4th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

Texts are high quality, including rich language and engaging content. Accompanying illustrations are high quality as well, supporting students' understanding and comprehension of the associated text. Examples of quality texts include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, students read Porpoises in Peril by Gwendolyn Hooks. Porpoises in Peril is a fiction story that contains factual information. The text is engaging and helps build students’ knowledge of the concepts through the use of accurate scientific language.
• In Unit 1, students read Skeletons Inside and Out by Claire Daniel. Skeletons Inside and Out is an informational, content-specific text. The text is engaging and includes factual information with rich language and appealing illustrations. It shows how complex structures work together.
• In Unit 2, students read, Why the Sea is Salty by Dot Meharry. Why the Sea is Salty is a literary text, specifically a legend set in the Philippines. The text is of high quality due to the text type, the challenging action verbs, figurative language, and knowledge demands.
• In Unit 2, students read The Longest Night by Jacqueline Guest. The Longest Night is a narrative literary text about a Native American boy’s vision quest. The text contains vocabulary which include Native American terms, knowledge demands about ceremonies and Native American customs, and story flashbacks.
• In Unit 3, students read Earthquakes by Seymour Simon. Earthquakes is an informational narrative text in which students learn about the causes and impacts of earthquakes and where they occur. The text is heavily illustrated with photos, maps, and diagrams. Students are exposed to clearly defined scientific terms, illustrations, and photos that aid text meaning as well as multiple-meaning words. Students learn geology of earthquakes;, geography, and scientific terminology.
• In Unit 3, students read Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption by Amie Jean Leavitt. Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption is an informational text that contains a broad range of information about volcanic eruptions. The text contains chapters; photographs, drawings, and diagrams with informative captions. Students gain domain-specific and academic vocabulary about volcanoes and geography.
• In Unit 4, students read Lunch Money by Andrew Clements. This is an engaging text and is high quality due to its relatable theme of friendship, strong vocabulary, and captivating plot.
• In Unit 4, students read Using Money by Gail Fay. This is an informational text in which students learn about banking, credit cards, and budgeting. This text contains information about how money is obtained, spent, and saved.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards.

Texts include a mix of informational and literary texts. There is a wide array of informational and literary text integrated throughout every module. Additional supplementary texts are included, resulting in a wide distribution of genres and text types as required by the standards, including biography, folktale, historical fiction, narrative nonfiction, mythology, poetry, tall tale, realistic fiction, and informational.

The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials:

• Unit 1, Lesson: What’s Wrong with the Porpoises?: Porpoises in Peril by Gwendolyn Hooks
• Unit 1, Lesson: Mary Anning: The Girl Who Cracked Open the World: Mary Anning: The Girl Who Cracked Open the World by Debora Pearson
• Unit 2, Lesson: The Story of How the Sea Became Salty: Why is the Sea Salty by Dot Meharry
• Unit 2, Lesson: The Story of How the Sea Became Salty: The Lion’s Whiskers by Jan M. Mike
• Unit 2, Lesson: John Henry and other Tall Tales: “John Henry” by Mary Pope Osborne
• Unit 3, Lesson: Living Through an Earthquake: Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906 by Gail Langer Karwoski
• Unit 3, Lesson: Disaster Short Stories: “Earthshaker’s Bad Day” by Gaby Triana
• Unit 3, Lesson: Disaster Short Stories: “The Monster Beneath the Sea” by Stacia Deutsch
• Unit 4, Lesson: How Do Story Elements Connect in Lunch Money: Lunch Money by Andrew Clements
• Unit 4, Lesson: Digging Deep into Character and Plot: Max Malone Makes a Million by Charlotte Herman
• Unit 4, Lesson: It Will Poggle Your Mind: A Tale of Two Poggles by Margi McAllister

The following are examples of informational text found within the instructional materials:

