4th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality, worthy of especially careful reading, and consider a range of student interests. The included texts have been previously published and many are written by celebrated authors. Materials include: both fiction and non-fiction texts of varying lengths and topics, and texts that appeal to the interests of young readers.

Examples include:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, winner of several awards including the Millenium Children’s Book Award, is entertaining and relatable to students in Grade 4. The theme of good character is relevant and grade appropriate.
• George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff, includes historical context to the Revolutionary War. Language demands are complex due to specific historical vocabulary.
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen is a Newbery Medal winner. The vocabulary and sentence structure are grade appropriate and it is highly relatable due to the experiences of the character.
• Earthquake by Seymour Simon is a non-fiction text with strong scientific content and vibrant illustrations. Language features include pictures, diagrams, glossary, index, and maps.
• My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen is a high-interest and complex text. The purpose, text structure, are grade appropriate and the text builds subject and cultural knowledge.

The materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. Students read twenty-one texts, a mix of both information and literature in the Shared Reading and ELA lessons. The ratio of fiction to non-fiction is an appropriate balance for the standards in this grade level and includes various text types and genres.

Shared Reading includes six fiction and three non-fiction texts.

• Examples of fiction texts read during Shared Reading are: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, My Life as a book by Janet Tashjian, and Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone.
• Examples of non-fiction texts read during Shared Reading are: The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Giblin and Can You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz.

Interactive Read Alouds include five fiction and seven non-fiction texts.

• Examples of fiction texts read aloud during the ELA Lessons are: Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and Miss Alaineus by Debra Frasier.
• Examples of non-fiction texts read aloud during ELA Lessons are: The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons, Earthquakes by Seymour Simon, Roanoke: The Last Colony by Jane Yolen, and the autobiography My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen.

The text types and genres are widely distributed throughout the year. Genres include:

• Autobiography
• Historical Fiction
• Mystery
• Poetry
• Fantasy
• Informational Texts
• Folktales

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for the appropriate level of text complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

According to the Teacher’s Manual, books selected for Shared Reading lessons are mostly within grade-level bands, and books selected for interactive read-alouds during the ELA lessons are generally above grade level. Texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level, and when the selections are in the high end of the band, students are supported by teacher read-aloud, and scaffolding through predictable routines and teacher modeling. Though the Lexile measures do not build sequentially, throughout the year there are texts from the entire grade-level band.

Specific examples include: 

• In Weeks 12 and 13 of the ELA Lessons, students read My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen with a Lexile of 1150. Though the quantitative measure is high for this grade level, this is a non-fiction book with no technical terminology. Students make meaning of the text by writing a diary and keeping track of the dogs and their characteristics, and facts about Paulsen’s life. Students are supported through explicit vocabulary instruction, daily text structure lessons, and discussion.
• In Weeks 16 and 19 of the ELA Lessons, students read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen with a Lexile of 1020. This quantitative measure is high for the grade level, but students are supported by creating a story map tracking the most important events in the story, and making notes about character traits while reading. Students are also supported through explicit vocabulary instruction, daily text structure lessons, and engaging discussion.
• In Weeks 21 and 22 of the ELA Lessons, students read Around the World in Hundred Years by Jean Fritz with a Lexile of 1050. The use of this non-fiction text supports social studies standards and provides background on the Age of Exploration. Students track the explorers and their discoveries on a timeline.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.)

In both English Language Arts and Shared Reading, the texts and tasks increase in complexity to develop independence of grade-level skills. Texts are in the appropriate grade-level Lexile band to help students build knowledge, understanding, and comprehension of texts over the school year. Texts within and outside of the grade band are supported by lessons that incorporate discussions, organizers, and anchor charts. In ELA, the questions, writing tasks, and expectation of student understanding and application of their knowledge grows in each unit.

For example:

• Texts in the first nine weeks have Lexiles from 660-1010. An example in the first nine weeks in the Shared Reading lesson is Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby, with an overall Lexile of 890. The novel is historical fiction and connects to students’ previous knowledge of the Underground Railroad. The text is read over 18 days. Students make meaning of the text by creating two journals, one for each character. Daily, students write an entry about the day’s events, imitating the author’s style for each character while focusing on character traits. Students also engage in choral reading, collaborative discussion, explicit vocabulary instruction, and written response to reading.
• Texts in the second nine weeks have Lexiles from 680-1150. An example in the second nine weeks is Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone, with an overall Lexile of 820. The text is historical fiction set in Jamestown. The author adds real people and events from history and uses sensory details, dialogue, and emotions. Students interact with primary sources at the start of each chapter and keep track of the documents to help build meaning in the story. The students write a daily journal about the day’s events and engage in choral reading, collaborative discussion, explicit vocabulary instruction, and written response to reading.
• Texts in the third nine weeks have Lexiles from 680-1050. An example in the third nine weeks is My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian, with an overall Lexile of 880. Readers use the author’s words and illustrations to understand the story. The teacher introduces a new vocabulary strategy to be used throughout the reading of the text. Students choose three words illustrated in the text and combine information from three sources to write a definition in their own words and create a super sentence. Students also engage in choral reading, collaborative discussion, explicit vocabulary instruction, and written response to reading.
• Texts in the fourth nine weeks have Lexiles from 720-880. An example in the fourth nine weeks in the Shared Reading lesson is George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff, with an overall Lexile of 840. The text is a historical fiction adventure story which journeys back to through time during the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War. To build comprehension, students compare and contrast the lives of the characters and analyze and write from different points of view. Students also engage in choral reading, collaborative discussion, explicit vocabulary instruction, and written response to reading.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency.

