5th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1a. 

The materials incorporate an assortment of informational and literary texts that are of publishable quality. The literary units feature full-length published texts of high quality by award-winning authors. Throughout the science and social studies units, there are a multitude of published texts that are informative and of high-interest for students. Texts are diverse, well-balanced, and accessible for multiple purposes. Anchor texts encompass a variation of genres and range of topics that would be appealing and engaging to students. Several texts contain engaging pictures, vivid illustrations, character relationships and motives, and rich vocabulary.

Anchor texts are of high-quality and consider a range of student interests, are well-crafted, content-rich, and engage students at their grade level. For example:

• In Literature Unit 1, students read Seedfolks by Newbery Medal winner, Paul Flesichman. This text brings together perspectives from a variety of cultures.  

• In Literature Unit 3, students read the anchor text Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez. This unit and text deepen students' understanding of immigration and immigrant rights. 

• In Literature Unit 5, students read One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This Newbery Honor novel addresses themes of the Black Panthers and the Civil Rights movement and is of high-interest and appropriate for students in Grade 5.  

• In Literature Unit 6, students read the award-winning text A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, students read the text Trash Vortex: How Plastic Pollution is Choking the World’s Oceans by Danielle Smith-Llera. In this text, students learn about the problems associated with plastic and examine solutions to reduce plastic waste. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, students read the published book La Cause: The Migrant Farmworkers' Story by Dana Catharine de Ruiz and Richard Larios. This text describes the efforts in the 1960s of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, students read the texts Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights by Belinda Rochelle, Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories by Ellen S. Levine, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, and Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Days by Frank Sikora. This unit uses multiple anchor texts to help students understand the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of the youth. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, students read the published text The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by award-winning freelance author Elizabeth Rusch.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1b. 

The materials contain an even distribution of literature and informational texts across Grade 3. Implementation of both the Literature and the Science and Social Studies Units must occur in order for there to be a 50/50 distribution. There is a variety of text types found throughout the year including articles, novels, factsheets, graphic novels, science fiction, realistic fiction, informational science, history, and social studies texts.

Materials reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the grade-level standards.

• Examples of literary texts include, but are not limited to:

  • In Literature Unit 1, students read the realistic fiction text Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman.

  • In Literature Unit 3, students read the realistic fiction novel Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez.

  • In Literature Unit 4, students read the realistic fiction novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

  • In Literature Unit 6, students read the science fiction text A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and the graphic novel of the same text.

• Examples of informational texts include, but are not limited to:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, students read the informational text Trash Vortex: How Plastic Pollution is Choking the World’s Oceans by Danielle Smith-Llera. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, students read the informational text La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers; Story by Dana Catharine de Ruiz and Richard Larios and the biography Cesar Chavez: A Photographic Essay by Ilan Stavans.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, students read the informational text Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights by Belinda Rochelle. Students also read the article “American Slavery: Separating Fact from Myth” by Daina Ramey Berry from The Conversation. 

  • In Literature Unit 3, students read multiple excerpts from The Black Panther - Vol. 2 and Vol. 3.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, students read the informational text The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Ruch.

Materials reflect a 50/50 balance of informational and literary texts. For example:

• There are six Literature units. Over the course of the 164 instructional days for these units, there are eight texts, including five novels.

• There are four Science and Social Studies units. Over the course of 134 instructional days for these units, there are eight texts. 

• According to the Pacing Guide, the Science and Social Studies Units are taught in tandem with the Literature Units to ensure that students receive a balance of literary and informational texts throughout Grade 5.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c.

The materials include texts that are at the appropriate level of complexity based on the quantitative levels, qualitative analysis, and associated task. Some texts are outside of the quantitative grade band; however, the qualitative features make them appropriate for Grade 5 students and/or their task and/or purpose make them complex for Grade 5. In each unit, there is a list of core texts, which contains the Lexile level. In addition, the publisher also provides a Text Selection Rationale for each unit. This rationale justifies placement in the grade as well as a detailed analysis of qualitative features. In addition, it provides information on why the text was selected. 

Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. For example:

• In Literature Unit 1, students read the core text Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (710L). The publisher acknowledges this lower quantitative level and explains that “the qualitative analysis, specifically the complex levels of meaning and text structure, suggest that the novel is more appropriate in the 4–5 grade band.” The text is used to prepare students to use narrative structure as they write their own chapter using imagined experiences similar to the text. 

• In Literature Unit 5, students read the core text One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (750L). The publisher justifies that this text is appropriate for Grade 5 because of the qualitative measures, “particularly the knowledge demands and vocabulary/sentence structure.” In addition, this core text is supported by a series of moderately complex poems and informational documents centered on the Civil Rights Movement. Tasks focus on determining theme in core and supporting texts, comparing unit texts, and analyzing the development of theme.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, students read Trash Vortex: How Plastic Pollution is Choking the World’s Oceans by Danielle Smith-Llera (1120L). Qualitative measures of the text, including the engaging and relevant topic, make it moderately complex for the grade level. The text builds knowledge of world ocean pollution, including the history of plastic and how it ends up in the ocean. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, students read several texts including Witness to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights by Belinda Rochelle (1040L),, Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories by Ellen S. Levine (760L), Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (1000L), and Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery (780L). These texts have a variety of qualitative features including heavy knowledge demands, first person accounts, and simple text structures. The texts build knowledge of the Civil Rights movement including motivation and leaders. 

Anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by an accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. For example:

• In Literature Unit 2, students read The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (710L). The Text Selection Rationale acknowledges that the text is in the 2-3 grade band but explains that “the qualitative analysis, specifically the complex knowledge demands, suggest that the novel is more appropriate in the 4-5 grade band.”  

• In Literature Unit 5, students read several texts including Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (860L) and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1020L). According to the Text Selection Rationale “the majority of the texts in the unit have moderately complex conventionality, vocabulary, and sentence structure.” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, students read La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers’ Story by Dana Catharine de Ruiz and Richard Larios (no Lexile); however, the Text Selection Rationale explains that the “qualitative measures support the text’s placement as part of the unit.” It explains that the text structure is straightforward but the knowledge demands are very complex.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, students read the book The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch (950L). The Text Selection Rationale explains that the text is appropriate: “With a Lexile of 950, the quantitative measures place the core text in the fifth-grade band level. Additionally, the qualitative measures, particularly the text structure, illustrations and graphics, vocabulary and sentence structure, and content knowledge, make the text worthy of study.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d. 

The materials include units that build upon the next with increasing demands for knowledge and application as students master the content, and the texts increase in complexity. The complexity of anchor texts and supporting texts offer students the opportunity to grow their literacy skills across the year. Scaffolds are provided for more complex texts including key questions to support comprehension and graphic organizers. Toward the end of the year, students engage more independently with texts. In addition, in the Teacher Tools section, there is a general guidance document under Providing Access for Complex Texts, that provides guidance for how to recognize and address complexity in fiction and nonfiction texts as well as provide student support and scaffolds.  

The complexity of anchor texts students read provides an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth. For example:

• In the beginning of the school year, students read one core text that has a Lexile of 710 in Literature Unit 1. The text allows students to compare and contrast two or more characters and describe how the narrators’ point of view influences how events are described. In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, students read several texts including a core text with a Lexile of 1120. Students build knowledge in this unit as well as focus on science standards including explaining the relationship between two or more scientific ideas. 

• In the middle of the school year, students read several texts, including one core text in Literature Unit 3 that has a Lexile of 890. The purpose of this unit is for students to begin learning about the topic of immigration, specifically undocumented immigrants. In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, students read several texts with Lexiles that range from 760 to 1040. Students use these texts to analyze point of view and describe how point of view influences what and how information is presented to a reader. 

• At the end of the year, students read one core text that has a Lexile of 740 in Literature Unit 6. While the Lexile is lower than the beginning of the year, it is the first science fiction text that students read in the program. In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, students read several texts including the core text, which has a Lexile of 950. Students use the texts to practice explaining the connection between two or more scientific ideas or concepts in a text. 

As texts become more complex, appropriate scaffolds and/or materials are provided in the Teacher Edition (i.e., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings). For example:

• The Teacher Tools digital platform provides general ways teachers can support students when accessing complex texts. The general supports are “temporary and adjustable, removed gradually” and “used to scaffold content, task, or materials.” The purpose for these general supports are for teachers to determine “what supports to provide students, either as a whole-glass, small-group, or individually” as texts get more complex. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 7, to help students comprehend the text, students annotate for details to show how plastic is bad for the ocean and humans. 

