2nd Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials emphasize explicit phonics instruction through systematic and repeated modeling.

Materials include limited systematic, explicit, and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern. Opportunities are missed for students to receive explicit instruction in all grade-level phonics standards. Limited work with syllables is provided in Step 6. While there are lessons and activities for each of the other phonics skills, explicit instructions each skill is limited. While there is some modeling during the initial instruction of the phonics skill, there is not consistent explicit modeling in subsequent lessons.

Materials contain limited explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 176-180, the teacher writes five vowels in a visible place. The teacher points to each vowel and the students say the vowel. After the students practice saying short vowel sounds and words, the teacher explains that long vowels “say their own name.” The teacher explains that there are many ways to write or spell the long vowel sound.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, the teacher writes short vowel words in a visible location and asks the students to decode the words. The teacher adds the Sneaky e to change the vowels to a long vowel sound, and the teacher asks the students to reread the words. Examples to choose from include rat and rate, spin and spine, mop and mope, and cub and cube.
• Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 241-245, the teacher explains that there is another way to make a long vowel. The teacher teaches the sayings, “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking” and “When two vowels team up, they shout the first one’s name.”
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 226-230, the teacher introduces the vowel team ee. It indicates in the lesson that the order vowel teams are taught are ee, ea, ai, oa, and ui. The teacher writes ee in a visible location and then directs students to build words with the vowel team.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, oo Long Unit, the teacher writes oo on the board and asks students to add oo to make a word. The Planner provides coop as an example. Students place the c card before the oo and the p after the oo.
• Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 221-225, the teacher shows students that they say a syllable when their chins drop as they say words. The teacher uses the word hospital as an example.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 246-250, the teacher instructs students in open and closed syllables. The teacher instructs students to segment words, explaining that if a syllable does not end with a consonant, it often makes the vowel long. Examples given include qui-et and o-pen. Students practice drawing lines between syllables and coloring the long vowel at the end of the open syllable(s).
• Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Review Unit 7, the teacher instructs the students that a suffix added to the end of a root or base word changes the meaning of the word. The teacher helps the students work as a class to think of examples of four suffixes.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Prefixes and Suffixes unit, the teacher instructs students that a prefix is added to the beginning of a root or a base word to change the meaning of the word. The teacher works with students to think of examples for the prefixes re-, dis-, un-, and pre-. On Practice page 271, students read the words and circle the prefix.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Prefixes and Suffixes unit, the teacher presents the students with the definition of a suffix and has students think of words that end with -er, -est, -ed, and -ing.
• Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, the teacher uses the Sticky Word” flash cards and puts them on the floor. The teacher calls out a word from the list, and students hop on the word that the teacher called out.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Long /i/ Review unit, the teacher writes igh on the board, then asks for a volunteer to add an igh/y/ie card to make a word. Students write the word.
• The Student Activities Book, Steps 1-5, pages 32-39, contain the Sticky Word lists that students learn during Steps 4-6.

Lessons provide teachers with limited systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 251-255, the teacher instructs students that if a syllable does not end with a consonant, it often makes the vowel long. This is called an open syllable. The teacher reviews syllables that end with a consonant, which often makes the vowel short.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 256-260, the teacher explains to students that multi-syllabic words are words with more than one syllable and that “multi-” stands for multiple and means “more than one.” Each syllable in multi-syllabic words is long or short. The teacher writes the word houseboat on the board. The teacher and students practice pulling the two words apart to make smaller words. In Center #5 for that week, the teacher explains again what compound words are and uses the example homesick.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, the teacher explains that another way to make a long vowel is with vowel teams. The teacher builds words on the Vowel Team Mat, and students decode as a group using the newly learned spelling pattern. A list of possible words with the vowel team spelling is provided.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials promote frequent opportunities for students to practice decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence.

The Grade 2 materials provide opportunities to decode phonetically regular words in a sentence within decodable books. Students are introduced to the decodable book during whole class lessons, and the teacher selects a center activity where students continue practicing the decodable book. Every lesson has at least one decodable reader, and the phonics skill taught that week is highlighted in the decodable book. However, materials do not provide direction to the teacher to read daily, so this activity does not provide substantial opportunities for students to decode words in a sentence. There is an absence of explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence beyond general teacher instructions for modeling how to decode.

