8th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations that anchor texts are of quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

The texts and materials included in these units draw from a diverse range of content and authors. The units include classic stories from past centuries, period pieces that allow students to learn about particular eras in time, as well as allowing them to get a glimpse into historical time periods they may not have known about before. Anchor texts include rich language, thought-provoking content and age-appropriate texts that students can identify with on various levels. 

High quality texts found in the materials include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, students read excerpts from Going Solo by Roald Dahl. This is an autobiographical text that describes Dahl’s childhood as well as his exploits as a WWII pilot. Students will find the text engaging with high-interest content as Dahl takes great care to describe his life story in a dynamic and thoughtful way.
• In Unit 8B, students read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederic Douglass. This classic autobiographical text tells the story of a man who was born enslaved and then escaped. Douglass’s content is a stirring and accessible look at slavery and the African American experience during this time for middle school students.
• In Unit 8B, students also read “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s speech captures a moment in history and speaks to the ideas of freedom and American responsibility. It includes academic vocabulary in a historical context and some students may be familiar with its most famous lines. Lincoln is a historical figure many students will recognize. 
• In Unit 8C, students read Excerpts from Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin and Jacky Gleich. This is a book of classic Greek mythology written in a simple, direct way that is appropriate for middle grades. Students will find the plots, characters and the ancient Greek setting to be interesting and engaging.
• In Unit 8 D, students read Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This is a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare. It challenges students in an appropriate way with its vocabulary and plot development.
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations for materials reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

Some units for Grade 8 strike a fairly even balance between literary and informational text, though overall, the units include more informational texts than literary texts. Roughly three-quarters of the texts in Grade 8 are informational texts. There is a selection of dramas, fairy tales, poems, and mythology texts.

The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 8A--Davy and the Goblin by Charles E. Carryl 
• Unit 8B -- "Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman
• Unit 8C--Gris Grimsley’s Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Gris Grimsley
• Unit 8D--Romeo and Juliet, excerpts by William Shakespeare
• Unit 8E-- Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes

The following are examples of informational texts found within the instructional materials:

• Unit 8A -- "My Mother’s Garden” by Kaitlyn Greenridge
• Unit 8B--Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
• Unit 8C -- "History of US 8: Age of Extremes: 1880-1917" by Joy Hakim
• Unit 8E-- "Holocaust Memory and Meaning Anthology” by Author Unknown
• Unit 8F--“The nearly forgotten story of the black women who land a man on the moon”, excerpt from The Washington Post by Stephanie Merry

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis.

