3rd Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2a.

The units are connected by a grade-level topic or theme and are framed with guiding questions. However, some units are themes, rather than topics. For example, the texts in Unit 1 focus on the topic of animal adaptations, while the texts in Unit 6 are organized by the theme, Making Decisions. Each unit contains a new topic or theme for each of the 10 units, with each unit lasting three weeks for a total of 15 days. There is vertical alignment across the program, meaning each grade has a similar topic or theme that appears at each grade level. Publisher documentation indicates the general topics are science, social studies, technology, literature, social-emotional learning, and culture. However, there is not always consistent vocabulary or content that repeats across texts within a unit, therefore reducing the impact of exploring a single topic for three weeks. While the topics/themes are supported by texts that fall within the topic or theme, the texts do not serve the function of building knowledge of topics, but are instead used as vehicles for instruction and practice of literacy skills. Additionally, the focus of questions and tasks is on building comprehension skills and understanding the parts and structures of texts with little emphasis on the content contained therein. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 1 is organized around a topic of Animal Adaptations. The Essential Question is "How do living things survive in their environment?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is “to understand how living things grow and change." Students build schema around the following concepts:
• For any particular environment, some types of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. The environment also affects the traits that organisms develop.
• Animals can be classified into the major groups of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, or birds according to their physical characteristics and behavior.
• Animals and plants respond to changing seasons.
• Characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents and the variations of these traits in each species may provide advantages for survival.

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Over time, animals develop adaptations that help them survive in their environments.” However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planners only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 4 is organized around the theme of Comparing Points of View. The Essential Question is "What makes people view the same experience differently?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is understanding what makes people view the same experience differently. Students build schema around the following concepts:
• The narrator, story characters, and the reader all have their own point of view to the story.
• Authors sometimes use the same characters in multiple stories and literary formats (e.g., plays vs. a fable)
• A play offers a dramatized version of a story with “unique storytelling features”
• By respecting others’ points of view, we can learn about them and ourselves

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Readers can have their own points of view about the people and events in a story."

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 6 is organized around the theme of Making Decisions and includes texts all by the same author, Crystal Allen. The Essential Question is "What helps us solve problems?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is on “kids in contemporary settings needing to resolve an issue in which they are presented with a situation in which they must decide to ‘do the right thing’.” Students build schema around the following concepts:
• Character actions determine the plot despite variations in the length, genre, and style of the fictional story.
• Authors can approach similar themes in a variety of settings, with different plots and characters.
• Dialogue is a key way in which characters reveal their personalities.
• Characters’ actions and relationships have consequences that impact the story. Readers can gain insight into human behavior from stories.

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "It’s important to weigh every factor before making a decision.”

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 10 is organized around the topic of Forces and Interactions. The Essential Question is "How does understanding science help us achieve our goals?" and the knowledge focus stated for the unit is, “In this unit, students will read informational texts about physical science concepts centering around forces and energy. They will also read two poems about sports and a Native American-themed folktale; each applies some of the same principles introduced in the informational texts." Students will build schema around the following concepts:
• Gravity is a force that can be overcome.
• The patterns of an object’s motion can be observed and measured; objects in contact exert forces on each other.
• Energy can take many forms; it has the ability to cause motion or create change.
• Authors employ non-literal language, such as metaphor and simile, to engage readers and encourage them to create vivid mental images of the story events and characters.”

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Understanding how the physical world works allows scientists to come up with ways to improve our lives."

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2d.

Culminating tasks are somewhat engaging and provide students limited opportunities to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics. Each unit has a culminating task but these tasks do not always require students to demonstrate knowledge of a topic. There are questions and tasks throughout the unit that help the teacher determine student readiness. Student responses in Constructive Conversation and Apply Understanding provide usable information on student readiness to complete the culminating task. A Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy section provides guidance for how the teacher can assist students who need support. Guiding questions and rubrics are also provided and serve as guidance for students and teachers in completing these projects.

