5th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

The texts provided throughout Grade 5 include anchor texts that are rich in language and engaging. Texts across units cover various content areas with multicultural themes which supports a wide range of text types. The quality and depth of the texts support multiple reads for multiple purposes. Texts are used to expand big ideas, to build academic vocabulary, and to facilitate access to future texts.

• In Unit 3, Week 1, “The Structure of a Corn Plant” provides content knowledge of plant structures. The text contains labeled diagrams, definitions, and inset images of parts of the plant. In Week 2, the text “A Short History of a Special Plant” discusses beginnings of Native Americans in Mexico and how early Americans used corn as a staple crop for survival and how corn rose to become an industry in farming. The text contains text about “Three Sisters” as well as an image of the planting method. “A Short History of a Special Plant” has photos, illustrations, maps, graphs, and charts pertaining to information about corn.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students read “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman. This poem contains a repetitive pattern about different workers in America. Also in Week 1, students read “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, which is a poem sharing the experience of an African American man in America. In Week 2, students read “Gold Country” which is an excerpt from Laurence Yep’s The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Minter, California, 1852. The excerpt has sepia-colored photos of Chinese workers during the Gold Rush. The verbs in the text are descriptive, such as surrounded, perched, and scattered.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students read “Road to Revolution” by Susan Buckley. This text is an informational piece with a timeline spread across four pages about key American Revolution dates. In Week 2, an informational piece, “The Nation at War” by Susan Buckley contains quotes from American soldiers in the Civil War and World War II. The text contains an artist’s depiction of the Revolutionary War and photos of soldiers.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, students read “The Pagoda on the Hill of the Imperial Springs,” which is an excerpt from Myths and Legends of China by E.T.C. Werner. This text contains illustrations, a portrait, and photos and detailed captions about each. The text also contains footnotes to define proper nouns such as Peking and Prince of Yen.In Week 3, students read “Questions and Answers About the Oceans.” This text is formatted as a question and answer piece asking questions such as “Why is the ocean important? How does the ocean affect the climate?” The text contains diagrams about the pH scale, photos of sea animals, and a map of ocean currents.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

The instructional materials provide texts which all students access that have a balanced mix of literature and informational text. Text genres represented include, but are not limited to, informational texts, biographies, folktales, historical fiction, poetry, realistic fiction, myths, and fables. Additional literary and informational texts are found within the leveled readers and Readers Theater. Anchor texts include 22 literary texts and 18 informational texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• “The Dred Scott Decision” by Monica Halpern (Unit 1, Week 2, Extended Read 2, Informational Text)
• “Becky Returns” by Mark Twain (Unit 2, Week 1, Short Read 1, Realistic Fiction)
• “The Science of Growing Food” by Carla Corriols (Unit 3, Week 3, Extended Read 2, Editorial)
• “Gold Country” by Laurence Yep (Unit 4, Week 1, Short Read 2, Historical Fiction)
• “The Making of the Industrial Age” by Kathy Furgang (Unit 5, Week 3, Extended Read 2, Informational Text)
• “Brushfire” by David Boelke (Unit 6, Week 1, Short Read 2, Play)
• “The Nation at War” by Susan Buckley (Unit 7, Week 2, Extended Read 1, Informational Text)
• “The Water Famine” retold by Gare Thompson (Unit 8, Week 1, Short Read 1, Legend)
• “Old Cities Revitalize” by Alexandra Hanson-Harding (Unit 9, Week 3, Extended Read 3, Informational Text)
• “John Dalton: Father of Atomic Theory” by Kathy Furgang (Unit 10, Week 1, Short Read 1, Informational Text)

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

In each Unit, the anchor texts have the appropriate quantitative level of complexity for the grade band (Grade 4-5 Band of Lexiles 740-1010). The overall text measure is based on an analysis of four dimensions of qualitative text complexity. These four dimensions are: Purpose & Levels of Meaning, Structure, Language Conventionality & Clarity, and Knowledge Demands. The tasks of each anchor text is at the appropriate level for Grade 5 according to the ELA standards. Texts with the appropriate level of complexity for Grade 5 students include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students read “Thurgood Marshall’s Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech.”
  • Quantitative: Lexile 1060.
  • Qualitative: This speech employs elements of persuasive text with the purpose of convincing the audience that every American should work toward justice and equality for all. Multiple text structures are used, including sequence of events, cause and effect, problem and solution, examples, and descriptions, and graphic features such as photographs, captions and footnotes. The speech contains mostly complex sentences with many higher-level vocabulary terms and selected unfamiliar terms are supported with context clues.

