Report for 11th Grade
Overall Summary
Springboard Grade 11 materials meet the expectations of alignment to the Common Core ELA standards. The materials include instruction, practice, and authentic application of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language work that is engaging and at an appropriate level of complexity and rigor for the grade.
Usability
Overview of Gateway 1
Text Quality & Complexity and Alignment to Standards Components
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the expectations for high-quality texts, appropriate text complexity, and evidence-based questions and tasks aligned to the Standards. Anchor texts are of high-quality and reflect the text type distribution required by the Standards. Materials balance the use of text excerpts and full texts and include opportunities for students to read full texts in their entirety. Quantitative, qualitative, and associated reader and task measures make the majority of texts appropriate for use in the grade level, and the variety in text complexity is coherently structured. Students engage in a range and volume of reading and have several mechanisms for monitoring their progress. Questions and tasks are text-specific or text-dependent and build to smaller and larger culminating tasks. Speaking and listening opportunities consistently occur over the course of a school year. The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in evidence-based discussions about what they are reading and include prompts and protocols for teacher modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. Students have opportunities to engage in on-demand and process writing that reflect the distribution required by the Standards. As students analyze and develop claims about the texts and sources they read, writing tasks require students to use textual evidence to support their claims and analyses. Grammar and usage standards are explicitly taught with opportunities for students to practice learned content and apply newly gained knowledge in their writing.
Criterion 1.1: Text Complexity and Quality
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for text quality and text complexity. The majority of the anchor texts are of high quality and include a variety of texts published by award-winning authors. Materials balance the use of text excerpts and full texts and include opportunities for students to read full texts in their entirety. Most texts that either fall below the text complexity band or do not have quantitative measures are appropriate for use in the grade due to qualitative and associated reader and task measures. Materials include appropriate scaffolding and supports for students to access complex text. There is a marked increase in text complexity that supports students’ grade-level reading independence. The publisher-provided text complexity analysis document includes accurate information on the program’s core texts. Students engage in a range and volume of reading and have opportunities to monitor their progress toward grade-level reading independence.
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The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading.
Texts within the units provide interesting and engaging subject matter that enable students to make personal and universal connections. The majority of texts are previously published and written by well-known authors. Texts range from historical to modern-day literature and represent a variety of text genres and multicultural and socially relevant themes across units. The units are designed to provide students a variety of text types centered on a topic, genre, or analytical skill; therefore, many units do not have an identifiable anchor text.
Some examples are as follows:
- Unit 1 includes the poem “America” by highly published author and poet Walt Whitman. The text contains rich vocabulary, the timeless theme of America and the “common man,” and Whitman’s unique writing style.
- Unit 1 also features an excerpt from the Common Core exemplar text A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. This award winning play, set in the 1950s, examines the American Dream through the perspective of an African American family, and how the American Dream is a complicated concept.
- Unit 2 features the “2nd Inaugural Address of President Abraham Lincoln Speech” given Saturday, March 4, 1865. The historical context and universal themes, including slavery, war, and a divided country, are age-appropriate and provide context for political and social issues throughout time.
- Unit 2 also includes the 1953 Tony Award winning play The Crucible, as well as the essay “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics,” both by Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Miller. The play is a dramatized story of the Salem witch trials as a statement against government persecution. The article, written in 1996 and published in The New Yorker, shares Miller’s motivations writing the play and what happened after he wrote it.
- Unit 3 features multiple media publications such as op-eds, editorials, and articles. For example, “Letters: The NYC Subway is not ‘Beyond Repair’” by Peter Zerr was published in the Atlantic and offers arguments and rebuttals about mass transit issues. The unit also includes the article “Facebook Photos Sting Minnesota High School Students” published by The Associated Press that explores privacy and the use of social media through one school’s use of Facebook posts as part of an investigation.
- Unit 3 also features “The Role of the Media in a Democracy” by former head of the Associated Press George A. Krimsky. This informational text contains rich figurative and academic language to discuss important historical topics of the First Amendment and the issue of a free press.
- Unit 4 includes classics from the Harlem Renaissance such as poems by Langston Hughes and the introduction to the 1925 anthology The New Negro by Alain Locke. These works provide background on the movement as a context for the featured text of the unit, Their Eyes Were Watching God by award-winning author Zora Neale Hurston. This Common Core exemplar text is rich with language, description, and imagery and explores the complexities of human relationships and power.
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*Indicator 1b is non-scored (in grades 9-12) and provides information about text types and genres in the program.
The instructional materials for Grade 11 reflect a balance of distribution of text types and genres, both literary and informational, across the instructional year. Students engage with a variety of text types suggested by the standards including journals, speeches, essays, autobiographies, short stories, editorials, articles, drama, literary criticism, satire, novels, cartoons, and poetry. Each unit is focused on a specific text type with multiple examples of each. Within a particular unit, the genre and type may not vary, but across the year, materials reflect the distribution required by the standards.
The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials:
- Unit 1, The American Dream, features a combination of informational and literary texts. This unit focuses on concepts or ideas that are considered American. The literary texts include:
- “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska (short story)
- “I, Too” by Langston Hughes (poem)
- “I, Too Sing América” by Julia Alvarez (poem)
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (play excerpt)
- Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, is primarily informational. The unit focuses on how social commentary speaks against injustice. The main literary text is the full length play The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
Unit 4, American Journey, is primarily literary and features poetry, short stories, and a full length novel. The unit focus is on a cultural journey through the Harlem Renaissance and how that is embedded in the novel. The literary texts include:- “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson (poem)
- “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes (poem)
- “On ‘From the Dark Tower,’” by Eugenia W. Collier (literary criticism)
- “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston (essay)
- “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (short story)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (novel)
The following are examples of informational text found within the instructional materials:
- Unit 1, The American Dream, features a combination of informational and literary texts. This unit focuses on concepts or ideas that are considered American. The informational texts include:
- “Growing Up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda (essay)
- “The Two Clashing Meanings of ‘Free Speech’” by Teresa M. Bejan (definition essay excerpt)
- The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States (historical document)
- “An Ocean Steamer Passing the Statue of Liberty: Scene on the Steerage Deck” (illustration)
- “Address on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, October 28, 1936” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (speech)
- Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, is primarily informational with texts such as presidential speeches, historical documents, illustrations, essays, and other forms of social commentary. The unit focuses on how rhetoric and social commentary are platforms to speak against injustice. The informational texts include:
- “The Trial of Martha Carrier” by Cotton Mather (essay)
- Sorcerer Exchanging Gospels for a Book of Black Magic (illustration)
- “The Lessons of Salem” by Laura Shapiro (article)
- “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics” by Arthur Miller (essay)
- “Speech to the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry (speech)
- Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, focuses on identifying bias in rhetoric, especially satire. The informational texts include essays, editorial cartoons, satirical works and illustrations, and editorials. Examples of these works are:
- The Supreme Court and Free Speech Legislation: New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 , by U.S. Supreme Court
- “How the Rise of the Daily Me Threatens Democracy” by Cass Sunstein (editorial)
- “The Role of the Media in a Democracy” by George A. Krimsky (article)
- “Separate and Unequal: Indian Schools, a Nation’s Neglect” by Jill Burcum from The Star Tribune (editorial)
- “An Inside Look at Editorial Cartoons” by Bill Brennen (article)
- “Let’s Hear It for the Cheerleaders” by David Bouchier (satire)
- Unit 4, American Journey, is primarily literary but includes pieces of literary criticism and personal essays. The unit focus is on a cultural journey through the Harlem Renaissance. The informational texts include:
- “On ‘From the Dark Tower,’” by Eugenia W. Collier (literary criticism)
- “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston (essay)
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.
Publishers provide a Text Complexity Measures document that indicates the quantitative data, qualitative analysis, and task considerations for the significant texts in each unit. The analysis uses Lexile and qualitative measures based on CCSS Appendix A (pages 5–6). Poetry and canonical or Common Core exemplar texts are not included in this document
While some texts fall above and below the College and Career Expectations for Lexile Ranges in the grades 11–12 stretch band (1185–1385L), the publishers provide a rationale based on the complexity of the qualitative features or the student task associated with the text. Most texts below the grade band are accompanied by a more rigorous task or require more student independence
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, the publisher provides complexity information for 12 texts. Lexile levels range from 760 to 1930. The extreme range is due to the inclusion of historical founding documents such as the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States that carries a quantitative measure of 1930L. Text types include articles, speeches, essays, historical documents, and poetry.
- Activity 1.12 text “Growing Up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda: Quantitative, 890L: Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty, Task: Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 1.23 excerpt from “Keynote Address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention” by Barak Obama: Quantitative, 1110L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 1.23 text “The Right to Fail” by William Zinsser: Quantitative, 1250L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Challenging–Evaluate
- In Unit 2, the publisher provides complexity information for 10 texts that supplement the central text The Crucible by Arthur Miller (Lexile 1320). Lexile levels range from 960L to 1520L and qualitative measurements from moderate to very complex. Text types include sermons, seminal historical documents, essays, legal documents, and a speech.
- Activity 2.2 text, historical account, “The Trial of Martha Carrier” by Cotton Mather. Quantitative,1420L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 2.3 text “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God:” Quantitative, 1360L: Qualitative: High Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 2.3 text “The Lessons of Salem” by Laura Shapiro: Quantitative: 1210L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- In Unit 3, publishers provide a text complexity analysis for 18 texts from the unit. These range from 1010L to 1570L with a balance of accessible, complex, and very complex texts. Text types include editorials, legislation, satire, editorial cartoons, and letters to the editor.
- Activity 3.7 text “Abolish High School Football” by Raymond Schroth: Quantitative 1570L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Challenging–Evaluate
- Activity 3.17 text “Girl Moved to Tears by Of Mice and Men Cliff Notes” by The Onion: Quantitative 1480L: Qualitative, High Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 3.19 text “Advice to Youth” by Mark Twain: Quantitative, 1050L: Qualitative, Moderate: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- In Unit 4, five texts are accompanied by a text complexity analysis with Lexile levels ranging from 920L-1630L. Texts in the unit include poetry, essays, short story excerpts, and the central novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
- Activity 4.2 text “The Harlem Renaissance,” adapted from The 1920s by Kathleen Drowne and Patrick Huber: Quantitative,1630: Qualitative, High Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 4.3 excerpt from “On the Dark Tower” by Eugenia W. Collier: Quantitative, 1170L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
- Activity 4.8 A Unity of Opposites, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston 990L: Qualitative, Moderate Difficulty: Task, Moderate–Analyze
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade-level skills (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).
Throughout the four units of study, students encounter challenging, rigorous texts and accompanying lessons, tasks, and assessments. Text selections fall within a range of accessible to very complex and low to high difficulty, with most texts falling within the moderately difficult range. Skills and knowledge build as students analyze a variety of texts and grapple with literary elements to complete two embedded assessments per unit. Thus, students work toward independence of grade-level skills within each unit and continue to grow their skills and knowledge of content and topics across the school year. The task demands and expected level of independence also increase across the year.
The complexity of anchor texts support students’ proficiency in reading independently at grade level at the end of the school year. (for 11-12: materials should be supporting students’ toward reading materials in credit-bearing college coursework and/or authentic career documents) Series of texts include a variety of complexity levels. Some examples are as follows:
- In the beginning of the year, students write a definition essay based on the theme “what it means to be an American.” In Unit 1: The American Dream, students reflect on what has formed their own ideas of the concept as well as perspectives presented in texts throughout the unit in order to develop the essay. For example, students read, analyze, and compare the poems “I, Too” by Langston Hughes and “I, Too, Sing America” by Julie Alvarez. Students also develop an argumentative essay, using multiple sources, to “defend, challenge or qualify the statement that America still provides access to the American dream.”
- In the middle of the year, students build knowledge to write an analytical essay. In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students read a speech by Alfred M. Green. Then they write a timed analytical essay to “explain how Alfred M. Green builds an argument to persuade his audience that they, African Americans, should fight for the United States even though they do not yet have equal rights.” The essay must include a thesis; evidence and examples; reasoning; stylistic or persuasive elements; and purpose-driven organization. These demands are similar and build upon those found in Activity 1.11.
- By the end of year, students focus on analysis of various works from the Harlem Renaissance in Unit 4, An American Journey. This includes watching a film segment and evaluating art by artists such as Augusta Savage, Lois Mailou Jones, and Aaron Douglas. The year culminates with Zora Neal Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1250L) in order to make predictions, discuss meaning, analyze the author's use of characterization, and evaluate the use of foreshadowing. For the Embedded Assessment 2, students write an analytical essay to discuss how Hurston's writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. The essay must include a convincing argument with analysis; clear and effective examples, clear organization and transitions; stylistic choices and mastery of conventions. These demands are similar to and build upon those encountered in activities in Unit 1 and 2.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.
