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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Fountas & Pinnell Classroom | ELA
ELA K-2
The materials for Fountas and Pinnell Classroom Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 do not meet the expectations for text quality and complexity and alignment to the standards. The program does not include complex texts and texts do not reflect the distribution of text types required by the standards. The majority of questions and tasks do not provide students with opportunities to utilize and apply evidence from the text during speaking and listening activities or writing. There is limited instruction for grammar and vocabulary called for by the standards.
In foundational skills, the materials use an analytic approach to teaching phonics. The program cites some general research; however, the program does not present a research-based or evidence-based explanation for the teaching of phonological skills or for the hierarchy in which the skills are presented. Additionally, while in Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, the program cites studies supporting explicit teaching of phonics skills, the program does not present a research-based or evidence-based explanation for the sequence of phonics. Materials contain phonological awareness lesson structures that provide teachers with the opportunity to explicitly teach phonological awareness. However, daily phonological awareness practice opportunities for students are not provided. For phonics instruction, the Fountas and Pinnell materials contain lessons which provide the teachers with instruction and repeated modeling. However, foundational skills lessons are recommended for 10 minutes a day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive daily explicit instruction to work towards mastery of foundational skills. Since Letter-Sound Relationships and Spelling Patterns lessons do not span the entire year, students do not have daily opportunities to practice decoding sounds and spelling patterns. Lessons provide limited opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing. Materials include a limited number of generative lessons to use for high frequency word instruction to be repeated by the teacher; however, the program does not specify an exact sequence of high-frequency word instruction. Materials do not include resources for frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements. Materials contain poems from Sing a Song of Poetry, for students to read during Shared Reading in lessons of the Nine Areas of Learning about Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study. Poems are suggested in each lesson, but the poems are not aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and do not consistently provide practice of the decodable element from the lesson. There are curriculum-based assessment protocols provided in the online resources, which are directly correlated to the nine areas of literacy instruction included in the program. However, there are missed opportunities for assessments to provide the teacher with instructional guidance about the next steps for all students.
Kindergarten
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
1st Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
2nd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
ELA 3-5
The materials for Fountas and Pinnell Classroom Grades 3-5 do not meet the expectations for text quality and complexity and alignment to the standards. While the program includes suggestions for high quality texts, the recommendations only partially meet the expectations for text complexity and may not include regular interaction with complex, grade-level text. While some questions and tasks used throughout the program (including speaking and writing tasks) include some text-based options, the overwhelming number of optional tasks may limit student time on standards-aligned, grade-level texts, questions, and tasks. There is limited instruction for grammar and vocabulary called for by the standards.
Materials contain limited explicit instruction of phonics, word recognition, and word analysis consistently over the course of the year. Assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year; however, assessments do not clearly inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students progress toward mastery, and many assessments are optional.
Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade-level phonics standards. However, materials recommend that foundational skills lessons occur for 10 minutes each day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive explicit instruction to work towards mastery of newly learned foundational skills. Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade-level phonics pattern.
While some Guided Reading lessons include fluency, there is no guarantee that all students will have an opportunity to receive these lessons since they are not a part of core instruction. A fluency rubric is included, but there is not sufficient support for the use of the rubric, nor is there support for instructional adjustments to help students progress toward mastery of fluency. There is no evidence of students receiving instruction on using self-correction while reading.
3rd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
4th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
5th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Report for 2nd Grade
Alignment Summary
2nd Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Usability (Gateway 3)
Overview of Gateway 1
Text Quality & Complexity and Alignment to the Standards with Tasks and Questions Grounded in Evidence
The materials for Fountas and Pinnell Classroom Grade 2 do not meet the expectations for alignment to the standards. Texts are of high quality but do not reflect the balance of text types called for in the standards. When considering quantitative levels, qualitative levels, and associated tasks, there are few complex texts. Text-dependent questions and tasks provide limited support for students in making meaning of the core understandings of the text being studied. The lesson plan often lacks specific teacher action and strategies for requiring the students to engage with the text directly whether during speaking and listening activities or writing. There are ample opportunities for narrative and informational writing, but there was little evidence found of opinion writing or for process writing to include editing and revising. For most of the Shared and Interactive Writing sessions, the teacher completes the writing while students contribute ideas through discussion. The materials include limited explicit instruction in grammar standards and for authentic practice opportunities. The materials do not provide teacher guidance for outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component.
In foundational skills, the materials use an analytic approach to teaching phonics. While in Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 cites studies supporting explicit teaching of phonics skills, the program does not present a research-based or evidence-based explanation for the sequence of phonics. Materials contain a Master Lesson Guide which explains the order phonics lessons should be taught. Materials have lessons that provide the teachers with instruction and repeated modeling of grade-level phonics standards. However, foundational skills lessons are recommended for 10 minutes a day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive daily explicit instruction to work towards mastery of foundational skills. Lessons provide limited opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing. The materials contain eight High-Frequency Word Lessons. Since all eight lessons are generative lessons, the materials suggest the teacher repeat the lesson several times with new words selected by the teacher. Materials do not include resources for frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements. Poetry is suggested in each lesson, but the poems are not aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and do not consistently provide practice of the decodable element from the lesson. There are curriculum-based assessment protocols provided in the online resources, which are directly correlated to the nine areas of literacy instruction included in the program. However, there are missed opportunities for assessments to provide the teacher with instructional guidance about the next steps for all students.
Gateway 1
v1.5
Criterion 1.1: Text Quality
Texts are worthy of students’ time and attention: texts are of quality and are rigorous, meeting the text complexity criteria for each grade. Materials support students’ advancing toward independent reading.
The materials for Fountas and Pinnell Classroom Grade 2 do not meet the expectations for Gateway 1. The Grade 2 materials include texts that are high quality. The Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading texts reflect a higher percentage of literary anchor texts than informational. Overall, there are 50 informational texts out of a total of 150 texts in both Shared Reading and Interactive Read-Aloud. Many text sets do not contain informational texts. When considering quantitative levels, qualitative levels, and associated tasks, Grade 2 texts are mostly accessible or moderate levels. There are few complex texts. There is little variance in overall complexity throughout the year. The few complex texts included in the materials are read-aloud to students and students may not have opportunities to read complex text on their own since students independently read texts at their own reading level.
Indicator 1A
Anchor texts are of high quality, worthy of careful reading, and consider a range of student interests. *This does not include decodables. Those are identified in Criterion 3.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria of Indicator 1a.
The Grade 2 materials include texts that are high quality. Anchor texts include classic stories, timeless tales, and thought-provoking content. Many of the stories are engaging to readers and promote reading comprehension skills and valuable discussions within the classroom setting. Most of the texts are rich in language and academic vocabulary. Both Shared Reading and Interactive Read-Alouds are high quality and have stories written by well-known authors.
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:
The Interactive Read-Aloud, How Chipmunk Got His Stripes by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac, is a folktale. The events in the text provide a retelling of an East Coast Native American explanation about how the chipmunk got his stripes.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text set, A Scientific Eye, contains the book Frogs by Seymour Simon. The text contains rich academic vocabulary and photographs that appeal to the reader.
The Shared Reading, Weather Watch Rita’s Journal by June Schwartz, is a hybrid text that contains features of both fiction and nonfiction text. The story also contains photographs and drawn illustrations that help students understand clouds and weather through the frame of a fictional journal. It also includes engaging text features like headings and captions that allow for reader interaction.
The Shared Reading text, Jackal and Lion: An African Folktale by Udo Van Rooyen, is a Readers’ Theater focused folktale. This text contains dialogue and complex sentence structure.
The Shared Reading text, Monkey and Rabbit: A Tale from Brazil adapted by Marta Magellan, is written for student performance through a Readers’ Theater format. The story contains colorful illustrations.
Indicator 1B
Materials reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. *This does not include decodable. Those are identified in Criterion 3.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1b.
The Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading texts reflect a higher percentage of literary anchor texts than informational. Overall, there are 50 informational texts out of a total of 150 texts in both Shared Reading and Interactive Read-Aloud. Many text sets do not contain informational texts. The materials include a variety of genres and text types. Genres include biography, folktales, tall tales, poetry, realistic fiction, narrative nonfiction, and nonfiction expository. Shared Reading texts also have audio-versions available online.
Materials reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the grade level standards. For example:
The Interactive Read-Aloud text, Town Mouse Country Mouse by Jan Brett, is an audio-version of a fable.
The Interactive Read-Aloud texts, Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan and The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola, are realistic fiction stories.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text, Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, is a fictional text that students read.
The Shared Reading text, The Perfect Beak by Stephanie Petron Cahill, is an informational text that students read.
The Shared Reading text, Scout, the Chicken Guard by Lionel Page, is an animal fantasy story that students listen to and read.
The Shared Reading text, Night of the Ghost Crabs, by Reese Brooks is a nonfiction story that includes engaging side notes containing facts about crabs on each page.
Materials do not reflect a 50/50 balance of informational and literary texts. For example:
The Interactive Read-Aloud plan has students listen to and read 73% literary texts and 27% informational texts. There are 31 informational texts out of 120 Interactive Read-Alouds books. There is also one hybrid text that blends features of literary and informational reading.
The Shared Reading plan has students listen to and read 33% literary texts and 67% nonfiction texts. There is also one hybrid text that blends features of literary and informational reading.
Indicator 1C
Core/Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to documented quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Documentation should also include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria of Indicator 1c.
Materials contain some complex text for the Interactive Read-Aloud or Shared Reading texts. Materials have their own leveling system, but the levels are not included on the texts or lesson plans. There is no formal rationale or analysis for each book. Lesson plans do contain some qualitative information about each book, but it mostly focuses on the features and writer’s craft of the text. There are no formal qualitative rubrics present in the materials. There is no explanation of how the texts are associated with student tasks and no rationale for the purpose or placement of the texts at this grade level. Although not explicitly stated on the Interactive-Read Aloud cards, the materials direct teachers to refer to the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Continuum to select appropriate learning goals for students.
When considering quantitative levels, qualitative levels, and associated tasks, Grade 2 texts are mostly accessible or moderate levels. There are few complex texts. Most tasks, even for more complex texts, are mostly moderate complexity. Complex texts are read-aloud to students and students may not have opportunities to read complex text on their own since students independently read texts at their own reading level.
Most texts do not have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. For example:
The Interactive Read-Aloud text, River Story by Meredith Hooper, is a narrative nonfiction with a Lexile of AD670L. The qualitative rating is moderate due to descriptive language and content-specific vocabulary. The associated task is moderate. Students are asked to write about the journey of a river from beginning to end.
The Interactive Read-Aloud, Stella Louella’s Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst, has a Lexile of AD640L. The qualitative rating is high due to carefully crafted words or phrases. The text includes intriguing sound and rhythm as well as dialogue. It is written using a narrative structure that includes a problem to be solved. The associated task for this text is moderately complex because it requires students to independently explain the two or three clues that helped them figure out the title of the missing book. The overall text complexity rating is complex.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text, Comet’s Nine Lives by Jan Brett, has a Lexile level of AD640L. The qualitative level is high due to elements of fantasy, foreshadowing, and Tier 2 vocabulary. The associated task for this text is a shared writing task where the teacher records scholar noticings about the author’s writing style and how it is tied to illustrations. Considering the text level and task, the text is overall rated as moderate for Grade 2.
The Shared Reading text, Big Bites by Nicole Walker, does not have a recorded Lexile level. The qualitative rating is moderately complex because it is sequential nonfiction expository text. The associated task is an independent writing task in which students draw an animal from the text and write two sentences about how it uses its teeth. The overall text complexity is accessible because the text is moderately complex; however, the associated task is not complex.
