8th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria of Indicator 1a. 

Anchor texts are well-crafted, award-winning texts from multiple perspectives that are content-rich with ideas, events, and experiences. The anchor texts in each unit are engaging, high interest, and will stretch students’ thinking while covering ideas around injustice, oppression, and good and evil within humanity. Students read award-winning texts from multiple perspectives and have the opportunity to explore both literary and nonfiction texts of different genres that bring real experiences to life for readers. 

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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice, All American Boys, students read the anchor text All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. The novel, 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, is told from two perspectives—that of a white boy and that of a black boy—who both witness the same event. The text is accessible and deals with injustice and oppression and how to stand up and make a difference. 

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, students read two award-winning anchor texts, The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and Night by Elie Wiesel. Both texts use first-person narrative to recount the horrors of different aspects of the Nazi occupation of Europe and the atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people of Europe. The texts are well-crafted, challenging reads because of content, language, and time period. The stories explore whether humans are really good at heart and why it is still important to listen to stories from the Holocaust.

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, students read two anchor texts, Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) by Sean McCollum and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Animal Farm is an award-winning satire. Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) gives students historical background information on the time period Orwell was warning about. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, students read the anchor text, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. The graphic novel is an autobiographical series of comics that depicts the author’s childhood up to her early adult years in Iran and Austria during and after the Islamic Revolution. The text is culturally relevant and includes vibrant images. The story contains shifting narrators, flashbacks, and cultural and historical references.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, students read the anchor text, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore. The informational text includes imagery about a real-world issue and its impact on students’ lives.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1b. 

Materials include a variety of text types and genres across the year. The materials include a higher number of informational texts than literary works with a 76/24 split. The materials provide a balanced approach to instructional time for the informational and literary texts. Text types include memoirs, autobiographies, articles, speeches, nonfiction books, interviews, comics, videos, graphic novels, drama, poems, short stories, historical fiction novels, and novels. The texts connect to a common topic or theme for each unit.

Materials reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, students read a contemporary fiction text by the same name written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, read the article “What is White Privilege, Really?” by Cory Collins, watch videos “A Conversation about Growing Up Black” on The New York Times’ YouTube channel, examine websites “The Constitution of the United States,” read a speech “Why Black Lives Matter,” and read a series of short stories including Flying Lessons & Other Short Stories by Ellen Oh. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: a graph link from the US Census Bureau, an interview “The Racially Charged Meaning Behind the Word ‘Thug’”, and video “How to Be an Ally.”

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil, Night, students read Night, an autobiography by Elie Wiesel, and The Diary of Anne Frank, a play written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Additional texts include a speech, excerpts from Anne Frank’s autobiography, Diary of a Young Girl, and an informational video “The Path to Nazi Genocide” by the United States Holocaust Museum. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: a  video "Chiune Sugihara: Righteous Among the Nations" (YouTube), a video "Adolf Hitler: Speech at Krupp Factory in Germany (1935) | British Pathé" by British Pathé, a video "German Jewish deportees arriving at the Warsaw Ghetto" by Yad Vashem, an article "Ghettos Under the Nazis" by Susan D. Glazer (My Jewish Learning), a video "Surviving the Holocaust: Segment 5 — Arrival at Auschwitz" (YouTube).

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, students read Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) by Sean McCollum and Animal Farm by George Orwell, articles including “An Introduction to Communism” by Jessica McBirney, watch videos such as “One Human Family, Food for All” on Caritas Internationalis’ YouTube channel, and watch the movie Animal Farm. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as a video: “Russian Revolution and Civil War: Crash Course European History #35”, and articles “A Sinister Alliance: Soviet-German Relations” and “Warlords: Hitler vs. Stalin,” and a website that provides more information on the history of the film and the CIAs involvement in the making of the film. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, students read a graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, an informational article “How to read a comic book: appreciating the story behind the art” by Alex Abad-Santos, listen to an informational radio segment “The Stolen Revolution: Iranian Women of 1979” by CBC Radio, and read articles such as “Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?” by Caitlin Killian. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as a video "Mouvement de libération des femmes iraniennes année zero - English Subtitles" (YouTube), a video "What Happened in the Iran-Iraq War?” (YouTube), and "Women discuss what it’s like to wear a hijab" by Nara Schoenberg (The Detroit News).

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, students read  An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore, evaluate speeches such as “Greta Thunberg challenging The World Economic Forum in Davos - January 22 2019,” read articles including “The Science of Climate Change Explained” by Julia Rosen, read books such as Everything Change: An Anthology of Climate Fiction by Manjana Milkoreit, Meredith Martinez, Joey Eschrich, and the short story “Row” by Charmaine Wilkerson, and examine the website “After Water Project.”

Materials reflect a balance of informational and literary texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Materials reflect a 76/24 balance of informational and literary texts with 44 informational texts and seven literary texts.

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, the materials across the unit contain seven informational texts and two literary texts. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, the materials across the unit contain five informational texts and one literary text. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, the materials across the unit contain nine informational texts and two literary texts. One core text is literary, and the other core text is informational.

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, the materials across the unit contain seven informational texts and one literary text. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, the materials across the unit contain 16 informational texts and one literary text. The core text is informational.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c.

Materials include anchor texts that are within or above the Lexile stretch band, ranging between 590L to 1170L, and the publisher consistently provides qualitative analysis rationales. There is a balance of accessible texts and more complex texts across the grade level. Even though some of the texts are somewhat below the grade band level, the required tasks, as well as the concepts and language within the texts, allow for challenging material. The qualitative analysis rationales for text selection and placement are in the Text Selection Rationale or the Notes for Teacher section. The Notes for Teacher section also informs educators what to be aware of and calls out concerning features of the texts. Qualitative analysis shows that the complexity increases slightly for varying reasons, including text structure, language, and knowledge demands. The qualitative rationale states that the relationship between the texts and the associated student tasks are accessible for the grade level with instances when students move into more complex tasks. The qualitative text complexity is determined by the Achieve the Core’s Literary Text Complexity Rubric. 

Anchor/core texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice, All American Boys, the anchor text, All American Boys (770L) by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely falls below the Lexile band. Qualitatively, the text is of moderate difficulty since the text has double protagonists in rotating perspectives, figurative language, and wordplay in a unique structure. The associated student tasks are moderate as they require students to “Draw conclusions about Quinn and Rashad’s perspectives based on what they say and do.” The overall qualitative measure is accessible.

