6th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 weaving a similar theme of exploring coming of age in various settings. 

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, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, students read the anchor text, The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, a Newbery award-winning author. The text includes complex themes as the reader follows Kenny, a young African-American boy as he deals with both large and small coming of age moments during the Civil Rights Movement.

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, students read the anchor text, The Giver by Lois Lowry, an engaging, dystopian novel that allows students to consider topics of interest.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, students read the anchor text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland, a memoir detailing the true story of the third African-American ballerina for the American Ballet Theatre. Students explore the story of a ground-breaking African American woman who overcame many challenges as she rose to fame in the arts.

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, students read the anchor text, The Outsiders by SE Hinton. The classic, engaging coming-of-age novel explores themes relatable to this age group. 

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students read two anchor texts, Refugee by Alan Gratz and The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown, an award-winning graphic novelist. The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees is a graphic novel about real-life experiences that occur when someone is a refugee. The second anchor text, Refugee, introduces different refugees from different time periods and explores how they change over the course of their individual stories.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria of 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, photographs, interviews, videos, websites, articles spanning a range of nonfiction topics, Tedtalks, drama, poems, short stories, 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, Developing Resistance: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, students read the book by the same title by Christopher Paul Curtis, articles such as “Siblings Share Genes, But Rarely Personalities” by Alix Spiegel, poems including “The Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, and photographs such as “Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama, 1956” by Gordon Parks. Students also listen to an audio interview, “‘Green Book’ Helped African Americans Travel Safely,” produced by NPR. Multiple informational texts are included to build student background knowledge in the Enhanced Lesson Plan throughout the unit, such as: “Welfare is a Women’s Issue” by Johnnie Tillmon, “Why We Must Talk about the Asian-American Story, Too” by Brandon Simeo Starkey, “The Coronavirus Exposes the History of Racism and ‘Cleanliness’” by Nylah Burton, and “What is Psychological Shock? And 5 Tips for Coping” by Alice Boyes. Students also read informational articles from Popular Science magazine and websites about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jim Crow, and the NAACP. 

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, students read The Giver, a dystopian fiction novel written by Lois Lowry. Additional materials, including an article and a video, help expand student understanding of a dystopia. Other materials include five articles centered around the argument of the appropriate amount of screen time for kids, including “The Harmful Effects of Too Much Screen Time for Kids” by Amy Morin. Finally, students view a video about screen time and read the science fiction short story “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar. Multiple informational videos are included to build student background knowledge in the Enhanced Lesson Plan throughout the unit, such as: “Fresh Hell” by Laura Miller and “Dystopian Fiction: An Introduction” by John Joseph Adams. Multiple videos are provided as extra support to build background knowledge, such as: "Describing Colors As A Blind Person" by The Tommy Edison Experience, 

"Kids Describe Color to a Blind Person" by Cut, "Giving my colorblind Papa EnChroma glasses" by Carson Stafford, “What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Epipheo, and “What happens when you give your kids unlimited screen time?” by Good Morning America.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, students read a book entitled Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland, an article “Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers” by Souls Grown Deep, watch videos such as “How a Group of Women in This Small Alabama Town Perfected the Art of Quilting | Op-Docs” on The New York Times’ YouTube channel, watch a movie “A Ballerina’s Tale” directed by Nelson George, and explore websites including “Ruth Asawa: Objects and Apparitions.” Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background knowledge, such as: “Straight Talk about the N-Word” from Teaching Tolerance and “Interview with Mary Lee Bendolph and Lucy Mingo by Josephine Reed for the NEA” by Josephine Reed. Multiple informational videos are also included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background, such as: “How to Do the 5 Basic Positions: Ballet Dance”, “Music Box with Ballroom Dancing Couple-Ballerina Style-Anniversary Waltz,” “VINTAGE REFUGE DANCING BALLERINA MUSIC BOX,” and “Antique Music Box.”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, students read the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Students then watch a video version of the novel and read a poem by Robert Frost that is quoted within the anchor text. Other materials include three articles: “At some schools, students find a place for peace” by Lolly Bowean, the contemporary poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, and a silent video illustrating the contemporary poem. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background, such as a Wikipedia article titled “Drive-In Theater”, a Newsela article titled "How to Deal With the Death of a Loved One". Multiple videos are also included to build background knowledge, such as: "A Forest Year" (YouTube) and “Empathy vs Sympathy: Which one are you?” by Psych2Go.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students read two texts Refugee by Alan Gratz and The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown, explore a website “How to Read Comics”, and read the article “Refugee” by Diane Boudreau, Melissa McDaniel, Erin Sprout, and Andrew Turgeon. Multiple informational texts are included in the Enhanced Lesson Plan to build background, such as:

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 2, the Enhanced Lesson Plan includes the informational article “What is a Graphic Novel?” by Jessica Abel, “Alien World to Help OUt Syria Since This One Refuses To.” (The Onion), and multiple photographs of the ship, St. Louis.

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 38 informational texts and five literary texts.

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, the materials across the unit contain ten informational texts and two literary texts. The core text is informational.

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, the materials across the unit contain eight informational texts and two literary texts. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, the materials across the unit contain 14 informational texts. The core text is informational.

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, the materials across the unit contain three informational texts and five literary texts. The core text is literary.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee and The Unwanted, the materials across the unit contain four informational texts. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c. 

Materials include anchor texts that fall below the Lexile stretch band, ranging between 750L and 920L; however, the publisher consistently provides qualitative analysis rationales for text selection, placement, and purpose the Text Selection Rationale or the Notes for Teacher section. While quantitative analysis places many texts below the 6th grade lexile band, qualitative analysis reveals that texts are at the appropriate levels of complexity for 6th grade student. The qualitative rationale states that the relationship between the texts and the associated student tasks is accessible for the grade level. The qualitative analysis also shows that the complexity increases slightly for varying reasons, including text structure, language, and knowledge demands. 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 analysis, but they are appropriate for qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, the anchor text, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul (920L), falls slightly below the Lexile range but is appropriate at the beginning of the school year. Qualitatively, the text is moderately challenging since it has complex themes, unusual text structure, and informal language. The associated student tasks are medium, giving an overall qualitative measure of moderate.

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority, the anchor text, The Giver by Lois Lowry (760L), falls below the Lexile range; however, it has some complex elements and is appropriate at the beginning of the school year. Qualitatively, the text is of medium complexity since the narration is in chronological order and the knowledge demands are accessible. The associated tasks are challenging, becoming progressively more difficult as students read more of the novel. The overall qualitative measure is complex.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, the anchor text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland (890L), falls below the stretch band. Qualitatively, the text is of medium difficulty due to the chronological plot and domain-specific vocabulary. The associated tasks are moderate for the grade level. The overall qualitative measure is moderate.

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, the anchor text, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (750L), falls below the Lexile range but has some complex elements. Qualitatively, the text is of medium complexity since it is set in the mid-1960s and the experiences, language, idioms, and slang of the novel make it more challenging for a modern audience. The associated tasks are challenging for the grade level. The overall qualitative measure is complex.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students read two core texts: Refugee by Alan Gatz (800L) and The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (GN860L), which both fall below the Lexile range. The qualitative analysis for Refugee is considered to be of high difficulty because the knowledge demands assume readers already have some understanding of World War Two and the Syrian refugee crisis. The text also uses figurative language, tier-two vocabulary, and words in different languages. The Unwanted is considered to be of medium difficulty because it is a graphic novel that has no clear protagonist, frequently jumps around in location between frames, includes numerous frames with no text at all, and uses only direct quotes in speech bubbles. The associated tasks are challenging. The overall qualitative measure is complex.

Anchor/Core texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by an accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile rating for the text, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul. The rationale also  includes qualitative features to consider, such as students navigating “informal, colloquial language and occasional non-standards grammatical structures.” The educational purpose of the text is to expose students to more mature conversations regarding racial segregation, violence, and oppression.

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority, the Text Selection Rationale for The Giver states: “The Giver has a Lexile Level of 760L, which – by this measure – puts it slightly below the median reading level for the majority of 6th-grade students at the beginning of the school year.” The rationale provides qualitative features: “the language demands of the text are relatively high, as Lowry regularly uses vocabulary that is likely to be unfamiliar to most students”. The educational purpose of the text is to “introduce abstract concepts (like utopia, dystopia, and the right to self-determination) that require students to think about their own lives and the world around them in new and complex ways.”