The Grade 8 materials typically fall within the 6-8 grade level band (925L to 1185L) in terms of quantitative measures and are within the appropriate rigor range in terms of qualitative measures, which measure elements of language, concepts and themes, and take into consideration the depth of the text itself. When texts fall above or below these bands, there are appropriate accompanying reader and task elements that substantiate the rationale for the text's presence in the yearlong materials.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, the overall Lexile levels are 890L-1080L. Novel excerpts and narrative essays are qualitatively complex for this point in the school year. In this unit, students are learning to read like writers and specifically focusing on how authors use key narrative writing skills to convey their ideas.
• Sub-Unit 3, Lesson 9, Activity 2. Text: “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan. Lexile-910. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: Moderate-- students identify the conflict and resolution in the narrative and consider the effects of the author’s choices
• Sub-Unit 3, Lesson 7, Activity 2. Text: “My Mother’s Garden” by Kaitlyn Greenidge. Lexile-990. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: Moderate.
• In Unit 8B, the overall Lexile levels are 900L-1500L. Historical essays and documents, memoirs, poetry and a historical speech are qualitatively complex to very complex. In this unit, students explore the powerful words of a range of Americans who lived through the Civil War to discover how their work influenced history. 
• Sub-Unit 1, Lesson 1. Text: “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman. Lexile-N/A. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: low difficulty--students analyze Whitman’s poetic choices and then write their own version of an autobiographical poem. 
• In Unit 8C, the overall Lexile levels are 980-1540L. Using different presentations of the Frankenstein story, students wrestle with some of the text’s central themes, such as the ethics of science exploration and the importance of compassion.
• Sub-Unit 3, Lesson 4. Text: The Innovators by Walter Isaacson. Lexile-N/A. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: moderate--analyze.
• Sub-Unit 3, Lesson 5. Text: “All Watched Over by Machines with Loving Grace” by Richard Brautigan. Lexile-N/A. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: moderate (analyze).
• In Unit 8E, the overall Lexile levels are 800-1200L. Students explore memoir and primary source materials and examine key questions raised by the Holocaust. The materials present events from different perspectives--those of perpetrators, survivors, victims, bystanders, and witnesses.
• Sub-Unit 4, Lesson 1. Text: A Child of Hitler by Alfons Heck. Lexile: 990. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: moderate (close reading).
• Sub-Unit 4, Lesson 2. Text: Maus by Art Spiegelman. Lexile--NP. Qualitative: moderate. Task Demand: moderate (close reading).
• In Unit 8F, the overall Lexile levels are 870-1490L. The dramatic story of the Space Race allows students a rich research topic to explore as they build information literacy skills, learn how to construct research questions and conduct research. 
• Sub-Unit 1, Lesson 1. Text: Excerpt from Rocket Boys: A Memoir by Homer Hickam. Lexile: 900. Qualitative: Moderate. Task Demand: moderate (analysis).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations that materials support 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).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 provide students the opportunity to interact with increasingly complex texts as the units evolve throughout the school year. Each unit builds in complexity through the different types of texts that students are asked to interact with. At the start of the school year, students work with texts that are relatively simple and contain ideas that they can relate to in order to build both stamina and confidence in reading. Throughout the rest of the year, the texts that they encounter become increasingly more complex quantitatively as well as qualitatively in order to build their skills as an analytical reader. By the end of the year, students are being asked to engage with texts that are not only written in a more complex way, but that deal with issues, ideas, and emotions that are multi-faceted and challenging.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, students work with the anchor text Going Solo in addition to excerpts from novels such as A Bad Beginning, The Glass Castle, and other excerpts. The reading analysis skills focus on drawing readers in through vivid details. All of the excerpts chosen, while challenging for students, are supported through activities and close reading so that students are able to build skills and confidence that they will use in later units.
• In Unit 8C, students read Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein. The original text is a challenging story written over 100 years ago, so the adaptation into a graphic novel makes the story accessible for eighth graders. The focus of the unit is on the responsibilities of creation and whether or not the monster should be considered human. This gives the students a concrete focus for their reading and thinking and makes the complex ideas in the text more accessible. This clearly builds on the skills that they have learned in the previous units that focus on close reading and evaluating ideas and emotions in the texts.
• In Unit 8F, students work with materials that focus on the historical aspect of the space race. They read historical documents, analyze images from the time, and do research around cosmonauts and astronauts. While the language and ideas of the texts are often complex and scientific, they are accessible through the connection to the individuals the students are being asked to research. Students are utilizing the reading and analysis skills that they have learned throughout the rest of the units.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.

The materials provide the Lexile levels for each of the texts for the units and explains what the texts in the units cover and how they are connected as well as what the students will be doing in the units with those texts. In addition to this, there is a Qualitative measure (QT) and rationale that indicates whether the text is at the accessible, moderate, or complex level. The rationale provides the teacher with information about organization, sentence and word complexity, and levels of meaning.  There is also a Reader and Task measure (RT) and rationale that again indicates if the tasks associated with the reading are accessible, moderate, or complex and then comments on what the tasks are asking students to do and how that relates to the quantitative and qualitative measure. The information provided does not explicitly state why specific reading and tasks were placed within the school year.

Some examples of the Lexile and reasoning provided include, but are not limited to:

• For Unit 8A,  the rationale is on page 26 of the “Grade Overviews” and lists the Lexile for the unit at 890L-1080L. The Unit Summary tells the teacher that students read “three examples of narrative writing—passages from Roald Dahl’s Going Solo, Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks,” and Kaitlyn Greenidge’s “My Mother’s Garden.” The Qualitative Level for the texts are listed as moderate and the rationale tells the teacher that “Text structure is generally straightforward but often implicit” and “Texts may include multiple purposes or be stated implicitly” which will help the students access the more difficult texts on the list. The Reader and Task measure is also listed at moderate. The rationale tells the teacher that “Tasks and activities contain nuance and complexity, balanced with engaging topics; activities often require inferencing; students benefit from the knowledge they have built throughout the unit.” Because the Lexile level of the materials that students are reading is on the high side, it is appropriate in this first unit of the year that the Qualitative Level and Reader and Task measure both land at moderate.
• For Unit 8D, the rationale on page 29 of the “Grade Overviews” lists the main text, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Because this text is written in prose there is no Lexile listed. The Unit Summary of this fourth unit of the year is “The lessons provide multiple opportunities for students to stage their own performances and recitations and ‘translate’ Shakespeare’s words into more contemporary language.” The Qualitative Level for this text is listed as complex and the rationale states both “Levels of meaning and theme are multiple, ambiguous and/or revealed over the course of the text” and “Language is generally complex in word usage, level of abstraction and sentence complexity” showing that this is a complicated text for students. Because students have the opportunity to act out and work together to do translations, this text is accessible for students. The Reader and Task measure is listed at moderate with the rationale of “Tasks and activities contain nuance and complexity, balanced with engaging topics; activities often require inferencing; students benefit from the knowledge they have built throughout the unit.” The way that this unit is structured and placed within the year, this complex text is accessible to students.
• For Unit 8F, the rationale on page 31 of the “Grade Overviews” lists the Lexile for the unit at 870L-1490L. The Unit Summary tells the teacher “Throughout these activities, students conduct research to develop a deep understanding of this unique international competition. Each student is assigned a cosmonaut or astronaut from the Space Race era.” In this final unit of the year, students are challenged to use all of the skills that they have learned throughout the year. The Qualitative Level for the texts are listed as complex and the rationale tells the teacher that “Texts include multiple or intricate purposes” and “Language is generally complex in word usage, level of abstraction and sentence complexity.” Students will be using the reading and analysis skills that they have learned throughout all of the other units in this grade as well as the other grades. The Reader and Task measure is also listed at between moderate and complex. While this is a challenging unit to end the year with, students have built the skills for this throughout all of the units of study in this program.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations for anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of texts to achieve grade level reading. 

