2nd Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1a.

Instructional materials include content-rich texts encompassing diverse topics and student interests by award-winning authors. Texts have engaging illustrations with a variety of relatable characters including a blend of ethnicities, ages, genders, and cultures. Each unit contains texts based on literary themes and science and social studies topics that are age-appropriate and appealing to students. Texts are often read multiple times for different purposes. Texts contain academic vocabulary and varied complex sentence structures including verse and prose. Multi-dimensional text features to support student learning and task completion. 

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 Literature Unit 1, Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani contains academic vocabulary, Arabic terms, and complex sentence structure. 

• In Literature Unit  2, Ants by Melissa Stewart is an engaging informational text with academic vocabulary, a glossary, and vibrant photographs.

• In Literature Unit  3, Pinky Rex and the Bully by James Howe is an early chapter book with dialogue, and relatable characters and situations. 

• In Literature Unit  4, Zappato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules is a chapter book containing complex sentence structure, Spanish words, cartoon illustrations, and dialogue.

• In Literature Unit  5, Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson is a chapter book that includes humor, relatable characters, and complex sentence structure.

• In Literature Unit 6, Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly is a realistic fiction narrative including dialogue, colorful illustrations, and Fenway Park facts.

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 1, A Desert Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay features academic vocabulary, photographs, a table of contents, and an index.   

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, Insectlopedia by Doughlas Florian is an informational text with strong engaging content, rich language, and colorful illustrations.

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, The Storyteller’s Candle by Lucia Gonzalez is a bilingual English-Spanish text with academic vocabulary and a strong theme of immigration. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 4, How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine by Amy Guglielmo contains academic language and figurative language. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, The Digestive System by Jennifer Prior has academic vocabulary, photographs, and labeled diagrams. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce is an informational text with photos, colorful illustrations, academic vocabulary, and complex sentence structures. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1b.

Instructional materials include a variety of literary and informational texts. The anchor texts in each Literature and Science/Social Studies unit include a variety of genres including but not limited to, realistic and historical fiction, informational, plays, articles, fantasy, biography, autobiography, folktale, encyclopedia, poetry, illustrative guide, and fairytale. The yearlong balance of informational and literary texts is 51% informational and 49% literary. 

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

• In Literature Unit 1, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe (fairytale)

  • The Talking Eggs by Robert D. SanSouci (folktale)

  • What Culture? by Bobbie Kalman (illustrative guide)  

• In Literature Unit 2, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst (folktale)

  • Anansi’s Feast: A West African Trickster Tale by Glenn McCarty (play) 

• In Literature Unit 3, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Pinky and Rex by James Howe (narrative)

• In Literature Unit 4, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Zapata Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules (narrative)

• In Literature Unit 5, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Freckle Juice by Judy Blume (narrative)

• In Literature Unit 6, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly (realistic fiction)

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 1, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • A Forest Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay (reference guide)

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Insect Bodies by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian (guide)

  • Ants by Melissa Stwart (informational)

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Coming to America: The Story of Immigration by Betsy Maestro (historical fiction)

  • Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams (biography)

  • Islandborn by Junot Diaz (realistic fiction)

  • My Diary from Here to There by Amanda Irma Perez (autobiography)

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 4, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes (biography)

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • First Human Body Encyclopedia DK Reference (encyclopedia) 

  • Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell (informational) 

  • “An Oasis on Wheels” by Kio Herrera (article) 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, examples of genres include, but are not limited to:

  • The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki (informational)

  • “Ancient Greek Vases” YouTube (video)

Materials reflect a 50/50 balance of informational and literary texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The yearlong balance of informational and literary texts is 51% informational and 49% literary.

• The balance of informational and literary texts within each unit is as follows:

  • Literature Unit 1 contains 10 core texts and Science/Social Studies Unit 1 contains four core texts. Of the 14 core texts included in these units, 36% are informational and 64% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains four informational texts and zero literary texts, and the Literature Unit contains one informational text and nine literary texts. 

  • Literature Unit 2 contains two core texts and Science/Social Studies Unit 2 contains six core texts. Of the eight core texts included in these units, 75% are informational and 25% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains all of the informational texts and the Literature Unit contains all of the literary texts.

  • Literature Unit 3 contains four core texts and Science/Social Studies Unit 3 contains 11 core texts. Of the 15 core texts included in these units, 13% are informational and 87% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains two informational texts and nine literary texts, and the Literature Unit contains zero informational texts and four literary texts. 

  • Literature Unit 4 contains two core texts and Science/Social Studies Unit 4 contains 15 core texts. Of the 17 core texts included in these units, 88% are informational and 12% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains all of the informational texts and the Literature Unit contains all of the literary texts.

  • Literature Unit 5 contains two core texts and Science/Social Studies Unit 5 contains one core text and five supplemental texts. Of the three core texts included in this unit, 33% are informational and 67% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains all of the informational texts and the Literature Unit contains all of the literary texts.

  • Literature Unit 6 contains one core text and Science/Social Studies Unit 6 contains one core text and three supplemental texts. Of the two core texts included in this unit, 50% are informational and 50% are literary. The Science/Social Studies Unit contains all of the informational texts and the Literature Unit contains all of the literary texts. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2  meet the criteria of Indicator 1c.

Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade and gradually increase in quantitative complexity over the course of the year. Quantitative, qualitative, and associated tasks have an overall complexity of accessible and moderate. The Lexile level range is from 470L to 1010L.  Associated tasks scaffold to become more complex throughout the year and several texts are used for multiple lessons and tasks. Some texts that may be at a lower Lexile are more complex in qualitative measures making them appropriate for the grade level. The Text Selection Rationale for each unit includes a justification for the texts selected for the program and their educational placement in the grade, as well as a detailed analysis of the texts’ qualitative features.

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

• In Literature Unit 1, the Read-Aloud text The Talking Eggs by Robert de san Souci has a quantitative rating of 870L. The qualitative measure is high due to academic vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and detailed illustrations. The associated task is challenging. Students analyze how the author uses character traits to demonstrate the lesson or moral of the story by analyzing details that describe character traits and the lesson. 

• In Literature Unit 2, the Read-Aloud text Anansi's Feast: A West African Trickster Tale by Glenn McCarty is a non-prose text. The qualitative level is moderate due to the genre being a folktale play. The associated task is moderate. Students read and act out the play. 

• In Literature Unit 4, the Read-Aloud text Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action by Jacqueline Jules has a quantitative rating of 620L. The qualitative rating is medium due to the text being a chapter book with complex sentence structure, onomatopoeia, cartoon illustrations and dialogue. The associated task is rated as high. Students retell and chart key events. Students write in response to the prompt, “Describe Freddie and Mr. Vaslov. What motivates them both? Why? How do they show friendship?” 

• In Literature Unit 6, the Read-Aloud text Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly has a quantitative rating of 590L. The qualitative rating is medium due to the dialogue and illustrations. The associated task is rated as high. Students must brainstorm a mystery story, including all elements of a mystery and write the first chapter of their story, introducing the setting, detectives, and mystery. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, the Read-Aloud text Insect Life Cycles by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian has a quantitative rating of 760L. The qualitative level is high due to strong content and academic vocabulary. The associated task is accessible. Students use this text for multiple lessons. Students describe metamorphosis, the key phases in the insect life cycle, the differences between complete and incomplete insect life cycles, and the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, the Read-Aloud text Islandborn by Junot Diaz has a quantitative rating of 600L. The qualitative level is medium due to the text having academic vocabulary, a strong theme, and the need for background knowledge on immigration. The associated task is medium. Students use the text for multiple lessons. Students describe the memories the characters took with them when they moved and analyze the author’s purpose for writing. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 4, the Read-Aloud text Malala Yousafzai: Champion for Education by Jodie Shepherd has a quantitative rating of 520L. The qualitative level is moderate due to relatable characters and photographs. The associated task is challenging. Students answer text-dependent questions, write sentences with partners using teacher provided sentence starters, and describe what they would have done if they were Malala. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, the Read-Aloud text First Human Body Encyclopedia has a quantitative rating of 820L. The qualitative level is moderate due to the photographs, diagrams, and academic language. The associated task is high. Students answer text-dependent questions, respond to the Target Task question with a partner, and write in response to the Target Task question.

