6th Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. 

Materials include core and supplemental texts organized around the topic or theme of “coming-of-age” to build students’ ability to read and comprehend texts independently and proficiently. The Course Summary states that students “read texts that feature protagonists from diverse backgrounds, places, and time periods, all of whom face significant challenges as they struggle to define their identities and claim their place in the world. The stories of these young people are simultaneously unique and universal, and students will likely recognize parts of themselves in these texts, even as they are introduced to characters whose lives may initially look very different from their own.” Each unit begins with a clear statement of how that unit’s materials fit within the theme and what students will be learning. The theme is supported by Essential Questions that students explore; the texts explore literary characters’ coming of age and real-world stories and questions that build upon the initial theme. Students critically think about real-world applications of the theme in their own lives. The associated tasks connect to the theme and require students to demonstrate their understanding in various ways. The text sets, including informational texts, build knowledge on the theme and topic of each unit. They also build students’ content knowledge and ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Additional texts are available to build background on the theme and topic, but additional questions or tasks do not accompany most suggested texts.

Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry; texts build knowledge and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, texts are organized around the unit theme of Developing Resilience and connect to the yearlong theme, “coming of age.” The materials state: “Students explore the topic of ‘coming of age’ through the story of an African-American boy growing up during the civil rights era, and his family's strong bond in the face of tragedy.”

  • In the Unit Prep section, the Essential Questions are provided and refer to the theme: “How do personal and historically significant events shape the way a person sees the world? How do family dynamics shape a person’s identity?” 

  • The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “All experiences in a person’s life, both positive and negative, shape a person’s view of the world and of themself. Coming of age sometimes includes a loss of innocence—a realization that the world is less simple, kind, or fair than we previously believed.”

  • Throughout the unit, students read the core text and 13 supplemental texts centered on the theme and directly growing students' knowledge as they work toward the essential questions and enduring understandings. Additional texts are available.

  • In Lesson 1, students read the core text The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.

  • In Lesson 5, students read Chapters 5-6 in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, and in the Enhanced Lesson Plan, Building Background and Engagement, Additional Supports, an additional text, “Welfare is a Woman’s Issue,” is suggested for students to read more about women and welfare to better understand the chapters.

  • In Lesson 8, students read Chapter 7 in the novel. In the Enhanced Lesson Plan, Building Background and Engagement, Additional Supports, an explanation of why the additional texts are included states: “If you’re interested in learning more about the role that hair plays in the Black community, read the following articles: ‘Hair’ by Elizabeth Acevedo (Teaching Tolerance),’New Evidence Shows There's Still Bias Against Black Natural Hair’ by Karen Grigsby Bates (NPR), ‘The Racial Roots Behind The Term 'Nappy' by Michael Paulino (NPR).” Another example included as additional support is: “If you or your students would like to learn more about racism against Asians, you can read the following articles: ‘Why We Must Talk About the Asian-American Story, Too’ by Brando Simeo Starkey (The Undefeated), ‘The Coronavirus Exposes the History of Racism and 'Cleanliness'’ by Nylah Burton (Vox).”

  • In Lesson 21, students read the supplemental nonfiction article, “‘Segregation Forever’: A Fiery Pledge Forgiven, But Not Forgotten” and view three photographs to explain the impact of the article.

• In Unit 3, texts are organized around the unit theme of Expressing Yourself and the yearlong theme, “coming of age.” The materials state, “Students explore the topic of ‘coming of age’ through stories about the experiences of professional female artists of color who have fought to claim their space in a world that has long excluded people who look like them.” 

  • In the Unit Prep section, the Essential Questions are provided and refer to the theme: “Why do people make art? Why does an artist’s identity matter? What are some of the obstacles female artists—and specifically female artists of color—encounter?

  • The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme: “Women and minority artists have historically faced many obstacles to their success, and the fight against prejudice and discrimination in the art world continues today. Art is a powerful way to express oneself and one’s own identity, and can be a platform for an artist to communicate their unique perspective to the world. All people benefit from the inclusion of more diverse voices in the art world.”

  • Throughout the unit, students read the core text and 13 supplemental texts centered on the theme and directly growing students' knowledge as they work toward the essential questions and enduring understandings. Additional texts and videos are offered.

  • In Lesson 1, students begin reading the core text, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, by Misty Copeland, who encounters many experiences as a ballerina of color that lead to her coming of age in the world of professional dance. Knowledge students gain connects to the Essential Questions in the unit, including “Misty Copeland is an African American ballerina who is famous for breaking barriers within ballet; Copeland’s performance as the first Black woman to play the Firebird is historically and personally significant.” A lesson on the structure of a memoir and how it differs from a biography or autobiography is also included. Questions that support the reading include, but are not limited to: “What is the purpose of the prologue in a text? Why does Copeland most likely begin her memoir describing a day when she is twenty-nine—and not from the very beginning of her life? Carefully explain your thinking. How old is Copeland in this prologue? How old is she in the first chapter of the text? What idea does Copeland develop on pages 2 to 3 about the difference between having good technique and being a true artist on stage? Provide one line of text that best supports your answer.” 