The Shared Reading text, Monkey and Rabbit: A Tale from Brazil by Marta Magellan, does not have a recorded Lexile level. The text has a low qualitative level with a reader’s theatre format. The associated task for this text is an independent writing task in which students create a graphic organizer outlining the sequence of story events. Considering the text level and task, the text is overall accessible for Grade 2.
The Shared Reading text, Inside a Cow by Catherine Friend, does not have a recorded Lexile level. The qualitative rating is moderate due to a predictable sequential structure. There are also helpful sidebars that provide additional information about cows and their stomachs as well as diagram overlays on photos. The associated task asks students to write the steps in the cow’s digestive process. The overall text complexity is moderate.
Anchor/Core texts and series of texts connected to them are not accompanied by an accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. For example:
The Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lesson folders each contain a section titled, About This Book. The section includes the genre focus, how the book works, and important characteristics to notice or important text characteristics. The section does give additional information about the text characteristics, but does not provide text analysis. There are no formal qualitative rubrics present in the materials. Quantitative levels are not discussed or included in the lesson plans. However, the lesson plans do include some information about why texts were chosen.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text, My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits, is a realistic fiction book. According to the lesson plan, the text was chosen because of the life-like, detailed illustrations and content that reflects a wide range of languages and culture.
The Shared Reading text, The Tricky Turtle by Anne Stribling, is a folktale. According to the lesson plan, the text was chosen because of the repeating episodes and patterns, dialogue, and reader’s theater script.
The Shared Reading text Lots of Snow by Joan Silver is an animal fantasy fiction book. According to the lesson plan, the text was chosen due to the use of colored text, realistic situations, simplistic dialogue, and humor. The story includes a surprise ending to engage readers.
Indicator 1D
Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band to support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria of Indicator 1d.
The texts included in the materials do not increase in complexity as the academic year progresses and associated tasks over the course of the year do not support students’ literacy growth. The complexity of the anchor texts in the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading do not consistently provide opportunities for student growth in literacy skills throughout the year. Outside of rereading the text, materials do not include more complex scaffolds to support reading development. There is little variance in overall complexity throughout the year.
The complexity of anchor texts students read do not fully provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth. For example:
The texts provided in Months 1-2 range from AD440L-570L. The qualitative complexity ranges from low to high, with most texts rated as having medium to high levels of complexity. Associated tasks are rated from low to medium levels of complexity. The overall text complexity rating for the beginning of the year ranges from accessible to moderately complex. Some texts include:
Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola has a Lexile level of AD730L and has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is moderate.
Paws and Claws by Arlene Block does not have a Lexile level listed, but has a qualitative low complexity. The associated task is also low and the overall text complexity is accessible.
The texts provided in Months 3-4 range in Lexile level from AD550L-NC1030L. Qualitative complexities range from moderate to high with most texts being medium to high level. Most associated tasks are low complexity, but some tasks are medium or high complexity. Overall, Months 3-4 texts are mostly moderate or complex. Some texts include:
Bugs for Lunch by Margery Facklem has a Lexile level of 700L and has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is low complexity and the overall text complexity is accessible.
Big Bites by Nicole Walker does not have a Lexile level listed, but has a medium qualitative complexity. The associated task is low and the overall text complexity is moderate.
The texts provided in Months 5-6 range in Lexile level from AD590L-620L. Qualitative complexities are mostly high. Associated tasks are mostly moderate tasks with a few medium- and high-level tasks. Overall, Months 5-6 texts are mostly moderate and complex. Some texts include:
Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester has a Lexile level of AD590L and has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is moderate.
Edward the Emu by Shenna Knowles is non-prose and does not have a Lexile level, but the qualitative complexity is high. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is complex.
RainForest Surprises by Kelly Martinson does not have a Lexile level, but has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is complex.
Comet’s Nine Lives by Jan Brett has a Lexile level of AD640L, but has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is moderate.
The texts provided in Months 7-8 range from AD630L-770L. The qualitative complexity ranges from moderate to medium. The associated tasks are moderate to medium. The overall text complexity rating for the middle of the year ranges from accessible to moderately complex. Some texts include:
Brave Irene by William Steig has a Lexile level of AD630L and has a high qualitative complexity. The associated task is medium complexity and the overall text complexity is complex.
River Story by Meredith Hooper has a Lexile level of 670L, a moderate qualitative complexity. The associated task is medium complexity and the overall text complexity is moderate.
Side By Side: A True Story by Linda Ruggeri does not have a Lexile level, but has a medium qualitative complexity. The associated task is of moderate complexity and the overall text complexity is moderate.
The texts provided in Months 9-10 range from AD510L-600L. The qualitative complexity ranges from low to high, with an equal distribution of low and high complexity. Associated tasks are rated from low to medium levels of complexity. The overall text complexity rating for the end of the year ranges from accessible to moderate with the exception of a few complex texts. Some texts include:
Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins has a Lexile level of AD920L and has a medium qualitative complexity. The associated task is low complexity and the overall text complexity is accessible.
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart has a Lexile level of 910L, a moderate qualitative complexity. The associated task is medium complexity and the overall text complexity is complex.
As texts become more complex, appropriate scaffolds and/or materials are not provided in Teacher Edition (i.e., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings). For example:
The associated tasks for Interactive Read-Aloud texts range from low to high complexity. As the tasks become more complex, the teacher is not provided with more advanced scaffolding to support the students. For each reading, the teacher is encouraged to revisit the text “on the same day or subsequent days.” This directive does not change from when the level of complexity changes from text to text.
The lesson plans for the Interactive Read-Aloud instruction includes repeated readings or references to previously read texts, these repeated readings generate limited understanding with questioning. Associated tasks do not regularly build literacy skills or comprehension of the text. Scaffolding takes place through questioning and shared writing that does not necessarily increase in complexity as the year progresses. While high-level tasks do not appear consistently throughout the year, a few low level tasks were identified at the end of the year.
Shared Reading lessons all include multiple readings of the same text for two days. This does not change based on the complexity of the text.
Indicator 1E
Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year, including accountability structures for independent reading.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1e.
Materials include opportunities for students to engage in reading various types of texts throughout the literacy block, including Guided Reading, Interactive Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, Independent Reading, and Book Clubs. Students participate daily in the Interactive Read-Aloud for fifteen minutes and Shared Reading for ten minutes. The proposed time schedule allots an additional hour of rotating learning centers, where based on teacher selection, a student might participate in a Guided Reading Group, Book Clubs, and/or Independent Reading time. Depending on the Continuum, teachers select suggested texts for the students to read. The students may be exposed to three to five books per week. The guidance for teachers does not specify the texts or the order in which the books should be presented for student reading.
Instructional materials provide some opportunities and support for students to engage in reading and listening to a variety of texts. For example:
A proposed schedule for reading and sample lesson plans for the first 40 days are available on the digital platform.
A Weekly Lesson Plan form is available on the digital platform for the teacher to record titles of books read and any notes, including student observations, during the lessons.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text sets include four to six texts that the teacher reads. The whole class discusses the content and completes the associated tasks. There are 25 text sets and a total of 120 books, including both fiction and nonfiction genres.
Shared Reading is a component of whole group instruction. The teacher reads the text the first day and gradually releases the reading to the students, on a five-day rotation. There are 30 Shared Reading texts, including both fiction and nonfiction genres as well as a book of poetry charts.
Guided Reading is small group instruction that takes place five days a week for 60 minutes. Students read challenging text at their instructional reading level with teacher guidance and prompting. There are 200 Guided Reading books (F&P levels A-M) with six copies each and 200 corresponding lessons.
In the example lesson plans available on the digital platform, Grade 2, Day 34, the whole class participates in reading and listening to the Interactive Read-Aloud text Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola. This text is a selection from an author study about Tomie dePaola. The class responds to the text with a shared writing activity. The whole class then reads the Shared Reading text The Perfect Beak by Stephanie Petron Cahill. Once the texts are read, the teacher gives a Reading Mini-lesson about how authors get ideas for stories from their own lives. During the Guided Reading time, the teacher gives lessons to guided reading groups, but the number of groups getting lessons are not specified. Students that are not participating in the small groups, read and participate in the Book Club text Stagestruck by Tomie dePaola. The other students complete independent reading work which is specified as student choice.
Instructional materials provide some opportunities and support for students to engage in a volume of reading. For example:
The Interactive Read-Aloud sessions take place for 15 minutes each day. The collection of texts includes 120 titles organized into 25 text sets.
The Shared Reading sessions take place daily for ten minutes. There are 30 titles and a collection of 100 poems.
The Guided Reading sessions occur daily for small groups.Each group works with the teacher for 20 minutes. There are 200 leveled texts in the collection.
The students that are not a part of the Guided Reading sessions participate in Independent Reading or Book Club.
The Independent Reading Collection Guide suggests giving students the option to read texts from the classroom library. The collection includes 150 Independent Reading Collection books, small versions of the Big Books, and Interactive Read-Aloud titles.
The Book Club Collection Guide suggests that students read one book per month. The students choose a text from a set of four books that correlate to the Interactive Read-Aloud text sets. They complete the suggested Before and During Reading activities. The program suggests that students participate in a 20 to 30 minute discussion and complete the After Reading activities when they finish reading the book. There are 32 books in the collection that are organized into eight text sets.
There is limited 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.) For example:
A proposed schedule for reading and sample lesson plans for the first 40 days are available on the digital platform.
A Weekly Lesson Plan form is available on the digital platform for the teacher to record titles of books read and any notes including student observations during the lessons.
Independent reading is part of the Independent Literacy Work block and is supported through lessons ranging from how to choose an appropriate book to brief accountability conferences. A tracking form is provided and students are encouraged to choose texts from the provided library. Students read environmental print, posters, and charts, as well as previously read Guided Reading texts, Big Books, and Read-Aloud texts during this time.
A Guided Reading Record Keeping Form is available on the digital platform for the teacher to record observations and anecdotal notes about student performance, levels of reading, and book titles.
Running Records are used on Guided Reading texts to track student progress in fluency and reading behaviors.
Guided Reading levels are determined by using the Benchmark Assessment System. Students are assessed two to three times per year for accuracy, fluency, and comprehension skills using a Recording Form.
Criterion 1.2: Tasks and Questions
Materials provide opportunities for rich and rigorous evidence-based discussions and writing about texts to build strong literacy skills.
The text-based discussion questions come from the sections of the lesson plans Within the Text, Beyond the Text, About the Text. The majority of questions rarely involve the setting or character analysis, and instead, the focus is often a retelling of the sequence of events and character feelings. The questions rarely require readers to produce evidence from texts to support opinions or statements. The instructional materials provide some opportunities and behavioral protocols for students to engage in speaking and listening activities; however, materials do not provide strong protocols for a variety of evidence-based speaking and listening opportunities across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Students have opportunities to reflect on their reading through speaking and listening opportunities; however, many speaking and listening opportunities do not require students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources.
Materials do not provide opportunities for students to learn and apply skills needed for process writing, such as editing and revising. The on-demand writing opportunities are often not standards-aligned or dependent on the texts students listen to during the Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lesson. There are ample opportunities for narrative and informational writing, but there was little evidence found of opinion writing. The materials provide opportunities for students to discuss and dictate for the genres, but lack sufficient opportunities for students to independently write each genre; however, there are more Independent Writing opportunities in Grade 2 than in Kindergarten or Grade 1. Students have opportunities across the school year to practice writing, but lack opportunities to learn and apply writing using evidence from the text(s).
The materials include limited explicit instruction in grammar standards. There was no evidence for the explicit instruction in teacher materials for multiple standards. The materials do not provide teacher guidance for outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. At the Grade 2 level, the Fountas and Pinnell materials place importance on the vocabulary “behaviors and understandings to notice, teach, and support” students to “recognize and use concept words (e.g. color names, number words, days of the week, months of the year, seasons), recognize and talk about the fact that words can be related in many ways (sound, spelling, category), recognize and use synonyms,....and use antonyms”.
