching for English Language Learners, special education students, or underperforming students. Teachers on a block schedule are guided to combine days to fit the length of their classes. The Pacing Guide appears in the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter. It consistently appears in the Unit Introduction, the Whole-Class Learning Overview, the Small-Group Learning Overview, and the Independent Learning Overview. The pacing allows students an opportunity to master content by the end of the year. The suggested implementation schedules can be completed in the time allotted; however, teacher discretion may be required to determine what materials to include considering the testing requirements of individual districts and states. Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. The optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. The Teacher’s Edition provides several options in the Hook & Inspire section to draw students into texts through visual representations, connections to ideas outside of the literature, extension activities, and Book Talk ideas. The Pacing Guide also offers suggestions when teaching with trade books, including being advised to look at the standards being taught in the unit or the texts being replaced and choose activities and tests from the trade book lesson plans which teach the same standards. Trade books align with the main topic and Essential Question. They do not distract from the primary focus of the unit and can be used in lieu of the provided texts.
Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules align to core learning and objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter, the materials provide guidance when integrating trade books with the program. The trade books can be chosen to supplement a unit: “Form literature circles and have the students read one of the trade books throughout the course of the unit as a supplement to the selections and activities.” The trade books can be chosen to substitute for unit selections: “If you replace unit selections with a trade book, review the standards taught with those selections. Teacher Resources that provide practice with all standards are available.” The trade books can be chosen to extend independent learning: “Extend the unit by replacing independent reading selections with one of these trade books.”
Suggested implementation schedules can be reasonably completed in the time allotted. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, the Teacher’s Edition provides guidance: “Each day in this pacing calendar represents a 40–50 minute class period. Teachers using block scheduling may combine days to reflect their class schedule. In addition, teachers may revise pacing to differentiate and support core instruction by integrating components and resources as students require.” The pacing calendar uses a 30-day schedule that includes one day to introduce the unit, one day to introduce Whole-Class Learning, 11 days of Whole-Class Learning, two days of Performance Task for Whole-Class Learning, one day to introduce Small-Group Learning, nine days of Small-Group Learning, one day for the Performance Task for Small-Group Learning, one day to introduce Independent Learning, one day of Independent Learning, and two days for the final Performance Task. Students read two collections of poetry, The Writings of Walt Whitman and A Poetry Collection of Emily Bronte, that include multiple texts in Whole-Group Learning. Small-Group Learning has five texts, and students choose one of four texts for Independent Learning. The Teacher’s Edition Frontmatter includes an implementation guide for The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. The Frontmatter also explains how to implement the novels in place of the entire unit, parts of the unit, or as an independent, additional unit. The same structure and guidance are used for each unit across the grade level. There are six units, and each unit covers a period of 30 instructional days, for a total of 180 days, which is the minimum requirement for an average U.S. school year.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. The pacing guide allows three days for the text, which has a Lexile level of 1250 and is 4,274 words long. The after-reading activities include six Comprehension questions, two Research questions, three Close Read the Text questions, five Analyze the Text questions, four Analyze Craft and Structure questions, four Concept Vocabulary questions, two Word Study questions, three Conventions and Style questions, a Writing to Sources critical analysis essay, and a Speaking and Listening activity consisting of preparing for and holding a debate. In order to complete all activities in the three days allotted by the pacing guide, some activities are assigned as homework.
Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Focus Period 1800-1870: An American Identity.” In the Teacher’s Edition, the Personalize for Learning box for Strategic Support focuses on historical timelines with suggestions for leading a discussion on the timeline. The instructions state: “Divide students into groups, with students of different abilities working together. Ask each group to analyze the international events in the timeline and draw conclusions about their relevance to the U.S. events. Then, have a discussion to compare conclusions.”
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students view an image gallery, “Perspectives on Lincoln.” The Teacher’s Edition provides Extension Questions that can be used in lieu of the Comprehension Check, such as the following: “Note discrepancies between sources. Closely review any of the political cartoons and any of the photographs. Choose one of each type [of] information source and integrate their messages to address this question: How did Lincoln’s death and the Union’s victory in the Civil War change many Americans’ view of him over time?” The grade-level standards are listed with the questions.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce. In the Teacher’s Edition, a Vocabulary Development box recommends that students create a mind map to improve vocabulary fluency. A sample mind map is provided.
Optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students read from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance relating to adding an optional research activity: “Numerous survivors of the Japanese American internment camps have written about their experiences. Have students extend their learning by reading another author’s account of the experience. Suggest that each student choose a different account and then share what they have read with their classmates.” The materials share an additional explanation for including the task: “In addition to deepening their understanding of the internment, reading these accounts will provide an opportunity for students to see how a single topic is addressed in different genres, such as autobiography, fiction, memoir, and historical account.” The optional task enhances learning and is personalized to challenge students as they build knowledge relating to the topic of study.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. In the Teacher’s Edition, a Write Now: Analyze and Interpret box instructs teachers to have students review paragraphs 11-14 for the ironic use of the word, choose, because the characters can not make a choice. Students write a response from the perspective of one of the characters.
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
The materials meet the expectations for usability. The materials provide comprehensive guidance, correlation information to the ELA standards, information for students and families to support learning, and a list of supplemental resources in order to support the teacher with instruction. In addition, the materials include explanations of the instructional approaches and include and reference research-based strategies.
There is a clear assessment system that provides multiple assessment opportunities to determine students’ learning. The standards assessed in each assessment are indicated, and the materials offer accommodations for assessments that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
The materials include strategies, supports, and resources for diverse learners to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level expectations. They regularly provide opportunities to extend and deepen learning for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level and strategies for English Language Learners as they work with grade-level content.
The program includes a balance of representations of people with various demographics and physical characteristics in images and information. A variety of texts with authors from a variety of genders, races, and ethnicities are included.
The materials integrate technology in ways that engage students in grade-level standards. All of the materials are through the online Interactive Student Edition, which contains a variety of interactive tools. The visual design in both the print and digital editions supports student learning and makes the organizational structure clear.
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
The program includes opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize materials with integrity and to further develop their own understanding of the content.
The materials provide comprehensive guidance, correlation information to the ELA standards, information for students and families to support learning, and a list of supplemental resources in order to support the teacher with instruction. In addition, the materials include explanations of the instructional approaches and include and reference research-based strategies.
Indicator 3A
Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials to support students' literacy development.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3a.
The materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist the teacher in presenting the materials. The Teacher Resources provide a Unit at a Glance for each unit, providing information on implementing the materials and an expected pacing guide. Unit Goals and Academic vocabulary are listed at the beginning of each unit. The margins provide teachers with suggestions on how to implement aspects of the curriculum. This includes possible student answers and learning goals for each unit. The Getting Started section provides program overviews of the program’s structure for the teacher in either video or PDF format.
Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher Resources section, a Unit at a Glance is provided for each unit that includes a list of texts used for whole group, small group, and independent learning, with Lexile and genres. The pacing for each component in the unit and the performance task are included.
In the Getting Started section, a Program Overview is provided that includes videos and documents that provide a program overview and information on the student-centered unit structure, program components, digital resources, and program assessments.
In the Teacher’s Edition, the Table of Contents and Frontmatter provide teacher details on all the unit components and how to use the materials.
In the Introduction page of each unit, a Pacing Plan is provided to show how many days to focus on whole group texts, small group learning, and performance tasks.
Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, the Unit Goals are listed in the Introduction section of each unit. Reading Goals, Writing and Research Goals, Language Goals, and Speaking and Listening Goals are listed.
