8th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

Throughout the materials, there are many texts that do not have the appropriate complexity for the grade level. Many texts have quantitative scores that fall below the correct range, and the qualitative portion is insufficient to raise the overall grade level alignment. The text also relies heavily on excerpts from pieces of literature that are only a few pages long, which limits the exposure to certain included Lexile levels. The excerpts omit important aspects of the text and associated tasks do not increase complexity appropriately for the grade level. Texts at the correct grade level are included, but are not used consistently or do not have appropriate associated tasks. Evidence of this includes, but is not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read “The Great Rat Race” with a Lexile of 650. The text does involve some cultural differences that may increase the complexity for some students, the structure of the text is not very complex. The task asks students to focus on conflict with this text.
• In Unit 3, students read an excerpt from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This text is an exemplar text for grades 6-8, but the materials are only asking students to read a short passage. Students are simply asked to work on fluency with this piece. The task does not work with the complexity of this text.
• In Unit 6 students read an excerpt from Kira-Kira, with a Lexile level of 740. There are some cultural differences that could make this text complex, students are not provided enough of the text to really focus on those complex features. Students are asked to work on fluency with this piece, so the task does not increase the complexity of this text.

Examples of texts that are at the appropriate level of complexity are as follows:

• In Unit 4, students read “The Diary of Anne Frank”. This text is an exemplar text for grades 6-8. This text is paired with “A Diary from Another World”, a newspaper article, and “The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank, an interview. Students use all three texts to complete after reading tasks.
• In Unit 6 , students read “O Captain! My Captain!” and “I Saw Old General at Bay”. “O Captain! My Captain!” is an exemplar text for grades 6-8. Students work with both poems to complete after reading tasks.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.

Though there is a great variety of complexities throughout the materials, there is no discernable increase during the course of the year. For example, in Unit 1 Lexile levels range from 650-1260, in Unit 3 Lexile levels range from 790-1030, and in Unit 8 Lexile levels range from 820-1240. In Unit 1 students read “My First Free Summer”. This text is a Lexile level of 820, but with a fairly simple structure. While this text does incorporate some cultural aspects that may make this text more complex, the tasks associated with this text do not increase complexity. In Unit 7, students read “Out of Bounds”. This text is a Lexile level of 790 and contains a simple structure. Similar to “My First Free Summer”, this text deals with cultural differences that may make this text more complex for some students.

In addition, tasks are of similar rigor and demand at the beginning compared to the end of the year. For example, Each Unit has a “Practice and Apply” section at the end of the stories. Within each “Practice and Apply” section students answer comprehension questions, complete a text analysis, and have an opportunities for Extension and Challenge. The “Practice and Apply” section does not build or become more rigorous from the prior units “Practice and Apply” Section. Students do not show that they can independently master skills by the end of the year. Most analysis questions give note exactly where to go to get the needed information. Students rarely have to practice close reading to dig deeper into texts. The scaffolds and student notes provided in the margins remain the same from Unit 1 until the end of the year.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

The publisher does not provide a text complexity analysis or rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level. At the beginning of every unit, texts are listed with their Lexile, Fry, and Dale-Chall level. There are no qualitative measurements, nor are any reader and task considerations included to create a complete text analysis. There is also no rationale included for the purpose or placement in each grade level.

Unit 1:

• “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara Difficulty Level: Average Readability: Lexile 1270, Fry 7, Dale-Chall 6.6
• “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry Difficulty Level: Challenging Readability: Lexile 980, Fry 9, Dale-Chall 7.9

Unit 4:

• “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” by Sandra Cisneros Difficulty Level: Easy Readability: Lexile 1070, Fry 6, Dale-Chall 5.7
• “Pandora’s Box” retold by Louis Untermeyer Difficulty Level: Challenging Readability: Lexile 930, Fry 9, Dale-Chall 6.5

Unit 8:

• “The Spider Man Behind Spider-Man” by Bijal P. Trivedi Difficulty Level: Average Readability: Lexile 1240, Fry 8, Dale-Chall 7.8
• “Over the Top” by Renee Skelton Difficulty Level: Average Readability: Lexile 1030, Fry 9, Dale-Chall 7.6

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

Students are exposed to a wide range of text types within each unit and throughout the curriculum, although no clear anchor texts are designated by the Teacher Edition. For example, units have a broad range of text types, including, but not limited to memoirs, excerpts, poems, scripts, folk literature, short stories, new articles, non-fiction texts, and cartoons. Also, each unit has a large volume of texts for students to read. Unit 1 contains 10 texts, Unit 2 contains 8 texts, Unit 3 contains 8 texts, Unit 4 contains 6 texts, Unit 5 contains 8 texts, Unit 6 contains 7 texts, Unit 7 contains 6 texts, Unit 8 contains 8 texts, Unit 9 contains 5 texts, and Unit 10 is designated as a research unit, but lacks anchor/focus texts.

