The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topics and/or themes to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

Every unit revolves around a specific theme and topic and uses many texts to support the guiding ideas. Throughout all units, students read a variety of genres and texts that relate to the unit goals and overall topic of the unit. Additionally, students display their knowledge in the completion of end of unit tasks that always include writing and/or a multimedia project.  

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” students read excerpts from Boy: Tales of A Childhood by Roald Dahl as well as several other extra narrative pieces to achieve the unit goal and culminating tasks. The unit overview explains that “students begin with narrative writing to quickly boost their writing production….then, students apply their new observational focus to some lively readings from Roald Dahl’s memoir, Boy: Tales of Childhood, and learn how to work closely with textual evidence.” The culminating task for this unit asks students to write an essay that focuses on “Whom does Dahl describe as causing more trouble: the boys or the adults?” Students have to use concrete details from one moment in the story to support their point. 
• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries & Investigations,” Topic & Theme: Reading like an investigator. In this unit, students read stories of mystery and suspense that challenge them to think and respond like investigators. Throughout the unit, students step into the role of investigator, read closely to notice the strategies that different characters employ, create their own theories based on available information, and even predict what the characters may do next. 
• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” students read a variety of pieces to explore the topic of chocolate and to achieve the unit goal and culminating task. The unit goal is explained as “ students explore primary documents and conduct independent research to better understand the….roles that chocolate has played in cultures around the world.” In addition, students learn about the reliability of sources and conducting research by constructing an evidence-based argument. carefully analyzing source documents, and building their arguments on solid, relevant evidence. As students reach the end of the unit, they take on the culminating task which asks them to write either an argumentative or informative essay as well as complete an interactive timeline. 
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” Topic & Theme: Man vs. gods in ancient Greece. In this unit students are engaged in the complex world of the Olympian gods and familiarizing themselves with the primary characters of Greek mythology. This unit provides students an overview of how storytellers have used literature for centuries to grapple with some of life’s great questions, and it underscores the importance of text as a way for readers to learn about themselves and their communities. 
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” students read a novel The Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall as well as excerpts from Homer’s The Odyssey and Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario to “consider how characters change and develop, compare McCall’s retelling to episodes from Homer’s The Odyssey, contrast the sister’s fictional journey to the non-fiction account of a migrant boy’s journey, and research Aztec mythology to create their own Lotería cards”. The culminating task for this unit asks students to write an essay explaining what allows the hero of Summer of the Mariposas to be successful in specific moments.
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection and experiences of the Titanic passengers.” In this unit students examine the historical aspects of the Titanic, through the stories of the survivors.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

The Grade 6 units provide students with frequent opportunities to practice identifying and studying specific elements of texts, from analyzing words to looking at the structures of paragraphs and the larger text itself. Each unit focuses on how the writer has crafted his/her narrative and students are examining the text for examples. Each lesson includes a list of vocabulary words to use. Questions and tasks help students build comprehension and knowledge of topics and themes, and they build on each other in a coherent sequence so that by the end of the year, items are embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly.  There is an ample amount of written work throughout lessons that allows teachers to gage students’ understanding of each concept. Questions and tasks help students build comprehension and knowledge of topics and themes. 

Throughout the materials, students independently, and as a whole group, complete questions and tasks that require analysis of individual texts. Students complete multiple reads of texts with scaffolds such as read aloud, partner reading, and independent reading. The instructions have students answer questions and/or complete tasks that move from a literal understanding of the text to deep analysis within the texts or multiple texts. This scaffolded progression can be seen across the units, the sections, the lessons, and the assessments.

Examples of materials that contain sets of coherently sequenced questions include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 11, Activity 3, students discuss the Meaning of The “Tuck-Box”, students use words and phrases from the passage to develop an understanding of the definition and connotative meaning of “tuck-box” in the text.
• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, Activity 3, students look at an image of Philadelphia in 1793 and answer five questions. The directions and questions are: "1. Look at the image of the city of Philadelphia from the 1790s. In five words or less, describe what you see. 2. Does the sense of community (how people interact with each other) seem strong or weak? Describe a detail from the image that supports your answer. 3. Look at how cared for the buildings and streets look. Does the sense of civic responsibility seem strong or weak? Describe a detail from the image that supports your answer. 4. Does the economic life (whether people seem to have what they need) seem strong or weak? Describe a detail from the image that supports your answer. 5. What do you infer life would be like in Philadelphia in the 1790s? Describe one detail that you observed in the engraving to support your answer."
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” Sub-unit 5, Lesson 1, students complete a reading assessment for the unit. The assessment is divided into three different tasks. The first task asks students to “complete 20 selected response questions to show their proficiency with the skills practiced in this unit.'' For one part of this section students are asked to read an excerpt from "Prometheus" in Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin. An example of one of the questions that students are asked after reading the passage is: 
• Part 1: How would Zeus describe man’s life without knowledge of fire?
• Part 2: Which quote from the story BEST supports the correct answer to Part 1?
• The second section of the assessment asks students to answer the following with the same excerpt: “In a well-constructed paragraph, describe Zeus’s attitude toward man. Use at least two details from the text to support your answer.”
• For the final section students are also asked to read an excerpt from The Odyssey. Then they are asked: “Does the excerpt from The Odyssey better support Prometheus’s or Zeus’s beliefs about humans? Write a well-constructed paragraph using evidence from both texts.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of high-quality text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts as well as across multiple texts.