The publisher provides a text complexity document for each grade level which includes a summary or rationale of the placement of the text and the overall, quantitative, qualitative, and task complexity measures. This document also includes qualitative considerations for levels of meaning, structure, language, and knowledge demands. The task considerations explain the assessments associated with the text and how they fit into the overall assessment picture, and reader considerations that help the teacher think about how individual students might understand and engage with the text. The Teacher Wrap and Teacher Edition instructional notes provide a framework with text-specific guidance and purpose for the text. Most tasks, such as close reading, independent reading, text-dependent questions, and writing assignments are addressed within the framework and are identified in the Teacher Wrap and Teacher Edition with a rationale for text placement and how the tasks relate to lesson goals and learning targets.
Some examples are as follows:
In Unit 1, The American Dream, Activity 1.12, A Hyphenated American, students read “Growing Up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda. The Text Complexity document provides a Lexile score of 890L with an overall score of accessible. The Summary section provides this rationale for text placement: “This text is accessible for an eleventh grade reader, which is appropriate given its use as a model text leading to the Embedded Assessment. The 890 Lexile measure places the text below the 11–12 grade band, but the qualitative measures indicate a moderate challenge with some unfamiliar vocabulary and the use of figurative language. The task demands are also moderate, resulting in an overall accessible rating.”
In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, Activity 2.3, The Lessons of Salem, students read the article “The Lessons of Salem” by Laura Shapiro. The Text Complexity document provides a Lexile score of 1210L with an overall rating of complex. The Summary section provides this rationale for text placement: “This text is complex for an eleventh grade reader, and it builds important background knowledge about the Salem witch trials. The 1210 Lexile measure places the text in the Grade 11–12 band, and the qualitative measures indicate a moderate difficulty level due to the text’s structure. The task demands are also moderate, resulting in an overall complex text.”
In Unit 3, American Forums, The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.7, The Bias of Rhetoric, students read the editorial “Abolish High School Football!” by Raymond A. Schroth. The Text Complexity document provides a Lexile score of 1570 with an overall rating of complex. The Summary section provides this rationale for text placement: “This text is very complex for an eleventh grade reader, which is appropriate given its placement in Unit 3. The 1570 Lexile measure places the text above the 11–12 grade level band, and the qualitative measures indicate a moderate difficulty due to its structure and use of slanted language and rhetorical devices. The task demands are challenging, resulting in an overall very complex rating.”
In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity, 4.8, A Unity of Opposites” students read “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston to better understand the historical context of Hurston’s work. The text complexity analysis provides a Lexile level of 990 with an overall rating of moderate difficulty. The Summary section states, “This text is overall accessible to the reader, which is appropriate given that it is the first of three works by Hurston that students read in the unit and introduces students to the writer’s perspective. The 990 Lexile measure places the text below the grade level band, but the qualitative measures indicate a moderate difficulty due to the fairly complex language and historical and cultural references. The task demands are also moderate.” Task considerations include, “Students analyze how Hurston’s diction and syntax contribute to the voice of the text. They integrate ideas from multiple sources, make inferences, and use evidence to write an analysis of ways in which the Harlem Renaissance shaped Hurston’s philosophy and beliefs, and the ways in which Hurston followed her own path.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency.
Students read and analyze a wide variety of text genres and topics across a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts of varying length. All units come with an overview that includes a table of contents with a list of texts, authors, and genres for each activity. Each unit includes a wide range of text types addressing multiple learning styles of students-including but not limited to visuals, texts with audio, and printed texts. Additionally, students experience a volume of reading as they engage in independent reading tasks that are embedded within specific activities and directly aligned to concepts and themes within the unit.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1: The American Dream, students study the American Dream through texts including “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska (short story), “The Two Clashing Meanings of ‘Free Speech’” by Teresa M. Bejan (definition essay), The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights (historical documents), “What Is an American?” from Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur (letter), “Is the American Dream Still Possible?” by David Wallechinsky (article), “An Ocean Steamer Passing the Statue of Liberty (illustration), and an excerpt from A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.
- Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion, presents students with multiple text types including “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards (sermon), “The New England Primer (historical document); “The Trial of Martha Carrier” by Cotton Mather (historical account), “Sorcerer Exchanging Gospels for a Book of Black Magic” (illustration), the “Deposition of Joseph Hutchinson” by Joseph Hutchinson (legal document), and the central text The Crucible by Arthur Miller (play).
- Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, exposes students to the power of voice and satire through a variety of texts including “Let's Hear It for the Cheerleaders” by David Bouchier (satire). First Amendment to the United States Constitution (historical document), “Separate and Unequal: Indian Schools, a Nation’s Neglect” by Jill Burcum from the Star Tribune (editorial), “The Role of the Media in a Democracy,” by George A. Krimsky (informational), “How the Rise of the Daily Me Threatens Democracy,” by Cass Sunstein (editorial), “The Newspaper Is Dying—Hooray for Democracy,” by Andrew Potter (editorial) “Letters: The NYC Subway Is Not ‘Beyond Repair,’” fromThe Atlantic (letter to the editor), and “Advice to Youth,” by Mark Twain (satire).
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students encounter a variety of texts including a visual prompt of Duke Ellington, “The Harlem Renaissance” adapted from The 1920s by Kathleen Drowne and Patrick Huber, “Introduction to the New Negro” by Alain Locke; “The Judgement Day” by Aaron Douglas (painting), a film segment on the Harlem Renaissance, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Augusta Savage (scultpute), “To Usward” by Gwendolyn B. Bennett (poem); “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson (poem/song), an excerpt from “On ‘From the Dark Tower’” by Eugenia W. Collier (literary criticism), and the featured text Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston (novel).
Criterion 1.2: Alignment to the Standards with Tasks and Questions Grounded in Evidence
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for evidence-based discussions and writing about texts. The majority of the questions and tasks are grounded in textual evidence. Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks build to smaller culminating tasks and the larger Embedded Assessments. Students participate in evidence-based discussions on what they are reading and the materials include prompts or protocols for discussions, encouraging teacher modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. The materials include on-demand and process writing opportunities that accurately reflect the distribution required by the Standards. Writing tasks require students to use textual evidence to support their claims and analyses. The materials address grade-level grammar and usage standards and include opportunities for application both in and out of context.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent/specific, 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 provide frequent opportunities for students to interact with texts by answering questions and completing tasks and assessments that require them to provide textual evidence to demonstrate their knowledge and support their thinking. The lessons are organized into recurrent sections that require students to draw on texts directly multiple times over the course of a lesson. The questions in each section build towards the Embedded Assessments in the unit. As students read, they complete several standard task sections: Making Observations, Focus on the Sentence, Returning to the Text, and Working from the Text. Students work from initial thoughts about key details in a text, to focusing on specific sentences in the text. Then, students answer a series of text-dependent/specific questions about the text and then finish the lesson with attention to specific quotes and how the text connects to the overall unit topic. In many lessons, there is also a Writing to Sources section for students to practice various writing types using the texts they read.
Students also complete text-dependent questions and tasks within the embedded unit assessments, informal and formal discussions, and quizzes. The Embedded Assessments require students to use the skills developed throughout the unit to interact with fresh texts and use textual evidence.
Instructional materials include questions, tasks, and assignments that are text-dependent/specific over the course of a school year. Text-dependent/specific questions, tasks and assignments consistently support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. Some examples include:
- In Unit 1, Activity 1.3, students read the short story, “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska. After reading, students answer a series of text-dependent questions such as, “Name five examples of images or diction that evoke the American Dream in the first three paragraphs of ‘America and I.’”
- In Unit 3, Activity 3.15, after reading “Let’s Hear It for the Cheerleaders” by David Bouchier, students answer the following questions: “In paragraph 1, what information does the reader understand that Bouchier’s persona does not? What is the effect on the tone of the text?” and “In paragraph 5, what rhetorical devices does the author use to shape the readers’ perception of cheerleading? What effects do these rhetorical devices have?”
- In Unit 4, Activity 4.3, students read the introduction to The New Negro by Alain Locke, and asnwer questions including, “What metaphor does Locke use in paragraph 4 to describe the movement that led to the Harlem Renaissance? How does the metaphor help explain the concept of a community at this time in history?”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials contain sets of sequences of text-dependent/text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding.
The materials include several types of culminating activities for each unit of study throughout the year including assessments, frequent writing prompts, and collaborative tasks. The two Embedded Assessments per unit are directly aligned with the units’ topic and/or genre. The “Planning the Unit” section gives teachers a preview of the skills and knowledge that will be assessed in the Embedded Assessments. The beginning of the unit also unpacks the Embedded Assessments for students to keep the end products in mind as they progress through the unit. All lessons and writing prompts scaffold the required learning for the Embedded Assessments. The activities within each lesson include sequences of text-dependent questions that guide students’ understanding of the selections in the unit and build to daily and end of unit culminating tasks. Formative assessments along the way give students the opportunity to practice skills they are learning and allow teachers to assess student progress toward learning goals. The products that result from the Embedded Assessments vary in nature over the course of the year: writing a definition essay, synthesizing the American Dream, creating and performing a dramatic scene, writing and presenting a persuasive speech, creating an op-ed news project, writing a satirical piece, presenting a literary movement, and writing an analytical essay.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion, students spend the first half of the unit reading the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller to deepen their understanding of social conflicts. In Activity 2.15, students also read the essay “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics” by Arthur Miller. Students answer Returning to the Text questions while working in small groups. Examples of questions are: “What does the text of paragraph 2 suggest about the purpose of MIller’s essay?”; “How does Miller develop the meaning of the word magic in paragraphs 5 and 11?”; and “In your own words, summarize the fallacious reasoning that Miller describes in paragraph 18. What is its effect on the way the text is read and understood?” Tasks like these prepare students to complete Embedded Assessment 1, in which they work in a small group to choose a current social conflict to “write and perform a dramatic scene set in a different historical time period that makes a statement about the conflict.” In the second part of the unit, students read various speeches to study rhetoric and persuasive speaking. Before writing their own persuasive speech for Embedded Assessment 2, students complete tasks such as Activity 2.20 in which they read the “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln and respond to prompts such as “The use of parallel structure has a powerful effect on a written and spoken message. Identify the examples of parallelism at work in the speech.” In Activity 2.21, students read Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention and respond to the prompt, “Read and analyze a speech for its rhetorical appeals and create an outline for your own argument that incorporates rhetorical appeals.”
- In Unit 4: An American Journey, Activity 4.3: The Historical Context of the Harlem Renaissance, students conduct guided research about the Harlem Renaissance. In this unit, the Embedded Assessments are research-based tasks. After watching a documentary, students answer the Essential Question, “How do cultural movements such as the Harlem Renaissance reflect and create people’s attitudes and beliefs?” Students then look at several works of art from the Harlem Renaissance while looking for textual evidence from the art that tells them about the time period. Finally, after reading the informational text, “Introduction to The New Negro by Alain Locke, students answer Returning to the Text questions including, “What metaphor does Locke use in paragrah 4 to describe the movement that led to the Harlem Renaissance? How does the metaphor help explain the concept of community at this time in history?” and “Review both “The Harlem Renaissance” in Activity 4.2 and Locke’s piece. How does each piece explain the reasons for the Great Migration? How do these reasons support each piece’s theme?” After compiling research on the Harlem Renaissance, students read Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God for the second part of the unit. While reading students complete tasks such as Activity 4.12: “Review Chapters 2 and 3. Think about Nanny’s desires for Janie to have a life far different from her own and Leafy’s as well as Nanny’s belief “that freedom is symbolized by achieving the position on high.” Write a paragraph explaining how these ideas are contrary to Hurston’s own ideas.” This and other similar tasks prepare students for Embedded Assessment Two in which they write an analytical essay to “discuss how Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols to engage students in speaking and listening activities and discussions (small group, peer-to-peer, whole class) which encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.
Teacher materials provide support and direction for teachers to fully implement grade level standards and grow students’ speaking and listening skills. At the end of each grade level, a Speaking and Reading Strategies document lists the strategies used throughout the units, and indicates whether each is a strategy for teachers or students or both. The definition and purpose of each strategy is listed for strategies including choral reading, debate, drama games, fishbowl, note-taking, oral reading, rehearsal, role-playing, and Socratic seminar. There are also a series of graphic organizers that provide structures and protocol activities such as active listening feedback, active listening notes, audience notes and feedback, collaborative dialogue, conversation for quickwrite, discourse starters, and round table discussion. In the Planning the Unit section at the beginning of each grade level, the Activities Features at a Glance section includes icons that indicate which activities include listening, speaking, and discussion tasks. The Teacher Wrap also provides detailed instructions for teachers on engaging students in a variety of speaking and listening activities and groupings. For some activities, the Teacher to Teacher notes offer more detail on best practices with the strategy, and scaffolding suggestions for both students who need additional support and students who need extension activities.