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students read “Camp Life” by Mark Twain.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 910
  • Qualitative: The narrative excerpt relies on description, sequence of events, dialogue, and imagery throughout. There are many complex sentence structures, antiquated terms and phrases.

• In Unit 3, Week 3, students read “The Science of Growing Food” by Carla Corriols.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 1110
  • Qualitative: The explicit purpose of this selection is to show both sides of an argument. Multiple text structures including sequence-of-events, examples, description, cause-and-effect, and problem-and-solution are used to support claims. Line graphs, as well as other graphic elements such as diagrams, maps, charts, and captioned images are used to support the text. The selection contains mostly complex sentences with many higher-level vocabulary terms. Few unfamiliar terms are supported with context clues.

• In Unit 7, Week 1, students read of “Yankee Doodle Boy” by Joseph Plumb Martin.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 1100.
  • Qualitative: The diary entry is structured in chronological order. Because it is excerpted from a longer piece, the reader must recognize that ellipses are used to represent missing text. Some terms and phrases may be archaic or unfamiliar to readers and require the consultation of reference materials. The text also uses figurative language and extensive academic and domain-specific vocabulary.

• In Unit 9, Week 3, students read “Old Cities Revitalize” by Alexandra Hanson-Harding.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 950
  • Qualitative: The clear purpose of this text is to explain how different cities are evolving and working on economic revival in a post-industrial age. This informational text uses a problem and solution text structure. The information in the running text is supported by maps, photographs, captions, and primary source images. Language is clear, but some domain-specific and unfamiliar vocabulary terms and phrases are not directly supported in the running text.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

The Program Reference Guide provides rationale for the texts in the materials.

• Shared Readings connect to the unit topic and are intended to be used to model fluency.
• Texts for Close Reading selections are designed to capture students’ interest and imagination. These texts state standards for achievement.

Each unit has a Guide to Text Complexity for the Short Reads and Extended Reads. A quantitative (Lexile score) and total qualitative measure based on analysis of the four dimensions of qualitative text complexity (purpose and levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity and knowledge demands) are provided. The four dimensions of qualitative text complexity form a rubric. Using this rubric, texts receive a score out of four for each dimension and those scores are added together to determine the overall score. Examples of analysis provided include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 6, Week 1, the first Short Read “Androcles and the Lion” has a Lexile level of 960. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity. The second Short Read is “Brushfire!” with no Lexile level. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity. In Week 2, the Extended Read “The Law of Club and Fang” has a Lexile level of 950. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity. In Week 3, the Extended Read “Julie Fights for Survival” has a Lexile level of 790. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, the first Short Read “Yankee Doodle Boy” has a Lexile level of 1100. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity. The second Short Read is “Road to Revolution” with a Lexile level of 930. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity. In Week 2, the Extended Read “The Nation at War” has a Lexile level of 960. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity. In Week 3, the Extended Read “The Youth in Battle” has a Lexile level of 950. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

The instructional materials provide clear opportunities and explicit supports for students to engage in a volume of reading. Each Unit offers students a variety of text types, topics and disciplines in order for students to become independent readers at the grade level. Students have an opportunity to participate in interactive read-alouds, silent reading, choral reading, echo reading, partner reading, and independent reading. Trade books for independent reading are available.

Each Unit provides students with multiple opportunities to engage with text. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The focus of Unit 1 is The U.S. Constitution. Throughout Unit 1, students engage in two short reads and two extended reads. The genres and texts in Unit 1 are as follows: Week 1, an informational social studies text short read (“Creating the Constitution”); Week 1, a speech short read (“President Lyndon Johnson’s Voting Rights Act Address”); Week 2, informational social studies extended read (“The Dred Scott Decision”); and Week 3, a speech extended read (“Thurgood Marshall’s Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech”). During small group reading, independent reading, and conferring, students read from six texts, such as Shaping the Constitution and Math in a Democracy. Students can read and participate in Reader’s Theater with The Tasty Tort Trial or James Madison: The U.S. Constitution. Trade books are available in the Unit, such as Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley and Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz.
• The focus of Unit 8 is Water: Fact and Fiction. Throughout Unit 8, students engage in two short reads and two extended reads. The genres and texts in Unit 8 are as follows: Week 1, a legend short read (“The Water Famine”); Week 1, an interview short read (“Water-Wise Landscaper”); Week 2, a legend extended read (“The Pagoda on the Hill of the Imperial Springs”); and Week 3, an informational science extended read (“Questions and Answers About the Oceans”). During small group reading, independent reading and conferring, students read from six texts, such as Catastrophic Storms and Antarctica: A Year of Science. Students can read and participate in Reader’s Theater with Wild Weather or Above the Clouds. Trade books are available in the Unit, such as Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper and Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom by Tim Tingle.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-dependent/specific questions, tasks and assignments for all learners through modeling, guided practice and applying understanding with scaffolding for light, moderate, or substantial support throughout the year. The Read Aloud Handbook, Build Reflect Write Handbook, and the E-book provide text-dependent questions, writing prompts, and speaking opportunities requiring students to engage in the text and make real world connections. Text-dependent/specific reading mini-lessons are included each day requiring all students to cite text evidence to support their answers explicitly or using valid inferences from the text. During whole-group, students are asked to answer a variety of literal, inferential, and evaluative questions by re-reading for evidence and/or annotating key details.