High-quality text-dependent questions and tasks are embedded throughout the sub-units to provide opportunities for students to understand and analyze the texts in order to respond to tasks requiring students to develop, evaluate, and support their claims. The text-dependent questions and tasks are coherently sequenced and structured within each unit and across units to support students’ literacy skills. By the end of the year, the summative essays and tasks integrate knowledge and ideas from throughout the unit.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 6, Activity 3, students read three different excerpts from Boy: Tales of A Childhood by Roald Dahl. While reading each excerpt, students answer the question, "What details do you notice that help you understand Dahl's emotion in each scene?" After students answer that question for each excerpt they work with a partner and “highlight any details that show you Dahl's emotion(s) in this moment.” Then, they choose an emotion Dahl feels from the provided list and write one sentence that names Dahl’s emotion and explain how you know he feels this way.
• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” students read three major texts: The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing by Suzanne Jurmain and “The Speckled Band” and “The Red-Headed League” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As they read the Sherlock Holmes stories, questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to read closely, noticing the strategies that Holmes uses to solve cases. For example, in Lesson 3, students answer questions about “The Speckled Band” individually and then participate in a whole-group discussion. Questions include “What does Holmes inspect most closely during his visit to Stoke Moran?”and “What does Holmes say or do that shows when he thinks a detail is suspicious?” An example of a task is, “Think about which objects or pieces of furniture in the rooms seem suspicious or unusual. What makes you think that these items are suspicious or unusual? Cite at least one piece of textual evidence that supports your inference.” At the end of the unit, students write an essay that requires analysis across the three major texts. The essay prompt requires students to identify and describe an important characteristic of an investigator, using examples from the texts. 
• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 3, Activity 3, students read the poem “Chocolate” by Rita Dove and then watch a video of her reciting the poem. After looking at both texts, students answer the questions: “How does Rita Dove use her voice and facial expressions to communicate her ideas or feelings about Chocolate? When we do our own reading, we can linger over or go back to reread a particular line or detail. How does that ability to look closely at a particular line or detail affect your understanding of what the poem is communicating about chocolate?”
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” students read several Greek myths in order to explore how one individual’s story can make us think more broadly about human nature and the roles people play in their communities. After reading the myth “Prometheus," students individually consider questions, then participate in a class discussion. Examples of questions include “Why did Zeus create humans?” and “According to Zeus, what will humans think about themselves if they get fire?” Examples of tasks include, “Think like Prometheus: In your own words, list two reasons that fire might make humans more interesting” and “Think like Zeus: In your own words, list two reasons that fire might make humans more dangerous.” At the end of the unit, students write an essay analyzing the integration of knowledge and ideas across texts. The essay prompt requires students to address the questions “Are humans destroyed by their pride? Why or why not?” Students are asked to support their claim with textual evidence from at least two of the myths they studied.
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 12, students respond to a writing prompt after reading Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, "Do the sisters become more united during their journey or not? Use details from earlier and later in the story to support your claim."
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 3: Internet Research, students respond to the question, citing text evidence to support their responses. “Write 1–2 paragraphs providing key information you discovered about your topic. Make sure to include two framed quotes from at least two sources.”
•  In Sub-Unit 3: Passport and Collection Research, Lesson 2, students respond to the question citing text evidence to support their response: “In character, write a letter to a friend or family member at home. Date the letter April 14, 1912. Describe your experiences aboard the Titanic. Use the information you’ve noted in your Passenger Profile to help craft your response. Your letter should include at least one fact from each of the documents.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

The materials include culminating tasks that are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of different grade level standards, including writing and presentation of knowledge and ideas. Each unit has questions and activities that increase in rigor and depth and support students in developing an ability to complete a culminating task. Culminating tasks vary for each text and include activities comprised of multiple types of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Examples of high quality questions and assignments that lead to multifaceted culminating tasks include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” Sub-unit 4, students write an essay for the prompt, “Based on the texts you have read, what stands out to you as one important characteristic to have as a problem solver or investigator? Include two examples of individuals demonstrating this characteristic in your response.” Earlier in the unit, Sub-unit 4, Lesson 2, students read an excerpt from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. After reading the excerpt, students identified suspicious details about the Red-Headed League, Duncan Ross, and Holmes’s visit to Saxe-Coburg Square. In the next lesson, students use the evidence they have gathered to examine which details from the story are suspicious and why. This directly connects with the culminating task at the end of the unit. 
• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” there are two culminating tasks. The first is a debate about whether or not school lunches should include chocolate milk. In Sub-unit 4, Lesson 1, students read four texts about chocolate and health and gather evidence to support both sides of the debate. This lesson also introduces the debate format, criteria for a strong debate, and provides scaffolds for planning. In Lesson 2, students are taught how to plan their opening statements and their counter arguments before beginning the actual debate. The second culminating task in this unit is an essay. Students choose to write either an informational essay about the history of slavery in the production of chocolate or an argumentative essay about the effects of chocolate on brain chemistry. Students learn about these topics in Sub-Units 2 and 3 as they read texts about chocolate and answered text-dependent questions. These lessons consist of a combination of independent, partner, and whole-class work and involve reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. Sub-unit 5 focuses on the essay, teaching students to gather evidence, make claims, write body paragraphs, revise, edit, and cite references.
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” Sub-unit 4, students write an essay in which they use two of the following characters: the humans from “Prometheus,” Odysseus from The Odyssey, or Arachne from “Arachne” to answer the following question, "Are humans destroyed by their pride? Why or why not?” Earlier in the unit, Sub-unit 3, Lesson 5, students read the Arachne myth. This lesson gives students the opportunity to use new strategies to think through the connection between Arachne's talent and Minerva's punishment. Students rewrite the Arachne myth, endowing her with a new talent and a punishment that fits that talent. Students also use specific details, including sensory details, to show readers how important this talent is and to help them understand the punishment Arachne experiences. This continues the focus that they connect to the culminating task about character traits and the consequences they carry. 
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection”, for the culminating task students write an essay and present a multimedia project centering on the historical tragedy. Earlier in the unit, Sub-unit 3, Lesson 3, students choose a text from the Titanic Collection. The directions state, “In your scavenger hunt lessons, you’ve seen many images and read several texts in The Titanic Collection. Today, you’ll choose one additional text that you’re interested in reading. The ideas you generate here will be used again at the end of the lesson when you integrate the information presented by different media types.” This lesson directly connects with the culminating task students complete at the end where they create a profile on a simulated social media app within the program where they use information from their research to post entries from the point of view of a passenger or from one of the orphans from the Titanic.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. 

The materials provide a year-long approach to building students' academic vocabulary, providing them opportunities to master many new words and apply new vocabulary across multiple contexts. The lesson plans include daily support for this goal at the start of each sub unit. Time is allotted at the beginning of each lesson for vocabulary development delivered through the Amplify Vocab App. “Words to Use” are also listed in the daily lesson guide. Teachers are encouraged to use these words throughout instruction along with the activities that utilize that vocabulary. Students complete assessment activities which show their mastery of using the word in context. The app also provides games for students to study morphology, figurative language, dictionary skills, words in context, and synonyms/antonyms.