  • In Lesson 8, students watch a documentary, A Ballerina’s Tale, directed by Nelson George. Students answer Close Read Questions which connect to the enduring understandings of the unit, such as “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 Lesson 13, students “[d]escribe gender and racial discrimination in the art world, and how the Guerrilla Girls have responded to this issue through art and activism.” Students read the article “The Guerrilla Girls: We upend the art world’s notion of what’s good and what’s right” by Nadja Sayej and the video “Guerrilla Girls – You Have to Question What You See” by TateShots by Tate.

• In Unit 5, texts are organized around the unit theme of Fleeing Conflict and the yearlong theme, “coming of age.” The materials state, “Students explore the topic of ‘coming of age’ through the stories of young refugees from different time periods, all of whom face unthinkable hardships as they desperately seek safety.” 

  • In the Unit Prep section, the Essential Questions are provided and refer to the theme: “Why do people make the decision to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere, and what are they willing to sacrifice to find safety? How do people respond when they see others in need? What does it mean to ‘come of age’ during times of crisis and war?”

  • The Enduring Understandings for the unit also help students understand the theme:

    • “Refugees are people who choose—or are forced—to flee their homes because of war, political unrest, violence, or persecution. Currently, there are millions of refugees around the world—the highest number in recorded history. 

    • The Syrian civil war has sparked one of the largest refugee crises in recent history as many millions of people have left the war-torn country seeking refuge and asylum elsewhere. 

    • Refugees often face extreme hardships and even risk death in their search for safety for themselves and their families. 

    • The response to refugees can vary widely; some individuals and governments are welcoming, while others are unwelcoming or even hostile to those who seek their help.”

  • Throughout the unit, students read the two core texts and two other texts centered on the theme and directly growing students' knowledge as they work toward the essential questions and enduring understandings. Additional texts are offered.

  • In Lesson 2, students read The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown and the website How to Read Comics by Tracy Edmunds. Students connect to the Essential Questions when considering the reason why the Syrian refugees flee their homes. For example, students answer the Writing Prompt: “Why did many people make the decision to flee their homes and leave Syria? Provide evidence from both the text and images to explain your answer.”

  • In Lesson 8, students read Refugee by Alan Gratz to gain knowledge that “Mahmoud’s whole family survives the bombing, but his father decides that they need to leave Syria immediately.” Additionally, students watch the first three minutes of the video, “Cuban rafters: 20 years after the crisis” by the Miami Herald. Questions support students in a turn-and-talk activity to enhance their understanding of the text. There are multiple Close Read and supporting questions, such as: “How does Isabel’s father respond when he believes that the police are chasing him and that his life is at risk? Provide evidence from pages 63 through 65 to support your answer, and carefully explain your thinking. What is Isabel’s father doing right before he sees the police coming toward the boat? What does he do immediately when he thinks they are chasing him? How does Josef respond to the experience of having a Bar Mitzvah? How has the experience changed him? Provide evidence from pages 77 through 80 and carefully explain your thinking.”

  • In Lesson 10, students continue their reading of Refugee by Alan Gratz and “Explain how Refugee can be considered a ‘coming-of-age’ novel and describe how each of the three protagonists are changing as the text progresses.” The reading and activities connect to the overall grade level theme and the Essential Questions for the unit.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. 

Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details according to grade-level standards. Students determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular key ideas and details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments; and analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes). Materials include coherently sequenced questions and tasks to support students in developing these skills. The Enhanced Lesson Plan also provides additional scaffolding questions. Students analyze craft and structure according to grade-level standards, such as determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyzing how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas; and determining an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text. These skills are systematically built over the course of the unit through increasingly complex Close Reading Questions, Discussion Questions, and Writing Prompts to complete the Socratic Seminar and Content Assessment.  

For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, students participate in a Socratic Seminar about the main ideas and themes from The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. 

  • In Lesson 1, students answer a Writing Prompt about the big ideas introduced in the first chapters: “How does Momma and Dad's discussion of Birmingham (and the American South more generally) help to establish the setting of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963?” The Enhanced Lesson Plan provides Additional Supports in the Supporting All Students section that support key ideas and details: “Ask students to point out the differences between Flint and Birmingham that are established in this section of text, and then to think about what they learn about each place based on comparison. If students are stuck, tell them to look for details between pages 4 and 6.” There are also sentence stems that are included: “Momma and Dad’s discussion helps to establish the setting because _____________. The setting of the story is important because ________________. An example the author includes is __________________. This detail is important because _______________.”

  • In Lesson 4, students show how the story unfolds by answering the Writing Prompt: “How and why do Kenny’s feelings toward Larry Dunn change over the course of this chapter? Support your answer with two pieces of specific evidence from the text.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan provides additional support for each close read question, including Key Understandings, Scaffolding questions, and Moments to Analyze. For example “Key Understandings: This demonstrates that Kenny is a thoughtful friend, and while he might be ‘sneaky’ he is doing it for the right reason. Scaffolding Questions: Why does Kenny ‘trick’; his Momma? How do you think Kenny's mother would have reacted if she knew what he had done with the gloves? Why is Kenny willing to risk getting in trouble? Moments to Analyze: ‘I figured that if I told Momma I'd lost my first pair she'd give me the second pair and me and Rufus each would have a full pair of gloves’ (p. 56) ‘I looked sad on the outside but on the inside I was feeling great’ (p. 56).”