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 2, students read the text “Becky Returns” to identify key events and annotate and summarize the text by teacher modeling, guided practice, and applying understanding. Students use a chart to write key events and quotes before writing a 2-3 sentence summary. Scaffolding is provided for struggling readers.
• In Unit 4, Recognizing Author’s Point of View asks inferential questions using Short Read 1, “I Hear America Singing” such as: “How does the party described at the end of Whitman’s poem differ from all the singers described before them?” and “How does this connect to the fact that all the previous singers sing during the day and the party sings at night?” In Extended Read 1, “Justice in Eatonville” text-dependent question examples include: “Giving don’t got a thing to do with going bankrupt. ...Holding back does. How does this connect to Carrie’s thoughts about Mr. Pendir and Gold?”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 2, students read and summarize two poems. During the first read, students focus on summarizing each poem. The teacher models prior to student work time. Scaffolding strategies are available for struggling students. After the first read, students form small conversation groups to discuss the poem. Students consider the following questions; “What features of the poems are alike?”, “How does the poet’s point-of-view affect the tone of his poem?”, “What does the last line mean?” Students select one of the poems and write a summary in the margins of their texts. Groups summarize the highlights of their conversation whole group
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Lesson 4 students write an informative report and revise it to improve sentence fluency by reducing sentences. Students describe the causes of wars and the sacrifices the nation faced as a result of these wars from the text “The Nation at War”. Students use facts, details, and quotations from the text. Teachers model a draft and revisions for students before students are asked to revise a model draft with a partner.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).

Culminating tasks of quality are evident across a year’s worth of material. Teachers and students are provided with a Unit Big Idea and a Unit Essential Question. The Essential Question is restated at the beginning of each week in the unit. Tasks are supported with coherent sequences of text-dependent questions related to the unit big idea which prepares students for success on the culminating tasks. Culminating tasks are varied throughout the year and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in speaking and writing and integrates standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.

• In Unit 3, the Big Idea is Cultivating Natural Resources. A video introduces the Big Idea. The essential question is, “How do we decide which resources we should develop?” In this unit, students read and compare selections about cultivating food in the past and today to understand how we develop natural resources. The end-of-unit wrap-up is writing an informative report. During Weeks 1-3 progressive activities are used to build toward the culminating task of writing an informative report.
  • In Week 1, students analyze a mentor text, read a source text to find facts and details, listen & view a media source to find facts and details and analyze facts and details in a mentor informative report.
  • In Week 2, students read and analyze the prompt, find facts and details in a print source, take notes from a video source, and plan and organize ideas using descriptive text structure.
  • In Week 3, the writing prompt directly relates to the unit’s big idea and Essential Question. Students are asked,“Based on facts and details from the text and illustrations of “A Short History of a Special Plant” and information from the video “Corn from the CSA” write an informative report in which you explain how corn is produced in the United States.”
  • In Week 3, students draft a clear introduction, incorporate information from multiple sources, improve sentence fluency by combining sentences, edit to correct conjunction usage, and then evaluate and reflect on their writing.
• In Unit 6, Up Against The Wild, daily tasks throughout the unit support students in successfully completing the culminating task of Narrative Journal Writing.
  • In Week 1, Lesson 3, students work with a partner using the mentor text to identify the remaining features of a Narrative Journal entry.
  • In Week 1, Lesson 6, students analyze characters and events and respond to the prompt, “What kinds of story information did the writer include in the mentor text?”
  • In Week 1, Lesson 11, students develop the character’s voice.
  • In Week 2, Lesson 4, students plan their own narrative journal entries based on the text, “The Law of Club and Fang.”
• In Unit 9, daily tasks support students as they build toward the culminating task of creating a multimedia presentation focused around the essential question, “How do economic changes impact society?
  • In Week 1, Lesson 3, students focuses on purpose and audience as they view a sample presentation and respond to the following prompts; “What are some reasons that a person would create a multimedia presentation? Who is the audience for such a presentation? How might the audience affect the types of media the presenter chooses to use?”
  • In Week 2, Lesson 14, students gather images for their presentation.
  • In Week 3, students complete their presentation, practice with their peers, receive feedback, and present to the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Teacher materials provide support and direction needed for teachers to implement grade level standards in speaking and listening and help scaffold instruction for students who need extra support. Multiple modeling opportunities are well supported across the year. Materials provide multiple opportunities and support of protocols and implementation focused on using academic vocabulary and syntax for evidence-based discussions as well as teacher guidance across the year’s curricular materials to support students’ increasing skills. These materials are found in the Review and Routines section titled “Build Respectful Conversation Habits” and “Turn and Talk”.