• Unit 1, Lesson: Thinking About Many Texts: “Fragile Frogs” in The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner
• Unit 1, Lesson: Getting Down to Bare Bones: Skeletons Inside and Out by Claire Daniel
• Unit 1, Lesson: Using Texts to Be Experts: Movers and Shapers by Dr. Patricia MacNair
• Unit 2, Lesson: Comparing Nations: Three Native Nations: Of the Woodlands, Plains, and Desert by John K. Manos
• Unit 2, Lesson: Comparing Nations: Immigrants of Yesterday and Today by Mary Dismas
• Unit 2, Lesson: Fiction and Fact: Northwest Coast People by Lois Markham
• Unit 3, Lesson: Earthquakes: “Earthshakers Bad Day” by Gaby Triana
• Unit 3, Lesson: Run! Volcanic Eruptions: Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption by Amie Jane Leavitt
• Unit 3, Lesson: Run! Volcanic Eruptions: Volcanoes by Lucy Floyd
• Unit 4, Lesson: Everything About Money: Using Money by Gail Fay

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

Most anchor and supporting texts fall between the text complexity range for second and third grade. Examples of texts that support appropriate complexity include, but are not limited to, the following:

Unit 1

• Science Squad: Porpoises in Peril by Gwendolyn Hooks, 850L: Literary text about a group of four researchers who solve a mystery about sick porpoises in Taiwan; explicit scientific clues accumulate until the mystery is solved. Chronological; written in past tense; told by omniscient narrator; chapters; time and place changes, includes science and geography terms.
• Mary Anning: The Girl Who Cracked Open the World by Debora Pearson, 810L: Nonfiction narrative tied to scientific concepts and historic figures.
• Skeletons Inside and Out by Claire Daniel, 740L: Informational text describing the difference between human and animal skeletons; students need to understand main ideas and supporting details; compare-and-contrast structure; includes text features of table of contents, introduction, chapters, sidebars, pictures, glossary, index; includes domain-specific vocabulary.
• “Fragile Frog” from The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner, 910L: Biological concepts organized using text features and structures common to articles.

Unit 2

• Why the Sea is Salty by Dot Meharry, 720L: Literary text (legend) that explains how the ocean became salty. Text is written with a chronological structure. The text includes challenging action verbs, some figurative language and dialogue. Knowledge demands include understanding about salt and its uses; storms; mythological giants. While this Lexile falls below the grade level recommendation, the text is of value at this grade level.
• The Longest Night by Jacqueline Guest, 780L: Literary text: A narrative about a Native American boy’s vision quest. Text structure is chronological with a first-person point of view and flashback. Complexity includes vocabulary and Native American terms; knowledge demands of understanding Native American customs and ceremonies.
• Northwest Coast Peoples by Lois Markham, 960L: Informational text; article structure that heavily relies on captions and text boxes requiring students to synthesize information to comprehend and understand Native American culture.

Unit 3

• Earthquakes by Seymour Simon, 1010L: Informational text exposing students to the causes and impacts of earthquakes and where they occur. Text is heavily illustrated with photos, maps and diagrams that aid text meaning.
• Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption by Amie Jane Leavitt, 890L: Informational text that contains a broad range of of information about volcanic eruptions. Text contains domain specific and academic vocabulary as well as photographs, diagrams, and drawings with informative captions.

Unit 4

• Lunch Money by Andrew Clements, 840L: Fictional text
• Coyote School News by Joan Sandin, 650L: Fictional text

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

In the platform’s Before You Begin materials, the publisher provides a description of several text selections. The materials state, “TEXT SELECTIONS: You can find more information about some texts you will read in your course in the text selection rationales. As you select texts to read independently, find books that have similar challenges to what you are reading, as well as finding books of different genres and topics. Use your Reading Log to create a balanced reading life!” The text selection rationales are provided through a linked document that includes each text title, author, text genre, student task and both quantitative and qualitative text features. The quantitative measure is provided through a Lexile score and the qualitative feature chart gives measures such as levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands.