Each unit is centered around a core theme and uses a variety of texts within each unit. In each lesson, students interact with text through either whole-class instruction, reading with a partner, and independent reading or a combination thereof. In addition, for every unit there are Solo activities which allow students to read additional texts that supplement their learning as well as flex days where teachers can assign additional independent reading as an option for student growth. Within the Amplify learning system, there is also an Amplify library where students can download the texts for the unit as well as independent reading materials. The texts included with the program span a wide variety of types and content across both literary and informational text.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives and Narrative,” students read a variety of texts to achieve grade level reading. For example, in Sub-unit 2 there are nine lessons where students are learning about small moments in narrative writing.
• In Lesson 5, students are asked to read an excerpt from the autobiography Going Solo by Roald Dahl: “The Voyage Out”; and “The Battle of Athens — the Twentieth of April” These sections are used to show students the importance of slowing down and zooming in on a moment.
• In Lesson 8, students are writing about someone who turned out different from how they were expected to be. For an additional text, they can choose to read Chapter 3 from the novel A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket.
• In Lesson 9, students are revising their writing and they are asked to read another excerpt from Going Solo by Roald Dahl: “The Voyage Out."
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” students read a variety of texts to achieve grade level reading. In the first week of the unit consisting of Sub-unit 1 and Sub-unit 2, Lessons 1-3, these texts include selected stanzas from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman and two chapters of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. Two lessons are dedicated to close readings of the poem, and three lessons are dedicated to close readings of the autobiography.
• In Unit 8C, “Science and Science Fiction,” students read a variety of texts to achieve grade level reading. For example, in Sub-unit 3 there are six lessons.
• In Lesson 1, students are asked to read the poem “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth as well as excerpts from the graphic novel Frankenstein which was adapted by Gris Grismley. In addition, students  also read an excerpt from the journal A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella L. Bird: Letter 8.
• In Lesson 2, students are asked to read sites of their own choosing, a magazine article, a blog entry, and book excerpts, including one from a Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. One day is dedicated to reading self-selected materials. On another day, students choose to read and answer questions about one of the four following texts; an excerpt from “And a Dog Shall Lead Them” from A Ball, a Dog, and a Monkey by Michael D’Antonio, “Memorandum for the Vice President” by John F. Kennedy, “What the Moon Rocks Tell Us” from National Geographic by Kenneth F. Weaver, or an excerpt from “President Kennedy's Address” at Rice University, September 12, 1962.
• In Unit 8D “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” students read selected scenes from the play. In Sub-unit 1, lessons 6-10, students engage deeply with the balcony scene. They view video and listen to audio as well as listening to their teacher reading the scene aloud. They then engage in multiple re-readings for different purposes, such as exploring the figurative language Romeo uses to describe Juliet. They also paraphrase and perform choral readings of select lines. Students also view, listen to, and stage a second scene, Tybalt’s fight with Mercutio. Throughout the week, students continue independent close reading and interpretation of the prologue. One day is dedicated to reading self-selected materials.
• In Unit 8F “The Space Race Collection,” students read a variety of primary and secondary source materials related to the Space Race. In Sub-unit 2, Lesson 4 and Sub-unit 3, students read short profiles, an eyewitness account by Buzz Aldrin, the speech “Debate on the Frame-Work Bill, in the House of Lords” by Lord Byron. In addition, they could choose to read an excerpt from the non-fiction text A History of US 4: The New Nation, 1789–1850 by Joy Hakim: Ch. 21 or "Yankee Ingenuity: Cotton and Muskets". As a supplemental text they could also read another section from Hakim: Ch. 20, "Telling It Like It Is."

