The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1f.

Materials include standards-aligned, text-specific and text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments that support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the text being studied and require students to engage with the text directly. Lessons contain multiple questions that include the depth of knowledge necessary to answer the questions and the correct answer, so teachers are supported in planning and implementing the questions and tasks. The Teacher’s Resource System provides text-based questions to ask students and anchor charts to model and support student learning. Materials frequently provide sentence frames, and student tasks include options to draw or speak. 

Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the text being studied. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, students listen to the story A New Pet by Jasmine Gomez and engage in a Turn and talk to answer the following text-specific questions: “How is Ellie Phant different from the other two characters in the story? (She is a dog.) Which character in the story wants a pet elephant? (Ben wants a pet elephant.) Which character points out the problems with having a pet elephant? (Mom)”

• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, after listening to “All Together Now” by Ruth White, students answer the following text-specific questions: “Which animals work together? (Goat, Horse, Cat, and Chicken work together.) How do the animals trick Fox? (Goat, Horse, Cat, and Chicken disguise themselves as one big animal under a quilt so that Fox thinks they are a beast looming over him.)”

• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 2, after listening to “The Coolest Vacation” by Luis Heredia, students study the photographs and answer the following text-based questions: “What is this text mostly about? What details give more information about the main topic? How is the vacation in the picture on page 24 different from the vacation on page 25?” 

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, materials provide the teacher with a script on how to model how students determine which details are important and which are not. Teacher guidance includes a structure on how to create an anchor chart and explains how to determine if a detail from the text is important or not.

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 3, during the Mentor-Read 1 Mini-Lesson, students use the text “Up, Up, and Away!” by Ayala Valle Alba. The lesson includes three text-dependent questions with sample answers provided for teacher use. Additionally, materials have a sentence frame that teachers can use with students who may need more support to write a caption or orally share a caption about the picture they drew.

• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, after listening to The Mother of Thanksgiving by Max Prinz, materials provide teacher guidance on how to model identifying the connection between two events in a text. Materials include a script for teacher use to model a think aloud for students and note how keywords like “today” and “many years ago” connect the events. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1g.

Materials include regular opportunities for students to engage in text-based discussions with partners. The Speaking and Listening Protocols are embedded in the program and can also be found in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank, located in the Additional Materials section. The Foundations and Routines Unit introduces the protocols and provides many opportunities to practice to solidify students’ understanding of the steps in each protocol. Protocols are introduced, practiced, and applied by Unit and students engage in more complex protocols in later units. Think-Speak-Listen tools for language structures are also provided to help students support their ideas with reasons, evidence, and examples. The Teacher Resource System includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional support for teachers, including extensive information about discussion protocols and constructive conversations. 

Materials include protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Additional Resources section includes a Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank and a Constructive Conversation protocol document. This document defines the protocols and provides information to understand the how and why of the protocol. The Protocol Complexity Table provides a visual overview showing the Protocol use in Each Unit and how protocol complexity build across the year.

• Materials include Think-Speak-Listen protocols that go along with the Constructive Conversation materials. The protocols in the lesson plan contain sentence stems designed to support student conversation during instruction.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, Lesson 3, students engage in a guided discussion about the enduring understanding that plants need certain things, including food, water, air, and space to survive. The teacher poses the question Look at the last picture of the pumpkins in the field on p. 7. The vines take up a lot of room! How does that support what you know about what plants need to survive? (Plants need space to live and grow.) Students will use the foundational Turn and Talk: I Think...” protocol described in the protocol continuum table located in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 5, Lesson 3, students engage in a guided discussion as partners with the mentor text, Knuffle Bunny (author not cited). The teacher reads aloud pages 23–31. Then the teacher has partners compare and contrast the experiences of Trixie and her daddy once he understands that Knuffle Bunny is missing. Students in Unit 4 will use the Turn and Talk: Why Do You Think That? Protocol noted within the protocol continuum found in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, Lesson 3, students listen to the text The Legend of the Coqui by Georgina Lazaro. During the Apply Understanding portion of the lesson, students will share connections they made where other texts taught them lessons. In Unit 6 will students will use the Turn and Talk: Build Knowledge Protocol noted within the protocol continuum found in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 5, Lesson 3 students will discuss what they have learned from Enduring Understanding 2 that we use forces and motion to help us. The teacher will pose the following task and ask partners to share ideas. In Unit 10 students will use the Build Up an Idea Protocol and include Vocabulary and the Build Knowledge words they have learned: push, pull, force, motion. Students will use the foundational Turn and Talk protocol described in the protocol continuum table located in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

Speaking and listening instruction includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional support for teachers. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Additional Resources section includes a Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank, a Constructive Conversation protocol document, and the Foundations and Routines resource guide. These resources, and notes within lessons, include facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers.

• The Turn and Talk Protocol is foundational throughout the program and materials. in the Foundations and Routine guide include the teacher models and directions for various types of Turn and Talks that develop in complexity throughout the year.

• In the Teacher Resource material, under the Additional Materials section for each unit, materials include a document that provides general teacher guidance on “Maximizing the Quality of Classroom Constructive Conversations.” This guidance is the same throughout all units across the year.

  • For example, the resource states, “Teachers and students can better understand how to improve conversations with the tools that accompany the Benchmark Advance program. The first tool, the ‘Conversation Blueprint,’ is a visual guide to help teachers scaffold students’ conversations. 

  • The Conversational Blueprint document also includes a supporting document that fits the description at the end of the Constructive Conversation guidance.

    • The Think-Speak-Listen Bookmarks have included teacher modeling on student use of this tool.

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, materials provide the teacher with question prompts to guide students with speaking and listening using the Turn and Talk protocol. To activate students’ prior knowledge, the materials provide the following teacher guidance: “Ask partners to identify the most important word in the poem (wiggle) and discuss why it is important. Call on one or two students to paraphrase what their partners told them.” Materials include discussion prompts based on the text, What are Some Rules at School?, by Margaret McNamara for teacher use during Guided Practice. Those questions are: “Which rules are similar to the rules in our school? Which rules are different from the rules in our school? What rules do you follow to stay safe at school? How does following rules make us good citizens?” Students will use the foundational Turn and Talk protocol described in the protocol continuum table located in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 5, materials provide the teacher with question prompts to guide students with speaking and listening using the Turn and Talk protocol after the listening to “1, 2, 3, Blast Off!” (no author cited).  To connect to knowledge, the materials provide the following teacher guidance: “Remind students of Enduring Understanding 2: We can use technology to interact with others in new ways.  Pose the following questions and ask partners to share ideas.  Remind students to use the selection Vocabulary and Build Knowledge words they have learned.  Those questions are: “Look at pages 46-47.  What is the setting?  How do you know this is in the future? How does describing the characters and major events shown on pages 46-47 help us build knowledge about how technology can help us interact with others in new ways?” Students will use the foundational Turn and Talk protocol described in the protocol continuum table located in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

• In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 1, materials provide two anchor charts for the extended read, Two Wool Gloves by Bo Jin. The materials provide the teacher with the Build Vocabulary routine using the define, example, ask routine to support students. The teacher defines the word, gives an example, and students Turn and Talk and answer a question from the teacher related to the vocabulary. The first example provided for the teacher is, “Show how grumbling is different than talking. Tell a time you grumbled at something.” Students will use the foundational Turn and Talk protocol described in the protocol continuum table located in the Speaking and Listening Protocols Bank.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1h.

Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in partner discussions, after listening to or rereading texts. Students participate in Turn, Talk, and Listen partner activities related to the text, paraphrase partner’s answers, and share their ideas with the class. Materials provide sentence frames to support students’ speaking and listening opportunities. Throughout each unit, students complete a Research and Inquiry and Knowledge Blueprint, during which they create a presentation and engage in Constructive Conversations to discuss the Enduring Understandings. While the majority of speaking and listening opportunities support what students are reading or researching, occasionally speaking and listening opportunities involve students sharing their personal opinions and thoughts. 

Over the course of the year, students have opportunities to demonstrate what they are reading through various speaking and listening opportunities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts under discussion). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Foundations and Routines, Day 1, the teacher and students co-create an anchor chart about building strong listening habits. These skills are repeated throughout the year. In Day 2, the teacher introduces some of the speaking and listening protocols students will use throughout the year. These directions and agreed-upon rules are repeated within lessons across the year.

• Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 10, the teacher reads Enduring Understanding 1 and 2 and asks questions for students to discuss. The students watch a short video and students turn and talk about what makes things more and how this viewing was different from their first viewing now that they have built knowledge. Students engage in Constructive Conversation to demonstrate what they have learned in this unit in a conversation with peers. The teacher reminds students to take turns speaking and to listen carefully to others before sharing your own ideas. After the discussions are complete, students demonstrate their knowledge of the Enduring Understanding independently by drawing a picture of themselves pulling a wagon or kicking (pushing) a soccer ball. Students write a sentence that tells how they are using force. 

Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 4, the teacher displays the cover of Horrible Bear! by Ame Dyckman. The teacher tells students they will build their knowledge about the character’s perspectives. The teacher asks questions to reinforce students’ understanding of the role of an author and illustrator. Students discuss their answers with a partner, then share answers with the whole class. Students then turn and talk to respond to the following questions: “Look at the illustration on the cover. What can you tell about the character from the illustration? What can we tell about the characters’ perspectives from the illustration?”