A text complexity analysis is provided for the anchor texts in each unit. Most texts include instructional notes, text notes, and the rationale for the purpose and placement of the anchor and support texts is embedded into the student and teacher notes. The instructional notes include a recommendation for how students should read the text (e.g., silently and independently, listen to text, read aloud) and support students with vocabulary they will encounter in the text. At times, the teaching notes also indicate specific strengths in the texts. For example, some texts are chosen for their value in reinforcing literary techniques while others were chosen as appropriate introductions to a particular time period or topic. All texts were chosen with fourth grade students in mind, as well as intentional variability in genre, readability, and interest.

Instructional and text notes found in Grade 4 materials include information in the introduction box such as, “This document outlines the complexity of each anchor text as text complexity is defined in Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards, Figure 1. Quantitative complexity of the text is measured in Lexile Level for each text. Task complexity refers to how the text demands contextualized within a larger learning activity, often the unit project. Qualitative complexity descriptors, as identified by the Common Core, are listed in the table according to the factors of qualitative evaluation as listed in Appendix A. Across these three complexity domains, the reader will see that complexity monotonically increases across the course of the year.”

In Unit 1, students read Porpoises in Peril by Gwendolyn Hooks. The complexity information provided by the publisher includes the quantitative measure of Lexile 530L and the qualitative features of:

• Levels of Meaning: A group of four researchers solve a mystery about sick porpoises in Taiwan; explicit scientific clues accumulate until the mystery is solved.
• Structure Chronological; past tense; omniscient narrator; chapters; time and place changes
• Language Conventionality and Clarity; Science and Geography terms
• Knowledge Demands Understanding about porpoises, mining, snorkeling, and scuba diving; how researchers accumulate clues to solve mysteries

In Unit 2, students read Why the Sea is Salty, a literary text by Dot Meharry in order to write about the theme of the story. The complexity information provided by the publisher includes a quantitative measure of Lexile 720L and the qualitative features of:

• Levels of Meaning: Legend set in the Philippines “long ago” that explains that the ocean is salty because of a village’s interaction with a friendly giant.
• Structure: Chronological; written in past tense; chapters; setting changes; omniscient narrator.
• Language Conventionality and Clarity: Challenging action verbs; some figurative language; dialogue.
• Knowledge Demands: Understanding about salt and its uses; storms; mythological giants; ants.

In Unit 3, students read Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption by Amie Jane Leavitt. The complexity information provided by the publisher includes a quantitative measure of Lexile 890L and the qualitative features of:

• Levels of Meaning: Implicit overarching main idea; multiple explicit main ideas in sections; broad range of information about volcanic eruptions.
• Structure Introduction: chapters; photographs, drawings, and diagrams with informative captions.
• Language Conventionality and Clarity: Mostly simple and compound sentences; some complex sentences; domain-specific and academic vocabulary defined within text.
• Knowledge Demands: Broad scientific knowledge; information about volcanoes; some geography.

In Unit 4, students read Lunch Money by Andrew Clements. The complexity information provided by the publisher includes a quantitative measure of Lexile 840L and the qualitative features of:

• Levels of Meaning: Friendship; using ideas to create a business; use of analogy to explain themes
• Structure: Lengthy chapter book; italics indicate characters’ thoughts
• Language Conventionality and Clarity: Domain-specific words related to money and business; descriptive language; compound and complex sentences.
• Knowledge Demands: Starting a new enterprise; school staff roles; how to work with peers and authority figures to accomplish goals.

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.

Students interact with several texts in each unit within the PLUS framework of Project, Learn, Use, and Show. Stories read and reread in lessons are underlined and hyperlinked. Learners can independently read text or enable the audio read-aloud capability by clicking on the hippo icon. Students are provided opportunities to read paired texts in Sleuth that provide information on a range of topics. Materials also include leveled readers.

Students also read independently selected texts outside of the course materials. Students keep a Reading Log during the course. They are asked to read at least two to three books per week in addition to the books in the ELA course. Students are asked to keep their Reading Log up to date all year long and it is also referred to in some of the lessons. To find books, students can refer to a document called Independent Reading Resources, or visit their local library.

