7th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

Texts encompass many text types such as poems, speeches, informational texts, personal narratives, and media (such as newscasts and online sources). Additionally, texts exhibit exceptional craft, rich vocabulary and syntax, as well as provide useful information. The materials allow teachers and students an adequate amount of time to spend working with complex texts that are engaging and consider a range of interests.

• In Unit 1, students read “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. This short story tells of a young man surviving harsh weather conditions and builds content knowledge about life near the north pole. Students also read “The Last Expedition” by Smith Elder; this personal narrative is written in journal format and is about Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the arctic. This text is of high interest for Grade 7 students.

• In Unit 2, students read “A Single Garment of Destiny” by Janet Murguia. This is a notable speech comparing the African American experience with the Hispanic American experience. The speech was given at the Martin Luther King Unity Breakfast in Birmingham, AL, in 2008. Students also read an excerpt of Cesar Chavez’s “Address at The Commonwealth Club of California” in 1984. This speech emphasizes the importance of the rights of farmworkers.

• In Unit 3, students read “A Dire Shortage of Water” by Emily Sohn. This text engages students and builds content knowledge about the effects of drought in the southwestern area of the United States. Students also read “The Coming Water Wars” which was published by Princeton University. This text’s content and graphics are highly engaging and provide valuable statistics about the present and future water supply and possible consequences of water shortages.

• In Unit 4, students read “The Beam in Your Eye” by William Saletan. This article is engaging as it compares the use of Lasik surgery to the use of steroids in professional sports. It is also worthy of reading as it provides an alternate perspective on the legality of steroids. Students also read “Steriods” which is published by Kid’s Health. This informative article builds content knowledge by providing general background knowledge on performance-enhancing drugs and the dangers associated with them.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

The texts with provided Lexile levels range from 860L to 1450L which means that most texts fall within either the Current Lexile Band or the Stretch Lexile Band for Grades 6-8. The texts are appropriate for Grade 7 according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Some texts do exceed these bands, but the tasks are designed to make them accessible to seventh graders. The few texts that do not have Lexile scores provided qualitatively meet the requirements for this grade level because they serve as introductory pieces for a unit, provide different perspectives on a controversial topic, and/or build content knowledge.

• In Unit 1, Part 3, Activity 1, students read To Build a Fire by Jack London. This text measures at 970L which falls within the Current Lexile Band and the Stretch Lexile Band for Grades 6-8. This piece also has qualitative value in that it adds to students’ content knowledge as it provides the opportunity for students to compare this fictional account with accounts of actual polar explorers. The text also provides multiple points of view and the opportunity for very close reading. The tasks associated with this text make it appropriate for Grade 7 students.

• In Unit 2, Part 1, Activity 1, students read Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” The excerpt measures at 870L. The speech’s “structure and rich language make its qualitative complexity seem higher than its quantitative measure.” Although students may know the history of this speech, “the guiding and text specific questions provided to support their reading focus on the structure of the speech, its use of language, the perspective on the events in Memphis (and beyond) that King presents, and the speech’s central ideas about injustice and 'dangerous unselfishness,' which connect it to the other two text in the unit.” The tasks associated with this texts make it appropriate for Grade 7 students.

• In Unit 3, students read “Water - Introductory Text” by Zachary Odell which has an estimated Lexile level of 900-1000; this level of text complexity is appropriate for the grade level. This piece also has qualitative value in that it introduces fairly complex scientific vocabulary, makes connections between water and the lives of animals and humans, and builds student knowledge of the subject matter. The tasks associated with this text make it appropriate for Grade 7 students.

• In Unit 4, Part 1, Activity 1, students read “What is a Performance-Enhancing Drug?” by Luke Bauer which has a Lexile level of 910L; this level of text complexity is appropriate for the grade level. This text also has qualitative value in that it builds student content knowledge about steroids and human growth hormones and makes connections between these substances and the world of sports. The tasks associated with this texts make it appropriate for Grade 7 students.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year.

Series of texts are at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band. Skills build on one another, as well as the complexity of the texts to support the thinking and literacy skills. In the units with the texts sets, there is a full range of the Lexile stretch band providing opportunities to challenge students by giving them complex texts while also providing more reachable texts as they are working on analysis and synthesis skills.

