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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Collections | ELA
ELA 6-8
The HMH Collections 2017 instructional materials reviewed for Grades 6-8 partially met expectations for alignment. The instructional materials partially meet the expectations for Gateway 1 as they feature engaging texts, tasks and questions grounded in evidence, and opportunities for rich reading and literacy growth but inconsistently support speaking and listening. Writing support meets the requirements of the standards, although grammar and conventions lessons and practice are not always connected to the materials at hand in multiple contexts, and culminating tasks are of value but sometimes disconnected to the rich questions and reading that precede them. The instructional materials for all grades partially meet the expectations of Gateway 2 as they feature engaging and relevant texts and text sets organized around topics or themes to support students’ growing knowledge deeply but partially support students’ academic vocabulary development and growing integrated skills in literacy. Students are inconsistently asked to integrate their literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) into full culminating tasks, and support for students to learn and practice vocabulary to build knowledge as they read texts is minimal. The overall year-long plans and structures for writing and for research instruction are partially present, with inconsistent supports, and there is no year-long plan for independent reading.
6th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
7th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
8th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
ELA High School
The instructional materials for HMH Collections 2017 includes varying degrees of alignment across the grade levels. Grades 9 and 11 meet the expectations of high quality texts, appropriately rigorous tasks in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language support for students. Grades 10 and 12 include materials that partially meet these expectations, and teachers may need to provide some supplementation to ensure students have access to consistent text-focused, on-standards lessons. The materials for Grade 11 partially meet the expectations of building knowledge and providing support for synthesis of standards over the course of the school year (with emphasis on academic vocabulary and text-focused critical thinking work) Grades 9, 10, and 12 do not meet the expectations of building knowledge, with texts loosely connected to broad themes. Teachers may need to provide students support around building research skills and continuing to grow writing skills to prepare for end-of-grade level work.
9th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
10th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
11th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
12th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Report for 11th Grade
Alignment Summary
Collections 2017 Grade 11 partially meets expectations of alignment. High quality anchor texts and tasks are coupled with text-focused writing and some speaking and listening work. Core standards practice is included for students to practice grade-level reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language skills with appropriately rigorous and engaging texts. The materials inconsistently provide students cohesive practice with synthesizing multiple skills, although the texts do provide some support to build student knowledge around topics and themes and bolster academic vocabulary.
11th Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Usability (Gateway 3)
Overview of Gateway 1
Text Quality & Complexity and Alignment to Standards Components
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet expectations for Gateway 1. Materials meet criteria for text quality and complexity and alignment to the standards with tasks and questions grounded in evidence. The instructional materials also include texts that are worthy of student's time and attention. Tasks and questions are grounded in evidence, and the instructional materials provide many opportunities for rich and rigorous evidence-based discussions and writing about texts. High-quality texts are the central focus of lessons, are at the appropriate grade-level text complexity, and are accompanied by quality tasks aligned to the standards of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Criterion 1.1: Text Complexity and Quality
The HMH Collections Grade 11 include texts that are of publishable quality and consider a range of student interests, text types, and genres. Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task, and are accompanied by information explaining the rationale for placement in the year-long course. While there is opportunity for reading a depth and breadth of materials, there is minimal guidance to support teachers in guiding students to reading beyond the classroom to be able to comprehend materials at the end of the school year.
NOTE: Indicator 1b is non-scored and provides information about text types and genres in the program.
Indicator 1A
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests. The materials contain anchor texts written by established and credible published authors or well-known sources. Many of these texts are well known and would appeal to a range of students' interests. Text are varied and include short stories, poems, memoirs, myths, dramas, speeches, arguments, science writings, historical writings, and media texts.
Anchor texts in the majority of the collections and across the yearlong curriculum are of publishable quality. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 1 the anchor text is an historical account by William Bradford from Of Plymouth Plantation. This excerpt describes the Pilgrims’ journey on the Mayflower to New England.
- The main anchor texts in Collection 2 are The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution. These two foundational texts are also expected reading at this grade level according to the Common Core State Standards and are included in this first collection as a basis for understanding the formation of the country and to create a foundation for the rest of the literature in the textbook.
- In Collection 5 the anchor text is the short story, “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London. London is a well-known American author and has written many short stories and books, including Call of the Wild.
Anchor texts are well-crafted, content-rich, and include a range of student interests, engaging students at the grade level for which they are placed. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Collection 4 contains a wide variety of text types to engage students. There is a speech, a legal document, a video, and a public document. The content-rich texts focus on the struggle for both the freedom and civil rights of African-Americans and the rights of women.
- “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln
- “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass
- “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- “Building the Transcontinental Railroad” by Iris Chang
- The 54th Massachusetts by History
- “Runagate Runagate” by Robert Hayden
Anchor texts do not require revision or supplements in order to ensure quality. The majority of the texts throughout the Grade 11 Collections are written by authors of known quality in their respective fields. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation in Collection 1. The narrative that he wrote of his journey to the colonies and his subsequent life in the new world. While never intending it to be published, he did intend it as instruction for the generations of his family to follow.
- A portion of Walt Whitman’s poem, “Song of Myself,” is present in Collection 3. The poem is known for breaking many of the conventions of poetry and creating new poetical ground.
- The anchor text for Collection 6 is The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This work is recognized as one of the foremost allegorical pieces of writing in the American Canon.
The texts in the instructional materials for Grade 11 are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading. They are high-quality texts that will appeal to a wide variety of students, as well as introducing students to a variety of writing types that they will come in contact with as adult readers. Finally, the texts throughout the collection represent many cultures and ideas to provide a basis for evaluative thinking on the part of the students.
Indicator 1B
*Indicator 1b is non-scored (in grades 9-12) and provides information about text types and genres in the program.
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. Throughout the collections students engage with an appropriate distribution of texts and text types for Grade 11. Literary texts include short stories, poems, plays, graphic novel, and myths. Informational texts include science writings, historical essays, arguments, memoirs, and foundational texts. Media selections are comprised of graduation speeches, documentary, and a photo essay.
The HMH Collections Grade 11 materials include the following distribution of text types and genres required by the standards for the grade:
The overall balance of literary and informational texts with which students engage is 45% literary to 55% informational. Text types include short stories, poems, explanatory and expository texts about science, multimedia, and plays.
Samples of how the materials distribute these texts over the course of a school year include the following:
- Collection 1
- Literary Texts
- Short story “Balboa” by Sabina Murray
- Poem “New Orleans” by Joy Harjo
- Poem “Indian Boy Loves Song (#2)” by Sherman Alexie
- Drama The Tempest by William Shakespeare
- Informational Texts
- Historical Account Excerpt from Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
- History Writing “Coming of Age in the Dawnland” by Charles Mann
- Argument “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans” by Richard Rodriguez
- Literary Texts
- Collection 3
- Literary Texts
- Poem from “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman
- Poem “The Soul selects Her Own Society” by Emily Dickinson
- Poem “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson
- Poem “Much Madness is divinest Sense” by Emily Dickinson
- Poem “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” by Emily Dickinson
- Short Story “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Short Story “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe
- Informational Texts
- Essay “Growing up Asian in America” by Kesaya E. Noda
- Essay from “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau
- Argument “Against Nature” by Joyce Carol Oates
- Literary Texts
- Collection 5
- Literary Texts
- Short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
- Novel excerpt from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
- Short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
- Informational Texts
- Investigative Journalism “Food Product Design” from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
- Essay “The Lowest Animal” by Mark Twain
- Essay “Genesis of the Tenement” by Jacob Riis
- Literary Texts
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. Throughout the collections, there are a variety of literary and informational texts that give students experience in reading different types of writing like science essays, plays, poems, short stories, and memoirs.
Indicator 1C
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets 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.
Examples of texts with appropriate text complexity include, but are not limited to:
- Collection 1, “Coming of Age in the Dawnland,” history writing by Charles Mann
- Quantitative - 1290 Lexile
- Qualitative - The “Levels of Meaning/Purpose” in this story is rated at the mid-high level. There are multiple purposes that are implied, subtle and difficult to determine. The “Structure” of the story is in the mid-high range because the organization of the main ideas and details is complex but mostly explicit. “Language Conventionality and Clarity” is in the mid-high level of the scale because there are some unfamiliar or domain-specific words. “Knowledge Demands” is mid-low because there are complex historical concepts.
- Reader and Task - Suggestions are provided in order to assist students in accessing the text in the “Zoom In On” feature. Teachers explain the purpose behind reading this piece, “[Students] should read this account to understand the political, economic, and social organization of Native American society before the Europeans arrived (23C). The tasks include determine author’s purpose and determine the meaning of words and phrases.
