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

The Grade 4 instructional materials meet expectations for alignment to the standards with tasks and questions grounded in evidence. There are sequences of high-quality, text-dependent questions, activities, and tasks that build scaffolding of student understanding of text and provide opportunities to synthesize key information. Throughout independent reading practice, students apply their knowledge of reading and responding to text-dependent questions, making inferences, and synthesizing information on a day-to-day basis.

Throughout each unit, daily questions and tasks require students to extend strategies acquired during the learning process and apply them to similar texts. Question types are a combination of text-dependent and explicit, requiring students to cite evidence. Text-dependent questions appear before, during, and after reading instruction. Students explore questions in whole group, small group, and independent practice.

Examples of questions, tasks, and assignments that require students to engage with the text directly include:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students are asked the following: “How do you think grandpa feels when he starts to sing and dance? What in the story makes you think that?”
• In Unit 2, Week 2, there is an extension activity that requires students to read a newspaper article, identify key information, and respond to the following: “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?”
• In Unit 2, Week 2, students focus on expository text and analyze text features. Students answer the following question: “What information does this feature give you? How does that help you understand the body (or main part) of the text?” Students read “Tying the Score,” and the teacher asks text-dependent questions, such as the following: 'Why might players in the WNBA make less money than those in the NBA? What in the article makes you think that?' Students are directed to notice the text features and answer the following question: 'How might these text features help readers understand the topic of the article?'”
• In Unit 3, Week 1 and 2, after listening to the teacher read aloud Animal Senses, the students write “I wonder” statements. The class discusses the following: “What does it mean to say animals feel with sound? Which of your wonder statements were explained in the reading? The teacher guides students in an extension activity that includes the following: 'What did we learn about the Animal Senses chart?'”
• In Unit 6, Week 1, the teacher reads aloud Amelia’s Road. Afterwards, students respond to the following: “What is the plot of the story? Is the setting an important part of the story? Why or why not? What can you infer about how Amelia is feeling from this passage?” Next, students compare firsthand and secondhand accounts of an immigrant’s experience on Ellis Island.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, students make inferences about information provided in the headings of Farm Workers Unite: The Great Grape Boycott. Students participate in “Heads Together” to answer text-dependent questions, such as the following: “Why was it difficult for farm workers to improve their living and working conditions?” Throughout the week, the teacher reads chapters from this text to the students, asking text-dependent questions. Students explore expository text features in Farm Workers Unite: The Great Grape Boycott.

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

The materials provide daily opportunities and protocols for students to engage in evidence-based discussion in a variety of contexts (i.e., small group, partner, and whole class). Evidence-based discussions promote mastery of grade-level speaking and listening standards. There are opportunities available to assess all students’ speaking and listening abilities. Throughout the program, there is are social development objectives. Weekly objectives encompass listening respectfully to thought processes of peers. Every lesson comprises questions that students can discuss through speaking and listening opportunities.

During class discussions in Making Meaning (including the Vocabulary Teaching Guide), modeling and practice with academic vocabulary is provided. Resources include, but are not limited to, Making Meaning Teacher Manuals, Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, and Making Meaning Student Response Book. Cooperative Discussion Structures included the following: Turn to Your Partner, Think-Pair-Share, Think-Pair-Write, and Heads Together (located in the introduction of understanding the program section of the Making Meaning Teacher’s Manual). In the Vocabulary Teaching Guides, vocabulary lessons are present for four days with continuous reviews on the fifth day of instruction. Each lesson makes use of vocabulary from weekly anchor texts and offer fifteen to twenty minutes of instruction.

• In Unit 2, Week 2, the teacher facilitates a class discussion about “Tying the Score.” The entire class is involved in responding with a summary of the following, “What was this article about?” Next, students engage in a Think-Pair-Share to answer the following, “Why might players in the WNBA make less money than those in the NBA (inference)? What in the article makes you think that (text evidence)?” As the lesson progresses, students discuss which text features are observed and how they help build understanding of the topic.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students apply the questioning and wondering strategy to animal life expository informational texts. The question and wondering strategy is utilized across multiple grade levels to build subject matter knowledge. The teacher and students review expository informational, and animal senses are introduced. In the Making Meaning Teacher’s Guide, the teacher is provided supporting question ideas to introduce Animal Senses. The teacher serves as a facilitator and records students’ thinking to create a “What We Wonder about How Animals See” chart. Throughout the lesson, the “I wonder…” sentence starter is introduced and used by students. While reading aloud, the teacher incorporates recommended vocabulary and periodically pauses to ask probing questions on what students have learned and still wonder. Student partners discuss their learning. As a whole class, students share out.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, the whole class is discussing making inferences from Hurricane. The teacher is directed to have a few students share their response about the following, “What did you infer about the story, using clues from the text?”
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 1, students hear the read aloud, Amelia’s Road. Students participate in “Heads Together” to answer the following questions: “What is the plot of the story? What happens to the characters in this story? Heads together. Is the setting (time and place) an important part of this story? Why do you think so? Heads together.”
• In Unit 8, students engage in a discussion about “A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart.” They respond to the following, “What are some of the ways that Amelia Earhart challenged how people thought women should behave and why? Why do you think she did this? Students are encouraged to use the following prompt: 'The reason I think this is . . .'”

