7th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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, easily relatable, and will stretch students’ thinking while covering a range of socially-conscious topics and what it means to be an American. Students read award-winning texts from multiple perspectives and have the opportunity to explore both literary and nonfiction texts of different genres.

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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, students read a variety of anchor texts, including “What Does it Mean to be American?” by Damien Cave and Todd Heisler; "Hello, My Name Is _____" by Jason Kim; “Who’s Irish” by Gish Jen; and “Call Me American” by Abdi Nor Iftin. The full collection of anchor texts includes articles, short stories, poems, and audio interviews. The anchor texts weave a picture of immigrant experiences and what it means to be American and how America is a country of immigrants. 

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, the anchor texts are Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Both texts tell the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, focusing on how it came to be, the immigrant stories of the victims, and how greed enabled the tragedy to happen by combining the historical documents in Marrin’s text and Peterson Haddix’s historical fiction story. 

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, students read the anchor text, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, an award-winning playwright. The Broadway play explores the enduring ideas around racism, class, and the barriers that exist between many people and the American dream. The text is engaging and relevant for students.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, the anchor text, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, includes multiple vignettes about a Latino woman’s life with topics on gender roles, immigration, and harassment. The stories are engaging and include underlying messages, themes, and different forms of storytelling that are worthy of careful reading.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, students read the anchor text, American Born Chinese, an award-winning graphic novel, by Gene Luen Yang. The text includes vivid imagery and complex language that will help students understand stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and the impact on identity from the perspective of a son of Chinese immigrants. 

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, students read the anchor text: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. The text follows the lives of two teenagers, Sasha (a white teen) and Richard (a black teen), using a combination of narrative techniques, including social media posts and flashbacks, which increases the challenge of the text. The main ideas of the text are related to the criminal justice system and the experiences of a non-binary character.

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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 77/23 split. However, instructional time spent with the literary works across the grade level is higher than informational texts. Text types include memoirs, articles, a speech, 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, students read the article “What does it mean to be an American?” by Damien Cave and Todd Heisler, poems such as “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, a short story “Who’s Irish?” by Gish Jen, explore a website “American Dreamers,” read a book excerpt “Call Me American” by Abdi Nor Iftin, listen to audio interviews “Philip and Andy” produced by Lyna Anwar with Andrés Caballero, and watch a video “DACA, explained” on Vox’s YouTube channel. Multiple informational texts from Newsela are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: “Immigration Act of 1924: Congress Sets Tough Quotas on Entering U.S.”, “Time Machine (1892): The first immigrants arrive at Ellis Island”, “The History of European Immigrants in the United States”, “The History of European Immigrants in the United States”, “Surges and Slips: Immigration in America over 200 years”, and “Latino Immigration to the United States: Economic Factors.”

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, students read two anchor texts that center around the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: a nonfiction book and a historical fiction account, Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix and Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin. Other texts include an informational article, “Amnesty International Calls On Jeff Bezos To Address Amazon Employees’ Concerns About Working Conditions” by Angel Au-Yeung. Additional texts include multiple nonfiction articles detailing first-person accounts, a speech, and videos and photos that give visuals of the time period. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as “Tenements” from History.com, “What a labor union is and how it works” from Teen Vogue online, 

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 3, the Enhanced Version includes “Opportunities for Enrichment To learn more about tenement housing, have students read the following articles and resources.  Tenement Museum - Lower East Side, NY on youtube.com”, “Life in the Shop”, by Clara Lemlich and other articles from Cornell University’s Remembering the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire resources. Students can also read the song/poem, "The Uprising of Twenty Thousand," Dedicated to the Waistmakers of 1909.

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, students read a literary text with the same title by Lorraine Hansberry, a poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, articles such as “A Better Life: Creating the American Dream” by Kate Ellis and Ellen Guettler, listen to a radio segment “The Scarlet E, Part II: 40 Acres” by WNYC Studios, watch a movie  A Raisin in the Sun, and read a poetry anthology text entitled The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop by Kevin Coval, Quraysh Ali Lansana, and Nate Marshall. Multiple informational videos are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: “Growing up in Chicago’s Black Belt-Timuel Black” by The University of Chicago, “How Housing Redlining Contributed to the Racial Wealth Gap” (no source), and “Adam Ruins Everything: The Disturbing History of the Suburbs” (no source).

