7th 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 7 materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “the American experience” 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 7 materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “the American experience” 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 7 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a.
Materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “the American experience” to build students’ ability to read and comprehend texts independently and proficiently. The Course Summary states that students “read texts that address diverse aspects of the American experience, including those discussing indigenous Americans, African Americans, first- and second-generation immigrants from different time periods and countries of origin, undocumented youth, and white Americans. Through these texts, students will think deeply about the complex past, present, and future of America, and how to define their ever-changing identity as a nation.” 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’ American perspectives 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 2, texts are organized around the unit theme of Fighting Injustice and the yearlong theme, “what it means to be American.” Students “explore the American experience through close study of the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the social history of the early 20th century.”
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “How does meaningful social change come about? How do gender and class shape a person’s experience of the world? What are the characteristics of historical fiction, and how do authors of historical fiction use facts when writing fictional text?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire remains one of the most significant workplace disasters in American history; the impact of this event has been far-reaching and can still be seen today. Conditions in factories were horrifying in the early 20th century, and workers had to fight tirelessly for safety, respect, and justice in their jobs; women and immigrants were at the forefront of this fight.”
In Lesson 1, students read Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Students build knowledge about the Triangle Fire, which connects to their Enduring Understandings, and answer Close Read Questions, such as the following: “What long-term impact did the Triangle Fire have on America? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from Flesh and Blood So Cheap to support your answer.”
In Lesson 7, students continue their reading of Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix and “Explain how characters’ lives in Uprising are shaped by sexism and rigid gender roles.” The reading connects specifically to the Essential Questions in the unit.
In Lesson 14, students continue their reading of both core texts Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix, as they identify how the author draws on historical facts to develop the plot of the novel.
Throughout the unit, students read the two core texts and seven 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 Finding Home and the yearlong theme, “what it means to be American.” Students “explore the American experience through the eyes of a young Latina girl as she struggles to define herself in relation to her community.”
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “How does a person’s environment shape their identity? How do gender expectations define a person’s experience of the world and dreams for the future?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “‘Home’ can be both a physical place and also a symbol of larger ideas about belonging, independence, and empowerment. Challenging life experiences can motivate a person to seek out a different future for themself. Sexism can profoundly shape a young person’s life, their sense of self, and their understanding of the world.”
In Lesson 1, students begin reading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Students “Explain how Esperanza views her home and how living there impacts her identity,” which connects to the Essential Questions for the unit.
In Lesson 10, students read two articles, “Most Teenage Girls Still Experience Sexual Harassment” by Jennifer McNulty and “This is what happens when gender roles are forced on kids” by Emanuella Grinberg and Victoria Larned. Students “Explain the impact of gender norms and expectations on the lives of young teenagers around the world,” which connects to the Essential Questions for the unit.
In Lesson 14, students draw on their reading of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros as they answer Discussion Questions, such as “How does Esperanza’s neighborhood shape who she becomes?”
Throughout the unit, students read the core text and three other texts centered on the theme. The texts directly grow students' knowledge as they work toward the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings.
In Unit 6, texts are organized around the unit theme of Claiming Our Place and the yearlong theme, “what it means to be American.” Students “explore the contributions and experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans in the past and present.”
The Unit Prep section includes the Essential Questions which refer to the theme: “What challenges have LGBTQ+ Americans faced in the past, what challenges do they continue to face, and how have they survived and thrived in spite of repression, violence, and discrimination? How does binary thinking shape the way that we understand other people and the world around us?”
The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “LGBTQ+ have had to fight for social acceptance and equal protection under the law in the face of discrimination, persecution, and violence. Binaries limit our understanding of people and of the world around us; the world is a much more complex and interesting place than binaries allow us to see.”
In Lesson 1, students read two articles, “Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement” by PBS.org and “LGBTQ Rights Milestones Fast Facts” by CNN. Students discuss the following question, “Why is it important to study LGBTQ+ history as we consider our year-long question of what it means to be an American?” The discussion specifically connects to the yearlong theme.
In Lesson 4, students read The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. Students complete a Discussion & Writing Prompt around the following questions which connect to the Essential Questions in the unit: “How do people in Sasha’s community—family and friends—respond to them coming out as agender? What specific incidents and chapters are most helpful in clarifying the reader’s understanding of their community’s response? Provide evidence from the text to support your answer.”