Indicator 1F
Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-specific and/or text-dependent, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1f.
The text-based discussion questions come from the sections of the lesson plans Within the Text, Beyond the Text, About the Text. The majority of questions rarely involve the setting or character analysis, and instead, the focus is often a retelling of the sequence of events and character feelings. The questions rarely require readers to produce evidence from texts to support opinions or statements. The teacher materials provide some support for teachers about when to ask the questions such as before, during, after reading, or after a rereading. The suggestions are often repeated and not text specific, including directing students to discuss in pairs or threes or to engage in a turn and talk. The lesson plan often lacks specific teacher action and strategies for requiring the students to engage with the text directly.
Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks provide limited support for students in making meaning of the core understandings of the text being studied. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
After listening to the Interactive Read-Aloud text, A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer, students answer the question, “How does the oak tree change over time?”
After listening to the Interactive Read-Aloud text, No Dogs Allowed! by Sonia Manzano, students answer the questions, “Do you think the family’s trip to Enchanted State Park was a success? Why or Why not?”
After reading and discussing the Shared Reading text Animals with Jobs by Charlotte Rose, the students complete a Shared Writing task. The teacher talks with the students about the jobs of different animals in the story. The teacher asks “What was the most surprising thing you learned? and What would you like to learn more about?” The students then decide which expert from the book they would like to talk to. Then they tell the teacher the questions they would have for that expert. The teacher then lists the questions for the experts. The teacher uses student input to compose a letter to one of the experts.
In the Shared Reading, Scout, the Chicken Guard by Lionel Page, the teacher leads a discussion with the students about the story. The students answer the questions, “Who is Scout? Who is Aunt Vixen?” and “What happens in this story?”
Teacher materials provide limited support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks. For example:
After the reading of the Interactive Read-Aloud, Frogs by Seymour Simon, the teacher invites the students to talk about the book. The lesson plan provides some suggestions about possible discussion topics such as: the way an author organizes a book, why the author wants to write about a topic, or the opinion the students have about the book. After the questions, the directions state, “Guide children toward the key understandings of the text.” The boxes with the possible answers help the teacher focus on Thinking Within the Text, Thinking Beyond the Text, and Thinking About the Text sections of the lesson plan.
During the reading of the Interactive Read-Aloud, Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee, the teacher is provided with questions to ask the students while they read. Possible student responses are not provided.
After students listen to the Shared Reading text, Surprises on the Savanna by Kelly Martinson, the teacher is provided with a bulleted list of assessment possibilities. They observe and find evidence that students understood four key topics presented in the lesson. However, there is not a rubric providing selected evidence from the text that shows student understanding.
Indicator 1G
Materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1g.
The instructional materials provide some opportunities and behavioral protocols for students to engage in speaking and listening activities; however, materials do not provide strong protocols for a variety of evidence-based speaking and listening opportunities across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. The protocols are generalized for all discussions, with no guidance for growth as the year progresses. Most of the lessons do not contain samples or rubrics for discussions and do not include teacher modeling. There is minimal teacher guidance for facilitating and monitoring speaking and listening activities. Some tasks contain instructions for speaking and listening in smaller groups, but tasks are an optional choice list, so not all students will receive the same opportunities.
Materials provide limited protocols for evidence-based discussions across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. For example:
The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum Grades PreK-8 mentions that teachers should discuss books as a whole class, use “turn and talk”, and use small-group discussions. Teachers are instructed to consult a separate text for detailed guidance: Teaching for Comprehension and Fluency: Thinking, Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8 by Fountas and Pinnell.
The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum Grades PreK-8, contains a section on Interactive Read-Aloud and Literature Discussions. This section gives some information about class discussions, although the teacher guidance for discussions is general. Additionally, the class discussions do not contain a specific protocol for teachers to follow. Materials state: “We use the terms intentional conversation to describe the instructional moves you make during the conversation surrounding books in interactive read-aloud or in small group literature discussion. Your first goals when reading aloud to your students and engaging them in small-group discussions are to engage their interest and intellect, to make the occasion enjoyable, and to guide them in active conversation.” Materials also state, “the teacher asks students to share their thinking in a focused way and keeps the conversation grounded in the text.”
The Fountas and Pinnell Grade 2 System Guide includes Five Keys to Thoughtful Talk. “1. Help children understand that reading is thinking and that when they talk, they share their thinking. 2. Teach children to turn and talk effectively with each other. 3. Give children wait time and guide them to give others wait time as well. 4. Demonstrate the use of language that forsters participation, respect for others’ thinking, and promotes building on the ideas of others. 5. Set the norm that everyone listens attentively and respectfully to each other.” These are general guidelines and the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lessons do not include a detailed protocol to achieve these Five Keys to Thoughtful Talk.
The lesson plans for the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading do not contain protocols for discussion after reading the text. Under the discussion section of the lesson plan, it says “instruct the children to talk about the book.”
Most lesson plans for Interactive Read-Aloud contain the same instructions for discussion during the teacher reading of the text: “Stop a few times to invite thinking and a brief conversation. Children may turn and talk in pairs or threes”.
The Reading Minilessons Book provides some general anchor charts for students on how to engage in respectful conversations. For example:
In Reading Minilesson MGT.U1. RML 2, the teacher makes an anchor chart about using the appropriate voice level. The chart includes a 0-3 level with information about silent, soft, normal, and loud voices.
In Reading Minilesson LA.U5.RML 6, the teacher creates an anchor chart with sentence stems for students to use during Book Club discussions. Same sentence stems include: I wonder why, Why did the writer, What was happening in this part?
Speaking and listening instruction includes limited facilitation, monitoring, and instructional support for teachers. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The teacher and students read five realistic fiction texts in the Interactive Read-Aloud text set “Memory Stories”. The teacher focuses the students attention on the Essential Question, “Why is it important for people to write about personal memories? In the Suggested Projects for Exploration, the students can Take a “Photo.” As part of this project, the students “make a square border, ass with a photo, and then make a drawing depicting some aspect of the significant time in their life.” The activity suggests that the teacher let the students “Share and discuss” the photos. There are no evaluation tools for assessing the students speaking or listening skills as they share or discuss the work.
The teacher and students read the Interactive Read-Aloud text Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. The directions for Introducing the Text remind the teacher to “Make the introduction and reading interactive, allowing time for children to respond between questions.” One question asks the students to define Courage after reviewing page 24. The students are asked “Why do they need courage to do this [ride a roller coaster]? In the second question, the students are asked if they have ever been on a roller coaster. In The Discuss the Text section, the students are encouraged to “talk about the book.” The teacher is given several suggested questions “to engage thinking.” One question is “How did the girl’s feelings change in the story? The teacher is prompted to show the illustrations to encourage the students to look at the facial and body language of the characters. The teacher and the students “talk about how she [the character] looks on page 25. The teacher is to “Guide the children toward the key understandings of the text.” The lesson provides the teacher with four-six possible key understandings the students might suggest while Thinking Within the Text, Thinking Beyond the Text, and Thinking About the Text. An example from Thinking About the Text suggests that “The character’s faces show how they are feeling while they are on the roller coaster.”
At the end of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and students read the Shared Reading text Bananas, Bananas: Based on a Philippine Folktale adapted by Juan Escalona. One of the goals in the lesson plan is to have students “Express opinions about the characters in the story in writing and drawing.” After reading the text, they extend Beyond the Text by answering the questions “Which monkey makes the better choice? and Why do you think so?” The teacher is given support from only one character’s perspective, “Rosa. She thinks ahead and knows that if she plants the roots and suckers, she will always have more bananas.” During the Shared and Independent Writing, the students revisit their opinions formed during the discussion and they “tell words that describe the character and their behavior.” The teacher writes a list of the students’ responses on chart paper. The teacher is also provided with example words like “friendly and foolish to encourage student responses. The students discuss the meaning of those words and then “draw a scene from the story that shows the characters behaving in that manner. They complete the sentence frame Rosa/Carlos is ______. This activity requires discussion, so the students are speaking and listening to one another to form opinions about the characters. There is no support provided to help the teacher guide the students to support their opinions with evidence from the text. There are no criteria for assessing the speaking activities during this lesson.
Indicator 1H
Materials support students' listening and speaking about what they are reading (or read aloud) and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and support.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1h.
Students have opportunities to reflect on their reading through speaking and listening opportunities; however, many speaking and listening opportunities do not require students utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. Students participate in daily whole group discussions of texts or turn and talk to a partner, but the speaking and listening opportunities are not varied over the course of the year.
Students have limited opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities. The majority of discussions occur either in the whole group or turn and talk. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Months 1-2, the teacher reads the Interactive Read-Aloud text, The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant. The students answer questions and recount details as a whole class while reading the story. Another option suggests that the students can answer the questions while working in small groups. Through role play, students work with a partner to find objects within the classroom and assign names of people to them. Then the teacher helps students make the connection to the woman in the story and how giving names to different objects helped her to feel less lonely.
In Months 5-6, the students listen to the teacher read the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. The students participate in a whole group discussion about the book. The teacher also has the option of using the turn and talk protocol during the discussion. After the book is read a couple of times, the teacher has the option of having students act out two or more acts from the story or having the whole class perform “the 1-2-3-4 march in a line.” If the option is chosen for students to act out the march, they would talk with a partner to create another march with numbers.
At the beginning of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and students read the Shared Reading, The Giraffe by Cordelia S. Finn. Students reread and discuss the text for several days. Students recall the giraffe’s body parts during the discussion and talk about how specific body parts might help the giraffe survive. The students discuss the author’s use of labels on photos to show exactly what part the author is writing about.
In the middle of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and students read the Shared Reading text, A Raindrop’s Journey by Paloma Jae. The students participate in a whole group discussion of the text. The class revisits the text over the next few days and groups of students take turns reading parts of the story. The groupings change each time they read the book.
Some speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources. For example:
The teacher reads the Interactive Read-Aloud text, First Come the Zebra by Lynne Barasch. After reading the story, the students discuss the text and talk about why the author, Lynne Barasch, includes a pronunciation guide and glossary. They discuss these features while reading several of the words and definitions. The teacher rereads page 1 and asks, “Why do the animals migrate, or move, from Tanzania to Kenya?” The students are not required to explain the vocabulary word migrate, rather they discuss why animals move. The expected response listed includes evidence from the text, “It is important for the animals to move to a new place each season so that they can find grass to eat, and to allow the grass they have eaten to grow back. Animals that live on the grasslands need lots of open space so they can migrate and have enough grass to live on.”
The teacher is given suggested projects for student exploration in the Interactive Read-Aloud text set, Humorous Characters. These suggestions include role playing funny scenes in the Read-Aloud texts, making comic strips focused on characters, and drawing funny illustrations of stories. These are suggested activities for small or whole groups. The activities do not require students to discuss questions using evidence from the reading.
After the teacher and students read the Shared Reading text, The Perfect Beak by Stephanie Petron Cahill, the students reread and discuss the text over multiple days. The teacher asks, “How do birds use their beaks? Tell about how one bird uses its beak to get food.”
Indicator 1I
Materials include a mix of on-demand and process, grade-appropriate writing (e.g., grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria of Indicator 1i.
The materials for Grade 2 include some opportunities for on-demand writing within the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lessons. The on-demand writing opportunities are often not standards-aligned or dependent on the texts students listen to during the Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lesson. Materials do not provide opportunities for students to learn and apply skills needed for process writing, such as editing and revising. There are little to no digital tools to aid in the production and publishing of student work over the course of the school year. The support provided for teachers to develop writing skills during the school year is limited.