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, students read the literary work The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros that represents the vignette genre. Additional texts include the poem “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” by Mother Goose, an informational article “This is what happens when gender roles are forced on kids” by Emanuella Grinberg and Victoria Larned, and newspaper articles. 

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, students read a graphic novel with the same title by Gene Luen Yang, articles including “Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes” by Annie Murphy Paul, watch a video “Prejudice and Discrimination: Crash Course Psychology #39” on CrashCourse’s YouTube channel, and read a comic “What is a Graphic Novel?” by Jessica Abel.  Multiple informational videos are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: “Family Matters - Who wants pie”, “Boy Meets World - S01E16 Risky Business” and “Gene Yang: Creating a Graphic Novel.”

• IIn Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, students read The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, a nonfiction LGBTQ novel written by Dashka Slater. Additional texts include five nonfiction newspaper articles about the fight for gender neutral bathrooms and hate crimes, an FBI website, three videos that include first-person interviews, a timeline “Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement” by PBS, and a blog “Victory! Federal Court Rules Trans Students Must Have Access to Bathrooms That Match Their Gender” by Lambda Legal. Multiple informational texts and videos are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: 

  • In Lesson 2, the Enhanced Version includes additional resources for students to read to complete their assignment. Included are the following: Articles by Topic

• Sip-Ins

  • “Before the Stonewall Uprising, There Was the 'Sip-In'” by Jim Farber (The New York Times)

  • “The "Sip-In" at Julius' Bar in 1966” (National Park Service)

• Stonewall

  • “Stonewall Riots: The Beginning of the LGBT Movement” (The Leadership Conference)

  • “How the Stonewall riots inspired today's Pride celebrations” by Emanuella Grinberg (Cable News Network (CNN))

• Pride Flag

  • “Pride Flags 101: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Gay, Trans, and Other Pride Flags” by Matt Baume (Them)

  • “A colorful history of the rainbow flag” by Jacopo Prisco (Cable News Network (CNN))

• Act Up

  • “ACT UP” by Meliza Banales (Britannica)

  • “How To Demand A Medical Breakthrough: Lessons From The AIDS Fight” by Nurith Aizenman (NPR)

• Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (and its repeal)

  • “How the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy Affected LGBT Military Members” (Newsela)

  • “Statement by the President on the One Year Anniversary of the Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell” (The White House Office of the Press Secretary)

• Same Sex Marriage

  • “Gay marriage declared legal across the US in historic supreme court ruling” by Dan Roberts and Sabrina Siddiqui (The Guardian)

  • “Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling cheered by many nationwide” by Tribune Washington Bureau, adapted by Newsela staff (Newsela)

• In Lesson 4, the Enhanced Version includes the following directions in building background: Show students the video, “Pronouns | Trans | One Word | Cut”  by Cut (YouTube) in which trans/nonbinary people talk about pronouns and why they matter.

• In Lesson 5, the Enhanced Version includes the following suggested support: Show students the video, “Trans People Nail The Absurdity Of The Bathroom Debate | Trans 102 | Refinery29” by Refinery29 (YouTube). Have them watch it through once, then write down the central argument that the video is making about the “debate” about trans people being able to use the bathroom of their choice.

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

• Materials reflect a 77/23 balance of informational and literary texts with 45 informational texts and 12 literary texts.

• In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, the materials across the unit contain 13 informational texts and four literary texts. All texts are core texts.

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood so Cheap, the materials across the unit contain eight informational texts and one literary text. One of the core texts is informational, and the other core text is literary.

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, the materials across the unit contain four informational texts and three literary texts. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, the materials across the unit contain two informational and two literary texts. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, the materials across the unit contain ten informational texts and one literary text. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, the materials across the unit contain eight informational texts and one literary text. The core text is informational.

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c. 