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

• The Text Selection Rationale for each unit includes quantitative and qualitative complexity information for some texts. Some of the text complexity information is a summary of the unit texts rather than text-specific information, making it difficult to verify the accuracy of the provided qualitative information. Materials do not provide associated task complexity information. The accuracy of the provided quantitative measures was verified using MetaMetrics on The Lexile Framework for Reading site.

• In Literature Unit 2, the Text Selection Rationale includes the Lexile range of texts for the unit, as well as qualitative information. The Read-Aloud text, The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst, is a folktale. According to the Text Selection Rationale, texts in this unit were chosen because they are in the Grade 3 Lexile band and have a clear structure with a chronological sequence of events.  

• In Literature Unit 3, the Text Selection Rationale includes the Lexile range of texts and qualitative information. The Shared Reading text, Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe, is fiction. According to the Text Selection Rationale, texts in this unit were chosen because most are beginning chapter books at the high end of the Grade 2 Lexile band and have simple text structures, relatable plots, and a chronological sequence of events. 

• In Literature Unit 6, the Text Selection Rationale includes the Lexile range of texts for the unit, as well as qualitative information. The Read-Aloud text, Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi, is an informational text. According to the Text Selection Rationale, texts in this unit were chosen because of their text structure, knowledge demands, and vocabulary. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, the Text Selection Rationale includes the Lexile range of texts for the unit, as well as qualitative information. The Read-Aloud text, Bees by Laura Marsh, is a nonfiction text. According to the Text Selection Rationale, texts in this unit were chosen because each is in the Grade 2 to Grade 3 Lexile band and contain simple text features, illustrations, and academic vocabulary. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, the Text Selection Rationale includes the Lexile range of texts and qualitative information. The Read-Aloud text, The Arabic Quilt: An Immigration Story by Aya Khalil, is a fiction text. According to the Text Selection Rationale, texts in this unit were chosen because of their high Lexile levels, nuanced characters and situations, and background knowledge demands. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, the Text Selection Rationale provides the Lexile range of texts and qualitative information. The Read-Aloud text, First Human Body Encyclopedia is an Encyclopedia featuring rigorous vocabulary and knowledge demands as well as photographs and diagrams. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1d.

Instructional materials include both Literature units and Science/Social Studies units which increase in complexity throughout the year to support student literacy growth. Texts range in complexity from 470L to 1010L. Texts become more complex with appropriate teacher guidance and scaffolds included. Materials break student tasks into smaller steps and allow students additional time for their completion. Students progress to reading chapter books and focus on fluency, building stamina, character traits, and story plots. Supporting teacher resources include suggestions to build background knowledge, anchor charts, and discussion prompts to support comprehension. Texts represent a diverse range of perspectives, feelings, and experiences. Texts often span multiple lessons, appear in multiple associated tasks, and are grouped with other selections to build content knowledge.  

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:

• In Literature Unit 1, texts range in quantitative complexity from AD540L to 1000L. In Lesson 10, students listen to the fairytale, Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie. Before listening to the next portion of the text, students recount the first part of the fairytale from prior reading with a partner. While reading the text aloud, the teacher stops to ask students text-dependent questions. Students write independently in response to the prompt, “What lesson does the story teach us? Why do you think that?” Teachers circulate to ensure that students support their answers with text evidence. To close, students debate whether or not the king should have made that decision, using text to justify their position. 

• In Literature Unit 3, texts range in quantitative complexity from 490L to 580L, as students move from teacher-directed read-alouds to student-directed shared and/or independent reading. In Lesson 13, students read Chapters 5–6 of the book, Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe. Students review what happened at the end of the last chapter and answer questions about the key details of the text while reading. Students pair up to write about the lessons that Pinky and Rex learn, using “because”/ “but”/“so” strategy. To close, student pairs share their work with the class. 

• In Literature Unit 6, the sole shared reading text for the unit has a quantitative complexity of 590L. In Lesson 17, students read chapter 9 of Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly. While reading, students stop to answer text-dependent questions about the main events. Students practice writing four types of sentences to describe the illustration on page 94. Students end the lesson by explaining why the main characters were MVPs by determining the central message. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 1, texts range in quantitative complexity from 470L to 520L. In Lesson 15, the teacher reads aloud pages 1–17 of Water Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian, stopping to ask students questions about the main idea. Students summarize the main ideas using details from the text orally and in writing. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, texts range in quantitative complexity from AD 600L to 800L. In Lesson 6, the teacher and students read pages 1–20 of the text, Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates. While reading, students answer questions about the central ideas. After reading, students describe the challenges the main character faced when immigrating to the U.S.A. by identifying the main ideas in the text orally and/or in writing. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, texts range in quantitative complexity from 590L to 900L. In Lesson 3, the teacher reads pages 26–37 of the book, Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce. Before listening to the assigned portion of the text, students respond to a prompt in a stop and jot. While listening to the read-aloud text, students answer questions about the central idea. After listening, students reflect and discuss what they learned about gods and goddesses. Students describe two of the gods they read about and explain what makes them unique using details from the text to support their thinking in writing. 

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

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 10, while listening to Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie, materials include the following student supports: fluency practice, vocabulary instruction, building background knowledge, setting a purpose for reading, language supports, and scaffolded questioning and prompting. Students spend multiple days reading and discussing the same book.

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 13, while reading Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe, materials provide student supports through the use of partner tasks, sentence stems, building background knowledge, fluency, and foundational support on how to read dialogue, review of previous chapters, setting a purpose for reading, vocabulary instruction, and scaffolded questioning. 

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 17, student supports for reading Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly includes partner tasks, sentence writing, building background knowledge, vocabulary support, scaffolded questions and prompts, quick review, setting a purpose for reading, genre review for mystery before reading, foundational skills support, and language support. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 15, the teacher reads aloud Water Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian. Materials include student supports, such as vocabulary instruction, building background knowledge, setting a purpose for reading, foundational skills support, scaffolded questions and prompts, peer discussion, sentence frames, and paragraph frames. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 6, during a shared reading of a portion of Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates, materials include the following student supports: vocabulary instruction, building background knowledge, genre information before reading, setting a purpose for reading, foundational skills support, video examples, scaffolded questions, and peer discussions. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 3, the teacher reads aloud a portion of Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce. Materials include student supports, such as vocabulary instruction, building background knowledge, genre information before reading, setting a purpose for reading, foundational skills support, teacher modeling, scaffolded questions and prompting, and peer discussions. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1e.

Materials include a large volume of literary and informational texts that range in variety. The Text and Materials tab includes a link to a suggested text list for Independent Reading. Guidance in the Teacher Tools section recommends allotting an additional 25–30 minutes a day for independent reading. The Teacher Tools section includes independent reading supports, such as independent reading guidelines, an independent reading log, sample lesson plans, and a parent letter. 

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

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 7, students read the folktale “How Spider Got a Bald Head” from The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst. Students respond to various Key Questions during reading and use the evidence from their responses to answer the Target Task question, “Is Spider helpful? Defend why or why not.”  

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 1, students read Chapter 1 of the fiction text, Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules and work in partner groups to orally respond to the following prompt, “How does Freddie feel about the shoes? Why?”  

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 14, students read Chapter 8 of Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly. Before reading the chapter, students retell Chapter 7. While reading the text, students respond to several Key Questions. Afterwards, students write in response to the Target Task to demonstrate using important details and key events to connect earlier and later parts of the text.  

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 16, students read the second half of the illustrative reference guide, Water Habitats by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian. Students orally plan with a partner before writing their response to the Target Task, “Describe a pond, river, and swamp habitat. How do plants and animals depend on their habitats? (You may choose two to describe.)”

