8th Grade - Gateway 2
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Building Knowledge
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and TasksGateway 2 - Partially Meets Expectations | 81% |
|---|---|
Criterion 2.1 | 20 / 24 |
Criterion 2.2: Coherence | 6 / 8 |
The grade 8 materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “human nature” to promote knowledge building. Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details according to grade-level standards and include coherently sequenced questions and tasks to support students in developing these skills. They also include sequences of text-based questions and tasks that support students’ abilities to integrate knowledge and ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts. The materials provide opportunities for students to improve their analytical skills through questions and tasks that are purposefully sequenced to assist students in deepening their understanding of texts.
Throughout the program, the majority of tasks and assessment questions are aligned with the grade-level standards. However, the materials provided are high-level lesson skeletons that can not be used for instruction to fully meet the grade-level standards. By the end of the school year, most standards are repeatedly addressed by the program.
The grade 6 materials provide the teacher with a clear pacing guide for the school year, and the implementation schedule provided may be reasonably completed in a school year because there are fewer lessons provided than average school days, allowing teachers the freedom to add re-teach lessons or extend others.
Criterion 2.1
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
The grade 8 materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “human nature” to promote knowledge building. Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details according to grade-level standards and include coherently sequenced questions and tasks to support students in developing these skills. They also include sequences of text-based questions and tasks that support students’ abilities to integrate knowledge and ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts. The materials provide opportunities for students to improve their analytical skills through questions and tasks that are purposefully sequenced to assist students in deepening their understanding of texts.
The program includes culminating tasks that allow students to demonstrate knowledge of the unit topics and themes by integrating reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Though the culminating tasks focus primarily on writing skills, students fulfill the grade level standards across the year. While there is writing practice, there is insufficient explicit writing instruction. In addition, while the materials include research projects to build knowledge, there is neither a clear progression of research skills in the assignments moving from providing more scaffolding to less scaffolding nor an increase in rigor in the research-based assignments. Moreover, the Teacher Tools include some general information about teaching research-based assignments in the classroom but the lesson-specific information about how to teach individual lessons is lacking.
Indicator 2a
Texts are organized around a cohesive topic(s) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a.
Materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme, “Are human beings fundamentally good or evil?” and the relationship between people and power, to build students’ ability to read and comprehend texts independently and proficiently. The Course Summary states: “Through careful study of classic and contemporary texts, students will consider how access to power influences human behavior, and how everyday people respond in the face of unjust leadership, violent oppression, and cruelty. Students will grapple with some of the darkest events of the 20th century, and contemplate their power as young people to create the future they wish to see.” Each unit begins with a clear statement of how that unit’s materials fit within the theme and what students will be learning. The theme is supported by Essential Questions that students explore; the texts explore literary characters’ experiences and real-world stories, articles, and questions that build upon the initial theme. Students critically think about real-world applications of the theme in their own lives. The associated tasks connect to the theme and require students to demonstrate their understanding in various ways. The text sets, including informational texts, build knowledge and students’ content knowledge and ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year.
Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry. Texts build knowledge and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, texts are organized around the unit theme of Facing Prejudice and the yearlong theme, “Are human beings fundamentally good or evil?” The materials state: “Students explore the American experience through the eyes of two young men—one white and one Black—connected through an incident of police brutality.” This occurs through the reading of the core text, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “How do race and racial bias shape a person’s experience and understanding of the world? What responsibility do people have when they witness—or are the victim of—injustice?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “Police brutality disproportionately affects Black Americans. Racism is present and pervasive in America today—whether or not people choose to acknowledge it—and has real and deadly implications for the Black community. White Americans have a responsibility to engage with this reality, educate themselves, and stand up for racial justice.”
In Lesson 4, students read the core text, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, and view a video, “A Conversation about Growing Up Black” by The New York Times. Students answer Close Read Questions that connect to the Essential Questions in the unit, such as “Summarize how the young Black men in the video feel that the (white) world perceives them; How has race–and racial bias/racism–shaped these young men’s relationship to law enforcement?”
In Lesson 12, students continue their reading of All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Students “Explain the ways that characters’ lives are shaped by race and racism in All American Boys.”
In Lesson 21, students draw on evidence from the unit texts to answer Discussion Questions, such as “Do people have a responsibility to stand up when they see injustice occur? Is this true in all circumstances?” The reading and activities connect to the Essential Questions in the unit.
Throughout the unit, students read the core text and nine other texts centered on the theme. The texts directly grow students' knowledge as they work toward the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings.
In Unit 4, texts are organized around the unit theme of Surviving Repression and the yearlong theme, “Are humans fundamentally good or evil?” Students “explore human nature through the story of a young girl coming of age during the Iranian Revolution, and the challenges she faced during this violent, turbulent time.”
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “What tools do governments use to control and oppress people, and what tools do people use to resist oppression? In what ways is the experience of growing up universal, and in what ways is it shaped by a person’s setting and circumstances?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “A country’s government does not necessarily reflect the beliefs and desires of all of its people. The risks of resisting an oppressive government can be severe, and yet some people are willing to lay down their lives in the service of their beliefs. The experiences of growing up during a time of political upheaval are both unique and universal.”
In Lesson 8, students read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Students answer a Writing Prompt that also connects to the Essential Questions of the unit: “What does the incident at the Rex Cinema (pp. 14–15) reveal about Iran in 1980? How does Satrapi use text and images to communicate ideas? Provide specific details both from the text and images to support your answer.” Students build knowledge and understanding that “The shah’s government is oppressive and violent, as demonstrated by the fire at the Rex Cinema.”
In Lesson 14, students read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Students answer Close Read Questions that connect to the Essential Questions of the unit, such as “What are the risks of resisting authority during this time period? Provide at least two examples from today’s reading and explain your thinking.”