Materials provide multiple opportunities, protocols, and questions for discussions across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Activity 1.6, students analyze the text from the previous activity in preparation for writing a rhetorical analysis. In Activity 1.5: Questioning the Text, students read the essay “The Two Clashing Meanings of ‘Free Speech’” by Teresa M. Bejan. In Activity 1.6, they analyze the author’s use of definition strategies as a rhetorical device. The materials suggest that students use the Round Table Discussion graphic organizer to help them organize their developing ideas. Teachers are prompted: “Help students organize their observations by using the Round Table Discussion graphic organizer to revisit their answers in the Working from the Text section. Have them draw from those answers to write examples of topic sentences, text containing rhetorical devices, and ideas about the effects of those devices.”
- In Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.9: Sharing and Responding, includes the strategy of small-group reading as a first read of a text. While reading together, students stop to underline text that indicates the writer’s position and reason for that position. They also discuss and highlight words that create tone or are unknown. Students then come together for a large group discussion of two general “Making Observations” questions. Students then move into pairs to pair-read and answer text-dependent questions. This is followed by independent work culminating with an argumentative paragraph. The final part of the activity has students return to their pairs to review their brief editorials.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.2, students will be working in groups for their final multimedia presentation. The Teacher Wrap prompts teachers: “Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Read aloud the introduction for the Participating Collaboratively section. Then have volunteers from the different groups take turns reading aloud and then paraphrasing the bulleted points in the Collaboration Guidelines box. Guide the activity, soliciting and answering questions and clarifying the guidelines as necessary.” The Participating Collaboratively section includes criteria such as
- Be prepared for collaborative discussions by reading your assigned sources and taking notes ahead of time.
- Speak up so that the other group members can hear.
- Take turns speaking and listening; everyone should have the opportunity to share ideas.
- Ask relevant and insightful questions that build on other students’ ideas and help the
- discussion.
- Offer ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the group toward your goals.
- Paraphrase comments from other group members to ensure understanding.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking (and discussions) about what they are reading and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.
As noted in the teacher planning documents for each unit, speaking and listening skills are included throughout the unit. The majority of activities include at least one opportunity for students to speak and listen in academic discussions as they relate to reading selections and lines of inquiry. Materials provide directions for implementation and when appropriate for scaffolding the activity in the teacher edition. The Teacher Wrap offers additional support for teachers to facilitate discussions and prompt students with guiding and follow-up questions and activities. Discussions generally require students to provide textual evidence and use learned academic and literary vocabulary. Throughout the year students also have multiple opportunities to present in groups and as individuals. For each activity, teachers receive directions for implementation and when appropriate for scaffolding the activity in the teacher edition. The Teacher Wrap provides support for teachers to facilitate discussions and prompt students with guiding and follow-up questions and activities. The frequency and structure of the activities create the conditions for students to improve their skills over time.
Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied grade-level-appropriate speaking and listening opportunities.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, Activity 2.8, the Teacher Wrap prompts teachers: “Have students work in groups to discuss and complete the Gaining Perspectives activity. Then ask a volunteer from each group to share key ideas from the group's discussion.” The student instructions for the group discussion read, “In The Crucible, the townspeople accuse each other of being witches or of being possessed by the devil based on what they have seen or been told. As you have learned, clinical hysteria can present itself in many physical ways; however, the Puritans did not always investigate people's behavior fully before passing judgment. With a partner, discuss what it would be like to be accused of wrongdoing based on your actions related to a health problem. How could you effectively communicate your health issues to others? What types of communication skills might not be effective and cause people not to believe you? When you are done, summarize your discussion in your Reader/Writer Notebook.”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.8, students read the editorial “Separate and Unequal: Indian Schools, a Nation’s Neglect” by Jill Burcum. The Teacher Wrap includes directions and questions for the teacher to conduct speaking and listening activities, such as “Tell students to pause after paragraph 28. Invite a volunteer to summarize the relationship between the BIE and Congress as it is being presented by the author” and “After reading the text for the first time, guide the class in a discussion by asking the Making Observations questions. Check students’ overall general comprehension of the text based on their observations, asking follow-up questions as needed.”
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.3, students read the Introduction to The New Negro by Alain Locke. The Teacher Wrap includes follow-up questions for conducting a classroom discussion of the text in a Scaffolding the Text-Dependent Questions box: “What metaphor does Locke use in paragraph 4 to describe the movement that led to the Harlem Renaissance? How does the metaphor help explain the concept of a community at this time in history? A metaphor states a similarity between two unlike things, using words to create a visual image. To what does the author compare the movement of people to the North? What similarity does he find between those two things?”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.
Throughout the units and over the course of the school year, the instructional materials require students to produce a mixture of standards aligned, on-demand, short, informal, focused writing projects and longer independent writing process tasks and essays that require multiple drafts and revisions over time with the use of digital resources where appropriate. The materials follow a scaffolded approach to writing within units and across the year. Students study authors’ craft and practice applying what they learned to their own writing. Students frequently practice the writing process of pre-write, plan, draft, review, revise and edit, which includes opportunities to collaborate with peers. Students engage in on-demand writing daily throughout the lessons and process-writing tasks in the unit embedded assessments, unit prompts, and supplemental workshops. The majority of writing tasks are evidence-based and text-based. There are two embedded assessments per unit which both include process writing tasks. These are outlined in the Teacher Edition, and the Teacher Wrap offers guidance to the teacher for revision and editing. Each assessment also includes a scoring rubric and questions to help students in planning, drafting, and revising throughout the writing process.
For on-demand writing, materials include Focus on the Sentence activities, in which students practice writing at the sentence level and then move into paragraphs and then essay-length writing pieces. The Gaining Perspectives section of the lesson uses an on-demand writing task for students to summarize the classroom discussion on a given topic. Knowledge Quests include on-demand writing-to-source prompts. Independent Reading Checkpoint sections also include informal writing assignments where students reflect on and/or synthesize independent reading.
The supplemental materials include ten Writing Workshops per grade level that provide direct instruction on the writing process for argumentative, explanatory, narrative, literary, research, narrative nonfiction, poetry, script, and procedural writing; however, it is critical to note that these are not part of the core materials and are used at the teacher’s discretion.
Examples of on-demand writing include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Activity 1.4, students complete a timed, on-demand writing prompt that requires them to respond to the following: “The tone of ‘America and I’ changes and develops over the course of the narrative as Anzia Yezierska has new experiences. Draft an essay evaluating how Yezierska's use of diction and syntax affects the evolution of tone in the narrative.” Students practice incorporating textual evidence in their writing as they complete similar tasks throughout the unit.
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, Activity 2.13, students do a collaborative group writing activity for a literary writing prompt. The prompt reads: “Work with a small group to develop a short scene and then write a script based on one of the following scenarios, or a different scenario. Consider the role that various forms of evidence, including confession, might play in the scene.”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.11, students evaluate the effectiveness of several letters to the editor and learn how to write their own letter. At the end of the lesson, in the Opening Writing Prompt section, students “Write a letter to the editor in response to one of the editorials you have read in this unit. Use the steps outlined in the How to Write a Letter to the Editor section to guide your writing.” Students are then given several guidelines for organization structure, rhetorical techniques, and a conclusion.
Opportunities for process writing tasks and focused projects include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Embedded Assessment 1, students write a definition essay that responds to this prompt: “Write a multi-paragraph essay that defines your interpretation of what it means to be an American. This essay should use the strategies of definition and different perspectives from the unit to help you develop a complex and thoughtful definition. If possible, incorporate an iconic image into your essay.” This assessment takes students through the entire writing process: planning and prewriting, drafting and revising, editing and publishing, and reflecting on the final product.
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.9, students learn and practice the steps to draft, write, and revise an editorial about a contemporary issue.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.9, students write a literary analysis. The prompt reads: “Analyze the extent to which Hurston’s story is a tribute to the lives of ordinary African American people. Choose a method of prewriting and then draft a response to this story. In your analysis, address the literary elements you have studied.” Another component of the activity guides students through “Revising and Editing with Peer Review”.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. (Writing opportunities incorporate digital resources/multimodal literacy materials where appropriate. Opportunities may include blended writing styles that reflect the distribution required by the standards.)
The materials provide opportunities for students to learn, practice, and construct a variety of writing modes and genres across the school year. Because writing instruction starts at the sentence level and progresses through paragraphs to full, multi-draft pieces of writing, students and teachers are able to monitor progress. The majority of writing prompts, assignments, and assessments are text-based and reflect an in-depth look at author's craft across a variety of text types. Each unit contains two Embedded Assessments that require students to demonstrate their understanding of the unit focus through writing types and media as required by the standards. Students regularly engage in task-based writing and writing to sources, and direct instruction in narrative, argument, and informational writing. Students engage extensively in each writing type across the year as each unit exemplifies a different mode of writing. There is also variation of writing types within each unit typically for smaller tasks within lessons.
There are also ten Writing Workshops per grade level that provide direct instruction and practice for argumentative, explanatory, narrative, literary, research, narrative nonfiction, poetry, script, and procedural writing. It is important to note that these workshops are not a part of the core materials and must be used at the teacher’s discretion.
Materials include sufficient writing opportunities for a whole year’s use. Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, students read a variety of informational and literary texts and practice several writing types, including definition essays and arguments. Students read exemplars and practice analyzing and writing definition pieces, as well as “a three to five paragraph narrative about a difficult moment” from their lives. Tasks like these help students prepare for Embedded Assessment 1 in which they write a multi-paragraph essay of their own interpretation of the American dream that incorporates texts from the unit. This continues into Embedded Assessment 2 which requires students to synthesize up to five sources from the unit to write an argument that defends or challenges “the statement that America still provides access to the American Dream.”
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students practice a variety of writing genres, such as analysis of arguments, a dramatic scene, and an argumentative speech. In the first half of the unit, students read and analyze the social, dramatic, and historical elements of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. For Embedded Assessment 1, students write an original dramatic scene based on a social conflict that is set in an alternate historical period. The second half of the unit focuses on American rhetoric in historical speeches to prepare students for Embedded Assessment 2 in which they write and present a persuasive speech ”that addresses a contemporary issue.”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, students compose argumentative and informational pieces about debatable social issues. Students begin the unit reading and analyzing articles and editorials. They practice writing a letter to the editor to prepare for Embedded Assessment 1. For this assessment, students collaboratively write a full informational essay on a significant social issue, and then individually write editorial works that “include at least two different pieces, such as cartoons, editorials, letters, posters, photos, and so on.” The second half of the unit builds on the first by presenting exemplars of historical and modern parody and satire that students analyze and practice composing. This leads to Embedded Assessment 2 in which students write a full piece of satire that critiques an aspect of society.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students read multiple short stories and poems by Harlem Renaissance authors to write analytical, informational, and argumentative pieces. For the first part of Unit 4, students synthesize textual information on the Harlem Renaissance with a focus on crafting a strong thesis statement for a research question. Students then collaboratively write and present an informational essay on an aspect of the Harlem Renaissance for Embedded Assessment 1. After the assessment, students read several works by Zora Neale Hurston, including the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Students practice a range of writing types with tasks such as “Analyze the extent to which Hurston’s story is a tribute to the lives of ordinary African American people” and read several critiques of the novel; then “choose one and defend or challenge.” Students continually analyze Hurston’s works in light of what they learned about the Harlem Renaissance. The unit culminates with Embedded Assessment 2: “Write an analytical essay in which you discuss how Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.
The instructional materials provide frequent opportunities for writing that requires students to analyze sources, make arguments with claims and supporting evidence, and synthesize information across texts and various media sources. These opportunities include on-demand tasks within lessons, as well as both embedded assessments per unit. Close, critical reading activities throughout the units incorporate text-based writing from the sentence level to multi-draft full-length compositions. Students also read additional texts independently within each unit and synthesize in writing what they learned from these texts along with the selections that are embedded in the lessons. Students complete two Knowledge Quests per unit, in which they read and analyze a collection of texts around a topic, theme, or idea and synthesize what they learned either in a Writing to Sources prompt or a class discussion. For significant tasks such as the Embedded Assessments, students are provided with graphic organizers, checklists, and/or rubrics to support their work.
Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources. Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream Activity 1.16, students read the Declaration of Independence and analyze its effectiveness as a piece of argumentative writing. Students must construct a claim and use specific evidence as a part of their written responses to the following question: “What is the modern American Dream? How do the foundational documents of American life still support the American Dream today?”