While the culminating tasks provided are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards at the grade level, there is little variation over the course of the year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, for the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project students choose an animal discussed in the texts from the unit and deliver a presentation on the animal. The learning targets for the task include research presentation skills as well as science concepts. The learning tasks for the research presentation skills include, but are not limited to, “Conduct short research projects, gathering information from unit selections, and other print and digital resources. Create a presentation on a topic, using technology, audio recording and visual displays when appropriate.” The learning targets for the science tasks state, “Scientists learn about different organisms, events, and scientific processes through observations or viewing in natural habitats. Animals have traits that affect the way they grow, behave, and survive.”
• In Unit 2, the Research and Inquiry Project is to select an author directly from the unit’s Mini-Lessons to research more in depth and select another author of the student’s choice. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit, and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation, effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are podcast interview with each author, an author trivia game, or an illustrated biography. Presentations are made to the whole class. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.
• In Unit 3, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to compare and contrast two social-change advocates and how they brought about change in the government. In Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1, the Teacher’s Resource gives the following instructions under Apply Understanding, “Tell students that during independent time, you would like them to reread and annotate paragraphs 7-12 and write a main idea statement about ‘Cesar Chavez: It Is My Right to Organize!’ Have students recount at least three key details and write sentences explaining how these details support the main text.” In Week 3, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 2, students discuss the following prompt under Constructive Conversations, “Reread the section ‘Afrcan Americans and the Right to Vote’ and paragraphs 3-5 of ‘Election Day.’ Combine information from both texts to discuss the sequence of events that led to all Afriecna Americans getting the right to vote. Then, create a timeline that illustrates these key events.” During the Share and Reflect section, the Teacher’s Resource states, “Invite pairs to share their timeline entries with the class. Call on volunteers to discuss how analyzing and integrating the sequential text connections in both texts deepened their understanding of African Americans’ struggle for voting rights.” The information gathered from these prompts will help the teacher determine student readiness for the culminating task.
• In Unit 6, the Research and Inquiry Project is to choose a common literature theme from the unit and combine information from the unit texts as well as additional sources to demonstrate knowledge. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation and effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are: animated video, comic strip/storyboard, or social media character profile. Teachers can structure authentic presentation opportunities—to the whole class, another class, to parents or videotape presentations—and upload them to the school website. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.
• In Unit 7, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to compare and contrast one of the communities from the texts with the students’ own community. The students need to answer the following guiding questions, “Based on the unit texts and your research, how is your community the same as and different from the one in the unit text? What evidence from the unit text and your research shows how the two communities are alike and how they are different? In what ways does your community reflect the people who live there?” The additional resources provide a student and teacher rubric which include the following topics: content, presentation, effort and collaboration.
• In Unit 9, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to research two businesses that provided goods or services, one from the texts and one of their own choosing, and deliver a presentation on the businesses. In Week 3, Mini-Lesson 9, Extended Read 2, students answer the following prompt during Constructive Conversations, “How is the process of making and selling marmalade similar to the process of selling goods at a farmers’ market? How is it different? Cite evidence from both ‘Let It Grow: The Booming Business of Farmers’ Markets’ and ‘From Fruit to Jam: A Tasty List of Choices’ to support your answer.” Possible responses are provided for the teacher, and the Teacher’s Resource states, “Observe their conversations to determine the level of support students may need. Refer to Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy to provide additional support or extend a challenge.” This will help the teacher determine if students are prepared for the culminating task.
• In Unit 10, the Research and Inquiry Project is to examine ways people use science in their daily lives. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit, and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation, and effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are podcast, photo collage, biographical article, or a graphic story. Teachers can structure authentic presentation opportunities—to the whole class, another class, to parents or videotape presentations—and upload them to the school website. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2e.

Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year long component that builds students’ academic vocabulary and supports building knowledge. The Additional Resources section provides routines for vocabulary instruction. Each unit has a Strategies and Skills page which lists both the vocabulary content and the week it is introduced, practiced, and whether or not it will be assessed. The Vocabulary Development resource in the Teacher’s Resource lists General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary in each unit which is related to the texts within the unit. Vocabulary for speaking and listening is listed, as well as literary terms used throughout the unit. Students have an opportunity to use some vocabulary multiple times throughout the unit, both in the text and out of the text. However, very few words repeat across texts. Some vocabulary appears in multiple texts, although it is not always clear when that occurs and it is not brought to the students’ attention as a mechanism for building knowledge and expertise on topics. There is no documentation or examples of where vocabulary is found in multiple texts. Vocabulary is listed under one heading in the Vocabulary Development resource, making it a challenge for teachers to know when vocabulary words appear and are targeted multiple times. Student vocabulary tasks do not repeat in context or across multiple texts. Students do have opportunities to learn vocabulary in their reading, speaking and listening although not all words are included in those tasks.

