6th to 8th Grade - Gateway 3
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Teacher & Student Supports
| Score | |
|---|---|
| Gateway 3 - Meets Expectations | 85% |
| Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports | 9 / 10 |
| Criterion 3.2: Student Supports | 3 / 4 |
| Criterion 3.3: Intentional Design |
The Inquiry by Design materials meet expectations for Gateway 3: Teacher and Student Supports. The program provides comprehensive teacher supports, differentiated instructional resources, and digital materials to support implementation across Grades 6–8. The program includes detailed guidance for planning and delivering instruction through the Program Guide, Teacher Guides, instructional sidebars, and research-informed instructional routines. Standards correlation documents, assessment resources, rubrics, and guidance for interpreting student performance support teachers in monitoring progress and adjusting instruction, although guidance for understanding vertical standards progression and identifying standards assessed by individual questions and tasks is limited. The materials provide a range of scaffolds and targeted interventions through an MTSS Framework and embedded Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, along with varied opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding, collaborate, reflect, and monitor their learning. However, opportunities for students performing above grade level to engage with content at a higher level of complexity are not consistently available, limiting support for students who would benefit from additional academic challenge. Additionally, accommodations are provided for End-of-Unit Assessments but not Mid-Unit Assessments, and guidance for matching specific supports to individual student needs is limited. While the materials include varied perspectives and opportunities for students to connect their experiences to learning, explicit guidance for incorporating students’ cultural, social, and community backgrounds into instruction is limited. The program also provides accessible, well-organized digital resources, customizable instructional slides, and multimedia supports. However, because the materials appear to be designed primarily for print-based student engagement, opportunities for interactive digital learning and collaboration are limited. Overall, the materials demonstrate strengths in teacher guidance, assessment, instructional scaffolding, and resource organization, with opportunities for improvement in advanced learner supports, individualized accommodations, and technology-supported student engagement.
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
Information on Multilingual Learner (MLL) Supports in This Criterion
For some indicators in this criterion, we also display evidence and scores for pair MLL indicators.
While MLL indicators are scored, these scores are reported separately from core content scores. MLL scores do not currently impact core content scores at any level—whether indicator, criterion, gateway, or series.
To view all MLL evidence and scores for this grade band or grade level, select the "Multilingual Learner Supports" view from the left navigation panel.
Materials include opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize with integrity to further develop their own understanding of the content.
The Inquiry by Design materials meet expectations for Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports. The program provides comprehensive resources to support teachers in understanding and implementing instruction across Grades 6–8. The Program Guide explains the program’s instructional approaches, research-informed design principles, unit and lesson structures, instructional routines, and assessment system, while Teacher Guides provide detailed, lesson-specific guidance, including objectives, materials, instructional procedures, and point-of-use supports to facilitate instruction and address student needs. The materials also provide explanations, examples, and resources to strengthen teachers’ understanding of grade-level literacy concepts and standards, although guidance illustrating how individual standards progress across grade levels is limited. Standards correlation documents identify the Common Core State Standards addressed in each lesson and allow teachers to determine the standards associated with formative and summative assessments, although individual assessment questions and tasks are not explicitly tagged with corresponding standards. The materials include Letters to Families in English and Spanish that communicate unit learning goals and offer suggestions for supporting students at home, as well as comprehensive lists of materials needed for daily instruction. Additionally, the program provides an assessment system that includes frequent formative assessments, Mid-Unit Assessments, and End-of-Unit Assessments, supported by rubrics, answer keys, model responses, and instructional guidance for interpreting student performance and making adjustments. Overall, the materials provide clear implementation guidance, standards-alignment resources, and assessment supports that help teachers deliver instruction, monitor student progress, and respond to students' learning needs.
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.
The teacher guidance for enacting the program in Inquiry by Design meets expectations for indicator 3a. The materials provide comprehensive guidance to help teachers understand and implement the program. The Program Guide explains the program’s instructional approach, design principles, unit and lesson structures, lesson types, instructional routines, assessments, and independent reading expectations. Each Teacher Guide provides additional unit-specific guidance through a Unit Overview that identifies the unit focus, essential questions, texts, assessments, Student Learning Outcomes, Lesson Objectives, and available resources. Daily lesson plans provide detailed guidance for instruction using a consistent Activate, Teach, Try, Apply, and Wrap Up structure, with lesson overviews that identify objectives, vocabulary, materials, and other information needed for implementation. Annotations, suggestions, and instructional sidebars are embedded throughout lessons to provide point-of-use support aligned with lesson objectives, including guidance on facilitating instruction, addressing misconceptions, differentiating for student needs, monitoring understanding, and supporting students in accessing texts and tasks.
Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials.
The Program Guide includes summaries of the program description, pillars, and design principles. The Program Guide describes Inquiry by Design Middle School ELA as a knowledge-rich literacy program for Grades 6–8 designed to develop students as readers, writers, and thinkers through engagement with complex, meaningful texts. The Program Guide states that reading, writing, language, speaking, and listening, discussion, and research are intentionally integrated so students develop literacy skills within knowledge-building contexts rather than through isolated practice. It identifies three program pillars: Complexity is for everyone, People get smarter together, and Students deserve authentic, meaningful work. According to the Program Guide, these pillars emphasize engagement with increasingly complex texts, regular collaborative discussion, modeling and guided practice, gradual release of responsibility, and meaningful reading, writing, and research tasks. The Program Guide also explains that the materials are designed around consistent lesson structures and instructional routines, with embedded scaffolds, facilitation tips, language supports, and guidance for anticipating student needs. Across each grade, the Program Guide describes a sequence of two units featuring curated literary and informational texts, one graphic novel unit, one sustained novel study, and one research unit, with units designed to integrate knowledge building, literacy skills, discussion, writing, research, and assessment.
The Getting Started section of the Program Guide provides teachers with an overview of the program’s instructional design and guidance for implementation. It explains the unit structure and purpose of each lesson type, including Unit Introduction, Reading, Writing, Discussion, Research, Mid-Unit Assessment and Extension, End-of-Unit Assessment and Extension, and End-of-Year lessons, and describes how these lessons work together to support knowledge building, literacy skill development, assessment, and application. The section also explains the consistent lesson structure of Activate, Teach, Try, Apply, and Wrap Up; identifies information provided in lesson overviews, such as Student Learning Outcomes, Lesson Objectives, vocabulary, teacher notes, and materials; and describes instructional sidebars that provide point-of-use scaffolds, language supports, facilitation guidance, and text supports. Additional guidance addresses independent reading and how it supports students’ reading stamina, vocabulary, knowledge, and understanding of unit topics.