In Lesson 15, students draw on their reading of the text The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater to answer Discussion Questions, such as “In what way does the media’s portrayal of the fire represent a binary view of the situation?” The reading and activity 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.
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 7 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). 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, students read multiple texts and study how an author uses details to both determine a central idea and analyze how a key event or idea is developed.
In Lesson 2, students read “Trends in Migration to the U.S.” by Philip Martin and answer the Close Read Questions: “Is the ‘national interest’ something positive or negative? What impact does immigration have on the United States? Beginning in the 1880s, how did the US government determine who could immigrate to the United States?” A Key Moment to Analyze states: “Under the motto e pluribus unum (from many, one), U.S. presidents frequently remind Americans that they share the immigrant experience of beginning anew in the land of opportunity. Immigration is widely considered to be in the national interest since it permits individuals to better themselves as it strengthened the United States. Describe the current wave of immigration in the United States. Where are immigrants coming from? Why is this wave different from previous waves? Provide evidence from the text to support your answer.” The Writing Prompt states: “In a short paragraph, summarize the four major waves of migration to the United States over the past 200 years. In your summary, include an explanation of why the phrase ‘e pluribus unum’ is our national motto.”
In Lesson 9, students read “An Iraqi Immigrant’s Unexpected Role” by Cynthia Agustin and answer a Discussion Question: “How has the speaker’s sense of her own identity changed since she came to America? Support your answer with specific evidence from the text.”
In Lesson 16, students read an excerpt from Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin and answer the Writing Prompt: “When comparing American and Somali culture, Sheikh Ahmed tells Abdi Nor Iftin, ‘You must choose one or the other.’ What impact does this idea have on Abdi Nor Iftin? How does Abdi Nor Iftin’s behavior change as a result of this conversation? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer.”
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, students read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and other texts and analyze key ideas and details in multiple lessons.
In Lesson 1, students consider how the setting shapes the characters or plot connected to their reading of pages 3-9 in The House on Mango Street. Students answer the Writing Prompt: “How does Esperanza feel about where she lives? How does Esperanza’s interaction with the nun on pages 4–5 impact the way she feels about herself? Select two pieces of evidence from these pages to support your answer.”
In Lesson 10, students analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text when reading informational texts, “Most Teenage Girls Still Experience Sexual Harassment” by Jennifer McNulty and “This is what happens when gender roles are forced on kids” by Emanuella Grinberg and Victoria Larned. Other opportunities to analyze key ideas and details connecting to The House on Mango Street appear in Lessons 11 and 13.
For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, students complete a literary analysis essay at the end of the unit to analyze how the main character changes over the course of the text considering the impact of bias or racism. Materials support students as they analyze how the author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters.
In Lesson 6, as students begin reading A Raisin in the Sun, students create a graphic organizer to analyze the question, “What is each character’s perspective on what should be done with the insurance money? How does the author develop each of their perspectives? Provide one piece of evidence that demonstrates each character’s (Beneatha, Walter, Ruth, and Mama) perspective.”
In Lesson 8, students answer a series of Close Read Questions that help them analyze how the characters see themselves and how others see them: “What does Walter’s response to the check’s arrival reveal about his character and his state of mind? How does Hansberry develop our understanding of Walter’s state of mind? Provide specific evidence from pages 70-72 to support your answer. How does Asagai view Beneatha’s search for identity? How does this differ from the way she sees herself? Provide evidence from pages 60-64 to support your answer. Describe how each member of the Younger family responds to the arrival of the check. Provide evidence from pages 68-70 to support your answer—one piece for each character. According to Mama, why has Ruth decided to get an abortion? What does this reveal about how Ruth sees the world and her life? Provide evidence from page 75 to support your answer.”
In Lesson 18, students answer a series of Close Read Questions to analyze how the characters have changed again in the story. The Writing Prompt asks, “How has Mama’s perspective on her dreams changed since the revelation that the money is gone? How does Hansberry develop her perspective? Support your answer with two pieces of specific evidence from the text.” Questions help the students develop a clear understanding of how and why the characters change in the play, supporting the completion of the writing task.
In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, students write a personal narrative essay or comic at the end of the unit. They explore how they have been influenced by someone else in either a positive or negative way. Throughout the unit, students read the novel, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and explore both how the author develops and contrasts points of view.
