1st Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the expectation that materials support students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade-level skills.

Students frequently interact with texts, but there is not an observable decrease in scaffolds, or increase in student responsibility which would indicate greater independence with skills as the year progresses. While texts generally fall within appropriate text complexity grade level and stretch bands, support and scaffolds provided within the materials do not change or gradually decrease as the year progresses, to ensure that students can independently access and comprehend grade-level texts at the end of the year.

Some examples that demonstrate supporting students’ increasing literacy skills include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, The Best Day Ever!, students read narrative and informational text focusing on story elements, compare and contrast texts, and using illustrations to understand text. Students write, revise, edit, and produce a final narrative piece.
• In Unit 2, My Favorite Sweets!, students read literary and informational texts and focus on word choice, descriptive language, and vivid illustrations. Students read A Fine, Fine School and learn about how adjectives help describe and then use adjectives to help them write an opinion piece. After reading The Recess Queen, students used descriptive words to compare and contrast The Recess Queen with A Fine, Fine School. By the end of the unit, students use descriptive words and illustrations to write an opinion statement about their favorite type of sweets and create a poster.
• In Unit 3, Lessons in Making Choices, students read several stories about making financial decisions. They retell stories using illustrations and details to tell about events, and identify the main idea. key details, and text features. Students understand and write about a story’s central message.
• In Unit 4, Planting for the Future, students read several literary and informational texts that are not necessarily connected to a theme. In the lessons that make up Unit 4, students work with their Learning Guide to learn more about characters, setting, events, and text features. Additionally, students continue to work on asking and answering questions about text, comparing and contrasting central messages, and comparing and contrasting characters and main ideas from two different stories. Students also write and publish an essay and a story focused on a central idea. The unit does not have a project, so there is no culminating activity to demonstrate their learning of these skills other than the Unit Quiz and the published writing tasks.
• In Unit 5, Observing the Messages of the Natural World, students read several narrative and informational texts focusing on space and the solar system. Students focus on characterization, comparing and contrasting texts, asking questions, and text features. Students produce a planet book as their culminating project where they include text features, age appropriate grammar, and facts about a planet they chose.
• In Unit 6, Our Community Celebrates!, students read various narratives and informational texts about different cultures in America. At the beginning of the unit, students look at the claims authors make in the text they are reading. Students then write an opinion piece and look at reasons to support their opinion. For the culminating task, students interview people from a different culture and write an opinion about why that culture is important.

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

The culminating task for each unit is found at the end of each unit and can be identified as the Show section of the materials. Tasks provide students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through a combination of integrated skills including reading, writing, drawing, and speaking and listening while allowing for a variety of project choices throughout the year. In Grade 1, Units 1, 2, and 6 are constructed around a core project idea or culminating task. Each lesson in Units 1, 2, and 6 uses the text to engage students in activities to prepare them for completion of the Project. While Projects are included in Units 1, 2, and 6, students do not necessarily need to use the texts to complete the projects.

Evidence of opportunities that build to a culminating task include:

• In Unit 1, Show: The Best Day Ever, Part 3 students complete this project where they write about the best day in their lives. After writing the story, the text states, “Once the mistakes are fixed, you will publish your story. You can write the story in your best handwriting. Or, you can use a computer to type the story. Share your story with your Learning Guide when it is done.” Students do not use the texts read in the unit in order to complete this project.
• In Unit 2, My Favorite Sweets!, students create a poster of their favorite dessert or candy. The poster must explain why their chosen sweet is the best, include facts about their sweet, and use language that would make others want to try their sweet. A project rubric is provided. This project could be completed without participating in the learning of the unit.
• In Unit 6, Our Community Celebrates!, students interview people from other cultures. Then they write an opinion about something from their culture that is positive for the community. A project rubric is provided. Upon completion, students are expected to share their project with members of their group who are in the same course. Students do not use the texts read in the unit in order to complete this project.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading (or read aloud) and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

The Grade 1 materials include some opportunities for students to listen and speak about what they are reading. These opportunities occur as students engage with the text used in a lesson, either through reading or read-aloud. Specific tasks occur in the LEARN Card and vary between asking the student to discuss answers to the questions with the Learning Guide and/or record responses in their English Language Arts Journal.

Throughout each unit, students are prompted with questions and/or activities that they are to complete with their Learning Guide. The materials prompt the Learning Guide to have the student go back into the text to support their evidence, look at pictures or text features, or to connect grammar skills with text. Students are encouraged to click on the Collaboration button throughout their learning to connect with other students who are using the materials.

