5th Grade - Gateway 3

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

The materials are designed to immerse students in all areas of the standards and provide explicit lesson structure with embedded teacher direction as well as recommendations for supporting all learners. The teacher guide clearly instructs the teacher throughout each lesson on its implementation before, during, and after the readings and activities. There is clearly defined tiered vocabulary for each section as well as recommendations for scaffolded support throughout.

Every lesson is effectively broken down into time frames for coverage of material. At the beginning of each lesson there is “Lesson at a Glance” that maps out the skill being covered, grouping suggestions for students, the time each skill section should take and the materials that will be needed. For example, in Unit 8 Lesson 5 the Lesson at a Glance breaks the lesson down in a chart showing 45 minutes for reading activities and 45 minutes for a writing activities.

The Contents page of each unit states the topic of each lesson, the skills to be addressed in that lesson (reading, writing, speaking/listening, language, etc.) and the time allotted for each.

Materials include a curriculum map located in the program guide that tracks the “Knowledge Domains” that students will be working in through each grade. In each unit, students are immersed in a domain topic that centers on science, social studies, or literature. Included as a unit is also a “Core Quest” designed to immerse students in a writing, speaking, and listening experience that continues throughout more than one unit.

• For example, the Program Guide states that during this quest, “Students are immersed in the mystery and magic of Shakespeare’s comedy, analyzing character and language and bringing the play to life. Over the course of the Quest students will read, write, act, direct, design, and watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Out of the 8 Domains (units) in grade five , 1 is based in science, 4 social studies, and 3 literature. The science domain is a unit in ‘Chemical Matter”’ The social studies domains have units that cover ‘Early American Civilization,’ ‘The Renaissance,’ ‘The Reformation,’ and ‘Native Americans.’ The literature domains include ‘Personal Narratives,’ ‘Poetry,’ and ‘The Adventure of Don Quixote.’

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).

Materials include but are not limited to photos, captions, glossaries, charts, diagrams, illustrations, sentence strips, graphic organizers, rubrics, digital images, labeled supports, activity pages, timing reminders, tiered vocabulary charts, notes to teachers, image cards, writing prompts and journals.

• For example, Unit 6, Lesson 7 states, “Display the Sample Slide Presentation again and have students raise their hands to identify each part: the introduction slide, the body slides, the conclusion slide, the titles/questions, the answers in bullets/phrases, and the images. Clarify any confusion about how these parts work together.”
• Another example is in Unit 1, Lesson 6 where it states, “ Prepare to display the passage for close reading (Projection 6.1) during the Reading segment.”
• An example of the use of captions with illustrations is in Unit 8, Lesson 5, “Oroville Dam is on the Feather River, east of the city of Oroville. It is the tallest dam in the U.S. Next to the dam is Lake Oroville. Lake Oroville is the second largest manmade lake in California. Long before there was a dam, or a reservoir, Native Americans lived on this land.”

Teacher and student resources include clear directions. Activities that are completed with teacher guidance have directions included throughout the lessons. Suggestions for grouping, additional supports, challenge ideas and direct instruction are clearly defined, explained and embedded throughout. Each lesson provides the ‘primary focus’ and advance preparation’ of the lesson, the ‘formative assessment(s)’ ‘lesson at a glance’, and ‘recommendations for universal access’ and a ‘check for understanding’ section. Activity pages correspond correctly to the teacher guide and make finding information seamless and efficient.

• An example of a challenge question from UNit 8, Lesson 6 where it states, “What metaphor relates to the forest fl oor?

• An example of teacher support can be seen in Unit 1, Lesson 6 where it states, “Ensure that students understand the non-literal use of the word navigate in the paragraph.”

Clear directions for teachers is seen in Unit 6, Lesson 7 where it states, “Tell students they should use bullet points to visually separate each complete idea. • Encourage students to use core vocabulary in their text”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials including publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

Alignment to the CCSS is documented in multiple places throughout the curriculum. The alignment chart for the CCSS standards are documented in the 3-5 Program Guide, and in the contents pages of each unit. At the beginning of every lesson under ‘Primary Focus of the lesson” the standards being addressed are clearly stated as well as within the formative assessments for what is being measured. The same is true for the Unit Assessments in which the standards being measured are also found under the “primary focus” and formative assessments given through the activity pages. Within the sidebars of the teacher guide there are standards listed within the scaffolding of the lesson for “emerging/expanding/extending” the learning.