In the Teacher’s Edition, academic vocabulary is listed at the beginning of each unit. Directions on how to incorporate the vocabulary, as well as possible student responses, are provided.
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Whole Group Learning, the materials provide information on how to launch the text in the teacher wrap: “Remind the students to determine the main point of the explanatory text from the title and the introduction.”
Indicator 3B
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3b.
The materials provide adult-level explanations and examples for the teacher. The Planning section before each text gives rationales for text quality and connections to the Essential Question and the culminating Performance Tasks. The Professional Development Center online includes videos on various topics. The Teacher’s Edition provides notes in the margins that explain grade-level and outside-grade-level concepts and strategies. Support materials are found in the digital platform and in the front and end matter of the Teacher’s Edition that provides information on subjects such as English Language Learning, grammar terms, and close reading steps.
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of more complex grade/course-level concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Professional Development Center, teacher support videos are provided on topics such as assessment, differentiation, engagement, text complexity, and vocabulary. Within each topic, there are a variety of videos. For example, under Engagement, a teacher support video discusses Multiliteracies and Multicultural Education.
In the Unit Introduction for each unit, academic vocabulary from the unit is included with an explanation for use: “Complete pronunciations, parts of speech, and definitions are provided for you. Students are only expected to provide the definition.” The word, part of speech, pronunciation, meaning, and related words are all listed in the margin.
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. The Teacher Edition states the following about Close Reading: “Remind students that authors reveal a lot about the character through that character’s thoughts and feelings. Readers can also learn a lot about characters by knowing what other characters believe he or she is feeling or thinking. You may wish to model the close read using the following think-aloud format.”
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students read “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” by Frederick Douglass. In the Teacher’s Edition, Reading Support, Decide, and Plan, Challenge, the following suggestion is provided “Ask students to speculate about what Frederick Douglass might think about freedom in the United States today, without slavery. Would he think there are still reasons to be mournful about equality in this country? Why or why not? Have them write a paragraph stating their ideas.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Focus Period 1920-1960: Times of Trouble”. The Teacher’s Edition provides the following background information: “Tell students that this time period was marked by extremes, from an economic boom after World War I to economic disaster, followed by a struggle to recover both financially and psychologically. Then another costly world war was followed by another period of economic prosperity.”
Indicator 3C
Materials include standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3c.
The materials provide correlation information for the ELA standards throughout the units. The Teacher’s Edition Frontmatter contains a correlation chart for each grade that lists the standards for literature, informational text, writing, speaking and listening, and language and where the standards are addressed in each unit. Standards are labeled throughout the Teacher’s Edition in multiple places. The Unit at a Glance shows the standards addressed throughout each unit. The Planning and Personalize for Learning pages preceding each text list standards for each lesson and suggest scaffolds and extensions. The Standards Support Through Teaching and Learning Cycle lists instructional standards addressed with each text and a flow chart on how to teach and assess the standards. The editable Unit Planning Guide displays standards day by day. Standards are included without numbers in the Student Edition, with each text and activity at the bottom of the page.
Correlation information is present for the ELA standards addressed throughout the grade level/series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Frontmatter, a correlation chart lists the standards for literature, informational text, writing, speaking and listening, and language. Standards are listed by number and written out. The location of where those standards are addressed in the print and online editions is stated on the chart.
In the Standards Support Through Teaching and Learning Cycle, the standards are included for each text, along with an explanation of how to support students in reaching the standards. The chart provides information on how to decide and plan, teach, analyze and revise, and identify needs. The chart also shows the standards addressed for the current grade level, as well as how to help students with a “catching up” section and a “looking forward” section.
In the Unit at a Glance, standards are addressed throughout the sections of the unit. For example, Whole-Class Learning shows Vocabulary/Word Study, Analyze Craft and Structure, Conventions/Author’s Style, and Composition/Research/Speaking and Listening. The materials list the standards for each component on the chart.
Explanations of the role of the specific grade-level/course-level ELA standards are present in the context of the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Unit Planning Guide, Getting Started, a downloadable Word document is available online that lays out lessons and activities in a grid format, day by day for the entire year, with standards for each day listed. These tags match the Teacher’s Edition correlations.
In the Planning: Lesson Resources, the list of texts includes the associated standards for each lesson (Making Meaning, Language Development, and/or Effective Expression).
In the Program Level Resources, the First Read Guide: Generic and the Close-Read Guide state: “Anchor Reading Standard 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.” These guides are meant for student use.
Indicator 3D
Materials provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
The materials provide information for students and families to support learning. Students interact with the Unit Introduction activities at the beginning of each unit to understand the Essential Question, Unit Goals, and Academic Vocabulary. A downloadable Home Connection letter is available to inform parents and caregivers about the program in both English and Spanish.
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Materials contain strategies for informing students, parents, or caregivers about the ELA program. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Each unit includes a Home Connection letter that briefly explains the unit’s theme; the Essential Question; all texts, authors, and genres; performance tasks and performance-based assessments; and the standards addressed in the unit. The letter also includes a Talk it Over With Your Student section that includes questions parents/guardians can ask their student about the Essential Question, texts they can read together, and the texts students are reading at school.
In the Program Overview, the document, Distance Learning Tips for Parents/Guardians, is included, which provides helpful tips, such as designating a learning space, establishing a daily routine, and setting clear learning expectations.
Materials contain suggestions for how parents or caregivers can help support student progress and achievement. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, the Home Connection letter includes questions for parents/guardians to ask students: “What are some of the ways you could answer the question What is the relationship between literate and place? Why do you think stories about the place are so popular in the media and in books and film?”
Indicator 3E
Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3e.
The materials include explanations of the instructional approaches and include and reference research-based strategies. The Getting Started section provides information regarding research-based strategies and practices. The Professional Development Center provides videos and White Papers with experts discussing the importance of various components of the program and research-based practices. The videos include assessment, differentiations, engagement, text complexity, and vocabulary. The Student Resource section includes many research-based practices, such as worksheets or graphic organizers.
Materials explain the instructional approaches of the program. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, Table of Contents and Frontmatter, Welcome!, page T3, teachers are presented with the instructional approaches that will connect various texts throughout units: “myPerspectives is a student-centered English Language Arts program that embraces culturally responsive learning through diverse representation of literature, authors, characters, cultures, and themes.” Students are encouraged, based on the approach of the “polyvocal classroom” to “[b]ring knowledge from their different backgrounds and cultures to enrich critical literacy in the classroom” and “[p]erform research in response to a prompt or task of their choosing and complete project-based tasks in a format of their choosing.”
In the Getting Started, Student-Centered Unit Structure, Collins and O’Brien are referenced as experts: “When student-centered learning opportunities are implemented properly, students experience a multitude of positive outcomes including increased motivation, deeper retention of knowledge, greater understanding, and improved attitudes towards the subject being taught.”
Materials include and reference research-based strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Getting Started section includes a program overview with information regarding student-centered unit instruction, backward design, and Performance-Based Assessments.
In the Professional Development Center, Differentiation, White Papers, “Differentiation in Middle School: Teaching English to Diverse Learners” by Jim Cummins and “Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction: The Central Role of Literacy Engagement" by Jim Cummins. Cummins includes several research-based strategies with a list of references. White papers are also included in Vocabulary, Writing, and Text Complexity, written by experts in the field about research-based strategies in each of the three areas, with references listed at the end of each.