Each unit has questioning path tools and a toolbox of graphic organizers that allow students to record thoughts for discussion and build student understanding. Students focus on attending to literacy skills that include attending to details, deciphering words, comprehending syntax, interpreting language, identifying relationships, making inferences, summarizing, questioning, recognizing perspective, evaluating information, delineating argumentation, forming claims, using evidence, using logic, using language, presenting details, organizing ideas, using conventions, publishing, and reflecting critically.

As the year progresses, questions and tasks build literacy skills and student independence:

• In Unit 1 students read closely for textual details. Students read nine texts and draft a multi-paragraph explanation to show their understanding of the texts they have read.
• In Unit 2, students begin making evidence based claims.
• In Unit 3, students research to deepen their understanding of a topic.
• At the end of the year, in Unit 4, students are building evidence-based arguments using the skills from each of the previous units to evaluate and write an evidence-based argument.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

While not all texts have a text complexity analysis, most texts include instructional notes and text notes. There is clear rationale for the purpose and placement of the chosen texts. The instructional notes include a recommendation on how students should read the text (silently and independently, listen to text, read aloud, etc.) and the language in the text. In the teacher’s edition, the curriculum explains the purpose and value of the texts in the Text Notes provided for teachers. For example, some texts are chosen for their value in reinforcing literary techniques while others were chosen as appropriate introductions to a particular time period or topic. All texts were chosen because they were appropriate for seventh-grade students while still allowing some flexibility for a variety of reading levels. Quantitative and qualitative measures are discussed in the text notes section.

Examples of instructional and text notes found in Grade 7 materials include the following:

• Unit 2, Speech by Janet Murguia, Text Notes: “Murguia ties her speech to the civil rights movement led by King, while also invoking the name and accomplishments Cesar Chavez later in the speech. Murguia characterizes the African American and Hispanic American communities as being dually marked by opposing experiences of ‘hope’ and ‘hate,’ connecting her speech to her own life-as do King and Chavez-by saying: ‘I know the power of Dr. King’s Dream-I am a child of his hope-yet, I also know hate'.” Instructional Notes: “Unlike the other two texts in the unit, this speech will be read and analyzed independently by students using a Questioning Path that they construct themselves. Measuring at 1000L (the middle of the Grades 6-8 complexity band) and focused on contemporary issues, it should provide students with an opportunity to read and analyze a challenging text independently and to develop an original evidence-based claim based on their own approach to examining the text.”
• Unit 3, Instructional Notes: “The Common Sources used in this activity should be selected to present clear and different perspectives on some aspect of the general topic of the unit or one of the subtopics students have been investigating.” The list of 5 Common Sources with sets of various sub sources, provides a summary or overview of each the texts which can be searched for online.
• Unit 4, Historical Timeline: History of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Text Notes: “Complexity levels for the timeline entries vary. Although the chunking and text features make them accessible, some vocabulary will have to be defined. Even though the later sections of the timeline concentrate on superstar athletes who have recently been accused of using PEDs, ...simply scrolling through it and reading only the titles, students should learn that this issue is not a new one.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

Students read a variety of texts including images, journals, videos, websites, historical narratives, short stories, letters, informational texts, and historical speeches. Most texts are accompanied by a Questioning Path Tool which provides both text-dependent and text-specific questions that guide them into a deeper reading of the text. Finally, each unit provides various student checklists and teacher rubrics that can be used to monitor progress throughout the year.

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and disciplines and also to experience a volume of reading as they grow toward reading independence at the grade level. Evidence is as follows:

• Unit 1 is based on numerous texts, both fiction and nonfiction, about exploring the North Pole. In Unit 1, Part 2, Activity 2, students read The North Pole Ch. XXI. The curriculum provides support for this reading via the Questioning Path Tool. This tool provides four levels of both text-dependent and text-specific questioning which include questioning, analyzing, deepening, and extending.

• In Unit 2, Part 1, Activity 3, students read Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Students are initially supported by a guiding question from the analyzing section of the model Questioning Path Tool. They then discuss their first impressions of what his speech is about. Next, students are introduced to the text-specific questions from the Questioning Path Tool. In Unit 2, students also read “A Single Garment of Destiny” by Janet Murguia and an excerpt of Cesar Chavez’s “Address at The Commonwealth Club of California.”

• In Unit 3, Part 3, Activity 2, students read texts from Common Source Set 5 such as, “The Unfiltered Truth about Water” and “The Coming Water Wars.” Students use these texts to gather background information on the topic of water and pose Inquiry Questions. Teachers are provided with sample text-dependent questions “to drive initial close reading...and discussion.”