During each unit, students have collaborative discussions with a partner multiple times a day. Weekly lessons offer multiple collaborative opportunities daily, with modeling and explicit directions provided to facilitate evidence-based discussions with a focus on academic vocabulary and syntax. Students utilize graphic organizers that require students to cite their evidence in whole group, small groups, and peer work to use academic vocabulary and syntax. Each week, students apply the understanding of their evidence-based conversations and share out their findings to the whole group. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 1, students participate in Turn and Talk to Share Knowledge using Build, Reflect, Write about their readings from the previous week. Students discuss with their partner two questions: “What did you learn about the Constitution last week? How does your knowledge of the Constitution affect your understanding of the Essential Question?” Students are informed that the teacher will call on several of them to summarize what their partner learned last week.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 1, students participate in Collaborative Conversation: Peer Group. Students work in peer groups to generate questions that will guide their inquiry about character traits. The teacher reviews Group Roles with students. The teacher provides sentence frames to support the participation of all students: “I learn about a character when I…. Some characters...each other. Other characters….” During Share, the group presenters share a guiding question formulated by the peer group.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Lesson 1, students turn and talk to share knowledge learned by reading about corn. Teachers provide the following questions to guide conversations: “What new information did you learn about uses of corn from last week’s readings?” and “How does this new information help you answer the Essential Question?” Students pose questions to a partner to clarify their partner’s responses to the two questions. Students briefly share out a summary of what their partners learned about corn and its uses. To support teachers, the unit outlines an example model of using informal English. In Week 3, Lesson 2, students discuss strategies for reading an informational text with a partner. Each partner chooses one strategy to explain by answering the questions given about each strategy. The teacher will call on students to briefly summarize the explanation of their partner.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 6, students determine the meanings of words or phrases used in a text while participating in Productive Engagement: Partner. Students follow a protocol for figuring out the meaning of unknown words with a partner. The teacher observes students and then plans reinforce or reaffirm the strategy.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Materials include multiple varied opportunities for both on-demand and process writing tasks that span the year’s worth of instruction. Writing projects, tasks and presentations are connected to texts of various genres, topics and themes. Each unit includes daily on-demand writing and the Performance Tasks have process writing over a three week span. Writing tasks are aligned to grade level standards, embedded into student work, provide occasions for short and extended writing, and allow students to learn, practice, develop, and apply writing skills throughout the year. Lessons culminate by having students respond to prompts in their Build, Reflect, Write manuals which lay the foundation for advanced writing tasks that students will engage in throughout the unit. Students are provided opportunities to work through various writing process stages throughout the year by writing to sources, answering text-dependent questions, taking notes (annotating), completing graphic organizers, research projects and presentations. Students write and revise informative, opinion, and narrative pieces focusing on topics such as ideas, voice, word choice, organization, and sentence fluency. Examples of the mix of on-demand and process writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, teachers guide students through the process of writing a personal letter based on the following prompt: “You are a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Write a letter to someone close to you about your experiences during the convention. Make sure to include facts and details from 'Creating the Constitution' in your letter.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, teachers introduce the Realistic Fiction genre and guide students through the pre-writing steps in the writing process which include brainstorm, evaluate ideas, and plan. In Week 2, teachers guide students through the drafting steps in the writing process. In Week 3, teachers guide students through the revising, editing, and publishing steps in the writing process.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 14, students are asked to explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support the writer’s ideas. Students are provided a Compare/Contrast Chart as the teacher models through two selections and provides guided practice. Students are then asked to apply this understanding by writing two paragraphs comparing and contrasting “Clean-Burning Corn Is America’s Future” and “Keep Corn on the Cob Not in My Car!” Students are to do the following: “One paragraph should examine an aspect in which the two articles are similar, and the other should be about an aspect in which they are different.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 9, students complete a process writing task, writing an opinion essay and taking notes from online sources. Students are asked to summarize facts and details from online sources and to share ideas in collaborative conversations and in writing. Students cite research in order to support their opinion.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Lesson 10, students explain how reasons and evidence are used by an author in a text. Students are given a Reasons and Evidence chart as the teacher models using a text. Students write a paragraph about the reasons and evidence they found in a selection.
• In Unit 9, Weeks 1, 2, and 3, students write a Multimedia Presentation. Modeling of a mentor presentation and discussion of features of a procedural multimedia presentation with an anchor chart helps students organize ideas and research to create this presentation. Short, discipline-specific tasks are incorporated throughout these three weeks to support the writing of this Multimedia Presentation.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Materials provide a progression of multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply narrative, opinion, and informative writing. The materials provide tasks for students to use different genres/modes of writing, which are both connected to texts and stand-alone writing projects. The instructional guide provides supports for teachers to assist students as they progress in writing skills such as: graphic organizers, checklists, and rubrics. Each unit has mentor and anchor texts to support student writing which is embedded daily.