In the Teacher’s Edition, Table of Contents and Frontmatter, Welcome!, Experts’ Perspective, research-based strategies are introduced: “myPerspectives is informed by a team of respected experts…[o]ur authors bring new ideas, innovations, and strategies that transform teaching.” For example, expert Jim Cummins, Ph.D., is quoted: “Research focuses on literacy development in school contexts characterized by cultural and linguistic diversity.” At the unit level, specific strategies such as goal-setting and vocabulary practices are referenced and explained.
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. In the Teacher’s Edition, a text box provides strategies for the teacher as the best reader in the class from Kelly Gallagher, M.Ed.: “Rather than being the wizard behind the curtain, use modeling to do the work of reading in front of students.” The materials suggest using think-aloud, marking the text, and using sentence starters.
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay. In the Teacher’s Edition, a text box provides information on the transfer of first language from Jim Cummins, Ph.D.: “Having students write in their home language often produces higher quality writing than when students write only in English because it helps them capture, express, and organize their ideas. Translation software can be useful as a starting point to help students move from their home language draft to an English draft.”
Indicator 3F
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3f.
The materials provide a list of supplemental resources to accompany each text needed to support instruction. The Planning: Lesson Resources page in the Teacher’s Edition before each text lists related Student Resources and Teacher Resources, including optional extra support, extension, or accommodations for the lessons. These same resources are listed in the context in the margins of the Teacher’s Edition and online. Symbols are next to each resource to specify if they are an audio resource, video, document, annotation highlight, or online assessment.
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition and Student Edition, Lesson Resources are listed at the beginning of each lesson, which includes both Student Resources and Teacher Resources. Examples of Student Resources include selection audio, word network, and evidence log, which are “available online in the interactive Student Edition or Unit Resources.” Examples of Teacher Resources include Selection Resources, Reteach/Practice, Assessment, My Resources, annotation highlights, accessible leveled text, concept vocabulary, and word study, which are “available online in the Interactive Teacher’s Edition or Unit Resources.”
In the Teacher’s Edition Frontmatter, suggested trade books are listed. The title and author of the text are listed. Trade book lesson plans are available online at myPerspectives+.
In the Teacher’s Edition, Current Perspectives, news stories, and interesting media are listed. The materials list the name of the media and where it can be found.
Indicator 3G
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3H
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.2: Assessment
The program includes a system of assessments identifying how materials provide tools, guidance, and support for teachers to collect, interpret, and act on data about student progress towards the standards.
The materials provide a clear assessment system that provides multiple assessment opportunities to determine students’ learning. Teachers can monitor learning and interpret student performance in various assessments as students work toward the culminating tasks, such as unit tests, selection tests, performance-based tasks, and writing tasks. The assessments include a variety of modalities and types across the year and opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of the grade-level reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language standards. The standards assessed in each assessment are indicated. In addition, the materials offer accommodations for assessments that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
Indicator 3I
Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3i.
The materials identify the standards addressed with each assessment. Assessments are listed throughout the materials in multiple locations. Performance-based tasks and assessments, with their related standards, are listed in the Teacher’s Edition and Student Edition, Unit At A Glance. Standards for activities, tasks, and assessments in each unit correlate directly to the Performance Task as well as the End Of Unit Performance Based Assessment and Unit Test. The online materials include an Assessment tab, which lists all the assessments used throughout the materials. The reading test associated with each text includes an answer key that includes the objective and standard for each question. In the unit tests, the student view shows the assessed skills with each question.
Materials consistently identify the standards and practices assessed for formal assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The online Assessment tab lists the standards for the Beginning-, Middle-, and End-of-Year Tests. The standards, listed on the top of the page, are hyperlinked so that a separate text box opens when clicked on. This text box lists the standards addressed in the standards.
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Performance-Based Assessment, Part 1, Writing to Sources: Explanatory Essay, students respond to the prompt: “Write an explanatory essay in which you use examples from the texts in this unit and from your own life to answer this question: What makes certain places live on in our memory?” The materials list writing standards assessed, including, but not limited to, “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.”
Indicator 3J
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3j.
The materials provide multiple assessment opportunities to determine students’ learning. Teachers can monitor learning and interpret student performance with various assessments as they work toward the culminating tasks, such as unit tests, selection tests, performance-based tasks, and writing tasks. Support materials include rubrics, answer keys, comprehension questions, graphic organizers, and class discussions. Opportunities for teachers to provide feedback, both formal and informal, are available throughout units, such as discussion, research based on self-selected texts, and evidence logs. Each unit test contains an interpretation guide that lists the standards, depth of knowledge, and remediation options. Skills practice pages and standard support are included. The Common Core Companion Workbook provides extra practice based on Common Core State Standards. Sufficient guidance and suggestions are included to help teachers follow up with students.
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students’ learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Assessments include Selected and Short Response, Performance Tasks, Unit Tests, Selection Tests, Extension Selection Tests, and Beginning-, Middle-, and End-of-Year Tests.
In the Teacher’s Edition, Teacher Support, and Practice link, teachers have access to answer keys, writing rubrics, and graphic organizers to interpret student success. Also, each Unit Test Answer Key provides answers for the teacher. The short response answers state the important information for students to include in their answers. Writing rubrics are provided using a four-point scale. Rubrics include, but are not limited to, Generic (Holistic) Writing, Multimedia Reports, Poems, Informative/Explanatory Writing, and Narrative Evaluation Charts.
In each unit, Quickwrite activities provide opportunities to assess writing skills and student understanding in response to a prompt.
In each unit, Analyze the Text activities offer opportunities for students to demonstrate overall text comprehension. The tasks require students to cite textual evidence as they respond to specific text-based questions.
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students’ learning and suggestions to teachers for following up with students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, goals offer pre- and post-informal assessment of student improvement as students revisit their goals toward the end of the unit.
In each unit, students answer Comprehension Check questions that show students’ understanding of the texts and complete Research to Clarify activities to learn more about a specific detail from the text and respond. Students complete Prepare to Share activities where they share ideas with peers about their self-selected text as part of the Independent Learning task.
In each Unit Test, the Interpretation Guide provides information on remediation resources: “As warranted by student results on this assessment, you may wish to assign the remediation resources indicated in the chart. Resources include skills practice and extended standards support, and you can choose to use whichever resource is appropriate for your students.” The Interpretation Guide includes the objective instructional standards, depth of knowledge, skills practice pages, and standard support.
The Common Core Companion Workbook provides explanations, examples, and academic vocabulary, related to the Common Core Standards. Practice worksheets are included in the Workbook.
Indicator 3K
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3k.
The materials include assessments that provide a variety of modalities and types across the year.The assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of the grade-level reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language standards. Within a unit, students complete formative comprehension and skill checks, synthesize their learning through writing and speaking performance tasks, revising, editing, and presenting their work.
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Beginning-of-Year and Mid-Year benchmark tests are used to assess most grade-level reading and language standards.
Formative Assessments include Evidence Logs, Selection Tests, Comprehension Checks, and Unit Reflections.
According to the Standards Correlation chart in the Teacher’s Edition Frontmatter, both Writing, and Speaking and Listening standards are formally assessed through a Performance Task or Performance-Based Assessments.
Students complete a Performance Task: Writing Focus after reading all Whole-Class Learning texts. After all Small-Group Learning texts, they complete a Performance Task: Speaking and Listening Focus. After all the texts in a unit are read, students complete a final two-part Writing, and Speaking and Listening Performance-Based Assessment.
Following the Performance-Based Assessment, teachers administer the Unit Test, Selected Response, and Performance Task “to apply standards and skills taught in the unit to a fresh, cold-read passage.”
At the end of each unit, students take the Unit Test. In the test's Selected and Short Response part, students answer multiple-choice questions about new passages and perform a writing task.