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 26, students read the first half of the fiction text, The Arabic Quilt: An Immigration Story by Aya Khalil and “[d]escribe the confusing feelings some immigrants have when they immigrate to a new country by identifying character actions, dialogue, and feelings.” Students use two to three details from the text to support their response to the Target Task, “Mrs. Haugen tells Kanzi that ‘being bilingual is beautiful.’ Does Kanzi agree?”  

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 2, students read the nonfiction text, Me and My Amazing Body by Joan Sweeney. Students discuss why their body is amazing using provided because, but, so sentence frames and then write in response to the Target Task, “Identify and explain two to three different parts of the human body and why each part is important.”  

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

• In Literature Unit 1, there are a total of 27 lessons. Students read nine texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains 16 fiction and three nonfiction text suggestions with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “Cinderella Around the World.” Students read two portions of What is Culture by Bobbie Kalman in Lesson 1 and two versions of Cinderella during Lessons 2–5. After focusing on sentence-writing in Lesson 6, students read a Caribbean version of Cinderella in Lesson 7. In Lesson 8, students compare and contrast two of the Cinderella story versions “by describing how the setting impacts the characters and plot of a story.” Students read Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie in Lessons 9–10, complete another sentence writing lesson during Lesson 11, and read The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo in Lesson 12. After comparing and contrasting the last two Cinderella versions read, students read Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe in Lessons 14–15 and The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci in Lessons 16–17. Students “[d]etermine if a sentence is a complete sentence or incomplete sentence” in Lesson 18 and then read The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin in Lessons 19–20.

• In Literature Unit 3, there are a total of 21 lessons. Students read four texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains 15 text suggestions, including additional texts by James Howe and fiction and nonfiction texts with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “Belonging and Friendship: Pinky and Rex.” Students read Pinky and Rex by James Howe in Lessons 1–4, Pinky and Rex and the Bully by James Howe in Lessons 6–9, Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe in Lessons 11–13, and Pinky and Rex and the School Play by James Howe in Lessons 15–17. Students complete discussion and writing activities in between finishing one text and starting a new one.    

• In Literature Unit 5, there are a total of 26 lessons. Students read two texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains one additional text by Melissa Thomson and 20 text suggestions with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “Learning From Mistakes: Keena Ford.” Students read Freckle Juice by Judy Blume in Lessons 1–5, complete a sentence-level grammar task in Lesson 6, and participate in a discussion and writing activity in Lesson 7. Spanning across Lessons 8–24, students spend 13 lessons reading Keena Ford by Melissa Thomson, with pause points for sentence-level grammar or discussion and writing tasks in Lessons 6–7, 12, 15, 19, and 24.   

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, there are a total of 26 lessons. Students read six texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains 16 fiction and nonfiction text suggestions with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “Awesome Insects.” In Lessons 1–2, students read Insect Bodies by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian. After completing a discussion and writing activity in Lesson 3, students read Insect Life Cycles by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian in Lessons 4–6. Students complete another discussion and writing task in Lesson 7 and read Ants by Melissa Stewart in Lessons 8–9. After completing a discussion and writing task in Lesson 10, students read Bees by Laura Marsh in Lessons 11–13. Students spend Lessons 15–16 reading five poems from Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian and Lessons 17–19 reading excerpts of Helpful and Harmful Insects by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian.  

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, there are a total of 32 lessons. Students read 15 texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains 22 informational text suggestions with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “People Who Changed the World.” Students read Honda: The Boy who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston in Lessons 1–2, How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville in Lesson 3, and Sharuko: Peruvian Archeologist by Monica Brown in Lessons 4–5. After completing a sentence-level grammar lesson on subordinating conjunctions in Lesson 6, students read Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington in Lessons 7–8 and Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom by Teresa Robeson in Lessons 9–10. Students complete a discussion and writing activity in Lesson 11 and read two different anchor texts in Lessons 12 and 13. Students read Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved our Planet by Elizabeth Rusch and Teresa Martinez in Lessons 14–15, complete another sentence-level grammar lesson on subordinating conjunctions in Lesson 16, and read Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Eric-Shabazz Larkin in Lesson 17. Students complete another discussion and writing task in Lesson 18 and read two texts on Sonia Sotomayor in Lessons 19–20 and 21–22 respectively. After comparing and contrasting the Sonia Sotomayor texts in Lesson 23, students read two texts about Barack Obama in Lessons 24 and 25 respectively. Students finish out the biography-based unit reading two texts about Malala Yousafzai in Lessons 27 and 28 respectively and compare and contrast the texts in Lesson 29.  

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, there are a total of 23 lessons. Students read three texts, and the Recommended Texts for Independent Reading list contains 11 text suggestions with themes and topics that align to the unit theme, “Exploring Ancient Greece.” Throughout the unit, students toggle between reading portions of the core text, Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce, and the supporting texts, The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki and Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi. Students spend 11 lessons reading Ancient Greece and the Olympics: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House, two lessons reading excerpts of The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus, and two lessons reading sections of Growing Up in Ancient Greece.  

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

• In Teacher Tools, the Reading Structures and Routines section outlines several ways to incorporate independent reading into daily lessons. 

• In Teacher Tools, Independent Reading (K–5), guidelines for independent reading note the following: tasks should be relevant to students; students should experience a wide range of materials, genres, and text types; students should have choice in both books they read and how they respond to reading; students should have opportunities to share their reading with peers; and students need sustained independent reading time. Guidance encourages teachers to provide books that align with the unit themes and topic for student choice during independent reading.

• In Teacher Tools, Independent Reading (K–5), the Monitoring Student Comprehension section includes independent reading routines for teacher use to monitor students as they read independently. Independent reading routines include Discussion/Book Groups, Book Talks, Book Reviews, and Conferences. Book Review guidance states, “Students can have one reading log/journal for a variety of purposes, or a separate log/journal for different purposes,” and references the sample Student Independent Reading Log, Student Independent Reading Journal (Writing Prompt), and Student Independent Reading Journal (Summary) templates provided.  

• In Teacher Tools, Independent Reading (K–5), the Planning for Independent Reading section includes questions for teachers to consider as they prepare their classroom for independent reading. This teacher support also contains independent reading weekly planning templates, examples of how teachers can successfully begin and sustain independent reading, and examples of parent letters that address independent reading. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1f.

Materials contain text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks that support students as they explore key details and academic language, make inferences and examine the structure of texts. Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to engage with the text and build content knowledge. Students use pictures and information from texts to support their speaking and writing responses. Materials provide guidance for teachers to plan and implement text-specific questions and tasks. Each lesson includes sample responses to questions and tasks, as well as Language Supports and Additional Supports for discussion questions. The Unit Launch contains the Essential Questions and guidance for teachers to customize the unit for their students. The Teacher Tools section titled Academic Discourse provides guidance for teachers during class discussions.  

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

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 7, after reading The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst, students respond to the following text-specific questions: “Why does Spider go help his mother-in-law?”; “Is Spider being helpful? Why or why not?”; “Even though he tried to, Spider could not help himself from eating the beans. Why?”; “Why did Spider tell the people he was doing the hat-shaking dance?”; and “Spider says he is ashamed. Why is he ashamed?” 

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 13, students either engage in a read-aloud, read independently or read with a partner Chapters 5 and 6 of the book, Pinky and Rex and the Spelling Bee by James Howe. Prior to reading the chapters, students respond to the question, “What happened at the end of Chapter 4? How is Pinky feeling?” During reading, students answer the following text-specific questions: “At the end of Chapter 5, Pinky says ‘all he felt was something stinging in his eyes.’ Explain what this means.”; “Why is Rex chattering on the whole walk home?”; “Why does Pinky wish that he were walking home alone?”; and “How does Rex show friendship and support Pinky in a time of need?”

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 22, students finish reading Keena Ford by Melissa Thomson. Students respond to several Key Questions, such as “What details does the author include to show how Keena is feeling?” and “How does Ms. Campbell feel after Eric explains what happened? How do you know?”, as they analyze how Ms. Campbell is feeling and why.  

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 4, after reading, Insect Life Cycles by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian, students respond to text-specific questions such as, “What is metamorphosis?” and  “How did the diagram help me as a reader?”  