- Collection 3, “The Minister’s Black Veil” Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Quantitative - 1260 Lexile
- Qualitative - The “Levels of Meaning/Purpose” in this story is rated at the mid-high level. There are multiple levels of meaning. The “Structure” of the story is in the mid-high range because there are somewhat complex story concepts. “Language Conventionality and Clarity” is in the high level of the scale because there is ambiguous language requiring inferences. “Knowledge Demands” is high because cultural and literary knowledge is essential to understanding.
- Reader and Task - Suggestions are provided in order to assist students in accessing the text in the “Zoom In On” feature. The teacher reads aloud lines 1-10 to help students get used to the writer’s syntax. Then the students form pairs and read the same passage aloud to each other.
- Collection 5, from The Jungle Novel by Upton Sinclair
- Quantitative - 1310 Lexile
- Qualitative - The “Levels of Meaning/Purpose” in this story is rated at the mid-low level; more than one purpose is implied, but is easily identified from context. The “Structure” of the story is in the mid-low range; the organization of main ideas and details is complex, but is clearly stated and usually sequential. “Language Conventionality and Clarity” is in the high level of the scale, because there are many unfamiliar, high-academic, and complex domain-specific words. “Knowledge Demands” is mid-low because only some specialized knowledge is required.
- Reader and Task - Suggestions are provided in order to assist students in accessing the text in the “Zoom In On” feature. For a pre reading activity, the teacher has the students discuss work injuries and food labels. This discussion is continued after reading.
Indicator 1D
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the expectations for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. Anchor texts and paired selections typically fall within the grade band; if a text is above or below the grade band, the qualitative measurements or reader tasks support students’ growth in literacy skills. The scaffolding of the texts and the tasks required of students generally ensure students are supported to access and comprehend grade-level texts independently at the end of the year.
The following Lexile ranges are found in the six collections:
Collection 1: 920-1440
Collection 2: 1250-1580
Collection 3: 900-1260
Collection 4: 1160-1430
Collection 5: 970-1410
Collection 6: 1100 (This collection includes one text measureable by Lexile)
Examples of the complexity levels falling inside the grade band with sufficient scaffolding and appropriate tasks that support students in accessing grade-level texts independently at the end of the year include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 3, students read a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” which has a Lexile of 1260. The qualitative measures rate this as mid-high for levels of meaning and structure and high for language and knowledge demands. The reader task aids students in their reading of this text by focusing on determining theme and interpreting symbols. Students are told at the beginning of the reading to “[p]ay careful attention to how the minister’s veil affects Mr. Hooper and the community as a whole” (235). After reading, students discuss how the veil changes “Mr. Hooper’s relationship with the villagers” (246).
- In Collection 4, students read history writing by Iris Chang, “Building the Transcontinental Railroad,” with a Lexile of 1310. The qualitative measures place this at mid-low for levels of meaning and language and mid-high for structure and knowledge demands. The sidebar questions in the teacher edition focus on analyzing sequence and determining the author’s purpose. The Performance Task after reading has the students work in collaborative groups to discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of “Chang’s account based on details and events she includes, her links among ideas, and her points of emphasis” (312). These questions and tasks will support students in analyzing and comprehending this text.
Examples of the complexity levels falling outside the grade band with sufficient scaffolding and appropriate tasks that support students in accessing grade-level texts independently at the end of the year include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 2, students read an argument by James Madison, “The Federalist No. 10,” with a Lexile of 1390, which is just above the grade band. The qualitative measures put this at mid-high for levels of meaning, structure, language, and knowledge demands. The reader task focuses on supporting comprehension. Teachers are told to “divide the text into manageable chunks, and have students read the text in small groups. Help students paraphrase and summarize the most challenging sections” (129C). Although this text is difficult both quantitatively and qualitatively, the reader task will support students in comprehension.
- In Collection 3, there is an essay by Kesaya E. Noda, “Growing Up Asian in America,” with a Lexile of 900. The qualitative measures put this mid-low for structure, mid-high for levels of meaning and knowledge demands, and high for language. The reader task for this text focuses on determining author’s purpose and analyzing language, ideas, and events. The questions during reading found in the teacher’s edition have students infer, explain the effect of syntax choices, and determine which organizational pattern the author chose. Although this text is below the grade band, students are being asked to analyze more sophisticated elements.
- Collection 5 contains an essay by Jacob Riis, “Genesis of the Tenements,” with a Lexile of 1410. The qualitative measures put this at a mid-low for levels of meaning, mid-high for knowledge demands, and high for structure and language. The reader task for this text focuses on evaluating the information Riis uses within his essay. After reading, students write an informative essay about what life was like in the New York tenements. They use evidence from the essay, as well as photographs and a video paired with the essay. This text is above the Lexile band, but it occurs toward the end of the school year and averages a mid-high for qualitative measurements. Students are asked to do a more difficult task - synthesizing and applying their knowledge - which is appropriate at the end of Grade 11.
Throughout the school year, students have access to texts at a variety of complexity levels. The materials support students’ increasing literacy skills by including texts that balance quantitative and qualitative levels with the reader task.
Indicator 1E
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets 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.
The Teacher’s Edition contains Plan pages before each text which includes both the text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.
- “Why This Text?” is provided for each anchor text. This gives the rationale for educational purpose and placement as well as key learning objectives. For example, in Collection 2 for the text pair The Declaration of Independence and The United States Constitution, the “Why This Text?” states: “Students must be able to analyze the documents produced by our nation’s founders in order to develop informed opinions on contemporary political issues. The Declaration of Independence states the unique guiding principles of the new nation. Students will analyze the themes and rhetorical devices ” (111A).
- The Text Complexity Rubric explains the text complexity attributes of each whole class text, the Lexile, and the places within the lesson that will help the teacher determine if the text is appropriate in terms of reader and task. An example of how this is prepared for teachers is found in Collection 3 on pages 221A-221C, “Against Nature” an argument by Joyce Carol Oates. The Text Complexity Rubric gives the quantitative, qualitative, and reader and task measures.
- Quantitative - 1000 Lexile
- Qualitative - includes a high, high, high, and high scale for each of the following measurements. Under the heading are two columns: on the right states the objective and on the left is a “Zoom In On” feature which gives teachers an activity to complete the objective:
- Levels of Meaning/Purpose - scored “high” on the scale
- Objective - “Help students analyze an author’s purpose. Help students paraphrase to understand complex writing.”
- Zoom In On - Teachers are instructed to “tell students that concluding an argument, authors typically refer to ideas expressed in the introduction.” The teacher is then instructed to guide students through a specific process using lines from the reading.
- Structure - scored “high” on the scale
- Objective - To help students analyze and evaluate the structure of a text and to analyze how an author’s purpose influences form. Also to guide students in using text structure to write a report.
- Zoom In On - The teacher is told to remind students of the three basic structures the author uses and then have students work in small groups to discuss specific prompts/questions.
- Language Conventionality and Clarity - scored “high” on the scale
- Objective - To teach; unfamiliar vocabulary in context, help students analyze complex sentences, guide students to analyze a writer’s tone, support students in recognizing patterns of word changes, and guide students to analyze how authors use quotations.”
- Zoom in On - The teacher is provided with a strategy for students to use the guide on page 232 about parts of speech to do an activity to find parts of speech in the text.
- Knowledge Demands - scored “high” on the scale
- Objective - “Support English Learners in understanding the writer’s background.”
- Zoom In On - The teacher is advised to use the background information provided in both the teacher and student edition to help students understand the background of the author through a series of questions.
- Levels of Meaning/Purpose - scored “high” on the scale
- Suggested Reader and Task Considerations:
- On the right side of the page are things the teacher should consider before reading: “Do students have the comprehension strategies they will need to understand the text? Will students have enough prior experience with the vocabulary used throughout the text?”
- Zoom In On is again on the left - This labels the goal, “Supporting Comprehension,” and then shares an activity students can complete to reach the goal. In this case, one activity is to “guide students to paraphrase parts of the text in order to understand complex sentences” and then it suggests the teacher model with specific lines and have the students do the same.
Indicator 1F
The materials for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that anchor text(s), including support materials, provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency. While students read a variety of texts, it is unclear how students are supported towards reading proficiency. Instructions within the Teacher’s Edition do not explain how the entirety of a text is to be read: silently, by the teacher, or aloud as a whole class. General instructions are given in the teacher's edition before each text that tell the teacher to have students use the "As You Read" feature to guide their reading. An example is found in Collection 1 before "Coming of Age in the Dawnland": “As You Read: Direct students to use the As You Read instructions to focus their reading. Have students write down any questions they generate during reading” (23). How each text is read is left up to the teacher with little guidance from the program. Students may never read the texts within the collections independently.
