4th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for texts organized around topics to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Each unit and the texts within as well as boxed text sets are organized around specific topics and guiding questions to build student knowledge around topics such as survival in nature, animal adaptations, mystery, and the United States.

Teachers can also utilize read alouds and boxed sets (Hook Books, 100 Book Challenge, thematic sets) that are labeled according to the publisher’s self-determined readability levels (IRLA) and organized by topic. Teachers can also access thematic text sets organized around topics in life science, physical science, world history, geography, American history, and literary genres that provide differentiated reading practice.

Topics for each unit include:

• Unit 1: ARC Literacy Lab: A Community of Readers and Writers: As a class, read and discuss at least two related grade-level texts, one literature and one informational. Take at least two pieces of writing through to publication.

• Unit 2: Research Lab: Animal Adaptations: Each student will become an expert on one wild animal. Each student researches a topic of his/ her choice and publishes a final project.

• Unit 3: Research Lab: Mystery: Students will read, analyze, and write about one grade-level novel in this genre as part of a whole class intellectual community. Students also read multiple books in the genre on his/her own (at any level, from the Genre Library or elsewhere) and write four very short essays (constructed responses) and one longer literary essay analyzing multiple texts in this genre. Finally students write and publish a short story/picture book in the genre.

• Unit 4: Research Lab: U.S. States: Each student will become an expert on one state. Each student researches a topic of his/ her choice and publishes a final project.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for materials containing sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

Throughout the units, students independently and in pairs complete questions and tasks that require analysis of individual texts. Examples of sets of questions found in the instructional materials include the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 6, students are asked, “Show your partner an example of strong, interesting, beautiful language. Why do you think the author chose this word instead of other synonyms?”

• In Unit 2, Week 4, students are asked, “What is Lambeth’s main idea in Use It, Then Lose It, and what details does she use to support it? Write in paragraph form and use text evidence to support your answer.”

• In Unit 3, Week 2, students are asked, “What is a theme/message of this text? What key details (story elements) does the author use to communicate this theme/message?”

• In Unit 4, Week 3, students are asked, “How does this compare to what you already knew/thought about ___? How does this relate to what other authors have written about ___?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for materials containing a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

In Unit 1, Week 6, Day 1 students, “Analyze the Structure in Self-Selected Text Set Focus: Read informational texts. Locate an example of the Elements of Argument structure. Is it actually an argument? Why or why not? Teacher Work: Begin small-group lessons for groups of 1-4 students who have the same Power Goal. Accountable Talk: Show your partner an example of the Elements of Argument structure. Is it actually an argument? Why or why not?”

In Unit 2, the beginning of the teacher materials that accompany the research lab provides a text-dependent question sheet for each text that has a “Going Deeper” and “Compare and Synthesize Across Texts” section. In Week 2, Day 1 teachers are given the questions stems of, “How does this compare to what you already knew/thought about...? How does this relate to what other authors have written about...?” during the lesson wrap up.

Unit 3 takes students through a novel study in which they focus on plot, character, setting, and theme. In Week 1, Day 4, students practice identifying and describing plot in a variety of texts in this genre. They also begin to generalize about plot in this genre.

Research Labs for Units 2- 4 take students through a series of Research Questions (RQ) that at times ask students to analyze information from several texts. In Week 1, Day 1 students are given the prompt, “Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.”

In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 4 when discussing how the author point of view and purpose shapes a text, the Teacher’s Edition states, “It is easiest to see how an author’s point of view or purpose might have shaped his/her text when you compare two texts on the same topic. Have students work together to compare and contrast the information, presentation, and language of two texts by different authors on the same topic (these can be the same texts used on Day 2 of this week). Ask them to analyze how these choices change the way the reader receives the information/topic and to speculate on how each author’s point of view or purpose might have influenced the choices s/he made.”

Other examples of text-dependent questions and tasks that support this indicator include:

• In Unit 1, students are asked, “ What did the author say? Why did s/he say it? How did s/he say it? How did it affect me? What new knowledge did I get from this? What questions do I have? What confused me? What did I love/hate?”