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 12, students engage in a read-aloud, shared reading, or independent reading of Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams. During the reading, students respond to Key Questions including, “What are some reasons people leave their homes to move to a new place?”; “What was Garang’s life like before the war? What did his father tell him?”; “In an instant, Garang and many other Sudanese boys’ lives changed drastically. Explain why.”; “The boys knew the journey to Ethiopia would be dangerous, but they chose to go anyway. What steps did they take to make the journey less dangerous? Why?”, “What other challenges did the boys face? How did they overcome them?” After reading, students discuss and write in response to the following Target Task prompt: “Garang and the other Lost Boys faced many hardships and dangers. Describe the dangers and hardships they faced. What steps did they take to try and overcome the hardships?”

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 13, students read Good Enough to Eat: A Kid’s Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell. The Target Task students discuss and write in response to the prompt: “Choose two and describe: carbohydrates, protein, fat, and vitamins and minerals. Why are they important for keeping your body healthy?”

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

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 7, while reading Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci, students respond to text-specific questions such as, “Why did the stepmother and stepsister ‘peer crossly’ at Cendrillon and her godmother?” Materials include the following sample response for teacher use: “The stepmother and stepsister peered crossly at them because they were angry that all the other people at the party were paying attention to the new, pretty girl and asking if she came from France.”

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 5, after reading The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio, students respond to text-specific questions including, “What do the two girls learn about friendship? How do they learn it?” Materials provide the teacher with this sample response: “The two girls learn that even if someone is a little bit different from you, that is okay, you can still be friends! They learned this lesson when they insulted each other about their lunches and argued. When they were calm, they tried each other's lunches and realized they were pretty good! They became friends again and will never insult each other. Instead, they might ask one another to explain things they do not understand!” 

• In Literature Unit 5, as students respond to the text-specific question, “Andrew hates Sharon. Why is he running home to try her recipe? (p. 23), materials include the following sample student response: “Even though Andrew hates Sharon, he is running home to try her recipe because he is desperate for freckles. He will do anything to get them, including trusting an enemy. Andrew is gullible!” The Additional Supports section includes two prompts the teacher may use to aid students in their response: “What is Andrew like? How do you know?” and “What does Andrew want?” 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 11, after reading Bees by Laura Marsh, students respond to text-specific questions such as, “Describe pollination. Why is it important?” Materials provide the following sample response: “Pollination is when a bee takes pollen from one plant to another. The pollen sticks to tiny hairs on the bee’s body, and when the bee travels to another flower, the pollen brushes off the new flower. Now the new flower could make seeds!” Materials also include the following Language Support: “If you did not pre-teach the difference between ‘pollination,’ ‘pollen,’ and ‘pollinate,’ and students are confused, stop to explain the difference.” 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 7, as students infer the author’s purpose of Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates, materials include the following guidance and sample student responses: “As students are writing, circulate to look for an accurate author’s purpose. Any of the following would work:

  • The author wanted to describe the voyage to Ellis Island.

  • The author wanted to explain how difficult it can be to immigrate to a new country.

  • The author wanted us to think that the immigrants traveling to a new country are brave.”

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 8, as students read The Digestive System by Jennifer Prior and answer the question “When and why might a person vomit? (p. 23), materials include the following Language Supports for teacher use: “Tell students that ‘spoiled food’ is food that has gone bad and is no longer safe to eat.” and “Tell students that ‘rapidly’ means quickly.”  

• In the Teacher Tools, Types of Formative Assessments, materials provide a table that includes teacher guidance on how to utilize the Key Questions as checks for understanding during the daily lesson, as well as how to use the Target Tasks to monitor student comprehension, content knowledge, writing, or oral language development. This section also includes Target Task Rubrics for reading responses.

• In the Teacher Tools, Components of an ELA Lesson, materials include definitions for each part of an ELA lesson. In the Internalizing a Lesson section, teacher guidance supports teachers with determining which Key Questions are critical to students understanding the text and Target Task, and brainstorming what support students might need to answer the key questions.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2  meet the criteria of Indicator 1g.

Materials include a number of formal protocols and informal structures in the Teacher Tools section to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the year. The Academic Discourse section in the Teacher Tools includes varied protocols for whole group, small group, and partner discussions. Materials include teacher guidance to support the facilitation and monitoring of students’ evidence-based discussions. 

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

• In Teacher Tools, the Types of Academic Discourse section of Academic Discourse lists the program’s speaking and listening protocols for each tier. Materials provide two whole group, four small group, and five partner discussion protocols. 

  • Whole Class Discussion Protocols: Take a Stand and Fishbowl

  • Group Discussion Protocols: Simultaneous Round Table, Rally Coach, Talking Chips, and Numbered Heads Together

  • Partner Conversation Protocols: Think-Pair-Share, Write-Pair-Share, Timed-Pair-Share, Think-Pair-Share-Revise, and Partner A/B

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

• The Teacher Tools contains a section titled Academic Discourse. The Overview page of this section includes links to additional guidance: Preparing for Academic Discourse, Types of Academic Discourse, Tiers of Academic Discourse, and Monitoring and Supporting Academic Discourse. These supports, which are introduced and reinforced throughout units and linked in lessons, allow teachers to leverage their expertise and select the protocol that best meets the needs of their students and the lesson content.

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 21, students read pages 1–14 of Cinderella by Marcia Brown. After reading, students answer key questions. The teacher circulates to ensure students are providing specific character traits and details. Materials include sentence frames that the teacher may use with students struggling to respond, as an additional support. 

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 1, students “[d]ebate and analyze what lessons we can learn from the characters in traditional fairy tales and folktales and how these lessons translate to our lives by citing evidence from the entire unit to support an idea.” Materials provide questions for teacher use when leading students in an analysis of the first unit Essential Question: “Think about the character traits of each of the ‘Cinderellas.’ What do they have in common? What lessons did they learn? Think about the character traits of each of the ‘stepmother/sisters.’ What do they have in common?What lessons did they learn?” Materials note that this is students’ “first discussion day of the year.” Guidance directs the teacher to “lead students in a brief conversation about formal and informal discussions.” 

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 7, after reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, the teacher poses the second Target Task question to students: “What can we learn from Andrew to make our own lives better?” Teacher guidance states, “Decide which type of discussion is best for your class (view our Teacher Tool on Types of Academic Discourse for more information). 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 1, when launching the unit, “students Turn and Talk with a partner in response to the question: ‘What do you already know about habitats?” The teacher explains that they will practice “asking a lot of questions over the course of the unit.” The Suggested Supports inset includes the following Additional Support: “Model how to ask a ‘what’ question as a Think Aloud before students do it independently/in pairs. Tell students that they might wonder about the animals or plants that live there, what they eat, where they live, what they drink, and how they survive. Ask students for other suggestions to share with the class.” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 7, students read the first portion of Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington. The Suggested Supports inset includes prompting questions as Additional Supports the teacher may use if students are having trouble answering the Key Question for page 1, “What did the author compare Charles’s questions to? Why?” Additional Support questions include, “What does the author want us to know or think?  Why? How does reading this make you feel? Are you excited to read the book?” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 22, students work in small groups to research four research areas. To prepare for their presentations, materials include guidance directing the teacher to set up the classroom in three areas—Temple, Theater, and Olympics— listing which groups and student products belong in each area, as well as which group the class should begin with. Materials also include the following class discussion question once students have visited all three areas: “What connections can we make between ancient Greece and our society today?”   

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1h.

Materials connect speaking and listening skills to the texts students are reading throughout the year. Support for teachers on how to provide instruction and support with Speaking and Listening can be found in the Academic Discourse Teacher Tool. This tool provides support structures for varied discussions and time for students to develop skills in collaborative, reciprocal conversations that build and develop ideas or the ideas of others through careful listening and responding. The majority of discussions pertain to the unit texts or topics and the Teacher Tools also provide guidance for developing and implementing student discussion protocols across the curriculum and include ways to monitor student discussions. Lessons provide sentence stems for students and recommendations for ways that teachers can model speaking and listening skills.