Examples of how students are supported to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 1, students watch a short video on the definition of the vocabulary word and complete two activities that support the learning of the word in the correct context. For example, this particular lesson has a brief video clip that humorously explains the word “gruff” followed by using the word “gruff” in a sentence. Then, students decide which sentence uses the word “gruff” correctly. Next, students are given a hypothetical scenario and asked which one uses the word “gruff” correctly. 
• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 1, the “words to use” are conquer and corpses.  Students interact with and apply the words in the text, in whole-class discussion, in the writing task, in a comprehension question, and in the exit ticket.
• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 1, students are provided instruction on several vocabulary words using the Vocab app. In the Vocab Word list for this sub-unit provided in the app, the following words are listed for Lesson 1: clench, henchmen, impute, interact, misleading, offences, proximity, summon. Some of these words are “core” words for the unit. 
• In Unit 6D,  Sub-unit 2, Lesson 2, the “words to use” are lurched and outposts.  Students closely read and discuss the paragraph of text which contains these two words.  Students write about how the author introduces a character in this paragraph, giving students the opportunity to use the words in their writing.
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 10, students are provided instruction on several vocabulary words using the Vocab app. In the Vocab Word list for this sub-unit provided in the app, the following words are listed for Lesson 10: bristly, flapped, flickering, mumbled, noisily, shredding, streamed. Some of these words are core words for the unit. For example, for the core word “flickering”, students can do an activity called Analogy. The instructions say “compare the words below and pick another pair of words that uses the same analogy”. The activity then states: “Flickering is to Firefly” before listing the examples students can choose from.  
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection,” Sub-unit 3, Passport and Collection Research, students are guided to use the words Blunder, Ineptitude, Distortions, and Inexplicable. Students are prompted to use the vocabulary app to determine the meanings of the designated words. In the app game hashtag it out students uncover the meaning of the word by choosing the correct answer, once the student guesses correctly the definition of the word is revealed.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Writing is used across lesson plans and assessments as an opportunity for learning and as a way for students to express their understanding. Lesson plans are carefully put together and scaffolded so students read and analyze a text in careful, specific detail before having to write thoughtfully about them. Within lessons, students complete smaller writing tasks such as taking notes, responding to short-answer questions, and writing quick reflection responses before they complete a more demanding writing task which is present in every unit. As the year progresses, students produce a variety of essays that include a variety of styles and text types, gradually increasing in rigor and complexity. In addition, the final essay requires students to incorporate multimedia components or research. Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year.

Instructional materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations," Sub-unit 5, students write an essay to “explain which character trait is most useful for problem solvers and investigators”. This prompt is considered to be the culminating writing assessment for the unit.  For this particular unit, students are first introduced to the overview for the task, and then asked to get evidence from the text in order to support their claim. Then, students support their points using two examples of people demonstrating this characteristic. In the sub-unit overview it explains that students are supposed to focus on evidence collection and the prompt rather than organization and revision.
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks," sub-unit 4, students are asked the following prompt: Using two of the following characters—the humans from “Prometheus,” Odysseus from The Odyssey, or Arachne from “Arachne”— answer the following question: Are humans destroyed by their pride? Why or why not? Use your answer to stake a claim about whether or not these characters have been destroyed by their pride”. For this sub-unit, students look at a sample essay’s textual evidence and see how it supports the writer’s claim. Also, students have to look at three texts and choose 1-2 pieces of evidence from each text as well as focusing on what character they are going to write about. Finally, students are instructed to share their writing and then collect additional evidence based on feedback. 
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 3, students are prompted to respond: "Choose either Odilia or the sister you just profiled using the notes in your Amplify Library. Which character trait do you think will be important as the sisters begin this adventure? Explain your answer using text details and your understanding of her character traits." Later, in Lesson 13, students are prompted to respond to the question, "What is one key way in which Odilia compares to or contrasts with Odysseus during each character’s encounter with a monster?"
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection”, sub-unit 5, students write a four paragraph essay that asks students to gather evidence and conduct research from the Internet in order to support their points. In the Sub-unit overview, Amplify explains that they are building on previous units including a “compelling introduction and a strong conclusion”. In addition to the essay, students are also taught in-text citations, frames for quotes and a work cited page. They also have to put together a multimedia project as well as presentation. Another addition to this unit at the end of the year is that students decide between an argumentative essay prompt and an informative essay prompt.  

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

Research projects start on a smaller scale in the beginning of the year and then gradually progress to a comprehensive research project at the end. 

Examples of the type of opportunities students have to engage in both short and long projects include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries & Investigations,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 3, Activity 3, students practice evaluating the strength of evidence for a specific claim by distinguishing the evidence that supports the theory from the evidence that does not. This skill prepares them for evaluating evidence during longer research projects in the year. In this activity, students are given a theory and then given specific evidence that they have to rank from strongest to weakest. In the next activity (Activity 4), students use the Evidence app to evaluate the evidence for three existing theories of yellow fever.
• In Unit 6C, Sub-unit 1, “The Chocolate Collection,” the culminating task is a research project. The unit begins with a series of lessons on information literacy. Students learn how to judge the credibility of a website as well as how to quote, cite, and paraphrase information. In Sub-unit 2, Lesson 3, students then embark on their own research, writing a research question, gathering information, and refocusing the research question as needed.
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection,” the culminating task is a research project. First, students learn how to tell the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, they then determine if a source is reliable, and demonstrate the understanding of the ethical uses of information. After that, they construct their own research questions and explore the Internet for answers. Then, each student is assigned a passenger from the Titanic’s manifest. They consider gender and class issues as they research and write narrative accounts from the point of view of their passengers. Next, this lesson forms the basis for a Socratic Seminar in which students rely on their research to examine the complicated issues inherent in the Titanic story. As students reach the end of the unit, they synthesize all of the skills they’ve developed to tackle a culminating research assignment, part essay and part multimedia project. In this assignment, they have to choose from an argumentative or informative essay and then create a social media profile for one of the Titanic passengers using the Spinnr app. This project requires students to revisit their research to find relevant information for the profile. Finally, students present and display their findings to the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Lessons include some independent reading followed by text-specific questions and tasks that reflect student accountability. Procedures are organized for independent reading included in the lessons for each unit under the headings of “Extra” or “Solo”. There is sufficient teacher guidance to foster independence for readers at all levels. Students have access to additional texts within the Amplify Library. This library allows teachers to track students’ progress and monitor their choices for reading. Also, each time students read a text independently, there is a tracker for them to monitor their own progress. Assessments are available for the independent reading selections and teachers can assess students formatively during flex days. Student reading materials span a wide volume of texts at grade level (and at various lexile levels within the grade). 