In Lesson 20, students draw on evidence from all the unit texts to answer Discussion Questions that connect to the Essential Questions in the unit, such as “What is the relationship between gender and power in Persepolis?”
Throughout the unit, students read the core text and 11 other texts centered on the theme. The texts directly grow students' knowledge as they work toward the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings.
In Unit 5, texts are organized around the unit theme of Facing Calamity and the yearlong theme, “Are humans fundamentally good or evil?” The materials state, “Students explore human nature by studying the climate crisis and its causes and impact, and the role of government, businesses, and individuals in finding solutions.”
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “Who is responsible for causing the climate crisis and who is responsible for solving it? What is the relationship between the climate crisis and social, economic, and political power? How do scientists and fiction writers imagine the future if we do—and do not—address climate change?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme:
“We are already seeing the impacts of climate change today, and things will only get catastrophically worse if we do not immediately address this crisis.
People with less money and political power are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The world’s slow response to climate change can at least partially be linked to the actions of large corporations that have benefited financially from ignoring the crisis.
There is a growing movement of activists and artists who are speaking out about climate change and the dangers we face by not urgently addressing it.”
In Lesson 6, students read an informational article, “As Rising Heat Bakes US Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most” by Meg Anderson. Students take a position on whether climate change will affect all people equally.
In Lesson 14, students complete a Writing Prompt in which they must answer the following question, which connects to the Essential Questions in the unit and their reading of core text An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore:
“What do people need to know about this approach to fighting climate change in one clear sentence? (Provide a central idea statement.)
What are the most important actions to take if you are using this approach?
Why is this approach important and effective for fighting climate change?
What are potential challenges to this approach, and how might you overcome them?
What is the very first step a person would need to take if they wanted to take action this way?”
In Lesson 16, students draw on their readings to answer Discussion Questions that connect to the Essential Questions of the unit, such as the following: “What is the relationship between climate change, money, and power? What or who is responsible for climate change? Does individual action matter to limiting climate change?”
Throughout the unit, students read the core text and 16 other texts centered on the theme. The texts directly grow students' knowledge as they work toward the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings.
Indicator 2b
Materials require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high quality questions and tasks.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b.
Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details according to grade-level standards. Students determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular key ideas and details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments; and analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes). The materials include coherently sequenced questions and tasks to support students in developing these skills. Students analyze craft and structure according to grade-level standards, such as determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyzing how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas; and determining an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text. These skills are systematically built over the course of the unit through increasingly complex Close Reading Questions, Discussion Questions, and Writing Prompts to complete the Socratic Seminar and Content Assessment.
For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, students read multiple texts before participating in a Socratic Seminar to determine how characters in the core text, All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, change and what impacted that change. Throughout the unit, students analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in the novel impact the plot or characters.
In Lesson 2, students read pages 1-23 in All-American Boys and answer the Writing Prompt, “What does the reader understand about the incident at Jerry’s because the chapter is told from Rashad’s narrative perspective? Pull out specific evidence from the text and carefully explain your thinking.”
In Lesson 8, students read pages 123-162 in All-American Boys and answer the Writing Prompt, “How has witnessing Rashad's assault impacted Quinn’s perspective on race? What specific incidents and lines of text reveal his perspective at this point in the text? Provide evidence from pages 136–140.”
In Lesson 16, students read pages 269-296 in All-American Boys and consider a variety of events in the novel in the Close Read Questions: “Do the people writing about Rashad on the internet really ‘see’ him? Support your position with evidence from pages 277–278. What motivates Quinn to call the police and provide a statement? Support your answer with evidence from pages 285-286.”
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, students read The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacket and Night by Elie Wiesel over multiple lessons and analyze specific details.
In Lesson 2, students answer a Writing Prompt about what Anne is like, providing text evidence that supports those character traits.
Lesson 3, students “Identify specific incidents and lines of text that reveal aspects of character dynamics in The Diary of Anne Frank.” Students practice analyzing how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision. Students discuss the following Close Read Questions:
“What does the incident with Peter’s shoes reveal about Anne? What does it reveal about Peter? What does it reveal about their relationship? Provide evidence from pages 18–19 to support your answer.
What does Miep’s request to have Mr. Dussel move into the Annex reveal about Mr. Van Daan? Select one additional character living in the Annex and explain what we learn about them as a result of this incident. Provide evidence from pages 25-26 to support your answer.”
In Lesson 7, students read Night and “Explain how events in Night reveal aspects of characters and suggest larger truths about human nature.” The tasks support students with analyzing how the text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events. Students complete the Writing Prompt: “What does the community’s reaction to Moishe the Beadle’s warning, the news about the invasion of Hungary and the arrival of German soldiers, reveal about them—and about human nature more generally? Provide at least three pieces of evidence from pages 3–11 to support your answer.” Students have other opportunities to work with both of the core texts later in the unit.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, students read multiple texts to participate in a Socratic Seminar using their understanding of the central ideas to answer a series of questions. Throughout the unit, students analyze the central ideas in different texts about climate change.
In Lesson 7, students read the story, “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson and answer the Writing Prompt: “Although the author of this story does not explicitly mention climate change, how can the theme he develops in this story apply to the current climate crisis? Carefully explain your reasoning and what we can learn from this story today.”