Materials include some on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. The majority of on-demand writing tasks are not standards-based and can be answered without using the text. For example:
In Months 1-2, the students participate in a Shared Writing task after reading the Interactive Read-Aloud Super-Completely and Totally the Messiest by Judith Viorst. The students write about a character they think they are most like and describe the qualities of the character which are similar to themselves.
In Months 5-6, the students participate in a Shared Writing task after the teacher reads the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester. After discussing the text, the students write a “short note” to a character in the story. Instructions for the teacher state, “Permit temporary spellings, but assist children in saying words orally and thinking about how they sound and look.” There are no other explicit instructions for how to write these notes for students.
Near the end of the year, it is suggested that students and teachers read the Shared Reading text Scout, the Chicken Guard by Lionel Page. During the Shared Writing task, the teacher creates a story map using ideas from the students. Instructions for creating a story map do not appear in the lesson plan. The teacher uses the story map to write a brief summary of the story. There is no evidence that the students are doing the writing. The example does not appear to be a student sample.
Materials do not include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. There are no opportunities for students to revise and edit writing. For example:
Aside from the Reader’s Notebook that could potentially be used for process writing purposes, there was no evidence found of process writing instruction or tasks within the Interactive Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, Reading Minilessons, or any other component in the materials provided.
Materials include a limited number of digital resources to support student writing. For example:
Graphic organizers are available online to print to assist students with planning writing. There are no digital resources for students to use online to produce or publish writing.
Indicator 1J
Materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year-long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria of Indicator 1j.
There are various types of writing across the school year. Students participate in Shared Writing, Interactive Writing, and Independent Writing for both Shared Reading and Interactive Read-Aloud texts. The materials provide opportunities for students to discuss and dictate for the genres, but lack sufficient opportunities for students to independently write each genre; however, there are more Independent Writing opportunities in Grade 2 than in Kindergarten or Grade 1. There are ample opportunities for narrative and informational writing, but there was little evidence found for opinion writing. Many lessons include multiple writing tasks as options. In addition, students are not explicitly taught new writing skills, rather they respond to reading. Additionally, there is not allotted time for the writing tasks that are included in Interactive Read-Aloud lesson plans or the Suggested Projects for text sets.
Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Materials provide some opportunities across the school year for students to learn and practice different genres/modes/types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards; however, materials lack explicit instruction in each genre. For example:
In the Months 3-4, the students and teacher read the Interactive Read-Aloud text, The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields. The students “write a brief opinion piece arguing why Dilly is or is not the bugliest bug.”
In Months 9-10, the teacher conducts a discussion after reading the Interactive Read-Aloud, The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston. The teacher makes a list of “words the author used to tell what the owl and the other animals did in the book.” The teacher talks with the students about the different words the author used to describe what the animals were doing. Then the teacher posts the chart for the students to “refer to when they write.” However, the students do not produce any writing during this activity.
At the beginning of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and the students read The Shared Reading text, Paws and Claws by Arlene Block. Students complete an Informational Shared Writing task in which the teacher talks with students about each animal in the book and what they learned about their different paws and/or claws. The teacher draws a four-column chart for the students to use to gather information from the text and summarize the story.
In the middle of the year, it is suggested that students listen to, read, and discuss the Shared Reading text, The Boy Who Cried Wolf: An Aesop Fable by David Edwin. The students independently write a few sentences about the lesson learned from this fable and why it is important.
Different genres/modes/types of writing are not distributed throughout the school year. Materials lack sufficient opportunities to engage in opinion writing. Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets. For example:
Students limited have opportunities to engage in opinion writing.
In the Months 1-2, the students participate in an Independent Writing task, after reading the Interactive Read-Aloud text, A Weekend With Wendell by Kevin Henkes. The students write a note to one of the two main characters from the story. In the note, the students express their opinion about the character’s behavior.
In Months 7-8, the students participate in an Independent Writing task after listening to the Interactive Read-Aloud, Courage by Bernard Waber. The students express an opinion regarding the most meaningful act of courage from the story.
In the middle of the year, the students participate in a Shared Writing exercise after reading the Shared Reading text, Rainforest Surprises by Kelly Martinson. The students verbally express their opinion about their favorite part of the rainforest and what they liked about it. The teacher writes the students’ responses on chart paper. The example writing in the lesson plan includes details from the text.
Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing.
In Months 3-4, students listen to the teacher read the Interactive Read-Aloud, Bugs A to Z by Caroline Lawton. Afterwards, the students participate in a Shared Writing task. The teacher creates a three column chart labelled “Fly”, “Crawl”, and “Hop”. With student input, the teacher fills out the chart with the names of insects from the book.
In Months 9-10, the students participate in an Independent Writing task after they listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud, For You Are a Kenyan Child by Kelly Cunnane. They pretend they are from a Kenyan village and write about their life there.
In the beginning of the year, students participate in a Shared Writing exercise after listening to the Shared Reading text, Weather Watch: Rita’s Journal by June Schwartz. The teacher and students practice charting the weather for the week. A chart is created and includes the following headings: Day of the Week, Cloud Type, Prediction, Was it Right? The students provide responses and the teacher records the ideas in the chart. The teacher does the writing in this exercise.
In the middle of the year, the students participate in an Interactive Writing exercise after reading the Shared Reading text, Surprises on a Coral Reef by Kelly Martinson. The teacher writes the information that students say they have learned from the text. The students contribute to the writing by finding the “easy-to-hear vowel sounds and common phonograms.”
Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing.
In Months 5-6, the students participate in an Independent Writing task after reading the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Independent Zomo the Rabbit by Gerald McDermott. After discussing different ideas for a story with a partner, the children “write a short trickster tale with a rabbit or hare as the main character.”
In Months 7-8, the students complete an Independent Writing task after listening to the Interactive Read-Aloud, Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully. After talking with a partner about one of character’s in the story, the students choose one brave thing she did in the story. The students “write a note from the girl to Mirette and Bellini telling them about what she feels brave enough to face after seeing their poster.”
At the end of the year, the students participate in a Shared Writing task after reading the Shared Reading text, Scout, the Chicken Guard by Lionel Page. The students write a new story about what happens next time the fox visits the henhouse.
Indicator 1K
Materials include regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the expectations of Indicator 1k.
Students have opportunities across the school year to practice writing, but lack opportunities to learn and apply writing using evidence from the text(s). The majority of writing tasks include students supporting their opinions with personal experience, as opposed to supporting opinions with evidence from the text. The writing tasks are embedded within the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading texts; however, the lessons include writing responses to the texts and do not have specific writing instructions that build in complexity over the course of the school year. The tasks are similar from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. For most of the Shared and Interactive Writing sessions, the teacher completes the writing while students contribute ideas through discussion.
Materials do not provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Writing tasks do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction. For example:
In Months 1-2, the students listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Bill and Pete by Tomie dePaola, and then students complete an Independent Writing task. The students write a short opinion piece about the writing and illustrations in the text. A follow-up writing task is also suggested. The students “write a short descriptive piece about one character in the book.” They are to “use examples from the story to support their ideas” about a character in the story.
In Months 5-6, the students listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett. The students participate in a Shared Writing. While the students discuss their “Noticings” about the text, the teacher records their ideas on chart paper. The students do not write during this task.
In Months 9-10, the students listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud text, June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner. The students complete a Shared Writing task where they compare the story to another story within the text set. After the discussion, the teacher creates a Venn diagram to compare the two stories. The teacher guides the students to reread their findings. The students do not do any writing on their own.
At the end of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and students read the Shared Reading text, A Pinata Fiesta by Adrian Garcia Montoya. The students participate in a Shared Writing task. They review the steps for making a pinata. Then, they work together to summarize the steps. The teacher writes the steps as the students explain them. Volunteers are asked to illustrate each step. The example provides steps from the text.
The majority of writing opportunities are not focused around students’ recall of information to develop opinions from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources. For example:
In Months 3-4, the students listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud, The Bugliest Bug by Carol Diggory Shields. Afterwards, the students participate in an Independent Writing task. They express an opinion about whether or not the main character is the bugliest bug. The students are encouraged to use text evidence to support their opinion.
In Month 7-8, the teacher reads the Interactive Read-Aloud, Courage by Bernard Waber. The students write a short opinion as they respond to the Independent Writing task. In their writing, they provide a response to the questions “What kind of courage do you think is more important? Why do you think so?”
In Months 9-10, the students listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud, Big Moon Tortilla by Joy Cowley. Afterwards, students participate in an Independent Writing task in which they write about a character in the story and express “their opinion of the advice she gives.”
In the middle of the year, it is suggested that the teacher and students read the Shared Reading text, Rain Forest Surprises by Kelly Martinson. The students participate in a Shared Writing. Based on the story, students provide their opinion about their favorite parts of the rainforest. They are encouraged to use “the words the author used that made those parts so interesting.” The teacher records the student responses.
Indicator 1L
Materials include explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards, with opportunities for application in context.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1l.
The materials include limited explicit instruction in grammar standards. There was no evidence for the explicit instruction in teacher materials for multiple standards. Materials include limited opportunities for students to demonstrate the application of skills in context, including limited opportunities for authentic application to student writing.
Materials do not include explicit instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level.
Use collective nouns (e.g., group).
No evidence found
Form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 20, page 388, the teacher writes the word children on paper. The teacher writes men, women, feet, and mice. Students read the words. Then the teacher writes the words child, man, woman, foot, and mouse. The teacher asks children to identify what they noticed about the word list. The teacher points out that -ren is added to child to make it plural.
Use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
No evidence found
Form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).
No evidence found
Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
No evidence found
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).
No evidence found
Capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.
No evidence found
Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Umbrella 3, page 492, Write a letter about your reading, the teacher shows a prepared chart with a letter about a book that they have read and discusses what the children notice. Students write a letter in their reader’s notebook.
Use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 6, page 332, the teacher builds the words we’re, didn’t and you’ll on a magnetic surface. The teacher asks students what they notice about the words. The teacher explains that these words are contractions. The teacher says a contraction is a word or more than one word put together. The teacher further explains the purpose of the apostrophe. The teacher continues the lesson with other words.
Generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Spelling Patterns, Concept 3, page 181, Recognize and Use Phonograms with a VCe Pattern, the teacher instructs students on the difference of the words can and cane and the sounds they hear with the letters.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Solving Action 1, page 426, the teacher writes the word brush on the paper. The teacher reads the word with students and emphasises the final sound. The teacher writes a second word that they may not know that has the -sh ending, such as finish. The teacher helps students make a connection between the two words. The teacher gives time for the students to realize that the two words end the same. Then the teacher reads the word finish for the student. The teacher does this procedure again with other words.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter Sound Relationship, Card 3, Lesson Folders, Level Second Grade, the teacher tells students that they are going to learn about vowel sounds in words. In a pocket chart, the teacher places the words ate and chase in one column, the words bite and smile in the second column,and the words stone and joke in the third column. The students notice the vowel-consonant-e pattern
Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.
No evidence found
Compare formal and informal uses of English
No evidence found
Materials include limited authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills in context, including applying grammar and convention skills to writing.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 6, page 342, Shared Reading, in the book Song of Poetry, the teacher reads, “The Butterfly”. The teacher circles the contractions in the story.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure Concept 6, page 331, Understand the Concept of a Contraction, students engage in the use of contractions in the Interactive Read Aloud of Those Shoes.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 20, Independent Writing, page 390, the teacher points out when irregular plurals are used in interactive writing. During conferring with students, the teacher encourages students to use the class chart or word wall to check irregularly spelled words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 1, Connect Learning Across Contexts, Shared Reading, page 428, the teacher has students highlight words that end with the same sound and letter using “I Live in the City” or “The Orchestra” from Sing a Song a Poetry.
Indicator 1M
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria of Indicator 1m.