Examples include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Toad and Frog, Part 1, students are told, “You have read the story. Now talk about it with your Learning Guide. Talk about the order of events. Answer these questions: What do Frog and Toad do first to see if they are brave? What do Frog and Toad see first as they climb? Look at page 11, How do you think Frog and Toad feel? Why? Write the answers to these questions in your ELA Journal.” The platform provides the Learning Guide with answers but no other follow-up guidance or supports are provided.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Words of Recess Queen, Part 2, students reread the text The Recess Queen with a focus on context clues. Students work with their Learning Guide to find unknown words within the text, using the context clues, and record them on a Context Clues Chart.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Find Out What’s In Hunter’s Money Jar, Part 1, students are told, “You have read the story. Now, talk about it with your Learning Guide. Talk about the characters. Talk about the things that happen. Answer these questions: Look at page 7. Why does Scratch say they need more friends to join them? Why is Hunter disappointed at the toy store? Who is telling this story? Write the answers to these questions in your ELA Journal.” The platform provides the Learning Guide with answers but no other follow-up guidance or supports are provided.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Get to the Point, Part 1, students read The Family Tree. Students discuss with the Learning Guide the following question: “Think about the young man at the beginning of the story. What might he say about why trees are important?”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Learn About The Planets, Part 3, student directions state, “After reading, answer this question in your ELA Journal: Look at pages 40 and 41. Do you see a diagram? A diagram is a picture that explains something. What does this diagram show? Talk about your answer with your Learning Guide”. The platform provides the Learning Guide with answers but no other follow-up guidance or supports are provided.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Picnic in October, Part 2, students read pages 6-11 in A Picnic in October. Students answer the following questions in their ELA Journal: “Who is Grandma talking about at the end of p. 10? Where is the family on p. 10? Draw a picture showing what the characters are doing.” Notes for the Learning Guide encourage them to engage with the student and discuss, “What is this book about?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially 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.

Calvert Grade 1 materials provides instruction on the grammar and convention standards for Grade 1. However, much of the instruction is incidental rather than explicit. Also, opportunities for students to practice the skills and master the skills is limited. In Units 3 and 4, there was no instruction of frequently occurring adjectives, determiners, or prepositions, no instruction of conventional or phonetic spelling, and few instructional learning opportunities of singular and plural nouns, and and pronouns. Students do not have sufficient opportunities during phonics lessons to practice spelling words with the sound/spelling patterns they are learning about. Weekly spelling lists or any sort of spelling assessment could not be located. The amount of practice students had with each skill was limited.

Materials include instruction or reference to of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Over the course of the year’s worth of materials, grammar/convention instruction is provided. Materials include limited opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills both in- and out-of-context. However, practice is not frequent. Examples include:

• Students have opportunities to print all upper- and lowercase letters. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, students write the word sat in their ELA journal.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Toad and Frog!, Part 3, students write the words Sam, are, and sat in their ELA journal with help from the Learning Guide if needed.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, students are told to, “Practice writing lowercase letters. Write the alphabet in lowercase in your ELA journal.” Specific instructions for letter formation could not be found.
• Students have opportunities to use common, proper and possessive nouns. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 1, students practice writing uppercase and lowercase letters of character’s names.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 2, students learn about proper nouns. "A proper noun names a specific person, animal, place or thing. Dog is a noun. It names an animal. Fido is a proper noun because it tells the name of a specific dog. Proper nouns begin with a capital letter. Write a sentence about a character in a book you have read recently. Use a proper noun."
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 2, students write a sentence using a proper noun.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Get to the Point, Part 4, during phonics learning, students learn that grape turns to grapes and dress to turns to dresses when the words are plural. Students segment and blend plural nouns
• Students have opportunities to use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences. For example: 
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Show: My Favorite Sweets!, the writer-reader activity, students use verbs in action by creating a poster about their favorite sweet treat.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 2, students learn about subject and verb agreement with plural and singular subjects. "Look at this sentence: Bats sleep upside down. The word bats is a plural noun. It names more than one bat. The word sleep tells the action. It is the verb. The verb sleep matches the plural noun bats because sleep does not have an -s at the end."
• Students have opportunities to use personal, possessive, and indefinite pronouns. For example: 
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Reading the Winners Choice, Part 2, students learn about the pronouns I, me, he, she, and they. Students then practice filling in the missing pronouns in sentences such as, "The teammates crowded together on the soccer field. _____ crowded together on the soccer field."
• Students have opportunities to use verbs to convey a sense of past, present, and future. For example: 
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading Far From Home, Part 1, students write words with the ending s, from the story Far From Home telling about an activity that they do each day.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Hunter’s Money Jar, Part 2, students learn about past, present and future verb forms. Students practice finding the verb and ending in sentences such as, “Hunter is walking down the street.”
• Students have opportunities to use frequently occurring adjectives. For example: 
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Show: My Favorite Sweets!, students complete a poster activity describing sweets they like. Students are prompted to write 4 to 5 words that describe sweets.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Message of a Fine School, Part 2, students learn about adjectives by creating a word web for the adjective small.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Far from Home, Part 3, students write sentences to describe the character in the story. The student is supposed to use words such as, perfect, neatly, and shocked. Not all the words are adjectives.
• Students have opportunities to use frequently occurring conjunctions. For example: 
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Message of a Winner’s Choice, Part 2, students learn about the conjunctions and, but, or and so. Students apply what they have learned by practicing using a conjunction to combine sentences such as, "The soccer field had a crack in it. The team couldn’t play."
• Students have opportunities to use determiners. For example: 
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading Whose is This?, Part 1, the student learns about the determiners this and these and then practices filling in two sentences with these determiners. “Will you give ____ pencil to Millie? ____ papers belong to me.”
• Students have opportunities to use frequently occurring prepositions. For example: 
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Going to School all Over, Part 2, students practice writing sentences using prepositions.
• Students have opportunities to produce and expand complete simple and compound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences in response to prompts. For example: 
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Message of a Winners Choice, Part 2, students practice forming compound sentences by combining smaller sentences such as "Stay calm. Sit down here."
• Students have opportunities to capitalize dates and names of people. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Comparing School and Home, Part 1, students write in their ELA Journal words that are capitalized including people’s names and other countries. Students write a sentence that is not correct and they are prompted to discuss with their Learning Guide why it is not correct.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Central Message of Stellaluna, Part 1, students learn about capital letters as they relate to the names of people. The materials state,"Look at this sentence: Frog and Toad were reading a book. Both Frog and Toad start with a capital letter because they are names. Write a sentence about one of your friends. Use the friend’s name. Be sure to use a capital letter in the correct places."
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading A Fine, Fine School, Part 1, the teacher incidentally states, “Have your student look at the story and identify the other characters’ names that begin with uppercase letters. Then, have your student identify the names of days and holidays that begin with uppercase letters. Ask your student to practice writing uppercase letters in his or her journal.”
• Standard 2b: Use end punctuation for sentences.
• Unit 1, Lesson: Use Illustrations and Main Ideas to Compare Animals in Texts, Part 1, students write two question sentences after learning about what a question is.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Setting of Stellaluna, Part 2, students write sentences with beginning capitals and ending punctuation. Students practice writing sentences with no punctuation and then adding ending punctuation based on the type of sentence they wrote.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Setting of Stellaluna, Part 2, students learn about “telling sentences” that end with periods.
• Students have opportunities to use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Ask and Answer Questions, Part 1, students learn about the importance of using commas and what the purpose is. Students follow along as the Learning Guide reads putting pauses in where the commas are in the story, “What do you Do with a Tail Like this?”
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading One Classroom, Part 3, students are shown examples of dates with commas in isolation and in sentences. Students then practice adding a comma to dates such as, July 27 1970.
• Students have opportunities to use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Toad and Frog!, Part 1, students are prompted to write sentences by using the sounds they hear, the learning guide reads sentences and the student writes the sentences in their ELA Journal.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Use Questions as a Reader and Writer, Part 1, students are prompted to write high frequency words in their ELA Journal using sounds.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Compare Characters, Part 4, spelling instruction is a weak point in the program. Spelling is not taught or assessed on a regular basis. In this lesson students learn about silent -e and are also told, “Sometimes words aren’t spelled the way they sound, like give. You just have to know how to spell them.” The student then tells the teacher if words such as race, bike and live following spelling rules. The student is also told to use a dictionary if they are unsure of how to spell a word.
• Students have opportunities to spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions. For example: 
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reader and Writer, Part 2, students are prompted to complete a process when they come across a word they don’t know, they read it out loud, think about how it is used, try the word in a sentence and then think of another word that is similar. Students than write down a sentence and draw a picture of one of the words from a list they may not know.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of King Kafu and the Moon, Part 4, the Learning Guide shows the student picture cards with the ea spelling pattern and the students must practice spelling the words. (The instructions for the student make it sound like the student is the one spelling the words, but then the teaching notes state, “Display Sound-Spelling Card 60. Say and write the word bread. Say: In the word bread, the letters ea have the short e sound.” This makes it sound like the Learning Guide is spelling the words. Opportunities are missed throughout the school year to give the student more practice with spelling during phonics lessons.)

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

Calvert Grade 1 materials do provide practice with alphabetic principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics. However, the level of practice and application is not frequent or adequate. The materials do not provide enough opportunities for the students to practice or apply the skills that they are learning. While students work on grade level skills such as long vowel sounds and digraphs, students also spend time working on kindergarten skills such as consonant sounds. By Unit 3, students have learned about digraphs, yet are also still working on beginning sound/letter identification.

In addition, there is not a systematic and explicit way of teaching the skills. Each part (one-day lesson) has a student section and a Learning Guide section. Many Lesson Parts do not address foundational skills, including the following:

• Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Stellaluna!, Part 2
• Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Toad and Frog! Parts 1 and 2
• Unit 3, Lesson: Winners Choice, Parts 3 and 4
• Unit 4, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of The Winners Choice, Part 4
• Unit 4, Lesson: Arbor Day, Parts 1, 3, and 4
• Unit 4, Lesson: Tell It Again, Parts 1, 3, and 4.

Evidence for learning uppercase letters and high-frequency words was included in the materials, however, these are not in the Grade 1 standards. Furthermore, some lessons contain foundational skill standards, but the lessons do not include those standards.

