8th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

Topics are relevant to students’ lives and experiences; texts are worthy of students’ time and attention to support the thematic focus of the units, exposing students to a variety of text types/genres. The texts include excerpts from novels, nonfiction works, poetry, magazine, journal articles, memoirs, essays, and biographies. They are rich in vocabulary and structure and align well with content areas such as science and social studies appropriate to Grade 8. Examples of anchor texts that meet the criteria include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read Essays That Make a Difference by Christina Mendoza, James Gregory, and Hugh Gallagher. These are essays that students actually wrote in order to get accepted to college. They are engaging in that they tell true stories and are written by students. They contain vibrant language and illustrations, they are age appropriate for student entering high school in the next year, and are texts that students can identify with.
• In Unit 2, students read “The Story of Keesh” by Jack London. This relatively complicated text contains vivid language and is an engaging story. The short story contains interesting topics that are exciting and suspenseful.
• In Unit 3, students read the short story, “Zebra” by Chaim Potok. The reader encounters sophisticated dialogue and students can experience alongside the character a change in perspective. There are multiple themes such as friendship between opposites, and new hobbies can help people with tragedy, and connecting with people from other generations and backgrounds.
• In Unit 6, students read a book review, “Babes in Arms” by The New York Times reporter William Boyd. This thought-provoking book review of Ishamel Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone, is engaging and presents students with the first person narrative of serving as a child soldier.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

The texts include a variety of informational and literary texts so students are exposed to different modes of writing. A sample of text types include short stories, poems, articles, autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, interviews, graphic novels, and novel excerpts.

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

• Unit 2: “The Story of Keesh,” a short story by Jack London
• Unit 2: from The Lost Island of Tamarind, an excerpt from the fantasy novel by Nadia Aguilar
  
• Unit 5: “Zero Hour,” a short story by Ray Bradbury
• Unit 5: from The War of the Worlds, an excerpt from the novel by H.G. Well

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

• Unit 1: from My Beloved World, an excerpt from the memoir by Sonia Sotomayor
• Unit 2: “What Could Be Better Than a Touchdown?” an article from The New Yorker by Kelefa Sanneh
• Unit 3: from Letters to a Young Artist, an excerpt from the self-help book by Anna Deavere Smith
• Unit 4: “La Vida Robot,” an article by Joshua Davis
• Unit 4: “Building the Future Spacesuit,” an article by Dava Newman
• Unit 6: “Babes in Arms,” a book review by William Boyd
• Unit 6: from First They Killed My Father, an excerpt from the memoir by Loung Ung
• Unit 7: from The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration, an excerpt from the nonfiction book by Stephanie Fitzgerald
• Unit 7: from “Minnijean Brown Trickey Looks Back,” an interview conducted by Veronica Majerol

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

Throughout the materials, students engage in a range and volume of texts to achieve grade level reading. The materials facilitate reading using the range of texts to help students build knowledge, vocabulary, and proficiency with reading selections of varying lengths and genres. The texts range in complexity and Lexile from at grade level to above grade level that allow students to read at both their independent level as well as stretching to texts above grade level with support. Texts provided also span from classic literature and cannon material to contemporary material written and published in the last ten years. Each unit contains 2 Unit texts and one or more additional (optional) texts for further study of theme or topic. Each reading is designed to be taught under a typical 45-50 minute class period, but does offer some guidance for a 90 minute block. The unit texts are to be used daily via multiple close readings, discussions, and writings about the literature. There is a Literature Circle option to complement the units. These Literature Circle texts are “Leveled” books that students choose. To help students select books for Literature Circles, teachers are encouraged to take into consideration each student’s On Demand Writing responses, conferences, and Lexile measures. Students are to have 4-8 monthly Literature Circle meetings during each unit or before or after each unit. Additionally, teachers can provide “Accountable Independent Reading Books” that are also leveled. With these, students use Daily Reading Logs and H.O.T. resources and Reading Counts Quizzes. Lastly, the Code X materials offer grade level novel studies that are to be completed after Units 3 and 7.