Indicator 3L
Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.
The materials offer accommodations for assessments that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills; however, a clear, comprehensive list of possible accommodations is not provided for the teacher. In the Assessment tab, the assessments have a brief overview to explain each option. The Interactive Student Edition includes a link to the performance task. While the Academic Vocabulary section will read the vocabulary and definitions to the student, no clear text-to-speech accommodations are included in the materials. Different types of assessments are provided, and most of them are available online, as a PDF, or in a print version. When printed, assessments download into Microsoft Word. The print can be enlarged by zooming on a computer screen, placing texts in Microsoft Word, or enlarging or changing the font. In the PDF version, students may mark and annotate the text with the tools provided.
Materials offer accommodations that ensure all students can access the assessment (e.g., text-to-speech, increased font size) without changing the content of the assessment. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Many of the assessments can be downloaded into Microsoft Word in order to print. For example, Selection Tests, Extension Selection Tests, Unit Tests, and other beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year tests are available for download with printing as an option. Teachers may increase the size of the font for the students before printing the test. Next-Generation Practice Tests and Next-Generation Performance Tasks can be completed online.
Some assessments refer directly to previously-read texts. In those assessments, audio versions of the texts are available in the Interactive Student Edition.
Customizable test prep banks are available for reading, language, editing, and writing. Teachers may choose to use questions from a provided multiple-test bank from each section.
In the Interactive Student Edition, students click on a link to the Performance-Based Assessment for each unit. Students can zoom in and out using their mouse or fingers. Students can also open and print rubrics for different tasks.
Examview is available for teachers to set up on computers, allowing them to create their own assessments. Teachers can modify or adapt assessments for students who struggle.
Materials include guidance for teachers on the use of provided accommodations. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Assessments can be assigned online, as a PDF, or printed. The materials provide information for each option for the teacher. For example, the PDF version states: “PDF format allows students to use the Interactive PDF Tool to annotate and complete the assignment.”
In the Getting Started section, a video and accompanying handout (Customize Worksheet and Assessments) are provided with step-by-step directions to customize assessments: “Now, let’s look at the flexible and customizable assessments. You can administer the assessments in print and online via Savvas Realize. All assessments are in editable Microsoft® Word format as well as in ExamView and Realize TestNav for even more customization options. You can also create assessments from scratch to meet your needs.”
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
The program includes materials designed for each student’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
The materials include strategies, supports, and resources for diverse learners to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level expectations. They regularly provide opportunities to extend and deepen learning for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level and strategies for English Language Learners as they work with grade-level content. The program includes varied approaches to learning tasks over time and a variety of ways that students are expected to demonstrate their understanding. There is guidance for grouping students in a variety of ways across each unit. Units follow the structure of Whole-Class Learning, with some informal peer groupings, Small-Group Learning entirely focused on collaborative work, and Independent Learning, which concludes with a “Learn From Your Classmates” discussion.
The materials include a balance of representations of people with various demographics and physical characteristics in images and information. A variety of texts with authors from a variety of genders, races, and ethnicities are included. In addition, there is some guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon students’ home language to facilitate learning and guidance for teachers to facilitate learning and content that support linguistically and culturally diverse students.
Indicator 3M
Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level standards that will support their regular and active participation in learning English language arts and literacy.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3m.
The materials include strategies, supports, and resources for diverse learners to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level expectations. Program-level resources explain best practices for scaffolding and differentiating access to literacy learning. Text-specific suggestions provide educators with support for addressing needs before, during, and after reading the text. Throughout the Teacher’s Edition, Personalize for Learning boxes are found in the margins. At the beginning of each unit, the Personalize for Learning section provides the text complexity rubric and a Decide and Plan flowchart. The flowchart includes Strategic Support that offers strategies for all students, including special populations. The materials also provide support guidance according to students’ performance on formative assessments. This may include other resources provided in the Interactive Teacher’s Edition or Unit Resources.
Materials regularly provide strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Unit Introduction, the Teacher’s Edition includes a Personalize for Learning box that contains the following advice for breaking down the text: “For some readers, an essay can seem long and intimidating. Explain to students that they can break the text into smaller chunks to make it more manageable. Guide students through the process with the excerpt from Up From Slavery. Tell them to read the first paragraph and then stop. When everyone has finished reading, ask students to state the paragraph's main idea. Write the idea on the board or on chart paper. Then use the same procedure for each of the subsequent paragraphs. Then, have a student read the six summary sentences aloud, which should summarize the entire text.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston. The Teacher’s Edition provides a guide for formative assessment. Under Analyze the Text, the materials state, “If students struggle to close read the text, then provide the from Dust Tracks on a Road: Text Questions available online in the Interactive Teacher’s Edition or Unit Resources. Answers and DOK levels are also available.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. In the Teacher’s Edition, a Personalize for Learning box provides Strategic Support regarding chronological order. The box states, “Review paragraphs 15–18 with students and point out the shift in time. Help students practice organizing events sequentially. Have pairs of students interview each other, asking questions about things that have happened so far in ‘Everyday Use.’ Encourage pairs to take turns being interviewer and interviewee. The interviewer takes notes as his or her partner answers questions about what happened first, next, and so on. Remind students that this task might be tricky because Mama reminisces about things that happened years before. Finally, have partners use their notes to construct a timeline or flowchart to visually show the chronological order of events. Suggest pairs leave space to add to the timeline/flowchart as they read on.”
Indicator 3N
Materials regularly provide extensions to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3n.
The materials regularly provide opportunities to extend and deepen learning for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level. In the Teacher’s Edition, at the beginning of each text, the Personalize for Learning section contains a text-complexity chart and a Decide and Plan flowchart. Throughout the materials and in the flowchart, ideas to challenge students are provided that relate to reading, writing, and research and take the form of discussions, written work, or brief presentations. These suggestions are usually balanced by other modifications (for language learners or students who need more support) rather than extra work for early finishers.
Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate the grade-level content at a higher level of complexity. Materials are free of instances of advanced students doing more assignments than their classmates. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Whole-Class Learning, students read the “Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson. In the Teacher’s Edition, Personalize for Learning, Reading Support includes a text-complexity rubric and a Decide and Plan flow chart. The Challenge section of the chart provides ideas to challenge students relating to text analysis and written responses. The text analysis idea states: “Have students choose a grievance from the Declarations of Independence and retell it to a partner. Encourage them to include details and descriptive language. They may refer to the text as needed to remember details, but should use their own words.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Whole-Class Learning, students read “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. In the Teacher’s Editions, Personalize for Learning, the Challenge box about Making Connections states: “Have students explore similarities and differences in the use of colloquial language between Jewett’s ‘A White Heron’ and Mark Twain’s ‘The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.’ They should consider these questions: How important is colloquial language in each story? What function does it serve in each story? What insight does the use of everyday language shed on the characters, setting, and/or plot of each story?”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Small-Group Learning, students read “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce. In the Teacher’s Edition, Personalize for Learning, the Challenge box states: “Direct students’ attention to these phrases in paragraph 28: ‘dodge a volley’ and ‘fire at will.’ Have students research to find out how a volley differs from firing at will. Students may write a paragraph describing these differences, or they might draw images that illustrate the two offensive military strategies.”
Indicator 3O
Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning.