• Unit 1 of the Grade 1 materials states that it includes instruction about long and short vowels in (RF1.2a), but the lesson does not do so.
• Unit 1 of the Grade 1 materials states that it includes instruction about RF standards 1.1a, 1.2a, and 1.2c, but the lessons does not do so.
• Unit 3 of the Grade 1 materials states that it includes instruction about RF standard 1.3e, but the lessons does not do so.

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

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 2, students practice blending, segmenting and identifying words with the short o vowel sound. “Display Picture Cards otter and top. Have your student segment and blend these words with you. Show Picture Cards box, mug, mop, wig, fox, doll, pan, and frog. Ask your student to name the pictures that have the /o/ sound in the middle. (box, mop, fox, doll, frog).”
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Toad and Frog!, Part 3, states, ”Now you will play the Pack Up the Skills game. It will help you decode words. You will match a word to its picture.”
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Toad and Frog!, Part 3, students practice identifying sounds in words with m, s, and t. “Write the following words: Sam, am, sat, at, Tam, mat. Have your student practice saying the sounds of each word. Write the following sentence frame and show it to your student. Read the frame, pointing to each word as you say it. Have your student say a word to complete the sentence. Tam sat on a _____. (mat)” Afterwards, students read the decodable reader "At a Mat."
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, the student is told, “Look at the name Stellaluna. Do you notice the way the letter a sounds? (This is not the short a sound). Many words have this sound. Learning it will help you be a better reader. Look at the picture cards your Learning Guide shows you. Repeat the words. Notice the sound at the beginning of each word. Can you hear which ones are different?” The Learning Guide is told, “Show the Picture Card apple. Have your student say the word with you. Then repeat with Picture Cards for alligator and egg. Your student should recognize that egg begins with a different sound than apple and alligator. If time allows, repeat the exercise with the Picture Cards astronaut, ant, and ox. Have your student identify the word that does not begin with /a/. (ox) Now play “Between the Lions: Chicken Stacker.” Choose the words that have a short /a/ sound.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading About Going to School All Over the World, Part 3, students are shown some picture cards of a block, a sled, and a clock. Students practice writing the first consonant blend sound and then spelling the rest of the word in order to write it.
• Unit 4, Lesson: Tell It Again, Part 2, students are told, “Look at Decodable Practice Reader 14A. In this story, you will read many words with ng and nk. First, let’s look at those words.” The Learning Guide is told, “Have your student decode the words in the lists on p. 169. Note any difficulties he or she may have and review the relevant sound-spellings. Make sure your student can read the high-frequency words.”

Lessons and activities provide students with some opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills while decoding words (e.g. spelling-sound correspondences of digraphs, decode one-syllable words, know final-e and long vowels, syllable and vowel relationship). Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 1, the student is told, “Look at the card your Learning Guide shows you. It is a picture of a man. Man begins with the /m/ sound. The letter m spells the /m/ sound in man. When you say man, you hear these three sounds: /m//a//n/. Say the word again: man. Look at the next card your Learning Guide shows you. It is a picture of a sock. Sock begins with the /s/ sound. The letter s spells the /s/ sound. When you say sock, you hear these three sounds: /s//o//k/. Say the word again: sock.” The Learning Guide is told, “Point to the words as your student reads. As you show your student each card from the Picture Card collection (man, sock, and tub), say the word on the card and have your student say the word as you point to each sound. Continue to practice distinguishing sounds by having your student identify the sound heard at the beginning, middle, and end of the word mat.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson: The Winners Choice, Parts 1-2, the student is told, “Look at the words shirt and thing. Say the sounds at the beginning of these words.” The Learning Guide is told, “To help your student identify the consonant digraphs sh and th, say words beginning with /sh/ (such as ship, shut, shop) and have your student repeat these words. Then, say words ending in /sh/ (such as push, dish, rush). Finally, say pairs of words and ask your student which word has the /sh/ sound (examples: sheep or lamb; dry or wash). Continue by identifying the /th/ sound (thing, thank, Thursday; with, both, bath)."
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Hunter’s Money Jar, Part 2, students are introduced to the long a sound spelled cvce. “Hunter wants to buy a skateboard. Many words have the long a sound. Look at each card your Learning Guide shows you. What sound do you hear in the middle of the word? What letter spells that sound? Now you will read a story with words that have the long a sound.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of The Winners Choice, Part 3, the student is told, “You have learned about words that are spelled with sh and th. Now, look at words using those sounds that also have the sound of the word ball.” The Learning Guide is told, “Use Sound-Spelling Cards 47, 50, and 51 to review consonant digraphs sh and sound-spellings. Help your student identify the sound at the beginning or end of the words and the vowel sound.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Reading to Learn How Seeds Grow, Part 4, students work on identifying r-controlled ar sounds. The story is about a girl that goes to a farm.