Materials provide explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Blue Teacher Planner, Steps 2 and 3, Days 106-110, the teacher provides “Blue Blends Silly Sentence” words and models how to choose a Bug card (a noun) and a Frog card (a verb), how to decode each word, write a sentence, and draw a corresponding picture.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4 and Step 5, Days 186-190, students get the book, Snake 1 and Snake 2. The teacher points out the “Slow Down Sound” of the Sneaky e, and the teacher helps students to say sounds according to letter-to-sound correlations.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, the teacher reads the book, Frog has the Blues, and models how to say sounds according to letter-to-sound correlations. The teacher is instructed to help students decide whether a word is decodable or not and to think about whether the word makes sense in the sentence.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Blue Teacher Planner, Steps 2 and 3, Days 106-110, students read Cub and the Drum. The teacher indicates that students should decode each word in the sentence and reread the sentence for meaning. Students are expected to read the story independently and identify the phonics structures that they have learned.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, after reading the book Duck Bakes a Cake, students complete a Cloze activity where they read the sentences that have missing words and pick the correct word to finish the sentences. The students reread the sentence.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 216-220, students practice reading a book, Cat gets a Scare, with a partner, switching off reading sentences in the book out loud. Students reread sentences if they needed to slow down to decode or identify words.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 236-240, students create sentences using “Bug” words (nouns) and “Frog” words (verbs). Students reread the sentences.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials include daily practice opportunities for students to build/manipulate/spell and encode grade-level phonics, including common and newly-taught sound and sound patterns.

Materials include limited modeling in encoding, building, and manipulating words and modeling of each skill is not included in the daily lessons. Some opportunities are only in centers, which are flexible. The materials include explicit instructions on how to find the letter, say the letter sounds, model how to blend the words, and have students track their blending. Some lessons include student practice opportunities with no or limited teacher modeling.

The materials contain limited teacher-level instruction/modeling for building/manipulating/ spelling and encoding words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, instructions take the teacher step-by-step through building the words save, make, and flake. To move from make to flake, the instructions explicitly explain “substituting a blend or letter to help the students make a new word.”
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, in Days 216-220, the teacher shows students how to complete the Bug and Frog activity by modeling how to decode each word one at a time and how to write the words in sentences.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, in Days 231-235, the teacher demonstrates how to build /ea/ words on the Vowel Team mat.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 231-235, materials provide explicit instruction that “teachers say a letter name and ask students to put their finger on that letter.” The teacher says the sounds and have students touch the letters that correspond with the sound stated. “Teachers repeat the sounds…and students echo the sound back.” Students are provided the letters a, s, v, m, k, and the blend /fl/. Examples are provided on Wonder Word strips #39-40.

Lessons provide students with some opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words in isolation based in common and newly-taught phonics patterns. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, students practice typing each word on the list. After completing that task, students then use the Wonder Word Mat and Letter Cards to build each word on the list one time.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, Center #8: Sound House, a_e, students have sound houses with the spelling pattern /a_e/. Students choose a picture card and write the word for the picture.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 201-205, students sound out each word on their mini-book /i_e/ and read each of the words on their papers.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 231-235, students are provided letter cards for blends, digraphs, and the vowel team /ea/. Students also have a Wonder Word mat and picture cards with a word containing the sound /ea/. Students look at the picture and build the word.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials promote application and encoding of phonics in activities and tasks. (mid Kindergarten-Grade 2)

Materials provide some application and encoding of phonics in activities and tasks. There is limited instruction for students to practice phonics within sentences. Materials include limited practice for students to encode words during spelling activities and during the Frog and Bug activities and additional activities require students to write single words, not sentences. Explicit instruction for each introduced pattern is not systematic. Materials include limited activities of application and encoding of phonics in Step 6.

Materials include limited explicit, systematic teacher-level instruction of teacher modeling that demonstrates the use of phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 196-200, students are shown picture cards. The teacher writes one of the words and puts a rectangle around the ending rime. The teacher gives students a paper with two ending rimes, and students are to write a list of rhyming words with the ending rime.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 216-220, Center #8: Silly Sentences, the teacher models how to create a sentence using words from the Frog and Bug bucket. The teacher models how to write the sentence, emphasizing how to write the uppercase letters at the beginning of the sentences, putting proper spaces between each word, and putting the end mark at the end of the sentence.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 226-230, in the practice pages /ee/, the teacher writes the sentence, “A weed is next to a seed.” Then the teacher decodes the sentence and helps students notice that the weed is alone.

