2nd Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for anchor texts are of publishable quality, worthy of careful reading/listening, and consider a range of student interests. The texts across Literature, Science and Social Studies materials address a range of interests, and the reading selections would be interesting and engaging for students. Unit texts include a variety of genres and consider a range of students’ interests including, but not limited to traditional fairy and folklore tales, biographies, realistic fiction, historical texts, nonfiction, animals, and cultural texts. Academic, rich vocabulary can also be found within selected texts as well as enriching illustrations to help build knowledge.

Throughout the program, the anchor texts are of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading. Many are written by well-known published authors. Examples of this in Literature include: 

• In Literature Unit 1, the text Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe is a Caldecott Honor and Reading Rainbow book, that presents the fairy tale of Cinderella to students using the history, culture, and geography of the African nation of Zimbabwe.
• Literature Unit 2 features multiple texts by James Howe including Pinky and Rex, Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee, and Pinky and Rex Go to Camp which are highly engaging for students and contain character development and rich vocabulary that are easy for students to relate to.
• In Literature Unit 4, students are presented with the award-winning author Judy Blume’s book Freckle Juice which is a beginning chapter book that contains relatable text and is engaging for the grade level. 
• The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper serves as an anchor text in Literature Unit 6 with rich engaging folk tales from Liberia and Ghana.
• In Literature Unit 7, students explore the tragedy of natural disasters with the text, I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Lauren Tarshis. This text is highly engaging with realistic action and adventure.

Similar to Literature, the anchor texts in Science and Social Studies are also publishable and feature informational texts. These include:

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, The Life Cycle of a Honeybee by Bobby Kalman and The Life Cycle of an Ant by Kalman and Hadley Dyer present students with informational text with quality illustrations, diagrams, and rich academic language.
• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, an anchor text My Diary from Here to There by award-winning author Amada Irma Perez engages the students with a relatable topic, rich vocabulary and appealing illustrations. 
• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, one text, Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull, is an award-winning text that has an engaging storyline and uses illustrations to further captivate and build the knowledge of students.
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

Students engage with a wide array of literary and informational texts throughout thematic units using read-alouds, shared reading, and independent reading. Texts types include folktales, historical fiction, realistic fiction, adventure, biographies, and poetry.

The following are examples of literary texts found within the instructional materials:

• Literature Unit 1, The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story by Rebecca Hickox
• Literature Unit 1, In Search of Cinderella by Shel Silverstein
• Literature Unit 2, Pinkey and Rex by James Howe
• Literature Unit 2, Pinky and Rex Go to Camp by James Howe
• Literature Unit 3, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Offby Jacqueline Jules
• Literature Unit 3, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action by Jacqueline Jules
• Literature Unit 4, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson
• Literature Unit 4, Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
• Literature Unit 5, Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly
• Literature Unit 5, F is for Fenway: America’s Oldest Major League Ballpark by Jerry Pallotta
• Literature Unit 6, The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktalesby Joyce Cooper Arkhurst

The following are examples of informational texts found within the instructional materials:

• Science and Social Studies Unit 1, A Desert Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay
• Science and Social Studies Unit 1, A Forest Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay
• Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Insect Bodies by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian
• Science and Social Studies Unit 2, The Life Cycle of a Honeybee by Bobbie Kalman
• Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Good Enough to Eat, A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell
• Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Sugar, Sugar, Everywhere by Susan Lennox
• Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Haiti Is My Home by Katherine Follett
• Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Brothers in Hope, The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams
• Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet
• Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Honda: The Boy who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston
• Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi
• Science and Social Studies Unit 6, The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki
• Science and Social Studies Unit 7, How Things Are Different –by Katherine Follett

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that texts (including read-aloud texts and some shared reading texts used to build knowledge and vocabulary) have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and a relationship to their associated student task. Read-aloud texts at K-2 are above the complexity levels of what most students can read independently.

Quantitatively, the texts range in complexity from 470-1020 which are presented as a combination of read-aloud texts well above those that students could read independently, shared reading texts at the instructional level for Grade 2 students reading on-grade-level, and anchor texts that are suggested for possible independent reading. Qualitatively, the texts present complex ideas, vocabulary, and themes that allow students to acquire knowledge and delve into rich discussions and analysis of complex texts and how they relate to each thematic unit. Most unit overviews provide the publisher’s rationale for text selection as evidence that consideration was given to all aspects of text complexity when choosing texts for the units.