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, Activity 2.2, students read a series of primary source documents to understand the context of The Crucible. After completing the examination of the documents, the Check Your Understanding activity directs students to “summarize what you now know about the historical context of the play.” Students are then guided to “refer to evidence from the primary sources [they] read.”
- In Unit 3, American Forum: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.10, students analyze the effectiveness of evidence in editorials presented in the unit. In Activity 3.11, students write a letter to the editor in response to one of the editorials from the unit. Students are reminded to use “claims, reason, evidence, and response to counterclaims” as well as “a variety of rhetorical techniques, including anecdotes, case studies, or analogies.”
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.13, students have read the first six chapters of Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Students complete an argumentative prompt that first asks them to “review the characteristics of folktales and the portions of Chapter 6 that reflect folktale characteristics.” Students then write a paragraph in which they “agree or disagree with critics who ‘frowned upon [Hurston’s] broad humor and lowly nature of her material.’” The prompt reminds students to use folktale elements as examples to support their claim and “embed any quotations using correct conventions.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including instruction and practice of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application in context.
Materials provide embedded instruction and practice of grammar and language concepts throughout the four units of study at each grade level. Sections titled Grammar and Usage point out authors’ use of grammatical constructs in the selections students are reading in the activity. The goal of providing these call-outs is to increase reading comprehension and provide a model for students to incorporate the constructs into their own writing. Students engage in sentence-level grammar and usage practice through Focus on the Sentence tasks. Several times in the unit, students complete Language and Writer’s Craft tasks that “address topics in writing such as style, word choice, and sentence construction.” These exercises are also embedded in daily lessons, reference the text at hand, and include application to the students’ own writing.
Materials include instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Some examples are as follows:
- Students have opportunities to apply the understanding that usage is a matter of convention, can change over time, and is sometimes contested.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.9: The Tradition of Dialect, students read the short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston. While reading the story, students learn more about the variations of language that exist in dialect through a “Language Change” section: “Our world is vast, and throughout the world, dialect and speech have varied from place to place and over time. For this reason, authors sometimes use their own experiences to light up a story with language that may be considered complex. For example, phrases in ‘Sweat’ may include nonconventional variations in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and meaning, such as:
- ‘… Mah sweat is done paid for this house …’ (paragraph 20)
- ‘… jez ez reg'lar ez de weeks roll roun' …’ (paragraph 33)
- ‘Too much knockin' …’ (paragraph 37)
- These words give a more accurate account of the story as it plays out in the author's mind.
- Find two examples in the text of phrases that include variations in dialect and work with a partner to discuss the literal meaning of the phrases.
- As a group, evaluate why an author might choose to use a nonconventional word or phrase in a story.”
- 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.
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Activity 1.14, students revise and edit their definition essay. Instruction on the editing process explains the purpose of a style guide and its usefulness during this stage of the writing process. "A style guide is a collection of rules for writing. Popular style guides for general writing include Elements of Style, The Associate Press Stylebook, and The Chicago Manual of Style. Other good style guides exist for writing in specific fields (science, medical, etc.).” Students then edit their work using an online or print style guide. During both Embedded Assessments, students "check [their work] for grammatical and technical accuracy" using "outside resources," such as a style guide.
- Students have opportunities to observe hyphenation conventions.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.8, students read “Colored Me’ by Zora Neale Hurston. During the lesson, students encounter a call out Grammar & Usage explanation of how writer’s use dashes while utilizing the short story as a mentor text. They are instructed to “try revising another sentence from this essay by replacing a dash with a colon, a comma, or parentheses. How does your revision change the way you read the sentence?”
- Students have opportunities to spell correctly.
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplaces of Ideas, Activity 3.21, while writing a satire, the instructional guidance prompts students: “Edit the satire to ensure that the spelling, grammar, and punctuation are all correct. Use a style guide as needed.”
Overview of Gateway 2
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for building knowledge with texts, vocabulary, and tasks. Grade-level texts are organized around a theme and each unit explores a facet of the theme, as well as several Essential Questions. Students complete high-quality, coherently sequenced questions and tasks as they analyze literary elements, such as craft and structure, and integrate knowledge and ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts. Culminating tasks, such as the Embedded Assessments, integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening, or language and connect to the texts students read. Each unit contains Academic, Literary, and Content/Text-Specific terms. Students encounter vocabulary before, during, and after reading and vocabulary spans across multiple texts and/or tasks. The year-long writing plan allows students to participate in a range of writing tasks that vary in length, purpose, and difficulty. Throughout the year, students conduct short research projects during smaller culminating tasks and long research projects during appropriate Embedded Assessments. Students have frequent opportunities to engage in independent reading through scaffolded lessons and self-selected materials. Most texts are organized with built in supports, such as Learning Strategies, to foster independence. Each unit includes two types of embedded independent reading tasks, Independent Reading Links and Independent Reading Checkpoints.
Criterion 2.1: Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for texts are organized around a topic/topics or themes to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend and analyze complex texts proficiently.
The materials for Grade 11 are organized into four topic-based units of study. Each unit is centered around a topic or text genre, and students build knowledge through inquiry via a variety of literary genres and different types of informational text. Units are designed for students to utilize the texts to comprehend complex texts/topics. Activities within each unit develop student’s knowledge through structured learning activities that provide scaffolding of content leading students towards independent and proficient comprehension. Students also read independently and complete tasks in response to their independent reading texts to build their knowledge about topics/themes within complex texts.
The opening page of each unit features a visual prompt and a quote aligned to the topic to initiate a classroom conversation. The first activity of each unit is a preview of the unit that includes Essential Questions linked to the topic of the unit. Additionally, the units contain connected sub-topics that build upon one another as the instructional year progresses. The design of the materials supports students’ comprehension of complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently due to scaffolding, gradual release, and increasingly demanding texts and tasks as the units progress.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1: The American Dream, students read a variety of contemporary and historical texts across multiple genres to explore the theme of the “American Dream.” Essential Questions include “What does it mean to be an American? What is the ‘American Dream?’ Does America still provide access to the ‘American Dream?’” The unit objective is for students to “synthesize information from these texts to write an essay about who has access to the American Dream.” To prepare for this, students complete tasks such as Activity 1.3, An American Story, in which they read a short story titled “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska and evaluate how the author’s diction and syntax contribute to the tone of the text. The first half of the unit introduces students to multiple perspectives of the American Dream through poetry by authors such as Langston Hughes and Julia Alvarez, as well as essays and speeches on freedom, immigration, and rights. After writing a definition essay for the first Embedded Assessment, students read articles, essays, a series of poems, and an excerpt from A Raisin in the Sun on the theme of immigration or being a minority in America. For the second Embedded Assessment, students synthesize all they have studied to write an argumentative essay on the attainability of the American Dream.
- In Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion, instruction builds on the argumentative focus of the first unit with more of a focus on information texts. Texts such as drama and speeches help students answer the Essential Questions “How can artistic expression advance social commentary?” and “How is rhetoric applied to the creation and delivery of persuasive speeches?”
- In Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace for Ideas, students examine both editorial texts and satire as key genres to understand how writers use careful reasoning and sufficient evidence versus “those that rely on manipulation, biased language, and fallacious reasoning.” In this unit, students focus on democracy and the way in which “writers use language to influence public opinion.” Lesson activities center students’ work around answering the following Essential Questions: “What is the role of media in our society, and how can we become responsible consumers and producers of information in a digital age? How can writers use satire to bring about change in society?” For example, in Activity 3.10, Where is the Proof, students analyze the effectiveness and appeal of evidence in one of the unit’s editorials. Students complete multiple tasks like this to prepare for the first Embedded Assessment in which they write an informational article on a “debatable issue of significance.” This is followed with lessons on satire including Activity 3.16, Analyzing Satirical Cartoons, that asks students to analyze cartoons for their satirical content and techniques. Other activities require students to look at editorial cartoons and write a parody before completing the second Embedded Assessment which requires students to “develop a satirical piece on some aspect of our society.”
- In Unit 4: An American Journey, students learn about the Harlem Renaissance through texts including poetry, literary criticism, and informational texts. Students research and present about the Harlem Renaissance for the first Embedded Assessment, answering one of the unit’s Essential Questions, “How do cultural movements such as the Harlem Renaissance reflect and create people’s attitudes and beliefs?” This provides historical context for the second part of the unit in which students use what they learned to read and analyze short stories and the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. For the second Embedded Assessment, students argue whether Hurston’s novel was an example or departure of the Harlem Renaissance to answer the unit’s other Essential Question, “How is one writer’s work both a natural product of and a departure from the ideas of a specific literary movement in American literature?”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher-order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
Across the four instructional units, there is a common pattern to activities within and across lessons. The lessons are organized into recurrent sections that require students to draw on texts directly multiple times over the course of a lesson and unit: Making Observations, Focus on the Sentence, Returning to the Text, and Working from the Text. Students work from initial thoughts about key details in a text, to focusing on specific sentences in the text. Then, students answer a series of text-dependent/specific questions about the text. The majority of these tasks almost always include an analysis of the key ideas, structure, craft, and language, and require students to seek evidence from the text to support their thinking. The Teacher Edition also includes multiple text boxes per lesson titled Scaffolding the Text-dependent Questions which provides a sequence of questions teachers can ask during the reading.
For most texts, students are asked to analyze language and/or author’s word choice (according to grade-level standards). Some examples are as follows:
- The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address language and/or word choice.
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Activity 1.19, students analyze the use of language to explain the impact the poet’s choices have on his/her readers. After reading “Ellis Island” by Joseph Bruchac, students answer questions such as “In line 4 of the poem, what might the word quarantine mean in the context of the opening lines?” and “How does the author’s choice of the word invaded (line 22) help the perception of the reader?” Students respond to similar questions after reading two other poems “Europe and America” by David Ignatow and “My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop” by Naomi Shihab Nye. Students work with all three texts to identify the denotation and connotation of the key images found within the poems. The lesson concludes with students writing a response to a literary analysis prompt.
For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details, structure, and craft (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to:
- The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address key ideas and details.
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, Activity 3.9, students read two editorials, “Pro and Con: Raising Graduation for High School Students: Time to Raise the Bar in High Schools” by Jack O’Connell and “New Michigan Graduation Requirements Shortchange Many Students” by Nick Thomas, as they prepare to craft their own editorials. Students use a chart to organize their annotations while reading each editorial. Then, students use the chart to compare the key ideas presented by each author. Students must explain which writer made the stronger case. At the conclusion of the lesson, students respond to an argumentative writing prompt and “compose an editorial that responds to your original editorial. Write from an alternate perspective.”
- The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address structure.
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, Activity 2.22, students complete the Check Your Understanding section after reading Abraham Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address.” Series of questions include “What appeals in this speech would likely be most memorable to Lincoln's audience? Which kind of appeal is most prevalent in Lincoln's speech? What effect would it have on the audience?” After considering this question, the lesson wraps up with Working from the Text. In this section, students return to the text to answer “What is the structure of Lincoln's speech? How does he work to provide a convincing conclusion?” and then work with a partner to find examples of pathos, logos, and ethos to complete a provided graphic organizer. After studying other historical speeches and similar tasks, students complete Embedded Assessment 2 in which they write a persuasive speech that addresses a contemporary issue.
- The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address craft.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, Activity 4.16, students read the last chapter of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and evaluate how Hurston’s use of literary elements including plot, character, setting, and point of view develops the theme and supports the author’s purpose. Prior to this lesson students analyze the author’s use of characterization, analyze how historical, social, and economic contexts influence the plot, characterization, and theme. These tasks prepare students for Embedded Assessment 2 when students must write an analytical essay that discusses how Hurston’s writing is “both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.
The materials provide sequences of texts and accompanying text-dependent tasks that promote the building of knowledge and integration of ideas within texts and across texts. The Shared Instructional Vision of the materials is rooted in four principles that are designed to promote this type of learning: close observation and analysis, evidence-based writing, higher-order questioning, and academic conversations. Each unit follows a similar pattern to build student knowledge through close attention to a series of texts that when synthesized help students address the unit Essential Questions.