In Lesson 12, students determine the central idea of two articles, “Exxon Knew About Climate Change Almost 40 Years Ago” by Shannon Hall and “Fishermen Sue Big Oil for Its Role in Climate Change” by Alastair Bland, in both the Close Read Questions and the Writing Prompt. One Close Read Question states: “In two to three sentences, summarize Exxon’s history conducting climate change research in the 1970s and 80s, based on information from paragraphs 1 through 4 in the article ‘Exxon Knew About Climate Change Almost 40 Years Ago’.” The Writing Prompt states: “Summarize the first two sections of the article ‘Fishermen Sue Big Oil for Its Role in Climate Change (Introduction and A Recent History of Heatwaves)’ in three to five sentences and include the central idea of this section of text as the first sentence of your summary.”
In Lesson 14, students read a section of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore, and prior to the Socratic Seminar, the Close Read Question asks: “What is Gore’s central message about political activism (pp. 177–183)? Provide two pieces of evidence that strongly support your answer.” All of these activities and questions lead the student through an analysis of various central ideas that they can then use to support their thinking in the Socratic Seminar.
For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 19, students read “The ‘Say Her Name’ Movement Started for a Reason: We Forget Black Women Killed by Police” by Precious Fondren and answer Close Read Questions. The questions assist students with determining the author's point of view or purpose and analyzing how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints:
“1) What is Fondren trying to persuade her reader of? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer.
2) What is Fondren trying to inform her reader about? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer.”
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, students write a literary analysis essay about how rhetorical appeals and propaganda are used in Animal Farm by George Orwell. In order to support students in completing the essay, students focus on how language and the use of language interact with other elements in the text throughout the unit.
In Lesson 11, during the first lesson for the novel, students answer Close Read Questions that focus on the language used to describe the farm:
“How does Old Major describe the lives of farm animals in England? What specific words and phrases does Orwell use to clearly develop Old Major’s perspective? Select at least three examples from pages 6–9 to support your answer.
What is Old Major’s perspective of human beings, and what is his tone when describing them? What specific words and phrases does Orwell use to develop Major’s perspective and tones? Select at least three examples from chapter one to support your answer.
What specific words and phrases does Orwell use in the song ‘Beasts of England’ to develop the tone of this song? Select at least three examples from pages 12–13 and explain how they develop the tone.”
In Lesson 13, students answer the Writing Prompt: “How does Squealer use the propaganda techniques of fear and transfer in his speech on pages 35–36? Provide at least two pieces of quoted textual evidence and explain how it demonstrates this technique. Use the word ‘manipulate’ in your answer.”
In Lesson 15, students answer Close Read Questions that focus on the use of different forms of propaganda, the answers to which must also focus on language and the use of language.
“How does Squealer gaslight the animals on page 64? Provide evidence that demonstrates this technique from pages 63–64, and explain how this is also an example of dramatic irony—and the impact it has on the reader.
How does Napoleon use the propaganda technique of scapegoating on pages 69-71? Provide two pieces of quoted evidence from these pages and carefully explain your thinking.”
These lessons build students’ understanding of how language is integral to the different forms of propaganda and rhetorical appeals in order to complete the essay.
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Students practice standard RI.8.5 (analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept) in multiple lessons. The Grade 8 Course Overview identifies RI.8.5 as one of “two key standards that students will have multiple opportunities to practice and apply to text.”
In Lesson 9, students read pages 18–32 of Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi and “Explain how specific incidents impact and reveal aspects of characters and setting, and describe how Satrapi communicates this through text and images.” Students answer a Writing Prompt: “Which specific incidents, lines of text, and panels reveal that Marji is very young and has more to learn about how the world works? Provide at least two examples from today’s reading, referencing both text and images to support your answer.”
In Lesson 11, students answer Close Read Questions connecting to pages 47-71 of the same text:
“How does hearing about the torture of political prisoners impact Marji (pp. 50–53)? Provide at least two ways that she is impacted by the vivid descriptions of torture, using evidence from text and images to support your answer.
How does Marji respond to the knowledge that her father is not ‘a hero’? What does this reveal about her character? Support your answer with evidence from text and images on pages 52–54.
How does listening to Uncle Anoosh’s stories impact Marji? What does her reaction reveal about her character? Provide at least two ways that she is impacted by his stories, using text and images from pages 54–61 to support your answer.”
Indicator 2c
Materials require students to analyze the integration of knowledge within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high quality text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.
Materials include sequences of text-based questions and tasks that support students’ abilities to integrate knowledge and ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts. Materials provide opportunities for students to improve their analysis skills through questions and tasks that are purposefully sequenced to assist students in deepening their understanding of texts. The questions help students in the successful completion of the culminating tasks, such as Socratic Seminars.
Throughout the units, students analyze a series of big ideas using the knowledge they have built throughout the unit. These big ideas are evaluated in one, and sometimes both, of the culminating tasks at the end of the unit. In all units, students read a variety of texts that center around the theme and central idea of the unit. They use the different texts to convey their understanding in the culminating tasks.
Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lessons 21–23, students identify places where the film version of Animal Farm by George Orwell differs from the original text and evaluate the choices the director made. Students examine two different texts as they analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script and evaluate the choices made by the director or actors. Students answer Close Read Questions:
“Where did the filmmakers condense the timeline of events in the first several chapters of Animal Farm? What is the impact of this choice?
Where do the filmmakers choose to elaborate/spend more time on events than Orwell did in the first several chapters of Animal Farm? What is the impact of this choice?
Students answer a writing prompt: “Contrast the ways that Napoleon is depicted early in the novel and early in the film. Provide evidence from both the text and film to support your answer. Evaluate the director’s choices.”
The next two lessons provide additional opportunities to answer a series of text-dependent questions to deepen students’ understanding of the texts and grow their skills. The questions in Lesson 22 include but are not limited to the following:
“What decision has the filmmaker made about the use of dialogue in the film? Is this choice faithful to the original text, or a departure? Provide examples to support your answer.
Where in the film has the filmmaker condensed the timeline of events from the text, or omitted events altogether? What is the impact of this change?”