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile for the text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland, and qualitative measures that state the vocabulary demands increase the complexity of the text. The Notes for Teachers section suggests that educators contact their school staff and parents of students when reading the core text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. The text discusses domestic violence and eating disorders and also includes the use of a racial slur. Other supporting texts are also included and noted as having mature content worthy of parent notification. The educational purpose of the text is to provide “a rigorous but accessible text for 6th graders, especially as they develop into more skillful readers of nonfiction...the reader follows Copeland’s compelling story from her young childhood to the moment she achieves her dream of becoming a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater.”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connections, the publisher provides an online Text Selection Rationale for The Outsiders. The rationale states that the Lexile measure of 750L “puts it below the mid-year median reading level of 6th-grade students.” The qualitative rationale states: “The book was written in the 1960s and includes slang from this time period...The author regularly uses idioms, irony, and figurative language, as well as tier-two vocabulary...The protagonist’s life experiences will be unfamiliar (and perhaps difficult to understand) to many students.” The educational purpose of the text is to provide a classic text that resonates with students, as they “explore the topic of ‘coming of age’ through the story of a young man struggling to determine right and wrong in a world defined by violence.”

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, the Text Selection Rationale includes a Lexile for the text, Refugee by Alan Gratz, and a qualitative measure that points out the text’s unique structure. The text includes “three different protagonists living in three different time periods; throughout the novel, Gratz weaves their stories together in subtle and overt ways that students will need to identify in order to fully understand the content and craft of the text.” In the Notes for Teachers section, teachers are warned that The Unwanted might be particularly distressing for students because of the visual depictions in the graphic novel format. The materials acknowledge, “While we feel that these images are not gratuitous, it is strongly recommended that you determine what is appropriate for your specific group of students and inform parents about what you will be discussing.” The educational purpose is to inform readers about an urgent issue.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 explain how an author develops point of view (RL.6.6). In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 20, the lesson objective states: “Identify Kenny’s point of view and explain how it changes over the course of a chapter and the text overall.” Students explain how Kenny has changed and what he has learned in two paragraphs. The Close Read Questions ask: “What point of view do Kenny and Byron have on welfare, and how does it differ from Momma’s? How does the author develop the reader’s understanding of their point of view?” In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 1, the lesson objective states: “Explain how S. E. Hinton begins to develop the narrator’s point of view in The Outsiders.” Students develop a claim about how Ponyboy sees himself because of outside influences by using textual support in a brief writing activity. The Close Read Questions ask: “How does Cherry view greasers? Does Ponyboy share her point of view?” and “How does talking with Cherry about the sunset impact Ponyboy’s perspective?” In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 5, the lesson objective states: “Determine author Don Brown’s point of view on the world’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis and his purpose in writing The Unwanted.” Students explain Brown’s perspective on the world’s response to the refugee crisis using textual support and consider how this perspective relates to the author’s purpose in a brief writing activity. The Close Read Questions require students to consider the point of view by examining illustrations and anecdotes.

• Another literacy skill taught throughout the year is to analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot (RL6.5). In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 5, the lesson objective states: “Explain how specific passages from Chapters 7 and 8 of The Giver develop the setting and fit into the overall structure of the text.” The Close Read Questions ask: “How does the story about Asher on pages 69–70 help develop the setting of the text? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your answer. How do the last two pages of Chapter 7 contribute to the development of the plot? Where does this chapter fall in the overall structure of the text? Carefully explain your thinking.” In Unit 5, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 11, the lesson objective states: “Explain how specific scenes and lines of text fit into the overall structure of The Outsiders and develop the plot.” The Close Read Questions ask: “How does the scene between Darry and Paul develop the idea that the Socs and the greasers are not really so different from one another? Support your answer with evidence from pages 142-143.” In Unit 6, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 2, the lesson objective states: “Define significant terms essential for understanding graphic novels, and explain how Brown uses text and illustrations to develop the reader’s understanding of the conflict in Syria.” Students evaluate specific sections of a graphic novel and how the images and text both impact the plot. 