Each unit includes its own Teacher Guide. Each Teacher Guide includes a Unit Overview that provides teachers with key information to understand and implement the unit. The overview includes an About the Unit section that describes the unit’s topic, knowledge-building focus, essential questions, major texts, and culminating task, as well as a list of Unit Texts with text complexity information. A Unit At-A-Glance outlines the sequence of lessons and identifies the Student Learning Outcome and Lesson Objective for each lesson, allowing teachers to see how learning develops across the unit. The overview also describes the unit’s formative, Mid-Unit, and End-of-Unit Assessments, including what students are expected to demonstrate. Additional sections provide guidance for setting up student notebooks and independent reading and explain where teachers can access the Appendix and lesson resources, including student-facing materials, lesson slides, vocabulary resources, and the Program Guide.
Lesson Plans include instructional guidance on each component of the lesson. Lesson overviews identify the Student Learning Outcome, Lesson Objective, Text Response Question, vocabulary, teacher notes, and required materials. Lessons then generally follow a consistent Activate, Teach, Try, Apply, and Wrap Up structure that moves students from activating prior knowledge and explicit instruction through guided and independent practice and reflection.
Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives.
The materials embed annotations, suggestions, and sidebars for teachers directly within daily lesson plans in the Teacher Guide. These embedded annotations and sidebars provide teachers with point-of-use guidance for implementing lessons, including support for facilitating discussions, addressing potential misconceptions, differentiating instruction, monitoring student understanding, and keeping instruction focused on the lesson objective.
Indicator 3b
Materials contain explanations and examples of grade-level/course-level concepts and/or standards and how the concepts and/or standards align to other grade/course levels so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The explanations to support teachers in improving their literacy knowledge in Inquiry by Design partially meet expectations for indicator 3b. The materials provide explanations and examples that support teachers in understanding grade-level concepts and standards. The Program Guide explains the program’s standards alignment and how literacy skills are sequenced and developed, while standards documents in the Digital Resource Hub identify the Common Core State Standards addressed in individual lessons. Student Learning Outcomes communicate the standards-aligned learning expected in each lesson, and Language Objective and Language Content sidebars provide explanations, examples, and sentence frames that support teachers’ understanding of language concepts. Rubric-aligned guidance further illustrates grade-level expectations by describing student performance at different levels. The materials also provide some information about how learning develops across Grades 6–8. The Program Guide explains how knowledge strands are revisited and expanded across grades, while the Curriculum Plan allows teachers to compare units, knowledge strands, writing genres, and language forms across grade levels. A Glossary of Academic and Literary Terms provides additional reference across the three grades. However, while teachers can access standards documents for all grade levels, the materials do not provide a vertical standards alignment guide that explicitly shows how individual standards develop from one grade to the next, limiting teachers’ ability to easily understand vertical standards progression across the program.
Materials contain explanations and examples of grade/course-level concepts and/or standards so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The Program Guide states that the program is fully aligned to ELA standards and is designed to engage students in rigorous, grade-level work across reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. It states that units use complex texts and text-dependent tasks aligned to the standards, with literacy skills intentionally sequenced to increase in sophistication and support mastery and transfer. Language and vocabulary instruction are embedded throughout lessons to support students in accessing grade-level content and developing academic language. According to the Program Guide, assessments are aligned with standards to support teachers in monitoring student progress and making instructional decisions, and direct teachers to the Digital Resource Hub for detailed standards-alignment information.
In the Teacher Resources section for each unit on the Digital Resource Hub, teachers can find two standards documents: the Grade level’s ELA Lessons by Standards and the Grade level’s ELA Standards by Lesson. Teachers can reference these documents to see which lessons cover which Common Core State Standards.
Each unit includes Language Objective sidebars that identify the specific language form addressed within a lesson. Accompanying Language Content sidebars provide examples of language features and sentence frames to help teachers understand how these language concepts function in students’ reading, writing, and discussion.
Each Teacher Guide Appendix includes rubric-aligned guidance that describes student performance at different levels, including Proficient, Developing, and Beginning. This guidance supports teachers in understanding grade-level expectations aligned to the standards and recognizing how those expectations may appear in student work.
Each lesson includes a Student Learning Outcome (SLO) that communicates the standards-aligned learning students are expected to demonstrate within the lesson.
Materials contain some explanations and examples of how the concepts and/or standards align to other grade/course levels so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The Program Guide states that students revisit the program’s knowledge strands multiple times across Grades 6–8 through different unit topics, genres, activities, and tasks. Knowledge strands include Society and Identity, Health and Human Development, Art and Aesthetics, Civics and Governance, Science and Technology, Economics and Opportunity, Environment and Sustainability, and Conflict and Change. According to the Program Guide, intentionally revisiting and expanding these strands across units and grade levels supports students in building cumulative knowledge, strengthening academic vocabulary, making connections across disciplines and time, and developing a deeper comprehension of increasingly complex texts.
The Resources section of the Program Guide includes a Glossary of Academic and Literary Terms that appear across all three program grades.
The Resources section of the Program Guide also includes a Curriculum Plan for Grades 6–8. This section provides easy-to-read charts outlining the units, knowledge strands, writing genres, and language forms for each grade level, allowing teachers to see how these components develop and differ across Grades 6–8.
On the Digital Resource Hub, teachers have access to all Standards Documents. While these are present, the materials do not include a vertical alignment guide that explicitly shows how the standards taught at a given grade level align with other grade levels. This means teachers cannot easily understand the program's vertical alignment of standards.
Indicator 3c
Materials include a year-long scope and sequence with standards correlation information.
The year-long scope and sequence with standards correlation in Inquiry by Design meets expectations for indicator 3c. The materials include a year-long scope and sequence with standards correlation information, and identify the standards addressed through formative and summative assessments. The Digital Resource Hub includes ELA Lessons by Standard and ELA Standards by Lesson documents that allow teachers to identify which Common Core State Standards are addressed in each lesson and locate lessons aligned to specific standards. Throughout the program, formative assessments, including embedded Check questions, Text Responses, Discussions, and Mid-Unit Assessments, provide opportunities for teachers to monitor student progress toward grade-level standards. Each unit also includes an End-of-Unit Assessment that allows students to demonstrate their learning. Teachers can determine the standards associated with these assessments by cross-referencing the standards correlation documents with individual lessons. However, the materials do not explicitly identify which standards align with specific formative or summative assessment questions or tasks, rather they provide standards alignment only at the lesson level. Overall, the materials provide sufficient standards alignment information to support teachers in understanding the relationship between instruction, assessment, and grade-level expectations.