The Instructional Overview found at the beginning of each collection clearly identifies the diversity of texts students will be reading within each collection. Below is an example showing the range and volume that can be found from three different collections at this grade level:
- Collection 1: historical account, history writing, drama, film version of the drama, short story, argument, and a poem
- Collection 3: poems, essays, argument, and short stories
- Collection 6: short stories poems, drama, audio versions of the drama, opinoin and dissents, and a science essay
Each collection contains a feature titled Digital Resources for Independent Reading that precedes the Performance Tasks at the end of each collection. This feature suggests digital resources students can use to find out more about the theme or topic of the collection. However, little support is provided and not all suggested tasks may support proficiency. The following are examples of this:
- Collection 2 suggests student read “An Encounter with King George III” by Fanny Burney and “Sonnet: England in 1819” by Percy Bysse Shelly. Teachers are then instructed to “explain to students that these two works bookmark the beginning and end of a period in British history that was filled with political and social upheaval. What conclusions can they draw from each work about how the authors viewed the government of their day?” (168b). There is no way to assess how students did with this reading.
- This feature also includes a Creating an Independent Reading Program that suggests ways for teachers to help students increase independent reading by building a classroom library and creating library rules. However, no system is provided for monitoring students use of the techniques suggested here. Additionally, a teacher may choose to skip this activity.
Criterion 1.2: Alignment to the Standards with Tasks and Questions Grounded in Evidence
The HMH Collections for Grade 11 meets the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly and followed by culminating tasks. The materials partially meet the criteria for frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions that encourage use of academic vocabulary and connection to what is being read. The materials provide opportunities for students to practice writing different types in both on-demand and process settings, with an appropriate emphasis on text-based writing, and grammar and mechanics instruction is clearly organized to support development of these skills over the course of the school year.
Indicator 1G
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets 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; this may include work with mentor texts as well).
The majority of the questions within the textbook require students to support their interpretations and build their knowledge from the literal to the inferential. The materials also provide teachers with support for planning and implementation by including instructions on when to ask the question, how to introduce it, and possible student answers. Within each Collection, each text contains questions to be read during the reading and questions that will be completed after the reading. During the reading, each question has a bold heading that states the purpose, the question, and an example student answer. Examples of questions a teacher asks while reading include, but are not limited to:
- “Have a volunteer read aloud lines 76-80. Have students identify the lines that function as a transition to the flashback and the sentence that begins the flashback. Ask students to cite the past-tense verbs that signal that this scene is a flashback” (79).
- “Analyze Structure: Realism and Naturalism: Ask students to explain how the plot twist in these lines exemplifies naturalism” (339).
- “Support Inferences (Lines 473-474) Ask students to infer what Dexter is disillusioned with and what he still has illusions about” (425).
In addition to the questions during the reading, there is a section after the text labeled, “Analyzing the Text.” This section contains the same general instructions in all Collections that say, “Cite Text Evidence: Support your responses with evidence from the selection.” There are three to six questions in this segment. Each question is preceded by a skill in bold followed by the question; possible students answers are found on the left-hand side of the teacher’s edition. Examples of questions at the end of the text from the “Analyzing the Text” Section include but are not limited to:
- “Analyze: How would you describe Prosperos’ relationship with Miranda based on the language that he uses and on his use of magic?” (70).
- “Infer: Many people escaped from slavery by following the Underground Railroad, a network of hiding places and routes leading north. What words and phrases does Hayden include as allusions to the Underground Railroad?” (322).
- “Analyze: Justices Fortas and Black both cite previous Court rulings to support their argument. Choose one such example from each section, and trace how the justice uses that ruling and the legal reasoning behind it to strengthen his argument” (566).
The HMH Collections also comes with a consumable workbook called The Close Reader. This contains directions before the reading and a short response question at the end. Each question during the reading has the heading “REREAD” that is preceded by instructions labeled with the “READ” heading. The “READ” label gives the students instructions for what to look for while reading. The “REREAD” section asks students to answer a short answer question based on what they focused on during “READ.” Examples of questions from the Close Reader DURING Reading include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 2, students read an article by Woody Holtman, "Abilgail Adams' Last Act of Defiance."
- In the READ feature students are asked to read lines 1-19 and begin to cite and collect text evidence by doing the following:
- “Underlining references to dates and events that orient the reader and provide historical context” (150c).
- “Circle the main ideas in lines 1-9 and in lines 10-19” (150c).
- “In the margin, summarize the situation that concerns Adams” (150c).
- REREAD asks students to “Reread lines 10-19. In what way did the laws for single women and married women differ? Support your answer with explicit textual evidence” (150d).
- In the READ feature students are asked to read lines 1-19 and begin to cite and collect text evidence by doing the following:
- In Collection 3, students read two poems by Walt Whitman, “I Hear America Singing” and “A Noiseless Patient Spider."
- “I Hear America Singing” asks students to READ read lines 1-11 and begin to collect and cite textual evidence by:
- “Underline the different kinds of workers the poem catalogs”
- “Circle the word that refers to the collective group of singers”
- “In the margin, note the type of people the speaker ‘hears’” (186d).
- REREAD asks students to “Reread lines 10-11. What attitude does the speaker express toward the young men? Cite evidence from the text in your response" (186d)
- “A Noiseless Patient Spider” asks students to READ lines 1-10 and begin to collect and cite text evidence by:
- “Underline the two subjects the speaker observes.”
- “Circle references to web-making.”
- “In the margin, explain what surrounds the ‘noiseless patient spider’ and ‘you O my soul’” (186e).
- REREAD asks students to “Reread lines 1-10. With a small group, discuss the use of parallelism in lines 5 and 8. What do these parallel elements suggest about the relationship between the spider and the speaker?” (186e).
- “I Hear America Singing” asks students to READ read lines 1-11 and begin to collect and cite textual evidence by:
- In Collection 5, students read a short story by Edith Wharton, “The Journey."
- In the READ feature students are asked to read lines 1-23 and begin to cite and collect text evidence by doing the following:
- “Underline the images the wife see from her berth in lines 1-6, and in the margin, note what mood they suggest.”
- “Circle text describing changes in the husband in lines 7-23.”
- “In the margin of the next page, explain the simile Wharton uses in lines 11-23” (400c).
- REREAD asks students to “Reread lines 7-23. What do the contrasting descriptions of health and sickness suggest about the wife’s relation with her husband? How does she describe her own reactions to her husband’s health? Support your answer with textual evidence” (400c).
- In the READ feature students are asked to read lines 1-23 and begin to cite and collect text evidence by doing the following:
There are short answer questions at the end of the reading under the heading, “SHORT RESPONSE” and the instructions “Cite Text Evidence.” Examples of questions from the Close Reader AFTER Reading include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 1, SHORT RESPONSE: “What do you think is the theme of ‘Indian Boy Love Song #2?' What is the central idea about life or human nature that Alexie wants to communicate to his readers? Cite textual evidence in your response” (102d).
- In Collection 2, SHORT RESPONSE: “What problem did Adams confront and what was her solution? Review your reading notes, and be sure to cite text evidence in your response” (29-33).
- In Collection 5, SHORT RESPONSE: "What do you think is the themes of 'The Journey?' How does Wharton’s use of irony hint at a deeper message about life that the author wants to convey? Support your response with explicit textual evidence" (85-92).
The instructional materials include questions, tasks, and assignments that are text-dependent/specific and consistently support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. The teacher materials provide complete support for planning and implementation of text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments by including information to share before the question and possible student answers.
Indicator 1H
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criteria for materials containing sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent and text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding.
The materials contain varied culminating tasks of quality across a year’s worth of material, for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in speaking and/or writing. Students present a persuasive speech and reflective narrative, debate an issue, and write one informative, narrative, analytical, and two argumentative essays throughout the six collections. There are text-dependent questions and tasks throughout the unit that connect to the culminating tasks.
The culminating tasks are found at the end of each collection. These tasks are rich and require students to demonstrate what they know in speaking and/or writing. Below is a representative list of the performance tasks found in 11th grade:
Collection 1 - Write an Argument
Collection 2 - Write an Informative Essay
Collection 3 - Write a Narrative, Debate an Issue
Collection 4 - Present a Persuasive Speech
Collection 5 - Write an Analytical Essay
Collection 6 - Write an Argument, Deliver a Reflective Narrative
An example of a performance task that uses the unit’s text-dependent and text-specific questions to build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding can be found in Collection 3: The Individual and Society.