Examples of anchor and supporting texts that provide opportunities to achieve grade level proficiency include, but are not limited to:

• Across the units, text types may include personal essays, news articles, short stories, excerpts from novels, memoirs, graphic short story, letters, poems, interview excerpt, biography excerpt, and book review. In the independent reading section at the end of each unit there are additional titles provided in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, novels, films, TV, websites, and magazines. There is a strong emphasis on nonfiction.
• In Unit 1, students read a personal essay, “Essays that Make a Difference,” with a Quantitative Lexile of 960 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The second text is a news article, “The Year of the MOOC,” with a Quantitative Lexile of 1160 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The third text is an excerpt from a magazine article, “A Homeless Girl’s Dream,” with a Quantitative Lexile of 1030 and overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The teacher is instructed to use a Reading Routine to read the entire text aloud or ask students to read in pairs or independently. In the second reading, the teacher is to model close reading, and close reading questions are embedded in the margins of the text.
• In Unit 4, students read a magazine article, “La Vida Robot,” with a Quantitative Lexile of 970 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The second text is a biography excerpt from Steve Jobs with a Quantitative Lexile of 1110 and an overall Text Complexity of Complex 1. The third text is a science article, “Building the Future Spacesuit,” with a Quantitative Lexile of 1360 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. First and second readings follow the same pattern as Unit 1.
• In Unit 7, students read an excerpt from The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration with a Quantitative Lexile of  830 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The second text is an excerpt from Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock with a Quantitative Lexile of 950 and an overall Text Complexity of Complex 1. The third text is a memoir excerpt from Warriors Don’t Cry with a Quantitative Lexile of 920 and an overall Text Complexity of  Moderate 1. The fourth text is an interview excerpt from “Minnijean Brown Trickey Looks Back” with a Quantitative Lexile of 860 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1.
• In each grade, students read two full-length novels to build reading volume and stamina. For 8th grade, these novels are Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff and Endangered by Wliot Schrefer. The novel topics are different from the unit texts, which allows students to practice close reading skills with new content.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet, the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

The student materials contain close reading questions in the margins of each anchor text. These close reading questions are text-specific, directing students to key areas of the text, often naming paragraphs. Questions are identified by skill, such as key ideas and details, academic vocabulary, writing, and text structure. After the reading selection, students complete a scaffolded exercise called “Identify Evidence,” during which they must provide text evidence and an explanation that supports a question connected to the text. Students fill out a chart with the headings, evidence, source, page, and explanation. In most of the charts, there is some modeling in the evidence category, and then students have to find additional evidence on their own. The next exercise is called “Key Ideas and Details.” Here, students are presented with additional open-ended, text-dependent questions. Finally, there is a section of “Craft and Structure” questions.Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation by providing exemplar answers as well as scripted instruction for the teacher to use.

Examples of the text-dependent questions include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 2 students read the short story “The Story of Keesh” by Jack London and answer text-dependent questions. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• While reading, students answer text-dependent questions and tasks found in the margins: “What details reveal Keesh as strong, brave and mature at the council? Explain how he displays these character traits. What is Keesh’s complaint about the meat that is apportioned to him and his mother? What is the “mystery of Keesh” in paragraph 24? What function does this paragraph serve in the story’s narrative?”
• In the “Identify Evidence” section, students are presented with this task: “Reread ‘The Story of Keesh’ highlighting examples and events that London uses to describe life in an extreme Arctic environment and show how it shapes the villagers’ way of life.” Students fill in a chart with evidence and explanations.
• Additional text-dependent questions are found in the “Key Ideas and Details" and “Craft and Structure” sections, including: “List three key individuals that London introduces in this story. Explain why each individual is important to the central idea. Make a list, in sequential order, of events that develop the conflict. How does the conflict between Keesh and the village leaders begin?”

In Unit 3, students read several selections of fiction text that are accompanied by text-dependant questions. At this level, fewer questions are either explicit or inferential; the majority of the questions for each selection of text combine explicit and inference into one question. The questions are typically two-part; in a few cases, a single question will begin as explicit, but then lead directly into the next question that requires students to use that explicit understanding as the basis for their inference.

Examples of questions that focus on explicit understanding are:

• In the letter, from Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deavere Smith, question 3 focuses on Key Ideas and Details by asking, “Explain the difference between sympathy and empathy, as described here.”
• In the short story, “Zebra” by Chaim Potok, a Literary Analysis question asks, “What is the mood in paragraphs 6-9 as Zebra runs through his neighborhood? Identify descriptive details and sensory language the author uses to create this mood.”

