1st Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

The materials in Benchmark reflect a balance of informational and literary reading selections reflecting the suggested balance of the standards. A variety of genres are represented in each unit including poetry, folktales, fables, nonfiction, historical, scientific and technical texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• “Hello, Community Garden” (Unit 1,Week 1, Read-Aloud, Social Studies)
• “Jim Henson!” (Unit 1, Week 3, Shared Reading, Biography)
• “The Tortoise and The Hare” (Unit 2, Week 2, Shared Reading, Fable)
• “A Smart Hen” (Unit 2, Week 3, Shared Reading, Animal Fantasy)
• “An Apple Grows” (Unit 3, Week 2, Shared Reading, Informational Science)
• The Ugly Duckling (Unit 3, Week 3, Extended Read, Fairy Tale)
• “A Big Fish?” (Unit 4, Week 2, Shared Reading, Realistic Fiction)
• Chicken Little (Unit 4, Week 2, Extended Read, Folktale)
• “A Handy Machine” (Unit 5, Week 2, Shared Reading, Informational Science)
• “Two Places at Once” (Unit 5, Week 2, Shared Reading, Realistic Fiction)
• “The Strongest Things” (Unit 6, Week 1, Shared Reading, Poetry)
• “Why Bear Has a Short Tail” (Unit 6, Week 3, Shared Reading, Pourquoi Tale)
• “The Washington Monument” (Unit 7, Week 3, Shared Reading, Social Studies)
• “An Amazing Sight” (Unit 7, Week 3, Shared Reading, Realistic Fiction)
• “Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky” (Unit 8, Week 1, Read-Aloud, Pourquoi Tale)
• The Wind and the Sun (Unit 8, Week 3, Extended Read, Fable)
• “From Dairy Farm to You” (Unit 9, Week 1, Read-Aloud, Procedural Text)
• “A New Kind of Eggs” (Unit 9, Week 3, Shared Reading, Science)
• “I Know All the Sounds That The Animals Make” (Unit 10, Week 1, Shared Reading, Poetry)
• “Dogs Help the Deaf” (Unit 10, Week 1, Shared Reading, Social Studies)

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for texts (including read-aloud texts and some shared reading texts used to build knowledge and vocabulary) have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and a relationship to their associated student task. Read-aloud texts at K-2 are above the complexity levels of what most students can read independently.

The anchor texts at the Grade 1 level contain quantitative and qualitative measures that are at the appropriate level of rigor/text complexity for Grade 1 and contain text components that support tasks and students’ literacy development to achieve grade level proficiency. The materials contain a variety of interactive read aloud texts with Lexile levels above 200, which are above the complexity levels of what most Grade 1 students can read independently.

• In Unit 1, Week 2, the students listen to the text, “Being a Responsible Citizen” by Margaret McNamara.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 520
  • Qualitative: The text contains vocabulary that is dependent on the text such as citizen and community. The text is organized by main idea and details. The text features enhance the reader’s understanding of abstract concepts such as respect and honesty.

• In Unit 4, Week 2, students listen to a text called “Chicken Little” by Barbara Parkes.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 600
  • Qualitative: The text is moderately complex. The organization is easy to predict with illustrations that support the interpretation of the text. The vocabulary is familiar, straightforward, and easy to understand. The sentence structure has some complex sentences, but sentences are mostly simple. The text contains a single theme that is obvious.

• In Unit 6, Week 1, the Mentor Read-Aloud for the week is “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
  • Quantitative: Lexile 590
  • Qualitative: This fable has a simple moral that readers will already likely know. The narrative follows chronological order and the plot has a familiar structure. Language is common with only one or two compound or complex sentences. The text requires no prior knowledge and should be familiar. Plot events shape a straightforward, familiar structure.

• In Unit 10, Week 3, the Extended Read for the week is “The Light Around Us” by Kathy Furgang.
  • Quantitative: Lexile 490
  • Qualitative: The text has moderate complexity. The text has a simple purpose: to explain how light works. The predominant text structure is chapters, each presenting facts that are used in succeeding chapters. Readers encounter multiple diagrams and photos that are critical to understanding subtle points in the text. Technical vocabulary words such as shadow and straight are also familiar and simple vocabulary. The subtlety of the concepts presented demands some prior understanding of how physical phenomena interact.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 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.
• Mentor Read-Alouds are short reads that connect to unit topics and are used to model making meaning in complex texts.
• Texts for Close Reading selections are designed to capture students’ interest and imagination. These texts state standards for achievement.

The materials for Grade 1 contain a detailed text complexity analysis including quantitative, qualitative and reader and task information for Mentor Read-Alouds and Extended Reads throughout the year. The quantitative measure is provided in the form of a Lexile score. The qualitative measure (QM) is based on an analysis of four dimensions of qualitative text complexity. The scores for each dimension are added together to determine the overall score. The Grade Resources Section contains a Guide to Text Complexity with a rubric for the qualitative dimensions within the literary and informational texts. Examples of analysis provided include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, the first Mentor Read-Aloud is “The Ant and the Grasshopper” which has a Lexile level of 620. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity. The second Mentor Read-Aloud is “Little Red Riding Hood” which has a Lexile level of 650. The qualitative measure is moderate complexity. In Week 2, the Extended Read is “The Princess and the Pea” with a Lexile level of 560. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity. In Week 3, the Extended Read is “The Gingerbread Man” with a Lexile level of 520. The total qualitative measure is substantial complexity.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, the first Mentor Read-Aloud is “From Dairy Farm to You” which has a Lexile level of 760. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity. The second Mentor Read-Aloud is “The Most Important Service” which has a Lexile level of 680. The qualitative measure is moderate complexity. In Week 2, the Extended Read is “In My Opinion...Goods and Services are Important” with a Lexile level of 560. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity. In Week 3, the Extended Read is “The Shoemaker and the Elves” with a Lexile level of 600. The total qualitative measure is moderate complexity.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria that support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year.

The materials for the Grade 1 reading program contain a 70-80 minute ELA block. The block allows time for Interactive Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, Reading Mini-Lessons with Mentor Read-Aloud and Extended Reads, and Small Group Reading. Each three-week unit provides two shared readings per week, two extended reading texts per unit, decodables, leveled readers to use within small group instruction and two reader’s theater texts per unit.

Different types of texts are included. The focus of Unit 8 is Observing the Sky. Throughout Unit 8, students engage in six shared readings, two mentor read-alouds, and two extended reads. The genres and texts in Unit 8 are: Week 1, a realistic fiction shared reading (“A Star Party”); Week 1, a science shared reading (“On Mars”); Week 1, a pourquoi mentor read-aloud (“Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky”); Week 1, a science mentor read-aloud (“A Walk on the Moon”); Week 2, a science shared reading (“It’s a Comet!”); Week 2, a poetry shared reading (“The Moon’s the North Wind’s Cookie”); Week 2, a science extended read (Night and Day); Week 3, a realistic fiction shared reading (“Shapes in the Clouds”); Week 3, a science shared reading (“The Sun”) and Week 3, a fable extended read (The Wind and the Sun). During small group reading, students read from 12 texts such as Ready for Fall and Storms. Students can read and participate in Reader’s Theater with The Twinkling Stars and Why The Moon Changes In The Night Sky. Trade books are available in the unit such as The Flag We Love by Pam Munoz Ryan and Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-based, 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).