Examples of readings inside and outside of class include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 5 in the Grade 6 Solo Workbook on page 27, students are instructed to read an additional selection from Boy: Tales of a Childhood by Roald Dahl. The instructions tell students to “read “Mr Coombes,” paragraphs 1–28. Note two places in your reading that grabbed your attention and describe what you notice and think about this place in the text.” Once students have read the passage they are given 6 questions for comprehension. 
• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries & Investigations,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, students answer questions directly related to the reading. "Question 2. According to the text, what two nations worked together to fight against this disease? Select TWO."
• In Unit 6C ,“The Chocolate Collection,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, the first lesson directs students toward “Independent Reading." Specifically, the directions instruct students to find something to read and then gives them three options of where they could go to find texts: “suggested reading for lessons in this sub-unit, Amplify Library or the local library." Then it directs students to read 20 minutes or more and then complete the accompanying handout. The handout asks students to explain what they read, provide an opinion on whether or not they liked the text, track how many minutes they read as well as how many interruptions they had during the reading.
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 14, students are directed to "Read Summer of the Mariposas Part III 'The Return' and Chapter 16. Identify a stage or figure from the hero’s journey structure (you can find the map of the hero’s journey in your lesson materials).” Then, students are posed three additional questions to check their reading comprehension on that reading selection. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

There are six units of study that are designed around a collection of texts that support a common topic. For example, in the Mysteries & Investigations Unit, students “read like an investigator” and embark on a multi-genre study into the mesmerizing world of scientific and investigative sleuthing. Stories of mystery and suspense are a natural medium for involving Grade 6 students in close reading because the texts are constructed to raise readers’ curiosity. Each unit is divided into sub-units that contain lessons that follow a predictable guided instruction design and have a suggested pacing of 45 to 60 minutes per lesson. There is a Lesson Brief document provided for teachers that helps teachers understand the layout of each lesson. Each lesson launches with a “Vocabulary Activities” section that centers on the Vocabulary App, a “self-guided and adaptive means of learning new vocabulary,” that “introduces students to words that are integral to understanding the texts and key concepts in each unit.” Lessons include whole class, partner or small group, and individual practice with the intended outcomes through the “Present”, “Introduce”, “Connect Text”, and “Discuss” cards. The “Wrap Up” and “Exit Ticket” cards close the class with a review of the lesson and a formative assessment. The “Solo” card provides students with independent practice based on the learning outcomes for the day. Opportunities to differentiate instruction for individual students are available through the lesson. Each unit also includes Flex Days that provide an opportunity for students to receive regular instruction on needed grammar. 

Examples of unit set-up, structures, suggested timings, and sub-units include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, teachers are instructed to launch the lesson with the following instructions in mind: 
• This first lesson is an introduction to the type of learning, interactions, and underlying principles that around which the Amplify materials were designed. 
• The lesson activities enable students to get to know each other better, help the class learn to navigate the lesson structure in a low-stakes environment, and engage students with some key classroom principles. 
• The lesson also allows the teacher to accommodate a variety of initial classroom configurations. 
• After delivering a short introductory talk, this playful take on the typical “first-day-of-school" lesson helps establish classroom principles. These principles will appear all jumbled (and you will appear to be surprised). 
• You will then guide your students through a series of word games to reveal the three essential classroom principles and then to experience that principle in action. 
• In the 6B Unit, “Mysteries & Investigations,” the lesson structure for each lesson appears in the Lesson at a Glance Compilation for the unit of the section as follows: 
• Vocabulary Activities
• Class Activities - Download text
• Classwork - Visuals
• Reading Selection of first text 
• Reading - Selection of next text 
• Writing 
• Class Share 
• Exit Ticket
• Solo
• Lessons within the 6B Unit and Sun-units include: 
• Sub-Unit 1: Fever 1793 - Lesson 1: A Nightmare in Philadelphia
• Sub-Unit 2: The Secret of the Yellow Death: Lesson 1: Meeting a Monster
• Sub-Unit 3: "The Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sub-Unit 4: "The Red-Headed League" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sub-Unit 5: Write an Essay
• Formative Assessments and Summative Assessments
• In Unit 6C, “Chocolate Collection,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, teachers are provided with an overview of the lesson. The lesson is broken down into specific time lengths for each activity. The directions say, 
• “Before Class: Prepare for the Activity. Teacher is introduced to the hoax website concept, which will be the guiding example for the first Information Literacy lesson. 
• Download the Unit Texts (3 min). Students download the core texts for the unit so they will have access to the texts if they lose connectivity during class or do not have connectivity when they take their devices home. 
• Read: Exploring a Website (5 min) Students explore a website as a first step in determining its credibility. 
• Discuss: A Website's Credibility (5 min) Students discuss the website to focus on factors that help them determine a site's credibility. 
• Discuss: What Makes a Website Credible? (10 min) Along with partners, students use a checklist of points to discuss the credibility of the hoax website. Then, they review other sites to check the credibility of the hoax website further. 
• Discuss: Evaluating Sources (10 min) Students discuss 4 different sources to determine their credibility. 
• Domain Extensions (10 min) Students identify different domain extensions to determine what they are short for and their respective credibilities. 
• Exit Ticket (5 min) Students distinguish between sources that are credible and sources that are not credible.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

The teacher and students in Grade 6 can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding. The Amplify ELA materials include core lessons for 180 days of instruction as well as an extensive amount of supplementary materials that teachers can use at their discretion to support and enrich that experience. Additional instructional experiences have also been created for students to use independently. Working with the pacing guide, teachers see how the biggest parts of the program—units, Quests, and major assessments—can be scheduled over the 180 days of instruction. 

