9th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently.

Each unit is centered around a topic and/or genre, and students build knowledge through inquiry via a variety of literary genres and different types of informational text. Each unit has a core text, anchor texts, and leveled libraries that students read focused around a particular genre. Students read, analyze, and write about a grade-level novel for each unit. Anchor texts are additional texts centered around the genre/topic. Teachers can use these as read alouds and/or copied excerpts for shared reading experiences. Leveled libraries also center around a genre and/or topic. Students read independently at least four novels in the genre, or about the topic, within each unit.

• In Unit 1, texts are part of the Literacy Lab focused on analysis of theme, interaction of individuals over the course of the text, structure of the text, and how multiple texts address a theme/topic. Though there is no topic for this unit, the two core texts can be used to analyze standards and fall within the appropriate grade band to build reading proficiency of complex texts: Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac which is considered the “fictional hook book” and Political Systems by Scott Witmer, the paired informational text. The core texts are intended as whole group shared independent reading, while the additional texts are used as read alouds in class.
• In Unit 2, students focus on “the people, places, events, and issues surrounding the CIvil War Era.” Topics include slavery (and its history), industrialization, states’ rights, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and how the Civil War changed the nation. Students read three classic literature texts: Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass. It is paired with Terrible War 1855-1865 by Joy Hakim. These core and paired texts build knowledge around the topic of The Civil War from a literature standpoint. The additional texts are mostly informational texts to provide context for the War or a different perspective like the life of women during the War.
• In Unit 3, students learn about the genre of memoirs and how they are created from an author’s recollections and perspective. Students select independent reading from a Genre Library in which texts are organized by difficulty level. Students select a minimum of 4 novels from the memoir genre and must choose from at least 2 reading levels. Students read for 15-30 minutes during Independent Reading.
• In Unit 4, students learn about the impact of sports on our society through readings about various sports, the history of sports (including information about the genesis of the Olympic Games), and how sports and athletes impact society. For this unit, students will read the classic cores Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America by Sharon Robinson and Jackie’s Nine: Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson along with Sports and Society by Scott Witmer. Additional texts are available on the topics of sports and society at a variety or reading levels ranging from 6th-12th grades to support students building knowledge on the topic.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

The Literacy and Research Lab units are structured so that students engage with texts to build understanding through sequenced graphic organizers and question sets and to analyze all aspects of the Common Core Standards. Materials include coherently sequenced sets of of questions that teachers use for modeling and student practice around determining central idea, word study, author’s purpose, text organization, and other features. Questions are general for all units and provide a framework for teachers to build questions for individual texts. Most question sets are coherently sequenced and give students ample opportunity to analyze language and author’s word choice, key ideas and important details, author’s craft and structure, and other components of text.

By the end of the year, most items are embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly, thereby increasing student independence. Questions and tasks require evidence of student understanding of the definitions and concepts of the components identified in each unit, and help students to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics. As students progress through the grades, the complexity of texts increases to meet their individual growth. An RtI Levels Chart for the Start of School is provided that shows what is a proficient level for the beginning and end of school year for each grade level.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, students work with partners during a second read of the text. Students are asked a comprehension question: "What did the author say?," a craft and structure question: "How did they say it?," and metacognitive questions: "What new knowledge did I get from this? What confused me?" In the same lesson, students are also asked to make a claim and support it with evidence, and to identify one of the author’s themes in the CORE Novels. These questions help students to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
• In Unit 2, Week 4, Day 4, students are to read informational texts to identify figurative language. During the close reading of the text, teachers use the model/guided practice method to "look back at the text to analyze how word choice develops and supports the central idea of a text.” Teachers are provided with quality examples of text-dependent questions to ask during the guided practice, such as: "Identify an important word choice: I notice the author chose to use __. What is the meaning of that figurative word/ analogy? What proof can you find in the text to support this understanding?" Students then analyze the texts independently by answering prompts such as: "Evaluate the author’s word choices: What did you notice about his/her choices? Do they indicate any bias, either fair or unfair?; Connect to the central idea: How do the author’s word choices help to develop the central idea?" These questions require that students refer back to the text.
• In Unit 3, Week 4, Day 3, students are asked to identify and to describe the most essential episodes in the plot. Students work together to create a list of five essential episodes, to rank them in order from most to least important, and to justify their choices with text evidence. In their independent reading, students identify where an episode begins and ends. Explain what makes the episode important, and how the author uses it to advance the plot, develop a character, and or communicate his/her theme (p. 187-188).
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, while researching, students have a 1-on-1 conference with the teacher. Teachers are instructed to question students about author’s point of view, including: "What do you think is the author’s perspective in this book? What makes you think that?" If students have trouble identifying an author’s perspective, additional support questions are provided: "What is the topic? Where does the author use strong opinion words like best, incredible, terrible when describing the topic? Why do you think s/he uses these words? What point is s/he trying to make? What does the author think or believe about this topic? What makes you think that?" The questions refer back to the text and require students to provide textual evidence to support their understanding and analysis of the author's perspective.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