The materials provide a variety of approaches to learning tasks over time and a variety of ways that students are expected to demonstrate their understanding. The materials include teacher prompts and questions in the margins of the Teacher’s Edition. For all texts in each unit, students interact with texts in multiple ways, including comprehension questions, various writing tasks, small-group discussions, individual research, and group projects. Students complete peer- and self-reflections during writing tasks for culminating writing drafts. Students rate themselves on unit goals at each unit’s beginning and end. An Evidence Log is also included in which students connect their learning on each text, examine their changing perspectives, and provide evidence of learning.
Materials provide multi-modal opportunities for students to question, investigate, sense-make, and problem-solve using a variety of formats and methods. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, teachers are provided questions and prompts throughout each unit to incorporate into and facilitate whole-group and small-group discussions.
In the Student Edition, at the end of most Whole-Group Learning texts, students complete a Comprehension Check that includes Research to Clarify and Research to Explore prompts to expand their thinking and knowledge based on the text. Student instructions state: “Research to Clarify: Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of the story? Research to Explore: Choose something from the text that interests you, and formulate a research question. Write your question here.”
During Small-Group Learning, students participate in structured Analyze the Text discussions to process their understanding after reading a text.
In each Small-Group Learning section, the last task is a group Research assignment.
Students have opportunities to share their thinking, to demonstrate changes in their thinking over time, and to apply their understanding in new contexts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, students use the Evidence Log to make connections to the text and provide evidence from the text and any additional notes or ideas. Throughout the Teacher’s Edition, teacher instructions prompt students to add evidence to the Evidence Log. Sections of the log include “My Initial Position,” “Connection to the Prompt,” “Evidence from the Text,” “Additional Notes/Ideas,” “How does this text change or add to my thinking?” and “My position.” Student Edition directions are open-ended.
Materials leverage the use of a variety of formats and methods over time to deepen student understanding and ability to explain and apply literacy ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Most texts follow a similar pattern that uses a variety of learning formats and methods. While reading most Whole-Class or Small-Group text, students use the following modes of analyzing the text: Making Meaning may include First Read, Close Read, Analyzing the Text, and a specific text-analysis skill; Language Development may include Concept Vocabulary, Word Study, and a specific language skill; and Effective Expression may include Writing to Sources, Speaking and Listening, and Research.
Materials provide for ongoing review, practice, self-reflection, and feedback. Materials provide multiple strategies, such as oral and/or written feedback, peer or teacher feedback, and self-reflection. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Teacher’s Edition directions for the Evidence Log state: “Support students in completing their Evidence Log. This paced activity will help prepare them for the Performance-Based Assessment at the end of the unit.”
In Small-Group Learning, students may write about the texts they have read. During the writing process, in the Reviewing and Revising section, students use a checklist to peer review. Also, a Peer Review is included in each Performance Task: Writing Focus. Student Edition directions state: “Exchange essays with a classmate. Use the checklist to evaluate your classmate’s [writing].”
In the Teacher’s Edition, the margins provide review and practice activities suggestions.
Materials provide a clear path for students to monitor and move their own learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Student Edition, Unit Introduction, Unit Goals are included in Reading, Writing and Research, Language, and Speaking and Listening. Students rate themselves on a scale from one to five to determine how well they already meet the goal. Examples of Unit Goals include, but are not limited to: “Reading: Evaluate written arguments by analyzing how authors state and support their claims. Writing and Research: Write an argumentative essay in which you effectively incorporate the key elements of an argument.”
In the Student Edition, Unit Reflection, students respond to prompts about their learning, such as, “Reflect on the Learning Strategies: Write a reflection on whether you were able to improve your learning based on your Action Plans. Think about what worked, what didn’t, and what you might do to keep working on these strategies. Record your ideas before a class discussion.”
Indicator 3P
Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
The materials provide guidance for grouping students in a variety of ways across each unit. Units follow the structure of Whole-Class Learning, with some informal peer groupings; Small-Group Learning entirely focused on collaborative work; and Independent Learning, which concludes with the Learn From Your Classmates discussion. Teachers receive optional suggestions for student-to-student interaction in the Teacher’s Edition and general guidance on forming small groups.
Materials provide grouping strategies for students. Materials provide for varied types of interaction among students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole Group Learning, students draft a focus statement for the Launch Activity. The materials state, “Place everyone’s sticky notes on a board where they can be seen. Then, work together to group words or phrases that are synonyms or that are otherwise closely related.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Performance Task, students work in partners to peer review each other’s writing. The materials state, “Point out to students that even professional writers need editors and critics to make their writing stronger. While professional critics are sometimes harsh, the role of student peer reviewers is to be helpful and never hurtful.” A peer review checklist is also included in the Teacher’s Edition and Student Edition.
Materials provide guidance for the teacher on grouping students in a variety of grouping formats. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher’s Edition, a box at the start of Small-Group Learning states: “Forming Groups: You may wish to form groups for Small-Group Learning so that each consists of students with different learning abilities. Some students may be adept at organizing information, whereas others may have strengths related to generating or synthesizing information. A good mix of abilities can make the experience of Small-Group Learning dynamic and productive.”
In the Teacher’s Edition, a note is provided in the Make It Interactive section for the Close Read of students’ Independent Learning task: “Group students according to the selection they have chosen. Then, have students meet to discuss the selection in-depth. Their discussions should be guided by their insights and questions.”
In the Student-Centered Unit Structure handout, the material list how students process the text during Whole-Class learning. Students process the text “through effective expression activities where students work in groups, communicating their own ideas and listening to the ideas of others.”
Indicator 3Q
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards to regularly participate in learning English language arts and literacy.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for Indicator 3q.
The materials provide strategies and support for English Language Learners as they work with grade-level content. In the Teacher’s Edition, general accommodations, strategies, and suggestions are provided to assist teachers with each text. Personalize for Learning suggestions are provided before and during many reading, writing, vocabulary, language, as well as speaking and listening activities. Before each text, a Decide and Plan flow chart on the Personalize for Learning page provides strategies for teachers to use with English Language Learners.
Materials consistently provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards through regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task: Speaking and Listening Focus, students present an argument in a panel discussion format. The Teacher’s Edition, Personalize for Learning, English Language Support box includes instructions on the “Rehearse With Your Group '' page: “When choosing roles for the discussion, keep students’ language proficiency level in mind. Pair English language learners with strong readers for additional practice. Model students’ parts to help them convey meaning through voice, tempo patterns, facial expressions, and gestures. If possible, videotape rehearsals or have students practice on a recorder. Allow students time to view the recordings and work out any issues with pronunciation and pauses after periods or commas in sentences.” This support is for all levels.
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Small-Group Learning, students read “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth. In the Teacher’s Edition, Language Development page for Author’s Style, the Personalize for Learning box includes English Language Support to scaffold diction. Instructions state: “Formal Diction and Colloquial Diction. Emerging: Ask students to identify a section in paragraph 1 or 3 where the author uses colloquial diction. Expanding: Ask students to identify a section in paragraph 1 or 3 where the author uses colloquial diction and how this might have affected her listeners. Bridging: Ask students to identify a section in paragraph 1 or 3 where the author uses colloquial diction and compare it with the way this would be said in formal diction.”
In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. The Teacher’s Edition, Personalize for Learning, Decide and Plan flow chart includes the English Language Support box to scaffold language. Instructions state: “Students will need help understanding the story’s first-person perspective. Ask students to notice which tenses (past, present, future) appear in the text, and tell them to consider why Walker might have shifted the time in this manner.”
Indicator 3R
Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.