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 2, students identify key ideas the author, Al Gore, uses to support his claim about climate change and assess whether the evidence he provides is relevant and sufficient in the core text, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Close Read Questions assist in deepening students’ understanding of the text:
“What is Gore’s central argument about climate change on pages 10–18?
What argument is Gore making about the impact of climate change on the oceans on page 14? Identify the evidence that he provides to support this claim and explain whether this evidence is relevant and sufficient to support his claim.
What argument is Gore making about the impact of climate change on forests on pages 15–17? Identify the evidence that he provides to support this claim and explain whether this evidence is relevant and sufficient to support his claim.”
Students then complete the writing prompt: “What argument does Gore make about the impact of climate change on human health? Identify the evidence that he provides to support this claim and explain whether this evidence is relevant and sufficient to support his claim.” In Lessons 3 and 6, students practice the same skills: delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assess whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient, and recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, students read the core text, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, along with other texts, including the article, “The Stolen Revolution: Iranian Women of 1979” (author not cited).
In Lesson 12, students answer questions about the novel and the article through both the Close Read Questions and the writing prompt, using evidence from both texts to support their answers. One question reads: “How did the new fundamentalist government impact the lives of women in Iran? Provide at least two examples and use evidence from both texts to support your answer.”
In Lessons 18 and 19, students learn about the hijab and different perspectives on wearing it through the article “Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?” by Caitlin Killian and a video, “Majede Najar: Why I wear a hijab” by TEDTalentSearch. The writing prompt asks, “In which paragraph does Goodarzi respond directly to viewpoints that conflict with her own? Identify the specific paragraph, note the conflicting viewpoints she acknowledges, and explain how she responds to them.”
In Lesson 20, students participate in a Socratic Seminar connected to all of the texts in the unit. Questions include, “What does Persepolis—and the nonfiction articles we read about wearing a hijab—communicate about the importance of having choices?; How do people maintain their humanity during times of war?; How does having power change people?; and What is the relationship between gender and power in Persepolis?” In order to do this, students have been provided with opportunities to discuss these ideas throughout the unit.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 7, students analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from traditional stories and the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new. Students complete Close Read Questions connecting to “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson:
“Locate Stevenson’s allusion to the biblical story of Noah and the flood. How does this allusion develop meaning in the story? How does your knowledge of the causes and outcome of Noah’s story impact your understanding of ‘Notes from a Bottle’?
How does Stevenson initially describe the attitude of the residents toward the flood? How does their attitude change as the story progresses? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer.
At the end of the story, Alice MacNeil tries to get everyone to sing ‘Nearer My God to Me,’—a song that the passengers aboard the Titanic sang as the boat was sinking. How does this allusion to the Titanic develop meaning in the story?”
In Lesson 7, students analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic. Students read two articles, “What the new report on climate change expects from you” by Eliza Mackintosh and “Focusing on how individuals can stop climate change is very convenient for corporations” by Morten Fibieger Byskov, and identify where the texts disagree and agree.
Indicator 2d
Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit's topic(s) through integrated literacy skills (e.g., a combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.
Materials include culminating tasks that allow students to demonstrate knowledge of the unit topics and themes by integrating reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Though the culminating tasks focus primarily on writing skills, students fulfill the grade level standards across the year. One type of culminating task is a Content Assessment that “pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions orally or in writing” and “should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.” Content Assessments are found at the end of each unit and include two to four sections that include vocabulary, grammar, and content knowledge questions, multiple choice and/or short answer questions connected to excerpts from multiple texts, and an essay connected to texts. In addition to the Content Assessment, culminating tasks within each unit include Socratic Seminars, essays, and presentations. The culminating tasks connect in a meaningful way to the unit themes and essential questions. The questions and tasks in each lesson that are connected to texts and research opportunities scaffold students towards the successful completion of the culminating task. For example, Writing Prompts, Close Read Questions, and Discussion Questions provide opportunities for students to explore the topic and themes to demonstrate their understanding. The culminating tasks offer some variety for students since Teacher Tools offer different types of academic discourse, and the questions vary according to the unit texts and themes. The guidance is general in the Teacher Tools that connects across Grades 6–8.
Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 13 students read and analyze pieces of Night by Elie Wiesel and write an analytical paragraph connecting Wiesel’s feelings in the text to his beliefs about God and religion in the Writing Prompt: “At the beginning of Night, Eliezer says, ‘Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?’ (p. 4). God and religion fundamentally define his sense of himself. After his brutal experience in the camps, Eliezer’s perspective drastically changes. How does Eliezer feel about God and religion? Write an analytical paragraph that answers this question. Include a topic sentence, evidence from the text, analysis, and a conclusion in your argument.” In Lessons 20–23, students complete a culminating task to research a current group of people at risk for genocide. In the writing portion of the culminating task, students work in groups to create a presentation: “In Elie Wiesel’s speech ‘The Perils of Indifference,’ he warns that ‘to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred.’ In this project, you will learn about the pyramid of hate and stages of genocide before researching and presenting on a community where people continue to suffer violent persecution today. By sharing this information with your classmates, you can help put an end to indifference.” After collecting information, students create a digital presentation and, in Lesson 23, present it to their classmates. In Lesson 24, students complete the Content Assessment. In Section 1, students answer nine multiple choice and short answer vocabulary questions. In Section 2, they complete a cold read of three texts, an excerpt from Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, an excerpt from “Remarks at the Dedication of Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum” by Elie Wiesel, and the article “Right-Wing Hate Groups are Recruiting Video Gamers” by Anya Kamanetz, and answer multiple choice questions. In Section 3, students read two articles, both adapted by Fishtank Learning Staff, “Right-Wing Hate Groups Are Recruiting Video Gamers” by Anya Kamenetz and “Neo-Nazi Terror Groups Are Using iFunny to Recruit” by Mack Lamoureux and Zachary Kamel. Students write an essay to the following prompt: “Explain how the internet and online propaganda has made white supremacy appeal to young white people. Write an informational essay where you explain how online activity is racializing a new generation of young extremists and white supremacists.” A number of Reading: Informational Text and Language standards are assessed within the multiple choice questions. Students also focus on mastering several Writing standards.