The Grade 4 vocabulary program consists of 30 weeks of lessons as well as ongoing review activities. Students work with the words from the text.

• In Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, Week 5, the teacher reads aloud the poem from the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The teacher displays word card 27 with yearn. “Use ‘Think-Pair-Share’ to discuss: 'What is something you yearn for? Why? Turn to your partner. Prompt 1: I yearn to [go skiing with my dad] because…’”
• In Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, Week 19, Day 1, the teacher reads aloud Coming to America: The Story of Immigration. The teacher explains that rove means to wander about and provides an example. Student participate in “Think-Pair-Share” to discuss: “When have you roved by foot, bike, or car? What did you see or do when you roved? Turn to your partner. Prompt 1: I roved by...and when I roved, I…”

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

Throughout the school year and each lesson, the application of speaking and listening instruction is frequently applied in each program component. Students engage in Turn and Talks, Think-Pair-Shares, and whole-group discussions. In the Teacher’s Manual, page xxv, there are details on the various cooperative structures in the program. In third grade specifically, “turn to your partner" and “Think-Pair-Share” are the most common structures. Students work on elaborating on their understanding of the text. Across the year’s scope of academic materials, teachers receive guidance on leading students in evidence-based discussions.

In the Making Meaning component, there are frequent opportunities to practice speaking and listening skills about what they are reading and researching. Examples include:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students review text features, and the teacher introduces the text, “Tying the Score.” Student partners respond to the following: "After hearing the title, what do you think this article might be about?" One or two volunteers can share their partner’s thinking. Then, the teacher reads a portion of the text aloud. Student partners discuss the article, answering questions such as why players in the WNBA might make less money than those in the NBA. On the second day, the teacher requests for students to recall the text. Volunteers can share out. Then, the teacher rereads the article, and student partners discuss text features that aided in understanding the article’s topic. This leads to a whole-class discussion. Afterwards, students examine “The League Stats” chart and engage in a Think-Pair-Share with partners to discuss what statements they can make about the WNBA and NBA. Student volunteers can respond for the whole class. The teacher facilitates a class discussion on student explanations.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, students hear the story Hurricane and come up with questions they can ask about the story; then, they meet with partners and ask each other the questions. It is stressed that the students confirm their partners’ thinking by repeating back what they heard.
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students review A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart and discuss what they recall of the events of the text. The teacher reads a summary of the book aloud, and students engage in a whole-class discussion about what the summary of the book does, what kind of information is in the summary, and why might a person want to read a summary of a book.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, using a guide to organize recommendations, student partners and the whole class, share book recommendations for summer reading. In the first day, there is a whole-class discussion about working with partners. Questions include, "What did your partner do that was helpful, and how did you and your partner give each other feedback in a caring way?"

In addition to having opportunities for speaking and listening in Making Meaning, there are additional opportunities in Being a Writer. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, the Think-Pair-Share structure is explicitly taught. Then, after hearing the story The Bicycle Man, students engage in a Think-Pair-Share to answer the question: "What has happened in your own life that you may be able to write about?" In this lesson, there is also a facilitation tip that reminds the teacher to support students’ speaking and listening skills by helping them to turn and look at the speaker and that the speaker should wait until they have the attention of the class before speaking.
• In the Personal Narrative Unit, Week 3, Day 3, students have the opportunity to share their writing, both the original and revised passages. Then there is a discussion with the class about the student's revision.
• In the Expository Nonfiction Unit, Week 3, students write about a country. After their pre-research writing, students meet with a partner to share their research. Then, there is a whole-class discussion on things one partner wrote about that the other partner did not write, and things the pair of students are curious to know about their country.
• In the Opinion writing Unit, Week 1, Day 1, students hear the essay “Bugs are Creepy” and then have a whole-group discussion about the author’s opinion about bugs as well as who agrees and disagrees with the author.
• In the final unit of the program, students share their thinking with a partner about the pieces of writing over the year of which they are the most proud.

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 4 meets 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.