In Unit 1, students read A Desert Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley, which has a quantitative measure of 470L. Qualitatively, students are asked to explain how plants and animals in the desert survive by asking and answering questions about key details in the text. Students also read The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo, which has a quantitative measure of 810L. This complex text asks students to explain the significance of the falcon and how it makes this version of Cinderella different from others by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.

In Unit 2, students read Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe, which has a quantitative measure of 580L. This text is place at grade level and has students complete discussion questions, writing tasks, and activities appropriate to their grade level. Students also read Awesome Ants by Rus Buyok, which has a quantitative measure of 650L. This falls within the grade level band and students are asked to use text features to explain why the author describes ants as awesome and identify and explain the main idea of each section using key details and text features.

In Unit 3, students read Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action by Jacqueline Jules, which has a quantitative measure of 650L. In this grade level text, students explain how Freddie Ramos shows confidence by using details to describe characters and how characters respond to major events and challenges. Students also read Inside Your Body by Kira Freed, which has a quantitative measure of 634L. This text has students identify and explain the different systems found in the human body and why each system is important by identifying the main topic of sections of the text.

In Unit 4, students read Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson, which has a quantitative measure of 620. Students use this grade level text over 16 lessons and slowly build knowledge and understanding through activities and tasks that are text-dependent and grade appropriate such as discussing, debating, analyzing, and writing. Students also read Brothers in Hope, The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams, which has a quantitative measure of 610. Students are asked to identify reasons that the author gives to describe points in the text.

In Unit 5, students read Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet, which has a quantitative measure of AD1000L. This complex text has students explain why Tony’s first puppets did not work and what solutions Tony dreamed up by describing the connection between a series of events. Students also read F is for Fenway: America’s Oldest Major League Ballpark by Jerry Pallotta, which has a quantitative measure of 1020L. This text requires students describe three baseball-specific words and why they are important to the game by determining the meaning of words in a story and explaining how they are connected.

In Unit 6, students read Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelep, which has a quantitative measure of 600L. Qualitatively this text asks students to compare and analyze information in this text and another text to build on information from each other. Students also read The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst, which has a quantitative measure of 710L. This text slowly builds students’ knowledge and understanding through activities and tasks that are text-dependent and grade appropriate such as defend, explain, describe, write, compare, and contrast various aspects of the story.

In Unit 7, students read I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis, which has a quantitative measure of 590L. This grade level text is used throughout the unit and has students analyze chapters of the book with the recurring vocabulary of ‘resilience’ and ‘brave’ making connections and detailing events throughout the unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (leveled readers and series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).

Throughout Grade 2, the units are designed to build upon one another with increasing demands for knowledge and application as the student progresses through each thematic unit and lesson.  Anchor texts are listed within every unit and provide quantitative measures as well as a text selection rationale. Students engage in texts of varying levels and complexity within each unit, but the expectations and rationales are clear to the purpose of the instruction and how to prepare for each lesson prior to its start.In the beginning of the year, students begin to transition from read-alouds to predominantly shared and independent reading.  By the middle of the year, students are moving from engaging in the reading of early chapter books that have an equal balance of pictures and words to chapter books with fewer illustrations and picture supports. By the end of Grade Two, students are reading chapter books that move toward more complex questions and expectations for analyzing text.

Literature Unit 1 features mainly read aloud texts such as Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci and Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani. Students are exposed to multiple versions of a classic fairytale to determine how setting influences the plot of a story as well as developing an understanding of the components of a fairy tale. The writing focus in this unit is the establishment of regular writing routines to respond in writing to a text with significant amounts of modeling to help students build their writing skills.

In Literature Unit 2 there is a shift from read aloud texts to students participating in shared reading or independent reading of texts. In addition to the shift to more independent reading, students read multiple texts in a series including Pinky and Rex by James Howe, Pinky and Rex and the Bully by James Howe , and Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe to develop an understanding of how an author builds a character over multiple texts. The writing focus deepens to include specific evidence from the text to support points in writing. Students are also expected to use complete sentences and proper capitalization.