• In Unit 4, Part 1, Activity 2, students read “What is a Performance-Enhancing Drug?” The curriculum provides support for the analysis of this informational text via the Questioning Path Tool. This tool provides both text-dependent and text-specific questions in the levels analyzing and deepening.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

The Grade 7 units include questions and tasks that focus on gathering evidence, knowledge, and insight from what students read. Questions and tasks delve systemically into texts to guide students toward extracting the key meanings or ideas found there. Coherent sequences of text dependent/specific questions and activities are present to ensure text focus and increased reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills.

The program includes a Literacy Tool Box that is a collection of adoptable resources designed to increase literacy skills. The toolbox includes handouts, graphic organizers, checklists, and rubrics which are used throughout the program. These instructional materials support scaffolding, include activities that encourage responses that require text evidence, and can be used in many different contexts.

Text-dependent questions and tasks that students encounter in the Grade 7 materials include, but are not limited too:

• In Unit 1, Part 3, Activity 1, students listen to To Build a Fire by Jack London in order to analyze the details by responding to text dependent questions including the following: “How are important events or characters described? How does the author’s choice of words reveal his purpose or perspective? What events detailed in paragraph 8 cause the man first to be ‘shocked’ and then grow ‘very calm’ (paragraph 9)?”
• In Unit 2, Part 2, Activity 2, students listen to “Dr. King’s Memphis, Excerpt 4,” paragraphs 29-52 and respond to text-dependent/-specific questions including the following: “What do I learn about the author and the purpose for writing the text? What claims do I find in the text? Dr. King concludes his Memphis speech by saying , ‘Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind.’ From what he says after these sentences, what do you think Dr. King meant?”
• In Unit 3, Part 1, Activity 2, students are asked to research and read about a topic to answer the following questions and develop their own text dependent questions: “What do I want to learn more about? What are some things I might investigate to understand the topic better?”
• In Unit 4, Part 3, Activity 1, students are prompted to organize the evidence from research and list supporting details from the text to support their claim.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for containing sets of high-quality sequences of text dependent/specific questions and activities that build to a culminating task designed to help students synthesize and apply their learning from the unit in an engaging and authentic way.

Materials provide Questioning Path Tools for many texts and provide both text-dependent and text-specific questions to help students analyze the texts. Each unit also has a Literacy Toolbox with student materials to help guide the students through each task and build to the culminating task. Tasks are developed using the writing process and are rich, scaffolded, and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do using reading, speaking, and writing.

• In Unit 1, the culminating writing task asks students to analyze three related texts, then write several paragraphs about their analysis. Next, students lead a discussion about the three texts. To prepare for this final task, students work through these texts using the Questioning Path Tool and analyze each text by responding to text dependent/specific questions. These questions help students deepen their understanding of the text. For example, in Unit 1, Part 4, Activity 3, the Questioning Path Tool for The South Pole Ch. XII asks students to answer the question, “In paragraph 1, what details does Amundsen provide to describe how challenging the final approach to the South Pole was? How do the details and mood of paragraph 2 contrast with this opening description?”

• In Unit 2, students are asked to write an Evidence-Based Claim essay as a culminating task. The activities throughout the unit build on each other and help prepare students for the end task. There are five parts to this unit, each building on evidence-based claims and ending with the development of evidence-based writing. Each part uses Questioning Path Tools to help students analyze the text, identify claims within the text, and eventually create claims of their own. For example, in Unit 2, Part 1, Activity 2, students independently read paragraphs 29-52 of Dr. King’s "Memphis, Excerpt 4" and answer questions such as, “What claims do I find in the text?” and “In the final section of the speech, King tells a story from his own recent experience of being attacked and then receiving a letter of support from an unlikely source. What are the key details of this story, and why are they important?”

• Unit 3 is devoted to research. Students create a Research Portfolio and develop a reflective research narrative using information from their portfolios as a culminating task. After choosing a research topic, students then conduct the research process, developing a research portfolio which will then be used to write the research perspective. Throughout the unit, teachers are provided Text Notes to help guide students as they analyze the common texts that will be used as sources. For example, the instructional materials provide text dependent discussion questions as part of the Researching to Deepen Understanding Common Source Set including “What does the text suggest about the topic area: 'Water: Why is it so valuable?'" and “How credible and relevant is the source as a starting point for further research?"