Each week focuses on a different writing genre, appropriately aligned to the text. Mini-lessons are scaffolded throughout the week in order to support student outcomes. Exemplar writing samples and other instruction support accompany each unit. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Units 1, 2, and 6, narrative writing is featured. In Unit 1, students write a personal letter using a mentor text and the Personal Letter Planning Chart. In Unit 2, students write a realistic fiction story. In Unit 6, students write narrative journal entries using events and details from a source text and develop a character using anchor charts, prompts, and a checklist. Students develop the character’s voice, use dialogue, and add description to develop events. In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 1, students write a narrative journal, making sure to include specific story events and and details from “Androcles and the Lion” into their writing. Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 5 students reread paragraphs 17-20 and write a summary of the key events. Students explain how events in these paragraphs help them understand the author’s idea of what it takes to survive.
• In Units 4 and 5, opinion writing is featured. In Unit 4, students write an Opinion Essay with a topic opinion and mentor and anchor text evidence for support. Students write an Opinion Essay using credible print sources and planning and domain-specific vocabulary. In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 3, teachers modeling how to brainstorm topics and opinions about those topics is provided. In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 3, the Opinion Essay Writing Checklist is used to support students. Writing exemplars for each writing type are provided under the drop down menu “Writing Exemplars.” In Unit 5 students use an opinion writing checklist to write evidence-based opinions. In Week 1, Lesson 9, students complete a process writing task, writing an opinion essay and take notes from online sources. Students summarize facts and details from online sources and to share ideas in collaborative conversations and in writing. Students cite research in order to support their opinion.
• In Units 3, 7, 8, and 9, informative writing is featured. In Unit 3, students write an informative report from a print and video source. In Unit 7, students write an informative report with information from multiple sources. In Unit 8, students analyze cause/effect text structures for the informative report. In Unit 9, students prepare multimedia presentations which include text-specific research and other facets of multimedia.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Lesson 14 students write two or more paragraphs discussing ways in which “John Dalton” and “Matter Is Everywhere!” provide information that increases understanding of matter and atomic theory. Students use text evidence to support their ideas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

Materials provide frequent opportunities that are varied and build writing skills over the course of the school year. Materials provide opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence. Students are required to respond to evidence-based writing prompts in the Build, Reflect, Write notebook. Prior to responding to the text, students are provided pre-work that adequately supports their responses. Students frequently generate ideas by closely reading text. Instructional support for teachers is provided throughout the units to guide students’ understanding of developing ideas and components of structured writing. Examples of opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 14, students compare and contrast informative and persuasive texts. Students complete a cross-text analysis by writing compare and contrast paragraphs using the Compare/Contrast Chart. Students evaluate purpose, point-of-view, language, use of facts, reasons, and evidence. One paragraph addresses ways texts are alike and the other paragraph addresses ways the texts are different. Students use evidence from selections to support their points.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 9, students complete a process writing task, writing an opinion essay and taking notes from online sources. Students summarize facts and details from online sources and share ideas in collaborative conversations and in writing. Students will cite research in order to support their opinion.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 13, students find examples of sequence of events in the text (drama). The students fill out a story structure chart which includes story parts, events, and function. Students write a short paragraph explaining which selection they preferred based on the story plot and evidence they have from the story structure chart. Students include references to at least two parts of the drama.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 3, students respond to the following prompt” “Write an informative report about the events leading up to the British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown.” Students include facts, details, and quotations from “Yankee Doodle Boy” in their informative reports.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Lesson 14, students use information from texts to complete the Integrate Information Chart. Students write two or more paragraphs in which they write about ways the two texts provide information that increases their understanding of matter and atomic theory. Students use text evidence to support their ideas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

The Grade 5 program has multiple opportunities for whole class instruction aligned to the Grade 5 language standards. All grammar and conventions standards are taught over the course of the school year through reading, language, vocabulary, and writing mini-lessons. These lessons provide opportunities for teacher modeling and guided student practice. Grammar lessons are also applied to independent writing projects students work on. After the specific language standard has been taught, students the skill apply it to their own writing. Students receive direct instruction using the mentor text and dictionaries, and students have access to class charts.