- The performance task states, “This collection focuses on individualism, imagination, society, and nature. The anchor text, “Against Nature,” presents a critique of the way many writers have interpreted the natural world, including Henry David Thoreau in Walden. Do you agree or disagree with Joyce Carol Oates's critical assessment of nature writing? Synthesize your ideas by writing a brief argument and then debating the issue with your classmates. (HMH Collections, Grade 11, Collection 3, 271). The steps that follow appear in the materials to assist students in the performance task:
- "Argue for or against Oates’s assessment of nature writing
- Draw upon evidence from “Against Nature” and at least one other text from the collection
- Follow an orderly format in which speakers from each team take turns presenting their claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence
- Encourage a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas in which participants respond to diverse perspectives, build on each other’s ideas, and evaluate the reasoning of other speakers"(271).
Questions throughout the text selections are written to help students gather information that will help them build their case in their argument and their debate.
- For example, one of the support questions from the teacher's edition in “Against Nature” states, “ask students to identify what claim Oates makes in lines 117-124 and how it furthers her claims about nature” connect her ideas in the previous paragraph” (225).
- Another example is from Walden: “Have students read.... Ask them to find one example each of personification and simile and tell what inferences they can draw from them about Thoreau’s purpose for writing” (208).
Another example of a Collection’s performance task utilizing text questions to build to the culminating task is in Collection 6: The Modern World.
- Performance Task A: “This collection focuses in part on the transformation of America into a modern society in which people strive for wealth, power, or immortality. Look back at the collection texts, including the anchor text ‘Winter Dreams,’ and consider what it means to be a modern person in our society. What challenges and opportunities of modern society are presented in the selections? Synthesize your ideas in an argument”(HMH Collections, Grade 11, Collection 6 601).
Questions throughout the text selections are written to support students in developing ideas about injustice and collecting evidence to support those ideas for the discussion.
- In the anchor text, “Winter Dreams," the author is still establishing the main character and the text directs students to “draw students’ attention to lines 162-167 and have them cite the two significant events that Fitzgerald compares. Ask students to infer Dexter’s goals both as a caddy and business owner.” The text then points to the correct inference of “Dexter strove to be the best in both circumstances" (417).This builds the connection to the ideas of the performance task in regards to people striving to build something.
- Later in "Winter Dreams toward the end of the story, the text directs teachers to “ask students what Judy offers Dexter in lines 657-659, and what this would mean to Dexter. . .Then ask students what she promises him, and how this relates to what they know about his dreams." The text indicates that Judy promises to be beautiful for him. As the narrator notes on page 417, Dexter wants ‘the glittering things themselves,’ and marrying her would be the fulfillment of his dreams” (430).
- In The Crucible, teacher instructions direct “then ask students to explain how Proctor’s confession might change the outcome of the plot.” The answer to this question, It might lead the judges to believe that Abigail only accuses Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft because she was out for revenge and that Abigail has been faking all along” (519) shows the power struggles that occur throughout this play, and that directly link to the ideas of modernity expressed in the task.
Indicator 1I
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets 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 instructional materials provide discussion opportunities and questions throughout the course of the year. The protocols for discussions are found in the “Student Resources” section of the textbook; however, there is no clear emphasis on the application of academic vocabulary, syntax, and language forms to match the purpose of the academic conversations, such as participating in an evaluative discussion. Therefore, students could be involved in conversations with little to no usage of academic language to discuss textual evidence, or structure a purposeful academic discussion.
Representative examples that show the materials provide multiple opportunities, protocols, and questions for evidence based discussions across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials include, but are not limited to:
- All texts contain text-dependent questions that correlate with the text that teachers can use for whole class discussion while reading.
- “Have students identify the story that Douglass refers to in lines 31-49, and ask them to analyze why he alludes to that story” (285).
- In the Teacher’s Edition, there are sections labeled, “To Challenge Students” and “When Students Struggle.” The activities described under these headings often contain group discussions or peer-to-peer work.
- In Collection 4 during the reading of “What to a Slave is The Fourth of July?” the “To Challenge Students” section has students “work in small groups to analyze the tone of Douglass’s speech. Students should consider Douglass’s use of rhetorical questions, vivid images, and instances when he addresses the audience directly, as in lines 119-120” (288).
- Collection 4 illustrates an example of pairs working together during the “When Students Struggle:” To help students understand Douglass’s use of rhetorical questions, have students “work in pairs and have them reread lines 133-135. Encourage students to take turns restating the rhetorical questions as statements” (289).
- After each text in the teacher’s edition of the collections, there is a section titled, “Collaborative Discussion.” This activity asks teachers to have students work in pairs.
- In Collection 2 from "The Federalist No. 10, the text instructs students to have a discussion around the question, “What does Madison think about the Anti-Federalists, and how does he address them? Discuss this question with a partner, citing evidence from the document to support your ideas” (136).
The HMH Collections and support materials for Grade 11 do not provide enough grade level appropriate opportunities for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- While reading text selections throughout the collection, students encounter text-dependent questions and prompts that require them to use evidence from the text. However, none of these are structured in ways that ensure that students use academic vocabulary or academic syntax. Students are not provided samples or models of evidence-based discussion. In addition, a clear emphasis on use of academic syntax, use of academic vocabulary, or use of protocols are not provided or referenced. Examples include, but are not limited to :
- In Collection 2: "Have students read this page and identify what is repeated. Ask them what effect this repetition has on the reader" (125).
- In Collection 3: "Have students reread lines 146-152 and ask them to identify a simile and a metaphor. Then ask students to tell which one uses personification" (211).
- In Collection 6: "Have students identify the setting of “Mending Wall” and note which details from the poem reveal the setting" (446).
- At the end of each reading selection, there is a “Collaborative Discussion” prompt that provides an opportunity for students to discuss. However, students are not directed to use academic syntax, vocabulary, or specific protocols when engaged in these discussions. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 2: “How might Jefferson’s and Hamilton’s personal characteristics have affected their ability to work together easily? Discuss this question with a partner, citing evidence from the article to support your ideas” (146).
- In Collection 3: “With a partner, discuss how the black veil changes Mr. Hooper’s relationship with the villagers. Cite specific quotes and textual evidence to support our ideas” (246).
- Academic vocabulary is identified at the beginning of each collection in the Plan pages. Collection 5 includes the following academic terms: ambiguous, clarify, implicit, revise, and somewhat. Students consider these words, however no protocols, suggestions on groupings or modeling is provide. While reading the anchor text, “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, students are provided an opportunity to discuss this collection’s targeted academic vocabulary using the following prompt in the teacher’s edition:
- “As you discuss the story, incorporate the following Collection 5 academic vocabulary words: implicit and revise. As students discuss realistic aspects of the story, encourage them to consider meanings and attitudes that are implicit in the objective descriptions. When students discuss naturalistic aspects of the story, invite them to suggest ways the story could be revised so that the grim stance of naturalism could be softened into a more objective kind of realism” (344).
Although the instructional materials provide discussion opportunities and questions throughout the course of the year, there is not a clear emphasis on the application of academic vocabulary, syntax, and language forms to match the purpose of the academic conversations. Therefore, it will be very difficult for teachers to implement the standards and assess growth.
Indicator 1J
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets expectations for supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.
Protocols and routines for speaking and listening are presented in the Interactive Lessons. These lessons include rules for a good discussion, speaking constructively, listening and responding, giving a presentation, and using media in a presentation. These protocols are not located in the student edition.
Protocols and routines for collaborative discussions and debates can be found in the resource section of the student edition. The “Participating in a Collaborative Discussion” pages include explanations of how to prepare for a discussion, set ground rules, move the discussion forward, and respond to ideas. The “Debating an Issue” section defines the structure of debate: planning the debate, holding the debate, and evaluating the debate.
There are no speaking and listening rubrics found in the materials.
Many opportunities throughout the year are available for students to practice speaking and listening skills in the small performance tasks, large performance tasks, and before, during and after reading each text; however, little intentional instruction of speaking and listening skills is applied. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Performance Task B at the end of Collection 3 is to “Debate an Issue.” The Interactive Lessons “Participating in Collaborative Discussions: Listening and Responding” and “Participating in Collaborative Discussions: Wrapping up your Discussion” are referred to in the sidebar of the student edition. The rubric for this task assesses Ideas and Evidence, Organization, and Language; it does not include speaking and listening skills (271).
- The performance task after The Declaration of Independence in Collection 2 has students take turns reading the Declaration out loud to each other using different one of voice, volume, and pacing to affect meaning. Then students are instructed “Write an evaluation of how the effectiveness of the Declaration as a speech compares to its effectiveness as a written document. Cite evidence from the document to support your ideas, and consider your experiences as a speaker, a listener, and a reader” (118). The task is linked to the speaking and listening standards, but no rubrics are included and it is not clear from the teacher notes how this is linked specifically to the standard noted.