The materials include daily, on-demand writing tasks and opportunities for completing multiple drafts and revisions based on writing mini-lessons. Teachers gain support from digital resources and additional commentary describes its use for lessons. Throughout the units, there are project-aligned extension activities. Each day, students write independently. Throughout the course of the school year time spent writing increases. Students write from 10 to 15 minutes in Unit 1 and increase to 30 minutes by Unit 8. As students engage in independent writing activities, they respond to prompts that link prior learning from the previous lesson. Students repeatedly engage in the cycle of prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing as they participate in the genre units of Being a Writer. The genre units, focus on personal narrative, fictional narrative, expository (or informative) nonfiction, functional (or explanatory) nonfiction, opinion writing, and poetry. Students hear, read, and discuss good examples of each genre. They learn about elements of a genre as they brainstorm ideas, quick write, and write multiple drafts. Students then select a draft to develop and revise for publication in the class library.

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students engage in quick writes and respond to the following, “After listening to Desert Voices read aloud, write ‘I’ sentences, from an animal’s point of view, in your writing notebooks.”
• In Unit 3, Weeks 1-4, there is a central focus on personal narratives. Students are exposed to several examples of narratives read aloud and discussed as a class. While practicing a skill students complete daily quick writes (independently developing their own narrative). This culminating activity allows students to write a personal narrative from one of the quick writes and add sensory details, temporal words and phrases, strong openings and endings, revise and proofread, and publish and assess their work.
• In Unit 4, Week 1 and throughout the unit, the teacher creates a class blog. Students reflect on their writing attitudes by responding to reflection questions posted by the teacher.
• In Unit 4, Weeks 1-6, there is a correlation with the layout of Unit 3. Read alouds exemplify fiction writing. Students listen and discuss fiction, explore the elements of the genre, and generate quick write ideas. Afterwards, they complete one quick write and submit a final, published piece. Grade 4 mini-lessons center on developing plot.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, in their writing notebooks students respond to the following, “If you found out that you were taking a trip to another country, someplace you have never been, what would you want to know about that country?”
• In Unit 6, Weeks 1-3, students read examples of functional writing and select from the following, “Write directions for a recipe. Draw a cartoon. Play a game.” Students then revise and edit for sequence, completeness, and accuracy.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students write in the reading journal section of their Student Response Books. The teacher displays a “Journal Entry” chart, sets expectations, and gives examples for completion. For this entry, students state the kind of text read (i.e., functional or expository), explain story events or provide its purpose, and describe their observations about organization and text features (to help readers learn information).
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students write an opinion piece based on a strong topic of interest. In Week 2, students select a topic, state opinions, and use reasons to support them. They explore transitional words and phrases, and strong openings and conclusions. In Week 3, students revise and correct run-on sentences and proofread their essays for accuracy and correctness. They indent paragraphs and publish their essays for the class.
• Opportunities to use technology is also embedded in the curriculum. Students are given opportunities for digital storytelling. It is suggested that the stories be shared online, emailed to parents, or stored for others to view on the computer, tablet, or other device.

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

Writing prompts include opinion, narrative, and informative/explanatory writing throughout the program. Additionally, students write poetry. Throughout the course of the school year, students engage with multiple genres and modes of writing in both Making Meaning and Being a Writer. In Being a Writer, every writing sample stems from a study of mentor texts as exemplars of the genre studied. Genres include personal, narrative, fiction, expository nonfiction, functional, opinion, and poetry. Performance tasks are included for narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. In the Assessment Sourcebook, teachers and students can access scoring rubrics and record sheets. Examples include:

Narrative

• Personal Narratives are introduced through quick writes beginning in Unit 1, Week 2, Day 2 in Being a Writer. Students have the option of responding to one of these quick write prompts: "What is your earliest memory?" "When did something strange happen to you?" "When did you feel happy, sad, or afraid?" and "When were you really, really surprised?"
• In the Personal Narrative Genre Unit, in Week 2, Day 1, students write a personal narrative about a single interesting event in their life.
• In the Fiction Genre Unit, in Week 1, Day 2, students write a fiction piece about inanimate objects coming to life.

Informational/Expository

• In Unit 1, Week 1 of Being a Writer, students hear various fiction texts such as Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and Wizzil and articles “About William Steig,” “I’m Sorry,” and “The Fly Is In.” Each day students write 10-15 minutes in response to prompts generated from the texts. For example, on Day 2 students write connections between their life and Wizzil.
• In Unit 5, Week 1 of Being a Writer, students read nonfiction texts about countries; then, they write about interesting things learned about the countries. Students record the findings about the following, “What am I still curious about?”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3 of Making Meaning, students hear the story Shattering Earthquakes and then write what they learned about preparing for earthquakes.

Opinion

• In Unit 7, the Opinion Genre Writing Unit, students learn and explore about author’s opinion before writing a persuasive essay on a topic of their choosing.
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 4, after hearing the story Teammates about Jackie Robinson, students share their own opinions about which account (firsthand or secondhand) they think is more interesting and why.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 4 of Making Meaning, students hear two articles about school uniforms and then write their own opinion about whether or not school uniforms should exist.