Materials include anchor texts that are within or above the Lexile stretch band, ranging between 790L to 1350L, 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 certain 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, students read a series of texts, including poetry that does not have a Lexile available, such as “Where You From” by Gina Valdez. Of the five texts that are leveled, three are above the grade level band, one is below, and one falls in the middle. Qualitatively, the text is of moderate difficulty as it contains high-level vocabulary, graphs and images that include data, and first-person experiences. The associated student tasks are moderate. The overall qualitative measure is moderate.

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, students read two core texts by the same names. Flesh and Blood So Cheap (1000L) falls within the Grades 6-8 range, while Uprising (790L) has a lower quantitative measure appropriate for the beginning of the year. Qualitatively, the texts are of medium difficulty due to the content, and since students read both texts simultaneously, the need to draw conclusions from both texts. The associated student tasks are medium, giving an overall qualitative measure of moderate.

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, students read the text, A Raisin in the Sun (1150L) by Lorraine Hansberry, which is within the stretch band. The qualitative analysis is of high difficulty due to unfamiliar stage directions, dated language, idioms, and vernacular dialogue. The associated tasks are accessible. The overall qualitative measure is moderate.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, students read The House on Mango Street (870L) by Sandra Cisneros, which falls below the Grades 6-8 range. Qualitatively, the text is of moderate difficulty due to figurative language, Spanish words and phrases, point of view, and a variety of sentence types. The associated tasks overall are moderate, requiring students to make connections to the larger theme. The overall qualitative measure is accessible.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, students read the text American Born Chinese (GN530L) by Gene Luen Yang, which falls below the Grade 6-8 range. The qualitative analysis is of high difficulty due to multiple perspectives, complex stories, time lapses, and archaic vocabulary. The associated tasks are accessible and include a Socratic Seminar. The overall qualitative measure is moderate.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LBGTQ+ Experiences in the United States, students read The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives (930L) by Dashka Slater, which falls below the Grade 6-8 range. Qualitatively, the text is of medium difficulty due to two narrators and an unconventional text structure. The associated tasks are challenging, requiring students to analyze and synthesize the text and write an argument. 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, there is no provided Text Selection Rationale for the unit, but the publisher provides Lexile ranges between 840L and 1350L for five of the 17 texts, and all the texts support the unit theme of immigration. The Notes for Teachers section states that the topic may be difficult for some students to discuss; it is suggested that teachers tread carefully with their student population, creating a safe space for those of many backgrounds to discuss openly. A summary of the unit includes the educational purpose of the readings: “Students will read about the experiences of first-generation Americans, and the unique challenges they face as native-born Americans with immigrant parents.”

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, the Text Selection Rational includes Lexile ratings for Uprising (790L) and Flesh and Blood So Cheap (1000L). The rationale includes qualitative features to consider, such as a combination of both primary documents and quotations from people who lived during that time, the use of the third person limited point of view, setting, and vocabulary. The rationale for Uprising mentions the lower Lexile but states, “The structure of this text is unique in that the author employs a third-person limited point of view, pushing students to think critically about how the same setting and events can be perceived differently by different characters.” The rationale for Flesh and Blood So Cheap notes: “Although this book addresses a complex time in US history and covers a number of topics with which students will likely be unfamiliar, the structure used and text features included in the book makes it quite accessible.” The educational purpose of the text is to provide students with a “necessary schema to understand the setting and social context” of a historical event, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, in the early 20th century before they read Uprising.

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile for A Raisin in the Sun (1150L) by Lorraine Hansberry. The rationale includes qualitative features to consider, such as students navigating “some slang and idioms may be unfamiliar; additionally some of the characters use African American Vernacular English, which (depending on students’ background and experiences) may impact the accessibility of the text.” The Notes for Teachers section includes many warnings of explicit material, including references to abortion, racial slurs, and violent occurrences, such as lynching. The educational purpose of the text is for students to make connections between today and Hansberry’s compelling interrogation of the American dream.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile for The House on Mango Street (870L)by Sandra Cisneros. The rationale includes qualitative features to consider, such as figurative language, symbols, allusions, repetition, and unusual syntactical formations. The rationale also states that the “structure, language, and meaning of this novella'' make it an appropriate choice for students of this age. The educational purpose of the text is for students to “find that these seemingly simple vignettes are rich with meaning, as Cisneros confronts themes around gender, misogyny, coming-of-age, social class, and racial identity.” 