- In the performance task listed after Act I in The Crucible, students work with a small group to determine why Miller would have included the passages of exposition in the text of the play. Students are asked “Reread the passages in Act One. Jot down your ideas about what they contribute to the play and if they are necessary.” Then students are asked “Present your insights to a small group. As a group, answer this question: Do the stage directions detract from or enhance the effectiveness of the play?” (486). Speaking and Listening standards are listed as 1a, however, there is not rubric associated with the task and the teacher instructions do not provide guidance about how to facilitate the small and large group discussions indicated.
- After viewing a media portrayal of The Tempest, students participate in a speaking activity in the form of a debate about how special effects in a film enhance or detract an audience’s appreciation of the original text. “After viewing a trailer for a film version of The Tempest, small groups identify special effects used and discuss their function and integrity to Shakespeare’s play. Groups then organize their idea and present their argument to the class. Groups are required to also use evidence while speaking clearing using appropriate tone, gestures, and eye contact. Group who have opposing views also present arguments and then the class decides which opinion is most convincing” ( 76).
Although there are opportunities for students to speak and listen during the course of the school year formally and informally, there is little intentional instruction of speaking and listening skills throughout the Collections. In order to have students meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards, teachers will have to create additional lessons and rubrics for speaking and listening.
Indicator 1K
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 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 provide a mix of both on-demand and process writing, and shorter and longer tasks and projects.
Representative examples of the writing tasks and projects are below. These represent both shorter and longer works as well as on-demand and process that are aligned to the writing standards.
- In Collection 1, after reading The Tempest, the Performance ask tells students to write an essay that compares and contrasts Prospero’s relationships with his servants, Ariel and Caliban. There are multiple steps students are to follow:
- Identify passages that reveal Ariel’s and Caliban’s character
- Identify passages that reveal Prospero’s relationship with his servants
- Make inferences for why these relationships differ
- Use a compare and contrast structure for the essay
- In Collection 5, the Performance Task has students write an analytical essay answering the following prompt: “What particular themes or central ideas does each writer want readers to recognize about reality, and why? What stylistic choices does each author make to reveal a specific version of reality?” (405). This task is an example of a longer process writing as students analyze texts they read in this collection for evidence, organize their evidence and details into an outline, draft, review with partners, revise, and create a finished copy of their writing. In this task, students must do the following:
- Include a clear thesis
- Present ideas and evidence in logically ordered paragraphs
- Link sections and ideas using transitions
- Write a conclusion that synthesizes central ideas
- Each Collection also contains smaller writing tasks like letters and journal entries. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 1, after reading “Of Plymouth Plantation,” students write a journal entry or letter “in the character of one of the other English participants” or “one of the Pilgrims who survived the first year” (20).
- In Collection 6 after reading “The Universe as Primal Scream,” students “write a one-page summary of [their] analysis of the poem’s sound imagery (600).
- The Performance Assessment Practice booklet contains four units of on-demand writing - argumentative, informative, literary analysis, and mixed practice. Within each unit, students complete the following:
- Analyze the Model - students read two texts and analyze a student model essay.
- Practice the Task - students read two to four texts, complete prewriting activities and write the essay.
- Perform the Task - students read two to four texts, complete prewriting activities and write the essay.
Indicator 1L
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to write in different genres that reflect the distribution required by the standards. The students write arguments, informative texts, and narratives. Writing opportunities occur within collections in which students write shorter process pieces following each text, and a larger process piece in the performance tasks at the end of each collection. The Performance Assessment Practice booklet adds formally to this by providing students with multiple opportunities to both observe students samples and write their own examples of two of the three modes of writing, argument and informative. There is ample opportunity for practice over the course of the year and all the writing is clearly connected to text(s), even within the Performance Assessment Practice booklet.
Examples of different writing opportunities in the materials include, but are not limited to:
- Arguments
- Analytical Essays
- Analyses
- Comparison Essays
- Reflections
- Editorials
- Research Essays
- Letters
- Journals
- Narratives
While the program does provide opportunities for the students to write to the requirements of the standards, the only support for teachers or students to monitor their progress is if teachers use the myWriteSource digital resource. Within the textbook, neither teachers nor students are provided with rubrics, checklists, exemplars, or model texts for the smaller performance tasks at the end of each text. The culminating Performance Tasks offer a little more support by adding a brief excerpt of a mentor text from the collection, a student checklist, and a rubric. However, the only way to truly monitor progress in writing skills is using the myWriteSource resource. With writing assignments in this database, students can ask questions with the “Raise Hand" feature at any time. They can also request that their teacher look over their work before the final submission. Teachers can send items back with comments to be revised if they did not meet the expectations.
The instructional materials do give students ample opportunity to practice writing in multiple genres. The support materials in the textbook are lacking, but, if the digital myWriteSource is used, teachers can support and monitor students through the writing process.
Indicator 1M
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support analysis, argument, synthesis, and/or evaluation of information, supports, claims.
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support analysis, argument, synthesis, and/or evaluation of information, supports, claims. Throughout the collections there are a number of opportunities for students to write requiring them to either go back into the text to pull evidence or to conduct research to find evidence to support their analysis, claim, or other points within their writing, including referencing text as a basis for narrative writing.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
- The Close Reader selections require students to go back into the text numerous times to respond to the questions and they all end with a short writing response, one to two paragraphs asking students to cite text evidence to support their answer.
- In Collection 5 in response to “A Journey” by Edith Wharton, students are asked: “What do you think is the theme of “A Journey”? How does Wharton’s use of irony hint at a deeper message about life that the author wants to convey? Support your response with explicit textual evidence” (400j).
- Performance tasks found at the end of Collections ask students to go back into the text and to specifically use the anchor text and at least two other texts in the collection to answer the prompt provided.
- In Collection 2 the performance task has students write an analytical essay. “Choose three texts in this collection, including the anchor texts, The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and identify how each author, character, or founder finds a balance between preserving individual rights and forming a strong, long-lasting union. Write an informative essay in which you cite evidence from all three texts” (169).
- The performance tasks at the end of the selections within each collection require students to either go back into the selection itself or to do some outside research for the writing assignment.
- In Collection 4, the performance task at the end of “The 54th Massachusetts” students are asked to using information in the video to create a position and do research to support that position. They were then asked to take notes and write a brief summary of the views expressed throughout the debate (316).
- In Collection 2, the performance task at the end of “Thomas Jefferson: The Best of Enemies” asks students to “write an essay that provides a point-by-point comparison of these two visions, using Chernow’s article as a model for the structure and a source of content” (148).
The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing. The writing requires students to mine evidence from the texts in the book to support a claim, and it meets the grade level demands of the Common Core State Standards.
Indicator 1N
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the criterion that materials include instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application context.
Conventions and grammar are taught in two places: before the readings on the Plan pages under the “Language Conventionality and Clarity” section in the qualitative text complexity rubric, and after the readings in a feature called Language Conventions. The Plan pages, “Language Conventionality and Clarity,” define the grammatical term and then states a group of lines from the text in which it is found within the reading. The “Language and Style” section after the text again defines the grammatical term and references specific lines from the text that illustrate the term. Within this feature, there is a brief opportunity for students to learn and practice the function of language defined by the grammatical term under the “Practice and Apply” heading. Here students either look back at the performance task they wrote for the text to find examples of the function of language in their own writing, or they need to revise their writing to include the function of language. Occasionally in this section, students have to write a new paragraph in which they use the function of language.
Below are examples of targeted grammar and conventions from each collection:
- Collection 1: active and passive voice, dependent clauses, using colons effectively, syntax in poetry
- Collection 2: parallel structure, formal and informal style, transitions, hyphenation, point of view
- Collection 3: parallel structure, varying sentence structure, rhetorical questions, quotations, semicolons
- Collection 4: balanced sentences, rhetorical devices, avoiding misplaced modifiers
- Collection 5: consistent tone, dashes, anaphora, and parallelism
- Collection 6: craft effective sentences, informal style, dialogue
Below are representative examples of grammar instruction in the “Language Conventionality and Clarity” and “Language and Style” sections:
- In Collection 5 for the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” the “Language Conventionality and Clarity” section focuses on identifying word collocations. The teacher tells students that “common groupings, such as heart trouble, sudden stop or breath of fresh air are known as word collocations" (395c). Then the teacher shows a sentence from the text and works with the students to identify other word collocations. After doing this together, the teacher has the students work in partners to do the same strategy for three more excerpts from the text.