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 10, students partner read and independently read Chapters 11 and 12. Key Questions are provided to help students comprehend the complex text. 

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 11, students engage in shared reading in the beginning and then finish independently. There is a lot of figurative language in the text selection, so the lesson plan points out instances of figurative language that students may need help making sense of. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 9, the teacher begins by reading two pages aloud and doing a close-read and then students finish the selection independently and annotate for details about how people responded to the Mars Rover’s landing and discoveries. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1e.

The materials contain a wide range and volume of daily reading throughout both the Literature and Science and Social Studies lessons. Students read the texts independently, in pairs, and in group settings. Students read books (both literary and informational), articles, and websites. Additionally, students participate in daily independent reading that can be structured in a number of ways outlined in the Teacher Tools section of the materials. The materials highlight teachers having the option to exercise flexibility within the framework to establish routines most suitable for their classroom. There is an emphasis on the independent reading time being an essential facet of the program, and there is a recommended list of independent reading books per unit that align with the topic/theme. Multiple reading logs are included and permit teacher flexibility for independent reading opportunities. In the Independent Reading Routines, there are general recommendations for monitoring the students’ comprehension of independent reading and establishing independent reading goals. Decisions about the implementation and monitoring of independent reading are made at the teacher’s discretion using the universal tools provided. 

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and support for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and genres. For example: 

• Students read a total of 16 Core Texts across Grade 5.

• In the Literature Units, students read novels, graphic novels, poems, articles and myths.

• In the Science and Social Studies units, students read nonfiction books, articles, websites, posters, photos, and watch videos.

• The program also provides a recommended list of texts for students to independently read that align with each unit. For example, in Literature Unit 1, students read Seedfolks and there are two recommended informational texts to build knowledge and eight recommended literary texts about community.

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and support for students to engage in a volume of reading. For example: 

• Each daily lesson plan includes the section, Engaging with the Text, where students have direct interaction with the text including independent, partner, and group reading. Teacher guidance is provided each day for how to have students engage with the text. For example, in Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 12, teacher directions state: “Read and engage with pages 30-32 using a combination of shared reading and read aloud.”

• According to the Pacing Guide, students spend 60 minutes in the Literature Block each day, 60 minutes in the Science & Social Studies Block each day, and 45 minutes in the Independent Reading Block each day. In a typical Literature and Science and Social Studies block, the first five minutes is spent building knowledge and skills, the next 30 minutes is where students engage with the text, and the last 25 minutes is where students build deeper meaning of the text.

There is sufficient teacher guidance to foster independence for all readers (e.g., independent reading procedures, proposed schedule, tracking system for independent reading). For example:

• In the Teacher Tools, there is a section called Independent Reading that provides a detailed plan for supporting students’ independent reading in the classroom including an Independent Reading Targeted Mini Lesson Planning template, an Independent Reading Weekly Planning template, and a Parent/Guardian letter template.

• In the Teacher Tools, there is a section on Independent Reading, which recommends that teachers do the following before any lesson: “When internalizing a Fishtank lesson, decide if and when you may be able to include independent reading. (This will most often be noted in Enhanced Lesson Plans, but you may also decide to use one at additional moments depending on student needs.)

  • Solidify what sections of the text students should read independently. 

  • Solidify how you will check for understanding while students are reading independently.

  • Decide which students you want to check in with during independent work time.” 

• Materials call for students to have a minimum of 45 minutes of independent reading time daily as described in the Course Overview Pacing guide. 

• In the Independent Reading (3-5) Teacher Tools, there is a minimum number of independent reading benchmarks for each quarter of the school year. It also provides a chart of the portion of each ELA block reading time that should be independent reading. 

• There are three printable forms for tracking student independent reading: an Independent Reading Journal (Writing Prompts), Independent Reading Journal (Summary), and an Independent Reading Log. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1f. 