• In Unit 4, the culminating task is writing an evidence-based argument. The entire unit focuses on argument beginning with issues, analyzing arguments, taking a position, organizing an argument, and finally writing their argumentative essays. Throughout the unit, Questioning Path Tools are provided to help guide students analyze the common texts that will be used as sources for their evidence-based argumentative essays. For example, in Unit 4, Part 1, Activity 2, the Questioning Path Tool for “Steroids” provides text-specific questions such as, “What reasons does the narrator give for focusing on gas use in the video? What are steroids and how do they work?” and “What does the article say about the dangers of using steroids?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Materials provide protocols for evidence-based discussions. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to work with partners, small groups, and when appropriate, large groups, to practice application of academic vocabulary and syntax and to build communication and presentation skills.

• In Unit 1, Part 1, Activity 2, students examine the image(s) in small groups. They use the Guiding Questions Handout from the Literacy Toolbox to help with the task of answering questions such as “What details stand out to me as I examine this image? What do I think this image is mainly about? How do specific details help me understand what is being depicted in the image?”
• In Unit 1, Part 5, Activity 3, students are in small groups and each student takes turns facilitating a discussion. Each student in the group is an “expert” on a different book. Students give a summary with evidence and then present a question to the group. They then facilitate a discussion about it using text evidence when commenting. After discussing, students reflect on and self-assess their use of the Discussion Habits Checklist in their final discussion.
• In Unit 2, Part 1, Activity 3, students participate in a close read of an excerpt of the text, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”
• Students participate in a whole class discussion and answer the question,“What in the text makes you reach your observation or conclusion? Point to the specific words or sentences.”
• In Unit 3, Part 1, Activity 2, students begin the research process by exploring a topic. Students work in reading teams in which they read sections of the website. They use Guiding Questions Handout from the Literacy Toolbox to help them answer text-dependent questions to guide their close reading. After students summarize, they share with the class what other information that may want to know about the topic, Value of Water.
• In Unit 3, Part 4, Activity 3, students organize and write evidence-based claims. Then students present their findings for evaluation and respond to feedback from their classmates and the teacher.
• In Unit 4, Part 3, Activity 5, students work in small groups to discuss an opening argument and how they might respond to it before individually choosing an argument and responding. This follows the gradual release of responsibility model where teacher models, we do together, the independent work.
• In Unit 4, Part 5, Activity 1, students work on developing skills to write collaboratively and are encouraged to hold informal text-centered check-in discussions with a peer or teacher.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 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.

Materials support students’ practice and application of their speaking and listening skills in concert with their practice in reading for understanding. Students are provided multiple opportunities to work with partners, small groups, and when appropriate, large groups to practice sharing information they have summarized and synthesized and present research they have conducted individually and/or in groups. Students work through various tasks throughout units using provided graphic organizers from the Literacy Toolbox as well as using collaboration and discussions to assist students in refining their work. Appropriate scaffolds help guide students through activities in the units, leading to and supporting the culminating tasks. Speaking and listening work is embedded across the year's instruction to support students' increasing skills. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Part 3, Activity 2 following a first read with students annotating the text, there is a class discussion on the author’s use of visualization. The teacher facilitates the discussion with a Guiding Question, “How does the author’s choice of words reveal his purpose or perspective?”

• In Unit 2, Part 1, Activity 3, students listen to an “Excerpt of Speech Regarding the Memphis Garbage Workers Strike Delivered at Bishop Charles Mason Temple” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As students listen to the speech, they identify the “key details about the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, its connection to King’s experiences in the civil rights movement, and the Biblical parable he recounts about the Good Samaritan - and its connection to the strike.” Next students discuss what they observe the stories are about and why they were mentioned during the protest. Students are placed into discussion groups as they answer the following questions from the Questioning Path Tool:
  • At the end of paragraph 9, Dr. King states, “I’m happy… to be in Memphis.” In the paragraphs that follow this statement, he makes a simple claim about the reason he supports the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike: “The issue is injustice,” and then he states that “we’ve got to march again.” Why does he make this claim?
• In Unit 3, Part 2, Activity 7 students work in collaborative teams to conduct research using a research frame graphic organizer to guide their research. Student teams study similar topics and discuss information gathered on their research frames and share summaries. Teams give feedback to each other to refine and guide the research process.

• In Unit 4, Part 3, Activity 2, students participate in an activity and place themselves on a point in a continuum where they must choose their position on “Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) in Sports.” Students start on the continuum (either for or against PED’s in Sports--or somewhere in between). As students state their position on PED’s in Sports and the reasons they feel this way, students are encouraged to move on the continuum if their position changes. Students are required to speak and listen effectively.
• In Unit 4, Part 4, Activity 3, students work in small groups to find evidence to support an argument and its claims using graphic organizers such as the Delineating Arguments Tool to help guide the students through this process. Students are discussing their findings and listening to peer responses.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 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.