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

• Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 7, students finish reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume and participate in a close read and discussion. Lesson guidance  suggests the teacher use the Tools for Academic Discourse resource to determine which type of discussion to use with their class.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 25, lesson guidance directs the teacher to “[l]ead students in a discussion with the guidance of the Discussion Teacher Tool.” The lesson does not include a link to the Discussion Teacher Tool; rather, the lesson lists potential questions the teacher may ask.

• Add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 17, students perform the play, Anansi’s Feast: A West African Trickster Tale adapted for reader’s theater by Glenn McCarty. Students use what they know about the character, Anansi, and his relationships with others to bring the story to life.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 28, after reading texts about various countries throughout the unit, students research a culture that is represented in their class or community and create a presentation that includes text and graphic features to support their understanding. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 9, using information learned from The Digestive System by Jennifer Prior and First Human Body Encyclopedia (author not cited), students work with a partner or in a small group to create a poster of the digestive system. The poster must include six parts of the digestive system with labels and captions that explain what happens at each part.

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:

• Build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 25, students engage in a discussion comparing and contrasting how plants and animals in a rainforest habitat depend on their surroundings to meet their needs in comparison with how animals and plants in a water habitat meet their needs. At the end of the discussion, students self-assess their participation using the Academic Discourse Rubric (K-2). Tier 2 of the rubric asks students to continue a conversation by building on or asking related questions and seeks to understand their peers’ ideas and builds on with connected ideas. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 17, students debate one of the unit Essential Questions as a class. One of the Suggested Supports insets contains the following Language Support and teacher guidance: “If needed, provide students with the following sentence frames: I think _____________________, because ___________________. I agree with __________________ because _________________. I disagree with _______________ because _________________.” This support may not be utilized during the debate, as lesson guidance directs the teacher to enact the support if needed.  

• Ask for clarification and further explanation as needed about the topics and texts under discussion. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 1, students discuss with partners in a Turn and Talk what they already know about habitats. As students read the text, they ask what questions about the water habitat. After reading, students share some of their questions with a partner or small group and discuss whether they have the same or different questions. 

• Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 13, students work in pairs to recount key events in the different versions of Cinderella. 

  • In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 5, students engage in an in-depth discussion, debate, and description of the three main characters in the book, Pinky and Rex by James Howe. 

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 19, after reading Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action by Jacqueline Jules, students participate in a class discussion using evidence from the text. Students retell the story, including the setting, problem, key events, solution, and lesson.

  • In Science and Social Studies, Unit 3, Lesson 4, students use text features and information from Ellis Island by Elizabeth Carney to answer the following question individually, with a partner using Turn and Talk, as a class discussion, or as a Stop and Jot: “What does it help you understand about immigrants?” 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 3, students work in pairs or small groups to discuss two or three facts they learned about the human body from The First Human Body Encyclopedia (author not cited). Students then share facts with another group.

• Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 31, students participate in a class interview of a local changemaker. The class generates a list of questions for the interview. During the interview, students take notes using the Local Changemaker Interview Graphic Organizer. If the local changemaker cannot participate in an interview, students “look for videos, other online interviews, or news sources about the local changemaker” and “[r]ead/watch them as a class.”

• Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 8, students retell and chart the plot of the general Cinderella story while identifying the setting, problem, main events, solution and lesson as a class. After the discussion, students retell and chart the plot for all versions of the Cinderella stories being compared using the Plot Chart independently, in partners, or in small groups. 

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 19, after reading Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action by Jacqueline Jules students participate in a class discussion using evidence from the text. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1i.

Materials include explicit writing instruction lessons and the writing that students are expected to produce grows throughout the year. Lessons and the Teacher Tools contain sentence frames, teacher modeling, teacher feedback, writing exemplars, and a writing rubric. The teacher models shared writing and students practice independent writing, constructing detailed sentences and engaging in the full writing process, including editing, revising, and sharing the final draft. Students write in response to texts individually and with partners, complete research-based writing, and develop their writing as a form of personal expression to convey information to others. Students learn to self-assess their writing using editing checklists. Materials include some digital resources, such as Google and Youtube videos. 

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

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 7, students write to defend whether or not Anansi the Spider is helpful. Students write a paragraph with complete, detailed sentences and evidence from the story “How Spider Got a Bald Head” from The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst. 

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 2, after reading Chapter 2 of Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off by Jacqueline Jules, students write in response to the Target Task question, “What words and phrases does the author include to describe Freddie’s new shoes? Why?” Students must include at least two examples of descriptive language from the text in their response. 

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 8, students use information from an illustration in Chapter 4 of Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly to write about what is happening. Students must use four types of sentences—statement, question, command, and explanation—when writing about the illustration. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 7, students draw upon their learning from the text A Forest Habitat (Introducing Habitats) by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay to write a page in an informational book explaining how plants and animals depend on their surroundings and other living things to meet their needs in the places they live. Students’ writing must contain complete sentences and key details from the text.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 3, after reading How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine by Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville, students complete “because, but, so” sentence frames to explain why Temple Grandin did not like hugs and the solution she invented. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 4, students describe two of the gods or goddesses from The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki and explain what makes them unique. Students must use precise details from the text to explain how the gods or goddesses are unique. 

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 Literature Unit 2, Lessons 18–21, students write a narrative about Anansi the Spider. In Lesson 18, students use a graphic organizer to brainstorm their stories. In Lesson 19, students begin drafting their stories using a graphic organizer. In Lesson 20, students finish drafting their stories and add additional details focusing on character actions, thoughts, and feelings. The teacher provides students with support using the Narrative Writing Feedback and Support, and Sentence Level Feedback and Support from the Teacher Tools. In Lesson 21, students finish writing, revising, and editing their stories. Students use the Editing Checklist(K–2) to self-assess their work, while the teacher uses the Narrative Writing Rubric to assess students’ writing. 

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 20, students spend five days writing a story about having a superpower. On Day 1, students use a graphic organizer to brainstorm their stories. On Day 2, students draft their stories and focus on using precise verbs. On Day 3, students finish their drafts and add adverbs to their writing. On Day 4, students write the closings of their stories. On Day 5, students use dictionaries to edit their writing for spelling.

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, students write the first chapter of a mystery book. On Day 1, students use the Mystery Planning Graphic Organizer to plan their mystery, including the setting, crime, detectives, suspects, and clues. On Day 2, students draft their stories and focus on “showing, not telling.” On Day 3, students continue their drafts and include a cliffhanger. On Day 4, students edit and publish their mysteries. The teacher evaluates students’ writing using the Narrative Writing Rubric.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 21, students write an informational insect report. On Day 1, students research their insects and record information on the Insect Notetaker. On Day 2, students finish researching and begin writing their drafts. Students focus on using topic sentences in their drafts, and the teacher supports struggling students by using the Single Paragraph Outline. On Day 3, students add facts and text features to their writing. On Day 4, students revise their writing to make their sentences stronger using the “because, but, so” strategy. On Day 5, students edit their writing and self-assess their work using the Editing Checklist(K–2). The teacher uses the Informational Writing Rubric to assess students’ writing. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 31, students research a local changemaker and write about how that person changed the community. On Day 1, the class interviews the changemaker, and students record information on the Local Changemaker Interview Graphic Organizer. On Day 2, students use the Single Paragraph Outline to draft a topic sentence, three detail sentences, and a closing sentence. The teacher supports struggling students using the Sentence Level Feedback and Support, and the Paragraph Level Feedback and Support from the Teacher Tools. On Day 3, students revise their topic sentences using subordinating conjunctions and add text features to their writing. On Day 4, students edit and publish their writing. Students can use the Informational Writing Template to publish their writing. The teacher uses the Informational Writing Rubric to assess writing. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 22, students research and write an informational report on an area in Ancient Greece. On Day 1, students pick an area of interest to research—Ancient Greece, Greek Myths, Theatre, Architecture, or Olympics. Students use computers and a list of provided websites to research their topics. On Day 2, students start their associated projects and written pieces. Each topic has a separate assignment with provided steps. On Day 3, students present their research and projects to the class.