- In Collection 2, after the text “Thomas Jefferson: The Best Enemies,” the “Language and Style” section focuses on hyphenation. The first section explains that hyphens join words “into compounds so their meaning is clear.” An example of a hyphenated word from the text are then shared. Other examples from the text are shared in a chart with the purpose of the hyphens on the left and the example on the right. After the chart, students are expected to complete the “Practice and Apply,” which states: “Look back at the essay you wrote in response to this selection’s Performance Task comparing Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s visions of the future. Review your writing to see if you have used hyphenation conventions correctly. See if you can add one or two hyphenated words to streamline your writing or make your meaning clearer” (150).
The instructional materials for 11th grade include instruction of grammar and conventions in context throughout all six collections. All conventions and language standards required by the Common Core are covered, and students apply them to the texts and their own writing.
Overview of Gateway 2
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the expectations of building knowledge with texts, vocabulary, and tasks. Materials contain sets of questions and tasks, but they do not consistently require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Over the course of the year, instructional materials stay consistent and do not grow in rigor across the year.The materials partially meets the criteria that materials include a cohesive, yearlong plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Materials include a consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic and figurative language in context. Materials partially support students in building writing over the course of the year and meet the criteria for building research skills over the course of the school year. The materials partially meet the expectations for materials providing a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
Gateway 2
v1.0
Criterion 2.1: Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Indicator 2A
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets the expectations that texts are organized around a topic and/or themes to build students' ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. The Collections include texts that are organized around common themes; however, the organization of the texts within the collections and across the textbook do not clearly guide students to build knowledge as they gain college- and career-ready reading abilities.
Thematic organizations over the course of the school year focus on types of interactions among people and groups. Collection themes are:
- Collection 1: “Coming to America” includes selections about how America has been shaped by immigrants.
- Collection 2: “Building a Democracy” includes selections about people who are different but can work together to protect the rights of everyone.
- Collection 3: “The Individual and Society” includes selections about exploring how writers in the early 19th century created a new American Literature.
- Collection 4: “A New Birth of Freedom” includes selections about how African Americans and women gained new freedoms.
- Collection 5: “An Age of Realism” includes selections about how post-Civil War America experienced rapid industrialization, urban growth, and social change.
- Collection 6: “The Modern World” includes selections examining how Americans have responded to modern life and connected to the world.
An example of how the texts within some collections are intended to respond to the theme is found in Collection 4: “A New Birth of Freedom.” Some selections for students to read include the following, each of which includes a common thematic thread:
- “Second Inaugural Address,” speech by Abraham Lincoln
- “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” speech by Frederick Douglass
- “Declaration of Sentiments,” public document by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- “Building the Transcontinental Railroad,” history writing by Iris Chang
- The 54th Massachusetts, documentary by HISTORY
- “Runagate Runagate,” poem by Robert Hayden
Collection 6, “The Modern World,” includes texts showing how Americans responded to modern life both in fiction and nonfiction. Sample texts include, but are not limited to:
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, opinion and dissents by the Supreme Court of the United States
- “The Coming Merging of MInd and Machine,” science essay by Ray Kurzweil
- “Reality Check,” short story by David Brin
- “The Ends of the World as We Know Them,” argument by Jared Diamond
- “The Universe as Primal Scream,” poem by Tracy K. Smith
The organization of the texts within the collections and across the textbook do not consistently build knowledge as students grow their independent reading skills.
An example of how the texts within the student textbook do not clearly guide students in developing their ability to read and comprehend texts proficiently can be found in the Collection 1 historical account, “from Of Plymouth Plantation,” by William Bradford.
- The Lexile of this text is 1440, which is above the recommended grade band for 11th grade.
- The qualitative measurements average on the high end of the mid-high range.
- The “As You Read” tells students “Pay attention to how Bradford describes the settlers’ first encounters with Native Americans” (5). There are two “Close Read” screencasts marked in lines 47-56 and 178-185. These videos show readers discussing the John Howland’s rescue and the special providence of God. The other supports in the student textbook during reading are limited to defining critical vocabulary words throughout the text.
- The “Collaborative Discussion” at the end asks students, “How did the relationship between the English and the Native Americans change over time? With a partner, discuss how the relationships evolved and why they developed as they did” (18).
- The “Analyzing the Text” section has text-dependent questions that ask students to summarize lines; cite evidence of allusions; connect Native Americans and Europeans; analyze structure, word choice and the colonists; evaluate the treaty, and synthesize the central idea of the account.
As seen in this example, students are given a guiding question before their reading and comprehension questions after the reading, but during reading there is no guidance. There are no questions or additional supports in the student edition to help them during an independent reading. This text is above the Lexile grade band and mid-high in the qualitative measurements; an independent reading with only what is provided in the textbook would not help students develop their ability to read and comprehend texts proficiently. Associated texts do not combine with this one to build students' ability to understand the theme or topics.
The HMH Collections for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that texts are organized around a theme to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently. Although the collections are organized with texts that support and engage students in discussing a given theme, there are no structures in place within the student textbook to support students’ growth in reading and comprehending texts. The "Close Reader” provides the scaffolding and supports students need to become better readers, but the texts are misplaced throughout the year in level of difficulty.
Indicator 2B
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics. Materials contain sets of questions and tasks, but they do not consistently require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Over the course of the year, instructional materials stay consistent and do not grow in rigor across the year.
Each collection includes sets of questions and tasks that require students analyze texts.
- In Collection 1, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to central idea, author’s purpose, language, themes, structure, and argument.
- In Collection 2, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to text features, argument, informational text, themes, topics, suspense, and comparing claims in a video to foundational U.S. documents.
- In Collection 3, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to themes, patterns, author’s purpose, central ideas, author’s choices, symbols, and dramatic tension.
- In Collection 4, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to arguments, point of view, narrative history, and free-verse poetry.
- In Collection 5, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to themes, realism, naturalism, author’s choices, author’s purpose, information presented across mediums, and figurative language.
- In Collection 6, students will answer questions and tasks that ask students to analyze items including, but not limited to character motivations, structure and language of poetry, elements of drama, and compare the topic and theme of multiple works in a time period.
There are questions and tasks that ask students to analyze the language, key details, craft, and structure of texts, but they do not go to the necessary depth, nor do they increase in rigor over the course of the instructional year. Although questions are provided, skills are inconsistently scaffolded, so they only sometimes build students’ overall comprehension or understanding of topics. In addition, teachers will often be unable to tell from students’ work whether they mastered concepts of each component. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Argument is intentionally taught in Collections 1, 2, and 4. Within, there are text-dependent questions and tasks during and after the reading that focus on argument; however, they do not increase in rigor from Collection 1 to Collection 4. The questions require the same depth of knowledge and are not scaffolded. All three collections task the students with analyzing the structure of an argument. Collection 1 focuses on identifying the claim, Collection 2 has students find the reasons, and Collection 4 has them determine claim and evidence. These tasks do not increase in rigor, and are essentially covering the same concept. There are also no specific guidelines or rubrics provided, and much of the work is done in large or small groups or with partners, so teachers will be unable to tell whether individual students have mastered the concepts.
The HMH Collections for Grade 11 does contain sets of questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning of texts and topic. However, these questions and tasks are not scaffolded in a such a way that builds knowledge throughout the year. Also, the rigor does not increase and it is unclear how a teacher will assess whether or not a student has mastered a concept.
Indicator 2C
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.The collections are organized around themes. Most of the large performance tasks at the end of each collection require students to integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts; however, there are some that do so at a minimal level. The materials do contain some sets of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts; however, the materials do not provide consistent clear guidance for teachers in supporting students’ skills. Additionally, many of the questions and tasks are at the explicit level.
Below are representative examples of how the materials do contain some sets of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts; however, they do not provide consistent clear guidance for teachers in supporting students’ skills and do not prepare students to demonstrate mastery of integrating knowledge and ideas as an embedded part of their regular work by the end of the year.
- Within each lesson, text-dependent questions appear in the student edition in the “Analyzing the Text” section found after the text and during the reading of the teacher’s edition. There are four to six questions in the “Analyzing the Text” section after each selection. Most questions and tasks are not accompanied by enough instruction for the students to be successful in answering the questions. For example, in Collection 3, after “The Minister’s Black Veil,” the prompt is “What does the veil symbolize?” (247). Earlier in the reading, the teacher’s edition asks six question about the symbolism of the veil. This instruction is found only in the teacher’s edition and is given verbally, so, when students go to present their knowledge of this at the end of the text, they have no access to the instruction.
- The materials do contain text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to integrate their knowledge and ideas across multiple texts, but this is only found once in all six collections. Students compare topics and themes in three different poems.There is no instruction for the student in how to compare the poems, although topic and theme are discussed during individual readings of the poem. Again, these questions are found only in the teacher’s edition are not available for students to reference.