  • In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher displays the cover of Dog Days of School by Kelly DiPucchio and Brian Biggs. The teacher tells students they will build their knowledge about the character’s perspective. The teacher asks questions to reinforce students’ understanding of the role of an author and illustrator. Students discuss their answers with a partner, then share their answers with the whole class. Students then turn and talk to respond to the following questions: “Even though an illustrator does not write the story, he or she can still tell us about the characters through art. Look at the illustrations. What can you tell about Charlie’s perspective from the illustration?” 

• Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher displays “Lessons from Mama Bear” (author not cited) and models how the title and photos help the reader think about the main topic. The teacher reads paragraph 1 and models retelling a key detail. The teacher works with students to create an anchor chart that will support students as they practice identifying the main topic and key details. Students listen to key details in the text read aloud and answer the following text-based questions: Why can’t bear cubs survive on their own? Look at the photo and labels of Mama bear and the cubs at the stream. What key details do they show? What might happen if the cubs did not learn which berries are good to eat, or how to catch a fish? Students turn and talk to explain to their partner what bears need to survive. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays “Let’s Play by the Rules!” (author not cited) and models how we make connections between our lives and ideas in texts. Partners turn and talk and tell each other a reason the author gives to support the idea that rules are important in team sports. Students share the reasons they heard with the class. The teacher asks the following questions: “When is it important to be a good sport? What are some rules that make a game fair? How can a player be a good sport? Students turn and talk to respond to the following questions: Describe the rule the players are following in the picture on page 23. How is following this rule a good choice?” 

• Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher displays People We Celebrate by Margara McNamara and tells students they will be comparing two people who are discussed in this text. The teacher models answering a text evidence question and displays and reads a second text evidence question for students to discuss. Students ask partners to identify a connection between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. Students turn and talk to respond to the following question: “In the text, we read about three people who helped build our nation. How do we honor them?”  

• Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 5, students work in partnerships or small groups to discuss why holidays are important, how people celebrate holidays, and why people celebrate holidays using specific examples and Build Knowledge words from previous lessons.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1i.

As a part of daily instruction, students utilize the My Reading and Writing notebook for text-based, on-demand writing opportunities. Additional on-demand writing opportunities occur as students respond to text-based prompts and complete short, focused projects, such as writing an opinion piece about their favorite character from the text. Materials include opportunities for students to engage in process writing during every unit. Students learn to pre-write, draft, revise, edit and proofread, and publish or present. During the writing portion of the lesson, students complete process writing tasks spanning different genres and content, with writing tasks lasting from five days to fifteen days. Although there is one opportunity during which the teacher shows students how to publish writing using technology, materials do not include any digital tools or platforms to help students produce and publish writing. 

Materials include on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 3, students write a fact from the text What Do Plants Need? by Debra Castor Students have an opportunity to choose one of the other facts the class discussed. Students turn and tell their partners what fact they will write about, what they will draw, and what their message is. 

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher directs students to use their "My Reading and Writing Workbook" for on-demand writing. Students draw and write a list of helpful house rules that people who live together can follow on page 6 of their Reading and Writing book. 

• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 2, students engage in independent and small group writing. During this time, students choose a topic for their texts. The teacher will have students write or draw their topic on a planning organizer and begin to list reasons why it is their favorite food. Students will share their planning organizer with a partner during Share and Reflect.

Materials include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and edit are provided. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 5, students participate in process writing for one week to create an informative/explanatory text. Over Week 1, students draw and write, draft, revise, and share their informative/explanatory text.

• In Unit 6, Weeks 1–3, students write an opinion piece. In Week 1, students are tasked with writing an opinion to describe a favorite character from a story that they have read. The teacher models the writing process as students work through the writing. Then in Week 2, students write about a favorite story that they have read. They brainstorm; state their opinion; and write, revise, and expand their draft. This topic is continued in Week 3 when students focus on adding linking words and evaluating their word choice, and edit, publish, and share their work afterwards. 

• In Unit 8, Weeks 1–3, students write a shared research report. In Week 1, students read a mentor text, select a topic, gather information from sources, plan, and draft the topic. In Week 2, students continue their draft; add a title, conclusion, and visual supports; and revise their writing. In Week 3, students add linking words and edit and publish their work. 

Materials include digital resources where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Writer’s Universe contains various digital lessons that include videos and interactive graphic organizers that walk students through each step of the writing process. The digital resources include space for students to type their drafts and submit their work to the teacher. Afterwards, the teacher unlocks the next step of the writing practice. Materials also include a mentor text and instruction and interactive practice to support writing related to that genre—opinion about a topic, opinion about a text, personal narrative, fable, informative about Science, and informative about Social Studies.

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher models how to publish students’ writing using technology. The teacher shows students how to select images that correspond with their story.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1j.

Materials contain various opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres and types of writing by the standards. Materials provide opportunities for students to use both print and video sources in multiple units and include links to online material for teachers to use as they see fit to support student writing. Support includes sentence frames that the teacher can use to support students' writing. 

Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Different genres/modes/types of writing are not evenly distributed throughout the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Percentage or number of opportunities for opinion writing:

  • Students have 9 out of 30 opportunities to learn, practice, and apply opinion writing across the school year. 

  • In Unit 1, there are no opportunities for opinion writing. 

  • In Unit 2, there are no opportunities for opinion writing

  • In Unit 3, there are no opportunities for opinion writing

  • In Unit 4, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature.  

  • In Unit 5, there are no opportunities for opinion writing

  • In Unit 6, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature. 

  • In Unit 7, there are no opportunities for opinion writing

  • In Unit 8, there are no opportunities for opinion writing

  • In Unit 9, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature. 

  • In Unit 10, there are no opportunities for opinion writing.

• Percentage or number of opportunities for informative/explanatory writing:

  • Students have out 9 of 30 opportunities to learn, practice, and apply informative/explanatory writing across the school year. 

  • In Unit 1, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 2, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 3, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.

  • In Unit 4, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 5, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature. 

  • In Unit 6, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 7, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 8, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature. 

  • In Unit 9, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

  • In Unit 10, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing.

• Percentage or number of opportunities for narrative writing:

  • Students have out 6 of 30 opportunities to learn, practice, and apply narrative writing across the school year. 

  • In Unit 1, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 2, there are three opportunities for narrative writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are narrative in nature. 

  • In Unit 3, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 4, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 5, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 6, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 7, there are three opportunities for narrative writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are narrative in nature.

  • In Unit 8, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 9, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Unit 10, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

• Explicit instruction in opinion writing:

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher models stating an opinion and a reason to support the opinion. The teacher orally rehearses the opinion sentence, and students help dictate each word.

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher models how to use a Planning Chart to list reasons that support an opinion of the text, Horrible Bear!. 

  • In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays the Writing Opinion Text Anchor Chart from Unit 6. The teacher reminds students what an opinion text is. The teacher creates a brainstorming chart with three columns about favorite foods, opinion, and reasons. The writing topic is not explicitly tied to using textual evidence.

• Explicit instruction in informative/explanatory writing:

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher models how to draw and write about one thing the teacher learned from the text (Let’s Play by the Rules) about staying safe. The teacher models selecting a sport’s rule to draw and write.

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher displays the brainstorming web about technology at home and school. The teacher reads the ideas and models selecting a topic. The teacher models writing a topic sentence. The teacher models adding details to the writing.

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher models how to gather information from a source for the research report.

• Explicit instruction in narrative writing:

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher models writing about an event from The Tortoise and the Hare. However, the teacher asks students to share events in the story. As a class, they select an event to draw and write. After drawing a picture of Tortoise, the teacher and students create a sentence.

  • In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher models how to start a narrative draft. The teacher models looking back at the story element chart for setting, characters, and events. The teacher writes the first sentence. Students help the teacher write the following sentences.

Different genres/modes/types of writing are distributed throughout the school year, although the distribution is not even. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to engage in opinion writing. For example: 

  • Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is...).

    • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 4, students write and draw reasons they like the story Knuffle Bunny.

    • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, students write an opinion piece about their favorite story. They state their opinion in a complete sentence and give reasons to support their opinion.

    • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, students write an opinion piece about their favorite food.

• Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing. For example: 

• Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, students continue providing information for their informational writing piece about rules followed at school.  Students draw a picture of a rule they follow and then write sentences to explain the rule.  

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 2, students brainstorm a topic for an informational text about the technology used at home. Students write a topic sentence and a second sentence about their topic.  .

  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1, students add additional sentences to the drafts of their shared research report. 

• Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing. For example: 

  • Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

    • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, students draw and write a continuation of the narrative of The Tortoise and the Hare. Students draw and write about what they think the tortoise and the hare might do next.  Students write different endings for their stories.  

    • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, students draft their own version of a story where a seal challenges other animals to a race. Students draft their narrative writing piece, including a beginning, middle, and end.  

Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). For example: 

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, students add another event from the girl’s point of view to our narrative using the mentor text Horrible Bear!.

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 2, students draw and write about a rule after listening to What are Some Rules at School?

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 4, students write about how technology is helpful after listening to Technology at Home and School: Past and Present.