In Literature Unit 4 there is a shift from picture books where the illustrations helped the reader determine the story to chapter books with less reliance on pictures including texts such as Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. Students begin to develop the stamina to read longer texts independently as well as a deeper understanding of characters including motivations and relationships. In writing, students begin to include inferential thinking or reasoning to respond to text rather than relying strictly on literal answers derived explicitly from text. 

In Literature Unit 6 students deepen their understanding of characters by looking at how an author uses figurative language to show character feelings and traits in The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst. Students also begin to learn how authors structure stories, especially short stories.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade Two meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level. The Core Texts for each grade level are listed in the Unit Summaries and each text is aligned with a Text Selection Rationale that indicates both the Quantitative and Qualitative reasoning for their placement within the materials.  This includes both the Literature materials as well as the Science and Social Studies materials. 

• In Unit 2, The Text Selection Rationale for the selected core texts, in part, states, “With a Lexile range of 490L to 590L the quantitative measures place all of the texts in the second grade band level, although at the high end of what is appropriate for independent reading at this grade level.”
• In Unit 4, The Text Selection Rationale for the selected core texts, in part, states, “The text is written as a collection of journal entries told from the point of view of a second grader. A reader needs to be able to track the time and date of each entry in order to understand the progression of the story, especially because some of the plot events are slightly more nuanced. This makes the text structure slightly unconventional for a text at this level.”
• In Unit 6, The Text Selection Rationale for the selected core texts, in part, states, “All of the short-stories within the collection follow a conventional structure, with clear plot events that unfold in a chronological and somewhat predictable fashion. Therefore, despite the higher Lexile level, the simple level of meaning and text structure make the text accessible.”

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

Throughout the units, students are asked to answer a variety of questions related to the texts being read and discussion is embedded into each lesson that supports students in drawing on textual evidence to support their learning of explicit and inferential information. Text-based questions and tasks sometimes require readers to produce evidence from texts to support opinions or statements when writing and speaking. Questions draw the reader back into the text and support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. 

Examples of evidence - based questions and tasks in Literature include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 6, after reading Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci, students are asked (to):
• Describe the narrator. Where does she live? How does she spend her time? How did she meet Cendrillon?
• The author describes that ‘nothing was easy for Cendrillon at home.’ Explain why.
• Why was Cendrillon so miserable? What promise does the narrator make? Why?
• How did the narrator and Cendrillon feel at the party? Why?
• Why did Cendrillon not want any more spells? What does this show about her?
• Describe Cendrillon's exit. 
• In Unit 2, Lesson 8, after reading, Pinky and Rex (Chapter 8) by James Howe, students are asked:
• How does Pinky feel about his name being Billy? What details from pp. 26 and 27 help you know how he feels?
• What rules for being a boy did Pinky share with Mrs. Morgan? How does she respond?
• What story does Mrs. Morgan tell Pinky? Why does she tell him this story?
• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, after reading Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action (Chapter 4) by Jacqueline Jules, students are asked:
• Why does the author start with the sentence ‘I’m not the most patient guy’? What does that show about Freddie?
• Why did Freddie say that keeping his super speed a secret was taking a lot of brainwork?
• Why did Freddie say that talking to Gio made him feel like a detective?
• What does Freddie see in the toolshed? Why is he conflicted about what to do?
• In Unit 4, Lesson 5, after reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, students are asked:
• What does Andrew do on page 48? Why? 
• On page 51 what does Miss Kelly do? Say? Why does she do that? What does it show about her?
• The author said that ‘her voice was low, so low that the class couldn’t hear.’ Why do you think she kept her voice low?
• Why does Miss Kelly help Andrew?
• In Unit 5, Lesson 3, after reading Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul - Up (Chapter 1) by David A. Kelly, students are asked (to):
• Describe Mike. How does the author show how Mike feels about baseball?
• Why did Kate and Mike meet at Fenway Park? Why are they allowed to wander around themselves?
• Who is Big D? What makes Big D special?
• Describe Big D’s bat. What happened when he tried to use a different bat?
• Who is Wally? Describe the commotion Wally caused. 
• In Unit 6, lesson 6, after reading The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst, students are asked:
• Why did Spider put his hat on his head? What happened when he did? Why?
• Why does Spider say he is going to the ‘hat-shaking festival’?
• What does the description ‘as bald as an egg’ mean as used on p. 30?
• What does it mean to be ashamed? Why was Spider ashamed?
• In Unit 7, Lesson 13, after reading I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis, students are asked:
• What description does the author include to show what the wind is like? Why does the author include those details?
• How does Barry’s dad help Barry feel calm? Why is this important?
• What happens at the end of the chapter? How might this impact Barry and his family?
• Why did Barry’s parents decide to stay at home? Did they have another choice?