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 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 are divided into six units of study, each with a variety of texts and activities that require students to engage directly with the texts.  Lessons include multiple methods of direct student interaction with the texts. Students are asked to employ strategies such as: “Use the Text," “Select the Text," “Work Visually," “Use the Text as Referee," and “Work Out Loud."

Students are also required to complete text-dependent tasks in unit assessments, culminating writing tasks, and during reading tasks. In addition, text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year and the teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-dependent writing, speaking, and other activities. Teachers can access students’ written responses immediately when utilizing the online writing tool.  Possible student answers are provided for both written and speaking activities.

Examples of text-dependent/specific questions included in each unit include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives and Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1,  Activity 5, students use the Select Text: The Corporal, Card 1:  
• Look at the Corporal’s words in this dialogue. Highlight two details that show you how the Corporal was feeling.
• Look at Dahl’s words in this dialogue. Highlight two details that show you how Dahl was feeling.
• What is one thing you notice when you compare the Corporal’s dialogue to Dahl’s? How does the text distinguish between the Corporal’s and Dahl’s personalities and emotional states?
• What do you think Dahl was thinking when he said “Don’t say that” (12)?
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1, Activity 3, students are asked to read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of the text Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs. Students are asked to answer 3 questions: 
• "My grandmother remained in her service as a slave; but her children were divided among her master's children. As she had five, Benjamin, the youngest one, was sold, in order that each heir might have an equal portion of dollars and cents." 
• “Why was her grandmother’s youngest child sold?” 
• “What words does Jacobs use to tell us what the youngest child was worth to the slaveholders?” and “Why do you think Jacobs uses these specific words? What does this choice tell you about her point of view and how it differed from the points of view of the people who sold Benjamin?”
• In Unit 8C, “Science & Science Fiction,” Sub-unit 1, the students are asked to use various texts to answer the question "Is Victor more focused on life, on death, or on both as he investigates and makes his creation? Explain your answer using specific details from the text or illustrations."
• In Unit 8C, “Science & Science Fiction,” Sub-unit 3, students are asked to use various selections of texts to answer the question, "What would the speaker in Wordsworth’s poem say to Victor Frankenstein? Use textual evidence from the poem and from one of the Frankenstein passages in your answer."
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 5, Activity 4, students are asked to read a sonnet in Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 90-103. After reading the selection, students are asked to discuss the following questions: “In what parts of the sonnet does Romeo rhyme with himself? In what parts of the sonnet does Juliet rhyme with herself? Where do they begin to rhyme with each other? What are they doing when their lines rhyme with each other's? Why do you think Shakespeare has Romeo and Juliet begin rhyming with themselves and end up rhyming with each other?”
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory and Meaning,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1, Activity 4, students Discuss the 1936 Opening Ceremony.  Questions for class discussion include:
• "What do these slightly different details in the newspaper article and the newsreel footage tell us about the purpose of each piece of reporting?"
• "Do you think the printed news and video footage of the same event can tell two different stories? Why or why not?"

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).

Materials contain sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent questions and activities that build to a culminating task. Each unit has several tasks which include text-dependent questions and activities and then ends with a multi-step writing assignment. The last unit of the year also includes a presentation and a multimedia component. The essays gradually build in complexity, vary in topic, and require students to utilize writing, speaking or a combination of both.The culminating tasks are designed to help students synthesize and apply their learning from the unit in an engaging and authentic way through writing and speaking. 