Lessons provide students with limited activities and tasks to promote application of phonics as they encode words in sentences or in phrases based on common and newly taught phonics patterns. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, in the “Express Spelling” section, students write Sneaky e words by writing four or five sentences.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 216-220, students pick one word from the “Bug” group and one word from the “Frog” group to create a sentence. Students copy the sentences into their booklet with a pencil.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4 and Step 5, Days 216-220 , students color an object in the picture that has a Sneaky “e” and a long vowel. Students encode that word by saying the word, listening for the phonemes, and using their knowledge of letter-to-sound correspondences and “Sneaky “e” to write the correct letters for the sounds in the word.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4 and Step 5, Days 261-265, students color objects in the picture that are words with a vowel team and a long vowel. Students write two to three sentences about the pictures, using some of the vowel team words in their sentences. Students encode the vowel team words by saying the words, listening for the phonemes, and using their knowledge of letter-to-sound correspondences and vowel team words to write the correct letters for the sounds in the word.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials include systematic instruction of high-frequency words and practice opportunities of high-frequency words to develop automaticity.

The materials contain practice for students in identifying the Sticky Words in isolation. The program lacks evidence of frequent opportunities for the teacher to model and read irregularly spelled words. There was no evidence of systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words or frequent opportunities for teachers to model the spelling and reading of irregularly spelled words in isolation. No evidence was found in Step 6 of teaching of irregularly spelled words other than these words being included on the weekly spelling list. Additionally, some of the practice of high-frequency words takes place in center activities, which are optional. Furthermore, the number of Sticky Words may not be enough for students in Grade 2 depending upon where the student began instruction in the Express Readers program.

Materials include some systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 176-180, the teacher displays all the Sticky word display cards for Step 4. The teacher explains “a Sticky Word is a word we get stuck on. The teacher places the word they in the middle of the board. The teacher chooses a book from the class library. Students are instructed to put their hands on their head or make a movement or sound each time they hear or see the word they in the story read aloud.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 226-230, the teacher displays the Sticky Word what and puts it in the middle of the board. The teacher reads a story to students. Every time the students see/hear the word what, they put their hands on their heads.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Page 248, Days 226-230, the teacher displays the Sticky Word Display Cards for why and reviews the word. The students search for the word on the activity page, color the sticky word, do a hidden picture hunt for the words, and/or complete writing practice.

Materials include some opportunities for the teacher to model the spelling and reading of irregularly spelled words in isolation. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 176-180, the teacher displays all of the Sticky Word cards for Step 4. After explaining what Sticky Words are, the teacher reads a story that features Sticky Words. When the teacher says a Sticky Word, the students put their hands on their head, give a high five, or clap their hands.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, the teacher reads the book, Duck Bakes a Cake, with students. The teacher reads the book with students to help them track sentences and to find Sticky Words when they are reading.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 181-185, students are given Sticky Word display cards for Steps 1-4. The students place the words on the floor. The teacher reads each word one time, as students slap or tap that word. The teacher calls out the words multiple times in different orders for students to find and slap or tap.

Students practice identifying and reading irregularly spelled words in isolation. Example includes but is not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 176-180, the students are provided a Sticky Word hunt paper which has 100+ words. The words on the word hunt include Sticky Words and decodable words. The teacher determines three words for the students to find on the page, and each of the three words are circled with a different color of crayon. The teacher explains to students that they are not to read the text but scan and track each line to find the Sticky Words. Students are asked to count the number of times each word appears in the word hunt and record the number.

Materials include a limited quantity of new grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words for students to make reading progress. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, students are introduced to the following Sticky Words: could, no, now, our, said, we, what, why.
• In Teacher Guidebook, Step 6, provides the 14 Sticky Words for Step 6 instruction. The Step 6 words include the following words: about, always, friend, how, know, knows, me, sorry, were, where, while, who, would, your.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials provide frequent practice opportunities to read and write high-frequency words in context (sentences).