Materials include a year-long scope and sequence with standards correlation information.
In the Teacher Resources section of the digital resource hub, there is a Standards subsection. In this subsection, teachers can find two documents: ELA Lessons by Standard and ELA Standards by Lesson. In the former, teachers can find a list of all lessons for the grade level and all the standards covered in each. In the latter, teachers can find a list of all the CCSS standards and all the lessons that cover them.
Materials identify the standards assessed for formative assessments.
Most lessons in the program include several formative assessments. Many of these are delineated by the word “Check,” which helps teachers identify opportunities to monitor student understanding throughout instruction. The ELA Lessons by Standard and ELA Standards by Lesson documents identify the standards addressed in each lesson, providing teachers with information about the standards associated with these formative assessment opportunities. However, individual Check questions and prompts are not explicitly labeled with the specific standards they assess.
Other formative assessments in the program include Text Responses, Discussion lessons, and the Mid-Unit Assessment. The ELA Standards by Lesson document identifies the standards addressed in the lessons that contain these assessments, allowing teachers to determine the broader alignment of the instructional activities and assessments with the standards. However, the materials do not explicitly identify which standards correspond to individual assessment questions or tasks.
Materials identify the standards assessed for culminating tasks/summative assessments.
Each unit includes an End-of-Unit Assessment. Teachers can cross-reference the ELA Standards by Lesson document with the lesson numbers for these assessments to see which standards are covered.
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.
The Inquiry by Design materials include resources designed to inform parents and caregivers about the ELA program and support student learning beyond the classroom. The materials contain strategies to inform parents and caregivers about the ELA program and to support student learning. Each unit includes a Letter to Families, available in the Teacher Resources section, that provides an overview of the unit, including its title, summary, and essential questions; explains how independent reading connects to the unit; and offers guidance for supporting students throughout their learning. Each letter also includes suggestions for supporting student progress and achievement at home, such as establishing regular independent reading routines, discussing students’ reading, and helping them make connections between texts and their own experiences. While these suggestions provide families with actionable ways to support learning, the guidance is generally broad rather than specific to individual skills or standards. To increase accessibility for families, Letters to Families are available in both English and Spanish.
Materials contain strategies for informing students, parents, or caregivers about the ELA program.
Each unit includes a Letter to Families that teachers may share with parents or caregivers to inform them about the unit’s learning. These letters can be found on the digital resource hub by navigating to Teacher Resources → Letters to Families. Letters include:
A brief overview of the unit, including the unit title, summary, and essential questions
An explanation of how independent reading is connected to the unit
A short explanation of how to support students throughout the unit
Materials contain suggestions for how parents or caregivers can help support student progress and achievement.
Each Letter to Families includes a section that briefly explains how parents can support their student’s progress and achievement at home. While this is provided, the guidance is generalized.
In Grade 6, Unit 2, the Letter to Families provides the following guidance: “You can support your sixth grader’s independent reading by encouraging them to set aside a regular time for reading each day and showing interest in the book they choose. Talking with them about the theme, characters, what storytelling means to you and your family, and connections to real life can help them stay engaged and deepen their understanding.”
Materials for parents (like letters home) have been translated into languages other than English.
Letters to Families are available in both English and Spanish.
Indicator 3e
Materials explain the program’s instructional approaches, identify research-based strategies, and explain the role of the standards.
The explanation of instructional approaches, research-based strategies, and the role of standards in Inquiry by Design meets expectations for indicator 3e. The materials explain the program’s instructional approaches, reference the research that informs its design, and describe the role of standards throughout instruction and assessment. The Program Guide explains instructional approaches centered on knowledge building through complex texts, integration of reading, writing, language, discussion, and research, collaborative learning, and meaningful application of literacy skills. It describes how different lesson types work together across units and explains the program’s gradual release approach and consistent Activate, Teach, Try, Apply, and Wrap Up lesson structure. The Program Guide also explains recurring approaches such as close reading and annotation, evidence-based discussion, process writing, research, formative assessment, independent reading, and embedded scaffolds and supports. A bibliography identifies the research that informed the program’s design. The materials also explain that standards inform instruction across literacy domains, with standards reflected in Student Learning Outcomes, lesson objectives, instructional tasks, assessments, and rubrics but not listed. Standards documents in the Digital Resource Hub further allow teachers to identify where individual Common Core State Standards are addressed across lessons.
Materials explain the instructional approaches of the program. Materials include and reference research-based strategies.
The Program Guide explains the instructional approaches used throughout the program and how they are implemented across units and lessons. The Program Description and Program Pillars explain that instruction is designed around knowledge building through complex texts, integration of reading, writing, language, discussion, and research, collaborative learning, and meaningful application of literacy skills. The Getting Started section provides more detailed explanations of the program’s instructional approach by describing the purpose of each lesson type, including Unit Introduction, Reading, Writing, Discussion, and Research lessons, and how these lesson types work together to build knowledge and literacy skills across a unit. The Program Guide also explains the program’s gradual release approach, including teacher modeling and explicit instruction, guided and collaborative practice, and increasingly independent application. Individual lessons generally follow a consistent Activate, Teach, Try, Apply, and Wrap Up structure that moves students from activating prior knowledge and receiving explicit instruction to guided practice, independent application, and reflection. The Program Guide states that recurring instructional approaches such as close reading and annotation, evidence-based discussion, process writing, research, formative assessment, independent reading, and the use of embedded scaffolds and supports are used to address varied student needs.
The Program Guide includes a Bibliography, which lists all the research articles that have informed the program’s design.
Materials include and reference the role of the standards in the program.
The Program Guide states that the program is aligned to ELA standards and explains that standards inform instruction across reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. It states that units include complex texts and text-dependent tasks aligned to the standards, with skills intentionally sequenced to support increasingly sophisticated application. Standards are also reflected at the lesson level through Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), which communicate the standards-aligned learning students are expected to demonstrate, and lesson objectives that clarify the specific focus of instruction. The Program Guide explains that assessments are aligned to standards so teachers can monitor students’ progress toward grade-level expectations, and unit rubrics are aligned to lesson objectives, writing genres, and assessment tasks. Additionally, the Digital Resource Hub includes ELA Lessons by Standard and ELA Standards by Lesson documents for each grade level, allowing teachers to identify where individual Common Core State Standards are addressed throughout the program.