• In Unit 2, students read What is Adaptation, by Richard Spilsbury and answer the “Compare and Synthesize Across Texts” question for “Look back to 'Under the Ice.' Describe the Weddell seal’s behavior and explain how these adaptations help it survive.”

• In Unit 2, students read Life of a Puffin, by Robin Byerly and Use It, Then Lose It, by Ellen Lambeth. Students complete this task: “According to this text, what physical adaptation do all baby birds have? Why is this adaptation important? Give evidence from the text to support your answer."

• In Unit 3, students read a mystery and analyze the plot by completing the “Plot Lines of Dialogue” graphic organizer.

• In Unit 3, students answer the following question about their novel: “What might be the author’s position/lesson about this topic? How does the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist convey this theme/message?”

• In Unit 4, students compare previously read texts to answer the following question: “How does this relate to what other authors have written about...?” This question is generalized to be used across other texts and grade levels.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g., combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening).

Within the materials, students have the opportunity to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through completion of culminating tasks and/or final projects. Students are asked to produce work that shows mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) at the appropriate grade level throughout their thematic units of study.

• In Unit 1, students explore how to create a written response to answer key, standards questions. A piece of the culminating project includes providing a proficient answer to the key question.

• In Unit 1, students examine nuances in word meanings in the core text which includes answering questions such as, “Where does the author use a particularly strong, interesting, or beautiful word? What are some synonyms for this word?” and “Why do you think the author chose this word instead of the other options?” Students then review their own argument piece of writing, which is a part of the culminating task, and revise the language.

• In Unit 2, students research information pertaining to an endangered animal’s behavior, physical characteristics, biome, food web, and life cycle to be able to create a research project about the endangered animal as part of the unit’s culminating task.

• In Unit 2, the teacher models how to draft text-based features that should be included in their informational books as part of the final project.

• In Unit 3, students add ideas to a story elements chart in order to be able to write and publish a short story as part of the final project.

• In Unit 3, students examine an author’s writing style and are told to” write something in which they attempt to mimic the techniques and style they just analyzed” to increase their writing abilities.

• In Unit 4, students are introduced to the element of argument through discussion and culminate the unit with the creation of an opinion piece on their researched topic.

• In Unit 4, the teacher models how to reread writing for areas to clarify and how to add an analogy to make the piece more plausible. Students add analogies to their opinion pieces that are a part of the culminating task.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations for including a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Opportunities to build vocabulary are found throughout the instructional materials. For example, in Unit 2, the teacher’s edition provides suggested vocabulary and tasks for the student exemplar text packet.

Vocabulary instruction calls for students to think about the meaning of words. Definitions are provided in student-friendly language, and word meanings are taught with examples related to the text as well as examples from other, more familiar contexts.

• In Unit 1, students identify new vocabulary and flag at least one new word that they want to learn and share.

• In Unit 2, students explore the term eventually and respond to the following questions: “What does eventually mean? What in the text supports your answer? Why is this word important to this text?"

• In Unit 3, students study word choice and respond to the following questions: “Who found an especially effective example of a powerful noun/verb/descriptor/technical vocabulary? What does this word mean? Why is it a better choice than __(everyday/more common synonym)__?”

• In Unit 4, students are shown how they will use a class glossary to identify, define, and correctly use new words as the teacher says the following: “As we research, we will encounter new vocabulary words. Words that are specific to our Unit and help us become experts on our Unit are called technical vocabulary words. You will each be responsible for being able to define and correctly use these terms. Today as we read, I noticed the word _____. I think this word is important in understanding __(In Unit)__. I’m going to add this word to our class glossary.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectation for materials supporting 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. Students are supported through the writing process and various activities are placed throughout units to ensure students' writing skills are increasing throughout the year.

Students are encouraged to develop stamina and a positive attitude towards and writing by writing daily and for various purposes. They engage in activities that include reading and discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write, examine and identify a range of text structures, and they are guided to assess the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing. At the end of each unit, students produce, present, and publish writing pieces as part of a final project.

• In Unit 1, students explore theme and poetry and write a poem that communicates the same theme as the core novel.