• In Unit 1, TV’s Newest Reporter!, students read informational texts from the Text Collection including: Porpoises in Peril, The Gray Whale, The Long Journey West, Mary Anning: The Girl Who Cracked Open the World and “Fragile Frogs,” Skeletons: Inside and Out, and The Rosetta Stone: The Key to Ancient Writings.
• In Unit 2, Legends and Tall Tales, students read various fiction texts, including tall tales, and informational texts in order to understand and learn how culture interacts with and interprets nature and to learn how a culture understood the world.
• In Unit 3, Now Hear Me Out…, students read a variety of text types related to natural disasters including informational texts and short stories.

The materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations 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).

The materials include question series that are connected to each text selection. Materials for lessons and lesson parts include guiding questions, journal topics, and graphic organizers that require students to engage in or refer back to the text. Students engage with each text directly by writing in an English Language Arts Journal and using textual evidence to support answers. Although questions and tasks are mainly text-dependent, many are surface level and do not ask students to analyze the text.

Examples of text-based questions, assignments, and tasks include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Lesson: A Tsunami Unfolds, Parts 1-7, students answer questions over several daily sessions connected to A Tsunami Unfolds, including the following questions:
• “What details do the authors include to show early warning signs that an earthquake was going to happen?”
• “How do the details in the photos on pages 4–5 help improve the reader’s understanding of the earthquake?”
• “The text has text boxes that provide special information. Which of these relates the first-hand experiences or reactions of people? Which ones provide background information?”
• “How does the author use a problem-and-solution structure to inform readers about the tsunami?”
• “How does the glossary on page 32 help you understand scientific terms used in this text?
• “What causes a tsunami?
• “What are the effects of a tsunami?”
• “How would you describe the differences in focus and information provided in the descriptions of specific disaster events in both sources?”
• “Both texts explain a particular type of disaster. What is the basic difference in how these explanations are used?”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: News from Coyote School, Parts 1-5, students answer questions over several daily sessions from the poem ”Gold” and “Coyote School News,” including the following questions:
• “Describe the setting of ‘Gold.’ What animals, colors, land, and weather are described?”
• “How is the setting for’ Coyote School News’ like the setting for ‘Gold?’
• “What details in the story help you describe the Ramirez family?”
• “What problem does Monchi experience, and how does he react to it?”
• “What problem does Miss Byers face at the end of the story?”
• “What details help establish the settings in ‘Lunch Money’ and ‘Coyote School News?’”
• “What three ‘swell ideas’ does Miss Byers have?”
• “ What are Greg’s ideas about?”
• “Who benefits from the ideas that both characters have? What does that tell you about Miss Byers and Greg?"

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.

Students have frequent opportunities for on-demand and process writing, as well as short, focused projects completed through a variety of instructional tasks. Students write drafts for process pieces over several days, with time and guidance in revising and editing their writing. Students publish their work for various audiences using digital resources and technology. The teacher guide provides explicit instruction and modeling throughout the writing process. Students analyze examples of high quality writing from the texts they read. Writing lessons embedded in each unit are based on the texts students are reading. On-demand writing occurs as students respond to reading in various formats. Materials include both short and longer writing tasks and projects, which are aligned to the grade-level standards being reviewed. Writing tasks include longer projects, short constructed response, writing in English Language Arts journals, and completing graphic organizers.