Questions, tasks, and assignments are mainly text-based and support students’ literacy growth over the course of the year. Throughout each lesson, the teacher is directing students to go back to the text to support their answers to the questions. At the Grade 1 level, students are provided teacher modeling to develop these skills. The Teacher’s Manual provides support for planning and implementation of text-dependent questions that support writing and speaking activities. Text-based questions are asked during read aloud texts, shared reading texts and viewing of videos.

Shared readings begin by utilizing an essential question to set the focus of listening for key details in the text. Students then share this information with the class, while the teacher guides them back to the text to support their answers. During this time, there are opportunities for turn and talk as well as collaborative conversations that result in the creation of a whole group chart where students’ ideas are provided. Assignments and activities require students to stay engaged with the text. Text-based questions are varied and grow in complexity as the year progresses. Teachers frame questions to help students make sense of the read texts as well as use strategies such as inferring that supports student understanding of the texts that align directly to the weekly essential question.

Text-dependent questions and tasks that students answer include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, on Day 1, students view a video relating to the essential question. After viewing the video, the teacher leads a discussion on being a member of multiple communities. Students are then asked to identify what communities to which they belong.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, students listen to the poem “Good Neighbors” and share what makes a good neighbor using sentence frames such as “The little old woman is a good neighbor because…” and “The little old mouse is a good neighbor because…”
• In Unit 6, Week 2, on Day 3, during Shared Reading, students identify what the main character in the story learns about being small. Students engage in a collaborative conversation with a partner discussing their answer to the question. At the end of the lesson, in the Oral Language Transition, students are asked, “to stand and tell a partner the mistake Gus makes and what Gus learns from it”.
• Unit 8, Week 2, on Day 4, during Guided Practice students work with partners to discuss, what earth does each day, when Earth rotates, and what does it do using evidence from the text.
• In Unit 10 , Week 1, students engage with the text, “Dogs Help The Dea.” The teacher states, “This is an informational text. It gives facts about a topic. The title and the photo tell me that this text is going to be about dogs that help people who are unable to hear. As I read, I will look for important details about that topic.” This prompt draws students to look for important details to support their thinking.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials containing sets of sequences of text-based questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding (as appropriate, may be drawing, dictating, writing, speaking, or a combination).

Grade 1 materials provide culminating tasks for students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts examined throughout each unit. Essential Questions guide student learning throughout every unit within the curriculum where sequences of high-quality text-based questions, activities, and tasks are synthesized by students into an integrated production of speaking and/or writing.

Examples of questions, activities, and tasks that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Essential Question is “Why do people get involved in their communities?” In Week 1, Day 1, students demonstrate understanding of community gardening by adding details to a chart. In Week 2, Day 3, students collaboratively discuss “Why do people get involved in their communities?” In Week 3, Day 5, Reflect on Unit Concepts, students rewatch the video from the first day of the unit and discuss how the video fits with the unit. In small groups, students share what they think about the Essential Question. As a whole class, students share ideas and the teacher collects the ideas for an anchor chart. At the end of Reflect on Unit Concepts, each peer group can record a short song about one of the important people they read about in the unit.
• In Unit 4, the Essential Question is, “How do people create stories?” In Week 1, students draw inferences about characters and compare and contrast two characters. In Week 2, students compare and contrast stories and describe the setting of texts. In Week 3, students draw inferences and compare and contrast characters. In Week 3, during Reflect on Unit Concepts, students discuss the Essential Question and then partners interview each other about how to create stories. The teacher records the interviews and shares the interviews with the class.
• In Unit 10, the Essential Question is “How would our lives be different without sound and light?” During the unit, students compare texts about sound and light and analyze how the types of energy affect everyday life. In Week 1, Day 5, students answer the following question: How the two selections are alike and how they are different?” In Week 3, Day 5, students answer the Essential Question and partners video record the other pointing to and explaining the ways sound or light helps humans.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

This indicator supports students’ practice and application of speaking and listening skills in concert with practice in reading for understanding. 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”.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, students participate in Collaborative Conversation: Ask and Answer Questions. The teacher states: “The story says that Max finds a dollar and is going to buy a snack. But then, Max gives Ana the dollar he finds. Why do you think he does this?” Student pairs are to think about questions about the story. Partners take turns answering each other’s questions. After partners have shared and answered, the teacher calls on pairs to share their question and answer. The teacher expands the discussion so other students can answer the question.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, students participate in Collaborative Conversation: Determine Text Importance. The displays and reads the Essential Question: “Why do living things change?” The teacher asks students: “What is one detail from the text that says how butterflies change? Find a key detail in the text that says how butterflies change. Turn and tell a partner what detail you found and why you believe it is a key detail.” Students are to raise their hand if they would like to share their key detail with the whole class.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 2, students participate in Collaborative Conversations: Summarize and Synthesize. The teacher states: “To summarize this passage, I can put together all the key details I read and think of a few sentences that tell what the passage is mostly about. I might say: This passage is about a group of people who decided to unplug and take a break from technology. One day a week, they do not use cell phones, computers, or their TV. They find other fun things to do instead.” Students turn to a partner and tell what “Unplug” is mainly about using their own words. Pairs are to share their summaries with the class.
• In Unit 7, students engage in activities that model peer collaboration. Students read aloud their published informational text and introduce another partner’s work. Students practice modeling how to add on to student’s work or give them a compliment about their work using sentence frames. Once students have completed the activity they return to their partners and read the passages practicing the three sharing characteristics.
• In Unit 8, students work with a partner to recall key details from the story and write their ideas in the chart. Teachers are instructed to, “Remind students to build on partners’ talk by listening and linking their ideas to what their partners have said.” Teachers use the Observation Checklist for Collaborative Conversation as they walk around to evaluate student discussions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meets the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing, grade-appropriate writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing), and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

During each three week unit, the Grade 1 materials support students engaging in writing across the whole school year. This includes a mix of on-demand writing, in which students respond to a text. Students complete short and focused projects such as writing a letter and utilizing details from the text. The materials also contain process writing activities (e.g. shared writing, multiple drafts, revision processes, protocols, and review). The Response and Process Writing section includes skill introduction, practice, application, and refinement with teacher support and guidance over shorter periods of time with shared writing activities and extended periods of time where students learn the complete writing process (planning, revising, editing, publishing and sharing). Each three week unit also contains a Writing and Vocabulary section that explains types of writing including narrative, informative, and opinion and includes a mini-lesson. Examples of the mix of on-demand and process writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 2, students participate in a shared writing mini-lesson. The teacher models how to draft a response about a person who contributed to society from the texts with help from the students. Students orally rehearse their writing and then draft an opinion.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, students participate in a shared writing mini-lesson. The teacher models how to write key details from “The Amazing Life Cycle of a Frog” with help from the students. Students orally rehearse what they will write for key details. During independent time, students write their key details.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, students draw a picture that shows the meaning of greedy. This is done after the students have discussed the word greedy and read a story with the teacher. After reading Why Turtle’s Shell is Cracked, students complete a sequence chart with the teacher.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 1, students are read aloud “The U.S. in Space” and perform an on-demand writing assignment which involves creating a timeline of the activities from the text.
• In Unit 8, during the connect across disciplines activity called, “Mythology TV Show, students use the internet to locate information about American Indian Folktales. They then create a TV show about the information they have found. Some of the students are prompted to be interviewers, while other students are interviewed. The TV show is then put together using technology.
• In Unit 10, students spend two weeks going through the writing process. On Day 1, students reflect on narrative writing. The teacher gives them a rubric to use to review. Students are expected to review all the narrative writing completed over the year and select one that contains all of the items on the rubric. Day 2 is spent reflecting on informational writing using the rubric for informational writing. Day 3 is spent reflecting on opinion writing. Day 4 is spent reflecting on poetry. On Day 5, students will select a piece of their writing to share with the class. Students will share writing with a partner prior to sharing with the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

During each of the three week units, the Grade 1 materials support authentic integration of writing with reading with teacher guidance and support. Writing is embedded across the school year with attention given to three different text types and purposes including narrative, informative/explanatory and opinion/persuasive. The Teacher Resources include well-designed lesson plans, models/exemplars and protocols to support student writing.