Examples of evidence based questions and tasks in Science and Social Studies include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 12, after reading Water Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian, students are asked:
• What is a shore?
• What types of animals live at the shore?
• What is a lake?
• What type of life is found in a lake?
• What is a pond?
• What type of life is found in a pond?
• In Unit 2, Lesson 14, after reading Dragonflies! By Cheryl Reifsnyder students are asked:
• What is the main topic of each section of Dragonflies! How do you know?
• In Unit 3, lesson 2, after reading Inside Your Body by Kira Freed, students are asked:
• What is a system?
• What is the skeletal system made of? Why is the skeletal system important?
• What is the muscular system? Why is it important?
• What is the nervous system? Why is it important
• In Unit 4, Lesson 7, after reading Anca’s Journey by Ruth Silburt, students are asked:
• Where were Anca and her mother going? Why?
• Why do you think Mrs. Becker says, ‘Lucky we arrive tomorrow’ on p. 5?
• Why do you think Anca keeps reading and rereading her brother’s letter? How does the letter make her feel? Why?
• How does Ilsa feel about going to America?
• What happened after Anca leapt from her bunk? What problem does this cause?
• What do the characters do to help Anca with her problem?
• In Unit 5, Lesson 21, after reading Sonia Joins the Supreme Court by Cynthia Kennedy Hanzel, students are asked:
• How and why did Sonia Sotomayor’s dreams change over the years? Explain.
•  In Unit 6, Lesson 3, after reading Ancient Greece and the Olympics, Magic Tree House Fact Tracker by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce, students are asked (to):
• What information does the author give the reader about Zeus? 
• How does the picture deepen understanding?”
• Read the sentence from the text, Zeus rewarded people who pleased him. What does the word 'pleased' mean as used in the sentence? What does it show about Zeus?
• In Unit 7, Lesson 2, after reading How Things are Different by Katherine Follett, students are asked:
• How does the shape of things help it do what it was made to do?
• How does the color of things help it do what it was made to do?
• What are other properties of matter? Why are they important?

The instructional materials for Second Grade meet the criteria for materials that contain sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent questions and activities that build to a culminating task that integrates skills for students to demonstrate understanding. Although not labeled as a culminating task, units contain a final lesson that brings together the information and skills learned throughout the unit. The final tasks incorporate a combination of skills including writing and speaking. 