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, the two anchor texts,l Night (590L) by Elie Wiesel and the play The Diary of Anne Frank (NP) by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, fall below the median Lexile for Grade 8 at the beginning of the year. Qualitatively, the text is of medium and moderate complexity, respectively. In Night, Wiesel consistently uses complex structure, language, metaphor, and symbolism to get across the experiences of the Holocaust. In addition, there are many references to Judaism that students will need to build background around in order to fully understand the text. In The Diary of Anne Frank, students read stage directions and spoken dialogue and make connections between Anne Frank the character and Anne Frank the historical figure. The associated tasks are medium and moderate, respectively. The overall qualitative measure is moderate and complex.

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, the anchor texts, Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) (970L) by Sean McCollum and Animal Farm (1170L) by George Orwell, both fall within the stretch Lexile band. Qualitatively, the text is of moderate complexity due to accessible language about the Russian Revolution to build context for students. The qualitative analysis for Animal Farm is of high difficulty due to elevated vocabulary and complex sentences, but students should be able to access the text after building knowledge with Joseph Stalin. The associated tasks are moderate and medium, respectively. The overall qualitative measure is moderate and complex.

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, the anchor text, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (GN380L) by Marjane Satrapi, is below the Lexile range. Qualitatively, the text is of medium complexity due to students analyzing both text and images to assist with characterization, identification of the theme, text structure, unfamiliar setting, and identification of the mood. The associated student tasks are medium. The overall qualitative measure is complex.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, the anchor text, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore, is listed as an unleveled text by the publisher. Qualitatively, the text is of moderate difficulty due to tier two and three vocabulary, “complex scientific content and concepts and... wider social implications of climate change.” The associated tasks are challenging. The overall qualitative measure is complex.

Anchor/Core texts and a 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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice, All American Boys, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile rating for the text All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. The rationale also includes qualitative features to consider, such as unique structure, “wordplay, figurative language, verbal irony, and tier-two vocabulary.” The Notes for Teachers section recommends that teachers send a parent letter advising them of the topics being discussed, profanity, and references to drinking and drugs. Resources are also available to help students facilitate conversations about race in their classrooms. The educational purpose of the text is to provide an opportunity for students to think deeply about the content and the complexities of racial injustice, police brutality, loyalty, and their obligation to stand up for what is right.

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile rating for the novel Night (590L), but the play The Diary of Anne Frank is unrated. While the Lexile level for Night is below Grade 8 Lexile band, the publisher notes that this text is often taught in high school courses because of text complexity: “His language is nonetheless complex because of his regular use of figurative language, symbols, motifs, and punctuation-- all in the service of communicating an experience that is impossible to capture in language. The vocabulary demands of the text are also high, as Wiesel uses many tier-two words. Students will need to have significant schematic support to understand Wiesel’s references to Judaism.” Similarly, The Diary of Anne Frank requires outside knowledge in order to fully comprehend the story, and the text structure may be unique to students as they must “differentiate between spoken lines and stage directions...the playwright has chosen to use voiceover narration in addition to dialogue.” While the overall story is chronological, there are “frequent jumps around in time that must be inferred by the reader.” The educational purpose of the texts is to provide an opportunity to explore human nature and students’ understanding of “one of the darkest moments in human history.” Elie Wiesel’s memoir and Anne Frank’s story resonate with young-adult readers, and “students begin to make connections between individual lives, historical events, and larger truths about what it means to be human.”

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile rating for the anchor texts, Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) (970L) by Sean McCollum and Animal Farm (1170L) by George Orwell. The rationale includes qualitative features to consider for Animal Farm, such as tier-two and tier-three vocabulary words, subtle irony, and dense sentence structures. The educational purpose of Joseph Stalin is to “introduce students to the real-life atrocities committed during this time period and give them a small window into the lives of the tens of millions of people who were murdered, starved, exiled, imprisoned, or killed on the battlefield” and to build knowledge “around the rise of Communism and the Russian Revolution” before reading Animal Farm, which has a higher level of complexity. Animal Farm is the first allegory they will read, and students use both texts to examine propaganda and artistic expression. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile rating for the anchor text, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (GN380L) by Marjane Satrapi, which is below the Grade 8 Lexile band. The rationale includes qualitative features that highlight the complexity of the text, “particularly in terms of structure and knowledge demands,” such as “first-person narrator (the writer as an adult reflecting on her childhood) but occasionally transitions to different narrators who tell stories that are presented as flashbacks.” The educational purpose of the text is to continue students’ “year-long study of the relationship between power and human behavior” as they learn about coming of age during the Iranian Revolution. The text Persepolis will “provide insight into this significant historical event through young Margi’s eyes, learning about the human impact of political upheaval and the ways that people resist repression in large and small ways.”

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: An Inconvenient Sequel, the Text Selection Rationale does not include a Lexile rating for the anchor text, An inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. The rationale includes qualitative features, such as vocabulary demands with “multiple tier-two and tier-three words on most pages.” The qualitative features also make the text “both rigorous and accessible to 8th-grade readers, as they encounter complex scientific content and concepts and consider the wider social implications of climate change.” The educational purpose is to introduce students to the real-world problem of climate change. The Notes for Teachers section explicitly notes that climate change is not presented as a debate, and “students will read texts that include facts agreed upon by the scientific community.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d. 

Materials include the anchor and supporting texts that vary in complexity and support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. The Unit Summary and individual lessons outline a path for growth in literacy skills over time. Texts of varying complexity are included in each unit and are interconnected to add meaning to unit topics. Students practice skills during the beginning, middle, and end of the year and learn concepts and standards. Each lesson includes a Standards Map that shows when the literacy skills appear as core or supporting standards in units.   

Materials include suggested supports in each lesson. The teacher resources provide guidance on using the supports when reading the texts. Lessons contain multiple supports, including Language Supports and Additional supports during Close Reading, which feature guiding questions and key ideas students should understand. Discussion supports include questions and graphic organizers to guide students in locating information for discussions. Some lessons include supports for the Target Task with scaffolded questions that build understanding. Although not all lessons include the same supports, lessons other than writing lessons include multiple sections of support that provide teachers with scaffolds to ensure that students can access the texts and successfully complete the lessons. 