Examples of tasks that are supported with coherent sequences of text-dependent questions include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives & Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, students are tasked with developing writing techniques that an author uses as they write narratives. In Lesson 1, students respond to the prompt, “What could you imagine is happening in this moment? Write your version of this moment using dialogue and narration. Use the characters’ actions, gestures, and dialogue to show what they feel without telling the emotion.”
• In Unit 8A, Sub-unit 4, students gather evidence to write their culminating essay. In Lesson 1, students respond to the Essay Prompt, “Are the mothers featured in 'Fish Cheeks' and 'My Mother’s Garden' role models for their daughters? Why or why not?”
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality”, the culminating task is an essay. The essay prompt explains that students need to choose between two different prompts. The first asks, “How does Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, try to change what his readers/listeners believe about what it means to be dedicated to the American idea that ‘All men are created equal’?” The second prompt asks, “How does Douglass, in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, try to change what his readers believe about what it means to be dedicated to the American idea that ‘All men are created equal’?” In order to complete this task in Sub-unit 6, Lesson 1, Activity 4, students choose Lincoln or Douglass and then make a claim about how he tries to change what his readers believe. Then, they look through their chosen text and include 2–3 choices he makes with language to try to convince his readers. 
• In Unit 8C, “Science and Science Fiction,” students read a graphic novel version of Frankenstein and engage in a series of text-dependent questions and tasks. At the end of the unit, they show their understanding by writing an argument essay addressing Frankenstein’s humanity of lack of it.
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” the culminating task is an essay. Specifically, students are asked, “Did the power of love contribute more to Romeo’s death or were the forces of hatred more of an influence on Romeo’s death, or both?” In order to prepare for this essay, students are asked to review the seven scenes of the play and then “find and highlight some of the places in the text where Shakespeare seems to say that the forces of hate are responsible for Romeo's death and some that suggest that the power of love is responsible for Romeo’s death.” 
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory and Meaning,” there are texts in many genres and with many different points of view. Lessons provide students support in making meaning within and across texts. Lessons build toward a culminating activity in which students write an informative essay about the strategies used by the Nazis to isolate, oppress, and control the Jewish population of Europe, and to convince others to go along with their plan.
• In Unit 8F, “The Space Race Collection,” the culminating task is an essay followed by an interactive timeline and presentation. For the essay, students can choose between an argumentative and informative essay topic. The argumentative essay asks, "Was animal testing necessary during the Space Race?" In order to complete the prompt students need to collect evidence and conduct research to prove their point. The informative essay asks students to write about Katherine Johnson and the other key women who worked at NASA during the space race. Once they have completed their essays, students are put into groups to create interactive timelines. They will plot 5–10 key moments in the Space Race from information from the texts and images in the Collection.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Each unit/lesson is set up in the same manner, beginning with a vocabulary lesson. Throughout the lessons there are frequent oral language opportunities to do Think-Pair-Share, peer questioning in groups, and partner talk. Sentence frames are provided to support students who need additional help applying new vocabulary and syntax. In addition to those instances, there are also Socratic seminars, presentations, and performances to support students’ development in practicing language. 

Examples of how materials provide multiple opportunities and protocols for evidence based discussions include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” Sub-Unit 2, Lesson 1, students are instructed to watch a video of a passage from A Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass. Before watching the clip, the instructions ask teachers to have students think about the difference between the dramatic reading versus the text. While watching the passage, students reflect on the facts about slavery given in the video and their personal feelings about the clip. After the clip, teachers are instructed to ask the whole class, "Which detail did you think was interesting, powerful, or important in the reading? What ideas, information, or feelings did the actor communicate that you would not have noticed through text alone? and Compare and contrast a piece of text with a dramatic reading of that text. What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each?"
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet”, Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, students are introduced to the language of William Shakespeare. In the lesson, students are paired together to work on the memorization strategies they will use to learn The Prologue. The instructions for the partner activity say, “read the line on the card, noting the syllables in bold. With a partner, practice saying the lines as a call-and-response. One of you recites the line on the card, saying the syllables in bold loudly and stomping your foot as you say them. The other responds by repeating the line in the same way.”
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 15, students consider whether or not the peace between the Montagues and Capulets will endure. Students listen as the teacher reads an excerpt from Act 5, Scene 3. Students then individually paraphrase the Prince’s first five lines. Two students are asked to share their responses with the class so that the class may discuss and refine the translations. Students then cast their vote on whether the families will stay at peace or not. After individually answering several text-based questions over the same excerpt, students reconsider whether or not the two families can maintain peace with one another. Finally, the teacher leads a class discussion over the poll results providing an opportunity for students to explain their choice and explain why they did or did not change their mind. 
• In Unit 8F, “The Space Race Collection,” Sub-unit 4, Lesson 2, students prepare for a Socratic Seminar over the Space Race Discussion. The instructions for the teacher say that teachers should “pose the first guided question (or ask for a volunteer to pose a question) and allow a discussion to ensue. Be mindful of keeping the discussion on topic; ask a new question (or invite a volunteer to ask a question) when the discussion seems to have faded or digressed. You may ask simple questions, such as 'What did you think of...?' and 'What did you find interesting?' to focus the discussion and challenge students to extract specific evidence or ask specific questions. This will also allow them time to reference their documents and notes.” There are several guided questions provided in the materials and additional supports for teachers about different ways students should participate and what teachers should do during the discussion. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports. 

Students have multiple opportunities for text-dependent discussions in each unit. Each lesson begins with a vocabulary lesson and then students are introduced to the topic through a discussion. Throughout the unit, the materials offer other opportunities for students to work in pairs or small groups to have discussions centering on the topics presented in the unit. The discussions are consistently text-dependent and the students are instructed to answer questions citing evidence from the text. Videos, audio recordings or photos/images are sometimes used to promote/start the discussion. The materials include dramatic readings, Socratic seminars, and other protocols for teachers to provide students multiple opportunities and ways to build their speaking and listening skills while using the texts as anchors. For students who need additional assistance, there are sentence frames, guiding questions and ideas for teacher support. 