The instructional materials include opportunities for students to access text through teacher read-alouds, choral reading, and independent reading. Students interact with texts through both the ELA Lessons and Shared Reading. Texts used for interactive read-alouds are often above grade-level and are read aloud by the teacher who models through think-alouds and leads discussion about the text. Shared Reading texts are often read together chorally for the first read with one purpose, and then again in pairs or independently for a second read with another purpose.

Interactive Reading texts are part of the ELA Lessons. The texts are read aloud by the teacher who models through think-alouds and facilitates discussion of the text.

• In the first nine weeks of ELA Lessons, examples of the texts read to students include: Zombies! Evacuate the School! By Sara Holbrook, Worst of Friends by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, and Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford.
• In the second nine weeks of ELA Lessons, examples of the texts read students include: My Life in Dog Years and Hatchet both by Gary Paulsen.
• In the third nine weeks of ELA Lessons, examples of the texts read to students include: The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons, Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz, and Miss Alaineus by Debra Frasier.
• In the fourth nine weeks of ELA Lessons, an example of the texts read to students include: Alabama Moon by Watt Key.

Shared Reading texts are read first as a choral read with one purpose, and then students engage in a second read with partners for another purpose.

• In the first nine weeks of Shared Reading, examples of the texts students read include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby.
• In the second nine weeks of Shared Reading, examples of the texts students read include: Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone and Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz.
• In the third nine weeks of Shared Reading, examples of the texts students read include: Tangerine by Edward Bloor and My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian.
• In the fourth nine weeks of Shared Reading, examples of the texts students read include: George Washington Socks by Elvira Woodruff and The Amazing life of Ben Franklin by James Cross Giblin.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

Daily instruction is organized in weekly lessons with three parts: an ELA Lesson, Shared Reading, and Differentiated Instruction, with different texts used in each part of the lesson. Routines in the ELA Lesson and the Shared Reading both have components that require students to engage with the text directly. Though some tasks can be accomplished without the use of the text, both ELA and Shared Reading include teacher-led close reading and student-led close reading with tasks and questions that are text-dependent. Questions, tasks, and assignments require students to engage with the text to answer questions.

Examples include:

• In Week 1, Shared Reading, Day 1, after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, students respond in writing to the following questions, “What does the author do to make us like Charlie?” and “Does he do it explicitly or does he make us figure things out?”
• In Week 5, ELA Lesson, Day 2, after reading Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford, the teacher states there are powerful themes in the reading and students are asked, “What do you think about each character’s motivations here?”
• In Week 9, Shared Reading, Day 3, while reading Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone, students are told to reread the last few pages and are asked, “How could Master Wigfield strike with his power? Think of this as figurative language.”
• In Week  12, ELA Lesson, Day 1, while reading My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen, students are asked, “What do you think the author means when he says that Cookie was like a ‘dogsister’ or ‘dogmother’ to me?”
• In Week 24, ELA Lesson, Day 1, after reading “Bad Words” in Zombies! Evacuate the School! by Sara Holbrook, students are asked, “After reading the word fight, does that mean a word can be a weapon?” and “What evidence do we have that she’s telling the truth?”
• In Week 29, Shared Reading, Day 1, after reading George Washington Socks by Elvira Woodruff, students write a paragraph to compare and contrast Matthew’s life and Israel’s life.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Each lesson provides students an opportunity for evidence-based discussions. According to the section of the Teacher Manual, titled Using this Manual, the instructional plans are intentionally brief to create ease of use in real-time. The Read Alouds section of the Teacher Manual provides general explanations of Every Pupil Response and Partners, strategies to increase student engagement. Every Pupil Response includes taking votes, signaled responses such as thumbs up, and talking with a partner. Partner work includes opportunities for students to confer in pairs about their reading and writing, and questions about the previous day’s learning. It can be signaled by “turn and talk to your partner” or “ask your partner”.