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, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, Lesson 6, there are multiple sections of supports, including supports when students are engaged in close reading. Teachers are provided with scaffolding questions such as: “What is divergence? What does this theory have to do with competition? What happens, according to this theory, if one sibling is very good at or very interested in something?” Other supports identify what students should understand and a sentence frame for students to use in expressing their understanding. 

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, students spend 15 lessons reading The Giver, revisiting the theme, analyzing the impact of certain words or phrases, and studying text development. In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 1, teacher supports include “Potential stopping points with scaffolding questions” to use while showing a video. In Lesson 14, the following scaffold is provided: “What theme does Lois Lowry develop on the topic of choice? What details help to develop this theme? What does Jonas discover about having and making choices? What does Lowry seem to be suggesting about the importance of choices? What does Lowry seem to be suggesting about the potential downsides of having choices?” As students read higher Lexile nonfiction texts in Lessons 16-30, more time is spent on each individual text as they gather evidence to use in a writing piece, and texts are revisited throughout the end lessons while writing.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 17, suggested support is to create a graphic organizer for students to organize their notes when “reading” a piece of art. The graphic organizer includes prompts for students to consider in evaluating the piece of art. The second set of suggested supports in the lesson provides questions for consideration during close reading and a second graphic organizer to combine notes from the close reading, from the article read, and from a video watched.  

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, students spend Lessons 1-14 reading The Outsiders. Starting in Lesson 3, students complete lower-level tasks, such as characterizing Ponyboy and discussing how his point of view changes. The Close Reading Questions include: “How does Cherry view greasers? Does Ponyboy share her point of view? Provide two pieces of evidence from pages 37- 38.” 

  • For those questions, the scaffolded questions include: “How does Cherry describe the greasers? How does she describe the Socs? Does Ponyboy agree about what makes them different? Students should understand: ‘you greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated -- cool to the point of not feeling anything’ (p. 38). ‘it's not money, it's feeling -- you don't feel anything and we feel too violently’ (p. 38).”

  • The provided sentence frames include: “Cherry views the greasers as _______, and Ponyboy sees them as _______. Hinton develops Cherry's perspective through ________. Hinton develops Ponyboy's perspective through ________. This helps the reader better understand _______.”

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & the Unwanted, Lesson 19, in the suggested supports for Language the teacher circulates and checks in with students who may struggle, helping them prepare for the discussion by starring evidence that they might want to share. An additional language support is to ensure that students have their vocabulary glossaries with them during the discussion to use at least one academic vocabulary word and one text-specific word in their discussion. Teachers are also suggested to use graphic organizers with students to help with taking notes in preparation for the discussion. As they take notes on the organizer, the supports suggest circulating through the room and providing specific page numbers for students who are struggling to find the right evidence.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, students read the anchor text, The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 by Christoper Paul Curtis, a historical fiction novel. The supplemental texts include informational articles, poems, audio interviews, and photos from a primary source historical document.  

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, students read the anchor text, The Giver, a dystopian novel by Lois Lowry. Supplemental texts include informational articles and videos.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, students read the anchor text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, a memoir written by Misty Copeland. Supplemental texts include informational articles, videos, video interviews, websites, and a movie.

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, students read the anchor text, The Outsiders, a novel by S.E. Hinton. Supplemental texts include a movie based on the core novel, articles, poetry, and a video.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students read two literary nonfiction books as anchor texts, The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown and Refugee by Alan Gratz. Supplemental texts include an article and informational website.

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

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, students read multiple texts such as: The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963, historical fiction by Christopher Paul Curtis, “The Children’s Hour,” a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longellow, “How Much Does Birth Order Shape Our Lives?” an article by Allison Aubrey, and ‘Green Book’ Helped African Americans Travel Safely an audio interview by NPR. 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, Challenging Authority: The Giver, students read multiple texts such as: The Giver by Lois Lowry, “The Harmful Effects of Too Much Screen Time for Kids” by Amy Morin, “Why the screen babysitter is worse than you think” by Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, and “Don’t Limit Your Teen’s Screen Time” by Chris Bergman. 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 Connection: The Outsiders, students read multiple texts such as: “Why It’s Hard to Be a Poor Boy With Richer Neighbors” by Dana Goldstein, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks, and “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. 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 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students read multiple texts such as: Refugee by Alan Gratz, The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown, and “Refugee” by Dian Boudrewau, et al. 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, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 8, students read the memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland. The homework assignment asks students to read pages 203–211 and pages 228–233 independently. The materials ask teachers to provide students with a summary of the reading to date as additional support; the materials provide a bullet list summary as a key. In Lesson 9, students complete a written check for understanding around the question: “Why does Copeland include the story of receiving an award from the Boys and Girls Club? What idea does this illustrate?”