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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• One literacy skill that is taught throughout the year is to engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (SL.8.1). In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 21, the lesson objective states: “Engage in a Socratic Seminar with classmates, drawing evidence from unit texts, and carefully explaining reasoning. The teacher determines the type of discussion, and students answer proposed Discussion Questions that explore character development in the story, racial injustice in the story and within our world, and what people can do to stop injustices today. Two questions include, “Who changes more over the course of the text: Quinn or Rashad? Are Quinn and Rashad equally responsible for standing up against injustice?” In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 24, the lesson objective states: “Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, demonstrating a deep understanding of the text and topic by posing and responding to questions and providing evidence to support ideas.” The teacher determines the type of discussion, and students answer Discussion Questions that analyze Orwell’s feelings about communism, the most effective weapon Napoleon uses, why animals choose to believe Squealer’s lies, and the book is still relevant today. Two questions include, “Why did the animals continue to believe Squealer’s lies, even as they became more obvious? Is this book still relevant today?” In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 16, the lesson objective states: “Engage in a Socratic Seminar with peers, responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.” The teacher determines the type of discussion, and the students answer Discussion Questions, such as “Must we change? Can we change? Will we change? What is the relationship between climate change, money, and power?”

• Another literacy skill taught throughout the year is to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text (RL.8.2). In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 18, the lesson objective states: “Determine themes in All American Boys and explain how they are developed over the course of the text.” Close Reading Questions ask: “What thematic topics do Reynolds and Kiely explore in this text? Try to come up with at least five. What theme do Reynolds and Kiely develop in All American Boys on the topic of “loyalty”? What specific sections, details, or events from the text help to develop this theme?” The Writing Prompt asks: “What theme do Reynolds and Kiely develop in All American Boys on the topic of ‘injustice’? What specific characters and/or events from the text help to develop this theme?” In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 20, the lesson objective states: “Determine what Orwell wants the reader to understand about the Russian Revolution and human nature more broadly, and explain how he develops these ideas in Animal Farm.” The Close Reading Question asks: “What does Orwell want the reader to understand about Stalin and the Russian Revolution?” In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 17, the lesson objective states: “Determine themes in Persepolis and explain how Satrapi develops them in the text.” The Writing Prompt asks: “What theme does Satrapi develop on the topic of resistance? Write a paragraph in which you explain how she develops this theme over the course of the text. Provide examples from at least two different sections of the text and be sure to use references to text and images to support your answer.”

As texts become more complex, appropriate scaffolds and/or materials are provided in the Teacher Edition (e.g., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings, and skill lessons). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher Tools, the general description of the supports available states: “The Fishtank ELA curriculum includes five types of supports to help provide students access to different features of text complexity-language supports, background knowledge supports, additional supports, foundational skills supports, and opportunities for enrichment. After you have determined the aspect of the texts that will be most challenging for your students, you can decide which supports are most appropriate. These supports can be used with the whole group, in small groups, or individually.” The guidance for teachers is the same across all grade levels.

• In the Teacher Tools, “Supporting English Learners,” the guidance states: “Learn how to provide scaffolds that help English Learners access complex texts. Explore the different types of graphic organizers that can be used as scaffolds.” The guidance for teachers is the same across all grade levels.

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 21, various resources are included to support Speaking and Listening, such as Tiers of Academic Discourse, Types of Academic Discourse, Sentence Frames for Academic Discourse, Discussion Graphic Organizer.” Teachers can also read more information about academic discourse with Preparing for Academic Discourse and Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse. These resources are provided in all units at each grade level, where Speaking and Listening standards are assessed.

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 4, while students read Night, additional supports for each question include scaffolding questions and student understandings: “What is the purpose of stage directions in a play? What can the reader infer from this ‘look’? What emotions are communicated through these stage directions? Students should understand: The stage directions communicate to the reader that Mr. Dussel does not want to tell them bad news -- that Hanneli was taken away by the Nazis.” 

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 7, there are supports for building background knowledge,  Language Supports that identify possible words/phrases with short definitions, Close Reading scaffolding questions, and guidance for teachers to help make the reading more accessible, and a graphic organizer that assists students in organizing the main ideas of each chapter and the evidence of how the author develops the central idea. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 8, in the Close Read section, the following student understandings, and sentence frames are included: “Students should understand: The use of dark color creates an ominous mood. The large heads are looking down at Satrapi’s mother; their expression is angry and their size and number develops the sense of being watched. Marji’s mother has her collar pulled up, as if she is trying to hide from their gaze. This panel communicates the sense that people were being closely watched, and that being ‘caught’ could be very dangerous”. Sentence frames include: “In the final panel on page 5, Satrapi communicates the idea that __________. In the panel, ___________ and _________. These images ___________.”

• In Unit 5: Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 7, there are multiple sections of Additional Supports during Close Reading that provide scaffolding questions and the corresponding page number where students should locate the evidence to support an answer. There is also a Suggested Support for building background knowledge and accessing prior knowledge, including a link to an article to help students better understand atomic testing. Teachers are suggested to use a “drop-in” definition to help students understand additional difficult words. There is also supports for the task and the class discussion. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1e. 

Materials include a variety of text types and genres to provide a range and volume of reading that offer opportunities for independent reading. There is support in place connecting to specific texts as students engage in these readings. Over the course of the year, students read different types of texts ranging from traditional print sources; such as literary and informational novels, newspaper articles, and magazine articles, to non-traditional sources such as graphic novel, film, and video. Students engage in a volume of reading across the school year, including reading during and outside the school day on a consistent basis. The Teacher Tools section includes procedures and routines for different types of reading, including Interactive Read Alouds, Shared Reading, Partner Reading, Small Group Reading. The materials include independent reading opportunities that are often homework assignments; students take part in comprehensive discussions and activities related to the homework reading in class the following day. The resource, Recommended Texts for Independent Reading, makes recommendations for fiction and non-fiction texts with aligned themes and topics and additional texts by the same author.