• In Unit 10, students use the mentor text “Down the Snowy Slope” to write poetry.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1k.

The instructional materials for Benchmark Kindergarten include frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply evidence-based writing. Lesson plans include models/exemplars, protocols, and rubrics to support student writing. Students use their "My Reading and Writing" book to complete writing related to the Reading mini-lessons. Each week students have "We Read, Draw and Write" tasks and "I Read, Draw, and Write" tasks - shifting the responsibility to the students as they master the content. For the "I Write and Draw" tasks, students self-check sections to monitor their writing/drawing to ensure that it meets standards for the grade level and is aligned with the learning targets of the lesson. Anchor charts assist students with writing on various topics and genres: information, narrative, and opinion. 

Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher tells students they are going to write a message based on their reading of “Grow, Pumpkin, Grow!”  The teacher models thinking of an idea, drawing the idea, and sharing the idea by telling about the picture.  

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher asks students to tell a partner a rule they think is important to follow at school and models how to select a rule that is clear and fact-based.  The teacher draws a picture to represent their idea and models writing the rule on the bottom of the drawing by saying the sentence several times and asking students to help write the words while also asking about capitalization and spacing.  

• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, after reading The Legend of the Coqui by Georgina Lazaro, the teacher models drafting a story using the story elements chart.  The teacher writes the first few students and engages students to help.  The teacher drafts the beginning, middle, and end of the story and reads the story aloud.  

Writing opportunities are focused around students’ recall of information to develop opinions from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, students retell facts from the mentor text, Grow, Pumpkin, Grow. Students form a message based on the text and use pre-writing strokes to draw a picture representing a message.

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 5, after reading  the text What Are Some Rules at School? students draw and write about a rule and why it is important.

• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, students draft a story.  Students say their sentences aloud and listen as a partner shares his/her sentences.  Students read their drafts aloud. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1l. 

Kindergarten materials provide daily explicit grammar and usage instruction and opportunities for student practice and application of all grade-level grammar and usage standards. Students have opportunities to work with the whole group, with partners, as well as independently. The materials include explicit instruction and practice opportunities geared toward mastery. Grammar and usage is taught and practiced both in explicit, isolated lessons and in the context of shared and independent writing and in dictation exercises. Students engage in authentic independent writing activities daily. Explicit opportunities for application in context occur primarily during shared writing in the first half of the year, then transition to students’ independent writing in the latter half of the year. 

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

• Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

  • In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 2, the teacher plays the “Letter Song I” several times to introduce the letter and sound. Students join in singing the song and acting out the letter formation. Students practice writing or tracing the uppercase and lowercase letter I, saying the letter’s name as they write or trace. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, students practice spelling-sound correspondences. The teacher displays the sound-spelling card for the letter t following the introduce-model-practice routine. During practice time, students write the letter t on paper or a work mat.

•  Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher reviews the definition of a noun and displays pictures of nouns organized into categories in a pocket chart. The teacher names each noun and says “ ____ is a noun because it is a (person, animal, place, thing, or idea).” Then the teacher uses the noun in a sentence. The teacher displays three to four new noun picture cards. Students work in partners to name the noun, explain why it is a noun, and use the noun in a sentence. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher reviews the difference between action and being verbs. The teacher models adding a verb to a list of sentences. Partners receive four strips of paper on which they create new sentences using common verbs. Partners share their sentences with the whole group.

• Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher reminds students that plural nouns tell more than one person, place, or thing. The teacher reads and points to a sentence in “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The teacher explains there is a plural noun in the sentence that ends with the letter -s and asks students to find the plural noun. Students point to the word animals. The teacher uses chart paper to draw one of the following items and label it: dog, cat, tree, tortoise, hare, flower. Students identify the singular noun and use it in a sentence. The teacher draws an identical item and adds -s or -es to the label. Students say the plural word and use the plural noun in a sentence.

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher reviews the definition of nouns and plural nouns. The teacher reads aloud the sentence, “After Fox eats the chickens, he’ll come looking for me!” Students identify the plural noun in the sentence and form new sentences using the word chickens. Partners work to make the word fox into a plural noun. Students use foxes in a sentence and write the sentence. 

• Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher explains that news stories are often developed by answering questions that begin with the words who, what, where, when, why, and how. Following guided practice answering questions from Horrible Bear, partners choose a story that they have read this year. Students ask and answer a question about their story using each question word. The teacher brings the class together to discuss the kinds of information students gathered about their stories using the question words.

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher reminds students that question sentences often begin with the words who, what, where, why, and when. The teacher displays three sentences and asks students whether the question word used is the correct word. Students practice asking questions with a partner.

• Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with). 

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher reminds students that prepositions explain when, what, where, or how. The teacher models using sentences with prepositions to describe classroom activities. Students identify the preposition in each sentence. The teacher assigns one or more of the following prepositions to student partners: to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with. Partners use one or more assigned prepositions to describe things they do in the classroom. The other student explains what the preposition tells about the activity: when, what, where, or how. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher reminds students that a preposition is a word that connects important words in a sentence and that the preposition plus the word group following it is called a prepositional phrase. The teacher displays and reads three sentences. Student volunteers underline the prepositional phrase and circle the preposition in each sentence. Partners practice changing the meaning of the sentence by replacing the preposition. Student volunteers share their sentences with the whole group.

• Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher models writing three complete sentences and makes a chart highlighting the beginning capitalization and the ending punctuation. The teacher writes the phrases “Come and,” “Will you,” and “This” on the board, and students add words to make the phrase into a complete thought. The teacher records the sentence, and students identify the capital letter and end punctuation. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher displays a chart of 20 words and displays three sentences. The teacher asks students to work with a partner to expand one of the displayed sentences using words from the chart. Student pairs write and share their sentences.

• Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher models using the word I in the middle of a sentence. In previous lessons, students practiced reading and writing the word I. The teacher tells students that the word I is always capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher reminds students sentences have capitalization and punctuation. The teacher displays three sentences and asks students to help correct the beginning capitalization and punctuation. 

• Recognize and name end punctuation.

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 4, the teacher models how to say and use sentences with different punctuation marks. During guided practice, the teacher writes and reads aloud several sentences with no ending punctuation. Partners repeat the sentences and decide on ending punctuation for each sentence. Selected students identify the punctuation mark and change their voices to model the correct way to say the sentence based on the punctuation. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays three sentences and defines the period, question mark, and exclamation mark in the displayed sentences. The teacher reads aloud from a book and asks students to identify the punctuation and discuss the difference between the sentences read with a period, and the sentences read with an exclamation mark.

•  Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher says the sounds of /a/ and /t/ and asks students to say the sound and write the corresponding letter.

  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher introduces the spelling/sound correspondence for the letter b. Students practice writing the letter b. Students complete a handwriting practice page with uppercase and lowercase b. The teacher provides letter formation and spacing instructions. 

• Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, pages 46-49, the teacher models how to say the sounds in a word and write the letters that make those sounds. Then, students write letters as they sound out words, continuing with the rest of the sentence and adding punctuation. Students help write sentences by writing the words or letters they know, saying the words slowly to write all the sounds they hear.

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, Page 196, the teacher displays Elkonin boxes and models segmenting the word set into phonemes, moving a marker into a box for each sound. The teacher models matching a letter to each sound and writing the correct letter under each box. Students repeat the process with the word net. 

• Materials include authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills in context, including applying grammar and convention skills to writing. For example:

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students draw and write about good or bad things dogs do. The teacher helps students make connections to previously learned skills and supports them as needed. A Teacher Quick Check evaluates students’ writing progress and checks for ending punctuation.

  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays writing from earlier lessons and models drafting additional sentences. The teacher draws students’ attention to first-word capitalization and end punctuation. Partners discuss what sentences they would like to add to their shared research report. The teacher tells students to “work together to follow your plan and write the best sentences.” After independent writing time, partners read and talk about their drafts with another pair.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 1m.

Materials include a year-long vocabulary development plan, which lists all Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary words. The Year-Long Vocabulary Plan is organized by Unit and Weeks. The plan includes a key that outlines which vocabulary words are explicitly taught in the unit and which week the words repeat in. If the vocabulary words were previously taught, the key also notes where in the previous unit the words were taught. Vocabulary words are underlined in the daily lesson guide for teachers. Materials include defined routines for teachers to follow and multiple graphic organizers for students to record vocabulary words in various ways. Students read, write, illustrate, manipulate, and complete fill-in-the-blank prompts for practice to gain competency with vocabulary words throughout each unit. 

Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include a Define/Example/Ask routine to introduce new vocabulary words for each unit. The teacher provides the definition of the word and an example of the word used in a sentence within the context of the unit. Then students complete a Turn and Talk for each word to answer a question that uses the vocabulary word. 

• In the Program Support Guide, Building Knowledge and Vocabulary, materials include Building Vocabulary Year-long Plans that address Tier 2 General Academic and Tier 3 Domain-Specific Oral Vocabulary for Kindergarteners. The list includes 12 words per unit and 120 vocabulary words over the course of the school year. 

• In the Whole Group Teacher Resources section, materials include a Vocabulary Development Tools document. The resource contains five different graphic organizers, such as Frayer Model, Concept Map, and Analogy, that can introduce new vocabulary in different ways. 

Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, prior to listening to the Mentor Read-Aloud, “Rules at Home and at School” (author not cited), students use the Define/Example/Ask routine to learn the Build Knowledge Vocabulary terms get along, respect, and responsible. Materials repeatedly refer to these words throughout Unit 3. 

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher displays the story, The Boy Who Fed His People by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, and introduces the vocabulary using the Define/Example/Ask routine. The teacher defines the key vocabulary words brave, game, snares, and tipi. The teacher uses each word as an example for students. Students turn and talk, answering a question about the vocabulary words. Students encounter the word brave again in the unit when reading “Zander’s Missing Spot” by Karen Mueller Coombs.

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 3, the teacher reminds students to use the Selection Vocabulary and Build Knowledge Vocabulary: celebration, holiday, remember, honor from the text, In My Opinion…These are the Best Ways to Celebrate Holidays by by Erica Chen, when talking with partners to answer questions connected to knowledge learned throughout the unit. Students encounter the word celebrate in Units 6 and 8, remember in Units 5, 8, and 9, and honor in Units 3, 6, and 9. 

Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher introduces future and outer space using the Define/Example/Ask routine. These words are essential to understanding the text Up, Up, and Away (author not cited).

• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays and introduces words from the unit, Weather and Seasons. Students learn about the vocabulary words weather, season, temperature, and change in the Define/Example/Ask. These words are essential to understanding the unit’s content.

• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher introduces the terms afford, price, purchase, and save. The teacher uses the Define/Example/Ask Routine to teach the vocabulary. The teacher defines the word, then uses the vocabulary in a sentence. Afterwards, students answer questions about the text using key vocabulary: “Why do you think it’s important to look at the price of something before deciding to buy it?”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1n.i.

The Kindergarten materials include systematic and explicit instruction in phonological awareness and phonics. The materials support teachers with explicit examples for modeling and examples to use for further student practice. Students have many different types of practice for phonological awareness and phonics, including oral, written, and hands-on methods such as word building. The materials provide the teacher with examples of words to use during instruction and an example of a spoken sentence indicating that the teacher should repeat the routine with additional examples. Lessons are structured to give students explicit opportunities to hear, say, encode, and read words with each newly-taught pattern through repeating routines in each week of every unit. 

Materials provide the teacher with systematic, explicit modeling for instruction in syllables, sounds (phonemes), and spoken words. For example:

• Recognize and produce rhyming words:

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher asks students to listen to two words and directly indicates that the words rhyme and “have the same sounds at the end.” The teacher continues the lesson by orally stating a word pair and asking the students to raise their hands if the word pair rhymes. The teacher explicitly identifies the rime for each rhyming pair.

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher reads aloud the rhyming poem Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam. The teacher tells students that rhyming words have the same ending but different beginning sounds. The teacher rereads the poem, emphasizing the rhyming words. In partners, students identify and say the rhyming word pairs. The teacher reads a rhyming word from the poem, and the students identify the matching rhyming words. Students generate a third word to rhyme with the pair from the poem. 

• Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words:

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher says the rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” and has students join in, saying, “Listen as I say the two parts in a word: Hump-ty. Now I will blend the parts together to say the word: Humpty. Say it with me: Hump-ty, Humpty.” The teacher models the procedure with the word Dump-ty and helps students blend them together. For practice, the teacher says syllables and has students blend them together and say the whole word. The teacher says animal names in parts and has students blend the syllable and identify a picture that matches the word.

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher models how to say the word wave and claps once. Students repeat the word and clap, then say window and clap twice. The teacher then models using the word wonderful, clapping three times to show each syllable. The teacher continues to model and have students repeat the words, saying them and clapping to show syllables: with, do/nut, wag/on, rope, grand/fath/er, gift, wor/ry, for/ev/er. 

• Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words:

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher says the words Sam, ram, and jam, segmenting the words into onset and rime: /s/ /am/. The teacher models how to change the beginning sound from /s/ to /r/ and blends and says the new word, ram. The teacher repeats and segments the other word, jam. Students practice saying the sounds and writing them: at, mat; Sam, am, blending and reading the new words. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher says the word line, then segments the word into onset and rime. The teacher tells students they will change the /l/to a /n/, and models blending the new word together into nine. The teacher continues segmenting and blending onset and rime with the words pine, fine, and vine. The teacher says the onset and rime, and students practice blending the words tide, ride, side, and wide.

• Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.):

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher says the words stop, lip, and cup and asks students what sound they hear at the end. The teacher states, “all three words have /p/ at the end.”

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays the frieze card Oo, ostrich. The teacher points to the ostrich and emphasizes the beginning /o/. The teacher asks students what sound they hear at the beginning (/o/), and then says the word pot, explaining that /o/ is in the middle of the word. The teacher asks students to listen to words, clapping if the /o/ is at the beginning and stomping their feet if the /o/ is in the middle: octopus, job, mom, October, hot. 

• Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words:

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher models phoneme substitution by saying the word bag and saying, “What word do we make if we change the /aaa/ in bag to /eee/?” The teacher says the words bag and beg, and students repeat the words. The teacher guides students in substituting initial or final phonemes in groups of three words: sag/rag/tag, got/hot/pot, gas/gap/tap.

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher says /i/ and /t/ and blends them to make the word it. The teacher tells students to add the /k/ to the beginning of it, and students identify the new word, kit. The teacher repeats the words in/kin, at/bat, up/pup, it/sit, and in/win. 

Materials provide the teacher with examples for instruction in syllables, sounds (phonemes), and spoken words called for in grade level standards. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 1, the materials provide the teacher with the following examples to teach students to isolate the beginning sound in short a words: am, ask, add, at, as, ax. The materials provide the wording for the teacher to use in modeling. The materials provide student practice in isolating beginning sounds for ant, mop, apple, man, alligator, astronaut, and cat. 

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays a frieze card with the capital and lowercase Ss and a picture of a sun. The teacher says “Listen for the sound at the beginning of sun: /s/” and asks students to say /s/. The teacher states “sun has /s/ at the beginning.” The materials indicate which frieze card the teacher needs to display and the words the teacher uses during direct instruction.

Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade-level phonics standards. For example:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant:

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays the Picture Word Card for cap saying, “This is a picture of a cap. The beginning sound in cap is /k/. /k/ is sometimes spelled with the letter c. Say the sound with me: /k/. This is the sound at the beginning of the word cap. Listen again to the beginning sound: /k/.” The teacher displays the Sound Spelling Card for Cc and reads aloud the action rhyme and invites students to chime in. The teacher displays the picture side of the Cc frieze card, and students say the name of the picture: cat. The teacher explains that cat begins with /k/ and asks what letter stands for /k/. The teacher says words (car, come, cone, cut, cage) one at a time and students listen for /k/ at the beginning and write the letter c on a work mat while singing the Letter C song. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays the picture card, wagon, explaining that wagon starts with /w/. The teacher uses the sound-spelling card for Ww and reads aloud the action rhyme. The teacher uses the frieze card and says the picture’s name: watch and explains that watch also begins with /w/. The teacher continues explicit instruction in the sounds of /w/ using the list: wish, warm, wedding, window, and will. Students listen for words that begin with /w/ and write the letter w on their work mats. 

• Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels:

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, the materials provide the teacher with the following script for introducing the letter i: “This is a picture of a ruler showing an inch. The first sound in the word inch is /i/. /i/ is spelled with the letter i. Say the sound with me: /i/. This is the sound of the beginning of the word inch. What is the name of this letter? (i) What sound does this letter stand for? (/i/)”

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays a sound spelling card with the long a spellings. The spellings include a, ai_, _ay, a_e, ea, ai. The teacher displays a frieze card with a picture of a gate and the word gate printed beneath the picture. The teacher states “gate has the long a sound” and asks the students “what letters work together to make this sound?” pointing out that it is the a and e. The teacher continues with the words take, wave, name and draws lines under the a and e to show the spelling of the long a sound.

• Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ:

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 2, the materials provide the teacher with the following script to blend and build the words up, cup, and cub, changing one letter at a time: “Let’s blend the sounds together and read the word /uuup/, up. Let’s blend all the sounds together and read the new word /kuuup/, cup. Let’s blend all the sounds together and read the new word /kuuub/, cub.” The materials provide the following examples for student practice and review: fun/sun/bun, bat/bit/but, hat/hit/hot, can/cat/cab.

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher displays letter cards for the word lake and blends the phonemes, “Let’s blend the sounds together and read the word: /lllaaak/, lake.” Then the teacher changes the l to m and repeats the process of blending the phonemes together. The teacher then changes the ending k to d and repeats the process with the word made. Students practice as the teacher says words and guides students to choose the correct letter or letters to change (date, gate, game, cane, lane, late).

Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade-level phonics pattern. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, the materials provide a sequence of instructional and practice opportunities for the short i sound that includes isolating the beginning and middle sounds in short i words, blending and building short i words, dictation, and spelling of short i words, and reading decodable text including short i words. 

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, the materials provide a sequence of instructional and practice opportunities for the /g/ that includes isolating the beginning and ending sounds in /g/ words, blending and building /g/ words, dictation, and spelling of /g/ words, and reading decodable text including /g/words.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1n.ii.