Though some vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts, etc.), there is no evidence of vocabulary being repeated across texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• On the Vocabulary Development page in the Teacher’s Resource, under the General Academic and Domain-Specific word list which lists text titles, none of the words are denoted as repeating across texts.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, Short Read 1, students use strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The words in this section are General Academic vocabulary from “Addison and Rocky.” Students have already read the text prior to this lesson. The teacher models how to determine the meaning of lively by using context clues in the text. The Teacher’s Resource gives the following directions for Guided Practice, “Have students reread paragraph 2–7 of ‘Addison and Rocky’ and use context clues and/or illustrations to figure out the meaning of the words Pomeranian, whimpering, and piteously. Have students annotate context clues and jot the meaning of each word in the margins. Have partners discuss their definitions. Invite volunteers to share their definitions with the group.” Students can then use dictionaries to help them refine definitions.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 1, the teacher displays the Domain-Specific vocabulary words economics, agriculture, consumer, and producer during the class discussion of the Unit 9 video. The teacher invites volunteers to define these terms. This list does not include the words goods and services which are also listed as Domain-Specific vocabulary words. The materials include a Developing Vocabulary Using Routines statement in a box on the bottom right of the page. Teacher guidance reminds them to use the provided routine for direct instruction of new vocabulary words. Additional teacher guidance notes that these words can be found on page 8 and routines can be located in the Additional Resources section. Teacher directions state, “After reading, extend vocabulary learning using the Academic Vocabulary Routine as well as having students complete the weekly ‘Build Vocabulary in Texts for Close Reading'.” This task during Week 1 includes four General Academic words out of the 18 listed for the week; the task does not include any of the Domain-Specific words. In Mini-Lesson 10, students circle unfamiliar vocabulary but no specific words are listed or discussed.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, students read “Poems of Movement” and “What Makes Things Move.” The General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary is listed on the Vocabulary Development page in the Teacher’s Resource. Motion and force are listed as vocabulary terms under “Poems of Movement.” These words are also in “What Makes Things Move.” These terms also come up in the Build Reflect Write section of the E-book Forces and Interactions. Question 3 under the Write: Use Text Evidence section says, “How can the explanation of forces on soccer balls in Short Read 2 be applied to the baseball and basketball poems in Short Read 1? Cite text evidence to support your answer.” The Domain-Specific word force appears throughout multiple texts and in questions related to the texts.

Students are supported to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• At the end of each unit, an Additional Resources section provides detailed guidance for the Vocabulary Routine, Define/Example/Ask (AR4). Teachers use this routine to introduce new words. Step 1: Define. The teacher provides a student-friendly definition of the word. Step 2: Example. The words are used in a sentence. Step 3: Ask. The teacher asks a question requiring students to use the word in their example. The Additional Resources includes another Vocabulary Routine (AR5). This routine can be used to introduce new words and extend tasks following the initial Define/Example/Ask routine. Step 1: Introduce the Word. The teacher introduces features of the word such as a student-friendly definition, synonym, various word forms of the word and word partners and/or sentences (compare/contrast). Step 2: Verbal Practice. Discuss the word, use sentence frames, and share favorite ideas to complete the frame. Step 3: Written Practice. Students use the word in writing through Collaborate, Your Turn, Be an Academic Author, or Writing an Academic Paragraph.
• In Unit 1, Build Reflect Write, in the consumable anchor text one of the General-Academic Tier 2 words is survive. During Build Knowledge, students list details on a chart about how living things survive in their environment. During Speaking and Listening, students reflect on the Essential Question, “How do living things survive in their environment?” based on the unit’s texts.
• In Unit 2, under Unit Resources for Responsive Teaching, the Vocabulary Development section provides vocabulary to be used during Speaking and Listening and when discussing reading selections. The section also includes General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary. For example, the Vocabulary Development section includes the following literary terms: fable, myth, folktale, plot, rising action, climax, and resolution.
• In Unit 7, Build Reflect Write, on page 19 of the consumable anchor text, students use strategies learned to find meaning and write a sentence for the words composer, outdoorsy, plenty and transform from “All Kinds of Communities”.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 7, Short Read 1, students work with metaphors. The teacher begins by setting the purpose and reminding students that they worked with metaphors in Unit 7. The teacher reminds students that “a metaphor is a type of nonliteral language that makes a direct comparison between two correlated things.” The students work with a partner to answer the following prompt, “How does the author’s use of metaphor in lines 8–17 help you create mental images of what the author is describing?” During Apply Understanding, students go to a previously read text to determine a metaphor. The use of the literary term metaphors is used multiple times throughout instruction and during other units in the year.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2g.