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 20, students complete a Socratic Seminar as one culminating task. Teachers determine what type of discourse they will use and present questions to discuss: “What does Persepolis—and the nonfiction articles we read about wearing a hijab—communicate about the importance of having choices? What is the relationship between gender and power in Persepolis?” In Lesson 23, students complete the Content Assessment. In Part One, students complete multiple choice and short answer vocabulary and grammar questions. In Part Two, students cold read five texts, an excerpt from Persepolis II: Story of a Return” by Marjane Satrapi, an excerpt from Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman, “Meet the Iranian youth exporting Persian culture to the world” by Mersiha Gadzo, “Why I Wrote Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, and “Rereading Persepolis in 2020: What I’ve Learned” by Giovanna Centeno, answer multiple choice and short answer questions, and write an essay “in which you explain the impact of graphic novel Persepolis, providing at least three different examples and supporting them with sufficient textual evidence.” Lessons 20 and 23 focus on mastery of specific Speaking & Listening and Writing standards.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 14, students read an excerpt of An Inconvenient Sequel by Al Gore and find the central idea of the text. Then, students create a short television commercial convincing other members of their class to take action regarding climate change. In Lesson 16, students participate in a Socratic Seminar as one culminating task. The questions they discuss include; “(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Must we change?”; “(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Can we change?”; “(From An Inconvenient Sequel) Will we change?”; “What or who is responsible for climate change?”; “What is the role of young people within the climate movement?”; “What is the relationship between climate change, money, and power?”; “What is the role of literature within the climate movement?”; “Does individual action matter to limiting climate change?” In Lessons 17–19, students research the two senators and a representative in Congress from their home state to learn about their stance on climate change. They write a letter “educating them on climate change and urging them to take action.” Throughout the task, students practice both writing and language skills from the standards. In Lesson 20, students complete the Content Assessment. In Part One, students complete multiple choice and short answer questions on vocabulary and grammar. In Part Two, students read three texts, “Veganism is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce our environmental impact on planet, study finds: Avoiding meat and dairy could reduce your carbon footprint from food by nearly three quarters” by Olivia Petter, “Don’t let vegetarian environmentalists shame you for eating meat. Science is on your side” by Bjorn Lomborg, and “This World” by Mary Oliver, answer multiple choice questions, and write an essay. In the essay, students write a letter to the school board where they express their opinion on the prompt: “Imagine that your local school board is looking for ways to ‘go green’ and reduce the impact schools have on the environment…they are considering serving vegan lunches in school cafeterias three days a week.” They use evidence from two articles, working to again master supporting claims with logical reasoning and evidence.
Indicator 2e
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.
Materials include frequent writing opportunities and address different types of writing to support students’ writing development; however, materials miss opportunities for explicit writing instruction and lesson guidance. Students practice writing in every lesson, and student directions for tasks encourage them to use tools, such as graphic organizers, checklists, and rubrics to help them brainstorm, organize, and edit their writing. Materials include different types of writing tasks that are embedded in the curriculum, connecting to the topics and texts students are studying. Writing opportunities include short written responses, research projects, presentations, and longer writing tasks. Many lessons include the practice of essential writing skills to meet grade-level standards; however, explicit connections to the standards and guidance to assist students in their learning and completion of the writing tasks are lacking. Student writing lessons at the beginning of the year provide appropriate scaffolds and structure in the design of the lesson prompt and correlating materials. While opportunities for growing students’ writing skills are present in the materials through more challenging writing tasks and scaffolding across the year, teacher guidance is minimal.
Though students practice writing consistently and have supports such as mentor texts and sample answers throughout the units, very little teacher support occurs in the lessons. The guidance available for teachers is general rather than lesson-specific, so teachers must provide their own tools for the majority of the lessons. The general guidance appears in the Teacher Tools, such as Instructional Strategies for Writing Lesson (6–8), which is a separate resource. Teachers do not have access to all the additional Teacher Tools for Progress Monitoring and Assessment in the free version. Each lesson does not explain how to teach the different parts. For example, each lesson starts with a writing prompt, so it appears that that should be done first in the lesson; however, the writing prompt is meant to be the last activity of each lesson with discussion questions and close reading that build to the writing prompt.
Materials include some writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
All units and lessons include opportunities for students to write in some form. Throughout each unit, each lesson plan begins with a writing prompt, though the prompt is intended to be answered by students at the end of the lesson. An educator could make the connection that the Close Reading and Discussion questions will assist students in successfully answering the prompt, but the order of the lesson is not explicitly stated. The answers expected for each prompt vary in length, with all questions relating to the lesson texts. A smaller project, such as analytical paragraphs or research presentations, incorporates writing within the first third of each unit. At the end of each unit, students complete a full process writing assignment that spans multiple lessons. Students learn about the mode of writing being used and collect evidence, brainstorm, write a draft, edit, and publish their final papers. Although materials frequently include sample answers and mentor texts, as well as specific ways for teachers to address gaps in learning and rubrics to assist in grading and self-assessing, materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance.
In Unit 2, there are five lessons on informative writing, one of which focuses on a piece of literature while the others help students prepare an informative digital presentation. First, students write an analytical piece about Night by Elie Wiesel to answer: “How does Eliezer feel about God and religion?” Later, students prepare a digital presentation about a group that suffers persecution today. Materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance, aside from a writing prompt and sample response.