Teacher Tools provide additional guidance for educators relating to independent reading procedures, though the guidance is often general rather than lesson-specific. For example, the Components of an ELA Lesson under the Homework heading states: “Some lessons require students to read sections of the text prior to class. Homework for the next lesson is identified. Homework should be assigned at the end of the class period.” Teacher Tools also offer guidance relating to Reading Structures and Routines, including information for Independent Reading for Homework (6–12): “...to ensure that all students spend at least 30 minutes reading a day, and to ensure that students have already done some of the literal thinking that will make close, thoughtful reading in class possible, sections of text are assigned for homework.” The Teacher Tools are consistent across grade levels, and the guidance provides suggestions for accountability measures, such as graphic organizers, annotations, and written checks for understanding. Though there is no specific tracking system provided, students are expected to complete reading homework on a regular basis to be able to complete in-class activities. They are held accountable to this reading through homework questions related to the assigned reading which can be found in each lesson plan. The teacher uses these questions to launch the following lesson with a quick class discussion.

Instructional materials identify opportunities and provide supports for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and genres. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following::

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, students read the anchor text, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Supplemental texts include articles, government documents, videos, a speech, short stories, and an opinion.

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, students read the anchor texts, The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (play) and Night by Elie Wiesel. Supplemental texts include videos, a memoir, and a speech.

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, students read two anchor texts, Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) by Sean McCollum and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Supplemental texts include articles, videos, and the movie version of Animal Farm.

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, students read the anchor text, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Supplemental texts include articles, videos, a comic, and a radio segment.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, students read the anchor text, An Inconvenient Sequel by Al Gore. Supplemental texts include articles, speeches, a short story, a website, and a fiction anthology.

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in a volume of reading. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, students read multiple texts such as: All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, “What is White Privilege, Really?” by Cory Collins, and “The ‘Say Her Name’ Movement Started for a Reason: We Forget Black Women Killed by Police” by Precious Fondren. Throughout the unit, students engage in Close Read and Discussion Questions connecting to the assigned texts, allowing teachers to monitor student progress toward key understandings and connecting to the essential questions of each unit. Students also complete Target Tasks which provide an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding, practice essential skills, and receive feedback in preparation for the content assessments at the end of each unit. Opportunities are also available for students to engage in independent reading of assigned pages of the text as homework. 

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, students read multiple texts such as: The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Night by Elie Wiesel, Ann Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank, and “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel. Throughout the unit, students engage in Close Read and Discussion Questions connecting to the assigned texts, allowing teachers to monitor student progress toward key understandings and connecting to the essential questions of each unit. Students also complete Target Tasks which provide an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding, practice essential skills, and receive feedback in preparation for the content assessments at the end of each unit. Opportunities are also available for students to engage in independent reading of assigned pages of the text as homework. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, students read multiple texts such as: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, “What is a Graphic Novel” by Jessica Abel, “How to read a comic book: appreciating the story behind the art” by Alex Abad-Santos, and “Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?” by Caitlin Killian. Throughout the unit, students engage in Close Read and Discussion Questions connecting to the assigned texts, allowing teachers to monitor student progress toward key understandings and connecting to the essential questions of each unit. Students also complete Target Tasks which provide an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding, practice essential skills, and receive feedback in preparation for the content assessments at the end of each unit. Opportunities are also available for students to engage in independent reading of assigned pages of the text as homework.  

There is teacher guidance to foster independence for all readers (e.g., independent reading procedures, proposed schedule, tracking system for independent reading). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Teacher Tools, Reading Structures and Routines, Independent Reading for Homework (6–12), guidance for a proposed schedule for independent reading is explained: “In order to show accelerated reading growth, students need to read for at least 15 minutes a day, with the greatest growth being shown in students who read over a half-hour to an hour a day. Due to the block structure of most middle and high schools, it would be nearly impossible for students to read in class for 30 minutes a day while also having time to critically analyze the text through discussion and writing. Therefore, to ensure that all students spend at least 30 minutes reading a day, and to ensure that students have already done some of the literal thinking that will make close, thoughtful reading in class possible, sections of text are assigned for homework.”

• In Teacher Tools, Reading Structures and Routines, Independent Reading for Homework (6–12), guidance related to accountability is stated: 

  • “Assign an annotation focus. Have students annotate in the text to show their understanding of the text. Student annotations can be used to show that students are reading and that they understand what they are reading. Students can return to their annotations during class discussions and writing.

  • Provide Graphic Organizers. While reading, have students use different graphic organizers to interact with the text. Potential graphic organizers include: Say, Mean, Matter Graphic Organizer or Double Journal Entry.”

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 11, students read the next chapter of Animal Farm by George Orwell for homework. Guidance includes specific questions for students to answer while reading, such as: “What event finally sparks the rebellion? What rule do the animals make about clothing? What do the pigs reveal that they have been learning?”

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 6, students read the article, “As Rising Heat Bakes US Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most” by Meg Anderson and Sean McMinn. For homework, students read the article, “Notes from a Bottle” by James Stevenson. Guidance includes specific questions for students to anser while reading, such as: “When does this story take place? Who are the main characters in this story?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1f.

Materials include questions, tasks, and assignments that are text-specific and text-dependent, referencing specific page numbers or portions of the text at times. The questions and tasks in the materials require careful examination of texts over the course of a school year, and the questions and tasks provide insights into the Essential Questions for each unit. Almost all segments of the Lesson Plan, including Writing Prompts, Close Read Questions, and Discussion Questions, require students to return to the text and provide evidence to support their ideas and support students in making meaning of core understanding of the texts being studied. The program uses a common system of organization, and students answer a series of writing prompts and questions to comprehend the text, build knowledge, and understand how the reading and tasks connect to each unit's overall topic/theme. 

Materials provide support for planning instruction and implementing text-based questions and tasks, including Sample Responses and Notes for Teachers that highlight areas where students might struggle. The Notes for Teachers include suggestions for teaching and links to sources of support both within and outside of the materials. Additional lesson-specific Notes are available in some lessons, such as in Unit 5, Lesson 16. In each lesson, the Enhanced Lesson Plans provide Scaffolding questions for both the Close Read Questions and Writing Prompts to support teachers and students in answering the questions or completing the tasks successfully. 

Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the texts being studied. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 7, students read All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely and answer Close Read Questions: “How does watching the recording of the attack impact Rashad? Provide evidence from pages 94–95 to support your answer. Why did the authors most likely include the passage on page 106 about Jill’s party? What does this description reveal? Provide evidence from page 106 to support your answer.”

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 9, students complete the Writing Prompt: “Which specific incidents, lines of text, and panels reveal that Marji is very young and has more to learn about how the world works? Provide at least two examples from today’s reading, referencing both text and images to support your answer.” 

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 3, students read “The Science of Climate Change Explained” by Julia Rosen and answer the Writing Prompt: “What evidence does Rosen provide to support the claim that climate change is caused by human activity? How does she respond to ideas that challenge this claim? Provide specific evidence from the section.” 

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In all units, materials provide support for teachers. In the Unit Summary, materials provide a number of supports for teachers when approaching the unit texts, including an overview of both the text and the learning outcomes. The Unit Summary includes the Notes for Teachers section, which contains pertinent information about teaching the core text, such as how to approach specific lessons and where to find further supports in the materials. In each lesson, the Key Understandings section provides an overview of the Skills and Strategies that students should be learning and using. The Knowledge section provides the main ideas and plot details from the text(s). 

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 16, students answer the Close Reading Question: “Do the people writing about Rashad on the internet really ‘see’ him? Support your position with evidence from pages 277-278.” Additional supports include scaffolded questions and student understandings, such as, “How do the different photos of Rashad change the way that others view him?” 

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 8, students complete a Writing Prompt about symbolism: “Considering what is happening in these passages, what might ‘night’ symbolize, based on this section of text? Support your answer with at least two pieces of evidence from these pages.” Teacher guidance states to explain motif and symbolism and to help students identify that night is a motif in the text but also a symbol. There are specific activities provided that help students answer the prompt, such as working with a partner, providing examples of what almost meets expectations and meets expectations, and guiding students in evaluating their own work based on feedback. 

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 14, students complete a Writing Prompt where they compare characters in two unit texts Animal Farm by George Orwell and Joseph Stalin (A Wicked History) by Sean McCollum. Materials provide a Sample Response, which includes an additional note at the end for teachers: “*Students may also identify that Napoleon and Stalin both use propaganda/manipulative language, but there is less evidence to support this position in the sections of Stalin (A Wicked History) we read today.” 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 12, students answer the Close Read Question: “How were women treated who did not conform to the new rules about ‘modesty’? Provide two different examples and use evidence from both texts to support your answer.” Teachers are provided with scaffolding questions in the Additional Supports section that guide students who may struggle to successfully answer the question. There is also a list of key understandings that students need to reach before in order to answer the question. Some of these key moments to analyze include women experiencing “verbal and physical attacks they’d faced on the streets from pro-regime thugs”, being fired from work, and facing expulsion for refusing to wear a veil.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 16, students participate in a Socratic Seminar where they focus on Discussion Questions from informational texts in the unit: “What is the relationship between climate change, money, and power? Does individual action matter to limiting climate change?” The Notes section includes guidance such as, “Create clear expectations for the discussion and student groups (if necessary). Additionally, decide what discourse strategies you will model for students to ensure that students are able to effectively engage with one another (for guidance, see our Teacher Tool about Tiers of Academic Discourse).” Materials also include sentence stems for student support as they answer discussion questions.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1g. 

Materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions. Students practice speaking and listening skills with Discussion Questions in each lesson, which are “open-ended questions designed to prompt student reflection on the day’s reading and to make connections between the text, larger social issues, and their own lives. Discussion questions often come at the end of lessons and are an opportunity to bring students together to speak and listen to one another.” The protocols support students’ developing speaking and listening skills for a variety of discussions, including different formats of whole class, small group, and partner discussions. Each unit also includes a full day of Socratic Seminar discussion.

Materials provide teachers with many options for including discourse in the classroom and the freedom to choose which protocols are appropriate for their students. Instructional supports and protocols are available in the Enhanced Lesson Plans Building Background and Engagement section in those lessons that include a discussion that gives at least some guidance on how to conduct the discussion. There are also specific guidelines in the Socratic Seminar lessons that build from the first unit to the last in each grade showing a progression in building discussion skills. The skills and protocols are scaffolded for teachers and students to build greater mastery and student independence. The Teacher Tools includes resources for how to help engage students in discourse, create a classroom culture that supports conversation, and monitor student growth. The Academic Discourse section provides teachers with four different resources for guiding and supporting students in developing speaking and listening skills. These resources are referenced and linked consistently across the units. 

Materials provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse section, different types of protocols are provided. One example is a partner discussion, which includes the following protocol: Teachers choose from various discussion protocols to have students discuss open-ended questions, such as Think-Pair-Share: 

  • “Students are given time to think before pairing up and sharing. 

  • Teacher or student poses a question worthy of discussion. 

  • Teachers give students time to think about how they will answer.

  • Students pair up. 

  • Students take turns sharing their answers.”

• In each unit, a Socratic Seminar is provided as a formal discussion, and students use one teacher-chosen, open-ended question from the multiple Discussion Questions provided in the lesson. The same directions are provided for the teacher in the Notes section of each Socratic Seminar lesson: “Decide which Type of Academic Discourse you want to use in this lesson. We recommend a table-group discussion, fishbowl, or whole-class discussion. Then, choose which of this lesson’s Discussion Questions you are going to have students answer. Consider how much discussion time will be devoted to each question.”

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 9, students answer Discussion Questions: “Do you think that optimism or pessimism is a more useful emotion/perspective on the world? What is the difference between optimism and delusion?” The Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse section, includes multiple outlined protocols for teachers, such as Numbered Heads Together:

  • “Teacher or student prepares questions or problems to asks (sic) teams. 

  • Students number off (1–4).

  • Teacher or student poses a problem and gives think time. Students privately write their answers. 

  • Students ‘put their heads together’: showing their answers, discussing, and teaching each other.

  • Students ensure that everyone agrees and can teach back the answer.

  • Teacher calls a number. Student with that number answers the question.”

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 12, the enhanced lesson plan includes discussion preparation guidelines:

  • (1 min) Have students jot down their responses to the question.

  • (2 min) Have students talk in pairs or small groups, making sure that each student gets the opportunity to share their thoughts. Circulate and listen in for strong points.