Examples include:

• Week 3, ELA Lesson, Day 2, after students read The Worst of Friends: Through the Page with King George by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, the teacher asks students’ ideas for information to use on a campaign poster, using as few words as possible. The differences between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are discussed and students are asked to share their answers in a whole class discussion. The teacher then asks, “Did George Washington ever live in the White House? Talk to your partner.” The lesson alternates between whole class discussion and partner talk.
• Week 5, ELA Lesson, Days 1-4, students read Freedom on the Menu: Through Page with Fountain by Carole Boston Weatherford. During the “Engage Students in Discussion” segment of the lesson, the teacher directs students, “Now it’s your turn to ask questions. Think of a really good question about what we’ve read today and ask your partner.” Teacher asks, “These are some powerful themes. What do you think about each character’s motivation here?”
• Week 9, Shared Reading, Day 1, students choral read the first chapter of Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone. During the segment of the lesson called “Provide a New Focus for Rereading in Partners”. The teacher provides a question for the focus of the partner reread. No additional teaching notes or protocols are provided. Examples, “Now think about the setting. What do we learn about the characteristics of this time period?” Then the teacher asks a series of whole group discussion questions.
• Week 16, ELA Lesson, Day 1, while reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, the teacher explicitly teaches two words from the text during “Teach Meaning Vocabulary”. The teacher explains the meaning of the word lurched and guides students to create sentences using a frame. “When I tripped, I lurched and _____.  If I see someone who lurches, I _____ . " The teacher uses the same protocol to teach the word thrumming.
• Week 26, ELA Lesson, Day 2, students read Miss Alaineus by Debra Frasier. The teacher models how to ask questions while reading a text, then students are asked to think of questions about what they read and ask their partner the questions.
• Week 31, Shared Reading, Days 3-5, students read The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Cross Giblin. Each day, students participate in a segment of the lesson called “Provide a New Focus for Rereading in Partners”. The teacher provides a question for the focus of the partner reread. No additional teaching notes or protocols are provided. Examples, “As you read again with your partner, think about the interesting details that the author has given us about Ben’s early life. As you read again with your partner, think about which parts of our modern life we owe to Ben Franklin.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

The individual ELA lessons support students speaking and listening about what they are reading and researching. The standards alignment outlines the Speaking and Listening standards targeted throughout the lessons. Lessons require students to share their reflections and engage in follow-up questioning and include collaborative activities with guidance on how to evaluate speaking and listening with a rubric. During the Shared Reading lessons, students engage in speaking and listening about what they are reading. There is a section in the Shared Reading lessons titled, “Review and Share Written Responses”. Students often write a response one day that is shared at the start of the next day’s lesson. Despite the use of follow-up questions and opportunities to share, presentations and supports do not provide much depth. Additionally, it is sometimes unclear if follow-up comprehension discussions are intended for oral or written response, and whether they are meant to be discussed as a class or with peers.

Example include:

• In Week 3, ELA Lesson, Day 1, students read The Worst of Friends by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain. During Model a Comprehension Strategy and Ask Questions During Reading portion of the lesson, the teacher asks, “Raise your hand if you think two friends can be very different and still be friends?” Students discuss the similarities and differences between Adams and Jefferson. During Engage Students in Discussion, students are directed to tell a partner what they consider to be the most important detail from the text and why.
• In Week 9, ELA Lesson, Days 1-5, students read Go Straight to the Source, by Kristin Fontichiaro to understand how to find facts they may need and how to make sure facts are correct. On Day 1, students learn about primary sources and work with a partner to decipher artifacts, images, and documents. During Engage in Discussion, the teacher says, “Let’s think about our earthquakes book. What are some sources that Seymour Simon may have used?” On Days 2-5, the lessons begin with the student responses from the previous day’s review. For example, on Day 2, students generate five questions about a picture from the text. On Day 3, students share their questions with a partner and compare with each other what they wrote.
• In Week 14, ELA Lesson, Day 5, after reading Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone and learning about persuasion and about settlers in the New World, students are asked to write a persuasive letter. The teacher provides questioning and models an example draft from a student. Students listen while the teacher models revision. Students work near a partner to complete drafts using peer discussion for help, but writing independently. Students share their drafts with students who have different topics.
• In Week 17, Shared Reading, Days 1-5, students read Tangerine by Edward Bloor and complete daily prompts during the Review and Share Written Responses segment of the lesson. On Day 2, students are asked, “Do you think the Erik Fisher Football Dream is a good or bad thing? Give reasons for your opinion.” On Day 3, students share their responses with a partner.
• In Week 24, Shared Reading, Day 2, students read My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian and respond to a series of questions in a segment of the lesson called Engage in Comprehension Discussion. Examples of these questions are, “How do we know that Derek doesn’t like to read?, Why does his mom bribe him to read? Why does Derek draw his vocabulary words?”
• In Week 31, Shared Reading, Day 3, students read The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Cross Giblin and respond to a series of questions in a segment of the lesson called Engage in Comprehension Discussion. Examples of these questions are, “Think about the way in which Ben taught himself to improve his writing. What words would you use to describe Ben, based on this information? We know that Ben came from a very close family because the author told us that often 13 or more people sat around his dinner table. How do you think his family will feel about him leaving? How do you think he will tell them?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Materials include short and longer writing tasks and projects that are aligned to grade-level standards. Throughout the lessons, students engage in various methods of writing, including on-demand writing in the form of open-ended responses to vocabulary written in context, short paragraphs or sentences in response to daily prompts. Process writing is modeled with the use of checklists, charts, and graphic organizers, and the sequence of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and writing final drafts. Writing instruction takes place during the ELA Lesson, however, students also write in response to reading during the Shared Reading. The ELA Lesson is structured into three segments: Teacher, which includes instruction and modeling; Students, which is structured work time with a specific goal and process; and Share, which allows students to share with peers and the teacher. The Teacher Manual includes an appendix titled Writing, which explains the design of the writing instruction as structurally repetitive. Students engage in the same sequence of writing instruction with different content throughout the year.