The materials provide multifaceted, culminating tasks in which students are asked to demonstrate proficiency in multiple reading and writing standards. In the materials, students read, write, informally speak, and listen by participating in think-pair-shares and accountable talks, and by revising and editing drafts. Prior to writing formally in the unit culminating task, students read mentor texts and work collaboratively through activities and questions that provide opportunities to develop comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills. Throughout the program, “Teacher Work & Monitor for Engagement” directions prompt teachers to document and record their observations as students write and discuss as formative assessment evidence that informs their instruction and provides qualitative and quantitative information about student readiness to complete culminating tasks. Once students finish the final written culminating tasks they are given presenting/publishing options.

The introductory materials indicate in which units the reading, writing, and speaking and listening standards are addressed. While each unit focuses on a specific type of writing and may address certain reading standards aligned to that writing type, the materials indicate that the majority of writing, reading, and speaking and listening standards are addressed across all four units. Though each unit culminating task requires a significant piece of writing, the teacher can recommend how students will present their work such as peer reviews, oral presentations, slide shows, drama, blogs, debates, brochures, etc.

In Unit 1, the culminating task is a literary analysis essay on a specific topic. Students demonstrate their comprehension of texts about the topic and their knowledge of literary devices in the readings related to the topic. The speaking and listening activities are collaborative discussions and share-outs with partners or small groups in activities and tasks that lead up to publishing of the culminating task. Multiple standards from reading, writing, speaking and listening, and conventions are evaluated on the culminating task and throughout the unit.

In Unit 2, the Informational Research Lab builds student knowledge of people and events in the Civil War era through a core informational text, recommended paired readings, and student selected texts. Each week, students study a different aspect of informational text analysis focused on determining central idea and gathering supporting evidence through practice questions and tasks. Students are also introduced to reading, discussion, and writing structures that will be used across the year. Daily lessons include close reading and teacher modeling of reading for a focused purpose. Students engage in prompted accountable talk about texts and write collaboratively or independently about texts through structured text-based questions and/or graphic organizers. For the culminating task, students produce an informational book about their person of study. Students spend time reviewing peer work and discussing their own before publishing their writing. Materials recommend various ways for students to publish their work such as blog entry, school website, a local periodical or newspaper, class-based media or newspaper, PowerPoint, or social media.

In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, students participate in a literary analysis discussion group that will prepare them for the culminating task of discussing their own short story. Sample student questions include: "Read what you wrote as you listened. Who are the characters in this story so far? Have we been introduced to a protagonist and an antagonist? What other character types have we met so far? What is each of these characters like? What can you learn about each of these characters through his/her thoughts? Actions? Body language? Reactions to other characters? How does the author use events and/or dialogue to tell you about this character? How/why do you think these characters will matter to the story? What evidence from the text best supports your answer?

In Unit 4, students have a choice of a variety of ways to present their culminating tasks which include essays, positions on issues raised during classroom debates and discourse, and expertise with research questions. These presentations can be as simple as sharing with their partner or as formal as organizing an event to which parents and/or community members are invited as the audience. "Peer Reviews" ask students to read each other’s essays, sign their names to a list of readers, and make one or two positive comments about the essay. "Evaluation/Reflection” has students reflect on their own writing and score it using the "Final Project Scoring Rubric." Other presentation options include “Oral Presentation to Small Group” in which each student plans and delivers an oral presentation on his/her topic to a small group, “Classroom Swap” where students go to another classroom and have each student read his/her essay to a student from the new classroom, and “Fair/Museum” in which students plan displays and/or dress in costume and invite other students and/or families in for a visit. Final Projects can be on display or presented in small groups.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.

Materials include a consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic and figurative language in context. Overall, students are provided support in accelerating vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading and speaking tasks.