The materials include lessons with a variety of text-dependent questions.across the Literature and Science & Social Studies units. This includes both open-ended and multiple choice questions. There are numerous opportunities for students to respond to questions both orally and in writing and support their responses with textual evidence. Embedded within each unit is evidence of writing tasks that require students to interact with the text. Students answer both explicit and implicit questions and are required to offer explanations for their responses. In the Enhanced Lesson Plan, each question is accompanied by an exemplar answer to guide teachers. 

Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the texts being studied. For example:

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 6, students read Chapter 6 of The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis and answer questions: “Compare and contrast Parvana’s, Nooria’s, and Mother’s responses to Parvana dressing as a boy. How do their responses help build a deeper understanding of character? Analyze Nooria and Parvana’s relationship. In what ways does their relationship contribute to the plot of the story?”

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 2, Lesson 5, after reading La Causa: The Migrant Farmworker’s Story by Dana Catharine de Ruiz, students answer questions: “Compare and contrast life on the grape farm with life in Yuma. How and why did things change for the Chavez family? In what ways were Cesar and his family’s human rights violated? Despite challenging circumstances, the Chavez family was able to maintain a positive attitude. Agree or disagree.” 

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 9, students read an excerpt of Endangered by Eliot Schrefer and answer Key Questions: “Did Sophie use more physical or mental strength to survive? Defend. What key character traits enabled Sophie to survive her first few days in the enclosure?”. 

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 4, Lesson 1, after reading The Mighty Mars Rover: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch students answer questions: “Look at the image on pp 2-3. Based on this image, what do you think the surface of Mars is like? How does this image match with what you visualized Mars to look like? Based on the image on pp. 2-3, what challenges might robots visiting Mars encounter?”

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks. For example:

• In the Internalizing an ELA Lesson in Teacher Tools, questions are provided for the teacher to consider when lesson planning: “What do students need to know/understand to answer this question? What do students need to do to answer this question? What key moments do students need to understand in order to answer the question correctly?”

• Most lessons include a Target Task, which is a text-specific or text-dependent question that indicates to the teacher if the objective was mastered or not. For example, in Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 8, after reading Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights by Belinda Rochelle, students complete the Target Task writing prompt: “Read the quote from Martin Luther King Jr. below. ‘It was the high school, college and elementary school young people who were in the front line of the school desegregation struggle. Lest it be forgotten, the opening of hundreds of schools to Negroes for the first time in history required that there be young Negroes with the moral and physical courage to face the challenges and, all too frequently, the mortal danger presented by the mob resistance.’ How does the author use reasons and evidence to support the points made by Martin Luther King Jr.?” The lesson plan includes a sample response to help the teacher evaluate student responses. 

• Enhanced lesson plans include language support, quick review questions, and opportunities for enrichment. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 3, students complete a task: “Analyze how Delphine’s point of view influences the way events are described and what Delphine wants a reader to understand about her sisters and Cecile.” The teacher is provided both an example of a “Mastery Response” and “key moments to analyze” to support the teacher’s understanding of the type of response expected. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 7, after reading Trash Vortex: How Plastic Pollution is Choking the World’s Oceans by Danielle Smith-Llera, students answer Key Questions. The lesson plan states, “depending on student needs, students can answer the questions orally, annotate in the margins, or write their answers.” 

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1g. 

The materials include frequent opportunities and protocols for students to engage in evidence-based discussions. There is a whole section in the Teacher Tools page that describes the purpose and the processes of Academic Discourse in Match Fishtank. This section outlines the three types of Academic Discourse and provides several protocols for each. In addition, this section provides information on the three tiers of Academic Discourse to help further develop student thinking and speaking and listening skills. Some lessons specify exactly which protocols to use, while others identify the type of discussion (i.e., whole-group, small-group, or partner), and teachers use their judgement to decide on the best protocol. To facilitate this, there is a series of questions for the teacher to consider to help them identify which Tier to focus on and which protocol. 

Materials provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. For example:

• In the Teacher Tools, there is a whole section on Academic Discourse that outlines discussion protocols for whole class discussions, small group discussions, and partner discussions.

• For Whole Class discussions, the materials outline the steps for the Take a Stand protocol which gives a question and students need to take a side and students work together to convince others to agree with them. In addition, there is a four-step procedure for a Fishbowl discussion, which allows for the whole class to hear the ideas of other classmates. 