In Unit 3, there is one lesson on argumentative writing, during which students can practice taking a position on a topic. Students can write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence when they write a paragraph that “determines the mood of the performance” they view and analyze. The directions ask students to “Include a topic sentence, evidence from text, analysis, and conclusion in your argument.” Materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance, aside from a writing prompt and sample response.
In Unit 4, materials provide students with additional opportunities to engage in argumentative writing. Over the course of four lessons, students write a longer four-paragraph essay relating to their reading of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
In Unit 4, there are two lessons on narrative writing. Students identify elements of narratives, add compelling dialogue, and write a strong conclusion. Materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance, aside from a writing prompt and sample response.
Instructional materials include models, but lack well-designed guidance, protocols, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher Tools, the Target Task Writing Support (6–12) includes various instructional strategies to support students during the prewriting, drafting, and post-writing stages. In the prewriting stage, teacher guidance includes breaking down the prompt, providing sentence stems, and encouraging rereading. During writing time, teacher guidance includes giving batch feedback, chunking independent time, and holding teacher conferences. The after-writing guidance includes having students reflect on their writing, using a rubric, and using a Show Call and Discourse routine. Also, in the Approach to Language and Grammar Instruction section, teachers can download an Editing Checklist (6–8.)
In the Teacher Tools, materials provide teachers with five sections to use during instruction: Preparing for A Writing Lesson, Writing Structures and Frameworks, Instructional Strategies for Writing Lessons (6-8), Giving Writing Feedback, and Target Task Writing Support (6-12). These sections provide various guidance to support writing instruction, such as rubrics, sample feedback, and structures for using mentor texts.
In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 7, students respond to a writing prompt question based on a text excerpt from All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Directions for the prompt require students to annotate the text and use their annotations to support answering, but the materials do not include a protocol for, or guidance on, how teachers should teach students how to annotate text or use their annotations to support their responses.
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 21, on Day 2 of the assigned research group presentation about a group of people under genocide alert, the lesson Objective states: “Compile and evaluate research information into a digital presentation;” however, the lesson does not include any other task directions other than the Homework: “Finish reading research at home.” Materials do not include further guidance about or provide a structure for, which Instructional Strategies for Writing Lessons (6–8) to use.
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 8, students conduct a short research project in order to create an infographic on a specific aspect of propaganda. The lesson includes limited student instructions for the task: “In a small group, research aspects of propaganda and create an infographic to present findings.” Materials provide a sample response as support.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 9, students begin drafting a short story that answers the question of what life might look like if we never addressed climate change. Students take data gathered from sources and translate the effects into a cli-fi story. Materials do not include graphic organizers or processes for teachers to utilize in support of students.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 18, students write a letter to Congress, “educating them on climate change and urging them to take action.” The lesson includes a list of requirements for students. Materials provide a sample response as support, including a Works Cited sample.
Indicator 2f
Materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2f.
Materials include research projects to build knowledge; however, there is neither a clear progression of research skills in the assignments moving from providing more scaffolding to less scaffolding, nor an increase in rigor in the research-based assignments. While the Teacher Tools include some general information about teaching research-based assignments in the classroom, the lesson-specific information about how to teach individual lessons is lacking. Research projects are present in some units, but there is no explicit instruction around the research writing standards. Research projects follow a topic closely related to the overall unit theme but do not draw on texts in each unit in conjunction with outside sources. Throughout the year, students are guided in doing research that builds on the foundations provided in Grades 6 and 7. They are provided with opportunities to gather information from print and digital sources. The Teacher Tools, Instructional Strategies for Writing Lessons (6–8) explains the different structures and routines included in the writing lessons; one structure includes Researching/Gathering Evidence.
Research projects are not sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Teacher Tools include a general suggestion in the Instructional Strategies for Writing Lessons (6–8) for students to cite research, sharing Citation Machine as a possible online citation builder. There are also suggestions for presenting examples and non-examples of credible sources to students. Materials address this standard, “Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation,” as a supporting standard in Unit 1, and as a core standard in Units 2, 3, 4, and 5.
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 20–21, students choose a community currently undergoing a genocide and research that group to create a digital presentation. As a part of this presentation, students need to include “accurate facts, statistics, and quotations” and “at least four photographs and a map or graph/chart.” While students are told they should “compile and evaluate research information,” sources are not provided, and no instructions are given on how or where they conduct research. While citation information is not specifically included, the sample response has a list of sources. There are no instructions for assessing the credibility of sources.
In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 17, materials address “Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation” as a core standard. Students “collect information on their representatives’ voting record on climate change” and write a letter to their representatives educating them on climate change and urging them to take action. The instructions state to “Include at least two facts or statistics on climate change, appropriately cited.” A Sample Response is available, including examples of in-text citations and an example of a Works Cited. There are no further explicit instructions in the lesson to ensure students assess the credibility of the sources or how to quote and paraphrase.
Materials sometimes support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Teacher Tools, general guidance relating to Research/Gathering Evidence is provided: “There are many ways to approach research tasks depending on the main objective of the writing project. If the focus is on selecting, analyzing, and disseminating information, it can be helpful to provide students with the research to use. This process can be scaffolded, depending on student need and development, from using all instructor-selected research, to using provided research as a starting point, or to guiding students in the practice of finding their own research.” Other suggestions include annotating, using a graphic organizer to keep track of information, offering a mini-lesson on paraphrasing, supporting students in learning how to collaborate, evaluate sources, and cite research. The lessons lack sufficient explicit instruction of research skills to ensure student mastery of grade-level standards.