In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 10, students read the next chapter of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton for homework. Guidance includes specific questions for students to answer while reading, such as: “How are the greasers feeling as they prepare for the rumble? How do you know? Who ‘wins’ the rumble? Where do Dally and Ponyboy go after the rumble is over?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 example answers 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 2, 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 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 9, students read an excerpt from the text The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. After reading, students answer Close Read Questions on word choice, developing point of view, perspectives, and figurative language that require revisiting the text. At the end of the lesson, they complete the Writing Prompt: “How does Byron’s perspective of the ‘surprise’ in the car change from page 109 to page 110? How does Christopher Paul Curtis develop this through specific words and phrases in Byron’s dialogue? Provide at least two examples from these pages. Explain how word choice demonstrates his perspective.” 

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 11, students read Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland. At the end of the lesson, students answer the Writing Prompt: “Why does Copeland share her life story with the world, even though she sometimes faces criticism and judgment? What message is she trying to share with the world? Provide at least two pieces of quoted evidence from the text to support your answer.”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 9, students read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and answer the Close Read Questions: “How does Hinton develop the idea that the public’s perception of Johnny and Ponyboy has changed since the fire? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 107–108 that demonstrate this idea. How has Randy’s perspective on greasers changed since the fire? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from page 115.” At the end of the lesson, students answer the Writing Prompt: “How and why has Ponyboy’s perception of the Socs changed? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from pages 115–118 that demonstrate how Hinton develops his changed perspective and carefully explain your reasoning.” 

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 15, students read an excerpt of Refugee by Alan Gratz and complete a Writing Prompt at the end of the lesson: “How does Josef initially respond to the idea of taking over the ship’s bridge, and how does his perspective on this change between pages 242 and 253 through 258? Use the word ‘resolve’ in your answer and provide at least two pieces of specific evidence from these pages to support your ideas.” 

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 some units, the summary provides warnings about content that might be a concern to students and parents.

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963, Lesson 8, students read the core text The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and answer the Close Read Question: “Summarize the events of pages 86-89. Aim for a three-sentence summary.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan includes scaffolding questions for teachers to ask as well as student understandings. In Lesson 20, students complete the Writing Prompt: “Explain why The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 is considered a ‘coming of age’ novel. How has Kenny changed and grown over the course of the book? What has he learned? Support your answer with at least two pieces of evidence from this final chapter.” A Sample Response is available in the lesson as support. In all units, Writing Prompts include a Sample Response.

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 14, students read The Giver and answer the Close Read Question: “Where in the text does Lowry explore the thematic topic of resistance? Find at least two places.” Supports for teachers identify what ideas students need to understand to fully answer the question. There is also a notation for teachers suggesting that students should carefully answer the questions provided to be successful in the Writing Prompt. Further teacher guidance provides suggestions for modeling finding a theme if students are suggesting ideas that are text-specific.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 10, the Enhanced Lesson Plan includes the Writing Prompt: “Explain why Chapter 13–and specifically Copeland’s performance as the Firebird– represents the climax of her story. Carefully explain your thinking.” The teacher is provided context and explanations for how to present the information and additional probing questions to guide students to the answer. In the Supporting All Students section, Scaffolding Questions are provided: “What is Misty’s goal throughout the text?” along with student understandings included in additional supports. 

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 16, students read “Study: Teens who expect to die young are more likely to commit crime” by The Dallas Morning News and “[s]ummarize the key findings of the study” with scaffolding questions, such as, “What is ‘short term’? What is ‘long-term’? What question did the researchers ask? ”

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 13, in the Enhanced Lesson Plan, students read Refugee to answer the question, “How does the concept of ‘invisibility’ connect Josef and Mahmoud’s stories today? Reread pages 192-197 to support your answer.” The teacher is provided with Key Understandings and Scaffolding Questions for Supporting All students, such as: “In what way is Mahmoud invisible? How does he feel about being invisible?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 13, students read The Giver by Lois Lowry and answer Discussion Questions providing text evidence: “What do you think happens at the end of the book? Is this a satisfying ending? How do you know? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your position.” 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.