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile level for American Born Chinese (GN530L) by Gene Luen Yang. The rationale includes qualitative features, such as vocabulary demands and complex text structure. “The book tells three stories with three protagonists; each story is told from a different literary perspective; each story is written in a different genre; and time moves unpredictably within stories and between them.” In the Notes for Teachers section, additional resources are available to help teachers create a safe space as students grapple with references to stereotypes. While the text includes “several examples…of ‘casual’ references to homophobia, sexism, and sexual harassment”, the publisher “recommend[s] pointing these incidents out to students so that they do not go unnoticed and unnamed, and therefore normalized (as they so often are).” 

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LBGTQ+ Experiences in the United States, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile level for The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives (930L) by Dashka Slater. The rationale includes qualitative features, such as a narrative with two different people, nontraditional structures/genres in chapters (text messages, poetry, social media posts, etc.), idioms, instances of figurative language, and many tier-two and tier-three vocabulary words.” The educational purpose of the text is to introduce students to a number of concepts related to sex, sexuality, and gender and analyze the criminal justice system.

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d.  

Materials include 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 taught throughout the year is to determine the meaning of words and phrases (RL.7.4). In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 4, the lesson objective states: “Identify examples of figurative language used in ‘America and I,’ and explain the impact of these on meaning. In the Close Reading Questions, Discussion Question, and the Writing Prompt, students analyze the figurative language and connect it to the author’s feelings about life in America. In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 4, the lesson objective states: “Explain the meaning and impact of word choice and literary devices in Langston Hughes’s ‘Harlem,’ and how they work together to develop theme.” Students read “Harlem,” define words and phrases, analyze complicated imagery and metaphors, and analyze rhymes. In the Close Read Questions, students analyze imagery, connotation, similes, and Hughes’ use of questions in the poem. In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 8, the lesson objective states: “Explain how Cisneros uses word choice and figurative language to develop tone and meaning.” Close Read Questions ask: “What is Esperanza’s tone as she tells the story of her Aunt Lupe in the vignette, ‘Born Bad’? Find at least three different words and phrases that help develop her tone.”

• Another literacy skill taught throughout the year is to determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text (R.I.7.2). In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 26, the lesson objective states: “Determine the central message of Rose Schneiderman’s speech and explain the impact of word choice on meaning and tone.” A Close Reading Question asks: “Schneiderman writes in paragraph 3, ‘The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred.’ What is the impact of Schneiderman’s juxtaposition of the words ‘cheap’ and ‘sacred’ in this sentence?” The text is at the high end of the stretch band for students in Grade 7 and accompanies the reading of two core texts, Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Haddix. In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 10, the lesson objective states: “Explain the impact of gender norms and expectations on the lives of young teenagers around the world.” Students read two articles, “Most Teenage Girls Still Experience Sexual Harassment” by Jennifer McNulty and “This is what happens when gender roles are forced on kids” by Emanuella Grinberg and Victoria Larned. RI.7.2 is a supporting standard for the lesson since students must understand the main idea to explain the impact. In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 14, the lesson objective states: “Identify central ideas in The 57 Bus and explain how Slater develops ideas over the course of the text.” The discussion and writing prompt connect to the reading of The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater: “What central idea does Slater develop on the topic of binaries? How does she use both Sasha and Richard’s stories to develop this central idea? Carefully explain your thinking.”

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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 4, the “Knowledge” section includes key facts about the reading, definitions of three academic vocabulary words (figurative language, metaphor, and simile,) and sample responses to the writing prompts. The “Knowledge” section is in every unit with key facts about different academic vocabulary words. In Lesson 16, the Suggested Supports for Building Background and Accessing Prior Knowledge include showing students a map of Somalia and providing background information on the civil war to help students understand the reading. Additional supports in the lesson include scaffolding questions during the Close Reading and a list of additional vocabulary. A graphic organizer is included to help students organize the information to see a comparison between two perspectives. 