Examples include:

• In Week 1, Shared Reading, Day 3, while students are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, they respond to the prompt, “Why do you think Willy Wonka created the golden ticket? Give reasons for your opinion.”
• In Week 6, ELA Lesson, Days 3-5, students write a narrative mystery. The teacher models stages of the writing process from planning with the graphic organizer to drafting the story.
• In Week 10, Shared Reading, Day 3, while reading Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone, students respond to the prompt, “Use perish and ignorant in super sentences that capture important details from the chapter. One main idea so far is that Captain John Smith's behavior is dangerous. List details that support this main idea. You can use this chapter and also the previous ones.”
• In Week 17, Shared Reading, Day 5, while reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor, students respond to the prompt, “Paul ends the chapter thinking he will be afraid of Erik and Arthur. Do you think he is right to think this? What or why not? Use evidence from the text.”
• In Week 19, ELA Lesson, Day 5, after reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, students write a fictional narrative survival story. Students brainstorm ideas, the teacher models using the graphic organizer, and students plan their introduction and begin their drafts.
• In Week 28, Shared Reading, Day 2, while reading George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff, students respond to the prompt, “Pretend you are Matthew and write a note to Tony’s parents telling them you have gone on a hike to the lake. Give reasons for your trip.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Appendix E of the Teacher Manual provides an overview of writing for the year. Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Writing is centered around student analysis and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources. Materials provide opportunities to build students’ writing skills through the use of checklists, models, and rubrics. Over the course of the school year, students are given instruction and practice in a variety of genres addressed in the standards. During the ELA lessons, there is instruction on the different types of writing, using the same sequence: Learn the characteristics of the genre; Evaluate good and poor examples of the genre; Learn to plan the genre; Learn to draft the genre; and Learn to revise, both with peers and independently with different content throughout the year. During Shared Reading, students write in response to reading with opinion, narrative, and informative prompts related to the text.

For example:

• In Week 2, Shared Reading, Day 1, after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, students respond to the narrative prompt, “Reread Willy Wonka’s letter. Write a letter back to him from Charlie, thanking him for the opportunities. Be sure you are writing from Charlie’s point of view.”
• In Weeks 6-7, ELA Lesson, after reading Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby, students write a narrative based on the novel by using themselves and their family members as characters. They use the story from the novel, but change the details.
• In Week 10, Shared Reading, Day 2, after reading, Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone, students respond to the informative prompt, “The chapter ends with the men building gallows to hang John Smith. What are the reasons for their hatred of him? What is the effect his actions had on them? Use details and examples from the text.”
• In Week 11, Shared Reading, Day 2, after reading Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone, students respond to the opinion prompt, “Think about cause and effect and explain the following: What do you think caused the Indians to attack the fort? Why do you think they chose to attack now? Start your paragraph with: It is my opinion that the Indians attacked the colonists because… Give several reasons to support your point of view.”
• In Week 20, Shared Reading, Day 1, after reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor, students respond to the informative prompt, “Write a short article about Erik’s sports blooper. Take the point of view of a sports writer.”
• In Week 34, ELA Lesson, Day 1, after the teacher reviews the characteristics of a personal narrative and teaches students about the similarities and differences between personal narrative and memoir, students plan their own memoir.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

Shared reading lessons have opportunities for students to engage in evidence-based writing instruction. In the “Assign Written Response” and the “Engage in Comprehension Discussion” portions of the lesson there are questions that can be used to develop evidence-based writing. The Evaluation tab in the Teacher Manual has a section called Grading, with Super Sentence Rubrics, Writing Response Rubrics, Example Students Responses, and Example Grading Responses to help support students and teachers. Though these examples are provided to help guide instruction and evaluation of student responses, there are no explicit directions for students to use or cite evidence in their short-answer responses. ELA Lessons provide explicit instruction and modeling to support students in using text-based evidence.

For example:

• In Week 3, Shared Reading, Day 3, students read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and respond to the prompt, “Look back into the chapters and find evidence that Grandpa Joe and Charlie have different reactions to what they are experiencing than the other visitors. Contrast their actions with one other character.” The writing task requires students to use evidence from the text.
• In Week 13, ELA Lesson, Day 5, students read My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen and respond to the prompt, “Which dog would you want to have as a pet the most and which dog would you want to have as a pet least?” Students are asked to apply everything they learned about opinion writing in Week 2.  
• In Week 26, Shared Reading, Day 2, after reading My Life as a Book by Janet Tashijan students respond to the prompt, “Derek has two encounters in these chapters- with Mrs. Williams and with Michael. What does he learn about people and their talents?" Then they write an opinion paper with the prompt, “Should you do what you think is right for the good of a group or should you do what you think is the right thing to do for you?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

Bookworms Grade 4 materials provide explicit instruction of most grade level grammar and conventions in the Sentence Composing section of each ELA lesson plan in conjunction with the day’s read-aloud. The explicit grammar instruction takes place within four instructional activities: Combining, Unscrambling, Imitating, and Expanding. Each Sentence Composing activity is followed by a writing activity that allows the students the opportunity to use the skill in their own writing. Included is a Fourth Grade Editing Checklist for students to use to revise and edit their writing. The Fourth Grade Editing Checklist is used for checking convention standards such as use capitalization.