• In Unit 2, students begin to go through the writing process and start drafting their books. They are told that by the end of this week, they will need to have a complete draft of their final project. They are told that next week, they will revise and edit the entire draft to make it the best informational text they’ve ever written.

• In Unit 3, students are guided through the writing process and do a "quick write” of a first draft of an essay. They are told the following: “We will write multiple drafts, so do not worry about perfection. If you get stuck, draw a line and keep going.”

• In Unit 4, teachers coach students as they write bibliographies.

The daily literacy block includes a 20 to 60 minute writing segment. The teacher models how the day’s focus will be applied to writing, and students are provided time to practice while the teacher confers with students in one to one conferences or small groups to provide coaching and feedback. By the end of each unit, students will have practiced writing in a variety of genres, both in and out of context. Additionally, they will take a fiction piece and informational piece of writing to publication.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations 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.

Units are designed for students to act as researchers and to gather details or ideas from texts throughout the unit to build a body of evidence for the culminating task. For these tasks, students select a topic and spend about nine weeks reading, writing, and speaking about their topic. By the end of each unit, students write and publish an informational book or other project demonstrating their increased knowledge about their selected topic. Students are provided with daily independent reading, research, and discussion times for about 20 to 40 minutes. Additionally, students engage in research writing daily for about 20 to 40 minutes and write about what they are reading.

• In Unit 2, students will read an exemplar pack and many high quality nonfiction books, all within their Reading Zone. Students will become an expert on one animal species, learning its behavior, physical characteristics, life cycle, and much more. After researching an animal’s adaptations, students will create final projects to share their knowledge.

• In Unit 3, students read, analyze, and write about one novel in this genre with the class. They read many books in the genre on their own, write four constructed responses and one longer literary essay analyzing multiple texts in this genre, and write and publish a short story/picture book in the genre.

• In Unit 4, students look closely at an individual state, discovering the characteristics that make it unique from other states in the region and other states across the In United States. They investigate the state’s geography, its government, its people, its economic contributions, and its history, including which Native American nations first lived in the region that became this state. Each student chooses a U.S. state to research in depth.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for materials providing a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Lessons require daily independent readings of text and tasks that reflect student accountability.

The 100 Book Challenge is an “instructional system” that addresses independent reading done in and out of school. Students select from a library of leveled readers and select texts of their choice in school to read daily (“eye on the page” independent reading) for fifteen to thirty minutes (any book counts for 100 Book Challenge reading). The goal of the 100 Book Challenge is for every student to have 800 steps a year: 60 minutes a day/200 days a year (1 step is equal to 15 minutes of reading). A “Home Coach” is provided (parent, guardian, or older sibling) to monitor reading done at home. Additionally, skill cards are provided to the “Home Coach” to support students. Each unit also provides students with reading logs to record their class and independent reading as well as track their reading levels and growth.

In Unit 1, a guide/instructions for the teacher to hold students accountable for daily independent reading is included: “Introduce the Rules for Independent Reading Anchor Chart. There are 3 rules for our reading time. The first rule is READ. The second rule is READ. And the third rule is…(students will supply, READ). And there is only one answer to any of your questions: May I go to the bathroom? May I get another book? May I ask you a question? May I switch books with Mary? Would you help me with this word? NO.”

In Unit 2, students complete a daily reading log sheet at home and parents sign the reading log sheet to verify that students read at home: “ATTENTION HOME COACHES: Please sign only if you heard or saw the student reading. 1 Step=15 minutes of reading."

In Unit 3, daily reading activities include, “1. Pre-Reading. Establish Today’s Learning Goal. By the end of today, each of you will be able to... introduce key concepts when necessary and introduce any key vocabulary, concepts, or thought processes required that are not taught by the text. 2. Read Text. Use a combination of teacher read alouds, partner reading, and/or independent reading as appropriate to the text and your students’ current abilities. 3. Discuss Literary Analysis, Text-Dependent Questions, Academic Vocabulary Work, Repeated Close Reading. Students participate in intellectual discourse around the text, genre, and Focus Standards.