There are multiple opportunities for students to read high-frequency words through the use of decodable books and sentence solving activities; however, materials lack opportunities for students to write high-frequency words in sentences. Students are provided opportunities to write sentences as they complete sentence starters; however, the completed sentences may or may not contain high-frequency words.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade level irregularly spelled words in a sentence. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, students read the book, Frog Has The Blues. The book contains the following Sticky Words: some, the, you, are, says, have, good, sees, wants, to, do, be, from, go.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 231-235, students read the book, Pig at the Beach. The new Sticky Words that students read are, now. There are previously learned "Sticky Words" in the book: of, the, does, for, to, was, he, when, good, wants.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 5, Days 226-230, students are given the book Duck Feels Sick and turn to the first page to find the Sticky Words in this story. Students go on a hunt, coloring the Sticky Words in the book with a yellow crayon. The teacher reads the book with the students, helping them find the Sticky Words and use prior knowledge to read those words.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Unit 2, Book: Snakes in a Storm, after students receive a copy of the book, the teacher reviews the information in the box. Included in the box are a list of Sticky Words found in the book with an explanation that “a Sticky Word is a word you can get stuck on! Don’t get stuck on the Sticky Words.” Students open to the inside of the front cover to review the Sticky Words. The teacher helps students read the book as a whole class, in partners, or in small groups.

Lessons provide students with limited opportunities to write grade level irregularly spelled words in tasks (such as sentences) in order to promote automaticity in writing grade level irregularly spelled words. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, the students are given Spelling List #1, which contains 16 words. Two of the 16 words are Sticky Words. Students are instructed to choose four words from the spelling list and write sentences using those words.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, Sticky Word Activity Book, students trace the Sticky Word and then practice writing the word on the lines below.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, the activity has students respond to the prompt, “If I was sick, I would..,” which allows them to practice writing Sticky Words in sentences.”
• In Express Spelling, Steps 4-6, students are given a packet of spelling activities, which includes a page for students to write a sentence for four of the spelling words and a page for writing all of the words two times each. Students get to pick which four spelling words they write in sentences.

Materials provide limited instruction in how to use student friendly reference materials and resources and reading irregularly spelled words (e.g., word cards, word lists, word ladders, student dictionaries). Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 176-180, students have access to Sticky Words flash cards and Display cards for the story that the teacher reads to students.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, the teacher displays the Word Display Card for the word some.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Activity: Tricky Dictionary, the teacher directions say to give students the following list of words: pouts, slouch, grouch, gown, discount, vow. Students choose three words to write. They write each word in the box and complete the definition.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials explicitly teach word analysis strategies (e.g., phoneme/grapheme recognition, syllabication, morpheme analysis) based on the requirements of the standards and provide frequent practice opportunities for students to apply word analysis strategies.

Materials include explicit instruction for syllabication to read longer words. Instruction in syllabication includes defining the term and modeling segmenting spoken words into syllables. Students are taught to identify blends and vowel teams by coloring them in a decodable book in order to draw attention to the blend while reading. There is explicit instruction of phoneme and grapheme word decoding strategies for students. However, there is limited evidence of explicit instruction for phoneme or grapheme recognition or morpheme analysis. Limited evidence was found for frequent explicit instruction of word-solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words or for multiple and varied opportunities being provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. Materials are available for students practice reading, complete practice pages, and complete spelling activities.

Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word analysis strategies (e.g. phoneme/grapheme recognition, syllabication, morpheme analysis). Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, students have letters a, s, v, m, k and the blend /fl/. The teacher says a sound, a blend, or a digraph, and students put their finger on the card that makes that sound. Students complete this activity with the teacher to create the word make.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, the teacher explains that words have one or more syllables and that a syllable is one unit of sound and has a vowel. The teacher teaches the rule that you say a syllable “every time your chin drops down”. The teacher says a word, and the students count the syllables in each word by wiggling each time the teacher"s chin drops. The teacher asks how many syllables were in the word spoken.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 226-230, the teacher explains, “When two vowels team up, they should say the first one’s name.” The teacher displays the vowel team and asks students to repeat the sound. The teacher builds words using the spelling pattern, and students decode these words as a group. The teacher states a word with the vowel team, and students find the correct letter cards to build the word.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 246-250, the teacher writes the words defeat and windmill. The teacher reminds students that each syllable in a word is a unit that contains a vowel. The teacher starts with the word defeat and asks how many syllables the word has. The teacher explains that syllables that end with a vowel are most often read as a long vowel. The teacher models segmenting the word into syllables.

Materials contain some explicit instruction of word solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, the teacher chooses a card with a /a_e/ pattern and writes the word in a visible place. The teacher explains that students can make a rhyming list by taking this ending and adding a different onset or beginning sound. Students write a word list with the same rime.
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, Unit 7, students practice reading the multi-syllabic words by reading the words in chunks. The students are encouraged to cover up part of the word as they are reading the other part.