  • In Lesson 12, students answer the Writing Prompt with key ideas: “Write a 5–6 sentence objective summary of Chapter 9 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963.” The lessons build knowledge of the novel and support students to participate effectively in the Socratic Seminar.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, students complete a research-based presentation about a female artist and the impact that their work has had on contemporary culture. Throughout the second part of the unit, students focus on determining the central ideas of multiple texts and how those ideas are conveyed through details. 

  • In Lesson 13, students answer a series of questions about the informational texts they read, and the Writing Prompt states: “Based on what you have read and watched today, how do you think the Guerilla Girls would answer the following question: ‘What do you hope to see in the future in the art world?’ Support your answer with at least one piece of evidence/ example from the article and/or the video.” 

  • In Lesson 15, the same pattern is followed with the Writing Prompt: “Based on the sources you have read and watched today, how do you think Jaune Quick-to-See Smith would answer the following question: ‘Why do you make art?’ Provide details from at least two sources to support your answer.” 

  • In Lesson 17, the same pattern is followed with the Writing Prompt: “Based on the sources you have read and watched today, how do you think Favianna Rodríguez would answer the following question: ‘Why do you make art?’ Provide details from both sources to support your answer.” The repetitive practice with different types of informational texts related to the same ideas gives students a chance to develop their skills with different scenarios and use them in the culminating task when they conduct their own research and create a presentation. The Enhanced Lesson Plan provides additional supports for the Close Read Question: “How does the format/medium of the art that Rodríguez makes reflect her beliefs about art and politics? Provide details from both sources to support your answer.” In the Supporting All Students section, the following Scaffolding Question(s) are available: “What kind of art does Rodríguez make? What medium does she use?” Key Moment to Analyze are available in the Supporting All Students section such as, “Printmaking through social justice history has been a tool that artists have used to expose the truth, to fight for justice (‘Printmaking with Favianna Rodríguez’ 1:39-2:00).” 

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, students determine themes in multiple texts.

  • In Lesson 7, students complete tasks to “Determine the theme of ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ and explain how poet Robert Frost uses literary devices to develop that theme.” Students answer the Writing Prompt: “What is the theme of the poem, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’? How does Robert Frost develop this theme? Support your answer with specific words and phrases from the poem.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan includes additional questions in the Close Read section, such as: “What are the connotations of the word ‘gold’? What is the poet saying figuratively about the ‘first green’? What are the connotations of the word ‘flower’? What is the poet saying figuratively about the leaves? What is the tone of the poem? How does the speaker seem to feel about the fact that ‘nothing gold can stay’? What words and phrases does the poet use to communicate this tone?” The Enhanced Lesson Plan also includes questions in the Target Task section, including “What is the theme of the poem, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’? How does Robert Frost develop this theme? Support your answer with specific words and phrases from the poem.”

  • In Lesson 14, students identify themes in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and explain how the author develops those themes. The Objective states, “Identify themes in The Outsiders and explain how Hinton develops these themes in Chapter 12. In the Enhanced Lesson Plan, guidance is available: “While engaging with the Close Read Questions, circulate to gauge students’ understanding of the questions and text.” In the Supporting All Students section under Building Background and Accessing Prior Knowledge is the following: “Theme: an essay” and “Language Supports: Read pages 178 and 179 aloud with students. It’s important that students fully understand what Johnny says in his letter, and Ponyboy’s reflection afterwards.”

For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 2, students 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 (RL.6.5). Students focus on explaining how “specific words, sentences, and passages in the first two chapters of The Giver help establish the setting.” A series of Close Read Questions include:

  • “Read the first two pages of the text. What sentence of the text first indicates to the reader that Jonas’ world is different from our own? Explain how this specific sentence demonstrates the difference between the two worlds.

  • “Select two details from pages 6-8 and carefully explain how they help to establish the setting of the book.”

  • How does the family’s discussion of the newchild on pages 9–11 help to establish the setting? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text, and explain your thinking.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan includes Key Understandings for students to better grasp craft and structure: “In Jonas's community, newchildren (babies) live together with caregivers for the first year of their lives, instead of with families. Families in Jonas's community only have two children, a boy and a girl.” 

The materials provide additional opportunities to practice the same skills with the same core text in Lessons 5, 6, and 13. In Lesson 22, students read the informational text, “Kids Must Learn to Control Their Own Screen Time” by John Kielman, and answer questions such as, “Read the third paragraph of the essay. What is the purpose of this paragraph? How does it contribute to the development of ideas in the essay?”

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 1, students “Explain how S.E. Hinton begins to develop the narrator’s point of view in The Outsiders”( RL6.6).  Students answer the Writing Prompt: “How does Hinton develop the idea that the way others see him (and greasers in general) affects the way Ponyboy feels about himself? Provide two pieces of evidence from chapter 1 to support your answer, and be sure to explain your thinking.” In Lesson 3, students analyze how the author develops Ponyboy’s point of view in a series of Close Read Questions: “How does Cherry view greasers? Does Ponyboy share her point of view? Provide two pieces of evidence from pages 37- 38. How does Ponyboy’s perspective of his family differ from the way Johnny sees it? How does Ponyboy’s beliefs about his family impact his behavior? Provide two pieces of evidence from page 42 and page 51 to support your answer and explain how the author develops their differing perspectives.” 