Materials include instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Examples of each language standard include:

• L.5.1a:
  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn how adding interjections such as ah, help, hey and hmmm can make their dialogue more realistic. During independent writing time students practice using interjections in their writing.
  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, students learn about the function of prepositions.
• L.5.1b:
  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn how to form and use perfect verb tenses.
  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, the teacher models how to use the past, present and future perfect verb tenses. Students work with a partner to add more perfect verb tenses to a chart the teacher has provided. During independent writing time students are instructed to, “Write a sentence in the present perfect tense for each of these verbs:believe, understand, and forget.”
• L.5.1c:
  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 15, Conventions of Language: Review Verb Tenses, the teacher models how to use the different verb tenses and provides students the opportunity to practice using the different tenses with a peer. During independent writing time students are instructed to, “Write four new sentences, one using a past tense verb, one using a present tense verb, one using a future tense verb,and one using a progressive tense verb.”
  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, students complete a Perfect Verb Tense Chart and also write what the verb is used to tell.
• L.5.1d:
  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 13, Writing to Sources, students learn how to edit their writing papers through teacher model for inappropriate shifts in verb tenses.
• L.5.1e:
  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, students learn about the function of conjunctions including correlative conjunctions.
• L.5.2a:
  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 15, Performance Task, the teacher then models and explains how to use commas to separate items in a series. During independent writing time, students are instructed to, “write several original sentences about foods they enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Students should include commas in their sentences.”
• L.5.2b:
  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 13, Writing to Sources, when the teacher is modeling editing an informative report, correct comma usage is noted, “Sample think-aloud: My first sentence uses the conjunction I’ve used a comma after yield to separate that dependent clause from the independent clause that follows it. In the second sentence, I included the conjunction both. Did I include its partner, and? Yes, I did.”
• L.5.2c:
  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 15, Process Writing, the teacher models how comma usage can enhance dialogue: “Sample think-aloud, item 2: Another way to make dialogue sound realistic is to use commas to indicate where pauses should be.”
• L.5.2d:
  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 12, Writing to Sources, students analyze a mentor text and learn how to use quotation marks and italics for titles.
• L.5.2e:
  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 8, in a lesson on short vowels, students practice sorting words from the text Creating the Constitution based on their short vowel sounds. Students are also given a list of spelling words at the end of the lesson that they must pick two words from that they then use in a sentence.
  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 11, Word Study & Vocabulary, students apply their learning of multisyllabic short vowel words to their spelling practice.
• L.5.3a:
  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, the teacher models for students how combining sentences can improve their writing. For example the sentences, “Dent corn is used as a food for people. It is also used as food for livestock.” becomes, “Dent corn is used as a food for both people and livestock.” Students then work with a partner to combine sentences.
  • In Unit 7, Week 3, Lesson 4, Writing to Sources, students students learn about editing to reduce their sentences for meaning, interest, and style.
• L.5.3b:
  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 10, Short Read 2 Mini-Lesson, the teacher demonstrates how an author’s use of dialect can enhance a story by using the text, “Games in the Woods.” The class works together to create a chart comparing and contrasting formal English and the different dialects used in the text.
  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn about realistic dialogue and examine how interjections and commas make dialogue realistic.

The materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks addressing grade-level CCSS for foundational skills to build comprehension by providing instruction in phonics, word recognition, morphology, vocabulary, syntax, and reading fluency in a research-based and transparent progression.

Over the course of the year, lessons include the introduction of new foundational skill(s), teacher modeling, guided practice, partner work, graphic organizers/charts, and application to short read texts. Teacher instruction and student practice provide many opportunities over the course of the school year for students to work with prefixes, suffixes, irregularly spelled words and multisyllabic words. Each week, the teacher models how to decode a syllable using different vowel sounds, compound words or syllable rules. When teaching prefixes and suffixes, students identify how the prefix or suffix changes the meaning of the base word. Lessons are primarily taught during the Word Study and Vocabulary portion of the core reading materials. The Word Study and Vocabulary lessons provide students an opportunity to learn word analysis that is then applied in and out of context. The lessons frequently include how the word is understood through word analysis and proper pronunciation. The skill of decoding and understanding the meaning of words is introduced early in the week and applied later in the week during word study and vocabulary lessons. Foundational skill lessons build in complexity over the course of the year and there is a clear progression for students to work towards grade-level comprehension.