Materials include a mix of both on-demand and process writing that covers a year’s worth of instruction and includes encouraging the building of knowledge about a topic. Many opportunities for students to revise and/or edit are found. There are digital resources, short and longer writing tasks as well as culminating projects supported and connected to texts and/or text sets. Writing tasks and projects are aligned to Grade 7 Common Core State Standards.

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

• In Unit 1, Part 1, Activity 4, students view Celebrating 100 Years: Roald Amundsen’s South Pole Expedition 1911 produced by Viking Cruises. After viewing the videos several times, students create a two column chart (what was important in the video in the first column and why was it important in the second column). Then students use the two column chart to “write a few sentences explaining something they have learned from the video.”
• In Unit 2, Part 4, Activity 3, students work in pairs to write a draft Evidence-Based Claim. This draft will “focus on less formal, more fluent writing, trying first to get their ideas out on paper so that they and others can examine them.”
• In Unit 4, Part 2, Activity 7, students use their notes from one of the texts that they read for this unit to write paragraphs analyzing one of the arguments. The analysis must include the following:
  • State the author’s position
  • Identify the elements of the argument
  • Make an evidence-based claim about how the author’s perspective shapes the position and argumentation
  • Use evidence from the text to support analysis

Examples of process writing tasks include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Part 4, Activity 7, students independently complete an Organizing Evidence-Based Claim Tool for the claim they have formed in Activity 5 and draft a one to two paragraph evidence-based claim from the text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech regarding the Memphis Garbage Workers’ Strike. In Activity 8, students use the collaborative review process and revise one aspect of their draft evidence-based claims paragraph.
• In Unit 3, Part 1, Activity 4, student compile a research portfolio of sources on the theme of Water- A Valuable Resource. The three possible areas of interest for further investigation is one modeled by teacher, one identified by the class, and one identified by the student. In Unit 3, Part 5, Activity 2, students will use their portfolios to write a two-page reflective narrative that tells a story about the search, how they came to their perspective on the topic, and their experience of inquiry and conducting research. An extension activity is suggested as a part of the presentation of this information to the class.
• In Unit 4, Part 5, students engage in a collaborative, question-based process to develop and strengthen their argumentative essays. Students work with their teachers and peers to draft, revise, and publish their own argumentative essay on “Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 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.

Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence.

• In Unit 1, Part 2, Activity 5, students write a short paragraph explaining their analysis of the text, The North Pole, by Robert E. Peary, and reference or list support textual details. In Unit 1, Part 4, Activity 5, students continue the process by using their analysis to independently write a text-based explanation of one of the texts read previously in the unit.
• In Unit 2, Part 3, Activity 1, students read a speech given by Cesar Chavez, President of United Farm Workers of America at The Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco. Students complete the Forming Evidence-Based Claim Tool by asking a question from the Questioning Path Tool. Students record “key details, connections, and/or evidence-based claims.”
• In Unit 2, Part 4, Activity 7, students independently complete an Organizing Evidence-Based Claim Tool for the claim they have formed in Activity 5 and draft a one-to-two paragraph evidence-based claim from the text of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech regarding the Memphis Garbage Workers’ Strike. In Activity 8, students use the collaborative review process and revise one aspect of their draft evidence-based claims paragraph.
• In Unit 3, the culminating writing activity involves students researching to deepen their understanding. Students are asked to write a narrative by telling a story about what they have learned, use the notes and claims from previously written assignments, connect ideas, and reflect on what they have learned.
• In Unit 3, Part 5, Activity 2, students draft their own reflective research narratives, working from the draft narrative and statement of their perspectives they have developed previously, using evidence from their tools, and incorporating claims they have developed in response to inquiry questions.
• In Unit 4, Part 2, Activity 7, students write paragraphs analyzing one of the arguments about steroids that they have read by:
  • Stating the author’s purpose
  • Identifying the elements of the argument
  • Making an evidence-based claim about how the author’s perspective shapes the position and argumentation
  • Using evidence from the text to support the analysis
• In Unit 4, Part 5, students work with their teachers and peers to draft, revise, and publish their own argumentative essay on “Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports.” In this argumentative essay, students state a claim and use evidence from texts to support their position.