  • The Enhanced Lesson Plan, Supporting All Students section includes further Scaffolding Questions: “How does Cherry describe the greasers? Does Cherry believe that the greasers are better or worse than the Socs? How does she describe the Socs? Does Cherry think that being ‘sophisticated’ is a good thing? Does Hinton develop her perspective through words, actions, or thoughts?”

Additional opportunities to consider point of view are available in Lessons 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13, connecting to the same core text.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, students create a group informational presentation on a current refugee crisis somewhere in the world while reading Refugee by Alan Gratz and The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown. To develop the skills for this research and presentation, students practice the reading skills of understanding the text by looking at how information is developed and built over the course of the text.  

  • In Lesson 2, students answer Close Read Questions to analyze how the author builds the ideas in the texts, such as: “How do pages 2 through 5 develop your understanding of the setting? Why did Brown most likely open the text with these images? Support your answer with specific details from these pages. How does Brown use text and images on pages 8-9 to communicate the public’s response to the imprisonment of the Dara’a boys? Provide at least two details from these pages to support your answer.” 

  • In Lesson 6, students answer questions to help them understand the structure of the text and how the author is using that to build and support ideas, such as: “How do pages 5-6 develop the reader’s understanding of the conflict in Josef’s story? Provide specific details from the text to support your answer and carefully explain your thinking” and “How does the second chapter help to develop the setting of Isabel’s story? Provide specific details from the text to support your answer and carefully explain your thinking.” 

  • In Lesson 10, students answer a series of questions to support their understanding of how specific scenes contribute to changes in the characters and the plot: “What is the significance of Mahmoud’s decision to stop the car in the middle of the street and ask for help? What does this reveal about his character and how he has changed? Provide evidence from pages 125 through 128 to support your answer. What is the significance of Josef’s decision to slap his own father? What does this reveal about his character and how he has changed? Provide evidence from pages 132 through 135 to support your answer, and use the word ‘idolize’ in your response. What is the significance of Isabel’s decision to jump into the water after Señor Castillo? What does this reveal about her character? Provide evidence from pages 136 through 139 to support your answer.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan provides additional supports to answer the questions in the Supporting All Students section: “What is the significance of Mahmoud’s decision to stop the car in the middle of the street and ask for help? What does this reveal about his character and how he has changed? Provide evidence from pages 125 through 128 to support your answer. Scaffolding Questions: How did Mahmoud react to dangerous situations in the past? (consider when he saw the boy getting beat up on the street and when the fighters stopped their car). What problem is Mahmoud’s family facing? What does Mahmoud decide to do about the problem? How does his family respond to this decision? How does Mahmoud respond to his parents’ response? Why does Mahmoud make the decision to ignore his father? What is the outcome of Mahmoud’s actions?  Key Understandings include: Mahmoud’s decision to stop the car and ask for help —even though his parents tell him repeatedly not to— reveals that he is willing to do anything to protect his family. His decision means that they are offered a safe, dry place to sleep.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c. 

Materials include sequences of text-based questions and tasks that support students’ abilities to integrate knowledge and ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts. The materials provide opportunities for students to improve their analytical skills through questions and tasks that are purposefully sequenced to assist students in deepening their understanding of texts. The questions help students in the successful completion of the culminating tasks, such as Socratic Seminars.

Throughout the units, students analyze a series of big ideas using the knowledge they have built throughout the unit. This is evaluated in one, and sometimes both, of the culminating tasks at the end of the unit. In all units, students read a variety of texts that center around the theme and central idea of the unit. They use the different texts to convey their understanding in the culminating tasks. 

Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 21, students analyze a text set that includes an article, “‘Segregation Forever’: A Fiery Pledge Forgiven, But Not Forgotten” and three photographs. Students answer a Writing Prompt about how the images help “develop your understanding of the impact of segregation on African Americans in Alabama.” Later in the lesson, Close Read Questions expand this line of questioning into how the images help students understand the impact of segregation in the South. Students use the context knowledge from the article and photographs about segregation in the South, particularly in Alabama, to support their understanding of the historical context in The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. During the Socratic Seminar culminating task, students can reference the information from the text set to support their dialogue about the impacts historical events can have on individuals. 

  • The Enhanced Lesson Plan includes additional supports for each Close Read question. In Key Takeaways, supports state, “Segregation impacted many aspects of life, from restaurants to cleaning services. These photos suggest that African Americans were thought of as unworthy of sharing the same facilities with white Americans.” Scaffolding Questions include: “What do you notice in these photographs? What is the setting of these photos? Why do you think that this laundry company was only willing to take clothing from white people? What does this reveal about their beliefs? What aspects of life did segregation affect? How do these photos make you feel? How do these photos help us better understand what happened in The Watsons Go to Birmingham?” 

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 15, students participate in a Socratic Seminar where they discuss the concepts of a dystopia, the sacrifice of identity for peace, and coming of age. The texts help students build an understanding of the ideas through completing questions, discussions, or writing tasks.