Examples of  multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 2, students share their writing and then respond to a peer’s writing. The instructions tell the teacher to “Call on two or three volunteers to share. Each volunteer should call on one to three listeners to comment.” Materials also include Response Starters provided that students can use to aid their discussion. The responses are “I could picture _____ (person, process, idea, action, place) when you wrote _____. When you used the word _____, it helped me understand _____. When you used the evidence about _____, it convinced me that _____. When you explained _____ about the quotation, I realized why you included it.”
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 4, students work on reciting lines from The Prologue from memory. Directions state: “Read the line on the card, noting the syllables in bold. With a partner, practice saying the lines as a call-and-response. One of you recites the line on the card, saying the syllables in bold loudly and stomping your foot as you say them. The other responds by repeating the line in the same way.”
• In Unit 8F, “Space Race Collection,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, Activity 4, students evaluate websites as credible sources and discuss factors that help them determine a site's credibility. The class discussion points are: “Does the website provide information about the author’s background? Based on that information, does the author seem credible? How do you know? Does the website make any claims? Are claims supported with evidence? What evidence did you find convincing about the author's argument? What evidence did you find questionable? Did the links work? Did they take you to credible websites? What else could you do to check on the credibility of this website? (Check for other websites on the same subject matter.) If you have a class with more advanced students, you may choose to have them discuss why so many students and adults might be fooled by a website like this. What makes the website credible?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 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. 

Each unit contains writing tasks and projects which are aligned to the grade level standards. Students write a mix of both on-demand and process writing that gradually increase in complexity as the year progresses. Each unit contains a sub-unit that centers around a process writing task, titled “Write an Essay” in the online program. Throughout the units, there are many on-demand writing tasks that students must complete to show mastery and prepare for the essay assessment. Materials cover a year's worth of writing instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and/or edit are provided. Materials include digital resources where appropriate. 

Writing assignments in the 8th grade units include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives and Narrative”, Sub-unit 3, Lesson 2, Activity 2, students read an excerpt from the text Going Solo by Roald Dahl. After reading the passage, students write responses to two different questions. The second question asks students to write a more substantial response. Specifically, it says “Does David Coke seem like he will be an important character in Dahl’s story? Explain.”
• In Unit 8C, “Science and Science Fiction”, Sub-unit 2, students write a “three-paragraph essay about whether Frankenstein’s creature can be considered human” in five class periods. In the first lesson, students write an outline. In the second, third, and fourth lesson, students draft their first, second, and third body paragraph. With the final fifth lesson, students review and revise their essay.
• In Unit 8D “Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet”, Sub-unit 1, Lesson 2, Activity 4, students interpret Shakespeare’s language. They translate several lines into their own words and use details and words from the passage to explain what the lines mean and what they suggest will happen in the play.
• In Unit 8D “Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet,” Sub-unit 4, students write an essay that addresses the question, “Did the power of love contribute more to Romeo’s death or were the forces of hatred more of an influence on Romeo’s death, or both?” A series of five lessons guide students through the writing process. First, in Lesson 1, they consider both sides of the prompt, analyzing evidence before choosing sides. The second lesson guides students through the development of three body paragraphs, including one which addresses the counterclaim. The third lesson is a “Flex Day” in which students continue drafting and teachers can meet with individuals or small groups of students. In the fourth lesson, students craft introduction paragraphs and refine arguments by adding more description or explanation to their evidence. The final lesson guides students through revising for transitions and concise language, then editing and publishing.
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory & Meaning,” Sub-unit 6, students “draft and polish an essay that analyzes the strategies used by the Nazis to slowly move Germany toward genocidal violence.” In Lesson 1, students collect evidence and write their claim. Students write their body paragraphs in Lesson 2. Lesson 3 is a flex day that provides students an opportunity to “self-assess” their progress and continue the writing process independently and with a partner. In Lesson 4, students continue to revise their essay and write the introduction. In the final day of the sub-unit, Lesson 5, students write their conclusion and finalize their essays to share with the class.
• In Unit 8F, “The Space Race Collection,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 1, students learn about how to evaluate credible websites, then independently find additional internet sources for their research. Digital renderings of primary and secondary source documents, and images are included as follows:
• Primary source: Memorandum for the Vice President, April 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy
• Secondary source: The Space Race: An Introduction
• Images: Leonov during first spacewalk; White during first US spacewalk
  

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. 