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

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 3, materials include links to two videos about Temple Grandin’s life with autism. Lesson guidance directs the teacher to show one or both of the videos to students. 

• In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 22, students research and write an informational report referencing an area in Ancient Greece. Materials provide a list of websites for students to use when conducting their research. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1j.

Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice and apply different types of writing required by the standards. Students often write about personal ideas and opinions in reaction to ideas within the text. Writing instruction often begins with a task-related discussion followed by teacher modeling and shared writing or a practice activity before students independently craft their own products. Lessons with a writing focus span multiple days. Teacher instruction attends to the different demands required of opinion, informational, and narrative writing equipping students with the skills and knowledge to identify qualities of each type. Supports include sentence frames and prompting questions. Materials ground most writing tasks in the texts students listen to, with texts serving as the basis for prompts or models.

Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Percentage or number of opportunities for opinion writing:

  • Students have 16 out of 44 (36%) opportunities to learn, practice, and apply opinion writing across the school year.

  • In Literature Unit 1, there are no opportunities for opinion writing.

  • In Literature Unit 2, there is one opportunity for opinion writing. One of two writing opportunities for this unit is opinion in nature.

  • In Literature Unit 3, there are five opportunities for opinion writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature.   

  • In Literature Unit 4, there are no opportunities for opinion writing. 

  • In Literature Unit 5, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. Three of four writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature. 

  • In Literature Unit 6, there are no opportunities for opinion writing. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, there are no opportunities for opinion writing.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. Three of six writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, there are three opportunities for opinion writing. Three of five writing opportunities for this unit are opinion in nature.  

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, there are no opportunities for opinion writing. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, there is one opportunity for opinion writing. One of four writing opportunities for this unit is opinion in nature. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, there are no opportunities for opinion writing.

• Percentage or number of opportunities for informative/explanatory writing:

  • Students have 20 out of 44 (45%) opportunities to learn, practice, and apply informative/explanatory writing across the school year.

  • In Literature Unit 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, there are no opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. 

  • In Literature Unit 5, there is one opportunity for informative/explanatory writing. One of four writing opportunities for this unit is informative/explanatory in nature. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, there are four opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature. 

  • In Science/Social Studies Unit 2, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. Three of six writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, there are two opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. Two of five writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.  

  • In Science/Social Studies Unit 4, there are four opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. Three of four writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.   

  • In Science/Social Studies Unit 6, there are three opportunities for informative/explanatory writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are informative/explanatory in nature.

• Percentage or number of opportunities for narrative writing:

  • Students have eight out of 44 (18%) opportunities to learn, practice, and apply narrative writing across the school year.

  • In Literature Unit 1, there is one opportunity for narrative writing. This is the sole writing opportunity for this unit. 

  • In Literature Unit 2, there is one opportunity for narrative writing. One of two writing opportunities for this unit is narrative in nature.

  • In Literature Unit 3, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.  

  • In Literature Unit 4, there is one opportunity for narrative writing. This is the sole writing opportunity for this unit.  

  • In Literature Unit 5, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

  • In Literature Unit 6, there are five opportunities for narrative writing. All writing opportunities for this unit are narrative in nature. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, there are no opportunities for narrative writing.

• Explicit instruction in opinion writing:

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 16, the teacher leads students in a discussion of which traits Spider has are positive or negative. The teacher uses the Take a Stand protocol to have students debate whether Spider uses his positive or negative traits more. Next, the teacher leads students in a discussion of the best ways to describe Spider. The teacher provides sentence frames, but does not model writing. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 10, the teacher leads a discussion on how to best record information for the task. Next, the teacher leads students through the Write-Pair-Share and Take a Stand Protocols to brainstorm ideas of whether an ant would survive in a rainforest habitat. The teacher uses the students’ ideas to model writing complex sentences using the conjunctions “but” and “so.”

• Explicit instruction in informative/explanatory writing:

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 7, the teacher gives students cut out cards of the life cycle of a butterfly and leads students to explain the stages of the life cycle. The teacher explains how to expand sentences using “because.” The teacher writes “First, Then, Next, After, Finally” on the board and prompts students to use the transition words as they describe the stages of the life cycle. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 11, the teacher guides students to analyze the text structure of Growing Up in Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi as a model to write multiple paragraphs about a topic. The teacher models writing multiple paragraphs about Greece. Next, the teacher circulates as students are writing to see if they have details to support their thinking. The teacher uses the Paragraph Level Feedback and Support tool to give feedback.

• Explicit instruction in narrative writing: 

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 20, on Day 1, the teacher models brainstorming ideas for a story using a graphic organizer. On Day 2, the teacher models using precise verbs in sentences and gives feedback on writing using the Narrative Writing Feedback and Support tool.  On Day 3, the teacher models using adverbs in sentences and gives feedback on writing using the Narrative Writing Feedback and Support tool. On Day 4, the teacher models how to write a closing for a story and gives feedback on writing using the Narrative Writing Feedback and Support tool. On Day 5, the teacher models how to use a dictionary to look up words for spelling accuracy.  

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

• Students have opportunities to engage in opinion writing. 

  • Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

    • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 16, students “stop and jot the traits they brainstormed along the way that described Spider” and debate whether they think Spider uses his positive or negative traits more. Students examine their notes and reflect on class conversations as they “think about which ideas and reasons are most compelling to describe Spider.” Students write in response to the prompt as they describe Spider and include at least two to three details that support their thinking. Students may use two sentence frames as language supports, if needed. 

    • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 18, students read the article “An Oasis on Wheels'' by Kio Herrera. Afterwards, the teacher tells students “In 2017, about 17 percent of Americans lived more than half a mile from a supermarket. That means they do not have easy access to fresh, nutritious food.”  Students plan a way to get more nutritious food to families and write a letter to the mayor of their town or city, convincing them to adopt their idea. 

• Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing. For example: 

  • Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

    • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 7, after a close reading and discussion of Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, students write to explain how other people influenced the decisions that Andrew made and what they can learn from him to make their lives better.

    • In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 9, students write a paragraph and create a poster that shows what happens after food has been eaten as it travels through the digestive system over the course of two to three days. Writing must include specific details and diagrams to support student explanations.

• Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing. For example: 

  • Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

    • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 15, students “write a newspaper article detailing what has been happening at Fenway Park by retelling key details and characters’ perspectives on events.” Students work with a partner to discuss the key events of Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-Up by David A. Kelly. After debriefing the key events as a class, students independently write their newspaper article, which must include the title of the newspaper, a heading, an image or photograph, and writing about key events. Students use the Editing Checklist (K–2) to assess their writing. Once students finish their newspaper articles, they read them out loud to a partner, using expression as if they were a reporter on the scene. 

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

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 5, students listen to a read aloud of Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani and answer key questions about the text. Students discuss the following writing prompt with a partner: “The queen says, ‘It is rare to find young ladies with such good character.’ How did the queen know that Cinderella had a good character? How else does Cinderella, or Zahra, show good character?” Afterwards, students write in response to the prompt making sure to add at least one piece of evidence from the text while connecting their response to the ideas that good character in this culture means being faithful to Allah.

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 20, to support students with writing the closing to their narrative stories, the teacher reads an exemplar closing sentence and rereads the endings of the two Freddie Ramos books covered during the unit. The teacher facilitates a student discussion about the closings using the following questions: “How did the author choose to close these stories? Do you think it was a good ending? Why or why not?” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 4, students read A Forest Habitat by Bobbie Kalman and Kelley Macaulay to answer key questions about how the author uses bolded words in the text. Students independently write, explaining how the author used text features to teach about a forest habitat and providing two details to support their answer.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 20, the teacher uses the text Helpful and Harmful Insects by Bobbie Kalman and Molly Aloian to support students with writing topic and supporting sentences. After reading the topic sentence of the first paragraph on page 16, the teacher asks, “What is the main topic of this paragraph? What are we going to learn about?” The teacher then reads the supporting sentences and asks, “What details about the main topic did we get in these sentences?” Using sentence strips prepared by the teacher, students work with a partner to identify the topic sentence and supporting sentences from the first paragraph on page 22. Students work with the teacher to generate potential topic sentences for their shared writing task.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 11, after reading pages 92–93 of First Human Body Encyclopedia (author not cited), students describe how the bladder works and why it is an important part of the urinary system.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, Lesson 11, to support students with multi-paragraph writing, the teacher draws students’ attention to pages 10–11 of Growing Up In Ancient Greece by Chris Chelepi. The teacher asks, “What do you notice about how the author has organized the information?” and “[guides] students to notice that the author has multiple paragraphs, each talking about something a little different that has to do with the overall heading.” The teacher uses their notes about school in ancient Greece to model placing the information in buckets and writing the first paragraph based on their notes. The teacher and students write the second paragraph together. To prepare for independent writing, students “look at their notes, decide which topics they are going to write about, think about how they will break them into groups and then start writing!”