Examples of questions where students are asked to expand from explicit understanding to infer understanding include, but are not limited to:

• In the section for the poem, “I Want to Write” by Margaret Walker, the first question asks students to look at a piece of text structure and answer, “What is the purpose of the text below the photograph?” The follow-up question asks, “Why does the poet want to write? Who are her people?”
• In the letter, from Letters to a Young Artist, the first part of question 3 focuses on Key Ideas and Details by asking, “Explain the difference between sympathy and empathy, as described here.” Then the question expands to inference when it asks, “Why is empathy ‘more useful and more important’?  Why does it require more rigor?”
• In “Zebra,” question 5 asks students, “Describe the conflict in this story.” The question expands from explicit to inference when it asks students to take the example of conflict and explain how it is an example of situational irony.

In Unit 7 students read an excerpt from Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick and answer text-dependent questions. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• While reading, students answer text-dependent questions and tasks found in the margins: “Look at the photograph on page 349. What details in paragraph 3 present a different image of Hazel from how she appears in that photograph? Explain what photograph the author is referring to in the first sentence of paragraph 5. How is it the opposite of the photograph Jacoway and Counts want to display? Identify the use of figurative language in paragraph 13. What does the author convey about Elizabeth through this use of figurative language?”
• The task associated with the “Identify Evidence” chart asks student to reread the excerpt and highlight the techniques the author uses to present the interaction between the two women. “How does he introduce, describe, and elaborate on individuals, events and ideas.” Students complete the chart with evidence and explanations.
• Additional text dependent questions in the “Key Ideas and Details” and “Craft and Structure” sections including: “Use evidence you collected to summarize the key idea of this excerpt from Margolick’s book. Compare and contrast Fitzgerald’s and Margolick’s perspectives on the events surrounding the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).

In addition to this, the speaking and listening task at the end of every unit is practice for the culminating writing task linked to the texts in the units. Students may present speeches or debates in the Collaborate and Present section of each unit, and they perform some research tasks (after reading Text 3 and 4). Throughout each unit, speaking and writing tasks include questions that focus on key ideas and details and craft and structure in texts. These questions require short, on-demand written responses. Performance Tasks are presented in a variety of modes (argumentative, informative, literary analysis, fictional narrative/short story). The culminating tasks and activities often ask students to compare/contrast texts that have been presented as sets or series or to synthesize the meaning, themes, or central ideas of the text sets. Overall, the culminating activities and the tasks and activities that lead to them allow students the opportunity to demonstrate what they know using both writing and speaking skills.

Examples of sequenced questions and tasks that build to a culminating task include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the Writing Performance Task states: “Analyze which college applicant would be the best candidate to take open online courses.  Discuss what traits of this applicant make him or her well-suited for the online learning environment Pappano describes in her article.” The anchor texts are an essay, “Essays That Made a Difference” by Mendoza, Gregory, and Gallagher, a news article, “The Year of the MOOC,” by Laura Pappano, and a magazine excerpt from “A Homeless Girl’s Dream” by Jeannine Amber. The Collaborate and Present task is to “Work with a group to discuss whether you would prefer to take MOOCs or attend classes in person at a traditional brick-and-mortar college or university. Questions from the news article, “The Year of the MOOC,” that support these tasks include:

• What evidence does Pappano provide in paragraphs 2 and 3 that suggests MOOCs are becoming popular?
• According to the information Pappano provides in paragraph 11, what feature is a key part of MOOC videos?  What type of students would this feature benefit?
• Based on the information in paragraph 24, what type of teachers does Udacity hire?
• The Identify Evidence task asks students to explain “examples the writer uses to describe what students experience when they are enrolled in a MOOC.”
• The Craft and Structure portion of the exercise has students answer the following questions: “How is ‘The Flavor of the MOOC’ on page 27 an appropriate subheading for its section? How is ‘Working Out the Kinks’ on page 32 an appropriate subheading for its section?”

In Unit 4, the Writing Performance Task asks students to determine the author’s perspective on the “factors necessary for building a strong team. Then write an essay analyzing his perspective, and to compare and/or contrast it” with the other author’s perspective. The anchor texts are the magazine article, “La Vida Robot,” by Joshua Davis from Wired and a biography excerpt from Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Tasks that support the Performance Task include:

• In the Identify Evidence section of “La Vida Robot,” students record examples of students working together or individual student qualities that make them a good team member and explain how the evidence introduces, illustrates, or elaborates on individuals, events, and ideas.
• In the Read the Model section, students read the informative essay, “Analysis of a Team: More Than the Sum of Its Parts,” by Ryan Delgado. Students are given a graphic organizer to identify the thesis, two body paragraphs, and conclusion section.
• While writing the Performance Task, students are provided step-by-step instructions to lead them through the writing process for the compare and contrast essay.