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 4, the following support is provided in the building background section: “Note: There are several instances of quotations in today’s reading where workers compare their treatment to that of enslaved people or even imply that it was worse. While factory workers were subject to cruel and abusive practices, their experiences were not comparable to that of enslaved people. Pause during these moments to discuss this inaccurate comparison, (p. 73), how the author might have made a more accurate statement, and what these people are trying to communicate when they make this comparison.”

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 17, 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 to identify changes in tone and the evidence to support their answers. 

• In Unit 5: Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 8, Additional Supports during Close Reading provides 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 some of the language used in the text. Teachers are suggested to use a “drop-in” definition to help students understand difficult words.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 7, in the Target Task section, a suggested scaffold states to pose the question: “Imagine you met someone who had only seen the news report. What two important things would you want them to know/understand?

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, students read multiple informational texts as anchor texts, including articles, poems, essays, websites, audio interviews, and videos, and one short story.

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, students read from two novels as anchor texts, Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Supplemental texts include articles, videos, a speech, and a photograph.

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 4, students read the play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, as the anchor text. Supplemental texts include articles, a poem, a radio segment, the movie version of the play, a radio segment, and an informational book.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, students read the anchor text, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Supplemental texts include articles and a poem.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lessons 15, students read the anchor text, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. Supplemental texts include articles, a comic, and a video.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, students read the anchor text, The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. Supplemental texts include articles, videos, and a website.

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

• In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, students read multiple texts such as: Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin, Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and “Speech at the Metropolitan Opera House” by Rose Schneiderman. 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 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, students read multiple texts such as: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, and “A Better Life: Creating the American Dream” by Kate Ellis and Ellen Guettler. 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, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, students read multiple texts such as: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” by Mother Goose, and “Most Teenage Girls Still Experience Sexual Harassment” by Jennifer McNulty. 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 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, students read multiple texts such as: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater, “Milestones in the American Gay Rights Movement” by PBS.org, and “Hate Crimes, Explained” by Swathi Shanmugasundaram. 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, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 5, students continue reading and working with the play version of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. For homework, a section of the play is assigned to be independently read. Questions are provided for students to answer, including: “How would you describe Walter and Benetha’s relationship? Provide an example from the text.”

• In Unit 4: Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 9, Homework in the lesson plan instructs students to read “Most Teenage Girls Still Expereince Sexual Harassment” by Jennifer McNulty and “This is what happens when gender roles are forced on kids” by Emanuella Grinberg and Victoria Larned. Questions are provided for students to answer, including: “What point is the author of each article trying to make? Identify two to three key ideas from each article.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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. Some lessons, such as Unit 5, Lesson 4, include additional lesson-specific Notes. 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 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 3, students read Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin and answer Close Read Questions: “What is Marrin’s primary purpose in the section of text between pages 32–38? How do you know? Explain your reasoning.” and “What is Marrin’s point of view on tenements? What specific words and phrases help communicate this perspective? Provide at least three examples from pages 35–38 and explain how they reveal his perspective.” Then students answer the Writing Prompt: “What is the author’s point of view on ‘rich folk’ in New York? What specific details from the text reveal this perspective? Provide at least two examples from the text and explain how they reveal his perspective.” 

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 19, in the Enhanced Lesson Plan, students read A Raisin in the Sun and answer the Close Read Question, “How has Walter’s perspective of the world changed since his money was stolen, and how does this motivate his decision to call Mr. Linder? Provide two pieces of evidence from pages 141-144 to support your answer, and carefully explain your thinking.” Teachers are provided with student understandings for students who might struggle, such as: “Walter no longer thinks it’s worth considering ‘right and wrong’ -- what matters most, above anything else, is getting money and having money. He calls Mr. Lindner because he wants the money that Mr. Lindner offered them not to move, and getting that money is more important to him than self-respect.”

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 14, students answer three Close Read Questions about in The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater. Specifically, they identify at least four big ideas from the text and name the main idea about justice and explain where the author develops this main idea. These questions align to the standard: “Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.”