Representative examples of how many of the questions and tasks are at the lower end of Depth of Knowledge include, but are not limited to:
- Many pages have a “Cite Textual Evidence” label; however, the sample answers often do not specifically cite the evidence and are at the explicit level.
- For example, in Collection 1, after “Balboa,” students are asked to analyze: “The vantage point from which a writer tells a story is called the point of view. What point of view did Murray choose for this short story? What does this choice add to the narrative?” (85). The sample answer provided is: “Murray tells the story through Balboa’s point of view, making the narrative personal and offering readers a glimpse into the inner workings of Balboa’s mind.” Textual evidence is not cited in this answer.
- In Collection 3, after “Walden,” students are asked to evaluate the following: “Think about Thoreau’s purpose in writing Walden. How is Thoreau’s particular style of writing effective for achieving his purpose? Explain” (218). The sample answer provided is: “Thoreau’s purpose for writing is to share with others his experience at Walden Pond. His informal, even friendly style keeps the reader engaged.” Textual evidence is not cited.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts. As shown, much of the support and guidance for students is found only in the teacher’s edition. Students do not have access to the instruction or questions to initiate thinking when performing the tasks. This will make it difficult for students to complete the task and show proficiency.
Indicator 2D
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets expectations for providing questions and tasks that support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme through integrated skills. Each unit typically provides a writing performance task as a culminating project that partially contains the necessary skills for reading, writing, speaking and listening. In some instances, the writing performance task requires components of research and the writing process. Speaking and listening skills are also required in some instances. To complete the performance tasks, students draw on their reading and analysis of the anchor selections, and they are also told they can conduct additional research. During each lesson within the unit, students also practice writing that generally leads to the culminating skill in the last lesson of each unit.
Students complete one to two performance tasks at the end of each collection. The performance tasks require students to further analyze the selections that have been read in the collection and to synthesize ideas. Students then present their findings in a variety of products, most often as a written piece. The questions and tasks preceding the task sometimes align and support students' understandings and abilities to complete the assignments, but direct connections from the text-dependent questions to the culminating tasks are not always clear, so it does not give the teacher usable knowledge of whether students are capable of completing tasks. Interactive lessons are available to help students understand the procedures and processes for writing, speaking, creating media presentations, and conducting research; however, they are not modeled or directly taught in relationship to the performance tasks. There are also specific grammar lessons that go along with each text which provide students with information to help them to understand and complete the performance tasks. Overall, there is limited support for teachers to discern if students are prepared to proficiently demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme through the culminating task.
A representative example of the program partially supporting students in demonstrating knowledge through an integrated culminating writing task includes, but is not limited to:
- The Collection 3 Performance Task A that directly relates to the collection's theme of The Individual and Society as students write a narrative about the role of an individual in society. There are limited supports for students to proficiently complete the steps below of the Performance Task. Students are expected to:
- Reread “Song of Myself”
- Use dialogue, pacing, and description
- Reveal a significant theme
- Resolve the conflict
- Writing throughout the unit leading up to the task includes writing an analysis and an essay. Speaking and listening opportunities in the collection leading up to the task include a response to literature and discussion. Two of the performance tasks that occur after a text support the topic of Performance Task A - the role of an individual in society. For example, after “Growing Up Asian in America,” students are asked to discuss how the author describes “different ways in which society affects her individual identity” (196). After “The Minister’s Black Veil,” students present their thoughts on why the villagers are uncomfortable around the minister. Although students have tasks to reference regarding the topic of their narrative, there is little support for them in knowing how to use pacing, dialogue, and the other requirements listed above.
- The directions for Performance Task A specifically tell students to “Look back at the anchor text ‘Song of Myself’ and at the other texts in the collection. Then synthesize your ideas about the role of an individual in society by writing a personal, nonfiction, or fictional narrative” (267). This is the only instruction students receive in supporting their thinking about the texts within the collection and how they relate to their narrative. The teacher’s edition has the following in the sidebar: “Suggest to students that they also find inspiration from their own lives and the lives of people they know” (267). There are some text-dependent questions in the “Analyzing the Text” feature after the readings that will support students’ thinking on this task; many are found after reading “Growing Up Asian in America.” This text is not specifically cited in the directions of the Performance Task, so students may not know to go here to spark their thinking.
The instructional materials for Grade 11 partially meet expectations for providing questions and tasks that support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme through integrated skills. Although students draw on their reading and analysis of the anchor selections to complete the culminating tasks, the text-dependent questions and tasks throughout the collection do not adequately prepare or support students in their ability to proficiently complete the task.
Indicator 2E
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that materials include a cohesive, yearlong plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Materials include a consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic and figurative language in context.
The instructional materials target key academic vocabulary words and provide some opportunities for students to practice the words within the contexts of readings, primarily in speaking activities during which students talk about words. However, writing tasks may or may not require the use of these words or be structured in a manner that would require students to use these. Additionally, there is no cohesive plan for the development of academic vocabulary. There are a lot of critical words targeted within the collection, but there is not enough practice for students to acquire a solid understanding. Additionally, groupings of these words are complex and numerous for one group. Vocabulary at this grade level lacks a coherent pattern, and there is no means for teachers to track a student’s usage or acquisition of these words.
Each Collection starts with an Academic Vocabulary section in the Plan pages. Within this section of the teacher’s edition, teachers are given general instructions on when to have students use these words. Each text within the Collections also contains a “Critical Vocabulary” section. This includes vocabulary found in the reading.
Although the Collections contain both academic and critical vocabulary, the opportunities for students to learn, practice, apply, and transfer those words into familiar and new contexts are limited. The support for students to accelerate their learning of the vocabulary with reading, speaking, and writing tasks is generic and unclear. The materials do not provide a way for the teacher to assess whether or not students have reached standard in their academic vocabulary growth.
Academic vocabulary is addressed in the following areas of the textbook: the Plan pages at the beginning of a collection, at least once during the reading in the “Applying Academic Vocabulary” section in the teacher’s edition, and in the student resources, “Glossary of Academic Vocabulary.”
The Plan pages define the words for the students and tell the teacher that the academic vocabulary can be used during the different discussions, exercises, and writing tasks found in the collection. However, usage of these words during the discussions, exercises, and writing tasks is not mentioned in the directions of the task. Also, none of the rubrics for the writing Performance Tasks assess the understanding and usage of the words.
The “Applying Academic Vocabulary” includes one to two of the academic vocabulary words found in the Plan pages at the beginning of each collection, and gives the teacher general instructions on how to incorporate some of the collection’s academic vocabulary. There is no included method to assess students’ understanding of these words or to monitor their usage.
After reading, there is a “Critical Vocabulary” practice and apply section. Here students complete a vocabulary exercise using the vocabulary from the text. For example, “Choose which of the two situations best fits the word’s meaning.” These assessments may give the teacher some information regarding students’ understanding of the words, but it will not tell teachers if students can apply it in familiar and new contexts.
Indicator 2F
HMH Collections for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that materials contain a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts. Over the course of the collections students are provided with tasks that support them in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts. All texts provide multiple opportunities for students to write about their understanding of the material. However, the materials fall short when looking at whether the instructional materials include a variety of well-designed guidance. There are few protocols for writing and they repeat themselves exactly rather than building on themselves over time. There are few models outside of the Performance Assessment Practice booklets. The rubrics provided are limited, do not cover the standards that the assessments are intended to evaluate, and do not build on themselves over time within the level..
The materials consist of six collections which incorporate varied types of writing experiences, both on-demand and longer process writing. The materials include opportunities for students to write in all modes required by the CCSS-ELA writing standards for Grade 11 (argumentative, narrative, and informative). After each text is a performance task, and at the end of each collection is a culminating task that asks students to use text evidence from the selections that they have read. Writing spans the entire year, is used frequently, and generally coincides with texts and themes.
Each of the texts contain a performance task; however, not all of the tasks are writing based. The support, guidelines and instruction are found in a box on the bottom half of the page. In the cases in which the task is writing based, the guidelines and support are inconsistent. Students are often not told the length of the writing, instructions are sometimes specific but other times very general, and no rubric is included. It is unclear to students and teachers the intention of the assignment; in other words, what writing skill is being assessed and/or taught.
An example of a performance task that contains clearer instructions but no rubric is found in Collection 3. After reading poems by Emily Dickinson, students are told to write an analysis. In the student edition, the support, guidelines and instruction for this writing is given in two bullets. Students are told to write a two-paragraph analysis, but no rubric is included. The following is the instruction found in the student edition: “In the first paragraph, explain, line by line, what the poem means. Include opposing claims and counterclaims. In the second paragraph, explain how specific words and phrases helped you determine the meaning and tone of the poem” (HMH, 11th grade, Collection 3, Poems by Emily Dickinson 205). The teacher’s edition has an additional paragraph in the sidebar that includes general ways for the teacher to support: “Have students work independently to interpret the poems . . . Then have them share and discuss their interpretations with a partner” (205).