Within each unit activity there are sequences of text-specific and text-dependent questions designed to continuously bring students back to a deeper engagement with the texts. The sequence of questions first appear in the Working from the Text section. Additional sections such as Returning to the Text, Focus on Sentences, Writing Prompt, and Check Your Understanding also include text-specific questions and writing prompts to deepen students’ understanding of individual texts and genres. Certain features of the text encourage the integration of knowledge within and across texts such as the Knowledge Quest section that requires students to read a collection of texts on a specific topic, build knowledge and vocabulary on the topic and develop new understandings and considerations as they progress through the reading selections. Essential Questions at the beginning of each unit also provide students the opportunity to integrate and develop ideas across texts as they return to these questions throughout the unit and examine how their thinking has changed. Tasks throughout the unit require students to demonstrate this evolving understanding across texts. The tasks also prepare students for the two Embedded Assessments in each unit.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, students read the short story “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska and evaluate how the author’s diction and syntax contribute to the tone of the text during Activity 1.3. Students begin by playing a tone game to study words used in the story and make predictions about the tone. Second, students listen to the teacher read an excerpt, then they respond to a writing prompt: “Based on the diction and syntax in the excerpt, what is the author’s tone toward America and the American Dream? What details about word choice and syntax support your answer?” Next students read the story and answer a series of text-specific questions such as “How has the author been affected by her experience working for an American family? What decision does the experience lead her to make in paragraph 42?” After a second reading of the text, students return to the text and underline words, phrases, and sentences that show the tone and answer another series of questions such as “Cite two or three examples of the narrator’s use of some form of the word America in paragraphs 10–13. What idea does each use communicate?” Next they respond to a Check for Understanding question: “Explain how the author’s diction and syntax in the final paragraph convey her hope for America.” Lastly, they complete a writing prompt: “Think about the experience of the narrator you read about in ‘America and I’ and how she describes a difficult experience in her life. Write a three to five paragraph narrative about a difficult moment from your own life.”
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students look at literary and informational argumentative texts. In Activity 2.2, students read a range of texts to develop background knowledge for the anchor text The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Students read a series of texts: the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Johnathan Edwards, the historical document “The New England Primer”, an essay “The Trial of Martha Carrier” by Cotton Mather, an illustration “Sorcerer Exchanging Gospels for a Book of Black Magic (no author cited); and a legal document “The Deposition of Joseph Hutchinson” by Joseph Hutchinson. After completing a KWL chart on Puritan New England, students read each text to complete a Knowledge Quest. Students answer questions after each reading that align to the question “What is the connection between religion and witchcraft in colonial New England?” Examples of questions include these: “In paragraph 1, what does Edwards mean by divine when he refers to ‘divine justice’?”; “What religious imagery or words do you notice?”; “In section 1, what does Mather mean by bewitching when he refers to the charges brought against Martha Carrier?”; “What do you think the figures in the image represent?”; and “How does Hutchinson’s deposition provide historical context about the connection between religion and witchcraft in colonial New England?”
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students focus on literature of the Harlem Renaissance to learn how social and historical context shape a work’s literary elements. The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is the anchor text for the unit. Activity 4.12 uses chapters 3 and 4 for students to “analyze a character’s behavior, motivations, and moral dilemmas and how they influence plot.” As students read, they complete a graphic organizer to record notes about Janie’s behaviors and motivations. They then think about what moral dilemmas result and how her choices about the dilemmas influence the plot. In the Making Connections to the Harlem Renaissance section, students work in groups to discuss questions and take notes on the discussion. Questions include “Discuss how Janie’s frustration helps her growing self-awareness.” and “What other images add meaning to the text and define Hurston’s style as a Harlem Renaissance writer?” The activity ends with the Check Your Understanding section which asks “What symbolic act does Janie perform when she leaves Logan? How does Hurston’s word choice echo the optimism of the Harlem Renaissance?”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g., combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
Each grade level contains four units of study that have two Embedded Assessments each. These assessments serve as culminating tasks for a skill set driving the unit instruction. They require students to demonstrate their learning through interpretation, synthesis of research, and various types of analysis. Students may be prompted to present their work through a variety of ways: dramatic interpretation, creative writing, analysis essays, arguments, media presentations, or debates. The unit tasks and texts build student knowledge and capacity to complete the assessments which include reading, writing, research, speaking, presenting, and listening over the course of the year. The assessments and daily tasks within the unit include collaborative group projects along with independent work. To prepare for the assessments, students answer constructive response questions, annotate texts, complete graphic organizers, and write both short and full-length essay responses.
Within units, students also complete Knowledge Quests in which they read collections of texts to build their knowledge around a topic and its related vocabulary. Each Knowledge Quest begins with a central question and supporting questions that focus on student learning. After reading the collection of texts, students return to the knowledge question in order to synthesize what they learned through the readings and associated tasks, thus demonstrating their accumulated knowledge on the topic. This is accomplished through a writing prompt or academic discussion. Both the Embedded Assessments and the Knowledge Quests provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they learned through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students read several historical documents and essays as they prepare to read The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Students focus on the representation of historical social issues and how persuasion impacts perception as they work toward Embedded Assessment 1: “As a small group, choose a modern social conflict. Then write and perform a dramatic scene set in a different historical time period that makes a statement about the conflict. Your performance should demonstrate your understanding of Arthur Miller’s purpose for writing The Crucible and how the play’s historical setting supports his purpose.” Students then finish the play as they focus on rhetoric and persuasion. In Activity 2.25, students practice analyzing how an author builds an argument leading to an understanding of what elements are necessary for an effective persuasive speech. Activity 2.26 shows students what elements, both physical and rhetorical, make an effective speech by watching or listening to two speeches and evaluating what the speaker does in these areas. Students then discuss in small groups and debate which speech was more effective. These tasks develop students’ skills for completing Embedded Assessment 2, during which students “write and present an original, persuasive two to three minute speech.” After presenting their speech, students reflect on “How was writing something meant to be performed in front of an audience different from writing a traditional essay?”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, students read various editorials and articles on current social issues. To prepare for the first assessment, students practice writing their own editorial in Activity 3.11: “Write a letter to the editor in response to one of the editorials you have read in this unit. Use the steps outlined in the How to Write a Letter to the Editor section to guide your writing.” For Embedded Assessment 1, students complete a culminating task that requires a combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening: “Working in groups, your assignment is to plan, develop, write, revise, and present an informational article on a timely and debatable issue of significance to your school community, your local community, or a national audience. Be creative with your editorial products and include at least two different pieces, such as cartoons, editorials, letters, posters, photos, and so on.” After the first assessment, students turn their focus to analyzing and writing satire. After reading several current and historical pieces of satire, students prepare for their final assessment with tasks such as this final task in Activity 3:18: “Write a parody of some aspect of TV programming. Choose a partner and a subject (a genre like soap operas, sports broadcasts, reality shows, children’s television programs or a specific show). Next, write your parody using the format of a script.” Students then complete Embedded Assessment 2: “You have been studying how opinions are expressed and perceived in a democratic society through a variety of rhetorical formats including satire. Your assignment is to develop a satirical piece critiquing some aspect of our society.”
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students complete a Knowledge Quest in response to this Knowledge Question: “What makes up a community?” Across Activity 4.3, students study the historical context of the Harlem Renaissance by reading an informational text about the Harlem community, “Introduction to The New Negro” by Alain Locke, two poems about Harlem, “To Usward” by Gwendolyn B. Bennett and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson, and a literary criticism piece that analyzes a poem about community life in Harlem, an excerpt from “On ‘From the Dark Tower’” by Eugenia W. Collier. As students read the selections, they consider their answer to the knowledge question and participate in a class discussion of text-dependent questions about the readings. Lastly, they discuss their thoughts on the knowledge question with a partner then complete a culminating task on the set of texts: “After reading these texts about communities, think about what makes up a community and why. With a partner, write an informative text about the makeup of a community. Respond to the following questions: “What is a community you know? Who is in this community? Is it big, small, or somewhere in between? How else can you describe your community? How do you feel about the ways in which you belong to this community?” Tasks like this build student knowledge and skill to complete Embedded Assessment 1 in which students collaboratively present an aspect of the Harlem Renaissance through an interactive multimedia presentation. Students then read the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and analyze the text alongside their study of the Harlem Renaissance. In Activity 4.12, students complete a final task as preparation for their Embedded Assessment 2: “Review Chapters 2 and 3. Think about Nanny’s desires for Janie to have a life far different from her own and Leafy’s as well as Nanny’s belief ‘that freedom is symbolized by achieving the position on high.’ Write a paragraph explaining how these ideas are contrary to Hurston’s own ideas. Include information about how Nanny represents ideas held during the Harlem Renaissance and if and how Hurston departs from those.” For the final assessment, students write an essay to this prompt: “Write an analytical essay in which you discuss how Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic vocabulary/language in context.
In the opening pages of the text, the publisher explains the year-long, embedded approach to vocabulary incorporated in all grade levels. It explains, “Students are given ample opportunities to read and hear new words, explore their meanings, origins, and connotations, and use them in written and oral responses.” Students practice their vocabulary learning throughout lessons, activities, and assessments across the school year. Students not only learn the meanings of new vocabulary, they learn origins and connotations, and they apply their new knowledge through written and oral applications. The materials call out literary and academic vocabulary in boxes, and difficult vocabulary terms found in reading selections are glossed. Word Connections boxes also provide information for a “word with multiple meanings and nuances, an interesting etymology, a telling root or affix, a helpful Spanish cognate, a relationship to another word, or a connection to another content area.” At the beginning of each unit, there is a list of the literary and academic vocabulary for students, and the Teacher Wrap includes detailed information about vocabulary development including the importance of learning new vocabulary, what types of vocabulary students will encounter, and suggestions and resources for instruction. The Resources section at the conclusion of each grade level also contains a few strategies for working with vocabulary—Guided Reading, Question Heard Teach (QHT), Cloze Reading, Cognate Bridge, and Visual Prompts—as well as Graphic Organizers for working with vocabulary—Definition and Reflection, Verbal & Visual Word Association, and Word Map.
Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to analyzing the purpose of word choices. Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, students “read a short story and evaluate how the author’s diction and syntax contribute to the tone of the text” during Activity 1.3. The Teacher Wrap guides teachers to direct students to the Word Connections box and tell “students that learning the etymology and history of a word can enrich knowledge of its meaning.” Teachers “select a few compelling words from the text, such as ghetto, and ask students about the author’s possible intent for using them. Elicit other words that the author could have used.”
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students read a variety of texts on the Harlem Renaissance. In Activity 4.3, the Learning Targets include integrating “ideas from multiple texts to build knowledge and vocabulary about communities.” For example, the materials include the following prompt for students: “Using a print or digital source, determine and list possible meanings of the word concentration. Which meaning is applicable to the word's use in the second sentence of paragraph 5? Explain. How does the author's definition of ‘race’ in paragraph 5 contribute to a greater understanding of the larger context and movement of the Harlem Renaissance? How does the author use the word pungent in line 30 to support the symbolism of a human experience? Explain the poet's use of the phrase rising sun as a metaphor in lines 9–10 of the poem. What message is being conveyed, and what is the tone of that message?”
Opportunities are present for students to learn, practice, apply, and utilize vocabulary in multiple contexts. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, the Word Connections box in Activity 2.2 focused on suffixes and prefixes helps students define the word preternatural. In Activity 2.5, the vocabulary box focuses on the definition of the literary term foil. Students then apply the term to the reading from The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, the Word Connection box in Activity 3.12 discusses foreign words. It shows how by knowing Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes, students can make an educated guess at the meaning of a word. Then in Activity 3.15, students receive direct instruction on how to determine the meaning of words in context, followed by a Check your Understanding to see if students can use what they learned to determine the meaning of a word in context.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.
The materials provide year-long comprehensive writing instruction throughout the four units of study via formative practice, frequent writing prompts, performance-based assessments, language checks, research tasks, and optional Writing Workshops. Writing tasks range from formal to informal, on-demand to multi-draft, and expressive to analytical. This includes short and full-length research tasks that require finding, analyzing, and synthesizing sources for evidence. Writing activities are incorporated daily for students to respond to texts for a variety of purposes such as making observations, analyzing content and author’s intent, and preparing for discussion or group work. Language and Writer’s Craft and Language Checkpoints give students practice in utilizing language and conventions in writing.
Each unit contains multiple writing prompts that build to the two Embedded Assessments in which students have the opportunity to write across multiple genres. Guided instruction, modeling, opportunities for practice, protocols, and rubrics help students build the skills necessary to complete tasks of increasing difficulty and for teachers and students alike to monitor growth. Supplemental materials include ten additional Writing Workshops that provide a closer look and additional practice of various writing genres. However, it is important to note that these are not a part of the core materials and will require additional time and teacher planning.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, students read a mixture of informational and literary texts to craft an extended definition of the American Dream. For example, in Activity 1.4, students read “‘America and I” by Anzia Yezierska, and then “draft an essay evaluating how Yezierska's use of diction and syntax affects the evolution of tone in the narrative.” In Activity 1.6, students revisit a reading of Teresa M. Bejan’s essay “The Two Clashing Meanings of ‘Free Speech,’” and write an analysis of the author’s use of definition strategies such as classification, exemplification, function, or negation. Tasks like these prepare students for Embedded Assessment 1 in which they write a definition essay on what it means to be American. The second half of the unit presents poetry, drama, and essays on multiple perspectives of the American Dream. For Embedded Assessment 2, students then synthesize evidence from three to five sources and write an argumentative essay to “defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that America still provides access to the American Dream.”