Materials have a sequence of phonemic awareness instruction to build toward application however, it is lacking cohesiveness. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Toad Stayed in Bed, Part 1, students write the sentence phonetically. The learning guide points out to the student that Toad has a long o sound and uses a special spelling pattern.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Reading the Winners Choice, Part 3, students practice learning and reading high-frequency words: go, said, put, and I said. Students first say the word and then identify which sound they hear at the beginning of the word.

Materials have a sequence of phonics instruction to build toward application; however, it is lacking cohesiveness. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 1, “CONSONANTS /D/, /L/, /H/ You read words with d, l, and h in Time to Sleep. Now, you will practice these sounds. Look at the Picture Cards your Learning Guide shows you. Say the words out loud. Sound out each word. Pay attention to the sounds at the beginning of each words.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson: The Winners Choice, Part 1, the student is told, “Look at the words shirt and thing. Say the sounds at the beginning of these words.” The Learning Guide is told, “To help your student identify the consonant digraphs sh and th, say words beginning with /sh/ (such as ship, shut, shop) and have your student repeat these words. Then, say words ending in /sh/ (such as push, dish, rush). Finally, say pairs of words and ask your student which word has the /sh/ sound (examples: sheep or lamb; dry or wash).”
• In Unit 3, Lesson: The Winner's Choice, Part 2, the student is told, “You have been reading words with the sounds sh and th, like shaking and thank.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Characters of Arbor Day, Part 2, the student is told, “You have read words in Arbor Day Square in which y spells the long e or the long i sound, such as windy and by. Review the relevant sound-spellings for the words on pp. 145 with the alternate pronunciations of the letter y. Have your student decode the words in the lists. Now, you will decode words with this letter.” The Learning Guide has no instructions related to this.

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

Calvert Grade 1 Materials provide students the opportunity to read high-frequency words out of context with the Learning Guide. While there are opportunities to help students read grade level texts and re-read information, opportunities for explicit instruction in irregularly spelled words is limited. The most specific instruction on fluency was a lesson on phrasing in Unit 4. The Learning Guide models fluent reading to the student and is instructed to listen for fluency when the student reads. Reading strategies instruction are not explicit and cohesive. There are times when instruction is very explicit in terms of how to help a student decode an unknown word and other times where the Learning Guide is provided vague instructions such as, “When your student points out an unfamiliar word, read it out loud for him or her and ask him or her to repeat it. Help your student through the rest of the process.”

Limited opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read on-level text. Examples include:

• In Unit 3, Lesson: Reading the Winners Choice, Part 1, the materials state, “Have your student read the story aloud with another student or with you, either in unison or by reading alternate sections. Have your student read the story independently.”
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Discovering the Words of The Recess Queen, Part 2, the student rereads the Recess Queen a few times focusing on the context clues from the story to help the student understand the text.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading Far From Home, Part 5, students reread the story a few times with the Learning Guide to work on reading grade level text. During the reading, students focus on the central message of the story using key details to explain their understanding of the text.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Supermarket, Part 5, the instructions to the Learning Guide are, “Give your student feedback on fluency as he or she reads. Explain that reading with expression means to change one's voice while reading to show emotion and to make the text more interesting for a listener. Model reading with expression if your student struggles.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading King Kafu and the Moon, Part 2, students read the decodable text, Tay on the Trail. Students look for details that tell where the story takes place.

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

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, students are prompted to read the story a third time. The Learning Guide is prompted to have the student read it after them or to choral read with a partner in order to increase accuracy if the student is struggling to read each line. The Learning Guide is further prompted to read the story with expression and rate.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 1, the Learning Guide is prompted if the student is reading with fluency to encourage reading with accuracy. The Learning Guide models reading with accuracy by reading page 14, from the Time to Sleep. The Learning Guide reads several words wrong that the learner will recognize and then the reader reads the words that were read incorrectly and then rereads the story out loud.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of The Winners’ Choice, Part 4, the materials state,“Read A Plan for Trash with your student, a decodable book. Have your student reread several times to develop skills in decoding words. Provide corrective feedback regarding the fluency and decoding.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Arbor Day, Part 1, the Learning Guide reads from the core text without pausing so students can hear how it sounds. The Learning Guide emphasizes phrasing as part of fluency.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading King Kafu and the Moon, Part 1, students work on fluency when reading the text King Kafu and the Moon. The materials state, “While your student is reading, assess his or her fluency. Explain that reading at an appropriate rate means not reading too fast or too slow. Have your student follow along as you model reading aloud p. 4 of King Kafu and the Moon at an appropriate rate. Review why a reader would not want to read too slowly or too quickly. If your student struggles to read at an appropriate rate, have him or her listen to a recorded book as a model, then practice reading along with the recording.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Learn About Visiting The Moon, Part 1, the Learning Guide models fluency and accuracy for the student. The materials state, “While your student is reading, assess his or her fluency. Explain that reading with accuracy means pronouncing each word correctly and not skipping or adding words. Have your student follow along as you read aloud p. 8 of Let's Visit the Moon, mispronouncing or skipping several words that your student will recognize. Ask your student to point to places in the text where you did not read with accuracy. Model reading the page again, this time with accuracy. Then, have your student read aloud a portion of a grade-level text, focusing on pronunciation and on not skipping or adding words.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Read to Learn About Visiting the Moon, Part 2, students practice building fluency with the decodable reader "Bill Tried." The materials state, “Have your student read the story, and listen to him or her read. Have your student reread the story several times to develop automaticity and fluency decoding words with endings.”