Students utilize literature, informational texts, poetry and non-print sources such as videos to complete writing assignments. Student choice is encouraged with activities that come from the learning such as choosing the characters to write about in response to a prompt in the text. Materials support teachers in planning writing development and provide opportunities for monitoring progress. Writing tasks increase in rigor throughout the school year and sufficient instructional time is dedicated to teaching, practicing, applying and presenting new writing skills. Examples of writing throughout the year include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students write based on daily mini-lessons through response writings. Students learn to write a narrative, a first person narrative, a comparison, descriptions, a list, a rule, a key detail, and a play. In Week 1, Day 3, students see a short narrative modeled by the teacher. During independent time, students orally rehearse their writing and then write their narrative.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, students write an informational text using the writing process. The teacher states: “This week, you are going to work on one piece of writing. You are going to write an informational text about a living thing from one of the texts we have read in this unit. Remember, informational texts give readers facts and true details. Your informational text will explain how that living thing grows and changes.”
• In Unit 4, the connect across disciplines inquiry project ( in the additional resources section) allows students to create a play based on the phases of the moon. Students perform their plays and write reflections commenting on each of the plays.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, students complete writing an opinion piece. The teacher uses two previously read texts as models (Technology Breakdown and Using Technology at Work) which are compared and contrasted and a two column chart to model brainstorming. Students use a two column chart to brainstorm about which of the two books are better. Students use the ideas written on the two column chart to plan, draft, revise, edit, and share student writing.
• In Unit 7, Weeks 2 and 3, students write a personal narrative using the writing process. In Week 2, students read a personal narrative mentor text, brainstorm their narrative, and draft the narrative. In Week 3, students revise their writing in order to add time words and descriptive details.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 5 students complete an informational report using planning, drafting, revising and editing to respond to the writing prompt “What important good or service do you use every day? Explain why this good or service is important to you. Support your ideas with facts and definitions from In My Opinion… Goods and Services Are Important and We Use Goods and Services.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials including regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.

During each three week unit, the Grade 1 materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice and apply writing with evidence. Lesson plans are well-designed and include guidance to support student writing. Many daily writing opportunities are focused around students’ recall of information from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources.

Materials in the sections titled “Unit Writing and Vocabulary” and “Unit Strategies and Skills” support teachers in guiding students’ understanding of recalling information, claiming opinions with reasons, and using relevant information. Examples of opportunities for evidence-based writing include, but are not limited to:

Examples of opportunities for evidence-based writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1,Week 2, Day 3, students are read aloud Being a Responsible Citizen. After the teacher models how to write a short story, students write a short story about the following prompt, “Write a story about a responsible citizen who finds a missing item.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 5, students complete an opinion piece utilizing supporting evidence from the text after reading “The Ant and the Grasshopper” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Students write about the character students like better, Little Red Riding Hood or the Ant.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, students write key events based on the Mentor Read-Aloud, “The City Mouse and the Country Mouse” based on Shared Writing. Students orally rehearse their independent writing of the key events.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, students read the story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and write a note of apology to the villagers from the story. Students include the reason for the apology and evidence from the text. Evidence should include, what the boy did wrong to the villagers, why his behavior impacted them and an offer of how to make it right.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 2, students find and write text evidence based on the text The Shoemaker and the Elves in the Challenge Activity: “Have students write down actions that show that a character is curious or grateful."

The materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for the grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

Grammar and conventions lessons are primarily addressed during the Shared Writing Mini-lesson portion of the Whole Group Materials. In each unit, during the writing and language mini-lessons, there is a portion of the mini-lesson called Build Language, that focuses on grade level grammar and conventions standards. All grammar and conventions standards are covered over the course of the year and most standards are revisited throughout the year in increasing complexity, such as application to the text. Each grammar and convention lesson is similarly structured with teacher modeling, partner share, graphic organizer/chart, and oral language practice. Students have opportunities to practice these skills in isolation during whole group instruction and then practice applying these skills with a partner during Oral Language Practice.

Handwriting was referenced in some writing lessons and printable practice pages were provided, however, explicit instruction for forming each letter was not provided. For example, when students are practicing writing f and t the teacher is simply told, “Point out the differences between how you form the letter t and the letter f in each word.”

Materials include explicit instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. For example:

• Students have the opportunity to practice printing capital and lowercase letters. For example:
  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher models how to write the title An Oak Tree Has a Life Cycle. The teacher points out how most of the words start with a capital letter. The teacher is to make practice pages available in a handwriting center during small-group rotations.
  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, the teacher models how to write the sentence “‘GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME!’ he cried.” The teacher points out that capital letters are used to show that Chicken Little is shouting. The teacher is to make practice pages available in a handwriting center during small-group rotations.

• Students have the opportunity to use common, proper, and possessive nouns. For example:
  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, during Build Language Review, students recall the difference between common and proper nouns. The teacher presents a list of words and has volunteers identify them as a common or proper noun. Students then retell Garrett Morgan’s story using common and proper nouns.
  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher explains what a possessive noun is and how to make a noun possessive. “A possessive noun tells who owns or has something. Adding an apostrophe and "s" to a noun turns the noun into a possessive noun. For example, I can make the noun teacher possessive by writing teacher’s. This is the teacher’s pen. The pen belongs to the teacher.” The class then practices turning nouns such as classroom, student, school and children into possessive nouns.

• Students have the opportunity to use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences. For example:
  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, during Build Language Review, students are reminded that nouns tell who or what and verbs describe the action. Students are shown four sentences. Students are instructed to underline the singular noun and circle the matching verbs. Based on the illustration from “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” students describe what is happening using a singular noun and the matching verb.
  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher explains how to use singular nouns and verbs, “Explain that a verb is a word that tells about an action or what someone or something does. Whether a verb is singular or plural depends on whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural.” The teacher then demonstrates with a chart showing singular verbs and how the sentence will change with a plural verb. For example, “The frog swims,” becomes, “The frogs swim.” The students work on this skill again in Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1 in more complex sentences with irregular verbs. Students are provided a sentence such as, “The memorial has a lot of visitors.” and then must change it to, “The memorials have a lot of visitors.”

• Students have the opportunity to use personal, possessive and indefinite pronouns. For example:
  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher introduces personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns to students. “Explain to students that pronouns are special words that take the place of nouns. Personal pronouns replace the noun for a person. Possessive pronouns show ownership. Indefinite pronouns are used to talk about one or more unspecified objects, things or places.” The teacher shows students a chart with the three types of pronouns. Afterwards, students practice orally using the pronouns in sentences.
  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 2, students learn that some pronouns tell who owns something. The teacher writes the following pronouns on the board: I, me, my. “If I pretend I am the oak tree when I write, I am writing from the point of view of the oak tree. I can use the pronouns and to talk about myself.” The teacher leads students in rewriting each sentence by replacing the underlined word or words with the correct pronoun.