In Lesson 23, students answer the Writing Prompt: “How does the Monkey King’s perspective of himself change over the course of the chapter? How does the author use both text and illustrations to convey this change in perspective? How does the monkey’s point of view of himself differ from the point of view of the guard at the party? How does the author use both text and illustrations to convey these different points of view? Support your answer with specific evidence from the text.
In Lesson 6, students read pages 55-84 and answer the Writing Prompt: “How does Tze-Yo-Tzuh’s perspective on the Great Sage differ from how the Great Sage sees himself? Support your answer with specific evidence from the text.”
In Lesson 8, students read pages 109-129 and answer a series of Close Read Questions: “What is Danny’s perspective of his cousin Chin-Kee? Support your answer with at least six examples from the chapter that communicate this point of view: three from images and three from the dialogue. How does Danny’s teachers’ perspective of Chin-Kee differ from Danny’s? How does the author use both text and images to communicate this difference in perspective? Provide examples from the text. How does the author develop the idea that the “audience’s” perspective of Chin-Kee is different from Danny’s? Support your answer with specific evidence from the text.” All of the questions support students to understand the point of view to use in the writing task.
In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 3, students read The 57 Bus: A Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater and “Describe how a text is organized, how specific chapters fit into the overall structure of the text, and how the author makes structural choices to develop the reader’s understanding of characters, setting, and plot.” A series of Close Read Questions include:
“How does the second chapter, ‘Oakland, California,’ contribute to the reader’s understanding of events, setting, and/or characters in the text? Provide at least two pieces of specific evidence from this chapter to support your answer.
How does the chapter ‘Tumbling' contribute to the reader’s understanding of events, setting, and/or characters in the text? Provide at least two pieces of specific evidence from this chapter to support your answer.
How does the chapter ‘Pronouns' contribute to the reader’s understanding of events, setting, and/or characters in the text? Provide at least two pieces of specific evidence from this chapter to support your answer.”
Students practice the same skills connecting to their reading of the core text in Lessons 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 13.
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 7 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 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 8, students compare and contrast stories presented in different forms of media and explain how these stories illustrate aspects of the immigrant experience in America. Students compare and contrast the transcript of an audio interview with Bianca Alvarez and Connie Alvarez to an audio version of the interview, analyzing each medium's portrayal of the subject. Students listen to four audio interviews given by immigrants to America and answer the writing prompt about each of the interviews:
“How does listening to the audio version change the impact of their words?
What does this story reveal about the American and/or immigrant experience?” Materials point out that students should gain knowledge that “An audio recording can give a listener more information about the speaker's emotion and personality than may be evident from simply reading their words.”
In Lesson 17, students draw on the knowledge of the immigrant experience during the Socratic Seminar, answering questions such as, “How does being an immigrant—or a child of immigrants—shape a person’s identity? What does it mean to be American?”
In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 3, students listen to the radio segment, “The Scarlet E, Part II: 40 Acres.” The Close Read Questions help students to identify the claim and consider how the evidence supports it:
“What claim does the radio story make about the relationship between homeownership and wealth at 4:09–5:15?
What evidence does the radio story provide to support this claim?
Is this evidence relevant and sufficient to support this claim?”
This is connected to the writing prompt, which also encourages students to
identify the argument and determine what evidence supports it:
“What claim does the radio story make about the differences between Black Americans’ and white Americans’ access to the American dream between 07:40–13:19?
What evidence does the story provide to support this idea? Is the evidence provided relevant and sufficient?”
In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 5, students read two articles, “Victory! Federal Court Rules Trans Students Must Have Access to Bathrooms That Match Their Gender” by Lambda Legal and “We Need Gender Neutral Bathrooms Everywhere” by Adryan Corcione, and watch a video, “Trans People Nail The Absurdity Of The Bathroom Debate | Trans 102 | Refinery29'' by Refinery29. This lesson provides a coherently sequenced series of questions to help students analyze a single text and across texts.
First, there is a Discussion and writing prompt question: “What argument do the people in ‘Trans People Nail the Absurdity of the Bathroom Debate’ make? What reasons do they provide to support this argument? Provide at least three reasons/pieces of evidence provided and explain why they are relevant to the argument.” Then, students answer Close Read Questions that help them further analyze each argument.
“What argument did Drew Adams’s attorneys make for why having to use a gender-neutral bathroom at Adams’s school was discriminatory? Provide quoted evidence from the text to support your answer.