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 9, students research a form of propaganda and create an infographic. This topic directly relates to propaganda used in the core texts of the unit.
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 2, students begin a research project to create a presentation based on a piece of Iranian history. Each possible topic is linked to another lesson in the unit in order to provide context and further knowledge.
Materials provide some opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process.
Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 8, a short research project is a core standard, and students create an infographic on a specific aspect of propaganda. The Writing Prompt states: “In a small group, research aspects of propaganda and create an infographic to present findings.” A Sample Response is provided. There is no additional guidance in the lesson or explicit instruction around generating additional related, focused questions. Materials include “Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration” as a core standard in Units 2, 4, and 5.
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 2, students begin a research project to research different pieces of Iranian history. They will present their research projects to the class. Students generate their own questions about their topic in order to guide their research. As a part of this presentation, students need to include “accurate facts, statistics, and quotations,” “response or quotation from a witness and/or experts,” and “at least four images (photographs, maps, or graphs/charts) or video clips.” There are no specific guidelines or instructional practices included.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 11, the skill is a supporting standard as students explain how events in All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely “reveal and challenge characters’ racial biases.” The Writing Prompt requires text evidence from the reading, and a Sample Response is provided. Drawing evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research is listed as a supporting standard in all the other units in Grade 8.
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 14, students read part of Night by Elie Wiesel and answer a Writing Prompt to explain the different reactions to the news of the Red Army and what this shows about each person. Students use text evidence to support their claims.
Criterion 2.2: Coherence
Materials promote mastery of grade-level standards by the end of the year.
he grade 8 materials include tasks and assessment questions that are aligned to grade-level standards. However, the materials provided are high-level lesson skeletons that can not be used for instruction to fully meet the grade-level standards. By the end of the school year, most standards are repeatedly addressed by the program.
Materials include multiple planning tools, including the Pacing Guide for 8th Grade English to plan for the whole school year. The implementation schedule provided in the materials may be reasonably completed in a school year because there are fewer lessons provided than average school days, allowing teachers the freedom to add re-teach lessons or extend others.
Indicator 2g
Materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2g.
Most tasks, and assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards, however only some instruction is aligned with the grade level standards given that the materials provided are high-level lesson skeletons that can not be used to fully meet the grade-level standards. Materials outline how the year-long instructional plan aligns with grade-level Core Standards and Spiral Standards as indicated in the Standards Map and in each Unit Overview. At times, standards addressed in lessons are not listed on the Lesson Map; there are also instances where standards are included at the bottom of a lesson, but there is no explicit instruction or connections to the standards present in the lesson. Instructional sequence is relatively consistent as students read core and supplemental texts connecting to a common topic or theme, answer Close Read Questions and Discussion Questions, and complete a Writing Prompt connecting to the assigned reading. Lessons do not consistently include opportunities for the teacher to provide students with standards-aligned explicit instruction. The questions and tasks connect to the required grade-level standards, including Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards, and they require students to include evidence from texts they are reading as they work on skills such as inferencing or analyzing certain aspects of texts. Opportunities to address language standards are present, though instructional support is lacking. Materials provide an answer key for each Content Assessment, which lists the standards addressed by each assessment item. While the Standards Map and lesson plans reflect the standards covered, there are instances in which standards are not revisited across units.
Over the course of each unit, some instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Course Summary includes a detailed description of what will be studied, including a rationale for the anchor texts, the enduring understanding focused on throughout the year and a Standards Map that outlines which standards are addressed in each unit. Although the Standards Map reflects that all grade-level standards are covered at some point in the year, explicit instruction of the listed standards does not always occur during lessons. For example:
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 17, the lesson objective is as follows: “Explain how the pigs have betrayed the original principles of Animal Farm, and how their betrayal and manipulation of the other animals creates dramatic irony.” This objective aligns to RL.8.3, one of the core standards listed for the lesson. Prior to reading Chapter 8 of Animal Farm by George Orwell, the teacher explains, “Orwell represents the relationship between Stalin and Adolph Hitler through the characters of Napoleon and Frederick” and reminds students that “Orwell compresses huge historical events and time periods into single scenes or events.” The teacher reads the paragraph on page 11 before students independently write in response to the following the Target Task prompt: “Reread the top paragraph of page 11, where Old Major explains the principles that he believes the animals must adhere to if they wish to create a successful and just society. How have the pigs betrayed these principals? What are the consequences of their betrayal? Provide at least three examples from Chapter 8 to support your answer.” The teacher does not model how to analyze how incidents from the story “propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.”
Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, different types of tasks align to standards. Close Read Questions require students to analyze complex text and respond to standards-aligned, text-based questions. Discussion Questions connect to the texts. Many questions and tasks, including the Writing Prompts, require students to use text-based evidence, which requires inferencing. For example:
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 17, students read the preface to Night by Elie Wiesel. While reading the preface, students respond to the following Close Read questions: “What possible reasons for writing Night does Wiesel reference on page vii–viii? Summarize each in your own words. On page viii, Wiesel writes that he is ‘a witness who believes he has a moral obligation to try to prevent the enemy from enjoying one last victory by allowing his crimes to be erased from human memory.’ Explain what this sentence means, and what it reveals about Wiesel’s purpose in writing this book. What problem did Wiesel face as he began writing this book? Provide evidence from page ix to explain your answer. What fear does Wiesel have about his message? Why does he write, in spite of this fear? Provide evidence from pages ix–x to support your answer.” After reading the preface, students write in response to the following Target Task prompt: “What was Wiesel’s purpose when he wrote Night? What does he hope that his book will achieve? Provide two pieces of evidence from pages vii–x, and xv to support your answer.” Then, students participate in a class discussion of their responses to the following Discussion Question: “Why is it so important for Holocaust victims to share their stories? What impact does hearing these stories have on us as readers?” At the close of the lesson, students respond to the following Exit Ticket question: “Wiesel believes that he has a responsibility—a ‘moral obligation’—to share his story with the world. Do you think that we, the readers, have a responsibility to act now that we have read this text?” These questions and tasks align to the core standard listed for the lesson, RI.8.6: “Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.”