In Unit 5, the Writing Performance Task asks students: “How do these authors portray life on Earth during an alien invasion? Compare and contrast the characters and events in each text and how the authors develop them”. The anchor texts are excerpts from Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury and The War of the Worlds  by H.G. Wells. The Collaborate and Present task asks students to: “Work in groups, search the Internet for recordings of Orson Wells’ The War of the Worlds or the episode of Suspense Radio with ‘Zero Hour.’ Listen to the recording, taking notes on the auditory effects used by the production. Then, prepare a presentation comparing the radio broadcasts to the text.” Questions and tasks while reading include:

• What details do we learn about the setting in “Zero Hour” in this introduction to the story?
• What message does this story convey about parents and children?
• What do we learn about Invasion from this conversation? What does this information imply?
• Discuss an image from the story that helped build suspense.
• What imagery does Wells include to describe the scene as the narrator emerges from the water? What do these details tell you about the experience of being in the middle of an alien invasion?
• Make a list of character traits that describe the Martians. Cite text evidence to support each trait you choose.

In Unit 6, the Writing Performance Task asks students to analyze in detail how childhood wartime experience had an impact on Beah’s or Ung’s life. They are to consider how the author introduces, illustrates, and elaborates upon the events. The anchor texts are excerpts from a book review, “Babes in Arms,” by William Boyd and a memoir, First, They Killed My Father, by Luong Ung. In the Collaborate and Present activity prior to the Performance Task, students plan and deliver a speech about one of the authors’ activism. They are to use multiple sources to explore how the writer’s work as an activist was inspired by his or her childhood experiences.  As they read the anchor texts, they collect evidence. Questions and tasks while reading include:

• What details does Boyd include in paragraph 4 to help the reader understand why Beah was susceptible to being recruited as a boy soldier into the Sierra Leone Army?
• In the Identify Evidence exercise, students are to highlight the text, finding evidence for why Beah’s memoir is a great benefit, shedding light on the experiences of child soldiers. They are to explain the evidence that they find.
• Compare and contrast the reality of the situation at the work camp to the ideal the chief claims exists under the Khmer Rouge when he states that “we are all equal and do not have to cower to anyone” in paragraph 16.
• Summarize what the author’s life is like in the village. What can you infer about how her new life is different from her old life?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Speaking and listening instruction is applied frequently over the course of the school year. Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening opportunities in tasks labeled Close Reads, Identify Evidence, Key Idea and Details, Craft and Structure, Collaborate and Present tasks, Writing tasks, and Extended Reading instruction. Students are provided opportunities to work with partners, small groups, and large groups; to practice sharing information they have summarized and synthesized; and to present research they have conducted individually and/or in groups. Each unit includes a speaking and listening task in which students either research and present a project, present a speech, or hold a class debate. Discussions tied to reading selections require students to marshal evidence from the texts and sources. Teacher guidance includes routines and sentence frames to guide students in increasing skills over the year. All of the speaking and listening opportunities throughout the text require students to go back into the text or to utilize their understanding from the text to build upon it through outside research in order to participate in the small-group, pair, and whole-group speaking activities.