Opportunities for on-demand writing include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 2, Lesson: How the Sea Became Salty, Part 1, students write an opening paragraph for their own narrative. Students refer to chapters 1 and 2 from the text Why the Sea is Salty to see a model of how a narrator tells events in a natural sequence. Students are directed to think about the guiding questions: “Where and when will my story take place? Who are the characters? What is the plot, or sequence of events?” to help develop their opening paragraph.
• Unit 2, Lesson: Comparing Nations, Part 1, students write a summary about the Haudenosaunee from the text Three Native Nations of the Woodlands, Plains, and Desert. Students use the main idea and details that they identified in the text to write the summary. Students must also include an opinion about the Haudenosaunee people and their opinion on why the women of the Ohwacira choose clan leaders for the clans. Students are required to include text evidence to support both the summary and opinion.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: A Tsunami Unfolds, Part 1, students read several discussions of the effect that nature can have on the land and on people. Students use some of what they have learned to write two informational paragraphs. Students use details to support a main idea. Their paragraphs should explain how forces of nature such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis affect the land. Students will use the texts read thus far in this unit as sources of details. Their writing should include these elements: two paragraphs of informational text, an opening sentence that states the main idea about how forces of nature affect the land, multiple sentences that provide many examples (at least one from each text read so far), accurate quotations (including text name and page number), and writing free of errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Students write the two paragraphs in their English Language Arts Journal and share them with their Learning Guide.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Living Through an Earthquake, Part 1, students practiced making inferences and make text-dependent inferences in a writing activity. Students write an opinion paragraph about how the character, Jacob, feels about his dog based on information up through page 6 of Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906. Students are instructed to prepare by taking notes on what Jacob thinks, says, and does related to the dog. In their English Language Arts journal, students are instructed to state their opinion clearly, provide reasons for their opinion, and give evidence from the text that supports those reasons. A concluding sentence should restate their opinion and reasons.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Money Talks, What Goes Into a Narrative, Part 3, students are reminded, “Whether using strong or unusual word associations, figurative language comparisons, or words that appeal to the five senses, good word choice adds meaning. In your next assignment, you will practice making good word choices while writing a narrative about two characters who compete to sell a similar product, like Maura and Greg. The draft only needs to be one or two paragraphs long. Start with a brainstorm to determine your characters, product, and setting. Come up with at least one interesting word choice, figurative language, or sensory detail that applies to each of your two characters and the product. Ask yourself: What do I see? Hear? Feel? Smell? Taste? How are my characters more than salespeople? What can they—and their product—be compared to?”
• In Unit 6, Lesson: Meeting Rosa Parks, Part 6, students are asked to write an opinion paragraph identifying the central message of the text, making sure to provide their thinking behind the opinion. They are also asked to provide text evidence supporting their reasoning. Students are reminded, “Organize your paragraph before you write: state your opinion, explain your reasons, add text evidence, and close with a statement.”

Opportunities for process writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Project: TV’s Newest Reporter, students research a topic and write a news report. Students begin by choosing from the following topics: climate change and its impact on the activities people do in summer and winter; destruction of the rain forest, causing some plants and animals to go extinct; the impact of recycling on the environment, such as keeping trash out of local bodies of water or the oceans. During the writing process, students develop a research question to narrow the topic, gather information to answer their research question, and then plan, draft, revise and edit their report. Students must include a visual to support the information in the report, and finally, deliver their news report. Requirements include: using at least five relevant, reliable sources, writing a well-organized report with a strong beginning, a well-developed body, and a strong conclusion with clear explanation of scientific concepts and many details. Evidence of revision and editing ensures that the report is effectively organized, uses precise language and domain-specific vocabulary, and is free of errors. Students must also include one clear and effective visual that supports the information in the report. Students are instructed to deliver the report by speaking clearly, with expression, eye contact with the audience, and loud enough to be heard.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Studying Volcanoes, Part 3, students practice identifying key details, including descriptive details that refer to the five senses. Students write a draft about what life is like living in the shadow of a volcano. Students are tasked with fully developing the topic using present facts, definitions, and concrete details. Students are expected to include: a clearly stated topic sentence about what it’s like to live in the shadow of a volcano and one or two paragraphs providing details on the topic. The details can include facts, definitions, examples, and quotations. Every detail should relate directly to the topic sentence, an organization that groups those details in an effective way, be free of errors in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Disaster Short Stories, Part 1, students use the two paragraphs in which two texts, Quake! and Earthquakes were compared and contrasted to write a conclusion paragraph. Students are tasked with writing a strong closing paragraph to conclude what has already been written. Students will use the following questions to help keep writing on track: “How can I summarize or restate my opinion using different words? How can I revise and delete information to strengthen my conclusion? How can I leave a strong impression on my reader? What 'clincher' will make an impression on the reader?”
• Unit 4, Lesson: Everything about Money, Part 1-5, students write an opinion essay in response to the question: “Which money system is better, the modern money system or ancient systems of bartering?" Students use the text from the lesson as information that can support their opinion. Within each lesson part, students are working on a part of the opinion essay. Each part of the essay directly relates to the work students are doing with the text during direct reading instruction and practice. For the opinion essay, students need to include an opinion statement that includes at least two or three reasons for the opinion with each reason supported with details from the text. Students should also include a strong introduction that directly states the opinion that engages the reader and a strong conclusion that restates the main argument and summarizes the reasons for their opinion.

