8th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics (or, for grades 6-8, topics and/or themes) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. 

Grade 8 materials include texts connected by a topic and essential question for each unit that are appropriate for the grade level. The essential question is introduced at the beginning of the lesson, referred to after each lesson, and appears at the end in each unit task.  Students are given the opportunity to build their reading comprehension skills by completing the following tasks within the unit: Check Your Understanding, Analyze the Text, Research Tasks, Create and Discuss, Respond to the Essential Question, Critical Vocabulary, and Language Conventions. The sequence of texts across the grade level is conducive toward scaffolding students to meet the requirements of Standard 10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently. The materials include many opportunities for both close reading and independent reading with student choices available with each unit. The topics include the following: Gadgets and Glitches, The Thrill of Horror, Places We Call Home, The Fight for Freedom, Finding Your Path, and The Legacy of Anne Frank.

• In Unit 1, Gadgets and Glitches, students consider how technology impacts our lives. The essential question is, “Does technology improve or control our lives?” Students explore how technology affects our lives. Throughout the unit, students read fiction and nonfiction texts that relate to this goal, such as information about how technology is being used to replace parts of the human body, poems about the limitations of technology, and arguments about the impact of automation. The Unit 1 tasks are an informational essay and presentation of an instructional speech. Both refer back to the essential question and students use the notes in their response log to complete these tasks.
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students read several texts relating to the essential question “What are the places that shape who you are?” These include an opportunity to analyze and apply skills with “My Favorite Chaperone” by Jean Davies Okimoto, an excerpt from The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, and “Spirit Walk in the Tundra” by Joy Harjo. Students then have an opportunity to Collaborate & Compare two texts relating to the same topic: a documentary “New Immigrants Share Their Stories” by Lis Gossels, and an informational text “A Common Bond” by Brooke Hauser. The levels of the texts increase in complexity and will move students toward comprehending grade level text proficiently and independently. The culminating task is to use information gathered in the unit to write a short story based on a character who is struggling with an obstacle in relation to a place. 
• In Unit 4, The Fight for Freedom, all texts align to the essential question of the unit: “What will people risk to be free?” Students collect thoughts and evidence in a response log throughout the reading of each text in the unit. Students read an excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which is a primary source from someone who was a slave. Then students read “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” a historical fiction piece that follows a young boy as he finds courage to meet the next day directly.  Then students read “O Captain! My Captain!” a poem that uses implied meanings to convey the courage of Abraham Lincoln. Students use information gathered from these readings to complete the culminating tasks of writing a research report about an aspect of the abolition movement and participating in collaborative discussion on the Fight for Freedom.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

In Grade 8 materials, students are expected to cite textual evidence to support analysis, determine theme, and analyze point of view. For most texts, students are asked to analyze language or author’s word choice. Most texts include opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details, structure, and craft. The materials provide instructional supports to ensure students can analyze the text according to the grade level standards, and students apply skills after the reading that correspond to skills they practice during the reading. Examples of student answers and mentor texts are available. This scaffolded progression occurs across units, sections, lessons, and assessments. The questions and tasks help students to build comprehension and knowledge of topics and themes. 

• In Unit 1, Gadgets and Glitches, students cite textual evidence to support analysis of a text during the reading of “Interflora”: “Which words and phrases in the poem reveal it is a love sonnet?” Students practice the skill again in Unit 1 with “The Automation Paradox” before they apply the skill during a comparison of two texts later in the unit. 
• In Unit 2, The Thrill of Horror, students analyze key ideas and details, structure, and craft while reading “What is the Horror Genre?”. Students are directed to mark the first sentence of each paragraph in this selection. Then they analyze: "Based on these topic sentences, what is the author’s controlling idea, or thesis, about the horror genre? What evidence does she provide?" The questions and tasks help students to build comprehension and knowledge of the topic.
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students analyze narrative structure when reading an excerpt from The Book of Unknown Americans: “Mark words and phrases in paragraph 4 that show the passage of time. How do the narrator’s parents’ attitudes about their homeland change as time passes?” Teacher guidance is available with a possible answer to ensure understanding. Two other questions throughout the reading provide opportunities to analyze the narrative structure. 
• In Unit 5, Finding Your Path, students are asked to analyze language and author’s word choice in “The Debt We Owe to the Adolescent Brain.”  Students underline all of the pronouns in paragraph 2 and circle the two antecedents. Then they consider: "Could the author have used the pronoun our instead of their in the last sentence? Explain." This will show the teacher if students understand language conventions related to the function of pronouns. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

The instructional materials for Grade 8 include questions and tasks to support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. During the Analyze & Apply section, students read a variety of selections for analysis, annotation, and application of the Notice & Note protocol. Sequences of text-dependent questions support students in their analysis of the texts. The materials provide guidance to teachers in supporting students’ skills in the Teacher's Edition. Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. For example, each unit includes a Collaborate & Compare section which provides a comparative analysis of two selections linked by topic but different in genre, craft, or focus. 