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 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 15, Students read Uprising and answer the Close Read Question, “How do Jane and her father’s perspectives of the strikers differ? How does Haddix develop this difference in perspective? Provide at least two pieces of evidence to support your answer.” Teachers are provided scaffolding questions such as, “What kind of descriptive language does Jane’s father use when talking about the strikers? How does he react to Jane’s concerns about the strikers? How does Haddix use descriptions of his behavior to communicate his perspective?” Teachers are also provided with a list of key understandings that students must reach before they can successfully answer the question. 

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 6, students complete a Writing Prompt: “What is each character’s perspective on what should be done with the insurance money? How does the author develop each of their perspectives? Provide one piece of evidence that demonstrates each character’s (Beneatha, Walter, Ruth, and Mama) perspective.” Materials provide a Sample Response as support with an additional note stating, “You may wish to provide students with a graphic organizer like the one that follows:” and lists three columns with the following labels: Character’s Perspective; Revealed through…; Evidence.

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 5, the Notes section provides help for students to discuss and understand the text: “Students may not know the ‘meaning’ of their name or their name might not have a particular meaning. Some websites may provide meanings of different names, and you may wish to look these up in preparation for this lesson (to save time!). Tell students who do not know, or whose names do not have specific meanings, or who do not know why their parents chose their names that they have the awesome opportunity to make up what their names mean to them!”

• In Unit 6: Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 5, the Close Reading Question asks, “What argument did Drew Adam’s attorneys make for why having to use a gender-neutral bathroom at Adams’s school was discriminatory? Provide quoted evidence from the text to support your answer.” The teacher is provided with scaffolding questions, such as, “What is Drew Adams’s gender identity? How was Drew treated before anyone knew that he was transgender? How did being made to go to a gender-neutral bathroom make him feel?” There are also supports that identify key ideas that students need to understand before answering the question successfully. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 21, teacher guidance for conducting a class discussion includes: 

  • “(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.

Today’s conversation should be relatively informal. You may want to have students stay in small groups for this discussion as it may allow students to be more open in their reactions.”

• 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 are not limited to: 

  • In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 17, teachers introduce the Socratic Seminar and its purpose. Students read an overview of how the discussion will occur and brainstorm 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, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 29, 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 Unit 2 discussion. Students gather evidence while the teacher circulates and assists students who may need help identifying appropriate evidence. There is a Discussion Graphic Organizer available for students who may need assistance with taking notes. Teacher guidance for conducting the seminar includes being certain that students understand they are to run the discussion themselves. The teacher takes notes throughout the discussion. 

  • In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 20, the teacher shares expectations of the seminar with students. They model academic discourse strategies. Students reflect on their past discussions. During the discussion, students summarize what the person before them said to ensure that students are listening. The teacher pauses the discussion to ask students to summarize ideas that have been presented in the discussion. In this lesson, instead of the teacher helping students, students use partner discussions to try out their ideas. 

  • In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 14, students are expected to respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. When students respond directly to the person who spoke previously, they will determine if they want to challenge, add to that person’s idea, or introduce a new idea that has not been discussed. 

  • In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 17, the plans include a continued emphasis on having students respond directly to the ideas of other students rather than simply stating their own ideas. Protocols require students to respond directly to the person who spoke previously, determining if they want to challenge, add to that person’s idea, or introduce a new idea that has not been discussed. 

  • In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 15, students identify areas from their self-reflections to continue to do well and to improve. The teacher reminds students of the rules and expectations for Socratic Seminars and the teacher allows students to run the discussions. There are some supports for assisting students who struggle to identify evidence. Students once again summarize what the person before them said and should be able to clearly identify arguments made by classmates. 

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 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 14, materials include Teacher Tools for guidance when deciding which Type of Academic Discourse to utilize in the classroom (table-group discussion, fishbowl, or whole-class discussion). Teachers can select which of the lesson’s Discussion Questions students will answer. Other Teacher Tools include guidance for Supporting Students with Academic Discourse, such as ensuring the transfer of knowledge: “Provide students with sentence frames. Provide students with sentence frames that reflect how their opinion or understanding may have changed. 