  • In Lesson 1, students watch a video, “How to recognize a dystopia - Alex Gendler” by TED-Ed, and read the article, “Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics” by ReadWriteThink about the genre of dystopia. The Close Read Question asks, “How did events in the real world lead to the development of the genre of dystopia? Support your answer with examples from the video.” The writing prompt asks, “What is the purpose of dystopian fiction? Support your answer with examples from the video.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan in the Supporting All Students section, contains additional Scaffolding Questions including: “What are some of the characteristics of a dystopian society? How are they different from the society you live in? What are the different types of dystopian controls? What are corporations? What is corporate control? What is bureaucracy? What is bureaucratic control? What is technology? What is technological control? What is philosophical/religious control?”

  • In Lesson 7, the Discussion Question asks, “What is your reaction to the idea of Climate Control and ‘sameness’? Do you see any benefits of these systems? What are the downsides?” 

  • In Lesson 12, the writing prompt asks, “After witnessing the release of the newchild, Jonas and The Giver decide that Jonas must leave the community. Why does this event convince Jonas that this is the only way forward? In your response, be sure to answer the following questions: How will leaving the community benefit Jonas? How will Jonas’ leaving benefit the community? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan, Supporting All Students section identifies sections of the text for students to closely read. Direct quotes from the text with the page numbers are provided, such as: “Jonas, you and I are the only ones who have feelings. We’ve been sharing them for almost a year.”

These activities throughout the novel support students in building a foundational knowledge of both the dystopian genre and the ideas found in the novel that correlate with the genre.

• In Unit 5, Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted, Lesson 4, students complete tasks and a series of questions connecting to the reading of The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown. Students integrate information presented in different media or formats, as well as in words, to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue. Students deepen their understanding with Close Read Questions: “How does Brown develop the reader’s understanding of what this time is like for young Syrians, whether they live in Syria or as refugees? Provide examples from pages 52 through 54 to support your answer. How does Brown use illustrations on page 57 to develop the reader’s understanding of what it is like to live in refugee camps? Provide specific details from these images to support your answer.” The Enhanced Lesson Plan provides additional supports. 

  • Scaffolding Questions in the Supporting All Students section include: “Does Brown provide examples/anecdotes? Does Brown provide statistics/data? Does Brown provide quotations? Does Brown provide images/illustrations? What do the text and images on page 52 depict/communicate? Page 53? Page 54? How does the quote (in the speech bubble) on page 52 develop the reader’s understanding of the refugee experience? How do the quotes on page 53 develop the reader’s understanding of young people’s experiences in Syria? Who is depicted in these panels? What do you notice about people’s body language and facial expressions on these pages? What is the impact of seeing the woman with her head in her hands? What is the impact of the illustration of the man looking out through the fence? How does this communicate the emotional experience of living in a camp? What is the mood of these panels?” 

  • Key Understanding includes:

    • Brown develops the idea that life is extremely difficult both for refugee children and those still living in Syria. None of the children on these pages are attending school.

    • Illustrations: unregistered refugee children working in fields, mopping, doing dishes, while children in Syria are shown running through a bombed out city on the way to or from school.

    • Quotes show their fear and desperation: one describes why he must work, the other why fear of bombs drove them to drop out of school. “

    • Brown provides "snapshots" of the people living in these camps. They all look tired, afraid, hopeless.

  • The materials also offer Language Supports, including the following Sentence Stems:

    • “Brown uses _____________ to develop the idea that ______________. For example, ____________.

    • The illustrations show ______________, which helps the reader understand refugee camps because _____________.”

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 11, students practice their skills to compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels, and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics. The questions and tasks connect to two texts, the poem “The Children's Hour” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the core text The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Students answer Close Read Questions including the following: “How is the passage on page 104 in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 similar to ‘The Children’s Hour’? What topic do they both share? The Enhanced Lesson Plan, Supporting All Students section, includes support for the Close Read that includes:

  • Key Takeaways: “Both address the topic of parent/child relationships and the love, playfulness, and affection they feel for one another.”

  • Scaffolding Questions: “Who are the characters in both of these texts? How are they similar? What is the mood in each of these texts? How are they similar?”

  • Moments to Analyze:

    • “Then Dad pulled one of his famous tricks on me. He said, ‘Kenny, look!’ and pointed out in the hallway. Even before I could think my head turned around and I followed Dad's finger. When I saw nothing, and looked back Dad was smiling a mile a minute, acting like he hadn't done anything but I noticed that his toothbrush was gone (p. 104).

    • A whisper, and then a silence:       Yet I know by their merry eyes They are plotting and planning together       To take me by surprise. A sudden rush from the stairway,       A sudden raid from the hall! By three doors left unguarded       They enter my castle wall! 

  • Language Supports: Use the word ‘profound’ in your response. Both texts are similar because ________________. For example, _______________.” 

Students complete the Target Task around the following question: “How do 

Christopher Paul Curtis and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow use different narrative 

perspectives to communicate a similar idea about the relationship between 

children and their parents? Provide specific evidence from both texts to support 

your answer and explain your thinking.”