The Kindergarten materials include explicit instruction and student practice of phonological awareness. Materials contain a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ application of foundational skills. There are phonological awareness lessons four days each week, and the lessons follow a cohesive sequence. Students have opportunities to work with the whole group as well as independently. The teacher explicitly models and instructs students on phonemes, substitution and deletion, syllables, onset and rime, as well as rhyming words. The materials include a spiral review of previously taught phonological awareness skills and provide multiple opportunities for student to practice through activities in rhyme routines, oral blending routines, oral segmentation routines, phonemic manipulation routines, and shared poems or rhymes. The Benchmark Advance: Phonological Awareness Overview provides an evidence-based explanation and rationale for the progression of phonological awareness skills. 

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction based on the expected hierarchy to build toward students’ application of the skills. For example:

• In the Program Support Guide, the Scope and Sequence outlines a sequence of phonological awareness that begins with rhyming, syllable blending, and initial phoneme isolation, then progresses through phoneme addition and deletion, blending onsets and rimes, blending and segmenting syllables and phonemes, ending phoneme isolation, and medial phoneme isolation, and phoneme substitution. The scope and sequence includes a review of previously taught phonological awareness skills. 

• In the Program Support Guide, the 10-Unit View of Skills & Strategies lists each Foundational Skill subgroup (Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics & Word Study, Fluency), then indicates which unit and week those activities can be found for both introduction and mastery. 

Materials contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected hierarchy for teaching phonological awareness skills. 

• The Benchmark Advance: Phonological Awareness Overview guide provides the evidence based explanation and rational for the progression of phonological awareness skills. 

Materials include a variety of activities for phonological awareness. For example: 

• In Foundations & Routines, Mini-Lessons at a Glance, a chart lists six activities per day. The lessons are: Establishing Routines, Phonological Awareness, Shared Reading, Letter Formation, Shared Writing & Print Concepts, and Independent Reading. There are 20 days of lessons in this section of the materials.

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher asks students to say the sound at the beginning of fish. The teacher asks students to touch their faces and say /f/ if they hear the teacher say a word that begins with /f/.

• ​​In Additional Resources, Instructional Routines and Strategies, the instructional routine for phonological awareness lessons includes the following components: pose the essential question, explain the target phonological awareness task, model the target task with two to three examples, and have students practice the task using multiple examples.

There are frequent opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Days 1-3, and Day 5, the teacher presents a phonological awareness activity on four out of the five days of weekly lessons. 

• In Unit 4, Strategies and Skills to Build Knowledge, foundational skills for the unit are listed by week. Each week contains three to four phonological awareness skills to practice during the week.

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Days 1-3, and Day 5, the teacher presents a phonological awareness activity four out of five days of the weekly lessons. 

Materials provide ample opportunities for students to practice each new sound and sound pattern. For example:

• Recognize and produce rhyming words:

  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 5, the teacher displays and reads the poem, “Catch a Little Rhyme,” and reminds students that this poem uses rhyming words and asks students to listen for the rhyming words while the poem is read aloud. The teacher asks students to identify the words that rhyme throughout the poem. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher reads aloud the poem “Sharing” by Shel Silverstein. The teacher reminds students that rhyming words end in the same sound, and students identify the rhyming words in the poem. The students generate additional rhyming words for each rhyming pair. 

• Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words: For example:

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher models saying the syllables in diddle and fiddle and models blending the syllables. The teacher asks the students to repeat the syllables and blend the word orally. The teacher says the syllables funny, children, apple, pencil, teacher, and asks the students to say the syllables and blend the syllables to make the whole word. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, during Phonics and Word Study, the teacher says a one-syllable word face and claps to model how to count the syllables. The teacher repeats with the two-syllable word ig/loo. Students repeat and clap out the syllables. The teacher uses a list to practice sayings and clapping out syllables: feath/er, school, in/sect, sun, ta/ble, read, pa/per. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 3, the teacher says the word rock and claps once, having students repeat the word and clap. The teacher says robot and claps twice, modeling how to clap out the syllables. The teacher models with the word remember and claps three times, having students repeat and clap. Students practice saying the word and clapping out the syllables: twen/ty, mid/dle, real, de/lic/ious, live, mar/ket, sev/en/teen, rail/road. 

• Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words:

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 5, the teacher says the word get, then segments the word into onset and rime. The teacher tells students they will change the /g/ to /j/ and models blending the new word into jet. The teacher continues segmenting and blending onset and rime with let, met, net, pet, and wet. The teacher says the onset and rime, and the students practice blending the words big, rig, dig, pig, and wig. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 5, the students practice blending onset and rime as the teacher orally segments words yet, bet, set, yarn, barn, warn.

• Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. (This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/, or /x/.):

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays the sound card for the letter u. The teacher says the word umbrella and models identifying the beginning sound. Students say /u/. The teacher says the words up, under, and us. The students identify the beginning sound. The teacher says the words sun, bug, and mud. The students identify the medial sound in the words. The teacher says the following words, and students identify the medial sound: run, sat, fun, fish, bug, sub, mop, mud, rub. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher says bag, wig, and flag. The students identify the ending sound /g/ in the words. Students identify the beginning and ending sound in the following words: gas, big, get, gate, fog, game, peg, gone. 

• Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words:

  • In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 5, students practice adding and deleting phonemes. The students listen as the teacher blends the sounds /uuu/ /sss/ to form the word us. The teacher adds /b/ to the beginning, and students identify the new word. The teacher models phoneme deletion. For practice, students identify words, as the teacher adds or deletes, sounds to words: in, win, eat, seat, late, ate, pup, up.

  • In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher says the word zip and says the individual sounds. The teacher asks students, “what word do we get if we change the /z/ in zip to /r/?” The teacher repeats the process, asking students to substitute initial or final phonemes in the words mix, fix, six; zap, tap, gap; fox, box, Bob. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1n.iii.

The Kindergarten materials include research foundations to explain guiding principles for phonics instruction and practice. The skills follow a cohesive, research-based scope and sequence that introduces letters and sounds based on utility and increasing complexity. The Scope and Sequence delineates primary, secondary, and spiral review patterns for each unit. There are opportunities for students to apply new phonics skills as well as previously taught phonics skills. Students have various ways to manipulate individual phonemes and spell words using new spelling patterns, as well as many opportunities to apply these skills to context, e.g., decodable readers. Phonics skills are taught and practiced both in isolation and in the context of decoding and encoding words, sentences, and texts. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode (phonemes, onset and rime, and/or syllables) phonetically spelled words. For example:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays frieze card Mm. Students listen for the beginning sound in magnet /m/. The teacher lists other words that begin with /m/, asking students to identify the beginning sound, carefully stretching out the beginning sound of each word: map, mouse, mitten. The teacher continues with a list of words and asks students to say /mmmm/ when they hear a word that begins with /m/: mom, mix, sad, pen, map, mud, middle, desk. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher displays frieze card Vv and models van, vegetable, violin. The students listen to the beginning /v/. The teacher says another list of words, and students raise their hands when they hear a word that begins with /v/: voice, yes, verb, job, valentine, vinegar, lamp, vote, kitten. 

• Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels. For example:

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher displays the sound-spelling card for the letter Uu. The teacher introduces the short u sound /u/. The teacher shows the letters u, p, s, n, b, f in a pocket or e-pocket chart. The teacher models blending the sounds to read the words up, sun. The teacher asks students to decode the words us, fun cup, nut, bun.

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays the frieze card for long /i/: bike. Students identify the sound in the middle of the words: mice, time, like (long /i/i_e). The teacher models another set of words: bite, fine, hike, asking students to identify the middle sound (long /i/i_e). Then, students identify the middle sounds for nice, ride, sit, wide, kite, robe, rip, dime, life. 

• Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ. For example:

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays the letter cards w, a, g, i, n, m, e. The teacher models changing the letter a in wag to the letter i and reading both words. The teacher builds the word wet and asks students which letter to change to make the word get then met. Students practice changing the word sets did, dad, mad; big, bag, rag; met, get, set.

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays the letter cards k, i, d, t, l, n. The teacher models changing the letter d in kid to the letter t and reads the words kid, kit. The teacher builds the word Ken and asks students to choose the correct letter to change Ken to kin then kit. Students practice changing the word sets jog, job, jab; led, lid, lip; wag, wig, win.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills. For example:

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, students practice reading words from the -ot rime. The teacher and students build and blend words: got, hot, not, pot, cot, rot by finding the -ot in each word and reading chorally.

• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher displays the letters for jug and leg, and asks students to blend the sounds and say the whole word. Students blend and read Jim, lit, log, wet, jams, lab.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 3, students whisper read the decodable text The Fun Bus. The teacher reminds students that they know the high-frequency words the and we that appear in the book, and they have practiced reading words with the short u sound, so they will know how to read the words in the book. 

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 3, students whisper read the decodable text I Am Happy! The teacher reminds students that they know the high-frequency words jump and said that appear in the book, and they have practiced reading words with the letter j, so they will know how to read the words in the book. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns phonics. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher gives students the letter cards b a, i, t. The teacher says the word bat, and students build bat. Students change the middle letter to change bat to bit then change bit to bib. The teacher repeats the routine for the words tab, cab, can.

• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher displays Elkonin boxes and spells the words set and net, pointing out -et. Students practice building words on a work mat: met, pet, rip, hip, sun, fun, mat, rat, nets, fret.

• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 2, students see a picture of a key, jar and kit. Students write the words for each picture. The teacher says the word kid and asks students to “orally segment the word and write a letter for each sound.” The word kid is given to students orally and not supported by a picture.

Materials contain a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade level phonics. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 3, after a shared reading of The Little Red Hen, students review the consonant t by identifying words in the story that end with the letter t. 

• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher displays letter cards in a pocket or e-pocket chart, and students blend and read the words. The spiral review of previously taught phonics includes the words van, vet, vat, quit, quick, yes, yet, yam, kits, kit, kick.

Materials clearly delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction and practice to build toward application of skills. For example:

• In the Program Support Guide, the Scope and Sequence outlines a sequence of phonics instruction that moves from simple to complex, introducing and practicing all consonant and short vowel sounds, then long vowel sounds. 

• In the Program Support Guide, the Scope and Sequence presents the lesson components of primary skills, spiral skills, preview skills, and word families in each unit. Each weekly lesson covers each component.

Materials have a clear research-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence. For example:

• In the Program Support Guide, the Phonics Overview document uses Scarborough’s Reading Rope and A Fresh Look at Phonics by Wiley Blevins to explain how the “12 Elements of Phonics Success” are built into the program. 

• In the Program Support Guide, Wiley Blevins’ Phonics and the Way to Meaning document provides research-based support for the materials’ phonics approach. 

• In the Program Support Guide, the Research-Based Explanation for Phonics Sequence explains that high-utility letters and sounds are taught early, alongside short vowel sounds, so students can apply skills quickly to authentic reading and writing. Confusing letters and sounds (b/d and short a/short e) are taught separately so one can be mastered before the other is introduced. 

Materials provide sufficient opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing.

• In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 2, the teacher displays Elkonin boxes and segments the word hat, moving a marker for each sound. Students write a letter for each sound. The teacher models the correct sound/spelling correspondence. 

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher displays Elkonin boxes and segments the word bug, moving a marker for each sound. Students write a letter for each sound. The teacher models the correct sound/spelling correspondence. 

• In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 5, students practice orally segmenting and blending words using onset rime. During spelling and dictation, they practice writing words with the long i VCVe: ride, wide, hike, smile, side, tide.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1o.

The Kindergarten materials contain isolated, explicit instruction for each letter of the alphabet. Systematic instruction on identifying letters appears in the first week of instruction with all letters introduced in the first five days of school. After the first week of instruction, students’ practice of identifying, locating, and naming all 26 letters is mainly limited to lowercase letters occurring in words in shared text or to practice games. Student practice materials provide letter matching memory games where students click a letter and match the letter with a picture label beginning with the letter. Materials include frequent explicit instruction in print concepts such as directionality, the concept of words, and spaces in print. 

Materials provide students with opportunities to engage in practice identifying all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). For example:

• In the Scope and Sequence, materials note that letter recognition review is incorporated with letter-sound instruction. Letter sound instruction follows a sequence across the school year with m, a, s, t, n, i, f, p, o, c, h, b, u, r, e, g, d, w, l, j, k, y, v, qu, x, and z. 

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, students engage in letter recognition for letters Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt. Students sing the ABC song. The teacher holds up letter cards and tells the name of the uppercase and lowercase letters. The teacher models how to match the letters P and p on the Letter cards with P and p on the classroom alphabet chart. Students practice using Letter Cards Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt.

• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, during small group instruction, the teacher displays letter cards for the word Sam and asks students to find the letter S, say the sound, and then push the letter card into an Elkonin box. The teacher repeats the process with the letters a, m.

Materials provide opportunities to engage in practice locating all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher holds up uppercase letters A, B, C, D, E one at a time. The teacher asks students to find print in the classroom that begins with the uppercase letter displayed and asks students to point to the letter identified. 

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 4, students find words that begin or end with the letter t in the shared reading poem Gregory Griggs. 

• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, students use page 14 of My Reading and Writing student book to find and circle words that begin with the letter b.

Materials provide opportunities to engage in naming all 26 letters (uppercase and lowercase). For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher points to each letter in the word friend, and students name the letters. 

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher displays the picture word card for the letter Jj and introduces the sound and symbol for uppercase and lowercase j. The teacher asks students, “What is the name of this letter?” Students name the letter, chime in with the action rhyme for the letter j, name the letter that makes the /j/ sound, and sing along with the Letter J Song. 

Materials contain isolated, systematic and explicit instruction for all 26 letters (recognize and name uppercase and lowercase). For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, students find and circle words that begin or end with the letter p in the shared reading poem I Have Something in My Pocket. 

• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher introduces the sound for the letter k with the picture word card kitten. Students name the letter and sound. The teacher displays the sound-spelling card and frieze card showing uppercase and lowercase k. Following letter recognition for k, materials provide instruction for the letter sound. 

There is a defined sequence for letter instruction to be completed in a reasonable time frame over the school year. For example:

• In the Scope and Sequence, Overview, Page 1, materials state that dots and asterisks indicate first, follow-up, preview, or spiral review instruction for each listed skill during each week of instruction. Lessons introducing letter sounds indicate a review of letter recognition. 

• In the Program Support Guide, Grade K Skills and Strategies, the materials identify the instructional sequence for letters: m, a, s, t, n, i, f, p, o, c, h, b, u, r, e, g, d, w, l, j, k, y, v, q, x, z. In Units 1-9, letters are introduced and included in the spiral review in each unit after their introduction. 

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher holds up Letter Card a and says, “This is the uppercase, or capital, A” then repeats for lowercase a. Students chorally name the letter by pointing to the uppercase and lowercase a. The teacher models how to match A and a on the Letter Cards with A and the classroom alphabet chart. The teacher repeats the process with Letter Cards Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher introduces uppercase and lowercase letters Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj. The teacher points to the letter, says its name, and asks students to repeat the letter’s name chorally. The teacher asks students to sing the ABC song. During small group instruction, the teacher displays the letter cards for the same letters and asks students to find each uppercase and lowercase letter as the teacher calls the letter’s name.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher introduces the uppercase and lowercase letters Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, and Oo and models writing the uppercase and lowercase and asking the students to chorally repeat and name the letters. The teacher models and asks students to match the uppercase and lowercase letters to the classroom alphabet chart. 

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher introduces uppercase and lowercase letters Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz. The teacher points to the letter, says its name, and asks students to repeat the letter’s name chorally. 

Materials include frequent and adequate tasks and questions about the organization of print concepts (e.g., follow words left to right, spoken words correlate sequences of letters, letter spacing, upper- and lowercase letters). For example:

• Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.

  • In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher reads the first sentence of the shared reading text Getting to School. The teacher says, “Listen to me read the first sentence. Watch how I point to each word as I read it. You can see that my finger starts here on the left and moves this way, to the right. We read letters from left to right, and we read words from left to right too.” The students point in the air to indicate the direction of reading. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher and students discuss reading text on a page from top to bottom during Shared Reading. The teacher uses a pointer to show where they are reading, modeling moving below each word and reading top to bottom using return sweep.

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 3, during Shared Reading, the teacher discusses return sweep. The teacher explains how to look at each line and models how to sweep the pointer down to the next line, reading the first word. The teacher then shows how to continue reading the sentence and sweeping to the next line to complete the sentence. 

• Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, students dictate as the teacher writes words to add a sentence to a guided shared writing piece. The teacher tells students, “each word you say is represented by a group of letters on the page.”

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher says, “Words are magical things! Whether we are talking or reading, we put words together to create meaning. In writing, words are built by groups of letters in a special order. The order of words also creates meaning. We read words in order to discover what the author is trying to tell us.”

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher points out the word elephant in the shared reading text and reminds students that words are made up of letters. Students count the letters in elephant as the teacher points to them. The teacher names each letter in elephant in order and tells students that we sound out the letters that make up the word when we read a word. 

• Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher tells students that each word is a group of letters, separated by a space. The teacher points to each word in the first two lines of Itsy, Bitsy Spider, and students count the words. The teacher points out the spaces between words and tells students that the spaces separate words and make it easier to read them. 

  • In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 3, the teacher tells students to look at the sentence “I have three jars,” in the shared reading text. The teacher says, “There are letters and there are white spaces. Each group of letters makes a word. The white space tells us when one word ends and a new word begins.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1p.

The Kindergarten materials provide a consistent routine for students to gain automaticity in decoding and recognition of high-frequency words. Each week, students engage in opportunities to read emergent-reader texts purposefully. The materials include weekly explicit instruction and practice recognizing high-frequency words. Throughout ten units, materials contain instruction for 38 high-frequency words and 20 challenge words.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read emergent-reader texts. For example:

• Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4,  the teacher shares the poem “What Animals Need” and models how to reread to confirm understanding. The teacher pays attention to whether or not the students understand what they are reading and shows they can reread the part that confused them. The teacher uses a part of the poem to model how to reread for understanding. The teacher rereads the entire text, modeling how to read at a slower rate to build fluency. 