Indicator 3f
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
The comprehensive list of supplies provided in Inquiry by Design meets expectations for indicator 3f. The materials provide teachers with a list of the materials needed to support instructional activities. Each lesson plan in the Teacher Guide includes an Overview page with a Materials section found under the Preparation section that identifies the materials teachers need to successfully implement the lesson.
Materials include a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support the instructional activities.
Each lesson plan in the Teacher Guide includes an Overview page. On this page, teachers can locate the Materials section, found in the Preparation section. This section lists the materials needed to successfully complete the lesson.
Indicator 3g
The assessment system provides consistent opportunities to determine student learning throughout the school year. The assessment system provides sufficient teacher guidance for evaluating student performance and determining instructional next steps.
The assessment system in Inquiry by Design meets expectations for indicator 3g. The program includes an assessment system that provides multiple opportunities to assess student learning throughout the school year, including formative, Mid-Unit, and End-of-Unit assessments. Embedded “Check” questions, Text Responses, Discussion and Writing tasks, and other formative assessments allow teachers to monitor student understanding during instruction, while Mid-Unit and End-of-Unit Assessments measure students’ progress and application of unit knowledge and literacy skills at key points in each unit. Teacher guidance supports the evaluation of student performance through anticipated responses, rubrics, performance descriptors, answer keys, and model responses. The materials also provide guidance for interpreting results and determining instructional next steps, particularly through “Responding to” guidance for formative assessments and Mid-Unit Extension lessons that provide differentiated pathways based on assessment results. For End-of-Unit Assessments, materials include guidance for evaluating and interpreting student performance through rubrics and model responses.
The assessment system provides opportunities to determine student learning throughout the school year.
The Program Guide states that “Assessment in Inquiry by Design Middle School ELA is designed to guide instruction, support student growth, and make learning visible. Rather than functioning as isolated events, assessment is integrated throughout instruction and aligned directly to lesson objectives, knowledge-building, texts, and standards. Teachers use assessment to monitor progress, provide targeted feedback, and plan responsive next steps. The program includes three interconnected types of assessment: formative assessment, mid-unit assessment, and end-of-unit assessment.”
The assessment system provides opportunities for teachers to determine student learning throughout the school year through formative and summative assessments. Throughout each unit, embedded “Check” questions and prompts allow teachers to monitor student understanding during instruction, while end-of-lesson text responses provide additional opportunities to assess progress toward lesson objectives and Student Learning Outcomes. Students also complete assessed Discussion and Writing tasks throughout units. Each unit includes a Mid-Unit Assessment that measures student learning at the midpoint of the unit and an End-of-Unit Assessment that evaluates students’ ability to apply the knowledge and literacy skills developed across the unit. Assessment Guidance in each Teacher Guide provides rubrics, answer keys, model responses, and guidance for interpreting student performance. Together, these assessments provide teachers with multiple opportunities to monitor student learning during daily instruction, at the midpoint of each unit, and at the conclusion of each unit throughout the school year.
The assessment system provides teacher guidance for evaluating student performance for assessments.
The assessment system provides teacher guidance for evaluating student performance across formative, Mid-Unit, and End-of-Unit assessments. For formative assessments, lesson plans include anticipated responses for many embedded “Check” questions, while unit Assessment Guidance provides rubrics and performance descriptors for evaluating students’ Text Responses and Discussions. For Mid-Unit Assessments, teachers receive answer keys for selected-response questions, rubrics for written responses, and guidance for using results to determine students’ performance and instructional needs. End-of-Unit Assessments include rubrics with Advanced, Proficient, Developing, and Beginning performance levels, along with answer keys or model responses that illustrate how rubric criteria may appear in fully developed student work. These resources provide teachers with consistent criteria and guidance for evaluating student performance across the assessment system.
The assessment system provides teacher guidance for interpreting student performance and determining next instructional steps.
The assessment system provides guidance for teachers on interpreting student performance and determining instructional next steps, although the depth of guidance varies by assessment type. For formative assessments in daily lessons, the materials include “Listen/Look For” teacher guidance in the Teacher Guide. For formative Text Responses and Discussions, the Assessment Guidance includes performance descriptors and “Responding to” guidance that identifies instructional strategies for students performing at different levels. Following Mid-Unit Assessments, teachers use assessment results to place students into Build and Support, Strengthen and Refine, or Enrich and Extend pathways, with Mid-Unit Extension lessons providing targeted instruction based on identified needs. For End-of-Unit Assessments, materials include rubrics and model responses to support teachers in evaluating and interpreting student performance.
Indicator 3h
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3i
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.2: Student Supports
Information on Multilingual Learner (MLL) Supports in This Criterion
For some indicators in this criterion, we also display evidence and scores for pair MLL indicators.
While MLL indicators are scored, these scores are reported separately from core content scores. MLL scores do not currently impact core content scores at any level—whether indicator, criterion, gateway, or series.
To view all MLL evidence and scores for this grade band or grade level, select the "Multilingual Learner Supports" view from the left navigation panel.
Materials are designed for each child’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
The Inquiry by Design materials partially meet expectations for Criterion 3.2: Student Supports. The program provides a range of supports and instructional strategies to address the needs of diverse learners across Grades 6–8. The program includes point-of-use instructional sidebars, a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Framework, and unit-specific Tier 2 and Tier 3 resources that provide scaffolds, differentiated instruction, and targeted interventions to help students access and engage with grade-level texts and tasks. However, opportunities for students performing above grade level to engage with content at a higher level of complexity are limited. While some lessons include extension activities that allow advanced students to deepen their understanding without completing additional assignments, these opportunities are not consistently available across lessons, limiting the program’s support for students who would benefit from additional academic challenge. Students have varied and recurring opportunities to demonstrate their thinking, make meaning, and monitor their learning through annotation, discussion, writing, research, presentations, reflection, and feedback. The materials also incorporate collaborative instructional routines and grouping strategies, with more targeted guidance for grouping students based on assessment results during Mid-Unit Extension lessons. Accommodations are provided for End-of-Unit Assessments through Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, although comparable supports are not available for Mid-Unit Assessments, and guidance for matching specific accommodations to individual student needs is limited. Additionally, the program includes texts representing varied backgrounds and perspectives and provides opportunities for students to connect their experiences to unit topics and themes. However, explicit teacher guidance for intentionally incorporating students’ cultural, social, and community backgrounds into instruction is limited. Overall, the materials provide meaningful opportunities for differentiated instruction, student engagement, collaboration, and reflection, with opportunities for improvement in the availability of enrichment opportunities for advanced students, assessment accommodations, and guidance for responding to individual student needs.