Materials include explicit instruction of grammar and conventions standards for the grade-level, and materials include opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills both in- and out-of-context. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when, why). For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 3, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Expand, the teacher shares the following sentence: The parties began to fight. The teacher explains that the pronoun who can be used to expand the sentence since parties is actually referring to a group of people. The students come up with some additional phrases that begin with who. The teacher asks students to come up with some phrases that begin with when and where.
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 8, Day 1, Teach Sentence Composing, Combine, three sentences are combined. The second two sentences are rephrased using the word ‘which’ and inserted into the middle of the first sentence using commas appropriately.
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 12, Day 5, Teach Sentence Composing, Expand, the teacher shows, They worked the farms. The teacher tells students to add details that tell where.
• Students have opportunities to form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 9, Day 3, Teach Sentence Composing, Imitate, the teacher shares the following sentence: When you describe what you see, be careful to do just that: describe. The teacher points out that this grammatical structure was used to highlight the message. The teacher shares the following sentence frame: When you describe what you _____, be careful to do just that: describe. The teacher asks the students to substitute verbs that would make sense. The teacher shares these sentence frames: When you describe what you are______, be careful to do just that: describe. When you describe what you were______, be careful to do just that: describe. When you describe what you will be______, be careful to do just that: describe. The teacher asks the students to give verbs that would make sense in these sentences where the verb tense has changed.
• Students have opportunities to use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 9, Day 5, Teach Sentence Composing, Imitate, students use a sentence (What can you learn about the person.) from Go Straight to the Source. The teacher says, “What if I changed can to might? How would that change the meaning? What if I changed can to may? How about must?” The teacher leads the class in discussing how each auxiliary changes the meaning.
• Students have opportunities to order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag). For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 12, Day 3, Teach Sentence Composing, Imitate, the teacher shares the following sentence: It was a big dog, a black dog. The teacher models rewriting the sentence and focuses on the importance of the order of the adjectives to create: It was a big black dog. The teacher and students use the following sentence frame to order and use adjectives: It was a _____ _____ dragon.
• Students have opportunities to form and use prepositional phrases. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 9, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Imitate, the teacher shares the following sentence: What do you see in the background of the image? The teacher explains that the questions contain two prepositional phrases that are working together to tell where. The teacher shares this sentence frame: What do you see in the background of this _____? The teacher explains the word to complete the sentence must be a noun. The students give words that complete the sentence. The teacher shares this sentence frame: What do you see in the _____ of the _____?  The students thing of nouns that can complete the prepositional phrases and make a sentence that makes sense.
• Students have opportunities to produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 3, Day 1, Teach Sentence Composing, Unscramble, the teacher models how to reorganize the following fragments to complete a correct sentence: needed money to pay its bills / friends to help it fight off enemies / and / Tom and John / sailed across the ocean to Europe / when the new nation. The teacher models locating the subject, a predicate that has pronoun agreement, and then demonstrates how to add the details. Tom and John sailed across the ocean to Europe. Needed money to pay its bills and friends to help it fight off enemies. When the new nation The teacher now works with the students to find the order that makes sense.
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 12, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Combine, students combine three sentences into a single sentence with more complex syntax. The sentences used in this lesson is from the story My Life in Dog Years and are: She did not die a natural death. She was killed when a military truck swerved and hit her. She was killed instantly. The lesson prompts the teacher to help the students combine the sentences into one sentence, limiting run-ons.
• Students have opportunities to correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their). For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 25, Day 3, Teach Sentence Composing, Expand, the teacher shares the following sentence: The moon affects the oceans, too. The teacher explains that the word too means also and that in order to expand the sentence they need to they have to add something else that the moon affects.
• Students have opportunities to use correct capitalization. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 33, Day 3, The Fourth Grade Editing Checklist that includes capitalization, is provided for students to use to evaluate their writing.
• Students have opportunities to use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text. For example: 
• In the Teacher Guide, Writing, there is a Student Checklist for Conventions for Grade 4 that includes: I used commas and quotations marks to direct speech and quotations from a text.
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 5, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Expand, students use a sentence (“They sat for hours,” said Daddy.”) from Freedom on the Menu. The teacher prompts, “Before we expand this, let’s take a look at punctuation. It’s direct speech, so the actual words the Daddy says are enclosed in quotation marks. In a regular sentence, we would end with a period. Since we have to tell who is speaking, we substitute the period with a comma. The comma goes inside the quotation marks.” The teacher guides punctuation use as the students expand the sentence.
• Students have opportunities to use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. For example: 
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 3, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Combine, the teacher shares the following sentences: Tom and John were very polite. Tom and John didn’t hit each other. Tom and John didn’t shout. The teacher shows how to combine the first two sentences using the pronoun they: Tom and John were very polite, and they didn’t hit each other. The teacher explains that you always use a comma before and when combining two complete sentences.
• In the ELA Lesson Plans, Week 5, Day 2, Teach Sentence Composing, Combine, students are asked to combine three sentences into a single sentence with more complex syntax. The sentences are from Freedom on the Menu and are: The waitress noticed us. The waitress kept wiping the lunch counter. The waitress kept refilling salt and pepper shakers. The lesson prompts the teacher to help the students combine the sentences into one sentence, adding a comma before the coordinating conjunction. For example: Even though the waitress noticed us, she kept wiping the lunch counter and refilling salt and pepper shakers.
• Students have opportunities to spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed. For example: 
• In the Teacher Guide, Writing, the Student Checklist for Conventions for Grade 4 includes: I spelled words appropriate to my grade level correctly.
• In the Teacher Guide, a routine called Word Study is explained. Word Study is included in the block of time called Shared Reading and “includes attention to spelling and to meaning of words.” Word Study addresses syllable types, multisyllabic decoding, and spelling-meaning links. The Teacher Guide explains that “word study extends skill in decoding and spelling, while providing additional encounters with words whose meanings are important to learn.”
• Students have opportunities to choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
• In ELA Lesson Plans, Week 3, Day 3, Teach Sentence Composing, Combine, the teacher shares these sentences: He signed the letter. He mailed it to Thomas Jefferson. He waited. The teacher explains the sentences are a sequence and must be combined in the order that convey the sequence. The teacher models how to link them in a series using the conjunction and. The teacher uses temporal words to make the meaning even more precise.
• Students have opportunities to differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion). For example: 
• In ELA Lesson Plans, Week 5, Day 1, Teach Sentence Composing, Expand, the teacher shares the following sentence: Mama and me read signs. The teacher explains the author used informal language because the story is told from the point of view of a child. The teacher asks students to identify how the sentence should be changed to make it formal language.

The materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks address grade-level CCSS for foundational skills by providing explicit instruction and assessment in phonics and word recognition that demonstrate a researched-based progression.

Bookworms Grade 4 materials provide students with opportunities to learn phonics and word recognition. Students are explicitly taught each of the six syllable types in the vocabulary words from the shared text for each week. The teacher also explains how prefixes and suffixes will change the word meaning. Teachers use the six syllable types to explain words each day during teacher directed instruction. Students use words based in the six syllable types in their written responses during Assign Written Response. Students are tested each week on the words presented during word study.  The Informal Decoding Inventory is included in the Appendix to help determine student weaknesses through the use of each of the six subtests.

Materials contain explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words, syllabication patterns, and word recognition consistently over the course of the year. Examples include, but not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context. For example: 
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 1, Day 1, the students learn the word meanings and the syllable types for the words: absurd (closed, r-controlled) and satisfy (closed, closed, open). The students learn that absurdity is the noun form and that absurdly is the adverb form. The students learn that to form the past form for satisfy, one must change the -y to -i before adding -ed. The students learn this is not necessary for the adjective form (satisfying). The students are taught the noun form is satisfaction. Students use these words to create super sentences during Assign Written Response and share these sentences the following day with a partner during Review and Share Written Responses.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 9, Day 1, the teacher introduces two vocabulary words: prophesy and pawn shop. The words are divided into syllables and each syllable is named. The teacher gives students a definition for the word prophesy and explains that a prophet is a person who makes prophecies. The students then read these vocabulary words in context and later have to use them in a writing assignment.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 31, Day 3, the students learn the word meanings and the syllable types for the words: apprentice (open, closed, open, closed, open) and vocabulary (closed, closed, suffix). Students learn that an apprentice is a noun or a verb that means a person who works for a long time to learn a trade. The teacher explains that the root word is related to the word apprehend, which is another word for learn. An apprentice would be a type of learner and that would be a noun. The teacher explains that vocabulary is a noun that means the words you know, the meanings of when you read or hear them. The teacher tells the students vocabulary is related to voice and vocal. During Assign Written Response, the students use apprentice and vocabulary in super sentences.

Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year to inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students make progress toward mastery. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Manual, Appendix F, the materials include the Informal Decoding Inventory. The IDI includes six subtests that progress in difficulty. Differentiated grouping decisions are made upon the first subtest that is failed. The materials include that there is a criterion of eight for real words and six for nonsense words. The subtests include: short vowel, consonant blends and digraphs, vowel-consonant e, vowel teams, and multisyllabic words. For example:
• Short vowel directions: Point to sat. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: sat, pot, beg, nip, cub, pad, top, hit, met, nut, mot, tip, han, teg, fet, lup, nid, pab, hud, gop.
• Consonant blend and digraphs directions: Point to blip. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: blip, check, clam, chin, thick, frank, mint, fist, grab, rest, clop, prib, hest, chot, slen, bund, bist, hald, slub, shad
• R-controlled vowel patterns directions: Point to card. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: card, stork, term, burst, turf, fern, dirt, nark, firm, mirth, fird, barp, forn, serp, surt, perd, kurn, nirt, mork, tarst
• Vowel teams directions: Point to neat. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: neat, spoil, goat, pail, field, fruit, claim, meat, beast, boast, craid, houn, rowb, noy, feap, nuit, maist, ploat, tead, steen
• Multisyllabic words directions: Point to flannel. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: flannel, submit, cupid, spiky, confide, cascade, varnish, surplus, chowder, approach
• In the Teacher Manual, Shared Reading, Word Study: “Word study includes attention to spelling and to meaning of words. Our word study curriculum includes one set of words for the entire class, consistent instruction across the week, and a traditional spelling/vocabulary test every five days. A scope and sequence for Word Study and Vocabulary is provided in Appendix D.”