  • At first I thought, _____________________. Based on the discussion, I now think ____________________. 

  • Prior to the discussion I thought ____________________. My classmates ideas confirmed my ideas because _____________________.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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. 

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, Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse, Ensuring Transfer of Knowledge, teachers instructions state: “ensure that students are able to synthesize understanding built through academic discourse.” Sentence frames are provided to support students in reflecting on their own growth during discussion: “At first I thought, _____________________. Based on the discussion, I now think ____________________.”  This connects to Tier 3 discussion sentence frames: “I want to change my idea because ______________. I want to revise my thinking. I think ______________. At first I thought ______________ but now I think ______________ because ______________.”

• In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 8, students listen to four audio interviews by American immigrants and answer Close Read Questions: “Read and then listen to the conversation between Philomena Luciani and Alison Purcell (Interview 2). How does listening to the audio version change the impact of their words? What does this story reveal about the American and/or immigrant experience? Provide evidence to support your answer.”

• In Unit 4, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lesson 14, students participate in a Socratic Seminar connecting to The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The lesson addresses the core standard SL.8.1.d (acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, modify their own views). 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.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 17, students participate in a Socratic Seminar in a whole class or group conversation. The Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse section includes the Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse which provides multiple organizers to track participation and progress towards goals. One document is the Academic Discourse Rubric where teachers provide feedback on how students clarify their own thoughts or how they critique the opinions of others.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 2, students create a poster that educates classmates about a significant event or aspect of LGBTQ+ American history. A sample poster is available, and the requirements are available as a support. 

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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 17, students participate in a Socratic Seminar after reading and viewing the texts. Students use textual evidence to answer various Discussion Questions, such as: “How do expectations of America compare to the realities faced by immigrants?” Students draw evidence from all the texts studied in the unit. The intent is that the Socratic Seminar is conducted as a whole class discussion, where the Types of Academic Discourse document specifically notes the execution: “All students hear the shared thoughts of the class and build on ideas together.”

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 3, students listen to the radio segment, “The Scarlet E, Part II: 40 Acres.” After listening, students answer a Writing Prompt to compare and contrast White and Black Americans’ access to the American Dream and then evaluate: “What evidence does the story provide to support this idea? Is the evidence provided relevant and sufficient?” 

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 17, students participate in a Socratic Seminar to discuss the text American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. 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 7 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, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 15, students reflect on the quotation from Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix where Jane tells Bella and Yetta, “Everything I have was bought with blood.” Then, students answer the Writing Prompt, providing evidence: “What does she mean by this figurative language? How does this show that Jane’s perspective of her own life has changed? What caused this change in her perspective?”

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 10, students read the poem, “Say My Name” by Idris Goodwin. After reading, they complete a Writing Prompt where they write an analytical paragraph discussing how the speaker of the poem feels about his name. Students are instructed to “Include a topic sentence, evidence from the text, analysis, and a conclusion in your argument.”

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lesson 14, the students answer the Writing Prompt; “What central idea does Slater develop on the topic of binaries? How does she use both Sasha and Richard’s stories to develop this central idea? Carefully explain your thinking.” 

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, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 21, the Objective states to revise a narrative for “transitions, mechanics, and organization.” Teachers can access the Giving Writing Feedback document in the Teacher Tools section that gives suggestions for Individual or Group feedback to assist with editing. The Narrative Writing Feedback and Support-- Middle School document helps teachers direct students on what and how to edit when students are struggling with organizing an event sequence, such as “Review how to use paragraphs to manage the sequence of events.” 

• In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lessons 21-23, students write a five-paragraph literary analysis essay. Each lesson focuses on one aspect of process writing an essay, beginning with writing a strong thesis statement through a concluding paragraph, ending with revising the essay for clarity, mechanics, and organization. As homework, students check their work for the requirements using 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, Finding Home: The House on Mango Street, Lessons 15-18, students write a literary analysis essay for the prompt: “Write a five-paragraph literary analysis that explores one symbol from The House on Mango Street. Support your argument with evidence from the text to support your thesis. Include a strong introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion in your essay. Each lesson focuses on different parts of writing the op-ed and ends with “revise essay for clarity, mechanics, and organization.”