Indicator 3j
Materials provide strategies and support for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and meet or exceed grade-level standards, which support their regular and active participation in learning.
The strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content in Inquiry by Design meet expectations for indicator 3j. The program provides strategies, supports, and resources to help students in special populations access and actively participate in grade-level literacy work. Throughout lessons, four types of instructional sidebars provide targeted, point-of-use support: Meeting Students’ Needs sidebars provide supports and extensions; Language Content sidebars provide language objectives and guidance for language development; Facilitation Tips offer instructional suggestions and options for teachers; and Text Scaffolds help students access and make meaning from complex texts based on their qualitative complexity. The program also includes a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Framework that provides aligned, tiered literacy support designed to work alongside core ELA instruction. The framework combines embedded Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, including lesson-based scaffolds, small-group instruction, and structured instructional routines, with supplemental resources such as structured literacy pathways, fluency supports, and targeted intervention materials. Guidance supports teachers in identifying students who need additional support, providing and intensifying tiered instruction, monitoring progress, and adjusting instruction based on student needs. Additionally, unit-specific MTSS resources identify Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports aligned to the texts and tasks students encounter for some lessons, allowing students to receive targeted support while remaining connected to grade-level instruction.
Materials provide strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work.
The Program Guide includes a Getting Started section with a section on Lesson Structure. Under the Sidebars subheading, the guide explains how to use sidebars for targeted support. It states that throughout lessons, instructional sidebars provide targeted, point-of-use support to help teachers address diverse student needs and implement instruction effectively. Sidebars offer scaffolds, differentiation and facilitation guidance, language supports, and instructional suggestions connected directly to lesson content. Four types of sidebars are included:
Meeting Students’ Needs: provides support and extensions for students
Language Content: provides language objectives and guidance for language development
Facilitation Tip: offers suggestions for lesson facilitation and teacher choice
Text Scaffold: provides support to help students access and make meaning from texts based on their qualitative complexity.
The program includes a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Framework Overview, which explains that “The purpose of this MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) Framework is to provide a clear and practical structure for supporting diverse learners within Grades 6–8 ELA instruction through aligned, tiered literacy supports. This framework is designed to work alongside the existing ELA curriculum rather than replace core instruction.
This MTSS framework functions as a hybrid system of support, integrating:
Embedded Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports within core ELA instruction (e.g., lesson-based scaffolds, small-group supports, and instructional routines), and
Supplemental intervention resources (e.g., structured literacy pathways, fluency toolkit, and targeted small-group intervention materials)
Together, these components provide a coherent system for delivering targeted and intensive literacy support while maintaining alignment to grade-level texts, unit goals, and instructional routines. Rather than functioning as a standalone intervention curriculum, this system ensures that all supports—whether embedded or supplemental—are coordinated, data-informed, and aligned to grade-level instruction across classroom and intervention settings.”
For Tier 2 students who “require additional instruction beyond core differentiation,” the framework provides targeted literacy support. This support is delivered through a combination of:
Embedded small-group instruction and scaffolds within ELA lessons
Structured instructional routines (e.g., text access, vocabulary, and writing routines)
Supplemental intervention using targeted pathways and fluency support when needed”
The MTSS document includes a Quick Guide (one-pager) that identifies five steps for using the framework: Identify Students Who Need Support, Provide Tiered Support During Instruction, When to Intensify Support, Where Intervention Happens (No Separate Period Required), and Monitor Progress and Adjust Instruction.
Each unit includes an MTSS document outlining Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports for specific lessons. These supports are specific to the text(s) and task(s) that students complete throughout those lessons.
Indicator 3k
Materials regularly provide extensions for students who are above grade level to engage with literacy content and concepts in greater depth.
The extension opportunities for students above grade level in the Inquiry by Design program partially meet expectations for indicator 3k. The program provides opportunities for students who are above grade level to engage with grade-level content at a higher level of complexity without requiring them to complete additional assignments. Throughout the program, some Meeting Students’ Needs sidebars provide extension opportunities that allow advanced students to deepen their engagement with lesson content; however, these extensions are not included in most lessons. Some lessons also include Enrich and Extend activities that provide opportunities for students to deepen and expand their learning through tasks connected to unit content and assessments. These activities frequently occur following larger assessments, such as Mid-Unit Assessments, and provide additional opportunities for advanced students to engage more deeply with grade-level learning.
Materials provide some opportunities for students who are above grade level to investigate the grade-level content at a higher level of complexity. There are no instances of advanced students doing more assignments than their classmates.
The Program Guide includes a Getting Started section with a section on Lesson Structure. Under the Sidebars subheading, the guide explains how to use sidebars for targeted support. It states that throughout lessons, instructional sidebars provide targeted, point-of-use support to help teachers address diverse student needs and implement instruction effectively. For advanced students, some Meeting Student Needs sidebars offer extensions that may benefit them. While present throughout each unit, these sidebar extension opportunities are not available for most lessons.
Some lessons include Enrich and Extend activities. These provide opportunities for students to deepen their learning while completing tasks connected to the unit/assessments. Many of these opportunities are included after larger assessments, like the Mid-Unit Assessment. As students enrich their learning, other students in other groups complete other assignments based on their assessment performance. This means that advanced students are not completing more assignments than their peers.
Indicator 3l
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.
The Inquiry by Design program provides varied and recurring opportunities for students to show their thinking, make meaning, and monitor their learning across Reading, Writing, Discussion, and Research lessons. Students demonstrate and communicate their understanding through annotations and notes, embedded questions, partner and collaborative discussions, independent and extended writing, structured discussions, research activities, presentations, and assessments. Literacy skills and concepts are reinforced across multiple formats and contexts, allowing students to revisit, refine, and apply their learning to new texts and tasks. Students also engage in ongoing review, reflection, and feedback through rubrics, peer and teacher feedback, writing revision, vocabulary rating scales, and reflection activities. These structures help students understand expectations, consider their progress over time, identify areas for improvement, and use feedback to strengthen and extend their learning.
Materials provide varied tasks for students to show their thinking and make meaning.