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

Over the course of the year, students have opportunities to learn grammar and convention standards both in and out of context. All grammar and conventions standards were taught over the course of the school year. These standards were addressed through the use of the Student Skill Practice Book and the Being a Writer Teacher’s Manual. The Skill Practice Book provides students with the opportunity to work on skills out of context, while writing lessons allowed students the opportunity to apply skills they were working on in the context of a piece of writing. The materials also include a Skill Practice Note in the writing lessons that guides teachers to the Skill Practice lesson for grammar and convention practice. While grammar and conventions standards are addressed in the materials, opportunities are missed to vary application styles for learners and to apply skills more frequently to their writing drafts.

Materials include instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Examples of each language standard include:

• L.4.1a:
• In Lesson 10, Skill Practice, students learn about relative pronouns. The teacher first models through a “Relative Pronoun” model circling relative pronouns in a set of sentences. Students then participate in guided practice. selecting relative pronouns that correctly complete sentences. Students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using at least three relative pronouns. “Remind the students that they have learned that a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Explain that today they will learn more about pronouns. Display the “Relative Pronouns” activity (WA16). Point to the words in the word box and explain that these words are a type of pronoun called relative pronouns. Read the relative pronouns aloud. Point to sentence 1 and explain that, as you read the sentence aloud, you want the students to look and listen for the relative pronoun. Then read sentence 1 aloud. What relative pronoun is used in the sentence? (who)”
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn to use relative adverbs. The teacher displays the Relative Adverb Chart and models how to analyze sentences to identify relative adverbs. In Peer Practice, students analyze two sentences to identify relative adverbs. During Quick Write, students do the following assignment: “Write a three- or four-sentence paragraph describing a typical day in school. Use at least one relative adverb in each sentence.”
• L.4.1b:
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, Being a Writer, the teacher explains the past progressive tense to students as it relates to the text, The Missing Moon. “Write the sentence, 'The sounds I had heard were coming from the cat where everyone can see it,' and underline the words were coming. Explain that the words are the past progressive tense of the verb come. Explain that writers use the past progressive tense to show that action was continuing over a period of time.” The teacher goes on to share more examples of the past progressive tense with students.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 15, students learn how to form and use the future progressive verb tense. The teacher displays Modeling Text and reads aloud sentences to discuss. The teacher underlines the verb and identifies two parts that show progressive tense. With a partner, students underline verbs in sentences. Students identify which progressive tense is used.
• In Lesson 16, Skill Practice, students learn about progressive verb tenses. “Point out that each sentence has two verbs—a main verb ending with -ing and a helping verb that is a form of the verb be. Explain that the main and helping verbs in these sentences are called progressive verbs because they show action that continues. Then explain that: The present progressive form consists of the helping verbs, am, are, or is plus a main verb ending with -ing. (am packing). The past progressive form consists of the helping verb was or were plus a main verb that ends with -ing (was helping). The future progressive form consists of the helping verbs will be plus a main verb ending with -ing. (will be going).”
• L.4.1c:
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 2, Being a Writer, the teacher introduces the use of the words can, may and must to students, using the text The Book of Cards for Kids as an example. “Explain that authors of functional writing often use the words can, may, and must to make their directions clearer and easier for readers to understand. Show the cover of The Book of Cards for Kids and remind the students that they used directions from this book to play the game Authors. Tell them that you will read a brief passage from those directions aloud. Ask the students to listen for the word must and to think about why the author might have used it.” Students also have the opportunity to look over a set of directions they have written to see if there is anywhere they can add can, may or must.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn modal auxiliaries to express possibility. The teacher displays the following sentence: "I can run around the block." The teacher underlines the two verbs and explains: “The main verb in this sentence is run. It describes an action. The other verb in this sentence is can. Can is a modal auxiliary verb used to express the possibility of me running around the block.” Students practice identifying modal auxiliaries in sentences.
• In Lesson 18, Skill Practice, students learn about modal auxiliary verbs. Students participate in an introduction and guided practice by selecting helping verbs to complete a sentence. Students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using at least four modal auxiliary verbs. "Tell the students that in this lesson they will learn about a special kind of helping verb. Display the “Modal Auxiliary Verbs” activity (WA18). Read aloud the words and their definitions. Tell the students that these helping verbs are called modal auxiliary verbs. Explain that they express conditions, or how likely or unlikely something is. Read the first sentence aloud and ask, "Which of the verbs above could be used to replace the words, 'am allowed to'?”