• Students have the opportunity to use verbs to convey a sense of past, present and future. For example:
  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher reviews verbs and then creates a present, past, and future chart with the sentences, “I talk to Ben now. I talked to Ben yesterday. I will talk to Ben tomorrow.” Students then practice creating sentences about things that happened in the past, present and future.
  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, during Build Language Review, students are reminded that verbs are words that tell about actions, or what happens. Sentences are displayed and it is pointed out that sometimes a present tense verb ends with an s. Partners change the sentences in the previous activity by replacing the verb with another present-tense verb.

• Students have the opportunity to use frequently occurring adjectives. For example:
  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 3, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, students are reminded that adjectives are words that are used to describe people, places, and things. The class brainstorms some examples of adjectives that can be used when writing about the characters in the stories that have been read. These are documented on a chart. Partners then think of additional adjectives to describe their school or community.
  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher reads aloud the story Night and Day and tells students to listen for words that, “appeal to the senses.” As the teacher reads aloud the text, the students create a list of words that fit this criteria.The teacher then gives the students the words/phrases, “hot, rough, rocky, seems to change shape, bigger than Earth,” and students must decide whether each word/phrase describes the moon or the stars.

• Students have the opportunity to use frequently occurring conjunctions. For example:
  • Unit 6, Week 1, Day 4, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, the teacher displays the conjunctions and, or, and but. “Remember that a simple sentence has one subject, or naming part, and one predicate, or telling part, and a compound sentence has two subjects and two predicates. A compound sentence uses a conjunction such as or to join the two parts of the sentence. Have students volunteer two sentences from their writing that could be made into one compound sentence. If the examples work, have the student come up to the board and help the student write his or her sentences and convert them into one compound sentence.” During Oral Language Practice, volunteers identify simple sentences in their own writing. Students describe how they could combine two sentences to form a compound sentence.

• Students have the opportunity to use determiners. For example:
  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, students learn about the articles a, an and the. “In my writing, I said “a princess” because I haven’t met her before this moment. But I said “the prince” because I’ve already met the prince and know exactly who he is.” Students then practice using articles in sentences they create about The Princess and the Pea.
  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 3, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, the teacher displays the words a, an, and the. Students learn that these are special describing words called articles. The teacher displays the words that, this, these, and those and explains that these words are special describing words called demonstratives. The teacher displays sentences and underlines each demonstrative and askes students to identify the noun it describes as singular or plural.

• Students have the opportunity to use frequently occurring prepositions. For example:
  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 1, during Partner Share of the Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, a student is selected to be the teacher’s partner and they model sharing their writing with a partner. As partners share, the teacher explains that prepositions are joining words that show connections between things. “We write during class” is placed on the board. The word during is underlined. This word tells when something is happening. “Anna hits baseball over the fence.” The word over is underlined. This word tells where the baseball is going. A chart with four sentences is shown to the class. Volunteers underline the prepositions. Partners then take turns generating oral sentences that include prepositions using details from Using Technology at Work for ideas.
  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 2, students learn prepositions are special words that show connections between things. Elicit that prepositions can tell when or where things happen. Students use the prepositions into, through, and around in sentences that tell where something happens. Students then are asked to use the prepositions during, before, and after to tell when something happens.

• Students have the opportunity to produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response to prompts. For example:
  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 5, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, students help the teacher think of different kinds of sentences. Volunteers suggest sentences and other volunteers identify what punctuation mark should be used for that sentence type.
  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 1, students learn what makes a complete sentence and have the opportunity to orally practice making incomplete sentences complete. “Explain that a sentence is a group of words that tells a complete thought. Tell students that a complete thought must include a person, place, or thing and a verb that person, place, or thing does. If this thought is a statement, it should end with a period. If it is a question, it ends with a question mark.” Later in the week, students take this skill a step further and practice using conjunctions to create compound sentences. (Students use two sentences from their piece of writing to create a compound sentence
• Students have the opportunity to capitalize dates and names of people. For example:
  • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 2, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, students write a list of both types of nouns and ask students to tell you in which column of the chart they belong: Cesar Chavez, workers, farm, Helen Keller, alphabet, Braille.
• Students have the opportunity to use end punctuation for sentences. For example:
  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, the teacher models sharing the sample writing. The teacher points out the key idea and the details that support it. The teacher shows how the closing sentence restates the key idea in the first sentence. Volunteers share their work. The teacher explains that all sentences have an end punctuation mark. Students suggest examples for each type of sentence.
• Students have the opportunity to use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series. For example:
  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, students learn about how to use commas. The teacher shows how commas are used in dates, such as March 3, 2018. Then the teacher points out that commas are also used to separate items in a series. Students practice adding commas to sentences.
• Students have the opportunity to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words. For example:
  • Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, students apply their phonics and high-frequency word knowledge during interactive writing. “‘Let’s write a sentence about Pat. What could we say?’ Have students propose sentences and select one for the class to write. Be sure the final sentence includes sight words and short a words the students have been practicing. Call on students to help write the final sentence. Have them come up to the board and write words or letters they know. As they write, have students say the words slowly and write all the sounds they hear.”

Over the course of the year’s worth of materials, grammar/convention instruction is provided in increasingly sophisticated contexts. At the beginning of the school year, students are focused on learning to identify nouns and verbs, then students work on making sure the noun and verb agree by changing noun/verb forms and by the end of the year, students are working on more complex possessive nouns. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, students learn what a common noun is and practice coming up with a proper noun to replace it. “I used the common nouns and in my sentence because that is the information I have from the text. They name a person, place, or thing but not their special names, such as the exact names of the people or city.”
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, students review what a verb is and practice changing the verb tense in the sentence “I clean my room.”
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 3, students are provided singular nouns and matching verb phrases and must change the noun and verb to the plural form so the two agree. For example, “diagram shows,” changes to “diagrams show.”
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 4, students are also working on more complex possessive nouns that end in -s. Students practice adding ‘s to words like - teachers, class, babies, mother, bus.

Materials include opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills both in- and out-of-context. Writing Mini-Lessons often contain mentor texts or are tied back to the shared read alouds. This creates a very cohesive curriculum where students can apply the foundational skills they are learning about the subject matter or focus of the week. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 5, students use the text Using Technology at Work and their knowledge of prepositions to generate sentences. “Ask partners to choose a career from Using Technology at Work and explain that career using complete oral sentences. Encourage them to use prepositions in their sentences as they are able. For example: Pilots sit in the front of the plane.They guide the plane into the air.”
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, after a lesson on compound sentences, students are instructed to look back at the illustrations from the Mentor Read Aloud, “The Ant and the Pigeon,” and create their own compound sentences to describe what is happening in the pictures.

The materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks directly teach foundational skills to build reading acquisition by providing systematic and explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness (K-1), and phonics (K-2) that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression for application both in and out of context.

The materials at Grade 1 encompass all phonics and phonemic awareness standards over the course of the school year. Students are provided multiple opportunities to practice these skills through daily phonics mini-lessons. While phonics and phonemic awareness skills are often taught out of context, these skills were tied back into decodable readers and other texts students are working with over the course of the week. For example, when learning about the short u vowel sound in Unit 2, students practice blending short u words from the decodable reader “Big Bus.” In Unit 4, Week 1 when learning about consonant digraphs and after reading the poem “Neighbors” to students, the teacher reminds students of the digraphs they have been learning about over the course of the week and references the word “she” in the poem.