• In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 25, the Writing Prompt asks students to take a position: “What are the benefits and downsides of parents limiting their children’s screen time?” The prompt states: “Create a poster of a pros/cons chart, listing at least three reasons on each side of the argument, providing evidence from the texts to support each reason. Cite your sources using MLA format.” To be able to answer the prompt, students various texts and answer questions to build knowledge:

  • In Lesson 8, students answer the writing prompt, “How does Lois Lowry develop the central idea in Chapter 13 that Jonas feels conflicted about the idea of people being able to make choices about their own lives? Provide at least two pieces of evidence that demonstrate this conflict.” 

  • In Lesson 15, one of the questions in the Socratic Seminar asks, “Is it worth sacrificing freedom, choice, and individuality for peace, contentment, and ease?” 

  • In Lesson 21, students read two different articles about the impact of screens on children and answer Discussion Questions, “If you were a parent, do you think you would put limits on your children’s screen usage? Why or why not? Has anything you have learned about over the last two days influenced your answer to this question?” 

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, Lesson 8, students compare their previous reading of a portion of the memoir Life In Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland to the film version, A Ballerina’s Tale directed by Nelson George. Students answer questions such as, “What do you now understand about Misty Copeland and her life that you did not understand from simply reading her memoir? Provide at least two things you learned or understand better as a result of watching this documentary.” Other questions ask how interviews help viewers better understand the issue of racism in ballet. Additional questions include:

  • “How is Copeland’s story of first connecting with Susan Fales-Hill (p. 181–182) different from the story Fales-Hill tells (00:15:02–00:16:45) in the documentary? What do we learn from the documentary that we did not learn from the text?

  • 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?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. 

Materials include culminating tasks that allow students to demonstrate knowledge of the unit topics and themes by integrating reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Though the culminating tasks focus primarily on writing skills, students fulfill the grade level standards across the year. One type of culminating task is a Content Assessment that “pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge or unit essential questions orally or in writing” and “should be used as the primary assessment because it shows mastery of unit content knowledge and standards.” Content Assessments are found at the end of each unit and include three sections that include vocabulary questions, multiple choice and/or short answer questions connected to excerpts from multiple texts in the unit, and an essay connected to the same texts. In addition to the Content Assessment, culminating tasks within each unit include Socratic Seminars, essays, and presentations. The culminating tasks connect in a meaningful way to the unit themes and essential questions. The questions and tasks in each lesson that are connected to texts and research opportunities scaffold students towards the successful completion of the culminating task. For example, Writing Prompts, Close Read Questions, and Discussion Questions provide opportunities for students to explore the topic and themes to demonstrate their understanding. The culminating tasks offer some variety for students since Teacher Tools offer different types of academic discourse, and the questions vary according to the unit texts and themes. The guidance is general in the Teacher Tools that connects across Grades 6–8.

Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lessons 24–27, students write a memoir as one culminating task. In Lesson 24, the Writing Prompt states: “Write a short memoir about an important event in your own life.”  The Objective states that students “analyze a mentor text in preparation for writing a memoir.” Throughout this culminating task, the teacher walks students through the process of writing a memoir using the mentor text. In Lesson 28, in the Content Assessment Section 3, after reading What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau, students complete an essay for the following prompt:  “You have read the excerpt from What the Moon Saw, which is written from Clara’s [point of view]. Rewrite the excerpt from the perspective of one of her grandparents. Your essay should reflect a strong understanding of the passage, but also demonstrate your own creativity and originality, and your understanding of strong narrative writing. Additionally, you should include one of the following words/phrases in your narrative: coming-of-age; conscientious; perspective; hostile; vehement; narcissist.”  Students use a combination of reading, writing, and language skills to complete these culminating tasks. To build the skills necessary to complete the memoir, students practice skills in other lessons, such as: 

  • In Lessons 6–8, students write a summary of an informational text. Teacher guidance under the Skills and Strategies section for these lessons specifies that students should: “Identify the most significant people, events, and settings in shorter and longer sections of text; omit unnecessary details from summaries; maintain a consistent level of detail in a summary; write with objectivity” building skills necessary for writing their memoir.

  • In Lesson 10, students evaluate the impact of literary devices and how they help develop mood and meaning in writing. Specific skills addressed include: identifying the connotations of words, identifying mood, explaining how mood is developed, identifying metaphors and explaining what is being compared, explaining what a metaphor is trying to communicate, providing strong evidence to support an answer, and explaining how the evidence supports their assertions.

• In Unit 3, Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts, students read multiple texts related to female artists, specifically, how different aspects of life impact art and how art impacts different aspects of life. In Lesson 18, students participate in a Socratic Seminar as one culminating task with a provided series of questions. In the homework for Lesson 17, students are directed to “prepare for tomorrow’s Socratic Seminar.”  Students answer preparation questions such as, “What does it mean to be an artist? Consider all of the artists we studied in this unit. Does a person’s life experience influence the art that they make? What impact does making art have on a person’s life?” In Lessons 19–22, students complete another culminating task to research a contemporary female artist and create a group presentation that fulfills these requirements:

  •  “Provides a biography on the artist, including any obstacles faced by the artist and a photograph of the artist; 

  • Describes the artist’s style; 

  • Describes at least three of the artist’s major works of art, with images;

  • Reveals what is/was important to the artist; 

  • Reports on the artist’s impact on contemporary culture.” 