There are no opportunities for students to engage with full-length novels, but many high quality novel excerpts are included. For example, In Unit 3, students are introduced to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but they only read a five-page passage of the novel. At the end of the excerpt, the textbook recommends students continue reading the novel to find out what more will happen, but there are no materials for the student or teacher to continue any work with this novel. Also, In Unit 8, students are introduced to An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, but they only read a five-page passage of the text. At the end of the excerpt, the textbook states “Keep reading to learn about the heroic efforts of many citizens to care for the sick and search for a cure.” While it is suggested that students continue reading, there are not materials for the teacher or students to use to continue any work with this novel.

There are no included mechanisms or processes for teachers or students to monitor progress of independent reading. For example, At the end of each unit, students are given “Ideas for Independent Reading.” Typically nine books are listed under three different questions based on the unit. For example, Unit 1 includes the titles of three novels under each of the following questions: “What’s worth the effort? Is seeing believing? and When is it OK to be scared?” The directions to the teacher include, “Encourage students to choose one or more of these ‘great reads’ to read independently. Also, in the introductory materials, students are told “The best way to become a better readers is to read as much as you can, whenever you can. Follow your interests in new and exciting things to read.” While it is suggested that students read independently, there is no mechanism for teachers or students to monitor reading progress.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks that build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).

At the end of each text or text set, students answer comprehension and text analysis questions. Students are also offered extension and challenge tasks or writing prompts. Questions and tasks throughout the texts do not always build to the end of text culminating questions and tasks. At the end of each unit students complete Writing Workshop, a Speaking and Listening Workshop and occasionally a Technology Workshop. However, unit questions and tasks often do not build to these tasks. Texts and skills are often referenced in these tasks, but most can be completed without the use of unit texts or skills gained within the unit.

• In Unit 5 students are asked to create an online feature article. During the unit, students are given opportunities to read, discuss, and write about poetry, but they are not given ample opportunity to work on the skills necessary to create an online feature article.
• In Unit 8, students are asked to create a procedural text during the writing workshop. During this unit, students read “Guide to Computers” which includes a how-to guide on setting up a computer. After reading the text, students are asked to evaluate the technical directions. Other than this text and questions, students are not asked to start writing procedural text until the end of the unit and may not be adequately prepared for the culminating task.
• In Unit 2, students are working on character and point of view. For the Writing Workshop activity, students are asked to write a critical review where the purposes are “to compare and film version of a story to the original text” and “to convince others to agree with your evaluation of a movie.” This writing task is related to the unit, but does not address many of the unit goals to work as a culminating task. The unit goals for text analysis are:
  • Analyze differences in points of view and the effects they create
  • Analyze how dialogue or incidents in a story reveal aspects of a character
  • Identify and analyze sound devices and their impact on meaning
  • Determine the central idea of a text and its relation to supporting ideas

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Throughout the materials, there are some opportunities for discussion, but not enough for students to adequately master the speaking and listening standards. There is some explanation of related standards that accompany suggested opportunities for discussion, however clear and specific protocols are absent (these can be found in the Speaking and Listening Workshops at the end of each unit). Some discussions relate to the text or topic of the unit, but few require text evidence. Most discussion prompts do not specify if they are to be done in small groups, peer-to-peer, or in whole class. While academic vocabulary is included in the materials, its usage is not modeled and students are not given ample opportunities for practice. Some examples of these discussion prompts include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, there is a section titled “Extend the Discussion” after “Raymond’s Run” that suggests the teacher ask, “How do you think Squeaky’s continued responsibility for Raymond has shaped her personality?” There are no suggested answers and no protocol for how the discussion should occur.
• In Unit 3, students read “Mi Madre” and “Canyon de Chelly”. The students are asked “What gifts does the Earth provide? Now that you have read the poems, what other gifts might you add to your list?” The teacher edition states that the “answers may vary” and includes a few anticipated responses. Again, there is no protocol for this discussion. While the question references the two poems, students are not required to go back and use text evidence in this discussion.
• In Unit 5, Poetry does not have a end of the unit task that supports an evidence-based discussion. However, in the Technology Workshop section at the end of the unit students are asked to pose and respond to questions as well as clarify interests and add to interests using technology as a resource. Student materials suggest the protocol for responding to feedback that states, “Politely reply to all appropriate questions and comments posted on your article in a timely manner.” and “...Thoughtful replies can stimulate discussion and promote reader participation.”. However, the support of the use of academic vocabulary necessary for a successful online feature article is not included in the modeling nor assessment.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Most units include a speaking and listening task at the end of the unit (called the Speaking and Listening Workshop). However, these tasks do not provide clear instructions for the teacher and lack rubrics for assessing student learning. Speaking and Listening skills are not addressed within unit texts or during unit lessons. The speaking and listening tasks often do not relate to what the student is reading in the unit and many do not require any additional research, and therefore do not sufficiently address the related standards. Many of the tasks can be completed without citing evidence. In addition, the tasks do not increase in rigor over the course of the year. Examples of opportunities that partially meet the criteria of this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• At the end of Unit 4 students complete and speaking and listening task. The prompt states “Adapt your short story or a story from the unit into a video.” The task does not require the students to reference any stories from the unit or conduct additional research to provide evidence.
• At the end of Unit 8 students write a procedural text. Students are asked to turn their procedural text into an instructional speech. The teacher is told to “Use the Common Core traits to assess students’ instructional speeches.” The “Common Core Traits” listed do not mention citing evidence in the speech and no other rubric is provided for the teacher.