Materials contain explicit instruction of word solving approaches (graphophonic and syntactic) to decode unfamiliar words. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Manual, Shared Reading, Word Study, the materials define the six syllable types that are taught during the Word Study lessons throughout the Grade 4 materials: closed, open, vowel-consonant-e, r-controlled, vowel team, consonant l-e. The materials explain the syllable type language be used daily in the teacher directed instruction. There is a chart that includes guidance on where to divide syllables to assist with decoding and to be used with word attack. The materials indicate that the pronunciation generated must be checked against meaning vocabulary to see if it is correct.
• In ELA Lesson Plans, Week 12, Day 1, the teacher tells the students they will be reading an autobiography. The teacher informs students that it has two prefixes and asks students to write the word and underline the prefixes. The teacher explains the definition of graph as meaning writing, auto as meaning self, and bio as meaning life. The teacher tells students that autobiography means a story about your life that you write yourself.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 5, Day 1, before reading the text with students, the teacher introduces two vocabulary words: specimens and fugitive. The words are divided into syllables and each syllable is named. In addition, the teacher provides a definition of each word and gives an example of its use.

The Bookworms materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for materials, lessons, and questions providing instruction in and practice of word analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Bookworm Grade 4 materials provide opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis skills in connected text and task through daily Shared Reading: Word Study activities. Word study words are taken from the Shared Reading connected text and used to teach word analysis skills, and every fifth day monitor student learning of word analysis skills. Outside of the Word Study test every fifth day, there are no embedded opportunities to showcase word analysis through oral reading fluency or reading of connected text.

Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. Examples include, but not limited to:

• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 9, Day 2, Meaning Vocabulary, the teacher introduces the vocabulary words from the text, gives their meaning, explains how they can be divided into syllables and the syllable types in the word: gal · lows (closed, vowel team) and com · mon · er (closed, closed, r-controlled). Students chorally read these words within the text: Blood on the River. During Assign Written Response, students write super sentences using these words. The next day during Review and Share Written Response, students share their writing with a partner.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 17, Day 1, Meaning Vocabulary, the teacher introduces the vocabulary words from the text, gives their meaning, explains how they can be divided into syllables and the syllable types in the word: pred · a · tor (closed, irregular, r-controlled) and op · er · a · tion (closed, r-controlled, open, suffix). Students chorally read these words within the text: Tangerine. During Assign Written Response, students write super sentences using these words. The next day during Review and Share Written Response, students share their writing with a partner.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 28, Day 1, Meaning Vocabulary, the teacher introduces the vocabulary words from the text, gives their meaning, explains how they can be divided into syllables and the syllable types in the word: im · ag · in · ing (closed, closed, closed, suffix) and in · cred · i · ble (closed, closed, irregular, C-le). Students chorally read these words within the text: George Washington’s Sock.  During Assign Written Response, students write super sentences using two vocabulary words from Teach Meaning Vocabulary lessons.

Materials include word analysis assessment to monitor student learning of word analysis skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Manual, Appendix F, the materials include the Informal Decoding Inventory. The IDI includes six subtests that progress in difficulty. Differentiated grouping decisions are made upon the first subtest that is failed. The materials include that there is a criterion of eight for real words and six for nonsense words. The subtests include: short vowel, consonant blends and digraphs, vowel-consonant e, vowel teams, and multisyllabic words.
• Short vowel directions: Point to sat. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: sat, pot, beg, nip, cub, pad, top, hit, met, nut, mot, tip, han, teg, fet, lup, nid, pab, hud, gop.
• Consonant blend and digraphs directions: Point to blip. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: blip, check, clam, chin, thick, frank, mint, fist, grab, rest, clop, prib, hest, chot, slen, bund, bist, hald, slub, shad
• R-controlled vowel patterns directions: Point to card. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: card, stork, term, burst, turf, fern, dirt, nark, firm, mirth, fird, barp, forn, serp, surt, perd, kurn, nirt, mork, tarst
• Vowel teams directions: Point to neat. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: neat, spoil, goat, pail, field, fruit, claim, meat, beast, boast, craid, houn, rowb, noy, feap, nuit, maist, ploat, tead, steen
• Multisyllabic words directions: Point to flannel. Ask the student, “What is this word.” This is repeated for each word: flannel, submit, cupid, spiky, confide, cascade, varnish, surplus, chowder, approach
• In the Teacher Manual, Shared Reading, there is a Word Study Assessment every fifth day. In the Word Study Assessment, the “teacher calls out the following vocabulary words without segmenting into sounds or syllables.” Students are asked to spell six words based on the Word Study work throughout the week. Then, the “teacher will ask students to mark half of the words to use in super sentences to demonstrate meaning.”