The materials include a balance of representations of people with various demographics and physical characteristics in images and information. A variety of texts with authors from a variety of genders, races, and ethnicities are included. In the About the Author section for each text, important background information for authors of a variety of race and/or ethnicities are provided. People of various demographics are depicted positively, without obvious or blatant stereotypes. The texts are written by authors of different backgrounds and feature protagonists of diverse races, ethnicities, countries of origin, gender expressions, and people with developmental disabilities. The materials balance positive portrayals of demographics or physical characteristics and avoid stereotypes or language that might be offensive to a particular group. Notes in the Teacher’s Editions provide ways to highlight positive portrayals in texts. No evidence was found showing students can succeed in the subject.
Materials and assessments depict different individuals of different genders, races, ethnicities, and other physical characteristics. Depictions of demographics or physical characteristics are portrayed positively across the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Power, Protest, and Change, Whole-Class Learning, students view an image gallery, “Perspectives on Lincoln.” The materials show an image titled Civil Rights Activists at the Lincoln Memorial. The caption states, “Almost a century after Lincoln’s death, leaders of the Civil Rights movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington. The Civil Rights movement often looked to Abraham Lincoln, ‘the Great Emancipator,’ for inspiration.”
In Unit 5, Facing Our Fears, Small-Group Learning, students view “Interview with George Takei” by the Archive of American Television. George Takei, a well-known actor, describes his experience during World War II. The materials state, “In this interview, George Takei describes how he and his family were forced from their home in Los Angeles and interned at two different camps-on in Arkansas and one in northern California- during World War II.”
Materials and assessments balance positive portrayals of demographics or physical characteristics. Materials avoid stereotypes or language that might be offensive to a particular group. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Writing Freedom, Small-Group Learning, students read from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano. In the About the Author section, the materials provide background information about the author: “After managing his master’s finances and making his own money in the process, he amassed enough to buy his own freedom. In later years, he settled in England and devoted himself to the abolition of slavery. In addition to writing his two-volume autobiography to publicize the plight of slaves, he lectured and rallied public sympathy against the cruelties of slavery.”
In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Small-Group Learning, students read from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston. The About the Author section states, “In 1935, she published Mules and Men, the first volume of black American folklore compiled by an African American. Her work helped document the African American connection to the stories, songs, and myths of Africa.”
Materials provide representations that show students that they can succeed in the subject, going beyond just showing photos of diverse students not engaged in work related to the context of the learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No evidence found.
Indicator 3S
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
The materials provide some guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon students’ home language to facilitate learning. The Professional Development Center contains multiple short videos and documents regarding differentiation. In many of the videos and documents, the importance of understanding a student’s identity and using their home language is conveyed, and a few strategies are suggested. General resources in the online platform, such as Every Teacher’s Toolkit by Karen Kawaguchi, provide teacher tips for enhancing cultural responsiveness and home-language validation. In the Teacher’s Edition, a few Personalize for Learning boxes suggest connections between Spanish and English cognates. Spanish is the only language offered in supplemental materials, like the online Spanish Resources library, with texts translated into Spanish.
Materials provide suggestions and strategies to use the home language to support students in learning ELA. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Professional Development Center contains a section for differentiation. In this section, a video titled “How to Differentiate Learning for English Learners” with Jim Cummins is included that suggests strategies for scaffolding, such as using graphic organizers, visuals, and rephrasing to help students better understand. This video discusses how important it is that educators understand each student’s identity. Another video titled “Leveled Texts for ELLs” with Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert suggests strategies for scaffolding grade-leveled texts for ELL students instead of providing an alternate text.
The online materials contain a myPerspectives+: English Learner Support section that includes the digital text, Every Teacher’s Toolkit by Karen Kawaguchi, that includes strategies for language learners, including definitions and suggestions for two areas: “Culturally and linguistically responsive teaching” and “Validate Home Languages.” Both sections include details on how to help strengthen student skills in areas such as academic vocabulary, grammar, and presentation skills.
Materials present multilingualism as an asset in reading, and students are explicitly encouraged to develop home language literacy and to use their home language strategically for learning how to negotiate texts in the target language. Teacher materials include guidance on how to garner information that will aid in learning, including the family’s preferred language of communication, schooling experiences in other languages, literacy abilities in other languages, and previous exposure to academic or everyday English. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the online materials, the Spanish Resources Library contains Spanish versions of texts for use in Small-Group Learning and Independent Learning for each unit. A video introduction to the unit in Spanish and stand-alone Spanish grammar and writing worksheets are also included. Teacher Resources in this section include an answer guide for the grammar worksheets.
In the Professional Development Center, a section for differentiation is included in the document “Differentiation in Middle School: Teaching English to Diverse Learners.” One suggestion states, “Encourage students to draw on their multilingual repertoires as a stepping stone to English (e.g., initial writing or note-taking in L1 as a means of transferring knowledge and skills from L1 to English).”
In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, Introduction, Personalize for Learning, the English Language Support box offers support for cognates. Instruction states: “Many of the academic words have Spanish cognates. Use these cognates with students whose home language is Spanish. analyze – analizar / determine – determinar / subordinate – subordinar / trivialize – trivializar / literal – literal. Not all English learners will recognize and use these cognates automatically. Help students build their cognate awareness by pointing out that these cognates share the same root in both English and Spanish.”
Indicator 3T
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.
The materials include teacher guidance to facilitate learning and content that support linguistically and culturally diverse students. The FrontMatter highlights the importance of allowing students to use their personal experiences when completing tasks: “Students are encouraged to draw upon their prior experiences, diverse identities, varied experiences, and the richness of their cultural backgrounds.” The Professional Development Center also includes information to help teachers engage with culturally diverse students. Some unit topics and texts allow for open-ended, relevant personal connections. Before each text in Whole-Class Learning and Small-Group Learning, the Jumpstart box offers suggestions for discussion topics related to the text. Other texts or activities include teacher notes that explain how to offer instruction to a range of students. Spanish language tools for some Small-Group Learning and Independent Learning texts are available in student materials. A home-school connection letter is available in English and Spanish. No evidence was found of prompts where students are encouraged to share how they (or their parents) do things at home or use the information to solve personal problems.
Materials make connections to the linguistic, cultural, and conventions used in learning ELA. Materials make connections to the linguistic and cultural diversity to facilitate learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Front Matter pages at the start of the Teacher’s Edition describe the program’s culturally responsive foundation: “Ernest Morrell, Ph.D., helped inform the development of myPerspectives to ensure the program fosters a polyvocal classroom that encourages students to talk with each other, learn from each other, and more importantly, bring knowledge from their different backgrounds and cultures to enrich critical literacy in the classroom. The texts, essential questions, and learning tasks encourage discussions that allow students to draw upon their prior experiences, diverse identities, varied experiences, and the richness of their cultural backgrounds.”
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read a collection of works by Walt Whitman, “The Writing of Walt Whitman,” including “Song of Myself.” In the Teacher Edition, Jumpstart box, the teacher is encouraged to, prior to students’ first read, “ask them to share their thoughts about what diversity means in the United States.”
Materials include teacher guidance on how to engage culturally diverse students in the learning of ELA. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Professional Development Center, Engagement, the video “Multiliteracies and Multicultural Education” provides information on the importance of supporting other cultures in the classroom. Jim Cummins, Ph.D., discusses how “when we tap into students’ cultural backgrounds, we’re tapping into their knowledge base.”
In the Professional Development Center, myPerspectives in Action, the video, “Facilitating Small Group Learning with Diverse Learners,” provides information about how two teachers, an ELA teacher, and a Special Education teacher, encourage and support all students to engage in small group discussions about a poem they are reading.