Examples of speaking and listening activities that are connected to what students are reading and/or researching include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, after reading the article “The Year of the MOOC” by Laura Pappano from The New York Times, students work in groups to plan and deliver a presentation as to whether they would prefer attending class in person or taking MOOC’s. Students are provided a chart and questions to guide how they will analyze the content with reasons and evidence that justify their position. The Teacher Edition suggests using Think (Write)-Pair-Share to have students share their position and provides sentence frames: “I would prefer to attend ___ because ___”.
• In Unit 2, after reading an excerpt from the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martell, students plan and deliver a presentation. In the assignment, students work with a group to analyze the extent to which the film version of Life of Pi stays faithful to or departs from the text in portraying the character’s relationship to his environment. Students are given questions to consider as they compare and contrast the text and the film. Students use a presentation checklist to self-evaluate their presentation skills. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate partner work using the Think (Write) Pair Share routine.
• In Unit 3, students plan and deliver a multimedia presentation. In the assignment, students work with a group to discuss the role mentors play in the letters from Letters to a Young Artist and in “Zebra.” Students are given questions to consider as they analyze the two texts. Students use a presentation checklist to self-evaluate their presentation skills. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate partner work using the Think (Write)-Pair-Share routine.
• In Unit 4, students work with a partner to plan and deliver a presentation. They are to research a product developed by Steve Jobs that failed. Students answer why the product failed and are given a chart to record the product, questions they develop, and answers to the questions. Students use the information in the chart as talking points for their presentation.
• In Unit 7, after reading an excerpt from Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick, students work with a partner to gather evidence supporting an “assigned stance on the issue of which photograph should be displayed the most prominently at the visitor center. Then debate a team who has been assigned the opposing stance.” Students are given questions to consider as they complete a chart with evidence, claim and counterclaim. Students use a presentation checklist to self-evaluate their presentation skills. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate partner work using the Think (Write) Pair Share routine.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

The materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects which are aligned to grade level standards. A range of writing activities and tasks are provided with writing instruction, including shorter, on-demand writing routines to help students build stamina and increase rigor that lead to extended writing tasks. There are a variety of short, on-demand writing responses within texts and text sets. Occasionally the on-demand writing occurs as a Wrap-Up question and is used to synthesize key content-area ideas. The Wrap-Up responses connect to one or more selections in the text sets. The written responses throughout the units vary in mode and do occasionally offer opportunities for revision and peer feedback.The materials also include a specific Writing Process Routine protocol that is used in each unit’s writing Performance Task and includes purpose, description of the routine, and implementation support. The student materials include models, prewriting graphic organizers, peer review rubrics to revise and edit, and steps to publish. Digital resources are used in both the publishing step of the extended writing and in some of the writing tasks.

Examples of process writing tasks and instruction include, but are not limited to:The Performance Task section in each unit starts with Analyze the Model where students are provided a model of the writing task and a process to analyze how the model fulfills the assignment. After this step, they are walked through a multi-stepped process to write the task:

Step 1 - Generate Ideas: students are provided with a graphic organizer that fits the needs of the task and supports providing information to write about for the task.

Step 2 -- Organize Ideas: students are provided with a graphic organizer to help them organize the ideas specific to the task they are writing.

Step 3 -- Draft and they are provided with processes to look at Language Study and Conventions Study.

Step 4 -- Revise and Edit: students are provided with a checklist for both themself and a partner to read their writing and to provide feedback.

Step 5 -- Publish

• In Unit 2, the writing Performance Task is literary analysis: “Write an objective summary of life in the extreme environments portrayed in these two texts. Analyze how the central idea of survival is conveyed through supporting ideas and developed over the course of the text.” Students "Generate Ideas" while reading and analyzing a model argument. They "Organize Ideas" using graphic organizers to gather evidence and organize their ideas. Students "Draft" completing a language study in which they choose details that best support, prove, or explain generalizations, and complete sentence frames to help them collect text evidence to support their broad statements. A rubric is provided to "Revise and Edit" their draft with a partner.
• In Unit 3, the argument writing Performance Task asks students to answer this prompt: “Does a person need knowledge and empathy to create great art? Consider the arguments and evidence in at least one selection as you develop your claim.” Students "Generate Ideas"while reading and analyzing a model argument. They "Organize Ideas" using graphic organizers to gather evidence and organize their ideas. They "Draft" by completing a language study in which they select strong supporting evidence and complete sentence frames to help them make and defend their claim. A rubric is provided to "Revise and Edit" their draft with a partner.
• In Unit 7, the writing Performance Task is a historical fiction narrative: “Many events related to the Little Rock Nine tested the strength of people to be brave, do the right thing, heal and forgive. Write a historical fiction narrative about one such event. Describe the event using narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description and reflection.” Students "Generate Ideas" reading and analyzing a model narrative.  They "Organize Ideas"using graphic organizers to compare story elements from The Little Rock Nine and Elizabeth and Hazel with their own narrative ideas; they continue this process using another graphic organizer to plot out their narrative.  They "Draft" by completing a language study in which they focus on narrating events with variety. A rubric is provided to "Revise and Edit" their draft with a partner.