The materials provide varied tasks that help students show their thinking and make meaning across Reading, Writing, Discussion, and Research lessons. Students demonstrate their understanding through text annotations and notes, responses to embedded “Check” questions, Turn and Talks, and other partner activities, collaborative discussions, and independent text-based written responses. Students also engage in more extended tasks, including multiparagraph writing, structured discussions using protocols such as Fishbowls and Socratic Seminars, research activities and presentations, and unit assessments. Across these tasks, students make meaning by analyzing texts, discussing and building on ideas with peers, drawing on textual evidence, applying vocabulary and writing skills, conducting research, and communicating their understanding in oral, written, and presentation formats.
Students have opportunities to share their thinking, to demonstrate changes in their thinking over time, and to apply their understanding in new contexts.
Students have opportunities to share their thinking, demonstrate changes in their thinking over time, and apply their understanding in new contexts. Throughout lessons, students share ideas through Turn and Talks, partner and small-group activities, and structured discussions, as well as through written responses and presentations. Students revisit and refine their thinking through routines such as vocabulary rating scales, discussion and peer feedback, reflection, and the planning, drafting, and revision process for writing. Students also apply their learning in new contexts by using skills and concepts introduced through reading, vocabulary, sentence-level writing, research, and analysis with subsequent texts and tasks. Mid-Unit Extension lessons provide additional opportunities for students to revisit and apply learning based on assessment results, while End-of-Unit Assessments and extension projects ask students to synthesize and apply knowledge and skills developed across the unit.
Materials leverage the use of a variety of formats over time to deepen student understanding and ability to explain and apply literacy ideas.
The materials leverage a variety of formats over time to deepen students’ understanding and ability to explain and apply literacy ideas. Across units, students engage with literacy concepts through reading and annotating texts, teacher modeling and guided practice, partner and collaborative discussions, independent written responses, and extended writing tasks. Students also use graphic organizers, notes and trackers, rubrics, peer review, research activities, multimedia resources, and presentations to develop and communicate their understanding. Literacy skills introduced in one format are frequently reinforced through others; for example, students may analyze an author’s use of a technique in a text, discuss its effect, and then apply the technique in their own writing. These varied formats provide students with repeated opportunities to explain, refine, and apply literacy knowledge across different texts and tasks.
Materials provide for ongoing review, practice, self-reflection, and feedback. Materials provide multiple strategies, such as oral and/or written feedback, peer or teacher feedback, and self-reflection.
The materials provide ongoing opportunities for review, practice, self-reflection, and feedback throughout instruction. Students regularly revisit and apply previously introduced skills through reading, writing, discussion, vocabulary, and research tasks, with skills reinforced across multiple lessons and texts. Students receive feedback in multiple ways, including teacher feedback during instruction, rubric-based feedback on written responses and discussions, and peer feedback during collaborative discussions and the writing process. Writing lessons provide opportunities for students to use rubrics, peer feedback, and their own annotations and notes to reflect on and revise their work. Assessment guidance also supports teachers in using student performance to provide targeted feedback and determine instructional next steps, including through Mid-Unit Extension lessons.
Materials provide a clear path for students to monitor and move their own learning.
The materials provide a clear path for students to monitor and move their own learning through learning objectives, rubrics, reflection opportunities, and recurring instructional routines. Students use rubrics and established criteria to understand expectations, evaluate their work, and identify areas for revision or improvement. During writing, students review criteria, annotate and revise their drafts, incorporate peer feedback, and reflect on how well their work meets expectations. Students also monitor their growth through tools such as vocabulary rating scales and reflection activities, which allow them to revisit their understanding over time. Mid-Unit Extension lessons provide opportunities for students to revisit and strengthen skills based on assessment performance, while recurring routines across reading, writing, discussion, and research allow students to apply prior learning with increasing independence.
Indicator 3m
Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
The Inquiry by Design program provides grouping strategies and opportunities for students to interact in a variety of formats. Throughout lessons, teachers receive high-level guidance for grouping students for activities such as Turn and Talks, Think-Pair-Shares, and small-group discussions, and the Instructional Routines resource provides guidance for implementing collaborative routines such as Fishbowls and Socratic Seminars. However, most lessons do not provide strategic guidance for determining which students should be grouped together. More targeted grouping guidance is provided for Mid-Unit Extension lessons, where teachers use Mid-Unit Assessment data to group students by performance and needs into Build and Support, Strengthen and Refine, or Enrich and Extend, and to determine the most appropriate instructional pathway for each group.
Materials provide grouping strategies for students.
Lesson plans include high-level guidance on grouping students for different activities, such as turn-and-talks, Think-pair-shares, and small groups.
Mid-Unit Extension lessons include a variety of grouping options based on data from their Mid-Unit Assessments. Teachers should use this data to decide on the most beneficial flow of these lessons for their students.
Materials provide guidance for varied types of interaction among students. Materials provide some guidance for the teacher on grouping students in a variety of grouping formats.
In the Teacher Resources section of the digital resource hub, teachers can find a document titled “Instructional Routines.” This document includes guidance on routines involving different types of student interactions, such as fishbowl, socratic seminar, and Think-pair-share. Guidance is not included on any strategic groupings.
In most lesson plans, there is no guidance on which students should be in which groups.
For Mid-Unit Extension lesson plans, teachers should use student data to decide how to group students or how to facilitate this lesson. Students can fall into one of three categories based on their assessment performance: Building and Support, Strengthen and Refine, or Enrich and Extend. The Appendix in each unit includes teacher guidance on responding to the assessment, which helps teachers determine each student’s group.
Indicator 3n
Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.
The Inquiry by Design program provides some accommodations to support student access to End-of-Unit Assessments without changing grade-level expectations; however, comparable supports are not provided for Mid-Unit Assessments. Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports include scaffolds such as sentence frames and planning and organizational supports, with Tier 3 providing more explicit and intensive scaffolding. The materials also provide general guidance for identifying students who may need Tier 2 or Tier 3 support, drawing on multiple sources of student performance data, and explain when each level of support should be used. However, guidance for selecting specific accommodations is limited. The materials do not provide specific criteria for determining which students would benefit from particular supports or for matching individual student needs to the accommodations provided.
Materials offer some accommodations that ensure all students can access the assessment (e.g., text-to-speech, increased font size) without changing its content. Materials do not include modifications to assessments that alter grade level/expectations. Materials include guidance for teachers on the use of provided accommodations.