  • In Unit 4, Components at a Glance, materials indicate that students read one I Read text each week: “The Boy,” “Little Cat,” “Hop, Hop, Hot” and one decodable reader each week: “It Can Pop,” “Cam the Cat,” “It Is Hot!”. Each I Read text includes a first read with a focus on decoding and word recognition, and a second choral read that is followed by a Connect Phonics to Comprehension exercise. The teacher asks comprehension questions, and students use the text to answer the questions.

  • In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 2, the teacher guides students through reading “Vote!”. The teacher reads the title, and students whisper read the text while the teacher circulates and supports students as needed. The teacher leads students through a choral reading of the text. Students answer comprehension questions about the text. Students reread the text with a partner during independent reading time. 

Materials support students’ development of automaticity and accuracy of grade-level decodable words over the course of the year. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3, students reread the decodable text “Can We Fit?” The teacher reminds students that they know the words a, is, I, can, and we and that they know how to decode words with the letter f. Students whisper-read the text. 

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 3, students reread the text “Dan’s Dog” to build automaticity. Students practice reading words: and, jump, one, you, no, for.

• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 3, students reread the decodable text “I Am Happy!”. The teacher reminds students that they know the words jump, and said and that they know how to decode words with the letter j. Students whisper-read the text. 

Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does). For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher systematically introduces high-frequency words the and we using the Read, Spell, Write, Apply routine. The teacher displays the high-frequency word card, points to and says the word. Students repeat after the teacher. The teacher points out the sounds and spellings in the word. The teacher and students spell the word as the teacher points to each letter. The students write or trace the word in the air as they spell it aloud. Partners apply by using each word in a sentence orally.

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher uses a Read, Spell, Write, Apply routine to introduce the words and, you. The teacher points to the word and reads the word displayed in a pocket chart. The teacher asks students to repeat the word, read, and spell the words: and, you. 

• In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher uses the Read, Spell, Write, Apply routine to introduce the words are, come, have, here, look, me, said, and two. The teacher displays the word cards and points to and reads the word. Students repeat the word. The teacher points out the sounds and spellings in each word. The teacher points to each letter and spells the word. Students read and spell the word. Students write or trace the word in the air as they spell it out loud. Partners use each word in an oral sentence. 

Students have opportunities to read and practice high-frequency words in isolation. For example: 

• Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 3, the teacher displays high-frequency words: a, can, go, is, see, she, the, we. Students read and spell each word. Students close their eyes, visualize each word, and write it in the air.

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 5, the teacher displays the following word cards: and, you, jump, one, for, no, big, with. Students read and spell each word. The teacher says a word, a volunteer student circles or points to the word, and the other students give a thumbs up or thumbs down to confirm the identification.

Materials include a sufficient quantity of new grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words for students to make reading progress. For example:

• In the Scope and Sequence, the program sequence indicates that beginning in Week 2 of Unit 1, the materials introduce 38 high-frequency words and 20 challenge high-frequency words throughout ten units. 

• In the Scope and Sequence, materials delineate that two high-frequency words are introduced each week in Weeks 1 and 2 of each unit. Week 3 of each unit reviews cumulatively and includes challenge words.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1q.

Kindergarten materials provide daily opportunities for students to practice word recognition and analysis skills in connected reading and writing tasks. There are frequent opportunities for students to read high-frequency words in tasks and activities. A scope and sequence delineate when phonics skills and high-frequency words occur over the course of the year. There are lessons for students to develop encoding and decoding skills in connected tasks and texts. The materials include a variety of decodable texts that include newly-taught phonics skills and high-frequency words. 

Materials support students’ development to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g., one-to-one correspondences, syllable segmentation, rime and onset recognition, long and short sounds with common spellings and distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying sounds of the letters) in connected text and tasks. For example:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.

  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 2, the teacher reads the first two lines of the story “Stone Soup.” Students identify which letter makes the /h/ sound and name the word in the sentence that begins with the /h/ sound. Students find another word in the story that starts with the /h/ sound. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher reads the first stanza of “My Noisy House.” Students identify which letter makes the /r/ sound and name the word in the stanza that begins with the /r/ sound. 

• Associate the long and short sounds with common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 3, students read the decodable text, “The Red Hen.” The teacher reminds students they learned to decode words with the short e sound, so they can use what they know about the sound to read the word. 

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 4, students practice decoding words with short e spelling patterns in the decodable reader, “Meg Likes Bugs.”

  • In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher discusses the a_e spelling pattern for the long a sound and displays individual letter cards for the long a final e words lake, make, made. Students independently read a text that includes the words bake, wave, make, take within the sentences. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher discusses the i_e spelling pattern for the long i sound. Students independently read a text that includes the word like within the sentences. 

• Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, students blend and build words using Letter Card manipulation. Words include top, mop, pop, pat, pan, pin, fit, fin, fan, in, it, sit, men, ten, pen, pet, set.

  • In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 2, students blend and build words using Letter Cards to manipulate letters and sounds as the teacher guides students to choose the correct letter or letters to change in each word: ran, run, rub, rip, rib, rob, ram, ran, rat, up, cup, cut, bad, bat, bit, hat, hot, hit, hut.

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, the teacher models with the words bag, beg, asking students to repeat the words, substitute /a/ to /e/, and read the new word. The teacher continues to model with sag/rag/tag; got/hot/pot; gas/gap/tap, guiding students to substitute initial or final phonemes in each group of words. Students then reread the text, “Good Pig, Bad Pig.” The teacher reminds students to use what they know to decode and sound out the words as they read. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays the individual letter cards for the word Ken and asks students to manipulate the letters to change Ken to kin and kin to kit. 

• Materials provide frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in connected text and tasks. For example:

  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, the teacher guides students through a choral read of the decodable text, “I Can Do It.” The teacher models how to read the high-frequency word I in the text. 

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 2, the students reread familiar text, “Go!” which includes high-frequency words: go, see.

  • In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 3, students read the decodable text, “I Am Happy!”. The teacher reminds students that they know the high-frequency words jump and said and should read these words fluently. 

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

• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 3, students respond to reading by writing a riddle on pages 22-23 of My Reading and Writing. The teacher displays pictures of decodable words as visual cues.

• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 3, students draw and write about having fun in the fall. The teacher encourages students to include words that begin with the letter y. Students complete a self-check to ensure that they use words that start with the letter y. 

• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 4, students read the decodable text, “Ned Makes a Home.” The teacher models how to blend decodable words and read high-frequency words. 

Materials include decodable texts that contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher displays individual letter cards in a pocket chart. Students blend and read the words am, Sam. Students turn to page 8 in the decodable book, “I am Sam”. Students have multiple opportunities to read the sentence “I am Sam.” 

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 4, students decode words with Bb, Short U, Rr, using the Decodable Reader Lap Book, “Bob Can Go.”

• In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 4, students read the decodable text, “Mr. and Mrs. Mole”, which contains words with the long o sound, spelled with a final e. 

Materials include decodable texts that contain grade-level high-frequency/irregularly spelled words aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. For example:

• In the  Scope and Sequence, materials list high-frequency words can, she in Unit 3, Week 1. The weekly decodable text “In School” features the sentence “She can sit.” on page 8.  Page 9 asks the question, “Can you find these words in the book?” and lists can, she.

• In the Scope and Sequence, Unit 7, Week 1, the sequence lists the high-frequency words are, have.  In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 2, students independently read from a text which includes the high-frequency words the, are, have.

• In the  Scope and Sequence, Unit 8, Week 2, the sequence lists the high-frequency words: come, here.  In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 3, students independently read from a text which includes the high-frequency words come, here, have. 

• In the Scope and Sequence, materials list the words put, want for Unit 10, Week 1. The decodable text for the week, “It Is Time to Tug” lists the focus words: put, want. Page 1 of “It is Time to Tug” has the high frequency word want one time. Page 5 has the high frequency word put one time.  The last page asks the question, “Can you find these words in the book?” and lists put, want.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1r.

Kindergarten materials provide a range of foundational skills assessments. The materials include formal and informal assessments, weekly and unit assessments, interim assessments, Quick Checks, and foundational skills screeners. The materials contain a guide to planning yearly assessments that includes an overview of the different assessments and guidelines for the timing and frequency of use. Materials include resources to directly match assessment results to intervention or extension resources as needed. While all necessary assessment components are present, navigation of the multitude of related but separate assessment pieces is not streamlined. 

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:

• Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of print concepts. 

  • In Assessments, Informal Assessments, the materials provide an observational record to document student knowledge of one-to-one matching, directionality, and return sweep, with a beginning, progressing, and proficient rating system. 

  • In Assessments, Print Concepts Quick Checks Grades K - 2, the materials provide a series of 12 one-on-one assessments of increasing complexity that assess student understanding of the following print concepts skills: identifying front and back cover, book orientation, Identifying words and pictures, directionality and page sequencing, letter, word and sentence identification, identifying punctuation. 

  • In Assessment, Planning Your Yearly Assessments, the materials indicate that Print Concepts Quick Checks may be administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the year or as needed to monitor progress and inform instruction or intervention. 

• Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonological awareness. For example:

  • In Assessment, Phonological Awareness Quick Checks Grades K-2, materials provide assessment for the skills of recognizing and producing rhymes; phoneme isolation, segmentation, and blending; and initial, medial, and final sound substitution. 