• There are four protocols provided for small group discussion including Simultaneous Round Table, Rally Coach, Talking Chips, and Numbered Heads Together. Each of the protocols give the purpose and the steps. 

• Partner discussions contain five protocols, including four that are various types of think-pair-shares. 

• The Teacher Tools also provides an explanation of three tiers of discourse. In each tier, there are discourse strategies, key teacher talk moves, and a variety of sentence frames to help with each discourse tier. For example, Tier II is students engaging with the thinking of others. A discourse strategy is paraphrasing what other students say. A key teacher talk move is to give students an opportunity to turn and talk. Sentence frames are provided to help students build on a classmate’s ideas and to question or clarify the ideas of others. 

• Lessons utilize a variety of discussion topics and formats. For example:

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 4, students write a summary of the excerpt from Julie of the Wolves and then work in partners to orally retell what happened. Teachers can decide what discussion protocol to use. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 14, students work with a partner to “create a list of reasons the strike was successful and a list of reasons why the strike was not successful.” Then students are assigned a side and debate. 

Speaking and listening instruction includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. For example:

• In the Teacher Tools, the Academic Discourse section contains an Academic Discourse Rubric and a Discussion Recording Form for Grades 3-5.

• In the Teacher Tools, the Academic Discourse section includes general information on how to facilitate students in speaking and listening skills. There are supports to help students, such as “have students use a graphic organizer to gather ideas”; supports during discussions, such as “provide sentence frames for students to use”; and ways to ensure students synthesize understanding during discussions, such as “model how to revise and refine thinking.” 

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 21, students participate in a discussion that has three focus points, such as “Students learn how to prepare for academic discussions. Students provide evidence or examples to justify and defend their point clearly. Students use vocabulary that is specific to the subject and task to clarify and share their thoughts.” Students discuss and debate an essential question selected by the teacher using the text, Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis. The teacher encourages students to support their ideas with evidence and key vocabulary from the unit. Teachers use the Discussion Recording Form to assess and track student participation.

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 15, students discuss the similarities and differences in the way Brian, Sophie, and/or Miyax approached survival from the several excerpts read in the unit. Teachers push students to support their ideas with evidence and key vocabulary from the unit. Teachers use the Discussion Recording Form to assess and track student participation.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 22, students use an excerpt of La Causa: The Migrant Farmworkers' Story by Dana Catharine de Ruiz and Richard Larios and the supporting materials in the unit to participate in a group discussion to analyze how the core values of courage, unity, and hope fueled the farmworkers movement. Students begin by brainstorming individually and take notes on a Discussion Graphic Organizer. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 7, students work with a partner to orally summarize each person’s experience with school integration in the text, Freedom’s Children: Young Civil Rights Activities Tell Their Own Stories by Ellen S. Levine. Then students participate in a whole-class discussion. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1h.

The materials include opportunities for evidence-based discussions in pairs, small groups, and whole class settings in the majority of lessons.Through discussions, students build knowledge, explain their thinking, and support their reasoning. The majority of discussions pertain to the unit texts or topics and ask students to provide evidence to support their ideas. Materials provide some guidance for teachers in the enhanced lesson plans to build student discussion skills. The Teacher Tools also provide guidance for developing and implementing student discussion protocols across the curriculum and include ways to monitor student discussions. Lessons provide sentence stems for students and recommendations for ways that teachers can model speaking and listening skills.

Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities. For example: 

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 11, students participate in a class discussion after collecting evidence to support their agreement or disagreement with the following statement: “People with different cultural identities can come together to form a strong community.”

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 5, students engage in a discussion of the Target Question: “How did plastic become such a large part of everyday life.”

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 21, students collect evidence to defend their position on whether or not Mari is a brave and noble young lady after reading a portion of Return to Sender by Julai Alvarez. Then the teacher uses the Take a Stand Protocol to facilitate a discussion. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 14, students participate in a class discussion centered on why the author would put the words “uncontrollable,” “emotional,” and “profane” in italics. They then participate in a discussion on if they agree with the decision that Claudette was not right for the movement based on what they have read to this point in the unit. Students are instructed to “Defend why or why not using details from the text.”

Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. For example:

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 2, students participate in a discussion based on the Target Question, “Why is the chapter titled ‘Secret Agent Mother’?” Students gather evidence from the text to support their position for how Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern perceive Cecile as well as how Cecile feels about the girls.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lessons 16 and 28, students debate and analyze the unit's essential questions using information gathered from the core text, The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity, and supporting texts.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1i. 

The materials include opportunities in each unit for students to complete on-demand and process. Both types of writing tasks are connected to the unit topic and texts and assist students with building knowledge of the unit topic. Throughout each unit, students have almost daily opportunities to respond to the Target Task in writing, which provides students with opportunities in on-demand writing. In addition, each Literature and Science and Social Studies unit ends with a process writing task that requires multiple instructional days to complete. Process writing is the focus of most end of unit tasks, with a few focused lessons occurring across each unit. Occasionally on-demand writing tasks prompt students to revise or edit their work whereas the end of unit process tasks include time for revision and multiple drafts. Some tasks include opportunities for students to use information from digital sources such as videos or websites. Occasionally, materials prompt teachers to use the internet as enrichment but technology is not required for use in completing tasks or presentations. Most task sheets for student writing can be loaded into Google Classroom for students to engage in writing on a technical platform. This is optional and not required to utilize the materials. 

Materials include a mix of BOTH on-demand and process writing, including opportunities for students to revise and/or edit, that covers a year’s worth of instruction; however, the bulk of process writing occurs in the end-of-unit tasks.

• Examples of on-demand writing include:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 13, students respond to the writing prompt, “Shelby’s actions show that a ‘single person, one lone voice’ can make a difference. Describe how Shelby’s actions made a difference.” 

  • In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 3, after reading the text, students describe what a specific sentence in Return to Sender means. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 2, students respond to the prompt, “Describe the racism and oppression black people in the South faced on a daily basis.”

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 19,  while reading One Crazy Summer, students respond to the writing prompt, “In what ways are Delphine Cecile changing? What is causing the change? Give specific examples for both Delphien and Cecile.” 

• Examples of processing writing include:

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 16, students use the writing process across multiple days to write their own chapter in Seedfolks by using a narrative structure to develop imagined experiences based on the events of the text.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 9, students use the writing process over three days to  write, revise, and edit to educate other classrooms around the school about why there is a plastic problem and how the plastic problem is impacting the ocean.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 33, students use the writing process over five days to create a report that teaches others about an event from the Civil Rights Movement. 

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 30, students use the writing process over three days to write a story about what the girls should do the next time they see Cecile in the text, One Crazy Summer. 

Materials include some use of digital resources with writing tasks. Most of the resources are optional. Each Target Task writing prompt can be sent to Google Classroom, enabling students to type responses directly on the worksheet. This also allows students to publish final copies of process writing tasks digitally. In addition, some lessons include videos that students need to watch in order to complete a writing task. For example, in Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 12, students read an article and watch a video clip, “Chicano! - Struggle in the Fields”, to complete the writing prompt, “Using details from the video and pictures, describe the conditions for farm workers in California.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1j. 

The materials include sufficient opportunities for writing the three text types required by the standards. The Literature and Science and Social Studies units address informational, opinion, and narrative writing. The majority of narrative and opinion writing take place in the Literature units. Informative writing is found in both Literature and Science and Social Studies units. Students regularly respond to a prompt after reading a text in both units and direct instruction is provided in Science and Social Studies for informational writing, typically in the form of a research project. Students receive explicit, sequenced instruction to assist in developing grade-level writing techniques in narrative, informational, and opinion styles of writing. 

Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 19, students write a summary about what happened on the march to Sacramento.

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 10, students write a multiple-paragraph essay describing what life was like for undocumented workers in Vermont.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 26, students answer the question, “What word would you use to describe Spirit’s future after reading the section from The Mighty Mars Rovers? Why? What word would you use to describe Spirit’s future after reading the press release? Why? Compare and contrast the words you brainstormed. How did the structure and point of view of the text influence your word choice?”

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 21, students “rewrite the scene on page 168-169 from Cecile’s point of view.”

Different genres/modes/types of writing are distributed throughout the school year. 