• Examples of formative assessments are found at the start of each lesson. The formative assessments from Lesson 7 in Unit 1 states, “Compare and contrast the author’s changing points of view. [RI.5.1; ELD.PI.5.6]”
• The primary focus of Lesson 8 in Unit 1 states, “Students will reread portions of informational text to examine the details the author used to describe the relationships among Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and the Church. [RI.5.8; SL.5.4; L.5.5; ELD.PI.5.9]
• An example in Unit 8, Lesson 7 states, “Students plan a persuasive essay and draft an introduction. [W.5.1a; ELD.PI.5.11]”

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials containing a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning. Materials provide support instructional planning in multiple ways. The Teacher Guide gives clear annotations and suggestions on how to present content. At the beginning a unit, teachers are encouraged to read the introduction, alignment chart, assessments, and to review the pausing points for the lessons. At the beginning of each lesson, teachers are encouraged to use the Lesson at a Glance to review the primary focus and formative assessments. There is also an Advance Preparation section included in the Universal Access section that helps to support teachers. Throughout the lessons, sidebars are included to support teachers in how to present materials to both support and challenge student learning. There are also Additional Support activates at the end of lessons that provide assessment and remediation in skills lessons. Teachers are directed to consider whether additional activities in the Assessment and Remediation Guide or Decoding and Encoding Supplement should be utilized for students who may need additional support. Teachers are also instructed to review Language Studio content for English Language Learner students

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials containing a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum. The Program Guide for grades 3-5 contains explicit instruction on the role of the standards in the overall curriculum. It details the qualitative and quantitative text complexity of each unit, language demands from literal to complex language including tiered vocabulary, the structure of text and breakdown of literature, informational and nonfiction text, as well as close reading and use of text dependent questions including literal, inferential and evaluative questions.

An explanation of the Quantitative Text Complexity is explained on page 56 of the Program Guide; “By 3rd grade students are increasingly reading grade level complex text independently. They also continue to be exposed to above-grade Read-Alouds. In 4th and 5th grade, students are exclusively reading grade-level complex text that increases in challenge from the beginning to the end of the grade.”

An explanation of the Qualitative Text Complexity is explained on page 56 of the Program Guide; “Qualitative Text Complexity requires a range of judgments, some of which are by necessity subjective (Which is more complex, Anna Karenina or War and Peace? Descartes or Aristotle?). In 3rd–5th grade students are exposed to texts that are increasingly open to multiple interpretations and have many layers of meaning.”

The Program Guide details the language conventions in each grade on page 56; “In 4th and 5th grade, the language demands of texts increases. Students spend significantly longer considering the precise use of words, including figurative and ambiguous phrasing, starting with the first unit (Personal Narrative). The poetry units in 4th and 5th grade expose students to poems that range from highly complex, archaic language, to seemingly simple but ironic text (such as William Carlos Williams’s “This is Just to Say”).”

The Program Guide page 60 details the types of text dependent questions that are addressed in every lesson.

• “Literal questions assess students’ recall of key details from the text. These are text- dependent questions that require students to paraphrase and/or refer back to the portion of the text where the specific answer is provided. Literal questions generally address Reading Standards for Literature n1 RL.4.1) and/or Reading Standards for Informational Text 1 (RI.X.1).”
• Inferential questions ask students to infer information from the text and to think critically. These are also text dependent, but require students to summarize and/or refer back to the portions of the text that lead to and support the inference they are making. These questions generally address Reading Standards for Literature 2–5 (RL.X.2– RL.X.5) and/or Reading Standards for Informational Text 2–5 (RI.X.2–RI.X.5).”
• Evaluative questions ask students to build on what they have learned from the text using analytical and application skills, often to form an opinion or make a judgment. These questions are also text-dependent, but require students to paraphrase and/or refer back to the portion(s) of the text that substantiate the argument they are making or the opinion they are offering. Evaluative questions might ask students to: Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, addressing Reading Standards for Literature 6 (RL.X.6)”

The breakdown of genre in the 8 Domains (units) in grade five are as follows: 1 is based in science, 4 social studies, and 3 literature. The science domain is a unit in ‘Chemical Matter”’ The social studies domains have units that cover ‘Early American Civilization’, ‘The Renaissance’, ‘The Reformation’, and ‘Native Americans’. The literature domains include, ‘Personal Narratives’, ‘Poetry’, and ‘The Adventure of Don Quixote’.