  • In Assessments, Phonological Awareness Assessment, the Phonological Awareness Assessment Schedule for Kindergarten indicates the order of subtest administration: 

    • Beginning of the year: word awareness, identifying rhyme, syllable awareness, initial sounds, final sounds, onset and rime.

    • Middle of the year: medial sounds, differentiating sounds, phoneme segmentation, blending phonemes. 

    • End of the year: initial sound substitution. 

• Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonics and decoding. For example:

  • In Assessments, Phonics and Word Recognition, the Skills Quick Checks include subtests to measure students’ ability to identify sounds and decode and encode words. The subtests include the following: initial and final consonants, consonant blends and digraphs, silent letters, short and long vowels, r-controlled vowels, vowel teams, contractions, compound words, plural nouns, inflectional endings, prefixes, suffixes. 

  • In Assessments, Weekly and Unit Assessments, the materials provide weekly assessments and end of unit assessments that measure student progress in recently-taught skills. These assessments include opportunities to identify and match sounds and to decode words in isolation and sentences:

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 2 Assessments, Weekly Assessment, the teacher assesses students’ ability to identify words that begin with s.

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 3 Assessments, Weekly Assessment, students practice decoding words with short i and medial short i: is, it, in, sit, tin.

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 5, the materials include assessment of reading the words us, up, fun, hut, cub, with, big.

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 9, the materials include assessment reading the words same, Sam, rake, lake.

• Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of word recognition and analysis. For example:

  • In Assessments, Phonics and Word Recognition, the Skills Quick Checks include six subtests to measure students’ ability to read high-frequency words. The subtests follow the sequence of high-frequency word instruction. 

  • In Assessments, Weekly and Unit Assessments, the materials provide weekly assessments and end of unit assessments that measure student progress in recently-taught skills. These assessments include opportunities to read sentences that have recently-taught high-frequency words. 

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 6, the materials include assessment for reading the high-frequency words for, no.

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 6 Assessments, Weekly Assessment, students are assessed on short vowel words: hum, gu, cap, gap, rug, rub, tan, tag, and sentences “I see one bug.” “It can jump.”

    • In Weekly and Unit Assessments, Unit 10, the materials include assessment for reading the high-frequency words put, want. 

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

• In Assessments, Foundational Skills Screeners, the Introduction indicates how to use screener assessment data to determine current levels. The materials indicate that if students score between 81-100% overall, those students are at or above grade level. If students score between 65-80%, those students are meeting grade-level expectations. If students score under 65%, those students are below grade-level expectations. 

• In Assessment, Weekly and Unit Assessments, Overview, the materials indicate weekly assessments correspond to the “strategies and skills being taught during instruction” during the week. 

• In Assessment, Weekly and Unit Assessments, the Overview explains that the Benchmark Education online platform organizes student scores on unit assessments into the following percentage bands to help teachers evaluate how well students understand recently-taught skills: 0-39%, 40-59%, 60-79%, 80-100%. The Answer Key and Rationales provide more detailed analyses of student scores, as each assessment item indicated the tested standard or skill. 

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

• In Assessments, Quick Check to Intervention Resource Map Grades K-2, Page xxvi, a correlation chart provides one lesson that corresponds to the assessed skill used in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2.

• In Assessments, Print Concepts Quick Check to Intervention Resource Map, the materials provide a resource map that identifies intervention lessons for the following print concepts skills: identifying front and back cover, book orientation, Identifying words and pictures, directionality and page sequencing, letter and word identification. The map provides teachers with the page numbers of intervention lessons directly matched to Quick Check assessment items. 

• In Assessments, Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Check to Intervention Resource Map, the materials provide a resource map that identifies intervention lessons for the following phonics skills: initial and final consonants, consonant blends and digraphs, silent letters, short and long vowels, r-controlled vowels, vowel teams, contractions, compound words, plural nouns, inflectional endings, prefixes, suffixes. The map provides teachers with the page numbers of intervention lessons directly matched to Quick Check assessment items. 

• In Unit 6, Intervention and Reteaching Resources, a correlation chart provides reteaching lessons and practice activities for the unit's phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, and print concepts skills. The materials indicate that the reteaching and practice activities should be based on weekly and unit assessment results and observations. The chart indicates which Quick Check assessment(s) teachers should use to monitor student progress.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for 1s.

Kindergarten materials include foundational skills supports for English language learners (ELL), students in special populations, and above-grade-level students. Materials include a master program support document, “Supports for Exceptional Learners” that outlines the variety of supports built into the program for all three groups of students. While the chart provides suggestions, the suggestions are general and offer strategies rather than providing access to specific activities to further skills in individual standards. The chart provides strategies for each component in the program and contains the same general recommendations for Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Intervention supports for students in special populations are embedded in small-group lessons and included in separate, comprehensive intervention materials. ELL and above-grade-level supports are built into whole-group and small-group lessons. The materials provide extensions or advanced opportunities to apply foundational skills through knowledge-based writing and challenge word study. The Above-Level Student Supports for Phonics: 30-Week Plan provides guidance on extensions and/or advanced opportunities to engage with foundational skills at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level.

Materials provide general strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards. For example:

• In the Program Support Guide, Supports for Exceptional Learners outlines the variety of foundational skills supports built into the program for English learners, including “Language Transfer Support” in phonics lessons and grammar in context lessons and a Contrastive Analysis of Nine World Languages. 

• In Whole Group Teacher Resources, Multilingual Glossary, the materials provide definitions, a photograph, the spoken English word, and the corresponding written word in ten languages.

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 4, integrated English Language Development (iELD) strategies are based upon needed support for print concepts. For light support, teachers ask students to point out an example of a caption and a label; clarify which is which if necessary; display frames to help partners discuss the captions, labels, and photos. For moderate support, teachers review the meaning of the words by showing an example of each; ask volunteers to find examples of each in the text, and say the caption/label; display frames for partners to discuss the captions, labels, and photos. For substantial support, the teacher uses the visuals to explain vocabulary; point to the labels, captions, and photos of the text; have students identify what the teacher is pointing to; guide partners to use the sentence frames to talk about labels and captions.

• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, Language Transfer Support states, “Check for transferability of phonemes and graphemes. There is no sound transfer for /o/ in Spanish or Tagalog, and an approximate transfer in Vietnamese Hmong, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Farsi, and Arabic.”

• In Unit 9, Suggested Language Objectives, the materials list language objectives for the unit that connect standards with WIDA performance definitions. One support listed is to have ELL students produce and expand complete sentences using gestures, role play, and/or orally. 

Materials provide general strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level foundational skills and to meet or exceed grade-level standards. For example:

• In the Program Support Guide, Supports for Exceptional Learners outline the variety of foundational skills supports built into the program for students with special needs that includes intervention and reteaching resources, blend and build words spiral review, access features in reading and writing lessons, phonics manipulative and e-pocket chart, phonics alternate learning paths, and interactive audio-assisted e-books. 

• In Additional Resources, Access and Equity, the materials recommend getting to know the students, utilizing the IEP or 504 plan, and working collaboratively with the special education teachers. Materials also provide research-based suggestions for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a chart outlining the program components alongside suggestions, if applicable, regarding modifying lesson components to support students with challenges in oral language, decoding, comprehension, and written language.

• In the Intervention Materials, the materials include sets of intervention lessons for fluency (15 lessons), phonics and word recognition (52 lessons), phonological awareness (14 lessons), and print concepts (8 lessons). 

• In Intervention, Print Concepts, Lesson 6, the teacher displays the sentence “My dog runs fast.” The teacher points out the spaces between people and tells students that words also have spaces between them. The teacher places a pencil in the spaces between words in the sentence. Students practice identifying spaces and words in a new sentence, then in a book. The lesson includes a formative assessment and follow-up interventions to use in response to specific student misconceptions. 

• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 5, the materials provide the teacher with strategies for students who need “light support (bridging, reteaching), Moderate Support (Developing, Expanding), and Substantial Support (Entering, Beginning) in which they review sounds for letters l, w, d.

Materials provide extensions and/or advanced opportunities to engage with foundational skills at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level. For example:

• In the Above-Level Student Supports for Phonics: 30-Week Plan provides guidance on acceleration and enrichment and daily skill-specific extension activities for each week of the explicit, systematic Kindergarten phonics instruction. Activities include blending, spelling/dictation, blending and building words, word sorts, and writing extensions.

• In the Program Support Guide, Supports for Exceptional Learners outlines the variety of foundational skills supports built into the program for high-ability learners that includes: blend and build words, challenge practice, small-group acceleration prompts, and classroom book clubs. 

• In Additional Resources, Access and Equity, a chart lists program components alongside accommodations for advanced learners in each of the sections: interactive read-aloud, shared reading, shared writing mini-lessons, phonics, and small group reading. 

• In Additional Resources, Access and Equity, Phonics, suggestions for accommodations include “provide more complex words and sound combinations” and “once automaticity is acquired, move on.”

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, teachers meet individual student needs through acceleration and remediation. “For students above grade‑level expectations, continue to teach a skill further in the phonics scope and sequence during small‑group time.”

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 2, the Blend and Build Words lesson includes the following challenge words: cap, cap, naps, nap, map, mop, mops.