• L.4.1d:
• In Lesson 22, Skill Practice, students learn how to order adjectives in sentences. Students participate in an introductory activity sorting adjectives by amount, opinion, size, shape, and color. Students then complete a guided practice activity selecting the adjectives in the right order to complete sentences. Students work in pairs to write a paragraph using different types of adjectives.” Explain that when writers use several adjectives to describe something, the adjectives are used in a certain order. Point out the headings for each column in the chart. Explain that the categories are in the order in which adjectives should be used. Display the “Adjectives and Order of Adjectives in Sentences” activity (WA2). Read the two sentences above the chart aloud. "Which sentence sounds more natural? Why?”
• In Lesson 26, Skill Practice, students learn about the correct order of adjectives in sentences. “Read each sentence. Put the adjectives in the correct order: amount, opinion, size, shape, and color. Write the new sentences.” An example of one of the sentences students reorder is, “Then she piles on thin square many slices of meats.” Students are also instructed to, “Write a brief description of how you make one of your favorite sandwiches. Include adjectives and adverbs.”
• L.4.1e:
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 15, Writing to Sources, students learn how to form and use prepositional phrases. The teacher displays the Modeling Text and models thinking about prepositional phrases. With a partner, students annotate sentences by underlining prepositional phrases. In Quick Write, students complete the following assignment: “Write three original sentences about the story Rabbit and Coyote. Identify a verb, adverb, or adjective in each and add a prepositional phrase to describe it.”
• In Lesson 25, Skill Practice, students practice identifying prepositional phrases in a passage. Students also add in the correct preposition to complete sentences such as, “Trapdoor spiders are one of the subjects we are studying.” Students are also instructed to: “Write a paragraph about a fascinating insect or other animal. Use at least four prepositional phrases. Circle the preposition in each phrase.”
• L.4.1f:
• In Lesson 4, Skill Practice, students learn about sentence fragments. “Tell the students that in this lesson they will learn how to correct sentence fragments, or incomplete sentences. The fragments are missing a subject, a predicate, or both. Explain that knowing how to make sentences complete will help the students express their ideas clearly.”
• In Lesson 5, Skills Practice, students are provided with sentence fragments such as, "Roberto’s favorite weekend day." "and are instructed to." “Read the sentence fragments. Then correct each one by adding a subject, a predicate, or both. Write the new sentence on the line.” Students are also provided with a passage to read and instructed to underline any run-on sentences they find. They are instructed to, “Write a paragraph about a time when you helped take care of a younger child. Make sure all of your sentences are written correctly.”
• L.4.1g:
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Lesson 12, Word Study & Vocabulary, students learn about homophones. During Guided Practice, students circle words in Oregon Trail Diary that have a homophone. Students note in the margin the homophone.
• In Lesson 12, Skill Practice, students learn about commonly misused words: to, too, two, its, it’s, their, they’re there, your, you’re, and how to choose the correct one in a sentence. After completing the guided practice, students work in pairs to write a paragraph using at least one example from each of the four sets of commonly misused words. “Have the students work in pairs to write the three spellings of to/too/two; the three spellings of their/there/they’re; the two spellings of its/it’s; and the two spellings of your/you’re. Confirm responses as pairs of volunteers spell aloud each set of words. Remind the students that these words not only are spelled differently, they also have different meanings. Display the “Commonly Misused Words” activity (WA26). Explain to the students that next they will practice using these words in sentences. Read the first sentence aloud. Then point to the word choices after the sentence and ask, "Which word correctly completes this sentence? Why?”
• L.4.2a:
• In Unit 5, Week 6, Day 1, Being a Writer, when proofreading their work, the teacher reminds students to check for correct capitalization, “Point out that, in addition to checking for the rules already listed in their proofreading notes, such as capital letters at the beginnings of sentences and proper nouns (nouns that name a specific person, place, or thing), the students should also check for run-on sentences.” As students are proofreading and working on their final drafts the teacher also displays the following “Writing Time” chart: “Proofread your draft for spelling and punctuation. Check for run-on sentences. If you finish proofreading, begin copying your final version on loose, lined paper.”
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn the rules for capitalization of titles. The teacher displays the Capitalization Rules for Titles Chart.