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students study how social commentary impacts social injustice. Students study The Crucible by Arthur Miller and a variety of historical documents, speeches, and essays. During Activity 2.25, students read a speech by Alfred M. Green and complete a timed analysis of the passage: “Write an essay in which you explain how Alfred M. Green builds an argument to persuade his audience that they, African Americans, should fight for the United States even though they do not yet have equal rights. In your essay, analyze how Green uses one or more of the listed features (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument.” Tasks like these help students prepare to compose a dramatic scene on a social conflict for Embedded Assessment 1. After analyzing a mix of informational texts, students “write and present an original, persuasive two to three minute speech that addresses a contemporary issue” for Embedded Assessment 2.
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, students continue their argumentative writing focus. The unit begins with a close look at media, bias, and rhetoric. The writing focuses on editorials and supporting opinions. For example, in Activity 3.11, students evaluate the effectiveness of several letters to the editor and learn how to write their own letter. At the end of the lesson in the Opening Writing Prompt section, students “Write a letter to the editor in response to one of the editorials you have read in this unit. Use the steps outlined in the How to Write a Letter to the Editor section to guide your writing.” The support for students includes several guidelines for organization structure, rhetorical techniques, and a conclusion. Embedded Assessment 1 requires students to collaborate to write an informational article on a significant issue and then adds this prompt: “After your group completes its article, you will individually develop a variety of editorial products that reflect your point of view (agreement, alternative, or opposing) on the topic. Be creative with your editorial products and include at least two different pieces, such as cartoons, editorials, letters, posters, photos, and so on.” The second part of the unit shifts toward past and present examples of satire to prepare students to compose their own piece of satire for Embedded Assessment 2.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students return to literary analysis and take a cultural journey through the Harlem Renaissance. Students first read multiple informational texts and poetry examples from the Harlem Renaissance to prepare an informational presentation for Embedded Assessment 1. Students utilize the unit texts and independent reading “to create an interactive multimedia research presentation about a topic related to the Harlem Renaissance.” The instructional year wraps up with a focus on literary criticism. For example, in Activity 4.17, students read and evaluate multiple critical reviews of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and complete an argumentative writing prompt: “Once you have discussed the critical reviews, choose one and defend or challenge. Connect your understanding of the critical review to the values, historical context, arts, or daily life championed by the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.” Analytical tasks like these prepare students for Embedded Assessment 2: “Write an analytical essay in which you discuss how Zora Neale Hurston’s writing is both a reflection of and a departure from the ideas of the Harlem Renaissance.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop and synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.
The materials provide ample opportunities for students to practice evaluating sources, gathering relevant evidence, and citing and reporting findings accurately through shorter, focused, research tasks as well as more in-depth research projects. Throughout the year, students work collaboratively and independently to build their research skills. The Teacher Wrap provides suggestions for resources for teachers to bring to the classroom for students to explore and also provides students with choice in pursuing research avenues. Students analyze embedded selections and outside research brought to the classroom conversation. The units provide students shorter practice tasks that build their capacity to complete more extensive research projects generally through one or both of the Embedded Assessment.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, during Embedded Assessment 2, students complete a culminating task combining research and writing: “Your assignment is to synthesize at least three to five sources and your own observations to defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that ‘America still provides access to the American Dream.’ This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources (three to five) into a coherent, well-written argumentative essay. Be sure to refer to the sources and employ your own observations to support your position. Your argument should be the focus of your essay; the sources and your observations should support this argument.”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, students read the editorial “Abolish High School Football!” by Raymond A. Schroth during Activity 3.7. In the Gaining Perspectives section, students conduct on-the-spot research: “You have heard one person’s opinion of why football should be banned in high school. With a partner, imagine you are a principal in a school who has a meeting with a parent regarding the safety of student football players. Compare a variety of online sources to gather information about the possible dangers. Then role-play talking with a parent in the school about your research as you negotiate and work together to reduce the safety and health risks for not only football players but all student-athletes. When you are done, summarize the outcome of the discussion in your Reader/Writer Notebook.” In Activity 3.10, students continue analyzing rhetoric of various arguments and editorials. In the section Art of Evidence, students complete a graphic organizer of various categories of collected evidence such as illustrative examples, testimony, and hypothetical cases across the editorials they have read so far. This prepares students to gather evidence to collaboratively write an editorial on an issue of their choice for Embedded Assessment 1.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, students read multiple informational and literary texts on the Harlem Renaissance to build their knowledge of the historical movement. In Activity 4.4, students begin targeted research for their presentation on the movement. In the Locating Relevant Sources section, student directions state: “For this exercise, your teacher and your class will locate a relevant source in response to the question What was the role of visual artists during the Harlem Renaissance? Create a research plan by listing the types of visual arts common during the time of the Harlem Renaissance (approximately 1918–1937)” and “constructing online searches designed to locate informative sources about these Harlem Renaissance art types.” Students also learn to properly document their sources in Activity 4.5 before completing Embedded Assessment 1: “our assignment is to work in pairs or a small group to create an interactive multimedia research presentation about a topic related to the Harlem Renaissance. This presentation to your classmates should include a variety of media and must also include an annotated bibliography.”
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
Each unit begins with a Planning the Unit section for teachers that includes a text list called Suggestions for Independent Reading which relate to topics, themes, and genres featured in the unit. The lists include a list for literary and nonfiction/informational texts, each with author, title, and Lexile level where applicable. Spanish selections are also provided. These lists can also be found in the Resources section along with a student independent reading log. Throughout the year, materials include frequent opportunities for students to engage in independent reading through lessons and self-selected materials. The beginning of each unit features a preview of the unit’s focus and guiding questions connected to the topic to support students in selecting the most appropriate independent reading texts and developing a reading plan. Twice per unit, the materials include Independent Reading Checkpoints that require students to complete an informal discussion or writing assignment. Students also respond to Independent Reading Links that require them to articulate connections between their independent reading and the skills/concepts they are learning about in the classroom, which also holds them accountable for completing their independent reading books and required reading logs. The Teacher Wrap also includes additional guidance for teachers to foster independence for all readers. When students read and analyze longer texts across the Activities, the materials suggest scaffolding strategies to support students along the way, gradually leading to their reading independence across the year. Additional readings can be found in the digital resource Zinc Reading Labs.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, the Previewing the Unit section of Activity 1.1 invites students to explore the big ideas and tasks of the unit to come and make plans for their own independent reading. Student guidance recommends that they consider nonfiction essays, memoirs, autobiographies, or biographies that will help them understand how others define the American Dream. The Teacher Wrap prompts teachers to consider helping students build oral fluency by requiring them to provide a book talk about their selected texts. Some suggestions for independent reading include Nothing but the Truth by Avi, Snow in August by Pete Hamil, and Illegal by Bettina Restrepo (fiction); An American Childhood by Annie Dillard, Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, and Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand (nonfiction).
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, students establish a routine for analyzing the development of characters in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller during Activity 2.5. In the activity, students complete an Independent Reading Link that requires them to discuss the types of characters or people they’ve encountered in their independent reading with classmates. The materials direct students to take notes in their Reader/Writer Notebook regarding how these characters or people fit within the setting of the work. The materials include additional guiding questions such as the following: “What inferences are you able to make about characters and their motivations? What predictions are you able to make regarding these characters, and why?”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, students read two satirical pieces and use them as guides to begin working on their own during Activity 3.21. The materials include an Independent Reading Checkpoint that prompts students to respond to the following questions: “Which independent reading text did you have the best personal connection to? Did you connect to the text because of the topic or purpose of the satire? Did you connect to the text because of the language and style of the satire?” Students write a paragraph including the title of the text and an explanation of why they had a personal connection to it. Throughout this unit, students also read a local, national, or online newspaper every day, create a log to track what and when they read, and write down the titles of significant articles that they encountered in each section.
- In Unit 4, An American Journey, during Activity 4.17, students read and evaluate multiple critical reviews of the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston and choose one to defend or challenge. At the end of the activity, students complete an Independent Reading Checkpoint that requires them to review their independent reading and consider if they would write a critical review for it. The materials suggest that students use the book reviews in this activity as a model to identify at least two thematic interpretations of the selection. Students are told to think about how they might use this information in a critical review and share their ideas with a group.
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for instructional supports and usability. Although the materials are well designed and include lessons that are effectively structured, the suggested amount of time for the materials is not viable for one school year and would require a few significant modifications. The materials provide detailed explanations, annotations, and research-based strategies to support teacher learning and understanding of the Standards. Although the materials include quality scoring rubrics and scoring guidance to gather accurate measures of standards mastery, the materials do not provide guidance for teachers to interpret assessment data or suggestions for follow-up. The materials include a variety of scaffolds and strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so that they demonstrate independent ability with grade-level standards. Digital materials are accessible but are available in limited platforms. Embedded technology is effectively used to enhance and support student learning but there are not opportunities to differentiate the materials based on individual student’s needs. While the digital platform allows some customization, adaptive or assistive technologies, such as text-to-speech, are not available. The materials include a number of digital collaborative opportunities; however, there are limited opportunities for teacher-student collaboration.
Criterion 3.1: Use & Design
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for use and design to facilitate student learning. Although the materials are well designed and include lessons that are effectively structured, the suggested amount of time for the materials is not viable for one school year and would require a few significant modifications. Student materials include clear directions and explanations, and reference aids are correctly labeled. The materials include alignment documentation for all questions, tasks, and assessment items. The design and formatting of the teacher and student materials is not distracting or chaotic and allows for thoughtful engagement with the content.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.
The instructional materials, which are based on Understanding by Design, include four units of study, a Language Workshop, a Close Reading Workshop, and a Writing Workshop. Each unit is organized around a collection of texts or tasks based on theme. The four units are The American Dream, The Power of Persuasion, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, and An American Journey. Teachers access the unit materials on the Digital Bookshelf. The introductory materials include a Planning the Unit section at the beginning of each unit which suggests possible instructional sequences. Next, the Instructional Pathways section offers a pacing guide for the activities and workshops, based on a 50-minute class period.
The teacher materials include a digital Teacher Wrap bar to the left of the page that can be accessed at any time and provides a range of additional information, such as step-by-step guidance for each activity including standards citations, vocabulary support, pacing recommendations, independent reading suggestions, and a possible instructional pathway. Each unit includes two embedded assessments that are directly aligned to the content students experience throughout the activities within the lesson. Information about the assessments are accessed through the table of contents tab and the unit overview.
In Planning the Unit, there is an Activities at a Glance and a Resources at a Glance section. The Activities at a Glance provides a clear overview of what is included in the unit activities. Activities begin with learning targets, a preview, key vocabulary, and learning strategies that are covered during the lesson. Additionally, some activities include recommendations for leveled differentiated instruction to support the implementation of a specific section of a given lesson. The Unit Resources at a Glance section provides an overview of the various supplemental resources for the unit. The Teacher Edition also includes a pacing guide that provides several instructional pathway options including where to incorporate additional resources.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.
There is more material available than could be taught in a 180-day school year. The materials require 162–174 class periods for course completion. The pacing of each unit varies, depending on the length of time required to cover the content. Schools with adjusted schedules, such as a double blocked schedule, may be able to cover the content within a 180-day school year; however, schools without adjusted scheduling require extensive planning to integrate and utilize all aspects of the curriculum, in addition to inserting the most appropriate supplementary resources while working towards covering all grade-level standards within a school year.
All information regarding pacing can be found in the Digital Bookshelf resource for teachers including the scope and sequence for each unit. The Teacher Edition Features section provides an overview of the essential features of the curriculum, including the design, instructional pathways, and additional support tools, including a platform for students called Zinc which includes diverse texts aligned to SpringBoard material. Each of the four units includes a pacing chart that outlines each activity, assessment, and optional pathways. These pathways provide teacher guidance for integrating the supplementary materials from the Flexible Novel Unit and the Language, Close Reading, and Writing Workshops. The Language Workshops are used at designated points in each unit; however the Close Reading and Writing Workshops are additional. Teachers would need to make decisions on how, when, or if they would integrate these workshops. The suggested time for each activity varies. For example, some lessons are suggested to take place over the course of two 50-minute class periods.
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The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.)
The student materials include ample supplementary materials that serve as additional practice resources. Throughout each lesson, students engage with reading selections in a variety of ways, enabling them to practice necessary skills. They are provided multiple opportunities to interact with the text through digital tools such as highlighting, underlining, and circling. Teachers have the option to select from quick multiple-choice assessments found on SpringBoard digital which assess students’ knowledge and skills of activities within the curriculum. Teachers can also select which quizzes to assign over the span of a unit based on student needs.