What reasons does the court provide for why they decided to rule in Drew Adams’ favor? Provide at least two pieces of quoted evidence from the article that demonstrates their reasoning.
What evidence does the article “We Need Gender Neutral Bathrooms” provide to support the argument that gender-neutral bathrooms are needed in public places? Select two pieces of evidence that they use to support this argument.”
Finally, students answer Discuss Questions:
“Drew Adams felt that being asked to use a gender-neutral restroom was discriminatory, while the other two sources we read/watched today argue that gender-neutral restrooms are a positive thing for trans people. Why do you think this is? Can both of these arguments be true?”
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 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 8, students analyze two texts, Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Students answer the Close Read Questions:
“How has Haddix drawn from history in her discussion of scabs on pages 83–84?
How does her account differ from the description of scabs on pages 78–79 of Flesh and Blood So Cheap? Provide evidence from both Flesh and Blood So Cheap and Uprising to support your answer.”
Students then complete a writing prompt: “How has Haddix drawn from history in her discussion of ‘fancy women’ on pages 84–85?
How closely does the novel reflect historical facts? Provide evidence from both Flesh and Blood So Cheap (pp. 79–80) and Uprising to support your answer.” Students practice the same skill, compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history, again later in the unit during Lessons 14 and 25.
In Lesson 14, students answer Close Read Questions:
“Has Haddix accurately represented or altered historical facts in her description of rich people’s reaction to the speakers at the Carnegie Hall meeting? Support your answer with evidence from both Uprising (p. 180) and Flesh and Blood So Cheap. (pp. 99–100)”
Students complete a writing prompt: “How has Haddix drawn on historical facts to describe the end-of-strike agreement on pages 182–183 of Uprising? Has she altered or omitted any details included in Flesh and Blood So Cheap? (p. 103) Support your answer with evidence from both texts.”
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 10, students read two articles about gender roles and norms that correlate with the themes throughout the novel and answer Close Read Questions:
“According to the article, ‘This is What Happens…,’ what is the relationship between gender norms and mobility? Why does this relationship exist? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the article to support your answer.
According to both articles, what are some of the stereotypes and gender norms that people have about both boys and girls? Provide as many as you can.
According to both articles, who reinforces gender norms? What are the risks of not conforming to gender norms? Provide at least one piece of evidence from each article to support your answer.”
In Lesson 11, students answer the following questions;
“How is Rafaela’s experience of the world influenced by gender? Provide evidence from the vignette, ‘Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays’ (pp. 79–80) and carefully explain your thinking.
How is Sally’s life—both at home and at school—shaped by beliefs and expectations around gender? Provide examples from the vignette ‘Sally’ (pp. 81–83) and ‘What Sally Said’ (pp. 92–93) to support your answer.
How does Esperanza feel about Sally? In what ways does Esperanza see herself as similar to Sally? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 81–83 of the text.
How has Esperanza’s mother’s life been shaped by gender expectations and social class? How does she feel about this? Provide two pieces of evidence from the vignette, ‘A Smart Cookie,’ on pages 90–91 to support your answer. “
In the Socratic Seminar, students discuss the following question, “How do gender expectations and roles shape Esperanza’s experience of her neighborhood and the world in general?”
In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 7, students analyze the way that author Dashka Slater develops the readers’ understanding of the fire on the bus and compares news reports about the incident with facts and details she includes in the text The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives. Two videos students examine include “Oakland California Victim in Bus Burning Fire” and “Oakland Police Seek Witnesses, Good Samaritans Aboard AC Transit Bus” by KRON. The unit provides students with opportunities to analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts. Students complete a Discussion & Writing prompt around the following question:
“What details about the incident on the 57 bus does Slater include that are not included in the news report ‘Oakland California Victim in Bus Burning Fire’?
What details are the same in both accounts? Select two differences and two similarities in these two accounts.”