  • (2 min) Whole-class discussion. Take hands or call on students who made interesting comments during small-group discussion.

• Over the course of the year, a systematic approach is used to develop speaking and listening skills through the Socratic Seminars in each unit. Examples of protocols that build mastery and independence include, but ar not limited to: 

  • In Unit 1,Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 21, teachers are instructed to introduce the Socratic Seminar and its purpose. Students read an overview of how the discussion will occur and brainstorm to develop a list of expectations and rules. Suggested rules and expectations are included in the materials. Teacher guidance includes introducing a rubric, modeling a Socratic seminar through the use of videos and class discussion, and allowing students time to gather evidence to enhance their participation. 

  • In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 19, students review the rules and expectations established in Unit 1 then go back to their self-reflection from Unit 1 to identify one thing they did well and would like to continue doing and one area to improve on in the discussion in Unit 2. The plans include having students respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. Students can add to or clarify the previous speaker’s ideas, challenge the ideas, or add new information that has not been shared previously. Students also give a gist of the previous information to ensure that they are listening. 

  • In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 24, teachers share their expectations of the seminar with students and model academic discourse strategies. Students reflect on their past discussions and summarize what the person before them said to ensure that students are listening. The plans include having students respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. Protocols for the discussion require students to respond directly to the person who spoke previously, determining if they want to challenge, add onto that person’s idea, or introduce a new idea that has not been discussed. 

  • In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 29, the plans include having students respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. Protocols for the discussion require students to ask questions of classmates. Teacher suggestions are to pause the discussion after several people speak to allow students to write down questions they can ask and then allow students to ask their questions. This is done several times in the lesson.

  • In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 16, the plans call for a continued emphasis on having students respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. Protocols for the discussion require students to  respond directly to the person who spoke previously, determining if they want to challenge, add onto that person’s idea, or introduce a new idea that has not been discussed. Students are expected to run the discussion. 

Speaking and listening instruction includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher Tools, the Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse document outlines ways that teachers can “progress monitor and support students’ development of key conversation and discourse strategies.” The document includes other suggestions for support, such as:

  • “Provide sentence frames for students to use. Sentence frames should help students articulate their thoughts. Include sentence frames that use a variety of sentence structures to ensure that students have multiple options.

  • Provide scaffolding questions. If students are unable to initially answer the original question, provide scaffolding questions that build students to the deeper understandings.”  

• In the Teacher Tools, the Tiers of Academic Discourse resource provides an explanation of each tier. Tier 1 describes how students clarify and share their thoughts. Materials provide information on three elements of instruction: Key Student Discourse Strategies, Key Teacher Talk Moves, and Sentence Frames. In Tier 2, students engage with the thinking of others; as with Tier 1, materials provide information on the three elements of instruction. In Tier 3, students critique and analyze the reasoning of others; as found in Tiers 1 and 2, materials provide information on the three elements of instruction. 

• In the Teacher Tools, the Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse resource includes an Overview statement: “The goal is that by the end of the year, students will be able to participate in academic discourse using strategies from all three components, allowing them to show a deeper and more nuanced understanding of key content. Based on data from progress monitoring, students may need additional support in order to effectively orally communicate key ideas. Use the suggested supports below to decide which support to add for the whole class or for subsets of students.” Materials provide teachers with the following downloadable tools to use in the classroom: Academic Discourse Rubric, Discussion Self Assessment, Discussion Peer Assessment, Socratic Seminar Recording Form, and End-of-Discussion Assessment. 

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 24, students engage in a Socratic Seminar. Additional instructional supports include but are not limited to: “Share your expectations of the seminar with students. Model your chosen academic discourse strategies. Because students have experience with Socratic Seminar from Units 1 and 2, they should understand the basic structures of the day.” Language Supports are also available with sentence stems for academic discourse and instructions for supporting all students with academic discourse.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1h. 

Materials include multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate what they are reading through various speaking and listening tasks in all units. The speaking and listening activities all require evidence from unit texts. Many discussions require students to have read the texts in advance to identify the author’s argument, create their own claims, and provide enough evidence to support their claims. Lessons regularly include Discussion Questions that allow students to practice speaking and listening skills. Each unit includes a Socratic Seminar. Research and formal presentation activities require data and images and offer students opportunities to ask clarifying questions of peers and work cooperatively. Academic Discourse Teacher Tools include guidance by providing key discourse strategies, teacher talk moves, and sentence frames. The materials provide tools to monitor academic discourse, including rubrics and recording forms, and the Teacher Tools include protocols for whole-class, small-group, and partner discourse. Teachers are provided with appropriate support and information to effectively teach students how to create collegial relationships and how to interact in discussions. 

Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse, Tiers of Academic Discourse, the Tier 3 Key Teacher Talk Moves states: “Press for reasoning: Teacher pushes students to apply their own reasoning to someone else’s reasoning. Potential questions include, ‘Do you agree or disagree with X, why? What do you think about X argument, why?’” and “Turn and Talk: Teacher gives students time to talk through their ideas with a partner. Student talk should focus on arriving at consensus or critiquing/defending a position.”

• In the Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse, Types of Academic Discourse section, for the Fishbowl protocol, teachers are directed to “make sure that students understand the roles they will play.” Those roles are then defined as “inner circle discusses a question” and “the outer circle observes.” Teachers are then instructed that “This seminar structure is most effective if students in the outer circle are given a specific task – often to observe an assigned member of the inner circle and track that person’s arguments and general participation in order to give feedback.”

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 4, students explain how racism and racial bias shape the way that characters in All American Boys by Jason Reynold and Brendan Kiely are viewed. Students watch the video, “A conversation about Growing Up Black” by The New York Times. Students answer the following Writing Prompt: “In the video, ‘A Conversation about Growing Up Black,’ one young man—Bisa—says, ‘The way people perceive you is not up to you.’ (2:14-2:20). How would Rashad’s father respond to this idea? Provide at least one piece of evidence from pages 49-52 to support your answer. How would Spoony respond to this statement? Provide at least one piece of evidence from pages 52-53 and 60 to support your answer.” Students also answer Discussion Questions: “Why do you think that Rashad’s father is so hard on his sons? Does the video we watched today change your understanding of his behavior?” 