  • This project requires students to use information learned earlier in the unit to inform their research and presentation. Over the course of the project, students practice language, writing, and speaking and listening skills. In Lesson 23, students complete the Content Assessment that includes writing three informational paragraphs that provide a biography of the artist detailed in the passage read, a description of the work, and what is important to the artist. In Lessons 14–17, students read texts on various female artists and explain how their backgrounds influence their perspectives and art. To build the skills necessary to complete the culminating tasks, students practice the skills in earlier lessons in the unit. In Lesson 2–7, students read Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland and identify different obstacles that stood in her way as she worked to achieve success and how she overcame them.

• In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 19, students participate in a Socratic Seminar for the culminating task. In the discussion, students refer to the unit texts including The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, and any other unit texts that they may have gathered additional knowledge on the topic of social class and stereotypes as they present ideas and use evidence from the texts to support their ideas. Teachers determine what type of discourse students will use and present questions, such as, “What message is this book trying to communicate about social class? How does Ponyboy change over the course of the text? What about him does not change?” Speaking and Listening standards are assessed through these activities. In Lessons 20–23, students write a four-paragraph essay explaining whether they believe that Polyboy would agree with the proverb, “Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but baked in a different oven.” This task requires the development and utilization of the skills needed to complete the Content Assessment including making a claim, writing an introduction, citing evidence to support a claim, and writing a conclusion. In Lesson 24, students complete the Content Assessment which includes a task where they read “The War of the Wall” by Toni Cade Bambara and write a four-paragraph essay on the following prompt: “First impressions are always unreliable -- Franz Kafka. In a four-paragraph essay, explain whether you think that the narrator of ‘The War of the Wall’ would agree with this quote. Write a strong introduction and conclusion and provide sufficient evidence from the text to support your answer.” The content assessment addresses several Reading: Literature and Writing standards. The task connects to the theme and essential questions in the unit, such as, “How do stereotypes and prejudices influence the way we see others and ourselves.” To build on the skills for the culminating tasks, students practice the skills in earlier lessons in the unit, such as in Lesson 3, students focus on identifying a character’s perspective and articulating how it has changed including identifying “strong” evidence that demonstrates the perspective and how the evidence supports the claim. These are essential skills in identifying how Ponyboy changes over time. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g. 

Instruction, tasks, and assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Materials outline how the year-long instructional plan aligns with grade-level Core Standards and Spiral Standards as indicated in the Standards Map and in each Unit Overview. At times, standards addressed in lessons are not listed on the Lesson Map; there are also instances where standards are included at the bottom of a lesson but there is no explicit instruction or connections to the standards present in the lesson. The instructional sequence is relatively consistent as students read core and supplemental texts connecting to a common topic or theme, answer Close Read Questions and Discussion Questions, and complete a Writing Prompt connecting to the assigned reading. Lessons include opportunities for the teacher to provide students with standards-aligned explicit instruction. The questions and tasks connect to the required grade level standards, including Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards, and they require students to include evidence from texts they are reading as they work on skills such as inferencing or analyzing certain aspects of texts. Opportunities to address language standards are present, though instructional support is lacking. Materials provide an answer key for each Content Assessment, which lists the standards addressed by each assessment item. There is a Standards Map and lesson plans reflect standards covered. 

Over the course of each unit, instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Course Summary includes a detailed description of what will be studied, including a rationale for the anchor texts, the enduring understanding focused on throughout the year and a Standards Map that outlines which standards are addressed in each unit. For example: 

  • In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 22, the lesson objective is as follows: “Explain how specific sections of an article fit into the overall structure of the text and help to develop meaning.” This objective aligns to RI.6.5, the core standard listed for the lesson. The teacher reminds students that “structure refers to the way a text is ‘built’ or organized” and also notes, “Every part of the text serves a specific purpose, and in an argumentative text (like this opinion piece), the ultimate purpose of every section is to support the central idea.” Students answer a Writing Prompt where they explain how the final sentence of the article “Kids Must Learn to Control Their Own Screen Time” by John Kielman helps to develop the main idea of the article. Later in the lesson, Close Read Questions address other pieces of the article and what purpose they serve in developing ideas further. 

Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, different types of tasks align to standards. Close Read Questions require students to analyze complex text and respond to standards-aligned, text-based questions. Discussion Questions connect to the texts. Many questions and tasks, including the Writing Prompts, require students to use text-based evidence, which requires inferencing. For example:

  • In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 2, students finish reading Chapter 1 of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. While reading the chapter, students respond to the following Close Read Questions: “Re-read pages 8–13. How does author Christopher Paul Curtis develop the reader’s understanding that the book’s narrator is a young person? Provide specific pieces of evidence from the text and then explain how each piece of evidence shows this.” and “Christopher Paul Curtis uses hyperbole in the following line from page 18: ‘I bet Byron’s lips stretched a mile before they finally let go of that mirror.’ How does this use of figurative language help the reader understand Kenny as a character and narrator?”After reading the chapter, students write in response to the following Target Task prompt: “How does Kenny see his older brother, Byron? How does Christopher Paul Curtis develop Kenny’s point of view of his brother through dialogue, thoughts, and/or actions? Support your answer with two specific pieces of evidence from the text.” Then, students participate in a class discussion of their responses to the following Discussion Question: “How would this text be different if it were told from an adult’s perspective? Would you be as interested or engaged in the book if it were written from that perspective? Explain your thinking.” Exit Ticket questions include, “How do Kenny’s thoughts and dialogue on page 13 reveal his perspective of the situation with Byron? Provide at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your answer.” These questions and tasks align to the core standard listed for the lesson, RL.6.6: “Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.” 