• In Lesson 27, Skill Practice, students learn about capitalizing proper nouns, adjectives, and titles of address. “Remind the students that a noun can name a person, a place, an animal, a thing, or an idea and that an adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. Tell the students that next they will learn how to capitalize nouns and adjectives that refer to particular people, places, and things. Display the “Proper Nouns, Proper Adjectives, and Titles of Address” activity (WA1). Read the first sentence of the passage aloud. Ask, pausing after each question for a volunteer to answer, "Which words tell the name of a specific person? (Ms. Markova) Which word tells the name of a specific country? (Russia)”
• L.4.2b:
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn about correct comma usage. The teacher explains that a comma is used to mark words that are spoken, such as dialogue. The teacher displays Modeling Text and models how to place a comma in dialogue. With a partner, students identify and explain comma usage in sentences and dialogue. During Quick Write, students write 3-4 sentences explaining comma usage rules.
• In Lesson 29, Skill Practice, students learn about Commas and Quotation Marks in Dialogue and Direct Quotations.
• In Lesson 30, Skill Practice, students read the passage “Where to Go?”, adding in missing quotation marks and commas to the dialogue in the text as they read. Students are also instructed to, “Write a dialogue between two friends. Have them talk about where they would go if they could travel anywhere.”
• L.4.2c:
• In Unit 7, Week 1 Lesson 15, Process Writing, students learn about run-on sentences. The teacher displays the Modeling Text and shows students how sentences can be combined in different ways.
• In Lesson 2, Skill Practice, students complete a variety of activities with coordinating conjunctions. Students practice adding in coordinating conjunctions and commas to sentences such as, “Frogs have a strong sense of taste, _______ they often spit out nasty-tasting bugs.” Students are also provided with two columns of sentences and instructed to, “Draw a line from each sentence on the left to a sentence on the right. Write the new compound sentences on the lines, adding commas and conjunctions where they belong.”
• L.4.2d:
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 4, Being a Writer, when proofreading their work the teacher is instructed to have students, “Circle words in their drafts that they are unsure how to spell, and look the words up in their word banks. They will add to their word banks any words that are not already there after looking up the correct spellings in a dictionary or other source.”
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Lesson 12, Word Study & Vocabulary, the teacher models adding endings with spelling changes. Students practice dropping the silent e, changing the y to i, and adding a consonant with the Unit 10 Week, 1 Spelling Practice.
• L.4.3a:
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 4, Being a Writer, students learn how to revise their drafts to include words that are more interesting. Students revise their drafts to add more interesting and specific adjectives and verbs. “Point out that in addition to adjectives (or descriptive words) like good, there are many overused verbs (or action words), such as run, look, sit, and said, that can be replaced with more interesting words. Use “Think-Pair-Share” to discuss: "What interesting words can you think of to replace the word said? [pause] Turn to your partner. Have partners discuss for a few moments; then signal for the students’ attention and have volunteers report their ideas as you record them on the chart. Alternatives for said include asked, shouted, replied, exclaimed, mumbled, whined, and cried.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 5, Being a Writer, when revising their work the teacher explains the importance of having a strong opening sentence. “Tell the students that today they will focus on the opening sentences (the first few sentences) of their pieces. Explain that authors pay especially close attention to these sentences because good opening sentences get readers interested and make them want to keep reading. Explain that the students will listen to opening sentences from several read-aloud books from earlier in the year. They will think about how each author tries to grab our attention at the very beginning of the book.” The teacher then reads aloud some examples of strong opening sentences to students. Students then have the opportunity to reflect on and revise their own opening sentences in their drafts.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 7, using Description to Develop Characters and Story Events students use description to develop characters and story events. The teacher displays a modeling text and thinks aloud to model how to use descriptions to develop characters and story events. Partners discuss what type of descriptions they may want to include in their own stories to develop their characters and story events.
• L.4.3b:
• In Unit 4, Week 6, Day 3, Being a Writer, the teacher reads students different examples of writing where punctuation is used for effect. The teacher is also instructed to explain the following, “Point out that authors use punctuation marks to affect the way we read and react to stories. Punctuation guides us to read stories loudly or softly, or to pause in our reading to create suspense. Explain that authors choose punctuation for effect carefully; for example, if every sentence in a story ended in an exclamation point, the punctuation mark would lose its power to signal excitement or loudness.” Students then review their own drafts for places where they could use punctuation for effect.
• L.4.3c:
• In Lesson 20, Skills Practice, students have the opportunity to differentiate before formal and informal English. In one activity students read a passage and identify groups of words as either formal or informal. Students also must identify which sentence would be appropriate given the type of writing being completed. For example: "Type of writing: a research report. The Statue of Liberty is approximately 305 feet tall. / The Statue of Liberty is like around 305 ft. tall."