  • Extend the whole class to be seven minutes long.”

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 13, students “integrate information presented in different media or formats as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of topic or issue.” Students answer the discussion question, “Why does it matter that the work of women and artists of color is shown in museums?” 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.

This is an important question. So we see that this inquiry exists: Why should we care about it? Should it matter who is making the art that we enjoy?”

• 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, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Lesson 23, 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, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 15, 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, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 18, students follow the same protocol as in Unit 2 allowing students to build on their previous reflections.

  • In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 20, 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 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 19, students identify areas from the self-reflections to continue to do well and those to improve. The teacher reminds students of the rules and expectations for Socratic Seminars and students run the discussions. There are some supports for assisting students who struggle to identify evidence.

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 sub-sets 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, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 13, students answer the discussion question, “Why does it matter that the work of women and artists of color is shown in museums?” Teachers are provided with Suggested Supports:

  • Language Supports - Sentence frame(s):

    • If we only see art from white men in museums __________.

    • If more women and artists of color were shown in museums _______.

    • Even though __________.

    • What if we considered _________?

    • On the other hand, someone might argue ________.

  • Additional Supports - Scaffolding question(s):

    • Why is it important for people to see the work of artists who share aspects of their identity?

    • Why is it important for people to see the work of artists who do not share aspects of their identity?

    • What happens if only white men’s work is shown and/or purchased by museums?

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 24, students participate in a Socratic Seminar related to The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. The lesson objective states: “Take a clear position on a question and share evidence to support that point of view in a Socratic dialogue.” 

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 21, students work with a small group to create a multimedia presentation about a contemporary female artist. The presentation must include at least three images of the artist’s major works of art. In Lesson 22, students present their work.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 23, students give digital presentations made with their groups. These presentations focus on educating classmates on a current refugee crisis. Students must include “accurate facts, statistics, and quotations from at least three reputable sources” and include multiple images or graphs. The Lesson Objective states students will use “appropriate volume, eye contact, emphasis, and pronunciation.”

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 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 24, after watching “3 Fears about screen time for kids—and why they're not true” by Sarah DeWitt, students discuss these questions: “Do you think that screens are a ‘necessity’ in our world today? Are some types of screens—TVs, computers, phones, e-readers, videos games—more necessary than others?” In the Enhanced lesson, additional notes are provided that include: “(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.” Additional support includes: “Students will likely have a lot to say about this topic! Encourage them to listen to each other and ask questions. If many students are eager to talk, do a small group discussion first, and then open it up to the entire class. Encourage students to use at least 1-2 vocabulary words from the unit during the discussion. Post the vocabulary from the unit somewhere visible so they can reference it while talking.”

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 8, students watch the video, A Ballerina’s Tale by Nelson George and answer the Close Read question: “How do the interviews with other dancers from 00:19:16-00:23:04 help develop your understanding of race and racism in ballet? Why is it helpful to hear other dancers’ experiences?”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 20, students participate in a Socratic Seminar after reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The objective of the lesson includes “responding directly to others by rephrasing and delineating arguments 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 6 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, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 10, students answer the on-demand Writing Prompt: “Why does Jonas have such a strong reaction to the game of ‘good guys and bad guys’—a game that he had played in the past? How has his perspective on the game changed? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer.”

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 12, students watch a video of a dance performance and write “an analytical paragraph that determines the mood of the performance. Include a topic sentence, evidence from the text, analysis, and a conclusion in your argument.”

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 13, students complete an on-demand Writing Prompt relating to Refugee by Alan Gratz: “How are all three protagonists' stories today connected by the topic of generous strangers? Identify one scene in each character’s story and explain how it explores this topic. What message is Gratz trying to communicate by connecting their stories around this experience?”

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, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 27, the  Objective states: “Provide meaningful feedback to a peer and incorporate feedback into own writing.” Students work with a partner to edit and review the current narrative writing project they are working on. Teachers can access the Teacher Tools section for the Giving Writing Feedback document that outlines options to help support peer conversation. The following sentence frames are included to encourage students to say something they liked, ask a question, and give a suggestion: “You did a good job with ____________ because ___________. I was confused by ____________. Can you explain what you were thinking? You might change ________________.”