• Students have opportunities to engage in opinion writing. Opinion writing happens in 29% of all writing opportunities. For example:

  • In Social Studies and Science Unit 3, Lesson 7, students read a quote from the text and then answer, “Would the children interviewed in this section agree or disagree with this statement? Defend why or why not?”

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 19, students read A Wrinkle in Time and answer the question, “Are Meg’s thoughts towards her father justifiable? Defend why or why not.”

• Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing. Informative writing happens in 39% of all writing opportunities. For example:

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 4, students “compare and contrast how the garden influences Leona versus how the others are influenced by the garden.”

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 11, students summarize the key events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

• Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing. Narrative writing happens in  32% of all writing opportunities. For example: 

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 16, students write their “own chapter in Seedfolks by using a narrative structure to develop imagined experiences based on the events of the text.” 

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 18 , after reading several survival stories, students “write a continuation of one of the stories in the unit. Your narrative should include a logical sequence of events and specific details that describe the characters, action and setting.”

Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). Examples include:

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 1, Lesson 2, students respond to the writing prompt, “What happens to plastic trash once it is in the ocean? Use the diagram on page 9 to support your answer.”

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 2, students respond to the prompt, “Why is the chapter titled ‘Secret Agent Mother’? Does the title adequately describe Cecile and the way the girls perceive her? Defend why or why not.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 1k. 

The materials include evidence-based writing tasks in the majority of lessons in the Literature units and Science and Social Studies units. Writing prompts are specific to the texts and help students build knowledge on each unit topic. Writing assignments are designed for students to construct meaningful responses and to think critically about new knowledge and themes in the unit. Each lesson includes a Target Task question, which requires students to answer, in writing, based on the reading from that day. Some of these tasks require students to complete a close read of a particular piece of text and use detailed evidence to support their responses to writing prompts. The Teacher Tools provide a variety of instructional strategies for direct instruction and support for facilitating student practice needed to provide students with explicit, sequenced instruction to help them develop grade-level writing techniques, though none are specific to evidence-based writing. 

Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. For example:

• In Literature, Unit 1, Lesson 5, students “Describe Sam’s perspective on the garden. Make sure to include details that show how his perspective changed.” Prior to answering the question, students close read and then use sentence frames to reflect on Sam’s perspective, such as “When Sam first saw the garden he thought it was a place of paradise, but ________.”

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 1, Lesson 11, students write about the strategies the author recommends to help reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean and the pros and cons of each strategy. Students discuss the strategies with a partner before writing. 

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 17, students “Identify two or three quotations from the novel that highlight Meg’s response to being reunited with her father. Analyze and explain the significance of each quotation.” Students discuss various quotations as a class before writing independently. 

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 3, Lesson 3, students use details from the text to “describe the racism and oppression black people in the South faced on a daily basis.” Students close read prior to this Target Task. 

Writing opportunities are focused around students’ recall of information to develop opinions from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources. For example:

• In Social Studies and Science, Unit 3, Lesson 17, students read part of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice and use the text evidence to support a claim for the opinion writing prompt, “Claudette’s actions during the trial proved that she was able to have a larger impact on the movement and that she could have been the ‘right’ individual. Agree or disagree.”

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 8, students respond to the prompt, “The author includes multiple different interactions between Anastasia and Sophie. Explain how each interaction contributes to the structure of the story.” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 22, students compare and contrast the points of view from which the Mighty Mars Rovers and the press releases are written by analyzing multiple accounts of the same topic. 

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 17, students read an excerpt from One Crazy Summer prior to completing the Target Task: “Read the following quotations from Sister Mukumbu and Delphine. Sister Mukumbu said, ‘We look out for each other. The rally is one way of looking out for all of our sisters. All of our brothers. Unity, Sister Delphine. We have to stand united.’ ‘I was thinking, Alive. We have to be alive. Wouldn’t little Bobby rather be alive than remembered? Wouldn’t he rather be sitting out in the park than have it named after him? I wanted to watch the news. Not be in it.’ What do these quotations show about how each character views the Black Panther movement? Why do they have different points of view? Who do you agree with?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations of Indicator 1l.

The materials include explicit instruction in all grammar standards. Materials include instruction during the Literature and Science and Social Studies units primarily using the core anchor text and example sentences. Students have multiple opportunities to practice crafting sentences using the newly learned grammar skill, as well as additional opportunities for continuous practice. Materials also include opportunities for students to demonstrate the application of skills in the context of student writing. 