Over the course of each unit, some assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In each unit, materials provide an Assessment Answer Key for the end-of-unit Content Assessment. The Assessment Answer Key labels each question with the corresponding standard. For example:
In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Content Assessment Answer Key, during Question 10 in Part One: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Content Knowledge, students respond to the following prompt: “In 2–3 sentences, explain why Marji’s parents ultimately decided to send her away to school in Europe. Use the words bleak and repressive in your answer.” The answer key lists L.8.6 and L.8.1 as the corresponding standards. Materials also include a Criteria for Success rubric to evaluate students’ responses. Criteria include the following:
“Demonstrates understanding of the word ‘bleak’
Demonstrates understanding of the word ‘repressive’
Identifies that Marji’s parents did this in Marji’s best interest, as the current regime would not allow her the freedom she needed to succeed
Spelling and grammar is generally correct and does not impede the reader’s comprehension
This assessment item requires students to accurately use grade-appropriate vocabulary (L.8.6) and to demonstrate command of conventions in their written response (L.8.1).
By the end of the academic year, most standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Standards Map notes that each unit is designed to deepen “student mastery of a set of grade-level standards. These are split into core standards (standards especially important for understanding the core text and knowledge of the unit) and spiral standards (standards that students repeatedly use as they engage with, discuss, or write about a text).” However, there are instances in which standards are addressed one time across the school year. For example:
The following standards do not repeat across units in the Standards Map for 8th Grade English and in the list of standards for each unit:
In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, RL.8.7 is listed as a core standard. Materials address this standard in Lessons 21–23, but materials do not provide opportunities to address this standard in other units.
Indicator 2h
Materials regularly and systematically balance time and resources required for following the suggested implementation, as well as information for alternative implementations that maintain alignment and intent of the standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h.
Materials include multiple planning tools, including the Pacing Guide for 8th Grade English to plan for the whole school year. Each unit contains a separate implementation schedule and each lesson includes a pacing guide. The Standards Map shows how the Common Core State Standards are taught over the course of the year. The pacing guide allows teachers to add days to the units to cover the material appropriately for their students; however, no alternative schedules are provided. Additional guidance for planning is included in the Teacher Support tools, such as Preparing to Teach Fishtank ELA, Preparing to Teach an ELA Unit, Components of an ELA Lesson, and Planning for a Year of Fishtank ELA. The implementation schedule may be reasonably completed in a school year because there are fewer lessons provided than average school days giving teachers the freedom to add re-teach lessons or extend others. Materials do not include optional tasks, only core materials and activities. The core materials provide opportunities to practice and reach mastery of most grade level standards, though grammar standards would need additional guidance.
Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules align to core learning and objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Teacher Support, ELA Teacher Tools, Planning for a Year of Fishtank ELA, materials provide an implementation schedule with suggestions for teachers to address re-teaching and fit other assessments or school events into the lesson progression.
Materials include five units with a total of 121 lessons over 126 instructional days. The Pacing Guide for 8th Grade English states, “Each unit includes a specific number of lessons, including writing lessons, Socratic Seminar lessons, and two days for assessment.” There are no alternative implementation schedules, though the program provides time for teachers to create assessments and make instructional decisions to support students. The Grade 8 Focus Area Overview provides details relating to each unit’s core standards and spiral standards. For example, in Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 24, Notes are available for the teacher: “Decide which Type of Academic Discourse you want to use in this lesson. We recommend a table-group discussion, fishbowl, or whole-class discussion. Then, choose which of this lesson’s Discussion Questions you are going to have students answer. Consider how much discussion time will be devoted to each question.”
Suggested implementation schedules may be reasonably completed in the time allotted. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Pacing Guide for 8th Grade English, the implementation schedule states, “Our 8th Grade English units span 126 days. We intentionally did not account for all 180 school days to allow teachers to fit in additional review or extension, teacher-created assessments, and school-based events.” There is no alternative implementation schedule present. Similarly, each unit contains a separate implementation schedule. For example, in Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, there are 20 lessons to be taught with a suggested implementation time of 29 days. Two additional days are suggested for the Content Assessment.
In each unit, each lesson includes multiple Close Read Questions, a Target Task Writing Prompt, and often Discussion Questions. Each lesson includes a pacing guide for teachers that presents how long they should spend on each of these tasks within the class period. Homework is listed for almost every day of the unit that students complete to stay on schedule with the pacing guide, typically reading, sometimes writing. In lessons with Socratic Seminars, the task can be completed in one class period.
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 9, students answer three Close Read Questions, one Discussion Question, and a Writing Prompt: “Consider the way that people responded to Moishe the Beadle’s warning and Mrs. Schäcter’s. What conclusions can you draw about human nature based on their response to both of these people? Support your answer with at least two pieces of specific evidence from the text.” In the Homework section of the lesson, students are assigned to read pages 34–47 of the memoir.
In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 20, the objective states, “Outline the stages of genocide in preparation for creating a presentation.” The lesson does not include any homework relating to the presentation. As a part of that project, students “will learn about the pyramid of hate and stages of genocide,” which connects to the objective. The method by which students learn this information is not provided, but if they are conducting their own research, this could take more than one class period to complete. Teachers may choose to extend this lesson as needed.
Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No optional tasks are included.
Optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
No optional tasks are included.