For each unit, the program includes a Tier 2 & Tier 3 Supports document in the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) section of the Teacher Resources linked on the digital hub. For End-of-Unit Assessments, the document includes various support areas, each with Tier 2 and Tier 3 strategies. This type of support is not available for Mid-Unit Assessments.
In Grade 6, Unit 2, the Tier 2 & Tier 3 Supports document includes several scaffolds for the End-of-Unit Assessment separated by support area.
For Sentence Frames (Reflection & Influence), the following is available:
Tier 2: “Provide optional frames to help students explain how a story influenced them:
The story influenced me because _____.
This moment helped me realize _____.”
Tier 3: “Provide a guided reflection frame and model:
At first I felt _____ when _____.
Later I realized _____ because _____.”
For Planning and Organization Scaffolds, the following is available:
Tier 2: “Encourage students to outline their narrative events in sequence using transition language such as at first, later, finally.”
Tier 3: “Support students in identifying three key moments: encountering the story, reacting emotionally, and reflecting on what it meant.”
Materials include some guidance for teachers about who can benefit from these accommodations.
The program includes a 6-8 MTSS Framework Overview document in the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) section of the Teacher Resources linked on the digital hub. This document includes a section titled “Identifying Students for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Support.” This section states,
“Educators may use multiple data points to determine when students require targeted or intensive support. These may include:
Performance on formative checks for understanding
Written responses and extended writing tasks
Mid-unit and end-of-unit assessments
Participation in discussions and collaborative tasks
Observational data during reading and small-group activities
Students demonstrating consistent difficulty with comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, or written responses across these measures may benefit from Tier 2 small-group support or Tier 3 intensive intervention.”
While this guidance is available, it does not provide specific criteria for determining which students would benefit from particular accommodations or supports, or for matching identified student needs to the supports available in the materials.
The MTSS Implementation Note in the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) section of the Teacher Resources linked on the digital hub includes a section titled "How to Use the Supports." This states,
“Tier 2 (Targeted): Use during core instruction to provide additional support with understanding text, participating in discussion, and completing writing tasks. Supports focus on preteaching, guided practice, and structured language support (e.g., chunking text, annotation prompts, oral rehearsal, sentence frames).
Tier 3 (Intensified): Use when students need more explicit, scaffolded support. Supports intensify Tier 2 through modeling, smaller chunks, guided practice, and immediate feedback, and are appropriate for small-group or intervention settings.”
While this guidance is available, it does not identify specific student needs or characteristics that indicate when particular accommodations or supports, such as chunking text, annotation prompts, oral rehearsal, or sentence frames, would be beneficial. As a result, teachers receive limited guidance for matching individual students with specific accommodations based on their identified needs.
Indicator 3o
Materials provide a range of representation of people and include detailed instructions and support for educators to effectively incorporate and draw upon students’ different cultural, social, and community backgrounds to enrich learning experiences.
The Inquiry by Design program provides a range of representation through texts featuring authors and characters from varied cultural, racial, gender, and ability backgrounds, allowing students to encounter diverse perspectives and see their own experiences reflected in the texts and topics they study. The materials also provide opportunities for students to draw upon their cultural, social, and community backgrounds to enrich classroom learning. Throughout lessons, the Activate section frequently prompts students to consider their own experiences, opinions, and perspectives in relation to the texts and topics they will study. These prompts encourage students to make personal connections to unit themes, share their perspectives with peers, and consider how their experiences relate to broader ideas and issues. However, while the materials regularly provide opportunities for students to bring their individual perspectives into classroom discussions, explicit teacher guidance for intentionally incorporating students’ specific cultural, social, and community backgrounds into instruction is limited.
Materials provide a range of representation of people, ensuring a broad range of cultural, racial, gender, and ability backgrounds are accurately and authentically represented.
The texts in Inquiry by Design materials provide a wide range of authors and characters, allowing students to see themselves reflected within the texts’ stories and topics.
Materials provide some instructions and support for teachers on incorporating and drawing upon students’ different cultural, social, and community backgrounds to enrich learning experiences.
The Activate portion of lessons often asks students to draw upon their own opinions and experiences. These questions allow students the opportunity to bring their individual perspectives into the classroom. There is no teacher guidance included other than prompting teachers to ask students questions.
In Grade 6, Unit 1, Lesson 8, the Activate question at the beginning of the lesson prompts students to answer the question “Describe a heroic act that you witnessed— in real life or on the TV— that involved risk taking.”
In Grade 7, Unit 3, Lesson 8, the Activate question at the beginning of the lesson prompts students to “share examples of barriers that might prevent someone from being their authentic self.”
In Grade 8, Unit 4, Lesson 3, the Activate question at the beginning of the lesson prompts students to discuss “Should governments enforce equality to make sure all citizens have a good quality of life?” In Lesson 5, the Activate question at the beginning of the lesson prompts students to discuss “Should access to learning and knowledge ever be limited? Why or why not?”
Indicator 3p
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3q
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.3: Intentional Design
Materials include a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
The Inquiry by Design materials effectively integrate digital technology to enhance instruction and student engagement. The program provides digital access to instructional resources and support the implementation of grade-level ELA instruction across Grades 6–8, although the program appears to be designed primarily for students to engage with materials in print. The Digital Resource Hub provides teachers and students with access to instructional materials, including Teacher Guides, Student Readers, assessments, instructional routines, and supplemental resources. Teachers can also access editable unit slide decks containing instructional prompts, graphics, and multimedia resources, including videos, audio recordings, and images, which can be customized to support student learning and local instructional needs. The materials feature a consistent, organized visual design, with clear navigation, logically sequenced resources, and images and graphics that support learning without creating distractions. However, the program's emphasis on print-based student engagement limits opportunities for interactive digital learning and collaboration. While the publisher indicates that resources can be uploaded to external platforms such as Google Classroom to facilitate collaboration, these capabilities are not embedded within the program. Overall, the materials provide accessible, well-organized resources and opportunities to incorporate multimedia into instruction, with limitations in technology-supported student engagement and collaboration, reflecting the program's primarily print-oriented design.
Indicator 3r
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.
The Inquiry by Design program provides digital access to teacher and student resources that support grade-level ELA instruction, though student materials are primarily designed for print-based use. The program provides digital access to program resources through the Inquiry by Design Digital Resource Hub. Teachers can access unit Teacher Guides, the Program Guide, Unit Slides, assessment guidance, instructional routines, Letters to Family, MTSS resources, and standards documents, while students can access unit Student Readers containing the unit texts, assessment and instructional resources, the Independent Reading Guide, and standards information. Although these resources are digitally accessible, many materials, particularly the Student Readers, appear to be designed primarily for print use rather than as interactive digital tools. The materials also provide some opportunities for customization for local use, as teachers can download and modify unit slide decks to reflect local needs, interests, or contexts.