The materials do not provide teacher guidance for outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. Vocabulary goals are included within the daily materials; however, only some of the terms listed in the lesson goals are mentioned or taught in the lesson. Because many text sets are not focused on a topic, text sets contain books with unrelated vocabulary; therefore vocabulary is not repeated across multiple texts. The materials lack a standard routine or protocol to teach vocabulary throughout the year. Some vocabulary lessons focus more on sight reading skills than meaning of words and tasks usually do not use the vocabulary words. At the Grade 2 level, the Fountas and Pinnell materials place importance on the vocabulary “behaviors and understandings to notice, teach, and support” students to “recognize and use concept words (e.g. color names, number words, days of the week, months of the year, seasons), recognize and talk about the fact that words can be related in many ways (sound, spelling, category), recognize and use synonyms,....and use antonyms”. In the Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum, Grades PK-8, it is stated that “Expanding vocabulary means developing categories of words: labels, concept words, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and all parts of speech.” There were very few, if any, of these lessons located in the Second Grade materials.
Materials do not provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study section the primary focuses for teaching and learning vocabulary development are Concept Words, Related Words, and Combined and Created Words. Listed goals include recognizing and using homophones/homographs, compound words, multiple-meaning words, synonyms, and antonyms.
The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum lists grade-level vocabulary goals for a school year. During the Reread and Revisit the Text section in each Interactive Read-Aloud lesson, the teacher may choose to discuss one or two vocabulary words listed for meaning or context. A Supporting English Learners section appears in the sidebars to both the Interactive Read-Aloud and Shared Reading lessons. The sidebars support a student’s understanding of common expressions and important vocabulary necessary to build comprehension of texts.
The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum: Grades PreK-8 contains Selecting Texts characteristics for each grade level. The Selecting Texts characteristics are divided into parts of the text. For Interactive Read-Aloud and Literature Discussion, Shared and Performance Reading, and Guided Reading, there are sections to support Vocabulary development.
Vocabulary is not repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) or across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Interactive Read-Aloud text set, “Exploring Narrative Nonfiction Texts” includes four texts. None of the vocabulary words are repeated within the texts or across the texts. None of the texts are related by topic. In the text, Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson, the lesson includes the vocabulary: blooms, skitters, bores, scurries, and insulated. The teacher discusses blooms, skitters, and bores but not scurries and insulated. In the text, A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer, the lesson includes the vocabulary: umbrella, spears, devour, and provides. The teacher discusses the meaning of the words. In the text, Salmon Stream by Carol Reed-Jones, the lesson includes vocabulary: fry, urge, spawn, instinctively, and obstacles. The teacher discusses the meaning of the words. In the text, Think of an Eel by Karen Wallace, the lesson includes vocabulary terms: squirm, secret, tomb, cradle, instinct, and navigate. The teacher discusses the meaning of these words.
The Interactive Read-Aloud text set, “Importance of Determination” contains five texts. None of the vocabulary words are repeated within the texts or across the texts. In the text, Earrings! by Judith Viorist, the lesson includes the vocabulary: pierced, premature, inappropriate, posture, earlobes, and substitute. The teacher discusses the vocabulary words either during the first reading of the text or after revisiting the text on a different day. In the text, Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina, the lesson includes the vocabulary: fronds, ogre, and pinch. The terms are never mentioned during the first reading, nor included in any of the tasks. When revisiting the text at a later time, the teacher discusses each vocabulary word. Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams, includes the vocabulary words: galimoto, maize, and alongside. Galimoto is discussed throughout the lesson and the teacher discusses the other two words while revisiting the text on a different day.
In the Shared Reading text that serves as an additional resource for the Interactive Read-Aloud text set, “Living and Working Together: Community” it is suggested that the teacher read the text, Captain Brock, Firefighter by Andrea Delbanco. There is a question that mentions how wearing all the fire gear feels like an oven mitt and the teacher is prompted to clarify the meaning of ‘oven mitt’, if necessary. Other words such as ‘firehouse’ and ‘firefighter’ are talked about and defined, pointing out they’re compound words. The vocabulary words within this text set or suggested Shared Reading texts are not revisited.
Attention is not paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high value academic words. For example:
In the Interactive Read-Aloud text, The Have a Good Day Cafe by Frances and Ginger Park, the lesson includes vocabulary: license and business. During reading, the teacher asks if the long line at the cafe is good news for the family’s food cart business. The teacher does not explicitly teach the vocabulary words. The tasks for the lesson include Shared Writing, Independent Writing, Game, and Art. During the Shared Writing task, with student input the teacher writes a food-cart menu while imagining that the class is starting a food-cart business. The other tasks do not discuss or use the terms. When revisiting the text at a later time, the teacher discusses the meanings of license and business.
In the Interactive Read-Aloud text, Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne, the lesson includes the vocabulary: fascinated, underwater, cameraman, waterproof, mysterious, dangerous, adventurous, and poisonous. During reading, the teacher asks students what fascinated means. Expected responses during the discussion include waterproof and underwater. During the Shared Writing task, with student input, the teacher includes the word fascinated in the timeline of the character’s life. During the Art task, students paint an underwater scene of his scuba gear. The Environment and Video tasks do not include any of the vocabulary words. When revisiting the text at a later time, the teacher discusses the meanings of mysterious, poisonous, dangerous, and adventurous. The vocabulary word cameraman is not mentioned in the lesson plan.
In the Shared Reading text, Big Bites by Nicole Walker, the lesson includes the vocabulary: tusks, scrape, and bristles. During the first reading, the teacher uses the context of the book to explain the meanings of all three vocabulary words. Tusks is highlighted again during another day when the text is revisited.
In the Shared Reading nonfiction text, Surprises on the Savanna by Carol Schwartz, the students learn about features of different nonfiction texts. There are lesson suggestions for teaching the academic vocabulary: peak-throughs, insets, colored text, questions, and labels.
In the Shared Reading text, The Tricky Turtle: A Hopi Tale by Anne Stribling, the students discuss the elements of trickster tales. There are no identifiable vocabulary words or high-valuable academic words in the lesson plan for this text.
Criterion 1.3: Foundational Skills
Materials in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language targeted to support foundational reading development are aligned to the standards.
While in Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 cites studies supporting explicit teaching of phonics skills, the program does not present a research-based or evidence-based explanation for the sequence of phonics. Materials contain a Master Lesson Guide which explains the order phonics lessons should be taught. Materials have lessons that provide the teachers with instruction and repeated modeling of grade-level phonics standards. However, foundational skills lessons are recommended for 10 minutes a day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive daily explicit instruction to work towards mastery of foundational skills. There are opportunities for students to decode letter sounds and phonetically based words during 23 Letter-Sound Relationships lessons, 17 Spelling Patterns lessons, 28 Word Structure lessons, and 16 Word-Solving Actions lessons. Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, Word Structure, and Word-Solving Actions lessons do not occur daily, therefore, students do not have daily opportunities to practice decoding sounds and spelling patterns. Lessons provide limited opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing. The materials contain eight High-Frequency Word Lessons. Since all eight lessons are generative lessons, the materials suggest the teacher repeat the lesson several times with new words selected by the teacher. The program does not specify an exact sequence of high-frequency word instruction. Materials do not include resources for frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements. The materials contain poems from Sing a Song of Poetry, Grade 2 for students to read during Shared Reading in lessons of the Nine Areas of Learning about Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study. Poetry is suggested in each lesson, but the poems are not aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and do not consistently provide practice of the decodable element from the lesson. There are curriculum-based assessment protocols provided in the online resources, which are directly correlated to the nine areas of literacy instruction included in the program. However, there are missed opportunities for assessments to provide the teacher with instructional guidance about the next steps for all students.
Indicator 1N
Materials, questions, and tasks directly teach foundational skills to build reading acquisition by providing systematic and explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and phonics that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression for application both in and out of context.
Indicator 1N.i
Explicit instruction in phonological awareness (K-1) and phonics (K-2).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1n.i.
Materials have lessons that provide the teachers with instruction and repeated modeling of grade-level phonics standards. The teacher models listening, speaking, writing, and reading phonics skills. The teacher uses magnetic letters during the whole group teaching for students to get systematic and repeated modeling of the skills. However, foundational skills lessons are recommended for 10 minutes a day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive daily explicit instruction to work towards mastery of foundational skills.
Foundational skills lessons are recommended for 10 minutes a day.
Examples include but are not limited to:
Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade-level phonics standards. However, materials recommend that foundational skills lessons occur for 10 minutes each day, which may not provide sufficient time for students to receive explicit instruction to work towards mastery of newly learned foundational skills.
Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships Lesson 8, page 108, the teacher uses a pocket chart to display the words class and wave. The teacher asks students to identify what they notice and what is different about the words. The teacher might need to prompt students about the difference in vowel sounds.
Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, online resources, Letter-Sound Relationships Lesson 18, page 148, the teacher has long /a/, /e/, and /o/ words displayed in the pocket chart. The teacher asks students what they notice about the words wait, keep, and road. The teacher states that the letters a and i together stand for the long /a/ sound.
Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 4, pages 324-325, the teacher shows a list of words such as toothbrush, haircut, and railroad. The teacher states, “If you don’t know what compound words mean, sometimes you can find hints in the meaning of the smaller words. What is the first smaller word in this compound word?”
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 26, page 412, the teacher displays two-syllable words such as baby, motor, tiny, open, and secret. The teacher writes each word that shows each syllable. Students say baby and clap the two syllables. The teacher helps students to recognize that the first syllable in each word ends with a vowel letter. The teacher states, “When a syllable ends with a single vowel, the vowel sound is usually long.”
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, page 391, the teacher tells students to listen as they break apart the word inside. The teacher tells students to use word parts to help them read words they don’t know.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 21, page 392, the teacher uses magnetic letters to form the words play, plays, played, cry, cries, and cried on the magnetic word board. The teacher reads the words and students listen to the list.
Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 13, page 360, the teacher builds words with -ed on the magnetic whiteboard. The teacher has students read the words and asks them about what they notice about the ending sounds. The teacher guides students to recognize that -ed sounds like /d/ /ed/ and /t/ depending on the word.
Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade-level phonics pattern.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, online resources, Letter-Sound Relationships Lesson 9, page 112, the students sort letter y words in columns of words that make the long /e/ or long /i/ sound.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, online resources, Letter-Sound Relationships Lesson 18, page 149, students put /ai/ and /ay/ words in columns, and then they read the list of words to a partner.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 28, page 420, the teacher shows happy in magnetic letters. The teacher adds the prefix un- to happy. The teacher engages students in a discussion about how un- changes the meaning of the word.
Indicator 1N.ii
Phonological awareness based on a research-based continuum (K-1).
Indicator 1N.iii
Phonics demonstrated with a research-based progression of skills (K-2).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1n.iii.
Materials contain a Master Lesson Guide which explains the order phonics lessons should be taught. While Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 cites studies supporting explicit teaching of phonics skills, the program does not present a research-based or evidence-based explanation for the sequence of phonics. Students have practice in listening, speaking, writing, and reading the phonics skills they are learning through a variety of activities. The materials contain some opportunities for students to build/manipulate/spell and write words based on phonics patterns. Encoding opportunities are not provided daily. There are opportunities for students to decode letter sounds and phonetically based words during 23 Letter-Sound Relationships lessons, 17 Spelling Patterns lessons, 28 Word Structure lessons, and 16 Word-Solving Actions lessons. Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, Word Structure, and Word-Solving Actions lessons do not occur daily, therefore, students do not have daily opportunities to practice decoding sounds and spelling patterns. The materials do not contain a deliberate, systematic review of previously introduced grade-level phonics skills. Lessons provide limited opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing.
Examples include but are not limited to:
Lessons provide students with opportunities to decode (phonemes, onset and rime, and/or syllables) phonetically spelled words.
Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Letter-Sounds Relationships, Word Structure 26, page 412, the teacher tells students that they are going to practice dividing words into syllables with long vowels. The teacher writes the following words on a chart: baby, motor, tiny, open, and secret. The teacher invites students to think about how they would break apart the words and read them.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 1, students help build double consonant words on a magnetic board. Next, students put together word parts to make a whole word such as dol + lar is dollar. After making a real word with two-word parts, students write the word on a list sheet.
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Second Grade Online Resource, Letter-Sounds Relationships Word Structure 25, page 408, students read the words from a list that the teacher makes with /-er/ words on one side and the words sing, jog, fly, cry, and supply on the other side.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Literacy Continuum, A Tool for Assessment, Planning, and Teaching Grades PreK-8, Grade Two, Selecting Goals, Behaviors, and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support. Phonics, Spelling and Word Study, Word Structure, Suffixes, page 372, students understand the concept of a suffix and can recognize and use suffixes such as /ar/, /er/, /or/, and /ist/.
Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Literacy Continuum A Tool for Assessment, Planning, and Teaching Grades PreK-8, Grade Two, Level L, Selecting Goals, Behaviors, and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support, Thinking Within the Text, Planning for Word Work After Guided Reading, page 487, students recognize letter patterns that look the same but represent different vowel sounds, such as in the words dear and bear, as well as letter patterns that look different but represent the same vowel sound, such as in the words said and bed.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Letter-Sounds Relationships Word Structure 25, page 410, during the shared reading of “Old King Cole,” students find words that have the suffix /-er/.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Word Structure 27, page 416, the teacher builds the words pup, bus, rab, cab, bit, in, ket, bit, and py. The students break the words into syllables and then read them.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 Online Resource, Word Structure 28, page 429, students write words on sentence strips with prefixes. Then they cut apart their words, trade the prefix with a partner, and read their new list of words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure Concept 13, page 361, students say and sort the word cards, read their columns of words to a partner and write on a three-way sort.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High- Frequency Words Concept 5, page 261, students read their words to a partner.
Lessons provide students with some opportunities to decode words in a sentence.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Word-Structure 27, in the Shared Reading section, the teacher reads the story “Bed in Summer.” While they are reading, students identify two multisyllabic words with a closed first syllable.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Literacy Continuum A Tool for Assessment, Planning, and Teaching Grades PreK-8, Grade Two, Level L, Selecting Goals, Behaviors, and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support, Thinking Within the Text, Solving Words, Reading Words, page 483, students notice parts of words and connect them to other words to solve them.
Lessons provide students with some opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Word-Structure 28, page 422, the students write the words with prefixes during the interactive writing.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, World-Solving Actions 1, page 427, students write word pair sheets, letter cards, and magnetic letters. The students build the words that have the same ending sounds and letters as the word cards they chose.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 Online Resource, World-Solving Actions 2, page 430, students use a four-box square paper to build words and then read the words together.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High- Frequency Words Concept 8, page 273, students make word ladders using the lesson’s word cards.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Meaning/Vocabulary Concept 6, page 303, students use word cards and choose four homographs to write and illustrate four pairs of sentences.
Materials contain some methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade level phonics.
Generative Lesson plans contain a structure for teachers to present similar content or concepts to teach a variety of spelling patterns, the intention is not for systematic, explicit review phonics skills with a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade-level phonics. For example, In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 7, pg. 103, the generative lesson suggestion is “A generative lesson has a simple structure that you can use to present similar content and concepts. Use this lesson structure to teach children a variety of long vowel sounds in words with silent e.”
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources Word-Solving Actions 3, page 436, in the interactive reading, students read the story “A Thunderstorm” with the teacher. Then the students find unfamiliar words and highlight them with highlighter tape.
Materials delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction and practice to build toward application of skills.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources, Across the Year document, page 43, students learn to recognize and use phonograms with a double vowel.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources, Word Study Lesson 1, at the beginning of the year, students work on understanding syllables in consonants.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources, Word-Study Actions 9, students break a word into syllables to decode manageable units in the early part of the year.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Table of Contents, the Table of Contents outlines the order of the 23 Letter-Sound Relationships
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Nine Areas of Learning, page 42, the guide details the early, middle, and late development of Letter-Sound Relationships lessons.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 1, pages 46-47, there is A Suggested Sequence for Phonics Lessons. This explains how phonics lessons are organized by the nine areas of learning. On pages 48-5, there is a Master Lesson Guide Suggested Sequence for Phonics Lessons. This contains the Lesson Number, the Lesson Title, Teaching Suggestions for Extending Learning, and Teacher Notes.
Materials have an explanation for the order of the phonics sequence. Research is not cited for the explanation.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources, page 46, the guide states that the lessons are organized into nine areas of learning, and the lessons are presented in six different areas. Within each lesson, skills progress from easier to harder concepts.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Nine Areas of Learning, page 42, the guide details the early, middle, and late development of Letter-Sound Relationships lessons.
Materials provide some opportunities for students to develop orthographic and phonological processing.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Second Grade Online Resources, Word Solving Actions 4, page 438, with the teacher, students read the poem “Two Little Feet.” When they come to an unknown word, they write the letters in the boxes that they have made, tap out the letter, and then blend the letters to sound out the word.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Second Grade Online Resources, Word Solving Actions 5, page 442, the teacher tells students that they are going to learn about word parts and know when letters stand for sounds. The teacher uses the onset and rime “track.”
Indicator 1N.iv
Decode and encode common and additional vowel teams (Grade 2).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1n.iv.
Materials include opportunities for the instruction of phonograms and spelling patterns concerning common vowel teams and additional vowel teams. There are some opportunities for decoding practice, encoding practice, and review of common vowel teams and additional vowel teams.
Materials include opportunities over the course of the year for students to decode and encode common vowel teams.
Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Spelling Patterns Activity 3, page 182, the teacher writes the following words on a whiteboard: hop, cane, kit, can, hope, cub, kite, and cube. The students then read the words with them.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships Activity 8, page 108, students play the game “Concentration” to match words with the same vowel letter, one with a long vowel sound and one with a short vowel sound.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships Concept 18, Recognize and Use Letter Combinations That Represent Long Vowel Sounds, page 147, the teacher directs students to use the vowel teams /ai/, /ee/, /oa/, /ay/, /ea/, and /ow/ in the lesson.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource, Spelling Patterns Activity 11, page 213, the teacher writes three pairs of words: feed, speed, keep, greet, and sheet. The teacher then reads the words with the students. The teacher asks students what they notice helping them to see the double /ee/ pattern in the middle of the words. The teacher encourages students to find other words that fit that pattern.
Materials include some opportunities over the course of the year for students to decode and encode additional vowel teams.
Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
In Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 6, page 101, students make different words with -eat, -ake, -ike, -ee, -ide, -ight words and practice reading the word list.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships Concept 8, Contrast Short and Long Vowel Sounds in Words, page 107, students use the term “short” and “long” to describe the vowel sounds in words like class, rest, wave, feed, and might.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Phonics, Spelling, Word Study Lesson Folders, Grade 2, Letter Sound Relationship Card LSR8 Teach, using the pocket chart, the teacher displays the words class and wave. The teacher leads a discussion about long and short vowel sounds. The teacher gives more examples: rest/feed, dish/might, block/low, hunt/huge.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Phonics, Spelling, Word Study Lesson Folders, Grade 2, Word Meaning/Vocabulary Concepts 4, the teacher instructs on homophones. One example is hi and high (additional vowel team). Students identify the words.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Literacy Continuum: A Tool for Assessment, Planning, and Teaching, Grades PreK-8, Grade 2, Selecting Goals, Behaviors, and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support. Phonics, Spelling and Word Study, Vowel, Spelling Patterns, Phonogram patterns in Single-Syllable Words, page 415, students will recognize and use phonogram patterns with a long vowel sound in single-syllable words: e.g., ace, ade, ale, ain, ake, ame, ane, ake, ay, aze, ead, eak, eal, eam, ear, eek, ee, eed, eep, eet, ice, ide, ight, ime, ind, ine, ite, ive, y, oat, oak, old, one, ope, ow, ue.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Guide, Spelling Patterns, pages 34-37, lists phonograms taught in Grade 2. Students learn to recognize and use phonograms with a double vowel (VVC). Students learn to recognize and use phonograms with vowel combinations (VVC). Students learn to recognize and use phonograms with the /u/ vowel sound such as in moon and in book. Students learn to recognize and use phonograms with /ou/ and /oi/.
Materials do not contain systematic opportunities for students to review previously learned phonics common vowel teams and additional vowel teams. While Generative Lesson plans contain a structure for teachers to present similar content or concepts to teach a variety of spelling patterns, the intention is not for systematic, explicit review phonics skills with a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade-level phonics.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Spelling Patterns 11, pg. 1213, the generative lesson suggestion is:
A generative lesson has a simple structure that you can use to present similar content and concepts. Use this lesson structure to teach children a variety of phonograms.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, pg. 229, the generative lesson suggestion is:
A generative lesson has a simple structure that you can use to present similar content and concepts. Use this lesson structure to teach children a variety of phonograms that have long vowel sounds.
Indicator 1O
Materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge, directionality, and function (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1o.
The Fountas & Pinnell materials contain opportunities for explicit instruction of text structures and features of text; however, there are missed opportunities for students to learn some text structures such as main idea and details, compare and contrast, and cause and effect. Students have opportunities to practice identifying and describing structures and features of a text.
Examples include but are not limited to:
Students have some opportunities to identify text structures (e.g., main idea and details, sequence of events, problem and solution, compare and contrast, cause and effect).
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, page 320, the teacher asks students about what problems Marta has in the book Big Moon Tortilla. Then the teacher asks if students think that the problem could exist in real life.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, page 360, the teacher reads part of the story “Home at Last.” The teacher asks students what part the teacher chose to read. The teacher tells students to notice that the teacher reads events from the beginning, events, high points, and ending of the story.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Literary Analysis: Stories have a problem that gets solved, page 356, the teacher asks students to identify Sophie’s problem in the book, A Weekend with Wendell.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Literary Analysis: What the characters say and do shows how they are feeling, page 364, the teacher reads the book Mango, Abuela, and Me and says, “What do you notice about the way Mia’s face and body look when her grandma comes to visit? Why do you think she might look like that?”
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Literary Analysis: The place is important to the story, page 352, the teacher says, “The story is about Ana and her family adjusting to life in a new country. If Ana and her family stayed in Mexico, how would the story be different?”
Materials include lessons and activities about text features (e.g., title, byline, headings, table of contents, glossary, pictures, illustrations).
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, page 302, the teacher tells the students that the largest words at the top of the page are called headings. The teacher then tells students that the headings on this page tell that they are going to read about waking up in space.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, page 305, the teacher asks students to identify what is different about page 2 in the book, “Animals with Jobs.” Using an anchor chart, the teacher teaches the students about the table of contents. The teacher tells students that the table of contents is always at the front of the book. It tells the reader about the topics in the book, and it shows you the page on which to turn for information about each topic.
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Literary Analysis: The table of contents lists the topics in a nonfiction book, page 304, the teacher asks, “What page would you go to if you wanted to read about getting around in space?”
In Fountas & Pinnell The Reading Minilessons Book, Grade 2, Literary Analysis: Sometimes authors and illustrators use sidebars to give information, page 306, the teacher says, “Sometimes nonfiction authors include extra information about the topic in a box off to the side. This is called a sidebar. What do you notice about the information in the sidebar?”
Indicator 1P
Instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high-frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid-Grade 1 and through Grade 2.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1p.