Students engage in a variety of writing opportunities throughout daily lesson plans, formative, and summative assessments. These writing activities include opportunities to engage in argumentative, informative/explanatory writing and narrative writing when appropriate. In addition, the materials provide opportunities for students/teachers to monitor progress in writing skills. Students perform a variety of tasks throughout the unit centered around the text they are studying within the unit. The materials provide a comprehensive overview, instructions and detailed rubrics for the writing tasks, particularly at the end of each unit, to help guide students through the process. 

Some evidence that materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes of writing is found in the following:

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives & Narrative,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 2, students revise a narrative piece of writing they composed in the previous lesson.  In Activity 8, students are instructed to, “1. Find one place in your writing where you can focus more on one small moment. 2. Write two or three more sentences, adding vivid details to capture the feel of your moment.” Students then identify aspects of strong peer feedback in preparation to share their work with one another. 
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” Sub-unit 6, students write an informative essay.  Students can choose to write about either Abraham Lincoln or Frederick Douglass, exploring how he tried to change listeners’/ readers’ minds about what it means to be dedicated to the American idea that “All men are created equal”?  They use details from either “The Gettysburg Address” or Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to support their ideas.
• In Unit 8C, “Science and Science Fiction”, Sub-unit 3, Lesson 2, Activity 4, students study a speech given by Lord Byron in the House of Lords. After students read the excerpt, they write about the following prompt: “Based on Byron's observations about the impact of the new looms on the mill workers and owners, would you expect Byron to argue that technological innovations (like the new looms) are good or bad for mankind? Substantiate your claim with evidence from Byron's address to the House of Lords.”
• In Unit 8D, “Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,” Sub-unit 2, students write an argumentative essay that addresses the question, “Did the power of love contribute more to Romeo’s death or were the forces of hatred more of an influence on Romeo’s death, or both?”  The essay requires students to incorporate multiple pieces of textual evidence to support their claim and to refute a counter argument.
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory & Meaning”, Sub-unit 5, Lesson 1, students reflect on all of the images and readings they have done regarding the Holocaust. Then they “compose a poem that uses precise words, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language and that draws on the images, events, and passages they examined”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

Throughout the units, students engage in many different evidence-based writing activities that range in length, organization, and complexity. Students provide short written responses as they actively read texts and use close-reading skills when responding to many questions in the summative and formative assessments. With the major essays that are present in each unit, students utilize evidence-based writing when planning for the essay and as they draft their ideas. 

Examples of writing opportunities focused on students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives and Narrative”, Sub-Unit 5, Lesson 1, students take a unit assessment. In the assessment, students write a response using evidence from a reading passage. They read the excerpt from Going Solo by Roald Dahl, “The Battle of Athens--the Twentieth of April”. Then, they answer the question, "In what way does the author convey the emotional intensity of his experience in the Battle of Athens? Include at least TWO supporting details in your answer."
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1, Activity 3, provides an opportunity for students to practice evidence-based writing. Students read an excerpt from The Boys War by Jim Murphy. First, students answer three selected-response questions which require close reading. Then they answer two questions which require evidence-based writing, “What feelings do you think Elisha Stockwell was expressing with the words, ‘I would have been glad to have seen my father coming after me’?” and “Why do you think the author writes that the Rebel Yell worked well as an 'emotionally unifying behavior?'" Both tasks require the students to include textual evidence.
• In Unit 8C, “Science & Science Fiction,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 8, students read Chapters 5-6 from Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein: Volume 2. Students are then asked, “Did your feelings about the creature change from Chapter 5 to Chapter 6? Explain why or why not, using and analyzing evidence from the text. Be sure to explain what each piece of evidence shows. (You may also use evidence from the illustrations.)” This formative writing assessment requires students to write a minimum of 100 words and for “at least 10 minutes” to be scored.
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory and Meaning”, Sub-unit 2, Lesson 2, Activity 5, students read two brief excerpts from Hitler Youth. They compare and contrast these texts and then write a response. Specifically, the question asks students to "Compare and contrast how Irene Butter and Alfons Heck present the Hitler Youth. What do you understand about the Hitler Youth as a result of reading both interpretations?”
• In Unit 8F, “The Space Race,” Sub-unit 5, provides students with an opportunity to learn, practice, and apply evidence-based writing. Students have two choices, an argumentative essay on whether or not animal testing was necessary during the Space Race or an informative essay on how Katherine Johnson and the other women who worked with her at NASA impacted the Space Race. A series of lessons supports students in learning and practicing specific skills as they work through the writing process. In Lesson 1, students are supported in gathering evidence and collecting all the necessary information for their Works Cited page. Then, in Lesson 2, students are guided in writing body paragraphs that include at least two pieces of textual evidence, some description, and an explanation of how the evidence supports their claim. In Lesson 3, students are guided through developing an introduction paragraph that engages and provides the reader with a general sense of the topic, key background information, and the claim. In Lesson 4, students study strong examples of supporting evidence for claims, then revise their own writing to strengthen evidence. In Lesson 6 students create both in-text citations and a Works Cited page to properly document their evidence.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectations for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context. 