• In Unit 1, Gadgets and Glitches, students read two arguments, “The Automation Paradox” by James Bessen, and “Heads Up, Humans” by Claudia Alarcón. Students complete a venn diagram analyzing the similarities and differences between the two arguments. Then, students answer further Analyze the Text questions with a small group such as “Which argument is most convincing to you? Cite evidence from both texts to support your opinion.” Finally, an in-class debate is conducted utilizing evidence from both texts. 
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students Collaborate & Compare a documentary, “New Immigrants Share Their Stories” by Lis Gossels, and an informational text, “A Common Bond” by Brooke Hauser. Teachers have access to possible answers to provide support to students as they discuss Analyze Media and Text questions with group members such as: “Infer: Based on the focus of the documentary, what possible motives did the filmmakers have in creating it?  Synthesize: What do both sources reveal about the challenges recent teen immigrants face and how best to overcome them?” 
• In Unit 6, The Legacy of Anne Frank, students read “After Auschwitz,” a speech given by Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel. After reading the speech, in the Analyze the Text section, students are asked to “Review Wiesel’s emotional appeal in paragraphs 16-18. What values is he asking his audience to consider? What impact does his use of absolute language have on this appeal?” 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

The Grade 8 materials include culminating tasks that are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of different grade level standards, including writing and presentation of knowledge and ideas. The materials meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks. Each text has clearly defined sets of Notice & Note, Check Your Understanding, and Analyze the Text questions that increase in rigor and depth and clearly support students in developing an ability to complete a culminating task. Culminating tasks vary for each text and are activities comprised of multiple types of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

• In Unit 2, The Thrill of Horror, students read a literary criticism piece titled “What is the Horror Genre?” by Sharon A. Russell. While reading, students answer Notice & Note questions that assist them in deriving the meaning behind the author’s words and purpose . After reading, students answer Check Your Understanding questions which assess basic comprehension of the topics covered in the reading.  Then students answer Analyze the Text questions requiring students to utilize evidence and reasoning skills to prove that they understand the more complex ideas presented by the text . Students research three “Masters of Horror,” and then utilize categories for horror outlined by the literary criticism piece and apply these categories to their research in order to identify whether the works are a good example of the horror genre or not.  Students share their findings with a small group.
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students complete a culminating task “Write a Short Story” focusing on “a character who is struggling with an obstacle in relation to a place.” Students complete the task following the reading of the mentor text, an excerpt from The Book of Unknown Americans. The Response Log students complete throughout the unit will assist them to be successful writing around the same topic. Student choice is available, when students “develop their own theme and events, along with an original writer’s voice.”
• In Unit 4, The Fight For Freedom, students read two texts, “Not My Bones” by Marilyn Nelson, and an excerpt from an informational text titled Fortune’s Bones by Pamela Espeland. Students identify the literary skill treatment and determine the similarities and differences in the treatment of each text with a small group. Teachers can assess understanding of the skill as students complete a graphic organizer recording their ideas. Students “continue exploring the ideas in these texts by discussing which treatment of Fortune’s life and death is more effective.” Then, they work with another small group to provide examples from the text to support their view. Finally, they share their views with the class. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.

Writing is used across lessons and assessments as a learning tool and as a way for students to express their understanding. Lesson plans are scaffolded so that students develop their understanding of texts thoroughly before having to write thoughtfully about them. Within lessons, students complete smaller writing tasks such as taking notes, filling in charts and graphic organizers, and writing quick responses to essential questions, in addition to holding classroom discussions before they complete more demanding writing tasks for more complex selections at the end of each unit. Students learn the components of good writing through Text X-Ray and Language X-Ray tasks that focus on supports and writing structures. Each unit concludes in a process writing task that synthesizes the students’ understanding of the texts they read. In the Online Ed Resources, there are additional Writing Studio opportunities where students write informational texts, arguments, and narratives. Within the unit, students have multiple opportunities for on demand writing and complete one process piece. There is always a mentor text provided to use as a model and there is explicit author’s craft and genre characteristics the teacher has students examine. Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year, and rubrics and the Language X-Ray give teachers supports and scaffolds to guide students’ writing development. 