In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Performance Task: Writing, Teacher’s Edition, an Author’s Perspective box gives guidance for teaching writing: “Students learning English may be challenged by a blank page. Support them with scaffolding to help them organize their narrative and flesh out their outlines. They may benefit from using sentence frames like the following to help them map out their writing. Introduction: Based on my personal experiences, I see individualism as _____. Evidence from your own memories of events: My point of view is based on my personal experiences, including _____. Reflection: Looking back, it seems that _____. Remind students that the writing process is recursive, and they will be able to refine their outlines and sentence frames as they draft. These are simply tools to help them organize their thoughts before they begin writing.”
Materials include equity guidance and opportunities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Professional Development Center, the materials provide a document titled Differentiation in Middle School: Teaching English to Diverse Learners by Jim Cummins, Ph.D. The document provides four essential instructional strategies. One of the strategies is “Connect to Students’ Lives and Affirm their Identities.” The materials state, “Connecting instruction to students’ lives by evoking personal and intellectual responses to texts represents not only a form of differentiation but also affirms students’ identities. Students who feel that their voices are heard, and their culture and identity validated in the classroom are much more likely to engage academically than those who feel ignored or devalued.”
Materials include opportunities for students to feel “acknowledged,” such as tasks based on customs of other cultures; sections provided in multiple languages, such as the glossary, digital materials, family letters; etc. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Spanish language resources are available for teachers. Translations are provided for Small-Group Learning and Independent Learning reading selections. Audio summaries of texts are provided in the digital materials. The Teacher’s Edition notes, “Audio summaries are available online in both English and Spanish in the Interactive Teacher’s Edition or Unit Resources. Assigning these summaries prior to reading the selection may help students build additional background knowledge and set a context for their first read.” Spanish grammar and writing worksheets are also available for students, though they are not available in other languages.
In the online Interactive Student Edition, students can highlight any word or words and view a translation in one of 104 languages, such as Pashto, Hmong, Haitian Creole, or Filipino. Thirty-five languages (including Portuguese, Slovak, Afrikaans, and Arabic) have the additional layer of that text being read aloud in the target language. Some audio translations do not have the speaker speaking the language correctly.
Materials include prompts where students are encouraged to share how they (or their parents) do things at home or use information to solve personal problems, etc. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No evidence found
Indicator 3U
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3V
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
The materials integrate technology in ways that engage students in grade-level standards. All of the materials are through the online Interactive Student Edition, which contains a variety of interactive tools. The program includes digital technology that provides opportunities for students to collaborate with their teachers and peers. The Interactive Student Edition prompts students to discuss tasks with classmates and record their collective notes in the digital notebook. Students save their work through the online assignments, and teachers review and provide feedback to students. The materials also include a discussion board that teachers and students allow for digital conversations.
The materials incorporate a visual design in print and digital editions that support student learning, make the organizational structure clear, and communicate clearly. The four sections (Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, Independent Learning, and Performance Based Assessments) are color-coded and match the color coding in the Teacher Edition.
There are several layers of support for teachers to understand and use the program’s embedded technology, such as high-level training videos and handouts.
Indicator 3W
Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
The materials integrate technology in ways that engage students in grade-level standards. Students can access all the materials through the online Interactive Student Edition, which contains various interactive tools. Students can highlight, annotate, and translate the text into various languages, many of which can also be read aloud to them in that language. Students can respond to prompts by typing in text boxes or charts. Students navigate the Interactive Student Edition by clicking on labeled tabs that take them to various sections of the textbook. Digital tools are available that allow teachers to view and respond to student responses and customize the materials to meet the needs of students. Teachers can assign work through the online platform and access other digital resources like the Hook and Inspire pages for anchor texts, which have links to supplemental videos and texts.
Digital technology and interactive tools, such as data collection tools, simulations, and/or modeling tools, are available to students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Interactive Student Edition, students can adjust the font size using a button at the top of the page. Students may also search using the magnifying glass at the top of the page.
In the Interactive Student Edition, students can read and listen to the texts, type their responses to questions, and plan their writing. Students can submit their work via this platform, allowing teachers to see all student responses immediately.
Digital tools support student engagement in ELA. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Interactive Student Edition contains clear links to the Unit Introduction, Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, Independent Learning, Performance-Based Assessment, and Unit Reflection. A drop-down menu provides access to the table of contents, bookmarks, annotations, highlights, notebook, and glossary.
In each unit Performance-Based Assessment, students can click on a notebook icon to open a text box to write ideas they are going to use for their multimedia presentation.
In the Interactive Student Edition, materials are organized to keep students on track and to support their work. For example, a header bar shows where students are in the lesson and unit. Comprehension Checks are displayed in the right-hand column, keeping the text center for reference.
Digital materials can be customized for local use (i.e., student and/or community interests). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Table of Contents can be customized for various purposes in both the Teacher’s Edition and Student Edition: “You can customize the program by rearranging the Table of Contents, creating your own tests, and uploading your own resources to match your curriculum.” Students may customize the table of contents by clicking on the three vertical dots next to the table of contents. Teachers may then move items, remove items, or add files, links, titles, or notes for students.
In the Interactive Student Edition, students can select any text and make personal customizations, such as translating the words, highlighting in one of four colors, circling the text, underlining it, or adding a note.
In the Hook and Inspire section, teachers can choose from various resources, such as videos, articles, and extension activities that can be customized. The landing page includes ways teachers can support students’ learning “into,” “through,” and “beyond” the Whole Class Learning Anchor Texts. The page states, “Hook and inspire your students with these ideas. Build your own Playlist of media, short texts, novel connections, and extension activities to enrich your teaching.” In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, Small-Group Learning, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, three “into” resources are provided: “‘After Eliot,’ Song by Johnny Flynn: Play this song by British singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn, who borrows language and thematic elements from Eliot's poem, ‘J. Alfred Prufrock’; Painting by Ben Moebius: Share this painting which was inspired by lines 26–30 of the poem. Ask students to anticipate ideas and emotions the poem may evoke; Chamber Dance Project Highlight: ‘Prufrock’: Introduce students to the poem with this dance interpretation from the Chamber Dance Project.”
In the Interactive Student Edition, the Small-Group Learning section includes a chart of learning strategies. Each section of the chart includes a box where students can add their own ideas. For example, the Support Others section includes the following chart topics: “Build off ideas from others in your group. Invite others who have not yet spoken to do so.” A blank Support Others box is available for students to type further ideas.
Indicator 3X
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
The materials include digital technology that provides opportunities for students to collaborate with their teachers and peers. The Interactive Student Edition prompts students to discuss tasks with classmates and record their collective notes in the digital notebook. Students can save their work on the online assignments, and teachers can review and provide feedback to students. The materials also include a discussion board that teachers and students allow for digital conversations. The connected Savvas Realize platform allows tasks to be assigned, completed, scored, and tracked digitally by teachers. Teachers can provide feedback to students while they are working on assignments. Teachers can also use Google Classroom for student assignments, allowing another opportunity to provide feedback and collaborate to students. The Collaboration Center includes videos referencing how students can collaborate with email, text messaging, and shared documents.
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Savvas Realize platform, MyPerspectives connects to Google Classroom to allow tasks to be assigned and completed. Students can annotate PDFs or attach separate files. Teachers can view completion rates, score tasks, and see standards mastery for students. Teachers can also select assignments for individual students or sub-groups of the class.
Teachers may assign activities through the online platform. The materials state, “A direct link to the Interactive Student Edition. Student work is saved, and teachers may review it at any time. If work is completed offline, work will sync up when online again.”