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 7 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, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 29, students participate in a Socratic Seminar for one culminating task related to Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin. Teachers determine what type of discourse they will use and present students with questions connected to the essential questions and theme, such as “What do these texts reveal about the role of protest in making social change?” and “In what ways has the Triangle Fire (and its aftermath) impacted the present?” In Lesson 34, students complete the Content Assessment. Students answer vocabulary questions in Section 1. In Section 2, they cold read “The Stolen Party” by Lililana Heker from CommonLit and “Virginia Just Became the 38th State to Pass” the Equal Rights Amendment. Here's What to Know About the History of the ERA” by Tara Lawand and answer multiple choice and short answer questions. In Section 3, students reread the Section 2 text and two other texts, “The U.S. might ratify the ERA. What would change?” by Patricia Sullivan and an excerpt from “Stepping Through History: A timeline of women's rights in the United States” by Susan Milligan. They write an op-ed to answer the following question: “Is the ERA necessary today or have women already made all the progress promised by the ERA?” Several Speaking and Listening standards are assessed through these activities alongside supporting Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, and Writing standards.
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 14, students participate in a Socratic Seminar as one culminating task related to The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Teachers determine what type of discourse they will use and present students with the following questions: “How does Esperanza’s neighborhood shape who she becomes? How do gender expectations and roles shape Esperanza’s experience of her neighborhood and the world in general?” Notes are available for the teacher who must decide on the type of academic discourse to use in the lesson. Speaking and Listening and Reading: Literature standards are addressed in this lesson. In Lesson 25. students complete the Content Assessment. In Section 4, students answer the following prompt: “In ‘What’s Your True Age?’ by Susan Krauss Whitbourne, she argues that age is just a number and that people grow and change because of their experiences. In the short story, ‘Eleven,’ Sandra Cisneros develops the idea that the protagonist is made to feel deeply ashamed, a response she might not have had as a small child. Write a three-paragraph essay in which you explain why the character feels this way.” Several Speaking and Listening, Reading: Literature, and Writing standards are assessed.
In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 17, students participate in a Socratic Seminar as one culminating task connected to the graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and other supplemental texts in the unit build knowledge about the experiences of Asian immigrants to the United States and how stereotypes and prejudice impact their lives. Examples of supplemental texts include but are not limited to: “Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes” by Annie Murphy Paul, “Anti-Asian Hate Has Surged During the Coronavirus Pandemic Reports Find” by Sara Li, and “This Chinese-American Cartoonist Forces Us to Face Racist Stereotypes” by Joshua Barajas. Some of the questions they discuss include, “Would this story have been as impactful if it were written as a traditional novel? What are the benefits and downsides to the genre of the graphic novel? Why do you think that Yang decided to (at least initially) tell three different stories in one book? How does each story intersect? At the beginning of the book, Jin tells the herbalist’s wife that he wants to grow up to be a Transformer. How does this idea repeat throughout the text? What does this book tell us about the American Dream? How do you think that Yang would define the American Dream?” Speaking and Listening and Reading: Literature standards are addressed in the lesson. In Lessons 18-20, students write a narrative essay or a comic that explores “how and when you have been influenced by someone else.” Throughout the unit, the students read about how the main character struggled to find a sense of place and identity in America. They also discuss how other people can influence how one views oneself in either a positive or negative way. Students use writing and language standards in the task. In Lesson 21, students complete the Content Assessment. In Part II, students read an excerpt from a speech by Gene Luen Yang and write an essay about either text. Reading: Informational Text standards are assessed as students complete Passage 2: Gene Luen Yang Speech.
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 7 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 with 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 a total of four lessons focused on argumentative writing, during which students write an op-ed in the form of an essay. Specifically, students answer this question and must take a position: Does our country need to take steps to protect the health and safety of workers at Amazon? Materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance, aside from a writing prompt and sample response.
In Unit 4, there are a total of six lessons, two of which focus on narrative writing and four of which focus on writing a literary analysis essay. In the narrative lessons, students write their own “My Name” vignette based on what they read in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. With the literary analysis essay, students identify a symbol in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and write a five-paragraph essay that explains the symbol’s connections to belonging, independence, and empowerment. Materials include limited explicit instruction and lesson guidance, aside from a writing prompt and sample response.
In Unit 6, there are a total of five lessons, one of which focuses on writing a literary analysis with the remaining lessons focusing on writing an argumentative letter that requires research. In the literary analysis lesson, students analyze the use of second person point of view in The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. In the argumentative writing lessons, students read and research various individuals in preparation to write an argumentative letter to the United States Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to offer a recommendation on who should receive a postage stamp. 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 6, students plan and outline a prose poem that explores what it means to be human. The lesson includes instructions to support students in learning the requirements, such as “A prose poem is not broken into verse lines, but still uses poetic devices such as symbols, metaphors, and other figures of speech.” Materials do not provide a sample response.