The instructional materials for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials containing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies. A Research Guide:The CKLA CA Curriculum: Links to Research on Teaching and Learning serves as a companion to the Program Guide. The guide discusses the research in English Language Arts instruction including but not limited to print and phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, reading fluency, prosody, vocabulary and background knowledge.

The Program Guide also includes footnotes to research as they are explaining their educational approaches. Also, during the English Language Learner section of the Program guide, teachers are provided with a Research Base: Why this Matters Explanation for instructional approaches.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials regularly and systematically offering assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress. Assessments include Daily Checks for Understanding, Daily Formative Assessments, Content and Mid Unit Assessments, and Unit Placement and Assessments Benchmark Tests.

Checks for understanding are designed to allow teachers to amend instruction within the context of the lesson. Formative assessments range from in-the-moment adaption to opportunities for individual, small group, and whole class reteach and review. Checks for Understanding and Formative Assessments also provide information to decide whether additional supports and practice (found at the end of the lesson and in the additional guides) are appropriate. Mid-unit, end-of-unit, and benchmark assessments should be used to direct remediation, Pausing Point days, and to differentiate instruction.

There is ongoing tracking of student progress:

• Student Progress Record. This form may be used against a large range of student activities to track how students are progressing over time and compared with others in the class.
• Mid-and end-of-unit assessments

There are a range of formal assessment opportunities that are are accompanied by directions and support for analysis of performance. They are also accompanied by assessment charts to record student progress. These assessment opportunities include, but not limited to:

• Spelling Assessments
• Grammar and Morphology Assessments
• Reading Comprehension Assessments
• Writing Assessments

There are three benchmark assessments: Beginning of Year, Middle of Year, and End of Year. Students are offered additional support and remediation depending on their performance on benchmark assessments.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for assessments clearly denoting which standards are being emphasized. There are multiple ways that students are assessed throughout each unit including formative assessments, mid-unit assessment, pausing points, and end-unit assessments. Within each form of assessment, it is clear what standards are being addressed.

Examples of formative assessments and the standards that are being emphasized in them are as follows:

• Unit 2, Lesson 5, using Activity Page 5.2, students will, “Read excerpts from “Myths of the Maya” and answer comprehension questions. [RL.5.2; ELD.PI.5.6a]”
• Unit 8, Lesson 7, using Activity Page 7.2 students will, “Answer comprehension questions using information from the text ‘Myths from the Pacific Northwest’ [RL.5.9; ELD.PI.5.6]”

The Unit Assessment of Unit 8, Lesson 15, states, “The reading comprehension section of the Unit Assessment contains two selections and accompanying questions. The first selection is an informational piece about the National Museum of the American Indian. The second selection is a literary piece—a Native American myth. These texts are considered worthy of students’ time to read and meet the expectations for text complexity at Grade 5. The texts feature core content and domain vocabulary from the Native Americans unit that students can draw on in service of comprehending the text.”

The Unit Assessment in Unit 3, Lesson 13, provides a chart for the correct answers and rationales:

• “The poem consists of rhyming couplets, so its rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEE (stanza 1) FFGGHHIIJJ (stanza 2) KKLLMMNNOO (stanza 3). [RL 5.5, RF 5.4]”
• ““Like birds in their nest” is an example of a simile. Students should cite the word as to support their deduction.[RL 5.1, RL 5.4, RF 5.4, STD L 5.5]

Unit 3, Lesson 13, also clearly states what specific standards are addressed in this unit assessment with the writing prompt

• “The writing prompt addresses [W.5.1, W.5.3, W.5.4, W.5.9, L.5.2, L5.3, L.5.6]”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for assessments providing sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

Assessment keys are provided, as well as multiple suggestions and protocols for teachers to provide feedback such as:

• Teacher questioning to check for misconceptions.
• Wrap-Up questions and Checks for Understanding to check for comprehension.
• Writing feedback to provide immediate feedback and suggestions during the writing process.
• Student work to monitor students’ mastery of skills.
• Peer-to-peer feedback to provide immediate feedback on student performance.

There are a number of other tools that support teachers in providing specific feedback to students and monitoring and tracking student progress over time.

• Rubrics
• Portfolios
• Editing Checklist

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for including routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

Each lesson includes a formative assessment that is highlighted at the start of the lesson. These assessments are used to track student mastery of objectives.

• In Unit 2, Lesson 6, the formative assessments listed include a partner-read of Chapter 4 with comprehension questions and an activity page for sorting spelling words in alphabetical order.