The Fountas & Pinnell Grade 2 materials do not contain frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements. Students do have opportunities to hear the teacher read some grade-level text during Shared Reading and Interactive Reading of Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2. The teacher reads aloud poetry from Sing a Song of Poetry. Students do not read text with a focus on fluent reading. While students read poetry aloud with the teacher from Sing a Song of Poetry, the practice is not to build students’ skills in rate, accuracy, and expression. Students participate in the reading of poetry to practice decoding automaticity. The materials contain nine High-Frequency Word Lessons. Since all nine lessons are generative lessons, the materials suggest the teacher repeat the lesson several times with new words selected by the teacher. The program does not specify an exact sequence of instruction. In the Master Lesson Guide, Lesson #43 (High-Frequency Word Lesson 2) indicates the goal for Grade 2 is instant recognition of 200 high-frequency words. High-frequency lessons are not frequently addressed over the year, with lessons occurring in #42, #43, #44, #45, #46, #64, #65, #66, and #67 of the Master Lesson Guide. Each lesson suggests using the Words to Know Instructional Procedure, which contains five steps, including explicit instruction by the teacher and opportunities for students to understand the principle.
Some opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read on-level text.
Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
In Fountas & Pinnell, in the guided reading story folder, “How to Be A Cloud Spotter,” the teacher prompts the students to read smoothly with their eyes.
In Fountas & Pinnell, Guided Reading Card, Levels K-N, pages 2-3, each Guided Reading Card has three sections focused on understanding the text. These sections are called “Introducing the Text”, “Reading the Text”, and “Discussing and Revisiting the Text”. However, because students read text at their instructional level, the books may not be on grade level.
Multiple opportunities are not provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression in oral reading with on-level text and grade-level decodable words.
Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
In Fountas & Pinnell, in the guided reading story folder “Very Unusual Plants,” the teacher guides students to read with all dimensions of fluency. The teacher tells the student to make the reading smooth.
In Fountas & Pinnell, in the guided reading story folder “Amazing Animal Noses,” the teacher is prompted that, if a student needs help with punctuation, have the student read the punctuation.
Materials provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level text by a model reader.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 1, students listen to the teacher read “My Father Is Extremely Tall” or “Miss Polly Had a Dolly” from Sing a Song of Poetry.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 10, during the interactive read-aloud, the teacher reads the story Happy Likes Soccer.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Meaning/Vocabulary 2, students listen to the teacher read the poem, “The House That Jack Built,” “I Like Silver,” or “Seasons” from Sing a Song of Poetry.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, students listen to the teacher read the poem “Clouds” or “ I Live in the City” from Sing a Song of Poetry.
Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words.
Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Words to Know Instructional Routine is described with five steps
1. Show a group of high-frequency words, reading each one while running your pointer finger under it, left to right.
2. Children look at each word to see if they recognize it.
3. Help children understand the principle.
4. Children work with high-frequency words to apply the principle.
5. Summarize the learning by restating the principle.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, page 244, the teacher holds up a word card and models for students, “This word is anything. Say anything. What do you notice about the word anything? This word combines two words, any and thing. Let’s use anything in a sentence: I don’t want anything to eat. Now you say the sentence.”
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 7, page 267, the teacher uses letter boxes to help students learn about high-frequency words (moon, name, made, end, every). The teacher says the word, has the students say the word, then draws four letter boxes on paper. The teacher talks to students and tells them to think about how it looks. The teacher goes letter by letter, saying the sounds to write the word.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 9, page 276, the teacher is prompted to select high-frequency words that are challenging. The teacher makes the first word using magnetic letters and then talks to students about what they notice. The teacher writes the word using word boxes.
Students have opportunities to practice and read irregularly spelled words in isolation.
Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 5, page 260, the teacher introduces close, how, each, happy, should in isolation during Teach and then students practice reading, making, and writing the words during Apply.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Word 7, pages 267-271, the students are instructed to read the high-frequency word aloud and then use the letter boxes to write the word.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 9, page 277, students are provided copies of the letter boxes sheet and the lesson’s word cards. The first student reads the word out loud, and the second student writes the word in the word boxes.
Materials include a sufficient quantity of new grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words for students to make reading progress.
There are nine high-frequency lessons in the Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2. There is a high-frequency word list in Ready resources with 200 words on it. While the teacher is provided a list of high-frequency words, the program does not specify an exact sequence of introduction or exactly how many of the words should be mastered at any specific point in time.
The Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 book advises teachers to “select some more challenging words that most children in the class do not know, and also include a couple of words that are more familiar to the children.”
Indicator 1Q
Materials, questions, and tasks provide systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1q.
The Fountas & Pinnell Grade 2 materials contain instruction and practice in word analysis strategies during Letter-Sound Relationships, Word Structure, Word Solving Actions, and Spelling Patterns. The skills introduced are explicitly taught, and students are provided both guided and independent practice activities that include word sorts, games, poems, and other reading selections. Students have opportunities to hear and read high-frequency words in the context of sentences during Teach and/or Shared Reading of the High-Frequency Word lessons. The teacher models reading poems that contain high-frequency words from Sing a Song of Poetry, and students are encouraged to join the teacher after one or two repetitions. During Interactive Writing, there are various opportunities for students to write high-frequency words out of context to check their spelling on the word wall, but there is no systematic practice on writing high-frequency words in sentences. In some Independent Writing sections, the teacher encourages students to use the high-frequency words list from their Writing Workshop folders to check the spelling of words when they write independently. The materials contain poems from Sing a Song of Poetry, Grade 2 for students to read during Shared Reading in lessons of the Nine Areas of Learning about Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study. Poetry is suggested in each lesson, but the poems are not aligned to the program’s scope and sequence and do not consistently provide practice of the decodable element from the lesson. Poems are not necessarily used for repeated readings. The poems also include high-frequency words for students to read during Shared Reading in the High-Frequency Words Lessons. The decodable texts/poems align with the scope and sequence of the Master Lesson Guide. While there are poems for high-frequency word reading in decodable texts, there are a limited number of prepared lesson plans for repeated readings of the poems.
Materials provide limited support for students’ development to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g., apply spelling-sound relationship on common words, decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels, decode words with common prefixes and suffixes) in connected text and tasks.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 8, in this lesson, students listen to a word read by the teacher and determine if the vowel sound heard is long or short.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 8, students use the terms “short” and “long” to describe the vowel sounds in words like class, rest, wave, feed, and might.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 18, students write /ai/ and /ay/ words on a two-column sort and then read the list to a partner.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 18-22, these five lessons focus on common vowel teams, with two to four vowel teams taught in each lesson.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 18, students use vowel teams /ai/, /ee/, /oa/, /ay/, /ea/, and /ow/ in the lesson
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 25, students read the words flier, crier, and supplier with their teacher.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Contents, Word Structure Lessons, there are twelve lessons focused on reading and using words with common suffixes such as -s, -ed, -es, -er, -est. There is one lesson focused on the prefixes un- and re-.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure Lesson 28, students build -un words with magnetic letters.
Materials provide some opportunities to read irregularly spelled words in connected text and tasks.
Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, during Shared Reading, students read the poem, “Cradle Song,” from Sing a Song of Poetry, the students locate high-frequency words while they are reading the text.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 3, during Shared Reading, students read the poem, “The Secret,” from Sing a Song of Poetry. Students use highlighter tape to locate high-frequency words they’re currently studying.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 5, during Shared Reading, students read the poem, “My Shadow,” from Sing a Song of Poetry. The students use highlighter tape to highlight high-frequency words.
Lessons and activities provide students opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding (writing) in context and decoding words (reading) in connected text and tasks.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Spelling Patterns 2, during interactive writing, students are prompted to think about the vowel they want to use when they are writing.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 5, students are prompted to clap compound words during the interactive writing portion of the lesson before trying to write them.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 2, students get a copy of the sound and letter box sheets and a copy of word cards and magnetic letters as a pair. The students say the word together. Then one student says the sounds in order while moving the related magnetic letters into the boxes from left to right. The student repeats the words, blending the sounds.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 5, students highlight the last part of each word and then sort the words into groups by last parts. The students read the words to their partners. The words have -ell, -ow, -ck endings.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 8, the teacher reads the word and claps the syllables as they are said. The students identify how many syllables they heard. The teacher cuts the word card into two parts and explains that one is the base and the other is a prefix (i.e., re-, -play). The teacher slides the word together and has the students read the word smoothly. During Apply, the teacher reminds students that each syllable has one vowel sound.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 10, students get 15 - 20 word cards. They choose ten words and then write them on a sheet. They make each word using magnetic letters, removing letters from the beginning or end of the word to create a new word. The new word is written on a sheet of paper.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, during Interactive Writing, students write sentences with the teacher. The teacher strategically chooses newly learned high-frequency words while pointing out that these are words that the children have studied.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, during Independent Writing, as students are writing, they are encouraged to write high-frequency words quickly rather than copying them from somewhere. Students can use their high-frequency word lists from their Writing Workshop folders to check the spelling.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 5, during Independent Writing, students write high-frequency words and use their Writing Workshop folders to check the spelling.
Materials include some decodable texts that contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Spelling Patterns 15, students read the poem, “The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” to identify words with the long vowel sound pattern.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 6, students read the poem “Going on a Bear Hunt” with the purpose of locating contractions.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word-Solving Actions 3, students read the poem “Over in the Meadow” with the purpose of finding unfamiliar words and using knowledge of letter-sound order to solve the words.
In Sing a Song of Poetry, page 14, there is a grid to help teachers think about using five poems as a text to revisit.
A teacher could revisit “At the Seaside” to focus on:
Phonogram Patterns: -en, -own, -ide, -ood, -ade, -ave, -ig, -and, -ore, -ole, -ike, -up, -in, -ame, -ill, -it, -ome
Letter-Sound Beginning wh, wd, b, th, s, sp, g, t, m, sh, h, l, c, n.
Letter-Sound Ending n, s, d, v, g, r, k, p, l, m, t, d.
Rhyming words.
Two-syllable words.
A teacher could revisit “Betty Botter” to focus on:
Phonogram Patterns: -ome, -ut, -aid, -it, -in, -ill, -ake, -an, -and.
Letter-Sound Beginning b, s, sh, th, p, m, w, h, tw.
Letter-Sound Ending t, r, m, d, s, f, n, l, k.
Rhyming words.
Two-syllable words.
Materials include some decodable texts that contain grade-level high-frequency/irregularly spelled words aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 3, students select one or two high-frequency words from the story during the Interactive Read-Aloud of Big Mama’s, and they write them on the whiteboard.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 5, students read the poems “My Shadow,” and “Sing Your Way Home.” The high-frequency words students learn in the lesson are: close, how, each, happy, should. The high-frequency words in the text are: have, I, the, like.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 7, students read the poem “Terrific Toes.” The poem has the following high-frequency words: I, have, they, goes, what.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 8, students read the poem, “Porridge is Bubbling.” The poem contains no high-frequency words from the lesson.
In Sing a Song of Poetry, page 14, there is a grid to help teachers think about using five poems as a text to revisit.
A teacher could revisit “Golden Slumbers” to focus on:
High-Frequency Words: your, you, when, baby, do, not, and, I, will, a, then, is, are, must.
A teacher could revisit “Make New Friends” to focus on:
High-Frequency Words: make, new, friends, but, the, one, is, and.
A teacher could revisit “Miss Mary Mack” to focus on:
High-Frequency Words: all, in, with, down, her, back, she, mother, for, to, see, the, they, so, and, some, of.