An example of a performance task that contains very general instructions and no rubric is also found in Collection 3. After reading “Walden,” students are told to write an essay that answers the question of how Walden reflects the key aspects of transcendentalism. The guidelines are given in four bullets; students are not told the length, and there is no rubric. An example of the guidelines follows: “Organize your evidence so that you can develop the topic of your essay into a unified whole” (HMH, 11th grade, Collection 3, “Walden” 218). The teacher’s edition has an additional paragraph in the sidebar that includes general ways for the teacher to support: “Have students work independently to draft their essays. Encourage them to reread the excerpts from Walden keeping in mind the different aspects of Transcendentalism” (218).
The culminating tasks at the end of each collection have four sections - plan, produce, revise, and present - that cover three pages in the student edition. It is unclear how long a teacher should spend on each of the sections. The plan has students focus on the prompt, sometimes reread a model text from the collection, and organizer their ideas. Produce has students draft their writing and highlights the language and style lessons covered within the collection. Revise asks students to have a partner or group of peers review their draft. Present gives students the option of presenting their writing to the class or to a small group. Materials for students sometimes include graphic organizers as students make an effort to organize their writing. Although the writing spans the year and there are many opportunities, the instruction for the writing is minimal.
An example is found the Collection 1 Performance Task. Students are to write an argumentative essay that “persuades readers to agree with [their] claim about how immigration changed America and the lives of those who settled here” (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 103). This is the first major writing assignment of the school year. Argumentative writing is reviewed over the course of pages 103-105 in the student textbook. There is minimal instruction for students and minimal guidance for teachers as they teach these skills to students. The teacher may need to support instruction with extra planning in terms of time and lesson structure. Specific examples of minimal guidance for students includes but is not limited to:
- On gathering evidence: “Use the annotation tools in your eBook to find evidence in the texts. Save each piece of evidence to a folder titled Collection 1 Performance Task” (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 103).
- On drafting the essay: “Use your outline to draft an essay that persuades readers that your opinion or belief is correct. Remember to: support your reasons with evidence that connects to your argument; explain how the evidence supports your claim; anticipate and respond to opposing claims to strengthen your claim or to acknowledge the complexity of the topic; use language that is appropriate for your audience; include transitions to link the major sections of your essay” (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 104)).
- On language: “To make your argument more persuasive, look for places to use rhetorical devices such as emotional appeals . . . One device used to appeal to readers’ emotions is anecdote, a brief story about an experience in a person’s life” (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 104).
The teacher’s edition contains some additional information for this performance task in the sidebar of the pages, but it is very general. Examples include but are not limited to:
- To Support the Plan: “Remind students that their claims should reflect their analysis and synthesis of ideas about the texts they have chosen for this task” (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 103).
- To Support Drafting: “Encourage students to focus their first drafts on getting down their ideas. Remind them to include and address counterclaims so that they can demonstrate that they have thoroughly considered their claims. Once they are sure that their argument is both logical and convincing, they can focus on refining the language (HMH, 11th Grade, Collection 1 104).
Rubrics provided for the culminating tasks at the end of each collection are limited and do not build on themselves over time within the level.
- The rubrics for all culminating tasks at the end of each collection have the same criterion: ideas and evidence, organization and language, and contain minor differences. The first bullet in the “Ideas and Evidence” level 4 for the argument essay found in Collection 1 states: “The introduction is memorable and persuasive; the claim clearly states a position on a substantive topic” (106). In Collection 3, the first bullet for the narrative essay states: “The narrative begins memorably, clearly introducing the setting, a main character, and an interesting conflict” (270). The first bullet in the Collection 5 rubric for the analytical essay states: “An eloquent introduction includes the titles and authors of the selections; the thesis statement describes the view of reality revealed by the writers” (408). In Collection 6 for the argument essay, it states: “The introduction is memorable and persuasive; the claim clearly states a position on a substantive topic” (604).
There is an online platform for students to collect their writings with MyWriteSmart and my Notebook as well as a Performance Task Reference Guide. Interactive lessons are also included to help students understand the writing process and the modes in which they are asked to write. While those are available, there are no further explanations for teachers on how to use those lessons effectively to support students. Examples of some interactive lessons are:
- Writing Informative Texts
- Using Textual Evidence
- Writing Narratives
- Writing Arguments
- Writing as a Process
HMH Collections for Grade 11 partially meets the criteria that materials contain a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts. There are many opportunities for students to practice writing; however, the scaffolding and support for both students and teachers is minima. Much of the writing instruction will need to be supplemented.
Indicator 2G
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 meets the expectations of including a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials. Research skills practice and learning do not follow a clear progression; there is not an overview of research skill progressions with a comprehensively cohesive design. However, students are provided multiple opportunities for students to practice research as they engage with primary texts and other texts that need extra connections for students to engage fully.
Representative examples of a progression of focused research projects include, but are not limited to:
- In Collection 2, students are asked to conduct research to perform the mini-performance task at the end of the U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights. Students are asked to: Create “a multimedia presentation on [the Bill of Rights] applications to life in the twenty-first century." Students are then directed to “Work with a small group and decide on which Amendment(s) will be the topic or thesis statement of our presentation. Conduct research to find the most relevant information and examples to develop your thesis statement” (126).
- The teacher edition says to “have student groups make an outline or a storyboard of their research notes on the rights and principles in the Amendment(s) which they have chosen to present.” It suggests that such a storyboard will help them organize their ideas and also “show them where they may need to do additional research” (126).
- At the end of “Thomas Jefferson: The Best of Enemies” there is a writing task where students are asked to “write an essay that provides a point-by-point comparison” of Jefferson and Hamilton’s visions of America. In the directions it tells the students to “conclude your essay with a paragraph that explores how these visions continue to divide Americans, based on prior knowledge or research.” There are no further directions to either students or teachers.
The instructional materials for Grade 11 have a preponderance of research components, practice, and some comprehensive research applications.
Indicator 2H
The HMH Collections reviewed for Grade 11 partially meets the expectations that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading, either in or outside of class. The only support for independent reading is a page at the end of each collection in the teacher’s edition; however, the guidance for teachers is general with minimal support.
The independent reading program described on these pages develops slowly over the course of the six collections. In Collection 1, the library is built and the class creates the rules. Collection 2 has the students choosing a book. Collection 3 discusses how and when students will complete the reading. Collection 4 describes how students can record their reading. Collection 5 explains one-on-one conferencing so teachers can assess students’ comprehension, and Collection 6 describes how students can share their books with classmates. Since the program is not fully defined until after Collection 6, it is unclear how students will regularly engage in reading outside of the class.
The Independent Reading page includes digital resources to support independent reading. The following are offered for each collection:
- An FYI site that offers online articles from magazines and newspapers. It directs teachers to help students choose a few articles to explore the topic that was explored in the collection.
- Additional Texts Collections suggests other readings.
- Novelwise helps students find longer works. This resource includes introductory materials, worksheets, graphic organizers, and discussion guides
- Nonfiction Connections suggest that teachers encourage students to read speeches, diaries, true-life accounts, newspaper articles, and political cartoons. No other guidance is given.
There is also a feature called Creating an Independent Reading Program. The following are areas of focus for this section across the six collections: Build a Classroom Library and Create Library Rules and Strategies for Selecting a Book, Students Choose Their Own Books, Daily Scheduled Time and Clear Expectations, Parent and Family Communication and Recording Books and Texts Read, Teacher Guidance and Feedback Regarding Text Selection and Progress and Student-Teacher Conferencing, and Opportunities for Social Interaction and Writing In Response to Books Read.
In Collection 3, Daily Scheduled Time is offered to help students develop good independent reading habits. Below are suggested ideas:
“Schedule a time students can read . . . before the bell rings or at end of class. Try to keep the same time each day” (152b).
Establish clear expectations for in-class and out-of-class reading by doing the following:
- Work with students to create rules
- Work with families to establish a reading homework policy
- Hold reading contests throughout the year
- Partner with libraries
- In Collection 6, Opportunities for Social Interaction and Writing In Response to Books allow students to share what they know and learn about other books. Below are suggested ideas:
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- Small group discussions so students can show and summarize the book.
- Have students reading the same book take turns reading passages aloud.
- Have students compare and contrast books on similar topics.
- After discussions, students state whether they would recommend their books.
- Have students write notes before discussions.
- “Encourage students to create a magazine-style review of books” (444b).
- “Suggest students retell the book . . . in a different format” (444b).