There are also Checks for Understanding throughout the lessons to be used by the teacher to determine if students are ready to move on to the next part of the lesson. The Check for Understanding questions are meant for quick formative assessments that happen during instruction to assess if students have mastered the key content and skills in the lesson.

• In Unit 5, Lesson 4, the Check for Understanding states, “Invite students to reread the third and fourth sentences with a partner and correct any inappropriate shifts in verb tense. Cold call students to share out whole class. If necessary, remind students that the verbs should re ect the past tense and should make sense with the meaning the author is trying to convey.”

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials providing teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards. Materials provide modeling, formative assessments, language and visual supports, and background knowledge in each lesson to ensure student understanding.

Materials include sidebar notes that include suggestions for emerging, expanding, and bridging students. The sidebars also include access, support ,and challenge notes that provide strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners. Examples of sidebar strategies include:

• Unit 6, Lesson 6
  • Emerging- Provide 1:1 support on Activity Page 6.1. Guide students in rereading, clarifying questions, recording and citing information, and acting out information about Frederick.
  • Expanding- Redirect students to particular excerpts of text to record and cite information about Frederick or the pope. Allow students to practice sharing with a partner.
  • Bridging- Offer guidance on Activity Page 6.1 as needed.
  • Support- Remind students that first-person means writing from the perspective of the person, using the pronoun I. Provide some examples of first-and third person to demonstrate the differences.
  • Challenge- Have students change an example sentence from third-person to first person, and vice versa. Ask for an example of second-person.

• In the Advance Preparation section at the beginning of each lesson there are Universal Access instructions. For example in Unit 6, Lesson 5, the Universal Access states, “To provide historical context and review of BCE/CE, reference Timeline from Lesson 1, and the Sequence of Events: Martin Luther, the pope, and Frederick III found in the digital components.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for regularly providing all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards. All students engage with grade level text. Side bar supports are provided to ensure that students are supported during lessons. The Universal Access for each lesson provides additional supports for students who read, write, speak or listen below grade level. Lessons also include pausing Points which provide additional instruction on new skills at the end of each unit for small group work, reteaching, and differentiated instruction. Assessment and Remediation Guide/Encoding and Decoding Supplements can be used for additional lessons that support students who need extra practice or remediation on foundational skills and comprehension.

Materials include a Language Studio resource that provides lessons that focus on reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar to advance English Language Learner proficiency levels. The activities in Language Studio help teachers guide students in constructing meaning through interaction with the text and with each other. Such instruction supports ELs of all proficiency levels by helping them access grade-level content knowledge, make meaning, and develop academic English and effective expression across the disciplines.

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for regularly including extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level. Materials provide multiple opportunities for challenge, and enrichment, including:

• Challenge sidebars throughout the lesson providing stretching questions and activities.
  • Unit 4, Lesson 5, “In what way does having reason and evidence make your writing stronger? (Reason and evidence show that the writer is open-minded and doesn’t have a bias.)”
• Pausing Point days include additional activities and more complex text for excelling students.
  • The Pausing Point in Grade 5, Unit 5 demonstrates a pausing point for differentiation of instruction. It states, “Please use the final four days of this unit (or three days if you chose to pause one day after Lesson 7) to address results of the Content Assessment, Unit Assessment (for reading comprehension; fluency, if applicable; grammar; and morphology), and spelling assessments.”
• Independent Reading. There are a large number of “above level” books that are available for students through CKLA Independent Reading. These allow students to expand their knowledge with more challenging material.

There are also daily opportunities to allow students go deeper into the topic. Lessons in the Knowledge Strand offer opportunities for independent and small group research that can be extended by asking for alternative sources or deeper analysis.

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for providing opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies. Students are grouped in partners, small groups, and whole class. Teachers are provided with guidance on how to group students such as an page 54 of the Program Guide, “Teachers should use a range of strategies—sometimes employing students of the same comprehension level into the same group, and at other times mixing those with a higher comprehension with those that are struggling. Extension activities within the Pausing Points provide a large range of additional collaborative learning opportunities. These include large group activities such as rehearsing and performing Read-Alouds, plays, and other literary works in front of an audience.”

Examples of how grouping strategies are used in materials include:

• Partner discussion: Partner discussions are used in all units. Students host informal discussions and rules-based formal discussions.
• Think-Pair-Shares: Students discuss a topic, build on the remarks of others, and link their comments to evidence in the text.
• Small group discussion: Multiple opportunities for small group instruction and expression are present.
• Whole class discussion: Whole class discussion takes place daily. These provide ample opportunities for students to model and practice Effective Expression.