Digital technology and interactive tools, such as data collection tools and/or modeling tools are available to students. Digital tools do not support student engagement in ELA because the program is meant to be used in print.
All program components can be accessed digitally on the Inquiry by Design digital resource hub, available to both teachers.
The digital resource hub includes the following Teacher materials: the Teacher Guide for each unit, the Program Guide, and the Teacher Resources section. The Teacher Resources section includes: Unit Slides, Assessment Guidance, Instructional Routines, Letters to Family, MTSS Information, and Standards documents.
The digital resource hub includes the following Student materials: the Student Reader for each unit (which includes all unit texts) and the Student Resources section. The Student Resources section includes Assessment Resources, Instructional Resources, the Independent Reading Guide, and a Standards document. It should be noted that while all resources are available on the digital hub, many appear to have been created for print use, especially the Student Reader.
Digital materials can be customized for local use (i.e., student and/or community interests).
All unit slide decks found on the digital resource hub may be customized by teachers for local use after they are downloaded. Teachers may find these slide decks in the Teacher Resources section of each unit, linked under Unit Slides.
Indicator 3s
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
The Inquiry by Design materials do not include or reference embedded digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate with one another. The program is designed primarily for print-based use, limiting the role of digital collaboration within it. However, the publisher indicates that teachers who choose to implement the materials digitally can upload student resources to Google Classroom, where teachers and students can collaborate and interact using the platform’s features.
Materials do not include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
The Inquiry by Design program is designed primarily for print use and therefore embedded technology is not as important a factor.
The publisher states that if teachers want to use the program digitally, all student materials can be uploaded to Google Classroom, where teachers can easily collaborate with students and students can collaborate with each other.
Indicator 3t
The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
The digital and print versions of the Inquiry by Design program use images, graphics, and models that support learning and engagement without being visually distracting. The visual design of the materials supports student learning and engagement without being distracting, and the organization and layout are consistent throughout the program. Teacher Guides follow a consistent structure and present lesson plans in instructional order, while Student Readers organize unit texts in the order in which students encounter them and include clear contents pages for navigation. Images related to each unit’s topic or theme appear consistently in both the Teacher Guide and Student Reader and support the materials without creating visual distraction. Organizational features, including tables of contents and internal navigation, are clear and accurate. The Digital Resource Hub is also simply and logically organized, allowing teachers to navigate by grade level and unit and access Teacher Guides, Student Readers, program guidance, and teacher and student resources through consistently organized links. While Student Readers contain the texts students need for each unit, student tasks, such as writing assignments, are not housed in the Student Reader. The major assessments students complete for each program are housed under Student Resources on the digital resource hub.
Images, graphics, and models support student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. They also clearly communicate information or support student understanding of topics, texts, or concepts. Teacher and student materials are consistent in layout and structure across lessons/modules/units.
The Inquiry by Design materials support student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. Layouts are consistent throughout the program, increasing clarity for teachers and students.
The Teacher Guide is organized as follows: Table of Contents, Overview, Unit-At-A-Glance, Unit Assessment, Lesson Plans, and Appendix. Lesson plans appear in the order in which they are taught.
The Student Reader contains all the texts students need for the unit, and they appear in the same order as they are taught throughout the unit. The Reader includes a Contents page that lists the texts and their corresponding page number. It should be noted that all student tasks, such as writing assignments, are not included in the Student Reader. The major assessments students complete for each program are housed under Student Resources on the digital resource hub.
The Appendix includes: Assessment Guidance, Instructional Resources, Independent Reading Guide, and a Letter to Famil[ies].
Each Student Reader includes an image related to the unit topic/theme that is not visually distracting. This same image appears on the Teacher Guide.
Materials’ organizational features (table of contents, glossary, index, internal references, table headers, captions, etc.) are clear, accurate, and error-free.
The Teacher Guide includes a Table of Contents.
The Student Reader includes a Contents page that lists the texts and their corresponding page number.
The Digital Resource Hub is simply designed and easy to navigate. On the first page, teachers can find links to each grade level. By selecting their corresponding grade level, teachers can access links to all units. By selecting the corresponding unit, teachers will find links to the Teacher Guide, Teacher Resources, Student Reader, Student Resources, and Program Guide for the grade level. The Teacher Resources and Student Resources links are organized logically. Teacher Resources for each unit are organized to include the Unit Slides, Assessment Guidance, Instructional Resources, Letters to Family, Multi-Tiered System of Supports, and Standards information. Student Resources for each unit are organized to include Assessment Resources, Instructional Resources, Independent Reading Guide, and Standards information.
Indicator 3u
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.
The Inquiry by Design program provides teacher guidance for using embedded technology to support and enhance student learning. The Program Guide includes an overview of the Digital Resource Hub (DRH), which provides digital access to instructional resources and student-facing materials that teachers can print or share digitally. Each unit includes an editable slide deck containing lesson prompts, tasks, graphics, and multimedia resources, including videos, audio recordings, and images, to support instruction, build knowledge, and develop media literacy skills. Teachers can customize the slides to meet student needs, and some lessons offer multiple multimedia options to choose from. However, many program materials, particularly the Student Readers, appear to be designed primarily for print use; therefore, embedded technology plays a more limited role in the program overall.
Teacher guidance is provided for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.
In the Inquiry by Design Program Guide, teachers can find a summary of the information found on the Digital Resource Hub by navigating to Meet Inquiry by Design Middle School → Program Components → Digital Resource Hub. The Digital Resource Hub (DRH) provides teachers with digital access to resources from the Teacher Guide Appendix as well as additional materials to support unit implementation. Teachers can print or digitally share student-facing resources, including reference sheets, assessments, and rubrics (on Google Classroom). Each unit also includes an editable slide deck with lesson prompts, tasks, graphics, and multimedia resources that teachers can customize based on student needs. Multimedia (video, audio recording, and images) is embedded in or linked through the slides and is designed to engage students, build knowledge, and support media literacy skills and instruction. Some lessons provide multiple multimedia options, allowing teachers to select the resource they want to use during instruction.
It should be noted that for this program, many materials, particularly the Student Readers, appear to be designed primarily for print use and therefore embedded technology is not as important a factor.