In the ARC Core Framework, the foundation for studying language is a significant part of the Unit 1 Literacy lab designed to build student skills in determining word meaning, identifying denotation and connotation, studying word relationships, and analyzing figurative language in the context of literary and informational text. The IRLA toolkits guide students as they learn roots and affixes to support their ability to determine word meanings as they encounter unfamiliar vocabulary.

The Unit 1 materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive, regularly-occurring vocabulary development component, including an emphasis on interaction with key academic vocabulary with and from a variety of text types. Students engage with new vocabulary and have frequent opportunities for practice in discussion and written work.

Students are provided frequent opportunities to identify and study unknown words and technical vocabulary from texts, using context clues. Additionally, there are lessons within the units where students analyze the purpose of author's word choice. There is a lesson in each unit providing an opportunity for students to use powerful language in their writing tasks. Teachers model and use academic vocabulary necessary for building literacy and analytical skills. Students discuss vocabulary in groups, utilize it in writing tasks, and track new words in a notebook regularly.

In Unit 1, Week 2, Days 4-5, there is an entire section devoted to vocabulary development called Vocabulary 101/Academic Vocabulary. This two-day framework focus is to “Introduce and Review the Three Tiers of Vocabulary. Introduce the concept that academic language is one of the major differentiators between levels.” During the Read/Discuss Complex Text part of each daily lesson, students “practice noticing new vocabulary, categorizing it by Tier, and discussing what each word might mean based on evidence from the text. If students have difficulty, teachers are instructed to ask a series of questions encouraging the use of context clues and synonyms to help determine meaning." During the Reader’s Workshop, the focus is to “Flag at least one new word you want to learn and share” and during the Accountable Talk portion of the Workshop students discuss: “What new word did you notice? What Tier might it be? Why? What do you think it might mean? Why?” (p. 231).

In Unit 2, the Language focus is centered in Week 4 where students read informational texts and develop a central idea through word choice. The focus is on denotative, connotative, and figurative language analysis in the text. Those academic terms are explicitly taught, but any vocabulary related to each text is not specifically listed and is left to the teacher to determine.

In Unit 3, the Research Lab Daily Structure document contains guidelines for a variety of discussions of academic vocabulary including “Literary Analysis, Text-Dependent Questions, Academic Vocabulary Work, Repeated Close Reading.” A component of the Day 1 Lesson Focus for each unit is for students to examine “target vocabulary and/or text structure,” specifically how an author of the given genre uses words and phrases to communicate. According to the rubric for the culminating writing task, students are evaluated, in part, on using “words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.”

In Unit 4, one of the goals for the unit is to have students create a glossary of terms essential to understanding his or her sport. A student handout includes a column for the word and a column for the definition. Students are also provided a list of words titled “Sports and Society Vocabulary.” This list is divided into six categories; Sports Concepts, Economics, Sports People, Sports Events, Sports Rules, Sports Groups.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials contain a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.

The materials support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year though engagement with texts. Each of the four units is built on a series of research questions that allow students to read, write, and discuss daily to develop substantive understanding of the texts and topics. Some of the topics covered in-depth are the Civil War era, the memoir genre, and controversial issues in sports. Writing lessons and projects are authentically integrated with reading, speaking, listening, and language throughout the units providing students with a variety of tasks and prompts; however, the daily instructional model and unit structures are similar across units allowing students understand the expectations and process of writing across the year. Students learn and practice writing skills during the beginning of the units and then formally apply what they have practiced at the end of the units, writing formal pieces using the writing process.

The materials contain a year-long, cohesive writing plan that engages students in the use of textual evidence to support analysis, arguments, and claims. Most of the writing tasks provide scaffolding for crafting strong and clear written pieces through the use of the writing process as well as teacher and peer feedback. Most written tasks require students to make meaningful connections between texts and their own writing. Writing instruction supports students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the year, and the instructional materials include a variety of guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Teachers are asked to model writing through think alouds and to use mentor texts as supports for student writing. Also, teachers engage in weekly PLC meetings to discuss the progress of student writing and are provided a variety of questions and activities to monitor writing.