Indicator 1R
Materials support ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1r.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 materials, there are opportunities to assess students' foundational skills during Assess of the Letter-Sound Relationships, Spelling Patterns, and Word-Solving Actions Lessons. There are curriculum-based assessment protocols provided in the online resources, which are directly correlated to the nine areas of literacy instruction included in the program. Each assessment explains what is being tested, why it is important, and how to complete the assessment. These opportunities provide the teacher with information about students’ skills. There are Extend learning sections the teacher can do if a student has mastered a content area or if a student needs reteaching. The assessments within the lessons are administered at the end of lessons. Throughout the High-Frequency Words lessons, the following assessment opportunities are provided within the Online Resources to use over the course of the year: Assessment A (Reading High-Frequency Words) and Assessment B (Writing High-Frequency Words). For word analysis, there are Word-Solving Action assessments provided such as Assessment A (Sorting Names), Assessment B (Sorting Words), Assessment C (Using Known Words to Solve New Words), Assessment D (Solving Unknown Words and Monitoring Reading), and Assessment E (Adding or Removing Consonant Clusters or Digraphs). Each assessment provides recommendations for what teachers should analyze once the assessment has been administered. There are missed opportunities for assessments to provide the teacher with instructional guidance about the next steps for all students. The materials do not provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities of students’ current skills in fluency. While Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 provides curriculum-based assessment measures in each of the nine areas of phonics instruction, fluency is not included in the nine areas.
Assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of foundational skills.
Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonics and decoding.
Throughout the Letter-Sound Relationships (LSR), the following assessment opportunities are provided within the Online Resources: Assessment A: Saying and Identifying Beginning and Ending Consonant Sounds in Words, Assessment B: Matching Beginning Consonant Cluster Sounds with the Letters that Represent them, Assessment C: Matching Ending Consonant Cluster Sounds with the Letters that Represent Them, Assessment D: Matching Ending Consonant Digraph Sounds with the Letters that Represent Them, Assessment E: Matching Long Vowel Sounds with the Letters that Represent Them, Assessment F: Matching Short Vowel Sounds with the Letters that Represent Them, Assessment G: Comparing and Identifying Long and Short Vowel Sounds, Assessment H: Recognizing and Using Vowel Combinations, Assessment I: Individual Record (Beginning and Ending Consonant Sounds), Assessment J: Individual Record, Assessment K: Class Record (Beginning Consonant Clusters), Assessment L: Class Record (Ending Consonant Clusters), Assessment M: Class Record (Beginning and Ending Consonant Digraphs), and Assessment N: Class Record (Vowel Sounds).
Throughout the Sound Patterns (SP), the following assessment opportunities are provided within the Online Resources: Assessment A: Reading Words with Phonogram Patterns, Assessment B: Writing Words with Phonogram Patterns, Assessment C: Reading and Writing Names, Assessment D: Individual Record (Reading), Assessment E: Individual Record (Writing), and Assessment F: Individual Record (Reading and Writing Names).
Throughout the Word-Solving Actions (WSA) set of lessons, the following assessment opportunities are provided within the Online Resources: Assessment A: Sorting Names, Assessment B: Sorting Words, Assessment C: Using Known Words to Solve New Words, Assessment D: Solving Unknown Words and Monitoring Reading, Assessment E: Adding or Removing Consonant Clusters or Digraphs, Assessment F: Individual Record (Word-Solving Actions), and Assessment G: Individual Record (Reading Text).
Materials include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of word recognition and analysis.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, during Assess, it lists three assessment opportunities:
Notice how quickly the student can recognize high-frequency words when they are reading.
Observe the extent to which the student can independently write high-frequency words quickly and accurately
The teacher may wish to use High-Frequency Words Assessment A, B, or C.
In the Word-Solving Actions Online Assessment C, the teacher selects five to ten words from the Word List. The student reads each word or attempts to read each word. The teacher asks the student to say what helped the student read the word. The teacher notes what letters, letter clusters, and word parts the child represents.
In Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 1, page 245, during Assess, the teacher is to notice how quickly students can recognize high-frequency words when they are reading. The teacher observes to the extent that students can independently write the words. It is suggested that the teacher might want to give online assessment A, B or C.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, High-Frequency Words 4, page 257, during Assess, it is recommended that the teacher notices how quickly a student recognizes high-frequency words when s/he is reading.
Materials do not include assessment opportunities that measure student progress of fluency.
Materials do not provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities of students’ current skills in fluency.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information of students’ current skills/level of understanding.
In Fountas and Pinnell Spelling Patterns Assessment Guide, Writing Words with Phonograms, the teacher is provided a running record that she uses to evaluate students’ progress. The teacher enters a check if they got it right and writes the attempted word/sound if the student did not write it correctly.
In Fountas and Pinnell Word Structure Assessment F, Recognizing and Using Word Endings, the teacher gives this assessment to the whole class and then uses the class running record to record whether the student was able to add inflectional endings to the words play, jump, add, and walk.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resources, Letter-Sound Relationships, Grade 2, there are eight assessments available in this resource, including saying and identifying beginning and ending consonant sounds in words. The guidance suggests the lessons in which these assessments are to be used, as well as what teachers should notice during these lessons.
In Fountas and Pinnell, BAS1 3rd Edition, Optional Assessments, Where-to-Start Word Test, this test allows the teacher to give a quick assessment to give the broad notion of the level at which to begin the Benchmark Assessment
In Fountas and Pinnell, BAS2 3rd Edition, Recording Form, City Hawks, Level M, NonFiction Tests, these tests assess students’ oral reading fluency and comprehension.
Materials provide limited support to teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in foundational skills.
In Fountas and Pinnell, Guided Reading Book, Chapter 8, page 203, in this section on assessment, teachers are directed to use The Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Continuum to determine what to work on next by reading level.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Online Resource Guide, High Frequency Words Card 5, page 259, every card contains suggestions for English Language Learners.
Indicator 1S
Materials, questions, and tasks provide high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills, so all students achieve mastery of foundational skills.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1s.
The Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2 lessons consistently include Teach, Apply, and Share. “Teach” is a whole-class lesson. “Apply” is hands-on practice, and the teacher may have students work in a small group at a literacy center. “Share” is a whole-class meeting for students to share their phonics, spelling, and word study lessons. Within Teach, Apply, and Share, there are no opportunities or explicit instruction in re-teaching when a student performs below grade level to receive extensive opportunities for learning and practice. While some of the lesson plans are generative and a teacher can reteach the generative lesson repeatedly, guidance is not provided to the teacher as to how to scaffold students performing below grade level. The Fountas & Pinnell materials provide daily support for students who read, speak or listen in a language other than English. Each lesson is introduced with a section entitled Working with English Language Learners, which provides additional suggestions for addressing the instructional needs of this population. The Fountas & Pinnell materials provide daily support for students who read, speak or listen in a language other than English. Each lesson is introduced with a section entitled Working with English Language Learners, which provides additional suggestions for addressing the instructional needs of this population. No advanced opportunities are provided for students to work on, while the teacher provides reteaching to students who have not acquired the skills being taught. Each lesson contains Extend opportunities, which can provide advanced students with the opportunity to learn grade-level foundational skills at greater depth. In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Lessons, Grade 2, page 30, the materials describe Extend Learning as “If children need more experience, you can repeat the lesson format using these suggestions for variation, different examples, or more challenging activities.”
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards. At the beginning of each lesson, information is provided to the teacher for working with English Language Learners. Examples include, but are not limited to:
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, page 87, it suggests that the teacher uses physical actions to understand the meaning behind the lesson taught.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 22, page 163, it is recommended that the teacher gives several examples of the letter combinations ie and ow and take time to demonstrate each vowel sound.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling and Word Study Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure Lesson 3, page 319, it states, “Being able to break down words into syllables is very helpful to English language learners as they develop their ability to pronounce words. Multisyllabic words will not be so daunting when children know how to look for the parts. Have them work with cut-up words that they put together and take apart. Be sure the children understand the meaning of the words you select.”
General statements about ELL students, or few strategies noted at the beginning of a unit or at one place in the teacher edition are then implemented by the materials throughout the curriculum.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study Lesson Book Grade 2, What Are Some Ways of Working Effectively with English Language Learners?, pages 19-25, states, “You are likely to have many children in your class who not only can speak one language but are learning a second or even third language.” It is suggested that the teacher adjust their teaching to ensure that English language learners have access to the teaching of sounds, letters, and words. Suggestions are provided for Oral Language, Reading, Writing, Phonics, and Word Study. For example:
Oral language: “Use pictures and objects that children understand and that connect to their homes and neighborhoods. At the same time, avoid examples that may be completely strange to children and to which they have difficulty bringing meaning.
Reading: Provide an extensive collection of simple alphabet books so that children can encounter the same letters in the same sequence, with picture examples in different texts.
Writing: Accept spellings that reflect the child’s own pronunciation of words, even if it varies from standard pronunciation. Notice the strengths in the child’s attempts to relate letters and sounds. Show that you value attempts rather than correcting everything the child writes.
Phonics and Word Study: Use many hands-on activities so that children have the chance to manipulate magnetic letters and tiles, move pictures around and work with word cards and name cards.
Materials do not provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level foundational skills and to meet or exceed grade-level standards.
Materials suggest small group teaching but do not provide lesson plans and explicit instruction for reteaching students performing below grade level.
Materials do not provide guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at the grade-level standards.
Materials provide some extensions and/or advanced opportunities to engage with foundational skills at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Lessons, Grade 2, Letter-Sound Relationships 6, page 102, during Extend Learning, there are two opportunities listed:
Add spellings of long vowel sounds to reinforce the principle: e.g., ay (gray, stray), ow (show, flow), and ui (fruit, bruise).
Ask each child to choose one long vowel pattern. Throughout the day, have children look for words with the pattern they chose and write them on a list sheet or in their word study notebook. Encourage children to share their findings during a group share at the end of the day.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Lessons, Grade 2, Spelling Patterns 3, page 184, during Extend Learning, materials suggest students play Concentration by matching CVC or VCe word pairs.
In Fountas & Pinnell Phonics, Spelling, and Word Lessons, Grade 2, Word Structure 1, page 314, during Extend Learning, materials recommend the teacher repeat the lesson with other words that have a double consonant in the middle or to post a chart for children to list words that fit the pattern. Students should have a goal of finding 50 or 100 of the words.
Overview of Gateway 2
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Gateway 2
v1.5
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge
Materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Indicator 2A
Texts are organized around a cohesive topic(s) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.
Indicator 2B
Materials require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality questions and tasks.
Indicator 2C
Materials require students to analyze the integration of knowledge within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks.
Indicator 2D
Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit's topic(s) through integrated literacy skills (e.g., a combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
Indicator 2E
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year.
Indicator 2F
Materials include a progression of research skills that guide shared research and writing projects to develop students' knowledge using multiple texts and source materials.
Criterion 2.2: Coherence
Materials promote mastery of grade-level standards by the end of the year.
Indicator 2G
Materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments.
Indicator 2H
Materials regularly and systematically balance time and resources required for following the suggested implementation, as well as information for alternative implementations that maintain alignment and intent of the standards.
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
The program includes opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize materials with integrity and to further develop their own understanding of the content.
Indicator 3A
Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials to support students' literacy development.
Indicator 3B
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
Indicator 3C
Materials include standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.
Indicator 3D
Materials provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
Indicator 3E
Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
Indicator 3F
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
Indicator 3G
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3H
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.2: Assessment
The program includes a system of assessments identifying how materials provide tools, guidance, and support for teachers to collect, interpret, and act on data about student progress towards the standards.
Indicator 3I
Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.
Indicator 3J
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
Indicator 3K
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series.
Indicator 3L
Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
The program includes materials designed for each student’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
Indicator 3M
Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level standards that will support their regular and active participation in learning English language arts and literacy.
Indicator 3N
Materials regularly provide extensions to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level.
Indicator 3O
Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning.
Indicator 3P
Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
Indicator 3Q
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards to regularly participate in learning English language arts and literacy.
Indicator 3R
Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.
Indicator 3S
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
Indicator 3T
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.
Indicator 3U
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3V
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
Indicator 3W
Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
Indicator 3X
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
Indicator 3Y
The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
Indicator 3Z
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.