• Literature Unit 1, Lesson 20, includes a final task: "Debate and analyze what lessons we can learn from the characters in traditional fairy tales and folktales and how these lessons translate to our lives by citing evidence from the entire unit to support an idea." Students prepare for this task by activities including but not limited to: 
• Literature Unit 1, Lesson 2, Cinderella by Marcia Brown has students describe Cinderella, her stepmother, and her stepsisters, and how they act toward people who treat them poorly by describing characters and how they respond to events. Teachers are provided the additional instruction: This is the first interaction with Cinderella. The focus of this day is making sure that scholars know and can retell the classic version of the story. It is also important that scholars have deep understanding of the characters and their traits so they can compare and contrast in later lessons. In this lesson scholars also need to understand and explain the fairy tale genre and what makes a story a fairy tale/fantasy. Do a quick preview of French culture before reading this text.
• Unit 1, Lesson 6, Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci students are asked:  The morning after the ball Cendrillon says, “You gave me this night. That is enough.” Why does she say that? What can we learn from her?
• Unit 1, Lesson 9, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie students describe Yeh-Shen’s relationship with the fish and why it is important by analyzing details in a text to draw conclusions about characters’ actions and motivations.
• Unit 1, Lesson 12, Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci, Cinderella by Marcia Brown, Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani, The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo students compare and contrast two versions of Cinderella by describing how the setting impacts the characters and plot of a story and analyzing the different lessons learned.
• Unit 1, Lesson 15, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe students analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson.
• Unit 1, Lesson 19, The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin students analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson.
• Literature Unit 4 has two major final tasks that combine the lessons and information learned within the unit. In Lesson 22, students discuss and debate unit essential questions by stating a claim and supporting the claim with evidence and details from the entire unit. The essential questions are provided in the unit overview and include: "What does it mean to be honest? Why is it important to show honesty in our everyday lives? How do other people influence the decisions you make in your life? How can peer pressure be both positive and negative? What does it mean to forgive someone? How can we learn from our mistakes?" In Lesson 23, students then write a letter to Keena describing what she should do by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from the text and personal connections. Activities throughout the unit preparing for these final tasks include but are not limited to: 
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 5, Freckle Juice by Judy Blume students explain what role Miss Kelly plays in the solution to Andrew’s problem by identifying and describing roles between characters.
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 8, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson students explain why Keena’s mom thinks a journal is a good idea by drawing conclusions about character motivation and relationships.
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 10, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson students describe the relationship between Keena and her father by identifying and describing evidence that shows character relationships and feelings. The Notes section of the lesson explains “For this target task scholars need to reference the conversation that Keena and her father have about the fact that she and Eric are in different classes. This conversation shows that he is supportive and that he tries to offer guidance and advice even if he isn't around all the time.”
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 12, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson students describe what “mess” Keena gets herself into and what she decides to do by identifying evidence that shows character conflict and perspective.
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 14, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson students describe the conflicting feelings that Keena has by identifying and explaining evidence that shows character feelings and perspective.
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 16, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson students describe how Miss Campbell reacts to Keena’s lies and what this tells us about Miss Campbell by identifying and explaining evidence that shows character feeling and perspective.
• Literature Unit 7 has a major final tasks that combines the lessons and information learned within the unit. In Lesson 28 students discuss and debate unit essential questions by stating a claim and supporting the claim with evidence and details from the entire unit. The essential questions are provided in the unit overview and include: "Does surviving a disaster change who you are? Or, does it force you to look inside yourself to discover what was there all along? What does it mean to be resilient and brave? Why was Hurricane Katrina a disaster that left a mark on history? How does the setting of a story influence the plot of the story?"
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 3, A True Book: Hurricane Katrina by Peter Benoit has students describe the build-up to Hurricane Katrina by using details and illustrations to describe the connection between a series of events.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 4, A True Book: Hurricane Katrina by Peter Benoit has students describe the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina by using details and illustrations to describe the connection between a series of events.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 6, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis has students describe what happens to the narrator on Monday, August 29th at 7:00 and why the author chose to start the book this way by describing how characters in stories respond to major events.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 11, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis students write a journal entry about Barry’s experience so far by using a strong organizational structure and description to retell events from a story.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 13, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis students explain what details the author includes to show how the setting is changing and why by identifying and analyzing details that show the setting.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 19, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis students explain Barry’s relationship with Cruz and what might have happened if he hadn’t found Cruz by identifying and analyzing details that describe character and character motivations and feelings.
• Literature Unit 7, Lesson 21, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis students explain why Barry thinks he isn’t acting brave and if you think he is or isn’t a brave soul by identifying and analyzing details that describe character and character motivations and feelings.
• In Unit 1 of the Science and Social Studies materials, the Unit Assessment states, “Write a paragraph explaining how plants and animals in a wetland habitat depend on their surroundings and depend on other living things to meet their needs.”
• In Unit 1, Lesson 24 of the Literature materials, the Teacher Guide states, “Model turning Cinderella into a narrator's script by filling in the graphic organizer.  As scholars finish writing, regroup. Explain that scholars should pick one person to be the narrator and assign character roles to the others. The narrator will read their script aloud while the other characters act it out.”
• In Unit 2, Lesson 5 of the Literature materials, the students are asked to, “Describe Pinky, Rex, and Amanda and how each character responds to major events and challenges by stating a claim and then providing supporting evidence from the entire text.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 9 of the Literature materials, the Teacher Guide states, “Scholars should first retell and chart the plot of the story. Then scholars should look for evidence that describes Freddi and MR. Vaslov, particularly in connection with key plot events.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 17 of the Science and Social Studies Units, students are asked to, “Gather a lot of grocery store circulars so that scholars have a wide variety of images and foods to pick from. Then have scholars create place mats that show a balanced meal. Have scholars plan a balanced breakfast, lunch, and dinner and explain WHY they are balanced meals."
• In Unit 4 of the Literature materials, Lessons 13, 17, and 23 contain a culminating task surrounding different stories about Keena Ford asking students to, “Write a letter to Keena describing what she should do by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from the text and personal connections."
• In Unit 5 of the Literature materials, the Unit 5 Project states, “After reading mystery stories, scholars will be presented with a mystery and be asked to collect clues, interview witnesses, and interrogate suspects in order to solve it.”
  