Limited varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, the students read the book, Duck Bakes a Cake. The book has a_e words in it.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 2 and 3, Days 216-220, the teacher writes a multi-syllabic word and circles each part, showing how words can be read in parts. Students are given a word pile and they choose a word from the pile, circle both syllables, and decode each part separately.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 2 and 3, Days 246-250, Fish Gets Clean, students read the decodable book. Students color the vowel teams throughout the book, and teachers help students “chunk” two-syllable words.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that instructional opportunities are built into the materials for systematic, evidence-based, explicit instruction in fluency (Grades 1-2).

Materials provide opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements in Steps 4 and 5. There are no opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency in Step 6. Parts of the phonics books are modeled during Step 6 fluency instruction, but there is no evidence that students have the opportunity to hear fluent reading of extended text by a model reader. Students are paired with classmates for readings or rereadings of decodable phonics books, but it is not specified if the partner is a fluent reader who can model accurate reading. The instructions for teachers include modeling examples and non-examples for fluent reading.

Materials include weekly opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level text. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 186-190, the objectives include “to engage in supported practice to gain oral reading fluency” and “to understand the use and impact of phrasing, expression, punctuation, rate and accuracy.” To practice fluency, the teacher explains how to use intonation, read punctuation, read with a rhythm, and read with an appropriate pace.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4 and Step 5, Days 211-215, the teacher explains the following fluency aspects: intonation, read punctuation, and read with rhythm and consistent pace.

Materials provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level text by a model reader. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, students reread the book Frog Has The Blues with a partner. The focus of the reread is to read with more accuracy and fluency simultaneously. Students switch off reading sentences in the book out loud.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 226-230, the teacher is prompted to provide examples for students of reading with expression and not in a monotone voice, reading proper rate, not too fast or too slow, and reading with accuracy. The teacher models reading stopping at every mark to take a breath.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 241-245, the teacher models reading the sentences with the students from the decodable book, Snakes on the Train.

Materials include some resources for explicit instruction in fluency. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 251-255, students read the story, Cub on a Boat. The teacher explains that students use intonation when they read out loud. The teacher explains that students should read for punctuation and with an appropriate pace.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 216-220, students read a Reader's Theater called Frog has the Blues.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that varied and frequent opportunities are built into the materials for students to engage in supported practice to gain oral reading fluency beginning in mid-Grade 1 and through Grade 2 (once accuracy is secure).

Students have an opportunity to reread a decodable book introduced during the whole-class lesson, after it has been read once with the teacher and used in a center activity. During centers, there is consistently a center focused on rereading decodable texts after whole-class lessons; however, centers are flexible. Feedback and guidance from the teacher is limited to general reminders about slowing down, thinking if the word makes sense, or trying to read again. There is a lack of evidence regarding specific feedback suggestions. There are frequent opportunities for students to read short stories and phonics books to practice fluency. There is opportunity for self-correction procedure that is used to help students build automaticity and fluency. Students are typically presented with one new decodable book per five-day instructional sequence.

Opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to gain oral reading fluency. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4, Scope and Sequence, in seven of ten weekly lessons in this step, students have the opportunity to practice oral reading fluency through the reading of a phonics book. In six of these weeks, they have the opportunity to practice oral reading fluency while reading the Express Readers.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 5, Scope and Sequence, pages 7-8, in seven of the eight weekly lessons in this step, students have the opportunity to practice oral reading fluency through the reading of a phonics book. In four of these weeks, they also have the opportunity to practice oral reading fluency while reading the Express Readers. Additionally, in seven of these weeks, students reread the phonics book during centers to practice fluency.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, the Scope and Sequence outlines Step 5 phonics books. There are seven different phonics books, such as Duck Feels Sick and Cub On a Boat.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 246-250, students read the short story, “Snakes in the Rain.”
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 251-255, students read Cub on a Boat simultaneously with the teacher and then reread with a partner.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 256-260, students read the book Cat On The Road simultaneously with the teacher and then reread with a partner.

Materials contain opportunities for students to participate in repeated readings of a grade-level text to practice oral reading fluency. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 236-240, students reread Dog’s Feast, which was introduced in a whole-class lesson during the five-day instructional sequence. Students reread with the teacher, a stuffed animal, or a classmate, and then the teacher facilitates an additional reread.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 241-245, students reread Snakes on a Train, which was introduced in a whole-class lesson during the five-day instructional sequence. Students reread with the teacher, a stuffed animal, or a classmate, and then the teacher facilitates an additional reread.