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” the unit is broken up into 26 lessons. For each particular lesson it provides minute-by-minute pacing. For example, the directions state for Lesson 3 that teachers should "Introduce: Framing a Quote (10 min) Students learn how to frame a direct quote from a text to avoid plagiarism.” Then students should "Try It On: Framing a Quote (8 min) Students practice writing framed direct quotes with an introduction to the quote and citation.” Next, they are told to explain “Paraphrasing (17 min) Students are introduced to the concept of paraphrasing an author’s text as another way to avoid plagiarism and then work independently to paraphrase informational text”
• In some units, options are provided to contract or shorten the unit if necessary. Lessons are identified within each sub-unit that might be unnecessary for some students and would be the lessons to eliminate first if there is a need to do so. For example, in the 6A Unit, “Dahl & Narrative,” Lessons 7 and 8 of Sub-unit 2 could be eliminated. These 2 lessons “provide additional instruction and practice with the writing skills of focus and productivity”.
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 2, there are 5 lessons included. Students are instructed in gathering evidence and making a claim, writing body paragraphs, revising and writing an introduction as well as including and polishing the essay. There is also an essay flex day included and the instructions for teachers on this day says, “At this stage in the essay process, most middle school teachers find their students in different places. Some students are tearing through each piece and need to be told to slow down, read their writing, and develop their ideas more completely. Some students are still slogging through the first drafts of their body paragraphs. This lesson is designed with a little more flexibility so that you can guide students to work at the pace that allows them to benefit most from the writing activities.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.)

There are clear, step-by-step directions and explanations for both teachers and students for every phase of the teaching and learning process. Supplemental materials are provided for each lesson and are well-labeled and organized. Each lesson also references the standards addressed and the goal. Throughout most lessons, there are numerous formative assessments built-in to the lesson activities to monitor progress and check for understanding. Each lesson begins with “Vocabulary Activities” that provide differentiated vocabulary support and ends with “Wrap-up” which is a formative assessment that allows students and teachers to monitor learning progressions. “Solo” assignments at the end of lessons provide progress check-ins and practice for standardized testing. Unit assessments gauge the abilities of students to apply what they are learning over the course of the unit by reading, understanding, and expressing their knowledge of a complex grade-level text. Within the lesson plan structure, activities are scaffolded and structured in such a way that students have ample opportunities to practice skills. 

The program has several pieces that provide students with ample review and practice resources, specifically, “Library”, “My Work”, and “Misunderstanding Notebook”. When students click on the Library tab they are taken to a digital library which contains many digital texts that students can read. The My Work tab shows students copies of all of their previous work done online including those pieces with teacher feedback. Each assignment is organized in the units that have been completed. In the “Misunderstanding Notebook” students can document misunderstandings that have occurred during their learning and then connect it to a particular lesson they have studied.

 Examples of resources within the materials include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-unit 3, Lesson 10, students revise their use of evidence. Specifically, the lessons asks students to “1. Reread your writing from Lesson 9 and underline a sentence(s) where you used details from the book to develop your idea. (Your teacher may have underlined a sentence for you.) 2. Reread that part of the book and identify one or two more details that connect to your idea.3. Write 3–5 more sentences using those details to explain your idea. Use at least one direct quote.”
• In Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” Sub-Unit 1: "Prometheus" activities include: 
• Activity 1: Vocabulary Activities - students are instructed to open the vocabulary app through the provided link; 
• Activity 2: Students are instructed to download the texts through the Amplify library, the titles of the text 
• Activity 3: Students are instructed to interact with the digitally downloaded text vocabulary and where to write the answers to their responses. 
• Activity 4: Students are Introduced to the Prometheus Myth image and instructed to spend time observing the differences.
• Activity 5: Students are directed to respond to the question by highlighting the sentences that answers the questions.
• Activity 7: Students are directed to discuss their Arguments and Points of View, through writing their responses on the digital cards, then discuss their responses whole group.
• Activity 8: Students are instructed to respond to a class Wrap-Up Poll
• Activity 9: Students are given a digital Exit Ticket, they are instructed to respond to the multiple choice questions.
• Activity 10: Students are prompted to read the assigned text in the Solo section and digitally answer questions using text evidence.
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 7, students are asked to participate in a fishbowl discussion. The instructions for the inner circle discussion are: Follow the five "C"s of the conversation--Communicate—Share your idea and include supporting evidence. Connect—Agree with someone’s comment and add supporting information or an additional thought. Contrast—Present an alternate point of view and include supporting evidence. Query—Ask a question. Clarify—Answer a question and include supporting evidence. Observe discussion etiquette: Wait for someone to finish before speaking. Don’t hog the floor. Listen and consider seriously the speaker’s idea.If you disagree, do so politely.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

For Grade 6, instructors are presented with a correlations guide that indicates all standard listed within the CCSS for ELA: Reading literature (RL), reading informational (RI), writing (W), speaking and listening (SL), and language (L). Each sub-standard has the correlated lessons identified with focus “cards” and lessons that most strongly support that standard.

When viewing individual lessons standards appear under the “Focus Standards” section of the Prep portion of the Lesson Guide and the “Other Standards Addressed in This Lesson” section. For “cards” providing opportunities to specifically focus on a standard, there is a “Standards” tab and the focus standard for the activities on that card are identified. For the Unit Assessments a Teacher Rationale document aligning “questions to specific grade level standards and standard strands” is provided.

Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• In each unit, once teachers click on the Unit Overview page, they scroll down below the unit icons to the section labeled “Planning for the Unit”. Then, they click on the standards button and all the standards for each of the lessons are listed. For example, in the 6C unit “The Chocolate Collection” sub unit 1, lesson 1, the focus standard is “CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.8---Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.” They also explain that there are “Other Standards Addressed in this lesson” which are: “CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.6---Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.” and “CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.A Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.”
• In the unit overview page for each unit in the print edition, there are standards listed for each portion of the lesson. For example in unit 6A “Dahl and Narrative” on page 6-7, it lists the lesson objective, the reading, writing and the standards that will be addressed in each lesson. Lesson 2, which is titled “Focus on a Moment” says that students will “review Spotlight student exemplars and revise their own writing to use precise details to strengthen focus on one moment” as well as “practice focus by writing on one moment when they did something new or unexpected” and “students will present their writing and respond with constructive comments to their peers’ writing”. On the right hand side of the page, it provides the focus standards that correspond to these goals in red and the rest of the standards applicable to the lesson in black. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present 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 Teacher Edition provides numerous support materials in multiple formats. The materials can be accessed digitally or in a print version. There are Unit Overviews for each unit and Lesson Guides for each individual lesson.The Unit Overviews provide tips on contracting the unit when necessary, the reading and writing assignments within the unit, applications to be used, differentiation, and assessment information. Additional teacher references are available with standards, vocabulary, and supplemental texts. Within the Lesson Guides, teachers will find an overview of the lesson, the preparation necessary, the objective, key vocabulary, skills and standards addressed, and methods of differentiation.

Examples of materials available to teachers include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6A, “Dahl and Narrative,” Sub-Unit 1, Lesson 1, Activity 1, students are directed to solve an anagram in order to reveal Classroom Principle 1. Specifically, the Teacher Edition directions say “Divide students into groups of 3. Students can share devices if not all students are logged in. Make sure all students using a device are viewing this activity. If not, direct students to the correct location using the activity number and name on the Lesson Map (top of screen)”. The directions continue by saying, “Have students solve the puzzle, using their devices or the class projection. Direct students to click HAND IN at the top right of their screens each time they complete an activity.”
• In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, students prepare to do a research project on chocolate. In the directions for the Teacher Edition the instructions read that teachers should do the following: “Before class, research online to find a hoax website for your students to explore as they learn about sources that are credible and not credible. There are many of these sites; find one that you think will work best for your students. Ideally, this website will be convincing but suspicious.” The instructions continue on to explain the types of details that teachers should look for when they choose a “hoax website”. Then the instructions explain that “For this lesson to work best and be as much fun as possible, students need to be taken by surprise, which makes it important to keep them in the dark. For that reason, we have carefully worded student-facing information to keep them from uncovering the surprise should they click ahead.”
• In Unit 6F, “The Titanic Collection,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 1, Activity 2, the Instructional Guide explains to the teacher how to download the unit texts. The Instructional Guide also notes that in certain situations, this step should be skipped. The notes explain how students can reset their personal PINs when using the Amplify Library and other helpful pieces of information.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 Program Guide provides a pedagogical approach to assist teachers in establishing a classroom where students thrive in every area, academically, socially, emotionally, as well as developing age-appropriate skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. 

The Program Guide Pedagogical Approach gives teachers steps in order to design a well-balanced classroom, supporting the needs of all learners. For example, in the Critical Collaboration and Engagement section, it states that it gives students lessons that immerse them in close reading activities and cognitively challenging work that engages them with collaborative, digital and project based learning opportunities. 

In the Program Guide Integrated Approach Targeted Objectives section, it states that it guides students with working through the text using key standards. While reading analytical texts, using evidence based writing, and academic discussion to support their ideas. Text at the center supports teachers in using complex and diverse texts that develop students skills in middle school and beyond.

Examples of materials provided to teachers for their advancement in the subject area include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” Sub-unit 5, Lesson 1, students prepare to write an essay about which character trait most helped the investigators solve problems based on their analysis of their collected evidence. In the materials for the lesson there is a PDF handout labeled “Possible Evidence and Explanations” chart. This instructional resource the different traits that students could choose for their essay along with possible evidence and explanations about the texts that students could choose from. 
• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 6, students engage in a process to find the symbolism in the text. In the Teacher Edition section titled “Preparation” the instructions say “In Activity 4, students search for and select a passage for analysis. Using the keywords 'butterfly' and/or 'mariposa' to search the text is a good way to identify passages. However, some of the places identified do not lend themselves to an easy analysis of the symbolic meaning. You may want to point them toward the suggested passages.” There is also a handout included in the lesson that explains symbolism as well as provides several examples of this concept for students. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

The Teacher Edition explains the role of specific ELA/literacy standards within every individual lesson, sub-unit and unit as a whole. In addition, there is a Common Core State Standards correlations guide for each grade level and a Common Core State Standards Unit Level Standards Alignment document where educators can see the standards at a glance for each unit. 

Examples of explanations of the role of specific standards includes, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6B, “Mysteries and Investigations,” Sub-unit 2, Lesson 1, students are beginning to read The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing. In the lesson brief, under the section “Skills and Standards”, the curriculum states that the skills addressed are “CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3: Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes) and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.” This section also describes other standards that are addressed in the lesson.
•  In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” page 14 of the Grade 6 Curriculum Map explains that “students consider how characters change and develop, compare McCall’s retelling to episodes from Homer’s Odyssey, contrast the sisters’ fictional journey to the nonfiction account of a migrant boy’s journey, and research Aztec mythology.” 
• In the Amplify ELA Common Core State Standards Correlations Guide for Grade 6 which can be found in the Resources of the curriculum, all the standards are shown along with the activities from the curriculum that they correspond to. For example, for the first standard it explains, “RL.6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.”

The guide also provides support for the activities that are different between the digital and print editions of the Amplify curriculum. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

The Program Guide provides explanations of the instructional approaches of the curriculum as well as the research based strategies included. The Amplify materials have been created based on research around the developmental needs of middle-grade students including their learning, cognition, and how they develop literacy skills.