• In Unit 1, Gadgets and Glitches, students read “The Brave Little Toaster,” a science fiction piece by Cory Doctorow. While reading, students are instructed to record any instances of cause and effect from the text. After reading, students write a summary of the text, retelling the most important events in the story, focusing clearly on “describe the conflict Mister Toussaint faces and how he responds to it” and then on how the conflict is resolved, addressing Standard W.8.2, “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts and information.”
• In Unit 2, The Thrill of Horror, students read “What is the Horror Genre?” by Sharon A. Russell and write a letter “about a video game, movie, or show that was either too violent or rated too harshly.” Then students read “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe and write a scene from the point of view of a reliable narrator. Students also read “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W.Jacobs and write a personal response to each of the three sections. Finally, students write a literary analysis of one of the stories in this unit. Within the unit, students have multiple opportunities for on demand writing and complete one process piece. There is a mentor text, “What is the Horror Genre?” by Sharon A. Russell, provided to use as a model and there are explicit author’s craft and genre characteristics that the teacher has students examine. 
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students complete a chart, researching questions about Alaska Natives in order to help them better understand the culture conveyed in “Spirit Walking in the Tundra,” a poem by Joy Harjo. Students answer questions like “What is the climate like where Alaska Natives live? How has that influenced their lifestyle?” Students conduct this short research project by gathering information from multiple sources, directly aligning with Standard W.8.7 and Standard W.8.8. 
• In Unit 5, Finding Your Path, students read an excerpt from It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by Danah Boyd. Students are instructed to write an opinion piece in which they state their opinion on social media use at school. A Writing Studio is available online for additional instruction as to how to write an opinion piece. Teachers can assign these lessons to students and monitor students’ understanding. An example question includes a segment Identifying an Effective Claim. Students answer questions, such as the following: “Which of these claims is the strongest?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

The instructional materials for Grade 8 include research projects across the school year that are appropriate for the grade level. Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic via provided resources. Notes are available in the margin of the Teacher's Edition with the label Research to assist educators in supporting students during the process. Materials provide many opportunities for students to apply reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language skills to synthesize and analyze per their grade level readings. There are notes available for teachers to assist students when they Create and Present in relation to the research tasks they complete. Materials provide opportunities for short and long research projects. Following the reading of each selection, the materials provide a short Research opportunity in the Respond section and includes a Research Tip for students. Longer writing tasks are available at the end of each unit. Students have the opportunity to complete a research report and the materials further develop this learning with a speaking and listening opportunity.

• In Unit 1, Gadgets and Glitches, students Respond to the reading of the poem “Interflora” by Susan Hamlyn. Students complete a short research task by exploring “the differences between technologies today and technologies form the time period in which this poem was written.” A Research Tip is also available for students: “Besides using the Internet, where can you look to find answers to these questions? Consider contacting someone who lives during the time period and ask whether you can conduct an interview about how technology has changed since then.”
• In Unit 3, Places We Call Home, students read The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. The book references real people, places, and events related to the history of Panama. Students conduct research to learn more about Panama’s history. They record their findings in a chart. There are research tips to help students assess the reliability of websites they may come across in their research. Research questions and a graphic organizer are provided. Students reread a quote from paragraph four of the text in which the narrator says of his parents’ decision to emigrate to the United States, “I pointed out how backwards it was to have fled to the nation that had driven them out of theirs, but they never copped to the irony of it.” In a small group, students discuss how their additional research about Panama’s history helps them understand this statement. This connects to the essential question of this unit, “What are the places that shape who you are?”
• In Unit 4, The Fight For Freedom, students end the unit by completing a culminating task, a research report on one aspect of the abolition movement in the United States. Students have read texts throughout the unit such as an excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass and an excerpt from Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry, focused on the overall theme of slavery in the United States, collecting evidence from each text as they have read. Students move through the entire writing process, but begin their task by developing research questions and then using digital and print sources to find both primary and secondary sources. Students are reminded to evaluate and document their sources. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Lessons include some independent reading followed by text-specific questions and tasks that reflect student accountability. Procedures are organized for independent reading included in the lessons. Each Unit includes an Independent Reading plan with guidance for teachers and students. There is sufficient teacher guidance to foster independence for readers at all levels.  There is a tracking system (which may include a student component) to track independent reading. A timeline is provided for each of the six units; each unit lasts approximately 30 days. The Reader’s Choice in the Independent Reading section includes e-text selections and students check off the texts they select to read on their own. Assessments are available for the independent reading selections and teachers can assess students formatively by listening to partner discussions during the Collaborate and Share task to follow the independent reading.  Student reading materials span a wide volume of texts at grade levels (and at various lexile levels within the grade). Additionally, there are trade books suggested for every unit to foster an independent companion novel as students complete the unit. 

• In Unit 2, The Thrill of Horror, students access interactive digital texts with a range of complexity levels during the Independent Reading section. Examples of student selections include the poem “Frankenstein” by Edward Field, the poem “beware: do not read this poem” by Ishmael Reed, a short story “Blood” by Zdravka Evitmova, a short story “The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft, and an essay “Scary Tales” by Jackie Torrence. Independent reading selection tests are available online for assessment. Guidance is available to teachers: “Collaborate and Share: To assess how well students read the selections, walk around the room and listen to their conversations. Encourage students to be focused and specific in their comments.” Teachers assess how well students are noticing and reflecting on elements of the texts.
• In Unit 4, The Fight For Freedom, the materials offer a suggested novel connection The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers. Online resources are available for the teacher and students, including The Glory Field Study Guide and The Glory Field Book Test. Scaffolding and supports are in place during the reading, such as a Vocabulary Tracker. Students use a chart to record unfamiliar terms.