Examples of on-demand writing tasks and instruction include, but are not limited to:

In the Instructional Routines section of the Teacher Edition, the On Demand Writing Routine provides a four-step frame to support student analysis of a prompt:

1. “Analyze the prompt: Provide tasks and sentence frames to help students unpack the writing prompt.  As students to orally restate the prompt using the frames below.
2. Identify Audience: Determine the audience for this assignment.
3. Find Evidence: Select the evidence necessary to address the prompt.
4. Write Response: Allow students approximately ten minutes to write their responses.”

• In Unit 2, students read the short story “The Story of Keesh” by Jack London and an excerpt from Life of Pi by Yann Martel. They use the On Demand Writing routine to answer questions: “Describe the resolution of the story. Explain how Pi uses an analogy to clarity why he is ‘no longer afraid’ of the hyena.”
  
• In Unit 3, students read an excerpt from Letters to a Young Artist by Anna Deavere Smith and a short story, “Zebra” by Chaim Potok. They use the On Demand Writing Routine to answer questions: “Why do artists need mentors? Summarize what Smith says artists can learn from their mentors. How does Zebra feel about his art class? Cite details from the short story that reveal his feelings”
  
• In Unit 7, students read excerpts from The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration by Stephanie Fitzgerald and Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock by David Margolick. Students use the On Demand Writing Routine to answer questions: “Explain how the author supports her claim that the Little Rock Nine were ‘inspiring.’ Explain what the author means when he writes that some people thought Elizabeth’s and Hazel’s friendship was a ‘triumph of sentimentality, wishful thinking, and marketing over reality’.”
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet 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 learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Students have the opportunity to write a narrative historical fiction, two informative essays, two Literary analyses and two argumentative essays. At the end of each unit, students complete a writing Performance Task that is tied to the texts that are studied in the respective units. The writing instruction includes skill introduction, practice, application, and refinement, thus supporting students’ literacy development in writing.

Examples of different types of writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students write an argumentative essay, analyzing which college applicant would be the best candidate to take open online courses. They are to discuss what traits of this applicant make him or her well-suited for the online learning environment the author describes in her article.
• In Unit 2, students write a literary analysis essay: “Write an objective summary of life in the extreme environments portrayed” in the anchor texts for the unit. They analyze “how the central idea of survival is conveyed through supporting ideas and developed over the course of the text.”
• In Unit 4, students write an informative essay, comparing or contrasting the authors’ perspectives on the factors necessary for building a strong team.
• In Unit 7, students write a historical fiction narrative about an event during which people had to be brave, do the right thing, heal, and forgive. They are to describe the event using narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, and reflection.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

Students are offered multiple opportunities across the school year to learn, practice, and apply evidence-based writing in connection with the texts they are reading. Students are asked to provide evidence for all short response and long form writing. Each text is accompanied by close reading questions and an exercise called Identify Evidence in which students complete a chart answering analysis questions about the text with evidence, source, page number, and explanation. In order to complete the summative Performance Tasks, students revisit one or more texts to find evidence. They complete various tasks that analyze the material and support a claim with evidence.  As students work through units, frames, sentence stems, and other supports are gradually removed, so students move toward independence at the end of the school year.