Some materials support reading of texts with attention to reading strategies such as rereading, self-correction, and the use of context clues. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 2, students listen to the story on audio. Students have the story read aloud to them and they follow along. Students read the story with someone else or chorally read the story, and then they are prompted to read the story independently. The Learning Guide is prompted to have the student reread the story to improve reading skills.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading About Going to School All Over the Year, Part 2, the student rereads pages 6 through 9 and focuses on key information from another part of the book.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading to Learn About Planets, Part 1, students practice using context clues to figure out the meaning of the word hotter, “Read the sentence where the word appears. Look at its parts: hot and -er Can you find any clues to its meaning? The text says the sun is 350 times hotter than Earth, and that Earth gets heat from the sun. Do these clues help you know what hotter means? Now, use hotter in a sentence. Think of another word or words with the same meaning.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading to Learn About Visiting the Moon, Part 2, “Read the selections aloud to your student while he or she follows along.Play an audio recording of the two selections (if applicable) while your student follows in the text. Have your student read the selections aloud with someone else or with you, either chorally or by reading alternate sections. Have your student read the selections independently.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of King Kafu and the Moon, Part 5, the teacher is instructed to, “When your student points out an unfamiliar word, read it out loud for him or her and ask him or her to repeat it. Help your student through the rest of the process.” In the lesson, the materials do not provide guidance to the Learning Guide as to how to help the student decode unknown words.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading One Classroom, Many Cultures, Part 3, with the help of the Learning Guide, students create a word web that uses context clues to figure out the meaning of the phrase, “takes part in a fiesta.”
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading a Picnic in October, Part 4, this lesson contains explicit instruction for helping a student figure out unknown words. “The first step when you see a word you do not know is to look for clues in the sentence. Do you know the other words? Do any of the words you know give clues about the meaning of the word you do not know? Next, see if you can break the word into parts. Is there a suffix on the word? Is it a compound word? Do you know the meaning of any of the word parts? You can always look in a dictionary if you cannot figure out the meaning of a word. The dictionary might give more than one definition. You have to find the definition that makes the most sense in the sentence where you found the word. Sometimes, you might have to use more than one step to find the meaning of a word.” The Learning Guide then goes on to model and help the student with this process.

Students have limited opportunities to practice and read irregularly spelled words. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Central Message of Stellaluna, Part 2, students read several high-frequency words including: you, see, the, and ask. The student is presented with word cards and they spell the word and then say it.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading King Kafu and the Moon, Part 2, students practice reading some irregularly spelled high-frequency words, “Display High-Frequency Word Cards said, the, they, could, a, was, old, oh, what, you're, to, and you'll. Say the words on the cards and ask your student to identify their beginning sounds. Then, write and read aloud the sentence: They could see the old cat. Point to each word as you read it. Have your student say each word with you. Have your student write the sentence.”
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading Whose is This, Part 2, students practice reading the following list of high frequency words: a, the, across, into they, have, everything, again, and are.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading a Picnic in October, Part 3, students review the following high frequency words :the, never, one, others, looks, people, a, behind, ears, and into.

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

Calvert Grade 1 materials do provide some practice with with segmenting syllables, some short vowel sounds, digraphs, and decoding one-syllable words in connected texts and tasks. However, the level of practice and application is not frequent or adequate. Although some word analysis skills are found in the units and parts, the materials do not provide enough opportunities for the students to practice or apply the skills that they are learning.

Some of the materials support students’ development learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g. spelling-sound correspondences of digraphs, decode one-syllable words, syllable and vowel relationship, decode two-syllable words, read words with inflectional endings) in connected text and tasks. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: SuperMarket Goods and Services, Part 3, students read the decodable reader, June and Pete. It has words with long vowels and the opportunity for students to decode single syllable words as they read the text.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Comparing Going to School and Far From Home, Part 2, students practice decoding short u sounds from the decodable readers: Decodable Practice Reader 6A and Decodable Practice Reader 6B.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading A Fine, Fine School Day, Part 3, students identify and decode short a sounds when reading the Decodable Practice Reader 1A, "Hats."
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Far From Home, Part 3, students learn about the inflectional ending -ing. Students say each sound of the words kicking and patting, and then the Learning Guide comes up with other -ing words that the students clap out the syllables.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: What’s in the Hunter’s Money Jar, Part 2, students identify words with the inflectional ings of -ed, -s, and -ing. Students practice this skill by looking at a set of sentences that have different root words that they identify and meanings attached to the words.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of The Winners’ Choice, Part 3, the student is told, “You have learned about words that are spelled with sh and th. Now, look at words using those sounds that also have the sound of the word ball.” The Learning Guide is told, “Use Sound-Spelling Cards 47, 50, and 51 to review consonant digraphs sh and sound-spellings. Help your student identify the sound at the beginning or end of the words and the vowel sound.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Arbor Day, Part 2, the student is told, “You have read words in Arbor Day Square in which y spells the long e or the long i sound, such as windy and by. Review the relevant sound-spellings for the words on p.145 with the alternate pronunciations of the letter y.” The student is to decode the words in the lists.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Tell It Again, Part 2, students are told, “Look at Decodable Practice Reader 14A. In this story, you will read many words with ng and nk. First, let’s look at those words. The Learning Guide is told, “Have your student decode the words in the lists on p. 169. Note any difficulties he or she may have and review the relevant sound-spellings. Make sure your student can read the high-frequency words.”