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students analyze word choice and use of new vocabulary specifically in their writing. In the assignment, Writing Focus #1, students pick the three most important words used by the author and explain what role they played in shaping the text in terms of meaning, tone, and/or theme. Students use evidence to support their answers and then read this piece to a partner. In assignment, Writing Focus #2, teachers provides students with a choice of prompts to build writing engagement and to provide opportunity to experiment with new vocabulary in their writing.
• In Unit 3, the Genre Study Lab - Memoirs, students answer a series of research questions based on their in-depth study of memoirs. For the first 4 weeks, students use provided text-based questions, rubrics, and graphic organizers to study elements of the genre: central message, character analysis, conflict, and the use of dialogue in varied memoirs and texts. After analyzing multiple texts, students spend week 5 and 6 drafting a comparative essay on two memoirs. In Week 7, students do quick writes to practice story writing, and in Weeks 8 and 9, students draft, revise, publish, and present their own memoirs. Throughout the unit, students write analytical responses to the texts they are reading and share their writing with peers for feedback. The unit also includes teacher modeling of writing types and building narratives.
• In the Unit 4 introductory pages, the curriculum provides four writing cards “Elements of Argument, #1 Drafting, #2 Revising, and #3 Editing” to guide and support students through the writing process of an argumentative essay on the topic of Sports and Society. Instruction for argument as a writing genre begins with teachers using carefully scaffolded whole-group instruction to teach all students to read, write, present, and evaluate arguments. Then students practice making claims and supporting those claims with relevant evidence and logical reasoning. Next, students produce a final argument essay that makes a claim related to their research topics and defends that claim with evidence and reasons from their research. This process is repeated multiple times throughout the unit to lead up to the final project. These protocols and instructions help build student’s growth in writing argument, one aspect of the required standards.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

Over the course of the year, the four units of the ARC Core Framework require students to explore ideas and gather information to write informational reports, literary analyses, genre pieces, and arguments. Students develop knowledge of topics through research, and the three units that include research projects culminate with essays. While the materials do not provide a structure for including research from sources other than the books included with the materials, there is an expectation that students will find information online.

In each unit, students read core texts, teacher-chosen texts, and independent reads selected from the publisher-provided leveled text sets to build a body of evidence. Unit activities require students to synthesize information by utilizing multiple graphic organizers, writing tasks, reader response tasks, and structured discussions completed as a whole group, within small groups, or as individuals. Generally, lessons allow time for students to engage in all three learning settings. Instructional materials provide students with daily independent reading, research, writing, and discussion opportunities per the model lesson framework.

The materials provide opportunities for both “short” and “long” projects across grades and grade bands. Each grade level in Unit 4 has similar skills, objectives, and standards addressed. The progression of research skills do not change from grade level to grade level; however, progression is achieved through the complexity of text and topics students are reading about within each unit and the application of those skills to the topics.

While there are no research activities in Unit 1, students engage in a Literacy Lab. Instructional materials indicate that the purpose of the Literacy Lab is for students to “fall in love with reading through books,” (p. 48). During this unit, students do not engage in a substantial research project, but instead read modern pieces of literary and informational text to practice writing in a variety of genres and to build knowledge of literary elements, word choice, text analysis, discussion methods, and healthy writing practices.

Examples of research activities are:

• In the introduction of Unit 2, students are given a Skills Card/Research Card with the final project prompt: “Become an expert on one Civil War Era person” and seven guiding questions to answer throughout the unit (68). A Resources Check Sheet is provided for students to track minor and major sources from the leveled Research Library text set to answer the questions. Instructional materials indicate that students are “ready for in-depth research IF [they] found 3 or 4 books each containing a lot of information on the topic” (p. 81). To help students answer the guiding questions, Final Project Organizers forms help scaffold the scope of required research into manageable chunks for students. All readings, whether independent or aloud, are from the Research Library, and students must synthesize information from multiple texts to answer the Research Questions/Topics and complete the final research project.
• In Unit 2, students are given a Works Consulted Page: Books and a Works Consulted Page - Websites as part of the Final Project Organizer. No further instructions are given for how to consult websites to research, nor is any class time devoted to online research. For example, during Week 4, Day 5, students close read an informational text. Teacher instructions state, “Today, make sure students are marking up the text as they identify possible evidence to support their thinking on the central idea/supporting ideas and details. Select a rich passage of grade-level complex text (from the Central Text or another text) that will build students’ knowledge of the focus Science or Social Studies concept(s). Make sure the passage is sufficiently complex and has structures and language worth analyzing” (p. 301). A teacher could choose a website from which students might read, but that is not the intention of the framework, which is to use the Research Library provided. If a teacher chooses to have students use and find websites, there are no instructions for teachers to help students find websites themselves within the unit.
• In Unit 3, Week 5, students begin to draft a comparative analysis essay on theme by using a Thinking Map which requires them to draw evidence from two texts that will help to develop and synthesize their knowledge about the thematic topic of 2 texts. The weekly lesson plans outlining the writing process for the comparative analysis essay includes a Collaborative Writing piece as well as an Accountable Talk piece in which students discuss text evidence from sources. Sample student directions include “Each partner takes one minute to share evidence s/he found to use in his/her comparison essay and how s/he may refine her/his claim” (p. 216).
• In Unit 4, the culminating assignment expects students to research a topic of choice and to publish a final project; for Grade 9, each student will research a sport. Students read fiction and non-fiction books about their topic. They have a home-school connection where they interview a friend, family member, or someone else in the community who plays a sport. Students have a Research Check Sheet that guides them to determine if the sources they are choosing have enough information on their topic: “Before choosing a topic on which to become an expert, make sure there is enough information available on that topic to make it possible to complete a whole project about it.” During Week 1, teachers introduce a progression of research writing that will occur during the unit. Teachers are encouraged to “Select a good piece of writing with which to introduce the Unit of Study. Ideally, this text is an argument and/or introduces a variety of controversies/issues related to the Unit. This text will be read, re-read, and analyzed multiple times over the course of several days, so make sure it is well written, engaging, and content-rich.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 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.