Each unit follows the same format including icons, symbols, and activity titles/categories. The four units begin with explicit goals, learning targets, and a preview of the activity. Each activity also concludes with a check for understanding to assess students’ understanding of the activity. As the activity progresses, directions and tasks are labeled and tasks for student engagement with content are clearly indicated. Visuals are accompanied by captions and/or are related to the content of the readings. Reoccuring strategies and activities are assigned specific symbols. For example, an enlarged V is provided for vocabulary which appears each time students are given new vocabulary or engaging in vocabulary-related tasks. Additional reference aids include consistent use of visual prompts to analyze topics/themes, highlighted vocabulary, numbered paragraphs, enlarged titles of text and relevant subtitles.
Indicator {{'3d' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.
In the Teacher Resources section of the Digital Dashboard, the materials provide information about standards alignment for each activity across all four units. This document details the activity number, title, focus standards, and additional standards. Information on standard alignment can also be found in the Assessments section of the Dashboard; the standards are aligned to the overall assessment but not individual questions on the assessments. Teachers generate standards-based progress reports for their students through the Progress Reports section of the Dashboard. Additionally, the Teacher Wrap in the eBook provides linked standards for each activity, and the Correlations Viewer in the eBook shows page numbers for aligned content for each standard.
Indicator {{'3e' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that the visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
The materials are presented in a digital format that is interactive and easy to navigate. Each unit and the accompanying materials are designed with a clear and consistent layout that is student and teacher-friendly. Each unit opens with a visual prompt and provides students with the goals of the unit. All activities across the four units are structured and presented in the same way, which includes repeating symbols and images for the activities in each lesson. The font, media size, and type are standard and easy to read. The eBook incorporates interactive digital features that allow students to engage with the content of lessons. Students are provided ample space to respond to questions on this digital platform. The Teacher Wrap is readily accessible when viewing student activities to avoid having to move back and forth between two separate pages, and the number of words on each page of the digital platform are sufficient. Additionally, the activities include scaffolded templates that allow students to write directly in a large box and add links and attachments.
Criterion 3.2: Teacher Planning
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for teacher planning and learning for success with CCSS. The Teacher Wrap includes useful annotations, suggestions, and guidance on presenting content in student-facing and ancillary materials. The materials include explanations of more advanced literacy concepts to support teachers with improving and deepening their understanding of the content. The Teacher Edition explains the role of the Standards in the context of the overall curriculum and also outlines the various research-based strategies used during instruction. The materials include suggestions for how parents or caregivers can support students at home, as well as suggestions for how teachers can share student progress with parents and caregivers.
Indicator {{'3f' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher's edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on presenting the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.
The materials for each grade level provide an ELA Standards Correlation document and incorporate introductory content, including a Table of Contents and an introduction to the scope of the materials. The introduction explains the materials’ design, approach, and vision. Also included is a breakdown of the available components of the Teacher Edition: Planning the Unit, Instructional Guidance, Differentiation, Integrated Assessments, and Workshops (Language, Close Reading, and Writing). The introduction also explains the additional tools—SpringBoard Digital, Zinc Reading Labs, and Turnitin Revision Assistant—for users who have digital access.
Instructional materials include systematic annotations and suggestions on presentation of the content starting in the opening pages and continuing through the ancillary materials. The start of each unit includes “Planning the Unit” to give teachers an overview and point out areas where teachers may want to use ancillary materials to enrich or scaffold the unit. This section includes: context, suggested materials, instructional sequence, connections to Advanced Placement (AP)/Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Unpack Embedded Instructions, Cognate Directory for ELL students whose original language is Spanish, Activities at a Glance chart, Unit Resources, Independent Reading suggestions, Instructional Pathways for embedding ancillary materials in language and foundational skills, and Flexible Pathways for adding writing and close reading units within the unit.
In each activity, the Teacher Wrap sidebar provides the addressed standards, pacing recommendations, step by step teaching guidance, scaffolding for text-based questions, suggestions for leveled differentiated instruction, assessment guidance and ways to adapt the assessment. Additional call-out boxes provide “teacher to teacher” advice for some activities, text complexity information, and additional writing and language standards being taught in the unit. Additionally, teacher materials include a resources section at the back of each grade level, including documents for organizing independent reading, a breakdown of learning strategies, a variety of graphic organizers, an English-Spanish glossary, an index of skills, and an index of authors and titles.
Indicator {{'3g' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher's edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.
The Teacher Edition integrates directions, procedures and additional information designed to extend teacher knowledge of instructional content and pedagogy. The opening pages for each unit provide rationales for skills taught throughout units. The closing pages for each grade level provide the definition and purpose of the Learning Strategies used across the year. The Teacher Wrap sidebar, present throughout units and activities, provides professional support such as Teacher to Teacher recommendations and Leveled Differentiated Instruction that suggests implementation moves to adjust and extend lessons. The Teacher Wrap also provides explicit directions and explanations for implementing activities as well as recommended answers and additional explanations for literary concepts and tasks.
Indicator {{'3h' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific English Language Arts (ELA)/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.
The materials are consistently aligned to the College and Career Readiness Standards along with Advanced Placement (AP) coursework. The materials are “Based on the Understanding by Design model” and teach “students the skills and knowledge that matter most to meet AP and college and career readiness standards.” The English Language Arts Pathway contains “student-centered activities that gradually develop the skills and knowledge needed for the Embedded Assessments and are aligned to grade-level standards.” Each Activity begins with standards-aligned learning targets and provides the lesson focus standards. Materials also include standards-aligned unit assessments for each half unit. Lessons occasionally make connections to social studies and and/or health education through the Gaining Perspectives sections. The Planning the Unit section at the beginning of each unit lists the AP and SAT connections that will be made in the upcoming unit. The materials also include an ELA Standards Correlation chart that outlines each standard addressed in the curriculum and where in the curriculum the standard is addressed. The digital version provides links to standards built into lessons and a standards correlation document that links standards to specific activities.
Indicator {{'3i' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.
The introductory pages for each grade level describe the instructional design of the materials and the authors’ approach to the different components of instruction. The materials are based on the Understanding by Design Model, a widely known approach to learning by Wiggins and McTighe that focuses on understanding the assessment at the end of instruction to see how the learning students need to be successful on the assessment should build. The program is also designed through a “Shared Instructional Vision” between SpringBoard and AP. This model emphasises close observation and analysis, higher-order questioning, evidence-based writing, and academic conversations. SpringBoard also aligned the materials with the knowledge and skills needed for the evidence-based reading and writing sections of the SAT assessments.
The materials are research-based, classroom tested, and created by classroom practitioners. The introductory pages includes the following statement: “SpringBoard’s lesson design also takes into account the work of the American Institutes for Research in its focus on students moving through multiple levels of cognitive engagement: progressing fluidly from comprehension and understanding, to analysis, and ultimately to synthesis and the creation of new content. Each lesson is designed to allow for the type of facilitation and flexibility referenced by Charlotte Danielson in her work on teacher instruction. We have also integrated the research of Marzano and Pickering by building students’ background knowledge in the area of academic vocabulary development. Finally, SpringBoard is directly informed by Robyn Jackson’s work on rigorous instruction. As Jackson suggests, our content requires students to be ‘active, not passive,’ and our units feature activities that stress ‘implicit meaning, ambiguity, layers, and complexity.’
Indicator {{'3j' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents or caregivers about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
The materials include an introductory letter for students in student-friendly language to support their understanding of the curriculum structure, its focus, and the type of activities they will encounter: “SpringBoard helps you make connections between the concepts you're reading and writing about in class and the real world. Instead of just memorizing how to do things, you'll draw on your own and your classmates' experiences and knowledge to come to new and deeper understandings.” Students receive suggested independent reading books to aid in their understanding of each unit’s theme. SpringBoard Digital provides teachers with the ability to share progress reports with students, grades, additional messaging, and embed correlations at point of use to support students in making connections between standards and content. The materials include a Family Letter in English and Spanish for each unit; however, the Family Letter is not available in Spanish in the print or online versions of the materials at this time.
Criterion 3.3: Assessment
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for assessment. The materials include regular and systematic formal and informal assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress. Assessments clearly denote which standards are emphasized. Although the materials include quality scoring rubrics and scoring guidance that allow teachers to gather accurate measures of students’ mastery of standards, the materials do not provide guidance for teachers to interpret assessment data or suggestions for follow-up. The materials include routines and guidance that highlight opportunities to monitor student progress. Independent reading is integrated into the materials to increase student literacy skills and improve student stamina, confidence, and motivation.
Indicator {{'3k' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.
Assessment is a key part of the design of SpringBoard’s curriculum. The materials offer frequent opportunities for formative and summative measurements of student performance. Each unit includes two Embedded Assessments, which summatively measure students’ performance on key concepts. These assessments include scoring guides and student examples for teachers and students alike to use during the process. Each unit also includes many types of formative checkpoints that allow students to practice what they are learning, and for teachers to assess student progress. These tasks include Making Observations questions, Returning to the Text Questions, Check Your Understanding Tasks, Focus on the Sentence Tasks, Graphic Organizers, Writing Prompts, and Reflection Questions. The digital version of the materials also includes multiple-choice quizzes for each activity and unit assessments that are aligned to the standards in each half-unit.
The units are designed around the same format: plan, teach, assess, and adapt. Materials offer teacher guidance for assessment. In the Teacher Wrap, the Assess section explains the opportunities for assessment in the unit. Materials also provide the connection between the formative assessments and the two Embedded Assessments and the overview of the skills being assessed.
Indicator {{'3l' | indicatorName}}
Indicator {{'3l.i' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.
The materials include an ELA Standards Correlation document that lists individual standards and their corresponding tasks, questions, and assessments in the units. The document contains links to these specific locations in the online version of the materials. The digital materials contain icons with drop down boxes that indicate the standards for the activities. For the print materials, the Common Core College and Career Readiness Standards that correspond to the Embedded Assessments are listed at the bottom of the page for each assessment. The standards mentioned in Scaffolding the Text-Dependent Questions boxes are linked to formative assessments.
Indicator {{'3l.ii' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up
SpringBoard units follow a Plan-Teach-Assess-Adapt process. These steps are outlined in the Teacher Wrap for each activity. This gives teachers guidance toward formative and summative assessments that includes checkpoints and recommendations for adjusting lessons to build student capacity for the Embedded Assessments. The digital version of the materials provide teachers with the ability to track student progress through functions such as the Revision Assistant and formative and summative assessment packages; however, this review did not include access to these functions. The digital and paper materials provide scoring guides for the Embedded Assessments and recommended answers to student questions. The Scaffolding sections and the teaching notes provide guidance for follow-up based on what teachers observe in student responses during the activities. The materials do not provide guidance for the teacher to interpret assessment data or provide suggestions for follow-up for the assessments provided, including Embedded Assessments, Activity Quizzes, or End of Unit Assessments.
Indicator {{'3m' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.
The materials are organized into four units of study that are broken down into a systematic series of activities—lessons built around specific texts or tasks. Each activity follows a similar structure and routine including read the learning targets, follow the directions for annotations in the As You Read section, complete the first read, Make Observations about the text, Return to the Text to answer text-dependent questions, and Work from the Text by analyzing certain aspects of the text. Follow-up tasks also include Focusing on the Sentence, Language and Writer’s Craft, and/or a final Checking your Understanding. The Teacher Wrap directions follow a Plan, Teach, Assess, and Adapt format and provide teachers with suggestions for how to monitor student comprehension and progress toward the Embedded Assessments.
Indicator {{'3n' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.
Independent reading is an important part of each unit of the materials. At the beginning of each unit, students create their own plan for independent reading that will complement the content and skills of the unit. Materials provide unit-specific, independent reading instructions for students and teachers. The opening pages of each grade give the following information about the independent reading embedded throughout each unit, “While students work their way through each unit, they respond to Independent Reading Links that prompt them to make connections between the reading they’re doing on their own and the skills and knowledge they’re developing in class. Twice per unit, Independent Reading Checkpoints give students a chance to reflect on and synthesize their independent reading in an informal writing assignment or discussion.” The Planning the Unit sections for each unit contain a list of suggested titles, both literary and nonfiction/informational. The resource section of the materials contains an Independent Reading Log for students to use to record their progress.
Criterion 3.4: Differentiation
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for differentiated instruction. The materials include a number of scaffolds and strategies to support the needs of a range of learners. Leveled, differentiated, instructional supports for English learners, students who need additional scaffolding or support, and students who need extensions or more advanced opportunities are built into the curriculum. Suggestions for grouping students are outlined in the Teacher Wrap.
Indicator {{'3o' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.