The Bookworms materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria for instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and achieve reading fluency in oral and silent reading, that is, to read on-level prose and poetry with accuracy, rate appropriate to the text, and expression.

Bookworms Grade 4 materials provide opportunities for students to purposely read on-level text through the weekly opportunities to participate in choral reading and partner reading in the Shared Reading Lessons. These readings are followed by a comprehension discussion about the text. In addition, students have opportunities to participate in echo reading, choral reading, partner reading and whisper reading in the Targeting Fluency and Comprehension portion of How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction: Resources for Grades K-3.  There is a missed opportunity to provide students instruction on the use of context to confirm a word, to self-correct words or to use rereading as necessary to determine an unknown word. While frequent fluency assessments are not provided, the materials do direct the teacher to the use of oral reading fluency assessments such as AIMSweb or DIBELS Next.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy and fluency in oral and silent reading. Examples include, but not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to read grade-level text with purpose and understanding. For example: 
• In Shared Reading Lesson plans, Week 1, Day 1, students participate in choral reading of chapter 1 and 2 of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After reading page 7, the teacher models how to create sensory images to better understand the text. Students then reread the text with a partner to think about what we learn about the characters and their relationships. Then students participate in a discussion using the following comprehension questions:
• How do the illustrations enrich the first chapter?
• Why do you think the author creates such a terrible situation for the Bucket family? Give specific details that make the situation terrible.
• What can we tell about Grandpa Joe from the way that he tells stories?
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 15, Day 4, students participate in choral reading of pages 7 through 9 of Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? Students then reread the text with a partner and think about how George moved from regular boy to Prince of Wales to King George III. Then students participate in a discussion using the following comprehension questions:
• What details can you remember to support this main idea: George acted like a normal boy.
• Why was George called Prince of Wales when his father died?
• What kinds of things did he have to learn so that he could prepare to be king?
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 31, Day 3, students participate in choral reading of pages 6 through 11 of The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin.  The teacher models using inference.  Then students participate in rereading of the text with a partner and think about the interesting details that the author has given about Ben’s early life. Then students participate in a discussion using the following comprehension questions:
• Think about the way in which Ben taught himself to improve his writing. What words would you use to describe Ben, based on this information?
• We know that Ben came from a very close family because the author told us that often 13 or more people sat around his dinner table. How do you think his family will feel about him leaving? How do you think he will tell them?
• In the Teacher Manual, Shared Reading: Comprehension, states that “In Bookworms Reading and Writing, we always help students target important content by providing a specific focus before they read. This will help them access relevant prior knowledge and lead them toward an appropriate mental representation of text meaning. You will see that in multiple readings the students always have a new purpose for reading. We never target skills in our language with children; we always target meaning.”
• Additionally, “during choral reading, you will be prompted to model one of seven high-utility comprehension strategies. When you  model, you tell the students how you use the strategy to increase your own comprehension of the text. Specifically, you tell what the strategy is, how you used it, and why you used it. Remember that modeling is showing your own thinking; it is different from prompting students to use strategies. Strategies targeted in these lessons are listed in the table below along with procedural cues. Note that we provide the text just before the spot where you think the modeling is most appropriate.”
• In the Teacher Manual, Differentiated Instruction, Students have the opportunity to read text silently during this block of time. This block of time is called “Self-Selected Reading” and the Teacher’s Manual explains, “the classroom library should be a source of self-selected reading” where students have “the experience of selecting books by their own criteria.”

Materials provide support of reading or prose and poetry with attention to rate, accuracy, and expression, as well as direction for students to apply reading skills when productive struggle is necessary. Examples include, but not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. For example: 
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 2, Day 1, students participate in choral reading of chapter 1 and 2 of Steal Away Home. Students then reread the text with a partner.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 17, Day 1, students participate in choral reading of pages 1 through 12 of Tangerine. Students then read the text with a partner.
• In Shared Reading Lesson Plans, Week 28, Day 1, students participate in choral reading of chapter 1 and 2 of George Washington’s Socks. Students then reread the text with a partner.

Materials support students’ fluency development of reading skills (e.g., self-correction of word recognition and/or for understanding, focus on rereading) over the course of the year (to get to the end of the grade-level band). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Manual, “during every day’s shared reading, you will lead the whole class in reading the day’s selection aloud.” Additionally, “If the day’s selection is too long, stop choral reading and read the rest of the day’s text aloud. Then move to partner reading. If you skip partner reading, you will not realize the gains in fluency and comprehension that rereading accomplishes.”
• Students have the opportunity for repeated reading through either choral or echo reading, then partner rereading each day during Shared Reading. Partners are expected to take the roles of reader and coach, where “the reader reads to his or her partner with expression” and “the coach should read along whiles the reader reads, and prompt the reader to reread whenever there is an error.”