Materials provide some opportunities to read irregularly spelled words in connected text and tasks. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Reading to Find Out How Animals Sleep, Part 3, students read, spell and write the irregularly spelled high-frequency word was.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Discovering the Words of the Recess Queen, Part 1, students practice spelling, reading and writing the high-frequency words they and the. Students also read these words in the decodable reader "Did They Win?"
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Meet the Characters of Arbor Day Square, Part 3, students practice writing irregular past tense verbs. Students write a story using past tense irregular spelled words to complete their ELA Journal.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Meet the Characters of Arbor Day Square, Part 4, students practice saying and spelling the irregularly spelled high-frequency words said, want, and of.

Lessons and activities provide students some opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding (writing) in context and decoding words (reading) in connected text and tasks. There are more opportunities to decode compared to encoding grade-level words in context. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Frog and Toad!, Part 1, students practice spelling words phonetically, using what they know about sound-spelling relationships. The materials state, “Explain that the sounds in a word can give us hints about how a word is spelled. Then read the sentence, Toad stayed in bed.”
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let's Meet Frog and Toad!, Part 1, students write words phonetically as dictated by the Learning Guide.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Central Message of Stellaluna, Part 2, students read Decodable Practice Reader R1B, which has words with words f, b and g in it. On page 33, students are prompted to read all of the words and talk about with their Learning Guide any words they do not know.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Discovering the Words of the Recess Queen, Part 1, students practice spelling, reading, and writing the high frequency-words they and the. Students also read these words in the decodable reader "Did They Win?"
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Reading the Winners' Choice, Part 2, students read the decodable practice reader "Fishing with Tad.:

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

Calvert Grade 1 materials provide some assessment opportunities for foundational skills. These opportunities are found in the end of the Unit quizzes. There are some quick check assessments that are used throughout the program, but these mainly focus on comprehension and text structure. There are missed opportunities for guidance on how to determine if a student needs additional support on mastery of skills based on assessment results. Protocols and guidance are minimal for how to support a student if the student is not understanding a skill and then how to re-assess the student.

Some 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. Examples include:

• There are Unit 1 and 2 quizzes which allow the Learning Guide to determine where the student is at in some foundational skills such as letter-sound identification. There are 20 questions on the Unit 1 assessment that combines comprehension and foundational skills questions.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: The Winners Choice, Parts 1-4, there is one area of assessment within the 4 parts about assessing fluency, particularly expression, which occurs in Part 1. The Learning Guide is told, “While your student is reading, assess his or her fluency. Explain that reading with expression means changing voice while reading to show feelings or to emphasize important words. Read the first sentence on p. 8 in The Winners Choice. Explain that you will emphasize (or stress) the italicized word as you read. Point to sentences that end with a question mark or an exclamation mark. Have your student practice reading aloud with expression.” There is no recording mechanism such as an information sheet. There are no guidelines for what is proper speed, accuracy, and expression.
• In the Unit 5 assessment the following foundational skill question is:
• Question 14: “Which of the following words has the same vowel sound found in the word fire? Pick TWO that are correct. “
• In the Unit 6 assessment the following foundational skill questions:
• Question 20: “Find the word that is divided into syllables correctly.” Students are provided with the following options, “ret–urn, retur–n, r–eturn, re–turn”
• Question 22: “Choose ALL of the words with the long /e/ sound.” Students are provided with the following choice, “me, red, eat, bed, seat, key.”

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with some information of students’ current skills/level of understanding of foundational skills. Examples include:

• At the end of each lesson, students self-assess their understanding by answering the following question, “How well do you feel you understand the concepts from this lesson part?” The student then selects from the following choices, “I feel that I understand the concepts very well. I feel comfortable with the concepts. I feel that I need more practice with the concepts.” The teacher however isn’t provided with any further instruction for reteaching or enrichment based on the students’ answer.
• Unit 5, Lesson: Learning About the Sun, Part 1, instructions for the Learning Guide to assess fluency are vague. The Learning Guide is instructed: “While your student is reading, assess his or her fluency.” The Learning Guide is not provided any further instructions regarding assessment such as words per minute benchmarks or how to score miscues.