Students have frequent opportunities to learn and understand phonemes (e.g. distinguish long and short vowels, blend sounds, pronounce vowels in single-syllable words, and segment single-syllable words). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Phonics & Word Study, students practice orally blending the words has, sags, and tack. “This is the letter h. It stands for /h/. This is the letter a. It stands for /a/. Listen as I blend the two sounds: /haaa/. This is the letter s. The letter s can stand for /z/ at the end of a word. Listen as I blend all three sounds: /haaazzz/, has. Say the word with me, sags, tack.” Students place the following letter cards on their desks: a, c, g, k, s, t and then blend and read each word with the teachers
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, during Spelling-Sound Correspondences, students are introduced to the short i. The picture side of the short i frieze card is shown to the students. Students say the label for each picture. It is explained that the short i sound is in the middle of each word. The teacher says the word sit and asks what sound is heard in the middle of the word. Students are asked which letter stands for this sound. This is repeated for sip, wick, and rip.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, Phonics & Word Study, students practice identifying the /u/ sound in the middle of words. The teacher shows students the picture side of the short u frieze card. Students say the name of the animal and the objects in the pictures. The teacher explains that short u is in the middle of each name such as tub, mud, bug, and hut.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 3, Phonics & Word Study, students practice identifying short and long vowel sound a. The teacher models substituting the medial sound in cap to make cape. “I am going to say a word: /k/ /aaa/ /p/, cap.” The teacher repeats this medial sound change with: snack/snake; mad/made;back/bake.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, Phonics & Word study, students practice blending and segmenting one syllable words. “This is the letter p. It stands for /p/. This is the letter r. It stands for /r/. Listen as I blend the two sounds: /prrr/. These are the letters ou. The letters ou together stand for /ou/. Listen as I blend the sounds: /prrrou/. This is the letter d. It stands for /d/. Listen as I blend all four sounds: /prrroud/, proud. Say the word with me: proud.” Students practice with crowd and ground.

Lessons and activities provide students opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills while decoding words. Over the course of 10 units, students practice phonemic awareness skills each day within each unit. Teachers and students begin each lesson with a phonemic awareness activity that leads to application on Day 4 of the week. Standards are repeated over the course of the year and build in sequence to promote application of skills. Skills are practiced within the phonics and word study portion of the whole group material. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, Phonics & Word Study, students practice application of previously learned blending routine for single syllable decodable words in a decodable reader. The teacher models with red, hen, is, wet, can, hop and then displays page 2 of the Decodable Reader Get Well, Red Hen! The teacher models how to blend decodable words. Students echo-read from the Get Well, Red Hen!
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, Phonics & Word Study, students learn about final -e through phoneme categorization. “Listen carefully as I say three words. One is from “Robots at Work”: face, take, mat. The words face and take have the /a/ sound in the middle. The word mat has the /a/ sound in the middle. It does not belong.” The teacher repeats the learning of long /a/ and short /a/for the words shade, had, rake. “Listen carefully as I say three words. Tell me which word does not belong and why.”
• Unit 7, Week 3, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, when reviewing open syllables that students have been learning about over the course of the week, the teacher reminds students that each syllable contains a vowel sound. “Remind students that every syllable must have a vowel sound. Some words are divided into two syllables after the first vowel. The first syllable in those words is called an open syllable. Open syllables end with a vowel and usually have a long vowel sound. Write the word spider on the board.”

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction to build toward application. Over the course of 10 units, students practice phonemic awareness skills each day within each unit. Students begin each lesson with a phonemic awareness activity that leads to application on Day 4 of the week. Standards are repeated over the course of the year and build in sequence to promote application of skills. Skills are practiced within the phonics and word study portion of the whole group material.

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonics instruction to build toward application. Over the course of 10 units, students practice phonics skills necessary for grade level mastery. Each unit builds within the weeks, allowing for application of phonics skills within a decodable reader. The sequence over the year includes: short vowels, blends, final consonant blends, consonant digraphs, final -e, vowel teams, r controlled, vowel patterns, and silent letters. Within the units, there is also a built in spiral review that allows students to review and revisit previously learned phonics skills. For example:

• In Unit 1, the phonics instruction includes short a, short i, and short o.
• In Unit 2, the phonics instruction includes short e, short u, and l- blends.
• In Unit 3, the phonics instruction includes r blends (br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr), s blends (sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw) and final consonant blends (nd, nk, nt, mp, st).
• In Unit 4, the phonics instruction includes consonant digraphs (th, sh, ng), (ch, tch, wh) and 3 letter blends (scr, spl, spr, squ, str).
• In Unit 5, the phonics instruction includes long a with final e, long o with final e, and soft c, g.
• In Unit 6, the phonics instruction includes long i with final e, long e with final e, long u with final e, and long a vowel teams (ai, ay).
• In Unit 7, the phonics instruction includes long o vowel teams and single letters, long e vowel teams and single letters, long i vowel teams and single letters.
• In Unit 8, the phonics instruction includes r controlled vowels /ar/, /or/ and /ur/.
• In Unit 9, the phonics instruction includes vowel patterns /ou/, /oi/, /oo/.
• In Unit 10, the phonics instruction includes silent letters and long e spelled -y and -ey.

The materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge, directionality, and function (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

In the Grade 1 materials, teachers are reminded over the course of the school year to model print concepts when completing shared writing activities.

Text features such as glossary, table of contents and the use of indexes were also taught throughout the course of the school year. Students compared and contrasted two different texts on a regular basis. Students also had frequent opportunities to identify the key details and retell stories over the course of the school year. Opportunities to identify cause and effect were also provided. Lessons provided opportunities for teacher modeling, guided student practice and the opportunity for students to show their knowledge.

Materials include frequent, adequate lessons and tasks/questions about the organization of print concepts. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Shared Writing Mini-Lesson, after writing a complete message, students help convert the message into a written list. “Take this opportunity to review print concepts and ensure students recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence, such as the first word, capitalization, and ending punctuation. When you have finished, have the class read the list with you.”
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 4, as the teacher works with students to develop sentences in the answer, the teacher shows how to start with a clear statement of your answer. Then the teacher shows how each additional sentence provides support for the answer. As the teacher writes, the teacher models how to apply knowledge of print concepts.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, Shared Writing Mini-lesson, the teacher reviews that there are different types of sentences, and asks students to suggest sentences for an opinion that could end with a period. Then the teacher asks students to suggest other sentences for an opinion that could end with a question mark and, finally, an exclamation point.

Students have frequent and adequate opportunities to identify text structures (e.g. main idea and details, sequence of events, problem and solution, compare and contrast, cause and effect). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, Mentor Read 2 Mini-Lesson, the teacher starts by introducing the concept, and explains that the cause is the reason something happens. The effect is what happens because of the cause. To help students, the teacher can demonstrate an example: let go of a pencil (cause) and it drops (effect). Then the teacher opens up the discussion for the class by posing some general cause and effect questions. “If you cause a glass of milk to drop from the table, what will the effect be? What might cause an ice pop to melt? When it rains from the sky that’s a cause what effects do you notice?” Students then fill out a cause and effect chart based on the text, “Safe to Go.”
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 4, Cross-Text Mini-Lesson, students compare and contrast the the two texts, Being a Responsible Citizen and People Who Made Contributions. The teacher models comparing and contrasting the two texts and then provides students with guided practice comparing and contrasting the two texts. A helpful chart with examples is also provided for teacher use.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 4, Cross-Text Mini-Lesson, students compare and contrast the two texts, Using Technology at Work and Technology Breakdown. After going through modeling and guided practice to complete a compare and contrast chart, the teacher then completes a Show Your Knowledge, activity with students about the two texts. “Say the following sentences and ask students to raise one hand if it tells about Using Technology at Work, clap once if it tells about Technology Breakdown, and raise both hands if it tells about both books.”