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

The materials provide opportunities for students to use speaking and listening skills to apply their knowledge using evidence based discussion in smaller groups and within the larger class.  The protocols for evidence based discussions are included in the ancillary teacher materials and outline recommendations and frameworks to plan and use within the lessons. Rigorous Discussion Guidelines detail how to prepare and lead effective classroom discussions as well as recommendations for how to maximize learning after the instruction.  It includes a 3 level rubric for student led discussions that measures students’ skills in speaking and listening, advancement of discussion, analysis, preparation and providing evidence. The Intellectual Prep section of the units have teachers determine the focus for habits of discussion that aligns with target speaking and listening standards, based on the classroom needs. Teachers then create a plan for how to teach and reinforce the discussion habits over the course of the unit during daily partner and whole-group discussions. 

The Rigorous Discussion Guidelines in the Publisher’s Supporting Documents for Teachers explains strategies and structures to teachers in a step by step guide. Some lessons explicitly refer to these strategies and structures as an option for the lesson, but the teacher has the discretion of when to use them. There is a detailed document providing steps and guidelines to prepare for, lead, and follow up with a rigorous discussion. To prepare for a discussion some teacher guidance includes setting up the classroom space, articulating a question, and anticipating student misconceptions. To lead a discussion, some guidance is provided for modeling note taking for students, providing scaffolding, and tracking data from the discussion. After the discussion, there is guidance on how to use the data to inform future classes, which, also includes a rubric for evaluating student discussion. Examples from the Rigorous Discussion Guidelines protocols include but are not limited to:

• Design pre-work/mini-lesson that provides necessary context needed to start forming an informed opinion of a particular content goal
• Model and practice facilitation of an effective discussion when initially introducing rigorous discussion
• Skillfully facilitates discussion using a variety of strategies 

The Publisher’s Documents also contain an Instructional Strategies Guide that highlights different ways for students to engage in an evidence based discussion. These include:

• Turn and Talk which is a language strategy that provides scaffolded opportunities for all students to formulate and build upon each other’s ideas. It is suggested that teachers use this when there is more than one right answer or for a meaty part of the text that is worth discussion and analysis.
• Discussion, which helps increase student thinking by challenging one to test out their own ideas, build on those of their peers, and ultimately lead a persuasive discussion. It should be used to evaluate or test theories as well as synthesize a lesson. 

Match Mini Protocols that illustrate various protocols include:

• Part 1: Illustrates discussion protocols 
• Part 2: Provides a protocol for the classroom discussion. This part assists the teacher with evidence-based discussions using the text-based questions and vocabulary. 

Examples from the Lesson Frameworks include, but are not limited to:

• In Literature, Unit 1, Lesson 20, students debate and analyze what lessons they can learn from the characters in traditional fairy tales and folktales and how these lessons translate to their lives by citing evidence from the entire unit to support an idea.
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 1, Lesson 4, students create a visual representation of a forest habit that shows how plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs. Before creating the post, students engage in a deep discussion of how different things depend on each other within the environment. It is suggested that 20 minutes of class is spent on the discussion and 40 minutes is spent on the visual creation. 
• In Literature, Unit 2, Lesson 22, students turn and talk to share who their favorite character is from the Pinky and Rex series and explain why. Then students complete an independent project on their favorite character. At the end of the project,  students engage in a class discussion on how the characters change over the series. 
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 2, Lesson 19, students explain how insects are both helpful and harmful by using text features and key details to ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
• In Literature, Unit 3, Lesson 1, students engage in a book preview by looking at the back of the book, the pictures on the cover and back of book, and reading the table of contents. Then students make predictions about what will happen in the book using something they have seen or read in the preview. 
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 3, Lesson 18, students engage in a rigorous class discussion on the digestive system and nutrition. 
• In Literature, Unit 4, Lesson 6, after reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, students  explain how other people influence the decisions that Andrew made and what they can learn from him to make their lives better by identifying and interpreting key details that support the main lesson of the text. Before engaging in the discussion, students create a plot map as a way of synthesizing and identifying the key events of the story. 
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 4, Lesson 8, students write an informational text that explains what life was like at Ellis Island, but begin the lesson by engaging in a discussion to prepare them for the writing. 
• In Literature, Unit 5, Lesson 18, students analyze and discuss the unit essential questions. 
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 5, Lesson 11, students engage in a discussion on all of the people from the first half of the unit. The goal is to push students to deeper understanding of each of the different people, what influenced them, and how they made the world a better place. 
• In Literature, Unit 6, Lesson 14, students read the script together as a class and discuss the features of drama. Then they talk about how certain parts might be acted out based on what they know about Anansi.
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 6, Lesson 20, students explain why the author says, ‘When the winners returned home, they were treated like heroes,’ by analyzing and describing how the reasons from the entire text support specific points the author makes in a text by engaging in a deep dive discussion. 
• In Literature, Unit 7, Lesson 27, the teacher leads students in a discussion to push students to connect what they have learned from the unit with the world using the text, A True Book: Hurricane Katrina by Peter Benoit and a quote from Nelson Mandela. 
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 7, Lesson 3, students complete a project where they classify objects based on properties and then analyze the data to describe how the different properties help a material meet its desired purpose. After completing the project, students engage in a turn and talk where they think about what properties all of the materials share and which properties were the most in common.
  

Materials in Grade 2 support speaking and listening about the text through group learning activities and class discussions. There are some examples in the lesson frames and teaching notes, where the word discussion is used explicitly to indicate to the teacher that discussion should be taking place in class. In addition, every lesson has a set of Key Questions, and while it does not always explicitly state to discuss, these provide opportunities to discuss and the Notes section of the lesson frame frequently indicates that a discussion should occur.  These series of questions often progress from discussion to drawing or writing. Students have multiple opportunities to present their work and share with their peers in a group or whole class settings. Resource documents provide assistance for teachers in choosing class structures. Intellectual Prep is provided for each unit that specifies the discussions that will be included throughout the lessons. 

Examples of opportunities for students to practice their listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching in Literature and Social Studies and Science include but are not limited to these examples.  Some activities in the Lesson Objectives or Notes section of the Lesson Frames specifically require a discussion to be held by students and provide text dependent questions to be answered by students. Teachers can use their discretion to decide if it is whole group, partner, or small group discussion.

•  In Social Studies and Science Unit 1, Lesson 4, A Forest Habitat (Introducing Habitats) by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay, the lesson states, “Before having scholars make the poster, lead them in a DEEP discussion of how different things depend on each other within the environment. The posters are not just a RECALL of facts from the text, they have to show analysis."
•  In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 20, students are asked to, “Debate two essential questions by participating in a class discussion by stating a claim and providing evidence from the unit.”
•  In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 9, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules, students are asked to, “Describe Freddie and Mr. Vaslov and what motivates them both by preparing for and participating in a class discussion using evidence from the entire text.”
• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 25, Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson, “Scholars will reflect on a few instances where Keena Ford made mistakes in the text. Then they will work in groups to create skits showing what she should have done instead.
•  In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 14, Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly, students are asked to, “Debate if Mike and Kate have solved the mystery and why by describing how characters respond to major events.”
•  In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 14, “Anansi’s Feast: An African Trickster Tale”  the lesson states, “The project calls for students to act out “Anansi’s Feast” by using expression, dialogue, and knowledge of the characters to accurately portray events in a story.
•  In Literature Unit 7, Lesson 28, the lesson states, “Pick two or three essential questions from the unit to debate and analyze. Push students to use details from the entire unit and text to deepen their understanding of the content."

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing grade-appropriate writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

The instructional materials reviewed partially meet the expectations that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused tasks. The unit materials provide opportunities for students to complete narrative, informational, and opinion writing. The Instructional Strategies guidelines, available in the ancillary materials detail Stop & Jot’s in which students respond to questions in writing, and are designed to be incorporated into each lesson using the Planning a Lesson protocol and lesson plan template. Also, the Literacy Block guide denotes a Writer’s Workshop for 45 minutes daily in which, “The majority of language standards are taught and reinforced”.