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 19, students “craft, edit, and revise their personal narratives.” Students can check their work and transitions utilizing A Narrative Writing: Short Story Rubric or Narrative Writing: Comic Rubric. The materials include an Editing/Revision section in the lesson when teachers provide students with an example of a strong concluding paragraph: “Remind students that the conclusion of the narrative is a way to leave the reader with a sense of resolution and also the larger message you want to share about who you are. Students should also use this time to edit and revise their work.”

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

• In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 14, students work in groups to collect research from diverse sources as they begin creating an informational poster about DACA and the DREAMers. Students are given digital sources to consult that includes a website, a video, and an article.

• In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 10, students begin work on an informational essay to discuss “how racism has impacted the lives of young Asian Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Students begin to research, looking specifically for examples, statistics, and quotes from experts. Students are provided four web articles from which to gather data.

• In Unit 6, Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States, Lessons 16-19, students research a person from the LGBTQ+ community who should have a commemorative stamp and write a letter to the “Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee'' to argue for that person to have a stamp. Students use digital resources to research.

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 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 theme which is defined as “the author’s message in the text about the way the world works or what it means to be human. Generally applied to literary texts (fiction, poetry, dramatic works).” 

    • In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 3,  students read the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus to consider the theme and the evidence that supports that message. 

    • In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 4, students read the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes to identify the theme and find supporting evidence for that message. 

    • In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, students read a selection from American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang to identify a specific theme of self-acceptance and provide evidence to support that claim.

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

    • In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 13, students explain how the structural choices help to develop meaning in the poem “Where You From?” by Gina Valdez. Students complete a Writing Prompt answering the following question: “In this poem, the poet writes in both English and Spanish. How does this structural choice develop the meaning of the poem?” 

    • In Unit 2, Fighting Injustice: Uprising & Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Lesson 6 students review structure when they explain how the text Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix is structured: “What is unique about the way this book is structured? Why do you think Haddix chose this structure? What are the benefits of structuring the book this way?” 

    • In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 3, students explain how Gene Luen Yang uses both text, images, and structures to develop meaning in the text American Born Chinese. Students complete the following Writing Prompt: “Reread pages 30 and 36. What is similar and different about these pages? What impact does this structural choice have on the reader’s understanding of the plot and characters?”

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

  • In Unit 1, Defining America: Poems, Essays, and Short Stories, Lesson 1, the vocabulary word assimilate is introduced. It is repeated in lessons 2, 4, 5, 8 and 16. At the end of the unit, the word shows up on the assessment in the following question, “Do you think that it is possible for an immigrant to be considered a patriotic American, even if they do not fully assimilate into American culture?” 

  • In Unit 3, Pursuing Dreams: A Raisin in the Sun, Lesson 3, the word languish is introduced in the list of vocabulary words. It is used in the radio segment, “The Scarlet E, Part II: 40 Acres.” The word languish comes up again in Lesson 7 when students answer the question, “Which character in A Raisin in the Sun would most likely say that they are ‘languishing’ in their life? Explain your thinking.” 

  • In Unit 5, Exploring Identity: American Born Chinese, Lesson 3, students are reintroduced to the word stereotype. In the first lesson, they watch a video and read an article that focuses on stereotypes as a concept. In Lesson 4, stereotype is used in the Sample Response for the Writing Prompt. In Lesson 5, students read the article, “That’s Not Who I Am: Calling Out and Challenging Stereotypes of Asian Americans.” The concept is repeated several times throughout this lesson. In Lesson 10, students answer the Writing Prompt about the stereotypes that the author of American Born Chinese explores and then use the novel and information from the Anti-Defamation League to write an informational essay in which they explain how racism has impacted the lives of young Asian Americans since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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 assimilate, asset, contentious, disdain,,,, perplexing, polarize, profound, quota, and undaunted. The academic vocabulary words are connotation, enjambment, figurative language, literary device, metaphor, personification, point of view/perspective, simile, structure, symbol, theme, and tone. 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.