In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 10, students read the poem “Say My Name” by Idris Goodwin and complete a writing response to identify how the speaker feels about their name. Before teaching, the Preparing For a Writing Lesson document in the Teacher Tools suggests that educators follow a process for how they will internalize the lesson they’ll teach; however, the lesson plan does not include steps for the teacher to follow.
In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 22, students “Write a five-paragraph literary analysis about how one main character from A Raisin in the Sun changes from the beginning to the end of the play.” Materials provide a sample response for support.
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 17, on the third day of the writing lessons, the lesson Objective is twofold: “Construct a strong thesis statement and compose an effective introduction. Combine simple sentences into compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences”; however, other than the prompt and the sample response, the lesson does not provide any other teacher guidance. The Homework for the day is to “finish the essay introduction” and “Read the Mentor Text,” which explores a related but different prompt. In Lesson 18, students’ Homework is to “finish their final essays.” The lesson does not indicate when teachers should provide students with feedback.
In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 10, students write an informative essay relating to a set of informational articles to explain how racism has impacted the lives of young Asian Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lesson includes requirements for the essay and a sample response for support, including a Works Cited sample. In Lesson 18, students write a narrative about a time they were influenced by another person. Before writing, the teacher provides students with an exemplar paper to help them identify pieces of a model narrative response such as transition words, a logical organization, and dialogue.
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 7 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 sets a foundation for the research they will be conducting in Grade 8. 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.
In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 30, students read “‘I'm not a robot’: Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse” by Michael Sainato, “Amnesty International Calls On Jeff Bezos To Address Amazon Employees’ Concerns About Working Conditions” by Angel Au-Yeung, and “I Worked at an Amazon Fulfillment Center; They Treat Workers Like Robots” by Emily Guendelsberger. Using evidence from the research, students write an op-ed that answers the question: “Does our country need to take steps to protect the health and safety of workers at Amazon?” While citation information is not specifically included, the sample response has both in-text citations and a Works Cited page. Despite the associated standard being listed as a core standard for this lesson, students are not required to use search terms effectively since the researched information is provided.
In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 10, “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.” Students write an informational essay to explain “how racism has impacted the lives of young Asian Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The Writing Prompt includes instructions that students include information from four informational texts and provide examples, facts/statistics, and quotations from experts. A Sample Response is provided, including in-text citations and an example of a Works Cited. There are no instructions on assessing the credibility of sources, paraphrasing, or citing their evidence to avoid plagiarism with a standard format.
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 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 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lessons 2 and 16–19, students research contributions the LGBTQ+ community has made and explain the impact of those contributions in two discussion and writing tasks. For both tasks, students are provided with a starting point but are required to do their own research.
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, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 14, materials include a short research project as a core standard when students gather and synthesize information on DACA and DREAMers from diverse sources to create an informational poster. The writing project ties to three readings, including “American Dreamers” by The New York Times, and the article “What is DACA and Who Are the DREAMers?” by Anti-Defamation League, and one video, “DACA, explained” by Vox. Students answer the following questions:
“What is the Dream Act? Who are the DREAMers?
What is DACA?
How did DACA change the lives of undocumented people? Provide specific examples.
What are the risks of eliminating DACA? Provide specific examples.”
There is no Sample Response available as a reference for the task. The writing project extends over two lessons. Materials also address conducting short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation as a core standard in Units 5 and 6.
In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 30, students conduct research for the question: “Does our country need to take steps to protect the health and safety of workers at Amazon?” by reading provided articles about the current working conditions at Amazon. Students use the sources to complete a Writing Prompt.
In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 16, students research a member of the LGBTQ+ community’s life and write a letter arguing that this individual deserves to have a postage stamp made in their honor. Students are instructed to use researched information to support their thesis statement.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 30, students read multiple articles and collect research to complete a Writing Prompt where they take a stance on current working conditions at Amazon.
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 4, students read a selection from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” by Mother Goose. Students reflect on why Cisneros opted to use this nursery rhyme and identify the main idea that Cisneros expresses in the two vignettes. Drawing evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research is listed as a supporting standard, not a core standard.
In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 2, the materials address the skill as a supporting standard when students create a poster that educates classmates about a significant event or aspect of LGBTQ+ American history. The Discussion & Writing Prompt asks students to “Create a poster that introduces your classmates to the topic you have read about.“ A Sample Response is available. Materials include “Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research” as a supporting standard in all other units.