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 5, students work with a group to create an information poster that explains a specific type of propaganda. Students include research and examples of the propaganda. The Lesson Objective is for students to present their poster to classmates, while the Skills and Strategies section states that students should “Present that information clearly and in a way their classmates can understand.”

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 20, students participate in a Socratic Seminar connecting to the reading of all unit texts. The lesson addresses the core standards SL.8.1.d (acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented). Teacher Tools are available including an Academic Discourse Rubric that assesses students’ ability to clarify and share their own thoughts, engage with the thinking of others, and critique and analyze the reasoning of others. Additional resources are available to support students with sentence stems they can utilize during academic discourse.

Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 20, students prepare for the Socratic Seminar the following day as homework, which connects to the reading of All American Boys by Jason Reynold and Brendan Kiely: “Review the discussion questions and gather sufficient evidence.” Discussion Questions are available in Lesson 21, such as “Are Quinn and Rashad equally responsible for standing up against injustice?”

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 23, students present digital presentations using appropriate volume, eye contact, emphasis, and pronunciation. Students work in groups to create the digital presentation, which “Includes at least four photographs and a map or graph/chart.” A sample presentation is available with a map to provide support. 

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 18, students watch the video, “Majede Najar: Why I wear a hijab” by TEDTalentSearch, and analyze the central idea, noting how the speaker develops her arguments.

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 16, students participate in a Socratic Seminar. The objective of the lesson includes: “responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments, determining the strength of evidence, and posing clarifying questions.” The Teacher Tools include support for the Tiers of Academic Discourse, including sentence frames “To question/clarify to fully understand classmates’ ideas.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1i. 

Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing. Students complete on-demand prompts that connect to the discussions and activities for each lesson, and each unit includes process writing that spans more than one lesson. Specifically, students write longer essays to prompts that connect to core and supplemental texts using the steps of the writing process, including specific revision opportunities. In some units, students use digital resources to conduct research and create digital materials for presentations. The Teacher Tools include multiple resources with further details on how to provide guidance on both process and on-demand writing, including planning and executing writing lessons and strategies for giving feedback.  

Materials include on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 5, students answer the Writing Prompt: “How does Anne’s new relationship with Peter change her perspective? What specific incidents and lines of text reveal this change? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from today’s reading to support your answer.” 

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 15, students write three short responses connecting to the reading of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Al Gore and “The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: 'There is reason for hope'” by Damian Carrington. One question asks: “What evidence does Carrington provide to support these key points? Provide evidence from sections 1 and 7.”

Materials include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and edit are provided. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:

• In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lessons 22-25, students complete a narrative writing project where they “construct a short story that explores the power of perspective.” Each lesson focuses on different parts of narrative writing, including outlining to sequence events, adding narrative strategies like dialogue, and revising their narrative for transitions, mechanics, and organization.

• In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 25-27, students “Write a five-paragraph literary analysis that explores how rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) are used as propaganda,” connecting to Animal Farm by George Orwell. The writing task takes place over three lessons. During Lesson 27, students revise their essays for clarity, mechanics, and organization. As homework, students check their work for the requirements utilizing the Argumentative Writing: Literary Analysis Essay Rubric. Teacher guidance includes, “Students who finish early may benefit from working as a peer-editor.” The rubric provides criteria for the introduction, three body paragraphs, and conclusion. There are also criteria available relating to Form and Style and Language and Mechanics.

• In Unit 4: Surviving Persepolis, Lesson 6, students logically organize the information in their five-minute group presentations about one aspect of Iranian history. Additional guidance is available for Editing/Revision. Teachers remind students to edit and revise their work for grammar as well as content. The materials provide suggestions for transitions in the form of a chart, which can assist students to show a relationship between ideas. 

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 17-19, students write a letter to their representative in Congress educating on climate change and urging them to take action. Each lesson takes students through the writing process to complete the letter. In Lesson 19, students revise and edit for form and style, ensuring that they use strong clauses to connect ideas. Teachers instructions state that students should “check their work for the requirements in the Argumentative Writing: Persuasive Letter Rubric.” A link is provided to take teachers to the rubric. Guidance for teachers states that students should check for the following:

  • “All tenses match

  • All subject/verbs agree

  • Variety of type of sentences

  • Transitions between ideas

  • Pronouns in the proper case

  • Appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

  • Fix any comma splices or fragments or run-ons

Students who finish early may benefit from working as a peer-editor.”

Materials include digital resources where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lessons 20-23, students research modern violent persecution and groups that are “currently under genocide alert” for a research presentation. They conduct research on a computer for the information and to “create a digital presentation” that uses slides to show their research.

• In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 2-6, students are given a list of suggested topics from Iranian history and culture that match the lessons in the unit. The prompt states: “Working with your group, create a digital presentation.” This digital presentation must include slides, images, and facts, statistics, and quotations from their research.”

• In Unit 5, Facing Calamity: Climate Change Facts and Fictions, Lesson 17, students gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources. Students “collect information on their representatives’ voting record on climate change” and write a letter to their “representatives (two senators and a representative) in Congress, educating them on climate change and urging them to take action.” 

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for Indicator 1m. 

Materials include a rationale for how vocabulary should be taught and how the publisher views vocabulary as part of a lesson. There is explicit instuction of the vocabulary that is essential to understanding the text within lessons. Each unit includes a Vocabulary Practice with vocabulary words and definitions for each lesson, which consists of a glossary with student-friendly definitions, word cards for display in the classroom, and a vocabulary worksheet for students. Vocabulary is included in some scaffolding questions and students have opportunities to apply the words in context. In addition, students have multiple opportunities to engage with domain-specific vocabulary words across units but do not have the same opportunity for text-based vocabulary. Teachers can assess some student learning around text-based vocabulary in each end of unit assessment. Some guidance is provided for how vocabulary is structured in the units, how to teach vocabulary, and how to support a range of learners during vocabulary instruction. The Enhanced Lesson Plans include a link to Explicit Instruction of Vocabulary; however, the guidance is not specific for the “priority vocabulary” words identified in the lesson, and other words included in the Supporting All Students section do not include a link and offer minimal guidance. The Teacher Tools share a brief overview: “Within units, students build their academic vocabulary by learning and interacting with Tier II and Tier III vocabulary words that are essential for unlocking the meaning of the text, task, or topic.” Students interact with vocabulary words through reading, writing, speaking, and listening tasks. Teacher Tools include routines such as Explicit Instruction of Vocabulary and Implicit Instruction of Vocabulary. 

Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit and lesson, vocabulary words are introduced before reading texts as necessary to understand the texts or the context surrounding them. 

• Within the units, vocabulary words are intentionally included in many ways, so students become familiar with them through repetition, such as the words being present in questions, used during discussions, and heard in teacher-provided sentence stems. Some words are revisited from previous lessons, and students are asked to use them to indicate authentic learning of the words. Sometimes, once the lesson where the word is taught is passed, the word is not revisited. 

• The Teacher Tools include Vocabulary guidance to share the two types of words in the materials: words to teach quickly and drop-in and words to study in-depth. The guidance includes instructions for teachers to “decide if the words are inferrable or not inferrable” and encourage learning vocabulary “indirectly and unconsciously through daily reading, writing, listening, and speaking routines” rather than through explicit instruction. 

• The Vocabulary Teacher Tool shares the ways that students interact with vocabulary words within a lesson and across the unit, such as “Close reading moments are included within lessons to analyze the use of words in context” or “When applicable, vocabulary words are used in later units in key questions or as part of word banks and sentence frames.” 

• Materials include Explicit Instruction of Vocabulary guidance in the teacher tools section, which includes routines to introduce and review priority vocabulary. However, there is not sufficient guidance or reminders in the lesson plans themselves, to assist teachers.

Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Domain-specific vocabulary is taught across multiple units. For example:

  • Across multiple units, students learn about and analyze different types of irony. One type is verbal irony which is defined as “when a speaker's intended meaning is the opposite of what they literally say” and the other is dramatic irony which is defined as “a literary technique where the author provides information to the reader that the characters are not aware of, evoking humor, suspense, or tragedy.” 

    • In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 6, students read a selection from All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely to examine how the author conveys Rashad’s emotions through the use of verbal irony. 

    • In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 15, students read a chapter of Animal Farm by George Orwell to explore dramatic irony, answering this question: “How does Squealer gaslight the animals on page 66-67 on the subject of beds? Provide evidence from these pages to support your answer, and explain how it is an example of dramatic irony—and the impact it has on the reader.”

  • Across multiple units, students learn about and analyze theme. 

    • In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 18, students encounter the academic vocabulary thematic topic when they determine themes in All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely and explain how the themes are developed over the course of the text. Students answer Close Read Questions, such as the following: “What thematic topics do Reynolds and Kiely explore in this text? Try to come up with at least five.” 

    • In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 17, students determine themes in the text Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. Students answer Close Read Questions, such as “What thematic topics does Satrapi explore in this text?” The same definition is available as the one in Unit 1.

• Academic vocabulary words found in texts are introduced in units, but not always taught across multiple texts. For example:

  • In Unit 1, Facing Prejudice: All American Boys, Lesson 4, students learn the vocabulary word dehumanize as they watch the documentary “A Conversation about Growing Up Black” by The New York Times. Students answer Close Read Questions: “What does Jumoke mean when he says, ‘We’re starting to be dehumanized,’ at minute 2:54?” A definition is available as a reference: “To make someone feel or appear less than human; to deny that someone is fully human and treat them that way.” In Unit 2, Encountering Evil: Night, Lesson 10, students read Night by Elie Wiesel and revisit the word dehumanize when explaining “how the prisoners in Auschwitz-Birkenau were systematically dehumanized and stripped of their identities.” Students answer a Writing Prompt: “On page 37, Wiesel writes, ‘The child I was had been consumed by the flames. All that was left was a shape that resembled me. My soul had been invaded–and devoured–by a black flame.’ Find one example from today’s reading that demonstrates the impact of systematic dehumanization on Eliezer, explaining how his behavior and perspective have changed since arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Provide quoted evidence and carefully explain your thinking.” Close Read Questions include, “Find at least four places on pages 34–42 where the prisoners are dehumanized by the Nazis (and other prisoners in positions of power). Provide specific evidence to support your answer, and explain why this treatment is dehumanizing.” The Discussion Questions include, “Why do you think the Nazis worked so deliberately to strip people of their identities and dehumanize their prisoners?”

  • In Unit 3, Abusing Power: Animal Farm and Wicked History, Lesson 5, the word propaganda is introduced. Students read three articles, two of which use the word in their title. In the lesson, students study different forms of propaganda and do a project to help inform their classmates on the different forms propaganda can take. In Lesson 8, students create an infographic that shows their research on a specific aspect of propaganda. In Lesson 13, students analyze the impact of different propaganda techniques the pigs use in Animal Farm by George Orwell. The word reappears numerous times throughout the unit.

  • In Unit 4, Surviving Repression: Persepolis, Lesson 9, the word bleak is defined in the Vocabulary section. Students come across the word in their reading of Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, and the word is explicitly taught in the Comprehension Review and Vocabulary section of the lesson. The word appears again in lessons 10, 11, and 12. For example, in lesson 11, students encounter the word in the question, “Would you describe Marji’s outlook on the world now as ‘bleak’?” 

Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words (e.g., words that might appear in other contexts/content areas). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include a complete Vocabulary Glossary for each grade that notes the Part of Speech and Definition. The teacher can search for vocabulary words in the list, create a comprehensive list of all vocabulary words when “Select a Unit” appears, and create a list for each individual unit by selecting a specific unit. The Tier II and Tier III vocabulary words are broken down into the following categories: text-based, root/affix, and academic. For example, in Unit 1, the text-based vocabulary words are allegiance, ambivalent, amplify, dehumanize, disproportionate, dumbfounded, explicit, implicit, impeccable, naive, perceive, radical, surreal, synonymous, transfixed, and ubiquitous. The academic vocabulary words are author's purpose, colloquial language, connotation, enjambment, epigraph, figurative language, free verse, metaphor, mood, personification, point of view/perspective, structure, thematic topic, theme, and verbal irony.  Even though the words are introduced, none of the lessons include explicit instruction for how to teach the vocabulary and teachers are expected to remember to reference the teachers tools section for generic guidance. No specific words are identified as more critical than the others.