Materials include some guidance and feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, for the book Duck Bakes a Cake, the teacher helps with self-correcting by reminding students to think about the sentence as a whole and whether the words make sense in context, to look at the phonics and sound out the words, and to identify whether the word is decodable or a Sticky Word.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4, Days 196-200, the teacher explains that reading with fluency is reading smoothly and with a proper rate and breath-taking. Then the teacher models the effect fluency and expression have on ability to comprehend by: reading part of the script in monotone voice, reading a sentence leaving large pauses between each word, reading a section of the script quickly and reading a sentence very quietly. After providing these examples, the teacher asks students if they understood the reading or found it interesting to listen to.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 206-210, while reading the book, The Snakes Race, the teacher helps students to self-correct when making mistakes by identifying whether the word is decodable, looking back at the letters and saying each sound in order, and thinking about whether the word they read makes sense.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 5, Days 236-240, the teacher reminds students to read with expression, read with proper rate, read with accuracy, and stop at every end mark and take a breath. The teacher should provide examples of the above factors in reading out loud to show proper and incorrect examples.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria that materials provide teacher guidance to support students as they confirm or self-correct errors and emphasize reading for purpose and understanding.

Materials include strategies for how the teacher can help students self-correct errors. Although the teacher is prompted to give reminders about using looking carefully at the sounds in words, there is a lack of specific instructions on how to confirm students' use of the strategies and how to make students aware if they chose the correct strategy based on the error they made. The materials contain learning objectives and teacher discussion questions for students to understand the decodable texts; however, the teacher does not state the purpose for reading or provide a think-aloud during reading to guide students’ understanding.

Materials provide explicit lessons for the teacher in confirming and self-correcting errors in fluency. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 4, Days 186-190, Snake 1 and Snake 2, the teacher is advised to help students to self-correct when making mistakes in reading by identifying whether the word is decodable or not, looking back a the letters and slowly saying each sound in order, and thinking about whether the word they read makes sense in the context of the sentence and the picture on the page in order to self-check accuracy.

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 196-200, Dog and his Bone, the teacher helps students to self-correct by identifying whether the word is a decodable or Sticky Word. The teacher prompts the student to look back at the word, saying each sound in order, and thinking about whether the word they read makes sense in the context of the sentence and the picture on the page in order to self-check accuracy.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Step 5, Days 236-240, Dog’s Feast, the teacher is advised to help students to self-correct when making mistakes in reading by identifying whether the word is decodable or not, looking back a the letters and slowly saying each sound in order, and thinking about whether the word they read makes sense in the context of the sentence and the picture on the page in order to self-check accuracy.

Materials do not provide opportunities for students to practice using confirmation or self-correction of errors.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to read on-level texts (Grades 1-2) for purpose and understanding. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 191-195, students read the decodable book Duck Bakes a Cake. The objectives include, “to engage students in oral language and discussion of text being read.”
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 206-210, students read the decodable book The Snake's Race. The objectives include, “to engage students in oral language and discussion of text being read.”
• In Purple Teacher Planner, Step 6, ou ow (the ouch sound) Unit, the teacher has students predict what the book Cub Frowns is about by looking at the cover. After the book is read, students discuss the book by answering basic example questions, simple questions, and complex questions.

Materials contain limited explicit directions and/or think-alouds for the teacher to model how to engage with a text to emphasize reading for purpose and understanding. Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 201-205, the teacher explains to students that they should use intonation in order to not have a monotone voice and have the story be boring. The teacher reads the text with a monotone voice and then reads the story a second time with a more interesting voice, and asks students which voice they liked more.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 211-215, the teacher explains that reading slowly is a wonderful way to discover the words and avoid making mistakes.
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5, Days 236-240, the teacher provides students with the book Dog’s Feast. The objectives include, “to engage students in oral language and discussion of text being read.” The teacher is provided with example questions to ask students, such as, “What happens because of Dog’s fall?” and “How is the problem solved at the end of the story?”
• In Orange Teacher Planner, Steps 4 and 5,Days 241-245, the teacher provides the students with the book Snakes on a Train. The objectives include, “to engage students in oral language and discussion of text being read.” The teacher is provided with example questions to ask students, such as, “Why are the snakes travelling?” and “Why can’t the snakes take the bus?”