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lessons 16-19, students write an argumentative essay: “Is ignorance bliss? Write an essay in which you take a position on this question using evidence from The Giver to support your position. Use at least two of our vocabulary words in your essay.” Each of the lessons focuses on one aspect of process writing an essay, beginning with writing a strong thesis statement and body paragraphs and ending with editing for using “pronouns appropriately in writing.”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 20-23, students write a four-paragraph argumentative 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 editing essays for lapses in tone and consistency. The materials provide the following guidance: “Some things to think about when writing analytically (formally): 

  • Remove all examples of the first person (I believe, my evidence shows)

  • Limit the use of contractions

  • Eliminate any slang or colloquialisms

  • Limit the use of exclamation points

Ask students to review their own writing and remove any examples of informal writing. Then, have students complete any final edits and submit their essays.” the materials provide an additional section Supporting All Students and ask teachers to “Provide a non-example (an introduction that uses informal language) and ask students to identify ways in which the paragraph is informal and how that affects the argument.”Materials include digital resources where appropriate. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 20, students research for a digital presentation about a contemporary female artist. Students include researched facts, works of art, and background information in the presentation and work with a partner or group to compile the research. Students cite their digital resources.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 20, students start a research project to educate their peers on a current refugee crisis. Students collect facts, statistics, data, and quotations from at least three sources and cite sources in the research project to meet the lesson objective of gathering information for “presentations from provided resources and those they have found online, differentiating between credible and non-credible sources.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 point of view/perspective. 

    • In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 2, students learn about point of view/perspective, which is defined as “1. a character’s opinion or feelings about a specific topic/idea/event; 2. the "lens" through which a person sees and understands the world. This is usually influenced by aspects of their identity, beliefs, and life experiences.” 

    • In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 9, students read a selection from Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland to explore Misty’s perspective on dancing and how that differs from others’ perspectives. 

    • In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 5, students read a selection from The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown and study the author’s perspective/point of view by analyzing Brown’s perspective on “the world’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis.” 

  • Across multiple units, students learn and analyze climax. 

    • In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 5, climax is listed as a vocabulary word for the lesson, but the word is not used anywhere in the lesson, including Close Read questions. Other questions address pieces of a plotline such as rising action, but there are no instructions to specifically teach or reference it. Materials include a Key Understandings section and under the  Knowledge heading, materials list the following as a key idea: “This section of text represents the beginning of the rising action.”

    • In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 4, materials list climax as a vocabulary word. Students map out Chapters 1–4 of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton on a “story mountain”; however, climax is not explicitly taught, referenced, or asked about.

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

  • In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 3, materials include the vocabulary word hostile with the following definition: “unfriendly; antagonistic.” In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 3, the vocabulary word hostile appears again with the following definition: “aggressive and unfriendly.”

  • In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 3, the objective states: “Determine the meaning of unknown words in The Giver and explain the impact of specific words and phrases on mood and tone.” Students complete Close Read questions that have them work to determine what words in the text mean based on context. Students determine what words like chastise mean and then look up the meaning in the dictionary. 

  • In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, there are several words listed in the vocabulary list at the start of the unit that repeat throughout the unit. Words such as innovative and stereotype fit into all of the texts being discussed. Innovative is introduced and appears in the texts in Lesson 16 and repeats in lesson 17. For example, in lesson 17, students encounter the word again in the question “In what ways is the work of the Gee’s Bend Quilters innovative?”  Stereotype is introduced in Lesson 6 and repeats in lessons 9 and 15. For example, in lesson 15, students encounter the word again in the question “What stereotypes did Smith have to overcome as she worked to become an artist?” 

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 conscience, conscientious, delinquent, disposition, emulate, enhance, hostile, incentive, juvenile, narcissist, prevalent, profound, trauma, vehement, vital, and wily. The roots/affixes include  -ize. The academic vocabulary words are connotation, colloquial language, coming of age, dynamic, extended metaphor, figurative language, hyperbole, literary point of view, metaphor, mood, point of view/perspective, sensory, details, speaker, and stanza. 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.