The Planning the Unit section at the beginning of each unit provides information on differentiation so that teachers can personalize instruction through customizable pathways such as the English Language Arts Pathway, Language Development Pathway, and a Flexible Pathway. This allows teachers to plan the unit in the best way in response to a range of learners including English Language Learners (ELL), struggling or below grade level readers, and above grade level readers. This section also includes Unit Resources at a Glance, which offers English language development support, and foundational language skills support. Throughout the Activities and lessons, teachers encounter Leveled Differentiated Instruction features that provide scaffolding for challenging tasks. The differentiation model includes six levels, and the first four—Beginning, Developing, Expanding, and Bridging—correspond to World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) level descriptors. The next level is listed as Support and is recommended for students who may not be English language learners but still need support to perform at grade level. The last category is Extend and provides opportunities for students to further challenge themselves. Teacher to Teacher boxes also provide suggestions from veteran classroom teachers on how to enhance, support, differentiate, and extend lessons and activities. The Resources section at each grade level also contains a variety of graphic organizers teachers can use to supplement and scaffold instruction.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, Planning the Unit provides teachers with strategies for non-English speakers or those who are at the beginning level of vocabulary development. For example, “Consider giving students who are at an early stage of English language development the option of reading a text in their home language.” Teacher to Teacher suggestions in the Teacher Wrap include additional guidance for teachers. “To build oral fluency, students could provide a quick book talk about their selected texts.”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, The Leveled Differentiated Instruction located in the Teacher Wrap for Activity 3.2 contains these accommodations:
- Beginning: Distribute the Unknown Word Solver graphic organizer. Model using the organizer with the word peaceably: The root is peace, which is the opposite of violence, and the suffix -ably means “done in a certain way.” The word peaceably must mean “to do something without violence.” Work through the rest of the terms as a group.
- Developing: Have small groups work through the list using the Unknown Word Solver graphic organizer.
- Expanding: Distribute the Roots and Affixes Brainstorm graphic organizer and allow students to collaborate to dissect the terms.
- Bridging: Give students copies of the Roots and Affixes Brainstorm graphic organizer and encourage them to use this handout while reading Krimsky’s text and subsequent texts.
Indicator {{'3p' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The Planning the Unit section includes a Spanish cognate dictionary to encourage students to notice the connections between their primary language and English to help them develop academic vocabulary more quickly. For English language learners whose primary language is not Spanish, teachers are encouraged to “ consider using an online translator or dictionary to support comprehension of vocabulary terms.” The Activities at a Glance feature also provides teachers with guidance to determine which activity includes ELL support with the use of icons. Throughout the activities in each unit, teachers encounter Leveled Differentiated Instruction features that provide scaffolding for challenging tasks. There are six levels to this differentiation model, and the first four—Beginning, Developing, Expanding, and Bridging—correspond to World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) level descriptors. The next level is listed as Support and is recommended for students who may not be English language learners but still need support to perform at grade level. The suggested texts for independent reading include Spanish titles. The Glossary at the end of each grade level includes Spanish entries alongside the English ones. Because teachers have the flexibility to create different pathways through the unit that relate to students’ needs, those who are learning the English Language or who need additional support in meeting grade-level standards have many opportunities to practice their skills through Language Workshops and Foundational Skills Workshops.
Indicator {{'3q' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.
Each unit includes an overview of a “flexible pathway” to allow teachers to make choices from the supplementary materials to meet the learning needs of students. Suggestions for Leveled Differentiated Instruction are built into the Teacher Wrap within each unit. One of the support levels is Extend and is designed to provide ways “to stretch students who are ready for a challenge.” The teaching model provided in the Teacher Wrap follows a Plan, Teach, Assess, and Adapt structure, and often in the Adapt portion, there are suggestions for ways in which teachers can engage their students in a greater challenge. The Flexible novel units also allow for extension opportunities.
Some examples are as follows:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, the Extend recommendation for Activity 1.6 is for students working on their analysis of rhetorical devices in a text. Materials prompt teachers: “Have student pairs share their completed responses. For which types of rhetorical devices did they have similar examples, and for which ones did they have different responses? How did their appraisals of the effects of the rhetorical devices differ?”
- In Unit 3, American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas, during Activity 3.19, the materials provide an Extend option when students are discussing how sentence structure makes satire humorous: “Explain that cumulative or loose sentences are a popular tool for humor and satire writers such as Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift. Have students explore this technique by researching it in Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. Have them present their findings and additional examples from literature to the class.”
Indicator {{'3r' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
The materials provide frequent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and perform in a variety of grouping configurations, and teachers use these formats to accentuate their instruction. Students often work in pairs and small groups and take part in whole-class activities as well. These groupings are often used in sequence as a strategy for enhancing learning. When students conduct a first read of a text, they do it in a variety of groupings. The materials provide teachers with speaking and listening strategies that encourage collaboration, including but not limited to the definition and purpose of debates, role-playing, literature circles, and Socratic seminars. In the Teach step of the Plan, Teach, Assess, Adapt teaching model, teachers learn how to effectively use grouping strategies. The supplemental Close Reading Workshops are also useful in a variety of student groupings; however, it is important to note that these workshops are not a part of the core curriculum and require additional time and planning.
The following are examples of groupings that occur frequently across all four units:
- In Unit 1, The American Dream, students read the poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Julia Alvarez during Activity 1.11. For the First Read, the teacher conducts a shared reading, pausing periodically to check student comprehension. At the conclusion of the shared reading, the teacher guides a whole class discussion of the Making Observations questions. The Teacher Wrap suggests that the teacher adjust the reading mode based on his/her/their observations of the first readings such as Echo reading or other groupings. Students then work in small groups to reread the text and answer the Returning to the Text questions. They then work individually on the Working from the Text task and Check Your Understanding task. Finally, they work in pairs as they develop their essays for the writing prompt.
- In Unit 2, The Power of Persuasion, while preparing to read The Crucible by Arthur Miller during Activity 2.2, students “study primary source documents to build their knowledge of the historical context of the play.” During the activity, the materials offer the following guidance for grouping students to allow them to discuss their KWL charts: “Divide the class into four new groups. Assign each group one aspect of the setting: social, economic, political, religion. Once the groups are formed, have them complete student steps 22, 23, and 24.”
Criterion 3.5: Technology Use
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for effective technology use. Although digital materials are web-based, they were not compatible with multiple internet browsers. While the platform was accessible using Internet Explorer, use required multiple clearings of the cache while navigating the platform. Digital materials were not compatible with Microsoft Edge. Embedded technology, such as videos and digital graphic organizers, enhances student learning. The materials provide opportunities to personalize learning for whole classes, but there are not opportunities to differentiate the materials based on individual student’s needs. While the digital platform allows some customization, adaptive or assistive technologies, such as text-to-speech, are not available. Teachers can customize lessons and add Workshops, within the digital platform. Lesson plans and assessments can also be customized. While the materials include a number of digital collaborative opportunities, there are limited opportunities for teacher-student collaboration.
Indicator {{'3s' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that digital materials (either included as supplementary to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple internet browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), “platform neutral” (i.e., Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices.
The instructional materials are available to consumers in both print and digital form for both students and teachers. The digital platform is web-based and functions well on Firefox and Google Chrome using Windows 10 and MacIntosh operating systems. SpringBoard Digital functions on a variety of devices such as desktops, laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and various smartphones. The materials were accessible using Internet Explorer but required multiple clearings of the cache when navigating between different tabs in the SpringBoard Digital Bookshelf. The materials do not function well on Microsoft Edge.
Some examples are as follows:
- When using Microsoft Edge, only the “next” and “previous” hyperlinks worked for navigation, requiring the user click page by page instead of being able to use the Table of Contents. The left-hand sidebar was not functional. The unit activity links do not direct the user to the activity but rather to the top of the unit page. The links to add text, links, or an attachment are not functional on Microsoft Edge.
Multiple links within the text itself do not direct the user to the activities.
Indicator {{'3t' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate.
The digital materials contain program supplements that are intended to enhance student learning through additional practice with standards and skills. Activity Quizzes are available for each activity in each unit and can be assigned at the teacher’s discretion. The Activity Quizzes are multiple choice assessments that can be used to monitor student understanding and help teachers make adjustments in instruction as needed. Unit Assessments are also available as a part of SpringBoard Digital for each half unit at each grade level. These assessments consist of multiple-choice and open-response questions which are modeled after the SAT. Other enhancements available on SpringBoard Digital include Zinc Reading Labs, a library of supplemental reading material, and Turnitin Revision Assistant, a writing feedback tool for students. In the introductory materials, publishers state, “Students are encouraged to continue building their knowledge of the topic by going to Zinc Reading Labs and searching for and reading related texts.” Turnitin Revision Assistant offers teachers and students online tools to enhance writing such as “instant feedback to students as they write,” and “a template to help you create an outline.” Links that clearly denote what standards are addressed for tasks are provided.
The tools available in the online version of the textbook include a set of annotation tools and the ability to share annotations to Google Classroom, embedded audio versions of the text, and a tool to define unknown words. Online assessments include similar enhanced technology features. The questions within the activities give students the option to create a response within the textbook platform, link to a document, or upload a document in the question response area. Teachers can link assignments to Google Classroom from within the Teacher Edition.
Indicator {{'3u' | indicatorName}}
Indicator {{'3u.i' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that digital materials include opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students, using adaptive or other technological innovations.
While the digital platform allows for some customization, adaptive or assistive technologies, such as text-to-speech, are not provided. Digital assessments may be assigned to all students, groups of students, or individual students; however, these assessments do not include accessibility features such as highlighting, annotating, or text-to-speech. The SpringBoard digital materials have interactive features that help students access the material and accentuate their learning such as the ability to digitally highlight, annotate, and define text. They can also add their own digital material when answering questions by clicking on icons and inserting web links and/or attachments. Students may also listen to the audio versions of many selections. Teachers have the option to project and print content, including assessments, according to student needs. Teachers also have the ability to link the content with Google Classroom which gives teachers more flexibility and options to customize content for students. Digital options include the Zinc Reading Lab and electronic student portfolios and notebooks. The Turnitin Revision Assistant is a tool that students can use to receive personalized feedback on written assessments. The Instructional Pathways may be customized to meet students’ needs, but teachers do not have the ability to personalize individual student’s learning.
Indicator {{'3u.ii' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials can be easily customized for local use.
The materials are designed intentionally for teachers and schools to have a great amount of flexibility in how they deliver the curriculum. The program is customizable in a number of ways, and teachers and districts may mix and match program elements such as the Instructional Pathway, Language Workshops, Close Reading Workshops, and Writing Workshops. Teachers may incorporate supplemental pathways such as the Language Development Pathway, Foundational Skills Workshop, and Flexible Pathways during a unit of instruction, according to whether students need extra support or an opportunity for extension. Teachers and districts may also supplement the curriculum with readings from the Zinc Reading Lab, and students may use the Turnitin Revision Assistant to receive feedback on their written assessments. Teachers may also create Assignment Reports and Standards Report by Timeframe as well as individual progress reports for selected students or groups (Google Classroom). Teachers may also add links or attachments to tasks.
In the opening pages, the authors of the materials describe their method as “A Living System of Learning.” They state, “SpringBoard puts students in charge of how they learn to create a more dynamic classroom experience with a flexible design and rich library of tools and resources, SpringBoard helps educators personalize instruction to meet student needs.”
Indicator {{'3v' | indicatorName}}
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g., websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.).
Teachers may collaborate with each other using SpringBoard Community, “A cloud-based community of SpringBoard teachers, instructional leaders, and trainers across the country who: Share resources, activity ideas, best practices to enhance classroom instruction and can also collaborate in various other ways.” Teachers may also engage in collaborative professional development using the Professional Development tab located on the teacher digital homescreen. The materials provide limited opportunities for teachers to collaborate with students. Materials may be added to Google Classroom, providing potential opportunities for students to collaborate with teachers and their peers. Students may also utilize the messaging tool to digitally communicate with other students.
Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability for Springboard | ELA
ELA 6-8
The Springboard 2021 materials for grades 6-8 fully meet the expectations of alignment in all grades. Instruction, practice, and application of the standards are at a consistent level of appropriate rigor for each grade. Grade to grade, students experience similar learning engagements and text and task rigor increases. The materials also meet expectations for usability.
6th Grade
View Full ReportAlignment
Usability
7th Grade
View Full ReportAlignment
Usability
8th Grade
View Full ReportAlignment
Usability
ELA High School
The Springboard 2021 materials for grades 9-12 fully meet the expectations of alignment in all grades. Instruction, practice, and application of the standards are at a consistent level of appropriate rigor for each grade. Grade to grade, students experience similar learning engagements and text and task rigor increases. The materials also meet expectations for usability.