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

Students have frequent opportunities to write in multiple modes and genres of writing over the course of the school year. Writing projects, prompts, and short constructed response tasks are balanced among narrative, informative and opinion writing. Each unit includes a writing type which connects to the texts students are reading. Texts from various genres serve as models that students are asked to emulate in their writing. Each lesson part includes support in building specific skills within the focused writing genre. Modeling and guiding questions have students apply craft elements in their writing.

Examples of writing prompts that address the different text types of writing and reflect the distribution required by the standards include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: TV’s Newest Reporter, Project, Informative/Explanatory, students research, write, revise, and deliver a news report on an environmental issue by taking the role of an investigative journalist for a TV news show. Over the course of the unit, students also practice informational writing skills through various journal entries and paragraph writing exercises. Students research, write a report for a news segment, create visuals needed to support the report, and then video the segment.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: A Tall Tale of the Old West, Part 2, Narrative, students write two descriptive paragraphs to tell a story that has two characters interacting with each other. Students use the character Pecos Bill and one of the cowpokes in their descriptive paragraphs. Students must write in the style of Pecos Bill and model their writing in a way that shows dialogue in the manner in which the characters would speak. The dialogue should include the use of exaggerated and humorous language that shows what the characters are doing and how they are feeling. Students must use the dialogue in a new situation that is not already present in the story.
• In Unit 2, Lesson: How the Stars Fell into Sky, Part 1, Narrative, students read the beginning of How the Stars Fell into the Sky and met two characters First Woman and First Man. While reading, students learned more about the characters by looking closely at the way they speak, think, and act. Students use this work and understanding to develop characters in a narrative writing piece. Students write two paragraphs that introduce the characters and answer the questions: “Who are the characters? What do they look like? What do they say, think, feel, and do?” Students also develop examples of dialogue between the characters and that show their personality.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Now hear me out…, Opinion, students research one of three topics and write an opinion editorial piece. Students practice elements of opinion writing throughout the unit through various opinion writing exercises. Students learn the importance of providing evidence as support and how to explain thoughts to support an opinion. Throughout the unit, students will use the English Language Arts Journal to record analysis of texts, responses to questions, graphic organizers, and notes that will be used to complete the project.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: How Do Story Elements Connect in Lunch Money?, Part 2, Narrative, students write a new scene to their narrative story. The scene focuses on characters facing a challenge. Students first determine the point of view that they are writing in (First Person or Third Person). Students then develop an outline to establish the challenge the characters will face and the events that will happen. After creating the outline, students use the outline to write two or three narrative paragraphs.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Digging Deeper into Character and Plot, Part 2, Narrative, students practice writing a narrative ending by writing an ending for the text. Students rely on their past learning of details in a text to imagine how a story might end. Students must think about what they believe will happen next in the story. In order to write an ending for the text, students will select a detail/event that occured in the story to expand upon. Students add new details about what might happen next and what characters might learn. After drafting the new ending for the story, Max Malone Makes a Million, students reread the new ending to check and make sure it makes sense for the details, events are described in sequence, and the writing has correct conventions.

The 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.