• Unit 5, advanced learners work with partners to discuss how they might recast ”Good Night” p.605. Students compare and contrast the rhythm of poems and explain p.606. Struggling readers use a two column chart to record comparisons p.608. Teachers organize small groups and assign poems to group members p.609. Teachers distribute copies of poem to help students add correct punctuation to clarify meaning and to read questions and statements differently. Advanced learners form debate teams p.620.
• In Unit 2, students participate in a Critics Debate about a specific movie that they have seen. Guidance is given about how to plan and produce the debate.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Students address multiple types of texts types of writing throughout the school year. Student prompts include argument writing, narrative writing, and expository writing. Examples of student opportunities to address different text types include, but are not limited to:

• At the end of Unit 2, students respond to the prompt: “Write a critical review of a movie based on a favorite story. Evaluate the effectiveness of the choices the director and actors made about how to portray the plot, setting, and characters. Draw a conclusion about whether the film version is as good as or better than the literature.” Students are reminded to state their claim and reasons, gather evidence, and consider opposing claims when writing this argumentative piece. However, students are not given many opportunities to practice these skills before the Writing Workshop at the end of the unit.
• At the end of Unit 5, students respond to the following prompt: “Write an online feature article about a topic, person, or event that interests you.” Students are reminded to find sources and collect evidence, draft a controlling idea, and generate a storyboard for this informative/explanatory text.
• At the end of Unit 4, students respond to the following prompt: “Write a short story with an interesting plot that will entertain an audience of children, teenagers, or adults.” Students are reminded to plan characters, plan point of view and plan the plot for this narrative piece of writing.

While the materials provide many different writing opportunities throughout the school year, there are not ample opportunities for the student to learn the different genres of writing before they are expected to apply them. While rubrics are provided for the teacher and student to assess some learning, they are not detailed and do not provide adequate support for the teacher and students. Rubrics are provided for Writing Workshop, which include process writing and timed writing. These cover development, organization and language on a 1-6 scale. These rubrics are very general. Multiple or repeated opportunities to practice different modes of writing are limited. Few student samples and exemplars are included. Examples of how the materials reviewed partially meet the criteria of this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, students are given the following on demand writing prompt: “If someone offered you a monkey’s paw and claimed that it had power to grant three wishes, would you use it? Write one paragraph explaining how you would respond to such an offer. Use details from the story to support your response.” There is a revising tip provided, but no rubric used to assess the answer.
• In the Unit 6 Writing Workshop, students are asked to analyze a student draft. The directions state “Read this student’s draft and the comments about it as a model for revising your own literary analysis.” Students have two paragraph to read with comments to help them work on revising their essays.
• In Unit 8 students read “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Students are than asked to respond to the following writing prompt: “Think of a practice that you believe is wrong or unfair. Write one paragraph to help your classmates recognize how wrong or unjust it is. Use rhetorical questions in your response.” A revising tip is included. It states :Review your paragraph to make sure you have used parallel structure when listing or linking related ideas.” This revising tip addresses grammatical issues, but does not address this particular type of writing. There is not rubric or assessment tool attached to this writing prompt for the teacher or student to use.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meets the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.The units provide some writing opportunities that are embedded in the daily unit lessons, however students have minimal opportunities to make claims developed from their close reading experiences.