• Literature Unit 1, Lesson 13, students write their own Cinderella poem, and in Lesson 22, “Write a letter to the third grader explaining what you can learn from Cinderella stories and how they do connect to our own lives.”
•  Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 5, students “Write an informational report that explains what an insect is. They should include labels, headings, and three or four facts about insects.”
•  Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 9, students “Write an informational book and create a poster that shows what happens after the food has been eaten and as it is going through the digestive system. Make sure to include specific details and diagrams to support your explanation.” 
• Literature Unit 4, Lesson 15, students “Write a letter to Keena describing what she should do by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from the text and personal connections.
•  Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 27, students  “Interview an immigrant and write a news report either promoting opportunities or identifying hardships.”
•  Literature Unit 5, Lessons 6, 10, 13, and 16, using the text, F is for Fenway: America’s Oldest Major League Ballpark by Jerry Pallotta, students “Write a newspaper article detailing what has been happening at Fenway Park by retelling key details and characters’ perspectives on events.”
•  Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 11, students “Write an informational report describing how a person made the world a better place by stating a claim and including supporting details from the text."
•  Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 6, students “Use their note-taking templates from lessons 3 and 4 to write a biography of one of the gods they read about in both texts.” 
•  Literature Unit 7, Lessons 11, 17, and 24, using the text, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005 by Lauren Tarshis, students write several narrative journal entries detailing, “Barry’s experience so far by using a strong organizational structure and description to retell events from a story.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for materials including regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.

The materials provide students the opportunity to learn, practice and apply evidence based writing. Students are required to recall relevant information and details in their application of the lessons including, but not limited to, informational and opinion responses. Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources. Unit summaries often state that students should be writing daily in response to the text. 

Examples of evidence - based writing found in Literature include:

• In Unit 1, students begin to write responses to questions that include a claim and details from the text that support the claim. In Lesson 13, they have to write their own Cinderella poems, drawing conclusions based on details from multiple texts. 
• The purpose of Unit 2 is to write longer responses to the text, with a focus on stating a claim that answers the question and including evidence from the text.
• In Unit 2 Lesson 5, students describe Pinky, Rex, and Amanda and how each character responds to major events and challenges by stating a claim and then providing supporting evidence from the entire text.
• In Unit 3, Lesson 9, students do a deep character dive and retell the plot of the story and then use evidence to describe Freddie and Mr. Vaslow.
• In Unit 3, Lesson 17, students describe Freddie and Mr. Vaslow and what motivates them and how do they show friendship. 
• In Unit 4, Lesson 23, students write a letter to Keena describing what she should do by stating a claim and supporting the claim with details from the text and personal connections after reading Keena Ford.Students must include two or three things that they learned from the book in the letter.  
• In Unit 5, Lesson 10, students write a newspaper article detailing what has been happening at Fenway Park. 
• In Unit 7, students write journal entries about Barry’s experience during Hurricane Katrina after reading, I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005. This begins in Lesson 11. Specific examples include Lesson 17, where students have to write a journal entry about his family’s experience so far and include information about how characters respond to events. 

Examples of evidenced-based writing found in Science and Social Studies include:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 5, students write a page in an informational book, after reading A Forest Habitat,  that explains how plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs in the places they live. They are expected to write in complete sentences and use key details from the text.  
• In Unit 2, Lesson 17, students participate in a class discussion about what they have learned about insects. Then they write an informational text that uses facts, images, and definitions to explain what they learned. 
• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, the students write a book that describes what happens with fluids in the body. Students must include specific details from the book First Human Body Encyclopedia to support their explanation. Students are required to synthesize everything they have learned so far and teach it back. 
• In Unit 3, Lesson 13, students describe carbohydrates, proteins, fat, and vitamins and minerals, and why they are important for keeping a body healthy. 
• In Unit 4, there are three lessons with a writing focus that are Lesson 8, 15, and 24. The objectives include stating a claim and using details from sources to support the claim. The culminating task on Lesson 27 has students write a persuasive news segment that uses information from all of the texts in the unit. 
• In Unit 5, Lesson 11, students write an informational report describing how one of the scientists they have read about has made the world a better place by stating a claim and including supporting details from the text.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 11, the students write two pages in their informational journal using text evidence about what life was like in ancient Greece.
• In Unit 7, Lesson 14, students discuss the essentially questions and then write an answer for one of the questions using details from the text.