11th Grade - Gateway 2

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

• • 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).