Over the course of each unit, assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, materials provide an Assessment Answer Key for the end-of-unit Content Assessment. The Assessment Answer Key labels each question with the corresponding standard. For example:

  • In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Content Assessment Answer Key, the Essay section lists RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.3, RL.6.5, RL.6.6, RL.6.9, RL.6.10, W.6.1, W.6.4, W.6.9, W.6.10, L.6.1. L.6.2 as standards addressed during the following assessment item: “‘First impressions are always unreliable—Franz Kafka’ In a four-paragraph essay, explain whether you think that the narrator of ‘The War of the Wall’ would agree with this quote. Write a strong introduction and conclusion and provide sufficient evidence from the text to support your answer.” While students cite textual evidence to support their analysis of the quote (RL.6.1, RL.6.5) during this assessment item, students do not determine theme or central idea (RL.6.2), describe how the plot unfolds or how characters respond or change relative to the plot (RL.6.3), explain how the author develops the narrator’s or speaker’s point of view (RL.6.6), or compare and contrast texts in different form (RL.6.9). Students demonstrate standards W.6.4, L.6.1 and L.6.2 through the formality and writing conventions in their answer. 

By the end of the academic year, the majority of standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Standards Map notes that each unit is designed to deepen “student mastery of a set of grade-level standards. These are split into core standards (standards especially important for understanding the core text and knowledge of the unit) and spiral standards (standards that students repeatedly use as they engage with, discuss, or write about a text).” However, there are instances in which standards are addressed one time across the school year. For example:

  • In Unit 4, Finding Connections: The Outsiders, RL.6.7 is listed as a core standard. Materials address this standard in Lessons 5 and 15, but materials do not provide opportunities to address this standard in other units.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. 

Materials include multiple planning tools, including the Pacing Guide for 6th Grade English to plan for the whole school year. Each unit contains a separate implementation schedule and each lesson includes a pacing guide. The Standards Map shows how the Common Core State Standards are taught over the course of the year. The pacing guide allows teachers to add days to the units to cover the material appropriately for their students; however, no alternative schedules are provided. Additional guidance for planning is included in the Teacher Support tools, such as Preparing to Teach Fishtank ELA, Preparing to Teach an ELA Unit, Components of an ELA Lesson, and Planning for a Year of Fishtank ELA. The implementation schedule may be reasonably completed in a school year because there are fewer lessons provided than average school days giving teachers the freedom to add re-teach lessons or extend others. Materials do not include optional tasks, only core materials and activities. The core materials provide opportunities to practice and reach mastery of most grade level standards, though grammar standards would need additional guidance. 

Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules align to core learning and objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Teacher Support, ELA Teacher Tools, Planning for a Year of Fishtank ELA, materials provide an implementation schedule with suggestions for teachers to address re-teaching and fit other assessments or school events into the lesson progression.

• Materials include five units with a total of 132 lessons over 138 instructional days. The Pacing Guide for 6th Grade English states, “Each unit includes a specific number of lessons, including writing lessons, Socratic Seminar lessons, and two days for assessment.” There are no alternative implementation schedules, though the program provides time for teachers to create assessments and make instructional decisions to support students. The Grade 6 Focus Area Overview provides details relating to each unit’s core standards and spiral standards. For example, in Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, Lesson 23, Notes are available: “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.”

Suggested implementation schedules may be reasonably completed in the time allotted. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Pacing Guide for 6th Grade English, the implementation schedule states, “Our 6th Grade English units span 138 days. We intentionally did not account for all 180 school days to allow teachers to fit in additional review or extension, teacher-created assessments, and school-based events.” There is no alternative implementation schedule present. Similarly, each unit contains a separate implementation schedule. For example, In Unit 1, Developing Resilience: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, there are 28 lessons with a suggested implementation time of 29 days. Two additional days are suggested for the Content Assessment. 

• In each unit, each lesson includes multiple Close Read Questions, a Target Task Writing Prompt, and often Discussion Questions. Each lesson includes a pacing guide for teachers that presents how long they should spend on each of these tasks within the class period. Homework is listed for almost every day of the unit that students complete to stay on schedule with the pacing guide, typically reading, sometimes writing. In lessons with Socratic Seminars, the task can be completed in one class period.

  • In Unit 2, Challenging Authority: The Giver, Lesson 5, students answer four Close Read Questions, one Discussion Question, and a Writing Prompt: “Summarize the events of chapter 8. Where does this chapter fall in the overall structure of the text? Carefully explain your thinking, and use the vocabulary word ‘tension’ in your response.” In the Homework section, students are assigned Chapters 9–10 of the novel. 

  • In Unit 4, Finding Connection: The Outsiders, Lesson 20, students participate in a Socratic Seminar. Teachers may choose the discussion question(s) for the day to help with the timing. Since the focus of these lessons is speaking and listening standards, students will receive practice with the standards regardless of the questions chosen by the teacher.

Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• No optional tasks are included.

Optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• No optional tasks are included.