Materials include opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills both in and out of context. For example:

• In the Skill Practice portion of Being a Writer, students first learn new grammar and convention standards through teacher model and guided practice. Students then apply their knowledge in context through either writing a set of sentences or writing a paragraph that contains the new focus skill.
• In Lesson 10, Skill Practice, students use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when, why). “Explain that the students will now practice using the correct relative pronoun to complete some sentences. Display the 'Relative Pronouns' activity (WA17). Read the first sentence aloud. Then ask, 'Which relative pronoun would you use to join the two parts of this sentence? Why would you use this pronoun?' Give the students time to think. Then invite a few volunteers to respond. Point out that the pronoun that is used because it introduces a group of words that gives necessary information. It tells about the kind of things Bunyan and Babe did. Invite a volunteer to the whiteboard. Have her drag and drop that into the sentence and then read the sentence aloud. Continue guiding the students through the paragraph, reading the sentences aloud and having volunteers select the relative pronouns and explain their choices. After all the pronouns have been placed, invite a volunteer to read the paragraph aloud. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using at least three relative pronouns."
• In Lesson 24, Skill Practice, “Tell the students that next they will practice using the relative adverbs when, where, and why to link groups of words to the nouns they tell more about. Display the 'Relative Adverbs' activity (WA12). Read sentence 1 aloud. Then ask the students, 'Which relative adverb would you use to join, "I went to my new school for the first time to the rest of the sentence? Why?" Invite a few volunteers to respond. As needed, point out that the adverb when is used because it introduces a group of words that tells about a time. Invite a volunteer to drag and drop when into the blank. Read the sentence aloud. Continue guiding the students through the paragraph, reading the sentences aloud and having volunteers select the relative adverbs and explain their choices. After all the adverbs have been placed, read the paragraph aloud. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph using all three relative adverbs.
• In Lesson 16, Skill Practice, students form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses. “Display the 'Progressive Verb Tenses' activity (WA10). Tell the students that next they will read a story that contains several present and past progressive verbs. Explain that the helping verbs are missing, and that you will work together to choose the correct form of be to complete each sentence.Read the first sentence aloud. Have a volunteer identify the subject of the sentence. (my twin brothers) Then ask, 'Which form of be should we use?' (were) 'Why?' (The action is happening in the past and the subject is plural.) Students might say, 'We should use were because the action is happening in the past.' 'I agree with Kai. We also should use were because the subject is plural—there are two brothers.' Allow one or two volunteers to respond. Then invite another volunteer to drag and drop were into the blank and read the completed sentence aloud. Continue working through the story. Tell the students that they are going to use each helping verb twice. Read the sentences aloud and invite volunteers to the whiteboard to drag and drop the correct form of be into each blank. After all of the helping verbs have been placed correctly, read the completed story aloud. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using at least two present progressive and two past progressive verbs."
• In Lesson 18, Skill Practice, students use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions. "Display the 'Modal Auxiliary Verbs' activity (WA19). Explain to the students that they will choose a helping verb from the word box to complete each sentence, using the meaning in parentheses as a clue. Read sentence 1 aloud, using the words in parentheses to fill the blank. Then direct the students’ attention to the words in the word box. 'Which of these helping verbs belongs in the blank? Why?' If necessary, point out that may belongs in the blank because it expresses permission. May means “are allowed to.” Invite a volunteer to the whiteboard. Have him drag and drop may into the sentence and read the completed sentence aloud. Repeat the process for the remaining sentences. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using at least four modal auxiliary verbs."

Materials provide opportunities for students to grow their fluency language standards through practice and application. For example:

• Skill Practice comprises of 30 mini-lessons that also includes five review lessons throughout the course of the year. Student also have opportunities to practice application of language standards during Being a Writer lessons over the course of the year.
• In Lesson 4, Skill Practice, students produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons. “Tell the students that next they will practice correcting some sentence fragments. Display the 'Sentence Fragments' activity (WA14). Read the first fragment aloud. Ask, 'What is missing—the subject, the predicate, or both?' (the subject) Read the two options below the fragment aloud and ask, 'Which answer choice is a complete sentence?' Click the first answer choice. Guide the students to see that the subject The bird was added to form a complete sentence. Ask the students to explain why the other option is incorrect. (It is still missing a subject.) Continue guiding the students through the sentence fragments, reading them aloud and helping the students determine what is missing and which answer choice forms a complete sentence. Then ask, pausing after each question for a few volunteers to respond: 'How does the exclamation point in item 1 add to the story? 'Would you change the end punctuation in any of these sentences? Why or why not?' Students might say: 'The exclamation point makes me suddenly start to worry about the turtle.' 'I agree with Miguel. I also wouldn’t add any other exclamation points.' 'I disagree with Darla. I would add an exclamation point to the third sentence to show that the writer was really happy the turtle escaped.' Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph using complete sentences. Ask the partners to check each other’s work to ensure that there are no sentence fragments."
• In Lesson 5, Skill Practice, “tell the students that together you will read a passage that contains some run-on sentences and determine how to correct them. Display the 'Run-on Sentences' activity (WA18). Read the passage aloud and ask, 'What do you notice about this passage?' (The ideas are hard to follow. It has run-on sentences.) 'What is the first run-on sentence? What is one way we can fix it?' Give the students a few moments to think. Invite a volunteer to the whiteboard. Have her use the pen to correct the sentence. (Accept either of the following: The student might add a period after flute and capitalize sometimes to divide the run-on into two simple sentences, or add a comma and the conjunction and after flute to create a compound sentence.) Continue reading the remaining sentences aloud and helping volunteers correct them. Suggest that the students use each conjunction in the word box at least once. After the run-ons have all been corrected, reread the passage aloud. Ask, 'How is the writing different now that the run-ons have been corrected?' (The meaning is clearer.) Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph. Ask them to check their work to ensure that all the sentences are written correctly."
• In Lesson 12, Skill Practice, students correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their). “Have the students work in pairs to write the three spellings of to/too/two; the three spellings of their/there/they’re; the two spellings of its/it’s; and the two spellings of your/you’re. Confirm responses as pairs of volunteers spell aloud each set of words. Remind the students that these words not only are spelled differently, they also have different meanings. Display the 'Commonly Misused Words' activity (WA26). Explain to the students that next they will practice using these words in sentences. Read the first sentence aloud. Then point to the word choices after the sentence and ask, 'Which word correctly completes this sentence? Why?' Drag and drop the word two into the blank. Have a volunteer read the complete sentence aloud. Repeat the process for the remaining sentences. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph using at least one example from each of the four sets of commonly misused words. If the students have difficulty thinking of a topic to write about, suggest that they write about a business they would like to start. (My dog-walking business is just two weeks old.)"
• In Lesson 27, Skill Practice, students use correct capitalization. “Explain that next you will identify more proper nouns and proper adjectives. Display the 'Proper Nouns, Proper Adjectives, and Titles of Address' activity(WA2). Read the first sentence aloud and ask, 'Which words in this sentence name a specific person?' (Dr. Ana Morales) Click to highlight Dr. Ana Morales. Point out that her title, Dr., is capitalized and ends with a period. Then ask, 'Which words in the same sentence name a specific school?' (Kennedy Elementary School) Click Kennedy Elementary School, and explain that it is a proper noun because it names a specific school. Point out that each word is capitalized in the name of the school. Read the second sentence aloud, and invite one or two volunteers to identify the proper nouns, including the title, and the proper adjective. (proper nouns: Dr. Morales and Chile; proper adjective: Chilean) Have volunteers take turns reading the sentences aloud and identifying and clicking the proper nouns and proper adjectives. After the students have found the proper nouns and proper adjectives, go back and talk about how the nouns and adjectives are the same and how they are different. Help the students understand that the proper nouns can stand on their own and the proper adjectives describe nouns"