Each day students carefully analyze and synthesize texts, write to sources, use texts as a source, and defend claims as part of writing instruction. They respond to text-dependent questions to understand texts more deeply, and use texts as a source of information and to support their opinions. Student responses to English Language Arts Journal questions provide students with frequent opportunities to gather and use evidence from the text to support their responses. There are many provided writing opportunities that are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence. The materials provide opportunities that build students' writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Lesson: Mary Anning: The Girl Who Cracked Open the World, Part 1, students are becoming acquainted with Mary, the subject of the biography. They respond to the following questions: “How would you describe Mary? What details from the text support your description? What is Mary’s relationship with her father? What details support this? What do you learn about Mary from what others in town think about her?”
• In Unit 1, Lesson: Getting Down to Bare Bones, Part 4, students look closely at the purpose of visuals and the value of visuals more closely. They review pages 15–16 of Skeletons Inside and Out, paying close attention to the illustrations and diagrams. They respond to the following question: “According to details from the text and illustrations, how do the skeletons of birds and bats help them to fly? What do you learn when you compare and contrast the diagram of the bird skeleton and the diagram of the bat skeleton? Point out specific parts of the diagrams that support your answer.”
• In Unit 2, Lesson: How the Stars Fell into Sky, Part 1, students use a T-Chart graphic organizer to look at the structure of the story. Students analyze the problems and solutions to better understand the characters and their actions. Students complete the problem/solution graphic organizer by identifying “First Woman’s” problem and finding the solution. Students receive support from the teacher guide and the following guiding questions: “What does she want people to see? Read page 76 again. How does First Man want to solve it? How, read page 78 and look for another problem.”
• In Unit 2, Lesson: A Tall Tale of the Old West, Part 1, students write a paragraph about a character from a legend or fairy tale. Students can choose to use the character Pecos Bill from the text they are reading, or choose a different character they are familiar with. Students use sensory details to help the reader imagine what the character experiences. Students use the following guiding questions: "What does the character see? Use words that describe color, size, or shape. What does he or she hear? Use words that describe sound and volume. What does he or she feel? Use words that describe texture or temperature. What does he or she smell? Use words that describe scents. What does he or she taste? Use words that describe flavors." Students write draft paragraphs into the English Language Arts Journal, attempting to include as many senses as they can.
• In Unit 3, Lesson: A Tsunami Unfolds, Part 5, students compare and contrast the author’s word choice from segments from two texts, Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption and A Tsunami Unfolds,“Did You Know? Students respond to the following questions: "What science terms does the author of Anatomy of a Volcanic Eruption use? What words does the author use to describe the location of the Ring of Fire? What science terms does the author of Tsunami use? What words does that author use to describe the location of the Ring of Fire on page 5?" Students are asked to compare and contrast the authors' word choice, specifically answering the following question: “What do you think the word choice suggest about each authors' purpose?”
• In Unit 3, Lesson: Earthquakes, Part 5, students write a paragraph stating a clear opinion about living in earthquake-prone areas. Students support the opinion with facts and examples from the text making sure to group reasons and evidence in a clear way using linking words and phrases to show how they are connected.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Story Elements Lunch, Part 2, students read chapter 4-6 in the text Lunch Money. Students examine the pictures that an author includes to help create interest in the text. Students respond in their ELA journal to the following questions: “What do drawings on page 30-32 show? What do they tell you about Greg’s character? What do you learn about Greg and Maura from the drawing on page 43? What do you think will happen next?”
• In Unit 4, Lesson: Big Ideas about Using Money, Part 4, students use the text Using Money, pages 42-45 and page 48 to summarize the important details. First, students complete a Web Graphic Organizer to collect the details from the text that will be used in the summary. Students identify the main idea and supporting details that summarize the text.
• In Unit 4, Lesson: It Will Poggle Your Mind, Part 3, students analyze how details and the actions of characters contribute to theme. Students retell what happened so far in the text and respond in ELA journals to the following questions: “What theme do you think is suggested by the title, Fun at the Factory? What are some key details that contribute to this theme? Refer to details about the characters, the factory setting, and the events from the chapter.”