Criterion 2.2: Coherence
Materials promote mastery of grade-level standards by the end of the year.
The grade 7 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 7th 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 7 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 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lessons 14–15, the lesson objective is as follows: “Gather and synthesize information on DACA and DREAMers from diverse sources in preparation for creating an informational poster.” This objective aligns to W.7.7, one of the core standards listed for the lesson. The teacher informs students that they will work “in small groups to create a poster that explains what DACA and the DREAM Act is.” Students complete a graphic organizer as they watch and read through the three provided resources—a website, an article, and a video.For homework, students select two more essays from the provided website, “American Dreamers” by the New York Times, and continue filling out their graphic organizer. In their small groups, students create in informational poster that answers the following questions: “What is the Dream Act? Who are the DREAMers? What is DACA? How did DACA change the lives of undocumented people? Provide specific examples. What are the risks of eliminating DACA? Provide specific examples.” The teacher does not model how to conduct research to answer a question, “drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.”
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 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 12, students read the vignette, “The Monkey Garden” in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. While reading the vignette, students respond to the following Close Read questions: “How does Cisneros use imagery and figurative language to develop the mood of the garden on pages 94–95? Provide at least three examples from these pages and explain what mood they develop. How does Cisneros develop the idea that the garden is mystical/magical? Provide specific examples from pages 95–96 to support your answer. What does Esperanza realize about the situation between Sally and the boys? How does Cisneros develop the reader’s understanding of Esperanza’s emotions as she comes to this realization? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text and explain what they reveal about Esperanza’s state of mind.” After reading the vignette, students write in response to the following Target Task prompt: “Some have suggested The Monkey Garden is a vignette about ‘coming of age.’ With this in mind, write a paragraph in which you explain what the garden itself symbolizes, and why at the end of the story Esperanza says that she never went back. Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer.” These questions and tasks align to two of the core standards listed for the lesson.
L.7.5: “Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.”
L.7.5a: “Interpret figures of speech (e.g., literary, biblical, and mythological allusions) in context.”
Over the course of each unit, most 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 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Content Assessment Answer Key, in Section Two: Content Knowledge and Understandings, students respond to a justified response question: “PART A: On pages 195– 198, how does the author express Jin/Danny’s point of view after the transformation? PART B: Which panel best supports the answer above?” The answer key lists RL.7.5 and RL.7.6 as the corresponding standards for Part A and RL.7.1 as the corresponding standard for Part B. While students select the panel that best supports their response in Part B (RL.7.1) and analyze how Gene Luen Yang develops a character’s point of view in Part A (RL.7.6), as well as how the form or structure Yang uses in American Born Chinese contributes to its meaning (RL.7.5).
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 7th Grade English and in the list of standards for each unit:
In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, RL.7.9 is listed as a core standard. Materials address this standard in Lessons 8, 14, and 25, but materials do not provide opportunities to address this standard in other units.
In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, RL.7.7 is listed as a core standard. Materials address this standard in Lessons 9 and 16, 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 7 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h.
Materials include multiple planning tools, including the Pacing Guide for 7th 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 six units with a total of 140 lessons over 146 instructional days. The Pacing Guide for 7th 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 7 Focus Area Overview provides details relating to each unit’s core standards and spiral standards. For example, in Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 17, 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 (see our Teacher Tool about Types of Academic Discourse to learn more about each type). 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 7th Grade English, the implementation schedule states, “Our 7th Grade English units span 147 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 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, there are 24 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, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 2, students answer Close Read Questions, Discussion Questions, and a Writing Prompt with a brief response. Based on the pacing guide, it is assumed that this lesson could be completed in one day. In Lesson 20, students write an op-ed with a “strong introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.” No homework is noted to be assigned, and this could take most students multiple class periods to complete. Teachers may choose to extend this lesson as needed.
In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 7, students answer three Close Read Questions, one Discussion Question, and a Writing Prompt: “Reread the passage on page 5 where Esperanza has a conversation with a nun about where she lives. Then reread page 45. What perspective do these two nuns have on the neighborhood where Esperanza lives? How does their perspective impact the way that Esperanza feels? Provide evidence from both passages to support your answer.” In the Homework section of the lesson, students are assigned to read pages 56–64 of the novel.
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.