Materials (questions & tasks) support students’ use of combined knowledge of all letter sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology, according to grade level. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 8, Word Study & Vocabulary, students are introduced to short vowels a, e, ea i, o, u and complete a word sort chart. “Display the words establish, document, and running. Break each word into syllables, then help students identify the closed syllables and the short vowel sounds: e stab lish (short e, a, i); doc u ment (short o); run ning (short u, i). Point out that in multisyllabic words the unstressed syllable often has the schwa sound, not a short vowel sound. This is the case with document. Create and display a Word Sort chart and a list of words to sort (national, delegate, historical, popular,ugly). Read aloud the five headings, then read each word aloud and model thinking to identify the column in which it belongs. Discuss the meaning of the word in each column. I hear the /a/ sound in national. Listen: /na/tion/al/. I know the /a/ sound is the short a sound, so I will write the word national in the short a column.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 11, students are reminded that the letter r changes the sound of the vowels that comes before it can help them read and pronounce certain words. Students follow along as the teacher reads paragraph 6 of “City Kid, Country Kid.” Students are drawn to the word participate. The teacher explains that when a reader comes to a multisyllabic word such as participate, you can use your knowledge of r-controlled vowel sounds to help them read the word. Breaking the word into chunks may help you recognize word parts so they can read it. Participate can be broken into four chunks. Students then read “City Kid, Country Kid” on page 10 and underline words with the r-controlled vowel sounds of -ar,-or, and air. Students then write the words in a chart and write a possible definition for each word in the notation column.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 8, Word Study & Vocabulary, students are introduced to noun suffixes (-ology, -ant, -er, -or, -ery) and complete a five column word sort chart to develop meaning for the suffix in each word. “Display a five-column Word Sort chart and a list of words to sort (ecology, participant starter, inspector,bravery). Read each word aloud, and ask students to identify the column in which it belongs. Use sample sentences to model the meaning of the suffix in each word: Ecology is the study of Earth’s ecosystems. A participant is a person who participates in an activity. A starter is a person who tells runners when it’s time to start the race. An inspector is a person who inspects items in a factory to make sure they are made correctly. Bravery is a quality shown by people who face dangerous situations bravely.”
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Lesson 9, the teacher models how adding -ful or -y to the end of a noun can turn the word into an adjective using the text “Questions and Answers About the Oceans.” “I see the root words sun and color in paragraph 7. I know something that can be described as colorful is full of colors. And a place that is sunny should get plenty of sun. I notice that sunny has a double n because some nouns require doubling the ending consonant before adding -y.” The teachers also explains the suffixes -ent, -ic and -ive to students and points out the word “acidic,” in the previously read text. Words with these suffixes also appear on students’ weekly spelling list - sandy, impressive, optimistic, dependent, cumulative, confident and historic.

Materials cohesively build to application of skills to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out-of-context. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 11, Word Study & Vocabulary, students apply previously learned knowledge of short vowels in context. Students read, “Susan B. Anthony” with a partner and circle multisyllabic short vowel words in the text. “Have students read the rest of “Susan B. Anthony” with a partner. Ask them to circle the multisyllabic words that have short vowel sounds and highlight the letter or letters in each word that stand for the short vowel sound, then use their understanding of multi syllabication to help them comprehend the text. Since there are many short-vowel words in the passage, you may ask students to find at least five examples of each vowel sound.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 12, Word Study & Vocabulary, students apply previously learned knowledge of noun suffixes to context. Students read “Lucy Larcom’s New England Girlhood” and underline words that have the suffix -ology, -ant, -er, -or, or -ery. Students complete a chart with suffixes and definitions.”
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Lesson 9, using the text “Old Cities Revitalize,” the teacher models how knowing the meaning of different prefixes can help students understand the story, “These prefixes tell “where.” The prefix per- means “through.” For example, a performance is an act that takes place from beginning “through” to the end that is, throughout on a stage. The prefix en- means “in.” You might enlist a friend to be part of a performance to be “in” the performance.” The teacher also reviews the meanings of the prefixes pro-, em- and im-. Words with these prefixes also appear on students’ weekly spelling list - produced, program, embarked, energy, percent, permitted, permanently and imminent.
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Lesson 12, the teacher reviews the previously taught prefixes re-, bio-, im-, ex- and micro- with students. “Now let’s try biography. A graph is a diagram or chart of something and the prefix means “life.” What does mean? Yes, it is a chart or list of events in someone’s life.” Students then circle and write definitions for words with re-, bio-, im-, ex- and micro- in the text, “Marie M. Daly: Biochemistry Pioneer.” Afterwards the teacher is instructed to, “Bring students together. Invite individuals or partners to share words they circled in the text and to provide a definition based on their word analysis. Use this opportunity to clarify the meaning of words students circled but were unable to define.” Words with some of these prefixes are also a part of students; weekly spelling list: biologist, biochemistry, reaction, postdoctoral, immigrant and microbiologist.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks guiding students to read with purpose and understanding and to make frequent connections between acquisition of foundation skills and making meaning from reading.