Though students read a core set of texts in each unit, the materials are designed to offer students a voluminous amount of independent reading; students read independently every day in each unit. The publisher created its own text leveling and student reading leveling system called the IRLA (Independent Reading Level Assessment), in which students are able to choose books for Independent Reading at their appropriate level. The Teacher’s Guide offers an overview of the reading program and page 30 of the Unit 1 Literacy Lab shows how each reading level from early grades to 12th builds on a specific reading skill.

Students have “Independent Reading in Leveled Libraries” daily in class for 20–40 minutes. In all four units students are expected to read at least four novels in the genre/topic of study on his/her own (these can be any levels, from the Genre Library or elsewhere). Reading homework for all units is suggested to be at students’ independent reading level. A reading culture is outlined in the prefatory materials, which strives for 100% on-target in-class reading and 95% on-target home reading through specific routines. The framework provides two leveled texts sets - the 100 Book Challenge and the Hook Book Library - both of which are designed to help students find a book that is engaging and at their reading level. The independent reading books from these libraries may be below grade level, but the texts read during in-class independent reading are at or above grade level.

• In Unit 1, during each daily Literacy Block laid out by the framework, students participate in 15-30 minutes of sustained independent reading in class. “Students practice applying today’s Focus to self-selected texts at a variety of levels. At least a portion of the reading is spent with texts within the Thematic Unit” (p. 61). The framework also suggests a Weekly Goal: “Students read for 5 hours a week, with some time spent reading texts within the Thematic Unit and some time in complete free-choice. Reading time can be spread across the school day and/or at home” (p. 61). Unit 1, Week 4, introduces the Home Coach as a system to help students engage and remain accountable for their at-home reading. Teachers are instructed to “establish a connection with each student’s home coach. Organize a parent information session. Call homes. Use this week to: Determine who will serve as home coaches (parents, grandparents, older siblings, etc.). Help home coaches understand the goals of home reading, and ways to ensure success. Set up in-class support systems (e.g., enlisting volunteers) for students who may need a surrogate home coach. Build routines for taking books home.” (p. 297).
• Unit 2, the Informational Research Lab, follows the same expectations outlined in Unit 1. Students engage in daily independent reading of core texts and student-selected texts. At the beginning of the unit, students sample the leveled text sets to help determine their topic of study and choice of texts. The Unit 2 Introduction shares the expectation for reading in the inquiry-based units (2-4): “Read at least 30-60 minutes a day from self-selected texts, including texts on the topic and general wide reading.” (p. 14). Unit 2 also explains the framework for the Reader’s Workshop as the purpose of moving students to independence, including a Focus for Independent Reading/Accountable Talk, and IRLA Conferences/Strategy Groups for Today.
• In Unit 3, teachers are given a focus for student’s independent reading during Week 1. “Transfer to Independent Reading” Focus for Independent Reading/Accountable Talk - Ask and answer the Key Question (or part of it): "Will constraints need to be placed on student choice to ensure they have texts that work with the Key Question/Concepts? (Common constraints: read at least one fiction book or one informational text on ____, or one biography, etc.) Don’t constrain choice for all 30 minutes. IRLA Conferences/Strategy Groups for Today, Teacher coaching focuses on: 1st: reading engagement, 2nd: strategic instruction to move reading levels Allocate time equitably, not equally—spend more/more frequent time with students who are furthest behind/making the least reading growth."