Materials include explicit instruction of all grammar and usage standards for the grade level.  For example:

• Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in general and their function in particular sentences. 

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 1, the teacher introduces students to the coordinating conjunctions and, but, so, or. As a class, the teacher and students work together to complete sentences provided about the story. 

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 2, if students are struggling to understand coordinating conjunctions, the teacher is prompted to pull from the Supplemental Language Less: Conjunction, “and,” “but,” “or” Language lesson to help students build a deeper meaning. Students review a sentence and then state what they notice about it. 

• Form and use the perfect (e.g., I had walked; I have walked; I will have walked) verb tenses.

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 4, the teacher is prompted that if students are struggling with the verb tenses when writing they should use any of the protocols. One of the protocols is the Supplemental Language Correcting verb tense protocol. The teacher asks students to review a paragraph and then identify what they notice. Then they identify what tense the verbs are in, and what changes need to be made for the correct verb tense.

• Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 9, the teacher tells students that they are going to work on using precise verbs and adverbs to describe how a character speaks. The teacher displays sentences, and students notice the difference between each sentence. The teacher asks students how changing the verb helped the reader better understand how Cecile spoke.

• Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 14, the teacher explains that when students choose a verb tense, they need to make sure they do not shift the verb tense unexpectedly. Together, the teacher and the students read a paragraph and check to make sure the sentences are written in the same tense. When students edit their work, they go back and check that they have not changed the verb tense they are using. 

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 18, the teacher reviews with students the difference between simple verb tenses, the progressive verb tense, and the perfect verb tense. The teacher uses “Understanding Verb Tenses” as a guide. If needed, the teacher is prompted to provide students with a practice paragraph that they edit together. 

• Use correlative conjunctions (e.g., either/or, neither/nor).

  • In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 29, the teacher tells students that they are going to learn another strategy for using transitions in their writing. The teacher explains that correlative conjunctions are used to join words or phrases of equal weight. The teacher introduces either/both, and neither. 

• Use punctuation to separate items in a series.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 5, students use mentor sentences from the text to notice how authors use commas in a series. Students then craft sentences in response to the Target Task question that include a series and a comma.

•  Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 18, the teacher is prompted to have students edit their work for correct comma usage. The teacher reviews with students that they can use commas to separate introductory elements from the rest of the sentence. The teacher is prompted based on the needs of the students and to model how to notice and edit misused or missing commas. 

• Use a comma to set off the words yes and no (e.g., Yes, thank you), to set off a tag question from the rest of the sentence (e.g., It’s true, isn’t it?), and to indicate direct address (e.g., Is that you, Steve?).

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 12, the teacher explains to students that sometimes when they state an opinion they start with the words yes and no. If they do, the yes and the no need to be set off by a comma. 

• Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 30, Day 2, students learn how to indicate the title of a work in their writing and practice doing so in their writing. Teacher directions state: Launch by explaining to students that when they are writing about multiple different texts, they need to include the title of the work. When they include the title of the work, they can either underline the title, put the title in quotation marks, or italics.

• Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 14, materials state that if students are struggling to notice words that are spelled incorrectly in their writing, the teacher should model one of the strategies. One of the strategies listed is using a dictionary or using a word wall to look up words. 

• Expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 9, students learn how to expand sentences to include more details using prepositions to tell when and where. 

• Compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems.

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 13, students analyze the structure of Seedfolks including the different dialects the author uses for each perspective.

Materials include opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills in context, including applying grammar and convention skills to writing.  For example:

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 11, students write a scene from their brainstorms, and the teacher encourages students to use the “Using Precise Adjectives” handout to describe how characters are feeling and why they are feeling that way. 

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 29, students brainstorm their examples of sentences with correlative conjunctions. Then they write two sentences using correlative conjunctions in their paragraph writing.

• In Literature Unit 5,  Lesson 28, students write a multi-paragraph essay to answer one of the unit’s essential questions. The teacher provides students additional support with any of a variety of elaboration strategies, such as using coordinating or subordinating conjunctions and combining sentences. When students are finished, they edit their writing.