The guide lists five research-based pillars: 

1. A focus on middle grade engagement recognizes that middle grade students thrive when they are given collaborative, social and experiential learning opportunities that provide exploratory curricula using varied and diverse teaching approaches.
2. Text at the center focuses on providing text that is high quality. The curriculum includes text that promotes a range of cultures and experiences that include a variety of texts that appeal to culturally diverse students. Reading, Writing and Vocabulary are emphasized in the Amplify curriculum. Students are engaged in close reading - the intensive analysis of high quality texts, “in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it and what it means.” This emphasis is a key component of college and career readiness. Amplify also believes that strong writing instruction improves reading comprehension and fluency. Students write routinely for an authentic audience and are given frequent writing prompts to interpret and paraphrase the texts they are reading. Vocabulary knowledge plays a critical role in reading comprehension and overall success and should include frequent, varied, direct, and contextualized exposures to words and extended in-depth instruction in definitonal and contextual information and word learning strategies. They also include encounters with Tier Two vocabulary. 
3. High expectations and strong supports meet students where they are, while ensuring grade-level rigor. Differentiated instruction is the core instructional model that Amplify uses to provide six levels of activities, designed to support a range of students from ELL, special needs and advanced students. Amplify uses scaffolds such as text previews, word banks, guiding questions and graphic organizers to support reading comprehension.
4. Active, multimodal, and collaborative learning is the focus of Amplify’s curriculum, since research suggests that active engagement is key and that students thrive when classroom activities are social and varied. Amplify ELA employs a variety of pedagogical styles, multimodal instruction, and ample opportunity for student collaboration. Varied teaching styles are used across Amplify ELA’s curriculum - Explicit instruction, Active learning, Multimodal instruction Collaboration as well as Effective constructivist learning environments all these teaching styles are incorporated into Amplify’s curriculum in order to support middle grade learners.
5. Feedback and assessment Amplify ELA curriculum incorporates many opportunities for students to receive feedback on their work. Utilizing formative assessment students are provided with feedback about their work. Regular feedback is critical for teachers and students to monitor their performance.” 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectation that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

There are varied opportunities for teachers to use both formative and summative assessments that genuinely measure student progress. All of the information can be found in the Assessment document in the Resources section of the curriculum.

For formative assessments in writing, students’ writing skills are automatically scored by Amplify’s Automatic Writing Evaluator, using a 0–4 rubric score, although this can be changed by the teacher. For reading, teachers can view individualized reports and “this daily measure provides teachers with an understanding of their students’ ability to independently read a grade-level text with accuracy." Finally, teachers can assign exit tickets for each lesson as a quick assessment of student learning on that day. There are also several summative assessments throughout each unit and grade level. These include unit reading assessments, writing assessments and end-of-unit assessments. 

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• Within each lesson, students engage in writing assignments related to the text they just read. According to the assessment documentation, “The work students submit is scored and measures their ability to produce sustained writing, focus on one claim or idea, use textual evidence to support and develop that idea or use conventions to communicate in a clear way.”
• The Assessment document also indicates, “at the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“solo”) that measures the accuracy of their answers to auto-scorable reading questions. . .in addition, the reports show where students struggled in the reading, giving teachers and students an opportunity to revisit those portions of the text.”
• Several summative assessments are located in the program that teachers can assign to their students, including unit reading assessments connected to grade level standards. There are also writing assessments, including one extended response question focused on two nonfiction passages, and end-of-unit essays which cover a range of topics and take multiple days to complete. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Within each unit, several sub-units divide a unit’s texts and skills into manageable learning goals. Each unit overview contains a list of the focus standards as well as the other standards that are covered during instruction. 

Examples of how standards being taught are emphasized include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 6C, “The Chocolate Collection,” the unit overview details the standards that are covered in the assessments under the subheading “Lesson Standards”. For example for Sub-unit 6, the reading assessment, the following standards are covered:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3: Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.5: Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6: Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7: Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.8: Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.9: Compare and contrast one author's presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

The assessment brochure provided by the publisher list the variety of ways for teachers to interpret student performance and provide suggestions for follow up. 

These examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students submit their work at multiple places in each lesson including reading responses and selected response items that check for reading comprehension. Data from students responses is populated into reports that indicate if students are comprehending what they are reading. Writing skills are automatically scored by Amplify’s Automatic Writing Evaluator using a 0–4 rubric score, but can also be updated by the teacher.
• On page 7 of the assessment brochure it explains how “at the end of every lesson, students complete an independent reading activity (“solo”) that measures the accuracy of their answers to auto-scorable reading questions. This daily measure provides teachers with an understanding of their students’ ability to independently read a grade-level text with accuracy. It also gives teachers a picture of progress and challenge with reading comprehension, particularly when a student is working with the same text over multiple lessons. In addition, the reports show where students struggled in the reading, giving teachers and students an opportunity to revisit those portions of the text.”
• On page 8 of the assessment brochure it discusses the feedback that can be received from the unit reading assessments. In addition, it explains how “the assessment report generates data tied to the most common domains found in standards: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas”.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

In the lessons, teachers are able to monitor student progress through the use of formative assessments in the form of Lesson Exit Tickets, Solo Reading Comprehension, Formative Writing also Embedded Assessment Measures that includes auto-scored reading activities. Additional progress monitoring takes place through the use of summative assessments in the form of essays, constructed and selected response questions. 

Examples of routines and guidance include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6E, “Summer of the Mariposas,” Essay Prompt: What is a special characteristic or source of strength for one of the Garza sisters? How does this characteristic or strength help her succeed in any two moments of her hero’s journey?
• In Unit 6E, "Summer of the Mariposas," Lesson 1, Reading Assessment - The assessment consists of 20–22 auto-scored questions and 2 constructed response questions. The constructed responses are text-based prompts, where students develop a claim supported by evidence in 10 minutes. The teacher chooses which questions best correspond with the skills practiced in the unit.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 strategies for the program are well-documented in the Amplify ELA Research base. In addition, there are specific strategies to help teachers reach all learners including: differentiated instruction, formative assessments, scaffolded tasks, and a variety of active, multimodal, and collaborative learning.