In the Table of Contents, Getting Started, Program Overview, a tab for Digital Resources is available. The On-Demand Training page includes a Digital Tour handout and a video. Digital Tools in a Discussion Board “facilitate collaboration and real-time peer-to-peer sharing of ideas.” In addition, there is an EssayScorer that allows teachers to provide immediate feedback to students for revising and editing.
In the Collaboration Center, videos are provided that model how to collaborate. Some videos reference online tools students can use for collaboration. For example, the Build Consensus video discusses collaboration using shared documents, text messaging, and email. The teacher can assign these videos to students.
Indicator 3Y
The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
The materials incorporate a visual design in print and digital editions that support student learning, make the organizational structure clear, and communicate clearly. Each of the four sections (Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, Independent Learning, and Performance Based Assessments) are color-coded and match the color coding in the Teacher Edition. Charts, diagrams, photos, illustrations, and icons are included thoughtfully on the pages. The table of contents, glossary, index, and other resources are clearly labeled and easy to find. The layout for each selection is consistent so students can find the information they need.
Images, graphics, and models support student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. Images, graphics, and models clearly communicate information or support student understanding of topics, texts, or concepts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Interactive Student Edition, the pages have a colored band at the top containing a heading and any pictures or illustrations accompanying the text. The stories typically do not contain any illustrations or pictures other than what is on the colored band at the top of the page. Each text is represented with an image that repeats at the top of the text itself, in tables of contents, and alongside activities referring to that text.
In the print/PDF Student Edition, pictures are typically at the top of the first page of text, without many additional pictures or illustrations throughout each passage. The PDF has wide margins and sometimes provides additional information in the margins. Icons in the margins refer students to external tools they can use, such as a pencil and paper icon to represent Evidence Log and a spiral-bound book icon for Notebook.
Teacher and student materials are consistent in layout and structure across lessons/modules/units. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each edition, all units follow the same order of sections that are clearly color-coded: Whole-Class Learning is blue, Small-Group Learning is turquoise, Independent Learning is purple, and Performance-Based Assessment is orange. The opening page of each unit contains clearly labeled links to the Unit Introduction, Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, Independent Learning, Performance-Based Assessment, and Unit Reflection. The links are color-coded to match the section colors and are consistent across the materials. There is a photo on the left side of the page that connects to the unit theme.
In the Teacher’s Edition, Introduction of each unit, a Pacing Plan is provided at the bottom of the pages with a timeline for the entire unit, a numbered square for each day, a blue, turquoise, purple, or orange line denoting the section of the unit, and the names of the texts or tasks associated with the section.
In the Teacher’s Edition, each text displays the same four Planning pages that include a summary of the text, Lesson Resources (a table laying out the text’s Making Meaning, Language Development, and Effective Expression tasks), Reading Support (a text complexity rubric), and Standards Support Through Teaching and Learning Cycle, which details a cycle of Identify Needs, Decide and Plan, Teach, and Analyze and Revise.
In the Interactive Student Edition in Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and Independent Learning, at the top of the first page of each text, links are clearly labeled and include information about the author, background, and standards addressed in each text. A sidebar contains links to the table of contents, bookmarks, annotation and highlights, notebook, and glossary. They are clearly labeled and accessed the same way throughout the materials.
In the Interactive Student Edition, the Performance-Based Assessments have clearly labeled parts, including links to the Academic Vocabulary, Word Network, and Rubric sections.
Organizational features (Table of Contents, glossary, index, internal references, table headers, captions, etc.) in the materials are clear, accurate, and error-free. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the print Student Edition, the header on most pages (except for pages with texts) includes the unit Essential Question.
The Interactive Student Edition contains clickable nested links showing navigation within the unit (e.g., Unit 3 Power, Protest, and Change > Whole-Class Learning > Second Inaugural Address), and the right side of the screen has an expandable menu to navigate within the text (e.g., Making Meaning, Language Development, Effective Expression).
Indicator 3Z
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.
The materials include several layers of support for teachers to understand and use the program’s embedded technology. The Getting Started with myPerspectives digital page contains links to two resources: MySavvasTraining.com and Savvas Realize. The website, MySavvasTraining.com, presents high-level videos and handouts on topics such as accessing student data, downloading assignments in order to modify them and creating playlists of learning material. The Savvas Realize section focuses on the technical aspects of the assignment platform, such as demonstrating how to assign content to students, managing discussion boards, and using the Realize Reader digital textbook. The video and/or printable handout, Digital Resources, explains the embedded technology available to teachers and students. The documents almost always contain step-by-step directions and screenshots/images to help the teacher use technology with this program.
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Table of Contents, Getting Started, teachers can access videos and PowerPoint presentations about the different aspects of the program, such as the Table of Contents, the Student Edition, and assessments. One of the Program Overview videos in Digital Resources is a 12-minute video with information about how to utilize and navigate the online program, customize instruction, save time with digital tools, and engage students. A printable handout with the same information is available.
In the Table of Contents, Getting Started, Teacher How-To Resources, a document is provided to understand how to use the resources, such as Google classroom assignments, customize worksheets and assessments, share playlist, and ExamView: Getting Started. The documents provide step-by-step directions for teachers to utilize online materials and technology.
In the Table of Contents, Getting Started, Savvas Realize is the online platform for managing classes, assigning and turning in tasks, and examining data. The Savvas Realize training site provides technical support to teachers in the following categories:
Assignments > Realize Reader Assignments: “Savvas Realize Reader gives you access to digital textbooks and assignments in an engaging, interactive learning environment. Realize Reader content can also include video, interactive charts, graphs, drag-and-drop activities, and a notebook service, in addition to basic features, such as annotations, highlights, and bookmarks.” Directions follow for accessing the Realize Reader content through Realize, via the Realize Reader app, or downloading for offline use.
Discussions > Manage Active Discussions: “Discussions enable you to facilitate class and group discussions on important academic and social topics. Students can reflect on learning, share ideas and opinions, or ask and answer questions. You can create, monitor, and reply to discussions, and students can participate in discussions you create. In addition, you can choose whether or not to score discussions.” Directions follow, showing teachers how to select a discussion and then add a comment, attach a file, or edit comments.
Data > Results by Assignment: “The Results by Assignment page includes data for class and individual student test scores, progress, and usage.” Directions follow on how to “View Class Results by Assignment,” including Scores Data, Progress Data, and Usage Data.
In the Table of Contents, MySavvasTraining.com provides different sections for program-level overviews of structure and features and includes video tutorials with accompanying handouts. The categories include:
Getting Started > Digital Tour: Technological features are highlighted, including the Discussion Board feature (“to facilitate collaboration and real-time peer-to-peer sharing of ideas”), the EssayScorer tool (“provides immediate feedback to students for revising and improving their writing, giving them additional practice and saving you time”), and content creation tools (“you can customize the program by rearranging the Table of Contents, creating your own tests, and uploading your own resources to match your curriculum.”
Assessments and Reporting > Assessments: This video describes assessments overall, including those with embedded technology: Next Generation Practice Tests and Performance Tasks “give students the opportunity to practice formats like drag and drop so that they are prepared for online interactive testing,” and the Data tab on Savvas Realize organizes “student and class data that shows standards mastery on assessments and online activities, as well as overall progress. You can dig deeper with additional data points to reveal more detailed information on student mastery, progress, and usage. You can also view data for individual students from the class assignment list.”
Additional Resources > Revision Assistant for Teachers: A 24-page guide shows teachers how to set up, launch, and use Revision Assistant, which is “an online revision tool that helps students to improve their writing. It provides instant, differentiated feedback aligned to genre-specific rubrics and allows students to share their work and revisions with their teacher.”