Over the course of the year, materials provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of word analysis skills and apply word knowledge to grade level texts. Opportunities occur in core materials during Word Study and Vocabulary lessons through teacher modeling. Within the Word Study and Vocabulary Lessons, Process Writing and Writing to Sources Lessons, students have opportunities to identify word parts that allow them to decode the word properly and understand the word through word analysis which then allows them to understand the text better. The lessons provide opportunities for students to practice the word analysis with grade level text and encode through spelling. Students apply new skills to text through the use of partner work, independent work, and graphic organizers. Lessons increase in complexity to allow students access to applying word analysis skills to grade level text and support meaning of text. Lessons also included opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of a text through the use of an Apply Understanding portion at the end of reading lessons.

Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate mastery of the application of word analysis skills to grade level text. For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 2, Lesson 12, Word Study & Vocabulary, students use the text, “Nora Zeale Hurston” to find homographs in context and analyze the words to give cues to the meaning of the words in context. Students first participate in a teacher model of locating homographs in context and reviewing the meaning of homographs. Students then work with a partner to fill out a graphic organizer. “Model/Review-Review with students that homographs are words that have the same spelling but different meanings and may or may not have the same pronunciation. Remind students that they can use context clues to understand a homograph. For example, direct students’ attention to the first sentence in paragraph 1 in “Zora Neale Hurston.” The Zora in the novel Zora and Me is based on a real person-the author Zora Neale Hurston.” This sentence has a homograph: novel. The word novel can mean a new idea or concept. In this sentence, I read the book title Zora and Me. So I know the meaning of the word is “a story with characters and a plot.” “Invite students to read “Zora Neale Hurston” either independently or with a partner. As they read, tell them to underline five words that are homographs and use context clues to determine the meaning of each word. Tell them to write definitions for the words as they are used in the text in the notation column of the page.”
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Lesson 9, the teacher explains and models decoding words with the prefixes re-, pre-, mis- and dis-. “This is the word rewrite. The base word is write. The prefix is re. It means “again.” The word rewrite means “to write again.” Now look at the word prearrange.The prefix pre- means “before.” The base word is arrange. So it means “arrange before.” The last word is mislaid. What is the base word and what is the prefix? The prefix means “wrongly.” What does the word mean? Yes, it means “laid in the wrong place.”

Materials include supports for students to demonstrate they have made meaning of the grade-level text.

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Lesson 6, Extended Read 1 Mini-Lesson, students determine the meaning of domain-specific vocabulary through using cues in nearby texts. Students participate in a teacher model and then guided practice with a partner to complete a graphic organizer with the word, context clues, and working partner definition. “The word describes something about the soil. This paragraph tells about the advantages of planting several crops together. Advantages are good, so maybe integrity is connected to the idea of being good. I see soil is mentioned twice in this paragraph. Sentence 3 says beans “restore the soil” with nitrogen. Sentence 4 says squash kept “moisture in the soil.” The last sentence says a “healthy crop . . . maintained the integrity of the soil.” The words “restore,” “moisture,” and “healthy” suggest examples of integrity to me. The word integrity means “a good or healthy state.” Model how you confirm, revise, and/or expand on your definition by consulting a print or online dictionary or scientific reference. In the case of integrity, the paragraph alone is not enough to define the word. Consulting a dictionary shows there are two different meanings for integrity. Help students see that it is not the first meaning (“honesty”), but the second (“wholeness, completeness”) that is being used here. Guided Practice-Create and display a Context Clues Chart. Then read aloud paragraph 9. Circle the word rotation. Ask partners to underline one or more context clues in the paragraph to help them know the meaning of the word. Do the same for hybrid (11) and staple (12).”
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Lesson 12, the teacher explains the following science roots to students - port, chem, phys, frig and form.“When we know the meaning of a root, it helps us better understand vocabulary we find in science and other texts. Look at the root word port. The root word port in portable means “carry.” Something that is portable can be carried or moved around. Let’s look at each of the other root words on the chart. Remember what the root words mean: (chemical in nature), (physical in nature), (cool), and (form (shape).” Students then look for words with the science roots they have learned about in the text, “My Dad the Street Chef.” Afterwards the teacher leads a class discussion on the words students found and what students may think the definitions are. The teacher is also provided with the following question to help guide the discussion, “How did understanding the root ____ and the word ____ help you understand the text?”