Some of the materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in foundational skills. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 2, the Learning Guide is prompted to read the story to the student, have them listen to an audio recording, or choral read if the student is struggling to read the story.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, the Learning Guide is prompted that if they have been reading the story, because this is the third time the student has been exposed to the story, the Learning Guide should have them read it by reading sentence by sentence to the student or choral read to help the student in reading with feeling and fluency.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Toad and Frog!, Part 3, students read the decodable reader "At a Mat." The Learning Guide is prompted to read the words on page 9 and note any words that caused the student problems when reading and have students do a sound-spelling protocol.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Comparing Going to School and Home, Part 2, students read the decodable reader "Duck Has Fun." The Learning Guide is prompted to help the student decode words they are struggling to read.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills, so all students achieve mastery of foundational skills.

At times, Calvert materials provide high-quality lessons and activities to reach mastery of foundational skills for Grade 1 learners. However, multiple opportunities to learn each foundational skill are lacking. The foundational skills are often taught in one lesson. Sometimes the materials review foundational skills taught and learned. Materials do not routinely provide the guidance to the Learning Guide in areas where students may need more practice and in areas where student could use enrichment.

Some materials provide high-quality learning lessons and activities for every student to reach mastery of foundational skills. However, multiple opportunities to learn each foundational skill is lacking. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 3, students are shown the word cards with letter a. The Learning Guide is prompted to repeat the exercise with other sound cards. Then the Learning Guide says more words one at a time and the student identifies which words have a short a sound. Then students write and say the a sound word man. Students write and segment the word.
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Understanding the Central Message of Stellaluna, Part 1, students read the story and the Learning Guide listens for accuracy. The Learning Guide prompts the student that accuracy is important in order to determine how well the student is reading.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Message of Recess Queen, Part 1, students reread, The Recess Queen, and the Learning Guide tracks for fluency and students reading with expression. The Learning Guide models reading a paragraph with emphasized expression pertaining to words in all capital letters and exclamation points.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: Reading About Going to School All Over the World, Part 1, students work with the Learning Guide to determine which words have a short vowel e in them and then write them in their ELA journal. Students are prompted to spell the sounds of the words bed and elbow.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of King Kafu and the Moon, Part 1, the student practices reading the following sentence from King Kafu that contains high-frequency words, “Don’t worry,” the boy said, 'We will find the moon and bring it to you.’" The Learning Guide has the student practice saying and spelling the following high-frequency words: many, do, are, of, have, from, you, a, our, the, to, and, worry, about, now, two, again and come. The student then looks for high-frequency words in the decodable reader “My Family’s Pets.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Finding the Central Message of King Kafu and the Moon, Part 4, the Learning Guide displays picture cards and discusses the sound differences between the ea spelling that produces long e and short e. The student and Learning Guide then practice spelling and sorting the following words: teach, health, reach, head, wealth, meat, head, jeans, feast, and leaf.

Materials provide minimal guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support each student’s needs in foundational skills. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Let’s Meet Stellaluna!, Part 1, students read the story, "Batty." The Learning Guide is prompted to read the story, have the student listen to it on audio or using choral reading depending on the student’s reading skills.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Seeds Grow, offers the following help to the Learning Guide, “Note any difficulties your student has and review the relevant sound-spellings. Make sure your student can read the high-frequency words on the page.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Reading King Kafu and the Moon, Part 1, when working on fluency, the Learning Guide is provided with the following suggestion if the student is struggling: “If your student struggles to read at an appropriate rate, have him or her listen to a recorded book as a model, then practice reading along with the recording.”

Students have minimal practice opportunities with each grade level foundational skill component in order to reach mastery. Examples include:

• In Units 3 and 4, there are occasionally interactive games available to be played, which give students additional practice with each foundational skill.
• In Unit 5, Lesson: Learning about the Sun, Part 2, students have opportunities within the lesson to practice the ue, ew and ui spelling patterns. The Learning Guide shows the student picture cards and words with the ue, ew and ui spelling patterns. The student practices filling in sentences that are missing words with those spelling patterns. For example "The bird____ up high. (flew)" The student reads the decodable reader “Clues for Sue” that contains more words with the ue, ew and ui spelling patterns.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Compare Characters, Part 1, students review syllable patterns again by reading the decodable text "Begin to Dance."
• In Unit 6, Lesson: A Picnic in October, Part 2, the students learns about VC/V and V/CV syllable patterns. The student practices reading a word list that contains these two syllable patterns and then practices writing down the words and showing where the syllable break occurs.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Compare Characters, Part 2, the Learning Guide leads the student in breaking words into syllables. Words used include: visit, pilot, limit, dinner, paper and lazy. Students also practice using these words to complete a series of sentences.
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Reading Whose is This?, Part 3, students learn about the suffixes -er and -or. Students practice breaking words such as visitor and singer into their word parts. In Unit 6, Part 5, Reading Whose is This?, students read the decodable text “Teacher, Actor or Sailor” that uses the same suffixes that were previously taught.