Materials include frequent and adequate lessons and activities about text features (e.g. title, byline, headings, table of contents, glossary, pictures, illustrations). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, Extended Read 1 Mini-Lesson, the teacher models how to use a table of contents, glossary, and index in the text, Being a Responsible Citizen. The teacher displays and points to the table of contents on page 1. The teacher explains that the table of contents shows how the book is organized. The teacher shows where the chapter title and page numbers can be found as well as special features indicated by the table of contents, such as the glossary and index.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, Mentor Read 2 Mini-Lesson, students learn about how illustrations help determine an author’s purpose. The teacher skims through “The Fox and the Robin” with students and reminds them that some illustrations can help readers understand the events described in the text, while other illustrations give information that is not in the text. The teacher stresses that skillful readers always pay attention to the illustrations to help them understand what they are reading. The teacher helps students list clues from the illustrations and text in a chart.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 2, Extended Read 1 Mini-Lesson, students learn about the text feature of flowcharts, and students learn how to use flowcharts to answer text-dependent questions and locate important information. “The question asks what happens after roots grow. First I will locate on the flowchart. I look for the arrow that points to the next picture: the one that follows the photo of the roots. I see that the stem and leaves grow after the roots. This information answers the question.”
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 4, Extended Read 1 Mini-Lesson, students learn how to use sidebars to locate text evidence. The teacher displays and reads aloud a question that requires text evidence. The teacher rereads Chapter 2 and the sidebar. The teacher points out the heading of the sidebar, the photo, and the text.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 2, students review the use of captions in the texts, “School Days” and “The First Cars.” The teacher starts the lesson by reviewing what a caption is with students, “Point to the photograph on page 14 in “School Days.” Show students that both “The First Cars” and “School Days” include historical photographs. Students are reminded that the words underneath the photograph are the picture’s caption. Students are informed that, sometimes, captions provide information you cannot get just from looking at the picture. “Look at the caption on page 15. What information does the caption give you that you cannot see clearly in the photograph?” The teacher then models using captions, leads students through guided practice with captions and finally has students share their knowledge of captions by adding a caption to a drawing they complete of something they like to do at school.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high-frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid Grade 1 and through Grade 2.

Over the course of the year, students are provided with multiple opportunities to read on-level texts in the Shared Reading and Phonics & Word Study portions of the whole group materials. Students practice reading with the teacher as they model to practice accuracy, rate, and expression and then practice rereading with partners. Students have multiple opportunities to practice fix-up strategies of rereading, self-correction, and context clues during the Fluency portion of the shared reading text. Students practice reading and spelling irregular words from the decodable readers. During Phonics and Word Study mini-lessons, which are included in each five-day sequence in each unit, students have the opportunity to write and read words with the phonics focus and high-frequency word focus. Each unit has Reader’s Theater texts to provide students opportunities to read grade-level texts with fluency.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read on-level text. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, Shared Reading, students practice reading fluency of grade-level text through the whole group shared reading of “Kind Hearts and Gardens.” “On the first reading, ask students to read aloud the poem with you in a fluent, expressive voice.”
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 5, Shared Reading, students practice reading fluency of the shared reading text, “Sunflower.” “On the first reading, ask students to read aloud the poem with you fluently, with an expressive voice. Have students match your rate. On the second reading, divide students into pairs. Have students alternate reading lines. As time allows, have partners switch order so that they read a different set of lines.”
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 2, Shared Reading, the class reads the shared reading text, “Animal Dentists.” In reading this text the class works on building fluency, reading /oi/ words in context and counting syllables.
• In Small Group E-book, A New Friend (G/11), students read the emergent text that includes the phonics focus of r-family blends. Partners read the story to each other and practice using appropriate phrasing.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression in oral reading with on-level text and decodable words. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, Shared Reading, students read “A Pet for Meg,” together with an emphasis on fluency and expression. The teacher models reading with expression and then has students practice reading with expression as well.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students use phonics skills to read the decodable text A Snail in May. Students read aloud the text together and then partners read.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 2, Shared Reading, students read “Almond Milk.” Students work on reading with correct pacing, paying close attention to punctuation. The teacher reminds students not to read too fast or too slow and to pause at commas and periods.

Materials support reading of texts with attention to reading strategies such as rereading, self-correction, and the use of context clues. For example:

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, Shared Reading, students practice rereading to correct misreads/mistakes during the shared reading of the text, “Pete Saves the Day.” “Read the last paragraph of “Pete Saves the Day” aloud, asking students to follow along. Purposely substitute had for the word hand. Reread the sentence slowly, correcting the misread word. On the second reading, divide students into two sections. Each section takes turns reading the last paragraph while the other section follows along in the text, listening carefully for any mistakes. If a mistake occurs, ask the students to reread the sentence accurately. On the third reading, have groups switch so that they read a different paragraph.”
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 1, Shared Reading, students practice using fix-up monitoring strategies after the teacher models think-alouds of monitoring strategies. “The text says John Glenn “orbited” Earth three times. I’m not sure what that means. What exactly did John Glenn do? I’ll reread the text and see if I can find an answer to my question.”
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 3, Shared Reading, students read “Rainbow.” Students complete an activity to practice catching errors. “Read the last two lines of Rainbow aloud, asking students to follow along. Purposely substitute points for the word paints. Stop and explain that points does not make sense in the sentence. Reread the lines slowly, correcting the misread word.” Students then complete a group activity where they listen for other’s mistakes while reading the poem.

Students have opportunities to practice and read irregularly spelled words. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students practice reading and spelling high-frequency words (the, see, go, she, and).
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, Phonics & Word Study, students are introduced to the irregularly spelled high-frequency words said and two. Students review the irregularly spelled words, one and have.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, Phonics & Word Study, students practice reading and spelling irregularly spelled words from the decodable reader. “Practice/Dictation: after, call, her, large. Display and read each word. Have students read and spell each word together.”
• In Unit 7, Reader’s Theater, students read London Bridge Has Fallen Down. This book has six parts for readers at level A, D, E and H. The following high-frequency words are in the text for students to read: again, down, know, look, make, what, who, yes.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Over the course of the year, materials support students’ development to learn grade level word recognition and analysis skills in connected text and tasks. This is done through the use of weekly decodable readers and shared read-alouds. During shared reading lessons, teachers are frequently provided with “Transfer Skills to Context,” segments that link phonics skills students are working on mastering to the story being read. Decodable readers connect to weekly phonics skills and high-frequency words that are being taught. Students are provided the opportunity during weekly decodable reading lessons to complete an interactive writing activity relating to the story. These writing activities provide students with the opportunity to apply phonics and high-frequency skills to their work.

Materials support students’ development to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 2, Phonics & Word Study, the teacher displays the letter cards for lamp and models blending the sounds together. Students then practice by blending sand, best, drink.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, Phonics & Wordy Study, students apply their knowledge of consonant digraphs and fluency words learned from that week to the decodable reader, A Fish Wish. Students decode words with the following consonant digraphs: th, sh, or ng. Students read the following high-frequency words in the text: were, our, could, these.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 4, the teacher models reading bit and adding an e to make bite. Students practice reading pin/pine, rip/ripe, spin/spine. The teacher reads page 2 in Why Kittens Hide, and students echo read the sentences that contain the words five, nice, pine. Students write mine, hide, nice, rice five times each and checking the spelling.