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• According to page 5 of the Amplify ELA Research base document that can be found in the Resources section of the Amplify ELA curriculum, “Amplify ELA meets students where they are while maintaining grade-level rigor for all. Through its differentiated instruction model, the curriculum is designed to 'provide equity of access to excellence for the broadest possible range of learners' (Tomlinson, 2015, p. 203)." The document goes on to explain that “this approach follows Vygotsky’s model of support by ensuring that each student is working within their ‘zone of proximal development,’.... In this way, all students are able to work with texts at their grade-band level of complexity and fully participate in classroom culture….Amplify provides six levels of differentiated activities, indicated by a (+) icon in the lessons. For each level of differentiated instructional support, teachers are provided with instructional materials and students are provided with the scaffolds they need in order to complete each classroom activity.” 
• According to pages 7 and 8 of the Amplify ELA Research base document found in the Resources section, there are several different considerations addressed in the curriculum to support all learners, including explicit instruction, active learning, effective learning environment, multimodal instruction, and collaboration. 
• On page 9 of the Research base document, there are descriptions of various routines wherein students work together to tackle complex tasks including breaking off into pairs or small groups to analyze texts, compare interpretations, and refine their understanding of the texts. During writing activities, students frequently share their work with peers and provide one another with constructive feedback. Additionally, student-led activities such as Quests, Reader’s Theatre, fishbowl discussions, Socratic seminars, and debates all involve groups of varying sizes and tap into students’ innate need for social interaction. These collaborative activities are situated as part of the classroom culture as determined by the materials.
• Every lesson has a “Differentiation” tab within the “Lesson Brief” to guide the teacher through the differentiation strategies and techniques available for that particular lesson. Differentiation tips are provided for “Core” students who are on-level and other specific materials for students who are below-level. Tips range from ensuring ensure that the appropriate technology-based accommodations are available to alternate activities within a lesson. For example, if there is an alternate “Solo” available, the “Differentiation” tab will identify and explain the modification and support provided on the alternate version of the “Solo” in contrast to the regular one.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 materials provide six levels of differentiated activities, indicated by a (+) icon in the lessons. For each level of differentiated instructional support, teachers are provided with instructional materials and students are provided with the scaffolds they need in order to complete each classroom activity. These supports and modifications are designed to support a range of English Learners and students with special needs. In addition to these differentiated lessons, they also have reading comprehension support, text previews written with simplified language, and other strategies to support students in their comprehension. Embedded in each unit are Flex Days, these are days that allow students to catch up or move ahead with a variety of activities, including Quests, vocabulary, and language work. Students can work on revisions during these days as well, although there is limited specific support for teachers to assure implementation of this differentiation. 

The Program Guide entails how the Amplify curriculum provides ELL supports that allows teachers to provide ELL students access to grade level content that their peers are able to access. The supports for ELL are available throughout the curriculum and include Vocabulary App, word banks, chunked directions and prompts, reduced amount of text, sentence frames to provide language conventions and support reading comprehension, and graphic organizers. 

Example include, but are not limited to: 

• Students have Flex Days as they move through the units. The rationale for the day (which repeat no matter what grade level or unit a teacher is in) explain that “The Flex Days are an opportunity for you to provide students with needed grammar instruction and also support additional practice in a targeted area of reading, writing, or language. Depending on students’ performance during the previous sequence of lessons, you might assign a particular group to work on reading fluency, revise an existing piece of writing, create a new piece of writing, practice close reading and discussion, or work on one of the key reading strands.”
• Each lesson has a “Solo” activity requiring students to independently read a grade level text, usually one of the core texts, and answer numerous questions. The “Solo” activities are differentiated based on discretion and the Embedded Assessment Measure (EAM) report. Students complete “Solo” activities at the level appropriate for their unique needs. There are five levels ranging from "ELL/Substantial" to "Challenge." The writing prompts within the “Solo” activities are also structured with the assigned level. The “Instructional Guide” and “Lesson Briefs” provide teacher guidance as to the differentiation within each level of each activity.
• On page 6 of the Amplify ELA Research Base document which can be found in the Resources section of the Amplify curriculum, the authors explain how the curriculum has “text previews as well as varying degrees of simplified language and visual supports for each of its differentiation levels. Text previews are not summaries of texts but rather introductions written at a lower level of complexity that prime students with what to focus on while they are reading.” 
• On page 7 of the Amplify ELA Research Base document which can be found in the Resources section of the Amplify curriculum, there are several supports that are specific to EL learners. For example, the “EL-specific supports include think-alouds, simple Wh- questions, and additional partner work. For EL students, the provision of a think-aloud allows them to model their own thinking within a new language and to build the skills of code switching appropriately while reading complex, grade-level tasks…... Additionally, there is ample research supporting the inclusion of verbal instructional practices for ELs. Amplify ELA therefore includes many verbal experiences for EL students to increase their language acquisition skills to provide a rich educational experience. Last, ELs receive alternative vocabulary instruction during typical instruction time, to include important high frequency words that will appear in texts and may be familiar to native speakers but unfamiliar to ELs.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

The Flex Days, included in every unit, provide time for advanced students to read from the Amplify library and expand vocabulary and language knowledge through the vocabulary app. In addition to these days, there are supplemental texts available in the Amplify library that provide additional reading and engagement for advanced learners. The instructional materials include extensions and advanced opportunities throughout, as well as a Challenge level designed for advanced students.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• According to page 5 of the Amplify ELA Research Base document,  the approach to vocabulary instruction supports above grade-level instruction by allowing the teacher to adjust portions of the program to reflect more challenging tasks. 

The Challenge level extensions provide opportunities for advanced students to engage in more sophisticated comparisons of text, create counterarguments, find evidence to support both sides of an argument, or to extend their thinking about a text or topic. Additionally, advanced students are given challenging writing prompts, asking them to read a new text and explain how it compares to what they have been reading and learning.”

• On page 59 of the Program Overview guide, there is a comprehensive overview of the Challenge Level. In addition to differentiated prompts in the challenge level that push students past the core prompt, there are extra activities at the end of many lessons that challenge students to read a new text and form a written analysis. The novel guides for each of the texts read in the curriculum provide reading questions and writing prompts that are an additional layer of challenge. There are two other activities that students can pursue on the challenge level. Finally, there are 17 curated archives that focus on a challenge for independent study. These include topics that are close to the texts being studied.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Within the lessons, students have many opportunities to work in groups and teachers are provided with guidance on how to organize students. Teachers are encouraged to group students by many different categories including ability, proximity etc. with times for both teacher-selected groupings as well as student-selected groupings.

For example, in Unit 6D, “The Greeks,” Sub-unit 1, Lesson 3, students create and perform a scene using words and nonverbal elements to communicate an emotion. For this activity the instructions indicate that teachers should “select 4 student groups, one representing each attitude (happy, unhappy, greedy, generous), to act out the scene before the whole class. If you have a large class, select a representative subset of students from each group”.