Each unit contains a three-week Culminating Research and Inquiry Project connected to the unit knowledge strand. The project requires additional student research on the topic and extends student learning. The short projects in the materials are discussions or related directly to the long research projects. Instructional materials provide limited support for teachers in implementing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic via provided resources. The materials provide rubrics for each of the Culminating Research and Inquiry Projects, as well as a pacing guide that includes Student Goals and Teacher Support. The instructional materials provide some resources and guides via Mini-Lessons, but the Mini-Lessons lack guidance in employing tasks needed to complete the Research and Inquiry Project.

The Research and Inquiry Project guidance establishes the expectation that students will complete the work, but no specific guidance is provided detailing how this work should happen. The Explore section provides the teacher with some ways to assist students, if needed, as well a list of texts and ideas to help students brainstorm ideas for their projects. Materials provide opportunities for students to apply Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language skills to synthesize and analyze their grade-level readings. Each Culminating Research and Inquiry Project requires students to reference a text from the unit, as well as other outside resources. Students always present projects to the class. The Teacher’s Resource includes presentation expectations along with a rubric to guide both the students and the teacher.

Students have some opportunities to engage in a variety of research activities and projects across grades and grade bands. Each Research and Inquiry project contains the same components across the year: an introduction including three guiding questions (one connected to the unit’s Essential Question, one connected to the unit’s Enduring Understanding, and one about how the knowledge gained through the research helped the student to better understand the topic or them), an exploration section with a few suggested texts, suggestions for the presentation, and a pacing chart with student goals and teacher resources. The teacher and student support is not specific and frequently repeats, verbatim, across units: “Before students conduct their own research, model how to reread and extract information from a unit text. Then model choosing, evaluating, and citing another information source that will help you answer the guiding questions.”

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students research animal survival. The research introduction states, “In this unit, you will choose an animal discussed in one or more of our unit texts. Your assignment will be to combine information from those texts with information from additional sources to create and deliver a presentation that demonstrates your knowledge.” Student presentations should answer the following questions:
• “Based on the unit texts and your research, what did you learn about each author’s life, work, and achievements? (Essential Question)
• How did the knowledge you gained through research add to your understanding of each author and his or her work? (text evidence, cross-text analysis)
• What did you learn about making choices from the characters in these authors’ stories? (Enduring Understanding)”
• In Unit 3, the Research and Inquiry Project focuses on learning about local government. Students respond to the following prompt: “People don’t have to go to Washington, D.C., to learn about the government. No matter where they live, there is a local government at work.” Students then research to learn about the local workers and the services offered in the area in which they live. The remainder of the questions and supports are the same as previous units with the exception of the Essential Question and Enduring Understanding.
• In Unit 5, the Research and Inquiry Project focus is technological innovations. Again, the questions focus on how the topic has made life better for others and how looking at problems in new ways is beneficial. The balance of the questions and supports are the same as previous units with the exception of the Essential Question and Enduring Understanding.
• In Unit 7, students “compare and contrast one of the communities featured in the unit texts” with the student’s own community. The directions follow the same formula as other units with a reminder to use texts from the unit as well as “other additional resources” (not provided). Skills, targets, and teacher directions remain the same as other units.