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations of Indicator 1k.

Materials provide explicit instruction, practice, and application for evidence-based writing opportunities across the school year. Although writing lessons do not occur daily, materials provide writing lessons in every unit. Writing opportunities integrate speaking, listening, and reading and connect to the texts students listen to. Students use details from the readings in their illustrations and labels. The teacher leads discussions, models the writing process, and provides sentence frames prior to students engaging in independent writing. 

Materials provide opportunities across the school year for students to practice and apply writing using evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 8, students compare and contrast two versions of Cinderella by describing how the setting impacts the characters and the plot of a story. Students use the Plot Chart to compare and contrast versions of the text with teacher support.

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 16, students pick a word that best describes Spider and defends why that word is the best descriptive word. The teacher leads a class discussion of Spider’s traits and uses the Take A Stand Protocol to have students debate whether Spider has more positive or negative traits. The teacher reminds students to use unit vocabulary and includes two to three details to explain their thinking. Teacher modeling is suggested only when needed.  

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 5, students use Character Maps to create sentences describing how Rex is a good friend using evidence from the text to support their thinking. 

• In LIterature Unit 5, Lesson 7, students explain how other people influenced the decisions that Andrew made and what we can learn to make our lives better by identifying and interpreting key details that support the main lesson of a text.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 14, students compare and contrast how plants and animals in two habitats depend on their surroundings to meet their needs. Students identify key details from two texts. Students utilize a graphic organizer and the teacher provides feedback when they circulate around the room. 

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, students write the first chapter of a mystery story and include the mystery elements. The teacher reviews the elements of a mystery using a completed graphic organizer. It is suggested the teacher might want to do the graphic organizer with the students. The teacher explains the definition of a cliffhanger and provides an example. Students are asked to “show not tell” and include elements of a mystery. At this time, students have not practiced “show not tell”. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, students research and write an informational text about an insect of their choice. The teacher explains the task and provides students with a list of insects. The teacher provides a graphic organizer and resources for students to research, but does not model researching or using the graphic organizer. The teacher focuses the rest of the lesson on language skills and expanding individual sentences, not on the overall task. 

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 3, Lesson 3, students explain why the United States is called “a nation of immigrants” by writing simple sentences in the past tense. Students analyze examples of past tense sentences, and with a partner, practice changing verbs to past tense. Students use past tense to write three to four sentences that answer the Target Task question. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 30, students explain how a person from the unit changed the world and the steps it took for the person to create the change. The teacher leads the class in a review discussion of each book used in the unit and how it answers the question. The teacher encourages students to use vocabulary from the unit and provides sentence stems if needed such as “___ changed the world by ___., “For example, ___”, and “Also, ___”. The teacher does not model planning, writing, or using specific evidence. 

• In Social Studies and Science Unit 5, Lesson 12, students write a paragraph and create a poster that describes the urinary system by writing a well-constructed paragraph that explains what happens to fluids in the human body using specific details from the text to support their explanation. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 6, students explain different events that took place at the early Olympics. The teacher explains the task and informs students they will use the structure of the unit texts as a guide for their reports. The teacher reminds students they need to include a heading, a topic sentence, details that connect, facts, and a closing sentence. The teacher leads a discussion and notetaking of running in the Olympics and guides students to plan to group information into different paragraphs. Although the lesson states the teacher looks at the text to review what they know about running, there is no specific modeling of using the text to locate the information. The teacher does not model how to use notes to write a paragraph. 

Writing opportunities are focused on students’ recall of information to develop opinions from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 16, students write which word they believe best describes Spider and defend their opinion. Students must name a character trait of Spider and provide at least two examples from the unit stories to support their thinking. 

• In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 20, students argue whether kids and robots can be best friends using details about Pinky and Rex’s relationship from the book series. Students watch a video about kids and robots and take notes on ways they can be friends. Students write down all the evidence they have for each opinion and choose an opinion to write about. Students have a class discussion after they plan orally with a partner and come up with an opinion sentence and reasons from books and/or the video that support their opinion. 

• In LIterature Unit 5, Lesson 19, students write a letter to Keena describing what she should do. Students state a claim and support the claim with details from the text and personal connections. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 14, students write an argumentative piece on whether a bee would survive in a rainforest habitat. Students discuss this claim and make graphic organizers with ideas, but there is no final Independent writing. Rather, students complete three sentence frames: “Bees help people because___.”; “Bees help people, but___.”; and “Bees help people, so___.” 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 29, students defend how immigrants enrich a community by writing a letter. Students brainstorm different ways immigrants enrich a community and share their ideas with a partner.  Students state their opinion and share reasons to support them.  Students draft a letter sharing their opinion about how immigrants enrich a community including their reasons.  

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 18, after reading the article “An Oasis on Wheels” by Kio Herrera, students design a way to get more nutritious foods to families and write a letter to their mayor to convince them to adopt their idea. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for Indicator 1l. 

Materials include a sufficient focus on the grammar and usage standards. Both the Literature and Science and Social Studies units include explicit instruction of grammar and usage standards and provide opportunities for students to practice and authentically apply their learning. 

Materials include limited explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards. Materials include authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills in context, including applying grammar and convention skills to writing. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Students have opportunities to use collective nouns (e.g., group). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 21, the teacher reminds students that collective nouns are used to describe a group of insects. As students research, they share the collective noun used to describe their group of insects and the teacher encourages them to use the collective noun in their writing. 

• Students have opportunities to form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 7, the teacher guides students to use words and phrases, and adjectives and adverbs that catch readers’ attention, as students write newspaper articles about what happened at Fenway Park. 

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, the teacher supports students with using words that “show” not tell, as students write their own mystery stories. The teacher tells students that “an irregular plural noun is a noun that does not become plural in the regular way (s or es).” The teacher displays four spelling patterns with rules. Students analyze a non-exemplar sentence and edit their own stories, looking for plural nouns that might use an irregular spelling.

• Students have opportunities to use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 7, the teacher explains that reflexive pronouns are “special pronouns used when the object is the same as the subject” and provides students with a list of eight reflexive pronouns, such as “I— myself; he—himself; they—themselves.” After working with the teacher on analyzing and revising an exemplar sentence, students complete three sentence frames that contain reflexive pronouns. Students also must use reflexive pronouns when writing their responses to questions. 

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 9, students examine their writing for the use of reflexive pronouns and check to ensure they used the right reflexive pronouns.

• Students have opportunities to form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, students write mystery stories that rely on the use of past tense verbs to explain events leading to the mystery itself. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 3, the teacher explains irregular past tense verbs and provides sets of two sentences, one with a present tense verb and one with a past tense verb. With a partner, students practice using go/went, came/come, leave/left, think/thought while discussing what they have learned about immigrants. Students independently write in response to the question, “Why is the United States called a ‘nation of immigrants’?” and use irregular verbs in their responses.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 20, the teacher picks “a focus based on class needs,” such as irregular verbs. Students write letters to a person they have interviewed. While the lesson does not include explicit instruction on irregular verbs, materials provide a Supplemental Language Lesson on irregular verbs in the Language Supports section. 

