3rd Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 marine life, story elements, traditional tales, weather, and more.

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 grade-level novels from the same Magic Tree House series. Students listen to above-level texts on the history and science behind this series and write a new story for the Magic Tree House series and an informational text to accompany it.

• Unit 2: Research Lab: Weather and Climate: Each student will become an expert on one type of weather. Each student researches a topic of his/her choice and publishes a final project.

• Unit 3: Research Lab: Literary Genre: 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 (can be 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: Marine Life: Each student will become an expert on one marine animal. Each student researches a topic of his/ her choice and publishes a final project.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 2, students are asked, “What phrase is an example of nonliteral language? What do you think this phrase might mean? Why? Why do you think the author chose this phrase?”

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students are asked, “Research Question 1: Tornado Alert. What weather conditions are required for a tornado to form? Which words in the text best support your answer? Could we have one here now?”

• In Unit 3, Week 5, students are asked, “What could the author have done to improve this sentence? The paragraph?”

• In Unit 4, Week 2, students are asked, “What is the topic? What is your point of view on this topic? What is the author’s point of view on this topic? How is it the same/different from yours? Where does the author use strong opinion words like best, incredible, andterrible when describing the topic? Why do you think s/he uses these words? What point is s/he trying to make?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 1, Day 4, the teacher is directed to, “Reread a portion of the Core Novel with the class. As you read, ask students to locate at least one connection between the dinosaur facts they’ve just learned and the Core Novel. Discuss what about this section is fact, what is fiction, and what is still unclear, drawing on both texts as evidence to support assertions.”

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 a “Compare and Synthesize Across Texts” sections. In Week 4, Day 3, during the lesson wrap up, 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 ___?”

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 5, Day 1 students are given the prompts, “Comparison Essays in Myths, Legends, Historical Fiction: To incorporate the cultural information related to these genres, you might vary this task by asking students something like: Compare two different versions of the same myth/legend from the same culture. Which retelling does a better job of reflecting the culture from which the story comes? Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal
of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period. How did the fiction author alter history in writing this fiction? Why?”

In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 4, when discussing how the author's 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 topics (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, Week 2, Day 1, students are asked, “What new word did you notice? What Tier might it be? Why? What do you think it might mean?”

• Unit 2. Look back to the Pre-Assessment text, Tornadoes. Which text does a better job defining and describing tornadoes? Why?

• In Unit 2, students read The Water Cycle, by Michael Portman and The Water Cycle, by Elizabeth Miles and complete the graphic organizer that requires them to compare and analyze information from two texts to answer RQ#2: “Diagram a basic water cycle and explain the relationship between the water cycle and weather.”

• In Unit 3, students discuss these questions about the novel It’s Not about the Pumpkin: Easy to Read Wonder Tales and genre of study. What do antagonists in this genre have in common? How are antagonists important to our genre as a whole? What makes you think that?

• In Unit 3, students read a fairy tale and analyze the plot by completing the Plot-Scene graphic organizer.

• In Unit 4, students work through a second section/new passage, using text evidence to identify and analyze how the author addresses and responds to a conflicting viewpoint.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 examine how to complete a story planning chart and respond to prompts that require them to compare and contrast an A Magic Tree House story to one that they will create independently as part of a culminating task.

• In Unit 1, students listen to and analyze a short piece informational text to use as a mentor to create their own informational text as part of a culminating task.

• In Unit 2, students explore how to obtain a sufficient amount of sources on a topic in order to be able to determine if they can proceed with research. This task is to prepare for the final project of demonstrating expertise of a topic.

• In Unit 2, students research and answer the following questions about a weather phenomenon in order to be able to publish final projects, “What is its role in the water cycle?” and “In which climates is it most likely to occur? Why?”

• In Unit 3, students begin the unit with a study of the definition of literary genre in order to write a literary essay analyzing multiple texts in the genre as part a culminating task.

• In Unit 3, students work with partners to read and use a rubric to evaluate their literary essays included in the final project. Students discuss with their partners things in their essay that need additional work.

• In Unit 4, students answer research questions throughout the unit such as, “What kind of marine animal is it and how do you know?” and “How does it change throughout its life?” in order to complete the culminating task of publishing a final project about their marine animal.

• In Unit 4, students are paired and engage in a collaborative writing segment and take one minute to discuss what is working in their writing which is part of the culminating task.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 examine new vocabulary and respond to, “What new word did you notice? What Tier might it be? Why? What do you think it might mean?”

• In Unit 2, students are introduced to the term weather and respond to the question, “What is weather? Underline the two definitions. Which is better? Why? Box two examples of 'bad' weather. Circle two examples of 'good' weather.”

• In Unit 3, students explore 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 examine new vocabulary words and highlight any high-leverage (Tier 2) vocabulary words.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 writing by writing daily and for various purposes. Students 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 examine word choice and add and/or revise words by adding technical vocabulary to their informational text.

• In Unit 2, students plan for writing and complete tasks such as, “Decide on a point for writing the main idea they want your readers to learn and/or do. Decide how you might say that as a topic sentence. Write it down using your selected narrator, voice, perspective. Read it out loud. Is it interesting/important, defensible/accurate, and developed (general and specific)? Would you want to finish reading the book if they read that sentence”?

• In Unit 3, students are shown how to create an outline of an essay. The teacher states, “Now that you each have written an opinion statement and know about what makes a good argument, you will create a rough outline/map for your essay. Here is how I might make a quick, rough outline of my essay…”

• In Unit 4, students examine their evidence in writing and are instructed to complete the following task: “Today you will rearrange the body of your opinion piece, looking for the most logical way to group your evidence and reasons. Be alert for gaps in your evidence. You will have time after writing to continue your research.”

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 3 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 read and research through an exemplar text pack to select a weather phenomenon to research and to answer a series of questions such as: “What is its role in the water cycle? In which climates is it most likely to occur? Why? What datasets do scientists collect on it? Why?” They then research topics of their choice and publish final projects.

• 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 select a marine animal to research and answer various questions. They research, draft, revise, edit, illustrate, and publish a final project about their marine animal.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 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: Partner Share, Discussion Groups, Whole Group Debrief.”