Examples of opportunities for evidence-based writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, before starting the Performance Task, students are given an exemplar argumentative essay and asked to identify the introduction, thesis statement, claim/counterclaim, and conclusion using a graphic organizer. Students then write an argumentative essay: “Which college applicant would be the best candidate to take open online courses.” Students are expected to refer to the text, focus on the traits mentioned in an article, and discuss what traits of this applicant make him or her well-suited for the online learning environment. Support is provided in graphic organizers to gather evidence and organize ideas.
• In Unit 2, students read exemplar literary analysis and identify the thesis, main idea, evidence, and conclusion. To prepare for the Performance Task, students write an objective summary of life in extreme environments from the texts. They analyze the central idea and how it is conveyed throughout the texts including supporting ideas.
• In Unit 3, while reading the short story, “Zebra,” students answer close reading questions: “Describe the conflict in this story. Explain how it is an example of situational irony.” Sentence frames are provided to guide students in answering this question with evidence from the text. In the Identify Evidence exercise, students record examples from the text that describe Zebra’s difficulties post-accident and how he discovers and is transformed by art. Only one piece of evidence is provided, and students must  provide six pieces of evidence and include explanations for how evidence supports the claim. In the Performance Task, students make an argument answering the prompt, “Does a person need knowledge and empathy to create great art?” Students must use arguments and evidence from one of the unit texts. Students are given graphic organizers to gather evidence and organize their ideas.
• In Unit 6, students read an excerpt from First They Killed My Father and answer close reading questions: “Explain what you can infer from the use of ‘capitalists’ as an insult against the new arrivals in paragraph 4. What other details in the text support your inference?” Later, students fill in a chart with examples from the text that show what life was like in the rural village where Ung and her family were forced to live and work. Four pieces of evidence are provided, and students need to provide the explanation for these. The students must provide five more pieces of evidence along with the explanation. In the writing Performance Task, students analyze how childhood wartime experiences impacted Beah’s or Ung’s life. They must consider how the author introduces, illustrates, and elaborates on the events.
• In Unit 7, students read from The Little Rock Nine by Stephanie Fitzgerald and answer a Writing close reading questions: “Compare and contrast Benjamin Fine and Grace Lorch with the other people in the crowd surrounding Elizabeth. Explain how the author supports her claim that the Little Rock Nine were ‘inspiring.’” There are no sentence frames to support students respond to close reading questions in this unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

The grammar instruction and support are presented in an increasingly sophisticated sequence consistent with the demands of the standards. While grammar and conventions are rarely addressed within the reading instruction, each of the seven units does contain one grammar and conventions lesson. The conventions lesson is taught prior to and is linked to the culminating Performance Task, and the Performance Task rubric often references the grammar lesson.  Throughout the year, previous grammar lessons are revisited in later grammar lessons. The Teacher Edition includes instructions to guide students through conventions lessons. These instructions often refer to additional resources that are only found in the online edition. Conventions lessons follow a See It, Try It, Apply It sequence and are taught both in and out of context. In the Revise and Edit step of the Performance Task, the student checklist refers to the conventions skill so that students’ attention is called to the application of the new skill. Conventions lessons build upon each other and require students to practice in isolation, in a model essay, and in their own essay.

Examples of conventions instruction include, but are not limited to:

• In the Performance Task at the end of every unit, a Conventions Study connects to the mode of writing required in the essay. The convention skills are as follows:

Unit 1:  Understanding Verbals

Unit 2: Active and Passive Voice

Unit 3: Use Correct Verb Mood

Unit 4: Using Verbs for Specific Effects

Unit 5: Using Transitions

Unit 6: Precise Language and Domain-Specific Vocabulary

• In Unit 1: Understanding Verbals, students learn that verbals are verbs that function as different parts of speech. In the See It section, they define gerunds, participles, and infinitives. In the Try It section, students are directed to identify a verbal in an example sentence and in the writing model provided for the culminating task. In the Apply It section, students look for nouns, adjectives, and adverbs in sentences in their rough drafts and rewrite each one to include a verbal.  As students revise their writing, students are to “explain the function of verbals.”
• In Unit 3: Use Correct Verb Mood, students are given explicit instruction on how writers choose verb mood according to the purpose of the sentence. Students are given definitions and example sentences of each type of mood (indicative, imperative, and subjunctive). Students practice by identifying the mood of sample sentences. Students apply the lesson by writing sentences in each verb mood.
• In Unit 6: Precise Language and Domain-Specific Vocabulary, students learn in the See It section that precise language conveys exact meaning and that domain specific vocabulary words relate to a specific subject, and using precise language and vocabulary makes writing clear.  In the Try It section, students circle precise language or domain-specific vocabulary in each example set, then write a sentence using the word they circled. In the Apply It section, students revise one of their own body paragraphs from their rough draft, using precise language and vocabulary to clearly convey their ideas about the topic.  As students revise their Performance Task, they use the revise and edit checklist to evaluate their use of “precise language and domain-specific vocabulary as appropriate”.
• In Unit 7: Using Transition Words and Phrases, students are given explicit instruction on transitional words and phrases and how they create cohesion and clarify the relationship among events, settings, and individuals. Students practice by identifying the transition words and phrases from a model paragraph. Students apply the lesson by revising one of their narrative paragraphs using appropriate transition words or phrases to help the reader follow their narrative.