Materials provide frequent opportunities to read irregularly spelled words in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students practice reading irregularly spelled words. Students read high-frequency words in the decodable reader Fran Grabs It. The teacher shows and reads each high-frequency word. Students read and spell each word orally. Students read aloud the decodable reader.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students practice reading and spelling high-frequency words. Students read the high-frequency words in the decodable reader Why Kittens Hide.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 4, Phonics & Word Study, students apply their knowledge of silent letters and the high-frequency words they learned that week to the decodable reader, Know About Storms. Students are reminded they know the following high-frequency words: better, carry, learn, very. Students have also been learning about decoding words with silent letters. When students encounter a word with a silent letter, the teacher is to remind students to not pronounce the silent letter as they read the word.”

Lessons and activities provide students many opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding in context and decoding words in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, Phonics & Word Study, students practice applying knowledge of short e words and high-frequency words (are, said, two, look, my) to the decodable reading text. “When they come to a word with a letter e, remind them to use what they know about the short e sound to read the word. The teacher also supports students to apply their phonics and high-frequency word knowledge during interactive writing. Let’s write a sentence about Red Hen and Meg. What could we say? Have students propose sentences and select one for the class to write. Be sure that the final sentence includes sight words and short e words students have been practicing. Call on students to help write the final sentence. Have them come up to the board and write words or letters they know. As they write, have students say the words slowly and write all the sounds they hear. Display pictures of the decodable words to provide a visual cue for their writing.”
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, Phonics & Word Study, students will use Elkonin boxes to blend cut and rub. As the student hears the /k/ sound, a circle is placed in the first box. Students listen for the second sound /u/ and place a circle in the second box. After the /t/ sound is made, students place a circle in the last box. Next students sound out the word and write the word.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, Phonics & Word Study, after reading the decodable reader, A Fish Wish, students complete an interactive writing activity about the wish. The teacher is reminded to make sure that the sentence the class writes includes sight words and words with the consonant digraphs students have been working on.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 4, Phonics & Word Study after reading the decodable reader, Shade Lake, students complete an interactive writing activity about the story. The teacher is instructed to make sure the sentence the class writes includes words with long a (spelled with a final -e) and sight words students have been working on.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students read and write words that include /ou/. The teacher shows In Our Town, and students read aloud the text together.

The instructional materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials supporting ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.

Materials provide students with multiple assessment opportunities over the course of the year that allow students to demonstrate progress towards mastery as well as provide teachers with feedback for instructional adjustments. Teachers are provided with a resource map they can use based on how students perform on the quick checks. The map directs teachers to specific lessons to use with students who struggled to pass a given quick check. Teachers are provided with informal and formal assessment materials within the core reading program. Assessments include a pre- and post- assessments, foundational skills screeners, weekly assessments, unit assessments, interim assessments, and weekly informal assessments of foundational skills taught within that week.

Weekly informal and formal assessment opportunities directly correlate with the standard focus for that week. Many of these are observational in Kindergarten and the program provides checklists to support this. The checklists show a student’s strengths and needs. Each week there is a chart to reference specific re-teaching lessons to support foundational skills included as a link in the Mini-Lessons at a Glance. These Lessons are labeled Reteaching/Intervention Lessons. These lessons give guidance to teachers to support students performing below grade-level standard for the week’s Shared Reading Mini-Lessons as well as the Phonological Awareness and Phonics Mini-Lessons. Unit assessments provide additional opportunities for teachers to monitor student progress towards mastery of the foundational skills taught within the given unit and directly correlate to the standards taught over the course of the unit. There are Language Development Assessment materials that help teachers to determine the language proficiency level of their students in different domains. There are instructional suggestions in the units that address how to differentiate for students within these levels.

Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of foundational skills. For example:

• Weekly assessments of foundational skills are provided in the Assessments portion of the Core Materials. Examples include:
  • In Unit 1, Week 1, students complete a foundational skills assessment on ending sounds and rhyming words. “Look at the picture of a book. Which word has the same ending sound as book . . . book? Look at the picture of a dad. Which word rhymes with dad . . .dad?”
  • In Unit 5, Week 2, students complete a foundational skills assessment on locating words in print, vowel sounds, and beginning sounds. “Which word has the same vowel sound as game. . .game?”
  • In Unit 7, Week 1, students complete a foundational skills assessment on vowel sounds. “Which word has the same vowel sound as coast?”

• Each Unit contains an End of Unit assessment that assesses the foundational skills taught within the unit. Examples include:
  • Unit 3 End of Unit Assessment: Students complete foundational skills questions from the skills taught within that unit. “The bird makes a nest. Which word has the same ending sounds as nest?”
  • Unit 10 End of Unit Assessment: Students complete foundational skills questions from the skills taught within that unit. “Which word has the same sound as the y in hairy?”
• Interim Assessments are taken throughout the year. Interim Assessment 1 is taken twice; once at the beginning of the year as a pretest and then again as a posttest. Interim Assessment 2 is based on the standards taught in Units 1-3. Interim Assessment 3 is based on the standards taught in Units 1-6.
• Quick check assessments also provide teachers with information about the students’ current level of understanding in the areas of fluency, phonics and word recognition, phonological awareness and print concepts. An example includes:
  • Phonological Awareness Quick Check #21 assesses a student’s ability to “Distinguish Syllables in Spoken Words.” The teacher reads the student a word, then has the student say the word and clap out the number of syllables in the word. The students does this for the following seven words: told, reading, movement, dishwasher, science, television, celebrate.” Again, as was the case in Kindergarten if a student scores below 66% the teacher is instructed to “Use additional resources shown in the Resource Map to provide the student with opportunities to remediate skills.”

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information of students’ current skills/level of understanding. For example:

• Teachers are provided with a weekly outline to record observations of students' progress towards mastery on the foundational skill and high frequency words taught that week and record any additional notes.
• In the Informal Assessments portion of the Core Reading materials, teachers are provided with checklists to help observe student growth throughout the year. “Use these assessment tools periodically throughout the year to record observations and notations of student growth.”
• Grade 1 Foundational Skills Screeners are assessments to provide a general proficiency in letter recognition, letter sounds, consonants, vowels, word recognition and print concepts. If a student scores 100% - 81% the student is on or above grade level and intervention is not necessary. If a student scores 80%-65% the student is meeting grade-level expectations and more focused instruction in a specific skill area may be needed. If a student scores 64% and below, extra instruction and intervention are needed. Teachers are asked to refer to foundational lessons in the core program and in the Reader’s Theater Handbook.
• There are five, Skill-Area Specific Quick Checks- Phonological Awareness, Print Concepts, Fluency, Phonics and Word Recognition.. These skill based assessments assist teachers in evaluating student proficiency in key skill and knowledge areas. This data is used to inform decisions on implementing intervention steps.
• Teachers are provided specific instructions in the Weekly and Unit Assessment introduction for interpreting student scores. Teachers were given the same scoring breakdown as they were in Kindergarten where a score of below 50% would, “indicate a need for reteaching before the student moves to the next week or unit.” Teachers are also advised to consult the answer key for further information about where a student struggled on the test, “the Answer Key indicates the tested standard or skill. Most standards and skills are tested by more than one item. Identifying which items the student answered incorrectly can help determine whether more focused instruction on particular standards or skills is needed.” Teachers are also advised to go over the test individually with students, “Reviewing a student’s assessment with the student may also be helpful. It can provide an opportunity for students to see which questions they answered incorrectly and why their answers were incorrect. This kind of review will help them be more successful next time.”
• On page 6 of Kindergarten Weekly and Unit Assessment resource book, it is explained how the information from the weekly assessments should be used. They are to be used as a guide to support the teacher in providing students more time or help.
• The Individual Reading Retelling Rubric provides the teacher with information of what the students; instructional needs are to provide an oral or written retelling of what has been read.
• Anecdotal notes are the observations teachers made. On page 3 of Grade K-6 Informal Assessments, it is suggested teachers analyze these to inform instructional moves.

Materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in foundational skills. For example:

• Teachers are provided with Interim Assessments to help make instructional adjustments, including a pre and post test. Examples include:
  • Interim Assessment 1: Teachers are provided with 15 questions to assess foundational skills. “Look at the words. Which word rhymes with bit. . .bit?”
  • Interim Assessment 2: Teachers are provided with 15 questions to assess foundational skills. “Which word has the same vowel sound as the word bed?”
• Teachers are given specific instructions in the Weekly and Unit Assessment introduction for interpreting student scores. Teachers were given the same scoring breakdown as they were in Kindergarten where a score of below 50% would, “indicate a need for reteaching before the student moves to the next week or unit.” Teachers are also advised to consult the answer key for further information about where a student struggled on the test, “the Answer Key indicates the tested standard or skill. Most standards and skills are tested by more than one item. Identifying which items the student answered incorrectly can help determine whether more focused instruction on particular standards or skills is needed.” Teachers are also advised to go over the test individually with students, “Reviewing a student’s assessment with the student may also be helpful. It can provide an opportunity for students to see which questions they answered incorrectly and why their answers were incorrect. This kind of review will help them be more successful next time.”
• In addition to the weekly and unit assessments teachers are also provided with foundational skills screeners. In Grade 1, teachers use the Level B screening tests which assesses: letter recognition, letter sounds, consonants, vowels, word recognition and print concepts.
• There are five, Skill-Area Specific Quick Checks- Phonological Awareness, Print Concepts, Fluency, Phonics and Word Recognition. These skill based assessments assist teachers in evaluating student proficiency in key skill and knowledge areas. This data is used to inform decisions on implementing intervention steps.

In Unit 1, Week 1, Phonics Mini-Lessons include phoneme building, phoneme segmentation, phoneme substitution, and high-frequency words: the, see, go, she, and. Also spelling words are: bake, black, can, had, has, pack, ran, see, she, track. The Reteaching/Intervention lessons for the week include:

• Phoneme Blending: PA Lesson 15; pp. 30-31, PA QCs 9-10, pp. 10-11
• Recognize and Produce Rhyme: PA Lessons 9, 10; pp. 16, 18, PA QCs 1-4, pp. 2-5.
• Phoneme Segmentation: PA Lesson 7; pp. 14-15, PA QCs 13-14, pp. 14-15
• Phoneme Substitution: PA Lesson 19; pp. 38-39, PA QCs 17-18, pp. 26-27
  

In Unit 3, Week 2, Phonics Mini-Lessons include phoneme categorization, phoneme blending, phoneme substitution, phoneme segmentation, and high-frequency words: was, there, then, out. Also spelling words are: last, skip, step, sleep skin, smell, fast, stop, out, was. The Reteaching/Intervention lessons for the week include:

• Phoneme Categorization: PA Lesson 16, pp. 32-33, PA QC 15, pp. 16-17
• Phoneme Blending: PA Lessons 9, 10; pp. 16, 18, PA QCs 1-4, pp. 2-5.
• Phoneme Segmentation: PA Lesson 7; pp. 14-15, PA QCs 13-14, pp. 14-15
• Phoneme Substitution: PA Lesson 19; pp. 38-39, PA QCs 17-18, pp. 26-27
  

In Unit 5, Week 3, Phonics Mini-Lessons include phoneme categorization, phoneme blending, phoneme substitution, phoneme segmentation, and high-frequency words: far, give, too, try. Also spelling words are: gem, cent, race, page, dance, strange, face, cage, far, try. The Reteaching/Intervention lessons for the week include:

• Phoneme Categorization: PA Lesson 16, pp. 32-33, PA QC 15, pp. 16-1
• Phoneme Blending: PA Lesson 15; pp. 30-31, PA QCs 9-10, pp. 10-11
• Phoneme Segmentation: PA Lesson 7; pp. 14-15, PA QCs 13-14, pp. 14-15
• Phoneme Substitution: PA Lesson 19; pp. 38-39, PA QCs 17-18, pp. 26-27

The materials reviewed for Benchmark Grade 1 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills.

For each unit, there are different leveled texts used for small group lessons. These texts include foundational skills lessons, so that all students can practice foundational skills in context. For each unit, there are Reader’s Theater activities that allow students at different levels to have access to the high-frequency words and the opportunity to read text for a purpose. There are intervention lessons for fluency, phonics and word recognition, phonological awareness, and print concepts to support all students in mastery of foundational skills.

The materials do provide high-quality learning lessons and activities for students to reach mastery of foundational skills. For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 5, Phonics & Word Study, students use letter cards to blend words. “Spiral Review: Practice: tent, dump, sand, best, drink. Display letter cards t, e, n, t. Blend the sounds. What sound do each of these letters stand for? Let’s blend the sounds together: Let’s read the word together. Repeat using letter cards to display the words dump, sand, best, and drink.”
• Materials include opportunities for application of foundational skills from both the shared reading story and the decodable reader that provide students with additional support towards mastery of foundational skills in and out of context.
• Materials include multimodal activities for students to progress towards mastery of foundational skills that include say/spell/read/write, Elkonin boxes, partner work, and letter cards.

• Over the course of the year, teachers are provided with a Differentiated Instruction Planner for all 10 units that provide Unit-Specific Leveled Text, Reader’s Theatre, English Language Development, and Intervention materials with guidance on how to use the materials. “Group students by instructional level to support their reading development. Use the lesson-specific Teacher’s Guide and Text Evidence Question Card for each title.” Examples include:
  • Unit-Specific Leveled Texts for Differentiated Instruction - “Group students by instructional level to support their reading development. Use the lesson-specific Teacher’s Guide and Text Evidence Question card for each title.” (Two level C texts, four level D texts, three level E texts and two level F texts are provided for this unit)
  • Reader’s Theater - “Group students heterogeneously for multi-leveled reader’s theater experiences that build fluency and comprehension.” (two reader’s theater scripts are provided)
  • Reading Strategy Instruction - “Group students for additional modeling and guided practice with specific strategies from the unit.”
  • Intervention - “Select appropriate intervention lessons based on data from your weekly, unit, and interim assessments as well as informal assessments.”

Students have multiple practice opportunities with each grade level foundational skill component in order to reach mastery. For example:

• Over the course of the year, foundational skills are taught primarily in the Phonics & Word Study portion of the whole group materials. Each week addresses a new foundational skill with opportunities to apply to context on Day 4 and spiral review on Day 5. Skills are taught daily and reviewed in and out of context. Lessons include a focus skill and student objectives. Students also review and apply frequency words from the decodable reader each week. Each week students focus on a skill and practice using that skill through various phonics activities and the use of a weekly decodable reader. An example includes:
  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, students have multiple opportunities to practice the focus skill of the week consonant digraphs th, sh and ng. On Day 1, students complete phoneme identification, spelling-sound correspondence, blending and spelling activities all relating to sh, th and ng. Students continue to complete phonics activities with the consonant blends throughout the week and on Day 4 read the decodable reader A Fish Wish, that uses all three consonant digraphs that students have been learning about.
• High-frequency word instruction is also a daily part of students’ instruction. High-frequency words are reviewed and/or introduced on a daily basis throughout the school year. An example includes:
  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher introduces the new high-frequency words - once, upon, hurt, and that and reviews the previously taught words - were, our, could, and these.