Examples of evidence-based writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read “the Treasure of Lemon Brown” and complete an on demand writing prompt that states “Imagine that a friend of yours had to find Lemon Brown in a crowd. What would you tell your friend to look for? Write a one-paragraph description of Lemon Brown that includes details about his appearance and the treasures he cherishes.”
• In Unit 4 students read “Gil’s Furniture Bought & Sold” and are asked to imagine what characters would have said to each other at a specific point in the text. They are asked to use language that reflects the personalities of the different characters.
• In Unit 5, an on demand writing prompt states “Choose one of the characters from the poem “Identity.” (Archy, the moth, or the speaker). Write a paragraph answering the question, “Does beauty matter” from the point of view of this character.”
• In Unit 9 students read “Position on Dodgeball in Physical Education” and “The Weak Shall Inherit the Gym” and are asked to write a letter in which they critique the text using evidence to illustrate their points.

Examples where student writing does not require evidence from a text includes:

• In Unit 1: Plot and Conflict, an embedded writing practice is located in the Teacher’s manual on page 49. Students are assigned a “reading-writing” connection prompt after reading “Raymond’s Run”. The prompt states, “Imagine you are a newspaper writer covering the May Day events at the park. Write a two-three paragraph article that will appear in the next day’s paper. Be sure to tell where and when events took place, who participated, and what happened”. This writing prompt does allow for an increased opportunity to practice the skill of understanding plot and conflict that was the focus throughout the unit. However, is the assignment does not require text based evidence or close reading.
• In Unit 4 students read “My Mother Pieced Quilts”. Students respond to the prompt “Imagine a museum has decided tow who the quilts described in “my Mother Pieced Quilts.” The speaker of the poem has been asked to discuss her mother’s work. Write a one-page speech in which the speaker explains to the audience how the quilts were created and what they mean to her.” While related to the text, there is little guidance to the teacher or student regarding using text evidence or if they should go back into the text for this writing prompt.
• In Unit 7 students read “Out of Bounds.” Students complete the reading-writing connection writing prompt, “How could the resident of Mount View improve their relationship with the squatters? Write a two- or three-paragraph plan to help the two communities better understand one another.” This writing prompt gives no guidance to the students or teacher regarding necessary text evidence. Teachers would need to add some instruction to strengthen students responses to this prompt.
• At the end of Unit 8, students create procedural text. Students must develop “steps needed to perform the task with relevant, well-chosen facts and concrete details” but writing can be completed without reading any of the texts in the unit and possibly without doing any further research with other literature.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context. While grammar is included, and all standards are covered, the coverage is inconsistent and inadequate. Several of the standards are only addressed once in the duration of the year, requiring supplemental lessons from the teacher in order to lead students to mastery. There are some opportunities for application in and out of context, many skills are taught in isolation. Evidence of this includes, but is not limited to:

• In Unit 1, The Hitchhiker, students focus on standard L.8.4. Students practice maintaining pronoun antecedent agreement by correcting pronoun antecedent errors in each sentence.
• In Unit 4, after reading My Mother Pieced Quilts and Quilting, students practice varying sentences using participles and participial phrases.
• Unit 6: Style, Voice, and Tone, students work on Grammar in and out of context by first practicing identifying main and subordinate clauses. Then they proofread their work by using the “revising tips” offered in the lesson on clauses.

• Standard L.8.1.D is only addressed twice throughout the year. In Unit 2 students complete “Grammar in Context: Subjunctive Mood” where they are given examples of the conditional mood and subjunctive mood. Students are then told to “Proofread your review, checking for places where you can use the conditional or subjunctive mood to achieve a certain effect.” This standard comes up again in Unit 5 where students complete “Grammar in Context:Verb Voice”. Students are given an example and then told to “check that you have avoided awkward shifts in verb voice” in their writing. Teachers would need to supplement to achieve this standard.
• Standard L.8.2.B is addressed only twice throughout the the year. In Unit 5, there is a mention of using ellipses to omit words in a brief bullet point under “Grammar in Context: Punctuation Quotations.” Other than being introduced to the idea, students are not required to practice this skill at this point. This standard is addressed again in Unit 9 where students have an opportunity to practice using ellipses to omit words on various example sentences. Teachers would need to supplement to achieve this standard.
• Throughout Unit 4 students work on the following grammar and convention skills throughout the entire unit:
  • Use participles and participial phrases
  • Capitalize correctly
  • Use active voice
  • Punctuate dialogue

These skills do not build on each other and are not consistent throughout the unit.