Materials promote and build students’ ability to apply conventions and other aspects of language within their own writing. For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 6, Day 3, Being a Writer, students apply newly learned skills to their drafts during the Writing Time portion of the lessons. “Ask the students to read their drafts and see whether there are any places where they use, or could use, exclamation points, ellipses, or parentheses. Have them compare their punctuated speech to the passages on Student Writing Handbook page 17 to make sure they are using one of the correct methods."
• In Lesson 2, Skill Practice, students use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. “Display the 'Compound Sentences' activity ( WA6). Explain that the students will now practice using the conjunctions and, but, and or to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. Review that and shows similarities between ideas, but shows a contrast or a difference, and or shows a choice. Read sentence pair 1 aloud. Then ask the students to discuss these questions in pairs, 'Which conjunction can you use to combine these simple sentences into a compound sentence? Why would you use this conjunction?' As a class, have the students discuss which conjunction they would use and why. Then invite a volunteer to the whiteboard. Have him write the conjunction on the line and place the comma where it belongs. Ask the student to read the compound sentence aloud. Repeat the process with the remaining sentence pairs. Have the students work in pairs to write a paragraph, using both simple and compound sentences."
• In Lesson 29, Skill Practice students use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text. “Display the 'Commas and Quotation Marks in Dialogue and Direct Quotations' activity (WA11). Explain to the students that next they are going to practice identifying where double and single quotation marks and commas are placed in a passage that includes dialogue. Read the first paragraph aloud. Have a volunteer circle the double quotation marks, put a box around the single quotation marks, and draw a line under each comma. Ask, pausing after each question for one or two volunteers to respond, 'What do the double quotation marks set off?' 'How are the single quotation marks used?' 'What does the comma do in the sentence?' As necessary, remind the students that the double quotation marks set off the exact words of a speaker; the single quotation marks set off words the speaker is repeating that have been spoken before; and the comma separates the speaker’s exact words from the rest of the sentence. Read the second paragraph aloud. Invite a few volunteers to help you add the missing commas and quotation marks. Make sure that the students understand how the punctuation marks make it clear who is saying what in the passage. Have the students work in pairs to write a dialogue. Have them make sure that they have used double and single quotation marks that set off each speaker’s words or the words they are repeating that have been spoken before. Have them make sure to insert a comma when necessary."

Over the course of the year’s worth of materials, grammar and convention instruction is provided in increasingly sophisticated contexts. For example:

• There are 29 lessons in the Skill Practice Teaching Guide that explicitly teach language, conventions and grammar skills that are connected to unit lessons in the Being a Writer component. These skills are to be used as a checklist when students proofread their own writing and are added to the checklist as they are learned.
• Being a Writer materials include a Skill Practice portion that addresses language and convention standards in a systematic progression. The lessons progress throughout the year to ensure all standards are addressed through teacher model, guided practice, and application. Progression in the Skill Practice includes: Sentences, Nouns and Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Order of Adjectives in Sentences, Proper Nouns, Proper Adjectives, and Titles of Addresses.