Each unit offers a number of resources to support grammar instruction. Teachers are instructed to use the introductory Unit A to build the foundational writing skills of Focus, Use of Evidence, and Productivity, as well as the writing routines of writing time, Sharing, and working with feedback. These units allow teachers to support students as they progress and gain better clarity in their writing. The Grammar Unit contains self-guided instruction and practice activities to cover the key grammar topics and topics for continued practice and review. The Mastering Conventions One, Two, and Three contain whole-class lessons and drills that provide extensive coverage of remedial and grade-level grammar topics. The Grammar Revision Assignments (found in the section of each Flex Day) provide suggested exercises to support students as they practice key skills in the context of their own writing.

• In Unit 8A, “Perspectives & Narrative,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 4: Establishing Tone: "Write about one awful moment from a recent day at school (or one great moment)."
• Lesson 6: The Just-Right Verb "Write about a moment when you took a risk."
• Grammar Unit, Sub-Unit 6, Lesson 3: Active and Passive Voice
• Recognizing Active and Passive Voice
• Choosing Active or Passive Voice
• Identifying Passive Sentences
• Changing from Passive to Active
• Revision: Verb Moods and Voice 
• In Unit 8B, “Liberty and Equality”, Sub-unit 6, Lesson 5, Activity 4 students are writing an essay focusing on texts by Martin Luther King and Fredrick Douglass. At this point in the process, students are revising for appropriate transitions and concise language. Specifically, the instructions explain that students should:
• Reread your introduction and body paragraphs in their final order.
• Ask yourself the following questions: When I finish reading one paragraph and begin reading the next paragraph, is the relationship between the paragraphs clear. Do I use words that clearly explain how my evidence is connected to my claim?.....” After this point, several examples are given to students for different styles of transitions. They also instruct students to experiment by adding a new transition within each body paragraph or within a sentence that connects their point to a claim.
• In Unit 8C, “Science & Science Fiction,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 14, students are prompted to respond to the question, "What has the creature learned from his experiences among men?"
• Lesson 16: Flex Day 3
• Grammar Unit, Sub-Unit 2, Lesson 4: Identifying and Fixing Complete Sentences 
• Identifying Fragments
• Identifying Fragments in Longer Passages
• Identifying Complete Sentences
• Revision: Modifiers and Dependent Clauses
• In Unit 8E, “Holocaust: Memory & Meaning,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1, students are prompted to respond to the question,  "What message do you think Hitler and the Nazi Party were trying to communicate with the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Olympics?"
• Grammar Unit, Sub-Unit 6, Lesson 1: Verb Mood
• Indicative
• Interrogative
• Imperative
• Conditional
•  Revision: Verb Moods and Voice
• In Unit 8F, “The Space Race Collection," Sub-unit 2, Lesson 4, students work on writing an essay about looking at Internet research on this topic. At this particular point, they have a flex day for the teacher to choose topics that students need to work on. Included in the lesson overview is a PDF  of Grammar Revision assignments. One of these activities could be verb tense. For that skill development, the assignment reads: 

1. Go to My Work and find a recent writing activity (or your teacher will identify one for you).
2. Copy and paste your writing into this new writing space.
3.  Reread your writing and underline 3 verbs.
4.  Skip to the bottom of the writing and rewrite the sentence(s) that contain these verbs, using a different verb tense (past, present, or future).

• Mastering Conventions Three Unit 2, Lessons 5-8 address gerunds and infinitives.  An example of a lesson topic is Lesson 7, “Identifying Infinitives Used As Adjectives Within a Sentence”.  This sequence of lessons includes 9 Skill Drills which provide practice in skills such as finding and fixing dangling modifiers and finding and fixing split infinitives.
• Mastering Conventions Three, Unit 3, Lesson 12 focuses on ways writers use active and passive voice for impact.  Three skill drills provide practice in shifting between active and passive voice and in keeping voice consistent within a sentence.
• Mastering Conventions Four - Spelling, Word List 25 provides instructional resources for teaching the suffixes -able, -ible, -ful, and -less.  Resources include definitions, example sentences, a sorting activity, a fill-in-the-blank activity that requires students to use the words in sentences, and an assessment.