• Students have opportunities to use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 20, the teacher explains that writers use adjectives and adverbs to make their writing more interesting. The teacher explains that students will revise their sentences to include adjectives. The teacher and students practice adding adverbs and adjectives to sample sentences. Students continue drafting their stories and focus on including details using adjectives and adverbs that describe a character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings.

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 20, the teacher displays two pairs of sentences with and without adverbs and discusses how adverbs help the reader understand the character’s actions. Students add adverbs to their independent writing. 

  • In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 3, students use adjectives to describe how characters may be feeling. Students complete the following sentence frames: “Sharon is ___, so ___. Andrew is___, so ___.”

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 7, students use adjectives and adverbs that best create attention and detail for a newspaper article they are writing. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 9, students elaborate on their previously completed description of how food travels and is digested. Students create a diagram and write a paragraph that uses adjectives and verbs to explain digestion.

• Students have opportunities to produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 6, the teacher explains that a complete sentence tells who or what does something and what they did. The teacher orally determines if the practice sentences are complete sentences using the think aloud strategy for two of them and has students help with the last two. During shared writing, partners turn  fragments into complete sentences, orally and in writing. Students complete the Target Task sentences independently ensuring they are complete. 

  • In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 6, students learn how to use question words to expand their sentences, making the sentences longer and more interesting. The teacher models expanding a kernel sentence with the students, explaining to start with when, where, and why to expand sentences. During the shared writing activity, students practice expanding kernel sentences with a partner. Students independently complete the Target Task and include an expanded sentence in their response. 

  • In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 5, the teacher models how to use subordinating conjunctions, such as before, after, when, and if, to make complex sentences that describe chronological order. Students work with partners to complete sentence frames that start with subordinating conjunctions. Then students independently complete one sentence frame and write their own second sentence with a subordinating conjunction. In Lesson 10, the teacher reviews this lesson and students complete the same routine. In Lesson 11, the teacher reviews and provides examples of subordinating conjunctions. During independent writing, students try to include subordinating conjunctions in their response to the Target Task. 

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 6, the teacher models how sentences can be combined to be more complex using the words because and he, instead of the name used in the first sentence. Students use sentence strips to practice and apply combining sentences about events/people from the text. 

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 8, the teacher displays simple sentences and students practice combining them into one complex sentence. The teacher encourages students to use transition words, such as first, also, another reason, and finally, to expand their sentences.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 12, the teacher reviews what a complete sentence is. The teacher orally models determining if a sentence is complete or not. The teacher and students practice creating complete sentences from fragments, ensuring the sentences include a capital letter at the beginning and punctuation at the end. Students work independently on the Target Task sentences. After students write their own simple sentences, they share the sentences with a partner. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 21, students learn how to write a topic sentence and expand the details about their insect using the because, but , so strategy. The teacher shows examples and non-examples of strong topic sentences and works with students to identify if a topic sentence is strong or not. Students work in partners to identify strong topic sentences and explain why the topic sentence is strong. Students work with a partner to write topic sentences that match their supporting details. As a support, the teacher can give students the Single Paragraph Outline to organize their ideas before writing. Students continue to expand their sentences on Day 4.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 11, the teacher models combining three sentences with a conjunction to make a complex sentence. Students work with partners to combine sets of three sentences with a conjunction to make complex sentences. Students independently combine three sentences with a conjunction to make a complex sentence. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 31, the teacher models revising sentences by adding subordinating conjunctions. Students work with partners to revise a sentence by adding a subordinating conjunction. Students revise their own writing by adding subordinating conjunctions. The informational writing rubric says students must use two or more complex sentences with subordinating conjunctions for full credit. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 7, the teacher models combining two sentences and expanding one sentence using the words when or where. Students expand two sentences using when, where, and why. Students apply are provided with sentences from the text and asked to combine.

• Students have opportunities to capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Literature Unit 3, Lesson 20, the teacher reviews rules of capitalization including capitalizing the first word of a sentence, proper nouns and names, most words in titles, and the pronoun I. Students practice revising provided sentences and edit their own writing for capitalization. This lesson and application opportunity aligns to Kindergarten and Grade 1 Language standards. 

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, the teacher tells students that “writers capitalize holidays, product names and geographic names” and reminds students to edit their work for this.

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 29, the teacher tells students they need to capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names. The teacher models by correcting two examples. Then students work with partners to edit their writing for capitalization, if needed. Students do not practice capitalizing sentences with holidays, product names, and geographic names and the writing task does not require students to include holidays, product names, or geographic names. 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 4, Lesson 31, the teacher explains that  students should capitalize names of things, people, and places. The teacher models capitalizing parts of one sentence including a person’s name, product name, and geographic name. Students work with partners to revise sentences for capitalization. Students independently edit their own writing for capitalization. The informational writing rubric states students must use capitalization “skillfully” for full credit. 

• Students have opportunities to use commas in greetings and closings of letters. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Literature Unit 5, Lesson 15, students write a letter to Keena to describe what they think she should do next and why. The teacher models the start and end of a letter and the letter writing format required. The class completes the letter together. Then students write their own letters to Keena.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 3, Lesson 20, the teacher picks “a focus based on class needs,” such as commas in letters. Students write letters to a person they have interviewed. The lesson does not include explicit instruction on using commas; comma usage is mentioned in the Language Supports section.

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 18, students write letters to the mayor to find ways to get more nutritious food to the community using the letter format.

• Students have opportunities to use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Literature Unit 2, Lesson 21, the teacher explains that an apostrophe is used to bring two small words together and to show ownership of something. The teacher shows examples of contractions and asks students to think of other examples. The teacher shows examples of possessives and asks students to think of examples. The teacher and students practice analyzing sentences and revising and editing them. Students work with a partner to add or fix apostrophes in their own written stories.

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20, the teacher tells students that “writers use an apostrophe to form contractions;” however, the lesson does not include examples or guided practice activities for students prior to students editing their stories.

• Students have opportunities to generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 26, the teacher models using a word they already know how to spell to spell a new word with the same spelling pattern from their model story. For example, the teacher models how duck helps you spell struck, how most helps you spell post, and how raced helps you spell laced. Students practice orally in pairs. Individually students return to their stories and revise spelling for spelling patterns. 

• In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 20 teachers tell students to “generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words.” The lesson does not include examples and students do not have opportunities to practice generalizing learned spelling patterns to write words.

• Students have opportunities to consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

• In Literature Unit 4, Lesson 20, students use a dictionary to look up the spelling of words. The teacher models looking up one word, mentions that a dictionary includes the part of speech and is in alphabetical order, and releases students to use the dictionary independently. The lesson does not include guided practice. 

• In Science and Social Studies Unit 2, Lesson 21, students engage in research to learn about an insect. Students gather information from several nonfiction books and reference materials and record the information on their Insect Notetaker. The teacher can review how to locate credible sources of information on the internet if needed. 

• In Science Social Studies Unit 5, Lesson 3, students learn about the text features of an encyclopedia in order to find new information. Students are introduced to what an encyclopedia is, the different text features they may see in an encyclopedia, and how and why encyclopedias are used.  In Lesson 4, students use the encyclopedia to describe what happens when food is digested.

• Students have opportunities to compare formal and informal uses of English.

  • In Literature Unit 1, Lesson 21, during the first discussion of the year, the teacher leads students in a brief conversation about formal and informal discussions. The teacher explains that in the classroom, discussions are formal academic conversations in which they will use complete sentences without slang or abbreviations. The teacher gives students sample scenarios. Students label the scenarios as informal or formal and explain their reasoning. 

  • In Literature Unit 6, Lesson 13, the teacher models asking questions, “‘Mike knew that Kate was always trying to figure out why something happened the way it did. He was usually just trying to make things happen.’ What does this mean? Why did the author include these two sentences?” 

  • In Science and Social Studies Unit 1, Lesson 14, the teacher facilitates a student discussion using the Discussion Teacher Tool. The teacher leads students in a brief conversation about formal and informal discussions. The teacher explains that in the classroom, discussions are formal academic conversations in which they will use complete sentences without slang or abbreviations. The teacher gives students sample scenarios. Students label the scenarios as informal or formal and explain their reasoning.